Antarctica

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monkeynautt
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Antarctica

Post by monkeynautt »

Currently it is warmer at the science bases in Antarctica than it is here. And its going to get worse by the end of the weekend. I'm not going to class on Monday. It's going to be -30C and windchill will push it closer to -40.
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Post by Deimos »

WOW, and i think i have it bad in New England with temps in mid winter of -10 Degrees Farenheit. WOW. GOod luck witht hat, i hope you will stay warm and be okay!!
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Post by SpaceCanada »

You must remember... it is summertime in Antarctica right now.

The windchill made it -32C (-26F) this morning, horrible, wasn't it? Tuesday is supposed to be a high of -28C (-18F), low of -34C (-29F) with plenty of wind and snow. It hurts to think about it.

Last year around this time we had unusually high temperatures around 15C (59F). Average highs for this time of year is -3C (26F).

I should take a tropical vacation to Alert, Nunavut (the North Pole), as their weather looks a whole lot better than ours!
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Post by karatebando »

That is what you get for living in the north. Even though I have never seen snow, hearing things like that make me happy with my 70 degree winter. Have fun. Do play in the snow for me. Please do not be stupind like those people int he east coast, putting their generators and BBQ's in their house.
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Post by monkeynautt »

I know its summer down there, I just find it funny that its warmer there than here. And its really funny b/c we have people from the west coast who never get more than rain all winter that are freezing right now.
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Post by SpaceCanada »

Generators and barbeques indoors? Yikes! Not for me... I'll stick to central heating, hot foods, and gas fireplaces... Oh, and lots of warm clothes and blankets. I didn't want to get out of bed this morning after I heard the weather on the radio... brr...

Sorry mate, it is too cold to go out and play in the snow right now... but once it warms up (by the end of the week) I might build a snow sculpture if ths now is sticky enough.

I did find it ironic when they said Southern BC was getting all that snow though. They still have a boil-water advisory down there too - those people are really getting a bad winter compared to what they are used to.

Going to put the kettle on...
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Post by karatebando »

the cold is heading down here as well. It finally rained today. It was very light, but it was still rain. It is a brisk 65 degrees out right now and I am in heaven. This is my favorite SoCal weather. The only bad thing is that this is the first rain. Southern california people do not know how to drive in the rain. Add a first rain on top of that it only makes it worse. This is my first time driving in the rain and lets just say it is already crazy out there. NEVER come to california durring the rain unless you are really good at defensive driving. Have fun all snug in your blankets. :wink:
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Post by SpaceCanada »

Doesn't it rain in the summer in California?

I don't understand why rain or snow causes people to freak out on the road. Take it slow and give yourself plenty of room to stop. It's the morons who think they can still drive excessively fast and still stop on a dime in wet weather that cuase most of the problems. Same goes for driving on ice - a 4x4 truck won't help you stop any faster than anyone else... duh! All hail ABS and traction control! (Neither of which I have on my car, but I manage...)
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Post by karatebando »

Sometimes we will get a light shower in august but it doesn't last long. We get June Gloom and that's about it. If it does rain in summer it is only in the middle of the night. By the time the sun comes out there is no clouds in the sky.

As for people driving in the rain. Southern California doesn't have weather. When we get rain people just do not understand. I agree with ABS, all hail it. The only bad part is I am only alowed to have a car with it. I have been waiting for two months for the car I want to come in. A bunch have come in without it but my dad has put his foot down on this matter. Oh well, better safe then sorry, right?
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Post by SpaceCanada »

Craziness I say... it's just rain.

As for ABS, it is better safe than sorry, for sure. If people are crazy like that in the rain, I would want ABS too! ABS comes standard on all cars now, ever since the year after my car was made - figures... We also have window defrosters (all cars) and heated seats in some cars - wooo... heated seats and heated steering wheels are quite the experience.

Oh, and our cars all come standard with block heaters. No, we don't drive electric cars, that electrical cord sticking out the front of our cars is to plug them in to prevent the engines from freezing in winter. Speaking of which... I should plug in my car today... -40 outside all day... brrrr.....

Any-who... off to make some tea...

Harmakis (Kayla) told me of a time when it snowed in Nashville and everyone freaked out. Hehehe... I can laugh even though it isn't all that funny.

Edmonton = -40C to -42C all day (with the wind)
Alert (North Pole) = -30C right now (with the wind)
South Pole = -29C right now (no wind data available)

It is supposed to warm up by Thursday; a high of -9C will feel like the tropics!
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Post by karatebando »

Yeah, our cars all come with defrosters for the window as well. You have to e able to know where it is for the Califronia driving test. We also have heated seats and probably heated steering wheeles, though none of the cars my family has has it.

There was a comercial on tv for the heated seats a year or two ago. It was a lady in her car in the middle of the city. She turned the passenger's seat on and then parked. The picture then changed to a little girl at a figure skating lesson. She kept falling down and landing on her butt. When the girl got in the car she sank in the seat and smiled. I gues that is how we use heated seats her.

As for plugging your car in. My dad told mentioned that once to me as well. It makes sense. If a really cold storm hit california right now, none of our cars would work. We park all of our cars outside seeing as we have no room in the garage right now.

Here is another thing you might find interesting. We do not have basements or attics. I know very very few people have basements in california. If you do then you live in a rich neighborhood or spent way too much on a house. As for attics, only people who live in old homes or special people have them. I would always make reference to how my some of my stuff is in the attic. I always got the same response, "you have an attic?" If a californian does say they have an attic, they are generally refering to the storgate space above the garage. Very few californians have an actually attic, I found out.

Sorry, a little off topic. I enjoy hearing about other places from people who live there so I tend to tell stories about my home in return.

Enjoy your cup of tea.
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Post by SpaceCanada »

I like hearing about the way things are in other places...

Attics here are only for insulation - there is a square panel in the ceiling you can move and through there you can see the roof and all the fluffy insulation that keeps the house warm. You cannot put anything up there though. Some people have garage attics like you mention.

As for basements, I don't know of many people around here who don't have basements. I wonder why that is... I should know this...
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Post by karatebando »

It has something to do with insolation I think. Being below ground helps keep the house warmer or something. I know it's very practical. They don't have basements down here because our houses don't need whatever a basement has to offer. You probably don't want to be in a basement durring an earth quack either.
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Post by SpaceCanada »

Oh, basements definitely do not keep the house warmer in any way! Below ground the dirst/clay is permanently frozen all year round. They have to dig piles down below that level to keep our hosues from shifting and cracking from the freezing and thawing process. It is just as easy to dig a basement than it is to dig piles that deep. Something like that anyway, or so I was told yesterday. I could be misinformed. Then again, in the arctic things could be different because the ground is always frozen, so they might not have basements because their piles don't have to be as deep, if thy need piles at all!

I wonder if they have basements down in warmer climates like Texas and Florida? Anyone care to inform the rest of us?
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Post by tennisrox014 »

They don't in texas or oklahoma... I've spent some time there, and they just have the ground level.
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Post by karatebando »

see, basements are only for cold places. There is only one house that I know has a basement. It is a brand new house and the basment is smaller then my bedroom. Even then, It isn't really underground. It probably is a couple feet below ground level. To have a basement in California you have to be rich. I mean really really rich.
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Post by SpaceCanada »

Wow, I learn something new every day.

I guess if basements are not very common, paying to have an excavator dig a hole and someone to pour all that concrete would cost a lot.

One question though... All the utilities (water, electricity, phone, cable, etc.) come into the house underground via the basement. How do utilities come into a house without a basement? Do they come up through the floor someplace?
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Post by karatebando »

All the untilities still come into the house from undeground. They will split off to go into the roof and walls to provide for the rest of the house. In old houses (like in orange, Ca) the elctricity is on poles above bround. Wires run all up and down the street providing electicity for everyone. When going into one of these homes, if you look up to where the ceiling and wall meet you'll see the wires.

Maybe that is why you have basements. To keep everything from freezing you bury them way under the ground. Here we don't worry about freezing pipes and other things so we put it very close to ground level. I mean if you think about it it would make sense. Right?

The thing about keeping our wires and pipes pretty shallow is that the tree roots get into the pipe. It creates a sewage backup. Not pretty. Never buy a house with an old tree in california. A lot of the cities have rules against removingthe trees.

Hope this is helpful and full of interesting facts. :D Do you have an opinion on why you have basements and we don't? I'd love to hear it. I love where I live and will never move away if I can help it. There are times when I do regret not living somewhere else though. We have no seasons, no basements, and absolutly nothing to do in a close proximity. Well except go ice skatting, movies, bowling, or a beach bonfire. You can only do those things so many times until they get boring.
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Post by Carrie »

Hehe...I live in the basement...my apartment is half underground and half above ground. The windows are in the above ground part, and reach from a few inches above the ground outside to a few inches below my ceiling. It faces east, so I don't get the worst of the afternoon heat in the summer, so I need very little air conditioning. I don't think I need as much heat as the upper floors, either...you do get a bit of insulation from the wind.

Syracuse is a cold climate, but not too cold...70's to 90's in summer, and anywhere from below zero to 20's and 30's in the winter. The minimum temp we get here is -20 and maximum a few degrees above 100, but those are rare. It's been warm here this month, 50's and 60's :D
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Post by karatebando »

I KNOW WHY HOUSES HAVE BASEMENTS!!!!!!!

Houses in colder weather have to have the fondation go down four feet into the earth. If they do not do this the contraction and expantion of the ground durinf cold seasons will crack it. Because the builders have alreay gone down the four feet they figure why not go down another four feet and make a room out of it. Thus we have basements. Souther California and other hot places do not have basements because the ground does not freeze.
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