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Been giving my family back in Yorkshire some tips on dealing with the coming heat, thought some people here may benefit. I'm British originally but have a fair bit of experience working outdoors in hot areas of Western Australia and am a firefighter in Victoria. In Vic we generally cease outdoor work when the temp hits 34 degrees. In Western Australia they don't. WA is far hotter than Vic on a regular basis and the heat is absolutely something you need a period of acclimatization to. Don't underestimate it - people die here every year making that mistake and the forecast temps would be considered hot even here. Limit your activity during the hot parts of the day. Heat illness can sneak up on you, especially when not used to the heat. Hydration is incredibly important. I can drink upwards of 15 litres of fluid on a hot firefighting day and not piss once. Important to alternate between electrolyte fluids and water. Little and often is better than trying to down litres to compensate. Seek shade wherever possible. Do not stay in the sun. Counter to every British instinct I know. If you have to be outside wear the dorkiest looking wide brim hat you can find. Read up on the signs of heat stress and heat stroke. Heat stress should be addressed immediately. If you come across someone showing signs of heatstroke it is a medical emergency and they are in serious danger. You can cool core temperature by cooling your hands and lower arms. We carry arm core cooling devices on our fire trucks but you can jerry rig a similar setup from bin bags, cooler bags and cold water. If your home has any unshaded west or south facing glazing, try and cover it, ideally with some car windscreen reflective shields. The setting western sun will cook houses If you are really struggling with a house that's too hot at a pinch your car aircon, if sufficiently gassed will work fine in those temps. Use insulating windscreen shields and park in the shade. Shopping centres or banks etc will be conditioned and can provide relief. Classic thing here is freezing to death in the bank in the middle of summer. Solar panels will run ac units for basically nothing. AC units are also incredibly efficient for heating homes in the colder months. Something to consider if this weather becomes more frequent and your boiler needs replacing. Watch your pets, especially dogs in hot weather. If you have a breeze and low humidity 40 is pretty manageable. High humidity is a bitch and you just want to avoid it. Fortunately serious fires tend to happen in low humidity. Don't drive into long dry grass! Stay safe and it'll be pissing down and Gray again before you know it.
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Jul 17, 2022 01:37
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Olpainless posted:Basically everything is super toxic to cats. I'm not sure being tortured to death by a cat is /necessarily/ any more humane than poison. If you're OK with one then why not the other?
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Jul 17, 2022 01:41
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One of the nice things about my job is I can basically walk into any shop, tell them I'm doing an audit, and then go sit in their deep freezer for half an hour. Quite fun wandering around in the middle of summer with frost on your eyebrows.
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Jul 17, 2022 01:41
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Kin posted:Do with this impending heatwave coming my wife is looking up all sorts to help keep the house cool for our 7 month old. This is my strategy every summer, blinds closed, windows shut, trap cool air inside the flat. I'm on the ground floor, so the floor itself is cold. The walls are very well insulated but the ceilings a little less so, so heat has a slightly easier time rising out of my flat than it does entering through the walls. But overall the temperature is extremely slow to change--if I make the mistake of letting the heat in, it takes days to get out. In fairness, I live in glasgow, so heatwave weather is closer to 28 than 38, and it's possible that next week the heat outside will force its way in, but I think the principle is sound and opening my windows will only make things worse.
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Jul 17, 2022 01:55
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There's a big enough gap between some of my windows and the frames that I can fit my index finger through it. Weird that my favourite seasons are spring and autumn
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Jul 17, 2022 02:02
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Rishi was the shortest in the debate where the other 3 were women. I mean I know it doesn't matter, but he's an asshat, so.
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Jul 17, 2022 03:50
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Private Speech posted:
[Citation required] It shouldn’t matter but it does. Until people start regularly selecting short or even average height people as leaders, it’s going to be A Thing. Weird and unhelpful but that’s primates for you.
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Jul 17, 2022 03:54
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Get a cat to deal with the rodent problem, they said.
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Jul 17, 2022 05:39
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Z the IVth posted:I remember a goon saying not to use poison as you'd then end up with rotting rats in the walls? Basically there isn't a perfect solution to any of this stuff. It all depends on your living situation. I would say poison is the answer for someone like me with not that much money. Saying "just get a cat" seems silly as well unless you actually want one and can support it.
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Jul 17, 2022 06:46
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Old fashioned mousetraps loaded with a piece of cheese, just like in Tom & Jerry, are remarkably effective and also a humane quick kill, in my experience.
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Jul 17, 2022 06:54
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smellmycheese posted:Old fashioned mousetraps loaded with a piece of cheese, just like in Tom & Jerry, are remarkably effective and also a humane quick kill, in my experience. Good u/n post combo (I know it's a partridge reference). 
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Jul 17, 2022 06:58
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IIRC mice don't actually like cheese that much, peanut butter is much more a sure thing.
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Jul 17, 2022 07:12
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https://twitter.com/CrossDavidB/status/1548273039376203777?t=WxAjwAyaaX_CHyMkEoE-sg&s=19 Interesting (if long) thread, and one last desperate attempt to summon twisto back.
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Jul 17, 2022 07:18
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feedmegin posted:I'm not sure being tortured to death by a cat is /necessarily/ any more humane than poison. If you're OK with one then why not the other? Yeah anyone claiming a cat is more humane than a snap trap or poison clearly has never found what's left of a mouse after the cat has finished playing with it.
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Jul 17, 2022 07:58
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Bobby Deluxe posted:https://twitter.com/CrossDavidB/status/1548273039376203777?t=WxAjwAyaaX_CHyMkEoE-sg&s=19 This is interesting, but it also reads like the architect has never lived in anything approaching his designs and hasn't given serious thought to practical concern. He gets very sniffy about council planning objections, but some of these (especially bin access and public transport issues) seem entirely reasonable: https://twitter.com/CrossDavidB/status/1548274621807353859?t=w5YJfHVnxDEo-g8Ipz8OAA&s=19 It really reads like he doesn't consider how to get the bins out, or whether there are good public transport links for the size of the development; as far as I can tell he doesn't address these points at all and just ignores them. Similarly for the idea of managed private spaces: these can be an absolute joke if the property developers don't manage them properly or they get sold off or contracted out to the point where no one has any idea who is responsible for them
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Jul 17, 2022 08:23
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Mega Comrade posted:Yeah anyone claiming a cat is more humane than a snap trap or poison clearly has never found what's left of a mouse after the cat has finished playing with it. But it's ~~natural~~
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Jul 17, 2022 08:33
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The cat is more to scare the mice away rather than eating them all.
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Jul 17, 2022 08:50
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Apologies for torygraph link: Cladding victims freed to sell up as banks agree to lend on crisis-hit flats Big news if this actually materialises. I can finally move my family out of the potential towering inferno.
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Jul 17, 2022 08:50
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Mega Comrade posted:Yeah anyone claiming a cat is more humane than a snap trap or poison clearly has never found what's left of a mouse after the cat has finished playing with it. If a cat has any appetite then all there will be left is some guts and maybe tail, but it will not give the coup de grace immediately. Dogs are better in that sense, they quickly shake a small prey so their neck breaks. Lungboy posted:The cat is more to scare the mice away rather than eating them all. True. The presence and the smell of cat's pee and possibly the rotting remains of their brothers and sisters is a strong warning. But young mice have to spread out even to dangerous areas in pursuit of food, such is nature.
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Jul 17, 2022 09:16
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Lungboy posted:The cat is more to scare the mice away rather than eating them all. Cats roaming territory is pretty large though So they most likely will end up killing mice, regardless of if those mice wanted to come into your property or not. Nothing wrong with this, cats just doing what it's evolved to do. If you'd like a new pet and you have a mouse problem then a cat is a great idea, I just take issue with buying a trap being some how bad, while purchasing a cat to do the same, who will almost certainly have a far higher mousy kill count, is good.
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Jul 17, 2022 09:19
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Bobby Deluxe posted:https://twitter.com/CrossDavidB/status/1548273039376203777?t=WxAjwAyaaX_CHyMkEoE-sg&s=19 I'm not an architect (a nephew is) and i'm getting first year student vibes. 
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Jul 17, 2022 09:34
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Bobby Deluxe posted:https://twitter.com/CrossDavidB/status/1548273039376203777?t=WxAjwAyaaX_CHyMkEoE-sg&s=19 Thats a good read, thanks. There was planning permission turned down recently here for a 120 apartment complex, all going to be instantly rented out, and the reason why it was turned down? The nearby streets objected as there was no parking spaces for the 120 apartments. They didn't even plan for simple poo poo as car spaces. The greed in them, wanting to maximize rent.
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Jul 17, 2022 09:39
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Its a tricky one cos wouldn't it be nice if developments were less poo poo, designed less for cars and had a chance to have their own character. Problem is that without joined up planning that includes public transport etc, that isn't how people actually live. Accept the car I think and find ways to better design it in. Every new house now has to have a car charger.
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Jul 17, 2022 09:50
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Watching the parade of new Tory freaks on Sunday Morning: Tugendhat is not believable as a human being, just spouting focus-grouped catchphrases no matter how many times the presenter tells him that his leadership hopes are delusional. Mordaunt has the appearance of competence which might actually get her the job, even though she was introduced as an "ex-magician's assistant"
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Jul 17, 2022 10:00
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RockyB posted:Well, we'll see what the local rozzers have to say. I highly doubt anything will come of it. You should also write a disgusted of Tunbridge Wells to your MP and local councillor to keep the heat on
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Jul 17, 2022 10:02
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He's absolutely wrong that compliance with regs means you have to build "noddy boxes". It's standardisation to drive down cost that gets you that, and it's silly to criticise modern builds for looking uniform because any development since 1900 started out standardised. They look different now because of 100 years of greebling. Noticeably all his images of his good designs are 3 level or more, which is the same profit motive at work and gives you a house with a theoretically high floor area that turns out to be mostly toilets and stairs, and also horrendous for reduced mobility inhabitants. And he assumes that if you lower taxes on developers that would result in the money being spent on on the dwellings instead, which is naïve to say the least. Until we help people get over the idea that car parking is level one in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we're always going to be building car-centric developments. Binning a few regs or taxes isn't going to fix that.
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Jul 17, 2022 10:15
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2 spaces outside our house that we never use, neighbours are always knocking on our door to ask if they can park in ours. Every single house has 2 spaces in our little bit of the estate. The rest is a shitshow of people parking on curbs everywhere. I really hope we can move away from cars as a society but it's basically just poo poo to not have one, we're lucky we are boring gamer nerds who never go outside. Also cats are monsters because people let them outside. Keep your cats inside. They live longer, happier, less stressful lives and with less disease and health issues. Plus you get woken up by this: 
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Jul 17, 2022 10:50
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One side of my road is houses/converted flats and the other side is housing agency flats with off street resident only parking and regular checks by an attendant The resident only parking has never been more than a quarter full, but all the on street parking is absolutely rammed at certain times of the day to the point where we plan around not returning to the house at certain times because there won't be a space within a half mile+ we can park in Sometimes that isn't possible and I get the absolute loving joy of a 20 minute commute followed by a 30 minute hunt for a parking space
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Jul 17, 2022 11:27
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I was planning on not leaving the house again until Wednesday but the doctors asked me to come in for a blood pressure reading and they gave me the hottest time on the hottest day (3:30 on Tuesday, predicted 36 degrees here). Lol.
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Jul 17, 2022 11:43
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Noxville posted:I was planning on not leaving the house again until Wednesday but the doctors asked me to come in for a blood pressure reading and they gave me the hottest time on the hottest day (3:30 on Tuesday, predicted 36 degrees here). Lol. Good stress test for the BP I guess. But for real if you have high BP then be cautious and try to not be in direct sun and stay hydrated. Which hardly needs to be said, but still.
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Jul 17, 2022 11:52
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I have a tattoo scheduled for monday/tues that has been 6 months in the waiting. I'm gonna loving die.
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Jul 17, 2022 11:56
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Speaking of high BP I had high results when I was invited in for a health check-up so they've asked me to take readings for a week. The doctor on the phone just casually asked if I have a blood pressure machine at home as if it's the most normal thing in the world. Well sphyg my manometer!
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Jul 17, 2022 11:56
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It's 2022, where every household has an infrared forehead thermometer and a fingertip pulse oximeter, but I know hardly anyone who has a BP machine, because pandemic economies of scale didn't make them £9
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Jul 17, 2022 12:12
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Marmaduke! posted:Speaking of high BP I had high results when I was invited in for a health check-up so they've asked me to take readings for a week. The doctor on the phone just casually asked if I have a blood pressure machine at home as if it's the most normal thing in the world. Well sphyg my manometer! Same. Doc advised me that Omron ones for 30 quid off amazon are good. They don't lend them out any more because everyone forgets to return them. Not that I've got one yet. It's one of those things on the list that I'll get round to one day, like hoovering or learning the clarinet.
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Jul 17, 2022 12:15
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Guavanaut posted:It's 2022, where every household has an infrared forehead thermometer and a fingertip pulse oximeter, but I know hardly anyone who has a BP machine, because pandemic economies of scale didn't make them £9 Tbf a BP cuff is a lot more fiddly than those if it's a manual one, and the automatic ones are a lot more complex than a digital thermometer
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Jul 17, 2022 12:16
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I've got a tip run booked this afternoon lol, gonna just throw myself into the organic waste pile and let the big crusher take me
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Jul 17, 2022 12:19
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Let’s get Brexit re-done https://twitter.com/PennyMordaunt/status/1548593906257989633
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Jul 17, 2022 12:20
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Tomberforce posted:Been giving my family back in Yorkshire some tips on dealing with the coming heat, thought some people here may benefit. I'm British originally but have a fair bit of experience working outdoors in hot areas of Western Australia and am a firefighter in Victoria. This is great advice, thanks very much. Can absolutely vouch for wrist cooling, running cold water over them for a few minutes is the best way to cool off. Also shaving your head and dipping it in cold water is very refreshing. I know you mentioned electrolyte - my Dad used to say he remembered travelling to really hot countries where there used to be two taps at public water fountains, one for fresh and one for salt water, and that getting a good intake of both is essential to avoid dehydration. Sea salt is apparently the wrong type though and you want table salt?
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Jul 17, 2022 12:22
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Marmaduke! posted:Speaking of high BP I had high results when I was invited in for a health check-up so they've asked me to take readings for a week. The doctor on the phone just casually asked if I have a blood pressure machine at home as if it's the most normal thing in the world. Well sphyg my manometer! It's *fairly* common, speaking as someone who works in pharmacy. You can get em for about 15 quid. I have one because I take ADHD medication and they need me to keep checking that my heart won't explode. As you get older it's going to be something worth having. e: also goddamn I am seriously considering cutting off my hair. I've had long hair all my life and I have it up in a bun but ugh. The effort. I would look kinda butch but do I care about that? Not reeaallly. Could lean into the non-binary thing. But it feels so irrevocable.
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Jul 17, 2022 12:24
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Marmaduke! posted:Speaking of high BP I had high results when I was invited in for a health check-up so they've asked me to take readings for a week. The doctor on the phone just casually asked if I have a blood pressure machine at home as if it's the most normal thing in the world. Well sphyg my manometer! A few years ago I had high blood pressure and for one of those wrist monitors that cost me then (2006) over £50. Useless. If I raised my wrist by 1cm it showed sky high BP and if I dropped it 1cm showed my BP as too low! I got a refund. My high BP went away within 2 months of chucking in work, no diet or exercise necessary. Doc prescribed bp meds which made me feel so unwell I flushed them down the bog. Also don't go for a BP test when you've just walked 2 miles! I did that couple of years ago on one of my days when I was thin for a week.
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Jul 17, 2022 12:26
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