Iljitsch van Beijnum <mailto:iljitsch@xxxxxxxxx> supposedly scribbled: > On 2-jan-05, at 3:20, Glen Zorn ((gwz)) wrote: > >>> Of course, the MAXIMUM temperatures quoted in the *exceptional* >>> Paris summer of 2003 were 104 degrees Fahrenheit; > >> 2003 was, indeed, exceptional. OTOH, it is hardly exceptional that >> everyone who can leave the city in August, does. This is no doubt >> because it is just so damn pleasant they can't stand it, right? > > Well, AFAIK _everywhere_ in the US having air conditioning at home is > common, Actually, hardly anyone has AC here in Seattle because historically it's been unneeded. > while this is rare in middle / northern Europe. Don't forget > we are located much further to the north than major population > centers elsewhere in the world. > > Even though august is the warmest month, I think going on vacation > during that time is more a cultural thing than a climatological one. > I don't know how many vacation days people get in France, but I'm > pretty sure it's much more than what people in the US get (here in > Holland it's 22 or 24 days a year minimum). > > But anyway, if a conference center/hotel is going to hold more than a > thousand people, they'll have to have air conditioning, and if you > don't skimp on the hotel it will have this as well, so you'll be > exposed to the blistering Paris heat for just a few hours a day... I hope so: as I recall, the air conditioning at the hotel in Munich was completely inadequate, to the point that people were passing out in conference rooms... > > (And what I understand from the extra deaths due to the heat is that > it's people who die slightly earlier than they would have otherwise. > If it were a more fundamental problem this would shed a very > different light on the US practice to ship the elderly off to > Florida...) We do not "ship the elderly off" to Florida (or Arizona, etc.). Only those who can afford to, go; and I assure you, they have AC. > > BTW, how much worse are the Minneapolis temperatures in march vs > those in november? Let's not go there: for some reason the powers-that-be have decided that it's a great idea to gather at least once if not twice a year in a place where people live like pet rodents, scurrying through tunnels to avoid their own homicidal weather and (apparently) a trip to the Mall (always capitalized, like "God" or "Rome") is considered to be a "social" event. I don't understand & I don't think I want to, though a forensic psychologist might find it a rich area for research. Hope this helps, ~gwz Why is it that most of the world's problems can't be solved by simply listening to John Coltrane? -- Henry Gabriel _______________________________________________ Ietf@xxxxxxxx https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf