The totally off-topic thread

[Denali]

Yes! Pot draws. We're looking at KDR and must have pot draws.

 

[GarrettM]

We grew up without aircon until I was about 20 or so. And while I've had it everywhere I live since, I actually prefer to leave it off during the day. I do like it on for a while when getting to sleep, but set the timer so it's not on all night.\

At work the aircon is on 24/7, and it's really too cold in the office for me.

 

[Rugby]

We never had aircon either until a few years ago when we had one of those summer nights when it didn't get below 28. I finally cracked it and we got it installed a few weeks later. It's my favourite toy, the dishwasher comes a close second.

 

[love_the_life]

Our current place is the first where we have had aircon of any kind. We had ducted evaporative (which was not terribly useful) at the last place and before that none. In the days just before the birth of daughter there was was a heat wave in Melbourne and I remember sitting in son's paddling pool trying to keep cool. The night before I went to hospital there was a bit of a cool change at about 2am and I sat out on the back step like a beached whale . Later I used to take the children to a shopping centre and spend hours there in the cool.

 

[JohnM]

Bored at home.... set a guessing game, how many books do we have? Only counting those on display in lounge & reading room. Not cook books etc in the kitchen. Daughter = less than 1,500 hubby = more than 1,500, me = 2,500 (so anything below 2,000 he wins)
Tomorrow, let the count begin....
JohnM do you wish to take a guess?

Hmmnnn - a lot. Are you going to actually count them? :shock:

 

[Buzzard]

We have ducted evaporative upstairs. Yes, when it's 41 like yesterday it struggles but generally it works very well. At night we need to turn the a/c right down or you could freeze to death. Downstairs the house rarely gets hot enough to need air-conditioning.

 

[JohnK]

Our current place is the first where we have had aircon of any kind.

We have never had aircon in Sydney. Mum and brother get sick at the slightest hint of draft. Unbearable some days but more important things to worry about in life.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Yesterday I found out why some people from R&D, Marketing and Sales were in all day boardroom meetings.

I busted them watching the cricket, they looked a little bit afraid when I walked in on them.

Me: Well its nice to see the TV actually being used for once

Mmmm.. scary... can just imagine, both hands on waist... marches in, take no prisoners...
Caught red handed!

 

[Bindibuys]

Hmmnnn - a lot. Are you going to actually count them? :shock:

Count done.... 1861 hubby won the bet.

 

[GarrettM]

Count done.... 1861 hubby won the bet.

I may have to try this. Not so much for betting purposes, but just to finally see how many books I have. Not sure I will make 1861, but confidently more than 1000.

 

[anat0l]

We have an aircon in each of the bedrooms (except for the smallest one), but no where else in the house.

It doesn't really get silly hot - particularly downstairs - as it does humid. Fans help a lot in the latter case.

The only real reason to run the aircon is if I need a controlled environment to work in, e.g. I'm really trying to focus on something on the computer and I can't do that well over tolerating the heat/humidity at the same time. No, that doesn't mean I can't work well under duress or under pressure, but hell why make it too hard on yourself? I should know - my workplace when I was in Switzerland had no aircon, ventilation or fans (at least in my office) - only a heater (of course). A concrete box office with a heater and sunshade blinds may be alright if the weather stays dry and sub 30, but during the unseasonally warm 35 or so degrees C with humidity, I was basically working in a sauna. Not exactly the most conducive environment to be reading and writing research papers.

For a good night's sleep, if I'm really tired I'll sleep even if I'm sweating, otherwise I might toss for a while as the night gradually cools a bit. To short circuit the process because I really need to be well rested tomorrow (for whatever reason guaranteed), then the aircon will be employed.

 

[Cossie]

I may have to try this. Not so much for betting purposes, but just to finally see how many books I have. Not sure I will make 1861, but confidently more than 1000.

One can never have too many books........

Also, thanks to all those that have 'thanked' my random photos, which has become a road trip! Much appreciated.

 

[love_the_life]

You would be shocked at us then. When we moved we got rid of almost all our books. Kept maybe 50 important ones. Most of the novels we have are digital.

 

[GarrettM]

You would be shocked at us then. When we moved we got rid of almost all our books. Kept maybe 50 important ones. Most of the novels we have are digital.

My digital collection is growing as well. We got rid of all our CDs a while ago, but I would never part with my books.

 

[Denali]

You would be shocked at us then. When we moved we got rid of almost all our books. Kept maybe 50 important ones. Most of the novels we have are digital.

I've been thinking about this but I feel bad about destroying books. I can donate them but doubt there's a big market for them and eventually they end up as landfill.

 

[RB]

I've been thinking about this but I feel bad about destroying books. I can donate them but doubt there's a big market for them and eventually they end up as landfill.

Still plenty of organisations around here that take book donations

 

[love_the_life]

Lifeline were happy to receive our books (boxes and boxes of them).

 

[Cossie]

My digital collection is growing as well. We got rid of all our CDs a while ago, but I would never part with my books.

I was at a market just before Christmas and a guy had a stall selling lps, cds, dvds etc, and some young thing said to their friend 'ahh cds, remember those!'. I felt like saying that I remember when 8 track tape cartridges were an upmaket item in a car.....

 

[rogerkambah]

My digital collection is growing as well. We got rid of all our CDs a while ago, but I would never part with my books.

I am increasing and still play my collection of vinyl.

 

[anat0l]

I've been thinking about this but I feel bad about destroying books. I can donate them but doubt there's a big market for them and eventually they end up as landfill.

I just read an article pining over the lack of good teacher-librarians. Apparently the decrease in librarians and good libraries in schools is having a negative effect on child literacy.

And, it seems that even the youth of the digital age find that it can be easier or more useful to read a book than look up or read something online.

Funny enough, I still prefer to use books myself for various situations. One of the biggest things I miss about an e-book is that you can't flick through it. For example, if you pick up a book, you can quickly flick through it and see what the content is like. It doesn't seem quite the same with opening an e-book in a PDF viewer, putting it on full-page view and then holding down the right directional key.