| Temperate (5) | Tuesday, Jul 26, 2005 3:57 pm |
I've come to the conclusion that the best temperature anything can ever be is "just under 70". I just walked outside. It was in the mid 90s. It might as well be a million degrees. It felt like my skin was melting. So then I walked inside. It's about 68. That's what I'm talking about.
But during the winter, 68 is a little too cold. Therefore, the ideal year-round temperature is 69 (shut up Jared Simpson). I've noticed that large buildings and companies haven't quite figured out how to keep a comfortable working environment. All winter, it was about 66 degrees in my office/lab. And it's not because they can't afford to heat the place. It's because it's air conditioned down to 66. I can hear the AC running. I asked them to turn it down a bit, and they said, "You have to be careful what you ask for. If we turn it down, it gets unbearably hot, and then you'll be complaining about that." So there you have it. What's dumb about this is the fact that I know how a thermostat works. Most people do. In my experience, there's usually a setting for 65, 70, 75, etc. and everything in between. Wouldn't you think they could change the setting just a little bit so that it reads "69" instead of "66"? I'm no genius. But this seems like a logical thing to me. If I ever find out where they keep this magical temperature device, I'm gonna change everything and save the world!
Linked: Opinionist, Problems, Audience, Working conditions, Million
There are other factors to take into consideration, like humidity. I've heard women prefer a few degrees higher temperature (it could just be a stereotype. I don't have links to back it up). I think people also like the room temperature colder in the summer and warmer in the winter. Just because they get more of the opposite outside.
As for why your company doesn't change it's default temperature, central heating is a complicated beast. I doubt they actually have thermostats for every room, and the best they can do is adjust the fan speed in each room. The same temperature of air comes out for every room. I'm surprised that I haven't seen more computers and microcontrollers used to automate the fan speeds. Those things are so cheap now.
Of course, humans are warm blooded. We're supposed to regulate our own temperatures. It seems kind of lazy to complain about 3 degrees.
You're calling me lazy? Who the heck are you, Kyle Stemen? Why do you leave comments on my blog? I was fine with letting you leave comments, but now you insult me? Don't you understand the point of this blog? It's all about me. It's not about important things or grandiose thoughts or ideas that can change the world. It's all about things I can complain about. That's it. Get outta here.
I would have emailed you this personally and not wasted your blog space, but I could not find you email address listed.
I was being facetious about calling you lazy. Looking back, my comment was in bad taste. It is your prerogative to speak about whatever you want on your blog. On the other hand, you are posting it openly on the Internet, and allowing open commenting.
I will respect your wishes. This is my last comment on your blog. Please accept this appology. Delete my comments if you choose to.
Hey don't worry about it. It's not really that big of a deal. I guess I might've lashed out. I just think we all need to realize that this website isn't for the edification of mankind. It's a place for me to exude my meaningless drivel and complain about life's unimportant annoyances. I wasn't really expecting to get constructive feedback. I just want people to agree with me. So feel free to leave comments. I'll try to be open-minded (actually I won't, I've already made up my mind).
What?
I thought the AC was on all the time here too, but then I discovered a server/box in the server room that was unfamilier. Turns out it is a white noise machine. It sounds like the AC but really its just speakers that make a low air flow like drone throughout the office. Supposedely this drowns out the city and other peoples conversations. Dumb.