In chatting with people today about the Labor Day weekend heat, many have offered anecdotes to support my premise that the reason San Franciscans so loathe the heat is due to the fact our buildings haven’t got air conditioning. The keyword here is respite, and when the temperature is blazing, San Franciscans can’t get any.
Colleagues who hail from southern California all said it felt weird for the weather to be this hot yet when they entered buildings there weren’t any climate control. As I’ve stated in the previous blog post, 100 degree heat is indeed bearable if one is able to avoid prolonged exposure by seeking shelter in air-conditioned buildings.
Don’t suppose it does the environment any good to sit inside a car for hours with the engine on and AC cranked high.
With Hurricane Harvey doing damage to the oil refineries (among other destructive behaviors), I guess we should prepare for higher gasoline prices soon. It’s been awhile since I’ve paid over four dollars for a gallon of premium, but with San Francisco being San Francisco and 91 octane already currently sitting at the mid 3′s, I would not be surprised to a see a 4 in front of the decimal point in the coming weeks.
It’s during gas price surges where I don’t miss my old Subaru WRX STI; averaging 18 miles to a gallon was an absolute pain to the wallet in good times, much less during heightened prices. These days I can romp on the Mazda MX-5 to heart’s content and still manage MPG in the high 20′s. Do I miss the power of the STI, though? Of course, all the time. I don’t miss the 90′s era turbo lag, but once the tach needle is past the number 4, the surge from the EJ257 motor is amazing.
Cheap horsepower was once the province of WRX STIs and Lancer Evolutions, but if I were to buy today I’d take a serious look at a V8 Mustang or Camaro with their respective performance packs. 400+ horsepower for mid-$30,000 is a mega bargain.