What IS a swamp cooler?

They use evaporation to cool the air rather than, um, whatever it is traditional air conditioners use.

Wow. I always pictured a styrofoam cooler suspended in a swamp to make beer cool!

I never thought of a swamp cooler as something you install. The picture in my mind is more the jerry-rigged kind, with the fan and the block of ice.

It cools in really dry environments by forcing air through wetted pads. Two controls. One for the fan, one for the water pump.

Hi, I grew up in the desert, those things are MIRACULOUS. Until you get the odd humid day and then they are useless.

I was just looking to see what was on tv tonight, and I'm looking forward to seeing an older (2000) episode of Secrets of the Dead on one of the secondary PBS stations. I bought the book that the show is based on, but I've never seen the documentary. (It's called "Catastrophe," and it's about a worldwide weather phenomenon, possibly caused by an eruption of Krakatoa, in 535 that led to massive upheaval in cultures around the world, including the rise of Islam in the following century.)

I can't find that show and I want to SEE it. Bother.

Barb, if you do end up adopting him, I'm going to hook you up with my beloved friend Cricket (we all affectionately call her the Crazy Bunny Lady). She knows more about rabbits than anyone I know. In addition to caring to 6-14 bunnies at home (she's at 6 right now), she volunteers for Rabbit Rescue regularly, and her best friend is the best bunny vet in SoCal. Cricket would be a really good person to talk to about how you'd have to bunny-proof your house and what to expect overall before you make the decision. Plus, she is just cool as cool can be. (I've gotten her lurking about the board from time to time but haven't gotten her to introduce herself yet. Maybe this will be the catalyst!)

I AM POSTING FROM THE SKY.

Skipping on the other side of shabbat because today, according to the Buffista Calendar, is a double Buffista event: it's both Aims and miracleman's anniversary, and according to Corwood Industries "If the Apocalypse Comes, Beep Me" Aug 2, 2007 2:29:15 pm PDT , it's also Corwood's daughter's birthday.

Lots of wishes to all!

I had a good friend who kept rabbits, and the thing about bunnies is they are not cuddly (despite looking as though they ought to be) and they CHEW. Bunny-proofing included cardboard taped over the baseboards in the room bunnies were let out in, and being very careful with cords and stuff.

Oh, I hope you can adopt the bunny, JZ! It sounds like a great idea, from here where I don't have to do any bunny-proofing.

Some bunnies are more cuddly than others, they do have personalities and personal preferences.

I grew up with swamp coolers and my parents still have one. They work incredibly well in low humidity, though it is a tossup if they are really such a good idea in water-deficit areas.

We had a Bunzilla. And an evil cottontail. Both wanted to kill the cats. It was hilarious.

My parents are awesome, 99.8% of the time. They are just also my parents, equipped with the necessary and insidious means to drive me utterly batshit. They also have their quirks (believe me, I'm laughing at the lights-out thing too. It's totally absent minded professorism that doesn't really surprise me at all) that I can abide from a distance. But put me together in close quarters for 3 weeks? Let's just say my coping mechanisms start to show their age.

On the trip, my peers, while sympathetic & willing to spirit me off for some, um, spirits, also found my parents utterly delightful. Which is as they should. The things that make me crazy are harmless or endearing quirks if you haven't been experiencing them for 34 years.