Icelyme - Helios

How to Stay Cool Without A/C

A lot of Northerners were very kind during the freeze in Texas this winter with tips on how to stay warm for people who had lost heat. This is an attempt to repay that favor for people in the Pacific Northwest and other northerly locations who are facing dangerous heatwaves without built-in A/C. My qualifications to give this advice are that I was a summer camp attendee and counselor with no A/C for many summers in humid-ass central Texas with highs over 100F basically every day. Hopefully some of it will be of use to somebody who isn’t used to the heat.

1) PUT ICE WATER IN YOUR BODY. Ice water is your best friend and the #1 way to drop your body temp. Drink more than you think you need (like, at least a half-gallon a day and closer to a gallon or more if you have to be outside doing manual work all day) to cool your insides down and stay hydrated. Have some bananas, trail mix, or a sports drink to help replace the electrolytes you’re sweating out and keep you from getting cramps, but try to have most of your fluid intake be water. I used to take a giant water bottle, fill it part way with water, and freeze it on its side so the ice would slowly melt over the course of the day and my water would stay cold longer.

2) PUT ICE WATER ON YOUR BODY. Cold water, ice, or a damp rag on your head and neck, the backs of your knees, the insides of your elbows, and under your armpits will help you cool down the best, because your blood runs close to the surface in those places. Cold packs designed for injuries or lunchboxes, bags of frozen vegetables, etc. can substitute for ice water as well. Even room-temp water will pull heat away from your body better than body-temp sweat will, especially if it’s humid, so if you don’t have enough ice, the sink, bathtub, or hose will do fine. Dipping your feet into cool water helps a ton as well if you have to sit and work and don’t want your clothes to be wet.

3) WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO GET SO MUCH ICE?  To make sure you have enough ice to last you the weekend, especially through a potential power failure, I recommend getting a cooler (even one of the cheap styrofoam ones is fine in a pinch) and ~10lbs of ice from the big coolers at most gas stations, drug stores, or grocery stores. Try to do this now, before anybody loses power, and store as much in your freezer as you have space for to keep it from melting. You can use it for drinking or to keep your food cold in a power failure. You can use it for a party later if you don’t end up needing it during the heat wave, but you will probably be very happy you had it.

4) AIR FLOW. Being inside a room with the windows closed is the worst possible place to be if you don’t have A/C, because glass windows create a greenhouse effect and the hot air can’t escape. If at all possible, find a shaded place outside where you can catch any possible breeze. If not, open all your windows and, if it’s safe, doors so you can get a cross-breeze. Hopefully you have window screens to keep pets and kids in and bugs out. If not, you’re gonna have to do your own risk assessment. Fans of all sizes and descriptions are your friend; ceiling fans should be set to spin counterclockwise in summer. Even if you have A/C, finding or making a handheld fan will be worthwhile for when you have to venture outside. If you aren’t in a situation where you need to conserve ice, blowing air over a cooler full of ice will give you a makeshift A/C. 

5) SHADE. You will probably immediately notice that direct sunlight is a miserable place to be when it’s super hot. Find or make a shaded location, and don’t be afraid to move around to avoid the sun as the day goes on. Stay on the shady side of the sidewalk whenever you walk someplace. Try to shade your windows as best you can without obstructing airflow using blinds, curtains, shutters, etc. especially if they’re directly in the path of the sun. Do not be a jerk to your neighbors if their shade solutions are ugly. If you can get a shade for your car windshield, I highly recommend it, as the steering wheel, dashboard, seatbelts, and even seats can quickly become too hot to touch in a sealed car and will hold that heat for a long time.

6) CLOTHING. Light-colored, loose clothing that is as close to 100% cotton or linen as you can find is your friend. It doesn’t necessarily have to be short as long as it’s breathable. You will sweat through anything you wear, so I personally prefer only wearing machine-washable stuff. Sun hats, sunscreen, sunglasses, aloe gel for sunburns, mosquito repellent, anti-chafing supplies, etc are all worth looking into if you aren’t used to spending time in the heat.

7) TIMING. Try to stay out of the sun and avoid doing anything strenuous in the middle of the day when the heat is the worst. If you have a choice, plan to be more active early in the morning and late at night when the temperature is more bearable, and take a break in the middle of the afternoon.

Here’s a graphic from the CDC about how to recognize heat-related illnesses and what to do about them. I will add to this that if it’s hot and you stop sweating, you are getting to a dangerous level of dehydration and need to drink something BEFORE you start having more serious problems.

not to be gay on main

but I said gay rights babey!!!!!!

Hey, just a heads up to everyone who follows my blog: if you see anybody with an orange and black square in their bio, they’re a transphobe.

Idiots on TikTok have been coming out in droves in support of some bullshit identity called “super straight” which basically means that they’re only attracted to cis people 🙄 They’re trying to wedge themselves into the LGBTQ+ community and their claim is that it’s phobic toward them to say that they’re transphobic… it’s just a gargantuan cishet headache.

So, to reiterate: orange and black squares = the “super straight” flag = transphobic dogwhistle. Stay safe everyone!

☾ Rose Salt ☽

One of my personal favorite things to make, Rose Salt has a variety of uses. Whether you use it as a scrub in the shower to cleanse yourself and your energies, as a relaxing soak in a warm bath to relax in, or sprinkle it in doorways and on windowsills as a form of protection, it’s multipurpose and very easy to make! What You’ll Need: - Dried Roses - Salt - A Vessel With a Lid to Keep It In - A Mortar & Pestle Optional: - Rose Essential Oil Steps:

Take the petals and buds of your Roses, save the stems and thorns for other spells, and grind them finely with your Mortar & Pestle.

Add Salt.

Mix both well until they are combined well.

Add the mixture into the vessel you chose.

Add the essential oil, seal the vessel, and gently shake to combine everything together more easily.

One of the many properties of Roses is Protection as is with Salt so combining the two gives you a simple, fragrant protective material to keep around your home.

Mental Wealth Month

...because mental health is wealth!

Mental Health Awareness Month is happening right now. We all know that mental health isn’t just about therapy. Sometimes it’s about checking out for a bit, moving your body, or chit-chat with like minds. One of the biggest barriers to proper mental healthcare is not having the funds for it. This Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re teaming up with four partners to bring you a wealth of mental well-being services and support, as well as some good energy and deep vibes, here on @postitforward:

Explore online kindness and self-care with Trill

Learn about burnout with Shine

Find calm in our curated collection from Headspace

Experience grassroots growth and healing with Free Black Therapy

From next Monday, free services will be offered on a first-come-first-served basis, with discounts available for everyone in the Tumblr community. Stay tuned—each week we will be announcing something new from our partners.

please read this and educate yourself on asexuality!

happy International Asexuality Day! 🖤🤍💜

Happy Trans Day of Visibility 2021! This year, we celebrate Trans Week of Action and work against dangerous transphobic legislation progressing all over the U.S.

Edits for people who don't know!

1. Periods:

When we have periods, we cannot fast in Ramadan, but we have to pay the lost days back by fasting in another month immediately!

2. Medicine:

Medicine is taken in Sahur or Iftar, the meals before and after fasting, however if your illness requires you to take it during the day, it's okay to not fast, but you still have to pay it back if you heal again.

Point 1 and 2: it's done like this because your health comes first. Fasting requires you to be in optimal condition, and Allah will not force you outside of your own limitations.

3. What if your Illness is so bad?

If your illness cannot heal and you're sick all the time, you can pay Fidyah instead of paying the fast back. Fidyah is donating to feed the poor.

4. Music

Depending on different Madhabs or opinions, many people have debated whether or not Music is haram. It is often discussed due to some music having the ability to arouse sexual feelings or hinder worship in general. Ofc you can choose which opinions works best for you, you must know that if you do consider music not haram, don't let it hinder your prayers, fasting, or Quran reading.

5. Swearing

It doesn't officially break the fast, BUT it greatly reduces the rewards. Fasting is about self control, some say swearing makes your fasting useless even though it doesn't break it.

DONATE TO THE GEORGE FLOYD MEMORIAL FOUNDATION

PLEASE READ. WILL NOT HURT TO AND FORWARD. Kids are putting Drano, tin foil, and a little water in plastic drink bottles and capping it up - leaving it on lawns, in mail boxes, in gardens, on driveways etc. just waiting for you to pick it up intending to put it in the rubbish, but you’ll never make it!!!

If the bottle is picked up, and the bottle is shaken even just a little - in about 30 seconds or less it builds up enough gas which then explodes with enough force to remove some your extremities. The liquid that comes out is boiling hot as well. Don’t pick up any plastic bottles that may be lying in your yards or in the gutter, etc. Pay attention to this. A plastic bottle with a cap. A little Drano. A little water. A small piece of foil. Disturb it by moving it; and BOOM!! No fingers left and other serious effects to your face, eyes, etc. Please ensure that everyone that may not have email access are also informed of this. 

Snopes confirms.