You know, talking to a few station personnel today, we had an interesting, though somewhat seemingly sexist, conversation regarding cars, heating (nope, Willyville, I didn’t check my mail yet) and the question of “Why are women always so cold” — I’m going to just throw the obvious out there first to keep from all the snide comments about us guys being “too fat” — yes, ha ha.. We’re all very fat from sitting around on the radio all the time. Okay, now that that’s out of our system, let’s get back to the point. 

Every car trip, every evening at home, movie theaters, restaurant, petting zoo, church, rock show, bicycle ride, ocean voyage, trip to the moon — every time… “Can we turn the heater up, I’m so cold.” — “roll the windows up” — “my feet are cold” — “we’re too far from the Earth’s sun, I think we went a little off course” – 

I think that God (or Chrysler, maybe) created those new cars with the separate heating controls for this very reason… The next model will have a partition in the middle of the car to create two very separate controlled environments. His and hers… His will be a comfortable 68-74 degrees; hers will be a sleepy 373.1339-Kelvin (or as I like to refer to it as “enough to melt my face”.) 

I looked online for a possible scientific explanation (other than “shut up, fatty”) — here’s what I found on a Web site called “The Straight Dope” written by straight dope Cecil Adams: 

Women have a higher ratio of surface to volume than men and thus shed heat faster. The reasoning here is that heat generation is determined by volume (radius cubed), while heat dissipation is determined by skin surface area (radius squared). The smaller your size, the lower your heat generation/heat dissipation ratio, and the colder you are. Probably part of the answer–see below. 

Men have more heat-generating muscle mass. Muscles are well supplied with blood vessels. The more muscle, the more blood flow and the more warmth. 

Women have a higher vasoconstriction threshold temperature. Vasoconstriction is the process by which, as the external temperature falls, blood flow to the skin is restricted in order to divert blood to internal organs, thus maintaining core temperature. The theory: as ambient temp falls, women shut off blood flow to the skin sooner in order to provide more warmth to their unborn babies, so they feel colder. Interesting idea but as yet unproven–though women do seem to have lower skin temperature when exposed to cold. 

Women get colder during menstruation. Supposedly this is due to anemia, hormonal changes, etc. However, most studies haven’t shown much difference between menstruating and nonmenstruating women in terms of heat response. As you say, female aversion to cold doesn’t seem to be confined to a particular time of the month. 

I’ve also heard it claimed that men feel warmer because they wear three-piece suits and get offices with south-facing windows, whereas women are apparently shivering in rags in the dark. Setting aside the gross generalizations in this picture, when’s the last time you saw anybody except a lawyer wear a three-piece suit? 

The most persuasive research (for example, “Comparison of Thermoregulatory Responses Between Men and Women Immersed in Cold Water,” Tikuisis et al, Journal of Applied Physiology, October 2000) suggests that varying male/female response to temp is largely a result of size and body-fat percentage, not some fundamental biological difference. Men have a higher metabolism only in the sense that a big car uses more gas than a little one. (To be fair, you can find studies that point to a different conclusion–as I say, the experts disagree.) Anyway, you can either work with large (or no) women, be a pig, or deal with it. Personally I like 25 degrees Celsius just fine. 

Do any of these seem plausible or is another one of the universe’s infinite mysterious? I prefer to not find out the true explanation or a resolution because I’ve grown fond of the constant arguing and my unreasonable responses of “Man, put on another coat or something.” 

A legal announcement in a local paper caught one of my listener’s eyes:

“Sealed proposals for Bid #7193 for Condoms will be received by the Procurement Branch, Delaware Health and Social Services”.  We sent for the complete specifications and the bid package and found some interesting facts about how your tax dollars will be spent of these condoms.

First, the condoms are said to be needed by “various state agencies” some of which we assume are local schools because part of the package includes instructions on how the winning bid can get paid when supplying local school districts.  The bid specifications for the condoms needed over the next year in Delaware are listed as follows:

10,000 small size regular sensitivity condoms.

136,000 regular fit multicolored condoms.

47,000 regular fit “multi-flavored” condoms.  (Yes, the government wants flavored condoms!)

106,000 regular fit studded or ribbed condoms.  (For “her” pleasure we presume?)

46,000 regular fit “sensitive/ultra-thin”.

11,000 large condoms, regular sensitivity (Note: 1,000 more large than small.  “It’s Good Being First” tm.)

16,000 Large “black or natural color” sensitive/ultra thin.  (large, black, sensitive?)

31,000 female condoms

24,000 male polyurethane condoms (For those with latex allergies I presume)

10,000 dental dams ( Insert your own joke here about what branch of state government might need these)

 

437,000 condoms paid for by you and handed out for free all over schools and state offices in the next year.  Don’t we go beyond so called “safe sex” when we are getting into “flavored” “ribbed” and “sensitive”? 

 

If you were an inexperienced airline traveler, would you get on a plane if you new that at least 1 out of 10 flights crashed?  If you were an experienced air traveler would you fly today knowing that 1 in 100 flights today will crash?  These stats reflect the failure rate of condoms when used properly to prevent STD’s.  When used incorrectly we assume the planes crash more frequently.

 

Though not a fan or supporter of her husband, could one help but respect and admire “Ladybird” Johnson for her early efforts to improve our environment and her lasting (??) legacy to the generations following her?  I rememberd when she became the power behind the “beautification” process of this land with so much natural beauty and wealth. The disappearance of garish billboards, for instance.  Part of Americana, perhaps, but did nothing to enhance the natural scenery as one drove across country.  Since I was in and out of the country for years at a time, I didn’t see gradual change. I’d leave for two, three or more years and upon my return it was startling…in the best possible meaning of the word…to see more and more of our habitats, glades, fields, not blocked by huge signs advertising everything from shaving cream to sun lotions to motels and diners.

Even more astounding…no, breathtaking…was the riot of colours along highways and interstates when the wildflowers bloomed.  First place I noticed it was when I returned to live in Maryland.  Foolish me, I thought every major median might…or would…bless our tiresome travels with poppies, coreopsis and every other wildflower (weeds, to some) indigenous to either State or country in general.  Not always, though.  What happened to this portion of the First State?  I have it on very good authority that up north, around the State line, medians were or are being “beautified”. Then again, down here we have jersey barriers or concrete paved medians, no floral tributes to the growing season.  And, more and more not matter where one travels, the billboard are creeping back up…more a tribute to materialism than nature.  One just has to Look at Rte. 1…particularly from Five Points to/from the beaches.  Somehow I’d think the many establishments lining the north and south lanes would speak for themselves but I guess not.  And to add insult to injury, rolling neon signs are adding to the clutter and garishness.  Such a pity.

Ms. Johnson didn’t just plant seeds in the fertile ground but in the soul…she was in the forefront of environmental improvement years ahead of other’s time.   But I guess boredom…or profits…supercede a pleasant, peaceful landscape.  All is not lost, however.  Maybe when you’re thinking about next year’s plantings you’ll take a look at the many wildflowers indigenous to our State and consider planting at least a few.  They are easier to grow, hardier during our variable weather conditions…perhaps because they “belong”.  Some may tell you “they are just weeds”…wouldn’t you think, though, that the only difference between a “weed” and a “flower” is perception?  By the way, I wonder how often any of us actually depend upon billboards to decide where we want to eat, sleep or shop?

Sure would be a shame for Ladybird Johnson’s legacy to die with her.   

   

Frank Infante’s children have been found (see below post INFANTE KIDS NO LONGER MISSING). Today on the Jared Morris show, I interviewed Mr. Infante regarding the disappearance and recovery of little Frank and Frankie.

Mr. Infante adresses the court system in Delaware, the “bias” towards mothers and the future of his family, in this all-too-cozy family drama.

Listen to the Infante Interview Audio Here: (mp3 appox 15min).

Please let’s hold comments like this to a minimum. (I didn’t say not at all, just a minimum):

On June 13th inane commenter said “This particular blog and subsequent comments are despicable. Why is WGMD even entertaining this matter?” - Which of course is the text equilvalent of “Why don’tcha jus talk ’bout sumthin’ else?”

You can hear the original story from the beginning. On June 07th, I had Frank Sr. on the program to address the initial missing children report.

Original June 7th, 2007 Audio (appox 25 min, mp3).

Isn’t this the same bus that The Now Dewey Beach Mayor wanted to board? Did anyone have any idea that they were serving alcohol to underage girls? 

from LRN News:

Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis and his film company are being sued by two Florida women for allegedly releasing a sexually explicit video without their consent. Brooke Pastolic and Christina Brose claim that they boarded a Girls Gone Wild tour bus after they were promised free clothing. The lawsuit alleges that once onboard, they were plied with alcoholic drinks even though both were not of legal drinking age, and coerced into exposing themselves and engaging in sexual activities. The women claim the footage was used on two separate Girls Gone Wild DVDs without their consent…    

Yeah, I know… the girls shouldn’t have gone on the bus in the first place.. What do they expect? More trouble for J-F-Pay none-the-less… Maybe those Girls-G-W’s should’ve called these guys for help:

 

from WGMD News:

A joint operation between the State Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement and Dewey Beach Police at the North Beach Restaurant yesterday netted 10 arrests. The investigation was the result of several reports of underage people using fake IDs and being served alcoholic beverages. Three were arrested for underage possession of alcohol and seven for possession of fake identification. Officials seized a total of 11 fake IDs. All were released at the scene pending arraignment at JP Court.

Eeeeeverybody loves getting sloshed.

As mentioned in the post below, the search is on for Frank Infante’s missing children Frankie (9) and Frank Jr. (7).

I had Mr. Infante on the radio show today to go further in depth on his children’s disappearance.

Full Frank Infante Interview (mp3) appx. 25min. (courtesy of wgmd.com audio-to-go)

Frank Infante (cnn.com)

All the BLOGS are heavy laden with the serious news of the day so I guess it’s time for me to come in and lighten things up a little.

The other day Dan was joking about having Evel Knievel jump the future bridge site at the Indian River Inlet. At some point, the bridge is said to look like this:

But right now it looks more like a pair of ramps set up for a motorcycle jump. Then I came across a little advertisement featuring Evel Knievel and decided he is no longer in the ramp-jumping business.

So I guess that’s out of the question.

Next we have a photo which best describes the subtle differences between men and women and sheds some light on why there almost always seems to be a communication gap between them.

Yeah, that about says it all.

Next up, weather on Delmarva. Let’s see, shall I go out with the suntan lotion or a parka? Whaddya think? Drive the convertable or take the Hummer? Umbrella or sunglasses?

and finally…

A golf course I can sink my skills into. Why hasn’t someone come up with this sooner?

Well, That’s all for now folks. Keep on smiling and I will try in the meantime to come up with a serious BLOG.