Posts by mellowbear14

So, I’m currently dealing with this nasty cold, and honestly, I know exactly how I caught it—it was a draft. I was driving through some crazy humidity when the skies just opened up, and I had to scramble to roll the windows up. I was sweating buckets, then the rain hits, I open the window just a second too late, and suddenly there's this freezing, damp sweat clinging to me. I knew right then I was a goner. I've always been incredibly sensitive to drafts; it’s all about that weird balance between the humidity levels and the temperature difference between inside and outside.
It really comes down to where you grew up, though. For instance, back when I was working in Iraq, I could handle 130°F all day long without breaking a sweat, but if I faced this kind of weather here, I’d be dead within an hour. It’s entirely down to the humidity. It’s the same thing with drafts—in drier regions, people don't even realize what a draft actually feels like. And yet, here we are, watching Americans complaining about the heat at 130°F shouting, "CLOSE THE WINDOW, THERE'S A DRAFT!"

So, I spent my time deployed over in Iraq, stuck inside these cramped, metal shipping containers while the heat outside was hitting a brutal 55°C—that’s basically 130 degrees if you're doing the math. I was basically chugging a liter and a half of water every single forty-five minutes just to stay upright. I did that grind for months on end, and honestly, you guys aren't even going to believe this, but I actually ended up gaining five pounds!

The way you temper steel involves plunging that white-hot metal straight into ice-cold water to make it harder and more resilient.
But here’s the thing—sometimes that sudden shock causes the steel to just snap right down the middle. And honestly, I think people are exactly the same way.