random thoughts – Day 1,405 – (Sunday) – air and chills

Brrrr. Chilly.

The weather is still cold, but it's still winter so it should be expected to be freezing. This morning had the cheery temperature of 13 dry degrees, but hey, the "Real Feel" was 15 degrees, so that was a bonus. 

Starting the car delivered the colorful dashboard graphic/lecture about low tire pressure. Again. It’s the third time since the first cold snap of the fall that I’ve received this blessing and had to go in search of an air machine. The fun part is the variety of machines. Some take quarters only. Some take bills. Some take cards. Some are out of order. 

My cars before the Jeep lacked the super modern, sophisticated (expensive) technology that monitors everything, and there are days I kind of miss that. It was nice driving around without messages flashing at me. Usually, I would either notice a low tire, the car would start driving weird, or someone in a parking lot would point out the low tire. It was all very quiet, peaceful, and free of red illuminated graphics.

When the low tire message comes on, it is in some kind of automotive mumbo jumbo. Usually it’s the driver front tire that suddenly shows as “190” with the instruction to “inflate to 240.” Neither of these numbers resemble the recommended 35 psi listed on the inside of the driver’s door. The front tire reading changed to 210 as I drove.

Luckily the air pumps default to the magical 35, and today I learned from the reading on the air machine that the 210/220 on the dashboard (by the time I got to the gas station) equals 31 on the air machine screen. Cool, cool.

Spicy supper.
Chills followed.

The other quirky bit of knowledge learned today involves spicy food. Recent food fixations have been focused on rice and veggies mixed with hot salsa and cheese, or rice and veggies with Korean hot pepper paste and sriracha. I love spicy food, but lately I’ve noticed that after I eat it, I get chills, which is kind of the opposite condition I expected. Of course, I turned to Google like any modern adult functioning in a cyber-rich world. 

At a site called Healthline.com, along with several other corroborating sources, I read, “While eating spicy foods can provide a warming effect in your mouth, it may actually cause a slight decrease in your body temperature. Chilis like jalapeño, habanero, and cayenne contain a chemical called capsaicin. This compound is responsible for chili peppers’ spicy kick. When capsaicin is ingested, the brain sends a message to your body that it’s overheated.” Well hot damn. Or in my case, too cool. Chili makes me chilly. My usual body temperature is 97 and change, and it really doesn’t need to go any lower.

It seems I should limit the spicy food to the hot weather months when I may want to cool down a few notches. Or, I could keep eating dinner then running to wrap up in a blanket, which is a cozy finish to things. 

Tonight's tasty spicy blend was rice, vegetarian “beef” tips, vegetarian “sausage,” onion, and carrot dressed with soy sauce, Korean hot pepper paste, sriracha and sesame oil. Delicious! And followed immediately by chills. If I keep this spicy food kick going, I may end up with hypothermia.