Raining cats and dogs kind of weather and my current smart home ambitions

The rainy season has officially started and it has been raining cats and dogs the whole afternoon for the better part of the week. It felt very humid and uncomfortable when it just started raining, much worse than the dry summer heat, but the weather has cooled down considerably. It also helps that there have been some strong winds lately (a tropical depression is in the vicinity). There have already been reports of flooding in certain parts of Metro Manila. Heavy rains in Quezon City Given my obsession with the temperature and the humidity insi…

Hot summers in the Philippines

The week of lent is oftentimes regarded as the warmest time of the year in the Philippines (at least according to traditional wisdom). Sure enough, temperatures in Iloilo has been getting as high as 36 degrees C in the afternoon for the past few days (and for the rest of the week according to forecasts). I have been vacationing in Iloilo since early last week and on a whim, I have decided to bring my portable room thermometer/hygrometer to Iloilo. Perhaps it is my obsessive nature that makes me want to know the inside and outside temperature and humidi…

Mildew Attack!

It has been raining intermittently for the past few weeks and our house feels a little damp. There's an unvarnished bookshelf in the living room and I noticed it has a slightly greenish hue. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be molds of some kind. Yuck. About half a can of disinfectant later I was busy cleaning the rest of the house hunting for signs of fungal growth. I also bought a can of wax-based furniture polish so hopefully, the treated wood won't absorb as much moisture. I was wearing a dust mask hoping fervently that the fungal sp…