On Thu, 26 Apr 2007 22:46:54 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

Hi Vic,
Thanks for this tip that I had forgotten. I had expected an irate
outburst from you denying that you were a coffee philistine but you
ignored the bait.

Years ago when we used to go camping (tenting) as a young family at
our beach property we used this trick to keep fhe food cool. We had no
spare cash to buy a fridge and would hang such as milk bottles (are
you old enough to remember when milk came in bottles?) wrapped in a
wet rag from a shaded tree branch. The evaporation kept it cool. I
also had a couple of open sided large concrete building blocks (8
inches wide ones to give a 16 inch square) buried in the sandy ground
- 2 high with a concrete paving stone on top. It also was in the shade
and kept constantly damp. Both worked very well.

I taught science at highschool for a couple of years then and am
trying to remember the science of it. Something about the latent heat
of evaporation and the energy required to turn the water into a gas
and why methylated spirits or alcohol rubbed on the skin gives a
greater cooling feeling than does water. It turns into a gas at a
lower temperature. Memory is dim on this.

I understand your memories of having coffee at some of the places you
must have visited in the Med. My family being from Crete, I was raised
on the Greek/Turkish style of heating it on a sand brazier in a small
pot which I sometimes drink on the boat though I do prefer Italian
style espresso. Unfortunately I don't have the power for a decent
expresso machine onboard though I have one at home.

My best coffee memory is of rising at 5 am in the hotel in Cairo (I am
an early riser) and going to a 24 hour cafe to have coffee and a
shisha (huba buba water filtered smoking device) in the street with
other regulars on their way to and from work. Same as you, probably
the ambiance.

I agree. There is nothing quite like a cold coke when you are thirsty
and hot. Must be the caffiene hit and thus the resultant addiction.
Damned economic imperialism. It should be included in the war on
drugs.

Incidentally, as to our term 'philistine', it appears that it is a
misnomer and that it was the Israelites who were the unsophisticated
tribal barbarians who had migrated in from the desert and who were the
destroyers. The Israeli archeological department and academics have
recently excavated many Philistine cities and have expressed this view
themselves. They have shown that the Philistines were from Mycenean
Greece and were the kin of Agamemnon, Menelaus, Ulysses, and Achilles
(who was of course my direct ancestor on my mother's father's side of
the family). They had a very definite high level of sophisticated
manufacture of bronze, gold and pottery and also used traded goods
from all over the known world, being maritime merchants themselves
which is why these cities were founded along the coast.

Before I get castigated for being anti-Israeli (I'm not) by those who
make an overly simple connection, look it up on the web. I am
fascinated by the proven connection they have made with the many
references in historical literature throughout the Middle East to the
"sea peoples". It was always a mystery as to who they were and where
they came from.

If you are interested, also look up the 14th century BC bronze age
shipwreck that is now displayed in the museum at Bodrum castle in
Turkey. It contains items from all over the then known world and shows
the well developed trade links between nations. Bronze, wine and olive
oil were the base products for international commerce then, not
Coca-Cola.

Yes, I know that this is off topic, but this is why I 'cruise' - to
visit these places and see and experience in the first person. My
occupation is in modern technology but my passion is for history.

cheers
Peter

Our method of cooling a can of soda in the boiler room was to wrap it
in a wet rag and place it in a vent. The strength of the air blowing
there was very strong. Maybe 30 knots. The rag was wetted as many
times as necessary to cool the soda. Repeated wetting only whetted
the appetite for the imminent treat.
Can't say exactly how cold it got the soda, but I'd estimate 70
degrees or less. Damn cold relatively speaking.
And in the case of cooling Coke in a Navy boiler room, I am a
relativist.
Whether this would work for tropical sailors I don't know.

--Vic