weather man

They say that in Canada all anyone ever talks about is the weather and politics. Well, I don't know a thing about Israeli politics and generally adopt the "it's hard to offend anyone when you don't say anything at all" approach, but I sure can complain about the weather here.
Hot damn.
It's spring here in Haifa, and while in other parts of the northern hemisphere, spring brings things like flowers and warm, sunny days and little bunnies and other soft, cute things that make you want to take off your shoes and run around barefoot on the grass, here in Israel, spring just brings hot, dusty desert winds, hazy skies, and other harsh and gritty things that make you want to take off your shoes, tie the laces around your neck, and kill yourself.
Here's an excerpt of an email that was sent to me by the nice weather people at the Baha'i Centre in Haifa:

"Hot, dry desert winds have been given special names across the Middle East. For example, in the summer monsoon, the northwesterly Shamal blows over Iraq and into the Persian Gulf. The Egyptian Khamsin wind literally means "lasting 50 days."

The Sirocco, an Arab word for "Easterly," is a hot, dry, dusty desert wind blowing across the region and often into Europe. It is also known as the Sharkiye in Jordan, Sharav in Israel, and Simoom in Arabia. The dusty Seistan north wind in eastern Iran can reach hurricane force."

So then I did a little googling and found this out:

"Studies in the 1950's and 1960's indicated that human health, performance and mood were affected by certain weather conditions. In particular warm dry winds such as the Sirrocco (Italy), Sharkije (Egypt), Santa Ana (California), Hamsin or Sharav (Middle East) or the Foehn ((Central Europe), are associated with a sudden increase in morbidity (health problems). During these winds about 30% of the population were reported to suffer from migraine, depression, moodiness, lethargy or respiratory symptoms. Behaviour changes were reported to result in an increase in accidents and psychological illness. A further 30% suffered less, and about 40% suffered no effects."

awesome. though I have to admit, my source did seem to favor the crack-pot side of the inter-web...

I just can't wait until July when it's 40 degrees and feels just like this outside (though this is actually mali, not Israel):