Yeah, there's a big issue here all right....

[conuly]

DEAR HARRIETTE: My girlfriend refuses to send me intimate pictures. We don't see each other much anymore because of school and our busy schedules, so I feel really neglected. I'm wondering if she even likes me anymore. I don't want to pressure her, but I'm curious as to why she wouldn't naturally want to send pictures. Do you think this is a sign of a bigger issue? -- Intimacy Issues

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Thermostat wars

[lemonsharks]

_Dear Amy: My partner and I are two middle-age men that met each other later in life.

One of us (me) loves air conditioning, especially since most of the places I’ve lived in my life lacked it. My partner doesn’t like air conditioning, and only uses it when it’s blistering hot outside.

When I moved into his house, I paid for the installation of central air conditioning. He paid for the solar panels on the roof, which more than covers the electricity we use.

But we seem to fight constantly over the thermostat setting. He’s cold when I set it to my preferred temperature, I’m hot when he sets it to his.

I say it’s easier for him to throw on a flannel shirt and a pair of sweatpants than it is for me to suffer the indignity of walking around the house in my underwear.

It seems a bit petty to complain about it, since otherwise we are very compatible, but we can’t seem to find a happy place in this conflict.


Can you think of an equitable way to solve this problem?

– Sweating in San Diego_

Dear Sweating: People who heat their homes during the winter tend to keep their indoor temperature between 68 and 72 degrees (unless you are my sister, who tells all visitors to her Maine home to keep on their down jackets).


However, if you set your air conditioner at a wintertime comfy 68 to ,70 degrees, you’d be quite cold because air conditioners shoot out streams of freezing air (setting it below 70 could actually cause your AC system to freeze).

The U.S. Department of Energy recommends setting your AC thermostat at 78 degrees, although somewhere between 74 and 78 might be best for you. You can decrease humidity by using a dehumidifier and use ceiling fans to circulate that chilled air.