We're feeling record-breaking heat in Northern California, and I just learned the perfect tip for the times: to cool down, run cold water over the insides of your wrists. I don't understand why this works so well, but it seems to cool my whole body within a few seconds.

I learned this from the novel The Nanny Diaries; the protagonist cools off this way. It's a strangely addictive book; it's a tragic, funny account of a long-suffering student working for vapid Park Avenue parents who think piles of money can substitute for a Mom and a Dad.

Some characters seem unrealistically shallow and stereotypical, but the authors (two former Manhattan nannies) manage to evoke real pity for New York's poor little rich kids. And that's a tall order.

The book depicts an entire class of people who convince one another to raise their children in an environment devoid of humanity. Is this why so many large corporations are headed by unhappy, destructive, cheesy automatons? Are they raised that way?

Thanks to my old pal Dave Danzig for recommending the novel. ( I love ya Dave, even though you're foolish enough to pay $120 for a haircut.)