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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / December 2004Solstice
The light starts coming back after today! My grandmother would say "Run out in your bikini!" --Actually it was my grandfather who taught me the "slide on the ice" poem! Hey maybe my GPs were Finnish and I didn't know it! Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com > The light starts coming back after today! > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Hey maybe my GPs were Finnish and I didn't know it! Two of mine were! I take "snow baths" and if you haven't tried it... you're in for a treat. Get naked, run out there and rub the fresh snow vigorously over your entire body. When you're done, you will be warm as can be and will stay that way for hours. No kidding! >> The light starts coming back after today! >> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >over your entire body. When you're done, you will be warm as can be and will >stay that way for hours. No kidding! We have Russian and Ukrainian communities near us, and some of them always take an ocean dip at Coney Island on New Years Day. And of course, we have the famous Coney Island Polar Bears Club (founded 1903!!! see http://www.polarbearclub.org/) Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com Theresa wrote: >We have Russian and Ukrainian communities near us, and some of them >always take an ocean dip at Coney Island on New Years Day. And of >course, we have the famous Coney Island Polar Bears Club >(founded 1903!!! see http://www.polarbearclub.org/) I knew this guy from work who most people considered a weenie. He was a member of the LA Polar Bears club and had certificates on his office cubicle certifying that he had gone for a dip in the Pacific on New Years Day. Whoop-de-doo!! <G> What a dork! Regards and Purrs, O J > I knew this guy from work who most people considered a weenie. He was > a member of the LA Polar Bears club and had certificates on his office > cubicle certifying that he had gone for a dip in the Pacific on New > Years Day. Whoop-de-doo!! <G> What a dork! You think it's dorky to swim in the ocean in the winter? Or to display certificates about it on his office wall? Or are you being facetious (hard to tell on the net sometimes). I'm more tolerant of cold than the average Californian, but on the other hand, I left New England in part because of the weather, and I've acclimated a lot and have grown wimpier every year. I don't think I'll be taking a dip in the Pacific in January! So, dorky or not, it's beyond my capabilities... Joyce Joyce wrote: > > I knew this guy from work who most people considered a weenie. He was > > a member of the LA Polar Bears club and had certificates on his office [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >certificates about it on his office wall? Or are you being facetious (hard >to tell on the net sometimes). No, yes, and yes. There are people who surf and 'boogie board' all year here in LA, but to avoid (or rather delay) hypothermia, they wear wetsuits. Just going in the water on New Years day is no big deal. It may be a little chilly, but I think I'd do it on any bet over $20 plus another $20 for travel time. It never even occurred to me that there'd be a Polar Bear Club in LA -- I mean, what's the big deal?? I'm another transplant from the Eastern Seaboard. I worked outside on telephone cable when you had to remember to bring your hammer down the ladder when you went to lunch so you could chip the ice off the ladder rungs when you went back up. I know what cold is, and a dip in the Pacific is not what I call defying the cold. That last sentence contains what I think of this guy going swimming -- "a dip in the Pacific". <g> >I'm more tolerant of cold than the average Californian, but on the >other hand, I left New England in part because of the weather, and >I've acclimated a lot and have grown wimpier every year. I don't think >I'll be taking a dip in the Pacific in January! So, dorky or not, it's >beyond my capabilities... Wasn't it kewl those first few years when you were in a t-shirt and everyone else was in winter coats?? Regards and Purrs, O J > No, yes, and yes. There are people who surf and 'boogie board' all > year here in LA, but to avoid (or rather delay) hypothermia, they wear > wetsuits. Just going in the water on New Years day is no big deal. I guess you're right, especially in LA. It's a bit chillier in the Bay Area in the winter. And the Pacific is a lot colder than the Atlantic! I've lived here over 12 years, and I think I've actually gone swimming in the Pacific maybe twice. (And it wasn't in the winter! :)) > Wasn't it kewl those first few years when you were in a t-shirt and > everyone else was in winter coats?? And in shorts, running around going, "they call this *winter*???" But yes, I do see your point about the oddness of having a Polar Bear club in southern California. Maybe they should call it the Sandpiper Club instead. :) (I love the little sandpipers that run around on the beach in Venice.) Joyce > Wasn't it kewl those first few years when you were in a t-shirt and > everyone else was in winter coats?? You guys don't know from cold. I spent four winters in Winnipeg, where the temp never goes above freezing from early November through late March... where the frost on the inside of your home's windows gets to be several inches thick... where block heaters for vehicles are standard equipment and the oil you use in winter is thin enough to evaporate in the summer... and where you have to dress so heavily that by the time you are wearing enough clothing to stay warm, you cannot move. I never thought I'd be wearing shorts and t-shirts and going barefoot when the temp hit 35 F. but Winnipeg taught me how. >Theresa wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >Regards and Purrs, >O J LA Polar Bears?????????? That's just not right. :P Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com >Two of mine were! I take "snow baths" and if you haven't tried it... you're >in for a treat. Get naked, run out there and rub the fresh snow vigorously >over your entire body. When you're done, you will be warm as can be and will >stay that way for hours. No kidding! That sounds a little too invigorating for me. I think I'd scare the birds so bad they'd never come back. :-) Sherry >>Two of mine were! I take "snow baths" and if you haven't tried >>it... you're in for a treat. Get naked, run out there and rub the [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >That sounds a little too invigorating for me. I think I'd scare the >birds so bad they'd never come back. :-) You will either be "as warm as warm can be", or, more likely, will be too numb to notice that you are cold. If I tried that, my neighbors would probably call the police, and I would be warming up down at the local jail while awaiting a psychological examination.  SignatureJohn F. Eldredge -- john@jfeldredge.com PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > would be warming up down at the local jail while awaiting a > psychological examination. Why is it that nobody believes me about this? Thr friction of the snow against the skin draws blood to the surface of the body, and the coldness of the snow closes your pores so the heat stays in. >Why is it that nobody believes me about this? > >Thr friction of the snow against the skin draws blood to the surface of the >body, and the coldness of the snow closes your pores so the heat stays in. Well, I do recall some survival training that the Boy Scouts did when my son & DH were Boy Scouting. It had to do with stripping one of the scouts down buck naked in the snow and dumping cold water on them, then there were some skills as to how to raise the body temp. quickly. I don't remember what. They don't do that anymore. For several reasons I'm sure. It's not too kosher to strip boys naked in the woods anymore, and I'm sure some Moms heard the story and freaked out. I didn't mind since I knew the air force guys very well who conducted the exercise, and DH was always there too. But I *really* hated the bug-eating and bark and weed-eating they taught them. I used to nag about it all the time. Sherry >>Why is it that nobody believes me about this? >> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >hated the bug-eating and bark and weed-eating they taught them. I >used to nag about it all the time. I haven't gone through survival training, but have only read about it. As I understand it, the most effective way to warm a hypothermic person quickly is for one or more other people to strip naked, and then bundle together with the chilled person inside a sleeping bag, piled-together clothing, or whatever. Having any clothing in between them slows down the heat transfer. I can see why parents might be leery of any procedure that involves the boys stripping naked and cuddling together, even if nothing sexual actually takes place. This is the recommended procedure, however, if someone has been severely chilled, such as having fallen through ice into a pond or stream. SignatureJohn F. Eldredge -- john@jfeldredge.com PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria >-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- >Hash: SHA1 [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] >however, if someone has been severely chilled, such as having fallen >through ice into a pond or stream. LOL! Don't get me wrong...the procedure didn't have anything to do with cuddling. IIRC, it involved that shiny silver stuff, which was fashioned into a cone around the person. A small campfire was quickly built, but that's about the extent I remember. Also IIRC if the procedure was done correctly, that person's body temp was properly raised within 2 minutes. These guys were good. I do think that, to this day, if you turned my kid out in a forest with nothing except maybe a compass, he could survive. Sherry >>Why is it that nobody believes me about this? >> [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > >Sherry Why, the dog next door used to try to teach me bug-eating when I was little! I always wondered why my mom stopped us. ;) Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com > Why, the dog next door used to try to teach me bug-eating when I was little! > I always wondered why my mom stopped us. ;) As a kid, I used to sneak handfuls of dog food from the bag in the garage all the time. Probably explains a lot ... Signaturemonique, who is sometimes allowed to pet Oscar, a grey^H^H^H^Hblue-cream DLH with an attitude! "Monique Y. Mudama" <spam@bounceswoosh.org> had some very interesting things to say about Re: Solstice: >> Why, the dog next door used to try to teach me bug-eating when I was little! >> I always wondered why my mom stopped us. ;) >As a kid, I used to sneak handfuls of dog food from the bag in the garage all >the time. Probably explains a lot ... My mother says that when I was little, I was known to snack on the occasional MilkBone [dog treat, for those who don't know]. Knowing her, I doubt it bothered her all that much. :-) Signature"The universe is quite robust in design and appears to be doing just fine on its own, incompetent support staff notwithstanding. :-)" - the Dennis formerly known as (evil), MCFL >> Why, the dog next door used to try to teach me bug-eating when I was >> little! [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > all > the time. Probably explains a lot ... My daughter thought Purina dog chow was teething biscuits. We had a heck of a time keeping her out of the dog food. Jo > My daughter thought Purina dog chow was teething biscuits. We had a heck of > a time keeping her out of the dog food. I showed a friend's daughter how my cats would come when she called them if she held out a cat treat to them. Eventually she asked me why the cats liked the treats so much. I said 'Oh, I expect they taste good' and then, because I knew this child, 'Ah, why do you ask?' 'Well, I tasted one and I don't think they taste good at all!' SignatureCheryl >> As a kid, I used to sneak handfuls of dog food from the bag in the garage >> all the time. Probably explains a lot ... >> > My daughter thought Purina dog chow was teething biscuits. We had a heck of > a time keeping her out of the dog food. Great minds think alike =) Signaturemonique, who is sometimes allowed to pet Oscar, a grey^H^H^H^Hblue-cream DLH with an attitude! > As a kid, I used to sneak handfuls of dog food from the bag in the garage all > the time. Probably explains a lot ... My niece, who is fifteen now, *still* snacks on the cats' kibble. She managed to shock this auntie. ;o) SignatureMarina, Frank and Nikki marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/ and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki > My niece, who is fifteen now, *still* snacks on the cats' kibble. She > managed to shock this auntie. ;o) As she's 15, I suspect that's the main reason she did it =P Signaturemonique, who is sometimes allowed to pet Oscar, a grey^H^H^H^Hblue-cream DLH with an attitude! >> My niece, who is fifteen now, *still* snacks on the cats' kibble. She >> managed to shock this auntie. ;o) > >As she's 15, I suspect that's the main reason she did it =P Had a high school boyfriend who used to down "entire bottles" of lemon juice in front of his mother. ;) Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com >> My niece, who is fifteen now, *still* snacks on the cats' kibble. She >> managed to shock this auntie. ;o) My brother, aged 14, ate two bowls of oxtail soup, 22 rounds of bread with it (more than a loaf) and then cycled to Matlock and back in time to consume a whole dinner. UK'ers will appreciate Leicester to Matlock and back on a bike for a 14 y.o. It was his *appetite* that shocked me. He could have eaten for England in the Olympics and I.m sure he'd have won. He was with me yesterday with his two sons. I saw some grey in his hair. <sigh> I remember when I changed his nappy. (diaper) Tweed >>> My niece, who is fifteen now, *still* snacks on the cats' kibble. She >>> managed to shock this auntie. ;o) [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >He was with me yesterday with his two sons. I saw some grey in his hair. ><sigh> I remember when I changed his nappy. (diaper) Nothing makes you feel old like seeing your younger siblings getting old! Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com >>>> My niece, who is fifteen now, *still* snacks on the cats' kibble. She >>>> managed to shock this auntie. ;o) [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Theresa I have a younger brother than this, he has three children and is losing his hair. (not connected!) AAARGH. My baby brothers! They are getting old! I feel ancient now. Tweed > Nothing makes you feel old like seeing your younger siblings getting > old! It's better than the alternatives. :-( SignatureAdrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera) A house is not a home, without a cat. >> >>Two of mine were! I take "snow baths" and if you haven't tried >> >>it... you're in for a treat. Get naked, run out there and rub [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >of the body, and the coldness of the snow closes your pores so the >heat stays in. On the other hand, most of the heat transfer through your skin is _not_ through the pores, unless we are discussing the cooling effect of sweating. I suspect that the initial chill encourages blood to flow to the skin, and then you come back inside before your body has time to decide that heating your skin is a lost cause, and directs the blood flow to your interior. Think of the changes your feet go through, for example, as they get colder; first they get red, then, as frostbite approaches, they get pale because the blood flow near the surface is decreasing. SignatureJohn F. Eldredge -- john@jfeldredge.com PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria >> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- >> Hash: SHA1 [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] >Thr friction of the snow against the skin draws blood to the surface of the >body, and the coldness of the snow closes your pores so the heat stays in. We're just waiting for the video. ;) Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com > We're just waiting for the video. ;) I almost made one last year but we didn't get any snow after my broken ribs healed well enough that I could have done it. I will try to get some this winter, for sure. > Why is it that nobody believes me about this? I can vouch for it. I used to do that a lot as a kid, when I could still take sauna baths. Straight out from the hot sauna into the snow, roll around a while. Perfectly normal behaviour here in Finland. ;o) SignatureMarina, Frank and Nikki marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/ and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki |
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