Stay Warm – A Backpacking Skill
Stay Warm - A Backpacking Skill
Stay warm or die. That's what it comes down to at the extremes. More people die in the wilderness of exposure than from any other cause. Staying warm, of course, also means more comfort, and for backpackers, it can mean going even lighter, without more risk.Staying warm in the wilderness is about proper gear and good skills. Proper gear means clothing and equipment suited to the enviroment you're in. This is a subject in itself, worth studying if you spend much time backpacking. With better materials and designs, the newest clothing and equipment saves lives. It is skills, however, that make the biggest difference.How To Stay Warm - Tips and Skills- Set up camp in the right places. Hilltops are windy and cold, and cold air also fills valleys at night. Level ground somewhere in between, out of the wind, is best.- Wear clothes to bed. Shake and fluff them up to make them insulate better. Some recommend against sleeping in clothes, but I've tried it both ways many times, and it's always warmer with clothes on.- Wear a hat. This may be equal to a pound of insulation in your sleeping bag. A lot of heat is lost through an uncovered head.- Go to bed dry. Stay up until your clothes have dried, or change into dry clothes. On a warm, dry night, however, you can put damp clothes on your sleeping bag to dry them with body heat. You may need warm, dry clothes the next night (Thinking ahead is a great wilderness skill).- Breath into your sleeping bag. Only do this in a dry climate, or if you're sure it's your last night out. You'll get damp, but you should dry quickly from hiking in the morning.- Take a water-bottle full of hot water to bed with you. This is easier and safer than heating rocks and placing them around you.- Make a pine-needle mattress. Dead leaves and dry grass work too. Scatter the leaves in the morning, so they won't smother the plants underneath. I've slept warmly below freezing, with no sleeping bag, in a pile of dry grass collected from a frozen swamp.- You can breath into your sleeping bag if you're really cold. You should only do this in a dry climate, or if you're sure it's your last night out. You'll get damp, but you should dry quickly from hiking in the morning.- Fill a water bottle with hot water, and take it to bed with you. This is easier and safer than heating rocks and placing them around you.- Adjust your clothing as you hike. Remove and add clothes as necessary to stay warm without sweating. Sweat can cause you to lose heat rapidly when you stop.- Stay dry. On a cold day, wet and hot can become hypothermia soon after you stop moving those muscles. On a hot day, however, wear wet clothing to dry it out in preparation for a possibly cold night.- Conserve your energy. It's tough for your body to keep itself warm with no energy reserves. You may also need that energy to gather firewood or hike to the car to escape a blizzard. Finally, you'll make better decisions if you aren't tired, and you'll remember how to stay warm.This is a sampling of wilderness skills and knowledge. There are many more things to learn about how to stay warm. In fact, I've left out one of the most important, because it deserves its own artcle: how to start a fire in any conditions.Steve Gillman is a long-time advocate of lightweight backpacking. His tips, photos and stories can be found at The Ultralight Backpacking Site: http://www.The-Ultralight-Site.com
Stay Young- Play Bingo!-Gambling
Stay Young- Play Bingo!
Exercise, intellectual stimulation, surgery, meditation or detox ? you name it, we love it. Let's face it, we live in a society obsessed with staying young. So, when you mention to someone that bingo may well be a key to youth, the image of pensioners playing in a retirement home may well prompt them to ask a few questions. It's not chess or bridge, but researchers insist that bingo can keep your mind trim and bring more to your youthfulness than just cash prizes and idle chitchat.Bingo players who have been playing bingo for a sustained period of time have been found to have superior reflexes in many cases to non-bingo players. The speed and mental agility required to scan six bingo cards in time before the next call is certainly better than stagnating in front of the television and has been responsible for keeping the minds of many people of different ages fit and healthy. As we get older, the blood begins to run at a thinner rate to the brain. Using our brains less can result in a decrease of mental agility and flexibility. Playing bingo is an enjoyable way to keep those attributes intact.The competitive spirit of the game is also something that helps to regenerate our bodies when we take ourselves out of the workforce. The experience of retirement can very much and rightly so, equate to slowing things down. People take things at a far more leisurely pace. This is what is so attractive and something many look forward to after a fast-moving career. The only problem is that as we do that, so we lose a sense of the invigoration that the competitive energy used to spark. The great thing about playing bingo is that it is able to reignite that spark, depending on where you are playing. Certain bingo halls can be notoriously competitive. Players have developed ways of managing to cope with as many cards as possible by turning them upside down, paying for someone else to keep an eye on them and even continue other activities, such as knitting while the game is in play. The callers can move relatively quickly and you have to stay on your toes in order not to miss a call or a number. To many, this competitive edge and speed aspect is so vital to the maintenance of their energy and fighting spirit. It keeps all of the senses in a sharp shape and forces the player to sustain some of the efficiency and rigour they may have been used to when working or even when their bodies may have had slightly more endurance than they do now. Players have to stretch themselves to the limit and keep the competitive flame burning by the allure of large cash prizes.The social aspect of the game is crucial as well. It is the combination of the interaction and communication so prevalent in the bingo halls with the mental agility and stimulation that many suggest can contribute to the prevention of depression. Depression is something that becomes more and more of a concern as the mind begins to deteriorate. People find they are unable to stimulate themselves as they used to do and hence become very frustrated and bored. Therefore, the sustenance of mental stimulation and optimum functioning is so important to a balanced state of mind.A healthy mind may in many cases also signify a healthy body. If the mind begins to deteriorate, many health practitioners believe it can influence the degeneration of the body immensely. So it is not just the brain that bingo seems to be able to keep in prime condition. As lives become less and less active physically (often because of unavoidable circumstances), it becomes more and more important to place the energy we used to put into our bodies, into our minds in order to help sustain both.About The AuthorJohn C. Thorenssen is professional gambler and work as consultant in Royal Club Casino New York. He wrote articles about gambling and gambling strategies. Most of the articles will be included in his new book.Online Bingo - www.OnlineBingo.co.uk - Your bingo resourceonlinebingouk@hotmail.com
Stick to the Subject and Your Readers Will Stay – Writing-Articles
Stick to the Subject and Your Readers Will Stay
Publishing content on the internet is not a hard task. But, some days it is definitely not the easiest. What do I write about today? Will my reader understand what I am trying to say? Will the reader leave with valuable and useful knowledge?These questions can be easily answered in two words: wanted content.The typical internet user does not just search for random keywords to pass the time. They are looking for an answer to a question that they cannot answer themselves.Where are we going on vacation in March? How do I make homemade egg noodles? How do I tie a double-winsor knot? What band is playing in town tonight?The job of the publisher is to simply identify, and answer, the specific question. Of course, it is impossible to answer every possible question. That is why the publisher writes what they know.Write what you know."Write what you know" is quite possibly the best lesson for any aspiring writer, no matter the intent of the audience. A reader will look right through imagined material. They may know more than what you are communicating to them.It is tempting for a content publisher to try and breeze through their articles. This will not do any good ? for you or your reader. It is important to take time to research your topic.Don't write above their heads.Maybe you are the expert in your field. Therefore, they are not. It is then necessary to learn the questions of your readers. What do they want to know? How best can you describe the information? Besides knowing your content, it is equally important to be able to communicate at their level.It is probably difficult for a reader to understand medical journal if they have only completed high school. It is probably equally as difficult for a Ph.D. to understand the writings of a sixth grader.By researching other publications that include writings for your readers, you are able to determine what level of writing to use in your articles and content. You will sound more believable to your intended audience and they will almost certainly continue reading your piece.What do I write?Find out what questions your readers want answers to. There are solutions that will help you determine what they are searching for, and what pages are frequented the most. Where does your traffic come from and what links do they follow.Taking the time to analyze this collected information will help you to better publish on your site. It is worth the time and effort to do a little research, and will eliminate wasted efforts on your part.When it is all said and done?When you have finished your research and writing, you will have completed a piece that is informative to your readers, easy to read and comprehend, and reassure your reader that you are a believable expert in your field. They can rely on you and your service to keep them informed of the information they desire.Robb Ksiazek is a successful author and publisher for http://www.body-mass-index-4u.com. He has researched many topics for writings and publications, acquiring knowledge and efficiencies along the way.