Monday, September 28, 2009

last swimming

I should tell you more about the other day's swimming. Have I already mentioned that I have in the past few years crossed the magical body-fat-percentage threshold such that I no longer sink slowly to the bottom when I hold still in fresh water? Well, in a doubtless related development, I am now able to enjoy swimming in water that is cooler than ever previously! Generally I think of 'being immersed in cold water' as literally Tortuous, the other day as I was getting into the water I thought to myself "this water could definitely be warmer and that would be extremely OK" but I got in anyway.

I felt a little cold while on the return swim from the island, such that I swam part of the way with my arms still and tightly at my sides in a (laughable*) attempt to conserve heat (I generally use a modified elementary backstroke, with alternating-sides scissor kicks; this is similar to a back double trudgeon except for the arms, and with swim-fins on, as I had, is reasonably effective with no arm motion at all!), but after I got out of the water, I first got a terrible terrible headache and had to lie down to keep from fainting, then several minutes later felt very very cold and started to shiver a lot!

So this is why I had said earlier " note to self: next time bring wetsuit " in case you were wondering.
Or, even if you weren't!

*being immersed in cool liquid is an extremely effective way to lose heat

Friday, September 18, 2009

oh, people.

OK so.

On the 'good things that happened this week' side, I finally finished my 'how to build your own SODA CAN STOVE' write-up for my friends Erin and Lief's flowing well zine project! I designed a brand new build just for this- it is extra easy to build because instead of custom making the inner cylinder out of a section of a regular sized can and gluing it into a smaller tube, this one uses a prefab SMALLER CAN (red bull etc) as the inner ring. Also it will hold more fuel than regular soda can stoves do, as it is larger due to being built from 23oz Arizona "Iced Tea" cans... so now I can cook a whole pot of mac & cheese out in the wild without needing to pause in the middle to refuel the stove.

Also epic solo swimming journey out to Blueberry Goose Island on Friday after work... note to self: next time bring wetsuit? Only the second time I've swum all the way out there!

On however the 'colossally bad things that happened this week' side, someone with whom I was slightly acquainted through a coworker had overdosed on heroin and died at a house where I was working, and my coworker (and friend) found his body. Not knowing how long he had been sitting there, he called 911, then came and got me and told me the situation. Neither of us knew that the person was dead, so we were trying to revive them, and I said that we should do CPR while waiting for the paramedics; upon trying to move him to the floor to do this I discovered that his legs were stone cold and his body was stiff (my coworker had touched his face and neck, which had been in the sun so were warm), so we knew then that he was dead.

may this never, ever, EVER happen to you.

About Me

olneyville providence, rhode island state, United States