tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1778489216730794604.post255143623296787578..comments2024-01-27T16:58:23.292-08:00Comments on Daniel Keys Moran: Back from Denver ...Daniel Keys Moranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12992599044462413412noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1778489216730794604.post-78521213140143958392007-11-23T08:26:00.000-08:002007-11-23T08:26:00.000-08:00Dan, I've been remiss in checking the blog lately,...Dan, <BR/>I've been remiss in checking the blog lately, but I just did, and saw that you've been in Denver. Was sorry to have missed you, I've been here since August 2002. I'll definitely be checking it more regularly. I do know some cool places to grab dinner here, so maybe we can get that done, and talk about fun geek stuff.BSPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02240014296528596326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1778489216730794604.post-9254138985683496212007-11-17T21:37:00.000-08:002007-11-17T21:37:00.000-08:00Sounds good. Denver's a pretty fair restaurant to...Sounds good. Denver's a pretty fair restaurant town, BTW; not L.A., I suppose, but we do have some good eats here.Daniel Dvorkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01899158517966852736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1778489216730794604.post-65076369383210088052007-11-17T17:34:00.000-08:002007-11-17T17:34:00.000-08:00Daniel -- pretty good chance I'm going back to Den...Daniel -- pretty good chance I'm going back to Denver on business ... I'll mention it on the blog when I do. Anyone wants to catch dinner with me, would be a pleasure.Daniel Keys Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12992599044462413412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1778489216730794604.post-7194250794518112182007-11-16T13:18:00.000-08:002007-11-16T13:18:00.000-08:00Well, I would say, "Hey, next time you're going to...Well, I would say, "Hey, next time you're going to be in Denver, let me know," but I suppose suffocation isn't exactly an incentive for coming back to our fair city. :/Daniel Dvorkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01899158517966852736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1778489216730794604.post-28357580105644204412007-11-16T13:17:00.000-08:002007-11-16T13:17:00.000-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Daniel Dvorkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01899158517966852736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1778489216730794604.post-71078866271149565572007-11-16T12:00:00.000-08:002007-11-16T12:00:00.000-08:00Acclimatization to high altitude has a significant...Acclimatization to high altitude has a significant genetic component. Some people have an easy time of it, while others just can't easily deal when above sea level. These same as yet unidentified genetic components may also be a factor in how well the body regulates internal temperature when at high altitude. Genetic studies are on going, and work is fascinating to me.<BR/><BR/>PBS did a Nova episode on this a while back.<BR/>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/denali/core.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1778489216730794604.post-18442683132598458002007-11-14T09:33:00.000-08:002007-11-14T09:33:00.000-08:00It's not just about oxygen; some of it has to do w...It's not just about oxygen; some of it has to do with personal physiology. When I swam in Boulder, I had a resting pulse rate of 56, was doing laps to equal a mile a day at the pool. But my hemoglobin ilked sea level. <BR/><BR/>Changes in altitude can sometimes cause problem even in trained athletes. Drop 99% of people on top of Mount Everest unprepared, they will keel over and die. Why climbers spend weeks staging at base camps to adjust.<BR/><BR/>Nearly all of the climbers carry oxygen bottles anyhow.<BR/><BR/>Even so, some of them will develop altitude sickness, (Acute Mountain Sickeness), sometimes pulmonary or cerebral (or both) edeman, throw a pulmonary embolus, and keel over.<BR/><BR/>Best treatment is to come down ASAP.<BR/><BR/>(And as I make it, one out of every twelve climbers who attempts the summit dies from something going up or down.)<BR/><BR/>Yes, it's five miles and not one, but the principle is the same.<BR/><BR/>Just as the old diver's psychosis "Rapture of the Deep" will get some folks and not others. <BR/><BR/>Pressure, or the lack of it, doesn't affect everybody the same way. Most people can adjust, and concentration on breathing, doing exercises, can help, but they won't work for everybody every time. Hyperoxygenation works fine while you are awake and concentrating on doing it, but when you stop, the effect lasts only a few minutes.<BR/><BR/>A good bet is to sleep at a lower altitude if you can. Find a little town down the mountain, stay there, climb back during the day.Steve Perryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12079658447270792228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1778489216730794604.post-85212896771456562432007-11-14T07:50:00.000-08:002007-11-14T07:50:00.000-08:00I guess I'm just lucky. Fought asthma (allergen-r...I guess I'm just lucky. Fought asthma (allergen-related, but didn't know it at the time) for 3 years; Ever since I left that particular hell I have had no problems whatsoever breathing at any altitude. I've done the week's consulting in Denver twice, Helena once, and did a 100-mile bike ride around Lake Tahoe in a single day with only one day at altitude beforehand without more problems than you'd expect from a 100 bloody mile bike ride.<BR/><BR/>My natural breathing rate is two to three times slower than my wife's; maybe that and the asthma have prepared me well for altitude changes.Khyronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13238333183758341514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1778489216730794604.post-28501712560135208002007-11-13T08:16:00.000-08:002007-11-13T08:16:00.000-08:00Pagan, I can drive 500 miles, no problem. It's the...Pagan, I can drive 500 miles, no problem. It's the 1200 miles to Denver that kneecapped me.<BR/><BR/>Breathing exercises didn't occur to me ... I'm going back to Denver, I'll give that a try.<BR/><BR/>Steve, I know exactly what you mean. Your body bitching that there's not enough air is downright disconcerting.<BR/><BR/>Bunnyman ... Yeah. Not saying we shouldn't fight the good fight. Just the 70 freeway in Colorado isn't the place ... ;)Daniel Keys Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12992599044462413412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1778489216730794604.post-42301442146084025332007-11-13T07:13:00.000-08:002007-11-13T07:13:00.000-08:00The (Chinese, if I recall correctly) breathing tec...The (Chinese, if I recall correctly) breathing technique that Steve Barnes has recommended, inhaling normally and forcing your exhalation to be prolonged and as complete as possible, works wonders for me when I am at high altitudes. I have had no trouble sleeping in Puebla Mexico, among other places. It puts me to sleep quickly. <BR/><BR/>I am a bit surprised about your comments about driving long distances. I am 19 years older than you and I still enjoy long drives, up to about 500 miles a day.Pagan Topologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01611788563582362688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1778489216730794604.post-32083930803514220232007-11-12T23:37:00.000-08:002007-11-12T23:37:00.000-08:00I went to Boulder, CO, once, back when I was swimm...I went to Boulder, CO, once, back when I was swimming a mile every day and could hold my breath for almost four minutes. Went to a lake where the Celestial Seasons Tea employees liked to bask, and for a swim. <BR/>A quarter mile into it, thought I was going to die. Truly. I couldn't understand it. <BR/><BR/>That lower oxy level is a killer if you aren't used to it. If you grew up in the hills, sea level, so I'm told, feels like walking through glue. If you grew up on the flats, a few thousand feet up gets passing strange.<BR/><BR/>My wife and I went camping once up a mountain, nearly a mile high. It was quiet, we were pretty much alone. We set up our tent, walked the -- big -- dogs, and tried to relax. <BR/><BR/>By dust, we both felt a sense of *wrongness* that was maybe half a step away from full-blown gibbering paranoia.<BR/><BR/>We looked at each other, simultaneously decided *some*thing bad was going down. We scrabbled around and packed up, then skedaddled down the hill. <BR/><BR/>Neither of us would have be suprised to hear later there had been a forest fire, escaped axe-murderers run amok, or that a big meteor had hit the campground.<BR/><BR/>"Into Thin Air," by Jon Krakauer, is one of the scariest books I've ever read. Anybody who does stuff like that is, far as I am concerned, barking mad. <BR/><BR/>Welcome back.Steve Perryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12079658447270792228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1778489216730794604.post-75666698415433808512007-11-12T17:00:00.000-08:002007-11-12T17:00:00.000-08:00Getting into pissing contests with the Man is ever...Getting into pissing contests with the Man is everybody's game. YOUNG men get into FOOLISH pissing contests, however. Wisdom lies in figuring your input/output ratio. In the situation you were in, a very little piss would end up with a whole lot of shit (for you) and absolutely nothing whatsoever gained, as you were getting the ticket regardless. <BR/><BR/>I guess I've never been anywhere very high altitude. Sounds like it sucks entirely. Anything that keeps me from sleeping when I'm tired is simply not to be countenanced; I had 13 weeks of that shit once upon a time in Fort Benning, GA, and that's enough for several incarnations. Ever since then, one of my Simple Rules For Happy Living has been, If You Want To Take A Nap and You Can Take A Nap, Take A Nap. (Conversely, if you want to take a nap and you can't take a nap, make some lifestyle changes.)Doc Nebulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052810933464744998noreply@blogger.com