Dealing with the heat...

[chs]

Re: Dealing with the heat...

The advice given in this thread has been awesome, and because of that, I have arrived fully prepared to deal with the heat. Maybe selected items from this thread need to be extracted and posted in a sticky somewhere for DEFCON newbies to use every year.

The only other thing I would add is be careful indoors too.

People tend not to think about their hydration as much indoors because of the nice cool air conditioning, but the ultra-super-mega-dessicated dry air brings its own problems as well.

[Zorlac]

Re: Dealing with the heat...

As I started this thread, it seems only proper to kind of finish it off with what my experiences were.

Hat - get one if you want to go outside and not burn your scalp... the sun is damn hot and high in the sky! Yes, the sun really is trying to kill you! :)

Hydrate - water and Gatorade (or similar), and lots of it... worked well, and I just love Gatorade now. Seems there is a special "no additives, no this, no that, different recipe" version of Gatorade for sale in the UK, but I cant find anywhere that stocks it :( Will have to go to American Soda to get my fix.

As mentioned above by chs, and also by Highwiz in the DC 101, dont get fooled by the hotel aircon. It may be cool inside, but you are still in the desert, and it is trying its very best to suck all the fluids out of your body however it can (that sounds just so wrong, but you know what I mean!). I drank almost as much in the hotel as when I was outside. My nose dried up, my eyes hurt by the end of the day (carried around and used eye drops after the first day!), and my skin hasnt really forgiven me for the lack of moisturing I did. Low humidity does have some downsides, so deal with that before you find out about it the hard way!

The Camelbak was just great. Allowing me to fill the bladder with ice from the hotel machines and then with water (and optionally a Camelbak elixir tablet), keeping me going pretty much the whole day at the Con (and not spending vast amounts of money on overpriced bevarages!), and out at the DC Shoot on the Thursday AM. It also allowed me to shove some Gatorade bottles in the bag, and a place to secure the goodies from the vendor's area I collected during the day.

The neck wraps worked amazingly well, and I never even knew they existed until it was posted here. Thanks to not5150 and eris for suggesting them. Sadly the TSA decided that it was a "gel" and I had to trash the one I was wearing when passing through the scanners at LAS (booo!).

The low humidity made the heat much more bearable. Getting out at 7.20am in 30C/85F+ was comfortable, and even 40C/104F+ didnt get me running for shade and aircon at every opportunity. The only time I started to think I was losing the plot was in Death Valley at 47C/116F, at which point I did seak out shade and aircon :)

Sun cream 50+ SPF if you want to outside is a wise idea, which does give you the ability to wear shorts and T-Shirts for longer periods, giving your body more chance to cool itself. I wouldnt advise staying out all day in the sun in shorts and T's if you are not used to it, but the only time I wore long pants/trosuers was on the flight in and out of Vegas (but then I didnt go out much during the day!)

Washing your face after being outside - oh yes, that was highly refreshing... do it!

And if you are outside for an extended period, just take things a little slower that usual... there is no hurry!

So, again, a huge thanks to all who commented, it made Las vegas bearable for someone who doesnt usually deal well with the heat. At my next Defcon, I`ll spend less time worrying about the heat, and more time enjoying the con, the people, and the company :)

[eris]

Re: Dealing with the heat...

Excellent wrap up post! Now that you know what to expect and what works for you the next time will be even more enjoyable.

[noid]

Re: Dealing with the heat...

Hell, we should make this thread sticky. Good content as well as a good after-action write up.

[TheCotMan]

Re: Dealing with the heat...

Hell, we should make this thread sticky. Good content as well as a good after-action write up.

We can copy forward to Pre-Decon 20 / Defcon 20 planning when that forum is rolled out. We just need a reminder to do this.

[noid]

Re: Dealing with the heat...

We can copy forward to Pre-Decon 20 / Defcon 20 planning when that forum is rolled out. We just need a reminder to do this.

Can we issue track it?

[TheCotMan]

Re: Dealing with the heat...

Can we issue track it?

Heh. I hope not.

Seriously though, the projects system we have int he forums won't be renewed and upgraded, "soon."

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Dealing with the heat...

Awe, i didn't think about the TSA considering the wraps to be a "gel"... i would have mentioned that at the DC Shoot and told people to be sure to dry them out.

the best plan i had at the Rio was to dangle them from the A/C vent in the rooms. the added benefit of this is that the loose ends can be arranged to hang in front of the IR sensor on the thermostat. in the breeze from the fan they will flap around, often tricking the IR sensor into thinking that the room is occupied, and thus running the A/C even during they day.

(i am always annoyed at systems that do not power the heating or cooling at all if no one is in the room. when i come back from 9 to 10 hours of hard work at contest and village and vendor rooms, i don't like having to wait 2 more hours just for the hotel room to be comfortable)

[I.T. Warrior]

Re: Dealing with the heat...

Good you survived!!

[Zorlac]

Re: Dealing with the heat...

Deviant, your talk at the shoot about the heat was also very useful... what was the comment you made about "lets get a move on, the sun is trying to bang us" or something? Gave me a good chuckle, thats for sure. Also, the bit about snakes made me oh so paranoid when it came time to take a leak!

The A/C in my hotel room appeared to stay on all the time.... or maybe it was broken, just like a lot of stuff in my room (alarm clock that wouldnt cancel an insanely early 3am alarm set by previous occupier, ethernet had link but nothing on other end... lodgenet support #EPICFAIL "would sir like to use the free wifi instead?" "Are you fscking kidding me!!??! Have you any idea what is going on here this weekend?", lamp that made scary crackling noises when in use, etc).

[strat]

Re: Dealing with the heat...

I just happened upon this thread and I'm going to take it to more sensitive realms. If you're not used to heat, and you didn't adhere to the advice about loose-fitting clothing, you're going to risk a problem that might be new and different to you, chafing. This is particularly true if you're wearing jeans. Never did I appreciate the wonders of talcum powder more than one particularly hellish DC some years ago. If you don't follow the clothing advice, don't be surprised if you find yourself having to walk funny just in order to avoid pain when you move your legs. I'm not a particularly large guy, but after that experience I had a new found empathy for my larger colleagues who probably had to deal with far worse than I did.

You can also use powder that's corn starch based. Some sissy companies have been converting to corn starch in their formulations due to concerns about inhalation of mineral dust (talc is a rock), but for my money, corn starch is less tolerant of water and turning into paste. It's worth some tiny possibility of exposure to asbestos or other particles if it means I'm comfortable and not limping around for a weekend. If you're that concerned, the dust mask in your avatar photo would mitigate any risk just fine.

[0x90]

Re: Dealing with the heat...

I'm from the UK too and Defcon 18 was my first time in Las Vegas, and the heat was a big shock as the hottest weather I'd been in up until then was about 25 centigrade. I'd advise that if you're going to be getting the bus up and down the strip to make sure you know what time they're supposed to be, particularly around 13:00 as it is HELL to be waiting around in the sun at mid day as there's just no escaping it. When you're in the casinos and restaurants and stuff you'll not notice the heat at all as they all have very good air conditioning (at least all the ones I went into).

If you do intend to do a bit of wondering around definitely make sure you have some comfortable shoes on, I took the trainers I wear every day but in the heat my feet wear sweating and swelling up and it led to a lot of really painful blisters.

[P33V3]

Re: Dealing with the heat...

It is Vegas you kind of have to deal with it. That being said. It is Vegas, if you stay at the RIO there is little reason for you to go outside for any reason other than to catch a cab to/from the airport.

Now to my important advice.

For every drink of alcohol, drink 2 glasses of water.
For every shot of hotsauce in the hotsauce contest drink 4. Seriously

Every year we see people get partied out and sometimes near comatose and unresponsive because they forget to keep hydrated.

[bluknight]

Re: Dealing with the heat...

Every year we see people get partied out and sometimes near comatose and unresponsive because they forget to keep hydrated.

As someone who qualified for the above, I have to concur. Hydrate, hydrate, and hydrate some more. Watch the booze intake -- seriously. Even if you're from a desert climate or higher altitude, VEGAS WILL TAKE YOU BY SURPRISE. As occasionally amusing as it is to have a story that contains "and then I woke up in the hospital..." -- THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA.

[RedGeek]

Re: Dealing with the heat...

The color coded piss chart cracked me up. Also! As a ginger that has spent time in Vegas, I have a few tips. If you're walking down the streets you want to walk as close to the buildings as possible (a lot of them have shade producing quailities) Also a camel pack http://www.amazon.com/Camelbak-Class...5167822&sr=8-1 is going to be really useful. Drink ALL THE TIME if you aren't sweating it doesn't mean you aren't losing water. I'm a ginger so this might be different for you, but the spf should be in the hundreds and it should be put on before AND after going outside :)