Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 10:42:45 +0200
From: Jan Lissens W 51737 <lissensj@access.bel.alcatel.be>
To: Wes Holly <wgholly@mediaone.net>
Subject: Keep Kool!


Keeping cool is quite difficult, but it is very important to keep hydrated, so
drink plenty of liquids. Also, regularily moisten and cool your temples and
wrists, and the back of your neck and ears.. There are cooling sticks
containing eau-de-cologne that work like a charm, but make sure you have the
real stuff (hint `made in Koln` is a dead giveaway), in order not to irritate
your skin. If you have the opportunity and access to a tap or a bucket of
water, regularily rinse and cool your hands (the palms are one  of the human
body`s radiators).

If you want a cool drink, use my trick: buy a couple of packs of fruit juice or
sports drinks (with the extra minerals and stuff). These are available in soft
packages (like astronaut food). Freeze them, and use these in a cold box to
keep your balloons cool (instead of ice packs). By the time they have melted,
they will not only have cooled your balloons, but are still cold and provide a
refreshing and cold drink.

WARNING: when it`s hot and you`re drinking a cold drink, drink in very small
swills. If you drink it too fast, it may cause (a condition of which I don`t
know the english name, but it`s a kind of stomach collapse due to the
difference in temperature - it`s what kills horses). It is very painful, and
sometimes lethal. Let the liquid warm up in your mouth for a couple of seconds
before swallowing. It will cool your mouth. If you are really thirsty, drink a
non-refrigerated drink to avoid shock.

Also, try to find a spot with at least some shade, and wear a hat or whatever
when working in the sun. If you have never experienced the effects of
sunstroke, you are lucky indeed, or very careful, and believe me, the
experience is definitely NOT agreeable. As a kid, I spent an entire week in bed
due to sunstroke. Boiling your brain is not entirely metaphorical here.
Headaches are one of the early warning signs, so if you get one, get out of the
sun immediately. Protect the exposed parts of your skin with sunblock,
especially the ears and nose.While a red nose is not necessarily a bad
attribute for a twister, the pain isn`t really worth it.

Okay, I`m getting off the soapbox now to get a cold drink...

Jan The Undehydrated Trekkie Twister