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Winter is coming

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Re: Winter is coming

#131

Post by adamdavis »

kyro wrote: post #130
adamdavis wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would agree, although I'd also say there's nothing particularly witty or clever about the one I posted.

And it didn't really have a point. Unless your intention was to refute the message of mine through ad-hominem-via-rap-lyrics.

I assure you it had a point, and I apologize if it was obscured by way of the quote. The point being that, well, perhaps your point would be better expressed through non-sarcastic means.

No ad hominem was intended, it was more of a critique of the general idea of forming rebuttals that consist of sarcastic remarks.

Re: Winter is coming

#132

Post by KeliNorth »

fein wrote: post #17
jaf12duke wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The important comparison is not the cause but the outcome. I've lived in Boston, New Hampshire, Scotland, and San Francisco. And in each, I've suffered from seasonal depression. A winter depression in any city is no vacation.

My sister has issues with SAD, and she lives in Texas. I don't know if it just went unrecognized while she lived here, or everyone else is just so bitter during that time that it's just the norm. It seems the folks I know with SAD issues are from very temperate zones, which makes no sense to me when I know what I have to do the next day: trudge through 17 degree F temperatures at 7 AM on a bicycle.

My Mother has SAD, suffered for years with it in various parts of CA (too much gloom during winter, even though the days were long and sunny spring-autumns), but now lives in a northern mid-west state. We discovered that SAD doesn't affect her as much there for a couple reasons we can only guess at. The sun was out more often even on bone-chilling days, and the snow on the ground reflecting the light was far, far better for her than the gloomy rainy winter days of CA.

It was a nice surprise that a colder/Winter state was better for her particular SAD. Seems very counter-intuitive at first, but sometimes an individual's needs aren't so clear. And I just gotta reiterate... the snow reflecting more light into a home, combined with it adding the whole ambiance of a Winter look (rather than the sight of gloom or leafless plants in a more temperate state during winter) seems to have a real beneficial effect. Of course, individual results will vary, this only works for one particular case, but it's still of interest how SAD works and affects each person.

Re: Winter is coming

#133

Post by dasil003 »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #90
beloch wrote: post #75

Today's forecast for where I live is a low of -11 C and up to 20cm of snow. I couldn't be happier. The local ski-hills will open that much sooner! I actually feel a little bit sorry for those living in San Francisco. Summer goes away but you never get to enjoy real winter activities. If you're complaining about winter in SF, you should probably either move someplace warmer or someplace colder. Really, all it takes to…

Summer goes away but you never get to enjoy real winter activities. You should tell that to my skiing obsessed family. There are no fewer than 10 Ski resorts in the Tahoe Basin alone, much less all along the Sierras. And they are only a few hours away by car or train. Californians often espouse the opinion that we have "well behaved" snow, it stays in the mountains where it belongs :-) But the point of getting out is…

Tahoe is basically 4 hours from SF, and up to 8 if there is fresh snow, which rules out day trips for all but the most hard-core. It's not as bad as flat land out east, but it's certainly got nothing (including snow quality) on what is available in Utah / Colorado.

Re: Winter is coming

#134

Post by rwhitman »

fein wrote: post #11

Complaining about the winter in SF? Really? I understand seasonal depression, but that can't even hold a candle to the bullshit we see up here in the Great Salted North. I wake up and bike to work during the winters here... It's pitch black until after 8 AM. After work? Darkness and cold by 5 PM. This is for around 5 months of the year up here. Sure, shit gets annoying during the nastiness of November through March,…

I grew up in the Northeastern US, snowy winters and all that. But its strange, even when I lived in sunny Southern California and it was 80 degrees and clear in December I'd still feel a little depressed and would sort of hibernate in the winter time. It was frustrating, because I knew damn well that it was beautiful and sunny outside and I shouldn't feel this way but I did.

Something inside of me is just biologically hardwired to know when its winter and that I should be hunkered down inside when it comes around. It wasn't nearly as big a problem in SoCal but it was still there. My guess is that my generations of northern-dwelling ancestors developed a genetic predisposition towards conserving energy in the winter but I'm no expert...

Re: Winter is coming

#135

Post by saalweachter »

AhtiK wrote: post #22

Does anyone have experience with either Philips goLITE [1] or Wake-Up light [2]? I wonder which of these will be more effective (blue vs warm yellow). Alternatively, has anyone managed to build such a device at home? AFAIK 470 nm wavelength LEDs are the way to go but getting 10k lux out of the grid.. [1] http://www.amazon.com/Philips-goLITE-BLU-Therapy-Device/dp/B... [2] http://www.amazon.com/Philips-HF3520-Wake-Up-C…

The phrase "10,000 lux" is making me twitch. Lights emit lumens, lux is lumens per square meter. In other words, lumens is the measure of how bright a light is, and lux is the measure of how well a room is illuminated.

So what these devices are claiming is that if you use them as prescribed (sitting 18-24 inches away) you (specifically, your face) will be illuminated at 10,000 lux. If they're just illuminating a little 30 cm square, they could be doing it with as little as 900 lumens of light.

To achieve 10,000 lux, you need 10,000 lumens per meter of area you are trying to light. The easiest way to do this is probably to 4 foot long 40 watt fluorescent bulbs. You can buy 4-bulb fixtures, which will emit a combined 12,000 lumens and consume a total of 160 watts. Probably cost you about $50, bulbs and fixture. So for a to light a 10 square meter room, you need 10 4-bulb fixtures, 1600 watts, and $500.

Re: Winter is coming

#136

Post by bluekite2000 »

Someone should start an endless summer club. Get a group of people together and work for 6 months in San Francisco then go South (Buenos Aires or sth equivalent) when winter comes.

Re: Winter is coming

#137

Post by morgante »

robotmay wrote: post #32

I have a somewhat opposite problem; I can't work at all during the summer. I can't deal with heat well and can barely think straight if I get even slightly too warm. This summer in the UK was unbearable in my new flat, which appears to have been designed as the most effective greenhouse in the world. I always look forward to autumn and winter. I get to wear clothes I like, nobody's outside as they're all whinging abo…

Same here. My brain just works a lot better when it's cold. There's a purity to the winter which makes life so much simpler and, yes, even harsher—austerity can be a relief.

(Maybe something to do with growing up in Vermont?)

Re: Winter is coming

#138

Post by simonhughes22 »

I would recommend a much lower dosage of Vitamin D3 than the extreme high dosage (5,000 IU) on that Amazon site. While it is important to maintain reasonable levels of D3, higher levels can cause a range of problems, from kidney stones to increased risk of heart problems due to the raised calcium levels in your blood. The Linus Pauling institute recommends 600 IU, just over 1/8th the dosage of that link. People overdose on Vitamins these days, and are simply unaware that large dosages of vitamins can do far more harm than good. A little is good so more is better is a logical fallacy, yet a lot of people think this way. So I applaud you for bringing this to people's attention, but please recommend safer Vitamin D3 levels.

Re: Winter is coming

#139

Post by simonhughes22 »

simonhughes22 wrote: post #138

I would recommend a much lower dosage of Vitamin D3 than the extreme high dosage (5,000 IU) on that Amazon site. While it is important to maintain reasonable levels of D3, higher levels can cause a range of problems, from kidney stones to increased risk of heart problems due to the raised calcium levels in your blood. The Linus Pauling institute recommends 600 IU, just over 1/8th the dosage of that link. People overd…

It is worth pointing out that it depends on your age, your deficiency level, and whether you are pregnant. Here is a good article from the Mayo clinic:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitamin-d/NS_patient-vitami...

Re: Winter is coming

#140

Post by simonhughes22 »

simonhughes22 wrote: post #139
simonhughes22 wrote: post #138

I would recommend a much lower dosage of Vitamin D3 than the extreme high dosage (5,000 IU) on that Amazon site. While it is important to maintain reasonable levels of D3, higher levels can cause a range of problems, from kidney stones to increased risk of heart problems due to the raised calcium levels in your blood. The Linus Pauling institute recommends 600 IU, just over 1/8th the dosage of that link. People overd…

It is worth pointing out that it depends on your age, your deficiency level, and whether you are pregnant. Here is a good article from the Mayo clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitamin-d/NS_patient-vitami...

Here is a link to 1,000 IU dosage:

http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-Vitamin-1000-Softgels/dp/B00...

You may want to opt for the 600 IU if you get some sun as it is. I live in Chicago, so no much sun for me in Winter time.

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