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Winter
Oct 28, 2011 8:19:18 GMT -5
Post by denmarkvesey on Oct 28, 2011 8:19:18 GMT -5
I have the laws on adverese possesion most of the buildings are city owned anyway further we could probably buy on at a foreclosure city auction if we wanted and get grants to fix it up i have all the info on this
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Winter
Oct 28, 2011 17:50:05 GMT -5
Post by larrybecker on Oct 28, 2011 17:50:05 GMT -5
Cold Weather Camping Basics
Dear Folks,
All of the following involves the exercise of common sense and common purpose. When in any doubt, ask for help — we are in this together. If medical help is suggested, follow that suggestion. Take care of yourself and then come back to the event later. We’re all built differently with different tolerance for the cold. Don’t take chances. Help each other. Your safety is everyone’s concern. We need to be the change we want to see in the world.
First some rules:
Fire:
Never, never, never have any exposed flames in a tent, either for warmth, cooking, lighting or smoking. This prohibition goes to candle or specially designed candle lanterns. As to lighting, there are cheap flashlights and rechargeable battery-powered lamps/lanterns that work fine, can be hand-cranked for recharging, etc.
Never have a cooking device or heating device in a tent. Even tents that have a “vent hole” in them are not safe for heating or cooking devices. For those that wish to hear about it, I can describe personal, futile efforts to escape a tent in which there was a common cook stove flare-up.
Gas and liquid fuel devices are extremely dysfunctional in tents for many reasons, including carbon monoxide issues. Don’t use them inside tents!
Rain/Snow:
There are two basic issues that you will be up against as to the weather: cold and wet.
First, let’s discuss wet. Even when it is cold, if you are dry, cold is much, much easier to deal with. You need to stay dry. If it is raining, you need to have something like a poncho with a hood. Relatively cheap long nylon ponchos are available, and if you don’t rip them, they are very effective. If you wear raingear that ends at your hips or waist, you will look more fashionable, but the water will do exactly as gravity and wind mandates: It will drain off the short poncho and soak your hips, thighs, legs, etc. Also, long rain ponchos can be used to pull under you if you have to/want to sit down. If you can afford Gore-Tex type gear, make sure you get jackets and pants (but these things are very pricey.) Sources of ponchos include Army/Navy stores and places like Dick’s and Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS), Wal-Marts, among others.
The Gore-Tex-type gear helps let you vent your sweat, which also helps you stay dry, and that is particularly important if you are either (a) engaged in vigorous activities such as hiking, or (b) way over-dressed and too hot. You should not need the high-end Gore-Tex wear for what you’re planning to do, but if you have it, you might as well wear it. Cold:
Second, let’s discuss cold. It gets cold in Albany. Here are some things to help you. Some of this may be basic, and I’m going to tell you what most of you may already know. In the winter, cotton is not your friend. Undergarments that wick sweat away from your skin and into your outer layers are important. Common products such as polypropylene, silk, and other advertised wicking fabrics should become a staple for you. A pair of warm, wicking long johns will alter your experience of cold in a remarkable way. Wool socks, or socks containing at least 50% wool (with no cotton) are almost mandatory. Of course, our mothers were right: Wear a good hat — wool is great, and a heavy watch cap of almost any material that can be pulled down to cover your ears is best. Wool sweaters are good and so are many of the heavier fleece pullovers. And don’t forget your scarf. It keeps you warm and is very effective as a valve to let excess heat out when you loosen it or take it off.
Let’s touch here on a little “science.” My winter wilderness instructor used to tell me that the body, in terms of dealing with the cold, divides itself into two regions: the “core” (chest/internal organs including your head) and the “extremities” (fingers/nose/toes/ears). When your internal core temperature gets too low (because you got too wet, you’re not wearing enough or the proper clothing or a good hat, or it’s just impossibly cold outside), your body begins to make automatic adjustments to your internal flow of blood. That is to say, that certain blood vessel/capillaries have shunting mechanisms that redirect the warming blood from the extremities to your core to keep your life-essential organs working. When that happens, less blood flows to the fingers, toes, nose and ears and frost nip and frostbite can occur. Frost nip and frostbite are no jokes; they are serious and can result in permanent damage or even amputation – and they can all be prevented. So this is to say, that by keeping your core dry and warm, you will assist your fingers, toes, nose and ears in staying healthy. But you’ve got to affirmatively help your fingers, toes, nose and ears in that regard.
Toes: Wear shoes/boots that keep your feet dry and wear wool socks. There are other measures to take when it gets really cold, such as foot layering by wearing polypropylene socks, moisture-barrier socks or plastic bags, wool sock and then waterproof felt-line boots. As to hands: There’s a big difference between gloves and mittens, with mittens much better at keeping your hands warm. Again, fabric material makes a big difference, especially if the fabric gets wet; wool is better than most in retaining its ability to provide some warmth even when it’s damp. But, keeping dry is a big factor. Ears: Wear a hat that lets you pull the hat or a flap down over your ears. Nose: You have to keep track of how you feel; you have to have your internal monitor working. If you feel that your nose is getting too cold, take off your gloves/mittens and warm your nose up. Get inside to a warm place like the library or a restaurant. If at night, cup your nose and mouth with your hands and breath out through your mouth.
Camping:
Almost all tents are created equal in keeping you warm: They don’t, except for their ability to keep you out of the wind, rain and snow, which is incredibly important. But their insulating “R-factor” is negligible.
When you are trying to sleep in the cold, there are a few important basics. First of all you need to get off of the ground. Sleeping pads, not your sleeping bag will do this for you. The trick is to have as much dead air space between you and the ground. There are inflatable roll out closed foam pads which are very good, but expensive. There are inflatable mattresses, or bulky thick foam pads that you can lug around, that are difficult to transport but are even better for warmth than the high-end, expensive inflatable roll out closed foam pads (that are used for trail hiking where weight is a major consideration). If you put enough blankets on the ground, that would work too, but you would need quite a few to get sufficient loft off the ground.
Second, although blankets are good to sleep under, a sleeping bag is the best. I can tell you that you should be able to find a whole bunch of good buys on all camping equipment on Craigslist right now because every one is dumping their camping gear for the winter. There have been books written on fill material for bags, with some advantages for down/feathers and some advantages for manmade fill. Take your pick and just make sure you find one that has the appropriate rating. For example, my experience is that if you get a 30°F bag, it does not really mean that it will keep you comfortable when it’s down to 30°F. It means it’ll keep you alive at 30°F. Of course, what you wear into the bag is also important, so if you’re wearing fresh dry wool socks, your wool-blend long johns, and a wool shirt and a hat, you’ll probably be fine. And, it is absolutely much warmer to zip two bags together (some are made to do that, with right-hand and left-hand bags) and share that bag with a friend.
When things get really cold and sufficient snowfall permits, it is possible to build functioning snow caves to sleep in or have small (around ten-fifteen people) gatherings. The temperature in a snow cave can be approximately 20 to 40 degrees warmer inside than outside (without any artificial heating source), so they can serve as a warm-up location as well as other purposes.
As a follow-up to the above, perhaps people who might be throwing out their old sweaters with chewed-out moth holes, or old sleeping bags, or their out-of-fashion gloves or mittens or other winter gear would be willing to donate it. We could wash and dry it and then keep it in a winter gear trunk for people who need some extra warm stuff while on the occupy site.
And if anyone has any specific questions about the above, I’ll try to help you out with answers.
Best,
Larry Becker Ph: 518/462-5814 larrybecker@msn.com
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Winter
Oct 30, 2011 2:47:33 GMT -5
Post by denmarkvesey on Oct 30, 2011 2:47:33 GMT -5
Can we get a winter working group this actually seems pertinent
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Albanius
subForum Coordinator
WGs: Outreach/Teachins, Political Strategy, Direct Action
Posts: 151
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Winter
Oct 30, 2011 20:17:43 GMT -5
Post by Albanius on Oct 30, 2011 20:17:43 GMT -5
I have experience winter camping and teaching the same. I am trying to find some time to put together a post on clothing, shelter and weather and would like to have some teach-ins. A teachin on winter survival would be VERY welcome. Please post a request here: occupyalbany.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=commedu&action=display&thread=509with suggested presenter(s), contact info and requested date and time. 4 PM weekdays at the encampment is the regular reserved time, but other times are possible. I would expect the WG to give *TOP* priority to such a proposal.
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Winter
Oct 31, 2011 15:24:31 GMT -5
Post by yogafortrauma on Oct 31, 2011 15:24:31 GMT -5
I have a 22 foot tipi on a deck here in Cherry Plain that we are not using. The poles are 27 feet long and the tipi weighs about 150 pounds. It's super solid with a liner, has some mold we've been dealing with but otherwise is solid and warm..I have a 5-dog woodstove that you can use with it designed for tipi use. I believe with the city of Albany and the police working with the movement a tipi might actually slip through as a temporary shelter and they may allow it longterm. Contact me at yogafortrauma@gmail.com if you guys want to use this mighty tipi for the movement.
Jules
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roylemons
New Member
Humane Resources
Posts: 48
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Winter
Oct 31, 2011 18:52:22 GMT -5
Post by roylemons on Oct 31, 2011 18:52:22 GMT -5
i think a winter working group would be a smart idea.
it's great that we have people familiar with winter camping but i have a hard time believing our tarp and pup tent city will survive three foot snow storms, ice storms and -20 wind chills. can we be an effective protest force if we're putting all our energy into surviving? i also like the capitol idea, but not sure it would be possible unless done under the right circumstances. for example when Wisconsin protestors occupied their capitol the did so demanding a piece of legislation be pulled...we'll look silly occupying the capitol "until it gets warm outside!"
i floated the vacant building idea because 1) it's practical as albany winters can be rough and it would be nice to be indoors if possible 2) it's symbolic of economic injustice that our city has a blight of vacant properties while people sleep on the streets 3) it's, in my opinion, in keeping with the theme of occupying space and reclaiming a commons for the people.
obviously legal and safety issues to look into and it might not even be possible but i think it's worth considering. though as ben suggested it's probably better to continue any further discussion f2f and outside the prevue of OA for now.
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Winter
Oct 31, 2011 20:40:12 GMT -5
Post by genconc on Oct 31, 2011 20:40:12 GMT -5
can we be an effective protest force if we're putting all our energy into surviving? I have a hunch that the very act of surviving the winter is the exact thing occupy* needs to do right now to be effective.
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frankiebones
New Member
Occupation Member Media/PR Member
Posts: 20
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Winter
Nov 1, 2011 11:50:24 GMT -5
Post by frankiebones on Nov 1, 2011 11:50:24 GMT -5
I am planning a winter teach in Thursday 11/3 after the GA. I will try to get out of work early if it works for more people to have it at 4pm.
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Winter
Nov 1, 2011 20:03:04 GMT -5
Post by larrybecker on Nov 1, 2011 20:03:04 GMT -5
If you want another voice at the teach-in, I'd like to participate as well.
Larry
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Winter
Nov 12, 2011 7:21:54 GMT -5
Post by mattjrogers on Nov 12, 2011 7:21:54 GMT -5
Hey Occupiers, I saw the post about yurts on this thread. I just wanted to let you know that there is a local option for the yurts. I started a small yurt building company called Clean Air Yurts in New Paltz, NY and I want to help out. www.cleanairyurts.comI am willing to donate the labor costs for building a yurt for your occupation. I make both permanent yurts that are basically round houses and also camping yurts that are easy to setup and lightweight, while still being strong enough for any weather conditions. The weakest yurt is many times more durable than the strongest fabric tent. Also one thing to remember is that tipis are much more cumbersome than a yurt with their 18'+ long poles and the slanted walls really reduce the usable floor space. I figure that a 12' yurt has about as much space as a 16'-18' tipi. Not that they don't look cool , but just not as portable, and not as usable. Please get in touch with me at 610-295-4681 or matt@cleanairyurts.com Figure that materials costs are going to run about 50% of the prices on my website. If you can't swing that cost, just let me know and I will try to find some ways to raise the funds. I will be at Occupy Poughkeepsie today and I want to help out with all of the local occupations. Matt Rogers
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