Snooping Around Washington, DC/Channeling Your Inner Snowden

Want to check out one of the D.C.area's most secretive spots?

Last summer, I was commissioned to write a lengthy article about Washington's power places for Emirates Airlines Open Skies.  One of the sites profiled is located smack dab on the campus of the National Security Agency (NSA) in Fort Meade, Maryland.

If you want to snoop around there, you can take refuge to the National Cryptologic Museum. And if you visit in the summer, you won't have to worry about getting Snowden.

Puzzled? Read the excerpt below.

For the full article, click here and zip to page 100.

Health Tips for Safe Summer Travels

As summer travel season heats up, it's important to stay cool. I can tell you from first-hand experience, you don't want to end up in the ER with heat exhaustion. Here are some important tips for keeping your cool this summer.

Please click on the link for my latest television segment:
  Tips for safe summer traveling - Let's Talk Live | WJLA.com.

And for those of you who prefer reading to watching, here's a recap:

After a long day of summer sightseeing, have you ever felt headache-y, queasy or nauseous? Have you experienced the shakes or has your face gone pale? You may have had heat exhaustion without even knowing it. And it's important to know it, because once you have an episode of heat exhaustion, you are more susceptible to it in the future.

Now, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. But believe you me, I know from heat exhaustion. I've ended up in the hospital with it four times. The first was after a three-hour singles match in the mid-day California sun. The second was after I had flown to California non-stop and played tennis (doubles, this time) later in the afternoon. That incident was clearly caused by the triple whammy of dehydration from the plane, the sun, and exercise. Incident #3 was after my first and only attempt at Bikram Yoga (I highly DO NOT recommend this form of yoga--it's actually the antithesis of yoga, IMHO). And finally, there was the infamous incident in China, which took place, not after a round of exercise, but in the middle of a day of sightseeing in Beijing. That's another one that resulted in an IV in the ER. I highly DO NOT recommend the ER in China.

One month later, I am still sorting out dozens of receipts written in Chinese, trying to decipher what's what in order to send my claim to the Travel Guard insurance company. So that you can avoid similar travails--both heat stroke on your travels and the accompanying paperwork, a bit of advice is in order. Again, I am not a doctor, but I've learned some excellent tips from the four who have treated me for the condition.

1. HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE. You can never have too much water before you go out in the heat and while you are out. Better yet, as you hydrate, alternate between water and sports drinks loaded with electrolytes.

2. Take it easy within 24 hours of landing after a long-distance flight. Aside from the above-mentioned combo of coast-to-coast flying and tennis, I believe the incident in Beijing may have developed from the following set of activities:
    Day 1: 14-hour flight to Beijing
    Day 2: Climbing to the top of the Great Wall in heat and humidity
    Day 3: Four hours at the (shaded) Summer Palace, followed by an afternoon of sightseeing in Tiannamen
              Square and the Forbidden City. Temperature was in the high 80s, not taking into account the heat  
              from the pavement and the air quality.
While I had taken care to get plenty of sleep and what I thought was plenty of water (although probably rationing unconsciously due to the yen to avoid using squat toilets still so prevalent in China), BOOM! Down I went in the Forbidden City.

3. Carry electrolytes with you if are prone to heat exhaustion. I had Emergen-C packed in my suitcase, but it wasn't with me in the Forbidden City. A friend had salt pills packed, but again, she didn't have them in her purse. Both would have been perfect for dissolving in a bottle of water.

4. Carry energy bars, dried fruit or something similar.

5. Wear a hat and sunscreen.

6. Get out of the heat and rest. Once you start feeling the effects of heat exhaustion, you may be too far gone...and an IV will be your only solution, so to speak. But if you feel on the cusp, immediately stop your activity and stay cool. This is what I tried to do in the Bikram class 30 minutes in....but the instructor wouldn't let me leave the room, the heat index of which was probably upwards of 130. After 30 more minutes in this extreme sauna, I forced my way out (as the instructor chased after me calling me a coward--nice).  Had I left the  room when I initially felt ill, I would have been okay with liquid, rest, and shade. But the extra heat did me in, even though I was laying on my mat during that time. On to the ER.

7. What do you drink once heat exhaustion kicks in? Interestingly, the Chinese doctor who treated me said drinking water straight is one of the worst things you can do. He suggested that once heat exhaustion  sets in,  water intake further dilutes salt levels. He emphasized the need to drink liquids containing electrolytes instead. No other ER doctor had  ever mentioned that to me, but it seemed logical. That said, in checking a number of legitimate medical websites, 100% recommended water, although agreeing that electrolyte-spiked liquid is better yet. These same sites put a total kibosh on drinking carbonated beverages or anything with caffeine.

Best bet--before leaving on a hot trip, ask your doctor for his/her advice and get travel insurance, just in case. As for me, I'm staying out of the heat.

It's Just Another Manic Punday

Today's word is pajamas. It was requested by Cary Broussard (had to slipper name in). After sleeping on it, I cottoned to the idea of a pajama game. But before I do my jams, have you heard about the guy who sued the sod company boss? The lawyers had to select a lingerie; a flannel of his peers, if you will.  Don’t mean to cause a flap among nutritionists, but I have a hankering for Long Johns Silker’s. I’m done now--off to spend the nightie playing footsie with Dr. Denton. He’s the cat’s pajamas.

----------------------------------------

Please serve up your topic requests for next Punday.

7 More Tips About Heat Exhaustion

For those of you who saw me on NewsChannel 8 today, my previous post covers most of the points I addressed on TV. However, for those who are looking to do a bit more research into the phenomenon, here are links to a few articles which provide professional insight on the topic.

While you may think of heat exhaustion as a condition most affecting hard-core athletes, it can impact the Regular Joe as well. So, there's a lot to be learned from how professional athletic trainers deal with it. Here's some input from the National Athletic Trainers' Association.

Certainly, the staff of Grand Canyon River Guides has to know the inside scoop on heat-related illnesses. Multi-day trips in the Grand Canyon in the middle of summer are adventures just waiting for a heat incident. Here's the company's chief of emergency services take: http://www.gcrg.org/bqr/14-1/hypo.html

A Food Network nutritionist discusses how much water to drink.

Several companies produce electrolyte beverages and powders. Nuun makes self-dissolving electrolyte tabs that are designed for athletes, but can be used by all. I can't vouch for the product, not having tried it, but the FAQs on Nuun's website seem solid.


Meantime, two other notes gleaned from experience and research:

1. Heat exhaustion isn't always caused by heat, per se, although it is usually a major factor.
2. Other factors that can contribute to the condition are dehyration, altitude, air quality, humidity, and surface temperature (a tennis court or pavement will be hotter than a field of flowers, for example).

7 Things to Know about Heat Exhaustion

Looking perky before the fall

After a long day of summer sightseeing, have you ever felt headache-y, queasy or nauseous? Have you experienced the shakes or has your face gone pale? You may have had heat exhaustion without even knowing it. And it's important to know it, because once you have an episode of heat exhaustion, you are more susceptible to it in the future.

Now, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. But believe you me, I know from heat exhaustion. I've ended up in the hospital with it four times. The first was after a three-hour singles match in the mid-day California sun. The second was after I had flown to California non-stop and played tennis (doubles, this time) later in the afternoon. That incident was clearly caused by the triple whammy of dehydration from the plane, the sun, and exercise. Incident #3 was after my first and only attempt at Bikram Yoga (I highly DO NOT recommend this form of yoga--it's actually the antithesis of yoga, IMHO). And finally, there was the infamous incident in China, which took place, not after a round of exercise, but in the middle of a day of sightseeing in Beijing. That's another one that resulted in an IV in the ER. I highly DO NOT recommend the ER in China.

The face of heat exhaustion

One month later, I am still sorting out dozens of receipts written in Chinese, trying to decipher what's what in order to send my claim to the Travel Guard insurance company. So that you can avoid similar travails--both heat stroke on your travels and the accompanying paperwork, a bit of advice is in order. Again, I am not a doctor, but I've learned some excellent tips from the four who have treated me for the condition.

1. HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE. You can never have too much water before you go out in the heat and while you are out. Better yet, as you hydrate, alternate between water and sports drinks loaded with electrolytes.

2. Take it easy within 24 hours of landing after a long-distance flight. Aside from the above-mentioned combo of coast-to-coast flying and tennis, I believe the incident in Beijing may have developed from the following set of activities:
    Day 1: 14-hour flight to Beijing
    Day 2: Climbing to the top of the Great Wall in heat and humidity
    Day 3: Four hours at the (shaded) Summer Palace, followed by an afternoon of sightseeing in Tiannamen
              Square and the Forbidden City. Temperature was in the high 80s, not taking into account the heat    
              from the pavement and the air quality.
While I had taken care to get plenty of sleep and what I thought was plenty of water (although probably rationing unconsciously due to the yen to avoid using squat toilets still so prevalent in China), BOOM! Down I went in the Forbidden City.

3. Carry electrolytes with you if are prone to heat exhaustion. I had Emergen-C packed in my suitcase, but it wasn't with me in the Forbidden City. A friend had salt pills packed, but again, she didn't have them in her purse. Both would have been perfect for dissolving in a bottle of water.

4. Carry energy bars, dried fruit or something similar.

5. Wear a hat and sunscreen.

6. Get out of the heat and rest. Once you start feeling the effects of heat exhaustion, you may be too far gone...and an IV will be your only solution, so to speak. But if you feel on the cusp, immediately stop your activity and stay cool. This is what I tried to do in the Bikram class 30 minutes in....but the instructor wouldn't let me leave the room, the heat index of which was probably upwards of 130. After 30 more minutes in this extreme sauna, I forced my way out (as the instructor chased after me calling me a coward--nice).  Had I left the  room when I initially felt ill, I would have been okay with liquid, rest, and shade. But the extra heat did me in, even though I was laying on my mat during that time. On to the ER.

7. What do you drink once heat exhaustion kicks in? Interestingly, the Chinese doctor who treated me said drinking water straight is one of the worst things you can do. He suggested that once heat exhaustion  sets in, water intake further dilutes salt levels. This condition is called hypontremia. If this is your issue, there is a need to drink liquids containing electrolytes instead of straight water. No other ER doctor had  ever mentioned that to me.  Interestingly, though, in checking a number of legitimate medical websites, 100% recommend water, although agreeing that electrolyte-spiked liquid is better yet. These same sites put a total kibosh on drinking carbonated beverages or anything with caffeine.

Best bet--before leaving on a hot trip, ask your doctor for his/her advice and get travel insurance, just in case. As for me, I'm staying out of the heat.

Plane Talk

So, I’m flipping channels the other night and I end up on C-SPAN. Now, mind you, I do watch C-SPAN every now and then (in fact, my viewing of such while living in Santa Barbara made me realize I needed to move back East). But when I do watch, 99.9% of the time, I watch authors discussing their works. I never, ever watch Congressional hearings. Except that last night, I did.

The topic was the merger between American Airlines and US Airways. The hearing was held by the Senate Aviation Subcommittee. The main questioners were Senators Maria Cantwell (WA) and Mark Warner (VA). The main testifiers were Doug Parker, currently CEO of US AIrways and soon-to-be CEO of the merged company, and Charlie Leocha, director of the Consumer Travel Alliance.

The main point of contention was the necessity of slot divestitures at Washington's Reagan National Airport (DCA) If the carriers don't give up slots at National upon merging, the new airline will control two-thirds of the flights out of DCA. There was also a discussion of loosening DCA’s perimeter rule, currently restricting the number of daily flights beyond 1,250 miles from the airport.

But that’s not really the stuff that intrigued me. Right now, US Airways is in an alliance with United. United has an international hub at Washington Dulles (IAD). So, when US Airways devotees, particularly those who live in smaller cities, currently ponder one-stop routes to Europe, Dulles is a strong East Coast hub airport to consider. While they can’t fly direct on US Airways equipment, they can still get a code share flight on a U.S.-based carrier.

But if US Airways merges with American, that leaves US Airways and American passengers without an international DC hub. American’s main international hubs on this side of the country are the New York's JFK and Miami. Meanwhile, you can get to Europe on US Airways via Philadelphia or Charlotte. For the most part, you won't be able to get there from Dulles on the merged US Airways/American.

And that weakens Dulles. And that worries Warner, whose constituency would be affected by the loss of business. I don’t know why I find that little tidbit so interesting--after all, I can fly United directly out of Dulles without connecting, so I am not personally impacted. But in all of the minutiae involved in airline mergers, the international hub issue is one I never considered. Just my two cents and some food for thought. Of course, if that food for thought is requested in the air, there will be a charge of more than two cents. But ancillary fees...that's an issue for another post.

It's Just Another Manic Punday

And now, for the first in a weekly series called It's Just Another Manic Punday. I do hope you will add your thoughts and your punditry in the comments section.  Also, feel free to play Spot the Pun. Count the number of puns below.  I shall attempt 10 per bon mot (or bon mouth--and yes, that counts as one).

This is a true story. This past week, I was at the dentist. Now, brace yourself. We were jawing about the NSA scandal and the job of data analysis (because this is what one discusses with a DDS in DC). The dentist says, without a trace of irony, "I can't imagine a more tedious job." He is saying this as he is chiseling plaque off my teeth.

Now, I grant you, it would have made for a better bit if he was using a drill. "I can't imagine a more tedious job," says the dentist while boring his drill into my cavity.  See that--tedious=boring. Very nice. Ivory much like that version. But the root of the matter is that I had no cavities. Thus, I cannot go filling my tale with a false tooth. Chew on that.

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If you have a topic or a word which you would like me to punder, please make your request below.