This is about as far 'off topic' as one can get and be on the same planet. But I haven't found an answer in my on-line searching, so I'm trying here in the land of eclectic knowledge and helpful people. I am, for the first time, in charge of assigning people to dorm rooms for the 5-day folk dance camp that Marina and I put on every June. Two beds per fairly small room. We have two ladies who are self-identified heavy snorers. Is it better to put them in the same room, or will that increase the problem exponentially? Or do I put each one in a room with a non-snorer? I've asked the snorers, and they honestly don't know, not having been in this situation before. I hope to get more information before I (very reluctantly) approach the non-snorers. (The camp is full, so there are no single rooms available.) Handing out Seconal is not an option. Ear plugs might be. Thanks.
If I'm not mistaken, Omega Institute addresses this issue (they regularly assign roommates and ask about snoring) by putting the snorers together. I think the argument is that since they both snore, they can't legitimately complain if the other person is doing something they do. I would think that putting snorers with non-snorers would be disastrous; the other person in the room would probably get no sleep and be very unhappy. Also, Harbin Hot Springs, which rents beds in dormitory-style rooms (8 beds/room) recommends that all people renting a dorm bed bring earplugs. Perhaps you can provide disposable ear plugs as part of the deal; get the ones that are best at filtering out lower frequency sound, with maximum blocking potential in db.
Good advice, Chip. The two snorers have agreed to room together . . . and the wonderful bit of serendipity is that that freed up a room next door, which was taken by our long-time deaf dancer!
I agree on putting the snorers together. When I worked midnights and had to sleep during the day, these were a Godsend;
Thanks, Bruce. And at $14 for that 50-pair jar, quite a bargain. So I've ordered a jar for our camp, to go along with the mosquito lotion and the little jingley bells to sew on hats to repel (or is it attract, I can never remember) bears.
I forget if there's directions on the jar, but remember to roll them between your two thumbs & index fingers until they're about half the original size, then put them in the ear canal. They'll expand to block out the noise. Bears are distant relatives to dogs, and neither have tear ducts. I found out the hard way that the old tear gas and chemical mace doesn't work on dogs (and by default bears), so consider some of this, which does work; http://www.safetygearhq.com/bearspray.htm
More helpful advice. Thanks, Bruce. We've had only two bear encounters in 21 years of doing this camp (at 7,200 feet in Kings Canyon National Forest). One was attracted by the 'Smores we were doing around the campfire. A blind camper's 'seeing eye' dog started barking and scared it off. The other was when an idiot camper left food in the back seat of her car. The bear simply pulled the door entirely off the Honda. Scary and impressive. From time to time, one sees the classic hoax poster, ostensibly from Fish & Game: "Warning, Bears in Vicinity. Carry pepper spray, and sew little bells on your hat. Black bears are more dangerous than grizzlies. You can tell the difference by examining their scat. The scat of grizzlies contains twigs and berries. The scat of black bears contains little bells and cans of pepper spray."
That is impressive! I probably wouldn't waste time examining the poo if it were an emergency, no matter how interesting it was. "Hey is that a -- OMG BEAR!" Bruce: That pepper spray advice sounds like it came from a very interesting story. (eep!) Thanks also for the ear plug recommendation. That will come in handy while studying
When I was a rookie, we had just been issued the old chemical mace, which is much different from pepper spray. We did a search warrant on an apartment, and there was a very large and very angry pit bull inside one of the bedrooms. I thought "Ah ha!!" and sprayed it with the chemical mace; the dog sneezed once, then went berserk and attacked the door that I quickly closed when I realized what was happening. The only effect of the mace was on the animal control officers who eventually collected the dog.
The best defense against bears is to hike with someone slower than yourself. Seriously, I've met bears (within 50 yards) hiking in Alaska and Tennessee. They look at me as I back away calmly, giving them plenty of space. It's worked for me.
