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New website!

Hey guys, hope you guys are digging the new website look! Made it more simple and elegant. Easier to read, black-on-white font rather than the blinding green-on-black. Ha!. Also, added Everest pics as well as a "videos" section. You can now also comment on my blog posts....I've been dying to have that available.

More to come over the next week:

- memory related pictures (competitions, alzheimer fundraisers, etc.) - articles section with all of my and Climb For Memory's newspaper/magazine/online articles - more videos! - memory section devoted to outlining different memory techniques (to separate them from my blog)

Cheers everyone!

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Death Zone Memory

Throughout my expedition to Everest, I kept on with my memory training. Some strange things happened to my memory up there; things that I will not go into yet, but stay tuned - a blog post about this has been long over due. What I wanted to mention though, was that I attempted to memorize a deck of cards at 26,000 ft (also known as the Death Zone). In the Death Zone, there is about 1/3 of the oxygen in the air as there is at sea level. It is one of the harshest environments on earth; a place where the human body can no longer acclimatize and where your body basically wastes away every minute you spend in it.

Yeah, it's pretty brutal on the lungs and the brain. Definitely a tough place to keep your mind straight. Even with supplemental oxygen, it's tough to stay alive. On top of that, you get to cram yourself in a cozy little tent, looking like this:

So anyways, I gave memorizing a pack of cards a go. Actually a few goes...to no avail, unfortunately. I came close though, which to me still seems pretty impressive. The closest I got was memorizing a deck in 54 seconds, with only 3 mistakes (which was really 1 LARGE mistake that alternated 3 cards), other than that it was perfect. I think this shows that there is definitely something to be said about memory techniques and visualization - that it can push the brain even in places where it shouldn't be functioning properly.

Keep your brain active, guys!

I'll be posting a video of me doing it, later today. Stay tuned!

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One.Deux.Tres.Vier.

Quick tip for you runners/swimmers out there (this can be applied to anything where you have to keep a running count over a long period time). When I run or swim laps, I often forget what lap I'm on. Either because I'm thinking of something else or just not paying attention. But in recent years, I've used a memory technique that never fails. I have no name for it, but it works like a charm. And it's really simple and silly.

Every time you complete a lap, say the number out loud, but every time in either a unique voice or if you can, a different language. For example:

Lap 1: "one" (said normally), Lap 2: "deux" (in French), Lap 3: "THREE" (said in a deep evil voice), Lap 4: "vier" (dutch), etc.

The point is that when you're in between say, lap 13 and 14 and asking yourself, "what lap was I on, 13 or 14?" you'll have a strong image in your mind of you saying the lap you are on, purely because you said it weird. You'll say, for example, "oh I'm on lap 13 because I said "thirteen" in a high pitch girly voice." Sounds silly but it works and is so useful. I hate losing track of laps while I exercise.

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