How to Stay Awake at Work or School
Fri 25 Jan 2008 – 10.51
It goes by many names, the “lull”, the “itis”, the “valley of fatigue” to name a few, but by any name we all know the feeling of getting totally exhausted during the day. Whether a student or a worker, the need to sleep can conflict directly with your day’s to-do list. I have often remarked that falling asleep in class is the oldest college tradition; fuck road trips! Of course it can be a problem because most workplaces place sleep as the #1 cardinal sin, right behind porno. Drinking? I have at various points been offered beer, wine and hard liquor during the work day, but I have never been offered a nap. And while sunglasses may hide you in a crowded lecture hall, they rarely work when the boss comes around to your desk.
OK, so how do we stay awake during the day? Aside from the obvious points about getting enough rest the night before, eating breakfast, etc. a few good tips turned up on a post from Dumb Little Man, yet another rediculously named blog about general life. Here’s one that sounds reasonable:
8. Get Help from Colleagues. If you have some buddies at work, confide in them that you need their help with staying awake. See if there are any things you can work on together. Talking with co-workers will help keep your mind engaged and alert.
I’ve been there. I’ve been there. Jessica and I used to throw crumpled up post-its at one another when we’d see the head starting to bob.
The tactic I like to employ at work, school, and on the road (although don’t fuck with falling asleep behind the wheel!) is simply to drink loads of water. Get yourself a gallon, or at least a litre bottle, and start drinking! When was the last time you fell asleep having to pee like mad? Yes, you’ll have to take a trip to the toilet every ten minutes, but the walking will also help to wake you up. And if that fails, get yourself an apple. The effort required to eat an apple is sure to keep you going, to say nothing of the natural sugars, etc. And the odd thing about apples is that you have to eat them in a certain amount of time or else they turn brown, so no dozing off between bites!
Coffee also does the trick. That is, if you don’t use it every half hour.
Check out the article and add your comments about what keeps you awake during that afterlunch dip.
posted by Scott in careers, coffee, health & fitness.
Caffeine Doubles Miscarriage Risk
Tue 22 Jan 2008 – 10.28
Eeek, no more buying coffee for the ladies, turns out caffeine can double the likelihood of miscarrying. A new study out of Chicago has shown that drinking two cups of coffee while pregnant is a terrbile thing to attempt. In fact, caffeine of any type, including soda, tea, etc. can be problematic and should be avoided.
“Women who are pregnant or are actively seeking to become pregnant should stop drinking coffee for three months or hopefully throughout pregnancy,”
—Dr. De-Kun Li, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research
So ladies take note, if you’re trying to have a baby, you need to phase out that morning cuppa and take it slow for a year or so. And chances are you’ll need that caffeine once the baby is borne, so best not to have a high tolerance, you know.
It’s a short, but interesting article.
posted by Scott in coffee, health & fitness.
Men Hate to Admit to Casual Gaming
Mon 21 Jan 2008 – 17.01
Casual Gaming? No, that’s not a euphemism for butt-sex, it’s playing those “little” video games that take up just a bit of time here and there. Tetris, Bejeweled, etc. are common examples.
Traditional says that these games are mainly for ladies, and men prefer to tackle “real” games like Hal or Tomb Raider. But as it happens, men play ‘em too, but hate to admit to it. The news comes from GamePolitics.com.
What’s your stance on casual gaming? Personally, I admit to being a Tetris junkie just as bad as anyone else — male or female. There was a time when I would play Solitaire for speed, throwing in a quick game here and there, but these days there are thousands upon thousand of Flash games on the web to choose from. Here are a few of my favs:
Desktop Tower Defense
Solitaire
Pillage the Village
Chaos Theory
Bloons
posted by Scott in life.
Snacking Tips for All-Night Gamers
Wed 09 Jan 2008 – 22.54
In my 26 years I have spent many a night hour with friends (and alone) playing video games. It does strange things to one’s physiology — we forget to eat, ignore the need to sleep, tune out external stimuli, and somehow eradicate the need to use the bathroom. But since we’re not teenagers anymore, it might be a good idea to maintain proper diet and health, even when fiending a game to it’s end.
Check out this article about 23 snack foods that will keep you going without too much effort. Warning, this will make you hungry, so best to read it on a full stomach.
One of my personal favs:
Bagels and cream cheese. This combo is satisfying if you’re feeling more than peckish but not all-out hungry. You have lots of flavors to choose from, and you could replace the cream cheese with smoked salmon (above), or tomato or cuke slices sprinkled with a bit of salt and pepper.
posted by Scott in health & fitness, movies & media.
Tue 08 Jan 2008 – 14.00
The start of a new year brings with it new optimism and resolutions, which often mean hitting the gym. If you are among the masses that flock to the gym in January, or as I call them, “The Jannuarians”, take a moment to read this article from ABC News.
Based on Better Business Bureau findings, gyms and health clubs are often crafty buggers who have long, intricate contracts aimed at swindling you out of your cash.
One national chain holds customers to their contracts unless they are gravely ill, badly injured or move more than 50 miles from the nearest branch of the gym. Can you imagine driving 50 miles to work out? I have some exercise gear in my basement and I have a hard time summoning the willpower to use it.
The bottom line is simple: do some research and ask questions. Gyms are like any other endeavor, you don’t want to be attached if it turns out to be a bad move.
posted by Scott in health & fitness, personal finance.
– 9.00
Whoa, my life just changed. Well, sort of. It seems that a post on DietHack has just tackled 12 Myths about various beverages including coffee, soda, tea and alcohol. Of course, this is the internet so I’m not sure if the ’science’ behind this site can be trusted. I would feel more comfortable if these entries linked to independently-funded university research projects.
But check this out, did you know:
“café au lait” or coffee with milk is indigestible.
True: Because of the amount of tannins it contains (less than tea though), which precipitate casein and cause it to clot which render its digestion very difficult. Casein is a protein that is found in milk and used independently in many foods as a binding agent.
That explains why a latté goes through me like a hot knife through butter. Too much info, I know. Read the rest of the post if you’re interested.
posted by Scott in coffee, health & fitness.
Mon 07 Jan 2008 – 13.09
Do twentysomethings make resolutions? Most likely yes, but perhaps not with the same fervor as ‘adults’. It seems we are content to just exist, and we have a strange blindness when it comes to self-examination. While we may examine our waistlines, like everyone else, we seldom resolve to change our life to any large degree.
I include myself in the above blanket statement. As is the case with people I have spoken to recently, I resolve to achieve small, attainable goals rather than lofty shifts. And with twentyhood specifically (ie, the website and podcast) I have a few to numerate. So here’s to you, readers and listeners, helping me keep my resolutions.
Here are my plans to twentyhood for the year 2008:
posted by Scott in life, this website.
Sat 05 Jan 2008 – 12.37
Need further evidence that college bafoonery has escaped it’s brick-and-ivy cage? The World Series of Beer Pong is currently underway in Las Vegas. Perhaps the most shocking revelation is that this is in fact the third WSBP, so the event is gaining traction.
Check out the official site for BPONG.com, who organise the event, and a coverage article from openpresswire.com
I think the most cheeky part of this whole … affair is the logo itself. It seems baseball is no longer the national pastime.
posted by Scott in life.
Fri 04 Jan 2008 – 11.51
Interested in taking your work life up a notch for the new year? Best to get into one of these fields. US News and World Report has the rundown of some ahead-of-the-curve careers perfect for the taking. Here’s an obvious but insightful example:
>Globalization, especially Asia’s ascendancy. This should create great demand for business development specialists, helping U.S. companies create joint ventures with Chinese firms. Once those deals are made, offshoring managers are needed to oversee those collaborations as well as the growing number of offshored jobs.
posted by Scott in careers.
Sun 30 Dec 2007 – 15.59
Scott is joined by podcast star Cali Lewis for a chat about gadgets, games, grilled cheese and other geeky pursuits.
GeekBbrief.tv - Cali’s daily video podcast
Keith and the Girl
Boston Legal
Cali’s T-shirt collection
CaféPress
No FCC controlling the Podcast
Jude Ng
iYule.tv
Geoff Smith and Paul Colligan
“Digg the Code” by Geoff Smith
1080i
Heifer International
My Little Pony
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches - on Geekbrief and on Mahalo Daily
GBTVlive.com
Friend of the podcast, Veronica Belmont
Trader Joe’s
The George Forman Grill
Meeting Charlie at The Goat
Splenda Flavor Blends
Debbie Millman on The Coffee Ritual
Drobo (buy one using promo code CALI)
Leo’s Radio Show
The TWiT podcasts
Buzz Out Loud
iTunes Scripts: QuickConvert, Make Bookmarkable, Join Together
The Time Traveler’s Wife, brilliant audiobook - Buy it on Amazon
The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
The movie Gattaca, and even Star Wars
1984, by George Orwell
The Pleo - worst gadget of the season?
Furby, Tamagotchi - remember those?
Virtual Boy
The Wiz
CompUSA: out of business
iPhone changed her life
Screaming Monkey Sex
Ze Frank
A Photo Everyday for 8 Years
Dr. Strangelove
For more info on Cali and her show, check out the three-part documentary by student filmmaker Jonathan Davis on episodes 280, 281 and 282 of the Brief
Listen Now
Download Episode 036 (.m4a, 49:09, 22.2 MB)
posted by Scott in podcasts.