How to cultivate a sleep disorder...
Perhaps the only thing I'm worse with than money (and women) is sleeping habits. I've the ability to sleep in excess of twelve straight hours at times, occasionally for several days in a row. I tend to not be able to get up early in the morning, no matter what time I've gone to sleep, and have traditionally never had a problem with zonking right out, no matter what time of day or how long it's been since last I've slept.
My mother used to love to tell stories of how, as a child (and I'm sure this is not altogether uncommon), I'd literally run around until I fell over from complete exhaustion. Unfortunately, this behaviour has largely remained unchanged in nearly thirty years.
So I spent the majority of the afternoon yesterday building, stoking, nurturing, basking in front of, and generally enjoying a roaring fire. I went through about a bundle and a half of firewood, further rotting my brain via mindless television programming culled from the internet and consumed via this girly iBook. Around 11pm, I felt somewhat nappy, so I indulged that urge, and went to bed. Awaking at around 4am, I checked my e-mail, perused all my missed IMs (more on this in just a second), snacked a bit, and now I'm torn as to whether or not I should go back to bed. It's nearly 8am, the rest of the civilized world is just coming to life, it appears to be shaping up to be a gorgeous (albeit a mite nippy) day, and I have absolutely zero motivation to do anything of value. Laura says that I amaze her, and my response was that I confound even myself. I've no semblance of a circadian rhythm, and occasionally wonder how much more out-of-whack my sleep patterns can get. I wonder if there's any money to be made in becoming a case study for a sleep clinic of some kind?
Now, as for Skip's recent musings, I fully agree that IMs are a terrible substitute for human interaction, and in turn, even phone conversations are no replacement for actual face-to-face (or skin-on-skin) in-person contact and interplay. However, that being said, each medium has it's purpose, whether phone, IRC, SMS/texting, IM, e-mail, blogging, or just about any communication method our supermonkey brains have netted us. IMs have the benefit, as stated, of affording us a greater lag time for that brain-to-mouth filter to catch up, and making it possible for us to all seem just that much smarter/wittier/cleverer/more attractive. IMs DO lend themselves to rose-coloring both our presentations and perceptions, but is that so bad? He probably hit the nail on the head when he cited me as the leading offender of IM overuse, as my AIM Buddy list is constantly maxed out at 200 contacts, I believe my Yahoo list is over 300 people strong, and I have a low seven-digit ICQ number. Granted, I probably only actively talk to 8-10 percent of the names on those lists, and possibly a full quarter to a third of them are outdated, but I'd definitely be the first to agree that i'm parked in front of some computer or another far, far too much. Conversely, there are several dear, dear friends whom I'd never hear from/talk to because neither of us have the dedication to stay in contact that phone calls or e-mails require, because of the existence of IM and the ease-of-use associated with it. Perhaps we'd make more of an effort if IM didn't exist, but becasue it does, it tends to trump other mediums.
In my case, it's also had the added side-effect of helping to become a better (and worse) typist. Never having taken a formal typing class, I've become one of the best hunt-and-peck typsits I know. My accuracy sucks the big one, and my technique would probably make Mavis Beacon pull her ficticious hair out, but I believe I can bludgeon my way to something like 60 or so WPM.
OK, enough about that, as despite my best efforts, it's gone long in the tooth.
He's also onto something with regard to his expressed shock that I've already begun to take the recently fortunate turns in my life's course for granted. (For the record, I meant it was a long and dry weekend not as a complaint that there wasn't enough going on to keep me entertained, but just that the timing of events was much more concentrated, (everything happened on Saturday night, with a relatively relaxed/tame Friday/Sunday/Monday) rather than perhaps a similar amount of activity spread out over 3-4 days as is more usually the case.) Human nature exists to build tolerances and redefine status quo, and evidence of this can be seen everywhere. Who's not been through or known of people whose spending habits expand to fit (or overtake) one's earning potential (I'm the poster child for this phenomenon), or people (perhaps just about everyone in this country) who completely fail to see how much better their quality-of-life is compared to their global neighbors? Anyway, without getting into too much of a rambly diatribe, I'm fully aware that I lead a charmed life, but that's not to say that I don't need the occasional wake-up call vis-a-vis just how good I have it, and how many of my brothers, Asian or otherwise, would trade in their electronic gadgets or other treasured posessions, just for a taste of the good life. So thanks for the reality check Skippy, wake me when it's the weekend...
Sorry for the complete lack of coherence, today's more stream-of-consciousness than usual, and I'm lacking the motivation to re-read, edit, and revise that I normally seem to have. Maybe a nap would help with that...
My mother used to love to tell stories of how, as a child (and I'm sure this is not altogether uncommon), I'd literally run around until I fell over from complete exhaustion. Unfortunately, this behaviour has largely remained unchanged in nearly thirty years.
So I spent the majority of the afternoon yesterday building, stoking, nurturing, basking in front of, and generally enjoying a roaring fire. I went through about a bundle and a half of firewood, further rotting my brain via mindless television programming culled from the internet and consumed via this girly iBook. Around 11pm, I felt somewhat nappy, so I indulged that urge, and went to bed. Awaking at around 4am, I checked my e-mail, perused all my missed IMs (more on this in just a second), snacked a bit, and now I'm torn as to whether or not I should go back to bed. It's nearly 8am, the rest of the civilized world is just coming to life, it appears to be shaping up to be a gorgeous (albeit a mite nippy) day, and I have absolutely zero motivation to do anything of value. Laura says that I amaze her, and my response was that I confound even myself. I've no semblance of a circadian rhythm, and occasionally wonder how much more out-of-whack my sleep patterns can get. I wonder if there's any money to be made in becoming a case study for a sleep clinic of some kind?
Now, as for Skip's recent musings, I fully agree that IMs are a terrible substitute for human interaction, and in turn, even phone conversations are no replacement for actual face-to-face (or skin-on-skin) in-person contact and interplay. However, that being said, each medium has it's purpose, whether phone, IRC, SMS/texting, IM, e-mail, blogging, or just about any communication method our supermonkey brains have netted us. IMs have the benefit, as stated, of affording us a greater lag time for that brain-to-mouth filter to catch up, and making it possible for us to all seem just that much smarter/wittier/cleverer/more attractive. IMs DO lend themselves to rose-coloring both our presentations and perceptions, but is that so bad? He probably hit the nail on the head when he cited me as the leading offender of IM overuse, as my AIM Buddy list is constantly maxed out at 200 contacts, I believe my Yahoo list is over 300 people strong, and I have a low seven-digit ICQ number. Granted, I probably only actively talk to 8-10 percent of the names on those lists, and possibly a full quarter to a third of them are outdated, but I'd definitely be the first to agree that i'm parked in front of some computer or another far, far too much. Conversely, there are several dear, dear friends whom I'd never hear from/talk to because neither of us have the dedication to stay in contact that phone calls or e-mails require, because of the existence of IM and the ease-of-use associated with it. Perhaps we'd make more of an effort if IM didn't exist, but becasue it does, it tends to trump other mediums.
In my case, it's also had the added side-effect of helping to become a better (and worse) typist. Never having taken a formal typing class, I've become one of the best hunt-and-peck typsits I know. My accuracy sucks the big one, and my technique would probably make Mavis Beacon pull her ficticious hair out, but I believe I can bludgeon my way to something like 60 or so WPM.
OK, enough about that, as despite my best efforts, it's gone long in the tooth.
He's also onto something with regard to his expressed shock that I've already begun to take the recently fortunate turns in my life's course for granted. (For the record, I meant it was a long and dry weekend not as a complaint that there wasn't enough going on to keep me entertained, but just that the timing of events was much more concentrated, (everything happened on Saturday night, with a relatively relaxed/tame Friday/Sunday/Monday) rather than perhaps a similar amount of activity spread out over 3-4 days as is more usually the case.) Human nature exists to build tolerances and redefine status quo, and evidence of this can be seen everywhere. Who's not been through or known of people whose spending habits expand to fit (or overtake) one's earning potential (I'm the poster child for this phenomenon), or people (perhaps just about everyone in this country) who completely fail to see how much better their quality-of-life is compared to their global neighbors? Anyway, without getting into too much of a rambly diatribe, I'm fully aware that I lead a charmed life, but that's not to say that I don't need the occasional wake-up call vis-a-vis just how good I have it, and how many of my brothers, Asian or otherwise, would trade in their electronic gadgets or other treasured posessions, just for a taste of the good life. So thanks for the reality check Skippy, wake me when it's the weekend...
Sorry for the complete lack of coherence, today's more stream-of-consciousness than usual, and I'm lacking the motivation to re-read, edit, and revise that I normally seem to have. Maybe a nap would help with that...
posted by Gene at 8:28 AM
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