Caffeine Free
Two recent studies from the world of obvious science have hit home. The first: sleep deprivation steals your sharpness. The second: the more coffee you drink, the less effect it has on you.
Being a full-time mom and contributor to Ricochet is more challenging than I expected it to be. It’s been a few years since I’ve gotten the kind of sleep that leaves you sharp enough to engage with the likes of Rob Long, Peter Robinson, and Claire Berlinski. These are very informed people. Some days, the only news I get comes from the few minutes I’m able to steal on Ricochet. Meg Whitman. Freedom Flotilla. Mitch Daniels. These things swirl in my brain becoming Whitman’s Sampler, Free Tortilla, Jack Daniels.
Coffee is my only ally. Most mornings, it takes about five cups to reach “baseline” alertness. On Thursday – the day we recorded the most recent Ricochet podcast – I was way below baseline. And a practice chat I’d had with my husband hadn’t gone well.
“You’ve heard about Scott Strasburg, right? Pitcher for the Nationals?” I asked confidently. “Apparently Kirby Puckett was his coach at San Francisco State.”
“Urs,” he said. “It’s Steve Strasburg, San Diego State, and Tony Gwynn was his coach.”
Panic time. I know much more about baseball than I do about politics, and I don’t actually know that much about baseball. What if I accidentally refer to Meg Whitman as “Russell Stover”? I need a nap. (Or another cup of coffee.)
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Comments:
Re: Caffeine Free
Coffee Is My Only Ally -- I sense a short book classic on your hands, Ursula.
May '10
Re: Caffeine Free
I have read that Drinking Coffee Slashes Risk of Alzheimer's.
May '10
Re: Caffeine Free
Five cups? Wow, it sounds like soon you'll have to inject the stuff soon Ursala.
But your observation of how sharp the Ricochet contributors are is spot on. I am continually delighted and amazed at how sharp Rob Long is. For a long time, I've only thought of him as a quick witted funny man, not someone so well versed in politics (although his Long View feature in NR should have tipped me off). If we were talking philosophy, I would be more at home, but the breath and depth of the Ricochet conversations is wonderful, and slightly intimidating.
May '10
Re: Caffeine Free
The dead giveaway is that the late Kirby Puckett, for all his incredible baseball skills, couldn't have coached the New London girls' kindergarten whiffle ball team. He was as much a coaching type as Stevie Wonder.
May '10
Re: Caffeine Free
Oh, sister, I hear ya! I became a coffee addict back in the days when I'd get up at O-dark-thirty every day, drive 25 miles, improv/create a children's show an hour before the showtime, try to be entertaining, and then perform for elementary school children. But then I knew I had a problem when I couldn't or wouldn't perform a show without the caffeine. Well, there was that and the fact that my fellow cast members were begging me to get off of the stuff. Apparently, I was so funny only I got the jokes... Coming off of coffee was tough to say the least. So, now it's just me and my few of hours of sleep. I'm not exactly the brightest bulb on the tree these days.
I totally understand the feeling of being intimidated by all of the depth of knowledge and familiarity with current events not just by contributors but by site members. I just keep hoping no one will notice the dim bulb in the corner trying her best to pretend she knows what people are talking about. However, when it comes to sports, I don't even bother pretending. Y'all are like jets flying overhead.
Re: Caffeine Free
Do you know where I can get the paraphernalia, John? I'm totally game.
Re: Caffeine Free
Felicia, if Ricochet members and contributors ever actually have a "real" cocktail party, you and I can be wallflowers together. I won't mind if you whisper, "Um, what are they talking about?" if you don't mind the same from me.
May '10
Re: Caffeine Free
Yeeeaaahhh... you've just described me at a party, Ursula...
May '10
Re: Caffeine Free
Ursula Hennessey
Do you know where I can get the paraphernalia, John? I'm totally game. · Jun 12 at 11:05am
Being married to my loverly bride, I can confidently assert that it is not the number of cups, it is the strength of the brew (I myself only drink- Claire, forgive me- Diet Dr. Pepper) (product placement).
No mainlining needed. Go to the Twinings shop on The Strand in London. Buy their strongest bean. Grind them very fine, just this side of espresso. With a quart of water in the drip coffeemaker, use 3 full scoops of coffee.
The result may not need to be poured- you may be able to pick it up with your fingers to put into the mug- but it is probably stronger than No-Doz. My wife gulps it right down.
May '10
Re: Caffeine Free
You'll be happy to learn that my grandma drinks nothing but coffee all day long every day and is still going strong at 92 years of age. Not long ago, I heard her remark, "When I get old...". Enjoy your brew.
May '10
Re: Caffeine Free
Hey, wallflowers - can I join you? Do you mind if we stand near the snack mix?
Re: Caffeine Free
If by snacks you mean chocolate, then a resounding, "yes!"
May '10
Re: Caffeine Free
Oooooo! Welcome!
Re: Caffeine Free
Only five cups? You are a piker.
Re: Caffeine Free
Me? Well-informed? Hah! You know what? Maybe we should start a confessions thread. I'll start: I said on the podcast that I often just glide right over any article in the paper about the Middle East. For the life of me, I can't sort out Hamas and Hezbollah and hummus. I get all Israeli politicians all mixed up. Put a gun to my head and try to get me to explain what, exactly, M3 is and I'll fail. I always get the Amendments to the Constitution wrong -- except for the Second, which is my favorite. I get Basra and Kandahar confused. I forget which is the good one: Shia or Sunni. I always forget what they speak in Taiwan, Mandarin or Cantonese. I thought, at first, Elton John was singing, "Hold me closer, Tony Danza" instead of "Hold me closer, Tiny Dancer." I don't know how money works, really. Gaza, Golan, West Bank, settlements -- baffling, most of the time. And I will never never never understand the concept of the Holy Ghost.
There's more, but I refuse to be the only one confessing.
Re: Caffeine Free
I have something major to confess: I just discovered that Rand Paul is the son of Ron Paul. I have no idea how that fact eluded me for so long, but when I read a reference to their kinship in the NY Times just now, my eyeballs nearly popped out of my head.
Wow, the act of confession -- scary and liberating at the same time.
May '10
Re: Caffeine Free
I'm with all of you. Have an Ivy League education but these days spend more time pre-treating stains and figuring out where I need to drive next than keeping up with the conversations on Ricochet. June means wrestling practice and tourneys, softball camp, time at the beach, packing trunks for July summer camp... you get the idea.
Have listened to every Ricochet podcast but the last one (get so much accomplished while chuckling with Rob, Peter and the incredible Mark Steyn) and am always energized by the high level of conversation. I go back every few years to regain fluency in Spanish and have a similar feeling when I get started on the language tapes again. Have found you just need to ride through those feelings of inadequacy, let the conversation flow and gradually the fluency comes back....
Sometimes I want to jump in on conversations but second-guess whether my comment will be welcome or high level enough to be appreciated. What a waste of energy! That's it, when I want to comment I'm going to, and if it's not high brow enough to satisfy, people can just ignore it! Short and pithy, that'll be me.
Edited on September 22, 2010 at 11:05pm