Zooms for Zzzzzs?

We're probably all familiar with two of the classic substitutes for sleep:

- Caffeine
- Calories

On Friday afternoon, when I had already availed myself earlier of both of these therapies in reasonably high quantity but was still so tired that I felt like I was going to cry or fall into a coma with my eyes open, I discovered another one coming back from the airport:

- Driving a circuitous route of curving back-country roads in a zippy car with the air-conditioner blasting and The White Stripes on the stereo

Obviously, the situations in which this treatment can be undertaken are rather limited, but it does seem quite effective. I do fear, however, that taking such a drive while drinking a large Starbucks frappachino could result in vibrating into another dimension, so it pays to take your own sensitivies into account when considering combining these staying-awake techniques.

Partly because the book I started reading was so good, and partly because I had given myself permission to do absolutely no work whatsoever last night, and partly because I discovered how good leftover Brick Oven canadian bacon and black olive pizza is (see technique #2 above), I stayed up until midnight without taking a nap, which had seemed utterly inconceivable at about 4:00.

I got a late start on my organic paper writing project today, but have been in a crazily productive mode with it. I won't go so far as to say the paper is writing itself, but given the terrific material supplied by my interview subjects, including most of the readers of this blog, the results section is coming together easily and quickly.