The Chat Thread

[PaulR]

RIP my cat Bear

[Leon]

Has anyone heard of an animal attacking a parked lawn mower? 

Yesterday I went to mow my grass but found that something had chewed into the gas tank causing it to leak all the gas out (the cap was also chewed, but the real damage was done to one corner).  Lucky for me, my wife had a plastic glue gun and we managed to seal the hole so that gas no longer leaked and I could use the mower - but what kind of animal goes after gasoline from a lawn mower?

[Szykneij]

RIP my cat Bear

Sorry to hear that. It's sad to lose a pet.

[ibanezmonster]

but what kind of animal goes after gasoline from a lawn mower?

A zombie bear on bath salts?

[eyeresist]

RIP my cat Bear

[PaulR]

Another Tuesday, another baking disaster.  I should just stick to cooking.

[Henk]

It still puzzles me what's the clue behind Harry's avatar. I only can think of something negative.

[Ataraxia]

RZZZZZ!

[Ataraxia]

What's this forum about then?

[Karl Henning]

What's this forum about then?

You!

[Ataraxia]

You!

No, that would be Facebook. 

[Todd]

It has been brought to my attention that the Engineers from Prometheus may not be wholly original.  Below is a shot of an Engineer as well as what Squidward, from SpongeBob SquarePants, would look like as a human. 


 

[Ataraxia]

PROMETHEUS, the movie all my FB friends are talking about.

Haven't seen it yet. Sounds like I should wait for the DVD.

[Karl Henning]

Ebert really liked it, FWIW

[Todd]

Sounds like I should wait for the DVD.

No way, see it on the biggest screen you can.  It has shortcomings, yes, but it is visually magnificent, and ain't no way you have a home theater that can produce the super big booms that theaters can.  For some scenes, you need those big booms!

[Ataraxia]

No way, see it on the biggest screen you can.  It has shortcomings, yes, but it is visually magnificent, and ain't no way you have a home theater that can produce the super big booms that theaters can.  For some scenes, you need those big booms!

Thanks. Before seeing the Avengers in a theater, the trailer for Prometheus certainly had big booms!

[Henk]

Damn, we lost our match against our eternal rival Germany at the European championship soccer. Now one more change, but we depend on Germany. 

[eyeresist]

I assume there are no Nootropics enthusiasts in the vicinity....  This is an extract from an email I sent to a friend this morning:

I'm currently half off my rocker on modafinil. Well, the slightly deranged bit is due more to sleep deprivation than the drug itself. After my package arrived yesterday, I couldn't resist sampling immediately, but then spoiled the experiment by having much too much sugar, then valerian in an attempt to reduce foot cramp, then no-doze to counter the consequent vague mental state. Then I lost track of time, and went to bed around 7 this morning. Had a hard time drifting off, and my heartrate refused to slow down (possibly from the late night caffeine?). I eventually got to sleep, but had to wake up at 9. In order to make it through today, I had to take more modafinil! I feel okay so far.

It's hard to describe the effects of the drug, as really it has so little effect at all. It's not at all speedy, it doesn't increase concentration, it doesn't seem to prevent late night muscle tension or sore eyes. I did feel better after my short sleep, so maybe the anecdotal stuff about catnaps is true. There's no way this stuff can let you live without sleep, or be more productive in anything requiring creativity. So what good is it? It would be useful as used by the military and cramming students, for sustained wakefulness in emergency situations, and a morning dose might be helpful for narcoleptics. For me, it might be useful for writing on the weekend, by cutting down on the half-day it takes me to wake up (by which time I start getting tired again - you know how it goes).

The cramps I mentioned seem to be a side effect, BTW. I had a berocca, after which I felt better (I read somewhere that vitamin C is good for cramps).

[ibanezmonster]

How much do you know about Nootropics? I will learn about them, though it seems there is quite a bit to look up.
What were you using Modafinil for? All I know is that Piracetam is used for concentration and learning, while Modafinil is supposedly for allowing you to stay up many hours without sleep?

This stuff, if they worked, would be incredibly useful. Imagine: trying this two nights a week where you need 7 less hours of sleep, giving you a total of 14 extra hours per week. As someone who needs more than average amounts of sleep, while at the same time having more than average aspirations, I'd be interested in at least learning about these. 

[eyeresist]

How much do you know about Nootropics? I will learn about them, though it seems there is quite a bit to look up.
What were you using Modafinil for? All I know is that Piracetam is used for concentration and learning, while Modafinil is supposedly for allowing you to stay up many hours without sleep?

This stuff, if they worked, would be incredibly useful. Imagine: trying this two nights a week where you need 7 less hours of sleep, giving you a total of 14 extra hours per week. As someone who needs more than average amounts of sleep, while at the same time having more than average aspirations, I'd be interested in at least learning about these. 

I know little about nootropics, and am not part of the "scene". My situation is that (allow me to vent) I've spent years not getting enough sleep, mostly due to my depressing life situation, and I've reached the point where I feel braindead most of the day. I'm barely maintaining equilibrium at the moment, and am worried that if I lose my job I won't be capable of finding a new one, and then further bad things will ensue. At the same time I'm writing a novel, in the vain hope of turning writing into a living. The problem is that I rarely have the mental energy needed, except when I'm on holiday (and then I spend most of that time debilitated by stuff I don't want to talk about just now).

As I said above, modafinil sustains wakefulness but does NOT increase energy. Nonetheless, I think if used properly it could enable a radical improvement in my life. For increased mental energy, I'm vaguely thinking about ritalin now, but knowing myself as I do, it may just enable me to procrastinate with much greater focus Ever tried ritalin? You're American, so I assume you were raised on it

If you want to spend less time sleeping, modafinil could well help you (provided you don't get Stevens Johnson Syndrome, a rare but icky side effect). My nonprofessional advice would be one 200mg tab on waking, which should give you a few extra hours at the end of the day without keeping you up all night and screwing up your body clock.


EDIT:

A study has shown that the effectiveness of modafinil is limited according to genetic variation. "Europeans have nearly equal prevalence of Val (~48%) and Met (~52%) alleles, whereas the Val allele is much more common in populations from other parts of the world."
If you have the Met/Met genotype, modafinil will do nothing for you. Makes me wonder if my wakefulness has been psychosomatic 

Pharmacogenetics of Modafinil After Sleep Loss: Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Genotype Modulates Waking Functions But Not Recovery Sleep


Another study concluded "Modafinil effectively counters the adverse effects of overnight sleep deprivation on working memory but only when task difficulty is moderate". So, really, it's usefulness for intellectual work is limited.

Modafinil Activates Cortical and Subcortical Sites in the Sleep-Deprived State