John’s Blog

might be over-caffeinated

huh — i just looked at my desk & realized that i’ve had 4 diet cokes & 3 coffees today. i think i may be drinking too much caffeine. starting tomorrow, less.

oh, and i have to mention that i find diet coke plus hysterical. it’s diet coke, fortified with vitamins! just like lucky charms.

we all knew it would happen — just another step on the long road towards being able to survive on a complete diet coke diet. and that’s just another step on the way to diet coke becoming sentient.

the downside of getting 15% of your daily recommended allowance of zinc, of course, is that it tastes like you’re drinking a can of diet zinc coke, which is approximately as tasty as it sounds. they use ace-k to cover up the metal taste, but licking zinc is a tough one to cover up.

My brother, one Christmas, possibly as a joke, bought me this:

http://www.amazon.com/Caffeine-Advantage-Physical-Performance-Goals/dp/0743228960/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-9787145-3164154

Since you are someone who is both a reader and (evidently) a caffeine sink, I thought you might find it interesting. As the review comments on Amazon suggest, it’s open to some interpretation whether or not the authors have any skin in the game. It’s equally open to discussion as to whether they reason effectively from the facts they present.

Nevertheless, the facts are scrupulously documented with cites to primary sources, which is generally a positive thing. In a nutshell, they point out several things which are not too mind blowing, but nice to know anyhow, to wit:

- that caffeine is a pretty effective broad-based system-waker-upper
- that in addition to raw alertness, caffeine improves a whole host of cognitive and physical dimensions in measurable ways that do not degrade with repeated use
- that a lifetime of use isn’t correlated with increased mortality or decreased health in any particularly measurable way, but
- that if you’re pregnant, or have a history of sensitivity, or are suffering from diet-coke-scurvy, it might be wise to consider getting more sleep and orange juice.

I’d lend you my copy, but if the legends are true, you’ll have read it by the next time I see you. Indeed, if the legends are true, you’ve already read it.

Johnathan Nightingale 05.21.07 / 7pm

Adam Houston 05.21.07 / 10pm

John,

I think you are fairly safe. But from one caffeeined to another: just to be sure you could always check the Death by Caffeine calculator at http://www.energyfiend.com/death-by-caffeine/

The thing I am waiting for is caffeine to be added to the Lucky Charms. That would simplify things greatly in the morning.

Adam

Fred 05.26.07 / 6am

I am just wondering, can adding zinc possibly make diet coke taste even worse?

might be over-caffeinated

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