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The newest meme is that people "naturally" go to sleep just after sundown, wake up and hang out (or whatever) in the middle of the night, and then sleep some more till dawn. This may explain the existence of infomercials, but it has never suited me. The siesta pattern suits me better: get up very early and then nap in the heat of the day.
Cyprus is sitting on a natural gas gold mine
An interesting twist to this is that the field Noble Energy has discovered for Cyprus adjoins a field that Israel is developing, and the two countries have agreed to work together to best exploit these finds, perhaps even enter a joint venture to build a liquefaction plant or pipeline to the European mainland through Cyprus for export. This has Turkey very upset, who want in on the profits from this field, but has through its own political shortsightedness precluded any mineral rights settlement they may find favorable without kicking up a shitstorm they don't want.
In grad school I got up, went to school, went to my internship, went to work, went home (watched an hour or two of recorded - VHS baby - TV to relax), went to sleep and then did the same thing every day (weekends were more work less school). I got enough sleep thank goodnes or I woulod have gone mad, it was bad enough as it was. I got freakishly good grades and did well everywhere, but yuck.
Recently I programmed my smart phone to yell* at me when it was bedtime. It has worked so far. You can program self control now, I love technology.
* The screen dims, blue tooth turns off, and it buzzes and puts up a message telling me to go to bed.
Edit:
Which I think echoes what BDC posted above, which I didn't see till now --
You're lucky that you can skip it. When they did my sleep study last year, I had 151 breathing incidents in an hour, or an average of one every 20-30 seconds. My doctor told me that I might die if I fall asleep without using it.
The thing that motivated me to go in and get checked was falling asleep in the middle of taking a morning shower. Standing up - I just kind of slumped over against one of the walls, and I didn't snap back to reality for about 10 or 15 minutes.
Natural sleep patterns require natural lighting, which no one on the planet outside of rural Africa gets much of these days. If you want to see the power of natural circadian rhythms on your sleep cycle, go rent a cabin 1000 acres from any light source and get up when your body tells you to. Leave the watch and phone off for a couple of days and then recheck. You'll have recalibrated to a completely different schedule.
"Lucky" probably isn't the word. I don't remember the number of incidents recorded in my sleep study, but I know it was bad enough that the tech woke me up after 30 minutes becaus it was so dire that a full hour wasn't needed to document that.
Water does me no good! Though I do tend to drink a ton of it. Pretty much the only liquids I drink are booze and water. The amount of times I wake up in the middle of the night made me think I had an enlarged prostate*...but then I realized I was drinking about 6 litres of water between dinner and bed-time.
*But that's kind of par for the course. I'm a bit of a worrier, and when I have nothing real in my life to worry about my mind drifts to insane things, like being convinced I had polio in high school, or becoming convinced I'd have to have my foot amputated a few months ago for no apparent reason. About seven years ago I couldn't sleep for about two weeks because I was convinced my toes were too close together. I had to actually stuff tissue between them while in bed. Once I get over the episode of insanity it's quite re-assuring actually. It usually just means I don't have any legitimate professional, personal, or financial worries.
"Lucky" probably isn't the word. I don't remember the number of incidents recorded in my sleep study, but I know it was bad enough that the tech woke me up after 30 minutes becaus it was so dire that a full hour wasn't needed to document that.
I hate to sound old or something, but I admit I lately doubt these things. I assume you're not 22 or so, so between say 18 and last year, were you at a 50/50 chance of death from SIDS every night of your life? 25%? 10%?
Considering the frequency of this sort of story recently (I/THEY/HE MAY DIE IN THEIR SLEEP) I also end up wondering what the cause of death was listed at for the past 150 years or so of people dying in their sleep due to breathing problems/sleep apnea. I just don't recall a lot of stories from my youth or history of sleep suffocation. Were they all listed as midnight heart attacks?
What am I missing?
I don't kow about die, but everyone I know who has gone to a CPAP has had it change their life for the better. One dude's whole attitude changed once he started sleeping. I dated a girl once who had sleep apnea and I woke up all night long when she stopped breathing. It was terrible.
I believe research supports this as well.
My deal is temporary, doing the work of three people for the next two months, while selling a house, and a half-time single dad of two young kids, one having behavioral issues (the dad part isn't changing anytime soon). Really sucks for now, but should be better by summer.
I can't nap, at least not effectively. If I sleep six hours, then take an hour long nap later that day - it's like I slept an hour the night before, my sleep clock completely resets.
***
Sorry, Greg - that sucks.
I went to Seville a couple summers ago. We arrived at around 10am and thought it would be fun to get to know the city on foot all day before hitting some of the pubs later. The progression was:
11am - wow, what a bustling city! Paella! Tinto de Verano! Hooray!
12:30 pm - wow, this place sure is deserted. What fun it is exploring in this ghost town!
1pm - how far is the hotel?
1:30pm - where can we get some water?
2pm - I think I've forgotten my name
I hear you. I apparently didn't develop apea till maybe the last 6-7 years or so (in the sense that I didn't snore before that, judging from the testimony of wives/gf's), but if the sleep study people are correct, I don't have any business being alive at this point.
As it happens, just last night I finished watching a movie called The Shadow People about young, healthy people dying in their sleep because of, of course, the titular menace, though of course everyone denied that & instead was mystified about the cause of death. Sleep paralysis was invoked more than once, of course, & god knows that's a real (& frightening, when it happens) thing.
No, no no no no! Sleep is always better. In fact, I've never stayed up all night. I always make sure to get at least some sleep. Much better for you.
I've probably always had apnea to one degree or another, since I've been snoring and falling asleep on car trips since I was a kid, and had occasional bouts of sleep paralysis back then as well. But for whatever reason, it's gotten much worse over the last couple of years. I was routinely going from asleep to fully awake four or five times a night, every night, and at least once or twice a night I'd get cramps in my legs because there wasn't enough blood flow.
From what I've read, most of the sudden deaths directly attributable to apnea are as a result of heart attack, stroke, or seizure, so my guess would be that it'd go on the certificate as one of those three.
Not quite to date, but my blood sugar was up near 30 when I was admitted so I guess there's a question as to how close it was.
I worked with somebody who got tired of trying to eat like a responsible diabetic. He got his doctor to put him on insulin, eats what he wants, tests and uses the insulin as required. Personally I think it's nuts. I had to have insulin injections when I was first admitted and didn't enjoy it at all. Nor did I enjoy the need to test 4 times a day.
Interesting you mention that, since probably the best sleep I've had over the past 23 years has been whenever we've had power outages that lasted through the night.
Worst sleeping conditions I've ever faced was in the 70's, when I had to stay at a KOA outside Phoenix, with about an acre of floodlights and an interstate just a hundred yards or so away. Some ####### "Kampground" that was.
We live in an extremely quiet cul-de-sac, and what I've never been able to understand is how someone can sleep in a non-high rise building that's right on a busy artery.** Between Kensington and DC there are scores of expensive single family houses within 25 yards of Connecticut Avenue, which has traffic roaring by at 45 to 60 MPH at all hours of day and night. I have no idea why anyone would ever want to live in houses in those locations, especially since there's relatively little price difference between them and houses that are well beyond the Avenue's noise reach.
**Soundproofing is the standard answer to traffic noise, but it always seems to work a lot better when you don't need it (in the daytime) than when you do (late at night, when the noise is more sporadic, and therefore individual cars whooshing by are a lot more noticeable).
What is this red cream soda you're talking about? I've heard it mentioned but never tried it.
When you think about, isn't everyone?
Me too. I leave the terrace door open most of the time when the weather cooperates, even though I live on 8th Avenue in Manhattan.
My parent's house is within earshot of the 401 (massive 16-lane highway that runs through Toronto). After about 20 years living there I don't even hear it anymore. It's like ocean white-noise.
I also like sleeping in the woods as there is usually plenty of ambient sound, and I somehow like the enclosure the trees give you.
I once slept at a girl-friend's parents' farm in the middle of the Manitoba prairie. That was unsettling...just way too quiet and wide open.
This always freaks me out, too. Sleeping in the Amazon also kept me up the first night because I coulda sworn I was about to be snakebit.
But the other days I tired myself out so much it didn't matter.
Yep. Couldn't swear I've had Barq's, but every version I've ever had, from Nehi to Big Red to store brand (Kroger has its own, & so does Winn-Dixie down here, or at least they did when I was buying it up till about 8 years ago), is the nectar of the gods.
Is Dad's Root Beer
I lived on the 40th floor of a high-rise, and always slept with the windows open. The traffic noise is kind of nice. Even now, the house backs up to a rather large road, and I prefer the window open at night. It's only really a problem when idiots on motorcycles roll through and insist on revving their engines and loudly peeling out at 3 AM.
U-ZO pop bottle
I like the ginger beer from this place. It's made in Pittsburgh at a little plant down by the river in Natrona Heights. Very gingery.
I love ginger beer. Nice and spicy.
I do spend a lot of waking moments sitting around eating stinky cheese.
I eat a lot of raw stuff, too. I eat a disturbing amount of steak tartare. And I'm notorious for leaving things out for very long periods of time and eating them anyway. Add that to the very moldy cheese I eat a lot of and I'm probably *way* up there in bacteria percentage eaten.
I think it is legal to kick that guy in the nuts in most jurisdictions.
Yes. A country with a GDP of ~18 billion euros simply cannot guarantee 60 billion euros worth of deposits. This is what they mean when they say the Cyprus banking system isn't sustainable. As a comparison, the US has $13 trillion of deposits and a GDP of $15 trillion.
Two other issues in play. First, if the ECB (i.e. Germany) lent Cyprus all the money it needs, Cyprus would be at a 145% debt/GDP ratio which is not sustainable. Second, German popular opinion is against bailing out any more countries and Merkel has to run for reelection in 6 months.
Honestly, the ECB plan all along might have been to force Russia to contribute to part of the bailout. Though perhaps that's giving them too much credit.
Now i am in a manic phase, except for the concussion from the bike accident last week. Hit a bump on a flat and my front wheel released. Or something. Cracked my helmet in three places, if i wasnt wearing it i might be eating out of tube.
Well, if Cyprus' economy totally collapses, it will have a debt of 145% of GDP even if it doesn't borrow a single dime more.
Sure, but not on Germany's dime. What Cyprus needs is a handout from Germany, and that's precisely what they can't get.
Cyprus better hope so. I think the ECB is quite willing to let them default and leave the euro, if only just to see what would happen.
If you haven't so far, go now to your nearest Ethiopian restaurant and have the kitfo, served traditional style.
Europe (Germany) has got to decide do they want a EU or not? Do they want all the benefits of the Euro and the costs? Because over time you don't get one without the other, and that is what they want. Boo hoo on their dime, if they don't like it then don't form the EU in its current form and let in who they let in.
Alternatively, Cyprus has to decide whether they are in or out. The price of staying in is the bank tax (and likely some changes to their banking system). Membership in the EU has its benefits, but also its costs.
But I'm sure that upcoming Ender's Game film has nothing to worry about.
Oh wait...
If these were capital-M Manic phases, you'd be more likely bursting with energcy despite getting 5-6 minutes rather than hours per night, judging (unfortunately) from my experience. Well, that's an exaggeration, but probably more like 1-2 hours.
I still don't know what to make of Xenocide or Children of the Mind. Just weird, weird #######.
As for Card, he's not merely a homophobe, but a raving Mormon (he could just as easily be a raving fundamentalist or a raving Muslim or whatever, of course, or for that matter I suppose a raving atheist) who's a big wheel on the National Organization for Marriage, or whatever the thing is called, & is putting big(gish) bucks into rolling back the trend toward allowing gay marriage. #### him, & #### anybody who'd give him money to propagate his hatefulness, DC obviously included.
If it was just Cyprus that would have more force. But there is Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Spain ...
As was said up thread when you meet an a-hole you met one, when you meet them all day however it is probably you (meaning Germany, not you you).
Card aside: He can write, but I always feel like he is preaching at me when I am reading his books and it is always years between his books, because I just don't like it (and this is an opinion from long before I knew about his views).
Yeah, Xenocide was where I checked out, years and years ago, prior to any knowledge of Card's more recent high-profile ugliness.
I don't care much for Card as an individual.
I don't see any reason why you'd necessarily need to have an author do PR work for a movie based on one of his novels. There are lots of movies made from books written by people who are dead, or who don't speak English, and most of them turn out OK.
My larger point is that there are no principles involved here. The question is simply whether giving Cyprus €7 billion (we can call it a loan, but it's one they will never repay) is more in Germany's interest than risking a Cypriot default.
The calculus was different in the case of Ireland/Spain/Greece because those are larger economies with a greater potential to affect German interests.
Cyprus has less leverage and the calculus involved is less clear. First, handing them a loan in the short term doesn't solve the long term issue of Cyprus's inability to backstop its own banking sector. Second, there's the potential for Russian involvement. Let Russia save its own Oligarchs from the haircut. Third, there's the issue of contagion (mainly first to Greece). What happens if the proposed haircut causes a bank run in Greece?
The other factor here is the German electorate. The German electorate does not want to bail out Cyprus. Should Merkel bail them out anyway, in contravention of the will of the German people?
Only two I've read to any extent were the first 8 or so issues of Wonder Woman (OK, I suppose, but that's no more Wonder Woman than I am, & while Cliff Chiang is one of my favorite artists, he must've been doing these issues really fast or something) & of Birds of Prey (pretty darned decent). And also the first World's Finest (so-so) & Dial H (very promising, but subsequent back issues' refusal to turn up really cheap on eBay has meant I haven't seen them).
In the meantime, I'm in one of my periodic I-have-no-interest-in-reading-any-comics-by-anyone phases. *sigh*
It is BS. This biker hates the damn things, and they don't do much of anything from a safety POV, IMO. And I'm a Harley guy.
It's more than default. If the ECB lets Cyprus default, they leave the Euro (because why the #### would you stay?). So the risk is not just letting Cyprus default, but also allowing a bank run ripple effect throughout the EU and having more countries leave the Euro.
The bailout would also be smaller.
The haircut is a terrible, terrible idea. A much better idea that Felix Salmon wrote about was to convert every bank account over EUR100K to a 5 or 10 year CD. That raises the same amount, while technically not arbitrarily setting aside peoples' deposits.
It's very easy for Germany to say, let Russia handle this, but what will they say when it affects Germans?
This is the biggest reason why the Troika is playing hardball. Isn't that sort of an awful commentary, though? The whole Euro project was elite-led, by the way, so saying that it's in contravention of the "will of the German people" is sort of silly.
Well I guess, but I think there is a principle. When you set up the EU don't go half way. Set up a real currency union or don't, but this half baked bullcrap is in danger of driving the world economy into a ditch for no good reason. More clearly the EU is not stable. It can't be stable with the set up they have. But they continue to screw around and nibble at the edges and it is very annoying.
So I have no tolerance for German whining about "being forced to pay for other countries" because they were the main driver in setting the system up. No one forced this on them and they love the benefits. They (Many of the complaining voters) are the European equivalent* of the Tea Party morons with signs reading "keep government away from my medicare".
* Meaning a bit smarter and much more suave (and a cool accent), but still basically morons.
EDIT: And a coke to tshipman who said much the same thing, but nicer, faster and better.
It's not clear why the ECB should care if Cyprus leaves the EU. (To be clear, I think they should care about the default. If Cyprus leaves the EU after that, I can't see why that would cause additional worry.)
Much.
"Oops"?
The EU or the bailout? I'm just acknowledging public opinion polls that indicate the German electorate doesn't want to bail out any more countries. I am unsure of what the Germans think of EU membership. Saying a bailout would be in contravention of the will of the German people in that context doesn't strike me as silly. (Edit: Never mind. I understand the point now. The entire idea for the EU was in contravention of the will of the German people, so what's another €6 billion.)
Frankly, the best 'principled' argument in favor of bailing out Cyprus is that the problems the Cypriot banking sector is having now were caused by the haircut they had to take in the bailout of Greece. So really, bailing out Cyprus now is just an extension of the decision to bail out Greece then. (The counter argument being that the Cypriot banks were unwise to invest in Greece and deserved to take the haircut.)
Ultimately, part of the problem is people in Germany don't think of Cyprus the way a person in New York probably thinks about California. That's fairly evident in the way the issue is even being discussed. It's not the ECB bailing out an EU bank. It's Germany bailing out a Cypriot bank. That's a potential problem for the long term viability of the EU.
####, I meant to make this point. But yeah.
Yes. I sort of think that Cyprus should just say #### it and leave the Euro. Dealing with the Troika is a nightmare where arbitrariness is everywhere, and you yoke your country to the bizarre national German phobia of inflation.
The flip side is that if Cyprus accepts the bailout terms, depositors are out 5-10% of their savings, but if they leave the Euro they would lose 60% of their savings to bail out the banks. Recall that the amount of dead money in the banks is greater than the country's GDP.
Ultimately, part of the problem is people in Germany don't think of Cyprus the way a person in New York probably thinks about California. That's fairly evident in the way the issue is even being discussed. It's not the ECB bailing out an EU bank. It's Germany bailing out a Cypriot bank. That's a potential problem for the long term viability of the EU.
I haven't thought terribly deeply about the EU but it has seemed to me that the EU as currently constituted is similar to the US under the Articles of Confederation and the time has come, as it must, for them either to truly unify under a much more powerful central government or go their separate ways. Unfortunately, it appears that those in power want to centralize power while the citizens want to disband. Seems a recipe for catastrophe.
But it also seems a simplistic analogy. A lot of you appear to have more knowledge and have studied it better than I; how far off base am I and in which direction?
Reading up on the Buchheit plan mentioned by tshipman, there is still the issue of recapitalizing the banks. So some form of additional aid would be needed beyond merely converting the accounts in excess of €100,000 into 5/10 year CDs.
Buchheit's track record, however, is pretty impressive when it comes to issues of sovereign debt.
Are you estimating that is what Cyprus's currency would depreciate to?
I mean, yeah, it sucks, but at least they'd be in control of their currency again. If you accept the bailout, you're out the savings, plus whenever the ECB feels like it, they screw you over again.
Staying in the EU just means that Cyprus will get screwed at some point in the future again.
The funniest part about this is the EU is pushing for Cyprus to impose capital controls, yet capital controls violate the treaty that formed the EU (one of the four freedoms -- free movement of capital), as far as I can tell.
Yes, for sure. In fact, one theory I have is that when you go from depressed to "normal" (maybe "above average energy normal") it feels kinda manic.
I've at a little over four years now. Played a ton originally and was pretty close to being able to legimately compete at Advanced level in tourneys but then due to various circumstances barely played for about a year and a half. I've been playing a lot more lately and am generally getting close to previous form but definitely not back there yet. No worries here about snow or anything, worst that happens is an early morning round might start in the mid-30s. I did wade waist deep into a lake once in 37 degree weather to retrieve a disc - wasn't as bad as you might think. I can sympathize with your problem somewhat Griffey, my plant leg has a metal rod in it from a car accident that occurred long before I started playing and I sometimes get pain from that, it definitely affects my driving and causes me to throw with less power and a tendency to throw high due to not being able to finish properly.
Getting random cold snaps down here still, did go biking a couple hours ago for 6.5 miles when it was 47 degrees. With the exception of anything involving outdoor swimming pretty much any sport/activity is year-round in Florida.
Just on the off chance someone wastes time to look this up, this is completely wrong. The current situation would fall under one of the exceptions for imposing capital controls under the treaty, as common sense would dictate.
60% is the figure from the link I gave, and I don't know how much of that, if any, is depreciation.
De Laveaga? I played there once many years ago on a business trip (got a rental car basically just to be able to drive out there and play). It was a fantastic course (though I was alone and had never played, so I spent a fair amount of time wandering trying to find my disc or where the next hole was).
I need to get out there again. When I traveled for business I would generally try to play wherever I went, which makes me sad I don't really travel for work any more.
Could very well be. I know that when I feel "up" for any length of time, I find myself wondering whether I'm in a normal good mood or verging on a manic episode.
==
DC stuff: I did not realize Morrison killed off Robin until earlier this week-- read the issue, and it was pretty weak writing. I generally love everything Morrison puts his hands on, but Batman, Inc was a bad idea from the start.
Also read the new Swamp Thing/Animal Man books-- they were dark dark dark stuff, but almost gratuitously so, and not particularly clever. I only recently read Moore's Swamp Thing run; it's possible having that fresh in my head set my expectations too high. JLA has been enjoyable. Have not been following the "Before Watchmen" stuff.
Yummy!
Back in the day I followed all that stuff by reading friends comics and I never got in the habit of buying the darn things. TIme to get more friends to sponge off of I guess (well or start paying), because I miss following the super soap opera (I was more of a Marvel guy back then).
I bought Silk Spectre & Minutemen cheap on eBay purely out of devotion to the creators involved (Darwyn Cooke, Amanda Conner) & need to do the same with Dr. Manhattan (Adam Hughes).
I dislike Germany and the German people abject denial of their role in all this, but at a not insignificant level this was a self-inflicted wound by the Cypriots.
I think the currency union is in a wholly untenable place, it either needs more central economic authority or countries have to go back to their own currencies.
But that would mean spending money! I know I am stupid cheap, because it is not like I couldn't afford it.
Cyprus didn't behave perfectly, but they did run budget surpluses in the two years before the crisis, they did attempt to crack down on crooked money coming into the country (their anti-money laundering rules are stricter than Germany's) and they did attempt to rein in overinvestment in Cyprus itself (which is why all that money was invested in Greece instead).
A currency union that requires every participant to behave perfectly cannot be stable. In the US, when a bank in Utah or Wisconsin goes under, we don't hear the Fed scolding the habits of Utahns or Wisconsonians in public. Those banks are shut down and resolved in an orderly fashion, and nobody says a peep.
Question. How are banks in Puerto Rico and other non-state US territories handled? I honestly have no idea and that seems to me to be a bit closer to the state of the EU (not exact of course).
The ATMs have been working, however, and have been restocked, so although the banks are closed the accounts are being drained.
Lines outside a Cyprus bank ATM (from The Guardian)
Here are the capital controls that Cyprus is going to institute
It's not possible to plot while eating ice cream.
No but Southern GOPer types screamed bloody murder about bailing out the domestic auto industry... while having no qualms whatsoever with respect to tax breaks and public leases given to energy companies in their states...
It's because for whatever reason banks are not seen as regional (even though there are regional banks) and the public has not seen bank failures are a uniquely regional issue- if banks in New England were failing at a far higher rate than in Texas/Arix/Okla, I'm sure you'd hear plenty of squawking from Texans and whatnot.
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