It's that time of year again...

UGH!!! I hate when I'm starting to come down with something. My body aches, my nose starts to get runny, my head feels like an elephant just collapsed on it, and I have no energy or desire to work. I sound like I'm complaining, but I'm describing my cold/flu. I'm not sure what I have because from looking at the research....a cold and the flu have very similar symptoms.

Here's how to tell if you have a flu: Fever, aches, chills, tiredness, symptoms appear within 3-6 hours, dry and unproductive cough, chest discomfort, headache.

Now here's how to tell if it's a cold: aches, tiredness, symptoms appear gradually, hacking and productive cough, sneezing, stuffy nose, sore throat, chest discomfort.

So I'm unsure what I have since my symptoms are intertwined between all the symptoms from both cases. Whatever it is... I'll just drink plenty of water, rest, and take a cold/fever medicine.

http://www.flufacts.com/about/cold.aspx

Biologists Discovers New Species

My home page is the AOL page, so mind you every time I go online I have to flip through all this headline news. It's a must religiously do this every day. Today, I saw an article about new species that biologists have discovered in the land down under-- Australia! Were these terrestrial creatures or not? If you said not, you're correct. They're found in the waters of Australia. It's amazing how there are so many species that have been found and how many species are still waiting to be discovered. Yaowzaa! It amazes me the most to see that most new species are found in the ocean. It amazes me more to think that many species become extinct even before anyone finds out about them. More reasons to keep our water clean because these new species may be beneficial to us. Anyways..that's about it for now.

Kermit the Frog isn't the only green one...

Last Saturday, I decided I was going to recycle all the plastic bottles and aluminum cans that I've collected. My niece was with me at the house and she was curious about where I was going. I told her, "I'm going to go recycle some things." She asks me, "What is recycling?" A light bulb just illuminated over my head and said, "Oh my stars...this is a teachable moment!" I asked my niece if she'd like to join me and of course she agreed to come with me. On the way, I told her that it's necessary for us to recycle. I told her, "You know all those bottles and cans that you drink from? Well, they are made out of plastic and aluminum. These items do not break apart as quickly, so eventually if we don't recycle, our Earth will be in a bad condition. When we recycle, we send it to people who will use the plastic and aluminum to make new cans and bottles or anything else that can be made out of plastic and aluminum." Then I told her that when we recycle we not only help keep our Earth healthy, we get paid for it. She said, "Oh I get it!!! At my house, we have a bin for glass, a bin for cans, a bin for plastic bottles, and my grandma recycles... no wonder she's soooo rich!" So there you have it... I've gone green and I've got 19 green ones in my wallet. :wink:

Caffeine is the Opiate of the Masses...

It's been three weeks since Summer ended for me. I had to say goodbye to staying up until one in the morning and goodbye to sleeping in. I dread waking up the same time the sun rises. Sometimes even waking up before the sun rises. Moreover, I don't operate until I've got coffee running through my bloodstream. Preferably, I'd like a Venti Soy White Mocha with a triple shot of espresso served by "Taylor...the Latte Boy". But to get to the point... coffee filled with caffeine with the normal double shot does nothing for me. Why is this? My hypothesis is: Caffeine is a drug and eventually it becomes an addiction when you consume it daily by the millisecond. Eventually your body becomes immune to the chemicals released by this so called "Feel Good" drug--Caffeine. My body has reached the point that it rejects the effects of Caffeine. No longer does caffeine give me that jolt of energy to keep me going and going (kinda like the Energizer Bunny?). But I've reached the conclusion, I pay for the White Mocha any day just to put that smile on my face. Addiction? Maybe?

To check my hypothesis, I did some more Googling like any Google addict would do. I discovered that if you consume too much caffeine, you can become tolerant of the stimulant. Further research shows that when consuming caffeine, the number of adenosine receptors in your central nervous system increases. In turn, it makes the consumer sensitive to adenosine. The more you consume, the more receptors your body builds. In turn, this causes you to continue to feel like you have a headache, experience nausea, and exhausted, which then makes you just crave for more caffeine.

Surprisingly...all this negativity towards caffeine still makes me want to run out to a Starbucks and grab a white mocha. MMMMMM!!

Note: There's an image at the top. I thought it was hilarious and relates well to coffee and chocolate, which happens to be my two favorite things. :)