nickluft

Neat game, really an abstract card game with the chrome of designing apps. I can imagine it working very well. The special cards might need handling carefully as they might be too powerful! Play testing is the best way to spot those problems.

Find a career that has immediate feedback and rewards. For example teaching, customer service or acting.

Take baby steps to change behaviour. Don't believe in "will power".

http://www.slideshare.net/captology/stanford-6401325

In reading about these child abuse cases I was struck by how familiar they sound to the Witch Trials of the 17th Century.

We have prosecutors convinced they have discovered a hidden evil and that it is more widespread than people like to think. They sometimes have children as witnesses. They have false confessions from the accused. And we have bodily investigations of "secrete places" either to confirm that sexual abuse has taken place or the devil "knew" was familiar with the accused. And we have bizarre stories of strange practices, which are credulously believed.

It is like there is some universal process going on here. Communities require these expressions of hidden evils. And if you doubt the veracity of these claims then you are suspect too.

I don't think this paranoia is a new phenomenon to human society. What changes is the topic, but not the underlying need we have in human society for these expressions.

Examples of Witch Trials.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Hopkins

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials

Sounds to me like you are strongly affected by coffee. It can't be good to be so dependent on anything.

Maybe you should try giving it up more slowly in the future. Reduce in-take gradually.

But please avoid strong tea. It still has a lot of caffeine in it and tea can also hinder the absorption of iron and other long-term effects.

http://www.stashtea.com/caffeine+and+tea.aspx

Tea has approximately half the caffeine that coffee has.

Ahh the sugar high!

I think this is a bit of a myth. See this:

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2747/does-giving-sw...

Seems like one early study made the link but the following studies cannot make the link.

Try something like meditation, exercising, taking 30 minute holidays... other non-addictive and well tested methods.

I wonder if there is a simple medical test that could identify the caffeine intolerant?

Oooo. I need to read this.

http://www.pediatricneurology.com/adhd.htm

Or would you recommend another source?

Note to self: reading medical textbooks means you always have the symptoms, so you are always ill.

There should be a universal law that makes people who blog about a talisman of productivity revisit their post and comment on it, say 3 months later, then 6 months later etc.

Now is there a service that does that? - enables me to setup reminders (like Outlook calendar) but send them to my long-term (not work) email with a link to a website to be commented on and for that matter any other long term reminders.

Could be that you are getting older.

Thanks for the link to the ever wonderful "lesswrong" site. So much for me thinking I had stumbled onto something.

When your bad, your better!

Some stats comparing caffeine content in tea.

http://www.stashtea.com/caffeine+and+tea.aspx

This had made me realise I have never tried decaf.

I will go and buy some and see if I like it.

Thanks.

Thanks for sharing.

But be aware that black tea and green tea often have the same caffeine content. The trick is to make your tea weak.

Fascinating point.

Then does that mean that being more focused without coffee means I am low on the ADHD spectrum?

I still like coffee too. I prefer dark roast espressos with almond croissants. Mmmm...

Occasionally I have a treat in a coffee shop, but only at the weekend.

You might be one of the lucky ones who are not too effected by caffeine mood swings. However, you'll never know, unless you try it.

Simple really.

I think I was looking for magic bullets (talismans) and hit on coffee only by noticing that no matter what I did, what productivity thingy I used, it was the mood swings that were my worst habit.

Similar reactions to me. I sleep better too, no longer fidget and turn over violently in bed.

I drink water or weak black tea as my substitute.

Lucky you. Some people are more effected by caffeine than others. My eldest daughter reports similar ups and downs as I do, my other daughter reports no large effects.

Must be genetic, then.

I got the sarcasm. <smiles> I am a Brit </smiles>.

I just did not realise not drinking coffee had become cool. Perhaps my age has proofed me from such things.

I don't measure my productivity, I just know I feel better about working when not on coffee and thus work becomes easier. It might be less productive, though I doubt it.

Did it make you more productive?

Knowing yourself is good advice. But accepting yourself is much harder to do.

I found the caffeine lows interfered with my ability to accept myself.