You Guys Getting Enough Sleep on the Weekend? Didn't Think So

Social Jet Lag.

Haven't heard of it? Well, we've all experienced it. In fact, it's pretty much what we strive for every weekend. It's called paying the price for having fun.

According to an article in today's Huffington Post, when we stay up a little lot later on the weekend, we are throwing our circadian rhythm out of whack. To which I say "no shit Sherlock." Really, they need to do sleep studies to figure this out?

Apparently in continuing the need to have a PC name for everything, we now have Social Jet Lag, or as it has been known in my circle... Partied Out. We all know if we stay up later than usual, we're gonna feel it the next day. And if you do it over the entire weekend, well, Monday comes and you're gonna be overtired and grumpy. Welcome to real life. Deal with it. Unfortunately Huff Post thinks we need to sleep more and party less. They have even set down some rules like:

• Only booze one night of the weekend: ???
• No coffee after 2 pm: So no coffee and booze only one day. Does not sound like a feasible plan
• Get out in the sun: After a party night? um... just say no
• Exercise: ???

There are a few more suggestions, but really, after reading the first one I've listed, can you even take it seriously?

Bottom line is one we've all learned a long, long time ago. If you play, you're gonna pay. Suck it up, down some Advils, keep the blinds drawn, and ease into the day. As for Monday morning? Shift into robot mode and arrive with the knowledge that everyone else feels the same way you do. 

Social jet lag. According to Shelby Freedman Harris, director of Behavioral Sleep Medicine at Montifiore Medical Center in NYC, "It isn't necessarily a sleep disorder that we would actually diagnose someone with clinically, but it is a trend where we notice that people aren't sticking with the same sleep-wake schedule every day." 

A trend? Like this is something new? I do believe people have been "Working For The Weekend," and looking to "Rock & Roll All Night, And Party Every Day," for as long as there has been a work week. And though I agree with Todd Rundgren's idea of "I Don't Want To Work, I Want To Bang On The Drum All Day," it is not recommended when nursing a hangover.

Party on.

It's the Coolest Cooler Ever

Some things just suck me in.

I'm sure a lot of you have seen the Kickstarter for the Coolest Cooler, it's pretty much gone viral. If you haven't, here's the story.

This inventor guy, Ryan Grepper, came up with a new cooler. Yeah, big whup. But this is no ordinary cooler. This one comes with a freakin' blender which works off a rechargeable battery. But wait, there's more. How about built-in waterproof speakers, USB port for charging your phone, LED lights inside the cooler for evening parties, bungee cords for hauling gear, separate compartments, plates/cutting board, knife, great wheels and a damn bottle opener. Are you kidding me?

Here's the campaign video

The Kickstarter started with a goal of raising $50,000. In less than 36 hours, that goal was reached, and the money has not stopped pouring in. As I write this, the amount raised is OVER $3 MILLION DOLLARS. And, there are still 48 days to go in the funding period.

To say I am fascinated by this is an understatement. Grepper has already upped the ante with the updates for the next generation of Coolest Cooler. More color choices, better wheels and solar panels are all possibilities.

The biggest question I have about this is, what took so damn long? How have we not seen the future of the cooler in such vivid detail before? Why were cooler manufacturers content to offer us the same boring crap year after year. And now that we see it is a feasible option, how can we live without one?
I want one. Bad. So do 16,000+ other people who have invested in the Kickstarter.

Unfortunately we will be waiting for a while for the prototype to become an retail item. But for the next 48 days, I'll be having the Coolest Cooler campaign page opened on my browser.

It's just the Coolest.

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It Got Weird After the Bird Broke Its Leg

Imagine this:

You pull up to the private home where you will be working for the next several hours. Outside the door there is a bird on its back, lying on the ground unable to fly or stand, and it is crying.

Oy.

You call your friend who is in front of a computer for the number of the nearest wildlife rescue. Holy crap, there is a BIRD rehabilitation center in the same county, about a half hour away. Seriously, what are the odds?

You forget about working for a while, place the bird in a nicely cushioned box, and use your GPS to find this off-the-beaten path wildlife sanctuary. You start talking to the man who was taking the bird, and find out he was originally from the same town you live in. And the same lake community. And the same street.  You can't make this shit up.

Also imagine you are a Yankee fan, your husband and son are Orioles fans, and take a wild guess what kind of bird it was. Yep, a species of Oriole.

An Oriole saved by a Yankee.

True story.
Nah, nothing odd about it at all.

p.s. we will find out Friday if the bird will be ok. News at 11.

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The Hurricane and the Holiday

As she emerges from her quiet, peaceful cocoon, she realizes she really doesn't have much to say. eh.

It's been a slow week or so. Really haven't done much other than yard work and seeing some relatives... and we don't need to go there. Other than brief glimpses of the news and what filters over the social media feeds, I haven't even paid a lot of attention. Honestly, I have no clue where the days have gone, only that it is now July.

It's Freakin' July.

It is however, getting close to the 4th of July Weekend. Yay USA. Oh sorry, we lost yesterday didn't we? Well that was rude, kicking us out before our national holiday celebrating our independence. Let's just say I am not a fan of watching however many men run up and down a field for 90 minutes and not one of them scoring. In real life, for those men, scoring would never be an issue. But I digress.

So now that's over, and we can plan for the weekend's festivities. Oh wait... there's a hurricane coming up the east coast for the 4th? And they raised the gas prices even before the hurricane was in the picture.

It seems we have a female four-star admiral for the first time in history, while the Supreme Court forgot about the separation of church and state. Can't wait for a religiously inclined corporation to try and deny blood transfusions and chemo, based on their beliefs. Think this shit ended with the decision they handed down the other day? yeah, right.

Anyway, that's about all I've noticed lately. Get ready for the weekend; stock the house with food and alcohol. Be safe out there, don't drink and drive, don't text and drive... hey don't drive, then you can do whatever the hell you want.

Happy 4th.

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