Posted by Brad on October 31st, 2007 — Posted in Journal
Happy Halloween!
Besides being Halloween, today is a little scary because it’s a chapel day and First Quarter grades are due. I had to stay after school yesterday until I got myself pulled together. But after school is my sleepy time. I had already had some coffee yesterday, so I didn’t know if that would do it for me. I decided to try a riskier option. A week or so ago I had stopped by a 7-11 to get some milk. While I was checking out I saw little bottles of energy drink behind the counter. I had seen a commercial for these. They were supposed to be better than caffeine because they didn’t make you crash a few hours later. I got one and was keeping it in my desk drawer at school. Yesterday at 3:30 I drank it.
It did seem to wake me up. I got my grades entered, then went home… then started to feel sleepy. I didn’t sleep because I had handbell practice. After practice, I worked on chapel some more and watched my Tuesday night TV.
So I guess the stuff worked, but it made me feel a little strange. They wouldn’t sell it if it wasn’t safe, right? The most uncomfortable sensation was that it felt like my eyeballs were trying to pop out of my head. Other than that, I was just a little jittery. But in spite of the strange potion I drank, I slept pretty well.
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Posted by Brad on October 30th, 2007 — Posted in Journal
My aversion to artificial sweeteners is well documented here. I don’t mind the strange aftertaste of artificial sweeteners much, but the taste that hangs in my mouth for six or eight hours after eating them is quite unpleasant. The only exception to this rule has seemed to be the so-called “sugar alcohols”. My experience with them to this point has been in sugarless gum. Trident gum uses xylitol, specifically. But I’ve also heard of malitol and sorbitol being used in other brands. I still taste the artificial sweetener taste, but it doesn’t leave the incessant aftertaste. I’ve wondered: Would a “sugar alcohol” sweetener in a drink or in food produce the same kind of long-standing aftertaste?
With my latest haul of Girl Scout Cookies, I finally got a chance to test that question. Each year I order several boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. It seems there is always a Girl Scout in one of my classes, and they always know to come to me. When I got my order this year, in among the boxes were some “Sugar Free Chocolate Chips” cookies. I don’t remember ordering them, but… well, my poor memory is also well documented here. The ingredient panel says the artificial sweetener is not saccharin (the pink one), aspartame (the blue one), or sucralose (the yellow one). It says malitol, sorbitol, and lactitol. Hmmm…
I ate a bunch of them last night. (Though I did note that “sugar free” does not mean “low calorie”. In fact, these cookies have more calories than the cookies I got with sugar in them.) The results of my trial? A bitter-metallic taste in my mouth this morning. 
However, it is possible this after-taste I’m experiencing could be the result of the large amounts of coffee I drank yesterday. A confirmation test is necessary…
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Posted by Brad on October 29th, 2007 — Posted in Journal
Saturday I went out window shopping, just for fun. The last few weekends have been so busy I haven’t had a chance to veg and waste some time. It was nice to be a sloth for a day.
One of my stops was Best Buy. I need a new music player for my classroom, but I can’t decide between a traditional boom-box or speakers for an iPod. While I was there, I wandered past the Xbox games. D’oh! I saw one called Oblivion that was the “Game of the Summer” at the Sommerers a couple of years ago. We played it on the computer. And there it was, made for Xbox.
I’m glad to be old enough to look like I was buying it for my kids, because it isn’t exactly clear how you’re supposed to get these things. You’re not supposed to take the box. The boxes are empty. You’re supposed to tell someone what you want and they unlock it from a cage, then walk it to the front for you. At no time do you ever touch the thing. I guess it’s to help prevent stealing, but seriously… the kid who walked the game to the front for me was half my age.
Anyway, I’ve already played this game too much. Grades are due Wednesday morning and I’m not ready, thanks to this stupid game. I hate it! I love it.
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Posted by Brad on October 28th, 2007 — Posted in Gardening
I have posted a few pictures of sleeping bees. In fact, I think it would make a great coffee table book: pictures of sleeping bees from all over the world. Or just from my garden. There seem to be a lot of sleeping bees this time of year. Actually, lately I haven’t seen as many. Maybe it’s getting just too cold. Maybe the shorter daylight hours signal them. Maybe like the Baltimore city workers, they are preparing for the change from Daylight Saving Time.
Whatever the case, I think I may have a hibernating bee in my kitchen window. At first it was inside the house, clinging to the chains that pull the window up. Then it worked its way back out to between the window and the storm window, where it’s been sitting for a week. Will it stay there all winter? It will be interesting to find out. Just where DO bees go in the winter? I’ll have to do some research. To the Internets!
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Posted by Brad on October 27th, 2007 — Posted in Journal
We were standing around in the hall after school yesterday, just shooting the breeze, when Michele’s son David came walking up with a small plate full of White Cheddar Cheez-Its. He was nice and offered some to us, but I declined. I don’t just eat one Cheez-It at a time… I eat handfuls of Cheez-Its! As we continued to talk, David taunted me with their cheesy goodness, but I resisted. After talking with Michele for a little while longer, I went to my room. And found this:
I couldn’t resist any more. I ate it, then went right home so I could eat something else.
I had Frosted Flakes.
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