The Bar, Volume #4

[Captain Goddammit]

Ok I can't stand it anymore - what the hell's an "NEB"?

[unjonharley]

Ok I can't stand it anymore - what the hell's an "NEB"?

Your not invited under the "Never Ending Blanket"

[OregonRed]

Good morning everyone, well afternoon actually. got a question for those of you who have sleep issues, you see I have always been supremely blessed in that I sleep wheen i want to however since getting back over here i haven't been.
what happens is i go climb under the sheets about 12, wake up at 1.30, then 2.30 then 3 wide awake. so i get up for an hour or so, maybe a bit more then try and get back to sleep, which eludes me for many long hours. in fact for the last week i have seen the sun come up everyday before finally dozing off only to wake up gone 12 midday (1.30 today)
Now if i was a teenager and not planning to get a damn job or do stuff during the day this would be perfectly normal, I am however a few years past my teens so could do with a slightly more socially acceptable sleep pattern you know like my pre-burn habit of waking up at 6-7 without an alarm clock. even better would be to do this before i get a job and start turning into a zombie.

I have never been a good sleeper. I have "slow-sleep" insomnia (it takes me all night to fall asleep IF I fall asleep at all) and have the occasional bouts of the kind of insomnia that you described. AntiM's list is valid and I have a similar list from my doctor, but most of those things don't work for me at all. I have a prescription that I take when it gets bad enough. For some of us, not sleeping is a brain chemistry thing and it doesn't matter how much you set your sleep environment to be conducive to sleeping, nothing is gonna happen without meds.

Give AntiM's list a try. It works for 90% of the people out there. If (deity forbid) it doesn't work, there are OTC natural solutions that work, like melatonin and Kava Kava and Valerian Root. If those don't work, then it's time to go see you physician and ask for chemicals.

[graidawg]

I suspect my lack of sleeping right now is down to coming back from over there, not having a reason to get up early and a host of other minor things. I shall try the list and see if that helps, failing that i shall try to make my early morning wake ups more productive. at least i am fairly sure when i get work i will simply fall asleep at every opportunity for a few weeks.
normally my sleep is quick easy and dreamless (like me in a way) but thanks for the suggestions lets hope i don't go to the doc for chemicals. not ones to sleep anyway

[Captain Goddammit]

Just look up all my posts and read them... that'll do the trick for sure!

[AntiM]

Dreamless... MyLarry is that way too. I know he dreams, I can tell when he is, but he never recalls a thing. He stays up for hours, but drops off immediately when I make him lie down. Must be nice.

Me, I dream almost instantly when I begin to doze, no matter what the experts say about REM sleep. I dream lucidly, in color, with high recall, and I enjoy the hell out of it. I've been know to sleep too much because I had a good series of dreams going. I can have two parters, revisit old dreams, and recognize familiar dream landscapes while dreaming. My earliest memory is a dream memory. Mom says I would refuse to go play with friends when it was nap time, I wanted to see "the cartoons in my eyes".

[Elliot]

When I had my nasty bout with sleep deprivation some years ago, the specialist doctor told me No Caffeine Ever. Seems the stuff messes with us for a couple of days before it washes completely out of the system.

As for falling asleep in the evening, my regular doctor has me on Trazodone. I take it just before bedtime, and it knocks me right out -- without the residual effects of most "sleeping pills". Trazodone is not candy, but if you think you may have a nasty case of not falling asleep in the evening, you might ask your doctor about it.

Captain Goddammit, yes, Unjon speaks the truth. The Never Ending Blanket is a giant (virtual) blanket that any and all of us can crawl under for a sound nap in good company. It is located in the quiet corner at the rear of this Bar.

[theCryptofishist]

Oh, and the NEB... I remember some years ago in one of the previous Bar incarnations, someone was throwing out the idea of making a NEB for real that would travel to the playa each year, presumably with some trusted keeper. I thought this was a great idea but I've never had the time to pursue undertaking the task as a whole myself. I do, however, have a very special piece of cloth that I've been saving on the chance that it could be included in such a project, should it ever arise again.

That was 2006--the year of eplaya bar camp. Someone took it home, Piney thought it was me, which is wasn't, because that was after Scott's death but before the accident, so I knew I wanted to go to Europe instead of burningman. (Which turned out to be a mistake, I guess...). I dodged taking the blanket home for that reason.
I used to know who had it, but all I can think of is Box Burner. And I'm not sure of it's being him. He didn't mention it getting burned up in the fire, but who knows if that counts as a clue.

[trilobyte]

My sleep cycle is generally a mess. Pandorra's convinced that my circadian clock is calibrated to a different planet. A few times a year my sleep schedule is somewhat normal, and then it slowly inverts itself to where I'm mostly nocturnal.

When I've got to buck it and get a good night in, I've found that a nice hot shower works wonders. Rather than doing the usual 'hurry up and get clean you filthy bastard' routine, I just kind of soak and stretch and take my time washing.

[Ratty]

Capt. Thank you for asking. (NEB)? I was guessing in my head. That could have gone on for, say, a couple more years before I hit on the answer.

[trilobyte]

I still always think of the term as next empty booth, an acronym used in many internet bars I've frequented over the years...

[Martiansky]

I've been trying to figure out what the IBBOD is myself.
Theres one or 2 more also but I cant think of them at the moment.
Im sure they will pop up again sometime. Then I will ask.

[unjonharley]

For years now, I have used a medium to fall asleep..

I call it "my gyro gear lose" .. It is a impossible flying machine that I try to build in my head.. Now just bringing it to mind, I fall asleep.

[Patsh]

I've been trying to figure out what the IBBOD is myself.
Theres one or 2 more also but I cant think of them at the moment.
Im sure they will pop up again sometime. Then I will ask.

That's the Infinite Beanbag Of Debauchery, and it seems more than one person can be there at once. I think Yggy kind'a likes that...

[Martiansky]

Infinite Bean bag of Debauchery?!
That is flippin' hilarious!!
(((Patsh)))

How about ROS or was it ROC?! Something like that.

[Martiansky]

Oh, and Patsh....YES, I LOVE your new avatar!!
That big smile on your face makes ME smile, too!!

[Elliot]

I second Trilo's opinion of a nice relaxing shower or bath.

And I've read somewhere that when people live without seeing the sun at all (scientists staying in deep caves, for example), they tend to adopt a longer day cycle -- something closer to 30 hours. Illogical, yes, but I think I have noticed the same tendency in myself.

Oh, yeah.... We could use an acronym dictionary attached to the wall in The Bar. (BAD = Bar Acronym Dictionary)

[Martiansky]

Oh, yeah.... We could use an acronym dictionary attached to the wall in The Bar. (BAD = Bar Acronym Dictionary)

That would be wonderful! Good idea, Elliot!

[Elliot]

Yes, fabulous avatar, Patch! But you can make a larger one -- we are allowed 150 pixels now.

[Patsh]

Yes, fabulous avatar, Patch! But you can make a larger one -- we are allowed 150 pixels now.

Thanks, Elliot and Martiansky!
Tried to make it bigger, but I don't seem to be smart enough to make that happen.
This was taken at the M&G, Wednesday.

[theCryptofishist]

http://www.boredpanda.org/wilder-mann-charles-freger/

[graidawg]

the one that always used to weird me out was the ECM as in yggy would "saunters in switches on ECM, heads for ROS (recliner of submission, i think) and turns on cartoons" i always though yggy was turning on the virtual Electronic Counter Measures to fool (virtual NSA?) snoopers. Now i know better so i am going to dust it off and have myself a virtual as i shall be trying to avoid caffeine for a few days.

definitely not following the "change nothing for 3 weeks" rule. lost 6lbs in weight since i got back, halved my alcohol intake and can't sleep in sensible shifts. Well so what.

oh anti M, when i used to dream i used to have similar ones to you, I still have a dream town i visit the few occasions i do dream and when i remember them they are usually Hugely symbolic. i actually keep a notebook and pen near my bed to write them down if i wake up remembering a dream.

[Elorrum]

sleeping... I get a patch of wakefulness from time to time, usually goes away in a week or so. It usually comes as just waking wide awake around 1 or two in the morning after a few hours of sleep. I watch the t.v. with the closed captions on and the sound off, it seems to make me sleepy again. One thing about alcohol and sleep I experienced was a huge spike in dreaming when I stopped drinking. Going to sleep which was really more an alcohol assisted relaxing and passing out just shut down my dreaming memory. The super realistic dreaming for a few months when I stopped, really took me by surprise.

[lucky420]

I have an herbal remedy for sleep

[Elliot]

ECM = Electromatic Coffee Maker? Just guessing.

[burner von braun]

*peeks out from under NEB*

You are always welcome here in the NEB Captain.

And yes, your new avatar is great Patsh! It reminds me of how much fun it was to finally meet you, and our wonderful conversation later in the week. Yours is a bright-eyed smile for sure!

Beautiful weather here today, a nice day to give the truck its much deserved bubble bath.

*pours a cup from Elorrum's Coffee Machine (ECM) before starting*



..Oh, and thanks for showing us your burner coat at the M&G Ratty, with all of the flurry of activity, I'm not sure it received its just due, but certainly I find your sense of design inspiring. I'm hoping to make strides in that area before next time, and your thread provides lots of cool ideas to get the mind charging ahead!

*waves to all before heading out to driveway, bucket in hand*

[Aurelia]

Hello All !

just coming in after last nights music marathon of finest played live

too much dance causes kinky knees ...

xoA.

[Elorrum]

The ECM is the sister to this item.

and can be seen sometimes at the end of the bar.

[Elliot]

When we soon get a new Bar, it ought to have a Camp Mayor. I nominate Elorrum.

[Patsh]

When we soon get a new Bar, it ought to have a Camp Mayor. I nominate Elorrum.

if my vote counts, I second that!