Ancient history: I have/had 5 siblings: we lived one section along from NNB school. We were almost always late-

The meter reader must think I’m a freak, she turned up at 1pm and I opened the door in my PJs grunting morning. Sentences don’t happen until after 12pm AND coffee. My neighbour knows this now. I don’t do…

I've tried to convince our cat to wear a balaclava when he's out on his raiding missions, but he's not buying into it.

You…

To me, it's a wonder we accept very small dogs at all.

I see where you're coming from. I have two big behemoth dogs myself. But there's something to be said for a little dog in certain circumstances. I imagine once I get to a certain age I won't want…

For some reason I can accept very small dogs in strange little outfits far more easily than medium-sized or large dog

To me, it's a wonder we accept very small dogs at all. Is that what we did to the noble wolf? Shit. Might as well stick some clothes on…

+1 vote for Melatonin.

Thanks for the heads up – I'd never heard of taking melatonin. At this time of year I fall asleep earlier (11.30 – 1am), courtesy of any old book, and wake at 6 0r 7am if I'm lucky. But if I wake between 4 and 6am,…

I went chronic at quite an early age. At boarding school it proved to be quite an advantage I would be awake when others slept and they would be terrified that I would smother them in…

Is that melatonin? My doctor tried me on that for a while. It didn't seem to make any difference to my sleeping, but I did get the vivid dreams.

and

Melatonin is the only thing that's ever had any effect on my sleep... It helps with my inability to adjust…

but we can't make him sleep (sometimes he'll read webcomics in the dark on the EEE PC), and we're not obliged to make him get up early in the mornings since we withdrew him from school.

Which I fancy makes us sound like bad parents. But it has worked.

Oh,…

dog wearing a dress

Its a medium sized dog (i don't know much about dogs). The dog looks slightly embarrassed about wearing the dress. The owner is an oriental dude, he seems friendly enough. I gave him a funny look, but he didn't feel compelled to explain the dog to…

I can do early mornings if I have to (did a year of 7.45am starts a while back), but left to my own devices it's dinner at 10pm, bed at 2am, and arise at 10am. My most productive time tends to be late afternoon.

I have:

6am-12pm: Ideally, not a…

s that melatonin? My doctor tried me on that for a while.

No, it's zopiclone, which according to Wikipedia shouldn't be taken for long-term use, but oh well!

aren't later mealtimes (9pm+) common in Mediterranean countries? That's probably something to do with siesta.

Quite. The people of Naples and Sicily could hardly be called moneyed but they have dinner very very late. Blame the climate.

Late main meals are a luxury of the moneyed classes!

Definitely an interesting article. Though I wonder if it's a little Anglo-centric: aren't later mealtimes (9pm+) common in Mediterranean countries? That's probably something to do with siesta.

It's the moralistic overtones about morning people being more virtuous that piss me off.

Oh how I hate those sanctimonious bastards. I distinctly recall one workplace where I would get in at some respectably early hour (say 8.30), and some complete fuckwit who had got there 20 minutes earlier would…

In summer I go to bed at dawn. In winter I go to bed past midnight but always wake up just before dawn (I think I am seriously addicted to the dawn chorus (which does not consist of increasing traffic, sirens, and random dogs here.)) I have…

One "early" habit that I can't get into is the idea of eating at 6pm.

Have a read of this fascinating article on the "evolution of mealtimes".

Late main meals are a luxury of the moneyed classes!

These days the main threat to a good night's sleep is a Mega Mai Tai at Matterhorn in the small hours of a Wednesday morning. Right, Robyn?

Oh lordy. It's because of this that I've been drinking many cups of instant coffee today. I tried to give myself an extra…

But rather than a syndrome or disorder, I always figured it was a genetic adaption suggesting my ancestors were geared for night hunts. Goes with the squinty eyes that only work properly when the sun goes down.

Thanks for the post – its nice…

I believe that's the theory behind adolescents having a slightly different circadian rhythm – so they're less in direct competition with adults for mates and resources.

That makes sense: otherwise, the early teen would get the bird.

But seriously, one of the ways we've learned to avoid stress the younger boy (on his part and ours) is to acknowledge his sleeping patterns.

I'd love to be able to do this with my daughter – normal school routine makes her grumpy and less productive. The high school my…

Lectures at…

I wonder if it is universal across cultures that early risers are valued?

It probably makes sense in rural cultures, and since most cultures have been rural until a few generations ago, the values of rising with the cock's crow are still ingrained. And it's only very recently in human…

Yeah, I'm not sure why there's this perception that people who sleep from ten until six are virtuous, but people who sleep from two until ten are lazy degenerates. I'm sure it's not been deduced from observation or anything.

I've always been a morning person and I'm totally virtuous. Ask…

"(It’s 3:42. I wonder what Turkish Delight is called in Turkey?)"

Wikipedia sez it's called lokum or loukoum.

That's the (dis)advantage of having a web-enabled phone: you can stay in bed and still check that sort of thing.

I spent about 7 years on rotating shiftwork. I could handle it…

It's the moralistic overtones about morning people being more virtuous that piss me off. Wait until I'm in a position of power and I'll be scheduling meetings at 10pm and see how they like it. :)

Yeah, I'm not sure why there's this perception that people who sleep from ten…

Ps, I'm an arts student too, and the 9am history lectures are killing me.

Try 8am economics 101 lectures when you've got no desire to be an economist! I swear, the core BCom courses are designed to weed out those who just don't have drive. I am so hanging out…

(It’s 3:42. I wonder what Turkish Delight is called in Turkey?)

Wikipedia sez it's called lokum or loukoum.

There is a guy in Parnell who walks his dog up my street every day. The dog is always wearing a dress, though not always the same one. WTF?

Please, some of…

What do people do all morning?

Yawn, moan and feel guilty about being completely useless?

What do people do all morning?

A child's eczema set up a bad sleeping pattern for us. He used…

(It’s 3:42. I wonder what Turkish Delight is called in Turkey?)

I bet whatever they call turkish delight isn't what we call turkish delight.

There is a guy in Parnell who walks his dog up my street every day. The dog is always wearing a dress, though not always the…

I'll find myself standing in the bathroom holding a meat tenderiser, with no idea what I was doing.

ooh. sympathy. that sounds .... sorry, got no adjectives. sounds difficult and bloody inconvenient.

i can't say i'm a fellow sufferer. if i'm very stressed sleep is often the first thing to…

There is a guy in Parnell who walks his dog up my street every day. The dog is always wearing a dress, though not always the same one. WTF?

Are you more concerned about the dog wearing the dress, or the fact that the owner has a whole set and…

Did that spring from sleep deprivation? If so, it's clearly not all bad.

Image, that comes from sleep deprivation. Assembling of sentence to convey that image coherently most definitely requires sleep. Sometimes I feel like I'm collaborating with myself.

I miss night times and the unslept morning blah just doesn't…

Thanks for the link – never knew it was officially a circadian rhythm thing though I suspected. I muddled through with workplace requirements, but…

The worst bit of insomnia is going to bed exhausted and not being able to sleep.

Yeah, that's what pisses me off the most. I find it hard to shake the feeling that my body just plain hates me. I'll stumble around all day with a head full of cotton…

a cat wearing dolls' clothes

random side-note:
There is a guy in Parnell who walks his dog up my street every day. The dog is always wearing a dress, though not always the same one. WTF?

It's not so great for the rest of the family either. The only person capable of remembering where they're supposed to be and when turns into someone with all the even temperament and approachability of a cat wearing dolls' clothes.

Wow. Arresting image of the week.

Did that spring from…

I've been living/working on US pacific time the past 4 years which means starting work at 5am NZ in the winter and 7am in the summer…