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Gaming Fuel: 4-way Shootout
Neil Yates writes "It is 2:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. You have been up all night, fragging away in a Quake3 clan match. Your early morning schedule wore you out and you never had time to take a nap. The server is resetting between games, and you are starting to get a little sleepy-eyed. Milk is not going to do one bit of good and regular Coke or Pepsi are too run of the mill. The last thing that will keep you awake and at the top of your game is some pansy sports drink. Which of these four energy drinks do you reach for?
Pepsi Blue, Vanilla Coke, Dr. Pepper's Red Fusion, or Sobe's Mr. Green?"
What's wrong with plain old Mt Dew? It did represent 80% of my intake by volume from age 15 to 22.
Tea.
Sorry, being up at 2:00 AM is *not* "being up all night. :-)
I don't drink anything green but surge too bad they don't make it anymore... lest not that I can find... anyone eles know where to get it?
Not only is Mt. Dew missing, but so is Jolt, Bawls, and all the other Highly Caffeinated cans/bottles of goodness. If you are relying on sobe or Dr. Pepper for a late-nite energy infusion, you may as well drink Cold Water ;)
Although I am a fan of Pepsi Blue, I would have to go with Vanilla coke on this one.
It reminds me so much of Freshman year at college...Vanilla Rum and Coke...ahhh...
"What's wrong with plain old Mt Dew? It did represent 80% of my intake by volume from age 15 to 22."
Sorry, Mtn Dew tends to retard genital growth. It's the Yellow dye #5.
I found out @ 16. Too bad, I really liked the stuff.
Those are sports drinks? Last I checked sports drinks are like Gatorade.
Anyways, the best is Whoop Ass Cola, by Jones.
Well, duh, I was playing videogames!
Try CounterStrike and RTCW at 4:00am with reheated sweet and sour chicken (and radioactive orange sauce) a nice blunt (puff puff) and two cans of Guiness Larger. Niiiiice.
(if you can get it in US, he-he...)
Maybe then you won't put on 100 pounds of fat, and continue to score only at video games.
"And like that
REAL men get some of those giant Pixy Stix and dump one into whatever it is they're drinking.
Gaming is MUCH more fun with that strobe effect from your eyelids twitching. I just wish that damn pink elephant would give me my mouse back.
"I think you guys with quotes in your signatures should go have an original thought." -- Dan Miller
Red bull cause ya know it gives you wings!
First of all, this article is getting posted waaay too early. 12:30? Wait until 2, and get genuine reponses. At least from the Eastern half of the US, anyway (where I happen to live, so quiet, all of you).
Personally, I tend to drink Mountain Dew. It's cheap, easy to find...
That, or I just go to bed. The server will be there later, and I find that the longer I prolong the inevitable, the worse my aim gets.
~Chazzf
No statement is true, not even this one.
There wasn't any of these fancy schmancy drinks or overpriced thinkgeek goodies, you had two choices: coffee or Jolt.
And you plan on having kids?? Yellow #5 is spermicidal and stunts growth!
while i'll grant this matters, i doubt it's news. . . god bless you!
Yummy, too many drinks out there. I must say that many of them taste worse than the ass of the gamer who is drinking them. Not from experince mind you, just my imagination.
Ubuntu- Linux for human beings.
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
Hmm. not a fan of most energy drinks, but there are a few that i've found nice: :)
1. Surge, which is hard to find but hella good
2. Starbucks' Doubleshot: 2 shots of espresso, heavy cream, and none of the coffee jitters.
3. Bawlz... anything that's 196ml cappiene/296 ml total is good for me
I prefer chocolate covered expresso beans for when you absolutely must stay up, however I dont have trouble staying up till 2am, I have trouble when I want to NOT sleep cause I'm up till 8 or 10am - When can we hope to bottle the stuff that keeps me awake when I'm working on my favorite project or I just cant find that proggy bug? I hear speed works wonders but what I really want is some black market adrenaline. Why arent people manufacturing and selling that?
Often wrong but never in doubt.
I am Jack9.
Everyone knows me.
Seriously... during exam week my roomate and I bought between the *TWO* of us, three cubes of Code Red Mountain Dew.
:)
I drank a lot of it (2/3's) and he drank the rest in about 4-5 days' time. It was gross. I stayed up all night several nights playing Soldier of Fortune II though instead of studying.
But after drinking of few of those, I knew that there was no way in hell I was going to sleep that night!
-Bullseye
I'll second the vanilla coke = upset stomach that was mentioned in the article. Anyone have a clue why that happens? I'm certainly not allergic to vanilla or coke separately.
When will Australia have those drinks. Recently we just got Diet Coke with Lemon! Whats up with that :(
Sobe's Mr. Green is people!
PDHoss
======================================
Writers get in shape by pumping irony.
2 caffein pills washed down with an ice-cold Jolt.
I'm not really a web designer, I just play one on the Internet.
Vanilla coke. In my personal opinion, Pepsi Blue tastes (and looks) like coolant, Mr. Green is like green tea that's had the water all boiled off, and Red Fusion takes the worst elements of red pop and Dr. Pepper.
If he thinks that label is weird he should swing by home depot and pick up some of the fence and deck sealant.
The warning is for the chance of infants/young children drowning in the 5 gallon bucket and even includes a large picture. I am no rocket scientist but I think there are greater concerns then the child drowning.
Why do geeks always drink soda? Coffee has -way- more caffine and it tastes yummy.
Eating is for wimps.
Never liked Mt. Dew. Root Beer is my favorite
What about when a mouthful goes down the wrong way and you spray all over the screen? What about knocking the bottle over, spilling onto your keyboard? These are the important things I need to know!
What the hell is that?
And where is TVR? (or even just R (Red Bull))?
Wow, I should not post when knackered.
2000mg Guarana and hot chocolate (The real stuff made with unsweatened cocoa and a shit load of sugar, plus some chilly powder for power). Beats percolated coffee by a long shot...
"... every time I open my mouth some of my stupid escapes!"
...to push down some amphetamines.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
This is a .us website but I would have to say Pepsi Blue as I have never heard of any of the other drinks.
:P
Why wasnt Jolt mentioned? I love the taste of Jolt American Creaming Soda and when Jolt loses its fizz and chill it still tastes great.
If I dont have a spare bottle of coke then I start to get worried.
Pixels keep you awake!
It is 2:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. You have been up all night, fragging away in a Quake3 clan match.
:)
I take it this is Thursday night still?
Shouldn't this be a poll? I want my "reach for Cowboy Neal" option
"Teachers leave us kids alone
you know, sometimes i think what's keeping slashdot from being a superb news site is that it doesn't post enough inane shit -- but then something like this comes around
Is anyone else having a serious time trying to load this page into their web browser? I've tried both Mozilla 1.0 and Netscape 4.08, and both crash after trying to render the page!
http://www.reverage.com/
Not only can you stay up all night, but you can feel like you took too many painkillers too!
Essentially, this stuff is Red bull & Vodka, and its notorious taste is that of cough syrup. But a rank-ass disgusting taste didn't turn the rest of north america off coffee...
They should seriously market this stuff to geek culture a bit better... so far the only culture that seems to have grasped it is rave culture, but they've already got their excruciatingly-uber-powerful wake-up drugs to cope with...
Guarana + alcohol = one happy me.
Karma: Non-Heinous
Personally, if I need a jolt I stick to Goldschlager. :)
:)
(What, never seen a marine in Q3A stagger before?
Put the fucking bottle down!
Put it down! Now!
Sobe is down to 98 cents at a local walmart(is this true everywhere?). (good)Water costs nearly as much now. Besides, sobe doesn't digest steak overnight, and doesn't come in an aluminum can that is disolved by the acid(pH is around 3 I think) and collects in the base of your brain :). Other than that, you can get Ginkgo, which really helps you to think (and it helps me to exercise as well... I think it helps blood flow in general) or Ginseng or any number of obscure herbs (Kava Kava, Kola Nut, St John Wart, etc.).
All the other products rot your teeth with acid and too much sugar. They are carbonated and actually remove moisture from your body. Mt. Dew also has citric acid to add to the phosphoric, thereby eating even more of your teeth as you drink it.
I like good green tea and gourmette coffee pretty well too.
Karma Clown
Just in case anyone still believes that old tale... get the straight dope here.
It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
It's pretty popular down here in Indonesia. It's used to alleviate exhaustion:
Half glass of milk, two raw eggs, 4 spoons of honey, 1 spoon of ginger powder, and (if any) 2 spoons of ginseng powder.
Mix all the ingredients up (of course you have to throw away the egg-shells). Serve hot. You may add some chocolate powder or sugar or some more ginger powder.
This tastes good and it works for me. (No, this is no kidding). I usually add quite a lot of ginger powder for a fiery hot taste.
YMMV.
--
Error 500: Internal sig error
How are these conisdered energy drinks? They dont have any more stimulants than chocolate and cigarettes. Besides, beer and blunts are going to keep you going a lot longer with fewer kidney failure rates than these carbonated, sugary, artifically colored concoctions are.
1/3rd Coke, 1/3rd Mountain Dew, 1/3rd Jolt will lots of ice keeps me bright eyed and bushy tailed right through the night! **GRIN**
"It is better to know that you have lost than to not know you have won"
Us Canadians get the "canadian" version of mountain dew, which some genius decided should come without caffine ?!?
:-)
Fortunatly there is an alternative Buzzwater
Mixing the two fixes the problem
- nothing is more scary than the empty case
"We deal in lead" - Roland of Gilead
Ephedrine, caffeine and asprin, commonly known as Twin Labs' Ripped Fuel. Take two of those and plenty of water.
... if your playing Parrappa the Rappa with your little sister and her friends all night. Who the hell picked those four?
And if you are really daring, try combining the above with a yohimbe tablet.
Oh, and Vanilla Coke (which tastes like shit) is fine too
I see no flaw in the article's analysis. Fortunately, I'm used to ginseng and all of the other junk and/or good stuff Sobe uses to sell their drinks (see below).
.... honestly, Vanilla Coke isn't quite as unpleasant as Coke, but it's still a lesser of two evils.
Here in central Texas, Dr. Pepper seems to be king. Maybe it's a regional thing, but I'm with a large portion of the population around here that thinks Coke has a taste reminiscent of eating chalk in grade school, and Pepsi manages to pull of a taste that's even more hideous. Pepsi Blue? Vanilla Coke?
To be honest, if I had a bit more to choose from, I'd take some of Sobe's other drinks at late night lan parties. The heavy caffiene drinks tend to kill my ability to play a solid, consistent game. However, a steady diet of Lizard Fuel or Liz Bliz keeps the mouth happy and awake and sets you on a steady, somewhat relxed yet aware and patient state throughout the night. Start this at 7 pm and by the time 1:00 rolls around, you'll be on top of the game, owning your buds with the bomber on Battlefield 1942.
Life is good.
Works for me. Not always easy to find locally, though.
What the hell is wrong with the editors today? I'm counting literally over a dozen really crappy stories on the front page. The /. community is screaming at Cmdr Taco and friends to do something. So, are you listening Taco?
I have never, ever seen a soda bottle with an explosion warning before. Maybe I just haven't been looking hard enough, but when a soda carries a warning label you know there's something cool going on inside.
He definitely hasn't been looking hard enough, because I remember those warning being around for years, I assume for legal reasons, and had found them quite humorous as a kid.
Anyone else shocked by the author's suprise?
Moderation Totals: Flamebait=2, Troll=1, Redundant=1, Insightful=6, Overrated=1, Underrated=1, Total=12. (not mine)
Step two: Mix hit of Meth (speed) into drink
Don't sleep for a day.
Some of my gleanings.. Actually, caffeine is a bad ingredient to use to create *programming* energy drinks because even though it stimulates the peripheral nervous system, it doesnt improve attention span. Guarana = caffeine.. so the same caveat applies.. Ephedra also isn't good, although it's a bit better than caffeine for programming..
Some things I think would make excellent additions.. Alerting neurotransmitter precursors such as tyrosine and phenylalanine improve vigilance..
DMAE (a precursor of acetylcholine) is also a good pepper-upper..
Pyroglutamic acid.. (a relative of piracetam) is a good neuronutrient that has a stimulating effect.. I could go on and on.. *laugh*
The trick is in covering up the tastes.. Some trade secrets in there.. Should I tell them?
Chris
I know it's not the freshest, hippest thing to consume but it's easily made to order in regards to wake-up factor and flavor. Besides, it adds a bit of social grace when served in fine China at a LAN party.
Stock schmock, give me cash.
[read=Jay speak]fuck yeah that shit keep the frames moving all slow and shit, so i can take down all you motha-fuckas. Snoogins![/read=Jay speak]
Am I the only person who likes Code Red 20x more then all of those sodas? Why wasn't it even included in this? Another drink missing is Mountain Dew Amp. Sure, its pretty bad in my opinion, but I think it should be included just because this shootout just needs a drink from Mountain Dew.
Also, since when is Vanilla Coke being marketed as an energy drink?
"When all else fails, there's always delusion." -Conan O'Brien
there is no scientific evaluation of the caffiene levels or mention that carbohydrates can make you more tired when you are already tired (eat protein for energy).
i recommend tofu scramble with coffee or some such drink without so much sugar. but i guess this isn't really an option since gamers don't seem to like taking breaks.
fear is the mind killer
Dew is a high caffiene cotton-mouth killer. The only way it could be better is if it contained actual nutrition and knocked out the munchies at the same time! But only as a companion product. Don't fsck with the Dew!! Heh. Maybe I've had too many...
LEXX
"Gold still represents the ultimate form of payment in the world." - Alan Greenspan, 1999
What energy drinks are truly international?
....
Red Bull?
Mountain Dew (old alt.caffiene FAQ suggested it was made differently from country to country) ?
I've never seen any of the options presented - down here at the bottom of the pacific
If I really need to stay up for anything, wether it's gaming or finishing a paper for an all nighter I reach for the baby food. It has lots of simple carbohydrates tha the body can break down quickly for energy. If your wondering about taste, Gerber's Blueberry Buckle is actually pretty good.
p.s. Thanks Mrs. Way for teaching us something useful in high school chemistry.
Windows is more convenient than Linux just as having an ingrown toenail is more convenient than seeing a podiatrist.
I survived my college years on Jolt Cola.. I'm not sure it helped my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome though :(
:(
Jolt Cola -- If only they had "Order a Keg online"
It's mentioned in the article and my friends and I had the same reaction. Vanilla Coke tastes like Rum and Coke. I wonder if you can get someone placebo effect drunk on the stuff.
As for what I think makes a good fuel during any task. A southern standard, sweetened ice tea. Guaranteed to have more caffeine than coffee and as much sugar as you want. Plus tea is mild enough to where it doesn't tie your stomach in a knot if you drink it too fast.
By the way what's the next story, comparing the most satisfying munchies for gaming?
Ginger is a stimulant like coffee; it will keep you awake and alert for a while. Ginger makes a tasty tea; just grind it up and steep it in hot or boiling water then sugar to taste. Ginger beer is good for a lift.
Also, watch what you eat. Carbohydrates make you sleepy, proteins and fats keep you awake.
So, have a ginger beer and a steak. Or if you a vegan/vegetairan, some Textured Vegitable Protein, like a vege-sausage.
the replys well enough. You and I are on the same page.
Stock schmock, give me cash.
Children should not be allowed to drink beer. Especially GOOD beer like Guinness Stout.
Bah. How could they include the vile Pepsi Blue but omit the perfection that is Diet Code Red? All the caffeine of Mountain Dew but better tasting than regular Code Red and no calories. Also has the amazing property of not foaming all over the place when you try to pour from a newly opened 2 liter. :-)
The idea that Yellow #5 is a spermicidal is a fairly prevalent urban legend. Snopes, as always, has the real story.
I can't believe you didn't mention Red Bull. Red Bull is an energy drink specifically made for waking you up and getting you moving/thinking etc. Red Bull is even more than just your everyday caffiene, it has some other goodies in it to keep you coding/fragging all night and into the next day. Hehe, I probably sound like a salesman. =)
Chocolate-covered coffee beans. You just pop them in your mouth like candy and chew away to an unbeatable caffeen high, wakes you right up.
We were all warned a long time ago that MS products sucked, remember the Magic 8 Ball said, "Outlook not so good"
Also for the benefits of Canadians, I think that Mt. Dew is caffeine-free in Canada. Any non-dark pop has to be (I think). Anyway, I think coffee is yummy.
"Now gluttony and exploitation serves eight!" - TV's Frank
As the overnight guy on a classic rock station, I usually hit up some Red Bull to keep myself going. Especially when some shifts end at 2a and then begin again at 6a. You've got to love your job when you work hours like that. From what I hear though some kids dies from drinking a lot of highly caffinated drinks (may be an urban legend) so I try to limit it to one or two a night. Nothing worse than keeling over in the middle of a stopset...
mstyne: real name, no gimmicks
The new Rebok Water and the New Oxygenated Clearly Canadian are nice - I mean, both are gimmicks, but taste good and if you think it's helping, it's helping.
its 2 am Saturday morning and the only thing you can score with is your video game?
aah the love of slashdot...
Jesus saves souls and redeems them for valuable cash prizes
Once upon a time, long, long ago, I worked at the Pepsico plant where they made the Mountain Dew concentrate that they sell to the bottlers. Part of the kit was a large plastic bag full of pure powdered caffeine. Since it looked a little like "other" powdered stimulants (or so I've heard, not that I'd know :-P ), I got to clowning around for my coworkers, and snorted a big line of caffeine.
I have never had my nose, sinuses and throat burn so bad in my life, or had such a bitter taste welling up in my mouth. I must have spent the next hour in the restroom, inhaling handfulls of water through my nose!
Don't try this at home, kiddies!
Pepsi Blue? Dr. Pepper? Vanilla Coke? Since when are these in the category of "energy drink?" They're pop/soda for chrisstakes! Sick of run of the mill coke or pepsi? Look elsewhere, it's not like these will make much of a difference.
I thought that just maybe this new Sobe drink was energy-ifious- but nope. Looked at the FAQ and it's just plain old pop. 37 mg per 8 oz. Claims to have some ginseng, but just being a soda, I doubt it contains more than what is required to claim that it is "flavored with ginseng."
This "news" site was probably bought off by Coke and Pepsico (which owns SoBe) to do an "article" about their "energy drinks" in exchange for a few cases of each of these drinks. I can't say I blame them for looking out for No. 1, but puuuleeze.
Why not evaluate Red Bull and shit like that? Or make your own whacky cocktail of Water Joe, nicotine water, and crushed up adderals?
Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
I don't have the stamina for staying up days at a time like I did when I was 16. Back then a 24-pack of Mountain Dew would keep my running at 100% for several nights.
I think I have funny blood sugar things going on -- like many other modern Americans -- and the sugar content of what I consume has a huge impact on my wakefulness. Specifically, if I consume too much sugar too quickly it puts me to sleep. Likewise, too much caffeine doesn't help much. Beyond a reasonable level of caffeine, typically one 8-ounce light brew coffee (light has more caffeine), I just get red irritated eyes and slightly jittery. (The volume of coffee that's right for you may depend on how much of it you usually drink.)
Thus to stay up all night I have to plan ahead. I try to have a coffee a few hours before I'm going to need it, then sip something low-sugar with moderate caffeine as the night progresses. It sounds kind of sissy, but iced black tea is:
a) refreshing
b) cheap (important!!!)
c) seems to have the right amount of caffeine
d) is low sugar
e) can be produced on demand in any desired quantity
Another pleasant side effect of iced tea is that, even after consuming large volumes, it doesn't leave me so rotund as other drinks might. This is also convenient for being a stealth geek: a narrow radar signature leaves most people clueless to the fact that I know anything about computers, which in turn means fewer "say, you look like you know computers: when I try to use my American Online..." queries.
Mountain Dew actually seems to have about the right amount of caffeine, but it also has so much sugar that the caffeine is, for me, effectively negated.
It's only 9:34 on the West Coast where I'm at, but maybe I'll report back around 5:00 AM...
This is a cool story and no doubt a very useful one (though Vanilla Coke remains the obvious choice). I think they should have actually tried to measure the caffeine in the drinks.
It's a pity that the FDA doesn't have manufacturers list milligrams of caffeine per serving on containers (as they generally treat other drugs). Isn't it possible to extract the caffeine from these drinks and weigh it? Most organic students do this in one of their first labs.
Spending every day in lab, it's hard for me to realize it's kinda difficult for non-engineers to get a hold of methylene chloride or nonpolar solvents.
On the other hand, measuring "which soda would rot through a nail the fastest" is much easier. Just get some litmus paper and measure the pH.
I'm sure the bigots will laugh and some people won't like it, but Sun-Drop beats Mountain Dew by a mile.
Sun-Drop, Goody's powder, and a joint!
With all the geeky knowledge of all things science around here, I'm a little surprised that this is even a topic. (I think I hear the sounds of barrel bottem scraping.)
All you're doing is screwing yourself up with all that garbage. Drink water and, on occasion drink other things... and definitely not milk -- it feeds cancer and contains all kinds of hormones you don't want in your body.
Quit eating and drinking shit and you'll find that you'll be more alert, more awake, more intelligent, quicker on the trigger and a damned sight healthier. Oddly, you don't need nearly as much sleep as you're likely getting and upsetting your already imbalanced body chemistry isn't going to help anything at all.
Forget about food and drink as a recreational act for a little while and focus on what you're doing -- then nutrition becomes an easy thing to deal with.
Here's an exercise: cut out all caffeine for six months. Yes, I said six months. Notice how your mind is calmer and more organized. Notice how your hands don't shake at the same frequency as the fluorescent lights above you. Notice how your penis now grows to full length.
Care about electronic freedom? Consider donating to the EFF!
Red Bull would be a good power boost (especially if you need 'wings' for flight during a frag session), but they charge quite a lot over here in the US (compared with England and Europwe).
P P P pick up a Penguin, how I don't miss those adverts over here (although that isn't saying much I suppose, considering US ads).
I suppose those two items could become a new caffeine derivative infused Linux distro (with added chocolate and biscuit)... Red Bull Linux?
Are you local? There's nothing for you here!
You've been sitting on your ass all day and all night, what do you do? reach for an energy drink!!! Hell ya! I used a lot of energy staring at a screen and moving a tiny little mouse for hours on end!
in girum imus nocte et consumimur igni
because increasing in surger level would only make you more sleepy. You have to drink something that keep your surger level lower.
How abut chilling soda water?....hmm, where is the venting machine....
I hate to ask this, but why is the vanilla coke considered an energy drink? It's coke with vanilla flavor. Now before we get into bashing things, let it be known that I have a case of vanilla coke sitting next to me here at work. When people talk about "energy drinks", I think bawls, red-bull, adreneline and things of that nature. The drinks sooo potent they'll keep you up for a few good weeks. Maybe I'm just missing something here. Personaly, If I have to stay awake, I'd avoid all of these and go right for the Coffee
"Perl 6 gives you the big knob" -- Larry Wall
Really.
Although, the boss bought a couple of cases of Caffine Free(!!!) Mountain Dew last week. The can will pass a casual inspection as the real deal.
Can somebody at Pepsi tell me who's fucking sick idea of a joke Caffine Free Mountain Dew is? I almost died from the caffine-withdrawl-headache brought on by the essential missing component...
There's so little difference between politics and jihad lately...
Seriously.
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
What sort of pansy so called energy drinks are those
choices?
In Europe, Asia and Australia we have Red Bull.
Caffeine, Taurine, and B Vitamins. Works a treat.
There's a heap of imitators like Red Stallion and V that
include Guarana into the mix as well.
Sheesh these Americans, always last to catch up
(see PAL, GSM phones)...
Coffee double strength + 1 shot of sky rocket for each page of code/essay I have to write before dawn. Drink, sit back, chill until you feel the buzz, take a little walk to get rid of the initial shock, then get back to computer and pound some keys. All this, of course, done with a tin of penguin mints handy (take 3 every 1/2 hour), and a bottle of bawls in case of severe sleepiness. This gets me so wired that I can't sleep until at least the early afternoon of the following day.
Just don't blame me if it kills you, shortens your life span, or completely nullifies your sex drive. You've been warned.
Number 1 drink at QuakeCon: BAWLS
http://www.bawls.com/
A Reservoir Dogs Joke in Here. You know, "Mr. Green," "Mr. [Pepsi] Blue"... ah... nevermind.
What's with all the Pepsi Blue hate in that article? I've had it several times and rather enjoy it, although no-one I know seems to. I encourage Pepsi Blue supporters to speak out, so that it doesn't go the way of Clear Pepsi. We need to encourage the mainstream soda makers to experiment more.
...at least I like to think.
Does the Pope have an iPod too?
Call me traditional.
Voice (offscreen): "Whatever you say, Traditional." ::cymbal crash::
Anyway, I'm the editor-in-chief of my university's newspaper, and on the day we do all the final layout and copy editing, I'm the last person to go to bed. As the paper's "captain," I have to go down with the ship and stay awake until everyone else's job is finished and I've checked things over. Then I drive the proofs into the printer on my way home (a half-hour drive). I'm often up until after four in the morning on these days.
My method is fairly old-fashioned (circa the 1990s). I start downing Pepsi at suppertime, when the night's just getting started. The school's snack bar sells soft drinks for a penny an ounce on the night I do the paper... nothing like a bucket o' pop for fifty cents once or twice to keep you going.
Later on, when the going gets tougher, it's coffee and sugar. The way I do it, it's more like sugar and coffee, but still.
I usually finish up the night with a 20-ounce Mountain Dew from the vending machine down the hall. I like the extra wired-and-twitchy feeling it gives me for the drive home.
There you have it. No fancy energy drinks, just the old sugar and caffeine routine. And really, really weird-colored urine the next morning. But you prolly didn't need to know that.
JOLT ! now in many different flavors no-less !
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." --Albert Einstein
A real weed connoisseur knows that pot should only be smoked out of clean glass. Blunts are a nice way to make decent weed taste like greasy ass. I'm with you on the reheated chinese and beer though.
tastes like fukin rat poison, vanilla coke is aight but all they did was add some vanilla. not much at that. havent tried the sobe yet but the red dr pepper isnt too bad. tastes like dr pepper with red shit in it=p
a few cups of good 'ol drip coffee. maybe with a shot or two (or three) of espresso in it for an extra kick. put it on ice if you want something cold. screw all that high-fructose corn syrup. it'll just come back to bite you with an insulin "low". i do like some sweet 'n low in mine, but whatever floats yer boat...
dr pepper is the only pop i can drink on a daily basis. i don't understand why everyone raves about dew so much, all it seems to do give me is a nasty case of gut rot. also, when i'm worried about drinking to much pop, iced spring water with a lemon is awesome.
At my place, the drinks of choice are:
IBC Root Beer
Pros: It's absolutely perfect root beer. Glass bottles are fun to break.
Cons: No caffine (just sugar). Expensive.
Barq's Root Beer
Pros: Lots of caffiene.
Cons: Makes your MORE thirsty.
Snapple Raspberry Iced Tea
Pros: Yum.
Cons: Expensive.
Lipton Brisk in Lemon or Raspberry
Pros: Cheap, tastes okay.
Cons. Not as good as Snapple.
Hawaiian Punch (cans)
Pros: Can be mixed with Bacardi for a rum runner.
Cons: Can be mixed with Bacardi for a rum runner.
Hi-C Lemonade (cans)
Pros: Can be made into spiked lemonade with Bacardi.
Cons: Too acidic. Needs to be diluted with water.
Coke (cans)
Pros: There's always some around.
Cons: It's boring.
Vanilla Coke
Pros: Different. Good with cherry flavor added.
Cons: Not so good with pizza or nachos.
Rick's Spiked Lemonade
Pros: Be the one NOT drinking it and the game seems a LOT easier.
Cons: Very expensive.
Kahlua Mudslide (bottles)
Pros: Same as Rick's spiked lemonade.
Cons: Some people don't like the taste. Very expensive.
Wine Coolers (various flavors)
Pros: Tasty and inexpensive as far as alcoholic beverages go.
Cons: Not manly to drink.
Beer
Pros: Very cheap as far as alcoholic beverages go.
Cons: Tastes like piss. No one likes it. It's just around so we can offer it to people when they comment about the wine coolers not being manly.
As for Code Red, Mountain Dew, and Sobe, no one seems to like them here, so I never buy any...
---
Siggy, siggy, siggy, can't you see? Sometimes your puns just irritate me.
Actually, the therorized component that is promenent in mountain dew is yellow #5. I grew up with a friend who lived on mountain dew, and I personally hated the stuff.... later on, I discovered that while I had gotten the regular 6-7 incher, he had, what his first *lay* described as "HIS DICK WAS AS SMALL AS MY 4 YEAR OLD BROTHERS!!!" Either way, I don't want to drink something that looks like mountain dew does.... its just not a natural color to drink. red = cherries = good for you green = veggies = very good for you blue = .... hmm.... blueberries... = not BAD for ya
yellow = uhh... tell me what food comes in yellow?
And don't say bananas unless you eat the peel, and don't say you smoke it cuz that don't count :)
I would bet that the yellow bell peppers and such are genetically engeneeried.
The fact of evolution simply points out that the yellow color is not something we need. Like it or love it... Then again, you could say we don't need beer, but I would have to slap you.
Mr. Heston will be screaming:
Soylent green is made of dirty apes! Pill lady! Yay it's the pill lady!
Man, how can you talk about "keep awake at all costs" drinks without mentioning Red Bull!!!
Red Bull keeps you going like the old Duracell Bunny. You even get the dazed, glazed look on your face...
-- "To ask a question is to show ignorance; Not to ask a question means you'll remain ignorant."
Tea tastes good. It's good for you. It keeps you alert. Drinkable with or without milk and with or without sugar. Low cost. Socially acceptable in all circles. No plastic wastage. Drink it icy cold in summer or piping hot in winter.
Why waste money on carbonated sugar water? Sure, Coca-Cola and Mountain Dew can be nice once in a while. But if you need copious quantities of a tasty drink then tea is the answer.
Guinness = Stout Bass = Ale Harp = Lager Natural Light = Roach piss Any questions?
For most people, a lethal dose is somewhere in the range of 3 to 4 grams. A 250 mL can of Red Bull contains 100 mg; likewise for an average cup of coffee. Even espresso rarely breaks 200 mg per serving. Unless you go for Sky Rocket, it'll take a bit of effort to overdose on Caffeine.
-Uther
Also, the submitter's name links to the top level of the website that this "article" comes from. Something stinks of self-promotion for "Envy News" if you ask me. Can we get back to *real* news please, editors! So many real articles get the heave-ho when shittle like this rolls through. It's enough to upset a nerd.
If you really want to stay up late, why not just get up later? :) :P Got another hour here too, before an hours drive home, urgh :(
:)
I was up around 2pm yesterday, and I'm still awake now (6:19am), ok, so I'm at work, but hey
As for the caffinated drinks we have here in the UK (RedBull, V and the like), I tried some V once when I had to stay up all night to get a train for a 2 hour journey for a 9am job interview, it had squat all noticable effect, and I don't drink coffee! The sms's with the missues had a much more noticable effect
Where did all the Regular Cokes go??
Personally I Like the Dr. Pepper with the Pur can Sugar if I've got to stay up all night long.
If I don't have any of that The Regular Dr. Pepper, Coke, and Pepsi Have just as much sugar and caffine as most of those mentioned.
I thought it said "it's a nice pecker upper" and I did a spit-take! You owe me a cuppa joe!
Cake or Death? Cake Please!
Gatorade. It's the best. We all love caffine, but it's a stimulant. Stimulants are drugs that crank up our bodies systems to run faster. Think overclocking. You're not giving your body fuel, just instructions to keep going past normal tollerances. Gatorade is just glucose and electrolytes. Glucose is actual fuel for your body. It's not the best fuel, but it's simple and your body can use it right away. I can chug a 20 oz Gatorade and feel great for a long while. No ups and downs like when I drank a ton of Dew.
Not only can it wake you up and keep you awake, but it also prevents and cures hangovers. It's like a sugary liquid Swiss Army knife.
geez!
If you have not yet tried Gizo, (from Drinks that Work,) you have not had a good energy drink. First off it will get you going for a full day, night and most of the next day without giving you the jitters. Secondly it's a non-carbonated little shot, so you don't have to drink soda all day to cut the soda's own after taste. all this in a little 4 oz. shooter. Beats the ---- out of any of those little redbull things and even Jolt. (I realize that saying that will probably get me in trouble here, but I do believe it's true.)
a word of warning though, do not use with ANY other caffiene source! trust me.
P.S. if you find it, it comes in more than one flavor, the one in the orange bottle is the energy drink, they have another in a green (kava) bottle that will bring you back down too. (go ask alice etc.) and there is a blue one (cola) and a beige (coffee) one which I don't personally like the taste of.
P.P.S the orange one is actually cranberry flavored, not orange. knowing this makes a big difference.
-- it's ridiculous how many people misspell ridiculous... (damn, damn, damn...)
imho there are two types of sports drinks: - recreational like Gatorade, Isostar, etc.. - and performance drinks, which in fact, mostly are intended for mixing with water. ...
But none of them helps with sleepy eyes - but if you do need an kick: an real italian expresso does, as also any drink with caffeine - like black or greeen tea and yes - red bull, dark dog,
people like you are the reason i don't drink guiness.
they might think we were friends...
I looked at the posting title, and skimmed over the actual posting, and I thought the "4-way shootout" was a drink combining Pepsi Blue, Vanilla Coke, Dr. Pepper's Red Fusion, AND Sobe's Mr. Green.
I nearly yacked on my keyboard!!!
It works for narcoleptics and it's what the good 'ol millitary trusts when pilots have to pull an all-nighter in the video game called 'life'.
Seriously though... my wife's a pharmacist and says this stuff makes it seem like you had a full night's sleep...
"A matter of internal security, the age old cry of the oppressor" - Jean Luc Picard
...I think the iPope has one.
Nah, he spelled it "larger", I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt and figuring he meant a really, really big can. ;)
What? No Code Red Mountain Dew? Seriously. It's a new drink. Not as new as the rest, but still fairly new considering its been about 10 years since the latest "outside the box" drink release.
But, even if Code Red was listed, I still agree, Red Fusion tops them all. I love the stuff. Ever since the day it came out, I've been drinking the stuff daily. I sure hope they come out with a diet formula that tastes just as good as Diet Dr. Pepper (the only diet drink except lemon twist I can tolerate).
Red Fusion is light, refreshing. I only hope everyone else agrees with me, else in about a year it'll probably be phased out. At which point I will have a warehouse stock pile of the stuff.
..There's a-dooin's a-transpirin'
within it mentions an experiment where some lab rats were kept awake for ~2 weeks (the longest human record is 11 days) and then they died. the acticle keep emphasizing that it was not proven that the death was caused by sleep depravation. but well... They just don't want to admit that they tortured a buncha cute lil mice to death.
on a even MORE related point: try red bull / blue donkey / green chicken and all that -- they seem to work pretty well. i drove across the US (SJ to NY) on those. 2 bux a can (8.6 oz) is steep, but hey -- when you gotta stay awake, you GOTTA stay awake.
lastly... erm... try some speed. they work too, so i hear.
My life in the land of the rising sun.
My personal favorite is a Nehi Blue Cream Soda, and a segment of mozzarella string cheese.
Or as my cousin refers to it...
Windex and a glue stick.
"Oh drat these computers, they're so naughty and so complex, I could pinch them." --Marvin the Martian
It's called Amp and comes in an 8.5 ounce can (seems to be the standard for energy drinks). Tastes like a combination of Dew and Smarties candy. It's not worth the $2/can, though; I've tried it a couple of times and it didn't give me a noticeable boost.
Shaun
Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
Hard core types slap on the IV (with spigots and a few different bags: sugar water, upper, downer) slide into a pair of low riding baggy Depends and monitor their vitals on the home buit polygraph.
I smoke Popeye sigs.
+1 FUNNY!!!
My all time favorite soft drink would have to be: CHERRY COKE, hands down. I was never a big fan of coke, nor do i really care for the flavor cherry in most things. But in combonation, Cherry Coke really brightens up my day. :)
A Penny for my thoughts? Here's my two cents. I got ripped off!
There's a new product out by Nestea (I think) that is a concentrated tea drink. Now, I know this sounds like a wussy drink, but this 8 oz container contains the same amount of high fructose corn syrup as two quarts of coke/pop/soda, but without the carbonation. You can slam it for a quick recovery, or sip on it and not worry about it going flat. Or, you could just pour it into one of those lame energy drinks for a sickly sweet treat.
According to this, the cola with the most caffeine is Afri-cola. I've had it. It's quite good.
Three give you the same caffeine as a Coke, a box will enable you to see in the dark. And the penguins on the tin are just so cute!!!
After an uppers bend on caffeine, amphetamines and whatever else you can get into your blood supply, I would be interested in what gets used out there to take the edge off when you finally need to sleep?
How is it remotely possible that the original energy drink isn't on the list? Folks, Coffee INVENTED energy. I can prove that with a white board, a marker, and 20 minutes.
I guess until pepsi sponsors a coffee drink, or buys starbucks, I am not going to see this fact hyped in the media.
Am I really that old?!?! =)
-Tom
What's wrong with a little crack once in awhile? Truckers do it!
Creationists are a lot like zombies. Slow, but powerful and numerous. And they all want to eat our brains.
"It's also important to note where the caffiene is located in the ingredients list. Ingredients lists are ordered from greatest content to least content. In Vanilla Coke, caffiene is the sixth ingredient out of eight, higher than any other soda in this roundup. For Pepsi Blue, caffiene is seventh out of ten. Mr. Green's caffiene placement is also seventh out of ten; it's important to note that ginseng is listed in a lower placement than caffiene, meaning it's possibly simply an insubstantial amount. Caffiene is the seventh ingredient out of nine in Red Fusion."
So, the amount of caffiene is just a guessing game. But the bottom line, really, is the amount of caffiene. This is what keeps you awake (and, some will say, hooks you on the drink :). Is there anywhere to find out the caffeine mg per
serving, or do
we each have to pay for our own chemical assays? Why are the drink manufacturers
so reluctant or afraid to place this vital information on the label?
(On a tangential note, I once heard the Renaissance coincided with the introduction of coffee in Europe. Can anyone confirm this?)
I had the (dis)pleasure of trying pepsi blue for the first time. I had stopped at a gas station to get something to drink and was enticed by the promotional $.89/20oz. price.
what a tragic mistake. I can not seriously believe that they ran this drink by a focus group, product testers, or basically anyone who actually consumed it. They probably put up a large list of potential formulas on a corkboard, got drunk as hell, and threw darts.
i think "berry soda" fusion would be a lot more apt than "berry cola;" this essentially tastes like berry-flavored seltzer, but whereas those are, let's say, 1/20th flavor, 19/20th seltzer, pepsi blue is 19/20th flavor. a disgusting, cough-syrup like flavor that leaves you wanting to drink the wiper fluid from your car to get the taste out of your mouth.
some drinks have come to grow on me after a dismal first sip (moxie comes to mind), but after drinking what felt like all of the bottle judging by the pain i endured, i looked down to see it 3/4 full (or maybe 1/4 empty for you optimists out there). avoid this foul beast at all costs.
In short, this is the new clear pepsi, but it tastes worse.
sell your certainty and buy bewilderment
Ew... I'll take the crab juice.
Forget about those weak drinks. Go for the real stuff. Crystal Meth! Don't do cocaine, it doesn't last nearly as long.
Of course, this is just what somebody told me. I've never tried drugs myself.
-- Jessica
The mutant geek grrl from Hell.
If you want a quick burst of energy, go for a short run outside or on the treadmill. Or lift weights or any sort of exercise really. You will feel more energetic afterwards, and the more you do it the energy you will have in general. Drink water while you exercise and stay hydrated. You don't really need those "energy drinks" like Poweraide unless you are seriously working out or it's extremely hot.
Does this strike anyone else as just unhealthy? Your body is telling you it is tired for a reason- mainly because you need the sleep to function well. In the case of needing to do work, I can see that, but jeez, if it's gaming, just go to sleep- get a good nights rest. Don't try to fool it by using stimulants. The server will always be there tomorrow.
slashdot!=valid HTML
To make Crackolade you need:
1 of those big tubs of Countrytime Lemonade
1 motel room ice bucket enough ice to fill it 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full
1 motel room coat hanger
Pour half of the Countrytime Lemonade powder into the bucket.
Pour the ice on top until it is about 1/2 to 3/4 full.
Fill almost to the top with water
Stir with coat hanger until powder will not disolve anymore
And there you have it! Crackolade. I'm not sure if it was nutrisweet poisoning or what, but it would your heart beat so hard you could actually see your chest bulge slightly. I've stayed up over 50 consecutive hours with this stuff, Have fun!
Crack out the Mt. Dew AMP and get a few Ephedrine... you'll be up for a long time with no problems whatsoever...
;-)
except for that wacky warbling noise.....
Nutin' like a good, luke-warm, frothy glass of Whore Piss! Now with extra crack! The very memory of drinking this will keep you up for many a night!
well then I just go for a Coke and call it even. :)
If you are a REAL MIDSHIFTER, you drink coffee(BLACK) with a tea bag in it for xtra Caff
4 years of Midshift in operations taught me how to stay awake, if not out of the hospital with stomach problems...
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
I enjoy a good drink like any late night nerd does. But it is too easy to "OD" on caffeine without knowing it. I have some links to provide food for thought;
An interesting page about liquid candy
Some deaths associated with red bull/energy drinks
Another caffeine death
I am not saying give up your drinks. But I am saying be smart about it. Don't drink/eat so much caffeine that you make yourself feel miserable with the symptoms of too much caffeine. while it is thought that 10 grams is a fatal overdose, I would be willing to bet that a fraction of that can make you feel pretty miserable and is very easily reached with some of the caffeinated drinks/candies/pills out there. A couple liters of mountain dew, four red bulls, and a handful of penguine mints or any combination thereof places you at about 1 gram.
It goes without saying drinking alcohol at the same time exacerbates things.
Also, caffeine is not a substitute for sleep. There are reasons that the body needs to sleep. So if you are depriving your body of sleep for whatever reason you need to start asking yourself what your priorities are. Sleep "binging" where you go without sleep all week and catch up on the weekends is also unhealthy, but this is another topic in itself.
This post is not intended to be medical advice. See your doctor if you have any questions/symptoms. Yada yada yada.
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
Nor do we drink American "beer," for as H. Allen Smith quoth those many years ago,
Here what the official BAWLS site has to say about Guarana:
And to think, I just ordered a case Satuday.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"First things first -- but not necessarily in that order"
-- The Doctor, "Doctor
Oh, and if you're used to drinking coffee, savour that placebo effect ;) The hot liquid in my mouth still triggers my body to be alert - although not as much as caffeine, unfortunately.
The pluses are you're healthy and you don't have to pee all the time. Maybe you care about your body, or maybe you're just a stereotypical computer gaming junkie, willing to live off coke and doritos...
just eat a raw onion. if you can survive the tears, you wont be sleeping for a while.
this works with other "dare" foods, such as the habenero pepper, dont worry, its small because its not as hot.... a whole lemon (including the rind, where all the good stuff is) is worth it.
find other things to eat. like term papers, add a little tobasco sauce.
btw. i tried all those pops, for me , they all suck. and caffiene doesent have affects on me, i can drink tea and coffee and stuff and go right to bed. dr. red. pepper sux, mountain dew, all versions sucks. whoop ass is nasty, redbull is pure sh!t. vanilla coke? are you kidding? cant talk anymore, onion is trying to kill me, AIEEEE it burns it burns, mallox alert! remember me! owwww.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to find mt dew in sweden? Shopping mt dew at 4 am in the lokal store isn't possible here. damn it..
Heres a new one, A friend of mine is a truckie and injects vitamin B12 intrveinously to stay awake all night. Apparently with no side effects. he calls it 'truckies little helper'. I personally swear by the red Bull that is imported from thailand that is available at good asian grocers. Lotsa good taurine which is heaps better than caffeine.
Of course there's nothing wrong with a regular espresso every hour or so. Does funny things to me after about 4 though.
Sorry folks. Caffeine does *NOTHING* for me. Zip, Zero, Zilch, Nada. 2 12oz cappuchinos and a 20oz Dew and it's nighty night time for me. (Drink 2-liters and its bathroom time!)
/.'ers The next time you crack open a Dew, somewhere in cyberspace I'm falling asleep. (w/one finger on the trigger... ;-)
This actually sucks. I can get a little boost with some food, (Lots'o protein is good) but it doesn't last long. And if I need to stay awake I can't get a cheap fix with some caffinated beverage or even those No-Doze pills.
Sadly I seem resistent to aspirin, and most of the other Over-the-counter (non-Prescription) drugs also. (Like anti-histimines) Thankfully I seldom need them.
So remember
You want the real stuff you should drink SoBe Adrenaline. It's a little 8 oz. can that can keep you wired for hours. And it comes with free Passionfruit taste.
Watch out, or I'll have the penguins eat you.
Oh...and, I'm liquid talent
I sometimes take a generic variant of Xenadrine RFA-1 weight loss pills as a good way to kick start the day, or in the afternoon if work is boring. They have it at Albertson's. Works better than coffee, and it doesn't make me pee as much. It's cheaper than energy drinks, too. $30 for 120 capsules. I've never taken it with the intention of staying up all night, but I'm sure it would work. If you're into illegal stuff like this nude dancer I know is, then you can take the "real" stuff, methamphetamine. I've never done that, though. I read that it's bad for you.
When I was young enough to not have to worry so much about stressing my body, we had a little thing called amphetamines to keep us awake. And shocking as it is, we actually had the intelligence to keep our doses low enough to be little different than a slightly more powerful 12-24 hour caffeine buzz. And the willpower to not take it often enough to become addicted. Despite the war on drugs propaganda machine, at reasonable doses it's not going to make you into a raving psychotitc writing your name a hundred times on your exams, unless you're the kind of person who would normally be doing something like that sober.
I swear, this is the generation of socially acceptable weak willed drug addicts who don't want to admit their situation to themselves. I'm posting this anonymously because I can already hear the indignant shouts of the crowd screaming that because their drug of choice is in liquid form, it's not a real drug. Try going a week with no caffinated drinks and tell me it's not a drug. If you don't want to go the route of illegality, at least have the honesty and forsight to take time released caffeine pills or better yet modafinil if you can find it, instead of rotting your teeth and turning your body into a ball of fat with all that sugar.
Even better would be to do what someone else has already suggested, and give up these empty calories, and drop your recreational drugs completely in favor of a good exercise routine. You'll be one heck of a lot healthier, and you'd really be surprised on how much less sleep you'll need and how much better you feel constantly than you did while getting a little buzz from mountain dew.
I expected to at least see Jolt on the list. but even jolt compared to drinks out now is outdated.
t p://www.hansens.com
Try doing that review again with drinks like Go-Go,Hype,XTC. Or if you want coke,pepsi brands,... KMX and ths Sobe one. All those mini cans. I wack myself out on XTC all the time, keeps me going on those 24 hour work days, found a local wholesaler that has it where I can buy it by the case. Hype for example has 150mg of caffeine in it. They all have mixtures of guarana and ginseng and crap too.
FYI
http://www.xtc.li
http://www.hype.com
ht
http://www.go-gojapan.com/
Some heroin junkies taught me how to hook up a clean IV bag, so now I just mainline high fructose corn syrup whenever I need that "extra boost".
Mordor...a magical, mythical land where women are more rare than dragons--but where every man would rather find a dragon
I eat a can of sardines when I'm down and out, but buy the best you can afford the large ones are pretty tasteless.
An Education is the Font of All Liberty
That's funny as hell.
[sarcasm]
yeah cause weed keeps you awake[/sarcasm]...dumbass.
caffeine habit, there is an interesting book called The Caffeine Blues
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
yyyyuuuuupppp.
a gram of glass every 6 hours will do wonders for your scoreboard
This is exactly what I have been saying for years to everybody interested in Linux; from the moment Redhat decided to make their own package format, while dpkg+deb was already available, and seeing the /enormous/ nonstandard script-hell they had turned their distribution into.
maybe you got some metabolism issues but Amp's good to me, if I drink one when I wake up it's hella energy in the A.M. especially compare to a normal Mt Dew! must be the guarana or something but damn, it gets me jolted like crazy.
you're joking right?
after a blunt and 2 guinness i'm fit for nothing but bed!
I am seriously surprised to not see Red Bull listed all that much here! I depend upon it at 11PM when I have been working my ass off ALL day(read since 8AM) and want to go out with my friends to the bars and then after hours. I have gone out drinking from 12 noon to 4 in the morning because of this! I can only imagine what someone else could do with it!! RED BULL IS THE SHIT!
This might be useful information for some people out there. It took me long enough to figure it out!
Taurine is the principal ingredient in Red Bull energy drinks, and in Australia, recent relaxations in the various what-you-can-put-in-drinks laws means that Taurine is now an additive in most energy beverages.
That's all fine, except I'm apparently allergic to Taurine. I started throwing up for no apparent reason last year, and it turned out to be the Taurine, which just got added to my favorite energy drink, but didn't kick in until three days after ingestion, which is why it took so long to figure out.
Taurine is a bull protein, in the same way that Lactose is a cow protein. Some people are lactose intolerant. I seem to be Taurine intolerant, with many of the same symptoms.
The only energy drink left in Australia that does not contain Taurine is called 'Lift', it is quite tasty, and has Guarana and Ginseng in it. Try it.
Since I figured all this out, I ran into another Jeremy who had precisely the same reaction. So, if your name is 'Jeremy', you might want to stay away from the Red Bull.
Any faulty logical inferences in the above message are left as excercises for the reader.
Jeremy Lee | Orinoco
It was something about being naturally-occuring caffeine... or some process of adding caffeine.
Most "energy" caffeine drinks that aren't Sobe in Canada tend to be derived from Guarana, which is a natural source of caffeine. Hence Rev, Whoopass, E=MC^2, Go-Go, Grape Jolt (which is clear, btw) are all allowed to have caffeine in it....
However, I usually have to go on Case-runs down to Blaine, WA to get my stock of decent Mountain Dew...
Karma: Non-Heinous
Those are safe enough as long as you follow the directions. DO NOT take more than the package says to take, AND NEVER EVER mix with alcohol unless you want to be seriously fucked.
--Forest C. Adcock--
This comparison had been completed in 1989.
Pop a couple Provigil at midnight and you'll be wide awake and calm while your opponents are twitching uncontrollably from prolonged caffeine overdose.
Arizona Green Tea is great, I used to drink a lot of it for very long drives. As others have noted, Sobe Green Tea is pretty far from tea.
I had no idea Sobe was even popular, I've not really been impressed with any of the Sobe drinks I've tried.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
-- JustZisGuy You sass that hoopy Douglas Adams? Now there's a frood who knew where his towel was. (Sass: know, be aware of, meet, have sex with; hoopy: really together guy; frood: really amazingly together guy.) Douglas Adams, 1952-2001.
The only thing, those other things are just fizzy pop. Red Bull is the only thing which can keep me up for 36 hours of straight clubbing on the White Isle, it can sure as hell keep me up for a bit of fragging (or coding for that matter). But 2am? pardon?
---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"
I applaud your ideological take on this, and I agree that we pollute our bodies beyond comprehension. But what you just said is up there with "We're all gonna die from Global Warming" in the over-hype category.
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned for SEGA. ..."
Drink water and, on occasion drink other things... and definitely not milk -- it feeds cancer and contains all kinds of hormones you don't want in your body.
Milk causes cancer? Why don't you back this up with some facts? And what does this have to do with caffeine? I think I'll wolf down a wedge of brie while I wait for the grille to heat up....
Nothing works as well as Red Bull to stay up all night - nothing legal, that is...
Drink seven glasses of Vodka-RedBull in a club and then come home and flick channels on your tv until noon the next day, wondering why you cannot sleep. Happened to me...
Maybe you should try cyanide?
eTrade SUCKS
Jolt dammit!
Pocari Sweat! The only(?) isotonic drink to be concocted in a pharmaceautical facility in Japan. Better than red bull (any color it's still bull)or any other softdrinks! Hai!
No sweat! Pocari Sweat!
Anyone remember this guarana soft drink?
Erm, but alcohol and red bull cancel each other out. The vodka has actually a detrimental effect on the taurine and other ingredients which make up red bull. It says so on the FAQ on the redbull website. Sure, it tastes good, but red bull on its own will allow u to pull an all nighter - vodka and red bull will just give u a headache...
Fight Crime - Shoot Back!
These drinks got me through university. How else do you survive 6 hours straight lectures?
You have a sick, twisted mind. Please subscribe me to your newsletter.
I hadn't seen it yet, so here's a link to the caffeine MSDS. Note especially the toxicity data.
This post expresses my opinion, not that of my employer. And yes, IAAL.
Screw soda, when I'm playing games I like to put a couple Newcastle's in me, or whatever other alcohol I can find. When you're drinking, staying up all night doesn't really matter anymore.
Coffee is what you drink if you need to stay awake. And not that crap you americans dare to call "coffee", but proper, strong coffee. It's supposed to ba BLACK, not beige for crissakes! If in doubt, drop a penny in the cup; if you can see the penny, your coffee is too weak. Soda pops will just give you a sugar rush which wears out your body faster than coffee will do. And for every cup of coffee, you drink half a litre of plain tapwater to restore your fluid balance.
You see, caffeine is water-driving, just like beer (which is the reason for hangover), which means that your body will get rid of more fluid than you drink, leading to dehydration. If your body becomes dehydrated, you'll have terrible difficulties concentrating, headaches etc (very much the same symptoms as fatigue).
So, to conclude; Coffee (without sugar) for the extra energy, and water to keep your body in balance.
Here's an exercise: snort coke for six months. Yes, I said six months. Notice how your mind is calmer and emptier. Notice how your hands don't shake, or do much of anything anymore for lack of energy and will to live. Notice how even if your penis grew to full length, you wouldn't care because you are so depressed from the coke comedown.
http://www.cix.co.uk/~cyberville/medizine/adrenali .htm
Or to summarize, for those who don't feel like reading the link:
Adrenaline stimulates heart activity, constricts blood vessels, and dilates airways. The first property makes it useful in counteracting cardiac arrest. The last two are both helpful in treating allergic reactions, which are characterized by both swelling and difficulty breathing.
overdose on the jolt (and sit on your asses) and you too can join the burgeoning group of people with diabetes!
seems to be the drink of choice with my [cute] 18yo friends, replacing smirnoff ice in their affections. Although the cheapskates at my regular nightclub have replaced both with horrible tasting imitation versions (red square, red alert) for some reason. Do they not sell that in slashdotland (leaving aside the fact you have to be an old fogey to get into a nightclub in the USA).
The last time I stayed awake in excess of 40 hours I only had Red Bull and coffee. That was getting a university project finished at the last minute. With Red Bull giving energy as well as caffeine, I'd imagine it would be good for game playing too.
Follow me
It's not as convenient as a can of Red Bull, but if you're really looking for the ultimate (!) caffeine kick, you want Turkish/Lebanese coffee--that's the thick, grainy stuff with cardamom.
It tastes great, and smells good too--the perfect solution if you don't mind a bit of, err, sand, in your drink. One tiny cup of the stuff will send you off the walls for hours.
Cole's Law: Thinly sliced cabbage
These kinds of junk not only makes you fat with all the sugar in them and stuffs out your body with toxins, but also washes your teeth apart. They are full of acids: the obvious carbonic and the not-so-obvious phosphoric acid, both are quite bad for you.
Why don't just drink plain, good old coffee, when you need caffeine? Or a strong tea? They are much better to your health beside keeping you up all the night.
Free your mind!
What about Go Fast! Energy Drink? It's tasty (unlink Red Bull) and it's got all the right 'energy' ingredients:
TAURINE
GINKGO BILOBA
GUARANA EXTRACT
MILK THISTLE HERB
SIBERIAN GINSENG
INOSITOL
NIACIN
AUSTRALIAN HONEY
PANTHOTHENIC ACID
Try it, you'll like it!
Oh yeah, they have lots of cool t-shirts and other clothing too!
The Official Steve Ballmer Webpage
From an old geezer - The diabetes epidemic is real. I was never a Dew addict, but grew up in the South. Got addicted to a pitcher of sweetened iced tea a day. Now I'm on insulin.
I watched my son drink Dew from the 2-liter bottle. Even though he's thin as a twig, I keep reminding him that it don't mean nuthin. He could end up like me.
You could too.
If you're chuckling as you read this sob story, while finishing off another sugar-rich soda and opening another bag of chips, ask yourself -- "When is it time to change my eating and (non) exercise habits? In ten years? Next year?" The future has a nasty way of becoming the present...
Sobe Adrenaline Rush will keep you up, but don't drink more than 2 within 3 hours or it'll make you sick.
If you're playing to win, Red Bull. If you're playing for fun, vodka and Red Bull...
I'm personally a big fan of the supermarket own-brand Red Bull alikes popping up in the UK. Asda's "Blue Charge" for example. The active ingredients are listed by percentage, and are identical to Red Bull. The flavour is indistinguishable.
My absolute favourite high-caffiene soda of all time was called Virgin Energy (oo-er). It got me through Glastonbury 1995 and I wish it were still on the market.
Of course, there's a lot to be said for following your body's advice and just having a nice sleep. There speaks age...
It may *say* that but I don't belive it from my own, bitter experience :-)
I've had 3 x 4 pint jugs of Vodka Red Bull in a night (entirely to myself) and been up all until after noon the next day, shaking shivering and going *why?* *why?* *never again* (etc etc) entirely unable to sleep despite really *really* wanting to.
This suggest that that information is hokum, or at least is only true with small quantities of both (and that if you take large quantities of both it throws that theory entirely to hell).
Or just plain old Cocaine?
7:30 AM here, I just got back from work, 2am can suck my dick.
Hey, anyone out there remember Josta? The True winner of this contest shoulda been Josta.
The greatest drink of all. Really strong coffee with Mountain Dew instead of cream & sugar.
AHhhh...memories my heart races just thinking about it.
Ok, here goes:
Makes 1 serving
1 brick tofu
3/4 cup frozen juice concentrate
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup Sugar
3+ tablespoons loose green tea
Throw it in a blender.
This stuff is the best. Tons of protien, carbohidrates, caffine, and some sugar. It also tastes good, at least in my opinion.
"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." -Plato
I'm suprised no one mentioned Bawls. This stuff is hella-loaded with caffeine, and even almost manages to give me a buzz (I drink way too much caffeine).
Mountain Dew does nothing.
Coffee does nothing.
Jolt makes me sleepy.
Sobe stuff makes me sleepy.
Green tea makes me sleepy (and have to take a piss break).
Can you be physically immune to caffeine?
Caffeine overdose isn't much fun. While it is a lot harder to reach LD50 (Lethal Dose 50% - the amount of a substance required to kill half those who take that amount) on caffeine verses alchohol, it is possible. And even if you don't get sick, you can still get sick.
Back when I was an undergrad, I had a Statics final on Saturday (in a large engineering school, you have enough students taking Statics (not Statistics - Statics : the study of forces on non-moving systems) that it's easier for them to have it on a Saturday in a BIG auditorium). I'd played AD&D to three o'clock in the morning, and the final was at 7 o'clock. Factor in transit time back to my dorm room and you get something less than three hours of sleep.
So, I fixed a big pot of coffee in the morning, and took 2 NoDoze tablets, and went to the final. I figured "No problem - I'll get breakfast and slow down the absorption of the caffeine, and all will be well." Except the dorm cafeteria didn't open until 9:30 on weekends. Ooops!.
I finished the final, but my hands were vibrating in the shortwave band, my stomach was running about 150 RPM, and the less said about my lower GI tract the better. It took the better part of the day to recover.
Caffeine is an antagonist - it blocks the effect of a neurotransmitter. So, unlike active drugs like cocaine or speed, past a certain point you will get no more effect from caffeine - you've blocked all the neurotranmitters you are going to block. Past that point you are simply getting all the side effects of caffeine. Furthurmore, blocking the neurotranmitter only provides a temporary boost to wakefulness - after a while you no longer have any of the OTHER neurotransmitters you need to function, and you will fall over.
I'd second the good advice given by others in this forum - if you are tired, SLEEP! At the least, take a catnap and come back to it.
Especially for something like a LAN game - it's not life or death, so why screw yourself up? It's supposed to be FUN!
www.eFax.com are spammers
..I've done one of those all nighter gaming sessions, and no matter what you eat or drink by 4am your A game is long since gone...there is no replacement for sleep unless you are talking about amphetamines (sp).
Jolt, Coke, Mt. Dew, all that crap......drink a pot of black coffee...the only thing its going to do is wire you out, and I don't know anyone that plays better wired. Faster Reaction Times usually just means sloppy play and that nasty "I'm on speed" feeling when your heart is doing double-taps in your chest and the hairs all over your body are standing on end. You only think you're on your game, in reality you're just burnt out for the evening and need to get some sleep. I play Day of Defeat 10 times better relaxed and focused than wired and jittery.
Once a buddy of mine and I stayed up and put away 3 pots of coffee between us over a couple of hours. By the time we finished the 3rd pot I was basically feeling like I had dropped acid...that speedy "tight" feeling you'd get....and it wasn't fun becuase you can forget nodding off, no matter how tired you are.
Plus, nobody ever mentions how bad the next 24 hours usually suck after youve done anything below.
What's next, Professor Plum, Miss Scarlet, and Colonel Mustard?
"... Kernel Unix, in the Linked Library, with the Named Pipe."
I just saw a show on the Discovery Health Channel this past Monday about sleep deprivation. They intereviewed that guy that stayed awake for 11 days. It was pretty funny when he started talking about how he was hallucinating and talking to a Stop sign.
Back in the day (when I was in college) a bunch of friends and I decided we'd try to stay awake for as long as we could. We had read somewhere that if you don't get any sleep for 72 hours, you can leagally be declared "temporarily insane" and after 7 full days, there is permanent damage done to your mind.
That being said, I never made it past 60 hours. My damn partner, that was supposed to stay awake with me, fell asleep while we were watching the Incredible Hulk. (Such an exciting show! How could ANYone fall asleep to that!)
Karma: NaN
...but your drink of choice for LAN matches, late-night pr0n surfing, etc. is just that -- your choice. Some people get a kick out of Dr. Pepper, some folks love Tea (hot or cold!) and some still stick with Mountain Dew. That's actually my personal fave for gaming, as it tends to give me a bounce back after I get shaky from gaming too long. I do notice a slight "letdown" after gaming for long amounts of time. I'm not sure if that's because it's just an exhausting activity, or if I'm crashing from my caffeine and sugar intake. :-)
It seems to me though, that everyone will always have their favourite drink which, of course, always far surpasses any other drink. And why shouldn't it...?
I made one I used to the "Carpetbomb"
1 can Lemonade concentrate.
1 can Dr. Pepper.
1 teaspoon ginger or ginsing.
Mix vigorously, then drink Damned fast.
It didn't very good, but it woke you up, and you stayed awake for pretty much another four to five hours.
Soft drinks range from anywhere between 35 (Pepsi light) to 71 mg of caffeine per 12 oz. Also, most of them add sugar for an enhanced energy kick. Sugar highs are short-time, meaning you get power for only a few minutes, but with caffeine, which works long-term, that's quite okay. Except for getting fat, there are no real side effects. Depending on your constitution, age and weight, you'd need to drink between 4 and 8 litres of this stuff to get caffeine shock. (Please don't try this at home, kids, I know the feeling, and it's not good.)
Energy drinks, like Red Bull, XTC, etc. contain about 100mg caffeine per 8 oz, with additons such as guarana, ginseng or taurine. Because of the higher doses, it's generally not smart, though widespread, to mix those with alcohol. Remember, caffeine may enance the effects of any other drugs you consume.
Coffee, the allmighty coffee. From a low 65 mg in instant coffee to a nice 175 in drip per 8 oz, it is easy to get, tastes okay, and will give you heart and stomach diseases. 2 cans of strong drip coffee will make you shake like a boogie dancer.
I put tea in this category (yes, tea also containes a form of caffeine), strong black tea has 50-80mg per 8 oz, while iced tea and fruit tea range from nada to 15mg. Not quite the kick, but your digestive organs will be much more happy.
Tabs. The all time favorite would be NoDoz, with eiter 100mg in the standard or 200mg in the shiny "kill your brains" edition. Also, you can get various caffeine tablets at your local pharmacy, with different names, those will mostly contain 100mg per tab. Also, many painkillers use caffeine as an ingredience. Your doc will probably tell you that you should not consume more than 500mg of caffeine per day. Understand that 500mg may be enough for the non-coders and non-gamers out there. Real hax0r doods swallow half a gram for breakfast ;)
Speed. The common name for Amphetamines and Metaamphetamines, at least you can hope that they are inside the stuff. Usually snorted or swallowed, sometimes injected or smoked. Speed is avaiable from your friendly neighbourhood dealer(tm), ILLEGAL, and can be very dangerous to your health. One dose will keep you awake for 6 to 24 hours, in this time you will expirience a "brain high", and a lack of emotions. When getting stoned, you'll be dead tired, will sleep for a long time (12+ hours), and have a serious hangover afterwards. Physical addition is possible, but it's more likely that you'll take downers afterward to sleep, followed by more speed when you wake up, and the cycle is finished. May cause seizures, heart strokes, and other nasty things you want to avoid. Just say know.
Crack. Leave your hands of it. 'nuff said.
Well kids, that concludes today's lesson. The next time, you'll learn where /. posters get all the free time to write up useless postings like this one!
Links of interest :
caffeine content of food and drugs
Amount of caffeine in drinks
a salute to caffeine
thinkgeek : caffeine
amphetamine facts
Karma
Nice conclusion there Sherlock. I suppose that's possible. But it's also possible that Ginseng is relatively quite potent. Meaning that less has to be ingested for it achieve it's effect. This would be why less was included in the drink.
Example: A small glass of absinth could get you drunk eventhough it weighs substantially less than a bottle of wine.
No I guess not...
Well, if I REALLY need to stay awake/alert, a nice 20 oz bottle of Jolt with some Sky Rocket caffeinated syrup (100 mg caffeine and 18 g of sugar per ounce... YOWZA!) in it does the trick nicely.
You have to be careful though. This combination will wire you hot enough to pitch a Chevy. The first time I tried it, I didn't really know how much to use, and I think I ended up putting like 6 ounces of Sky Rocket into the mix. I was so hyper, I actually had to resist the urge to go leapfrogging around the office over people's desk chairs at 9 am. You would be surprised at what seems like a good idea when seen through 700 mg of caffeine that is ingested in under 5 minutes.
Sometimes recommended serving sizes are there for a reason...
Mechanik
Highest in caffine, tastes like crap.
In addition to being bitter, it will make you bitter... and during a fragfrenzy that is exactly the way you need to feel.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
People are slamming down *drink concentrate* now????
That "concentrated tea drink" is not meant for direct consumption man...
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
Here in Pará, I prefer my guarana the old fashioned way: The locals mix powdered guarana, guarana syrup, peanuts, brazil nuts, and a few other herbal wonders with shaved ice, run in a blender till the consistency of a milk shake. For a allnighter of nheke-nheke with the g/f (who thinks it makes her horny, but Brazilian girls are perpetually horny), or an intense gaming session, or both, it can't be beat! Of course here in Brazil there's always the commercial sodas like Guarana Antarctica or Kuat, but they are cloyingly sweet for the most part, and lack the collateral effect of the traditional stuff.
Watashi wa chikyubutsurigakusha desu.
I've used Bawls many times now, it's got a great taste compared to most of those others, and it has a wonderful kick that will keep you going for 24 hours or more. Just sip it, don't slam down the whole bottle.
Ahhh, I think I'll grab one now....
What about Red Bull? And mix it with a little vodka... mmm, sounds good... gee I'm thirsty... nobody'll mind if I pop a few of these back right now.
Who says 9:51 am is too early to drink?
What is music when you despise all sound?
Any one in the know know whether it has GTK2 support so that galeon2 can be released?
I think the folks at galeon where waiting for mozebed or something to be ported before thay could make a stable release
Try ephedrine, which is usually marketed as a weight loss drug. (Some popular brands are Xenadrine or Hydroxycut) It is the side effects that interest those who want to stay awake -- ephedrine gives you a buzz much stronger than caffeine (especially since most products with ephedrine also include caffeine)
There are some brands specifically marketed as energy pills though, like Dmetadrine Xtreme from AST-SS. Choose your poison.
The health effects really aren't well known at this point -- there have been reports of people dying of heart failure after using ephedrine, though I personally don't give much credence to that (it seems more a case of false correlation than anything else)My personal experience is that it works, YMMV.
Let's compare relative merits of amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, and methcathinone.
I mean really, sodapop? C'mon, this isn't highschool. Philip K. Dick is rolling over in his grave about this!
Carpe Deez
I heard that an apple adds more pep and energy to you than coffee. Better for ya too.
I'm not sure which will give you the shits more though. 5 Apples or 5 Mt. Dews?
The best drink to stay up - Red Bull. It will snap you to it real quick - ready to get your Quake on (anyone remember CTF Creeper) or of course Counterstrike. Red Bull tastes just like carbonated Sweet Tarts and has a great way of counteracting the effects of alcohol when you need to.
I've also heard that a couple of THC laden cookies will high-ten your mind set for a long night of gaming as well ;-)
http://www.ale-8-one.com/cce.html Kentucky Soft Drink
projects @ http://spectechnologies.net
real men get piss drunk while playing all night long. My personal favorite is Vodka and Red Bull. The Red Bull gives you wings, the Vodka gives you a buzz. It really enhances your game!
13 year old white supremacists are shitty web designers.
Coke and Pepsi are too run of the mill? Do we have to prove our 1337ness by drinking cool drinks that ordinary-fucking-people only see in extreme sports commercials? What a sad way to claw for status.
btw, I usually drink tea (Twinning's China Black), but I have been known to drink a mainstream (There! I said it!) cola or two.
-aiabx
Just this guy, you know?
I used to go through at least 1 liter of high caffeine soda per workday. I was actually known as "that guy the carry's around the Mt. Dew everywhere". After a few years of this behavior I started to develop a state of constant heartburn and occasional acid reflux. I would go through a roll or more of tums/rolaids per day. I of course attributed my daily worsening condition to my consumption of gallons of sugary, caffeinated, carbonated beverage. After I discontinued my soda consumption and my maladies progressed nonetheless I finally came to the conclusion that as it does for many others ...work just makes me sick!
Take a drink everytime you kill someone.
Chug when you die.
Within an hour, you either:
Feel like you are one with Quake
-Or-
You are crying at the fact that whenever you respawn you are aready dead, are 3 or more beers behind, it is Saturday and you are alone, drinking, and playing video games.
Maybe I should reach for a Pepsi instead.
Pepsi Blue? Vanilla Coke? Red Fusion? ENERGY drinks? What kind of pansy are you? At 2am? Hell, I'm up at 2am on a work night and haven't even clicked on my UT icon yet. :)
:).
Besides the fact each of those tastes like piss.
Sobe I'll give you.. never had Mr. Green though, but the triple blend Zen tea, or the berry energy drink is fine... although Snapple pumps in more of the good stuff in their Dragonfire. And what about Jolt? Whoopass? Bawls? XTC? A cup of Chai? Coffee, black, tons of sugar? Tea?
And alas, us poor Canucks don't have caffeine in our Mountain Dew, so it's really just a fluroescent green fruit drink
- In hell, treason is the work of angels.
Article on Provigil - not sure if this was mentioned.
For Sleep-Deprived, a Dream Drug?
Doctors Question Use of Narcolepsy Medicine to Support Lifestyle Choice
By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 28, 2002; Page A03
Linky link link
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
There are only two real energy drinks:
Bawlz (the guanara stuff in the blue glass bottles) and Jolt Espresso flavored Cola (which is absolutely killer -- once you get used to the very strong espresso/cola taste.)
Everything else is for pussies.
Although, yes, Water Joe might qualify as a third since it doesn't have all the sickly sweet sugar that all the other so-called drinks have.
But, I'm telling you: if you want a real buzz: drink a can of Jolt Espresso then make some real espresso with Water Joe. Your hands will shake, your eyelids will quiver, your heartrate will quicken, but you will have a buzz. And the buzz will last for a couple hours.
But when the buzz wears off. Watch out. You'll be cranky, irritable, and completely limp dickless.
On an endless car ride out to see the Grand Canyon (4 adults in the seats and 4 kids rolling loose in the back of a station wagon with no a/c in July or August) we picked up some kind of bubblegum flavored coke (generic southern term for carbonated beverage) in the St. Louis area. Anyone know what it's called or if it's still around?
I drank what? -- Socrates
Nothing beats a Venti Tazo Chai from starbucks. Or for that matter any coffee house that will serve you a Venti/Grande/Jumbo Tazo Chai. Cheers.
We have to be stoned in order to ease the pain of listening to hundreds of whiners bitch about "hacking."
"All mankind is at the mercy of a handful of neurotics". - Norman Douglas
Speed is good for simply Being awake and performing some rote task, however when critical abstract thinking is required all speed (even caffeine) can adversely affect your abilities.
However for a frag fest, I think freebasing some crank is A-ok!
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
Pop some NoDoze tablets instead. 100-200mg of caffeine straight where it counts...and you can pop heaps of them without going for a piss...ha aha hah aha aha hah ...oohhh.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
News at 11.
Red Bull, Bawls, Mt Dew etc, have been around
for quite a while now and most people have already tried them. The point of a review is to evaluate NEW things so you know whether you should waste your money trying them or not.
As I've yet to try any of these 4 drinks I actually found the review quite helpful.
Good job, I say.
A co-worker at my last contract gig told me about a trick used when he was in the Air Force. After about 24 hours, coffee simply won't work. At that point, they would drink a beer, and then the coffee would work for a few more hours.
Non tam praeclarum est scire Latine, quam turpe nescire
-- Cicero
Anyone notice that the amount of Mountain Dew intake tends to directly correspond to the amount of times you have to make a bathroom break...same thing applies to tea
The last thing you want in the middle of a fragging match is to have your bladder on the verge of critical overload just when the action is getting hot and nearing the frag count. I'd recommend eating a watermelon or some grapes... a little bit of natural sugar and they don't tend to trigger the "call of nature" quite so often.
And of course... bathroom rush can sometimes lead to the in-a-hurry-zipped-up-too-fast syndrome... it tends to wake you up in a hurry, but the pain tends to be distracting during the quest for more frags...
I'm still 20, so I guess I fall under CmdrTaco's surging age (pun intended).
I used to live with Coke and Mt Dew myself, until one fine day I found that despite whitening toothpastes , my teeth still remained yellow. Increasingly yellow.
I'm now on a 8-month doctor-sanctioned probation from all canned/aerated drinks. Save for a Red Bull + Vodka incursion two months back (hey, it was a party!), I've pretty much stuck to plain old water, milo and cafe-au-lait.
Feels great, I might add. (Great pickup line shamelessly picked from Moulin Rouge :- Hey babe, you have skin as smooth as my coffee)
Disclaimer: I don't use Rembrandt toothpaste(s); the link was meant to be generic.
More than mere navel gazing.
However, it's iffy to find places. My local supermarket only has diet Mountain Dew sporadically. However, at a 7-11 I found not only diet Mountain Dew but diet Code Red Mountain Dew too! The diet drink that gets r00t! W00t! It tastes a lot like Cherry 7Up but unlike Cherry 7Up it's got the leet caffeine content.
That said, my favorite beverage of choice for wakeup still is Arizona diet iced Green Tea. Tasty and healthy too! I don't know how good it will be for pulling all-nighters, but it's good to wake up with in the morning.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
Drink of choice: 32 ounces of toxic level coffee.
Magius_AR
its called XTC. the label says "XTC: A Carbonated Slap in the Face". it kept me up for an overnight drive from maryland to florida, it can keep you up for anything.
...has got Caffeine. For some reason, Barq's diet Root Beer doesn't. Go figure.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
I submitted a review weeks ago about Mountain Dew's 'Energy Drink' called AMP.
http://www.ampenergy.com
-- There is no truth. There is only Perception. To Percieve is to Exist.
Red Bull
If your eyes start to blur, and you start to fire rockets at your reflection in the water, you might want to get some energy into your system. Although with caffiene if your playing Capture the Flag or Team deathmatch, you'll be shooting every single thing in sight. Your hand will be so jittery and the mouse will be shaking. You wouldn't be doing so good. I suggest Sobe Oolong Tea. It has ginseng and guarana so you'll be racking up the frags. And with ginko biloba as an ingredient those frags will count(not from blowing up teammates).
Jonahweb.com has stuff.
I am curious, is there so much as ONE person in the world who truly likes Pepsi Blue? No one here will say they do, and I've never met anyone who does. Myself, I didn't hate it, but I found it just barely drinkable. What was Pepsi thinking? But come on, there must be one person out there drinking it up, stocking up on all the bottles they can before it gets discontinued. Step forward!
"I am a cipher, a cipher, wrapped in an enigma, smothered in secret sauce" -Jimmy James
there was a guinness brand lager, in a grey/silver can - haven't seen it for ages, haven't seen carling premier in a can for ages either which is more of a shame - at least its still on tap at me local. the guinness was probably just their harp stuff in a shiny can anyhows.
knowing stuff about beer doesn't make you an adult. why you bothering to be elitist about guinness? its just guinness like everyone else drinks, and its not even "GOOD" unless you get the stuff brewed in Ireland.
>Taurine is a bull protein, in the same way that Lactose is a cow protein.
Taurine is an amino acid. A building block of proteins.
Lactose is a carbohydrate or sugar.
Both of these are naturally present in human bodies. Lactose intolerance is an inability to break down lactose into simpler sugars.
Feel free to mod me down for nagging.. BUT, as a formerly obese person I'd like to comment on this. We've got to get a handle on obesity in the US. I haven't witnessed the same obesity in Europe or Asia. One reason, I think, is that they don't have the HUGE fountain drinks with free refills. Also, they generally consume a lot less sugar. (And yes, there are other very good reasons)
/.!
Consuming lots of refined sugar is incredibly hard on your body. Some believe it spikes your insulin, then your sugar goes down. This causes you to get hungry and consume more sugar. This leads to insulin resistance, type II diabetes, and obesity. That's one view. Another view is, it's just bad for you because it's empty calories. Others believe refined sugars rob your body of nutrients and suppress your immune system. Regardless of which one you choose to believe - everyone believes that excess sugar intake leads to obesity and type II diabetes, even in young people.
Think about how much sugar you consume in a day from soft drinks. There is 1 teaspoon of sugar in 1 1/2 oz. of soft drink. And how many 32 oz. drinks are you consuming in one day?
Caffeine doesn't appear to be nearly as bad as sugar, but it has its detractors. No doubt someone will disagree with me on this. But I won't badmouth caffeine on
As some posters have suggested, maybe you could switch to tea, or a lower sugar energy drink. (I don't drink them - is there such a thing?)
Yes, it's a blog. Sorry if that offends you.
Crap tastes like melted popsicles to me. I bought a bottle and drank about 4 oz. On the other hand I will drink just about anything and usually consume a good gallon of soda a day (followed by a good gallon of beer a night)
I fell asleep at the wheel once, it was not fun. I was within a mile of my apt (those statistics are right!) late one winter night. I nodded off just as I was slowing down at a red light. Fortunately I was going slow (~10mph) and there was no one else around because the next thing I saw was snow blasting up over the hood from hitting a snow bank. After checking to make sure the steam coming up from the grill was from snow on the engine and not a punctured radiator I started off for home, ONLY TO START NODDING OFF AGAIN! I couldn't believe that even a potentially dangerous accident wasn't enough to wake me up.
Now when I'm driving, say, the 3 hours back from the Whites in NH and I start to feel sleepy I pull over at rest stops and take a nap. About 15 minutes does the trick.
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
Another benefit to quitting is no more low caffeine headaches. I have a friend who used to get terrible ones until he quit. Plus you don't have to urinate as much!
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
The person who says "It is harmless!" or "It doesn't affect me!". Then there are the folks who wave their hand without doing any research and say "It isn't toxic"
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
That stuff kicks ass. In fact, it's the only one of the "next gen." sodas I actually like.
I'd have to reach for a cola. It is illegal in Canada for there to be caffeine in any pop that is not brown.
--is not to be confused with user #672982 - Bame Flait
My favorite soda of all time and those bastards at Coke
take it away from me. My stockpile is dwindling. Only
11 12-packs left.
Why is it that Tab lives on and Surge gets killed?
I love that stuff.
forgetting the User/Pass).
At the end of a 100+ hour coding binge to finish my final project for CS220 I came up with the ultimate cafeinated beverage. I took Krank20 which was a hyper cafeinated water and used it to brew a 16oz cup of espresso, now that is some wakeup juice! I had started the weekend off with mt dew, then upgraded to double jolt 20oz bottles, when those failed to keep the fires lit I was bewildered until I found that marvelous concoction.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
The thing that keeps me awake - and sharp - best comes from my freezer. It's blueberries - half-fill a cup, give a slight microwave treatment and add lots of sugar and milk.
pecifically, if I consume too much sugar too quickly it puts me to sleep
Pretty simple reason for this. You take on a load of sugar like this, and your body freaks out. Your pancreas goes into overdrive, and dumps massive amounts of insulin into your bloodstream. Very quickly, all the sugar in your bloodstream will get picked up by other cells, and your blood sugar will crater. Once that happens, you're a zombie.
The surge in your blood sugar, causes the crater effect. A more moderate intake won't be nearly as extreme on the downside.
"Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs." P.J. O'Rourke
And only little kids and perverts drink pee!
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
ATTN geeks:
1.) Sleep deprivation is bad for your mental and physical health
2.) Caffeine is not a substitute for sleep
3.) Caffeine does have mild negative health effects, especially when taken on a regular basis
4.) Caffeine reduces the quality of sleep when you do get it.
5.) You have to sleep sometime. Why not do it at night and play games during the day instead so you don't screw up your biological clock?
6.) "Fragging all night" is a waste of time. Get out, socialize, make business contacts, write some neat software, etc.
uofa1993engrmath: I sometimes take a generic variant of Xenadrine RFA-1 weight loss pills as a good way to kick start the day, or in the afternoon if work is boring. They have it at Albertson's. Works better than coffee, and it doesn't make me pee as much.
Keep in mind, however, that ephedrine is a first cousin to meth. (They use it in meth manufacture) It can produce many of the same symtoms, including violence and death. Many people have died from using ephedrine as a stimulant.
If you don't understand any of my sayings, come to me in private and I shall take you in my German mouth.
thats the stuff - it was marketed as "white beer" which i guess i took to mean lager. i thought it tasted a bit like the carling premier, caffreys, creamy beers that i never know what to call...
Snorting ritalin does wonders for keeping you awake. I have drank 3 gallons of beer going from basement to basement party, and still managed to get to sleep the next day (due to the alcohol). I've also read 300+ pages of western civ, 9 chapters of Chemistry, yadda yadda yadda finals week thanks to it's effects. Drink alcohol every day, don't go to class, and make it all up finals/midterm week.
Irn-Bru - enough caffine to keep you awake until 2004 and enough calories to ensure that you won;t have wasted away by the next morning!
Called white beer because of the the fact that they are made from "wheat" instead of hops.
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm
Blaze of Glory
In a 64oz cup:
1 can Red Bull energy drink
1 scope Gatorade concentrate
fill to top with Mountain Dew
We find that the Red Bull helps keep the fingers only twitching when we WANT them to, instead of the caffine causing you to waste your ammo.
Real Programmers do I/O in FORTRAN.
Real Programmers do database in FORTRAN.
Real Programmers do real time in FORTRAN.
Real Programmers do Dew.
Regular in the morning, Code Red at other times.
Oh and forget the Twinkies,
peanuts or pistachios are better brain food.;)
Supra et Ultra
I live in Istanbul, and Red Bull (along with similar taurine drinks) was recently made illegal across Turkey. Apparently kids were gettling pretty silly with the stuff, and the Turkish authorities pulled the plug. Raki (Turkish Uzo) and cigarettes are great for the late late night, but gaming is more or less out of order.
subject says it all. I thought i'd just mention it. I can suck back all the green sugar water (branded "mountain dew") i want without consuming caffeine if i buy it in canada.
The military have something they call swamp juice. It's made as such:
1. Make strong coffee.
2. Drink.
3. Enjoy.
4. Don't clean out the coffee grinds.
5. Repeat over a number of days.
The resulting liquid is swamp juice. While the taste is questionable, the effect is certainly not.
Star Pirates
For those, like myself, who find energy drinks a great way to stay awake until silly-o-clock in the morning, there are websites out there that are for us. Thinkgeek has a great selection of caffeinated and herbal products, from drinks to mints to chai a flavoring syrup called Skyrocket that contains 100 mg of caffeine per ounce!!!
As for drinks, their selection includes Red Bull, Bawls, 7 types of Jolt (including Jolt Espresso), and XTZ Tea (includes some herbal ingredients - very tasty), to name a few.
Reason I post this site is that their selection is nice, they have sampler packages, and they have all manner of goodies there that aren't food/drink-related. Also because I've spent a paycheck or two at that site.
i think the wheat is used instead of(/in addition to) the barley - the hops are there to counter balance the sweetness of the wheat/barley malt. also, the difference between lager and ale is the type of yeast used - lager yeast sinks to the bottom, and the stuff used for ale doesn't. so using wheat and lager yeast gives you a wheat lager. the point about it being marketed as "white beer" was i seem to remember more to do with that it was the opposite colour to the stout than what type of malt was used.
The lethal dose has been evaluate at 200 12oz can of mountain dew
Red Bull (80 mg per 8.3 oz can) 115.5
Afri-cola 100.0
Bawls Guarana (80 mg per 10 oz) TCP 96.0
Java Water (125 mg per 16.9 oz) CSPI 88.8
Jolt JC 72.0
Krank 20 (100 mg per 16.9 oz) CSPI 71.0
RC Edge NSDA 70.2
XTC Power Drink DP 70.0
Sun Drop, Diet NSDA 69.0
Aqua Blast (90 mg per 16.9 oz) CSPI 63.9
Sun Drop, Cherry NSDA 64.0
Sun Drop NSDA 63.0
Sugar-Free Mr. Pibb NSDA 58.8
Josta CB 58.0
Kick NSDA 57.6
Pepsi One NSDA 55.0
Mountain Dew (0 in Canada) NSDA 55.0
Its horrific taste will definitely assault your senses enough to keep you up for awhile. And if you do try to sleep, you'll probably not be successful given the nightmares it will cause.
(can you tell i'm not a big fan?)
coo... roocoocoocooroocoocooooo!!!
:)
RTFM; please, I beg you.
I don't know about any of the drinks the submitter suggested, but all I can say is: If it weren't for Sobe Adrenaline Rush, I wouldn't have graduated from college.
I was up for about 5 days straigt at the end of my last semester thanks to that drink. I hope I never have to do that again.
A buddhist walks up to a hot dog stand and says ``Make me one with everything.''
2 cans of Whoop Ass or Sobe's Adrenaline Rush usually does the trick. None of the other energy drinks come close. The nice thing about SoBe is they are happy to tell you exactly what they put in it. Corn Syrup != Sports Drink
Water Joe and the Gatorade powder of your choice ^__^ Still, you can't beat coffee or Mocha Lattes. And for that extra kick, try the Starbuck's specialty mocha chocolate bars. You wouldn't think it, but those little things got kick...
You need a FREE iPod Nano
Agreed. I know it's supposively good for you, but I haven't found a way yet to make it tastey. Sugar? Milk? Uh-uh. I go to a Chinese resteraunt and I stare at the little untouched teapot which stares right back at me. Nasty stuff.
You need a FREE iPod Nano
what's up with all the soda's containing phosphoric acid these days? what is the point of having a corrosive acid in a consumable?
You must be stoned if you think Guiness is a lager.
It's an ALE!
Coffee? Sleep is a perfextly inadequate substitute for caffine. Its vile and black but cheap and readily availible. As a programmer its my drug of choice.
If you've ever had real Guarana drinks from Brazil, you'll never drink another Bawls again. The Brazil drinks (like Antartica or Brahma) taste sooooooo much better, it's incredible. Bawls has a bitter aftertaste.
Honestly, besides the difference in color, I didn't really notice much taste difference between regular Dr. Pepper and the "Red Fusion" stuff. Dr. Pepper has a pretty distinctive, super-sweet, cola flavor - and whatever they add to make it "Red Fusion" doesn't do much to change that.
I almost wonder if it's partly a psychological thing... People see that it's red, so their mind plays a trick on them and makes them believe it tastes more like a "red soda". When I first tried, it I drank it straight from the can - so wasn't looking at it while drinking it.
if you need to wake up cuz you are gaming, grab an ice cold bottle of BAWLS!
Comment removed based on user account deletion
This stuff is cheap and caffinated! There's little more to say. 40 cents will get you a 20 ounce, while a 3 liter (yes 3, not 2) will run you $1.10 Its the offbrand equivalent of Mountain Dew, but it doesn't have that nasty after taste. its powered many a lan party
I have had my share of high-stress, we-need-it-done-yesterday type projects in the past. For years, I would just load up on caffeine (my choice was tea; coffee when I didn't want to deal with the extra production involved with making good tea). One of the things I noticed was lack of clarity and focus. When I'd get some good sleep after the project was over, I'd see all kinds of mistakes and general lack of polish on the work.
Then I discovered the best agent for improving performance: Sleep. I know, it's a tight deadline/you're having a lot of fun/whatever, and sleep is the last thing on your mind. However, with a few hours of sleep, you'll be able to approach your work with a much fresher, clearer state of mind. The key is to not let yourself lounge in bed all day.
Once I ditched the caffeine-fueled nights and decided to call it a night when I was feeling tired (and then getting an early start), I found the quality of my work increased dramatically and less time was spent tracking down and fixing strange mistakes. And I still made deadlines with ease.
And it works for partying, too. If you want to stay up late, get a good nap during the afternoon. As long as you keep it short (i.e., not a three-hour coma), you should be good to go for quite a while. I did this all the time in college, had no trouble staying up till 5 AM and beyond.
If you're up late because you just like the atmosphere of playing your favorite FPS in a darkened room, you might want to consider blacking out your windows somehow. It's actually not too hard to do (tape a couple garbage bags on your window -- boom, instant night) and you can get all of the fun with less of the sleep deprivation.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but working on a normal schedule and staying well-rested and getting even a small amount of exercise will help your clarity and focus and energy level far more than any drink will, and you'll also have the benefit of not ruining your teeth. (Doubt this? Ask your dentist about the patients he gets who drink tons of soda. If he's been working long, he'll be able to tell you plenty of stories).
Anyway, that's my $2.39. But if you've gotta drink caffeine, go for some sort of tea (find one you like, not that prebagged, blended crap that has no taste at all).
I am not Herbert.
vinpocetine rocks for concentration.. Find it at health food stores. Take 15-30 mg of it a day. Look it up on medline. It really works..
I have found chewing on the fresh adrenal gland of a roadrunner always kept me going back in the day....I believe you can still order both from acme.
sincerely, wile e coyote, supergenius
"skate the web"
Dr. Pepper Red Fusion.
:)
Sobe Mr. Green.
Pepsi Blue.
Is it any wonder geeks are after this stuff? It's like drinking a monitor!
Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
well, here in the good old South of Africa, we are not priveledged wnough to have caffeine in our mountain dew... that's right, censorship extends to the good things in our beverages ;p
on a happier note, it seems that we will have highly caffeinates sweets available for cheap in a myriad of frooty flavours.... jum jum
brain error. tweak left nipple to continue.
I know, it has the opposite effect and induces sleep.
However, if you drink enough of it, your aim can improve. Just aim between the "2 sarges".
"No matter where you go, there you are." -- Buckaroo Banzai
sounds like some fatty is angry now at the joke before
Wouldn't it be silly if someone shot themselves in the head with a large caliber rifle and then after living through it without permanent damage, and was then a smart mouth to anyone who brought up forensics and physics based arguments about muzzle velocity, force, mass and resistance of various bodily tissues and how they simply do not play well together. (oh and yes, things like that do happen and more than just once a year, so I guess by your ahem... logic it would invalidate the claims that bullets at high velocity are dangerous to bodily function when passing into said body)
As for the thing about bodybuilders and athletes caring less now about fatty foods, and cutting back on carbs... there is MUCH more to it than that as I am hoping you realize. Just as there are different tools in a toolbelt for different tasks, there are different methods that are more efficient at achieving your particular ends. Another thing, is that bodybuilders by definition (pun intended) are mainly water (and other side chemicals not conducive to efficient skeletal muscle operation and interaction with joints, tendons, etc). Powerlifters on the other hand, understand the importance of raw brutal strength bursts. This brings up another issue of physiology... there are different 'types' of muscle fibers and groupings based on chemistry, configuration, vascularity, neurotransmitter/receiver pairings and locations (as well as amount and type of various neurotransmitters and blockers), etc.
Seems you made a very blanket statment yourself and are nothing but a blatting sheep that is lashing out at others who had the audacity to question current thought. Keep throwing your poop at the cage, my talking monkey!
Oh as a closing statement, when you look at combat veterans of various wars throughout the years (and I mean actual COMBAT veterans, not paper pushers or toy operators) then you find that they do not fall cleanly within the realm of 'athlete', powerlifter, bodybuilder, distance runner, etc. While there is obvious truth in the 'return to the basics' ideas of getting away from over processed diets or food itself, the fact is that any such movement must take into account each individual and the differing goals each has.