oh sweet 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine

It is odourless and colourless. It is a white powder with the molecular formula C₈H₁₀N₄O₂. This stimulant of the central nervous system is a so called psychoactive drug. Used by millions daily, this xanthine-derivative is metabolised in the human liver into paraxanthine (increasing the hydrolysis of lipids, fueling muscles), theobromine (increases urine volume and dilates blood vessels, thus increasing the amount of oxygen and nutrient flow to brain and muscles) and theophylline (relaxes muscles of bronchi, increasing heart rate and efficiency).

Speaking of stimulant, after crossing the blood–brain barrier (that separates the bloodstream from the interior of the brain), it binds to adenosine receptors on the surface of cells without activating them, acting as competitive inhibitor (preventing the binding of substrate molecules). By counteracting adenosine (supposably protecting the brain by suppressing neural activity), the cerebral blood flow is increased and thus warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness. Although, I am not sure how much is already scientifically proven.
Adenosine itself is used for energy transfers (as adenosine triphosphate ATP and adenosine diphosphate ADP) as well as signal transduction (cyclic adenosine monophosphate cAMP). Wikipedia says: “it is also an inhibitory neurotransmitter, believed to play a role in promoting sleep and suppressing arousal, with levels increasing with each hour an organism is awake.”

Where was I? Oh, I just rediscovered my old filter coffee maker. I don’t know how exactly it works, but it produces about 60 milligrams of this genial substance, also called caffeine, for each cup of coffee. I can’t imagine how I managed to survive only one day without this low technological wonder.
Enjoy up to 4 cups daily, effects from 15 minutes after to about until 4 hours later. Rock on!

BTW: not every organism is built to deal with caffeine! Respect for the scientists who tested the effect on spiders. Caffeinated spiders by NASA, published in New Scientist.

Colourless – Story Part I

Time froze. Her facial expression got tense. So did every muscle in her body. As she held her breath her heart seemed to beat as fast as it could. It appeared to be the only part in this world ignoring the stop. The place filled with a deadly silence. Nighttime put everything into a black coat. Rain clouds and mist killed off even the little light the scrawny moon would possibly reflect. In the small cone, the street light threw at her right eye and cheek, I could notice her pain.
I came closer. Despite the puddles of water all over the street my feet did not make any sound. I felt the heaviness of my coat while I was moving. I thought about the sins I committed and their weight sucking me down, deeper and deeper into the darkness. Yet, I was stronger.

I bent over her. Her hair had the colour of dark red roses. Her skin was pale like cherry blossoms and her lips shined like fresh blood. By looking in the middle of her eyes I could find myself surprised about the fascinating blue I was covered in. At this time, I was able to measure the full dimension of her sorrow. It was cold enough to see her last breath dispersing into the dark. A cloud released some light of earth’s oldest satellite. Suddenly, the focus of her eyes met mine.
Now, she remembered!

How to run on caffeine

Every movement freezes in your mind. Actions become series of pictures. You feel widely awake and at the same time completely numb to direct influences on yourself. The drugs produced by your body are floating your blood circulation. When you think, time stops. Your heart pumps like it tries to drown out your breaths. All muscles and tendons are tense. Your thoughts focus at the current place and time. Everything is under your control. One blink to crush the city; one thought to destroy the world.
At this state, unexpected events are often the stinging pain of reality. Nothing happens without reason. But what if we can’t find the reasons? Does reality jab you in your back? One thing is for sure: you could process a thousand pictures a second; if the flapper comes when unexpected, it won’t help at all.

The question is not: to drink or not to drink. Rather, you should ask yourself: are you fly enough to open your wings even if the light at the end of the tunnel could meet up with you halfway with a hundred miles per hour? Regret only exists in life. What drives you when you bear that in mind? Is it yesterday’s memory, the thought of tomorrow, or the possibility of none?
Sugar makes your heartbeat sweeter!

Things that start worse end well

Compare yourself to something worse et voilà you’re the lucky one. If you’re not feeling better already, you’ve probably done something wrong. Maybe there is no-one in a worse situation than you are.
In that case you can be proud that you are the unluckiest guy – number one or at least number 4, cause what’s even unluckier than being not even on the stairhead – challenged person from life, god, or whatever you belief in.
So, you got it. It’s the context that makes things good or bad, humans into heroes or – whatever the opposite profession is.

The interesting thing is, your mouth tastes funny if you drink tea the whole day. Besides, also actions that didn’t have an influence on other people, don’t count for their general view either. For example when you played drums the first fifteen years of your lifetime, it may count for your mother as ‘his wild years’. However, other people you just met would maybe say: nice he plays an instrument.
What lies on the hand is that it needs a personal session of extraterrestrial performance to change their minds into: he plays like the devil fighting against human rights. Nothing can beat frontal first person experience. Anyhow, it’s a bad example, what I mean is that people don’t see what the are not shown.
Never show that both aces you’re hiding are hearts!