Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with buzz

Caffiene snooze

divabat — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:58:53 -0800

Why does one cup of coffee make me sleepy? I've seen this thread, but it was more about confirming the effect rather than explaining it.

I've had an interesting history with coffee. I like the taste, and when I was a teenager I regularly had a cup of 3-in-1 coffee a day with no particular effects. In my late teens I was diagnosed with panic disorder, and I could no longer take any coffee without feeling jittery and anxious. Within the past five years I've slowly reintroduced coffee into my life, and now I can comfortably have a cup a day.

However, instead of either getting a buzz or being jittery, coffee makes me really really sleepy. As soon as I have a cup I have a deep need to take a nap, and I can be knocked out for a couple of hours. It's not particularly restful or refreshing sleep, but it's hard to fight back the urge to snooze. This is a recent development (and slightly annoying because there are times where I could use the buzz!!).

I'm usually described as "hyper" by my friends and peers, though that usually depends on the situation - in fun energetic environments I can be very vibrant and exuberant, though when I'm at home I'm usually sloth-like and lazy. I sleep about 7-8 hours a night; the sun awakes me, so I'm usually up just before 5, and for the first few hours (if I'm not having to be awake early for any particular reason) I vacillate between mucking around on my laptop and snoozing. I don't deal well with late nights - if I'm not distracted by something I usually clamour for my bed by midnight at the latest.

Guarana, ginseng, and other energy drinks & supplements of that ilk give me a headache. There is one particular Aussie brand of energy drink (can't recall the name offhand) that hasn't effected me either way; however I've only had a small tin so I don't know if it's a fluke. I have been suspected of having ADD but have never been on treatment for it or tested professionally.

What's happening with my hormones and my brain that makes me have the opposite reaction to caffiene? Is it something I need to worry about? If caffiene makes me tired, what can I do to get a buzz (assuming that I haven't already scared people off by being highly energetic!)?

The gateway drug.

cmoj — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:33:41 -0800

Help me get my caffeine. I drink a lot of tea that I brew quite strong, but sometimes I like a pretty good dose of caffeine, and I'd rather not drink energy drinks (though that's what I do when such a desire arises). What can I do without drinking gallons of tea?

I'm not really into coffee. I'd prefer an organic solution, though as long as I'm loading my body with caffeine, I'm not going to worry about it if it's better than the chemistry-set-in-a-can energy drinks.

It's the buzz buzz buzz in the drum of the ear, or, making my amplifier a tinfoil hat to stop GSM noises from my phone.

Halle — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:22:38 -0800

It's the buzz buzz buzz in the drum of the ear, or, making my amplifier a tinfoil hat to stop GSM noises from my phone. Like many others, I have GSM buzz in my speakers. But, I frequently don't have the option of setting my phone to silent while I'm working, because I'm working on the phone. That leaves the options as a) not getting to listen to music while working, or b) letting hideous noises that come out of my speakers every hour at a much higher volume than the music make me aggro. So, I've done some research (and read the old and inconclusive GSM noise questions here in AskMe) and I've concluded that it's most likely my amplifier lacking shielding. I'm going to put ferrite chokes on my speaker and audio cables just in case, but the main plan of attack is to put a faraday cage around the amp since it's out of sight. What is a good way to construct the cage with the following specs:

1) blocks interference really well,
2) isn't terribly expensive,
3) will last/can be moved (i.e. alternatives to tinfoil),
4) has some possibility of heat dispersal so it doesn't kill the amp.
5) no negative electrical safety implications (I can't imagine what these could be but I thought I'd throw it in there in case there is anything I'm overlooking in this department).

Thank you!

Grassroots Marketing Resources

JakeTimberlake — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:47:03 -0800

I'm about to open a bar, and I need some guidance on how to market it during the pre-opening stage. Anyone recommend any books/blogs/websites/resources? Help me brainstorm + study the right resources.

So we just signed the lease, and we're in the building. I've got my construction guys working on the renovations and the designs. I've got my GM and AM working on the permits and the legal stuff. I'm in charge of the marketing.

The bar is targeted towards the 25+ crowd, with a specific emphasis on the hipster crowd. We're aiming not to get pigeon-holed though, so a broad marketing plan is essential.

Can anyone recommend any tried-and-true books (or other resources) about buzz building, grassroots marketing, and the like? I want to make sure that we are the talk of the town on opening night.

Ghost in the Phonemachine

not_on_display — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 21:00:49 -0800

The cell phone gives off a staticky, crackly buzzing sound, audible on both sides of the connection. What are some possible causes and solutions? The buzz is not constantly there, but when it kicks in, it is loud to the point where it is distracting, and it usually sticks around for a long time. The buzzing is in A below middle C. It doesn't seem to make a difference where in the apartment; the buzz has been experienced at a variety of places, even in the middle of nowhere. While one of us is talking, the buzz, if present, will quickly fade off; as soon as there's a silence, the buzz will fill in that silence. And then, suddenly, it will disappear altogether. W, T, F??

AC adapter making my speakers buzz -- and it's not a ground loop.

ori — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:13:24 -0800

New, generic AC adapter is causing my computer speaker system to hum. I thought it was a ground loop, but a cheater plug (fitted on the jack of the AC adapter) didn't help. (The speaker system itself is not grounded.) I know it's the AC adapter, because if I run my laptop on battery power, the hum disappears. Anything I can do, short of forking out $70 for an original adapter? This adapter has been working fine otherwise.

I'm using an external Sound Blaster Live! 24bit as my sound card, but the problem persists when I switch to the on-board sound card.
The speaker system works perfectly well with other laptops.

In short -- it's the AC adapter. But what should I do?

This ring, it vibrates?

Anonymous — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 07:01:30 -0800

Are vibrating cock rings any good? Which to try, which to avoid? Good from either partner's perspective? I'm in a het relationship, but for posterity I think answers about any relationship that involves at least one appendage capable of sporting one are fair.

Which ferrite cores are the best ones to stop GSM buzz in my speakers?

twiggy — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:06:02 -0800

Electricity and Magnetism geeks - help me! I would like to stop the GSM interference from my iPhone to my speakers with ferrite chokes. I imagine a bit of information would help me get the best ones... So, it has become somewhat common knowledge at this point that gsm noise is irritating lots and lots of people. While the hack of cutting these ferrite beads out of USB cables is cute, and all, I figured I'd order just the parts I need from digikey, where I've bought some electronics stuff in the past.

The issue is -- these little buggers come in a variety of sizes, with a variety of impedance levels and frequencies (frequencies? what?). I would link to a DigiKey search results page, but they seem to use POST in their forms, so I can't get you a URL with search results....

First of all, I'm pretty sure GSM is 850mhz with AT&T in the united states. All of the ferrite core snaps I've found on DigiKey have a "Frequency" of either 100mhz or 300mhz ... how can a little ferrite bead have a "frequency"?

Their impedance levels vary wildly -- from 35 ohms to as high as 572 ohms.

So, my question: If we know what frequency AT&T's GSM is that's causing my interference issues with my stereo speakers -- how do I choose the ferrite cores that will be most effective in stopping it? Does it even matter which ones I get?

They're all reasonably priced, ranging between about $0.95 and $2.50... and since I'm only buying maybe 6 or 8 of the things, I'm more than happy to shell out the extra bucks if it means less noise getting through.

Thanks!

Fun, easy and cheap ways for contestants to "buzz in" to answer quiz questions?

VeniceGlass — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:28:51 -0800

Our corporate outing next week is going to include a few trivia questions, and we need a good way for people to answer. There will be 10 teams and a captain on each team. Money's a little tight, so those cool electronic buzzers are out. I'd prefer not to suffer the chaos of shouting out answers and figuring who is quickest. So I'd like a method that's fun and accurate. Any ideas?

BUZZ - I know!!

Jakey — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:19:00 -0800

Electronics filter. Game show buzzer+. There are tons of simple game show buzzer layouts on the google. What I can't seem to find is an idiots guide to something that would allow you to take an input more complicated that a simple yes/no. i.e. interrupt + [string]. Any pointers?

How to retrofit an alarm clock against cell-phone buzz?

tkolar — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 14:10:49 -0800

How to retrofit an alarm clock against cell-phone buzz? I have a new alarm clock which I really like, but which is also unfortunately susceptible to the dreaded 'GSM buzz.' I like to keep my phone charging on my nightstand at night, so I can't really separate the phone and alarm too much.

I want to 'buzz-proof' my alarm clock. I suspect some strategically placed foil or ferrite rings in the right place might do the trick -- if only I knew which components I needed to shield.

(to be specific, it's a Sony ICFC180 AM/FM Clock Radio, but even a general idea of where to start on any model would be appreciated.)

P.S. I already tried detaching the radio antennas to no effect.

Biz travel: little time, big splash?

diastematic — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:00:13 -0800

How should we make the most of our business trip? Two partners and I are visiting NY next week for a client meeting. (We're normally in London and US West Coast.) We may have a spare couple of days, and I'd like to make those as productive as possible from a networking perspective. Suggestions? (More inside.) We already have a healthy dose of dinners, lunches, etc. scheduled with our contacts, but we may still have some gaps in our calendar. Should we...host a cocktail hour at a bar and see who drops in? Invite distant contacts to a salon-style group dinner?

We're also quite visible online for our small industry and have a healthy email list for friends, clients, associates. We can put this to work for us in making any announcements for whatever events we can whip up.

Ideas appreciated. Thanks!

A good alcoholic drink for a good buzz

chips ahoy — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 08:15:16 -0800

What alcoholic drink do you find the least troublesome on your body? What's your favorite choices for avoiding hangover, reflux, bloating, (insert your own ailment)? Interestingly when I was in my 20s, we'd drink anything in the house, but now that I'm older my body's getting a lot more picky about its drinks.

* Cheap beer, namely Bud Lite, is dirt cheap but seems to give me brain fog that lasts a few days (I wonder if anyone's noticed anything similar).
* Good beers, like Shiner Light and Sam Adams Light go down smooth but make me feel bloated.
* Wine seems to give quite a hangover, though I'm not sure if that's just the specific wines I'm getting.
* With sugary drinks (Baileys, ciders, coolers, etc) they get me more hopped up on sugar than alcohol... I suspect my blood sugar goes through the roof, and it doesn't mix well with a buzz.
* The hard liquors seem to give me reflux, though maybe there's mixed drinks that are easier on the stomach.

Anyhow... my question is: if you have a picky body, what alcoholic drinks do you find easiest on you, for whatever reasons? Maybe there's something you drink that's worth trying.

For the time being I think I may be steering towards the IPA ales this weekend since they have a lot of "buzz" per bottle and go down smooth. I know I could just not drink at all, but I hold Friday night drinks to be one of my decadent sins.

Help me choose a CMS, find stores for a green laptop case, and how/where to build a buzz about it.

healthyliving — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 10:59:02 -0800

Quadruple your pleasure! I'm a newly minted green business consultant, and would like your help on four things: finding a CMS or blog system to create a website for my business, finding places where you think a green laptop case would/should be sold, blogs/social networks to get the word out about it, and suggested protocol to approach said blogs/social networks. Happy Monday everybody. Here's the thumbnail: I recently started a green business consulting practice (woopeee!) and got my first client, a laptop case company that's decided to convert their whole line to sustainably made by the end of next year. I would like your help on four things:

Finding a CMS or blog system to create a website for my business, finding places where you think a green laptop case would/should be sold, blogs/social networks to get the word out about it, and suggested protocol to approach said blogs.

~~~

Okay, part one - I'm wanting to create a website for my budding consulting practice, I'm not coding savvy, and am leaning the CMS route, rather then blog, so that I can make the content/structure malleable, but not need to be an coding genius to do it. Yes I know blogs like Typepad can have static pages as well as blog pages, but my gut says that in the long term I'll want more elbow room. At this point the consulting practice is just me, but there may be others in the future.

My question is, of what's out there, which CMS systems meet these criteria:

• Are easy to install, customize, update.

• Can be up and running in a short amount of time, and are scalable/have plenty of useful modules to add.

• " " ", even if I'm no coder. Has instructions that don't presume you know all the lingo already.

• Has a variety of stylish templates, and can be customized.

• Is free (preferably) or inexpensive (ie a reasonable monthly vs some huge up front fee.)

• Open source and/or good support. In other words, if things go wrong, there's either tech support or people on a BB that could help me suss things out.

If you have some entirely other idea outside of a blog or cms, do tell.

~~~~

Part two: I've gotten my first consulting client, a laptop case company that has decided to convert their entire line to green (made of recycled bottles!) by the end of next year. I'm helping them with reviewing/ creating marketing materials, buzz building on blogs/social networks, coming up with new channels of distribution, and general susty knowledge goodness to keep them on their toes and thinking broadly.

Where would you see recycled soda bottle based laptop case (and soon to be many other kinds of) bags being sold, online and bricks and mortar? Think both where you would imagine seeing them (ie Elephant Pharmacy {a green focused "drug store that prescribes yoga"}, theGreenOffice.com), and where you think they should be seen (ie at Whole Foods, Starbucks) I've been compiling a list, and would love to have your input on this. They sell nationally, and also in Europe and I believe some Asian countries at this point. Think broad, from leetle places to beeg companies.

What blogs/social networks do you see the word going out on? Again I've got a list going, think from the usual suspects (Treehugger.com) to more off the current beaten path (Changents.com)

And lastly:

Any suggestions for how to approach people at blogs to post about these bags, this company? It has a good story (Founder was a Berkeley enviro studies major in the 80s, got discouraged, went into business that was not enviro related, and now sees that it's possible to do it susty, and has made the commitment, and is dedicated to do it really right, as in not just because it's cool, but does every material in there make a difference vs. the conventional option?) Do I write something for them, or just give them a thumbnail and let them do their thing? My client thinks they should wait until products are in stores to do this, but I think building an anticipatory buzz instead of/as well as this would be wise. Thoughts?

Rockin' the mic with R2D2

Mister_A — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 10:08:52 -0800

Bzzzzzz! Whirrrrr! Advice on field recording various sounds made by a robotic device, please. I am working on a flash-based interactive demo of this thing, and I have to capture the various whines and whirrings, made by its several motors and servos, in a quick, easy, and inexpensive way. I can buy equipment, or rent it; anything goes but it's got to go cheaply. Bonus points for recommendations on uncompressed (native/raw) and compressed file formats for optimum performance and quality.

How do I market and sell cuteness?

The Deej — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 07:20:12 -0800

I humbly and politely request your input on my forthcoming character-related logo wear apparel marketing. T-shirts, sweatshirts, keychains, hats, etc., featuring a character I created. I am going to be marketing a line of apparel and related items based on a "cutesy" character. The demographic will be teen girls, or women who are likely to have a visceral reaction to cuteness. "Awwww!!! That's SO cute!!!!!!" is the common immediate reaction when most women and all teen girls see this character. It's not a pre-existing character; it will exist solely to bring the joy of cuteness to the lives of millions. And to sell products.

So, even though I have some experience in marketing, I am looking for any further insight on undertaking such a venture, particularly personal experience and recommendations for silk-screeners and online sales systems. I am guessing any success this line might have would be related to "buzz" more than advertising, so if you have any personal stories about creating buzz around a product, that would be great.

Also, I am a realist and am not expecting to make some kind of huge overnight splash. Rather, I know that the best business plans follow the "slow and steady wins the race" mantra. Thanks all!

Soundcard interference but only over KVM?

cyrusdogstar — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 18:12:31 -0800

I need help figuring out a strange audio interference issue with my computer setup, involving headphones, a KVM, and an apparent contradiction. The setup: iMac, custom-built gaming PC, nice pair of headphones, plenty of cables. Until today, I had speakers hooked up to the iMac and the headphone jacked into the PC, and everything was fine. Today, wanting to use the headphones on both machines, I bought an ioGear KVM which includes audio switching, hooked it up, and now the PC - and only the PC - is generating irritating background noise.

So, with headphones on, I have the KVM set to the iMac. The connection goes headphones -> KVM -> KVM cable -> iMac. The sound is perfect. I then switch the KVM to the PC's port, and get a decently loud background hum/buzz noise, including various additional sounds when the mouse moves, hard disk spins up, network activity, etc.

Plugging the headphones straight into the PC results in perfect quality, as before. So if it's not the sound card (or the problem would exist with the direct connection) or the KVM cabling (or the problem would exist with both machines) then what is it?

Additional caveats: I think I can rule out nearby cable interference and the sound card, as both KVM connections have other cables nearby, and the issue happens with both my onboard and expansion sound cards (but to a lesser extent with the onboard). I also recall a similar issue with other KVMs in the past.

Trendhunting, Buzzmarketing website URL I forgot

dvjtj — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 11:58:34 -0800

I am looking for a website I found once but can't find again. It was about trendhunting, buzzwords-spotting, with entire sections focused on articulating and dissecting different new words being used to describe cultural trends (ie. Ambient Shopping, Boho-architecture, etc.) Does anyone know where/what it is? I remember the titles being bright colors.

Getting rid of the phone buzz?

kamelhoecker — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:18:42 -0800

My phone has a loud buzzing noise. When I touch the screw on a lightswitch plate, sink faucet or a metal lamp, the buzzing stops. What is happening – and more importantly how can I use the phone without having to ground myself? My phone service is through my cable provider. The cable comes into the house, splits into a box for internet (cable "modem") and into another box for my phone service. My phone connects into my "phone box" with a standard telephone wire.

I did some research and my hum/noise problem sounds like a ground loop – except that my phone, internet modem, router, laptop, etc. are all not grounded. (They have only 2 prongs. But maybe the cable is grounded.)

Also, confusing (to me) is the fact that the problem goes away when I am grounded. What does me being grounded have to do with my phone?

Caffeine—can't live with/out it

humblepigeon — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 11:50:46 -0800

Caffeine is killing me but I need it to work well. Is there an alternative? I work in a 'creative industry' and need to generate good ideas on a daily basis. Pretty much all my career I've drank a lot of coffee. Last year I was found to have high blood pressure (a family trait), so I cut it out. I suffered badly for a week or two, but became clean. The trouble is that I kinda lost my mojo. Over the past two weeks I've been reintroducing caffeine and, wow, the buzz is good. I've realized that it's just what I need to work well. But caffeine is slowly killing me. So is there an alternative? Maybe even a lifestyle change? Background info: I'm overweight and pretty unfit, and spend all day at my desk. However, I don't smoke and have never taken drugs.

Maybe my brain just really digs on antioxidants.

10ch — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:22:24 -0800

Is drinking green tea giving me a buzz? For the last month I've been drinking several cups of green tea each day and I can't shake the feeling that I'm a bit wacky after I drink it.

I brew my tea in one of those mugs that has a filter in it, I use about a tablespoon of high falutin' gov't grade --kidding-- leaves. I let it set for about 4 mins and then take the filter out, drink and repeat (with the same leaves) four or five times in a day.

I've half-assedly googled "green tea high" and "green tea buzz" over the past few weeks and haven't found anything too spectacular, and certainly nothing that's adequately provided any sort of answer to why I feel particularly giddy/antsy/goofy/innovative since partaking of the leaf.

Anyone experience similar?

Oh and caffeine disclaimer: hard core coffee drinker here (though I'm not mixing the two in a day). This isn't a caffeine buzz, it's more an ... altered state that feels (ever so subtly) *heightened*.

How can I use the Internet to promote an interactive film and arts site?

Elle Vator — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 09:15:54 -0800

There are a lot of buzzwords being bandied about regarding the 'viral' 'grassroots' ways that 'Internet 2.0' can be used to 'create a groundswell' through 'guerilla marketing'. What? What do these buzzwords actually mean? After getting vague advice like 'use MySpace' by people with marketing degrees who don't use the internet to market anything, I am interested in cutting through the crap by hearing from real people with actual experience in these matters. How can the Internet be used to promote a site with interactive stuff, games and short film... and little-to-no budget for marketing?

Why do power lines buzz?

kc0dxh — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 05:15:25 -0800

ScienceFilter: Why do high-voltage power lines buzz. Specifically, I'm looking for an explaination of how electrons passing through wire produces the compression waves that hit my ears. Bonus points if you can tell me why a buzz and not a whine or other sound.

What is that TV Buzzing Noise?

toftk — Thu, 14 Apr 2005 17:19:24 -0800

My TV does this annoying buzzing sort of humming noise (vibrating?) a lot and I want it to stop. Should I take my TV in to get fixed? If so, how much would that cost? Can I fix it myself? Is it easier to just buy a new TV or to ignore it? It especially seems to do it when I have the volume turned down low (or else I just don't notice it when it's up high).

Is there anything like buzz for the mac?

b1tr0t — Sat, 04 Dec 2004 18:57:38 -0800

Free powerful audio tools for OSX: Is there anything like buzz for the mac?