Lately, I’ve come to realize that it’s impossible to be in college and live in the dorms without sleep deprivation. There are simply too much distractions, everyone sleeps at different times, etc.

So…caffeine had never been as important to me as it is now. Before I do my homework or study, I have to have some, or I’ll be too tired to focus. Sad, isn’t it? Since it’s become a necessity due to my new college lifestyle, I’ve decided to do a little research so I know what I’m drugging myself with.

Here is an incomplete list of how much caffeine is in caffeinated drinks. God forbid I drink any of these besides many diet coke before I go out (dehydration, need water, need to get rid of water, you get the point)

Diet Coke: 3.75 mg/oz
How weak. I can’t believe just a couple months ago, this was my main source of caffeine.

Red Bull: 9.64 mg/oz
This is probably the most convenient caffeinated drink for me to buy, since it comes in smaller 8 oz cans. If I drink the whole thing, I won’t be jittery for too long. That way I can drink a single can, get my energy, and not have to worry about what to do with leftovers.

Rockstar: 10 mg/oz
The caffeine concentration for this is a bit higher than that of Red Bull, but for some reason, I don’t get as intense of an effect when I drink a regular Rockstar. Half a can of the 16 oz version should help me get my energy and might make me jittery for a short period of time. The problem comes with saving the other half for later, because I’m picky about how much carbonation is in my drink.

Monster: 10 mg/oz
In my opinion, Monster original flavor is the best tasting energy drink. Monster was the first energy drink I ever tried when I had to stay up for Relay For Life a couple years ago. The first time I had one (slowly), I felt so focused at 2:00 am that I thought Monster was the greatest drink in the world. I knew it wasn’t all that great for me, so I didn’t drink it too frequently. Half a can of this makes me a little more jittery/paranoid than half a can of Rockstar would, but Monster’s good too.

Full Throttle Zero Carb: 15 mg/oz
My goodness, I hate this drink. It’s like the 190-proof vodka of caffeine. Not only did it have a disgusting berry taste (I’m not a big fan of berries), 1/4 of this practically made me jump up and down as if I had a full Monster. Only 15 mg/oz? It certainly feels like much more. Perhaps the zero carb formula is a bit different and gives the consumer more energy. I’m avoiding this from now on.

I would probably be better of writing my history paper now instead of this blog post, but I have until Wednesday, so…

I was just browsing dealextreme’s most popular products today

I came across the iFone (yes, iFone, not iPhone). It’s unlocked, so it can be used with services other than AT&T.

*I am not affiliated with dealextreme in any way. I just think they have many interesting products.

The two are similar, aren’t they (the second one’s the real one)? I was considering getting an iPhone after the price drop to $400, but it still seemed a little overpriced to me. After all, it’s just another PDA phone with an Apple logo. The reason most people buy gadgets is for show. Within a couple years, it will be out of date.So now, I’m thinking about buying the “knock off” version. My only concern is that since it’s from China, it has a high probability of breaking after a few months. According to the reviews on the site, however, it seems to be solid. If it just lasts between one and two years, it would be worth it to me, because something newer and cooler would be out by then.

The exterior of this “iFone” looks very similar to the real iPhone, but the operating system is completely different. From afar, I can probably fool people into thinking I have the real iPhone, especially if they can’t see the screen very well. Even when they see that it isn’t, they’ll still think I have a cool phone, because this thing is still pretty cool. All the fun functions are present: MP3 and movie player, camera, video camera, internet browser, java, etc. The only part that’s slightly less cool is the fact that it’s not made by Apple. Another con may be the fact that it runs on MicroSD cards instead of internal memory, so one MicroSD card might not be enough to hold everything I may want at once. The overall functions are similar, though. It even comes with two batteries, so I can carry a spare charged one with me if I wish to (I’m the type who likes to have spare batteries).

If I get an “A” on the stupid Nationalism essay, maybe I’ll reward myself with one of these.