But Does Caffeine Actually Work

Yesterday I posted the effects of caffeine on your brain but does caffeine actually work?

How Caffeine Works on Your Brain

A great article explaining exactly how caffeine effects your brain.

Book Review Catch Up: Behemoth

Behemoth is the sequel to previously reviewed Leviathan
by Scott Westerfeld.  It continues to follow the adventures of Midshipman Deryn Sharp and Aleksandar Ferdinand during an alternate universe World War I.

The book continues to show the integration of the Darwinists, gene-splicers, and Clankers, engineers, on the Leviathan.

I don't want to say too much about the plot of the book as it is the second in a planned trilogy.  Go back and read my review on the first book for more information and I'm sure you'll want to buy this book.

The Anthropology of Coffee

A good three part look at the anthropology of coffee.  Thanks to Boing Boing for the link.

Book Review Catch Up: Pluto

If you were ever a fan of Astro Boy you will love Pluto. The 8 volume Pluto series is based off of an Astro Boy story The Greatest Robot on Earth by manga god Osamu Tezuka.

Pluto really is a love letter to Tezuka by one of the most popular and prominant manga artists of our time Naoki Urasawa.  The art in all of the volumes is absolutely gorgeous while the story has been updated with a more adult bent.  We follow Gesicht (see picture left) in his attempts to solve the case of a string of robot and human deaths.

I loved the entire series but not because I was an Astro Boy fan but because it was such a great story with art to complement it. I'm rating this series a buy.

Is Coffee Losing it's Edge?

A recent study shows that 18-24 year olds prefer caffeinated energy drinks to coffee.  If this trend continues coffee may be dethroned as the dominate energy drink.

Book Review Catch Up: The Lost Fleet Series

The Lost Fleet is a six book series of military sci-fi written by Jack Campbell. In the first book of the series Dauntless we are introduced to Captain Black Jack Geary who has just been thawed out of suspended animation after 100 years.  Captain Geary has been elevated to near mythical levels by the Alliance as he used his command to fight a delaying action at the beginning of the war over 100 years ago. The Alliance forces find Geary on the way to attack the Syndicate home system in a bid to end the war. They see the resurrection of Geary as a good omen. However, they are about to fall in a Syndicate trap. One that only Geary can save them from.

I really liked this series a lot, reading all the books in a 3 week period.  The writer has a military background and he writes the naval battles very well using some realistic physics.  The books are not all space battles though and they offer some good characterization, albeit over a small number of main characters.

It was also very interesting to me to see the parallels between Captain Geary and King Arthur.  Arthur is supposed to return to Britain to save them in their time of greatest need and that's exactly what Geary is doing here for the Alliance.

I recommend all the books in this series as a buy.