Fascinating Radio Lab this week about sleep.

(www.wnyc.org)

I have never had any trouble sleeping, other than times when I mistakenly overconsume caffeine. Mostly, just going around in a half-asleep stupor all the time, does it for me. I'm constantly tired, so when sleep presents itself, I'm there.

One part of the show details a mother's frustration with getting her child to sleep. I remember those feelings of inadequacy very, very well.

I still feel inadequate, but for different reasons.

Currently reading: Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson. I have his Einstein, too, but the Bugliosi book about the JFK assassination will probably arrive before I get to that, so I bet that will command my attention for a while.

Excellent SModcast this week, too.

(www.quickstopentertainment.com/smodcast)

Malcolm, a Canadian, didn't remember the name of the Canadian prime minister. (He's Canadian.) Kevin correctly pointed out that nearly every American knows the name of the president, although it reminded me of a brief encounter during the 2000 Florida recount/election theft debacle. Walking through my workplace, I overheard two nice, but dim, female coworkers talking about it. One asked, "So then, who's the president now?"

Admittedly, if you're not a geek like me, the constant back and forth about the battle for the presidency might raise a question, if one does not remember that the current President serves through the time of election until the next January.

Had to explain to my 11 year old son that sex is different from kissing. He had used the word sex when he meant kissing. Had to make it clear that this would confuse a listener and possibly get him into trouble. Now, we've had the talk, but it doesn't seem to register with him, because we have to keep having it.

Another example of my failure as a parent.

It's good weather for driving down the road with the windows down. Listened to IPod on shuffle last night, but it played "Silver and Gold" and "Helter Skelter" back to back. I can't understand how, with 1800+ tracks to choose from, it can choose two tracks not only from the same group, but also from the same record, right in a row. I know, statistically, it's not that unlikely, but it seems unlikely. It's like the cycle being less common than the no hitter, but the no hitter gets a lot more love.