She’s like borderline vivid mad. Sane enough to be mostly rational, mad enough to see what the “sane” people can’t. Which means she can make sense of the insensible. That’s why she got the previous job she had. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have some quirks.
Did the D of I move with them? What about Pre-Cambrian Defense? Jet Pack Suppression?
Gads…what would Ginny do if she hung around the Department of Jet Pack Suppression?? Probably just install their brains -into- the jet packs, I suppose…
I’m pretty sure when you reach Dr Lee’s level, the line between Mad Genius and Eccentric Genius is a lot clearer to you than it is to lowly mortals like ourselves.
Yes; in fact; the showpiece of her existence is that one can do amazing things with superscience galore without, in fact, being Mad. She’s very focused, but she is not Mad. (In fact, it’s evidence contrary.)
I’m legitimately (and legally 😉 ) on a combination of Nuvigil and Ritalin these days. Neither one of them tastes good with coffee. Or anything else. But you wake up in the morning and you get so much done….
Okay, so there was a stretch in 2014 where sleep may have been less a fact and more a concept, but in my defense 2014 sucked.
I just want to take this moment to acknowledge you called this in yesterday’s commentary, down to the chemistry involved. Congrats, though something along these line was pretty much the guaranteed result of giving Ginny “busy work”.
I cheated slightly. I take two thirds of her active ingredients (well, armodafinil in lieu of modafinil — but it’s an enantiopure of the former) just as a matter of course. I don’t take them in combination with an SNRI, though. That would be silly. I take them in combination with an NDRI. But that wouldn’t muck with serotonin in nearly as interesting a series of ways. Also, I’m pretty sure my dosages wouldn’t be nearly as interestinguseful at Skin Horse. And the neuroscientists I work with isn’t nearly as Virginia Lee as Virginia Lee.
I love how you’re using the name as both an adjective and a proper noun
As to medications I’m on a comparatively boring concerta in the morning and melatonin in the evening (also legally)
Occasionally suplimented with a cocktail of minor mundane drugs like guanine and caffeine, because I too understand the reality of Concept Sleep.
See, this is why she’s eventually going to add a good eugeroic to the compound. Helps keep the less… ‘desirable’ side effects at bay. And she is a sane scientist, after all. Really.
Mention of “hamsters” brings to mind something that’s been hanging on my mind for some time—well, since I read the Narbonic books, anyway—whatever happened to those intelligent hamsters after they fled from their flying island doomsday device?
Not sleeping at all is in the category of Bad Idea.
All chordates sleep. This is because Central Nervous System tissue employs a contraction/expansion mode to flush out toxins.
No sleep means no flushing.
Dr. Lee needs to keep up on the literature.
Okay, I’ll admit she’s in the ballpark, but before Dr. Lee gets to true Heterodyne levels of coffee, it will have to have caused at least one religious experience by a drinker.
And why am I suddenly getting images of Bubbles Cooler dressed as a high priestess of the bean?
No, Unity gave Bubbles coffee once while she was still in the water cooler. She learned a new word. “Not.” She doesn’t use that one very much, though. 😀
Are we sure Dr. Lee isn’t Mad?
She’s sure. We’re not. And she might not be right… I’m recalling someone else who was sure he wasn’t mad…
Hmm… she DOES have clear glasses.
She may be on the edge of of cracking. When she performs her breakthrough, god only know how horrible it’s going to be.
Horrible and entertaining.
Just glad I’m on this side of the screen.
She’s like borderline vivid mad. Sane enough to be mostly rational, mad enough to see what the “sane” people can’t. Which means she can make sense of the insensible. That’s why she got the previous job she had. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have some quirks.
She’s not Mad.
She’s actually quite delighted at the moment.
I’d say she’s about as sane as Sheldon Cooper. ^_^
cue the laugh track!
She is, however, substantially funnier.
Cue the OOooh track
Dr. Lee is an imitative genius. Pretty much all the stuff she does is riffing of the work of others. I suspect the “mad” is also just a riff.
One wonders what will come from working with the U.S. Government. And will she find the basement.
Oh my dear sweet lord! They share a building with the Department of Radiation!
Did the D of I move with them? What about Pre-Cambrian Defense? Jet Pack Suppression?
Gads…what would Ginny do if she hung around the Department of Jet Pack Suppression?? Probably just install their brains -into- the jet packs, I suppose…
There are degrees of madness. She’s high-functioning.
I’m pretty sure when you reach Dr Lee’s level, the line between Mad Genius and Eccentric Genius is a lot clearer to you than it is to lowly mortals like ourselves.
Difference between a Mad Scientist and a Scientist that is mad.
Yes; in fact; the showpiece of her existence is that one can do amazing things with superscience galore without, in fact, being Mad. She’s very focused, but she is not Mad. (In fact, it’s evidence contrary.)
If they want to sleep again, I’m afraid they’ll have no choice but to trek on over to the Big Apple. Because we all know, there’s–
“No Sleep Til Brooklyn”
*dodges jackhammers*
Well, shoot! Now I wish Ginny was *my* coffee lady as well! ^_^
Yes. Now I want both Ginny and the coffee hanging around. Maybe I should spend more time in their universe…
Me too. Four hours sleep last night. I gave up late nights a few years back, and then I had kids…
Does the adenosine blocker taste nice, though? Or can you dose your actual coffee with it?
I’m legitimately (and legally 😉 ) on a combination of Nuvigil and Ritalin these days. Neither one of them tastes good with coffee. Or anything else. But you wake up in the morning and you get so much done….
Okay, so there was a stretch in 2014 where sleep may have been less a fact and more a concept, but in my defense 2014 sucked.
I just want to take this moment to acknowledge you called this in yesterday’s commentary, down to the chemistry involved. Congrats, though something along these line was pretty much the guaranteed result of giving Ginny “busy work”.
Eric Burns-White called it in the air.
Almost a rigged coin given how likely it was, but his calling came with a good story so it was nonetheless entertaining and mildly impressive
I cheated slightly. I take two thirds of her active ingredients (well, armodafinil in lieu of modafinil — but it’s an enantiopure of the former) just as a matter of course. I don’t take them in combination with an SNRI, though. That would be silly. I take them in combination with an NDRI. But that wouldn’t muck with serotonin in nearly as interesting a series of ways. Also, I’m pretty sure my dosages wouldn’t be nearly as
interestinguseful at Skin Horse. And the neuroscientists I work with isn’t nearly as Virginia Lee as Virginia Lee.I love how you’re using the name as both an adjective and a proper noun
As to medications I’m on a comparatively boring concerta in the morning and melatonin in the evening (also legally)
Occasionally suplimented with a cocktail of minor mundane drugs like guanine and caffeine, because I too understand the reality of Concept Sleep.
After the first hundred hours of no-sleep, you get kinda paranoid and start hallucinating…
See, this is why she’s eventually going to add a good eugeroic to the compound. Helps keep the less… ‘desirable’ side effects at bay. And she is a sane scientist, after all. Really.
But as scientist won’t she need a control group?
Most people start at 50 or less, these people… Not sure if they’d start at 12 or 200…
A couple of them may already have…
Sorry, forgot most people don’t use absolute value when using units of time
I notice Dr. Lee’s wearing green today—St. Patrick’s Day?
Some people just like green…
And the meaning of the story title resolves itself.
This is why I stick with teas and hot cocoa.
Agatha just made it “taste as good as it smells”, which no one in this universe has come close to yet and which to my mind is a more worthy goal.
“Just not sleeping” can kill you! If you want nightmares – you hope! – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_familial_insomnia
More generally, proper sleep is important to overall good health.
Mention of “hamsters” brings to mind something that’s been hanging on my mind for some time—well, since I read the Narbonic books, anyway—whatever happened to those intelligent hamsters after they fled from their flying island doomsday device?
I think this was covered in the last Dave in Slumberland, but I’m not sure because my phone won’t let me scroll the image.
Last we saw, they were in jail.
Musta missed all that—just read the books, haven’t sifted through the massive amount of extraneous info online…
Not sleeping at all is in the category of Bad Idea.
All chordates sleep. This is because Central Nervous System tissue employs a contraction/expansion mode to flush out toxins.
No sleep means no flushing.
Dr. Lee needs to keep up on the literature.
God damn it Ginny.
Okay, I’ll admit she’s in the ballpark, but before Dr. Lee gets to true Heterodyne levels of coffee, it will have to have caused at least one religious experience by a drinker.
And why am I suddenly getting images of Bubbles Cooler dressed as a high priestess of the bean?
If it is Bubble’s first experience with coffee, that wouldn’t be a bad image.
No, Unity gave Bubbles coffee once while she was still in the water cooler. She learned a new word. “Not.” She doesn’t use that one very much, though. 😀
Religious experience while drinking coffee? That’s already in the realm of real-world not-mad science.
Just give someone TMS while they’re drinking coffee.
Sure, it’s some extra hardware, but I think I’d prefer that to a hypothetical Dr Lee’s Instant Temporal Lobe Lesioning Blend…
Oooof, if she invents the Z-sup from Powernap, we’re fucked.
That’s nothing, she could make Klatchian coffee!
Yeah. Everyone saw this coming xD
Just look at how well eliminating sleep worked on Miasimia Goria!