Posted August 26, 2015 at 3:18 am

Failure is always an option.

I swear I'm not planning to turn EGS:NP into "Dan's Avatar: The Comic", but hey, my avatar hasn't been around in a while, and the subject of this comic is pretty darn "me" specific.

I've now given up caffeinated beverages twice. The first time lasted a LOT longer, and eventually came to an end as a result of very early morning programming classes. More recently (as in, the day before I posted this comic), it was because the side effects of not drinking it proved far worse than the side effects of drinking it. It's been awful for my productivity and general mood.

I imagine this wouldn't be the case if I were more in shape and more active, but that's not where I am right now. That's a separate thing to aspire to. Besides which, that might not work. I've heard that caffeine can alter brain chemistry over time. Dependency on it might just be a thing I'm stuck with.

That said, I AM sticking with not drinking coffee. This is mostly because it's not practical to brew just one cup as one needs it, and there's more caffeine per cup. It's really easy to make more than I wind up wanting and feeling compelled to drink it anyway (a bit silly, but it's a strong compulsion). With tea, I can just make it as I want it with little issue, and there's much less of a kick per cup.

And besides all that, I like the way tea tastes better, and there are more flavor options that I like. Granted, I'm not sure I'd have every tried Earl Grey if not for Captain Picard, but darn it, I like it.