Java Man

Java Man, by Malcolm Gladwell, is about the rise of caffeine over the years. He begins by introducing Coca Cola. He then goes into greater detail, talking about tea and soda and coffee. His essay goes into great detail about coffee, making it the main focus in this piece. Gladwell breaks down the evolution of caffeine in coffee over years and years.
He tells of the coffee houses of the 18th century and how they gave birth to a new era for caffeine drinkers. His thoroughly researched facts present themselves when he is talking about the rise of coffee and caffeine. For example, he talks about the statistics of how coffee's affects differ greatly from person to person. The caffeine in coffee has double the affect on a 100 lb woman than it does on a 200 lb man.
Gladwells arguments and research are very interesting. For someone to research the effects of caffeine in coffee, tea and soda, and how the concentrations in each differ is very interesting. He does a very good job as well, in finding the right things to back up his arguments. I completely agree with him that caffeine is a drug and that its effects can have a great impact on someone, but I also agree that it is a very safe drug that no one should really be afraid of.
Gladwell presents his arguments well, and with his careful research, he does a good job of being convincing about the effects of coffee on the human body. His compelling arguments really drew me in, and as the reader I think that is important. Good job Gladwell!

A Day in the Life

Some think that college is just all fun and games. I'm writing this now, telling of a day in my shoes here at UC. I will start with Monday of course. I wake up at 5:15 and start to prepare for the long day ahead. I get all my clothes on, get a snack and something to drink, then by 5:30 im off to practice. Once I'm at the pool, we go in, get our suits on and start to convert the pool, taking out all the lane lines and making the pool so it is in meters, not yards. then at 6 we have a long practice, which leave me so tired that I want to go to bed right when I leave. However, when I get out, I go straight to the dining hall and get a quick breakfast and head to calculus at 8:45. after that I have a short break before going to chemistry at 11. After chemistry I head to the dining hall for lunch, around 12 or so. after I eat I will head up to study tables (8 hours a week are required for all freshmen athletes) and I stay there til around 1:30, then I head down to the locker room to get changed for weights. Weights will go from 2 til roughly around 3. When finished in the weight room, I head back to the pool (its a short walk from the weight room) and get ready for the second practice of the day. I swim from 3:30-5:00 then the whole team sits in the hot tub for about a half hour, before gathering to go to dinner at the dining hall. After dinner, I head up to study tables, and usually stay til about 8 or so but sometimes a little later. When I get back to my dorm, after being out and about all day, I will call my boyfriend and talk for about an hour or so before getting ready for bed. By 11:00 im in my bed ready to fall asleep. Repeat this 5 days a week, minus the morning practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and you will know my life as it always is. Always on the go, doing something or other, trying to get everything done. And that's a day in my life at UC.