Give up my best friend?

Anyone who knows me even in passing knows my deep and abiding love for the hot bean water known as coffee. Like a lot of people I use it to help wake up in the morning and stay awake when working late at night. I also genuinely love the beverage. If I had to choose between giving up beer or coffee, I'm pretty sure coffee would win the smackdown. Even so, I'd like to cut my caffeine consumption to more appropriate intake levels.

I've kicked the caffeine monkey off my back before by going cold turkey, but its not a pleasant experience. Scott Young offers his 7 Food Hacks to Stay Alert Without Caffeine today as a guest writer at ZenHabits. I'll keep you updated on how successfully I can implement his ideas.

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I need help!

But not in the psychological sense -- at least not yet. I've been considering hiring a virtual assistant for awhile now to help with many of the office tasks that I loathe and procrastinate into a great big pile of stress. This article from Write to Done almost has me convinced to take the plunge. I may even engage in some overseas outsourcing. I recently read an article about GetFriday.com. They have a team of assistants available to answer my needs and have pricing packages that range from straight hourly to plus plans that include rollover time from month to month.

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Please watch Jericho tonight!

If for no other reason you should at least check it out because its one of the few scripted dramas on TV this week with original content. It also just happens to be a tightly written, action filled story about what happens to the inhabitants of a small Midwestern town in the aftermath of a nationwide nuclear attack. As we learned toward the end of last season, the attack may have been the result of conspiratorial activities within our own borders. The townspeople try to sort through this information as the deal with the attacking forces from nearby towns scavenging for fresh food and other supplies.

CBS took the show out of the line up last year during the mid-season and then seemed surprised not all the audience came back to watch it in late spring. Evidently some network executives still think the world revolves around their shows and don't factor into account the powerful pull of video games, music, the Internet and other activities on our time. At any rate, the loss of ratings hurt the show and CBS decided to cancel it. The hardcore fans who remained were heartbroken and rallied to save the show by shipping over 40,000 pounds of peanuts to CBS corporate headquarters. The nuts refer to a line in the shows season finale wherein Jake, the town hero, when asked to surrender the town's food and people to an attacking army, simply replies "Nuts!" The outcry prompted CBS to buy another seven episodes of the show for this season.

The writer's strike could be the best thing that happened for Jericho. With little else on, it could get the much deserved attention it needs to bring it fully back to life. See for yourself tonight on CBS at 10 EST / 9 CST.

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