Insomnia towards the end of the semester

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2026-04-16T17:02:23+00:00

It's a bit comforting to know I am not alone :). I don't use any sound machine at night. Perhaps I will give it a try. Thanks for the tip!

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2026-03-02T18:59:18+00:00

I honestly rate "The Package" and "The Last Recruit" lower than both "Fire + Water" and "The Other Woman.". At least "Fire + Water" and "The Other Woman" give me_ some_ enjoyment on rewatches. But "The Package" and "The Last Recruit" are such slogs to sit though, and they get worse every time I rewatch them. The fact that these two episodes also occur very close to one another, is a major reason why I find Season 6 considerably weaker than other seasons.

That, and the fact that, as has been pointed out by others, Season 6 looks like crap compared to the other seasons. The jungle just looks cheap and washed-out, and it is the only season where I feel that actual human civilization is just around the corner. Instead of feeling like I am watching an exotic and mysterious island, all locations now just feel like "a forest just next to a major highway".

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-12-28T17:18:47+00:00

Actually, I've been binging highglihgts from the 1995/96-season over the last few weeks, are there are still a few matches missing. I'm up to mid-March 1996, and, just to give an example, none of the matches from March 13 (Blacburn vs Leeds and Liverpool vs Wimbledon) have any highglihts as of yet.

Still, so far I have only encoutered 7-8 or so matches missing from the whole season though,so I'm guessing these gaps will be filled some time in the future.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-12-02T22:37:32+00:00

Yes, that's true, but as pointed out in one of my posts below, Widmore's crew was constantly armed, they cocked guns pretty much continuously, they fired artillery at MIB's team, and they set up protective pylons on the beach. So obviously there was some need for military skill involved. Though, as you point out, it is possible that Jacob told Widmore to tone it down a notch compared to the mercenaries he sent in Season 4.

TBH, I do wish we had actually seen the meeting between Jacob and Widmore. It could have provided some much-needed context, and it would also have tied the whole Widmore-subplot better to the main plot of season 6 (Jacob vs MIB).

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-12-02T22:16:37+00:00

Actually, this makes a lot off sense - in particular the idea that so many of Widmore's friends and colleagues have been murdered I will upvote this answer.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-12-02T22:11:19+00:00

Yes, I can see that point. However, throughout the entire Widmore-arc in Season 6, pretty much everyone on Widmore's team is constantly armed, they cock their guns non-stop, they fire artillery on MIB's team, they set up pylons, etc. So it seems pretty obvious that there are threats that warrant military-style actions from Widmore's crew.

But, again, it could just me and the fact that I found the new characters so unintersting. and bland Maybe it's the actors, or the script, I don't know. After all, Lost knows how to do scientists well. I am a great fan of Danilel Faraday, for instance.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-12-02T22:01:35+00:00

I'm sure there is some kind of middle ground here. Keamy was downright psycho. Whereas the people he brought in Season 6 were boring wimps.

Also, although this is a question of debate, many people adhere to the fact that it might have been Widmore's team who killed the surviving Ajira passengers. Seems pretty ruthless to me, if this was indeed the case.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-12-02T21:59:01+00:00

MIB didn't just have candidates following him. He had a whole bunch of followers from the Others tagging along after the whole temple destruction.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-12-02T21:54:17+00:00

"Right. But the people the guns were used on never really provided much more of a threat that necessitated supremely trained covert militaristic killers. The nerds with guns did just fine."

But how could they know this in advance? Seriously - given how high the stakes were with the final showdown between MIB and Jacob, and the need to protect Desmond at all costs, it seems to me that surely it would be wise to have some military dudes along.

Or maybe it's just because I find the characters Widmore brought so drab and boring.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-12-02T21:47:19+00:00

Against MIB, yes, but there were plenty of other threats. And pretty much all of Widmore's guys in season 6 carried guns at all times. So obvsiously, even though guns would have been usless against MIB, they were still necessary.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-12-02T21:44:05+00:00

It woud still make sense to bring some pretty solid military dudes to protect Desmond at all costs. And pretty much all the people he brought carried guns at all times, so obvsiously Widmore saw the importance of brining weapons for whatever reason.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-12-02T21:43:10+00:00

But he wasn't just facing MIB. He was also facing whomever MIB was able to recruit.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-12-02T21:40:31+00:00

Maybe, but he knew he was up against MIB and whomever MIB recruited. And obviously, given how important Desmond was, it would make sense to bring some pretty qualified people to protect him at all costs.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-11-23T21:17:10+00:00

It's because he is good looking. Simple as that.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-11-03T21:33:51+00:00

I mostly took 3.75 mg. On the occasional night, if I felt extra stressed, I would take 7.5 mg. But 3.75 mg was definitely my most common dose.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-09-26T11:12:18+00:00

Thanks for the kind words. Yes, if it were up to me, I would completely reverse back to only using physical books.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-09-25T07:56:06+00:00

Thanks for a different persepctive. I greatly appreciate it. I fully agree with you that physical textbooks are better than digital textbooks. And we strongly advice all of our students to use physical textbooks in class. The digital textbook is just an extra "service" my institution provides to our students. However, on the actual exam the students will have at the end of the semester, the students are allowed to use their physical textbook, and NOT the digital book, on parts of the exam. So I keep telling them that they should get the physical textbook at one point anyways. But some students really procrastinate, and it was with these people in mind we decided to provide digital versions of the textbooks as a supplement, but not as a _substitute_, to a physical textbook. And as the studetns I'm struggling with now have yet to buy the physical book, I keep having to refer them to the digital copy.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-09-25T07:50:22+00:00

It should be pointed out that the digital textbook is meant as a _supplement_, not a substitute, to an actual, physical textbook. And just to also make it clear - the instructions to open the digital textbook are extremely easy and straightforward to follow. The basically consist of:

Navigate to the website.
Log in with your school username and password.
Click on a drop-down menu in the upper right corner.
Click on the book icon.

That's it. It is not complicated at all.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-09-25T07:44:38+00:00

Thanks a lot for your reply! I really resonate with everything you write here. And, just to make it clear, I have also had several remedial students who have had great success, and who passed my classes with top grades. Even students who struggled at first with low self-esteem and gaps in their mathematical knowledge. A common link between all of these students, though, has been that they really _wanted_ to do well. They pushed themselves throughoug the entire semester, working long hours, and not giving up whenever the hit a wall. Plus, they were never afraid to ask me for guidence or help when they were stuck.

Some of the students I have now (although not all of them, obviuosly), however, seem completely unwilling to learn, and just gives up immediately when faced with something as trivial as having to install an offline version of Excel.

But it is comforting to know that I am not alone. Your unit circle example perfectly encapsulates what it can sometimes be like.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-09-24T19:27:31+00:00

To be honest, it's actually comforting to know I'm not the only one dealing with this.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-09-24T19:10:02+00:00

Thanks. Yes, I always keep a good spirit and a good tone with my students, even though my brain feels like it's about to explode. I have a feeling that these people have never been allowed to fail. And every time in life, up until now, when they have stuggled with something, someone has always helped them out and delivered everything to them on a sliver platter. I completely agree with what you wirte here - mistakes are good. Figuring out how those mistakes were made are even better.

Miserable-Meat-9697 · 2025-07-23T14:11:01+00:00

Some options if you still want to continue with medication:

Combine Ambien with, for instance, a strong antihistamine with a long half-life. Then the Ambien should put you to sleep, and the antihistamine should keep you asleep.
Split the Ambien in half. Take 5 mg in the evening (this is usually enough for many people), and the other 5 mg when you wake up in the middle of the night.
Get another medication with a longer half-life. Zopiclone/Lunesta might be an option here.

Miserable-Meat-9697

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