Reason #918,622: Caffeine. (Espresso, Mocha, Latte, Tea and More.)The new shopping center, The District (built on a corner of the former MCAS Tustin base), has an ad campaign with the slogan, “A million reasons why.” Each poster shows someone posing with a random number and something that can be found, done, or resolved by going there.

Here’s a guy who has his priorities straight. They’ve got Peet’s, Seattle’s Best Coffee, there’s a coffee bar in the Whole Foods, and who knows how many more restaurants that serve it.

Of course, if he wanted more choices, he’d be better off going to the Irvine Spectrum. They’ve got a Coffee Bean, a Kelly’s, 2 Starbucks (and a third on the way), and a Nordstrom Espresso Bar. And once upon a time, they had a Diedrich…

Speaking of Diedrich, the one on Culver and Barranca is still around at least through next summer. I haven’t been by the one near UCI lately, but I seem to recall hearing October, so it may not be long for this world.

Hmm, you know what? That poster lists a lot of caffeine sources, but it doesn’t say anything about coffee. With luck they won’t be too confused if you just order a coffee, as in this strip from Real Life Comics. 😀

NPR’s Morning Edition ran a story on finding the perfect balance of caffeine. Apparently as little as 100mg—typical for a 6-ounce cup of coffee—is enough to give most people a lift. Depending on tolerance, anxiety and jitters start showing up as early as 200mg.

And yes, a cup of plain coffee has more caffeine than a shot of espresso.

The story was followed by one looking at why children have so much more energy than their elders. One of the biologists they interviewed was Michael Rose, an evolutionary biologist at UCI. I actually took a class from him once, on an evolutionary approach to explain the aging process. His take on it is that youthful energy is all about exploring the world and filling up your brain. Once you’re an adult, you don’t need to explore as much. It also means you take fewer risks, increasing your odds of survival.