I inherited an interesting trait from my adoptive father.

I think at least as much while I'm sleeping than while I'm awake.

I don't have much time to think while I'm awake. When I sleep, I think about new pages for these websites, or approaches and solutions to problems.

Miriam told me that I can sleep calmly and peacefully one minute, and the next minute I can talk into a recorder - and the following minute I'll be asleep again. This is repeated throughout the night. She thinks that I would be more rested if I would allow myself to shut down. She's right, of course, but that would be a waste of my time.

My father acted in a similar manner. He would sleep for an hour or two on Friday afternoon, and then he would wake up with a fine sermon for Shabbat. He delivered that sermon without a hitch. I "inherited" that trait from him.

I use the word "inherited" a bit loosely. I have no idea what my biological father would or could have done. However, somehow, he's apparently not the one who gave me these genes.

This fact might shed a new twist on research about heredity vs. environment. Perhaps that's something else for me to sleep on.

I do shut down!

I'm different from my father in an important way. I usually don't think about these websites on Shabbat, so my recorder has a 25-hour respite every week. That's proof that the system really works.

Perhaps that's similar to heavy smokers who can manage without a drag on Shabbat.

It makes sense

At night, there are no interruptions or phone calls. It's the best time to get things done without interference. Why waste this great opportunity for creativity on sleep?

Recorders have made nocturnal productivity easier than ever.

I used to scramble for a pencil and paper on my nighttable. Pens wouldn't write more than a few words when I held them upside down. Pencils would never write dark enough when I held the paper in the air. Markers always ran dry when I held them upside-down, and they would dry up if I forgot to cap them at night. Sometimes I couldn't read my handwriting in the morning, and the topic would be lost forever.

A recorder allows me to record my thoughts in the middle of the night without these problems. Miriam cheerfully transcribes my thoughts the following morning - just as she prepared this page.

Miriam's comment

Dovid is so marvelously knowledgeable about the computer that he is always able to answer my questions - even in his sleep! He can be sound asleep, but if I have a problem with the computer, I can go over and quietly tell him that I need his help. He'll ask me what the problem is, and I'll explain it to him as well as I can. He will then talk me through the solution - and presto! the computer is back working again and I can continue with my work. Many times, when Dovid wakes up, he doesn't even remember that he helped me with the computer!