Does the quote "specialization is for insects" apply to something like blogging? Before I delve into the answer to that question, let me give you some background.

Specialization is for insects.

As I was explaining to my 22-year old son about being able to do more than just one thing at one time and being able to do all of them well, I used a familiar quote: "Specialization is for insects." A while later, I became interested in knowing where I'd heard or read it before. I remembered it as a tagline at One Mans Blog, but I knew it originally came from somewhere else. After I "googled it", I found that it came from a book, "Time Enough For Love" by Robert A. Heinlein. A book that I've never read. Here's the full quote:

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

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What defines normal?

There is nothing normal about my regular sleep routine. I don't even follow a sleep cycle like most people. I usually sleep 3-4 hours at a time and only when I'm really sleepy. I can sleep during the night or during the day; the time of day doesn't seem to affect me. I can have as little as 8 hours between sleeps or as many as 30 hours. I don't have insomnia or any other sleep troubles; I just don't have any place that I'm required to be, so I'm not constrained to a daily routine.

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