Who started the "like" epidemic?

Okay, people blame California for the "valley girl" dialect; but I don't think this crazy epidemic could have spread so far, so fast just from one state.

I walked in the park yesterday and overheard a conversation of some middle aged women and one of them said "like" unnecessarily many times. I often find myself doing it as well; especially when I'm nervous. Has the word become another "filler" like "um," and "uh"?

I remember it becoming popular when I was in Jr. High. I don't know why it caught on so quickly and has stayed around so long. It doesn't happen when I write. It just seems to be a speech disease.

What do you think? Do you, like, think it's, like, just a filler? Or is it, like, something else?

What causes tiredness?

Okay, this is more of a personal question, but I just don't understand my sleeping, or lack thereof. I have been tired for the past... 6 or 7 years. I know some of it can be accounted for by lack of sleep, going to bed late, etc. But many times when I have gotten "enough" sleep, I'm still tired. And I know that some/most of the tiredness is mental exhaustion. I think too much and that wears me out! So my body might be tired because my brain never rests.

I've tried many things and haven't found anything that works. I've been exercising and that helps to get my body tired at the end of the day, but not my racing thoughts. I don't get it. Suggestions?