Dan on February 8th, 2006
December 23, 2005 was the first day I wore contact lenses. All I can say now is WOW. I don’t understand how I wore glasses for so long. If you currently wear glasses I highly recommend that you try contacts. You may be thinking “I don’t think I’d like something in my eyes!” Well, I thought that too. That was until I had them in my eyes for 30 seconds. That’s right, 30 seconds. That’s how long it took for my eyes to stop tearing and the feeling of something being in my eyes was nearly gone. It was like I had “normal” eyes again. No more parallax issues that occure with glasses. No worries about scratches. If something goes wrong with them toss them and put on a new pair. Now I can wear real sunglasses again too!
Let me dispell some of the myths surrounding contacts:
Myth #1: I don’t think I could stand to have something in my eyes - As I said above, the discomfort is gone after the first 30 seconds. At that point you can feel them but they aren’t irritating. It’s like wearing gloves or glasses. You can feel that they are there but they don’t bother you.
Myth #2: I don’t think I could stand to put them in and out of my eyes - Well, this does take some getting used to but it’s just like any other aquired skill. Practice makes perfect. Taking them in and out was a 10 minute job at the beginning. Now, 1.5 months later, it’s usually a 10 second job.
Myth #3: Members of the opposite sex will no longer find you attactive without those sexy glasses - Uh, what?
There are only a few real downsides that I can see. First, they are expensive. I have ones that are supposed to be replaced daily. They cost $40 for a 30 day supply. Instead I try to wear them for around 12 hours and then take them off, saving them to wear for one more day. That cuts my yearly cost in half. Also, if I am not going anywhere I may wear my glasses that day instead of putting the contacts in. Weekly and monthly lenses are a much cheaper alternative if the cost is prohibitive. Second, if you wear them for extended periods of time, you run the risk of conjunctivitis, infection, or other eye malady. The simple solution is to take them off daily or use extended wear lenses. The third, and my biggest complaint, is that the daily contacts can get irritating after 12-13 hours of continuous wear. At that point I often have a problem with clouding and general discomfort. The solution is to use eye drops or take them out.
Next time you see your optometrist get a free sample set and try them. You may be pleasently surprised.
Dan on February 5th, 2006
I’ve been rolling an idea for a website around in my head for over a week now. I started putting it on paper (well, a Word doc actually) tonight. Assuming I can work it the way I want I think it has HUGE earnings potential with very little maintenance.
The concept is a combination between pixel advertising (see Million Dollar Homepage), browser based gaming (see Google Directory of browser games), “get paid to” sites (paid to click, paid to surf, paid to read, etc), and autosurfing (search Google). I can’t reveil the details yet since it is still only in the concept phase. Needless to say it has great potential and, as far as I know, is 100% original. One major hurdle I face is making sure the way the site operates complies with federal and state laws. I’m not sure if my current idea will be considered a contest. If so it may be much harder to get up than I currently hope.
I’ll keep everyone updated!
Dan on February 4th, 2006
I’m happy to report that I feel great, despite skipping two of the five naps I will be normally taking. Here’s hoping that the new schedule will work well.
One thing I haven’t commented on is how other people perceive polyphasic sleep. Nearly everyone I tell about it reacts like I’m crazy. I have to reassure them that yes, I do it and yes, it does work. They still think I’m nuts and that I’m either going to die, go crazy, or I’m lying. I this reaction continues to intrigue me. I guess it shouldn’t be surprising considering how close minded the masses are. It’s truely unfortunate how little people think for themselves now.
Dan on February 2nd, 2006
My one week of reset is over. It was interesting to see how quickly I readjusted to monophasic sleep and waking up at 8AM without an alarm (on non-school days). If anything this has taught me that I hate wasting 8 hours on sleep. Since I lived like this for 24 years it feels normal again, but I miss having that extra time. This is especially true now that I’m in school and have a part time job. My available time has been cut to about 1/3 of what it used to be, not including sleep.
I have to plan my sleep around my school schedule (school was one reason for ending polyphasic sleep temporarily). I think it will be easier to adjust if I hold to the same schedule everyday, at least until I get used to it. I’ve decided that I’m going to try the following:
1:00AM - 4:00AM (3h core)
6:30AM - 6:55AM (25 min nap)
1:00PM - 1:25PM (25 min nap) *
5:30PM - 5:55PM (25 min nap)
9:30PM - 9:55PM (25 min nap) **
* - The 1PM nap will be taken at school. I have to do some searching to find a suitable location for this. Once it warms up I can sleep in my car, but for now I’m not sure where I can take this one. Possibly in a forgotten row of books at the library 
** - The 9:30PM nap may be dropped. I will see how it goes. If I feel it’s necessary I’ll take it, if not I’ll drop it.
This gives a total of 4:40 h of sleep. Much more than the 2h I was taking before but I think it will suit me better. We’ll see how it turns out. I may end up reducing the core to 1.5h or increasing it to 4.5h, depending on how it goes.
