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Although I haven’t mentioned it in this blog, anyone who knows me can tell you that I’ve been talking about going on the Uberman sleep schedule for a while. For those of you who don’t know, the uberman sleep schedule is a form of polyphasic sleep in which you take a 15-20 minute nap every 4 hours. In total you end up sleeping about 2 hours a day. If you sleep 8 hours a day, that’s 6 more hours per day and 42 more hours per week. Just imagine how much more you can get done with those extra hours. Hell, you could get another full time job with all that extra time.

95 percent of the people I talk to are skeptical that it can be done and 99 percent of people I talk to believe that it’ll have devastatingly negative health consequences. I hope to prove both of these concerns wrong once I go on it in September. From what I’ve heard of people who have done it successfully, you’re actually less tired throughout the day. That 15 minute nap every 4 hours keeps you at your optimum level more often. Usually, after a bad nights sleep most people become useless for the next day. On the Uberman Sleep Schedule you’re only 3 hours and 45 minutes away from your next nap, so at most a bad nap can only hurt you for the 3 hours and 45 minutes.

The first time I hear about the sleep schedule was probably 6 years ago back in high school. It didn’t really appeal to me at the time because there weren’t enough things to fill those days as it was, and going to school from 8 to 3 would make the sleep cycle impossible to do. These days however things are different. I have so many things that I want to accomplish and so little time. Also, the college schedule is extremely flexible and there might not be another time in my life where I’ll be able to do this.

What really propelled this far fetched idea to become an obsession was reading Steve Pavlina’s blog. Steve Pavlina is a very famous self-help guru and blogger. Although I had no idea who he was before I found his uberman posts on a random google search, apparently he’s one of the most popular bloggers on the net and makes almost 6 figures doing so. Anyways, he was able to go on the uberman sleep schedule for almost 6 months and realistically could have gone on much longer. He documented this time period in his life, giving vivid details of what it was like from day 1 to 180. The toughest part of the whole routine are the first 10 days. Going from monophasic to polyphasic is a huge adjustment, and it takes a while for your body to get attuned to it. Once you past those first days though, it becomes much easier, and you’re even able to get up from your 15 minute naps without an alarm.

Anyways, I’m going to try the sleep schedule when I get back from Japan on September 18. Starting it right away will probably help ward off the jetlag as well as give me some breathing room before school starts. I’ll write a few more posts about it before I go on it and then document how it goes day by day. Stay tuned.

Considering this blog is supposed to be about web design and programming, I’ve done very little mentioning about my progress learning the subject. So, I’m going to spend this post talking about what I’ve been doing and my plans for the future.

Over the course of the past month or so, I’ve been going through the book PHP 5 for the Absolute Beginner by Andy Harris. It’s an excellent beginner book that walks you step by step through very simple programs using all the features of PHP, XML, MySQL, etc. I’ve really only gone through the book once so I haven’t totally absorbed all the concepts yet. I feel like I need to read the book at least 3 times before the material really soaks in, so it’ll be a longer process than I initially imagined.

From now until the time I leave for Asia(August 25) I’m going to finish going through the book and perhaps go through it quickly one more time. I’ll have approximately 3 and a half weeks in Asia and I think I’m going to bring one or two books about CSS and HTML. I’ve realized that by trying to learn PHP and MySQL first I was trying to go to steps 2 and 3 directly without knowing step 1. PHP uses HTML code, and you really can’t do much in PHP if you aren’t an expert an HTML. So for those 3 and a half weeks in Asia I’m going to be reading and studying HTML and CSS.

HTML and CSS are the foundations of making static web pages. By static web pages, I mean web pages where the user cannot interact directly and permanently with the web page. This means no forms, logins, retrieving data, etc. What you can do with HTML and CSS is make stuff like content-based web pages where your only purpose to provide some sort of information with the user. So once I come back from Asia, I’m going to translate my HTML and CSS knowledge into making a content-based web page. I really have no idea what kind of content I’m going to put on the web page, but that is really of secondary importance. My main goal out of all of this is to become an expert in HTML and CSS.

After I finish with HTML and CSS by mid October, I’m going to go back and become and expert in PHP and MySQL. I imagine that it’ll take a little bit longer to learn that than HTML and CSS, but since I’ve already had some limited exposure to the material, it shouldn’t be too difficult. Hopefully I can have a fully functional PHP and MySQL website up by the end of December. After that I really don’t know where I’ll go with my programming. There’s all sorts of other languages like AJAX and Java that I’ll need to eventually learn, but I don’t really know at this time how important those other languages are to what I’m trying to achieve.

So my schedule for the next few months will go something like this:

8/17 – 8/25: Finish Reading PHP 5 and MySQL for the Absolute Beginner

8/26 - 9/18: Read 2 HTML + CSS books in Asia

9/18 – 10/15: Create a Static Webpage

10/16 – 11/31: Read 2 PHP 5 + MySQL books

12/1 – 12/31: Create a Dynamic Webpage

Related Books:

I’ve been off the master cleanse now for 5 days now and I have to say, I don’t feel that much different. I don’t feel like I’ve gained any more energy than before the diet. I don’t feel like I’ve gained anything in the form of mental clarity. And I don’t feel like I’m breathing any better or have less mucus running through my nose and throat. So overall I was unable to acquire all the things that I wanted to gain out of doing the master cleanse.

One of the tangible things that I did gain from doing the master cleanse was cleaner bowel movements. I know that sounds disgusting, but since I’m giving an overall review I have to be frankly honest. Before starting the master cleanse I was having very bad gas and very sloppy bathroom visits. (Gross right?) I think that was one of the reasons why I felt like I needed to detox. The way you excrete matter is representative of the way it goes in, and since it was coming out pretty, I could only assume that meant that the things I were putting in weren’t very pretty for me. So how are my bathroom visits like now? Well let’s just say I feel normal again in that respect, so mission accomplished.

The real meat of the benefits of the master cleanse were psychological. Really testing my self-discipline, and doing the program for 7 days just for my satisfaction was tough. For most people, they do the cleanse to lose weight or beat a drug test. I was just doing it to see if I could do it. Going through those 7 days unable to eat, drink, or smoke while going to places like concerts, barbecues, and parties really made the process harder than it had to be. I learned to put my mind over matter and to stymie temptations as they arose. I feel like I proved a lot to myself during this whole process, and I have much more faith in myself in my future endeavors.

So to recap, although 7 days plus the ease in period were tough, and even though I didn’t gain much tangible benefits, I’d still have to say that overall going on the program was well worth it. Success in life bring more success, and I felt like accomplishing this minor internal victory was essential for my self confidence later on in life.

Related Posts:

The Master Cleanse: Questions and Answers

The Master Cleanse System

Today is the 6th day of my doing the master cleanse program. Overall it hasn’t been too tough so far. The maple syrup and lemon juice give me enough calories so that I don’t feel very hungry throughout the day. I’m able to do just about everything normally as long as it doesn’t involve me running or jumping. Anyways I’ll do a little Q and A session with what people have been asking me throughout the cleanse.

Why are you doing this?

I’m doing this half because I was curious of what it would be like and half because I wanted to cleanse my system of all the toxins that have been building up from my horrible diet.

Aren’t you hungry all the time?

Not really. The drink gives me enough calories that I feel satisfied throughout the day. The only real hard part is being around food that smells delicious. My roommates ordered a large pizza the first day and I really wanted to eat a slice. But I can’t say that that is really any different from being in a place where you were hungry and the person next to you was eating something that smelled really good. So in essence the hard part about the diet is about controlling your cravings rather than your hunger.

How is your energy level?

In terms of my normal day to day routine my energy level doesn’t seem much less than normal. I feel like I need to get a little more sleep, but I had been getting less than 5 hours a night as it was. I don’t really get too tired throughout the day, but my day mostly consists of walking around my work office or sitting at home on the computer.

Can you exercise on the diet?

I tried playing basketball today and it was horrible. I was winded after running for about 20 seconds. I ended up playing for about an hour and a half but spent most of my time walking up and down the court. I think part of that can be explained from the fact that I’ve done virtually no exercise this summer, but being on the master cleanse program for 5 days definitely contributed.

Aren’t you losing a lot of weight?

I’ve been losing a few pounds and my abs definitely stick out now, but I’m getting a good 1500-2000 calories a day from the drink. I haven’t stood on an accurate scale yet, so I’m curious to see what it’ll say come Wednesday.

Have you experienced any health benefits yet?

The mucus in my throat is definitely thinner than it used to be. I can’t really say that I’m thinking clearer though, which is something a lot of people say happens as a result of the detox. It’s still kind of early to tell though. You’re supposed to do the diet for 10 days before you see any real benefits, but I’m only doing it for 7 because that’s all my schedule is allowing for.

What are you going to eat once you’re done with the detox?

Well getting off the diet is vitally important, so the first day I’m going to drink a lot of orange juice and eat a bunch of fruit. I’m going to buy grapes, bananas, apples, avocados, peaches, and just about any other fruits I can get my hands on. The second day I’ll add in vegetables and soup. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep up a high fruit and vegetable diet once the detox is over. I’m definitely going to start eating foods like pizzas, burgers, and all that good stuff, but I’ll try to keep them a delicacy rather than my base foods.

Would you do this again?

Although the detox hasn’t been too hard, it’s been very frustrating. Having to endure everyone around me eating delicious food is really a test of willpower. I’ve had to watch people eat numerous late night pizzas, a bbq, chipotle, thai food, and all sorts of chips and snacks. Although I won’t rule out doing this again once I’m out of college and there’s less temptations, I can’t see myself doing this again anytime soon.

I’ll have another update in a few days after I’m totally done with this cleanse.

Related Posts:
The Master Cleanse System

Master Cleanse Review

I’ve decided to go on the Master Cleanse diet starting this Wednesday. For those of you who are unaware of what the Master Cleanse diet is, it is this “lemonade” diet where the only thing you consume for a period of at least a week is this lemonade-maple syrup-cayenne pepper concoction. Sounds disgusting doesn’t it? I’m going to be on it from this Wednesday until next Tuesday and then ease out of it for the next 2 days. I’m coordinating it to my schedule because I have a dinner with my boss Tuesday night and a Luncheon next Friday. That way I’ll get on it right away and get off of it just in time for my luncheon.

So what is the Master Cleanse system?

To start off, let’s take a look at the recipe:

• 2 tablespoons (1 fluid ounce) of fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice

• 2 tablespoons (1 fluid ounce) of grade B organic maple syrup

• 1/10 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

• 8 fluid ounces of purified water

According to Peter Glickman in his book Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happy, the enzymes in the lemon break down the layers of old waste in the colon. The maple syrup supplies the sugar for energy as well as needed materials. The cayenne pepper breaks up the mucus and dilate the blood vessels accelerating the detoxification process. I can’t validate that all this is true but I’m banking that even if it isn’t the placebo effect will kick in and create a healthier, clearer thinking, and more energetic me.

The Master Cleanse system basically says that you drink this concoction 6-12 times a day for at least 10 days. You can go on this diet for longer than 10 days, but I have to believe that if you go on it for too prolonged of a time period you’ll start digesting your kidney. I’m only doing this for 7 days because I really wanted to get started, but I have limitations because of my schedule.

In addition to the concoction there are also some supplements that are recommended to promote bowel movements and further cleansing. An herbal laxative tea is recommended every night before you go to bed. Because you are not consuming any solid foods, you will not be experiencing any natural bowel movements. Since bowel movements are what releases the toxins from your body, they are necessary, and thus the herbal laxative tea. In addition, a quarter of water mixed with 2 level teaspoons is recommended each morning. This mixture must be taken in its entirety with the next half hour to hour spent on the toilet. The salt water helps dissolve the mucus as well as flushes the loose waste in the digestive tract.

After you finish up the Cleanse you must ease back into eating regular foods. The first day you get off it, the only things you should be consuming are orange juice and maybe some fruits. The second day you should eat fruits, vegetables, and perhaps soups. After 2 days you should be able to transition into eating regular foods again.

Although I’m going on the Master Cleanse program mostly out of curiosity and for the health benefits, many celebrities have gone of it to lose a significant amount of weight in a short amount of time. Beyonce Knowles went on it for 14 days and lost 22 pounds for her role in the movie Dreamgirls. Howard Stern’s co-host Robin Quivers lost 73 pounds and Jared Leto lost most of the weight he gained from his role as Mark David Chapman (62 pounds) from the diet. So be it for health, weight, or mere curiosity, the diet has been proven to work for people in the past, and I believe that I’ll benefit in the end from the cleanse.

Related Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_Cleanse

http://mastercleansesecrets.com/book2.php?hop=jkfjkf

Related Posts:

Master Cleanse Review

The Master Cleanse: Questions and Answers

Books:

As I had mentioned in my previous post, last Saturday was the big day where I had planned to take shrooms with my roommates. Although I had done so much reading about the drug, all I can say is that you need to take it to really understand what the experience would be like. No amount of research could have prepared me for the incredible journey I undertook yesterday.

The day started off very promising. I came home from work around 1 pm to my anxious roommates, all excited for the big event. We divided the half ounce of mushrooms into four stacks, evenly distributing the stems and heads. At about 2:45 pm we began eating the shrooms. I was pretty surprised at how easy they went down. I’ve heard from people who’ve taken them in the past that they taste pretty bad and need to be eaten with something else. We were able to eat them all however in less than 10 minutes. It took about half an hour for the drug to start kicking in. The first signs of hallucinations began when I went to the bathroom. As I was on the toilet, I started looking at a rag on the ground, and lo and behold, it was pulsating. I was getting excited.

We stayed in the apartment for another hour and then decided to head to the sculpture garden. What was a 20 minute stroll through campus seemed like a one hour trek. The drug really began taking effect as I was walking down. The green color from the leaves and trees were much more vivid than I had ever remembered. It was almost like watching one of those black and white movies where they introduce one color to really make it stand out. When I stared at the concrete floor, it looked like the particles in the cement were flowing like lava. Nothing too wild yet, but the trip was just beginning.

We got to the sculpture garden at around 4 pm. We parked on the ground and decided to have some drawing time. None of us have much experience with drawing, and unfortunately the shrooms were not able to elevate our lack of talent. I did however end up drawing a very grotesque looking hell-dog. After the drawing session we lied down for a good hour taking in the scenery. The sky looked pixilated, like looking at it through the eyes of a bee. Everything from the grass to the plants looked like they were alive and breathing. I have never been one that had an appreciation for nature but at the moment in time it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

Human interaction was pretty difficult. As I talked to my friends their facial features would start moving around, making conversation nearly impossible from the distraction. I had to look away and really focus on what the other person was saying to understand what they were talking about. And even with that, my mind was running at a million miles an hour from all the stimulus, making comprehension of conversation the least of my priorities.

After a good hour and a half we decided to head back to the apartment. Once in the apartment though things started going down hill. I think mushrooms is a trip where you need to be out in nature for the duration. Hallucinating in the dark apartment started a negative thought pattern which just kept perpetuating. My thoughts became very philosophical, thinking about topics such as the meaning of life, death, and human interaction. My thoughts were bizarre to the point where they were nonsensical, and I’ll refrain from writing them here. I’ll probably write about them in the future once I can really synthesize the information into coherent arguments.

In summary, I’d say the trip was a success overall. The first half of the trip was very visually and outwardly oriented. I had the most fun during this part at the sculpture garden just being a part of nature. The second half of the trip in the apartment was very inwardly focused and I got trapped in negative thought patterns. I feel that in the future, if I can harness that inward energy into positive ideas I’d be able to create some very powerful and creative ideas. I’m not really sure if I’d do shrooms again, but if I did it would have to be in the perfect environment with the perfect people.

Ever since the early days of college when my friends told me about the spiritual trips they had while on magic mushrooms, I’ve always had a curious fascination with them. I’ve heard the horror stories though of people jumping off high places while on the drug and have always been a little intimidated by them. Recently however, the LA Times posted this story pretty much giving magic mushrooms a resounding thumbs up.

The story details a 2006 US government funded study which observed the spiritual effects of the drug. The study involved 36 college-educated adults who had never tried magic mushrooms nor had any prior drug history. After the experiment, one third of the participants reported that the shroom trip was the single most spiritually significant event in their lives. One year later, 79 percent of the participants reported greater well-being or satisfaction as a result of having taken the magic mushrooms.

So with all this positive press, I’ve let go of all anxiety of taking magic mushrooms. Saturday is the tentative date which my roommates and I have decided to partake in what is surely to be the most spiritually significant event in our lives. What all that said I’ve been doing some research on what to do on magic mushrooms and how to prepare for it which I’ll discuss below.

What to do on Magic Mushrooms:

Our plan is to spend the first half of the trip in the apartment, to get comfortable with the drug, and then spend the rest of the time at the UCLA sculpture garden. Since magic mushrooms primarily attract your visual and to a point your audio senses, I’ve been brainstorming activities that cater to these senses.

Things to do in the apartment:

1. Play music with a wide range of sounds - I imagine Ratatat would be a good choice to listen to. The diverse sounds in every song are sure to create some crazy sensory feelings while on shrooms.
2. Stare at artwork, especially drug-induced artwork - Which artist better to connect to while on a psychedelic drug than Salvador Dali. I have a bunch of posters of his drawings which I’ll be sure to keep in handy come Saturday.
3. Watch screensavers - screensavers are so crazy today and already trip me out when I’m completely sober.
4. Pour Water - as silly as this sounds I’ve heard the action of water splashing is pretty trippy on mushrooms.
5. Create Artwork - I’ll have my colored pencils and drawing pads handy. I’m not really an artist normally, but under the influence, I would like to see what kind of masterpiece (or crap) I can create.

Things to do in nature:

1. Look at Sculptures - The UCLA sculpture garden is an amazing resource we have in our backpocket. I’m sure that I’ll have some interesting conversations on Saturday with the Greek Gods and Goddesses.
2. Look at plants and trees - I’ve heard they start growing before your eyes. It’s too bad that I don’t live near a forest because I would imagine that would be an amazing albeit potentially frightening experience.
3. Go to the Beach and Watch the Waves - This is something I probably won’t have the opportunity of doing. Being stuck on a crowded bus for 45 minutes under the influence of magic mushrooms sounds like a suicide mission.
4. Lay Down and Watch the Sky - I’m sure that if there are clouds in the sky something magnificent has to come out of staring at them. I think this is what happened to Simba in the Lion King.

If you guys can think of any other creative ideas I’d love to hear them. I’ll report back on Sunday how our trip went and which activities I’d recommend doing. Hopefully I’ll be feeling like this:

rather than like this:

Informative Links:

Wikipedia Article

Magic Mushrooms net

And then there was light!

Considering that I want to eventually create websites, it’s pretty sad that it took me 3 days to complete wordpress’ 5 minute installation. Well anyways, I guess I have a lot to learn. I already have some ideas in regards to websites that I want to eventually start working on. I won’t talk about them until I get a better handle on this programming thing.

So why this blog? Well there’s really little you can do with only an elementary knowledge of web programming. In my eyes, it’s much better to have that basic framework (this blog) and learn from there. The blog managing program that I’m using, wordpress, is an open source program, meaning that all the code that is used is transparent and editable. From now until the time I leave for Asia (Aug 25), I will be messing around with this blog and learning PHP and MySQL to get this blog to where I want it to be. Eventually I’ll translate my newfound knowledge into creating something cool on the web, which I’ll keep you guys up to date with.

As for the content of this blog, I’m going to try to keep these posts succinct and interesting. I’ll refrain from talking about the trivialities of my life and instead focus on interesting human experiments, the development and application of my programming skills, and some other interesting articles and reviews. I’ll try to keep the posts short enough as to not drag on and bore, but long enough as to have meaningful content. Hopefully I’ll be able to bust out 3-5 of these badboys a week. Enjoy!