#6 - Everything Random
Welcome to the sixth edition of Everything Random. A series of links, articles, notes, idea, and everything random living rent free in my head (and open browser tabs). Hopefully you find them interesting or helpful. Some of these topics will be explored further in future posts.
I recently subscribed to Apple News. Still in the trial period, but enjoying it so far. So expect more news stories from my bookmarks in the future, rather than just left open tabs in my browser.
I’m Charging My Toothbrush With Wireless Power Over Distance
For the past month or so, my electric toothbrush has been charging wirelessly, but not the way you think. My toothbrush charger is not plugged into an outlet. There are no wires or cables. The charging cradle can sit anywhere on the bathroom counter and continue to charge my toothbrush. This is because I am beta testing a prototype from Wi-Charge, an Israeli company that employs infrared technology to deliver wireless power across distances of up to 30 feet.
The idea of wireless power isn’t new. It’s been a thing of science fiction for quite some time. The idea of sending power through the air like a WiFi signal. This article caught my attention because it’s the first solution I’ve read about that seems practical. This is a solution I could actually see used in a home.
How To Declutter Your Desktop in 60 Seconds from
Digital clutter kills our productivity. A Princeton study found that it restricts our capacity to process information, impairs our ability to focus, and ultimately keeps us from doing our best work. Fortunately, there’s a simple way out of the chaos.
This Substack Article talks about the P.A.R.A organizational methodology. Made popular by Tiago Forte. If you’re feeling unorganized or just can’t seem to remember everything you need to, this method is worth checking out.
Approached for Busy People Who Feel Stuck from
If you’re working on overlapping goals right now and feel bogged down or overwhelmed, I have a few approaches that might help you find more clarity and momentum. I hope you’ll find today’s approaches helpful.
I imagine that description of feeling bogged down with multiple projects describes many people this time of year. This article does a great job of helping managing this stress and maybe find a better path forward.
Becoming Polymathic from
If you’re following along with Everything Random, you probably have many different interests. We don’t usually stick to one theme on this publication.
Maybe you are a polymath? and if you haven’t heard of that term before, definitely check out this article. Being a polymath has gone through different interpretations and opinions over the years. Do you consider yourself a polymath? Let us know in the comments.
Dymaxion Sleep
I’ve been down several rabbit holes related to sleep in the past weeks (maybe months at this point). There is something so interesting about sleep and how we either don’t know much about it, or think we know so much about it. There have been studies, research, advice, and still many unknowns. And since it’s something we all do (and have to do) there is no shortage of opinions, tricks, and “what works for me” ideas out there. Thoughts from both personal experience and science backed research.
A short side note, researching any activity that impacts everyone is always a wealth of information, anecdotes, and rabbit holes to explore. Sleep is a perfect example of this.
This led me to several articles comparing monophasic, biphasic, and polyphasic sleep patterns. You can probably guess what each one means.
Monophasic is sleeping for one extended session in a 24 hour period.
Biphasic is sleeping in two separate sessions in a 24 hour period.
Polyphasic is sleeping in several sessions in a 24 hour period.
I won’t go into great detail on these different sleeping patterns for the sake of continuing down the rabbit hole. I found many different forms of polyphasic sleep schedules and one just stuck out (maybe because of good naming and branding).
Dymaxion Sleep was created by Richard Buckminster Fuller.
Richard Buckminster Fuller was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing more than 30 books and coining or popularizing such terms as "Spaceship Earth", "Dymaxion" (e.g., Dymaxion house, Dymaxion car, Dymaxion map), "ephemeralization", "synergetics", and "tensegrity". Wikipedia.
Expanding on his already popular Dymaxion brand, Fuller looked to find ways to optimize and perfect our life. Some of his ideas were very grand, some were more “lifehack” type suggestions to live a better life.
Engineer and visionary Fuller intended his “Dymaxion” brand to revolutionize every aspect of human life, or—in the now-slightly-dated parlance of our obsession with all things hacking—he engineered a series of radical “lifehacks.” Given his views on sleep, that seemingly essential activity also received a Dymaxion upgrade, the trademarked name combining “dynamic,” “maximum,” and “tension.” “Two hours of sleep a day,” Fuller announced, “is plenty.” Did he consult with specialists? Medical doctors? Biologists? Nothing as dull as that. He did what many a mad scientist does in the movies. (In the search, as Vincent Price says at the end of The Fly, “for the truth.”) He cooked up a theory, and tested it on himself. Open Culture.
Dymaxion Sleep consists of sleeping for 30 minutes in every 6 hour period. Each 24 hour period only requiring 2 hours of sleep. Can you imagine that?
This crazy unique sleeping schedule was first talked about by Fuller with TIME Magazine in 1943. You can read the article on the Internet Archive. Fuller sates he used this sleep schedule for 2 years with great effect. He stopped after two years at the request of his business partners.
Before you jump in yourself and change your life to fit this sleep schedule there are a few things to consider. There isn’t a long term study on this sleep schedule and its negative effects on a person. There are some warnings though. I recommend starting with this article. And not directly related, but still interesting on the amount of sleep we need, this article from Scientific America.
I’m not ready to change my monophasic sleep schedule yet. It took a long time just to get some consistency that I have now. But the different ways to schedule your sleep is very interesting and something to experiment with in the future.
How do you get your necessary sleep each day? Monophasic or Polyphasic? A full 8 hours or just a few hours and you’re ready to go? Share your experience in the comments.
This week’s living rent free song is from Macklemore featuring Collett. The song No Bad Days is from the 2023 album Ben.
The song is great on its own, and I always enjoy the upbeat music when it comes on my headphones (it’s a great Monday morning drive song). I chose this song before seeing the music video. The first time I saw the video was putting together this edition of Everything Random, and I like the song more.
This wraps up Edition #6 of Everything Random. If you enjoyed this edition, there is no better way to show your support than sharing with friends. Please consider hitting the share button.
*Disclaimer: This post is a stream of consciousness type of writing. If you find spelling, grammar, or other issues, please let me know and they will be corrected.
Hey, thanks for the shout!