Claire's Random Thoughts

This is the first step in my guide in Developing Proxy Sites.

Developing a proxy site is much easier than building a content rich site from scratch. Therefore, not surprisingly, many webmasters start out by creating proxies.

I am assuming readers of this article have a basic knowledge in how web hosting works. E.g. setting up a hosting account, setting up DNS servers, uploading files via FTP. If not, then you may have to google a few key terms to fully understand this article.

Starting a proxy site is really quite simple, especially if you use a basic script, basic template, and don’t worry about going overboard on ads in the beginning. For example, I made a very clean and simple proxy already as my first experiment, Clean and Simple.

The first step is to download a script. For my Clean and Simple example, I used Zelune, which is based on Curl. Some other popular ones are PHProxy (also based on php). I am featuring these three scripts, because they can be installed by simply uploading files. There are others, but installation is a bit more complex, and I am trying to keep this guide as simple as possible.

I prefer the Curl-based Zelune, because it the easiest on system resources, fast, and clean-looking. There is even an option for the user to hide the browsing bar, which none of the other scripts offer. However, the downside is that it lacks an admin dashboard or control panel, and it is somewhat complicated to put ads on the proxified pages (which is where most of the revenue comes from). In the future, I might create a tutorial to show how to do this if/when I figure out how to.
Pros: Light on system resources, fast, clean, can log in to secure sites
Cons: Hard to put ads on proxified pages

PHProxy is also easy to install and quite popular. It is similar to Glype, except there is no admin control panel option. Putting ads on the proxified pages is just as annoying for PHProxy as it is for Zelune. Therefore, out of these three, PHProxy would be my last choice.

Conclusion: My overall favorite is the lightweight Zelune because it is light on resources and allows for browsing more complex pages that require secure logging in. However, if you would like to put ads on the proxified pages without doing further research, Glype would be the ideal beginner’s choice, as it is the easiest to set up for that purpose.

I haven’t had a topic worth blogging about for a while. Perhaps I’ve just been busy with my first semester at NYU Stern as a junior. Anyway, throughout this winter break, I have been reading about proxy site development and might begin to start some for myself for a small stream of cash flows. I never considered how profitable these could be until lately.

I will begin a new series of posts for developing, optimimizing, hosting, maintaining, and most importantly, monetizing proxy sites for a profit. Originally when I had series of posts, I had seven posts per series, one per day for a week. From now on, I will no longer be following this structure, as the last time I tried this, I ran out of time in the middle of the series and stopped posting. I will simply be posting whenever time permits.

Tentative Topics:
1. Picking a script
2. Downloading a template
3. Finding a host
4. Monetizing proxy site

Wow, my life is so different right now compared to how it was just a year ago. If I didn’t transfer to NYU from SJU, I would probably still be on my old lifestyle.

By the way, I did go back to the Everyman Sleep Schedule. There’s just no way I can get everything done otherwise, especially with my daily commute time from Greenwich Hotel.

For starters, last year, I would probably be either watching a movie or TV or just chatting with Sarah, Athena, Clare, David, and Jeffrey. O’Connor Hall Suite 306 nightly after TV/movie gathering! Or, during the most productive days, we might have a “homework party” which was really just chatting.

Now, I’m reading ahead so I can be prepared for tomorrow’s Financial Statement Analysis lecture. That’s right, I’m reading ahead, something I would have never even considered considering just a year ago.

Just a year ago, I never opened a textbook. Now I’m electing to preview the material before class (for classes I like).
Just a year ago, I slept about 9 hours per night. Now, I’m on the Everyman sleep schedule.
Just a year ago, I thought my 9:10 am class twice per week was ridiculously early, and I often missed it when I couldn’t get up. Now I have no trouble making it to 8:00 am classes Monday through Thursday and 9:30 on Friday.
Just a year ago, virtually all time outside of class became free time. Now it’s networking, presentation, seminar, or group project time.
Just a year ago, I would hang out at Montgoris Dining Hall for hours with friends. Then, we would go back to the dorms and continue. Now, I grab something to go and eat while working on group projects.

Finally, just a year ago I had fun…now…

Well, it’s safe to say that I’m adapting to the typical life of an NYU Stern student. Sometimes I still miss my old laid back life with actuarial science major classes as the only thing requiring work. I just couldn’t keep it simple, continue with my full scholarship, and be an actuary, could I? Well, I value prestige, so I guess it’s prestige I’m getting and working for. I also have the reputation of making everything more complicated than necessary, and that’s definitely what I’m doing now.

I got 7 hours of sleep last night, and I was more tired today than ever. For the first time since I started this schedule, I had eye bags. Yes, that’s correct. I never once had eye bags in my adaptation phase. Then, I went and slept 7 hours and got eye bags.

Huh?
Well, they weren’t 7 quality hours, and everyman emphasizes getting quality sleep. The stupid Benadryl from the stupid allergic reaction acted as a sleeping pill and ruined the quality of my sleep. I doubt I even got a single second of stage 4 or REM sleep in those 7 hours.

Now I just want to oversleep because I’m so tired…
Nooooo…must stay up until scheduled sleep time…

By the way, on a side note, I think I’m switching over to the 4.5 hour core plus two naps for a little more flexibility. I simply can’t find fixed times i my schedule every day to take three 20 minute naps.

Lesson learned: Drugs that knock you out seriously screw up this schedule. However, I might still have to make an exception for my 21st birthday…

I started my Polyphasic Everyman sleep schedule just over two weeks ago, and I think it’s somewhat working now, despite the fact that I have not been adhering as strictly to it as I would have liked to. I feel like I’m getting at least some REM sleep during my naps! So now I get my stage 4 sleep to allow my body to repair itself during the core sleep and REM sleep during the naps to allow my brain to “defragment” and maintain my cognitive ability.

My slight deviations:
Occasional alcohol and caffeine that interfere with the quality of sleep
Naps are not always on time (or in a few cases skipped altogether) due to sporadic social, academic or career related activities that I refuse to miss
Some oversleep in core sleep to make up for above two errors

I read online that there was also a variation with 4.5 hours of core sleep and two naps instead of three. I’m thinking about allowing myself the extra 90 minute cycle of core sleep tonight to boost my immune system. After all, I did just get my flu shot today and don’t get the flu. If I have to skip a nap from now on, I might take a 4.5 core instead of the most popular 3 hour core.

Something else I might try is splitting up the core sleep to maximize stage 4 sleep. Taking a look at the chart of sleep stages, it appears that the first 90 minute cycle is most effective in maximizing stage 4 sleep, the most important for muscle repair. The longer you sleep, the less stage 4 and the more REM sleep you get. Since I’m already getting quite a bit of REM sleep from the naps, it might be better for my body to split up the core sleep into two 90 minute cycles instead. The next time I feel like developing my experiment even farther, I might more the core sleep slightly earlier, get up after 90 minutes for a while, and sleep another 90 minutes. Theoretically, if I stay up for long enough in between, I should start at the first cycle again and get a little extra stage 4 sleep.

I’m actually feeling better now than I used to. When I was on monophasic sleep, falling and staying asleep was definitely a challenge. I live with three other people, none of which who have 8am classes every day like I do. Naturally, that makes them want to go to sleep later. Unfortunately, this comes with the side effect of disturbing me when I’m trying to fall asleep or waking me up if I finally do get to fall asleep. I also had a little insomnia sometimes, which caused me to waste time lying awake.
This new everyman sleep schedule solves both of these problems. Now I go to sleep in the middle of the night, when everyone else is asleep, so they don’t disturb me anymore (I don’t disturb them either, because I just sit outside by myself on my laptop or in front of my books with my headphones on). Furthermore, I somehow never have trouble falling asleep anymore. I guess when I need sleep badly enough, I’m more willing to “let the day go”, something I had trouble doing before.
Maybe this schedule is good for people with insomnia and/or college students who can’t sleep due to excessive noise?

If I decide to revert to monophasic sleep, it will either be because I can’t control my diet, which will make me fat after a while. When I take a ballpark figure of my calorie intake, I get about 3500 per day, which is a little excessive, even if I work out. I need to work on either eating slightly less frequently or switching to lower calorie foods.