Brock and Bubbles

11/7/2015	7998
11/8/2015	8068
11/9/2015	7342
11/10/2015	6664
11/11/2015
11/12/2015
11/13/2015	7719
11/14/2015	7704
11/15/2015	8255

I could notice a very big difference in the quality of my mobility today.  This new regimen seems to be working.  Dr. Tran recommended a modified Brock String for me, which you can see here.  It's acrylic sheet that I cut up and Sharpied with concentric circles.  The idea, he says, is that it provides a larger object for fusion.  Also, it allows me to see through it and get the X for the beads.  Highest score so far.  

New regimen

10/29/2015	23144
10/30/2015	22451
10/31/2015	23241
11/1/2015	22674
11/2/2015	24162
11/3/2015
11/4/2015
11/5/2015	22193
11/6/2015
11/7/2015	7998
11/8/2015	8068

I am doing a different regimen now, under the suggestion of Dr. Tran.  It is now 5-10 minutes of Brock String, 5-10 minutes of each Vivid Vision game (Ring Runner (Space), Breaker, Bubbles).  

However, I'm not sure I'm going to be doing Ring Runner and Breaker consistently.  It's just taking up too much time.  However, I will be doing Brock String and Bubbles with consistency.  

I think partly this idea to do the Brock String came from Pasquale.  He suggested that I do it.  I decided I was going to do it, and then Dr. Tuan thought it was a good idea as well.  So this was sort of the idea of Pasquale as a means of gauging progress.  I think it's a good idea.  Thank you, Pasquale!  DIY saves me yet again. On another note, I learned that Pasquale actually means something.  It means Easter.  /digression

So I had to make another Brock String since my old one was long lost.  

The old problems I had with the Brock String were still there.  However, my vision seems to have improved markedly since the last time I was using the Brock String.  I don't seem to have a problem with divergence.  I can seem to get the X fairly easily, especially from midrange all the way to infinity (In my case, that's the door handle.  I tie the end of the Brock String to a door handle leading to my bathroom).  

However, when I get really close, I can still get the X, but the left side image wants to go down as a result of my hypertropia.  But it's still quite a bit less than I remember it.  Near the end of the session it gets a little harder to control for the hypertropia probably because I'm getting tired.  That was yesterday.  I just finished VT a moment ago and the Brock String appeared to be much easier for me.  My ability to switch from bead to bead was very quick and relatively easy.  Maybe this is what I needed.

You can see my score dipped quite a lot in Bubbles.  This is because instead of doing 30 minutes, I'm now doing 10 minutes.  So I just got a score of 8068.  Multiply that by three, and that's about where I was--at around my highest levels. So I'm just working at a different level now.

That's all for now. 

Note to self

I think I know what using my eyes correctly feels  like. Just keep doing it.

Note to self

Refresh the eyes before you decide which bubble is closest.

Bubbles

10/25/2015	24208
10/26/2015	23326
10/27/2015
10/28/2015	23477
10/29/2015	23144
10/30/2015	22451
10/31/2015	23241

The past few weeks haven't seen a lot of progress in terms of what is seen in the chart.  But I think I know why.  It's because in the game Bubbles, you go through different levels.  When you miss and pop the wrong bubble, you cannot progress to the next level.  However, the higher the level you are, the more points you get.  So you want to stay in the higher levels in order to get a high score.  

However, there are some instance/configurations in which I really am clueless as to which bubble is the closest, so it's making it difficult to stay higher and higher in the levels.  I'm constantly shifting up and down between the high and low levels because of this cluelessness.  

This chart can be used as an excuse for becoming depressed or losing morale.  However, I'm not looking exclusively at score as a gauge of progress.  I also am taking into consideration subjective experience.  That seems to have improved quite a lot in the past week, particularly yesterday and Thursday.  Also, when I look at my eyes in the mirror I am getting very close to being able to make eye contact with myself with both eyes--which--is going to be weird when it finally happens.  Also, my eyes seem to be getting bigger, particularly my 'lazy' eye.  

So in other words, I see this apparent plateau as a sort of gestation period.  I know things are happening even though it's not showing up in the chart.  It's sort of like Boil's Law, when you heat a pot of water to boil.  You put a steady amount energy into the liquid water.  The temperature steadily rises.  However, a curious thing happens at near boil.  The water temperature stops heating.  The energy used for increasing the temperature is then used for phase change: converting the liquid water into water vapor.  Once the water is converted into vapor, however, it can be heated beyond 100º C almost indefinitely.  Something similar is happening here.  I'm putting a steady amount of work to my eyes (energy), but I'm not getting the output that I'm expecting (higher score--albeit, other things are improving).  But when the fusion becomes so good that I lose my cluelessness, I should break out to the other side. 

More progress with Bubbles

10/17/2015	22800
10/18/2015	22653
10/19/2015
10/20/2015
10/21/2015	23665
10/22/2015	22845
10/23/2015	23009
10/24/2015
10/25/2015	24208

It looks as though using the glasses for all close-up viewing has allowed my eyes to diverge much more easily, and thus, break out of the plateau.

I have noticed that my depth perception is improving.  I'm now significantly noticing that the game looks different, and that my suppression is decreasing in normal everyday viewing.  Today I got the highest score ever, 24208.  My 'note to self' from yesterday is helping.  Do not intellectualize what you're doing, and let the eyes do their thing.  Move things around until you find a useful configuration. 

I should mention that I recently got a Chilipad, which has helped my sleep tremendously.  Of course, having good sleep helps everything, not just vision training, but literally everything.  So that's something which does require mention.  If you're curious as to what it is, it's a pad/sheet thing that goes under your sheets.  It has tubes which carry water which goes to a cooling unit off the side of the bed which either gets cooled or heated, depending on your preference.  I keep it at around 60 degrees, and it's improved my sleep quality tremendously.  I don't remember ever having such high sleep quality--and consistently.  My days are now much more productive, enjoyable, and energy-filled.  

Morale is high.  I expect to see more changes in the coming week.  I expect the score to continue to increase.  Morale has never been as high as it is now.  

Note to self

Note to self: when playing the game, do not intellectualize what you are doing. Move the eyes around, and let them settle in a place that feels right, and which results in the best performance.