CORDPLAY

Whenever and wherever I posture for sleep, a connection to the digital world is maintained by umbilical threads that move electricity from within my walls to the river of juice inside my skull. At this point in my self study, it’s beyond debate that these ley lines are among the most vital elements of any sleep ritual. They are, of course, the literal lifelines for this project. The following is a diagram of my typical setup and the associated signal flow:

POWER > CORD > LAPTOP > LIGHT > EYES > BRAIN
POWER > CORD > PHONE > LIGHT > BRAIN
LAPTOP > CORD > SPEAKER > EAR > BRAIN
POWER > CORD > CPAP > AIR > LUNGS > BRAIN

Assisting this diagram, I’ll detail a bit of process. Typically I set my laptop down on the end table and plug its power cord into an open slot on the sole power strip, wrapping the cord up over the table and around the back of the laptop, coming to rest in its right hand side power port. Next I lift the lid, swipe the touchpad in any direction, swipe the screen up to reveal the login prompt, and then enter the password (which is 1q@W4r9i8u7y6T). Next, my phone goes on the table just to the right of the laptop, ass end facing me and upside down to prevent the light from notifications from causing chaos. It’s power cord gets plugged into the strip, but run around the side of the table in between it and the bed. Headphones are then plugged into the left side of the laptop and the left ear only goes into my left ear; the right is avoided because that’s the side I lay on. Laying down on the proper pillow setup (see other section), I press the F2 button exactly 10 times, or hold it down just under 3 seconds in order to dim the screen. The F7 and F8 keys are used to adjust the volume to taste, just making sure it isn’t muted or all the way up before any sounds are played. CareUEyes, a blue light filter application,** is usually already loaded and just needs a slider adjustment. Sometimes I’ll stack it with Flux to get things even redder, but Flux is designed in such a way that screenshots don’t retain the blue filter.

While the information above details the logic of the rigging, it comments very little on the poetry of it all. These cables constantly get caught on each other, flinging the phone off of the table, pulling the headphone out, or subtly disconnecting the power from the computer so I’m left rising from whatever proto-slumber I’ve achieved when greeted by the Low Battery warning, searching for the end of the cable in the nether reaches of their bedside rat’s nest. Half the mornings of the week I wake up being choked out by my headphones. For this reason I’ve found it beneficial to use some that have a nylon wrapped cord rather than rubber (it doesn’t stick, stretch, or get ripped apart). It also helps if the earphone itself has a rubber stopper that holds it in place. It not only keeps it from falling out, but blocks out external noise. I’m then free to take the ear that’s pressed against my pillow and my your head to open its reservoir to the surrounding environment, much like a volume control for the ambient noise in the room.

Because my end table is currently in use for my exhibition, it has been replaced with a full laundry hamper. I’ve placed an open pack of computer paper on top so the laptop has a flat surface.