I'm on 200mg of Modafinil right now, so let's see how it affects my ability to contribute to a HN post. This is obviously a throwaway account, since I'd prefer

I'm on 200mg of Modafinil right now, so let's see how it affects my ability to contribute to a HN post. This is obviously a throwaway account, since I'd prefer not to be terribly public about using it (although I'd be more than happy to talk about it in person). Note that I'm not really the best writer in the world normally, and you'll probably find that this writing is similar - despite being "boosted" with "mind-enhancing" medication. Some highlights: I've been taking it off and on for almost 2 years now. The first stint was for a length of about 3 months back in 2008/2009. When I first started taking it I was affected so dramatically I routinely paused using it to make sure it wasn't something I was going to become dependent on, or would have a noticeable cumulative damaging effect upon discontinuation of use. I'm the founder of a technology startup (which I won't name so don't ask) and so I was immediately intrigued by the possibilities when I read about the drug. At that time I had just started on a massive code rewrite project that had to be done as soon as possible (since every day this project wasn't finished we were losing potential revenue). One of the other members of the team estimated the project would take around 3 months, and we couldn't avoid doing it. I was able to finish the project in 1 month. However, I should admit that I had a lot of things going for me besides the medicine - it was a new code base and a new language that I had wanted to learn, so that combined with the urgency and reward of increased revenue was a huge motivator. I will say that the focus that the drug gave me was probably a significant factor in getting it completed as fast as I did. I'll explain why I think it's a perfect compliment for this kind of project by talking about all of the "features" of the drug below. Other notable effects of my use which I will expand on include loss of about 15-20lbs (205-185/190), a much improved social life, enhanced/stabilized mood, and the ability to be alert and awake and mostly functional at any conceivable time of day or night, regardless of the amount of sleep achieved in the previous day. This is not to say there aren't any downsides of tradeoffs, there definitely are - it just turns out that for me, I find that the benefits so far outweigh the consequences. This comment was too long, so I continued this here: http://throw-nhnzo.posterous.com/ http://throw-nhnzo.posterous.com/