web-goddess

Month: December 2009

  • More on Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock

    More on Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock
    That was good timing! I posted my review yesterday and then found out that the 2.0 update dropped on the same day! The new version includes historical graphs of your sleep patterns. Here’s my data from last night:

    Went to bed / woke up: 11:13 PM / 7:00 AM
    Total time: 7h 46m

    My sleep graph

    This wasn’t a good night’s sleep. I was more aware of the iPhone than I’ve been the previous few nights, and every time I turned over I thought of how it was being recorded for the graph. Then as the sun started to come up, the damn cats went berzerk. I didn’t sleep very soundly for those few hours. I finally got back into deep sleep an hour before the alarm… which meant there was no optimum time to wake me and I got up at 7am feeling groggy and annoyed.

    Okay, so the jury’s still out on whether this is all make-believe. I’m trying to find scientific research backing the ability of actigraphy to accurately detect sleep stages, and I haven’t got proof yet. I think I need to get the Snook to hook his iPhone up too so we can compare graphs in the morning. I’m really curious whether he’s affecting my phone’s data…

  • Shared today on Twitter

    Just completed a 6.57 km run with @runkeeper, check it out http://bit.ly/64XPnx #RunKeeper

    iPhone app review: Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock. http://bit.ly/5Ylolh Fun for crappy sleepers and fans of pseudo-scientific self-hackery.

    @steven_noble Tempted. Sorely tempted. Unfortunately the Snook points out we don’t have a basement (i.e. prime spot for foosball).

    I have lived in Sydney for eight years now… and I am, at this moment, eating my first ever sushi roll.

    @bellsknits So good! It was the seaweed that put me off. Never liked it growing up. But with soy and wasabi… YUM. New lunch options, yay!

    @tinkabel I’ve had rice + fish many times before; it’s just the nori rolls that I avoided. But no more! I’m a convert.

    @gadgetgirl70 Oddly, we were probably only house in IN that DID have sushi (albeit Korean-style) on a regular basis. I just didn’t like it.

    @supercres Give it a couple days; apparently it has to “calibrate” the first couple nights. Let me know how you go!

    Wow, I’m in love with these @EyeBuyDirect frames: http://bit.ly/7tPqd9. Wonder if they’d ship to Australia…?

    @supercres Just saw that version 2.0 came out yesterday! Did you get it? I got sleep graphs…

    @TimBags I’ve got a heart rate monitor on order from US. Having more nerd data always motivates me to run! (Thinking of marathon in 2010!)

    @knitterjp So jealous! Not here yet. Actually, maybe I put work address??

    Ack! Stupid PayPal had my old address from 2yrs ago! Will have to wait for neighbours to deliver wool. šŸ™

    GOODGRIEF. There’s a rock-n-roll Santa playing the piano in the Westfield Bldg. I haven’t had enough caffeine to process that.

    @TimBags More like six. šŸ™

    Our custom wedding rings are taking shape. Titanium is heavy! http://twitpic.com/s0km4

    There is nothing funnier than watching five grown IT nerds try to break in to a locked office.

    Especially when the designer solves the problem by the unheard-of method of simply PUSHING ON THE DOOR.

    Durrrrr. Rings are platinum, not titanium. Brain not working. I blame Jazz Santa.

    Iā€™m entering @Crust_Pizza #Crustfreepizzafriday

    IT’S A KNITTING MIRACLE! I evidently DID give @knitabulous my work address, so I just got my sock club kit! It’s gorgeous…

  • Shared today on Facebook

    Just completed a 6.57 km run with RunKeeper

    I have lived in Sydney for eight years now… and I am, at this moment, eating my first ever sushi roll. It’s not the fish; it’s the nori. (I could never stand seaweed when Mom made it.) But you know what? This isn’t half bad!

  • Wrapped Reichstag

    Iconic Photos: Wrapped Reichstag. That is so cool. I’d heard of it but never saw the photos.

  • App Review: Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock

    App Review: Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock
    Last week I happened to see a tweet about a new iPhone app called Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock. As I am a notoriously crappy sleeper – and the app was pretty cheap – I decided to try it out. The idea is that your movements in bed are a fairly accurate indicator of which stage of sleep you’re in. (This isn’t snake oil; it’s called actigraphy and sleep clinics use it.) The accelerometer in the iPhone registers your movements through the night and therefore knows what stage of sleep you’re in. You set the time you want to wake up, and the app wakes you up at the optimum point in your sleep cycle in the half-hour window before the alarm. I’ve just been resting the iPhone face-down on the corner of the bed, not covered by anything. (It hasn’t fallen off yet.) I ran the “test” phase the first night, where you move around and it makes sounds to show it’s registering the movements of the mattress. Interestingly, it did register when the Snook rolled over but I didn’t, which made me wonder whether it would be accurate. I also wondered whether the cats’ daily wrestling match on the bed at 5am would mess it up. At any rate, the first two nights we used it, the alarm just went off at the specified time. (I expected that; they say it can take a couple nights to get calibrated for your sleep patterns.) Since then, I’ve had two days where it went off before the set time and I definitely noticed that I was awake instantly, without any grogginess. The first day, I actually turned it off and went back to sleep for half an hour (since I’d set it a bit early), and I noticed when I got up the second time that I felt more sleepy and crappy. This morning, I got up as soon as it went off and felt great. The Snook said he also felt better than usual, so maybe it does work fine for two people (or else our sleep cycles have synchronised over the years). I’m still not convinced it isn’t just the placebo effect. Maybe I feel awake and energised because I want the thing to work? Only more experimentation will tell. I’m eagerly awaiting the 2.0 update, which will actually graph your sleep cycles from the previous night. Theoretically then I could do some experiments sleeping on my own to see whether the Snook is throwing off my timing. So if you’re a bad sleeper like I am – or just a “body hacker” who likes self-experimentation – it’s a great little app to play with. Does exactly what it says on the tin!

  • Meth in Elkhart

    “Amid recession, meth menace evolves.” An article about the rise of meth addiction in Elkhart, Indiana (where I’m from). Like Moire, who pointed me to the story, I was stunned by this quote from the local prosecutor: “I literally did talk to an RV manufacturing facility group of supervisors who sat there and said, you know, these guys really work fast when they are on meth.” That makes me sick.

  • Shared today on Twitter

    I just unlocked the “Explorer” badge on @foursquare! http://bit.ly/4Dvw2B

    Searched Twitter to see if any other bloggers got spammed by Balsam Hill, and found loads of ppl shilling for them. Depressing.

    @carbolicious Ahhh, so you’re sad about leaving? That’s the basis for the FB posting? (I just sent you an email.)

    @DDsD We have a Museum of Obsolete Technology including original Gameboy and original iPod.

    @steven_noble I don’t! I just remember the sign: http://twitpic.com/2lfto

    @alyshajane I use Tweetdeck, mainly because I like using the same one on my desktop and phone and syncing columns across!

    @Opheli8 Eh, you’re all just Internet people to me. It’s the “vaguely work-related” column that scrolls by too fast to read everything. šŸ™‚

    @Opheli8 Duh! Obviously that list is PRIVATE.

    Operation Increased Base Mileage is in full swing.

    @runkeeper Some problem with auto-tweeting today? My latest run (about an hour ago) didn’t pubilsh, even after re-sending.

    @runkeeper Cool, no worries. Incidentally, Facebook didn’t publish it either…

    @WildChildinAUS The Knitters Guild only takes cheques for membership. Some of us think this is the DUMBEST THING IN THE WORLD.

    Just voted RunKeeper for Best Location Based Mobile App http://mashable.com/owa #openwebawards

    @WildChildinAUS And guess how much a postal order costs? $4.50! Plus you’ve got to stand in line at the Post Office! The mind boggles.

  • Shared today on Twitter

    Heart rate monitor sites are impenetrable! Runners: any suggestions for basic HRM? No GPS necessary. @steverunner @IronBrandon @runjohnerun

    @johnvaughn Any running store… in Australia? šŸ˜›

    Just updated Tweetdeck, now with support for lists and new retweets. Exporting my groups as lists now!

    @Gin_ev_ra Are they in red T-shirts? Saw a few heading out this morning at Broadway. They looked vaguely sheepish and embarrassed.

    Just voted RunKeeper for Best Location Based Mobile App http://mashable.com/owa #openwebawards

    Come one, come all to the dog and pony show!

    @SMinney I never had any problems with desktop version, so yeah, stable. Hope iPhone update comes soon…

    My swatch for St. Brigid is dry. Folks, it begins TONIGHT!

    Hm. The Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran has grown somewhat. Getting 19st/10cm instead of 21.

    Knitting progress is halted in favour of a very early night. I feel like crap.

    Just completed a 5.04 km run with @runkeeper, check it out http://bit.ly/73c9rX #RunKeeper

    Great. This (http://bit.ly/6td7XE) makes me second-guess running a marathon. I’d have aimed for 5:30, which is too slow for some snobs. šŸ™

    Congrats to @EileenDCoE on her job offer in Melbourne! Looks like a few visits to Melbs are in order for 2010.

    @Warlach Savant. She said some stupid things about knitting 6mo ago and we invited her to come to a Guild meeting, but she never replied.

    @eileenDCoE Yay! Start following @crumpet and @gusseting to get the Melbourne news. šŸ™‚

    @Warlach @ozgamer got a free salad from Collier’s in East Sydney. Not an official reward; he had to tell them what @foursquare was. šŸ™‚

    P&P&Z to become a miniseries: http://bit.ly/5I0Nnl. (Attention @bellsknits!)

  • Shared today on Facebook

    Just completed a 5.04 km run with RunKeeper