First Thoughts on Kardia Band

I received my Kardia Band yesterday and thought I would share some my first impressions. This is not an extensive review, just my observations from using the Kardia Band for a day.

The Kardia Band is an FDA approved band for the Apple Watch which enables EKG readings and displays on the watch. It also monitors your heart rate to warn you of possible rhythm problems such as A-Fib. I thought this would be a nice addition to the watch since I have been converted out of A-Flutter and A-Fib multiple times.

The installation of the band was no big deal. It just slides right in like all other Apple Watch bands. The iPhone only software is in the App Store. When you open the software you are prompted to open an account with AliveCor, the maker of the band. This is not a product for you if you are obsessed with privacy. They collect data which they claim is anonymized. Your first EKG is submitted to their medical folks for analysis which can take up to 24 hours. You won’t see your first EKG until the review is completed. You will also have to enable the watch microphone for the EKG as it sends out ultrasonic data to the watch.

Recording an EKG can be tricky. My skin is dry so I sometimes have to wet the wrist area beneath the pad on the band. Once I figured out I needed to wet the area I had no problem recording the EKG. I also found out it helps to not be in an area with a lot of sound. Turn down the music. Wait until the concert has a  break. A noisy restaurant may also be a problem if there are sharp sounds like banging. I think it has to do with the ultrasonic sounds they use.

Now let’s talk about battery usage. I have a Series 3 watch which I usually need to charge every two to three days. With the Kardia Band the battery uses about 40% every 12 hours. This is due to the Workout app being activated at all times to enable the heart rate to be continuously monitored. This in not a problem for me as I don’t wear the watch while sleeping.

In conclusion, I think the Kardia Band is a good investment ($200!) for me because of my history of heart rhythm problems. You really need to visit the AliveCor website for all the details. Pay particular attention to their Premium plan and the benefits and $100 per year cost.

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Technology upgrade plans

I currently own the following computer tech:
13″ Early 2008 MacBook being used as a DVR
24″ Early 2008 iMac used as a general use computer
15″ Late 2008 MacBook Pro used for editing photos while traveling
iPad3 used for the web while traveling since the MacBook Pro has no Cell
iPhone5s
A hot-rod desktop PC with 27″ high resolution display is only used for all my serious photography editing.

I watched the iPad/iMac announcements this morning and it just firmed up my plans for future technology upgrades. I just “sold” my iPad3 to Gazelle and will be ordering an iPadAir2. This will allow me to run the Adobe CC portable apps. This in turn will mean I will not be replacing my MacBook Pro when it dies or becomes obsolete because the iPadAir2 will be able to support all my needs when traveling.

The 13″ MacBook is cannot accept any of the new OSX releases so it is staying until it dies or I break down and get FIOS. Clear is my current internet provider and has been wonderful. It looks like it will be shutting down in a year or so when Sprint kills their WiMax support so I will need to replace Clear before that happens. When I switch I’ll just use whatever DVR is available from the TV provider. Currently I just am viewing TV over-the-air and the tuner dongle for the MacBook works great.

The 24″ iMac gets the heaviest use of all my devices and it’s beginning to show. I’ve already replaced the disk drive once and it’s sounding like the drive is going to fail again. I expect Yosemite to be the last upgrade this hardware will support so when it quits I’m going to replace it with a MacMini and external display.

I think this plan is the most cost-effective way to move forward in the next step of tech upgrades.

Photography website updated

I recently updated my photography website at plmagee.com

Imnaha Post Office

I warned you that it is small in my previous post!

Joseph, Oregon – Days Two and Three – Oh, well!

I was awakened by my alarm, showered, ate a couple breakfast bars, and headed out to Wallowa Lake for some dawn photography. As I walk out the door I realize I’m about 15 minutes late getting away as the dawn light is starting to appear so I hurry to find a good location. The shoot provides some images I think will work but it’s going to take a while to process the raw images.

Time for a real breakfast! I headed into Joseph and stopped at a little cafe. It appears I am the first customer of the day. It gets encouraging as a UPS employee comes in and requests a table for five. Local senior citizens start arriving and heading to a back meeting room. This combination leads me to believe this should be a good meal. The Denver Omelette, hashbrowns and toast was just fine. When I went to leave I find a truck has parked so close to my truck that I could not even get my door open. I found the owner in the cafe meeting room and he moved his truck so I could leave. I stopped at the local market and purchased wraps for lunch and dinner. I went back to my cabin and packed up for the later move to cabin #2.

I went to the resort office and turned in the key for cabin #5 and they gave me a credit for last night since cabin #5 was less expensive than cabin #2. I asked them for the password for the WiFi and they handed me a card with the codes. Great! Now I could check email when I came back. Uh, wait a minute. They say that their internet connection has a usage cap and when the cap is reached it just stops. Sigh. I’ll give it a try later and see what happens.

I decided a trip to Imnaha would be a good drive to see if there was some fall color as I had seen almost none at this point. No fall color here. I thought the Timber, OR post office was small but I think the Imnaha post office was smaller. I headed back to the cabin as my stomach wasn’t feeling so great.

I went to the office and picked up the key for cabin #2. I ate one of the wraps and sat down to rest a while. I didn’t feel well so I just spent the rest of the day in the cabin. Guess what? The WiFi would not connect. Big surprise as it was the 29th day of the month. When I woke up the next morning I was feeling better and went to take a shower. @!#$%! – the diverter for engaging the shower head wasn’t working! No shower! I’ve had it, I’m getting out of here! I packed up, dropped off the key, and blew town. I didn’t stop for breakfast until two hours later when I reached La Grande and a McDonald’s. I decided not I just did not want to trust my stomach to a local cafe again when facing a six hour drive.

Summary:

Weather was beautiful, photography was OK, travel was uneventful, food was questionable, lodging was a pain-in-the-ass.