Thursday, January 25

A couple of times a year, I receive a reminder from my doctor's practice that it's time for my regular check-up with the Practice Nurse.  I don't know how long this has been going on but it involves 45 minutes with the nurse, followed by a quick visit to the doctor to follow up any anomalies.  The nurse checks my blood pressure, height, weight, blood sugar, etc and quizzes me about any changes in my day-to-day life.  He gives me pep talks about achieving a healthy lifestyle and reinforces the benefits of exercise.  Ho hum!

It's pretty lucrative for the practice, of course; I signed a chitty for Medicare which totalled $298.  If I were paying, I'd find a good reason to avoid it but, generally, it is a useful exercise in keeping me on the straight and narrow.  It's a bit worrying, though, when he cheerfully informs me that my height is now 179cm, when I've been telling people I'm184cm since I was a teenager.  Maybe his tape measure is faulty.

After the most recent visit, Marilyn and I decided we would become more determined in our use of the treadmill on days when we didn't go out: three stints of 10 minutes each for a start, building up over time as our fitness improved.  Marilyn asked me to find a Step Counter app for the phone but it turns out our iPhones count our steps, whether we like it or not.  When I checked, I was informed I had walked 5416 steps on one day last week, and walked up one flight of stairs.  Big brother watching me and checking up!

The only drawback is the device only operates when it is in my pocket.  If I leave it at home when I am rowing on the river, nothing is recorded and nobody believes me when I tell them how virtuous I am.  The solution is obvious and a wonderful opportunity for a new piece of technology - a fit watch which I can wear all the time and it will send information to my phone wherever it happens to be.

On to eBay to check the possibilities.  The search goes on but I have already rejected one luxury model which has a function to remind me when I have been sitting too long.  That I can do without.