I realized recently as I was cleaning up around my workspace that I never (at least I don’t think I did) took pictures of this little clock that I made. I actually bought these terrible tasting candies just because I liked the container and knew it would make a good clock! The innards are a standard battery powered clock mechanism, and I cut down the hands that came with it to better fit. The raised numbers are hand sculpted out of polymer clay and glued in space.
Speaking of time, since that seems to be the theme today what with birthdays and chronovisors and clocks, I think it’s pretty cool that devices like the iPhone can be hacked to act as remarkably accurate heartbeat monitors. I have two apps on my phone using two different techniques to achieve this. The first has you hold your finger over the lense of the camera, and then turns on the camera’s flash/light which causes the finger to illuminate. The phone then watches for the subtle changes in colour as the blood pulses through your finger to measure your heartbeat. The other app is analogous, but instead of using your finger just watches your face, which apparently pulses and fluctuates in tone enough with each beat of your heart that the little camera chip in the phone can actually detect your heartbeat, and from my testing it appears to be very accurate, which I have to admit surprised me. I’m guessing then that there are many animals capable of seeing this in humans and other critters.
My heartbeat is generally a healthy mentronome-like 60 BPM or just slightly below. About a two years ago it was slower, about 45 BPM, but I think it might have been my previous medication artificially slowing it down. Anyway, I actually installed this software because I was curious what effect my central apnea had on my heartrate, if any, since I assume they’re both part of the autonomic nervous system. I was somewhat disturbed to see that when I am having an issue with central apnea, my heart rate becomes highly errattic, fluctuating wildly and quickly and chaotically between 30 BPM and 100 BPM for a few minutes, and then settling back to its normal clock-synchronized tick-tocking… I have so much stuff I still want to do and see, so I really hope I don’t die in my sleep (or while I’m awake) some day soon, although I have to admit there have been many nights where I feel extremely off-balance in terms of my basic bodily functions and worry about it. I’m not at all afraid of dying and I have had a wonderful life, but I’d really rather have quite a bit more of it! (That said, ask me during my most painful periods and I think I might be more inclined to give you a “just let it end NOW” answer, haha).
Anyway, I just shipped all my pending Etsy shop orders and now it’s time to get cleaned up so I’m ready to go out for birthday sushi with Caitlin. I am, as almost always, covered in manufacturing grime and in dirty clothes, and I’m also a little more dirty than usual from getting Caitlin’s 1973 Mach I Mustang (a previous birthday present) ready for summer driving — although she is considering trading it in for something smaller, more modern, and more practical.
3 Comments
Have you considered using a CPAP while you sleep?
Ashley, a CPAP works on the airway not on the brain. I don’t have sleep apnea of the type that comes from a blockage of the airway, I have central apnea, which is when the brain stops sending the signal to breathe.
There are devices that can force you to breathe, like what they use for brain dead people (since in that moment, I am for all functional intents “brain dead”), and my doctors have proposed putting me on them, but I have to admit that I really do not like the idea very much. It sounds very unpleasant.
Hi Shannon,
as always, when i readabout your breathing problems, i worry a lot about you. This heartbeat-fluctuation sounds to me like a key to keep you breathing through the night.
Have you considered getting or building a device, that monitors your heartbeat and sounds an alarm in the case of a longer time without breathing? I guess you could very easily make one yourself with something like an Arduino oder similar stuff.
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