In which my engineering brain takes me 'round the bend

Tuesday, January 24, 2012
So I was at the gym this morning, and as I was starting my power walk I noticed my heart rate monitor was having some trouble. The receiver, which I wear on my wrist, was not getting a signal from the transmitter, which I wear around my chest. I'm sure the issue is simply a matter of replacing the battery in the transmitter, but it would be FAR TOO SIMPLE for me to leave it at that. So as I'm tooling around the indoor track, I had this internal monologue:
Me: Well, that's a bummer. I'll have to see if I can find time to pick up a new battery.
Engineering Brain (EB): But what about TODAY? You won't have any measurements for TODAY.
Me: I wonder what size it takes?
EB: Why are we still walking? There's no point in continuing if we can't MEASURE.
Me: What? 
EB: We must MEASURE. Everything must be MEASURED.
Me: What the fuck are you talking about? 
EB: If you don't MEASURE it, it doesn't COUNT.
Me: Of course it counts. You see me walking.
EB: But there's no MEASUREMENT.
Me:  I can use the measurement from the last time I power-walked for 30 minutes until I can get a new battery. No biggie.
EB: NO BIGGIE? You plan on replicating data and it's NO BIGGIE?
Me: I think you're getting a bit...obsessive...about all this. Now that I have baseline data for my activities, maybe I should just use those data points.
EB: It's like I don't even know you anymore.
Me: I'm just kidding. Our new FitBit will arrive tomorrow. Then you'll have whole new worlds of obsessive measurement to keep you busy.
EB: FitBit! Yay!
Broken. I think my brain is broken...

13 comments:

Stacey said...

Is is sad or happy that I can totally identify. However, my next thought would have been 'what if it's not measuring because there's a problem with my heart'

Warner said...

"When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind: it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarcely, in your thoughts, advanced to the state of science."
William Thompson, Lord Kelvin, Popular Lectures and Addresses [1891-1894], in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, Fourteenth Edition, 1968, p. 723a.

Tell your EB you are just starting.

Tom said...

Well, obviously, you just have to re-establish your baseline! That means you can do ice cream tonight, and start the new baseline thing tomorrow.

Random Michelle K said...

(blink) (blink)

You mean other people DON'T do that?

JstPam said...

LMAO!!!

Megan said...

FitBit, eh? Tell me more. Is it as awesome as the website makes it seem?

Janiece said...

Megan, I'll write a post once it arrives and I start using it. I'm especially interested in how it integrates to MyFitnessPal, so we'll see.

Megan said...

The website makes it seem almost too perfect. But the website exists to make me want to buy it. I suppose I should congratulate their marketing team: mission accomplished.

The Mechanicky Gal said...

So many things for us to catch up on! FitBit! Boots! Steampunk glasses! Mojitos and Mike's! I'm overwhelmed!

Warner said...

Maybe when I get back from Europe, the fitbit does look interesting.

Matt said...

Damn you woman!! Another time suck I can't resist . . . signed up for myfitnesspal and am really thinking about that fitbit . . . will be watching this space!

Janiece said...

Matt, I'm "Janiece65" over there. Feel free to add me to your friends list...

Janiece said...

Also: Bwahaha!