Pail Tales

Update August 2019 My post was originally written in February of 2019. The first review linked in my post has since been updated, but the URL remains the same. Thus, the link provided in my post will take you to the most recent review and the original review is nowhere to be found. The updated version of the post is a more thoughtful and in depth review of the ring with some interesting ideas. It would be nice to have both reviews to read and compare, but this review/reviewer is still worth reading. I was looking for something else and I stumbled across two Oura reviews that have unique perspectives on using the ring. Both are long reviews that took time to parse.  One was by a young man who confused profaneness with honest, simple speech. That said, I found the review interesting, because it was full of admitted contradictions. Life is just that way sometimes. The other was by three men reflecting on their desires to improve their heal...

When I was first learning about the Oura app, I thought the idea of getting a crown (see photo) was silly. After a few weeks, however, I like the idea of being able to see at a glance which days I am scoring well and in how many categories. In the photo, you can see that I have gotten more than one crown on the same day only three times. Yesterday, was one of those days and I got three crowns. It was a great day, truly. Not because of the crowns, of course, but because everything really did mesh. Getting all three took some work. Being able to track those kinds of days should come in handy. What I can’t figure out is...     which dot is for which crown?   I have looked across the internet and have not found an explanation.   My data shows that you can definitely get a Sleep crown without getting the other two crowns. In my data so far, if I only have one crown it is always the first dot and it is always for Sleep....

This morning, looking out my window at the mountains was amazing. All around the city, they were still covered with snow. There was snow on the Tucson Mountains, the Tortolitas and Picacho Peak, the Catalinas, the Rincons, and the Santa Ritas. They looked so much more rugged with the bright whites and dark shadows.   The weather was sunny, crisp, and cool by noon, so I went over to the Sweetwater Preserve at Tortolita Rd to get some altitude. I was afraid that the wildflowers would not survive the freeze, but they looked like they loved it.   Mt Lemmon Snow from Sweetwater Preserve at Tortolita Rd   These white/lavender wildflowers were everywhere, too.   Wildflowers at Sweetwater Preserve at Tortolita Rd   They all looked so much closer with snow against the blue sky. An iPhone camera can not do it justice in the mid-day sun. Within an hour or so, you could see it all melting away though.   Melting Snow on Mt...

Oh my! It is snowing in Tucson. Even down in the valley! It is coming down steady with big, fluffy flakes! It is sticking to everything and building up.   It snows at Mt Lemmon every year and this year has been a good year for folks to make snowmen up there. In the 20 years I have lived here in the Tucson Mountains, this has happened only once before at my house. Very cool. It is really getting thick! Amazing.        

I live in the SW region of the US, affectionately referred to as Baja Arizona. The climate, geology, culture, and way of life in the Sonoran desert are very different from the corporate, conservative vibe of Phoenix and the tourist, outdoors cool of Flagstaff. I love this list of reasons to live here. And this one . It’s all about the weather and accessibility of the desert, mountain, and river wonderlands, as well as, our bookstores, festivals, and food . Especially, the food . Hiking is my favorite activity and I discovered that here in Baja AZ (that is a long story; I was a reluctant participant in the early days). We live on the West side of the city next to Saguaro  National Park . Its borders are surrounded by land preserves filled with hiking trails. So, a 10 minute drive North from the house takes us to trailheads leading into the park and a 10 minute drive South from the house takes us to trailheads in the mountains South of the pa...

Poor-quality graphing of trends is a problem in every health tracking app I have used with my iPhone, including Health, Activity, HealthView, AutoSleep, Fitibit, HeartWatch, and a few others that I deleted after a few days' use. Oura graphs are good for many variables, but not for all. Below is an example of a good graph from Oura (Graph 1). The bar used has a meaningful color gradiant. Both Axes are clearly labeled. And, most important, the scale for the vertical axis is based on norms, so that small and large differences can be seen at a glance and the information conveyed can be used meaningfully. Graph 1 When a vertical axis is auto-scaled based on the data, small differences are exaggerated and impossible to understand visually. This is a very common problem in Health apps. Graph 2 (below) is an example of a bad graph from Oura. Nightime respiratory rate typically varies in adults from 12 to 20 respirations per minute. Mine has been c...

I have had an Oura ring (silver Balance model) for 14 days. My purchasing experience was excellent.   I have seen a fair number of complaints online and in app reviews about orders that were never filled or took so long that the purchaser cancelled. Judging from the number of rings that have been sold, this probably represents a small percentage of experiences, so I decided to write about mine.   My experience took place in early 2019. I know that people who ordered in mid-2018 waited 3 to 6 months for their rings (depending on size, finish, model, manufacturing batch and country of purchaser) and I know that must have been very frustrating. It appears that the process timeline is much shorter in 2019, so don’t let old reviews discourage you.   The Oura web site was easy to use. The process was explained clearly in multiple places, as were projected shipping times for the sizing kit and the ring. At each step of the process I rece...

Using data from the Oura ring means having a regimen of charging, syncing, and looking at the data and the recommendations. The whole point is to look at patterns and plan accordingly; right?    Before I purchased the ring, I read a lot of reviews and descriptions of users’ experiences. Using that information, I decided to wear the ring 24/7 and take it off first thing in the morning, put it on the charger while I was getting dressed, sync it, and look at the data/recommendations before starting my day. I had a handy outlet and shelf for the charger in my bathroom. After a few days, I realized that regimen didn’t work for me.     One of the problems was that at night, the app was starting a sleep period during the time I spent meditating or reading before I went to bed. The next morning I would have to trim 30 minutes to an hour off of the beginning of the sleep period and then resync and recalculate the sleep data.    I moved the cha...

Before I bought the Oura I did some research. Here are some of the sites that I found most helpful.    These links are starting points. Each of the sites has multiple blogs/videos, so lots of information to collate. https://youtu.be/ji5U4F9xvWY   https://the5krunner.com/2018/10/27/new-oura-ring-review/   https://www.alexfergus.com/blog/oura-ring-review-new-smart-ring-continues-to-impress   https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/article/self-quantification-articles/the-new-oura-ring/   https://youtu.be/71eHXUwkeAw   https://youtu.be/f1JW6rWnTKk     I not only found the "5k runner" site to be helpful, I used the $50 discount code at the site to purchase my ring. That made the ring competitively priced with other rings and wrist-worn devices. As of February 2019, the code is still honored by Oura.   Of course the Oura web site has a ton of promotional information. Here is a good place to start. https://ouraring.com/case-oura-ring/ ...

The Oura app continues to recommend that I go to bed an hour earlier. My general impression was that my best sleep occurs when I go to bed later.   The trends functions did not give me quite the picture I needed, so I got out pen and paper. I discovered that although the data I have from 11 nights is messy, the app is right.   First, it is important to say that in the first week the app was recommending that I go to bed at a time I consider much too early. When I tried to do that I did not sleep well and the app did start recommending a later time, one which I consider feasible, at least. In the last 7 days, when I went to bed close to the recommended time I did see a shift in my resting heart rate to a more curvilinear (hammock) pattern and a large shift in the time my heart rate reached its nadir. The nadir occured earlier and at or closer to the time the app thinks is optimal (~3 am).   Interestingly, I think I discovered why my night-time body temperature h...

Today Oura updated the ring with new firmware (version 2.5.1), which promised improved sleep tracking. So, my first experiences are complicated by a dynamic situation. Furthermore, I have had the ring for less than two weeks, so I am not expecting it to have solid recommendations for me. Nevertheless, it is interesting to think about the information I am getting and its apparent contradictions.    As of this morning, I had 9 days of activity data in the Oura ring app. I have not on any day met the activity goal it set for me and it told me “Don’t push yourself” this morning, because my body temperature continues to be above baseline. But, it did not adjust the activity goal for today. It has continued today, as it has for several days, to say that I am not active enough, in general, and am not training with enough intensity. It seems to be a bit of a mixed message. I am not concerned, because, I am recovering from a stressful experi...

I have been wearing an Oura ring for a week. I have been asking myself, “Really; what can a not-very-fit woman in her 60s learn from a fitness ring? Is the Oura ring suitable only for athletes?”    As of yesterday (Tuesday the 12th), I have 8 days of activity data and 8 nights of sleep data. I have tried not to analyze the data overmuch, because the Oura website says it takes weeks to get enough data to form a good baseline [ https://help.ouraring.com/getting-started/what-to-expect-from-the-oura-app-during-first-day-and-night-of-use ]. Despite that, I have learned some things. The ring makes it hard to ignore how inactive I am, because it shows the timing and patterns of daytime activity, rest, and inactivity. Yes, I have learned there is a difference between rest and inactivity in the day. Reducing sedentary time may be easier than I think. The level of activity/exercise I do engage in is not nearly as intense as I think it is. Wri...

My Oura Ring [ https://ouraring.com] arrived on Monday, February 4, 2019. It looked and felt great immediately. Oura ring After wearing it most of the day, everyday for a week, I still feel that way. It is attractive and unobtrusive. It is comfortable no matter what I am doing, including typing, cooking, hiking, driving, and sleeping. I do take it off when washing my hands, just to keep it clean and to make sure that my finger is not damp when wearing it. I am impressed by how well the finish has held up to both the daily grime and repeated washing. I thought it might collect fingerprints and look dull or scratched after a few days. It still looks great! The oddest thing about it, as you can see in the photo, is its reflective quality. It does not always look bright silver because it reflects the image of things around it. I routinely see my face in it, the ceiling lights, the sky, or colors in the room around me. Because mine is the Balance model with a point ...