Counting Steps to Nowhere

It's worth noting that a few studies in America & the UK have suggested that these devices give wildly inaccurate results.

This is can support. My BPM is always way off and it does not count steps correctly. At present it will not sync to my phone.

People, DO NOT buy one of these.

The office workers were probably also each eating a big pot of haggis every day.

Used to have a FitBit, but , also found it to be inaccurate. Even while standing, and shifting my weight from side to side, that motion would would register as a step. I am looking for an accurate APP, for walking, not running, that will give me a GPS log of my path and miles walked, time walked etc. with the ability to convert to steps, by measuring my stride etc. Anyone?

When I was on Vacation in Washington DC a few years back, I down loaded a pedometer app that did that, that for filled your requirements...

it sounded great..... "If only it did what it was advertised to do". It was real buggy....

I sure they refined it by now. I'll look and see what it was called.

Thank you. Many of the Apps are designed for serious runners, and have calorie counters, heart rate monitors etc, that are not necessary, at this point. At soem point, I suppose, I will let the professionals take those measurements. And not while running..

I would just use the MAI instead of counting steps. That is the Muscle Ache Index. Pretty darn reliable except during flu season.

I don't think that works for me. I score high on the MAI pretty much every day.

Between Mild Cervical and Lumbar Radiculopathy and Ulnar Nerve Entrapment I feel all sorts of odd sensations and aches most days.

S Health will fit your needs. Very accurate step count.

Thank you. I will check it out.

Anyone? Yes...my girl saw another squirming a particular way during a meeting. There was a little small afterward where she disclosed it was a method for 'maintaining' her step count.

...this is where the blue humor has to be left off about not doing one's job.

Anyone?

Those who spent fewer hours moving were found to be in poorer health than those that moved.

Or:

Those in poorer health spent fewer hours moving.

Just sayin'. I'm always suspicious of "correlation proving causation".

Exactly 15,000 steps is a worthy goal for OCDs to shoot for.

20,000 would definitely keep them out of other people's hair, especially if they accidentally mis-count and have to start over.

What if they reach 15,001? Would they have to start over?

Nah, they could just go onto 20,000.

Working on my garden shed, +24,000 steps today... and am I bushed.

Have you considered moving your garden shed into the same county?

I bought most of my material, lumber, cement from Home Depot. The mileage was from going to HD and picking it up... in the case of the cement 110 80lb bags, it was the case making 3 trips just for the cement and unloading it in front of the garage, ^{because My girlfriend had both keys to the storage unit where I kept my pallet jack.}

It was (4) trips all together, It was a good then that home depot is just a few miles where we lived...

and then having to move it again by hand into the garage by unloading half the pallet because the driveway is on a hill, so when we lifted it with the pallet jack.... it started to roll down the hill away from the garage... and poor Sheila no matter how hard she pushed... she couldn't stop it... . So then I thought I'd set my beer down and get off my lawn chair and help.

I do have to say,... if I had this Fitbit 20 years ago,... I have a feeling it wouldn't be uncommon to hit 30,000 steps a day... but last winter my steps have been anywhere around 8,000-12,000 steps a day... I wasn't very active... so now I'm making up for it.

anyways,... Sheila was supposed to get the building permit, to have the site inspected before I could start building. When she came home yesterday, she was surprised that I just needed to put in the substrate and I can start cementing... she got real quiet... and then she said,... she didn't have time to get the permit yet... so now, instead of working on it through Easter Weekend, I have Easter weekend off, and going to my sisters for dinner... I just got down cutting up rutabagas to cook and bring...

i don't know how many steps, it took for the rutabagas,... but I'm sure I'll be putting on some weight after today...

which bring up another point... Sheila had got a scale that syncs with the fit bit, to record your weight, and body fat...

Did she then lock the scale in the storage unit and swallow the keys? You may have to wait a few more days.

Nah,...I ain't touching that.

Anyways, Sheila works at one of the post offices hubs... and during the christmas holidays... it wasn't too uncommon for her to get 24,000-26,000 steps a day in.

but she also was logging in quite a bit of overtime too.

Just curious: 110 80-lb bags? For that volume of cement why not call a pre-mix outfit and have it delivered? That would save you a ton of labour.

You said it... it ain't worth getting those extra steps in on your Fitbit. Because those steps are hard earned steps.

110 ea 80-lb bags comes to about 2.44 cu yards, yes? That's within a regular delivery qty.

yes, in one delivery... now break that up to footings... a wall and then floor... that'll be (3) deliveries. And doing it yourself, you can chose to do it when the sun is shining. I've done flat work. when there were suppose to be there 8:00am, well they showed up at 5:30 pm... and after they unloaded it started to rain.

and even if I could get it in one load, I still won't let a truck back there. too much work, tearing down a fence or the yard.

"... they showed up at 5:30 pm... and after they unloaded it started to rain."

But of course. You have to wonder sometimes if they keep an eye on the weather so that they can unload at the least opportune moment.

The contractors did that with a stack of drywall when building my house years ago. Didn't cover it or anything. It was ruined but they used it anyway. I don't know how they even put it up it was in such bad shape. Went to hang a picture in the lounge room using one of those push-pin affairs that leave only a tiny hole. When I applied pressure I discovered the gypsum had badly granulated and my hand went through the wall. It wasn't the only sheet - the whole wall had to be replaced.

You have to wonder sometimes if they keep an eye on the weather so that they can unload at the least opportune moment.

They did, and so were we,... and we were calling after 9:30... they'll have it out by morning,...10:30,..clouds were getting over cast with chance of rain... their reply was the truck just came in and loading now,... 12:00... its on its way... 2:00 should be there any time...

problem was... we just had a small 9 yard load... and what normally happens is a bigger order from a contractor had a larger order. and with there was pretty stiff competition between red-i-mix companies in our area. They blew us off, and supplied the larger contractor. Which between the two, its the small order that sucks the hind teat.

And that's why I'd rather do this small stuff on my own...

Understood. I've never done a concrete job large enough to justify a ready-mix delivery. Just little stuff here and there.

And you tell me about red-i-mix delivery...

"Oh, this is the big one! You hear that, Elizabeth?! I'm coming to join you, honey!"

I thought of it...the problem(s) was, it was in the back yard... the ground was soft, gate wasn't wide enough... and to rent a power cart to shuttle it just and must important. I was going to do that in three pours... footing, wall and then floor... my schedule, I was doing the flat work and walls myself. Also Cuz I'm cheap... and get bored, real easy... there was just too many strikes.

just read tmctech cover some of it also.... he'll it's only about a little over 2-1/2 yards.

plus, I wouldn't be able to come on here a bitch about how hard I work...

I had to look up rutabagas, we call it swede.

Compare

"I just got down cutting up rutabagas to cook..."

with

"I just got down cutting up the swede to cook..."

Well....I suppose....as long as he's served in a white-wine sauce with shallots, mushrooms, and garlic, I have no objections.

I'm on the opposite end of the concrete mixing issue with my projects fore the next few years.

I have at least 100 yard of varying size pours I need to do just for myself which at that volume on site mixing in ~2 yard batches with my own mini mix rig is both financially way cheaper plus spreads the work out for each job so I don't have to try and find enough crew to be able to do a 15 - 40 yard pour in one shot.

Having the ready mix come in for all that would be pushing $13,000 - $15,000+, not including labor, when it's done whereas with onsite batching using local materials I get for free I can do it for $4000 - $5000 and largely work by myself or with one other person at most.

Downside is I have to spend a week or so of time and $1000 - $1500 building the mini mix rig so I can do 2 yard batches. Upside is from that point on a cubic yard of concrete will only ever cost me whatever 5 - 6 bags of portland cement cost either in actual store bought bag or bulk rate which around here can be between $15 - $35.

What exactly is this thing you're building, anyway?

I guess you missed out on that thread.

2 yard concrete tub mixer helix design.

I started working on building a new house about 3 - 4 years ago for me and the not yet Ex at the time.

Her lack of input and help of any and every kind plus some pretty unrealistic expectations of me that started just after the project got going rather derailed the majority of the work on it after the first year. Her money and time was hers to do as she pleased with (waist) and mine was to be hers to do the same with as well. I rather disagreed.

Now that she is gone I can get back to working on things again. I have a full basement to pour this year plus anything else I can get done. Beyond that I have a 32' x 64' shop that needs a floor and several pads that go around it and the new house to do as well. In all that adds up to around 100 cubic yards or better.

On top of that my Dad and Brother plus some friends all have assorted pours to too. Another 100+ yards of various jobs that could be done if we had a way to do it cheap and at our pace.

Did you build the mixer? Pix would be nice.

I thought of building a similar device but for a very different purpose: to separate rocks and gravel from topsoil. In this device the 'shell' is very heavy metal screen. The helix extends from one open end to the other open end, where the rocks are discharged. The soil falls through the screen into a wheelbarrow or whatever (depending on the scale). I've never seen anything like this used elsewhere though I'm sure it's not a new idea.

Not yet. Winter got in the way and right now I have our old Case 1150 track loader all torn apart for a major undercarriage rebuild that I will be happy if that's up and running in a week or more at the rate things are going. The more I take apart the more I find that needs attention while I have everything else apart in front of it.

A simple brake master cyllinder replacement (1 -2 hours) while I have everything else apart fro the undercarriage work turned into a multi day major braking system teardown and overhaul and now that I am into that I see I have several hydraulic lines that are in pretty rough shape so by the time they come out get remade and go back in that's another 2 -3 days that will have gone by.

From there I have several dirt work projects I need to do with it first followed by a few other smaller fabrication jobs to get done.

One is rebuilding a old 1960's John Deere garden tractor to refit a modern rear mount tiller to plus making a chain trencher attachment for it as well being me and my family have a bunch of electrical related projects to do that require underground power lines to be ran for them.

After that is a IH 300 utility tractor I picked up from a neighbor that needs a major go though because it turned out to have way more problems than I was lead to believe. It got 'Farmer Fred' reengineered/cobbled to death by the previous owner trying to save a $1 here and there for the ~30 years he owned it. Nothing major but all of it major time consuming undo and repair the right way sort of things. Kind of like the old Case crawler has been.

Oh and I am also residing and putting new windows in my old house in my spare time at the moment too.

If I touch the mixer rig project by mid June I will call it good!

Kind of why I don't need to count my steps every day to make sure I get enough exercise. I'll trade anyone 20,000 steps a day for them doing my work!

What of dropping all of those projects and work instead on a way of cloning yourself?

One of me is enough and besides we both know the tech would eventually fall into wrong hands and every idiot in the world would be pumping out copies of themselves to no end (quantity over quality) once it got out just making that much more work for everyone else who knows better.

I dunno, you could always assign a squad of clones to guard it with your life.

A clone of him?... ahhh they'd be arguing all the time, and no work would get done.

Actually we would probably get along just fine. I get along well with people who think like me.

I've been told it's a fairly common "Omega' personality trait. We work well with similar strong personalities and will make an effort to combine our resources in multi faceted approaches to overcome that which see as being a problem.

For people like me the logic of two or more egos and brains with similar outlooks and goals working together makes far more sense than does fighting against each other and accomplishing nothing.

I see a slippery slope....And then a clone of 2 becomes 3 Clones, then 5 clones, then 8 clones... and before you know it, you and your clone army is invading Canada...

Was that Fibonacci sequence intentional?

You realise of course that the ratio of two adjacent numbers of tcmtech-clones approaches phi as the number tends toward infinity. Yes, even in North Dakota. It's one of his favourite numbers.

Yes it was...

Nah, we'd take over the world.

No one better to run things than a large group who know exactly how everyone else in it thinks and thusly knows and believes individually they can't get away with anything either because someone else will figure it out and rat them out on it just for spite and to make an example of them.

Everything would be done the most open, honest, factually supported and efficient ways possible and those who oppose would be thoroughly crushed while the world watches as an example of what happens to dishonest people with bad intentions.

Speak of the devil...

I wasn't gonna say that, but yeah lol

you need a trommel

...low volume

...what every boy want's for Christmas..

That is exactly what I had in mind. So it's called a 'trommel' ay? Yeah, I was sure mine wasn't an original idea. I'd just never seen one.

That's it and yes of course they're used round and round and round the world. Gold diggers love em and blast water throughout directing the fines through a sluice box..

Have any gold in yer dirt? ... Not here. But I find interesting scrap

No gold. Just limestone. Lots of it.

Something like that sounds like that would be good to process the chunks out of the compost pile. Invariably, I get sticks and things that just don't break down very well.

Oroville reconstruction??

Cement work is hard... when we built a barn in 1980.. I helped set the forms for the wall. 3/4"? Heavy wet Plywood, 19 year old toting this. I found out, when You start the lift, you move fast to place it... and if a wind or slight breeze came along, you drop an end until it passes.

i made up my mind... I'll add mason to my list of trade I did not want to make a living from... added that right under roofer.

We poured a manure slab 150 ft x 150 ft square...., I don't recall the yards on the redimix trucks carried something like 11 yards. Bit with a large pour like that, there a risks of weather... we rented a power trowel, that helped a lot.

Siri, if I do 15000 steps a day for a month, will these pants still make me look fat?

[Siri voice] The pants have nothing to do with it.

No, at 15,000 they would be stuck as if in amber and would have to remain where they were until midnight. At that point they would be free to move again.

OCD...Accept no compromise.

At that point it's fun to taunt them. "OMG what if you mis-counted??"

Common Core Math question:

My refrigerator is 10 steps from my living room couch. My bathroom is 25 steps away from my living room couch. How many beers do I have to drink to achieve 20,000 steps?

Don't know, but when your standing up and you look down... I would bet you can't see your shoes...

After that many beers who could stand up

Well, you know you have a problem that when you get off the couch to go to buy more beer,.. when you're at the counter paying for it, and you reach into you pocket, that because you can't see you shoes, you also didn't realize you aren't wearing any pants either. And you have to return home and put on some pants, so you have pocket to put your wallet in.

I dunno but you could reduce that number by putting the fridge in the bathroom - or the toilet in the kitchen - or both in the living room.

Or up a telephone pole... or better yet, put the fridge at the end of an obstacle course... that may not work,... he'd end up getting and training a dog to fetch him a beer.

Get one of these:

What size is the beer and is your bladder calibrated metric or imperial?

Eventually most people who try these fit buts and what not stop using them. That's why companies are working day and night to make implantation of two way RFID's as hip, commonplace or necessary 'for your own safety' as getting your booster shot..

Only a matter of time before were forced to report that I swung a pick and mended fence today.

Isn't technology wonderful!

Oh, man. I just want to count the number steps I'll make everyday because of this.

I worked at the company.... one of the owners from observation, its my opinion that he believe that you're only allowed so many steps in life... that's why when he takes the stairs he takes 2-3 steps at a time.

I had design a Ultra-filtration unit at this company, (one of many) and there was a delay on the delivery of the membranes... When the membranes finally arrived. There was no forklift or hand truck available to get them to the work area about 150+ feet away. We needed to get this unit together and tested. I was carrying the membranes 3-4 at a time...

Anyways, this owner, for which I'll call 'Joe' the one that I felt believes one only gets so many steps in life, saw me carrying these membranes... he rushed over, and literally told me he's going to show me the way on how to carrying them.

He loaded the membranes in his arms like cordwood. at least 12-15 membranes, it was probally more... these membranes were 4" diameter x 36" long. He couldn't see where he was going... Well I picked up my 3-4 membranes and followed him... he glanced back at me and said... you have to carry more membranes like he is, see!

As he said this, he was dropping membrane to the right... then a membrane to the left... then two membranes dropped...by the time we got to where they were needed... I still had my 3 or 4 membranes that I started with and he was down to 5 membranes.

(4) of the membranes he dropped I had to reorder because the (2) had damage the spiral wound filaments, and (2) had cracked polysulphone tubes.

I thanked him for his help, and waited another (4) weeks for the replacement membranes.

So the moral of this 'true story', is to enjoy life and take it one step at a time. Of which I try to do.

The weigh I keep track of my workouts is integrated over a longer period of time. The bathroom scale and the huff-o-meter at the top of four flights of stairs.

My workouts consist of shoveling snow (if we get any), raking leaves, cleaning gutters, mowing the lawn, tending a vegetable garden, turning the compost, hauling dead water heaters out of the basement, taking the stairs two at a time, walking the dog which often devolves into running as my daughter's cock-a-poo loves to break into trot to burn off that puppy energy, not sharking that primo parking space by the door, . . .

I've had people notice that I stay in fair shape then ask me what gym I go to to stay the way I am.

I tell them I don't go to any. I get all my workouts at home doing things for myself.

The typical following reply is they wish they could do things like that to stay in shape so I tell them to show up at my place and I will put them to work plus pay them as well!

No one ever shows up. Ever. Not once.

Apparently getting a full body workout and staying in shape by actually doing work, plus getting paid to do it, is not seen as respectable or something.

Work (real work, not showing up at the office) seems to be a four-letter word to a lot of people. It's no wonder we have an on-going health issue in this country. If I can do a job, I will. I'd rather save the money to spend on something more fun than make that contractor even richer.

That's been my mentality my whole life. Even more so now that I have acquired enough equipment and tools to pretty much do whatever I need big or small at a home.

That and the fact ath contractors have priced themselves so far out of range that it's sick.

Back about 10- 15 years ago in these parts contractor labor was around 1 - 1.5 times to the cost of the materials for whatever job it ws.

Now they are pushing 4X and rising which fortunately is pushing a lot of people to start doing like my family has been and just buy their own machinery and whatever they need to do a job and not pay some over priced idiots to do it. And yes we have a lot of overpriced idiots around here now.

If you're going to have a job done wrong at least give yourself the satisfaction of screwing it up on your own for free rather having paid someone else to screw it up for you.

If I can do a job, I will. I'd rather save the money to spend on something more fun than

Good for you, I don't believe your alone in this..

Well, I'm what people may call cheap... frankly it was the way I was brought up.

Even changing the oil in my car. People would laugh and say its not worth their time,.. that its worth taking it in and having it done for them.

And they'll say this with their butt parked on a stool in a tavern talking smart.

It normal for me to put on well over 200,000 miles on my car that I bought used. and given the choice... I'd rather buy a tool I hardly use, then to shell out the money and have it done for me. Most times it pays for itself on one use. but then again... having rolled off the farm, I work cheap.

I feel like I am looking into the mirror. Cheap , the way I was brought up, long mileage vehicles, oil changes, buy the quality tool once, pays for itself by the second use . . . . and when you do your oil changes, I'll bet you look at a bunch of other stuff under the vehicle too to catch little problems before they become big problems.

I'll bet you look at a bunch of other stuff under the vehicle too to catch little problems before they become big problems

How'd you know... I pull on the steering assembly, drives, look at the tire tread,... brakes (pads and rotors), shocks... even the exhaust.

I do all that right before I bump the oil pan with my shoulder and have it splash out on me. .

No weigh!

Not so much now, but about 15 years ago... I never really worked out... I was in the hospital for some out-patient surgery on my leg.

The doctor started the procedure... and the sedative he gave me was mild,... I had some light conversation when the Doctored asked if I 'Worked out'.

I told him "no". of which he reply "Really?" he tone was pretty sharp so I asked him why?.

He's reply was that the muscle tone in my leg says otherwise...

Now this is something I never really thought of and I then said, "does playing basketball, Lacrosse, Golfing, softball and spending my weekends and vacations helping out on the farm be considered working out?"

The operating room started laughing, and the doctor reply "I believe it would"

Then I told the doctor, "I like to change my answer to Yes, I do work out."

I would have to agree with that. However, there are fanatics out there that say if you don't have a rigorous schedule and do aerobic type exercise for a set period of time, and.... That is why I posted the warning about watching a readout too much - it kills the fun of exercise and the desire to do it. I could see that type of thought train in the OP, having been there and got over it. My daughter is doing the counting step thing as well right now - she'll burn out eventually.

You have a mixed schedule which should never get boring. I cycle because of a doctor's diagnosis - discussed in my post to Brave Sir Robin. I just had to learn how to keep it exciting when trying to do it often enough to be considered "acceptable" aerobic exercise. Also in the aforementioned reply to BSR, and it is border line engineering.

I have to admit, I am a lot less active now... but also my activity switched... when I started to get hurt doing sports. And backed off.

I knew I had a problem when our company health nurse asked if I exercised, and the only thing I could come up with is that I walked our dogs (miniature pincher and a dachshund) for about 45 minutes a day. asked

Now I do biking and work in the gym, weights and cardio ( the gym I always thought was boring) . But must of it is working and building stuff in my shop or yard work ....

Okay - you have a shop and like to work in it - so go get a decent mountain bike or a comfort bike. Then the first thing you do is tear it down and figure out the parts and how they function. Then you figure a way to get a better saddle on it, and some different handlebars and grips and so on. (stock is usually not that good unless you are forking out $10K for a custom build) Eventually someday down the road, you start trying different drive parts, such as the crank, chain rings, derailleur and so on. You'll find there is quite a bit of learning to do for that part of the modifying and it will stoke your engineering thought train. When it is finally more your bike than the manufacturer's concept, and it rides better because it fits your anatomy, your riding style, and your normal riding terrain, riding it will be a lot of fun. That is how I stick to exercising regularly - mix it with engineering and design work.

decent shop,... yes, I have those tools,... but it also has a wheel barrow and a shovel.... transit ladders, cement mixer, trowels... saws,... hammers, sledge, post maul, Mattock... well you get the point...

I agree with the stock parts,... I don't consider myself an bike enthusiast, but when I got my hybrid, the first things I change was the grips and the seat.

Now the design of bikes is pretty much the same all over. It's just unbelievable on these bikes... with the exotic??? lightweight materials you can literally lift up the whole bike with (1) finger.

Now Mountain bikes,... are a little different. I just never got into trail riding on a mountain bike, probably because I'd be winded pretty, that's why I have a hybrid. I do enjoy biking on back roads somewhat more groomed trails.