Clear Ambiguity

Here is a rather bad (sorry mobile phone picture) photograph of a hiding echidna. Unfortunately I didn’t get to take one of it moving around as it wasn’t all that pleased to see me.

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I have been cycling to work over the last week as a result of a rather average medical. I ended up requiring a clearance from a doctor because my blood pressure was high (145/ 105) at the time. Now this is just a little silly as I consider myself reasonably fit. Each year we have a medical and fitness test called Fighting Fit. It helps my employer keep the fire fighting aspect of the job as safe as possible, which I am all for.

I tested as A1 in 2002/3, A1 Strenuous in 2003/4 and A1 Strenuous in 2004/5. A1 Strenous is the highest level that they do and makes it possible to do interstate and long time campaign fires. The fitness test is in a couple of weeks, so everyone has a medical to make sure they can proceed to the test stage. Don’t want anyone having a heart attack during the test after all.

Anyway, I went to the doctor last weekend after riding around 140km in total for the week and he measured my blood pressure at 135/100, not great but a definate improvement in just a short time.

I asked if I would be able to get a clearance and fortunately he told me “not a problem”, so I am covered as far as work goes. Even better, I asked if there were any issues with me riding so much, and he let me know I can do as much and as hard as I like. Excellent :)

Now the results over just a one week period:
Weight

• Fri Sep 09 110.1 kg
• Sat Sep 10 108.7 kg
• Sun Sep 11 109.1 kg
• Mon Sep 12 108.1 kg
• Tue Sep 13 107.7 kg
• Wed Sep 14 107.1 kg

Feeling
I feel much stronger, healthier and even happier.

Added benefits
I now take around 51 minutes to get to work instead of 20ish in the car. I use this time to think. I am always on the go, so thinking time is wonderful at any time.

I free up a vehicle for my wife, and save money each day on petrol/ car maintenance costs.

A great sense of achievement

I have also been following advice from Ask the Dietition for improving my eating habits aswell. The above figures are first thing in the morning on my home scales. Which may not be accurate, but they will show a trend. One interesting aspect is that I am losing weight a little too fast. I really should be trying to drop around 1kg per week. Hopefully the quick results are because of the fairly heavy excercise (it is a steep hill) and eating better, and not because of water loss.

I just thought about another benefit of all this. I am no longer getting major headaches and eye strain first thing in the morning. A little research tells me that they were probably due to the high blood pressure and now everything is a little less strained. Time will tell (so says my timelady wife anyway), but the evidence is convincing so far.

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This is a rather dodgy shot of a Wedgetail (wedgy) Eagle flying around a fireground after the fire has gone through. It wasn’t too far away, but it pushed my little canon A85 to its limits. Well, it pushed me anyway. It is always amazing to watch the wildlife during and after a fire. Birds of prey like this come in and have a feast of the injured or dead animals.

Again, sorry about the quality, but I like it.

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I have always been interested in astronomy, and well the outdoors in general. IceInSpace is a great Australian site for experienced and in particular niew astronomers to find out about the hobby. It has one of the best forums I have found for getting information and friendly help. I have saved a great deal of money by following advice from this site, so I am happy to recommend it. Astronomy is by definition world wide, so check it out.

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