Over the last month or so I’ve begun spending a lot of time after work and on the weekends in a wifi and cell-free zone. There are countless studies about how valuable this is for us for multiple reasons. For myself and my family it’s awesome. We are campers with a seasonal set up at a local campground, we have many conveniences but phones and internet are not one of them.

Having no cell phone coverage and no internet service doesn’t mean you have to give up some of your guilty pleasures while you’re still enjoying the great outdoors and time with friends and family. Traditional radios often don’t work where we camp because we are located in a bit of a hole so we’ve become very accustomed to utilizing offline playlists and bluetooth speakers around the campfire. One of our favorite little speakers around the camp is our “Outdoor Tech Turtle Shell”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/88743/outdoor-tech-turtle-shell-3-0-rugged-waterproof-wireless-boombox-red speaker and we’ve recently added a “Tivoli”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/88258/tivoli-audio-pal-bt-high-gloss-blue-white speaker to our collection. We’ve begun utilizing our Apple Music account so much that we’ve actually discontinued our satellite radio subscriptions in our cars. If you have the music in your pocket already why pay for it again? Well, that is a personal opinion but we’ve seen no drawbacks as a family downsizing to just one paid music service.

Download and watch later! iTunes has let you download and watch offline movie rentals or purchased content for a while now and so has Amazon Prime. Some might not know that Netflix also made this an option back in November. With both Netflix and Amazon Prime you are limited a bit in the content that is available for download and viewing offline. I have found that about 50% of what I consider downloading to watch when I am out of wifi and cellular service to be an option. Just like with iTunes rentals, there is a time limit with each service for how long you have to watch the content before it’s removed from your device. I have loaded up several shows on my iPad, but admit I haven’t watch any yet. I still pick up a book rather than my device. When it comes to a good binge watching moment it’s nice to know I have options loaded up and ready for a rainy weekend at camp.

What about charging all these devices for offline use? Good question. Many folks reading this might perhaps think my idea of camping is more “glamping” and you’re right! For those who might want to take advantage of a good show while riding out a rain storm in your tent or just want to listen to your favorite podcast while cooking on your camp stove there are countless products to allow you to keep your devices fully charged when you can’t just plug them into an outlet. “Goal Zero”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/?mmfg%5B0%5D=Goal+Zero has a wide variety of products to help keep your devices powered when you’re off the grid. Even though I do have access to power I still often carry a battery pack for my iPhone. You never know when you might end up without an available power source.

While you’re enjoying this long holiday weekend, keep in mind that you don’t necessarily have to leave everything behind. While it’s a bit frustrating at times to not have access to the outside world it is nice to feel at least partially unplugged for a while.

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There were a number of articles this week and last that talked about how Apple is experimenting with a blood glucose monitoring system that is non-invasive and works with the Apple Watch. It even showed a picture of Tim Cook testing out this new technology. As a long time diabetic, I can tell you first-hand just how welcome this breakthrough technology would be. I am really tired of finger sticks, expired test strips and the hassle that just make my health care provider nag me to test. Just imagine if it was automatic!

Well, I am really looking forward to that but in the meantime I have been experimenting with Apple’s Health App and find it to be pretty useful for a number of other health issues. To begin with, I set up my “Medical ID” which lists my medical conditions, medications that I take, my emergency contact and organ donation information. All this information is accessible from you iPhone by emergency personnel without needing your passcode.

Speaking of blood glucose readings, my meter is the iHealth iGluco meter which uses the iPhone to record data and it dumps it right into the Health App where I can monitor my numbers or send them to my nurse practitioner. Yeah, I am a gadget guy so I also have a Bluetooth scale which records my weight and transmits to Health App and a Qardio blood pressure monitor. All these devices record data on my iPhone and it is available in the Health App.

This is all very handy when you go in for medical care whether it is a check-up or some emergency. I had some time with docs and hospitals over the past month and I must have been asked 50 times for my list of medications and other information. It was great to have that all in one place on my iPhone. In some cases, I just handed my iPhone over so the information could be transferred to their systems.

But one new compatible app that I have become enamored with is “SleepMatic”:https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/sleepmatic-auto-sleep-cycle/id1179236591?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D2. There are some nights when I am just not getting sleep whether it is the dogs laying on my head or my head spinning with new ideas. I was complaining to my nurse practitioner about my lack of sleep and she suggested a sleep study of some sort. That was not of interest so I started investigating sleep trackers and found SleepMatic which you can download from the app store.

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The great thing about this app is that you do not have to do anything to set it up. Give it access to your Health App and wear your watch to bed and it automatically will track your sleep. It generates a report that lets you know how much you have slept, how long you had deep sleep, how long you had light sleep, how many times you woke up and how long you stayed awake. All this data is available from the app but also in your Health app.

Your “Today” screen on your iPhone’s Health App will give you this data as well as your Activity monitor data and on mine I also get weight and blood glucose, too. We are adding more and more HealthKit compatible accessories to Small Dog Electronics’ product offerings. We now offer products by “Qardio”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/86560/qardio-qardioarm-blood-pressure-monitor-white and “Whitings”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/88548/withings-wireless-blood-pressure-monitor but will be adding more soon.

_Dear Friends,_

I had a pleasant surprise this week as my internet provider, Green Mountain Access, informed me that they had upgraded the wiring in my neighborhood and I could move from DSL to cable modem access and from about 3Mbps to 50Mbps. With all the gear I have in my house the extra bandwidth will be great and I got spoiled with the fast internet in Key West.

It is absolutely strange to this aging hippy back-to-the-lander that I am so dependent upon the internet. Grace always said she wanted a log cabin with one light bulb but now I have a big house with lights, locks, TV and phones all dependent upon broadband. Yeah, I can get all ancient and use switches, keys and landlines but where’s the fun in that!

As we head into the Memorial Day weekend, it is important to remember this is not just a holiday that marks the unofficial start of summer. Memorial Day is celebrated to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our freedom. While the parades and celebrations are tributes to the brave men and women who have fought to protect us from tyranny, a lasting and real commitment to peace is the highest honor we can pay to soldiers. In these dangerous times, it is more important than ever to honor those who are on duty right now sacrificing so that we can enjoy a free society. We may not all agree with the policies that have put our sons and daughters in harm’s way, but honoring their service, sacrifice, and commitment is the duty of all citizens.

“We must be prepared to make heroic sacrifices for the cause of peace that we make ungrudgingly for the cause of war. There is no task that is more important or closer to my heart.” – Albert Einstein

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