Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with pulse

Why does my heart race and my blood pound when I wake up from a nap?

tatiana wishbone — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:25:29 -0800

Why does my heart race and my blood pound when I wake up from a nap? This doesn't happen when I wake up from a regular sleep session, but if I nap during the day, I almost always wake up with the really unpleasant sensation of my blood racing through my veins and my pulse elevated. I'm 24 and female, not overweight and not unhealthy.

Looking for a device to trigger software off my pulse

pombe — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:05:38 -0800

Following up on my previous question, I'm looking for a good way to have someone's heartbeat trigger software on a PC. Previously, I asked about building a digital stethoscope for use in triggering an interactive sculpture. I've gotten that working pretty well, but it turns out it's pretty sensitive to noise. In a quiet room it works great; our software can pick up every heartbeat and trigger on it very reliably. But we set up in a noisy gallery today and the noise picked up by the stethoscope definitely degrades performance.

So we'd like to try some non-acoustic methods to measure heartbeat. We like the idea of using a pulse oximeter, but none of the ones I saw googling seem to output an actual pulse signal - they just give you heart rate. Ideally we'd like a device that outputs the actual waveform from the sensor or just a digital signal every heartbeat.

I'm open to building something if that's what is necessary so ideas like moonmilk's previous comment or this are useful too.

Wipeout Pulse boost start

jontyjago — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 02:31:25 -0800

I have played previous versions of Wipeout on PS1 and PS2 and I seem to remember the ability to Boost Start at the beginning of a race. I now have Wipeout Pulse on the PSP and don't seem to be able to do this, or find any information on how to do it. Am I missing something?

BlackBerry as modem under OS X: is Pulse the best connection utility?

allterrainbrain — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 08:15:53 -0800

BlackBerry as modem under OS X . Specifically, T-Mobile 8700g as modem under 10.4. Pulse seems like the best choice but also the priciest choice ($50) for the connection utility. Does anybody here use Pulse? Am I missing any free or cheap alternatives that match Pulse's performance? I'm a nomad on a budget, so cellphone-as-modem has been my primary day to day internet connection ever since the first-gen Sprint network 6+ years ago (when you were lucky to get a 14K connection). In other words, I can deal with tinkering and fiddly dialup procedures.

But from what I've read, Pulse is quite solid, with fast (for EDGE) connections assuming good reception -- and assuming you can get your BB firmware to the right (old) version as shown in the chart.

I know there's an inventive-but-kludgy free solution involving Parallels, but I want to do this natively in OS X. The performance hit of always leaving Parallels running just to have a data connection is not worth saving $50, in the long run.

Wanna race?

Acetylene — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 13:03:49 -0800

What can I do to lower my heart rate by Monday? I'm thirty years old, healthy, slim, reasonably fit but not particularly athletic. I've had a relatively fast pulse all my life -- about ten years ago, it kept me out of the military. I've been checked out by a general practitioner and a cardiologist; I had chest X-rays and thyroid tests and walked around with a halter monitor for 24 hours, and no one found anything worrying. The GP said I have tachycardia, but didn't prescribe any medication or recommend any lifestyle changes. He said I just happen to be "at the far end of the bell curve," but am otherwise healthy.

These days it's slowed down a bit from what it was back then, to the point where I'm able to donate blood every eight weeks without raising any alarms during the screening. Still, if I'm the slightest bit nervous about something, it jumps back up again. Recently I was offered a job pending a pre-employment physical, and as I sat in the doctor's office this morning, memories of the results of my military physical came back. The doctor took my pulse twice -- the second time after having me relax for a while in the waiting room -- and both times, it was well over 100bpm.

I also had a TB test, which needs to be "read" on Monday. The doctor talked to me for a while about my medical history (I honestly explained all of the above), and told me not to worry about it. But she also implied that she'll be checking it again when I come back on Monday.

Obviously, I won't be drinking any caffeine between now and then (I did have some coffee this morning). I also plan to get as much sleep as possible, and generally try to relax. But is there anything else I can do that might bring my heart rate down a bit? Should I skip sugar as well? Should I go for a jog, or avoid physical exertion? (I rarely jog, but it's not unheard of -- or difficult -- for me to do so.)

Any advice at all would be appreciated. I really want this job.

PC sound effects

twine42 — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 14:05:17 -0800

How do I stop two PCs from turning themselves into a very annoying musical instrument? We have two PCs in our study at home. Recently they both got upgraded after one got too hot and fried.

Both machines are slightly louder than I'd like, but I'll deal with that. The problems start when both machines are switched on at the same time.

Within a few seconds of the second machine powering up, there's a deep droning pulse starts with a frequency of about 1.5 seconds. My wife can barely hear it, but it's driving me mad.

I've tried killing various fans on the two machines but it doesn't affect the noise. Realistically, what are my options for killing this noise?

Both got upgraded with identical cases and Zalman CPU fans, twin front 80mm fans, single back 80mm fan. Otherwise, they're different, from the drives to the motherboards boards.

I'll buy that for a thousand dollars... but no credit please.

lockle — Fri, 19 May 2006 13:00:50 -0800

My work wants to accept payments online but doesn't want to accept credit cards. Most banks issue debit cards that work as credit cards. Is there a way to determine the difference? Several years ago my boss went through some tough financial times that almost made him declare bankrupcy. He is a religious and moral man and after taking several credit courses, has become convinced that the whole concept of personal credit is immoral in some aspect.

In addition to the moral implications of accepting credit cards, there are some business decisions. I work for a company that does landscaping, landscape lighting, irrigation, and installs Christmas Lights during the holidays. There have been one or two occassions where customer was unhappy with an aspect of the work and rather than working with us to resolve it or with the BBB, they instituted a chargeback.

Currently when a customer accepts the service, we go and physically pick up a check or ask them to mail it. This year for the holiday lighting services, repeat customers will be able to just log into the website and select what service they want again this year.

We would like to be able to offer them the convience of online payment without accepting actual credit cards.

Gold stars for anyone that can suggest a payment processor that would allow us to just accept cards on the PULSE (ATM) network as well as electronic checking.

Tacky Cardigans are Spooky!

abbyladybug — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 19:01:19 -0800

Anyone ever had a tachycardia? I'm in a brunch line, not stressed, not active, just standing there talking. My heart rate shoots up. My dad, a doc, is with me. Says my pulse is 150 bpm. It gradually decreases over the next 15 minutes. The doc today says it's weird for a tachycardia to lead to a pulse shooting up so high. I'm scheduled to wear a halter monitor for a day, but outside that, he says there's not much that can be done. Why do these occur, and how do I keep them from occurring again? Also, if I have lots of stress in my life (just finished a PhD, new very high stress job), can it cause my pulse to race at a time when I am not stressed? Any stories, experiences, information is appreciated. (About me: 35, female, in good health, not overweight, yet not athletic).

Pulsing spot next to belly button. Serious?

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Nov 2004 09:19:47 -0800

My abdomen is pulsating significantly just to the left of my umbilicus. [More Inside]

I first noticed it happening every once in a while three years ago but now it's pretty much a constant thing and I think it's a stronger pulse. It's especially pronounced when I lie flat on my back. I don't have insurance in the country I'm currently living in and I don't want to dish out a hefty sum for a slew of diagnostic tests if perhaps there's nothing to worry about. Everything I've looked up online points to a possible aortic aneurysm but I'm a 20 year old girl with no family history of similar problems, so I'm figuring that's unlikely. I've never been hypertensive. Should I be worried or could it be normal?