first high, then low (+ random thoughts)

Blood-pressure cuffs are, as they say, notoriously inaccurate, easily affected by arm position (angle), the cuff's location on the upper arm, and whatever personal factors are currently affecting your BP. Earlier today, my BP reading was fine for systolic (around 115) but high for diastolic (about 91). Incredulous, I took the reading again, which I normally don't have to do because my BP has traditionally been either normal (classic 120/80) or only slightly high (125-ish over 82-ish). This time, when I took my second reading, it was 103/71. Had there been a miraculous drop from one reading to the next? I doubt it. I'm guessing the cuff was simply inaccurate. Until the higher tech comes rolling in, though, there's no method more accurate than the cuff. Of course, one measurement doesn't say much: your BP literally fluctuates from minute to minute and is a function of so many internal and external factors that you're forced to look at trend lines, not single readings, to interpret your numbers. The most precise BP-measuring device in the world won't produce stable readings over time; if anything, as device precision increases, measurements will only get shakier as every little fluctuation is recorded. Trend lines will only become more important as a consequence.

I was up late again last night, but not in vain: I now have a new Blogspot blog devoted exclusively to tests, quizzes, answers, and answer explanations related to the free and paid material I'm producing on Substack. The blog's banner and title tie it directly to language-related material, but it occurs to me that I might want to put all my tests and quizzes there for any future courses, e.g., courses related to religious studies. So the banner and title might have to change. The URL is a bit more future-proof, though: it's just "tastyexams.blogspot.com." No mention of grammar or language at all, so there's no need to change the URL. I'll probably change the banner to reflect current and future subject matter for quizzes and tests: grammar, writing, philosophy of religion, religious studies, interreligious dialogue, etc. I'll be morbidly curious to see whether there's even a market for these topics: in the past, when I've tried talking with regular folks about religion-related matters, the response has generally been glazed-over eyes and distracted fidgeting. I might see religion as the most important subject (or one of the most important subjects) in the world, but most of the world doesn't. Sometimes, life really is just about howling in the dark.