Placement that Works

Anyone who spends any amount of time around me knows that I've taken quite a shine to Pokémon Go. I've been playing since last July, and just today managed to collect all but the location-locked Pokémon from Asia, Europe, and Australia (/me glares at Snook), and Igglypuff.

One of my frustrations with the game was that you had to be walking with a vector greater than zero in order for the game to register movement. Which is to say, walking on a treadmill wouldn't work, because the movement was tracked only through GPS. You don't move according to GPS when you are walking on a treadmill.

That all changed in December when Pokémon Go linked to the Apple Watch and enabled players to use the steps recorded on the watch to track movement. Suddenly, the treadmill was an option! HOT DAMN! I bought an Apple Watch for myself for Christmas (finally a reason to own an Apple Watch, having not actually wanted one at all, why would I want a computer on my wrist?). Trot, trot, trot, walking on the treadmill, hatching eggs and gathering buddy candy, I'm in!

So, my new Pokémon Go habit became go around to enough Pokéstops to collect nine eggs, then go walking on the treadmill until I'd walked them off, and repeat. Works great! Works with my style of exercising, walking for hours on the treadmill as I worked at my standing desk. Or when I'm off the treadmill, still at my standing desk, and fidgeting as I do, totally works. Is great!

Except one detail.

When I'm working, I'm usually working with a computer. My hands are on the keyboard, which means they are stationary. Which means my wrists are stationary. Which means none of my movement is being recorded.

Bah.

So, I moved my watch. Since I'm happy with my Timex Ironman for actually telling time, I don't need the Apple Watch for anything but Pokémon Go. I want to track movement, so where better than where my movement originates from? Nowhere!

I tucked the watch into my waistband. Strapping it to my ankle and bouncing my leg doesn't record as body movement at all, so this seems to be the best place. And it works.

So delighted!