Sure it does, just SSH to the phone. Though I don't think it's going to be of much help.

Budaemon (battery-usage app) also uses some power. Another way to monitor idle power consumption would be with some simple script that greps the output of bmestat command at set intervals and saves results to a log file.

Minimum I've been able to get from completely idle phone is around 3mA average. (Standby screen disabled, all connections off, feed updates manual, power saving mode on) But even that with some use in between is going to climb to 4-5mA average.

With daily use, phonecalls, browsing the web etc. Average idle is often 7-15mA (This is because how "idle" is calculated, it's not like power consumption drops to the lowest level at the exact moment you lock the screen) so I wouldn't be worried of 12mA. Maybe it's simply that your usage profile has changed or - most likely IMO - that battery calibration has made reporting more accurate over time, which would also explain flashing having no effect.