its just walking ... how hard can it be? although my life is sedentary, i am in good shape, but the treadmill desk does take some effort. been walking 2-4 hrs everyday. it sounds like alot ... yes and no. 2 hrs is only 2 miles (at 1 mph). compare that to pedometers which want 10,000 steps (approximately 5 miles) a day. but it is alot, because it started out awkward to walk at such a slow speed. plus its a longer amount of time than i usually do cardio for. i've actually been sore from it. first, i've been trying the whole barefoot thing. there's the idea that we are made to run barefoot and studies showing that athletic shoes haven't been reducing injuries. so i've been mostly walking barefoot, and my bare feet aren't used to that much abuse. they were really sore early on to the point that i had to wear shoes for a couple sessions. but my feet seem to be getting used to it and i haven't had any foot pain lately. when i do wear shoes, i can increase walking speed; although that decreases mousing accuracy. second pain point has been my hips. after an hour of walking, my hips started to have some discomfort. i've torn a hip flexor before, so i might just chalk that one up to an 'old war wound'. for now, i've been limiting each session to about 1 to 2 hrs, and do that 2 times a day. the plan is to slowly increase the time of each session. third, my butt was sore. at normal walking speeds, i would use my thighs more, and they would become sore. at the slower speed, it really works the glutes. thats just standard muscle soreness and can be ignored. finally, eye discomfort. for the first week, my eyes felt a bit strained. this is from walking and reading at the same time. they do seem to be adjusting and dont feel strained anymore.

but the good news is there are frequently sessions when i 'forget' i'm even on the treadmill desk, and i look down to see a ton of time has passed such that the minutes have rolled over on the console.

hmm ... i probably shouldn't be labeling the treadmill posts as 'brawn'. the treadmill desk is pretty much a direct mapping of 'brains and brawn'. i.e. i like it.

couple minor tweaks this weekend. i put some high grip contact paper on the desk shelf to keep my keyboard from sliding around. that was getting annoying. also, found some small bungie cords to secure the wire shelf to the treadmill frame. the wire shelf is light, so the bungie cords have made it a little more stable. started with the cheap $35 wal-mart shelf. lowes has a shelf with the same measurements for about $75. but the lowes model has thicker legs and is heavier; i might switch to that one to get even more stability.

started out trying to use a mouse. the problem is my entire forearm moves when walking, so that makes it difficult to mouse at the same time. next, i tried a finger-controlled trackball. this worked better because my forearm movement could be ignored. but my arm positioning made it a little awkward (ergonomically) to use my fingers for control. finally, i tried a thumb-controlled trackball (logitech trackman). this seems to work best for me, because i can put a little more pressure on the opposite side of my hand for stability when walking, and its easy to lift my thumb off the ball to keep it from bouncing around. this trackball has a scroll wheel, but no back button. this would be a killer if the microsoft ergonomic keyboard 4000/7000 did not have its own back button. anyway, to make it usable, i still have to turn the trackball speed down to about 50% for any sort of accuracy while walking. its easy enough to target most anything, except when it comes to resizing a column/panel within a window. IIRC 'project origami' had some control tweaks to make it easier to use the OS with touch. i'm hoping Windows 7 has some similar enhancements. also, i'm using the trackball on a mouse pad with integrated wrist rest to keep my wrist in a neutral position. so that gets me a decent control setup for the treadmill desk. now i need to get a microphone setup.

the ergotron keyboard mount had a -5 degree slope, along with a gel wrist rest, to keep your wrists straight. with the shelving desk, it felt a little like my wrists were bent too much. went to look at keyboards tonight and found the microsoft ergonomic keyboard (4000/7000). these stood out because they have a plastic attachment to provide a -7 degree slope (it also has a wrist rest). plus its split, which makes finding the home keys easier without having to look down. the split also lets me keep my elbows a little wider, which is more natural while walking. anyway, i think the negative slope is necessary when standing at a desk. its definitely helping to keep my wrists in a more neutral position. ... i still haven't figured out which pointing device to use. testing 3 trackballs, a standard mouse, and the natural mouse that came with the ergonomic 7000 set.

so i basically did this build for v2. except his is 2 tier and he uses shelving components. my local Lowes and Home Depot only sold the entire shelves, and not components. the Container Store does have components online, but i didnt check my local store. regardless, i took measurements for what components i would need and just happened to notice that a modified wire shelf would work perfect. found a black 4-shelf system at wal-mart for $35. measuring 54 high x 36 wide x 14 deep. my treadmill is something like 34 inches wide and i need the keyboard to be at least 48 inches from the ground. i used 14 inch wire cutters ($15) to cut the 2 bottom shelves so only 3 sides remained to connect the 4 legs. the 4th side of these shelves was removed, along with the inner wires for the shelf for where my legs will be stepping. the very bottom shelf is up high enough, so that i can raise the treadmill to its highest incline. the 3rd shelf also lost a side and its inner wires so i could push the entire unit closer to the console. the last shelf is mounted close to the very top for my keyboard and mouse. on top of that, i took a 36 width x 16 depth shelf ($10) and drilled 3/4 inch holes in it, then set it on top of the final wire shelf to give me a wood surface to work on. plus that adds a little weight to the setup. its definitely a little more sturdy than the keyboard wall mount, and adds surface area, although i should add more weight to it. also need to pick up a keyboard wrist rest. not sure about the keyboard height/angle either, it probably needs to be a little higher.

the wall keyboard mount is decent, but not great. it moves around just enough to jar my favorite trackball, which makes trackballing extremely difficult. there's not much mousing surface area, so i wouldnt even try to use a mouse with it. also, the mounting arm blocks one of the cup holders. i pretty much have a drink around at all times, so i'm reluctant to give up a cup holder. next, it only fits a small to mid-size keyboard. i'd rather have a full-sized keyboard, with a split to make finding the home keys easier. right now, i keep finding myself looking down to find the home keys. also, a full-size keyboard would have the extra buttons to help reduce mouse usage. so far, i'm finding keyboard usage easier than trackball usage, so i'm using more keyboard shortcuts. finally, the wall mount doesnt provide any extra desk space. i don't need a ton of space, but i would use it if i had it. that said, the dual wall mounts look very slick. as a replacement, i'm probably going to try this build over the weekend. but i'll stick with the single tier model, since i dont need the upper tier for a monitor, and it'd just get in the way of the console and its prized cup holders.

so i wrote the little app to change default audio device. except it doesnt work anymore. the code should work, but it throws the obligatory security exception. it used to work when i tested the code for /eva. it works by changing the defaut device in the registry. the downside to this technique is having to manually provide permissions to those registry keys, which i didnt want to do with /eva, but would be ok for the treadmill desk setup. anyway, i changed the registry permissions, but it still exceptions. PITA! i hate when Vista looks like its going to give me the access i need, but then it doesnt.

but there is another little app, Vista Audio Changer. it works by recreating the user clicks to change default audio device, so registry permissions aren't necessary. i'll probably use it until i migrate to Windows 7 ... which i'm assuming provides better audio APIs ... please

my goal is to be able to swap between sitting and the treadmill desk quickly. so i use my main dev notebook while seated. the display is duplicated to the treadmill desk monitor. the keyboard and the trackball desk for the treadmill desk are connected to a USB hub. chose not to mess around with wireless. for mic input, i think i can use a Y-cable to connect 2 mics into 1 mic input.

audio output is still a problem. i use the notebook speakers when seated. on the treadmill desk, i'd like to use the monitors built-in speakers. but when i connect a cable to the headphone output of the notebook, it cuts off the notebook speakers. there doesnt seem to be a setting (bios or OS) to change this. then i tried adding a USB sound card, but Vista doesnt automatically support sending output to 2 devices. maybe there is a virtual audio device that i can set as default, and have it output to 2 enabled audio devices (notebook and USB sound card). else, i'll have to use external speakers for the notebook too. for now, i'll write a quick tray app that i can 1-click to swap default audio device. maybe i can detect when the external monitor is turned on/off, and have it automatically switch at that time?

anyway, if i can get sound working, then swapping to the treadmill desk will just involve turning on the treadmill and the monitor (which will turn on sound). and swapping back to sitting will just involve turning off the treadmill and the monitor (turning off sound).

posted at 1 mph.

i'm used to a 17 inch notebook monitor, so i'm loving the 23 inch monitor for the treadmill. its arms length away and visibility is fine. i'm not used to reading while moving, so we'll see how i adjust to that. the ergotron lx wall mount works great too. also setup the ergotron lx keyboard. first, i'm not sure if i like where i mounted it. set it up so that i could fold the keyboard out of the way, which might be nice. but the problem is the mouse pad is right next to the wall mount when its positioned. so i might re-install it to make the mouse pad area less crowded. but i need to pick up another trackball first, because that might make it a non-issue. definitely cannot see using a mouse on the keyboard mount, because the surface area is just too small. also, the keyboard mount is a little wobbly while walking. its not bad, but i think a simple desk across the hands of the treadmill might be slightly more stable. finally, i need to get a centered keyboard, without number pad. i'd definitely get used to it, but its an OCD thing for me to keep things aligned.

for a treadmill, i got the Sole F63. its the most stable treadmill i could find for $1000. its got a good size belt, motor, and its relatively quiet. no major complaints so far. its water bottle rack is not in a usable position, but i dont mind because it adds stability, and there are more cup holders up on the console. also, its heart rate monitor handles are a bit too low for me to use comfortably. but it comes with a chest strap if i really wanted to use it.

for output, i ordered a widescreen LCD monitor and an Ergotron LX wall mount. the treadmill will be placed alongside a wall, and then the monitor will swing out in front of it (from the side). the wall mount is really flexible so positioning shouldn't be a problem. for convenience, the monitor has built-in speakers. alternately, the treadmill has an audio input jack and speakers.

for input, i ordered an Ergotron LX wall mounted keyboard tray. i'm hoping this will let me easily move the keyboard out of the way when i want to just use the treadmill as a treadmill. the worry is that the wall mount might not be stable enough to let me use a keyboard and trackball while walking. that will be something i have to try to find out. the backup plan will be to build a small desk/shelf that sits on the arms of the treadmill to hold a keyboard and trackball. that is where the stability of the treadmill will really matter.

crap ... i did not meet this months goal to get below 195 lbs. lowest i got was 196 lbs. i hate not meeting a goal. at least there is some good news and my bodyfat measurements did keep getting smaller. so now my belly is measuring below 15. chest and thigh measurements are staying the same. the rest of my measurements stayed the same as last month too, except my waist dropped another 1/2 inch. and my calves finally gained a little ... damn you calves.

guess i hit a plateau? searched around for how people got through their plateus, and all the advice was stuff i'm alreay doing. double crap! my calories have been well below 2000. the problem seems to be that my body is ridiculously efficient. pair that with a sedentary job and my body has no problems getting by with minimal calories. so calories are already low, and i do not want to cut them further. instead, i'm going to relax things for a bit. nutritionally, i'm going to try a more low-carb approach. i'm going to cut out all grains and just get carbs from veggies. they'll be mostly fibrous veggies with some starchy variety before workouts. i'm also going to add back in fruits, primarily berries and apples. dairy will remain limited. protein is always high. will slightly increase fat intake too

my workouts also hit a wall. energy levels were down and i was having trouble concentrating at the gym. so i'm taking some time off from the gym to recharge and let the body heal. on the home front, i picked up a treadmill for the treadmill desk. hoping to get time this weekend to look at monitors and wall mounts. probably another couple weeks before i get it all setup. i'm really interested to see if i can actually code while walking. i definitely think my preference for trackballs will be a benefit. just starting to get acclimated to it by using it while watching tv. might try playing an xbox game with it after that. hmm ... guitar hero on a treadmill? maybe not.

finally. and the latest netflix app for MCE is silverlight. now they just need to support MCE hosted silverlight apps in an extender session to an xbox 360. then MCML could be dropped.