I work at my computer all day long. Between eight and fourteen hours on the average workday, I’m staring at a screen and typing on a keyboard. Until recently, this meant I didn’t get much exercise; I’d aspire to a bike ride on the weekends, but went most weeks with nothing more than a walk or two. This is compounded because I work from home — no trips to the water cooler and copy machine for me. If I wanted to, I could get by with about 100 steps of walking per day, between my bedroom, office, kitchen, and bathroom.

Then I started using a treadmill desk. The idea, originated by Mayo Clinic Researcher James Levine, is straightforward: instead of sitting at your desk, you work at a treadmill that’s equipped with a monitor, keyboard, and phone. Rather than sitting, you walk at a slow pace. Because the human body has evolved to walk long distances, a healthy person can comfortably walk several miles a day. After just a few days, I was consistently walking about 6 or 7 hours a day. It’s been about a month now, and I’ve used the treadmill desk every day I’ve worked from home.

I love it. And what’s really amazing it that I’m not just doing something healthy without taking time away from work. I’m working better because of the steady supply of exercise. My concentration is sharper and my energy level remains steady throughout the day. The exercise has made me a better hacker.

The magnitude of this result surprised me. I’m in decent shape; I wouldn’t mind losing a few pounds, but I eat well and my cholesterol and blood pressure are fine. On the other hand, I’m always looking for ways to be smarter or more energetic. Like many people whose work is intellectual, I suffer from lulls and funks, from afternoons of carb-induced catatonia to full days of hacker’s block. The exercise smooths over these funks. I still have some slow days, of course, but by defaulting to constant exercise, there’s a tremendous countervailing influence to the biochemical tides of mood.

How-to

If you think a treadmill desk might be good for you, it’s not hard to try it out. I started with a standing-desk prototype (pictured at right): tray tables piled with books to bring my laptop screen and an external mouse/keyboard to eye- and hand-level, respectively. A standing desk has most of the exercise benefit of a treadmill, with the caveat that standing still is far more stressful to your joints and muscles than slow walking. You can try this with stuff you already have; if you like the exercise but are limited to only a couple of hours of continuous standing before your knees start to ache, it’s time to take the dive and buy a treadmill.

1. Get a Treadmill

My current treadmill is a HealthRider SoftStrider I got for $100 via Craigslist. When I wear this thing out, I’ll consider buying a new treadmill in the $1000 range, but a cheap used treadmill is a great starting point and craigslist is a good way to find some locally. You can transport a foldable treadmill in the back of a van/wagon, or, as I did, in a car trunk with some bungee cords and careful driving. (They’re really heavy; you’ll need a friend to help you navigate any stairs.) Key features of a desk treadmill are:

• Electronic. The force required to propel an un-powered treadmill will get in the way of your work. You need a conveyor belt under your feet. Give up on the dream of powering your computer with your footsteps.
• Slow speeds. You’ll want to control your walking speed in, at most, 0.1mph increments between 0.7 and 1.5mph. You don’t need a treadmill designed for running, but a padded belt will make the walk more comfortable and gentler. If you’re over 180lbs, double-check the treadmill’s capacity. Although you’ll only be walking, the continuous usage could potentially wear down a weaker platform.
  • Update 1/27/2008: I would like to revoke my endorsement of padded belts. Foam doesn’t stay flexible forever and my belt has been gradually turning into dust. Most newer treadmills have a flat belt and cushioning under the deck, which is a better design.
• Level arms. All treadmills have arms that the occupant is supposed to hold while walking. Your hands, however, will be on the keyboard, which will be on a shelf. The easiest way to build this shelf is to attach it to the treadmill’s arms. And if the arms are angled, you’ll need to compensate for that in the shelf. If they’re level, you can just slap a board across.
  • Update 1/27/2008: Actually, a level tray is not as good as one that’s inclined away from you. Ideally, you want to avoid bending your wrists, and you want to have your elbows open at 100 to 120 degrees. I’m still working on a design that achieves this; my temporary solution is a shim under the near end of my keyboard.
• Quiet. Old, underpowered, or poorly cared-for treadmills may hum constantly; try to find one that doesn’t make much motor noise. The noise of your footsteps and the belt’s motion on the deck will always be present, and on a nice newer treadmill these should overshadow noise from the motor itself. (Added 1/27/2008.)
• Console. Mounted on the treadmill will be an electronic console where you can set the speed. Sometimes these consoles include a reading tray and cup holder. You probably won’t want to use these for holding your monitor; vibrations in the treadmill will cause your monitor to shake and make it hard to read. So pick a console that is reasonably out of the way; you’ll need to at least build a shelf over it.

2. Build Some Stuff

Once you’ve got the treadmill, you’ll need to build two shelves: one for the keyboard/mouse, and another for your monitor and other equipment. The easiest way to do the keyboard tray is by attaching it to the treadmill’s handles, if they’re level. For mine, I have a wooden board that is laid across the handles, with segments of 2×4 on the sides in order to raise the shelf’s height. You’ll want to have the keyboard positioned so you can rest your hands on it with your elbows at an angle around 100 degrees. Since your body will be moving, you might also want a trackball instead of a normal mouse; being able to rest part of your hand on the shelf will stabilize your finger movements, and without that stabilization precise mouse movements will be difficult. I attached the keyboard shelf to the treadmill’s handles using industrial-strength velcro. This provides a solid attachment but allows me to lift the tray off of the treadmill so that I can fold the treadmill up, clearing space in my office for the fold-out guest bed.

The monitor shelf is different. You definitely want to avoid resting the monitor on your treadmill in any way, or vibrations from walking will shake your screen. Measure the height you’ll want in order to hold the screen’s center a level 2 feet in front of your eyes while standing on the treadmill. My shelf is at about 60″ from the ground (I’m 6′2″). My shelf has two legs (cut from 2×4s) and is held together with shelf braces; the materials and wood cutting cost around $25 total from Home Depot. A simpler design would be to build the shelf like a three-legged stool, with equal-length legs at the front left, front right, and rear center of the shelf. You might also be able to use a pre-made modular shelf, although it could be hard to find one that can straddle a treadmill.

3. Set Up Your Computer

You probably don’t want to force yourself to use the treadmill whenever you need the computer. A desk is useful if you get tired, or if you need to do actual paperwork — writing steadily is almost impossible on the treadmill. So I maintain my old desk, with its own monitor, keyboard, and mouse. These are connected to the same computer — the treadmill’s peripherals are connected via USB. While on the treadmill, I rotate the desk monitor and use it as a secondary screen — I leave work chat running there so I can see if anyone mentions my name, but drag the window over to the treadmill monitor for any intensive reading.

4. Brag About It

The treadmill desk is a great story for coworkers and friends. If you’ve read this far, then you’re exactly the kind of person I’d love to tell it to. In any social setting, the treadmill gives you an excuse to stand up, extend your arms, and walk around like a zombie while talking about what a geek you are. Lots of people find the idea appealing and will ask interesting questions.

The wikipedia Treadmill Desk page has more information. And, in case you’re wondering — this article was written entirely while walking.

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I finally received my pair of Shure E2C earphones. These are some strange puppies: in ear-canal phones. You put on silicone or foam sleeves and shove them right in. In addition to giving you added incentive to use Q-Tips every morning, this tight seal is supposed to improve sound isolation. Mainly, I bought them because I seem to be travelling a lot and read that they have superior sound isolation to noise-cancelling headphones. Also, I have a pair of Aiwa noise-cancelling headphones and when you turn on the noise cancellation the left phone gets very quiet and the right phone whistles.

So the idea of earplugs with a transducer attached sounded pretty good. Do they measure up?

They sound decent, but are not the best sounding headphones I've ever tried (I once sampled a pair of $900 Sony electrostatic phones; they are on the short list of stuff to buy when I make my zillions). To be fair, I haven't yet tried them on any truly high-quality audio sources. These are for travel, so the important quality is that they're well-insulated and comfortable. I'm still getting used to the comfort, but fairly certain I will get used to it.

The. Sound. Isolation. Is. Amazing.

Josh is ten feet away yelling obscenities or something—I can't tell. I am in a happy quiet place where I cannot even hear the sound of my own typing. I can't wait to try it on a plane this weekend.

Highly recommended.

More info: Shure E2C, list $99; paid $65 via Froogle. Feedster should have vertical search for product reviews. One review with pictures.

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Trevor Blackwell built a balancing two-wheeled scooter, his own version of a Segway, in about a week. The two wheels seemed redundant, so later he built a one-wheeled balancing scooter called the Eunicycle.

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it seems to be legit

This is a demonstration for my friends at the Berkman center.

Lisa: "If we could harvest the power of flying shit, we wouldn't be dependent on foreign oil anymore!"

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Lisa Williams, who got me thinking about how comments you make on other blogs ought to be findable from your own blog, has some more great ideas for technology-aided discussion. In particular, the location-aware commentary ("show me what others think about the restaurant I'm currently standing in front of") is a wonderful idea that can be solved or closely approximated by current technology. That's what I love about computer technology: there is such a strong current of innovation that you don't have to look far back to discover fundamental, amazing new ideas. I think it's partially a privilege of good timing— a kind of renaissance.

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Cool digital photo frame. I have something like this, a Kodak Smart Picture Frame. The Kodak frame had all the same features as this Ceiva, including the phone-line-based photo sharing, but I think it came onto market too soon. The equipment and service was too expensive so the Kodak frame never hit it big and they discontinued it. I got mine for $100 from a discount computer stuff shop after it had been discontinued.

One thing I like about my Kodak frame is that it actually has a rather nice wooden frame around the LCD. No brand name images, no buttons (they're on the top and back), just a wooden frame. People have oft mistaken it for a regular picture frame until, suddenly, the picture magically changed!

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The coolest firewire hub ever.

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Just-In-Time: not only for compilers.

Sean Leach was pulled over in his 1992 Mazda 626 for an expired registration. The officer that pulled him over, Jason Zier, proceeded to write Leach a ticket, but not before Leach called a friend to help him re-register his 626 online, after hearing that his vehicle would be towed away. By the time Zier had finished writing the ticket, the vehicle was registered again. Zier's patrol car's computer confirmed that the car was legally on the roads. Although Leach's speed and wit didn't help him avoid a ticket, but it did let him drive away without being towed. The lesson here, everyone, is twofold; first, never procrastinate when it comes to renewing your vehicle registration, and secondly, never underestimate the value of your mobile connectedness with the world.

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MobileWhack is all about that mobile handset, palmtop, hiptop, ipod, or laptop in your pocket, purse, briefcase, or dangling from your utility belt. It's about squeezing every last ounce of mobility out of your mobile device.

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Are iPods a culture? This article in Wired describes a trend of iPod owners approaching other people with iPods and trading music for a few moments at a time. This kind of spontaneous interaction is strange and delightful, and the great success rate (outside NYC, at least) of such encounters indicates that there are some interesting shared values characteristic of people who walk around listening to iPods:

Author Douglas Rushkoff suggested that iPod sharing is a legacy of online file sharing—essentially the same thing, except offline.

"It's kind of a stoner's ethic, really, the way you pass the joint at a Dead show," he said.

So what does this mean? If you see me walking around with an iPod, and you think we might both enjoy exchanging music for a few moments, what are you really supposing about me? Here are some ideas:

• I may have interesting taste in music
• I am open to interacting with strangers
• I think strangers might actually have something to offer me
• I'm not likely to turn to you and say that your racket is antimusical devil-chant, and you should be taken out and shot for your blasphemy, even if I dislike your music.
• Aesthetic pleasure can and should be shared.

These values imply a worldview that is highly trusting and open to connections, even with strangers. It is even kind of like the bonds that can be formed under oppression, where victims and their supporters can come together despite disagreement to protest war or civil injustice. But now, with the iPod, similar subcultural bonds can form through the enjoyment of music, which is both intimate and inclusive. In this regard it handily beats drugs, although one would look silly listening to an iPod at a Grateful Dead concert.

Approaching someone with an iPod may not be too different from approaching someone who's reading a book you like. But the particular techie-ness of the iPod, its style, and its iconic status probably make it more inviting. There are probably under 30 books that I would inspire me to approach someone on the subway, but from a distance, an iPod is an iPod is an iPod. And there is of course something special about music as an expressive medium that can transcend mood, education, and culture to help different people experience life together.