My Treadmill Desk

Overview

At July’s Ignite San Diego, I saw Ernesto give a talk where he showed his treadmill desk. Yesterday, I made one for myself.

Am I able to work while using it? I’m writing this blog right now while walking at 1.5 mph. 

Verdict

I’m happy with the desk. I’m walking at 1.5 mph which is about right for me, sometimes I need to slow it down to 1 mph depending on the detail of work I am doing or if I am worried about sweating. You don’t sweat a lot but even so 2 hours of small sweat isn’t great if you are going to a meeting. I have not yet gotten to try it out pair programming (except remotely, which doesn’t count). I’m not sure whether or not you need 2 treadmills for that.

Cost

$1250 total.  

Let’s break that down.

Treadmill - $1,000

Desk - $250

I’m happy with my choices, but I believe a treadmill bought off of craigslist can dramatically improve the bottom line here.

F.A.Q

Q. Do the controls on the floor matter?

A. No, you aren't changing the speed often or at all, and it's moving slow.

Q. Do you like it?

A. Yes

Q. Do you sweat?

A. Not at 1 mph, a little at 1.5 mph

The Parts

The Tread Mill

I got a AFG 3.0 AT treadmill. It cost $800 on sale at sports chalet. I also got the extended 5 year warranty which was an additional $200. I don’t usually get the warranty, but thought I might be using this a bit more than the average person.

It’s worth noting this thing is HEAVY (350 lbs) so get some help moving it. 

The Desk

Ikea came thru nicely with the Fredrik 50 inch long desk($200). I modified the setup to put the top self at the bottom (which you need to do 1st) but otherwise it works perfectly.

Extras. I also got a 48 inch power strip ($25 at Fry’s) which I love and would recommend for any desk. A Belkin usb hub ($25), which makes it easier to hook up the laptop to the keyboard and mouse. 

The Build

The assembly of the treadmill looks quite complicated, but I wouldn’t know because it turns out you don’t have to do it. You don’t want the hand rails anyways. and the console is just sitting at the side of the base.

The desk is likewise easy to assemble. I placed the main desk layer so that when walking on the treadmill my arms naturally bent to that height. I am also liking having the  screen at the higher height, so i don’t have to bend over, which is a bit hard while walking.

Links

AFG 3.0 AT treadmill http://www.advancedfitnessgroup.com/products/treadmills/30AT.aspx

Ikea Fredrik Desk http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60111123

Ernesto Ramiez http://www.ernestoramirez.org/home/projects-2/#Other

Active WorkOffice http://www.theactiveoffice.org/

Extension Methods

Extension Methods allow for the readability you expect in code you don't own. C# and Ruby have had them for a while, and I created a jar to so you can use them in java as well. (you can read the original post here)

I vBlogged my thoughts here:



Here's the simple reason you want a fluent interface for your code.

Download Extension Methods for Java

Lamdbas in Java 1.6

If you've ever heard that java is a poor language because it doesn't have lambdas, that ends today!

I created a way to do lambda's in java 1.6 without changing: the JDK, the compiler, the ByteCode or the Syntax.

I vBlogged my thoughts here:


It's only a jar file, no special requirements or changes.

You can down load it here at www.approvaltests.com

You might also be interested in my similar addition of extension method in java

Here's the diagram of the syntax :

I also made a small tutorial here : http://blog.approvaltests.com/2010/10/java-lambdas.html

Theory Based Testing

Most of us are familiar with classic unit testing. Today, I wanted to talk a about a different form of unit testing, that is much more powerful when it is possible.

Theory based test take the normal form of
Given A & B expect C
and change it to
Given A & B expect C theory
This removal of the expected C, allows you to test MANY more cases, because you don't need to pre-plan the results for a given A & B

I vBlogged my thoughts here:


btw: if you are interested in attending an open spaces, check out Open Agile So Cal. There's one coming up in San Francisco Oct. 11, 2010

Rewriting Vs Refactoring

Once again, I found myself having a discussion about the dangers of doing a legacy code rewrite. Durning this client meeting, I came up with an illustration I wanted to share.

I vBlogged my thoughts here:



These 3 graphs sum up the Massive Risk at the end.

The Rewrite Scenario

The Hidden Question at the End

The Refactor Scenario

The importance of your Compile Time

Lot's of time i find myself working to shorten compile and build times. While most people agree with shorter is better for compile times, the questions of what is short? and how important is it? seem to remain vague and seemly open to judgement.

It's not. So I wanted to take a moment to clarify it.


 I vBlogged my thoughts here





You can see the excel sheet here
and read the Joel on Software Thread here

Recipes in Java

 Learning to Program Java with Recipes

 

 14 amazing kids showed up yesterday for a session at Wintriss Techinical school on learning to program Java! We tackled 2 recipes durning these 2 hours, and wanted to show how to setup your own computer so you can continue at home.

 

 

 

Here's What you need to do to get started with the Recipes. First the quick-links, then detailed instructions below.

 

1. 
   
   Download Java SDK


2. 
   
   Download Eclipse


3. 
   
   Download Workspace
4. Import Workspace
   

Download Java SDK

 If you don't already have java on your machine you'll have to download it. How can you tell if you do have java? open an terminal window.
Mac : command+space then type terminal and hit enter
Windows : windowskey+r then type CMD and hit enter
In the terminal/command window type
java -version
if you see something like
java version "1.6.0_15"
you've got it, otherwise download it from Sun at http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/widget/jdk6.jsp
  

Download Eclipse

You want to download the "Eclipse IDE for Java Developers (92MB)"
it's here
http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/

Download the Workspace

Download the "Learn To Program - In Java" workspace from CodePlex. http://learntoprogram.codeplex.com/
Unzip it to the directory of your choice. But remember the location, you will need in the next step.

Import the Workspace

In Eclipse, right click in the Navigator Window and select "Import Workspace".
A Window will appear asking for an import source, select "Existing Projects into Workspace", if you can't find it start typing existing and it will appear.
Click next.
The root directory is the location where you unzipped the workspace.  then simply hit finish.

If you are successful you should see the IntroToProgramming folder in the navigator window.

That's it, Happy Programming!
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.