scubachisteve's Profile

"I feel like I've really earned it lounging on the couch with a glass of wine, as opposed to how I used to feel: sit all day, sit all night..."

I quit my standing desk after a month. "sit all night" was definitely not my norm. I'm usually active; swimming or cycling three times a week after work (and more fun stuff on weekends). Always looking for ways to improve performance, strength and tone, I figured I'd give the standing desk a try. Once I started using a standing desk my energy levels and evening fitness routines dropped way off. It's not a workout but it's fatiguing enough during the day to really sap you. I didn't adjust my 'active-lifestyle' diet and ended up gaining over 5lbs. this summer.

I've been sitting again for two weeks, eating all day long, and I've already taken off the weight and have tons of energy in the evenings and weekend to workout and have fun.

If you're active and already fit (or at least non-sedentary away from the office), seriously consider how this may affect your lifestyle.

That's my story. I'm curious if anyone else has had similar experiences?

As a lover of bamboo and neat looking things, I say "Cool".

As a cyclist, I say "Hmmm" and "That appears dangerous. I better research this"

The forces exerted (and potentially exerted) on a bike during normal riding conditions are intense, and should be understood when buying any mechanical item made from non-traditional materials; especially those on which your life depends.

Reinforcing the joints with carbon-fiber is smart, and it has modern materials where it counts the most, but that doesn't protect the bamboo tubing entirely from force. Their FAQ only addresses compressive and tensile strenght but omits shearing and flexural strenght which seem to be weaker in bamboo, but still relevant to the forces exerted on a bicycle. This is of course my opinion based on no technical experience and 15-minutes worth of internet research.
(http://bambus.rwth-aachen.de/eng/PDF-Files/Mechanical%20properties%20of%20bamboo.pdf)

Stranger things have been rationalized for the vanity of being green, but I'll pick on this one a little because bicycles, so dear to me and with high benchmarks of efficiency, seem to be the focus of constant re-invention.

My Grandparents had a Bertoia side chair tucked in the corner by the front door coat rack. I loved looking at it as a kid, and it kick-started my love of modern design (though no one ever sat in it). I'm glad to still have it tucked in the corner of my living room (where no one sits in it).

"The concrete base can store wood for the cast-iron stove above, while the smoke outlet (to be attached to a flue) is at the back so the flat top can be used to warm dishes or boil a kettle."

We can all just drill holes in our walls and install flues, or hang some metal flue piping out the nearest window. How simple and modern!

I'd definitely get one for the patio or back yard, but I wonder how the concrete holds up against the heat retained by the cast iron?

After a long night out I woke up on the couch at a stranger's apartment. On the other couch was a friendly Australian guy who was halfway through a surf-safari of all the great West Coast spots he'd read about. His next stop was 20 miles south in the town I reside in. So, he gave me a ride in his rental station wagon (which was also his hotel). Of course I offered up my couch for the night. He went surfing with my roomie, showered, charged his phone and camera, took us out for pizza and beers and was on his way the next day.

I like my privacy and routine a lot, but the idea of being able to engineer a unique 'worldly' experience every now and then-- without leaving home--has it's appeal.

Though, I'd probably opt to get a little cash out of it with AirBnB

We start our parties pretty early in the evening, and usually end at midnight with a planned trip to the bar. If the clean-up doesn't get 'em, just make the general announcement that you're off to the favored watering-hole, shuffle everyone out lock the door behind you...then 'Oops, I forgot my wallet, brb" and off to bed. People that do want to keep the party alive can, and others can go home.