Walking for Android

Published on May 12, 2010 in Australia

You may have just read that I recently duct taped my own walking treadmill. Whilst driving home I realized a reward would be nice to encourage me to keep going, instead of just crawling into bed with my laptop. Sydney's winter is coming, and while not as cold as back home, it is colder than you might think. Plus, our house doesn't seem to provide insulation (is reverse insulation possible?) - so it can hit 5-8C inside.

The deal I made was this: if I can walk to Melbourne, I'm allowed to buy an Android phone/tablet. Walking to work or hiking doesn't count, only the time inside on the TreadDesk.

We created a simple spreadsheet on Google Docs to track our progress. I'm contemplating making a little map that shows how far our virtual walking has taken us, but that's pretty low on my list of personal projects.

Build A Treadmill Desk for $9.85

Published on May 3, 2010 in Australia

There are a few problems with living a modern life, especially as a computer/office person, most notably the sedentary lifestyle that comes with the package. The last few years have been the most inactive of my life; I joked today about not having a bruise or drop of blood since arriving in Sydney. Although I've never been a super athlete, I was in decent enough shape in Uni to know that I'm now heading down a slippery slope. The tipping of the iceberg was when my dress pants started to become too tight at the waist, and since I only dry clean them, I can't even make up an excuse. Additionally, they were tailored one trip to Bangkok, so I can't even make an excuse that they were tight to begin with.

The gym situation in Sydney, at least in our neighborhood, is a bit dire. In summary, there aren't any gyms nearby, and any gyms in the city are quite a bit more expensive than what I would really like to be paying (the last time I paid a gym fee was a student, and it was like $30 for three months). The places I investigated were typically $20/week.

Even if I could find a decent gym, the sedentary problem would still exist at home. After eight hours in the office at a desk (I do walk around as much as possible), I typically sit another few hours at home programming. My body started feeling uncomfortable. What I really needed was a change, and something drastic.

I started reading about how some people created stand-up desks, and how many people swore by them. I then read a few articles about people creating treadmill desks, and even a few on amazon. Since I've never had a treadmill desk, I opted to build one myself.

Another problem also existed with wishing to build one myself: I don't own a hammer, electric screwdriver, nor a saw. The closest I have is a few steak knives, but they aren't even that good. The best I had was a free dual sided screwdriver from Symantec, but the idea of using that to build anything substantial bordered on insane. The girlfriend and I opted to visit Ikea.

Ikea turned out to be a bust. There were some wonderful bar tables, which if you want a standing desk would work fine, but I didn't think they would cover the treadmill well enough. Our next stop was to Bunnings.

Bunnings is like a manly man's candy store, but I didn't even know where to start looking for how to build my treadmill desk. Two problems were evident with making a desk:

• 1) Where to put the monitor - it has to be fairly high.
• 2) Where to put the keyboard and mouse.

We walked around and around, investigating lawn furniture, storage systems, and every wood product on every wood aisle. An idea finally hit us: get two wood boards and use telephone books to raise the keyboard to an ergonomic level. In order to attach the boards to the phone books we also required another tool that I somehow didn't have: duct tape. I opted to get racing red. We departed Ikea without knowing how to mount the monitor, but with an inkling how to solve the keyboard problem.

At home we tested the phone book and board idea. Initially I only used two phone books (from Sydney, which has about 4m people). The bench actually fit across the treadmill bars, and the phone books provided a certain amount of flex to contour the groove. However, the bench was a little too low, so I added another telephone book. And voila! Perfect height.

One side effect of adding three telephone books was that this desk was now becoming heavy, and while the treadmill arms look strong, I did buy the cheapest new treadmill possible.

The solution was the cannibalize the big styrofoam blocks that the treadmill shipped in. A suggestion I learned from previous experiences with cutting styrofoam (with my cheap steak knifes): cut it in a box, otherwise you'll have snowflakes all over your house. Cut the styrofoam into rough cubes, and add one telephone book to the bottom. For me, Sydney's L-Z from 2008 and 2009 fitted great.

Apply lots of duck tape, as seen above, and you have a lightweight desk!

The wood boards soon presented an obvious problem: they aren't very comfortable to rest your hands on. The quickest solution to this was to use a spare ironing board [I didn't see the point in ironing anymore], and mount it across the top of the boards. I now have a soft surface to rest my hands on, and a heat shield in case of alien attack.

The monitor solution came as a bit of an epiphany. I needed something of perfect height, and the big box the treadmill came in provided the exact height needed. I put the remaining telephone books at the bottom of the box, and sealed it up. I moved the box as much as possible and let it rattle back into place, and my monitor didn't fall off. Then again, I live in Sydney, which basically never has earthquakes. If it did, considering the construction of the house we're renting, a falling monitor would be the last of my worries. If you're in California or Taiwan, I would advise liberal use of duct tape to secure your monitor. The good news is that if there is an earthquake, you at least have a heat shield to protect you from falling rubble.

Now that I've been walking and using the computer for a few days, I'm not certain I'll go back to sitting down at home again. I can offer you a few words of caution. The first is to warm up at .5k intervals. The second is to be careful when you get off the treadmill, especially if you haven't used one in a long time, like me. After 45m my first time the phone rang and I jumped off, which made the world flip upside down and I almost flew into the coffee table. Lastly, it is fun for partners too. My girlfriend sent me an email today: "I'm walking+nerding on your super cool desk." She walked 12k before I got home.

In conclusion, your shopping list to duplicate my $9.86 desk:

• One basic treadmill ($399AUD)
• Two telephone books, sized to fit. (Free)
• Optional - two wood boards for support ($6AUD)
• Styrofoam packing blocks (Free)
• Ironing board ($15AUD, or Free if you empty the washer and line dry your clothing, like me)
• Giant treadmill box (Free)

Update: I've decided to walk to Melbourne.

Two Days in Dubbo

Published on Jan. 27, 2010 in Australia

W and I are quite big fans of trains. I especially like sitting back and relaxing, reading a good book, and writing postcards. After our 60-hour train-ride through China, the 6-hour train-ride from Sydney to Dubbo was no problem.

One aspect we researched in Dubbo was how to get around without a car; we like to live green, and renting a car is sometimes a bit expensive. After eventually finding the bus schedule, which didn't even go anywhere near the zoo, we knew we had two options: 1) take taxis and rent a bike, or 2) rent a car. Two bikes for four hours in the zoo costs $30, plus the taxi around the city. Unfortunately, Dubbo is just a bit too big to comfortably walk around, and being in Western NSW, it is 40C during the summer. We opted to rent a car.

Two blocks from the rail station was Budget, where we had pre-booked a small rental. We quickly visited our Hotel, the Cattlemen's Inn, and then went to one of the local vineyards, the Tombstone. W and I have visited several vineyards: in New Zealand, in the Hunter Valley, and California. We exited the road into the little gravel yard, and didn't see anybody. After walking around for a few minutes we met a guy, wearing a motor racing shirt and missing a few teeth; "don't have kids" he yelled at us. We entered the plywood wine tasting hut and embarked on the most unique wine tasting experience possible. Our wine-master worked in our suburb as a chef at the local pub, but spent half the year in Dubbo with his family tending the vineyard. He mentioned he'd earn 50k in six months at the pub, and he'd also just bought a 30k BMW Mini, which is W's favourite car. He was tearing out the front seats and sticking in a V8. We also discussed about the local population of Dubbo, about working the vines, and Australia in general. The experience was a bit surreal, but interesting, and we left with a bottle of Shiraz and some good memories.

We next visited the cafe with the "best coffee in Dubbo", but the coffee was easily the worst we'd had in Australia. It has "washing machine" foam, and the espresso was borderline cold. The coffee in Central Station was even significantly better, and I even get a discount. Leaving unsatisfied, we debated what to do. We looked north and saw a national park that could be interesting, and we left for that. Even just 30m out of Dubbo I started to have feelings of the Real Australia, of Steve Erwin, and then we went back to the hotel.

On the way back we stopped by the local Indian restaurant, which actually had damn good curry, and finally settled back in our hotel. We spent the rest of the night watching the Australian Open and the News, eating curry and blue cheese, and finally fell asleep.

The next morning we checked out of the Cattlemen's, which we'd recommend if there is a sale, and drove through the CBD and found the only place open, a little cafe with a very Australian waitress. Then again, it was Australia Day, so anybody not decked in an Australian flag was obviously unpatriotic. She brought us our cappuccinos, and I have to admit, the other cafe should have their "best coffee" title striped away. The coffees weren't spectacular, but at least it tasted like the cappuccinos in Sydney. The chocolate muffin was even good, and after eating we left for the zoo.

Although the zoo is a bit expensive at $45 per person (W got a student discount), we basically came to Dubbo for no other reason. I'm glad we entered the zoo right at 9:00, because spending the afternoon in 40C+ heat wouldn't be much fun. We left about four hours to travel around the zoo, and unless you're an animal fanatic, I think that's about right. It seemed like we were being passed by more cars that we were passing, so I'm guessing most people did it in far less than four hours. Although I had seen all the animal types before, many in the wild (like the deer my mom shooos away from her garden), we still had fun. If anybody is thinking about visiting the Dubbo Zoo, I almost recommend just walking and leaving the car at the parking lot. It might be a little far, but if you have a hat and lots of water, you'll save yourself a lot of trouble getting in and out of your vehicle.

After the zoo we went to get food at "Hog's Breath", an American-centric steak joint on the corner of the CBD. Although we should have ordered the 18-hour slow roasted steak, we opted for the hamburgers. One thing to note: if they ask you "do you want avocado or bacon with that?" what it actually translates as is "if you want avocado or bacon, we'll charge $3.50 for each, even though your burger is only $12". And $12 for a burger is a bit hefty - I can get a steak and Guinness at some places in Sydney for that. However, it did taste pretty good, so we left it at that and went to the train station.

I dropped W off with our backpacks and returned the car, a few block away, yet nobody was around. I left the keys in the Key Deposit slot and walked back to the train station. Shortly the train arrived, we boarded, and six hours later we were home, and the adventure was over. My overall impressions? This was a good quick adventure to keep the travel bug at bay for a few months.

First Time Boules

Published on Jan. 20, 2010 in Australia

Our regular weekends involve French on Saturday, and lounging around on Sunday. This Sunday, however, e had other plans. Our friends Daisy and Remko invited us over for a few drinks and to play boules. The score was initially 2-12, and we came back to 14-12. Remko and Daisy kept tossing the Jack short, and eventually pulled significantly ahead. We then switched to an amazing dinner: some Indonesian rice, some cabbage, lots of beer, and some chicken. Some great chicken.

Daisy regularly throws pots for fun, and asked us to take a few home. W selected two small bowls, which have become our yoghurt bowls. I used to throw pots when I was younger, and I have to say, these are of great quality. Much appreciated!

Trek to Warragamba

Published on Jan. 10, 2010 in Australia

There are several large cities around the world that blend a great mix of tame and wild elements within the same borders. Portland, where I went to University, was certainly one of them. Located within a 15 minute bike ride from the CBD, the park has an area of over 5,000 acres and makes up part of some of the best biking in Portland. Sydney, where I live now, has similar great attractions. Yesterday we visited Warragamba Park, nestled just outside Penrith, after a morning of work at the Richmond campus. (W worked, I talked with Nathan).

We left the house quite early so W could be at the campus before 8:30, had a pleasant drive, and finally arrived. I helped haul the equipment out to the trees for W to do her experiments, and retreated into the demountable to plug in my laptop and read. W's ex-coworker, Nathan, a faculty member at Boston University, visited the site and we started discussing the finer parts of carbon and technology. A few hours later W had finished her experiments, and Nathan, Remko, Daisy and myself helped push the tractor back and packed away the equipment. We locked the gates and left for Warragamba Park.

Our path took us south from Richmond through Penrith via Mulgoa Road, then to a little set of stores in the tiny village of Wallacia. We bought some brew and snacks, and turned onto Silverdale. We then came to the dirt road off to the right, and continued to the watering hole. The fireroad to the hole was quite steep, and we lost at least one beer along the way. The watering hole reminded me of home, and we opened the snacks and beer. Four hours of hiking in the streams, being stung by weird insects, and 3 coats of sunscreen later, W and I bid our farewells and hiked back up the trail, and went home. Besides the countless shards of broken glass around the water, this was a great little adventure.