Ergonomics and amortization

In my search to perfect (as much as possible) the ergonomic situation with my desk, the best thing I bought for that purpose actually costs very little. It’s a footrest, to elevate your feet for a better posture. With my chair set at the proper height (arms at 90 degree angle when typing), my feet are a bit dangly in relation to the floor. This $40 piece of memory foam solves that problem. It’s been an absolutely revelation since it arrived. I should have bought one way sooner.

A two-hour photo editing session with no discomfort whatsoever. What a joy.

I’m still debating whether or not to get a standing desk. I’ve got one of those at work and I try to stand as much as possible while there. So I figured that once I come home, it’s quite okay to sit the rest the time. But what about on weekends? It would be nice to alternate between sit and stand every now and then. However, I just spend nearly $9,000 on a monitor and a laptop, so I’m not in the mood to drop another thousand on the standing desk that I want.

That said, I’ve been using my current desk - the long discontinued IKEA Fredrik - for well over a decade. I fully expect any new desk I purchase will be used for at least that long. A thousand dollar amortized over that length of time isn’t all that much money from that perspective. That’s the same rationale I used for spending $5,000 on an Apple Pro Display XDR: I plan to keep and use it for at least 10 years.

Perhaps a standing desk will be coming soon. But first I need to get my piano situation sorted. I’ve been unable to practice because I gave my iPad to my father. The tablet is where I load lessons from Piano Marvel. Due to circumstances, my father needed an iPad quickly, so I let him have mine, thinking it would be easy enough to buy a plain iPad (not Air, not Pro, not anything) from the Apple Store. Unfortunately, the crazy supply chain is at it again: the cheapest iPad you can buy is backordered into the middle of January.

No (new) practicing until that time, which isn’t ideal for my progression, honestly.

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Late night snack.

I got a new mouse

In my line of work, I often times go into the offices of other people to setup their computers and what not. Whether by coincidence or providence, recently I’ve encountered users of this strange-looking mouse. Shaped like a dim-sum bun turned on its side, this mound of a thing turns out to be the Evoluent VM4SW, a vertical, ergonomic mouse. I’ve seen plenty of the typical thumb trackball ergonomic mouse, but never before one of these vertical ones. I was intrigued.

As I get older, ergonomics and function hold precedent over style. Those of us who make our money sitting in front of computers all day must limit the adverse affects on our health as much as possible. This is why I elevate my MacBook Pro on a stand, so the screen is more level to the eye. I use a mechanical keyboard; the long-travel keys cushion the typing forces of the fingers. Yet inexplicably, I still use the the stock Apple Magic Mouse as an external for the laptop.

The Magic Mouse have given me mild finger and wrist pains for years, but I kept on using it. Indeed, the gesture controls and deep integration with macOS make it difficult to quit the Apple mouse. However, my encounter with the Evoluent vertical mouse got me thinking about (finally) a switch. I went to the one input device brand I trust most - Logitech - to see if they’ve got such a mouse in their lineup.

Turns out they do! The Logitech MX Vertical works just the same as the Evoluent model, but much sleeker and higher quality. It comes in cheaper, too, though still a relatively expensive $89 dollars. The MX vertical actually costs more than this Keychron K6 keyboard I’m typing this on. It’s very much worth it: the comfort is immediate, and the movement far more natural than the traditional mouse. I do miss the touch gestures and smooth scrolling of the Magic Mouse, though I’d gladly trade that for the lack of muscle pain.

I’ll also never again have to suffer the ignominy of Apple’s worst design ever.

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It looks surprisingly Bauhaus.

Optimize for longevity

My colleagues and I are going around the university campus, checking various computers to get them ready for the fall semester. Most of these machines have not been touched since the begin of the pandemic. At best, you’d just need to run some updates and be done with it. At worst, the PC won’t even boot into the operating system. Macs are definitely easier to deal with under this unprecedented situation.

It seems some users prefer ergonomic keyboards for their workstations. You know, the type with the split in the middle and a heavily contoured typing surface. Having never used one regularly, the ergonomic keyboards alway trip me up, difficulty with finding the keys I want. My muscle memory simply isn’t coded for this! I was raised on the “regular” keyboard.

A more wizen and experience colleague reminded my why people use the ergonomic keyboard: to (hopefully) prevent the inevitable decay that comes with using a computer every single day for many hours. Arthritis of the hands is not fun. Never mind the other stuff that can happen, too: pain at the neck, shoulders, all the way down to the lower back. If sitting in front of a computer is your thing, then you’ll want to optimize the position as best as possible.

Perhaps I should rethink having a laptop as my only device at home. An external monitor to raise the sight line, and an external keyboard to make typing more comfortable. I do enjoy the minimalist appearance of having only the laptop on the desk, and would hate to give up any more space for computer accessories. What I also need then is a bigger desk, ideally one that can adjust for height.

It’s definitely something to ponder on seriously. My hands and fingers are already not in so good a shape, as evident by my ongoing struggle with learning the piano in my 30s. Longevity is the game, so I really ought to optimize for that, instead of maintaining the status quo because of aesthetics.

There’s also another problem: the monitor I want is $5,000 dollars…

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Summertime campus.