Office chairs
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Quick question since I expect most people here are familiar with office chairs. I just replaced the office chair in my home office because the cylinder that connects to the base had pushed its way through the base so far that it was now touching the floor instead of the wheels and starting to damage my carpet. So I brought a new (fairly cheap) chair from Target and it pretty much assembles the same way, a tapered cylinder slides into a hole in the base. Originally the cylinder sat flush with the bottom of the base, but already it has slipped maybe 1/2 inch further down. Is this normal? Is there a way to stop it going all the way through and buggering up my carpet again? Or should I just lose some weight? :^)
Give me four wooden legs and no moving parts any day. I had a meeting yesterday where I needed to try and impress (so the odds are against me right away!) and I got this damn chair that was impossible to sit in without looking lke I was trying to take a nap. If I sat normally, the thing tilted way backwards. The only way I could sit upright was to move to the front edge of the seat and subtly try and lock my left hand between my thigh and the underside of the table to hold me in a forward position with my other leg outstretched to try and bring my CoG forward a little! This lasted for an hour and prevented me from being able to partake of any of the food on offer - an even worse loss! Rich
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Quick question since I expect most people here are familiar with office chairs. I just replaced the office chair in my home office because the cylinder that connects to the base had pushed its way through the base so far that it was now touching the floor instead of the wheels and starting to damage my carpet. So I brought a new (fairly cheap) chair from Target and it pretty much assembles the same way, a tapered cylinder slides into a hole in the base. Originally the cylinder sat flush with the bottom of the base, but already it has slipped maybe 1/2 inch further down. Is this normal? Is there a way to stop it going all the way through and buggering up my carpet again? Or should I just lose some weight? :^)
I had this happen to me on a fairly old but very comfortable chair...it ruined the carpet, but the chair was too comfortable to chuck, so i took the pole out from the base and wrapped the pole with tape (I used electrical tape) and put it back in the hole. works a treat, no problems since. worth a go if the chair is comfortable. John.
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Yeah, b/c they somehow think that being able to see you, makes you more productive.
Christian Graus No longer a Microsoft MVP, but still happy to answer your questions.
Christian Graus wrote:
being able to see you, makes you more productive.
No, no, no. It makes it easier for them to flog the serfs. I've found the key is to learn to love the whip. Unfortunately, nobody around where I work has a decent arm...
Software Zen:
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You work from home don't you? Lucky. I'm about to submit the idea to my bosses. Somehow my company has managed to hire more people than we have parking spaces for and people are now parking in the drive lanes in the parking lot. I'm gonna suggest the programmers work from home to alleviate the congestion. They probably won't go for it though.
IF your bosses don't have craniorectalimpaction you can get height adjustable desks at work. I've seen coworkers with bad backs using them.
Today's lesson is brought to you by the word "niggardly". Remember kids, don't attribute to racism what can be explained by Scandinavian language roots. -- Robert Royall
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Don't just drop it casually in their laps, it will be casually brushed aside. Do your numbers on the cost of office resources thay can save. Note that the progs will supply their on machines (even if this changes later it can be a great saver). Push the idea of weekly face to face with the option of more frequent meetings (these I find I missed when working from home).
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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Quick question since I expect most people here are familiar with office chairs. I just replaced the office chair in my home office because the cylinder that connects to the base had pushed its way through the base so far that it was now touching the floor instead of the wheels and starting to damage my carpet. So I brought a new (fairly cheap) chair from Target and it pretty much assembles the same way, a tapered cylinder slides into a hole in the base. Originally the cylinder sat flush with the bottom of the base, but already it has slipped maybe 1/2 inch further down. Is this normal? Is there a way to stop it going all the way through and buggering up my carpet again? Or should I just lose some weight? :^)
If your chair was less than $250 USD, you are doing yourself a disservice. You spend more time in your office chair than you probably spend anywhere else in a single stretch. Go to Office Max or Staples and get a height adjustable, ergonomic chair and you won't ever sit in a cheap chair again. I've seen people pay as much as $1500 for a quality office chair. If you're a contractor, it's a tax deduction. Also, if you have to ask if you need to lose weight, the answer is probably yes.
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Well, how heavy are you? I weighed 240 :) and did not have these problems. A tapered fit is very easy to widen if you are too heavy. Since a taper is a ramp with a small rise over a large run, a small widdening of the outer sleave will result is a large drop to the carpet. The cheap chairs could also be made of soft steel and the steel is just bending or expanding too easily. Maybe the answer is a higher quality chair, not made in China, for instance. Mel
Actually, I weight less than that (but still more than I'd like). I was just trying to preempt any comments about losing weight. ;) The real problem is that i tend to like to sit with one or both legs tucked under me (i.e. Indian style), and that's not really what the chair is designed for. I also like to rock back in it which also probably doesn't help either. It just seems to me that the tapered cylinder design, which most (even more expensive) chairs use is really stupid.
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Give me four wooden legs and no moving parts any day. I had a meeting yesterday where I needed to try and impress (so the odds are against me right away!) and I got this damn chair that was impossible to sit in without looking lke I was trying to take a nap. If I sat normally, the thing tilted way backwards. The only way I could sit upright was to move to the front edge of the seat and subtly try and lock my left hand between my thigh and the underside of the table to hold me in a forward position with my other leg outstretched to try and bring my CoG forward a little! This lasted for an hour and prevented me from being able to partake of any of the food on offer - an even worse loss! Rich
I'm kind of with you on that. I stopped using my expensive office chair at work (which also looks like it's doing the cylinder going through the base bit as well) because I can just never get comfortable on the damn thing. I'm using a much simpler chair now (four solid legs, no fancy up and down adjustment), but it still has wheels which means I'm constantly having to pull myself back towards my desk. I usually just wedge my knees under my desk to keep myself in place.
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You work from home don't you? Lucky. I'm about to submit the idea to my bosses. Somehow my company has managed to hire more people than we have parking spaces for and people are now parking in the drive lanes in the parking lot. I'm gonna suggest the programmers work from home to alleviate the congestion. They probably won't go for it though.
FyreWyrm wrote:
I'm gonna suggest the programmers work from home to alleviate the congestion. They probably won't go for it though.
I would strongly suggest that you carefully consider how you are going to address the communication issue. This seems to be the #2 stumbling block to getting telecommuting approved. #1 is transparency of what you are doing. This is simple to solve if you submit daily or weekly status reports. When I have telecommuted, the biggest problem I had was "staying in touch" with the other developers. In my current environment, we do quite well. Everyone has IM through a common service and we ensure availability to each other. In addition, we have a chat room open should we need a group discussion, and we have a conference call for our stand up meetings. I've found, however, that I usually prefer to be in the "office" with my partners for valuable face to face time. I usually only work from home when I need to be home for something like a delivery or service, or if I need uninterrupted quiet time.
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Actually, I weight less than that (but still more than I'd like). I was just trying to preempt any comments about losing weight. ;) The real problem is that i tend to like to sit with one or both legs tucked under me (i.e. Indian style), and that's not really what the chair is designed for. I also like to rock back in it which also probably doesn't help either. It just seems to me that the tapered cylinder design, which most (even more expensive) chairs use is really stupid.
Wjousts wrote:
The real problem is that i tend to like to sit with one or both legs tucked under me (i.e. Indian style),
You clearly have the wrong chair then. My roommate in college turned me onto these: Kneeling Chair[^] That is what I use at home. (Actually I have the $400 tempurpedic one)
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Quick question since I expect most people here are familiar with office chairs. I just replaced the office chair in my home office because the cylinder that connects to the base had pushed its way through the base so far that it was now touching the floor instead of the wheels and starting to damage my carpet. So I brought a new (fairly cheap) chair from Target and it pretty much assembles the same way, a tapered cylinder slides into a hole in the base. Originally the cylinder sat flush with the bottom of the base, but already it has slipped maybe 1/2 inch further down. Is this normal? Is there a way to stop it going all the way through and buggering up my carpet again? Or should I just lose some weight? :^)
If your a big guy like me, make sure to check the weight limits on the chair. I've broken many < $100 chairs only to find out they were ment for people that weigh less than 200 lbs. If you are planning on spending 8+ hours a day in the chair don't be affraid to spend at least $200 to get quality chair. In the long run you save money because you buy less chairs and won't have to visit the chiropractor as often.
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Give me four wooden legs and no moving parts any day. I had a meeting yesterday where I needed to try and impress (so the odds are against me right away!) and I got this damn chair that was impossible to sit in without looking lke I was trying to take a nap. If I sat normally, the thing tilted way backwards. The only way I could sit upright was to move to the front edge of the seat and subtly try and lock my left hand between my thigh and the underside of the table to hold me in a forward position with my other leg outstretched to try and bring my CoG forward a little! This lasted for an hour and prevented me from being able to partake of any of the food on offer - an even worse loss! Rich
I got one of those chairs here at the office. I have to turn the tensioner all the way up, but it is never in the "upright" position. Basically I sit straight up with the back all the way down. My elbows don't even hint at touching the arm rests, and the back support is non-existant for me. As odd as this is, this chair has never caused back problems for me, and if anything it has sthrengned my back and abs. When I work from home I hook up a PC to my 65inch 1080p DLP TV and use a wireless keyboard and mouse on one of those "lapdesk" things from the lazy-boy. Much nicer
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Buy a good chair. I use a bambach saddle chair and it's done wonders for my back.
Christian Graus No longer a Microsoft MVP, but still happy to answer your questions.
When I worked for MarchFirst we had Aeron Chairs. They were great. The joke among us who were laid off was that we would take our Laptops (IBM ThinkPads) and Chairs instead of severance. Would have been a better deal :-)
Tanks for your support
Pat O
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When I worked for MarchFirst we had Aeron Chairs. They were great. The joke among us who were laid off was that we would take our Laptops (IBM ThinkPads) and Chairs instead of severance. Would have been a better deal :-)
Tanks for your support
Pat O
Blog_ _ _
/*\== /*\== /*\==
<ooo> <ooo> <ooo> -
Quick question since I expect most people here are familiar with office chairs. I just replaced the office chair in my home office because the cylinder that connects to the base had pushed its way through the base so far that it was now touching the floor instead of the wheels and starting to damage my carpet. So I brought a new (fairly cheap) chair from Target and it pretty much assembles the same way, a tapered cylinder slides into a hole in the base. Originally the cylinder sat flush with the bottom of the base, but already it has slipped maybe 1/2 inch further down. Is this normal? Is there a way to stop it going all the way through and buggering up my carpet again? Or should I just lose some weight? :^)
Our office has bulk swissballs... very cheap (NZ$30??). Boss is getting new carpets and has dictated that we all use them (to reduce wear on the carpets). I've used one for about a year. They are great, my back pain of +5yrs has gone (well...I went to chiropractor too...but anyway...). And when customers come by you can all look really stupid together! When people get excited they bounce up and down, also very funny.