Deluxe Butt Parking

[mike breck]

Working at and on PCs is such a cerebral process that we sometimes forget about the health and well being of the rest of our body - in particular, our butt.

Recently, after a particularly severe case of "butt ache", I decided to spoil myself (and my butt) by purchasing a new PC chair.

At the store, it came down to two contenders. The first candidate was a superbly, ergonomic, typist's chair with more padding and back support. The second was an executive's chair upholstered in real Italian leather.

They both cost $110 - so which one should I choose?

Well, being a fit guy, who likes to work out and look after his health, there was only one choice - the executive's chair!

Yes boys, you need to get yourself one of these chairs! High back, heavily padded seat, rotates, goes up and down, and tilts so you can put your feet on the desk when making tough decisions. All accompanied by the lovely smell of leather.

I call it my "Make it so!" chair. I call it that because it reminds me of Picard's chair in Star Trek. Not in design, but just the general ambience it exudes of "lording it" over lesser mortals.

Yes sirree, a man can feel mightely important sitting in a chair like that.

So the only question remaining to ask any lesser ranks who might read this is "Where do you park your butt?".

Make it so, number one!

[Jenni]

ROFLOL, "make it so"....

Mine is parked in an elcheapo $29 office chair, no arms and little padding. Of course, my butt has all the extra padding it needs (and then some), lol.

[mike breck]

I'm sorry Jenni, I can't hear you, my chair's in the glide/tilt position...ah!..that's better.

Hmm...Elcheapo 29oh...good chair, I think it was recommended by glc or Hal in a previous post.

But, I think you should treat yourself and upgrade to the Elcheapo 35oh. Go on, you know you're worth it! Spoil yourself!

[mc2phat]

I park my fat butt in a hand-me-down swivel rocker, padded, , and lay my fat head back on a grungey pillow.

[mc2phat]

Hey mike..how 'bout a pic of your storied alleged chair?

[mike breck]

Sorry Mc2,

If I showed you a picture of "make it so", you'd be wanting one too.

Next thing you know, everyone would be wanting one. The country would go from rack to ruin. There'd be no work done. Instead of working, the whole country would be experiencing the delights and comforts of superior butt parking.

And we can't have that.

You'll have to trust me - it's reeeally nice!

[DrZaius]

Here's my butt parking spot:



It's leather, it's comfy, and it tilts back.

[Jenni]

Heres mine:



Not much to look at, but it is much better than the folding metal chair I was using. Lol, it's on sale for $19.95 at OfficeMax at the moment, if anyone needs one.

[mc2phat]

What I really want is a chair like Baron Harkonnen had in the movie Dune.

[Tiretool]

Here's mine.






Round-front bowl requires less space and is less expensive than elongated bowl models.
The 2" glazed trapway ensures heavy waste moves swiftly through the trapway without blockage.

Water supply not included...

[DrZaius]

LOL

[glc]

They don't call plumbers "turdchasers" for nothing........

[mike breck]

Lots of loling.

Pretty good, people.

Jenni: It's very nice and functional. But, I think we'd have to send you to sit in "Engineering" with that chair.

Tiretool: Hmm...a Klingon model. I think the tilt function might have undersirable consequences! Also, the wide open port on this chair could make it vulnerable to Back Orifice. Try Black Ice or Zone Alarm. Both have a soothing and calming effect.

Dr. Zaius: While excellent, the lack of arm rests makes this a Number 2 chair. You wouldn't get to sit beside the Captain. You have to sit at the front of the ship, twiddling buttons.

For those of you who wish to advance in life, I proudly present a close graphical representaion of my "Make it so" model.




The size and poor quality of the image cannot convey the sheer pleasure of reversing parking into this chair.

However, I am very impressed with all your contributions and shall commend all of you to the National Association of Technologically Advanced Butt Parking.

Get up and go - buy a "make it so".

[Jenni]

While I'm sure that you have a very happy butt, I'm also sure that IF I had $110 I would keep my cheesy chair and buy a GeForce or some other hardware, and not "make it so". Especially since my kids would "make it junk".

[mike breck]

Well, the way things get used and abused in our house, the chair is going to live a heck of a lot longer than any of the PCs.

[Jenni]

BTW, Tiretool, where does one get a black toilet? That is COOL!

[Tiretool]

You can order many different colored toilets from most any hardware store. Lowe's, Home Depot, etc all have ways to special order from the manufacturer. The "one piece" toilets are my personal favorites. No separate tank and less joints that might leak.

[mike breck]

Actually Jenni,

Your reaction to me spending $110 on a chair raises an interesting difference between PC enthusiasts and the vast majority of people.

My wife and friends think it is perfectly acceptable to spend that sort of money (and indeed more) on a chair or any piece of furniture - but, cannot understand why I would to spend any hard-earned cash on PC components.

They laugh in suprise when they hear the price of software and gasp in disbelief at the price of hardware. Also, why anyone would want to sit stuck to a computer screen playing games is totally beyond them.

They cannot, for the life of them, conceive what possible pleasure anyone could get from participating in forums like PC Mechanic or browsing the net in general.

They just don't get it. They may use computers at work but they are not "into" computers. To them, a PC is just another office tool to get work done quickly.
Indeed, most of them feel it is more of a hindrance than a help, because of email volume and downtime through break downs.

Let's face it, we all get a little disconnected from the real world when buying computer accessories or components. Some of us don't think twice about paying $200-$300 for a graphics card but complain at the cost of food, kid's clothes, or tyres for the car.

As I said at the beginning, it's an interesting point and one to keep in mind the next time we buy a Geoforce 3 or 4.

What does anyone else think?

[Jenni]

Yeah, you bring up a good point. My car leaks power steering fluid like mad, and I have had probably enough money to fix it, but I bought a motherboard instead. Why? Well, it's like this: hubby isn't "into" computers at all, and he has the jobs and makes the money, of which I get very little. Any/all money I have is generally what I made selling a computer or fixing one, so as far as I'm concerned, that is mine to do with as I please, and it is HIS responsibility to get MY car fixed with HIS money, especially since he has been driving it while his has been broken.

[archie]

All the leather chairs that I have seen have vinyl backing. Are there any leather chairs that are ALL leather?

[mike breck]

Archie,

I think the price of leather has dropped so much over the last ten years, it would probably be more expensive these days to make the back out of a different material. Economies of scale and all that.

Anyway, I gave this a good sniff all over in the shop, and although I nearly got arrested for it, established it was all leather.

Epilogue: As I'm now experiencing my normal feelings of guilt for selfishly spending too much money on myself, I'm going to take the top off and sit on the pole for an for a few hours to chastise myself.

Catch you later.

[Paul Victorey]

I think the issues of price are simply cost vs. benefit anaylses.

My "critical" expenses are food, rent, some form of clothing, and tuition. These can be expensive, but all in all, I get more than my share of benefit from all of them, that I'm not upset about the money.

After my basic needs are met, I tend to spend money on practical applications -- books, a decent computer (it's not top of the line but it works), and enough conveniences (appliances, furniture, etc.) to make life easier. I also consider savings to be a practical application of money.

After I satisfy practical desires, I'll spend money on luxury stuff that I would enjoy, but here, if money is tight, I'll be as cheap as necessary.

So, if I had a lot of extra money, I'd certainly buy a nice chair for myself. However, not having a lot of spending money, I simply bought *a* chair (for $20) which serves its function. Having *a* chair is a practical desire, having a nice one is a luxury. In much the same way, having *a* PC is a practical desire, having the best parts is a luxury as well.

I sometimes get practical with my luxuries, too. Going out to eat is a luxury, as it is more expensive than eating at home, but occasionally I will go out with friends to eat. I always order the cheapest things on the menu, because it usually simply isn't worth it to me to pay more for other menu items.

That's my thoughts on money, and how I manage to live on low income without tapping too far into my savings. I hope to have a good portion of my savings intact after graduating from college, so I can start my career life without being in poverty.

[archie]

That is indeed a deluxe butt parker. I have a feeling that 10 years from now, that chair will still be enjoyed immensely by Mike and the current PC being used will be a distant memory.

[HAL9000]

As soon as I win the lottery, here is my new home:

[Charliey]

That thing is pretty sweet hal, if it had a fridge, stove in it, and if the chair reclined all the way, there'd be no need to buy a house.

[DrZaius]

That is awesome HAL. Now if they only made a version with a built-in toilet like Tiretool's.

[Jomama]

I have successfully resolved both the "butt" problem and the "you spend too much time in your computer room and not enough time with me" problem.
Wifey and I have nice leather recliner chairs in the family room and now I sit in mine with a laptop connected via ICS to my "real" computer. I surf and can nod to her or in someway let her know that I am listening to her.
The laptop is a Cyrix 233 but the connection is cable so it is satisfactory.
She is happy, I am happy and life is good. You dig?

[Jade]

Saving up for this baby here!

[jet_rider]

I do not recommend this for home. My company is nuts about saftey and ergonomics. These chairs are sweet but big dollars.

[StunGunz]

My chair is a solid maple office chair, straight out of the 1940's. I rescued it from the trash, and its been a constant companion for over two years. I've had the high back ergo chairs, and I wouldn't trade this baby for any one of them.

Chairs are like pets, they all come in many shapes and sizes, and not any one of them will satisfy every persons needs.