I won't stand for this...

Recently I have switched to a standing desk at work. There was a betting pool started on how long before I would give up and switch back, but I do believe I have already beat the over/under of two weeks.

A while back some people I know started standing desks. There are lots of studies and documentation on the health benefits, you can google for yourself if interested. I have long been concerned about the effect of sitting as much as I do. So, I grabbed one of the wooden desks we use for patron walk up catalog terminals, moved my old desk into storage (just in case I needed it back!) and jumped in.

Lots of curious onlookers have stopped by my desk to ask, "so...how do you like it?" Well, here in a nut-shell (why would anyone put something in a nut-shell anyway?) is my take on the first few weeks of a standing desk:

The Good:

-I don't feel the aches and pains I had from 8 hours a day in a chair. My legs feel less cramped, my shoulders don't ache, and so on.

-I find that standing has caused me to interact with people in the office more. Since I am already up it is easier to move about the office and talk to people instead of lazily firing off an email to someone who is ten feet away. Count that a plus for me, and a minus for the poor saps in my office...

-I can focus more. Distractions are easier to ignore since I feel like I have to complete a task and move on to something else before my feet begin to hurt from standing in one place too long.

-I'm not sure I have experienced any health benefits. Might be too early to give a verdict on that. I have however managed to change the aches and pains, so maybe after some time they may all clear up? Maybe...

The Bad:

-New aches and pains. My feet hurt since I am not used to standing so much. When I worked retail, 10 plus hours a day on my feet was a cake walk. Since I have not done that in seven plus years, I assume I just need to rebuild muscles and strength needed for standing.

-Long tasks require sitting still. If I am involved in something complex and time consuming I need to sit at times. I battle that by having a sitting desk right behind me for breaks and complex work.

-I work in a fishbowl. I have no office door, matter of fact I even share my cubicle with students since we are out of space. Lots of people like to come talk to me about my desk. For me it's not much of a bother since I am social and like to share my experiences anyway, but I don't think I would count this in the "good" column. I did have to make up my mind on whether I wanted to deal with "standing out" in my office. Yeah, I went there...

-Collaboration with office mates can be difficult for them since they have to stand when at my desk. Not my problem really, but something that should be condisdered if you are thinking about trying this.

To recap:
This is not for everyone. Comfy shoes are a must. Give yourself the option to sit, not sure I would stick with this if I couldn't. Be prepared to explain/defend. Save your old desk so you can go back. No shame in trying something only to find out it's not for you. Give it a try! What have you got to lose?

For consideration:
If you have a cheap or free option like I was lucky enough to, just give it a try. No investment. Buying a standing desk is a financial commitment you have to weigh. Not sure where I stand on that...eh, ehem. Well, you get the point.

Make sure you follow good ergonomic guides and put the keyboard/monitors at the correct height to prevent undue strain. Have fun, and I would love to hear from you if you try it, are thinking of trying, or are already standing!

Paterno: Sad and tragic ending, all the way around

***If you have a squeamish stomach and do not want to read about controversy or child abuse, please do not read this article...You have been warned!***



Joe Paterno passed away this week. Some say he died of a broken heart. While I am sad for the Paterno family's loss, I'm pretty sure lung cancer is what got him, which would have happened even if he was never fired.

For those of you living under a rock, here is a recap of what happened over the last few months.
Mike McQueary, (a former player,then assistant coach and grown man), witnessed Jerry Sandusky, (former Defensive coach and then member of a youth outreach program), rape a 10 year old boy in the shower of the Penn State football facility.

McQueary has made several different statements about his actions following this incident, ranging from doing nothing and leaving to physically separating them and leaving. Any way you slice it, not much there to cheer about. Me? I would have beat Sandusky to a bloody pulp, or at least called the police. But that is another matter.

This action was then reported to Paterno the next day. Joe Pa, as he is affectionately known, has also given several accounts of what happened next, anything from reporting "something funny" happened to "maybe a little inappropriate tickling". Who did he report to? The police on campus? The state police? A detective? A prosecutor? Sandusky himself? Nope. The president and athletic director...Hmmm...Protecting a football program? I think so.

So they certainly took appropriate action, right? Nope. Not once was an investigation conducted. No law enforcement called. Not even a ban of Sandusky from the building. Now here is where I start to really get mad.

This incident. The one witnessed by a credible grown man. It was reported to Joe Pa in 2002. TEN YEARS AGO. Sandusky had free reign of this facility and the youth outreach program called Second Mile the whole time. Joe knew this. He knew no action was taken. Then he defended that by saying he was "...hesitant to make follow-up calls because I did not want to be seen as trying to exert any influence for or against Sandusky. I didn't know which way to go, and rather than get in there and make a mistake . . ."

Joe Paterno, a man of high regard. A man with decades on the record of "doing things the right way", was hesitant to get involved on behalf of a raped ten year old boy. Seriously? Get in there, throw your weight around and make sure something is done. No ambiguity, no grey area, no tough call. There is only one clear path forward. The cost of going forward is high, but the cost of not going forward is life changing. I refuse to believe this mighty man, the moral compass of a community and even a nation, had a hard time figuring that out. Only one conclusion can be drawn from this. Paterno did nothing for fear his football legacy would be tarnished.

Now the apologists are saying he got a raw deal. You have to forgive the man of one small mistake and not let that over shadow his decades of good work. To this I say, how can you call it ONE mistake? How can you call it a SMALL mistake? He had ten years to step up and do the right thing. He chose not to, and who knows how many more boys suffered the same fate.

Yes I understand that any one of the people in this story, starting with McQueary, should have stood up and shouted. Joe did not witness this himself which is probably the one thing that saves any grace for him. Yet I can't help but get sick when I hear Joe Pa apologists shout "Look at all the good he did", or "Look how many lives he touched". I can't help but think of the lives he should have touched and didn't.

Everyone deserves forgiveness. We are all human and we all make mistakes. I don't wish to vilify Paterno and suggest that the body of his work is now worthless. What I do wish to point out is simply this. Before you suggest him for sainthood don't forget, the most powerful man in college football history, the most influential man in Penn State, the one who is famous for 'doing things the right way', stood by and did nothing in the most crucial hour. That I will never forget.

God bless the victims and their families. Football is just a game...