high stakes carpentry - build a desk and put expensive devices on it.

Maybe it's just because my pops built most of the furniture in my house, but building a desk which can support a computer and last doesn't strike me as a particular project prone to failure. A lot of us are engineers who work on much more complex problems (although it's true that you must measure twice and cut once with wood working).

Remember though: A lot of computer-engineers are good with ideas, not their hands |;)

Lots of computer engineers are good and some even great with their hands. And with the older generation that skews even further towards being good with both (after all, you needed a soldering iron + skills first if you wanted to learn how to program).

Thankfully there are still plenty of places where skills like programming and soldering intersect in the "modern era." I also feel (maybe I should say I hope) that we'll see a resurgence in this set of skills in the future as the old guard starts to retire (soon).

I was fortunate to have started my career in the embedded world. I eventually got in to the habit of bringing my laptop and prototypes with me to the lab every morning so that I could stop all of the back-and-forth walking when I needed to attach a lead to a pad, etc...

Bah, can't be any worse than the particle board crap at most places.

The health benefits are at best questionable.[0] [1] [2] [3]

[0] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/standing-desk-sitting-da...

[1] http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/article...

[2] https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2014/1...

[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/stand...

>The health benefits are at best questionable.

Not based on any of the articles you cited.

[0] is simply a study that compares mortality rates of sitting vs standing behaviors, and is counter to a number of other studies that found the opposite.

[1] and [2] suggest that ONLY standing can be harmful, and that one should combine sitting and standing for the best outcomes.

[3] is similar to [1] and [2] but points out that poor posture while standing - not standing itself - can cause problems.

Keeping in mind also that you can find fluff articles supporting nearly any position...

* First one is only about sitting/standing and mortality.

* Second one is about using standing desks wrong, and has nothing to do with whether using a standing desk correctly can improve your health.

* Third one seems to support getting a standing desk (...?)

* Fourth is a) anecdotal and b) also seems to support getting a standing desk.

Anything is questionable, but (in the USA at least) https://www.google.com/webhp#q=how+many+obese+people+in+usa

burning more cals is better https://www.google.com/webhp#q=how+many+calories+burned+stan...

And rent local tools while you do.