A special thank you to Lifeform Chairs and Lori Dyson with Relax the Back, Las Vegas store on helping me decide on the new chair! I urge anybody interested at all in purchasing a Lifeform Chair to email info@lifeformchairs.com. Their customer service is top notch and will make your purchase effortless.

Summary: Lifeform has done it again with the Ultimate Executive High Back. This is not the Rolls Royce of chairs. Rolls Royce is the Lifeform of cars. If you have a back, rear end, legs, torso, or any combination of the aforementioned body parts, you owe it to yourself to invest in a Lifeform Chair. Secondly, if you haven’t already, please read my original Lifeform Chair review. Then come on back. Boom.

There comes a time in every man’s life where the best is merely accepted rather than appreciated. It is a sad time. Yet a time full of opportunity to see what the whole “max out your credit card” idiom even means. Back in 2007 I began a journey to find the best office chair on the planet. After trying many, spending thousands and thousands, I came to the victor: The Lifeform Ultimate. It has been one of the best investments I have ever made. That may sound like hyperbole but that’s because you haven’t tried a workday at your desk with a Lifeform yet. However, I am a man of wants and I kept checking out all the new hotness Lifeform was pumping out and I couldn’t help but be tempted.

After much deliberation, I finally decided on my new dream chair: Ultimate High Back Executive in Deer Run bitter chocolate leather with cornflower piping, deep contour seat and a cherry wood base. Naturally, the best comes with a price. An exact price of $3,325. Of course, while I was shopping I of course needed the matching footrest for an additional $225 bringing the grand total to a spicy $3,550. Note: I am planning on retiring at 143 so no worries.

The Chair Arrives!

As you can see, the chair is not small. The whole chair came in three very large boxes much to my delivery guy’s enjoyment.

The build begins

The best news is that the chair is extremely simple to set up. And I mean extremely simple. There were no instructions and I had it set up in under 10 minutes. True story. Everything feels solid, together, and fits like a glove. You can feel instantly that a lot of thought went into making this chair.

Boom.

There’s the beauty. It’s cliche, but pictures do not do the chair justice. The leather is a deep dark chocolate that works with the lighter cornflower piping. The new cherry wood base also gives the chair an big style upgrade. The plastic on my original chair was fine but it’s nothing to the quality of the wood base. Of course the matching foot rest is not too shabby either. The foot rest was not an after thought by Lifeform. This is a beautiful well made product that should seriously be on your list if you’re buying a Lifeform.

All set up, ready to sit on. After looking over the great adjustment videos located here I was ready to enjoy. This was an easy task. The Deer Run leather was an awesome upgrade and feels like butter. Not too soft, still has a nice texture to it so you’re not sliding all over the place. The deep contour seat alleviates all the pressure in my legs. This chair does not “hit” in any one place but rather distributes your mass evenly.

tough problems to have

Here is the new chair side by side with my original. You can see the main differences: no headrest, color, type of leather, and the cherry wood base. Both beautiful chairs in my humble opinion but the new one just blows the old one out of the water on the pure looks department. It could fit in a home, CEO’s office, or boardroom.

So it’s been more than four years, how about all the new competitors out there? What about all the other manufacturers? What have they been doing while Lifeform is kicking their butts all over the ergonomic chair world? Not doing much it seems. I did go ahead and look at a few more chairs:

Think Chair by Steelcase ($919 MSRP)

Meh. I actually really liked the look and feel of the chair. If I was outfitting my new startup in silicon valley I would love to have a fleet of these just for the aesthetic. I of course would require employees to pull out the Lifeform mid backs when the investors leave. The chair was fine and comfortable for a bit but it can’t compare to the firm pillow the Lifeform creates. Additionally, the arm rests, which are so important yet so many manufactures forget about them, suck on this chair. They are short and stubby and unless you’re related to a Tyrannosaurs Rex, they will not be comfortable. Also, for close to $1000 you’re almost in Lifeform land…

Leap by Steelcase ($1329 MSRP in leather)

Steelcase Leap

I was actually impressed with this chair. Steelcase stepped their game up a bit and if you want a small drafting chair for not too prolonged sitting periods you could have a good time in this chair. I don’t think it comes close to the Lifeform in quality but it gets the job done. If an analogy must be made the Leap is the Lexus of ergonomic chairs. Dependable, comfy, not too exciting, but it will get you there. Most importantly, they fixed the armrests! That said, now this chair is dangerously close to the Lifeform price and it’s tough to recommend it.

Herman Miller Embody Chair (starts at $1150 MSRP)

Definitely the best Aeron chair out there in my opinion. I just don’t think they are made well for bigger people. I’m 6’3″ 200 and the chair is just not comfortable for me after an hour or so. It’s not a “bad” chair but I don’t think it’s worth the hype. Sit in in though, you might like it. Personally I would steer you to a Steelcase series before an Aeron and I would definitely steer you towards a Lifeform before a Steelcase…

Conclusion:

People ask, “Jordan, is there ANYTHING not to like about the Lifeform chairs??” Um, yes, the price kicks like a donkey downhill. Would I love for the chair to cost half as much? Of course. But I’d like a lot of things to cost half as much as they do. In my mind, until someone else comes out with the same quality chair, I can’t judge Lifeform too harshly. If there is money to be made someone would come in and undercut Lifeform. Hasn’t been done yet to my knowledge. Speaks volumes in my book.

The least expensive way to get into a Lifeform chair is around $1600 unless there are some real spicy discounts and deals going around. If that is too steep for you (completely reasonable) just realize that you will probably spend that much over your life in cheaper chairs. Additionally, you have no idea how much pressure you are putting on your body by sitting in a bad chair all day. Try a Lifeform, you won’t regret it.

Common Questions:

1. Is the headrest worth it? I liked my original headrest but I never really reclined that much to take advantage. Definitely a nice option but not one of my top choices. Lastly, I don’t think it looks as good as the non-headrest version.

2. Is the wood base worth it? Completely aesthetic. Does nothing to add to the chairs functionality. Personal preference. If it’s going in your home…maybe not worth it. If it’s going in public/work setting, the wood is pretty damn nice.

3. How did you decide on that color combination? There are literally thousands of color combinations. You can choose the color of just the center panel, the piping, the back panel, the whole chair, etc. It will drive you crazy/excited depending on how involved you get.

4. Is the leather worth it over the Dreamweave? Personal preference. I think the leather feels and looks great. Other people swear by the Dreamweave. The Dreamweave is “cushier” and softer. More pillow-esque. The leather is a bit firmer. You have to sit on both to decide. I’m a leather guy though. One note about the leather: if you live in a hot climate, say Los Angeles, the leather can get a bit toasty. Just something to keep in mind.

Thanks all for reading! Please ask any questions or leave any comments in the comment section below. Love to hear what you think of the chair!

Gallery

Side shot

intimidating

a lot of levers

leather armrests

back

wood base

What is the goal of all the “Occupy Wall St” protests? What are their demands? What are they trying to achieve? Anybody? Most useless, sad, protest I have heard of in awhile. It is truly complaining for no reason other than to complain.

The protester’s have reason to be upset. They have lost their homes, jobs, livelihood while these fat cat bankers are ranking in millions. Unfair! Ok…so…what do they suggest? Cap how much bankers can make? Should we also cap how much investors make on the investments they make with these banks? How about the insurance companies, schools, and pension funds that invest with these banks? Sometimes they make a nice profit on those investments. And what should we do with the excess wealth not going to the bankers anymore? Send it to the government? More taxes? Where will that money go? Will it fix all the complaints?

The economy is stuttering. Our GDP is at an ugly 1.5-2.5% increase and there is little trust in our stock markets. Consumer spending is at a low and unemployment is around 9%. An estimated 1.2 million US homes will be foreclosed in the next 12 months (as soon as the banks get to it…they are busy foreclosing on another 750,000 homes). We just went through one of worst financial crashes in capitalist history and it ain’t over yet people.

So I suppose the best course of action to jumpstart our economy is to plan a big camp out in the middle of cities! Can’t lose. Somehow, our leading economists missed this tactic.

Is it awful that someone lost their job? Absolutely. I wish everybody could be employed. I wish that the company that fired that person wasn’t losing money hand over fist and could afford to hire everybody who submitted an application. Is it awful that someone can’t pay their school debt? Absolutely. They should have gone to a public school or to a school that offered them a scholarship. Harsh? Sure. They took the risk of taking out a loan to go to school in order to, most likely, increase their future earnings and pay off said debt. The risk didn’t pan out.

I don’t want to go into an entire capitalism debate but mainly I just wanted to ask how are these people not making one demand? Besides the ultra-realistic “stop being greedy America!” A bit too vague. Can we get someone organized who actually understands the economy point out some actual possible fixes? Or…just keep relaxing in the park thinking of new picket slogans. Either one.

Lastly, I find it insulting to the people who are waiting hours in lines at job fairs fighting for work when these people are camping out getting free food and help from local businesses.

Note: Sexual assault/Rape is something I take extremely seriously. I personally know women who have been attacked. I teach female self-defense and I have spoken on how women can better defend themselves. Most importantly, I will never believe it was the victim’s fault she was attacked. It was nobody’s fault except the attacker. Plain and simple.

To those who have not heard, earlier this year a Toronto police officer made a flippant comment that women should avoid dressing like “sluts” to avoid being raped or victimized. This comment sparked outrage in some groups who have organized “SlutWalk’s.”

Conclusion (for the impatient out there): SlutWalk’s serve no purpose other than affording people another event besides Halloween to wear minimal clothing.

As you can possibly garner from the photo, SlutWalk’s are a march of self-proclaimed “sluts.” They are taking the word back. With pride! Now, people can’t use the word slut to hurt them anymore. They’ve owned it. “We’re Here! We’re Slutty! Get used to it!” Ok, unfortunately “queer” and “here” rhyme a bit better but you get the idea.

The concept of these SlutWalk’s are simple: Women should be able to wear whatever they want, whenever they want, and never feel in danger of being victimized in any sort of way. Love it, sounds great. If not for reality, I think it’s a feasible goal.

People rely on their perceptions to make conclusions. It’s how we survive in society. You see something, make a judgment, and act (or choose not to act) based on that judgment. You see a shirt you want on sale in your favorite department store, you want it, you buy it. You see an overweight person eating a bucket of fried chicken, you assume that was not their first bucket of fried chicken in their life, you judge they are an over-eater. You see a woman in extremely revealing clothing drunk at a bar, one will most likely judge it is not her first time drunk at a bar and furthermore she is not a neurosurgeon (although I am sure there are some wild, partying neurosurgeon’s out there). Are you right all the time? Of course not. But people don’t have time to reevaluate their perceptions. There is a reason first impressions are so powerful, not to mention lasting.

Back to the situation at hand: it is tough to argue that there is not a positive correlation between how “slutty” a woman appears and how much attention she receives. Men, in general, are hunting in a way when they go out. Not to the same degree sexual predators hunt but the thought process is somewhat similar. Again, sweeping generalization, but when a man sees a woman dressed provocatively, he is more likely to treat the woman how he perceives her (“slutty”). She is dressed differently than other women and thus she must be different (crude rationale by a man). Is this hypothetical woman a “slut” in any sense of the word? Maybe. BUT, most importantly, she is not a “slut” in any sense of the word just because she is dressed a certain way. The only important thing to note is that this is how a man will most likely perceive her. Armed with this perception, a man is more likely to disrespect/be more forward with that woman than a woman dressed more conservatively. The man could now improperly feel comfortable touching, grabbing, or speak to her in an extremely lewd manner (I’ve always wanted to use the word “lewd” in a post).

Whore’s Uniform

Does this man have any right to do this? Absolutely not. Does that change the outcome? Absolutely not. The reality is, where there is alcohol, men, and women, men will do stupid things. Maybe if every single woman dressed “slutty” then it wouldn’t shock some men and some women would not get more attention merely for the outfit they choose. But for now, if a woman would like to minimize the amount of unwanted attention, she could reasonably not dress “slutty.” Does she have every right to? Absolutely. Doesn’t change the fact that it will bring more attention.

It is an ugly world out there. Many people, thankfully, are sheltered from how much evil there is. It exists. It is ruthless, careless, and causes true pain without regard. For example, and apropos to this post, in San Mateo gang members shot innocent people wearing red, the color of a rival gang. This same atrocity has happened numerous times throughout the years. The gang members saw people wearing a certain color, made a judgment, and shot to kill. Did those gang members have any right to do this? Absolutely not. Did that stop one of the victimes from dying and three being severely wounded? Absolutely not. Did those kids have every right to wear red that day? Of course. Was it their fault they were shot? NO. That said, if I lived in that area, I would never ever wear red. Plain and simple.

How does this all relate to actual sexual assaults and rape? It is well documented that sexual assaults are not crimes of passion or lust. They are crimes of anger, control, and power. These attackers are considered (and should be viewed) as predators. That’s what they are. The term “sexual predator” is embedded in the vernacular for a reason. Predators do one thing and one thing well: look for prey. Predator’s do not look for other predators or prey that could possibly hurt them or cause them problems. They want easy. They want to accomplish their goal while being in power. They already feel weak inside, they want to feel strong for once. If dressing provocatively increased your chances of being noticed by a predator and thus of being assaulted 5% is it worth it? Even if it increased it 1%? .1%? .01%? Weigh that increase against the desire to wear whatever clothes you want.

Is this fair? Of course not. Is it the reality? Yes. Just like those kids wearing red did nothing to deserve being shot, a woman wearing “slutty” clothes did NOTHING TO DESERVE being attacked. What does that change, though? Life is not fair.

Organizers of the SlutWalk’s desire change. They want to live in a world where a woman can wear whatever she wants and be just as safe and protected as a woman who is dressed conservatively. I applaud that desire. Organizing marches of half-naked people do absolutely nothing to address that fact. Absolutely nothing. You think a rapist sees these marches and says, “oh wow, I completely misjudged that girl I attacked!” These marches cannot be compared to Gay Pride marches because gays were silent and the marches were a loud shout that they are not a few, they are many and they’re not going anywhere. They were shouting to the “hetero world” to recognize and accept them. Who are these self-proclaimed “sluts” shouting to? Toronto police officers? Men? Women? Who is listening that will change the basic act of predators and prey?

Final thoughts: why is being slutty even something women desire to “take back?” How is this a positive goal in any sense of the word? Being sexual and slutty are completely different things. If a woman is comfortable with her sexuality and wants to enjoy sex responsibly, great. Dressing like an out of work street walker demanding to be called a slut should not be an attractive ideal. Is “slut” overused in our society? Sure. A woman has sex with a few guys and people could call her a slut. Ok. Sucks for her. Society will get right on fixing the entire double standard between men and women. But for now, the over and incorrect use of the word slut has absolutely NOTHING TO DO WITH WOMEN BEING ATTACKED.

Sexual assault and rape is supposedly down over the years. Personally I believe it is being under reported more than ever. These SlutWalk’s do nothing to address that fact. “Hey girls who have been attacked…keep wearing slutty clothes or if you aren’t, go ahead and dress as slutty as you like because…because…because…?” Why exactly? Because you should be able to?

Kids should also be able to wear red and not get killed.

A wise man (we call him “River”), recently said that men learn most of their actions from the movies they love.  These are the staple “guy movies” such as “Godfather”, “Hoosiers”, “Scarface”, “Bad Boys”, “Top Gun”, or “A Land Before Time.”  Especially the last one.  Littlefoot was an old school baller.

That got us thinking about staple “girl movies.”  What are they?  I’m actually curious.  What movies do women “relate to?”  Most guys probably wanted to be Maverick at some point in his life but which female character do women want to be?  I can only think of princess movies.  Sex in the City?  The women died at the end of Thelma and Louise so probably not those two.

Yes, there are some overlap.  I’m sure there are a ton of women who love the Godfather, Top Gun, etc but did they love it the same way guys do and for the same reason?  Rarely have I seen a Godfather poster in a girls room (yes I am sure there are some, I just don’t go into many teenage girls rooms).

What’s the point of all this?  Not sure but it’s interesting (to me at least) that men have movies they “connect” with that promote honor, respect, sacrifice, and consequence albeit usually connected with vast amount of violence and mistreatment of women.

I know it’s a deeper societal issue; men are raised to be protectors, fighters, takers and thus that is what is portrayed on film.  I was just curious if women felt any connection to movies that shape the way they act or feel in similar ways.

Note: yes I believe that people are shaped by more than just movies.

How mysterious should someone be?  Is it refreshing or a turn-off when someone truly is an “open book?”  I’m sure it depends on the situation/relationship.  I would love my lawyer or business partner to be an open book with all matters concerning our business relationship but I don’t really want to know why he no longer sleeps with his wife.  Unless it’s because she thinks he’s an awful lawyer.

I said the quote above last night and it seems to click with me.  I like that.  Someone should be 80-90% open book.  Don’t want to be shady like you’re hiding a majority of your life.  That said, don’t let me read the book of your life cover to cover in the first week I know you.  So to the person I said that to, thumbs up.  =)

Any horror stories with someone being too mysterious or too giving of information?

Dear Ladies (and possibly some men),

1. Please stop the kissing face picture pose.  I know it makes your face look thinner, lips fuller, and maybe even shows a jawline, but it’s getting silly at this point.  Just smile, or don’t smile, or make really any other face you want except the kiss-pucker.
2. No more hands on the hip, taught by Cosmo pose.  It even sometimes looks silly on the models so…there we go.

I know, none of my business.  They are your photos.  That said…stop it.

I may be the only one…feel free to yell at me.

You have attractive people in your life and you yourself may look attractive at times.  In order to capture all of this attractiveness one needs a solid camera.  No need to read a ton of reviews or ask your friend who minored in photography at a small liberal arts college in the northeast.  Just buy one of these and start snappin’.  Boom.

Ultimate/Professional

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV ($4,999): Big mack daddy of the camera world.  If you want the best, can swing the $5k price tag, and more importantly, can afford all the Canon glass* you’ll need to take advantage of this beast, then look no further.
Runner Up, Nikon D3X ($7,500): Amazing camera in it’s own right and maybe even worth the $2,500 over the Canon.  Obviously if you’re looking into this world of camera’s then you will most likely decide between these two based on your current lens collection.  But if you’re just jumping into the high end, grab the Canon, great deal.

Prosumer DSLR

Nikon D300s ($1,699): Great value, nice little incremental upgrade from the D300 released last year (added video).  Can’t go wrong.
Runner Up, Canon EOS 7D ($1,699): This is a tough one and it comes down to preference.  I prefer Nikon.  Others prefer Canon.  Both of these cameras are awesome.  Fact.

Prosumer Non DSLR

Canon S90 ($400) : Arguably the most exciting release this year.  Can camera releases be exciting?  Prolly not.  But if they were…this would be exciting.
Runner Up, Canon Powershot G11 ($440): A bit chunky but feels great in the hand (odd turn of phrase), takes stunning photos, and is a steal at $440.

Consuner DSLR

Canon Rebel T1i ($759): Canon is on a roll and I have to give the win to the Rebel T1i over the D5000.  Just buy this camera if you want to get into photography.  Step it up Nikon.  
Runner up, Nikon D5000 ($699): CLOSE call, dammit.  Solid, very fast on the snap, great value if you want to get into the world of DSLR.  Edge goes to Canon though.

Point and Shoot/Pocketable

Samsung TL225 ($299): Samsung comes out of left-field and strikes the point and shoot world across the dome piece.  Built in lcd screen on the front for those adorable arm stretched out photos you ladies are so found of.  Nice downward angle to avoid the double chin shot.  All around great camera.
Runner Up, Canon 780is ($200): One of my all time faves.  Small, solid, takes clean photos and a great value.  Perfect stocking stuffer.

Conclusion

This is it folks.  No need to look further.  These are the best cameras right now.  Yes, there are other brands besides Canon, Nikon, and Samsung.  But they just aren’t as good.  Nikon’s and Sony’s take just plain awful photos in the point and shoot category (soft, almost blurry photos.  They are all style over substance).  There are some prosumer/higher end Olympus cameras that are solid but why invest in an Olympus when Nikon and Canon lenses are so much better?  Done and done.  Enjoy and Merry Christmas/Happy New Year!

*”glass” is photo-slang for lenses used on DSLR/SLR’s.

Please stop trying to make plans via your friends wall.  For example, if you post this on your friends facebook wall:

“Hey!!!  We hanging out tonight at 8pm, my place??”

Then I find that just plain weird.  There are literally 4 better ways to make plans let alone without letting the world know that you are making plans.  Texting, emailing, actually calling the person, or even a private facebook message.  It’s just an odd phenomenon.  Now everybody knows that you want to do something with your friend tonight at 8pm….extremely useful.

haha, i guess it just pains me to think that people check their facebook wall more than their email, texts, or voicemail.

Does LA need another burger joint to go with 8 0z, Father’s Office, The Stand, The Counter, Umami Burger, Apple Pan, and the always overrated In n’ Out*, etc?  Yes, yes it does.  Especially when the burger is massive, tastes great, and is hidden behind a Winchell’s Donuts.

Impressive and fun burger. You can get it served on a pretzel roll with tons of different sides ranging from pickled zucchini to a fried egg. Respect that. Any burger lover needs to check it out.

Hole in the Wall Burger Joint

11058 Santa Monica Blvd.
at South Bentley Avenue (behind Winchell’s Donuts)
310-312-7013

*don’t get me wrong, love In n’ Out.  Hits the spot sometimes.  It’s just not a BURGER.  It’s an In n’ Out burger.  Which is fine and fantastic for fast food.  Blasphemy, I know.

‘Bout time. This was of course on everyone’s radar.