I'm trying to post a daguerrotype of the ticker tape machine I use to read MetaFilter, but I'm having a hard time remembering how to do an HTML link in morse code. posted by The World Famous at 2:53 PM on March 17, 2011 [5 favorites]
Is this for the pictorial coffee table book companion to our Essays on Deskology.? posted by yeti at 3:02 PM on March 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
Here I am, having just finished writing this very comment. Now excuse me, I have to enjoy this delicious can of actual soup. posted by Uppity Pigeon #2 at 3:19 PM on March 17, 2011 [4 favorites]
I've simplified and gone from 'bi'-platform to 'homo'-platform. posted by ericb at 3:20 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Aw man, I missed out on that original thread. I used to work in a warehouse full of boxes where my job was to enter box data into the database, so I spent a lot of time balancing a crappy laptop on ladders of various heights. It was an old brick building, so the wifi signal was pitiful and basically nonexistent in the break room. But I'd just discovered mefi damn if I was going to spend all my breaks playing minesweeper, so I set out on a hunt to find where the wifi worked. Turned out there was only one small dark corner of the warehouse that got wifi from the business next door, so I usually spent my breaks browsing mefi while perched on top of a 20 foot ladder in near-darkness. Later on I learned to use the scissor lift and could get high enough above the racking to extend my range, so I moved to a well-lit area where I could at least see the spiders before they came after me. I should've taken a picture as evidence that yes, I am just that addicted to mefi, but I never thought to do so.
My current deskspace is far less awesome, and is mostly covered with various stacks of books that need reading. Not nearly as much fun as my scissor lift. posted by lilac girl at 3:23 PM on March 17, 2011 [10 favorites]
ha, you people with your desks. I sit my computer down on one of these nifty little guys then type my brilliance to the world from the comfort of my bed. posted by phunniemee at 3:43 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Here's my work desk. Left out the side desk (to the right of the view in the photo) where I keep my desktop computer and some more gadgets. posted by bearwife at 4:30 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
I have just this morning started getting real, in person quotes to ship my desk (and a bunch of other stuff) to the other side of the world. So, while my current desk set up is the same as last time we did this, in a few short months is will look totally different. Or exactly the same just in a different place, I'm not sure which just yet. posted by shelleycat at 4:55 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
The iMac is my primary workstation, the laptop my personal machine. Behind me are 4 Optiplex 740s (surplus equipment) and an old MacBook that I use for various testing.
Those are 6 beer glasses behind me, although I assure you they're full of dust not beer. The Penny Arcade on the wall is the last panel from this comic.
Whiteboards censored so that you don't get any top secret UIUC information :) posted by sbutler at 5:28 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
I was about to say, sbutler. Whiteboards with nothing on them, in an office? That would be shocking!
My work desk is pretty clean but I get the impression that I would be looked at funny if I took a picture, and I'd be afraid of getting random other people's work in the picture too, as my office is in the standard Japanese office style.
I should get at least one picture before I go, though. posted by that girl at 5:41 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
zsazsa: “Check out my totally awesome keyboard, which is smaller than my mouse pad.”
Holy crap, what kind of keyboard is that? I absolutely adore my little Happy Hacking Lite 2, which is (I think) exactly the same size, but... that one looks sweet... posted by koeselitz at 5:55 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Here's a shot of my desk. My monitor sits on a cannister because I'm all ergonomic like that. posted by DarlingBri at 6:12 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Check out my totally awesome keyboard, which is smaller than my mouse pad.
My wrists hurt just looking at that tiny unergonomic thing. posted by NoMich at 6:36 PM on March 17, 2011 [4 favorites]
My desk. Obviously chimps have broken into the apartment and spread all my papers around. posted by shothotbot at 7:05 PM on March 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
My minimalist home desk in my bedroom sitting area. My work desk is painfully boring and doesn't really, and a bit messy this week so I won't share. posted by Burhanistan at 7:37 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
I hate to toot my own horn, but my desk at home is cooler than anybody else's. No less than four keyboards, if you count the pedals. posted by koeselitz at 7:39 PM on March 17, 2011 [5 favorites]
Not exactly a desk, but this is my current workspace at home. My work environment is a boring cube *and* I'm not allowed to take photos there. posted by arrjay at 7:47 PM on March 17, 2011 [3 favorites]
I live with a manic computer genius. Folks, that is less than half of arrjay's collection of hardware. posted by Hwin at 7:48 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Holy crap, what kind of keyboard is that?
It's the unfortunately-named Noppoo Choc Mini, which you have to order them straight from China. They're basically a Happy Hacking keyboard with an extra row on top and the right for function and cursor movement keys, and the backspace in the "correct" position.
My wrists hurt just looking at that tiny unergonomic thing.
There's nothing unergonomic about it! It has high-quality mechanical low-force keyswitches and full-sized keys. It's just an efficient layout with no number pad, which means it's more ergonomic if you use the mouse often (your hand doesn't have to move as far). posted by zsazsa at 7:53 PM on March 17, 2011 [5 favorites]
I have a small keyboard similar to zsazsa's (different brand, same layout). It's awesome because my mouse arm isn't pushed out to the side even though my hands are typing directly in front of me. Add in the mechanical key switches and it's the only thing that stops my arms being in constant pain. Keyboards like this are much more ergonomic than the big ones that come standard with most PCs. posted by shelleycat at 7:59 PM on March 17, 2011 [3 favorites]
Current desk. Previous desk from the last thread.. Well, same desk actually - just different everything else. posted by gemmy at 8:07 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
My desk is a lap desk which I made and I usually sit it on the corner of my bed because that's the only place in this stupid house I can get any kind of good internet. I have a table at the end of my bed which I usually cover with books and papers, but it's Spring Break, so this picture has a cat and a coffee cup. The big, green ball is my chair. On the wall is this semester's work/class schedule and on the keyboard of the laptop is a postcard (regular size) from postcrossing which I have to register. Yes, it's a tiny computer, but my needs are few and it serves me well. posted by patheral at 8:41 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Brava to patheral for including the mandatory cat picture :) posted by sbutler at 8:48 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Couldn't help but notice we both had brass instruments (mine's a coronet) old school open headphones (mine are grado sr80s), and a big old tangle of wires. posted by idiopath at 9:15 PM on March 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
it's more ergonomic if you use the mouse often (your hand doesn't have to move as far)
This is perhaps the only area where left-handers have an advantage, especially if you use the number keypad a lot.
My work desk and the space it sits in. The door behind the desk is not the main door to my office and I only use it to scare the crap out of the people that work on the other side of it when the mood takes me. The photos are a bit blurry for some reason, but I'm too lazy to try again. I'll just pretend I did it on purpose to avoid revealing any confidential information. posted by dg at 9:23 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
3 years ago, my desk sat in a room with a 3 sided view of the Seattle skyline. Today I have a 2 year old with a bedroom he never sleeps in and my lap is now my desk.
idiopath: “Couldn't help but notice we both had brass instruments (mine's a coronet) old school open headphones (mine are grado sr80s), and a big old tangle of wires.”
Ha! I have Grado SR60s, even! posted by koeselitz at 9:43 PM on March 17, 2011
You guys, this is just fabulous! Thank you, everyone who took the time to show off your desk(s) because they are also fabulous and say a lot about their inhabitants. I LOVE them all and all of you! posted by Lynsey at 10:10 PM on March 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
I like what favourites seem to imply in this thread: Yes sir, I like your desk. Carry on. posted by Jofus at 10:55 PM on March 17, 2011
I am so tempted.
koeselitz, you dusted and "The Lamp from the Warlocks Tomb", the barcode is not scannable but I would guess it is a recent acquisition.
andnadand the tuning fork is out of pitch posted by clavdivs at 11:01 PM on March 17, 2011
I'm going to buck the trend and erect towering mountains of books, paper and files on my desk right before I take the picture so I'll fit in better. posted by oxford blue at 12:29 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
That's, uh... two of this week's comics, my left knee, my MacBook Air on a Rain Designs iLap that's too big for it, some dude on NHK World, this thread, a garter-stitch scarf I'm knitting on size 15 needles to keep my anxiety occupied, six weeks' worth of comics I need to catch up on, and probably my extra camping dishes that need to go back to my office.
Which is, including me and two pillows, the entire couch at stately Department H. Mr. F has a desk. posted by fairytale of los angeles at 12:53 AM on March 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
also i have a desk at my office and it's nothing like this but i am for reals not allowed to photograph my desk and post it to the internet my NDA is really weird like that. posted by fairytale of los angeles at 12:55 AM on March 18, 2011
here's my home desk. I have too many devices. 3 computers, 5 external drives (that's just the ones in the picture, some of them are elsewhere) 3 mice, and happily only one keyboard and wacom tablet. Not in the picture are speakers, a screen, a projector and miles of cable. posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:59 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
clavdivs: “koeselitz, you dusted and "The Lamp from the Warlocks Tomb", the barcode is not scannable but I would guess it is a recent acquisition.”
I love those John Bellairs books; adored them as a kid, and rediscovered them about six months ago. I now own them all, I believe; even his first (and frankly best) book, the obscure fantasy classic The Face In The Frost, which happened to be one of Gary Gygax's favorite books and which thereby influenced the development of several character classes in D & D, particularly wizards. You'd see it there, too, if I hadn't taken it down to read it last night.
“andnadand the tuning fork is out of pitch”
Well, that would explain why my piano upstairs is so out of tune. But which one do you mean? The A, the B flat, or the C? posted by koeselitz at 1:00 AM on March 18, 2011
Dammit, 5_13_etc., I instinctively tried to gain down on your pic to see your node setup and the plate you're working on... in Flickr, like it was Nuke. I think I've been working too much. posted by fairytale of los angeles at 1:02 AM on March 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
but i am for reals not allowed to photograph my desk and post it to the internet
heh - yea, I took a nice desk picture and then realized that what was on my screen could have been an issue, so I had to open a different project, and re-take the picture posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:04 AM on March 18, 2011
in Flickr, like it was Nuke
that's funny - you do need a break! (and anyway, it wouldn't have worked, I'm using fusion!) posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:08 AM on March 18, 2011
Sliding the gain control would've worked if Flickr was Nuke, which it's not. And yeah, my current work project is, Hair Club for Men style, for a client who's also the president, so... big no-op. posted by fairytale of los angeles at 1:13 AM on March 18, 2011
This is my desk at work. I can take this because I'm in a conference call at 19:00 on a Friday night and I have now missed my yoga class. Globalization, grrr. posted by arcticseal at 3:58 AM on March 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
Home desk from the depths of dissertation a few nights ago. I live in such a tiny flat that, despite spending most of my time making things bigger than this desk, I can't fit anything else unless I want to be pinned into a corner. Studio desk at school - big! lovely! drawing board! posted by carbide at 4:13 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
My work desk is a tiny bit untidy. That "clear desk" policy document is somewhere in the pile. I just spent ten minutes blurring out lots of identifying text and then resized it small enough that it's all illegible anyway. Oh well.
It's also on a 4 inch high wooden plinth I built because standard desks are too low for my ridiculous frame.
I got a pretty good view of Stockholm from my desk at work, which otherwise is quite clean - just a laptop and monitor. We take our clear desk policy quite seriously here :). posted by rpn at 5:51 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
rpn: Are you working in DN-skrapan? posted by soundofsuburbia at 5:52 AM on March 18, 2011
rpn: For comparison, I got Hissingen, which by everyones account here in Gothenburg is most likely nicer than Stockholm: Desk with a view posted by monocultured at 5:59 AM on March 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
I will post a picture of my desk as soon as I assemble all of the coolest things in my house and position them on and around the desk in as "casual" an arrangement as possible. posted by tumid dahlia at 6:03 AM on March 18, 2011 [8 favorites]
Oh look a pile of mint golden age comics books which shall serve as a pedestal for my ashtray. Also that shrunken head I found in the street. It's just an old apple, really, but if I place it behind a speaker it will look like a shrunken head. "What's that behind the speaker?" "Oh just a shrunken head, funny story about that really." Then leave you dangling. "Where's tumid gone?" "Probably to check on the only known Linear B decoder wheel, which was pinned to the corkboard as you saw." posted by tumid dahlia at 6:11 AM on March 18, 2011 [3 favorites]
I used to have a lovely view of the fjord from my desk when I lived in Norway. Now I just look out over the workshop, pining for the fjords ;) posted by arcticseal at 6:14 AM on March 18, 2011
Here's mine in my supersecret undisclosed location. Missing from view is the guest chair and the cactus. Cactus goes on the guest chair when I don't want to be disturbed. posted by backseatpilot at 6:21 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm sorry, I thought it was week old Coco Pops. But I do admit to hating black beans, yes. I'm a LEGUMIST cos those things are pasty and horrible. posted by h00py at 6:38 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
My desk is my loungeroom. My desk is my desk. My desk is my loungeroom and my desk. posted by h00py at 6:40 AM on March 18, 2011
soundofsuburbia: that's right posted by rpn at 6:41 AM on March 18, 2011
Desks are so 2009. I work in the shower. posted by ddaavviidd at 6:57 AM on March 18, 2011
Here's what it looked like from inside my brain at 7 this morning. Here's the morning-people view. Not much has changed in the last 3 years. posted by Devils Rancher at 8:11 AM on March 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
So many clean desks. There are very few geniuses here!
My other desk (same grad student office) is also cluttered. That one has more science stuff on it, like the Milk Crate of Science, the Resealable Freezer Bags of Science, etc. I'd explain more but I don't want to get too sciency and technical for all your non-geniuses. posted by zennie at 8:29 AM on March 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
zennie, you are missing storage opportunities -- turn that milk crate on its side. And yeah, I had an OMG Piles! moment about 2 weeks ago, and spent most of a saturday rearranging bookshelves and toting stuff off to the garage. I'm at 2-year low mess levels. Give me another week. posted by Devils Rancher at 8:39 AM on March 18, 2011
zennie: "So many clean desks. There are very few geniuses here!"
My desk is clean for the same reason that my horse and buggy is still in great condition. It doesn't get used much. All my clutter is electronic. posted by Plutor at 9:23 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
I will post a picture of my desk as soon as I assemble all of the coolest things in my house and position them on and around the desk in as "casual" an arrangement as possible.
Sorry, tumid dahlia, but some of us are just really that cool. posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:40 AM on March 18, 2011
All of your work desks are so impressive! Here's a rear view of my work desk, showing the non fiction stacks on the left, the reference section on the right and the "fiction mezzanine." I took this picture out of a sense of early nostalgia, because our building is supposed to be gutted and completely remodeled this summer and who knows what the library will look like afterwards! posted by Lynsey at 9:41 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
I took the picture of my desk at home exactly as it was when I saw that thread: I just grabbed a camera and stepped back without touching anything. Same with my office desk. Warning: beige. posted by Burhanistan at 9:54 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
One thing I can point out about my desk: the image on my monitor is tilted so that the windows on my desktop are on an even horizon line even though my desk is tilted due to broken legs propped up by a stack of 2x4s. Thank something it's not a flat screen monitor or I would have to cock my head all day long. posted by idiopath at 9:56 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also I just realized that I am 34 years old and have never had a job where I had a desk. Or even a chair. I don't know if I should take pride in this or take it as evidence of failure. posted by idiopath at 9:59 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
idiopath: is that an Optiplex GX 260? I have one from 2002 that still works great. posted by Burhanistan at 9:59 AM on March 18, 2011
Huh. So you guys are a bunch of grown-ups. I have the the most cringe-worthy girly-girl tiny vintage table and a flowery chair (what else?) to sit on. I turned a tiny extra bedroom into a little studio with a daybed, a chair, and the tiny desk. I just use a laptop so don't need much space. What you see is pretty much the entire room. Behind the desk is a closet with the printer and scanner in it. Any 5 year old girl (or great-grandma) would love it. And yeah, it's always this clean. picpic posted by iconomy at 10:02 AM on March 18, 2011 [9 favorites]
It's a dell and the era sounds about right. p4 3.2ghz (and oddly now that I look one of the CPUs is no longer showing up, how odd??). I got it used from freegeek PDX with ubuntu preinstalled (which I promptly replaced with debian stable), most of the original stickers are missing, and to tell the truth I don't read the post screen very closely so that may or may not have provided the neccessary info, and I am not about to interrupt my many months of uptime just to check a printout on the bios screen. posted by idiopath at 10:12 AM on March 18, 2011
There's a roll of TP next to a jar of PB. FYI.
And Tabasco. And a Starbucks glass which appears to contain a mixture of the PB and the Tabasco. And the glass is less than half full. So it's probably a good thing there's TP on hand. posted by The World Famous at 10:12 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm a clutterbug. Here's the current state as of about ten minutes ago.
Ambrosia, that desk is gorgeous. I love the wood used.
Also, part of me wishes for a life in which iconomy's desk would work for me. I must be a great grandma at heart, because I'm definitely past 5 years old. posted by bearwife at 11:19 AM on March 18, 2011
The brown piece of paper on the window is what my MeFi User License came wrapped in. It confuses people when they walk past. posted by jeffamaphone at 11:20 AM on March 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
Turns out hyperthreading got shut off when my mobo battery lost power and I had not noticed - I am glad I was able to fix it (though my uptime suffers).
According to my bios it is an optiplex gx270. posted by idiopath at 11:35 AM on March 18, 2011
This is my work desk, complete with balloons and a functional, vintage, Scientology Emeter. It also acquired a homemade telegraph (not pictured) within 10 minutes of taking the photo. This is my other work desk/space were I spend the other half of my time. It has an electric finger tapper for use in neuropsychology experiments, though we don't do too many of those in tech support so it's there if you randomly want to click something.
(I work at the aforementioned Free Geek, source of random electric goodness, and idiopath's computer, running the tech support department. I was about to tell him to check hyperthreading, but I see he beat me to it, denying me the opportunity to make posting here a legitimate work activity. Damn.) posted by tallus at 1:35 PM on March 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
I've often thought that my desk should be a page in one of those I Spy books. Though in this picture, the only thing that really stands out to me is the sheer quantity of science nerd accessories and decorations. posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 1:59 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm completely re-doing my office space at home this weekend, so if the thread's still open I will post the Before & After here on Sunday. posted by stennieville at 3:29 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Here is my home desk, cleaner than usual, and more crowded than usual. posted by Jazz Hands at 4:43 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
My desk area hasn't changed all that much from this photo, although I've changed out some equipment and added a toy or two. posted by pjern at 4:50 PM on March 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
Shothotbot, I love your chairs. posted by arcticseal at 4:57 PM on March 18, 2011
Ah, this makes me miss my desk from the original thread. I can't believe my current desk is so uncool that I won't even take a picture of it. posted by localhuman at 5:02 PM on March 18, 2011
Shothotbot, I love your chairs.
My friend made them. Unbelievably gorgeous. I keep hoping for a hardwood fine furniture maker AskMe. posted by shothotbot at 5:27 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Sorry, tumid dahlia, but some of us are just really that cool.
Here's mine, after corralling the chaos just out of view. posted by julen at 7:50 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Would it be an egregious breach of something to gather all of these together in a convienent location, so one can look at them in an easier way then clicking on one thousand links? posted by oxford blue at 9:00 PM on March 18, 2011
The viewfrommy (old) office*. My current office looks out on a blank concrete wall and my desk has a keyboard, mouse, telephone, and two monitors on a pole. My desk at home consists of two thighs, my own.
Jazz Hands: Here is my home desk, cleaner than usual, and more crowded than usual.
It took me a good 30 seconds to realise the dog on your desk wasn't a toy, JH. Very startling.
PS: The print above your desk looks fantastic against the dark walls. Do you know who the artist is? posted by pseudonymph at 8:06 AM on March 19, 2011
I'm finding myself surprised by how many people have gone all-laptop at home. posted by mintcake! at 8:20 AM on March 19, 2011
The print is a poster that was sold on Mark Kozelek's 2006 tour. I can't take it out of the frame because it's sealed in the back, I think there is artist info at the bottom, hidden by the frame. I love the barren tree with the gold leaf in the background. It does look awesome in this room. It's probably the most astute, and cheap, decorative choice I've ever made. (Not bragging, I'm saying I'm not a good decorator, so this was lucky.)
I had to put the pup in the picture because he's an office fixture, either he or the cat are on our laps or at our feet while we are at our desks. posted by Jazz Hands at 8:22 AM on March 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
I really need to get a snazzier desk. And put less clutter on it. And get a better monitor. And a better point-and-shoot camera. :P posted by Juffo-Wup at 9:42 AM on March 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Showed my work desk earlier in this thread. Finally got around to snapping my home desk (sorry, using sorta crappy Itouch camera), moving from left view to center to right. posted by bearwife at 11:59 AM on March 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm finding myself surprised by how many people have gone all-laptop at home.
For some of us at least, this isn't a choice so much as a financial necessity. I need a laptop for university, etc. and laptops are more expensive than desktops, so I must either:
1. Buy a goodish laptop and use it home and away; or
2. Buy a really good desktop and a cheap netbook and have some sort of sync setup.
Living in a small apartment with x other people tends to push me toward the neck-ache of the former. posted by doublehappy at 4:14 PM on March 19, 2011
Is this where I enter the Most Boring Desk contest? Yes. At least you have a view. posted by doublehappy at 7:31 PM on March 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
My home floor-sitting desk. Might need to upgrade to a taller one if my 1-year-old takes up furniture-climbing though. posted by p3t3 at 7:52 PM on March 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
Bad picture of a bad place. (actually, it's one of those Flash panorama thingies - but it's still bad, and actually, I've had worse offices but fluorescents + no windows + cube tech circa 1990 = pretty terrible)
The good news is in three weeks we are moving to a different building a few blocks away. And my new office is an office, with a door, and it has big beautiful windows. I am so excited I could puke. posted by dirtdirt at 6:17 AM on March 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
here's my in-the-office desk, where I work for the first half of the week posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 11:20 PM on March 21, 2011
My desk. I do a lot of photo and video editing. I won that desk after dropping my business card in a contest jar thingy at a trade show. Maybe the NAB. Can't remember, exactly. posted by bz at 1:41 PM on March 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
Not my desk, but I wanted to say that Massimo Vignelli's desk is awesome: huge beautiful dark flat surface, one computer, one lamp. This is my "desk ambition". posted by spherical_perceptions at 3:24 PM on March 23, 2011
spherical_perceptions - awesome desk, that article has a link to to a nice series the Guardian ran of Writer's rooms. posted by arcticseal at 6:59 PM on March 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
Because I'm a fighter-pilot, see?
live on internet fantasy self, live on!
posted by Think_Long at 2:17 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]