Post by: Greenbank on 09 November, 2020, 07:01:57 pm
WFH setup at beginning of lockdown:-
Ikea Bekant Desk (160x80cm)
Some random Ikea office chair
Dual 23" Dell P2319H monitors (1920x1080) mounted on an Arctic Z2 monitor arm that clamps onto the back of the desk.
Work laptop driving dual displays (one via Display Port, one via USB-C to DP adapter) and sits on the desk with the lid closed.
Separate wired keyboard (IBM one multimedia buttons which allows me to mute, change volume, pause music/etc) and ancient Microsoft wired mouse
Desk covered in too much stuff (including a NAS)
Before:
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/IMG_1508.JPG)
Messy room with not enough storage (haven't got a good photo of that)
Printer on top of an old bedside table.
Shredder on floor.
Post by: Greenbank on 09 November, 2020, 07:03:32 pm
* Desk (would like a sit/stand desk)
* Seat/stool/chair
* Nicer monitor(s)
* More storage
* Less clutter
* Sort out cable mess
Post by: Ham on 09 November, 2020, 07:06:05 pm
Things to fix:-
* Desk (would like a sit/stand desk)
* Seat/stool/chair
* Nicer monitor(s)
* More storage
* Less clutter
* World peace
* Sort out cable mess
There you go, FTFY in order of ability to deliver
Post by: Greenbank on 09 November, 2020, 07:15:24 pm
Going to order a Flexispot EC1 motorised sit/stand desk.
Current desk is 160x80cm and the surface is 80cm off the floor.
Going from sitting to standing adds 34cm to my eye level so I need something that can handle those kinds of heights (not hard, I'm only 5'9"-ish) and the EC1 does.
Will go for a 140x70cm top, should easily be enough space and add 10cm to the width of the room. My keyboard normally sits ~20cm from the edge of the desk with by wrists resting 15cm-10cm from the edge so that'll be fine.
Seat/stool/chair:-
Mrs GB bought a Dynamic Sitall stool that is design for sit/stand desks and it's a bit too high for her desk but perfect for mine, so we've swapped and she's got my old Ikea chair for now.
Storage:-
Bought a 2x2 Ikea Kallax for the printer and shredder to sit on, what was in the bedside table that held up printer is now in the cube storage (paper, writable CDs/DVDs, stationery, etc). Also moved the NAS to one of the cubes.
Also got 3 Ikea Flysta shelving units (which are 2x4 cubes but not as deep as the Kallax range). Most of the stuff that was on the desk/floor is now neatly sorted into cubes.
Monitor:-
Going for a single 43" 4K monitor. Roughly the same width as my existing dual 23" setup, and roughly the same pixel size. Will just be double the height of the existing monitors which I think will work well. Something like this one:-
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/acer-dm431k-43-ips-3840x2160-4k-60hz-5ms-widescreen-led-backlit-gaming-monitor-black-mo-14r-ac.html
Other:-
Will also get a laptop for personal use, do too much personal stuff on my work laptop (work aren't that fussed) but I need to separate the two. Whatever monitor I get should do Picture-In-Picture so I can use the personal laptop for watching sport/etc if working outside normal hours. Laptop will probably be something like an Acer Aspire 5 (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD). Don't need anything that special, just need to run Firefox/etc and a small (2GB) Linux VM.
Post by: Polar Bear on 09 November, 2020, 07:17:42 pm
Post by: Greenbank on 09 November, 2020, 07:20:55 pm
UPS: Monitor, Switch
Mains: Laptop, battery charger, phone charger, desk, fan, personal laptop, spare
Two extension blocks at floor level:-
UPS: ESXi server, NAS
Normal mains: UPS, Speakers
(I need a few bits on the UPS so I can connect in to the ESXi server to shut it down gracefully if there's a prolonged power problem, but the UPS is mostly there to stop brief glitches taking out the ESXi Server or NAS.)
Post by: Greenbank on 09 November, 2020, 07:21:59 pm
For a very brief moment I thought that you had a 3.5 inch floppy disk to the left of your paper clips.
Got a shoe box of them (and a 3" 'floppy' disk) to sort through when I get a chance.
I've already sorted through and wiped 5 old 3.5" HDDs, have 4 2.5" HDDs on my desk and another 4 or 5 in my desk at work (can't get to them at the mo).
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 09 November, 2020, 07:25:20 pm
Bigger desk - I want at least 180x90. I need the space so I can fit in my MS 4000 bendy keyboard. Constantly typing on laptop is causing nerve problems in my left arm.
Don't need sit-stand - I can't stand for long anyway. Just need to be able to adjust to 76 cm height.
Bigger monitor or dual monitor setup.
Post by: Greenbank on 09 November, 2020, 07:27:17 pm
Obligatory golf ball on the floor for helping stave off plantar fasciitis.
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/wfh_stage1.jpg)
Post by: Greenbank on 09 November, 2020, 08:11:54 pm
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/wfh_cables_before.jpg)
Post by: Afasoas on 09 November, 2020, 08:46:26 pm
Stage 1 with stool, tidier desk, Flysta storage on left and Kallax on the right.
Obligatory golf ball on the floor for helping stave off plantar fasciitis.
(http://www.greenbank.org/misc/wfh_stage1.jpg)
And that's a remarkable improvement.
Current desk is an old dressing table with computery things slung on the top. (My old desk has been acquired by the other grown up in the house)
(https://i.imgur.com/yCKKmHx.jpg)
New desk under construction. The top has just had its last coat of paint. Bit worried it might be too tall, but I can always chop something out of the legs.
(https://i.imgur.com/vlDF0Ww.jpg)
Two additional monitors and pair of wall mounts for them should hopefully be here by the weekend. Those will go above the existing monitors on the new desk. My old desktop will be getting a bigger case, passively cooled GPU, Noctua CPU cooler, quiet PSU and some Noctua fans from my spares box to make it whisper quiet. I'll use it to display status pages on the wall mount monitors.
A KVM on the desk will allow me to switch between the newer laptop I use for work and the old perma-VPNed laptop I use for personal stuff.
Phase 3 will happen hopefully early next year - some actual structured networking so I'm not reliant on a Cat6 cable draped out of the window!
Post by: FifeingEejit on 09 November, 2020, 09:06:46 pm
Before:
(http://www.greenbank.org/misc/IMG_1508.JPG)
Well, I'm not looking at it wondering how you can be so tidy.
But you're an awful lot tidier than I am.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201109/aecf31cb94e4e3986cdfb103e54590bc.jpg)
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 09 November, 2020, 09:10:09 pm
Post by: FifeingEejit on 09 November, 2020, 09:17:39 pm
I don't normally look at it TBH.
Edit: And now that you've drawn my attention to it...
Post by: citoyen on 09 November, 2020, 09:20:07 pm
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50583809568_b43cb93aed_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k4VfgJ)
Note the piece of cardboard taped to the desk functioning as a mouse mat. The wired mouse I'm using doesn't play nicely with my desk surface. See also the two dead wireless mice, which explain why I'm currently using a wired one.
Note also the wedge of paper under the corner of the keyboard. I think it's the desk that's the culprit - the keyboard stops wobbling if I move it to a different area of the desk.
The only planned upgrade is to get a GBFO monitor, at which point I will retire the iMac and use my laptop docked to said monitor instead.
By the way, the stain on my chair is chocolate. No, really, it is.
Post by: Afasoas on 09 November, 2020, 09:22:47 pm
This is my current workspace:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50583809568_b43cb93aed_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k4VfgJ)
Extra points for the anglepoise lamp.
Post by: citoyen on 09 November, 2020, 09:23:50 pm
Extra points for the anglepoise lamp.
Ikea's finest (https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/tertial-work-lamp-dark-grey-40450802/).
Post by: Greenbank on 09 November, 2020, 09:46:40 pm
Extra points for the anglepoise lamp.
Ikea's finest (https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/tertial-work-lamp-dark-grey-40450802/).
Excellent, I wanted one and did wonder whether to spunk £250+ on a genuine Anglepoise or get a cheap knock-off.
£9. Bargain!
Post by: Ham on 09 November, 2020, 10:33:17 pm
Cable horror:-
(http://www.greenbank.org/misc/wfh_cables_before.jpg)
As I happens I have just retired an early version of that power strip (Belkin) after the replacement neon switch failed after a year. I keep the main switchable distribution on my desk, so I can power everything off (not liking 24/7 power to PSU). Its replacement is an unswitched 10 socket tower (as I decided all the switches I could see on extensions costing less than £140 from RS were distinctly naff) fed from a mains spur switch then plugged into the ex-server cabinet PDU in the rear of the desk kneehole. This has the benefit of taking up less desk real estate. I've tamed a lot of the cables by using large loops created with cable ties at the rear as a cable channel, but cables, tidy? You're 'aving a giraffe.
Post by: Feanor on 09 November, 2020, 10:34:45 pm
Je vous présente chez Feanor:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50585110727_5911c95d7a_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k52V4v)
WFH entaglement (https://flic.kr/p/2k52V4v) by Ron Lowe (https://www.flickr.com/photos/62966413@N04/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50584249208_29f4413884_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k4XuXJ)
WFH entaglement (https://flic.kr/p/2k4XuXJ) by Ron Lowe (https://www.flickr.com/photos/62966413@N04/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50584249068_78fc7e76dd_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k4XuVj)
WFH entaglement (https://flic.kr/p/2k4XuVj) by Ron Lowe (https://www.flickr.com/photos/62966413@N04/), on Flickr
Post by: Ben T on 09 November, 2020, 11:35:48 pm
Things to fix:-
* Desk (would like a sit/stand desk)
* Seat/stool/chair
* Nicer monitor(s)
* More storage
* Less clutter
* Sort out cable mess
You seem to have quite a lot of space devoted to that thing next to the printer, what is it, a shredder? You can get smaller ones, although you could keep it on the floor as well/instead.
And are you really ever going to use that old shitter on top of the book case ever again? ;) Bin it. It's got a floppy drive so must be at least 30 years old :)
In fact if you got rid of the whole book case you might have room for a varidesk, can recommend it.
Post by: Kim on 10 November, 2020, 12:00:08 am
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50584249208_29f4413884_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k4XuXJ)
WFH entaglement (https://flic.kr/p/2k4XuXJ) by Ron Lowe (https://www.flickr.com/photos/62966413@N04/), on Flickr
I've got to ask, what's the transformer about?
Post by: Greenbank on 10 November, 2020, 08:53:45 am
You seem to have quite a lot of space devoted to that thing next to the printer, what is it, a shredder? You can get smaller ones, although you could keep it on the floor as well/instead.
And are you really ever going to use that old shitter on top of the book case ever again? ;) Bin it. It's got a floppy drive so must be at least 30 years old :)
In fact if you got rid of the whole book case you might have room for a varidesk, can recommend it.
Shredder stays. Smaller ones just fall apart. This one is the first that has lasted years.
The old shitter is the Linux box I'm using to help me scrub the old drives, once I've done all of that it'll go. It's next to a pile of old stuff that needs to go to the tip.
The book cases are new! They're there to help me organise the clutter that was in here. They work perfectly being behind me as I can't see them.
No need for a varidesk as we're going for a Flexispot EC1 sit/stand desk as described above, with a smaller top than the current desk as I simply don't need all of the space (it just fills with crap/clutter).
Post by: Feanor on 10 November, 2020, 09:07:42 am
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50584249208_29f4413884_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k4XuXJ)
WFH entaglement (https://flic.kr/p/2k4XuXJ) by Ron Lowe (https://www.flickr.com/photos/62966413@N04/), on Flickr
I've got to ask, what's the transformer about?
At one point in the past, the whole house was on a single 30mA RCD.
Oddly enough, it nuisance-tripped all the time.
This is a 240:240 isolating transformer which isolated all the computer room kit from the RCD, and was enough to prevent the nuisance tripping.
Mostly.
This was the place I could isolate as many devices in one single spot.
The consumer unit has since been replaced with one containing RCBOs, ie a 30mA RCD per-circuit.
So it's now redundant.
Post by: Jaded on 10 November, 2020, 09:17:04 am
Post by: Chris N on 10 November, 2020, 09:21:39 am
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50585533858_1204e7dc8e_b.jpg)
IKEA desk, Varier stool, proper Anglepoise (free but needed rebuilding and rewiring :smug:). Kallax to the right and some random ex-army bedside cabinet under the desk for storage.
27" 1440p monitor and 15" laptop screens for added
A little bit of cable hell under the desk but no big deal.
Post by: Greenbank on 10 November, 2020, 09:31:17 am
You have a penguin on your phone. :P
Tux.
Post by: Ben T on 10 November, 2020, 11:02:23 am
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50586434096_d167fa572c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k59Gsd)
did used to have the desk facing the window but turned it round and it's much better
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50586458516_a8373d1a3b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k59PHf)
Post by: Afasoas on 10 November, 2020, 11:41:20 am
My officethe spare room looks like this at the moment:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50585533858_1204e7dc8e_b.jpg)
IKEA desk, Varier stool, proper Anglepoise (free but needed rebuilding and rewiring :smug:). Kallax to the right and some random ex-army bedside cabinet under the desk for
Triple bonux points for a repaired/real Anglepoise ;)
What is that item that looks like a peripheral to the left of the keyboard?
Post by: quixoticgeek on 10 November, 2020, 11:48:40 am
I've been doing a bit of a tidy up recently too...
I found some interesting historical artifacts in the process...
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EkmuwdZXgAMGi0U?format=jpg&name=large)
Some claim to contain important data...
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EknLqJ4XYAAa4e_?format=jpg&name=large)
And some stuff that looks just down right dangerous...
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ElMGzdoXgAU7-FY?format=jpg&name=large)
As part of my tidy up, I got my audio setup configured better. For video calls I use a Gemini PDA on a 3d printed mount on top of a tripod next to my laptop. This device has no data on it, so has no issues with security. But to connect both headphones and my lav mic requires a few adaptors...
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EkEL9oVXkAIK_A6?format=jpg&name=large)
Yes those are my NeXT cubes in the background...
As for the desk, well... I had a tidy up.
Before:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EcMbdCGWAAMy1t_?format=jpg&name=large)
After:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EcMbgRwXYAAkswK?format=jpg&name=large)
It's got a bit worse since, I've added a hot air soldering station, and a lot of baccy tins of components, but it's still an improvement.
I have a small networking lab to the side of my desk. It has some funky custom 3d printed brackets for the core switch, and it does mean I can have fibre to my desk:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EXl6UfNXgAEQljF?format=jpg&name=large)
I need to tidy up the wiring. And in the process of trying to take this photo, I knocked the power cable, so now seems as good a time as any.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EmdbC50XIAAuPup?format=jpg&name=large)
Yes, that is a RIPE atlas probe... and a raspberry pi, and a Zero pi, and all in their own custom 3d printed brackets... no I haven't been bored during lockdown, why do you ask?
I built this because it's quieter for experimenting, than the 42U rack full of servers on my left (not pictured), which is just too damn loud to power up.
J
Post by: Greenbank on 10 November, 2020, 12:10:05 pm
I built this because it's quieter for experimenting, than the 42U rack full of servers on my left (not pictured), which is just too damn loud to power up.
I outsourced my 2 RLX 600i blade servers to a friend's basement but his wife can still hear them through 3 walls and 2 floors if they are powered up.
(http://www.greenbank.org/misc/IMG_2705.JPG)
(http://www.greenbank.org/misc/blades.png)
Post by: Greenbank on 10 November, 2020, 12:12:22 pm
my 2 RLX 600i blade servers
Good point, I should really try and sell them.
2 RLX 600i chassis with 24 x PIII 700MHz / 2GB RAM / 2 x 40GB HDD blades in each.
So that's 33.6GHz of CPU, 96GB RAM, 3.84TB DISK in total.
Post by: quixoticgeek on 10 November, 2020, 12:16:26 pm
Good point, I should really try and sell them.
2 RLX 600i chassis with 24 x PIII 700MHz / 2GB RAM / 2 x 40GB HDD blades in each.
So that's 33.6GHz of CPU, 96GB RAM, 3.84TB DISK in total.
No sale, my cluster has more power than that already... If I ever bother to turn it on...
J
Post by: Ham on 10 November, 2020, 12:21:44 pm
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M2nKRA7L80o/X6qCvH_14jI/AAAAAAADYes/WWe6NQY_woMxSCkIME7zLbZEySFEArkCQCPcBGAsYHg/s1024/PXL_20201110_120359234.jpg)
Anyone questioning why there are two active computers and three evident keyboards has not had to deal with an active two year old. The powered USB dangling in the knee hole is as a result of failure of a velcro experiment.
Post by: Greenbank on 10 November, 2020, 12:22:12 pm
It'd be easy to spec a single Ryzen box for probably under £2k with way better specs than that (more CPU grunt, maybe not as many cores) but everything has a price so I'm sure I'll be able to sell them.
Post by: citoyen on 10 November, 2020, 12:53:42 pm
Anyone questioning why there are two active computers and three evident keyboards has not had to deal with an active two year old.
I was going to make a comment about you channelling your inner Rick Wakeman... ;D
Post by: Chris N on 10 November, 2020, 01:14:23 pm
What is that item that looks like a peripheral to the left of the keyboard?
It’s a Space Mouse for CAD wrangling.
Post by: L CC on 10 November, 2020, 01:24:34 pm
Post by: L CC on 10 November, 2020, 02:02:33 pm
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201110/09e119ac5b692400a2cae2ee85166ad0.jpg)
Post by: Chris S on 10 November, 2020, 02:27:21 pm
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50586204338_e54dfaca48_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k58w9S)
Post by: ian on 10 November, 2020, 02:46:27 pm
Post by: Jurek on 10 November, 2020, 02:51:11 pm
Desk - I made myself, using 2 x kitchen worktops, and Kee systems Hardware (https://keesystems.com) 2400mm x 1200mm in total, minus cut-out for the chimney breast.
It is sufficiently robust to support the weight of two consenting adults shagging on it. DAMHIKT.
Chair - Herman Miller Aeron - which I picked up for £26.00 (I actually swapped it for a Fred Scott Hille Supporto chair - the £26.00 was for cabs to re-arrange the chairs - not sure how wise a move that was as good condition Supporto chairs are fetching in excess of £2.5k these days)
Using three keyboards, Jean Michelle Jarre stylee, can be entertaining.
Post by: L CC on 10 November, 2020, 02:52:24 pm
Thing is, I've WdFH for at least 25 years now; not much changed when the 'rona came.Lucky this thread started this week rather than last, eh?
<img>
3 hours of cleaning and tidying later
</img>
Post by: Afasoas on 10 November, 2020, 03:01:39 pm
I got the RLX servers way back in 2005 or so, they were stupidly powerful for their time. If only I'd put them onto that silly Bitcoin thing than was never going to go anywhere...
It'd be easy to spec a single Ryzen box for probably under £2k with way better specs than that (more CPU grunt, maybe not as many cores) but everything has a price so I'm sure I'll be able to sell them.
Someone who needs a lot of cores, no doubt.
Did you ever measure the power consumption?
Post by: Jaded on 10 November, 2020, 03:07:06 pm
Post by: Jurek on 10 November, 2020, 03:09:42 pm
Hmmmm! Saturn V Rocket. That wins!Saturn V Rocket and a map of Mars to the right of it.
So that I know where I'm going once my spaceship is fixed, and I can finally go home.
Post by: phantasmagoriana on 10 November, 2020, 03:29:32 pm
(https://i.ibb.co/YBQPnZy/IMG-2704.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Kxhb4wL)
Somewhat improvised setup of a wonky Victorian table with wedges under the drop leaf to keep it stable, and a monitor shelf that I made. It works better than the kitchen table, anyway.
Post by: Jurek on 10 November, 2020, 03:33:14 pm
My corner of the spare room/office/bedroom (whilst the flat is being ripped apart room-by-room because of dry rot :():Where is the vaulted ceiling I can see on your desktop?
(https://i.ibb.co/YBQPnZy/IMG-2704.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Kxhb4wL)
Somewhat improvised setup of a wonky Victorian table with wedges under the drop leaf to keep it stable, and a monitor shelf that I made. It works better than the kitchen table, anyway.
Also, what's your first instrument?
Post by: phantasmagoriana on 10 November, 2020, 03:37:12 pm
Where is the vaulted ceiling I can see on your desktop?
https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/visit/attractions/tour/cloisters/
Post by: Afasoas on 10 November, 2020, 03:38:12 pm
My corner of the spare room/office/bedroom (whilst the flat is being ripped apart room-by-room because of dry rot :():
(https://i.ibb.co/YBQPnZy/IMG-2704.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Kxhb4wL)
Somewhat improvised setup of a wonky Victorian table with wedges under the drop leaf to keep it stable, and a monitor shelf that I made. It works better than the kitchen table, anyway.
double points for the banker's lamp
Post by: Jurek on 10 November, 2020, 03:39:19 pm
Wow!Where is the vaulted ceiling I can see on your desktop?
https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/visit/attractions/tour/cloisters/
Post by: Chris S on 10 November, 2020, 03:45:04 pm
Thing is, I've WdFH for at least 25 years now; not much changed when the 'rona came.Lucky this thread started this week rather than last, eh?
<img>
3 hours of cleaning and tidying later
</img>
SSSsshhhhhhh!!!
Post by: mcshroom on 10 November, 2020, 05:17:07 pm
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50587468386_92d357053a_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k5eZUN)
Yes those are house bricks supporting the tablet. It's surprisingly effective ;D
Post by: ian on 10 November, 2020, 05:53:26 pm
(https://i.imgur.com/i95EgwZ.jpg)
Post by: Jaded on 10 November, 2020, 06:54:33 pm
(http://www.alfiecat.co.uk/yetacf/Nov%2010%202020%20PB100008.jpg)
or a green screen...
(http://www.alfiecat.co.uk/yetacf/Nov%2010%202020%20PB100004.jpg)
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 10 November, 2020, 07:26:36 pm
Learn from my ninja home-drone feng shui.
(https://i.imgur.com/i95EgwZ.jpg)
Prize for best labelling.
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 10 November, 2020, 07:28:20 pm
or a green screen...
(http://www.alfiecat.co.uk/yetacf/Nov%2010%202020%20PB100004.jpg)
I've been wondering if I'm going to need to hang a bedsheet behind my desk for an upcoming event. The sloping ceiling seems to do weird things when I try using a Teams background if I move at all.
Post by: Greenbank on 10 November, 2020, 07:29:52 pm
or a green screen...
I've been tempted to fill the visible bookshelves behind me with the most appalling/distasteful books I could find (or at least wrapper the existing books in sleeves that made them look like the most appalling books).
Instead I went for a deeply off putting set:-
(http://www.greenbank.org/misc/bookshelf.png)
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 10 November, 2020, 07:32:54 pm
Post by: Jaded on 10 November, 2020, 08:07:46 pm
Also, I couldn't work with all those cables trailing down the wall at Jaded's.
You should see behind the monitor - there's a 15 socket power bar. Full.
Post by: Jurek on 10 November, 2020, 08:29:33 pm
Disappointed no one else has a Cat Docking Station!You have my chair!
(http://www.alfiecat.co.uk/yetacf/Nov%2010%202020%20PB100008.jpg)
or a green screen...
(http://www.alfiecat.co.uk/yetacf/Nov%2010%202020%20PB100004.jpg)
Cat docking here is strictly between November and March.
When the CH is on and bits of the kitchen floor are warm.
And Part-Time deigns to put in her appearance.
Post by: TheLurker on 10 November, 2020, 08:34:02 pm
(https://i.ibb.co/R4V9yYb/Office01.jpg) (https://ibb.co/qFPd57j)
(https://i.ibb.co/bKybMcJ/Office02.jpg) (https://ibb.co/vjrX60Y)
(https://i.ibb.co/bKybMcJ/Office02.jpg) (https://ibb.co/vjrX60Y)
Post by: L CC on 10 November, 2020, 08:47:49 pm
I've been wondering if I'm going to need to hang a bedsheet behind my desk for an upcoming event. The sloping ceiling seems to do weird things when I try using a Teams background if I move at all.The first week I was WFH I had to shift the laundry off the bed behind me...
Post by: ian on 10 November, 2020, 09:00:24 pm
Learn from my ninja home-drone feng shui.
...
Prize for best labelling.
I was going to do it catalogue style. So I did. The printer, an entire batallion of mustelids (fearsome honeybadger!), an entire rainforest of house plants, and the Babylon 5 box set are behind me. To the right is the patio door and balcony and view of the mysterious and now mouldering purple levitating tent and to the right, a nice sofa bed for when it all gets too much.
(https://i.imgur.com/MKILdOH.jpg)
Post by: Polar Bear on 10 November, 2020, 09:01:40 pm
Disappointed no one else has a Cat Docking Station!You have my chair!
(http://www.alfiecat.co.uk/yetacf/Nov%2010%202020%20PB100008.jpg)
or a green screen...
(http://www.alfiecat.co.uk/yetacf/Nov%2010%202020%20PB100004.jpg)
Cat docking here is strictly between November and March.
When the CH is on and bits of the kitchen floor are warm.
And Part-time deigns to put in an appearance.
You have our old slatted blind which I have been dismantling today.
Post by: phantasmagoriana on 10 November, 2020, 09:12:21 pm
You have our old slatted blind which I have been dismantling today.
I recognise those too - Ikea Lindmon? ;D
Post by: Polar Bear on 10 November, 2020, 09:14:40 pm
Post by: Jaded on 10 November, 2020, 10:41:31 pm
I got mine off eBay.
Which was nice.
Post by: Jaded on 10 November, 2020, 10:45:50 pm
(http://www.alfiecat.co.uk/yetacf/Nov%2010%202020%20PB100004%201.jpg)
Post by: citoyen on 10 November, 2020, 11:01:15 pm
Post by: Kim on 10 November, 2020, 11:41:37 pm
You have our old slatted blind which I have been dismantling today.
I recognise those too - Ikea Lindmon? ;D
There was a broken one of those tied up with a pair of shoelaces in the kitchen when we moved in. It got binned when I became reasonably sure the landlord didn't give a shit.
Post by: Kim on 10 November, 2020, 11:42:54 pm
Instead I went for a deeply off putting set:-
(http://www.greenbank.org/misc/bookshelf.png)
One of these is not like the others.
(click to show/hide)
Post by: phantasmagoriana on 11 November, 2020, 07:56:08 am
You have our old slatted blind which I have been dismantling today.
I recognise those too - Ikea Lindmon? ;D
There was a broken one of those tied up with a pair of shoelaces in the kitchen when we moved in. It got binned when I became reasonably sure the landlord didn't give a shit.
Ours have succumbed to the building works - they're coated in so much black dust that I have no intention of putting them back (we have curtains, after all).
Ikea stopped selling them because of the strangulation risk to children, I gather.
Post by: rafletcher on 11 November, 2020, 08:16:57 am
Note also the wedge of paper under the corner of the keyboard. I think it's the desk that's the culprit - the keyboard stops wobbling if I move it to a different area of the desk.
We had a similar problem with a similar keyboard, solved by sticking (I think I used double sided tape) a 20mm wide strip of 3mm closed cell foam packing material to the tope edge of the back of it. That gave enough resilience and give to even out the slightly uneven desk top.
Post by: rafletcher on 11 November, 2020, 08:25:00 am
Extra points for the anglepoise lamp.
Ikea's finest (https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/tertial-work-lamp-dark-grey-40450802/).
Excellent, I wanted one and did wonder whether to spunk £250+ on a genuine Anglepoise or get a cheap knock-off.
£9. Bargain!
Even better, that clamp can be screwed to a vertical surface (such as my shed wall) over a workbench, giving local light without obstruction. Ordered!
Post by: citoyen on 11 November, 2020, 08:52:52 am
We had a similar problem with a similar keyboard, solved by sticking (I think I used double sided tape) a 20mm wide strip of 3mm closed cell foam packing material to the tope edge of the back of it. That gave enough resilience and give to even out the slightly uneven desk top.
Good idea! I was going to try blu-tac but I haven't been able to find any around the house yet. Sure we have some somewhere...
Post by: ian on 11 November, 2020, 09:38:35 am
LMC occasionally sleeps on the sofa which interferes with horizontal meetings.
I was impressed that Citoyan blurred out his 'reading matter.' A gentleman never discloses.
Post by: citoyen on 11 November, 2020, 09:55:33 am
I was impressed that Citoyan blurred out his 'reading matter.' A gentleman never discloses.
;)
Post by: quixoticgeek on 11 November, 2020, 10:15:34 am
Extra points for the anglepoise lamp.
Ikea's finest (https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/tertial-work-lamp-dark-grey-40450802/).
Excellent, I wanted one and did wonder whether to spunk £250+ on a genuine Anglepoise or get a cheap knock-off.
£9. Bargain!
Even better, that clamp can be screwed to a vertical surface (such as my shed wall) over a workbench, giving local light without obstruction. Ordered!
Do note, if you move the thing around by grabbing the shade part, it works loose and falls off. Which is annoying. Fortunately the bulb tends to keep it from falling on the floor. Still annoying when you have the hot soldering iron in one hand, and you're trying to fix it one handed with the other...
J
Post by: Ham on 11 November, 2020, 10:20:53 am
Post by: Afasoas on 11 November, 2020, 11:42:09 am
Disappointed no one else has a Cat Docking Station!
(http://www.alfiecat.co.uk/yetacf/Nov%2010%202020%20PB100008.jpg)
quadruple points for feline content
Post by: quixoticgeek on 11 November, 2020, 11:42:56 am
quadruple points for feline content
And for content feline...
J
Post by: Mr Larrington on 11 November, 2020, 12:09:09 pm
Estate Office 1 (https://flic.kr/p/2k5sSyW) by Mr Larrington (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_larrington/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50589980137_4c7c85f8c3_o.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k5sSyR)
Estate Office 2 (https://flic.kr/p/2k5sSyR) by Mr Larrington (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_larrington/), on Flickr
Highlights include:
- Ball of pink string for no readily-apparent reason
- The feet of a penguin
- Not an Anglepoise lamp, with its switch and cable carefully screwed to the Thing With The Turntable On It
- Crib sheet for saved notepad++ macros
- Denon AVR-X520BT for Tunes
- Manky IKEA chair with the finish flaking off
- Logitech G27
- IBM Model M
- MSI blinkenlight-equipped mouse
- Glowing red orb that indicates the sub-woofer under the desk is still asleep
- Brother DCP9020 printer/copier/scanner
- Set list from the outfit who supported The Laurence Jones Band at the Oslo in Hackney last November
- No work
Post by: Kim on 11 November, 2020, 12:14:26 pm
Post by: ian on 11 November, 2020, 12:18:30 pm
(https://i.imgur.com/sU1diR9.png)
Post by: Ham on 11 November, 2020, 12:36:35 pm
Post by: Pingu on 11 November, 2020, 01:03:54 pm
Post by: Pingu on 11 November, 2020, 01:04:35 pm
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50590002491_9c6dc3fedf_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k5sZdg)
IMG_7056_01 (https://flic.kr/p/2k5sZdg) by The Pingus (https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_pingus/), on Flickr
Post by: darkpoint on 11 November, 2020, 04:19:16 pm
or a green screen...
I've been tempted to fill the visible bookshelves behind me with the most appalling/distasteful books I could find (or at least wrapper the existing books in sleeves that made them look like the most appalling books).
Instead I went for a deeply off putting set:-
(http://www.greenbank.org/misc/bookshelf.png)
I have a worrying number of those books on my bookcase.. although most are scheduled to go to music magpie who were willing to give me 4 quid for Unix networking..
Post by: citoyen on 11 November, 2020, 04:29:14 pm
- Ball of pink string for no readily-apparent reason
Peripheral for the cat docking station, surely?
Post by: Mr Larrington on 11 November, 2020, 04:32:35 pm
- Ball of pink string for no readily-apparent reason
Peripheral for the cat docking station, surely?
I decide not to bother with the cat docking station, because it would be a bit of a waste of money without a cat to go in it.
Post by: L CC on 11 November, 2020, 04:43:47 pm
Post by: Greenbank on 11 November, 2020, 04:56:12 pm
I have a worrying number of those books on my bookcase.. although most are scheduled to go to music magpie who were willing to give me 4 quid for Unix networking..
I'd like to be making more money with the left hand side of the bookcase but the right hand side still dominates (and the rails/mysql/javashit books were just for a side project that didn't go anywhere).
In better news the USB-C to DP cable ordered from Amazon turned up today so I am back to dual displays.
Also ordering the Flexispot EC1 desk tonight hopefully. (If I can get my other work out of the way first.)
Post by: Ben T on 11 November, 2020, 05:00:30 pm
I have a worrying number of those books on my bookcase.. although most are scheduled to go to music magpie who were willing to give me 4 quid for Unix networking..
I'd like to be making more money with the left hand side of the bookcase but the right hand side still dominates (and the rails/mysql/javashit books were just for a side project that didn't go anywhere).
In better news the USB-C to DP cable ordered from Amazon turned up today so I am back to dual displays.
Also ordering the Flexispot EC1 desk tonight hopefully. (If I can get my other work out of the way first.)
Possibly controversial suggestion - but why have any physical books at all?
Why not just convert get kindle/online versions?
They just take up space.
I think the last book I threw away was on VB6... I haven't needed it since I bought proper monitor risers in about 2006.
Post by: JonBuoy on 11 November, 2020, 05:10:24 pm
Disappointed no one else has a Cat Docking Station!
(http://www.alfiecat.co.uk/yetacf/Nov%2010%202020%20PB100008.jpg)
quadruple points for feline content
Missed the opportunity to get a bit of recursive cat action going though!
Post by: Greenbank on 11 November, 2020, 05:15:29 pm
Possibly controversial suggestion - but why have any physical books at all?
Why not just convert get kindle/online versions?
They just take up space.
I much prefer physical books. Given the pros and cons I find them much easier than screens for the majority of uses.
There are plenty of docs I'll look at online because there's no point having a physical copy of them, but there are some books that I really prefer having physical copies of.
I'm also trying to reduce the amount of technology in my life. I don't want or need a Kindle (or similar).
Horses for courses and each to their own and all that.
Post by: TheLurker on 11 November, 2020, 05:18:47 pm
Quote from: Ben T
Possibly controversial suggestion - but why have any physical books at all?Because ...
...
a) They don't need batteries.
b) I can scribble notes / code fragments on them as I read through which improves / reinforces my understanding of the material being presented.
c) Physical bookmarks, i.e. scraps of paper, are easier to deal with than electronic ones.
d) I find it easier to read dead tree editions because I can flip back and forth.
Having said that, tech. books do go out of date frighteningly fast and if you're comfortable with PDF et al it's no skin off my nose.
Coincidentally, I have, in the last week, put nearly all my C, C++ and early version C# manuals in the paper recycling box. The Java & Android books may be joining them, although I am currently undecided about that. One of the C books was over 30 years old!
Post by: Ham on 11 November, 2020, 05:24:49 pm
Possibly controversial suggestion - but why have any physical books at all?
Why not just convert get kindle/online versions?
They just take up space.
Virtual books are shit for random access, especially when you don't quite know where you are going, as opposed to flicking through a book
Post by: TheLurker on 11 November, 2020, 06:07:40 pm
Quote from: TheLurker
<Esprit d'escalier>Quote from: Ben TPossibly controversial suggestion - but why have any physical books at all?...One of the C books was over 30 years old!
...
In addition to Ham's cogent and well made point, because they make for good archives. Electronic versions of stuff are subject to constant (exaggeration for dramatic effect) format churn and online resources like websites come and go like the morning dew* whereas a book printed on good quality acid free paper will last for decades, even centuries. I had some chemistry texts (qualitative analysis lab manuals) printed in the 1890s and when I finally handed them on a few years ago they were still in excellent condition.
*Try and find an MSDN or KB article from 10 or 15 years ago (because you're working on some "old" sw and need an answer to, say, a config. problem ) will very often get you a 404 or a holding page saying something like,"Obsolete crap. Use our new exciting blah..."
Post by: Ben T on 11 November, 2020, 06:29:07 pm
Quote from: Ben TPossibly controversial suggestion - but why have any physical books at all?Because ...
...
a) They don't need batteries.
b) I can scribble notes / code fragments on them as I read through which improves / reinforces my understanding of the material being presented.
c) Physical bookmarks, i.e. scraps of paper, are easier to deal with than electronic ones.
d) I find it easier to read dead tree editions because I can flip back and forth.
Having said that, tech. books do go out of date frighteningly fast and if you're comfortable with PDF et al it's no skin off my nose.
Coincidentally, I have, in the last week, put nearly all my C, C++ and early version C# manuals in the paper recycling box. The Java & Android books may be joining them, although I am currently undecided about that. One of the C books was over 30 years old!
This is it, for me.
If I want to know how to do something, I want to know the current best way of doing it, not the way of doing it when the book was written.
For instance I bet if you look in your java book there's nothing on streams, although they've been around for a while now.
The best example was when I was at uni in about 1999 and I had some
I looked at the book and could find nothing about them. On firing up netscape navigator in the uni library I found they were only invented in 1995, and the book predated them.
Post by: ian on 11 November, 2020, 06:35:34 pm
In the old days, you could go blind in the tried-and-tested traditional way. These days it's from squinting at a screen.
Post by: Jurek on 11 November, 2020, 06:43:47 pm
I'm now worried that printed catalogues no longer exist and thusly my glorious attempt at rendering my workspace in a catalogue-stylee is lost on the younger amongst you. It'll all be squinting and clicking on thumbnails. I, for one, certainly enjoying taking a 'catalogue pose.' Hand on hip, gaze into the distance. Chinos available in blush pink, hellfire red, and oopsy brown. £40. Shoes, model's own.Jane & Notsototalnewbie OTP have form for that, I do believe.
In the old days, you could go blind in the tried-and-tested traditional way. These days it's from squinting at a screen.
Post by: Genosse Brymbo on 11 November, 2020, 07:01:48 pm
Possibly controversial suggestion - but why have any physical books at all?
...
Physical books can reveal more than one might wish to admit...
...That JavaScript book looks worryingly well-used.
(http://www.greenbank.org/misc/bookshelf.png)
...
Post by: Jaded on 11 November, 2020, 07:20:23 pm
Disappointed no one else has a Cat Docking Station!
quadruple points for feline content
Missed the opportunity to get a bit of recursive cat action going though!
She moves fast ;D
Post by: Ben T on 11 November, 2020, 07:24:14 pm
That JavaScript book looks worryingly well-used.
Old hat though now, typescripts where its at now :)
Post by: davelodwig on 11 November, 2020, 07:41:18 pm
Quote from: Ben TPossibly controversial suggestion - but why have any physical books at all?Because ...
...
a) They don't need batteries.
b) I can scribble notes / code fragments on them as I read through which improves / reinforces my understanding of the material being presented.
c) Physical bookmarks, i.e. scraps of paper, are easier to deal with than electronic ones.
d) I find it easier to read dead tree editions because I can flip back and forth.
Having said that, tech. books do go out of date frighteningly fast and if you're comfortable with PDF et al it's no skin off my nose.
Coincidentally, I have, in the last week, put nearly all my C, C++ and early version C# manuals in the paper recycling box. The Java & Android books may be joining them, although I am currently undecided about that. One of the C books was over 30 years old!
Where I'm working currently we use books as we don't have internet access in the building, so it's the only way. Oh the joy of air gapped networks, when you really do have to know your craft not just copy from stack overflow.
Post by: FifeingEejit on 11 November, 2020, 07:41:40 pm
I have a worrying number of those books on my bookcase.. although most are scheduled to go to music magpie who were willing to give me 4 quid for Unix networking..
I'd like to be making more money with the left hand side of the bookcase but the right hand side still dominates (and the rails/mysql/javashit books were just for a side project that didn't go anywhere).
In better news the USB-C to DP cable ordered from Amazon turned up today so I am back to dual displays.
Also ordering the Flexispot EC1 desk tonight hopefully. (If I can get my other work out of the way first.)
Possibly controversial suggestion - but why have any physical books at all?
Why not just convert get kindle/online versions?
They just take up space.
I think the last book I threw away was on VB6... I haven't needed it since I bought proper monitor risers in about 2006.
Because Kindle and PDF are abominations only suitable for brief reading before sending the reader into a 5 day headache.
Although that may just be me
Oh yes and you can't load a kindle up with mini-post it notes in the same way you can a real page flicking book (see also judgement of how long a chapter is)
The technical books I've bought recently have been 2nd hand and on specific subjects that you just can't find on stackoverflow; finding out how to actually do generic stuff like remember if the string concatenation is done with +, & or a static function call, well there's stackoverflow. A decent description of what JavaEE is without getting into an argument about Spring or even someone who thinks you really really should be doing Microservices?
You'll also probably end up in an argument with some knowitall who thinks every IT project is as inconsequential as a website, and not potential killing sprees.
Post by: pcolbeck on 11 November, 2020, 08:04:31 pm
Post by: Nuncio on 11 November, 2020, 08:23:09 pm
I, for one, certainly enjoying taking a 'catalogue pose.'Me too, as much as the next man.
Post by: ian on 11 November, 2020, 08:30:07 pm
I'm now worried that printed catalogues no longer exist and thusly my glorious attempt at rendering my workspace in a catalogue-stylee is lost on the younger amongst you. It'll all be squinting and clicking on thumbnails. I, for one, certainly enjoying taking a 'catalogue pose.' Hand on hip, gaze into the distance. Chinos available in blush pink, hellfire red, and oopsy brown. £40. Shoes, model's own.Jane & Notsototalnewbie OTP have form for that, I do believe.
In the old days, you could go blind in the tried-and-tested traditional way. These days it's from squinting at a screen.
I'm glad you bolded that section, I don't want to think what it would take to make them go blind.
Post by: Greenbank on 11 November, 2020, 08:32:53 pm
That JavaScript book looks worryingly well-used.
Luckily not by me. I buy most of my tech books second hand. I think I've looked at the JS book for about 15 minutes in total.
Greenbank - much respect for someone who has both volumes of "TCP/IP illustrated". Us network types usually only have Vol 1. Mind you we have Radia Perlman's "Interconnections: Bridges, Routers, Switches" instead of Vol 2.
My copies of K&R and box set of TAOCP are both in the office. I shall retrieve them at some point.
I seem to have lost my copy of Fred Halsall which I bought for Uni in 1994. Can get one for under £5 from eBay so I may do that.
Thinking about it that also means I've lost a few of my signed copies from various university lecturers. (Discrete Mathematics by Mike Piff, and at least one by Prof Noel Sharkey [yes, that one off Robot Wars] as he was my dissertation supervisor for a bit before I switched topics and moved to another lecturer.)
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 11 November, 2020, 08:35:19 pm
"Ruby on Rails" does sound rather NSFW.Possibly controversial suggestion - but why have any physical books at all?
...
Physical books can reveal more than one might wish to admit......That JavaScript book looks worryingly well-used.
(http://www.greenbank.org/misc/bookshelf.png)
...
Post by: Feanor on 11 November, 2020, 08:36:43 pm
I, for one, certainly enjoying taking a 'catalogue pose.'Me too, as much as the next man.
Ah, this is calling out for a thread in the photos board ( behind spoiler tags if necessary! )
Junior ( a PSO in Edinburgh ) had a jacket delivered to here, and wanted to see what it looked like.
I did adopt the underwear-model gaze-into-the-middle-distance pose.
But I kept my breeks on!
Post by: ian on 11 November, 2020, 08:37:34 pm
Post by: FifeingEejit on 11 November, 2020, 08:39:55 pm
One of the sadder things of my life is knowing there will never a sequel Ruby off the Rails.
Thought that was what happened to it's bandwagon
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 11 November, 2020, 08:42:07 pm
One of the sadder things of my life is knowing there will never a sequel Ruby off the Rails.Oh yes there will!
https://www.instagram.com/ruby.off.the.rails/?hl=en
Post by: quixoticgeek on 11 November, 2020, 09:19:06 pm
This is it, for me.
If I want to know how to do something, I want to know the current best way of doing it, not the way of doing it when the book was written.
For instance I bet if you look in your java book there's nothing on streams, although they've been around for a while now.
The best example was when I was at uni in about 1999 and I had somerevision to do on something called "manchester carry chains", something to do with electronics.
I looked at the book and could find nothing about them. On firing up netscape navigator in the uni library I found they were only invented in 1995, and the book predated them.
And yet the C book I goto most often dates from 1978...
J
Post by: FifeingEejit on 11 November, 2020, 10:10:25 pm
This is it, for me.
If I want to know how to do something, I want to know the current best way of doing it, not the way of doing it when the book was written.
For instance I bet if you look in your java book there's nothing on streams, although they've been around for a while now.
The best example was when I was at uni in about 1999 and I had somerevision to do on something called "manchester carry chains", something to do with electronics.
I looked at the book and could find nothing about them. On firing up netscape navigator in the uni library I found they were only invented in 1995, and the book predated them.
And yet the C book I goto most often dates from 1978...
J
A mate was doing a Masters last year, I thought I'd be able to help him with C++ when he asked.
It looks nothing like what I remember.
Post by: quixoticgeek on 11 November, 2020, 10:17:25 pm
A mate was doing a Masters last year, I thought I'd be able to help him with C++ when he asked.
It looks nothing like what I remember.
I got asked by a friend if I would mentor a friend of hers who was doing a CS degree and was struggling with one module. Sure I said.
It taught me *A LOT*. Not least it taught me that the way I was taught to interpret pointers doesn't work if you didn't grow up in either the UK, Ireland, Aus, NZ, or Japan... But, the only thing in modern C that is not in my original K&R is enum's, and that is in the more modern release of the book.
I have realised the only language I am confident in saying I know these days is C. Despite having been paid as in the past to program in Java and FORTRAN, the former has changed so much, I can't claim to know it anymore. I don't think code I wrote 10 years ago would even compile these days... As for the FORTRAN, sure I can do it, but noone is willing to pay me the hourly rate I'm asking for to do it...
I like C...
J
Post by: Ben T on 12 November, 2020, 12:36:07 am
Oh yeah it's got lambdas and all sorts nowadays. Still have to look up what they look like to remember how to write them thoughThis is it, for me.
If I want to know how to do something, I want to know the current best way of doing it, not the way of doing it when the book was written.
For instance I bet if you look in your java book there's nothing on streams, although they've been around for a while now.
The best example was when I was at uni in about 1999 and I had somerevision to do on something called "manchester carry chains", something to do with electronics.
I looked at the book and could find nothing about them. On firing up netscape navigator in the uni library I found they were only invented in 1995, and the book predated them.
And yet the C book I goto most often dates from 1978...
J
A mate was doing a Masters last year, I thought I'd be able to help him with C++ when he asked.
It looks nothing like what I remember.
Post by: Mr Larrington on 12 November, 2020, 01:34:23 am
<g,d&r>
Post by: Greenbank on 12 November, 2020, 07:39:08 am
I like C...
I did one year of AoC (just bumped the thread: https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=94710.0 - not long to go) in C. Makes you appreciate how some of the languages with STLs or just inbuilt structures like hashmaps/dictionaries/etc can be much quicker to program in. (I'm much faster doing AoC stuff in perl, but I mostly write C in perl, I never bother with classes or anything else OO.)
I've been a C developer for 20+ years now (on a very successful suite) but I can poke/prod/maintain Java/C++/Ruby if required, just don't make me create anything new in those languages. I've long since forgotten the Prolog/Occam/Modula-2/etc I once knew at some points. Picking up more and more python as our test suite and a lot of build/infrastructure stuff is python.
Post by: citoyen on 12 November, 2020, 07:57:57 am
I taught myself a bit of PHP/MySQL some years ago - enough to run a database-driven website. Started dabbling in a very amateurish way in Ruby on Rails (it was still very new at the time) but quickly ran up against the limits of my ability. Haven't done anything like that for several years though. Feels like I've missed the boat a bit and I'm quite envious when I read what all you lot are capable of.
I've never even really got to grips with the concept of OOP.
Post by: ScumOfTheRoad on 12 November, 2020, 08:14:53 am
Just remember, kids, if you can't do it in FORTRAN it's probably not worth doing at all.Real men don't eat quiche.
<g,d&r>
Post by: ian on 12 November, 2020, 09:34:55 am
Languages are supposed to be my strong suit. Wish I'd taken more interest in computer languages at school, rather than just French and German... (Also really wish I'd done A-level maths.)
I taught myself a bit of PHP/MySQL some years ago - enough to run a database-driven website. Started dabbling in a very amateurish way in Ruby on Rails (it was still very new at the time) but quickly ran up against the limits of my ability. Haven't done anything like that for several years though. Feels like I've missed the boat a bit and I'm quite envious when I read what all you lot are capable of.
I've never even really got to grips with the concept of OOP.
I did learn some Python a year-or-back, tbh, my brain mostly got bored and wandered off to look at squirrels. It didn't seem terribly difficult in principle but you need the kind of structured mind that I evidently don't have (and never did). Also a lot of patience, to be endlessly tweaking and changing things and seeing what the output is. I need instant gratification and I need it now.
Post by: TheLurker on 12 November, 2020, 09:44:15 am
Quote from: citoyen
Feels like I've missed the boat a bit and I'm quite envious when I read what all you lot are capable of.Don't be. It's just a job like any other and most of the time is just straight-forward, tedious slog with stupidly short deadlines. Easier and warmer than digging ditches though.
Quote from: citoyen
I've never even really got to grips with the concept of OOP.Nor, to judge from a lot of code I see, have far too many "professional" programmers.
Post by: Auntie Helen on 12 November, 2020, 09:54:30 am
My partner also had to WFH for two weeks as our landlord and landlady tested positive for Corona so both workplaces asked us to keep away.
This is our setup:
(http://www.auntiehelen.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Helen-WFH.jpg)
He has the larger desk area (to the right) as he has two monitors and has a proper job anyway.
I teeter on my fairly small desk for my 5 hours per day.
As you can see, I am a Mac person through-and-through now. My computer appears to be an iMac 27 inch but actually that's just the monitor for my MacBook laptop which is hiding between my monitor and Klaus's monitor. His computer is in front of mine in a mini stand. If we do them the other way round (so we can see the cool Apple logo on my MacBook) he gets no internet access. Weird.
Anyway, I have my Mac keyboard (wired), wireless mouse and a graphics tablet. The workspace isn't wide enough for comfortable working long-term but we have no more room in our flat for another desk (unless in the lounge, which I don't want) so I am living with it. We originally only had one office chair (out of shot) which was Klaus's but it was too low for me and we couldn't both sit on it at once so I bought a cheap Back Chair a few weeks ago. I get on well with them, and once the WFH thing is finished I can store it under my grand piano in the lounge out of the way.
My work at home is very much paper-free so I just need a notepad on my desk and that's it. When Klaus works from home he has his work laptop too, which he places on the right hand side desk arm (with a yellow pen on it in the photo). He has a docking station for it so he can take over the two monitors that run on his personal computer most of the time.
I like working from home as I work quite effectively like that but I am already noticing issues with relationships with my colleagues as we don't see each other enough and email is a poor form of communication for the nuances (especially in a foreign language). I am also having big problems with my boss as he doesn't reply to emails or answer the phone so I get almost no guidance as to what I should actually be doing - until I do something he doesn't like and then I get snotty emails. It's annoying but that's life. I expect to be WFH for the rest of this year, maybe even into next year.
Post by: citoyen on 12 November, 2020, 10:06:36 am
It's just a job like any other and most of the time is just straight-forward, tedious slog with stupidly short deadlines. Easier and warmer than digging ditches though.
Thing is, I imagine it's the kind of job I might be quite good at if I put my mind to learning the necessary skills, and probably better paid than the work I actually do - which is quite similar in some respects, being very much about implementing and following processes with lots of detailed rules (also in respect of the tedious slog and short deadlines).
Quote
Quote from: citoyenI've never even really got to grips with the concept of OOP.Nor, to judge from a lot of code I see, have far too many "professional" programmers.
;D
Post by: ian on 12 November, 2020, 10:13:49 am
It's just a job like any other and most of the time is just straight-forward, tedious slog with stupidly short deadlines. Easier and warmer than digging ditches though.
Thing is, I imagine it's the kind of job I might be quite good at if I put my mind to learning the necessary skills, and probably better paid than the work I actually do - which is quite similar in some respects, being very much about implementing and following processes with lots of detailed rules (also in respect of the tedious slog and short deadlines).
You'd probably have to move to India (leastways, that's where all our developers are these days).
Post by: Notsototalnewbie on 12 November, 2020, 10:14:13 am
I'm now worried that printed catalogues no longer exist and thusly my glorious attempt at rendering my workspace in a catalogue-stylee is lost on the younger amongst you. It'll all be squinting and clicking on thumbnails. I, for one, certainly enjoying taking a 'catalogue pose.' Hand on hip, gaze into the distance. Chinos available in blush pink, hellfire red, and oopsy brown. £40. Shoes, model's own.Jane & Notsototalnewbie OTP have form for that, I do believe.
In the old days, you could go blind in the tried-and-tested traditional way. These days it's from squinting at a screen.
Indeed, there will be evidence buried somewhere on this forum. It started as a piss-take of the Rapha catalogue (which is why some are in b&w).
No one is seeing my WFH set up. I'm crammed in the spare room between various bits of cycling, wargaming, camping and climbing paraphernalia, plus a steady stream of drying laundry, and it's not a pretty sight.
Post by: ian on 12 November, 2020, 10:27:02 am
The head chap in CSI: Miami used to do a fabulous pose, every crime scene. Which is why in our house we call a full-on catalogue pose the horatio. We've even verbed it to annoy grammar nazis.
Post by: Notsototalnewbie on 12 November, 2020, 10:55:01 am
https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2737.350
Post by: FifeingEejit on 12 November, 2020, 10:59:21 am
A mate was doing a Masters last year, I thought I'd be able to help him with C++ when he asked.
It looks nothing like what I remember.
I got asked by a friend if I would mentor a friend of hers who was doing a CS degree and was struggling with one module. Sure I said.
It taught me *A LOT*. Not least it taught me that the way I was taught to interpret pointers doesn't work if you didn't grow up in either the UK, Ireland, Aus, NZ, or Japan... But, the only thing in modern C that is not in my original K&R is enum's, and that is in the more modern release of the book.
I have realised the only language I am confident in saying I know these days is C. Despite having been paid as in the past to program in Java and FORTRAN, the former has changed so much, I can't claim to know it anymore. I don't think code I wrote 10 years ago would even compile these days... As for the FORTRAN, sure I can do it, but noone is willing to pay me the hourly rate I'm asking for to do it...
I like C...
J
Although I spent years playing with VB.Net and C# as well as VBScript, VB6, ColdFusion and an IFT of SQL
The jump from having done Java 1.3 in 2001ish to Java 8 a few years back wasn't too bad, it's still basically a C style language, my use of Lambdas to do stuff that makes life mostly much easier (and somethings harder) was other peoples problem... they could have just used stackoverflow like I did but preferred grumbling. meh.
I need instant gratification and I need it now.
TDD FTW.
Post by: quixoticgeek on 12 November, 2020, 11:00:20 am
I did one year of AoC (just bumped the thread: https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=94710.0 - not long to go) in C. Makes you appreciate how some of the languages with STLs or just inbuilt structures like hashmaps/dictionaries/etc can be much quicker to program in. (I'm much faster doing AoC stuff in perl, but I mostly write C in perl, I never bother with classes or anything else OO.)
If I need fancy data structures and don't want to actually implement it by hand again, there are libraries, tho not part of the language, that I can use if I want say a doubly linked list etc... I recently made the big leap for many or my projects going from 8 bit to 32 bit. This gives me a lot more flexibility, and a bit more ram. Means I can stop storing stuff in the 8th bit of an ascii character...
Quote
I've been a C developer for 20+ years now (on a very successful suite) but I can poke/prod/maintain Java/C++/Ruby if required, just don't make me create anything new in those languages. I've long since forgotten the Prolog/Occam/Modula-2/etc I once knew at some points. Picking up more and more python as our test suite and a lot of build/infrastructure stuff is python.
At uni I helped a fellow student who i had a crush on to get her Scheme assignment to work. We had a lovely evening together, by the end her code worked, and she went on to get a good grade for the assignment. At the end of it she asked "how long have you been using Scheme?" "About 3 hours". Once you know the principles in one language you can often deploy them to others without any major issues. Debugging is debugging...
I'm still in contact with her, but she's since got married... turns out she's straight...
J
Post by: quixoticgeek on 12 November, 2020, 11:04:00 am
Although I spent years playing with VB.Net and C# as well as VBScript, VB6, ColdFusion and an IFT of SQL
The jump from having done Java 1.3 in 2001ish to Java 8 a few years back wasn't too bad, it's still basically a C style language, my use of Lambdas to do stuff that makes life mostly much easier (and somethings harder) was other peoples problem... they could have just used stackoverflow like I did but preferred grumbling. meh.
Lambdas!?!? what is this new fangled witchcraft of which you speak?
J
Post by: Chris S on 12 November, 2020, 11:52:16 am
.code(even => less(readable));
Post by: quixoticgeek on 12 November, 2020, 11:59:36 am
its(a => way(ofmaking))
.code(even => less(readable));
Code is like a joke, if you have to explain it, then it's probably not very good.
I do like clear code that is easy to understand...
J
Post by: TheLurker on 12 November, 2020, 12:09:33 pm
Quote from: quixoticgeek
But you've got to admit Chris's joke was a good one.Quote from: Chris Sits(a => way(ofmaking))
.code(even => less(readable));
Code is like a joke, if you have to explain it, then it's probably not very good.
I do like clear code that is easy to understand...
J
It's the usual game with code, inappropriate/ overuse of a style or technique can turn any programme* into an unreadable mess. I have come to like, even enjoy, using λs with a more declarative/functional style of coding, it can and does make things very much easier to understand at (almost) a single glance.
*You want to spell it the
Post by: Kim on 12 November, 2020, 12:12:43 pm
Post by: TheLurker on 12 November, 2020, 12:18:32 pm
Quote from: Kim
IME en_GB speakers who spell program "programme" are either Acron enthusiasts, being restricted by some misguided style guide or don't know anything about computers. :POr old enough to know how it was originally spelled before the USAnians hijacked the trade and or are contrary and reactionary old gits purely for the fun of it. *raspberry*
But yeah, as any fule can see I kno less than O about electronick branes. Anyway it's all been downhill since the Molesworth-Peason MKI :)
Post by: Kim on 12 November, 2020, 12:25:04 pm
Quote from: KimIME en_GB speakers who spell program "programme" are either Acron enthusiasts, being restricted by some misguided style guide or don't know anything about computers. :POr old enough to know how it was originally spelled before the USAnians hijacked the trade. *raspberry*
Yes, that's true, and probably explains the Acron users.
What's interesting is the way that 'program' (a thing a computer runs) and 'programme' (a list of events) are completely separate words in my brain, but 'color' is just a leftpondian mis-spelling of 'colour'. I'm often guilty of abominations like textColour = Color(0,0,0) when forced into it by compiler errors (I draw the line at abuse of the preprocessor or similar to fix the spelling, because that's just going to break things).
Post by: Afasoas on 12 November, 2020, 12:44:02 pm
Quote from: KimIME en_GB speakers who spell program "programme" are either Acron enthusiasts, being restricted by some misguided style guide or don't know anything about computers. :POr old enough to know how it was originally spelled before the USAnians hijacked the trade. *raspberry*
Yes, that's true, and probably explains the Acron users.
What's interesting is the way that 'program' (a thing a computer runs) and 'programme' (a list of events) are completely separate words in my brain, but 'color' is just a leftpondian mis-spelling of 'colour'. I'm often guilty of abominations like textColour = Color(0,0,0) when forced into it by compiler errors (I draw the line at abuse of the preprocessor or similar to fix the spelling, because that's just going to break things).
grep understands --color and --colour
which is good since I most often type colour.
Post by: Tim Hall on 12 November, 2020, 01:04:51 pm
Ah yes, some very poor examples of catalogue poses in this very old thread. We were laughing too much to do the poses proper justice.
https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2737.350
I haven't been searching through my Google Photos archive for more examples, honest I haven't.
Post by: ian on 12 November, 2020, 01:13:13 pm
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 12 November, 2020, 01:30:20 pm
Good enough to need no explanation even to someone who knows no code.Quote from: quixoticgeekBut you've got to admit Chris's joke was a good one.Quote from: Chris Sits(a => way(ofmaking))
.code(even => less(readable));
Code is like a joke, if you have to explain it, then it's probably not very good.
I do like clear code that is easy to understand...
J
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 12 November, 2020, 01:30:46 pm
Ah yes, some very poor examples of catalogue poses in this very old thread. We were laughing too much to do the poses proper justice.:thumbsup:
https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2737.350
Post by: Mr Larrington on 12 November, 2020, 06:16:26 pm
The head chap in CSI: Miami used to do a fabulous pose, every crime scene. Which is why in our house we call a full-on catalogue pose the horatio. We've even verbed it to annoy grammar nazis.
Especially when combined with the donning or removal of Thee Sunglasses Ov Justice.
Post by: Pingu on 12 November, 2020, 07:02:39 pm
The head chap in CSI: Miami used to do a fabulous pose, every crime scene. Which is why in our house we call a full-on catalogue pose the horatio. We've even verbed it to annoy grammar nazis.
Especially when combined with the donning or removal of Thee Sunglasses Ov Justice.
The horror, the horror.
Post by: Pickled Onion on 12 November, 2020, 09:30:51 pm
As for the FORTRAN, sure I can do it, but noone is willing to pay me the hourly rate I'm asking for to do it...
You'd be surprised. Someone quite wise once said: the way to make money as a programmer is to be either leading edge or trailing edge, either way you are in a small, elite group. There's a surprising amount of FORTRAN in critical systems that needs to be maintained by an ever-dwindling group of people willing or able to do it, and they command top dollar for that niche knowledge.
Post by: TheLurker on 12 November, 2020, 09:39:04 pm
Trailing edge? Give me nudge when they want MUMPS programmers.
Post by: Pickled Onion on 12 November, 2020, 10:04:02 pm
Post by: barakta on 13 November, 2020, 12:16:24 am
(http://www.barakta.org.uk/Natalya_Desk_2020-11-13.jpg)
(click to show/hide)
I knew I had too many mouseish devices but hadn't realised how much hearing aid crap lives on my desk.
Post by: FifeingEejit on 13 November, 2020, 12:36:01 am
FORTRAN? Tried it once, but I didn't inhale.Um... One of the major PAS systems in use worldwide is MUMPS derived with a different badge on it.
Trailing edge? Give me nudge when they want MUMPS programmers.
Thankfully my interactions with it have only been down to poor management decisions on my side of the fence... Oh wait.
Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk
Post by: Ham on 13 November, 2020, 03:25:55 pm
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KqUTUX2YW4o/X66k0XNTtaI/AAAAAAADYg4/EUteUoGoJZ8dGB7QZfAvLXRiOJzpOSDNACPcBGAsYHg/s1890/officenotated.jpg)
Post by: barakta on 13 November, 2020, 04:39:24 pm
Post by: Afasoas on 14 November, 2020, 09:40:22 pm
(https://i.imgur.com/yCKKmHx.jpg)
After...
(https://i.imgur.com/GAYYQ9C.png)
Well that is phase 1 at least.
Phase 2 involves the empty computer case and wall mounted monitors.
Post by: Greenbank on 15 November, 2020, 05:32:13 pm
Should be here later this week and I just need to remember to build the new desk in the same room as it is going rather that having the embarrassing fun of not being able to get it through the doorway if I build it in the slightly more spacious hall.
The existing Ikea Bekant desk will be retired after 10+ years of solid service. I'll hopefully get rid of it through the school classifieds for a suitable donation to the school fundraising funds.
Need to get an 8 way extension lead to mount on the underside of the new desk plus some cable tidy wrap next time I pass Robert Dyas, that should help neaten up things a bit (and stop any cables being yanked out when I raise the new desk to standing height).
Have got used to the Dynamic Sitall stool and will see how well it works in standing mode.
Post by: Pickled Onion on 15 November, 2020, 05:33:57 pm
I'm also a little astounded at the number of pens, pencils, printers, scanners, shredders...
Post by: Kim on 15 November, 2020, 06:01:45 pm
I'm also a little astounded at the number of pens, pencils, printers, scanners, shredders...
Useful if not essential things to have, even if they only see occasional use.
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 15 November, 2020, 06:14:02 pm
Post by: FifeingEejit on 15 November, 2020, 06:50:23 pm
I'm loving seeing these WFH setups.
I'm also a little astounded at the number of pens, pencils, printers, scanners, shredders...
I've never got the hang of note taking on the computer, legibility would be 100% better if I had but I've never lost the need for a pen and notepad.
Also it's not so easy to doodle on a computer while surviving a boring meeting.
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 15 November, 2020, 08:52:19 pm
Post by: L CC on 15 November, 2020, 09:11:03 pm
Post by: citoyen on 15 November, 2020, 10:32:05 pm
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50607067607_c31a8c64bd_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k6Ys5p)
1. The fruit of my labour, going back about two years. I keep copies for reference, which is much quicker and easier than looking up the digital archives. The pile of papers on the desk are mainly things like production schedules and flatplans. I should put up a pinboard so I can have them visible at a glance, rather than having to go through the pile to find them when needed, but even so, they're more use in printed format than digital.
2. There's a double socket in the wall behind the desk. The iMac occupies one socket to itself, everything else that needs power - phone charger, speakers, lamp - is plugged into this 4-gang extension, which sits on a chair in order that the phone charger cable can reach the desktop. Printer lives elsewhere. As does shredder. Radio comes down the internets.
3. Aforementioned £9 Ikea anglepoise lamp. Its one shortcoming is that it is too low for my liking - it is pictured as high as it will go. The bracket can be mounted on shelves to raise it up, but there aren't any near enough my desk for this purpose. However, on the Ikea website it is pictured affixed directly to a wall. Aha - so that's what the holes in the base of the bracket are for!
4. Ikea Flintan chair. "One up from the house wine" but surprisingly comfortable. I note on the Ikea website that the arms are fitted pointing backwards. I don't play by their rules.
5. Creative T10 speaker. Its partner is hidden behind the magazine files.
6. The reason I have so many pens is because I don't know which ones work, and I'm loath to throw any out in case I accidentally throw out one that does work.
7. Box file monitor stand, bearing random paraphernalia, not all clearly visible in the pic:
Bottle opener in the shape of a bicyle
Ancient Apple wireless mouse, may or may not work but requires an AA battery
Tonor wireless mouse, defunct because right button no longer works
Garmin Edge 510 + spare battery, beyond repair
Old audax brevet card, which I dug out from the archive for reference purposes but haven't got round to putting it away again yet.
Samsung T5 SSD, which has taken over from the iMac's internal HD
8. Assorted mugs and glasses. I took care to remove visible evidence of desk-based boozing before taking the picture. Except the bottle opener.
9. Screws in wall. I have no idea what these were for and I find them irritating. Wish they would go away.
I should add that this is my desk pretty much at its messiest. I can't stand a messy desk, and even the current level of disarray makes me feel slightly uncomfortable. Must tidy it up.
Post by: tonycollinet on 15 November, 2020, 11:14:40 pm
Cable horror:-
[Image Snipped]
Welcome to my world(s)
;D
Post by: Dez on 16 November, 2020, 12:54:02 am
(https://dez.yacf.net/desk-grace.jpg)
It's the same as my old setup:
(https://dez.yacf.net/desk-tickfield.jpg)
just in my new house :-)
* In order to post these images, I've just upgraded all the YACF user hosting to use HTTPS.
Post by: L CC on 16 November, 2020, 08:31:49 am
I spy with my little eye, tissues in the new house.
Post by: quixoticgeek on 16 November, 2020, 10:45:23 am
I've never got the hang of note taking on the computer, legibility would be 100% better if I had but I've never lost the need for a pen and notepad.
Also it's not so easy to doodle on a computer while surviving a boring meeting.
The trick is to use a device separate to the one you're calling from so that you don't have to worry about the keyboard sounds, or the annoying typing on a device that holds the microphone...
I'm loving seeing these WFH setups.
I'm also a little astounded at the number of pens, pencils, printers, scanners, shredders...
If you don't have a printer, where do you store your supply of easy to access paper for when you need to get a note to a housemate in the middle of a call?
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ElvmWMpXUAI3LjK?format=jpg&name=large)
And you then need a shredder to dispose of the evidence afterwards, unless it's bbq season, in which case it is used to light the bbq...
I have a plastic glass that originally was for pens, but it now contains:
Pencils, pens, a toothbrush (I have no idea why), scissors, cable tie, jewellers pliers, chopsticks (for holding hair up), and tweezers (for SMD component manipulation).
J
Post by: Afasoas on 16 November, 2020, 01:24:55 pm
I'm also a little astounded at the number of pens, pencils, printers, scanners, shredders...
Useful if not essential things to have, even if they only see occasional use.
Very useful for those occasions where you have to print, sign, scan and then email a document :facepalm:
Post by: citoyen on 16 November, 2020, 01:35:40 pm
I'm betting that if I went back there, they would be no closer to that goal now than they were then.
Post by: FifeingEejit on 16 November, 2020, 02:06:51 pm
I'm also a little astounded at the number of pens, pencils, printers, scanners, shredders...
Useful if not essential things to have, even if they only see occasional use.
Very useful for those occasions where you have to print, sign, scan and then email a document :facepalm:
Ah yes...
When my offer was accepted on the hoose that I've still not managed to buy because "Totally flexible" turns out to be "still looking for a new house", my solicitors had some app that took a picture of my passport and asked me to speak on video.
Their estate agent tiold me I couldnt' just scan and e-mail them but wanted me to drive down to Glenrotten with photo ID and bank account bill; they eventually let me go to their franchise in Dundee to do the ID check who of course, scanned and e-mailed them.
:facepalm:
Post by: Ham on 16 November, 2020, 02:38:06 pm
Very useful for those occasions where you have to print, sign, scan and then email a document :facepalm:
Photoshop and Adobe Acrobat (+a <cough> Acrobat security ripper) are far more useful.
Post by: Pickled Onion on 16 November, 2020, 05:46:01 pm
I'm also a little astounded at the number of pens, pencils, printers, scanners, shredders...
Useful if not essential things to have, even if they only see occasional use.
Very useful for those occasions where you have to print, sign, scan and then email a document :facepalm:
I "print" to PDF, press the handy "signature" button which holds a copy of my scrawl from eleventy years ago, then press "email as PDF". Job done.
The backup plan for people who ask for a signed document in the mail is to put it on a memory stick and go to the stationers. Which I have to do anyway cos I don't have any envelopes - or a pen.
Post by: Greenbank on 16 November, 2020, 10:38:22 pm
Ah yes...
When my offer was accepted on the hoose that I've still not managed to buy because "Totally flexible" turns out to be "still looking for a new house", my solicitors had some app that took a picture of my passport and asked me to speak on video.
Their estate agent tiold me I couldnt' just scan and e-mail them but wanted me to drive down to Glenrotten with photo ID and bank account bill; they eventually let me go to their franchise in Dundee to do the ID check who of course, scanned and e-mailed them.
:facepalm:
Seems silly but the difference is that someone from the company (even if it was a different branch) saw the originals first hand.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 17 November, 2020, 07:05:42 am
I've been WFH since late 1999 and from our Mid-Essex abode since 2005. I started in a garden shed but then The Current Mrs R decided the shed had to go as it was parked in the only sunny bit of our north facing garden so my late Dad and equally late FiL kindly partitioned off part of the garage to give me a rudimentary home office.
The office bit looked something like this...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50612531706_c929ab044e_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7ssn1)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50612563466_04680f7883_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7sBNA)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50612532421_3ffe73ae2b_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7sszk)
^^^ Added Daisy the Tabby Terror
The remainder of the garage looked something like this (often less tidy)...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50612532706_dc15988952_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7ssEf)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50612642457_5ecec7d06d_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7t2hv)
For many years the Home Office/ Bike Fettling Facility /Man Cave/ Repository of Crap v1.0 served me well except for the fact in the winter it often got very old and conversely very hot in the summer. Also the job I started in January means I use video conferencing far more than I ever did and the fact it is plainly obvious I work from my garage is inappropriate.
In my getting on for 60 years on this planet of ours I have acquired a deservedly shit reputation for DIY. However, during the first lockdown myself and TCMR completed some DIY projects with a hitherto unseen level of success. Buoyed these successes, which in the general scheme of things were very minor successes, I decided that myself and the TCMR should convert the Home Office/Bike Fettling Facility/Man Cave/ Repository of Crap v1.0 into a Climate Controlled / Multi-Media / Dual Workstation / WFH Environment / Home Gym / Bike Fettling / General Purpose Workshop / Bike and General Storage Facility. What could possibly ...?
So I temporarily moved into the spare bedroom...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50611782773_f4deb74883_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7oBJn)
And works commenced...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50611783228_058113fa14_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7oBSd)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50612532991_d263534b1f_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7ssKa)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50612532471_1f84be6b6f_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7ssAc)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50612532401_7e244ab63a_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7ssyZ)
The aircon / heating chap comes on Thursday, the sparky next week and in December Clint's popping over to sort out a proper exterior door. We haven't made any serious mistakes to date, neither have we had any blazing rows, it's all going far too well.
I shall update you all as matters progress :thumbsup:
Post by: phantasmagoriana on 17 November, 2020, 07:35:56 am
I "print" to PDF, press the handy "signature" button which holds a copy of my scrawl from eleventy years ago, then press "email as PDF". Job done.
Same here. Though sometimes a printer would be nice to have, simply because I sometimes like to have printed copies of frequently-used stuff on the wall (and a scrawled scrap of paper just isn't the same). Partner does have a printer, but it's a pain to use because it's non-wireless and takes about three days to boot up. :facepalm:
Post by: Greenbank on 17 November, 2020, 07:56:36 am
I suppose the modern 'less paperful[1]'solution would be for her to take a photo of the crossword and whatsapp it to me, and for me to complete the in Paint or similar tool, but I'm not quite ready for that yet.
But printing it out gives me a source of scrap paper that I used for work notes during the day. I don't always use a sheet a day and so the pile of scrap paper is slowly growing, but I'm trying to remedy that by shoving a used sheet in the printer the correct way up so I end up using both sides of each sheet of paper. This, however, requires memory, which is often in short supply before midday (getting the orientation correct isn't tricky, it's remembering to stick the old sheet in the feeder tray before hitting 'Copy').
The printer gets used a few times a day (mostly by Mrs GB as she is also WFH) and the in built scanner a couple of times a week (mostly by Mrs GB again). It's certainly easier with a dedicated scanner than the previous trick of using a mobile phone to 'scan' things.
I think I got it for £125 from John Lewis with £50 off and a further £50 voucher from HP (you just had to wait a month to be able to submit it), so it cost me £25. I buy non-HP ink cartridges which cost 1/4 of the price of the HP branded ones. Doesn't seem onerous how often I need to buy them.
It's big and bulky though, but lives on the Ikea Kallax next to the shredder. Apparently it speaks fax too, but I haven't sent/received one of those since the turn on the millennium.
The fact it does wireless is good, except for when the downstairs neighbours kids are on our wifi network (they're cunning and will get the wifi code from my daughter when their own access has been cut off by their parents) and keep hitting print when their own printer downstairs outputs nothing. The record is some 8 copies of some Y5 homework before I was able to deliver it downstairs and stop them hitting the button.
1. It's not quite "paperless" talking about photocopying a newspaper
Post by: Davef on 17 November, 2020, 09:12:09 am
I don't know how I'd get along with the HP Officejet Pro 8610 Printer/Scanner/Copier I've got. The most important job it has is photocopying the crossword every weekday morning so that myself and Mrs GB can both do it.Or get the newspaper electronically and complete the crossword in the app. This has the advantage when you finish it tells you whether you got it correct (and if you are competitive how long it took) without having to wait until the next day.
I suppose the modern 'less paperful[1]'solution would be for her to take a photo of the crossword and whatsapp it to me, and for me to complete the in Paint or similar tool, but I'm not quite ready for that yet.
But printing it out gives me a source of scrap paper that I used for work notes during the day. I don't always use a sheet a day and so the pile of scrap paper is slowly growing, but I'm trying to remedy that by shoving a used sheet in the printer the correct way up so I end up using both sides of each sheet of paper. This, however, requires memory, which is often in short supply before midday (getting the orientation correct isn't tricky, it's remembering to stick the old sheet in the feeder tray before hitting 'Copy').
The printer gets used a few times a day (mostly by Mrs GB as she is also WFH) and the in built scanner a couple of times a week (mostly by Mrs GB again). It's certainly easier with a dedicated scanner than the previous trick of using a mobile phone to 'scan' things.
I think I got it for £125 from John Lewis with £50 off and a further £50 voucher from HP (you just had to wait a month to be able to submit it), so it cost me £25. I buy non-HP ink cartridges which cost 1/4 of the price of the HP branded ones. Doesn't seem onerous how often I need to buy them.
It's big and bulky though, but lives on the Ikea Kallax next to the shredder. Apparently it speaks fax too, but I haven't sent/received one of those since the turn on the millennium.
The fact it does wireless is good, except for when the downstairs neighbours kids are on our wifi network (they're cunning and will get the wifi code from my daughter when their own access has been cut off by their parents) and keep hitting print when their own printer downstairs outputs nothing. The record is some 8 copies of some Y5 homework before I was able to deliver it downstairs and stop them hitting the button.
1. It's not quite "paperless" talking about photocopying a newspaper
Post by: Davef on 17 November, 2020, 09:43:23 am
For an Identity check they need the photo ID and you. Simply emailing a scanned copy of the ID is not sufficient. Somebody else driving over with the originals would not have cut the mustard either.Ah yes...
When my offer was accepted on the hoose that I've still not managed to buy because "Totally flexible" turns out to be "still looking for a new house", my solicitors had some app that took a picture of my passport and asked me to speak on video.
Their estate agent tiold me I couldnt' just scan and e-mail them but wanted me to drive down to Glenrotten with photo ID and bank account bill; they eventually let me go to their franchise in Dundee to do the ID check who of course, scanned and e-mailed them.
:facepalm:
Seems silly but the difference is that someone from the company (even if it was a different branch) saw the originals first hand.
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 17 November, 2020, 09:50:35 am
Post by: citoyen on 17 November, 2020, 09:55:03 am
1. It's not quite "paperless" talking about photocopying a newspaper
I'm amazed to learn that anyone still buys an actual newspaper.
Post by: Pingu on 17 November, 2020, 10:07:17 am
Post by: ian on 17 November, 2020, 10:11:54 am
I do occasionally print stuff, I find paper more amenable to cross-referencing and markup, which involves a twirl of the office chair, a quick scoot across the office, and a gymnastic twist (leotard optional) to ping on the little MacMini server and the printer (it used to be properly wireless but the little server box went poof). I ordered a networked duplex printer from the mothership so they sent me a non-duplex, network-free one (you fill in a form with your requirements which they ignore and send the standard laserjet). I'm a dab hand at manual duplexing though. I got skillz.
Post by: Greenbank on 17 November, 2020, 10:30:11 am
1. It's not quite "paperless" talking about photocopying a newspaper
I'm amazed to learn that anyone still buys an actual newspaper.
Mrs GB likes a physical newspaper.
Post by: Afasoas on 17 November, 2020, 10:47:16 am
I can't believe I've only just discovered this wonderful thread, please allow me to join in.
<snip>
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50612532421_3ffe73ae2b_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7sszk)
^^^ Added Daisy the Tabby Terror
Bonus points for live feline.
I shall update you all as matters progress :thumbsup:
Please do!
Post by: citoyen on 17 November, 2020, 10:49:32 am
If it's the Graun crossword then you can do it online (what I do at home) or print off a PDF (what I did with my crossword buddies when going to work in an office was still a thing) from their website. I don't know about other newspapers, being a fully paid up member of the metropolitan liberal elite.
I have a subscription to the Guardian puzzles app, which gives me all the crosswords (Guardian and Observer) and a variety of sudokus on my phone. Much more convenient than trying to use the website. I used to buy the physical paper for my daily train journey until it got to the point where I realised I was only buying it for the crossword. I did go through a phase of printing off the pdf but that was too much faff when I was rushing around getting ready to leave the house in the morning.
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 17 November, 2020, 10:55:30 am
What with OD in Essex and IanDG in Scotland and I don't know who else where else, we're gonna need a "home rebuilding/DIY/etc project thread.I shall update you all as matters progress :thumbsup:
Please do!
Post by: citoyen on 17 November, 2020, 10:58:09 am
Also the job I started in January means I use video conferencing far more than I ever did and the fact it is plainly obvious I work from my garage is inappropriate.
I expect you have to plan your laundry regime carefully to make sure the washing machine isn't running when you have a zoom meeting scheduled. ;D
It was bad enough for me in my previous office location, next to the bathroom - a couple of times I had online meetings regaled with the sound of the toilet flushing. :facepalm:
Post by: Oscar's dad on 17 November, 2020, 11:06:54 am
What with OD in Essex and IanDG in Scotland and I don't know who else where else, we're gonna need a "home rebuilding/DIY/etc project thread.I shall update you all as matters progress :thumbsup:
Please do!
@Afasoas - thanks for the encouragement! Me and TCMR have just had a site meeting, today
@Cudzoziemiec - blimey, given my record I never thought anyone would suggest I participate in any sort of DIY project thread unless it was to catalogue DIY disasters ;D
Post by: Oscar's dad on 17 November, 2020, 11:08:30 am
Also the job I started in January means I use video conferencing far more than I ever did and the fact it is plainly obvious I work from my garage is inappropriate.
I expect you have to plan your laundry regime carefully to make sure the washing machine isn't running when you have a zoom meeting scheduled. ;D
It was bad enough for me in my previous office location, next to the bathroom - a couple of times I had online meetings regaled with the sound of the toilet flushing. :facepalm:
;D
For me it's the tumble dryer. Unfortunately it will still be in the office as there's nowhere else it can live.
Post by: L CC on 17 November, 2020, 11:13:34 am
And never the twain shall meet (except when he brings me tea or I make lunch).
Post by: citoyen on 17 November, 2020, 11:15:06 am
I spy with my little eye, tissues in the new house.
Having a box of tissues on your desk by your computer is tantamount to an admission.
Post by: citoyen on 17 November, 2020, 11:16:35 am
We have our WFH setups on separate floors to try and minimise the audio interruptions.
My current office is in a completely different wing of the house. :smug:
Post by: FifeingEejit on 17 November, 2020, 11:19:12 am
This is the first in person identity check that's I've had done since I was last id'ed to get into a nightclub around 2005ish.For an Identity check they need the photo ID and you. Simply emailing a scanned copy of the ID is not sufficient. Somebody else driving over with the originals would not have cut the mustard either.Ah yes...
When my offer was accepted on the hoose that I've still not managed to buy because "Totally flexible" turns out to be "still looking for a new house", my solicitors had some app that took a picture of my passport and asked me to speak on video.
Their estate agent tiold me I couldnt' just scan and e-mail them but wanted me to drive down to Glenrotten with photo ID and bank account bill; they eventually let me go to their franchise in Dundee to do the ID check who of course, scanned and e-mailed them.
:facepalm:
Seems silly but the difference is that someone from the company (even if it was a different branch) saw the originals first hand.
The modern shit my solicitor did, the electronic checks dvla, passport and banks do but a dinghy but well known estate agent franchise?
Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk
Post by: Afasoas on 17 November, 2020, 11:20:10 am
We have our WFH setups on separate floors to try and minimise the audio interruptions.
And never the twain shall meet (except when he brings me tea or I make lunch).
seperate floors at seperate ends of the house ftw :thumbsup:
Post by: FifeingEejit on 17 November, 2020, 11:23:58 am
I have to go to work to get toilet flushing interrupting teams meetings.Also the job I started in January means I use video conferencing far more than I ever did and the fact it is plainly obvious I work from my garage is inappropriate.
I expect you have to plan your laundry regime carefully to make sure the washing machine isn't running when you have a zoom meeting scheduled. ;D
It was bad enough for me in my previous office location, next to the bathroom - a couple of times I had online meetings regaled with the sound of the toilet flushing. :facepalm:
Temporary (can't wfh) room is next to the bogs, I deliberately chose the desk farthest away.
Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk
Post by: ian on 17 November, 2020, 11:30:28 am
We have our WFH setups on separate floors to try and minimise the audio interruptions.
And never the twain shall meet (except when he brings me tea or I make lunch).
seperate floors at seperate ends of the house ftw :thumbsup:
It's very modern WFH when you communicate with your wife, in the same house, mostly via messages and facetime. She also seems to send me a message every four seconds, the second of which is always to check if I've read the first yet. That's not annoying at all.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 17 November, 2020, 11:35:00 am
We have our WFH setups on separate floors to try and minimise the audio interruptions.
And never the twain shall meet (except when he brings me tea or I make lunch).
seperate floors at seperate ends of the house ftw :thumbsup:
It's very modern WFH when you communicate with your wife, in the same house, mostly via messages and facetime. She also seems to send me a message every four seconds, the second of which is always to check if I've read the first yet. That's not annoying at all.
We don't seem to have that problem. What we do have is TCMR walking when I'm on a video call. It really isn't a problem for me or any body I'm talking to but embarrasses the hell out of her ;D If I'm using my speaker as opposed to my headset she'll a few strangers saying stuff like "Oh hello!" or if she's kindly bought me a hot beverage it'll be a good natured "Oi, where's my cup?" Now she knocks before entering which feels weird ;D
Post by: Davef on 17 November, 2020, 11:46:02 am
Money laundering regulations 2017 apply to estate agentsThis is the first in person identity check that's I've had done since I was last id'ed to get into a nightclub around 2005ish.For an Identity check they need the photo ID and you. Simply emailing a scanned copy of the ID is not sufficient. Somebody else driving over with the originals would not have cut the mustard either.Ah yes...
When my offer was accepted on the hoose that I've still not managed to buy because "Totally flexible" turns out to be "still looking for a new house", my solicitors had some app that took a picture of my passport and asked me to speak on video.
Their estate agent tiold me I couldnt' just scan and e-mail them but wanted me to drive down to Glenrotten with photo ID and bank account bill; they eventually let me go to their franchise in Dundee to do the ID check who of course, scanned and e-mailed them.
:facepalm:
Seems silly but the difference is that someone from the company (even if it was a different branch) saw the originals first hand.
The modern shit my solicitor did, the electronic checks dvla, passport and banks do but a dinghy but well known estate agent franchise?
Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk
Post by: Kim on 17 November, 2020, 11:50:02 am
[1] This is fine when it's pre-arranged or the SIP line ringing (which she gets visual notification of). On the rare occasion my mobile rings, I have to go through a "My phone's ringing. I'm going to answer my phone now. The people I'm talking to are the ones on the phone." routine to make sure she understands.
[2] They also light up for things like the doorbell and fire alarm, and people leaving the bathroom or walking up the stairs.
Post by: Chris S on 17 November, 2020, 03:55:06 pm
We have our WFH setups on separate floors to try and minimise the audio interruptions.
And never the twain shall meet (except when he brings me tea or I make lunch).
seperate floors at seperate ends of the house ftw :thumbsup:
I have supreme power though. The OFF switch for the wifi :D
Post by: Greenbank on 17 November, 2020, 04:49:30 pm
Also 4TB HDD has finally shipped so I can continue clearing up the old HDDs that are currently covering too much space on the desk.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 17 November, 2020, 04:52:38 pm
Flexispot EC1 desk has shipped!
I'd really like one of those. My problem is that I have too little floor space to put the chair I won't need when I'm standing up. Our reconfigured space has to be big enough for 2 people and its pretty cramped.
Post by: Jurek on 17 November, 2020, 05:20:55 pm
Bonus points for live feline.
Avec le chat! Yclept Part-Time.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7521/15750246002_fcf561dbf9_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/pZN8py) (https://flic.kr/p/pZN8py) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurekb/)
On account of I only see her between November and March when the CH is on and she finds warm spots on the kitchen floor (or lap top) to sprawl out on. I don't feed her - she doesn't need it - someone else does that. But we both have an immense amount of fun with the laser pointer.
Post by: Greenbank on 17 November, 2020, 05:40:39 pm
Flexispot EC1 desk has shipped!
I'd really like one of those. My problem is that I have too little floor space to put the chair I won't need when I'm standing up. Our reconfigured space has to be big enough for 2 people and its pretty cramped.
I have a "Dynamic Sitall" sit/stand stool. Been using it for a week and a bit now, getting used to it and it forces me not to slouch otherwise I can feel it in my back.
When the desk is in the standing position the stool will be able to go high enough to still provide some support, or it's small enough it can just be moved out of the way if I want to stand unaided.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 17 November, 2020, 05:52:46 pm
Post by: Greenbank on 17 November, 2020, 07:38:32 pm
I occasionally wish I could get my old chair back, which I take as a sign of me wishing to slump/slouch, so it seems to be working.
If the desk is coming tomorrow I need to nip out and get some extension leads to attach to the underside of the desk.
Already have two* at floor level, for stuff that lives at floor level and won't go up and down with the desk.
Then I need another two* on the underside of the desk, plus another two way block to go on top of the desk for things that need occasional plugging in and where I don't want to be scrabbling each time I plug/unplug such things.
* White one for normal mains power, black one (with an IEC C14 plug) to go into the UPS.
Monitor, ESXi Server, NAS and network switch will be on the UPS to allow me to shutdown the NAS and ESXi server if there's a prolonged power outage. Laptop doesn't need to be on the UPS as it has a battery obvs.
Floor mains: UPS, shredder, printer, BT Wifi disk, speakers (the power goes into the sub on the floor)
Floor UPS: ESXi Server, NAS
Under Desk mains: Fan, battery charger, laptop, phone charger, desk, 2-way extension (leaves 2 free under the desk)
Under Desk UPS: Monitors, network switch
Desktop mains: 2 free sockets for Stuff(TM)
Post by: Pickled Onion on 17 November, 2020, 07:49:34 pm
I don't know how I'd get along with the HP Officejet Pro 8610 Printer/Scanner/Copier I've got. The most important job it has is photocopying the crossword every weekday morning so that myself and Mrs GB can both do it.
GPWM. I also have an electronic paper for use when going to meetings in the olden days when we used to traipse around the office building to talk about things. It's pretty handy for doing the sudoku/crossword at the w/e as when you cock it up you can press the back button instead of using a rubber. Unfortunately the magic electronic paper pen is in my office desk ::-)
For scanning with a phone the Office Lens app is pretty good.
Post by: citoyen on 17 November, 2020, 07:51:38 pm
the olden days when we used to traipse around the office building to talk about things
You tell that to kids these days, they wouldn't believe you.
Post by: SteveC on 17 November, 2020, 08:13:33 pm
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50614812247_409f368024_4k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7E9hF)
WFH Mk 1 (https://flic.kr/p/2k7E9hF) by Steve Cunio (https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecunio/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50614812497_ce44784941_4k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7E9mZ)
WFH Mk 2 (https://flic.kr/p/2k7E9mZ) by Steve Cunio (https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecunio/), on Flickr
In the Mk 1 picture you can just about see an Ikea bookshelf. That is now in the other spare bedroom. To the left of that was a four-drawer filing cabinet. We've got rid of some books and moved others so the bookshelf has been freed up. We replaced the old filing cabinet with two two-drawer ones which are the outer supports of the new desk.
And while we were at it, MrsC decided we get the room recarpeted. It did need it and that made for only one lot of disruption.
The iMac is my personal machine. The laptop and two left hand screens belong to work. When I'm not working I slide the middle screen behind the left hand one and move the Mac to the centre. The only problem is that the desktop is bowing in the middle. The red drawer units are shorter than the filing cabinets which doesn't help, but I suspect I've just got too much weight on the whole thing.
Post by: Greenbank on 17 November, 2020, 08:36:26 pm
The only problem is that the desktop is bowing in the middle. The red drawer units are shorter than the filing cabinets which doesn't help, but I suspect I've just got too much weight on the whole thing.
Sounds like a job for the sagulator: https://www.woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator/
Post by: ian on 17 November, 2020, 08:40:00 pm
the olden days when we used to traipse around the office building to talk about things
You tell that to kids these days, they wouldn't believe you.
My 'water cooler conversations' now involve sitting by the cats' water bowl and trying to hold a conversation with either of them. There's one benefit to this, none of us have watched Bake Off.
Post by: rafletcher on 17 November, 2020, 09:08:58 pm
Bonus points for live feline.
Avec le chat! Yclept Part-Time.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7521/15750246002_fcf561dbf9_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/pZN8py) (https://flic.kr/p/pZN8py) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurekb/)
On account of I only see her between November and March when the CH is on and she finds warm spots on the kitchen floor (or lap top) to sprawl out on. I don't feed her - she doesn't need it - someone else does that. But we both have an immense amount of fun with the laser pointer.
Blimey, an eraser shield. I’ve not seen one of those in 25 years!
Post by: ian on 17 November, 2020, 09:25:06 pm
WFH Bad Cat is writing my wife's annual performance review.
Post by: citoyen on 17 November, 2020, 09:38:32 pm
(https://i.imgur.com/GkcrkPg.jpg)
WFH Bad Cat is writing my wife's annual performance review.
As if a cat would choose comic sans.
Post by: Ashaman42 on 17 November, 2020, 10:12:39 pm
Post by: Jaded on 17 November, 2020, 11:34:40 pm
Not as flash as some here, but it did take a bit of effort to go from Mk 1 to Mk 2.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50614812247_409f368024_4k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7E9hF)
WFH Mk 1 (https://flic.kr/p/2k7E9hF) by Steve Cunio (https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecunio/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50614812497_ce44784941_4k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7E9mZ)
WFH Mk 2 (https://flic.kr/p/2k7E9mZ) by Steve Cunio (https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecunio/), on Flickr
In the Mk 1 picture you can just about see an Ikea bookshelf. That is now in the other spare bedroom. To the left of that was a four-drawer filing cabinet. We've got rid of some books and moved others so the bookshelf has been freed up. We replaced the old filing cabinet with two two-drawer ones which are the outer supports of the new desk.
And while we were at it, MrsC decided we get the room recarpeted. It did need it and that made for only one lot of disruption.
The iMac is my personal machine. The laptop and two left hand screens belong to work. When I'm not working I slide the middle screen behind the left hand one and move the Mac to the centre. The only problem is that the desktop is bowing in the middle. The red drawer units are shorter than the filing cabinets which doesn't help, but I suspect I've just got too much weight on the whole thing.
PALASET CUBES!!!!
Post by: Greenbank on 18 November, 2020, 08:12:34 am
Post by: Afasoas on 18 November, 2020, 12:33:10 pm
(https://i.imgur.com/DFAkKGg.jpg)
Sadly, despite judicious use of laser level and spirit level, I fell short in terms of monitor levelitude and must bear the consequences forwith.
The CPU ordered for the budget quiet PC hasn't even arrived in stock yet, so I'm left with a choice of:
- using laptop screen and experiencing high (>90%) CPU utilisation (slack + monitoring web pages + actual work) with accompanying laptop fan noise
- using aging decrepit desktop PC to display monitoring web pages with accompanying louder worn out fans noise
I'm not really looking forward to the electricity bill either!
On a positive note, the new setup is far less cramped and much more comfortable.
Post by: Afasoas on 18 November, 2020, 12:41:01 pm
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50614812497_ce44784941_4k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7E9mZ)
WFH Mk 2 (https://flic.kr/p/2k7E9mZ) by Steve Cunio (https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecunio/), on Flickr
Extra points floor standing lamp.
Avec le chat! Yclept Part-Time.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7521/15750246002_fcf561dbf9_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/pZN8py) (https://flic.kr/p/pZN8py) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurekb/)
Points duly awarded for the borrowed(?) feline.
Post by: Jurek on 18 November, 2020, 06:17:09 pm
I think I've both ends of the spectrum covered there, adjacent, in that one photo.
Bonus points for live feline.
Avec le chat! Yclept Part-Time.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7521/15750246002_fcf561dbf9_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/pZN8py) (https://flic.kr/p/pZN8py) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurekb/)
On account of I only see her between November and March when the CH is on and she finds warm spots on the kitchen floor (or lap top) to sprawl out on. I don't feed her - she doesn't need it - someone else does that. But we both have an immense amount of fun with the laser pointer.
Blimey, an eraser shield. I’ve not seen one of those in 25 years!
I capture images by drawing them using a pencil.
I also do the same, using a digital camera.
ETA - Guess which is the more satisfying....
Post by: Ben T on 18 November, 2020, 06:44:16 pm
Post by: Jurek on 18 November, 2020, 06:45:38 pm
On all threads.
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 18 November, 2020, 07:45:13 pm
Cats are important.
On all threads.
Absolutely, and you beggars have been v quiet on the gratuitous cat thread recently.
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 18 November, 2020, 07:45:56 pm
Post by: Kim on 18 November, 2020, 07:58:33 pm
Cats are important.
On all threads.
Absolutely, and you beggars have been v quiet on the gratuitous cat thread recently.
I know it's a bit of a first world problem, but I'm really missing cats since the whole COVID-19 situation kicked off. I've had a couple of socially-distanced conversations with random cats I've met while cycling, and otherwise it's just the ones I see on the internet. :(
Post by: Greenbank on 18 November, 2020, 08:09:09 pm
In other news can anyone recommend a dual monitor arm that will extend 45cm (towards me) and doesn't cost the earth?
Possibly https://www.scan.co.uk/products/arctic-z2-gen-3-desk-mount-dual-monitor-arm-upto-34-usb-hub-supports-monitors-upto-15kg-vesa-75mm-an for £40?
Not sure of the lengths of the arms on the gen 3 model, my gen 2 arctic Z2 could put a single monitor 45cm away from the centre of the mount but that's right on the limit and you'll obviously not get both monitors 45cm away as you'll have to lose some of the depth to keeping the monitors apart (side-by-side).
Two single clamp on versions would be £25 a pop, so £50 for two monitors.
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 18 November, 2020, 08:36:57 pm
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 18 November, 2020, 08:45:59 pm
Cats are important.
On all threads.
Absolutely, and you beggars have been v quiet on the gratuitous cat thread recently.
I know it's a bit of a first world problem, but I'm really missing cats since the whole COVID-19 situation kicked off. I've had a couple of socially-distanced conversations with random cats I've met while cycling, and otherwise it's just the ones I see on the internet. :(
Do you not have cats lurking about in your garden? Especially as you don't have a resident cat to defend the territory.
Post by: Ham on 18 November, 2020, 09:11:43 pm
In other news can anyone recommend a dual monitor arm that will extend 45cm (towards me) and doesn't cost the earth?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Double-Twin-Arm-Desk-Mount-Monitor-Screen-Ergonomic-Tilt-Swivel-Rotation-15-32/362687459756
I was pleasantly surprised with the one I bought (not this exact, but the system is the same. Mine is also bolted through the desktop, and the joints nearby it have been strengthened. The 25mm wood kitchen worktop is a lot more solid than many desktops, but without it you get a degree of play. Nothing I can see suggests that the scan one is better.
ETA my "main" stand which supports the centre monitor and laptop is one of these (https://www.colebrookbossonsaunders.com/store/wishbone.html#135=15) I picked up for nothing. It is better, but 10x better? no.
Post by: Kim on 18 November, 2020, 10:30:47 pm
Cats are important.
On all threads.
Absolutely, and you beggars have been v quiet on the gratuitous cat thread recently.
I know it's a bit of a first world problem, but I'm really missing cats since the whole COVID-19 situation kicked off. I've had a couple of socially-distanced conversations with random cats I've met while cycling, and otherwise it's just the ones I see on the internet. :(
Do you not have cats lurking about in your garden? Especially as you don't have a resident cat to defend the territory.
I think they're quite sensibly giving the neighbours' psycho border collie a wide berth. And most of the neighbourhood cats (mostly strays, but there are a couple with collars) are far too nervous around random humans to get close to - you can generally get closer freewheeling past on a bike than you can by standing still, let alone by approaching them on foot. All my attempts to win the trust of local cats tend to be interrupted by the appearance of a random passer-by or motor vehicle.
Previous neighbours had a friendly young cat with little fear who was always happy to come and say hello, but he disappeared. Other than all-you-can-eat bins, it's not a great place to be a cat.
Post by: Jaded on 18 November, 2020, 10:38:30 pm
Mine is also bolted through the desktop, and the joints nearby it have been strengthened.
I don’t think Ham should be allowed to have a cat >:(
Post by: Ben T on 18 November, 2020, 11:52:48 pm
In other news can anyone recommend a dual monitor arm that will extend 45cm (towards me) and doesn't cost the earth?
Oh yes, I would definitely recommend that. Excellent for ergonomics, so I hear.
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 19 November, 2020, 05:58:54 am
Post by: Oscar's dad on 19 November, 2020, 08:29:30 am
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50620022576_cc7de1044b_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k87R8W)
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 19 November, 2020, 09:00:49 am
Post by: citoyen on 19 November, 2020, 09:02:23 am
Cool!
Literally!
Post by: Oscar's dad on 19 November, 2020, 09:04:53 am
Cool!
And warm O:-)
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 19 November, 2020, 09:19:30 am
I have a worrying number of those books on my bookcase.. although most are scheduled to go to music magpie who were willing to give me 4 quid for Unix networking..
I'd like to be making more money with the left hand side of the bookcase but the right hand side still dominates (and the rails/mysql/javashit books were just for a side project that didn't go anywhere).
In better news the USB-C to DP cable ordered from Amazon turned up today so I am back to dual displays.
Also ordering the Flexispot EC1 desk tonight hopefully. (If I can get my other work out of the way first.)
Possibly controversial suggestion - but why have any physical books at all?
Why not just convert get kindle/online versions?
They just take up space.
I think the last book I threw away was on VB6... I haven't needed it since I bought proper monitor risers in about 2006.
We retain information better from dead tree books.
Research suggests that this has a lot to do with resolution.
The E-ink in paper kindles is probably comparative. However, you can't as easily flip back and forth between pages on an e-book.
Post by: citoyen on 19 November, 2020, 09:24:19 am
However, you can't as easily flip back and forth between pages on an e-book.
You can flip whole chapters at a time much more easily though - as in jump instantly to the start of the previous chapter without needing to know the page numbers. I have found this useful on occasion. Obviously depends on the ebook being correctly formatted though - doesn't always work as expected...
Post by: quixoticgeek on 19 November, 2020, 09:58:55 am
We retain information better from dead tree books.
Research suggests that this has a lot to do with resolution.
[Cetacean needed (https://cetaceanneeded.eu/)]
Quote
The E-ink in paper kindles is probably comparative. However, you can't as easily flip back and forth between pages on an e-book.
I was skeptical about e-readers. I eventually got one as a birthday present because I was fed up with lugging around piles of dead tree when travelling. It has been life changing.
I was finding it useful for reading and enjoying it, then one day I fiddled with the fonts. I found it has a font called "open dyslexic". I swapped to this. It doubled my reading speed, and I could shrink the font size to the smallest one. This has been such a game changer. I can't change the font on my dead tree books.
J
Post by: ian on 19 November, 2020, 10:05:08 am
And as an old-school former book designer, I obviously take a secret pleasure in good typography and layout.
Post by: quixoticgeek on 19 November, 2020, 10:10:06 am
Kindles are ok for reading novels. I can't imagine reading a book with pictures on one – I like reading big books with pictures. And for reference, being able to flip back and forth, hold a couple of sections over simultaneously, etc. is not something I can replicate electronically.
I have a number of graphic novels on my kindle. They work amazingly well, I was really surprised. Each panel can be viewed full screen, as well as the full page. It surprised me.
Quote
And as an old-school former book designer, I obviously take a secret pleasure in good typography and layout.
It bugs me how few print books do fi as a proper ligature...
I write pretty much everything with LaTeX, and the output just looks so much nicer than most others. Learning about typesetting made me realise how badly typeset most printed products are...
J
Post by: citoyen on 19 November, 2020, 10:20:57 am
I can't imagine reading a book with pictures on one – I like reading big books with pictures.
Is Razzle really what you'd call a 'book'?
Kindles are amazing at plain text but pretty rubbish for anything else. Case in point: Herbie Sykes' excellent The Race Against The Stasi includes lots of photocopies of documents, all containing relevant text that you need to read for context, but the documents are practically impossible to read on the Kindle.
Quote
And as an old-school former book designer, I obviously take a secret pleasure in good typography and layout.
I tend to think typography and layout should be things you only notice when they're done badly.
Post by: Davef on 19 November, 2020, 10:29:41 am
Post by: Ham on 19 November, 2020, 10:33:31 am
Post by: ian on 19 November, 2020, 10:34:14 am
I can't imagine reading a book with pictures on one – I like reading big books with pictures.
Is Razzle really what you'd call a 'book'?
Kindles are amazing at plain text but pretty rubbish for anything else. Case in point: Herbie Sykes' excellent The Race Against The Stasi includes lots of photocopies of documents, all containing relevant text that you need to read for context, but the documents are practically impossible to read on the Kindle.QuoteAnd as an old-school former book designer, I obviously take a secret pleasure in good typography and layout.
I tend to think typography and layout should be things you only notice when they're done badly.
Indeed, I once roared BASELINE GRIDS! at our marketing team. They looked at me blankly. Sometimes you can't set fire to people, no matter how much you want to. Unless they're the sort of people that fit text into the final line by reducing the tracking to the point where the letters are practically in quantum superposition. You can set fire to them, I checked. Admittedly afterwards.
I'm currently reading Underground Maps Unravelled which, unsurprisingly is features hundreds of large maps, I can't imagine it would be feasible to read it any other way than in print.
And it's Knave, a proper gentleman's periodical (really, in that odd Penthouse fashion, you could read stories by Neil Gaiman while looking at breasts). Or Fiesta. Mostly whatever was in-trade in school, mostly liberated from parental smut stashes.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 19 November, 2020, 10:51:12 am
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201119/1be2d5d300077aa4909bcd04f426ac6f.jpg)
I'd really like a book case which was so huge it required a ladder! Chapeau!
Post by: pcolbeck on 19 November, 2020, 11:04:58 am
I've been using it as my work from home office since 2009 as even pre covid I worked form home 50% of the time.
Currently its in upheaval as I am rearranging everything. The brown desk with stuff piled on it was P.Colbeck juniors computer desk but now he is married and has a home of his own I have grabbed it form his old room. Until last week there was only the black desk and that was where the brown one is now. I have some draws to assemble to go under the brown desk and some T-track shelving to put up then I can sort everything else out and get back to working in there, currently I'm working off the kitchen table whilst I get this sorted out. I'm planning on getting another one of the brown desk and getting rid of the black one and repainting and carpeting the room. Long term I want to build a custom L shaped desk that fits the space properly. I need a new monitor too that one is a bit small but its great quality and has lasted since 2009 !
(http://pictures.pcolbeck.fastmail.fm/Office/office-1.jpg)
The office is the only door that isn't a plastic double glazed one so it has a cat flap so grumpy old cat (17) can get in if she doesn't come in the house for the night or during the day if we are out.
And the shelves of HiFi and assorted electronic gubbins.
(http://pictures.pcolbeck.fastmail.fm/Office/office-2.jpg)
Post by: Lightning Phil on 19 November, 2020, 11:05:51 am
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201119/1be2d5d300077aa4909bcd04f426ac6f.jpg)
Dave, You need to eat more ;D
Post by: Greenbank on 19 November, 2020, 11:20:04 am
I'd really like a book case which was so huge it required a ladder! Chapeau!
Got one of them.
(https://greenbank.org/misc/bookshelf_ladder.png)
Post by: Oscar's dad on 19 November, 2020, 11:32:02 am
Post by: ian on 19 November, 2020, 11:43:29 am
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201119/1be2d5d300077aa4909bcd04f426ac6f.jpg)
Dave, You need to eat more ;D
I think he's eating well. The maid has yet to clean up after his last meal.
Post by: Greenbank on 19 November, 2020, 11:45:21 am
The joy of 3m high ceilings.
In the "office/stufy" I was thinking of doubling up the Ikea Flysta's and having another set on top of the existing set. Not sure how I'd be able to rig any form of a ladder system though to get access to the higher ones.
Post by: Jurek on 19 November, 2020, 12:13:02 pm
Post by: Jaded on 19 November, 2020, 12:13:17 pm
Our house is an L shaped bungalow with the attached garage forming the short leg. It as originally built by a local builder for himself and he squeezed in a little office for his secretary between the garage and the house. There is no access from either the house or garage you have to go outside and in the offices own door.
I've been using it as my work from home office since 2009 as even pre covid I worked form home 50% of the time.
Currently its in upheaval as I am rearranging everything. The brown desk with stuff piled on it was P.Colbeck juniors computer desk but now he is married and has a home of his own I have grabbed it form his old room. Until last week there was only the black desk and that was where the brown one is now. I have some draws to assemble to go under the brown desk and some T-track shelving to put up then I can sort everything else out and get back to working in there, currently I'm working off the kitchen table whilst I get this sorted out. I'm planning on getting another one of the brown desk and getting rid of the black one and repainting and carpeting the room. Long term I want to build a custom L shaped desk that fits the space properly. I need a new monitor too that one is a bit small but its great quality and has lasted since 2009 !
(http://pictures.pcolbeck.fastmail.fm/Office/office-1.jpg)
The office is the only door that isn't a plastic double glazed one so it has a cat flap so grumpy old cat (17) can get in if she doesn't come in the house for the night or during the day if we are out.
Cat docking stations galore!
Post by: quixoticgeek on 19 November, 2020, 01:22:02 pm
I'd really like a book case which was so huge it required a ladder! Chapeau!
Living in a country where everyone seems to be a giant, I had to buy a ladder to be able to access a lot of my flat.
I found a small step ladder on amazon that packs down to just 40mm in depth. It's really changed how easy it is to live here. But I don't have enough books that I need a ladder for them yet, not in this country, I left most of my books in .UK :(
J
Post by: Oscar's dad on 19 November, 2020, 02:20:00 pm
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50620066813_882a7e7ea0_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k885hD)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50620914742_87feabbb03_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k8cqm7)
The outside box looks more conspicuous than it actually is although we will make a well ventilated box so it blends in more with the planters. Its incredibly quiet :thumbsup:
Post by: quixoticgeek on 19 November, 2020, 02:22:05 pm
Our new friend Ben has been and gone, a very neat job...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50620066813_882a7e7ea0_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k885hD)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50620914742_87feabbb03_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k8cqm7)
The outside box looks more conspicuous than it actually is although we will make a well ventilated box so it blends in more with the planters. Its incredibly quiet :thumbsup:
Does this count as an air source heat pump?
J
Post by: citoyen on 19 November, 2020, 02:27:52 pm
Its incredibly quiet :thumbsup:
That answers the first question that came to my mind... :thumbsup:
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 19 November, 2020, 03:08:48 pm
Post by: Kim on 19 November, 2020, 03:11:24 pm
Post by: quixoticgeek on 19 November, 2020, 03:14:54 pm
Living in a country where everyone seems to be a giant, I had to buy a ladder to be able to access a lot of my flat.
I found a small step ladder on amazon that packs down to just 40mm in depth. It's really changed how easy it is to live here.
Incidentally, for really low profile folding ladder, this is the one I got, really recommend it if you're tight on space so have gone up...
https://amzn.to/3ffwB1d
Post by: Oscar's dad on 19 November, 2020, 03:31:04 pm
Does this count as an air source heat pump?
Errr, no idea! All I know is that it heats and cools and apparently it's very energy efficient.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 19 November, 2020, 03:34:54 pm
Its incredibly quiet :thumbsup:
That answers the first question that came to my mind... :thumbsup:
I've just been playing with it. There's a low outdoor noise button and when activated the outside box is barely audible. I've no idea what impact this setting has on the heating / cooling ability, I'm guessing its less, experience will tell, but nonetheless its impressive. Outdoor noise was a concern as we live in a terraced house so cheek by jowl with our neighbours who we don't want to piss off.
Post by: Greenbank on 19 November, 2020, 03:46:20 pm
Biggest problem is I have to dismantle and clean up the existing desk and cable mess underneath.
Busy at work and haven't managed to get out to buy the required mains extension cables yet so I may put it off until tomorrow.
Post by: Davef on 19 November, 2020, 04:15:30 pm
It was cold when you took the photo.I'd really like a book case which was so huge it required a ladder! Chapeau!
Got one of them.
(http://greenbank.org/misc/bookshelf_ladder.png)
Post by: hatler on 19 November, 2020, 10:23:34 pm
That was the first thing that caught my eye.
Bonus points for live feline.
Avec le chat! Yclept Part-Time.
On account of I only see her between November and March when the CH is on and she finds warm spots on the kitchen floor (or lap top) to sprawl out on. I don't feed her - she doesn't need it - someone else does that. But we both have an immense amount of fun with the laser pointer.
Blimey, an eraser shield. I’ve not seen one of those in 25 years!
Post by: Greenbank on 19 November, 2020, 10:56:40 pm
It was cold when you took the photo.
???
(Ah, might have been because it was an HTTP link, have updated it to HTTPS but can't modify the bit you quoted...)
Post by: Greenbank on 19 November, 2020, 11:00:39 pm
Stage 1 with stool, tidier desk, Flysta storage on left and Kallax on the right.
Obligatory golf ball on the floor for helping stave off plantar fasciitis.
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/wfh_stage1.jpg)
Now looks like:-
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk4.jpg)
with added height control can go up to this:-
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk1.jpg)
Very happy with it.
Post by: Greenbank on 19 November, 2020, 11:05:15 pm
Cable horror:-
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/wfh_cables_before.jpg)
now looks like:-
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk2.jpg)
and I've still got some tidying up to do, the two power cables going up will be tied together with a cable tidy. The black power cables will be bunched and neatened up. The desk power cable on the left won't hang down, it'll be stuck to the underside of the table leading to:-
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk3.jpg)
... the reason it is a lot less messy. Power strips (white = mains, black = UPS) plus an 8 port switch stuck to the underside of the table using 3M Command strips.
Also need to get a mesh tray to handle some of the bits like laptop power brick (currently hooked onto the bottom of the monitor clamp, not ideal).
Post by: Afasoas on 20 November, 2020, 02:13:14 am
Post by: Oscar's dad on 20 November, 2020, 05:19:38 am
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk1.jpg)
My "do I or don't I have a standing desk like yours and therefore what do I do about some sort of sitting solution which I can loose when I'm standing up" dilemma has been resolved by the new aircon.
The most obvious place to put the inside unit is over my desk. Because I'm tall and the ceiling in the garage is quite low the aircon blows right into my face when I'm standing at the desk, which I think will be annoying; this is despite the fact that you can angle the vents on the blower do-dah. When I'm sitting down I can angle the blower to go over my head. This is a shame but not a biggy.
Post by: Morat on 20 November, 2020, 07:24:52 pm
I sourced "useful piece of wood" from my stash in the garage to fashion a handy headset stand on the radiator for my softphone headset. The big set of cans lurking behind the laptop screen don't do work stuff very well.
The PC is used for Teamviewer sessions with servers/users and other automata.
The laptop is work issued and used for anything that requires VPN.
(http://www.lard.me.uk/wfh.jpg)
I don't have a cat, but my dog is very soft.
(http://www.lard.me.uk/integratedbasset.jpg)
Post by: Chris S on 20 November, 2020, 07:42:24 pm
Post by: Jurek on 20 November, 2020, 08:45:43 pm
I hastily turned the gaming corner into my home office in March. It hasn't evolved a huge amount since then. Luckily a big screen and "sex worker rated webcam" work for both uses. The rudder pedals double as comfy footrests.Dog looks proper. :thumbsup:
I sourced "useful piece of wood" from my stash in the garage to fashion a handy headset stand on the radiator for my softphone headset. The big set of cans lurking behind the laptop screen don't do work stuff very well.
The PC is used for Teamviewer sessions with servers/users and other automata.
The laptop is work issued and used for anything that requires VPN.
(http://www.lard.me.uk/wfh.jpg)
I don't have a cat, but my dog is very soft.
(http://www.lard.me.uk/integratedbasset.jpg)
Post by: Morat on 20 November, 2020, 08:51:52 pm
Have you mastered the art of maintaining a Space Engineers/Elite Dangerous/Warframe/No Man's Sky/Other game of choice session in the background whilst working, yet?
I used to be a master at doing that with EVE Online but it's all a bit busy at the moment!
Post by: Feanor on 20 November, 2020, 08:57:12 pm
Have you mastered the art of maintaining a Space Engineers/Elite Dangerous/Warframe/No Man's Sky/Other game of choice session in the background whilst working, yet?
Now that's reminded me of games like Monkey Island that had a 'Boss' key that would switch the display to a nondescript Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet or somesuch!
Post by: Morat on 20 November, 2020, 09:12:16 pm
Dog looks proper. :thumbsup:
He has adjusted well to the WFH era!
Post by: Morat on 20 November, 2020, 09:42:58 pm
I'll have to look into that.
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 20 November, 2020, 09:45:40 pm
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 20 November, 2020, 09:53:26 pm
Post by: Chris S on 20 November, 2020, 10:08:20 pm
Have you mastered the art of maintaining a Space Engineers/Elite Dangerous/Warframe/No Man's Sky/Other game of choice session in the background whilst working, yet?
I used to be a master at doing that with EVE Online but it's all a bit busy at the moment!
Perfect match! EVE online is all about the spreadsheets (as I understand it - never played it, though I DO have some Elite Dangerous examples), so no one would tell...
Post by: Mr Larrington on 20 November, 2020, 11:45:23 pm
Have you mastered the art of maintaining a Space Engineers/Elite Dangerous/Warframe/No Man's Sky/Other game of choice session in the background whilst working, yet?
Now that's reminded me of games like Monkey Island that had a 'Boss' key that would switch the display to a nondescript Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet or somesuch!
ISTR reading that Leisure Suit Larry's Boss Key would bring up what looked like an innocuous spreadsheet but which did not bear closer inspection. Wholesale prices for sex toys or somesuch.
My erstwhile chum Meestah Blah wrote a front end for a forumoid site that looked like the Windows Help interface. Back in the days before Microsith decided that you will always have an internet connection when you need assistance with Windows' latest foibles, natch, a habit slavishly adopted by World+Dog.
Post by: Kim on 20 November, 2020, 11:47:35 pm
Post by: Greenbank on 21 November, 2020, 10:00:53 am
* Two new 0.5m kettle leads (for UPS and server) as 2m cables are not required
* New 3-gang extension lead (with 0.5m cable) to sit on top of the desk
* A cable tidy box for the floor to hide the multi-gang extension leads in
Also been busy with the sticky things and cable wrap.
And have just done an Ikea order to buy a TERTIAL lamp and some storage cubes stuff (including some BYGGLEK lego storage boxes for MiniGB).
Post by: perpetual dan on 22 November, 2020, 10:45:20 pm
Here’s where I’m working these days. I’ve been working from home a few days a week for ages, but never had to coexist with Mrs Dan before, though we shared a small room as an office. For a bit I had a stack of books standing desk in the kitchen. But dismantling in time to cook each evening was a pain, and Mrs Dan’s calls tended to bleed in. So I moved downstairs, into what used to be Mrs Dan’s craft space. Just out of shot are a printer, tumble dryer, washing machine, Miss Dan the Elder’s bedroom door, the downstairs toilet / shower, front door, and a doorway of drying laundry. So it isn’t all glamour, but pretty comfortable. The laptop is work, but plugs into the big screen for programming screen space. Speakers might be a Christmas present.
Post by: Kim on 22 November, 2020, 10:51:19 pm
Post by: Jaded on 22 November, 2020, 10:51:28 pm
Post by: perpetual dan on 23 November, 2020, 07:47:01 am
Cute looking keyboard...Thanks! It’s a Filco Ninja Magestitouch. Nice proper keys, reminder of which is which printed on the sides rather than tops. I don’t do enough entering numbers to make a numeric pad particularly helpful.
Post by: Greenbank on 24 November, 2020, 10:31:41 am
Also this:-Cable horror:-
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/wfh_cables_before.jpg)
now looks like:-
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk2.jpg)
And...
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/desk5.jpg)
Still some minor tidying to go, some shorter cables to come which should get rid of some of the remaining black cable mess.
Post by: citoyen on 24 November, 2020, 11:57:32 am
I find the view under my desk bad enough. Here it is, with escape hatch (yes, I do know the carpet needs vacuuming, thanks):
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50641074806_dab1cf1f5b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k9YKeq)
The two thin black cables are for the desk speakers - one is the power supply, the other the link between the two speakers.
The thick black cable is for the iMac.
The thick white cable leads to...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50640322233_c347f469e6_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k9UTw2)
L-R: lamp, speakers, charger
Plus assorted USB cables for different things that need charging, which include the Anker power bank. It would sit on the floor but I don't have a phone charger cable long enough to reach the desk. Maybe I should swap the extension for one that can be attached to the wall or desk. Or just get a longer charging cable.
Post by: Jurek on 24 November, 2020, 12:03:40 pm
Post by: Mr Larrington on 24 November, 2020, 12:10:30 pm
Spiral wrap (https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CACT20W.html?source=adwords&ad_position=&ad_id=315107931576&placement=&kw=&network=u&matchtype=&ad_type=&product_id=CACT20W&product_partition_id=933541607402&campaign=shopping&version=finalurl_v3&gclid=CjwKCAiA-_L9BRBQEiwA-bm5fgRnoMm9l56gkbGeuovAllWm9ASfm1S99NTO3_wBLdHtuij7lpLUYRoC994QAvD_BwE) is your friend.
Not at that price it isn't :demon: Especially if you favour black over poncy white…
Post by: ian on 24 November, 2020, 12:11:15 pm
Post by: Kim on 24 November, 2020, 12:15:38 pm
I avoid cable hell by shoving them to the back of my desk and not looking down.
This. My concession to organisation is to go to town with the label printer, so you have a reasonable idea what plug powers what before you pull it out.
Spiral wrap and the like tempts Murphy's law of anbaric string, whereby the cable least easily extracted will be the one that needs to be removed first due to something b0rking.
Post by: Jurek on 24 November, 2020, 12:17:23 pm
At home I have a 30cm wide shelf / footrest some six inches off the floor. Everything, and I mean everything goes under that.
Out of sight.......
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50641217987_cd9a14ce5f_4k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k9ZtN4) (https://flic.kr/p/2k9ZtN4) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurekb/)
AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50641218422_76e3001e68_4k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k9ZtVy) (https://flic.kr/p/2k9ZtVy) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurekb/)
Post by: citoyen on 24 November, 2020, 12:23:42 pm
My concession to organisation is to go to town with the label printer, so you have a reasonable idea what plug powers what before you pull it out.
That's a great idea! :thumbsup:
Post by: Mr Larrington on 24 November, 2020, 12:25:21 pm
Post by: Jaded on 24 November, 2020, 12:26:37 pm
Post by: Kim on 24 November, 2020, 12:39:22 pm
I did try sticky labels wrapped round divers other cables but they tend to fall off, usually immediately after you’ve spent ten floor-grovelling minutes persuading Tab A into Slot B. In Braille.
On a hunch that this was likely to be a problem I have some Brother Flexible ID tape and the tenth-of-the-price equivalent from AliExpress on long term test on the power lead on the back of the server. They've been there a few months, and seem to have reached a steady state with the proper one still attached and the Chinesium semi-unpeeled.
Similar story using the same stuff in flag formation around the internal wiring in a power supply unit (so exposed to somewhat higher temperature) - the lamination layer unpeeled and fell off, while the labelly bit stayed mostly attached. Over a couple of weeks of testing.
In general my preference is to label plugs and wall-warts where possible, rather than the cable. Easier to read, and less challenging for adhesives. The gold standard for cable labelling is transparent heatshrink, but that generally requires you to be wiring one of the connectors yourself. But the posh cable-labelling tape does appear to make a half-decent go at it. Certainly none of the stuff I used on the rats-nest of Ethernet shortly after buying the label printer (*checks notes* last February) seems to have come unstuck yet.
Speaking of Braille, I wish people would label sockets on the backs of computers and similar using such. It's not that hard to recognise the type 1 characters needed to differentiate, say, 'in' and 'out' or 'USB' and 'HDMI'.
Post by: Afasoas on 24 November, 2020, 12:41:38 pm
(https://betweenbeyond.files.wordpress.com/2020/11/img_20201122_223040.jpg)
That's a nicely proportioned desk. And I do like the sound of the keyboard.
Added an el-cheapo cardioid condensor microphone and some speakers to the setup. It is really nice not to be wearing a headset 7+ hours of the day and speak to people almost as if they are sat at the next desk.
It cost me an entire evening to get the speakers to work reliably. For some reason PulseAudio saw them as a sink but attempts to emit sound resulted in some limited crackling and popping. Resolved now - I'm not exactly sure how, but in the end I deleted all configuration and re-installed a good number of packages.
Echo cancelling works well enough that my colleagues can't tell when I'm listening to background music source from the computer, which is nice.
Post by: Morat on 24 November, 2020, 06:02:58 pm
So I just leave my cables out there, hanging free in nice untidy bundles. It's a kindness really because it gives the management types something to comment on and that lets them feel they have achieved some management before they bugger off again.
Post by: Lightning Phil on 24 November, 2020, 06:44:42 pm
Mouse and keyboard wireless as I’m left handed so have them set differently to wife and don’t want wires getting in the way there.
Post by: marcusjb on 25 November, 2020, 11:48:36 am
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EnqbsPdXIAIIOiG?format=jpg&name=large)
One of the first things we knew we were going to do when we bought this house was to build a garden office for me (the cottage has 2.5 bedrooms and two people wanting permanent offices).
That was going to happen in March, but then, well, we know what happened - I made the call to press pause whilst I figured out where business was going only moments before the office company were going to ring me to say they were going to pause whilst they figured out how and whether they could do business in lockdown.
By June, I pressed go again and was near the top of the list. Sadly, the amazing spring led to a very wet summer and the team had less fun than they might have done so.
All finished in late July.
Joinery was due in October, but COVID and a new CNC machine has slowed them down; I had hoped it was done by Christmas - but we're now at mid-January which is a pain, but I'll live with it.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EnqpiUGW4AACMsC?format=png&name=900x900)
Office is superb so far though - not huge (but big enough for me!), has a storage shed at the end accessible from another door.
Seems to retain heat well (there's a lot of insulation in there), underfloor heating seems to perform well too.
Armoured cat6 down to the house, so getting the full benefits of our FTTP connection.
As befitting the office of someone who writes building management software, it has some cool tech; full Lutron lighting system, Crestron touchscreen in the wall with access to cameras, music (in the office and the speakers mounted on the office for the garden terrace).
So looking forward to getting it done - COVID slowed it down dramatically obviously, but it really then enables us to do a load of work on the house as my old office becomes my wife's new office and we get a proper guest bedroom.
Very glad I agreed on the garden office before COVID though - the company who built it now have a very, very long leadtime as their business has gone through the roof.
Post by: Jaded on 25 November, 2020, 12:01:00 pm
Post by: Oscar's dad on 25 November, 2020, 12:08:11 pm
Status report for our project... last weekend we cleared out the main body of the garage so we could insulate the final wall of the home office section. Loads of stuff got put in the loft or taken down the tip, there's yet more to go in due course. The trailer full of camping kit was swung round by 90 degrees having had the draw bar unbolted which has freed up a load of space.
Today Steve the Sparky is here today doing his thing. We are making progress!
Post by: marcusjb on 25 November, 2020, 12:12:41 pm
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Edi5-jaWAAEXpJI?format=jpg&name=large)
Post by: Oscar's dad on 25 November, 2020, 12:15:36 pm
Post by: Canardly on 25 November, 2020, 12:30:09 pm
Post by: Greenbank on 25 November, 2020, 12:40:09 pm
I'm pretty much there now.
Things to fix:-
* Desk (would like a sit/stand desk) - TICK
* Seat/stool/chair - TICK
* Nicer monitor(s) - AWAITING SUITABLE ITEM TO PURCHASE
* More storage - TICK
* Less clutter - TICK
* Sort out cable mess - TICK
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk5.jpg)
(Thanks to citoyen for the Ikea Tertial lamp tip)
A wireless mouse and keyboard and I could move the laptop under the desk and be almost cable free on top (headphones, Garmin cable, mobile phone charger will still be somewhere across the desk) but what's there doesn't bother me. I may need to rejig when I do get a huge monitor.
Quite a way from the original: https://www.greenbank.org/misc/IMG_1508.JPG
Post by: psyclist on 25 November, 2020, 01:16:41 pm
My partially complete addition to the thread:
Very nice. I'm in the final throws of researching options for our garden office, and expect quite a wait once the order goes in.
Quote
As befitting the office of someone who writes building management software, it has some cool tech; full Lutron lighting system, Crestron touchscreen in the wall with access to cameras, music (in the office and the speakers mounted on the office for the garden terrace).
I was thinking that I'd thought through everything, but these look like further 'requirements' to investigate!
Post by: citoyen on 25 November, 2020, 01:22:23 pm
And from the outside, it looks something like this:
Looks amazing. I'm envious.
We have a 'summerhouse' (glorified shed) at the bottom of the garden, and I've considered setting up in there, but it's not insulated so might be a bit chilly over winter. It's also currently full of crap, so there's no room for a desk. Not sure if it's in WiFi range of the house either, but that's not an insurmountable problem.
Post by: ian on 25 November, 2020, 01:31:47 pm
Post by: Oscar's dad on 25 November, 2020, 01:38:10 pm
I told my wife she could go and work in the summer house. Nice commute up the garden, some fresh air. She told me to fuck off.
;D There's no helping some people!
Post by: ian on 25 November, 2020, 01:48:34 pm
Post by: citoyen on 25 November, 2020, 01:57:52 pm
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 25 November, 2020, 09:44:23 pm
Post by: marcusjb on 25 November, 2020, 10:40:40 pm
Nice office, Marcus. Who supplied it?
Two Sheffield firms involved - Dore Garden Offices for the office itself and Kerf Works for the joinery.
Post by: TimC on 26 November, 2020, 12:55:58 am
(https://i.imgur.com/luG6tod.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ySYz8Np.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Tu37HxV.jpg)
Post by: Oscar's dad on 26 November, 2020, 04:04:33 am
@TimC - once all the C-19 restrictions have eased and the weather improves we'll have to do some home office / man cave exchange visits. I'll cycle to yours for beers and a catch up and you ride down here!
Post by: Oscar's dad on 26 November, 2020, 08:53:40 am
@ road-runner - what sort of thing do you do in your studio?
I like to work, rest and play (no Mars bars). Eg, if you have 57 seconds spare, here is my Jingle Bells Bossa (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSVudZfLhBg).
(https://i9.ytimg.com/vi/xSVudZfLhBg/mq2.jpg?sqp=CNjF_f0F&rs=AOn4CLDZWanPpGcpP6y9AAZxEDxLu7md7g) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSVudZfLhBg)
Excellent!
Post by: TimC on 26 November, 2020, 09:20:05 am
@ road-runner - what sort of thing do you do in your studio?
@TimC - once all the C-19 restrictions have eased and the weather improves we'll have to do some home office / man cave exchange visits. I'll cycle to yours for beers and a catch up and you ride down here!
Indeed mate! If I ever get over the sinusitis that's laying me low right now - into week 4 with no sign of relief :(
Post by: Oscar's dad on 26 November, 2020, 09:22:45 am
@ road-runner - what sort of thing do you do in your studio?
@TimC - once all the C-19 restrictions have eased and the weather improves we'll have to do some home office / man cave exchange visits. I'll cycle to yours for beers and a catch up and you ride down here!
Indeed mate! If I ever get over the sinusitis that's laying me low right now - into week 4 with no sign of relief :(
You need a project to take your mind of it, oh wait... ;D GWS :-*
Post by: TimC on 26 November, 2020, 09:29:26 am
@ road-runner - what sort of thing do you do in your studio?
@TimC - once all the C-19 restrictions have eased and the weather improves we'll have to do some home office / man cave exchange visits. I'll cycle to yours for beers and a catch up and you ride down here!
Indeed mate! If I ever get over the sinusitis that's laying me low right now - into week 4 with no sign of relief :(
You need a project to take your mind of it, oh wait... ;D GWS :-*
Cheers! But you're right, keeping busy does help. Trouble is, with no sleep and a brain fried in snot I'm not best placed to do anything technical or requiring intelligence!!
Post by: hatler on 26 November, 2020, 09:41:45 am
Hence you spending all your time here. :-)@ road-runner - what sort of thing do you do in your studio?
@TimC - once all the C-19 restrictions have eased and the weather improves we'll have to do some home office / man cave exchange visits. I'll cycle to yours for beers and a catch up and you ride down here!
Indeed mate! If I ever get over the sinusitis that's laying me low right now - into week 4 with no sign of relief :(
You need a project to take your mind of it, oh wait... ;D GWS :-*
Cheers! But you're right, keeping busy does help. Trouble is, with no sleep and a brain fried in snot I'm not best placed to do anything technical or requiring intelligence!!
Post by: TimC on 26 November, 2020, 09:45:44 am
Hence you spending all your time here. :-)@ road-runner - what sort of thing do you do in your studio?
@TimC - once all the C-19 restrictions have eased and the weather improves we'll have to do some home office / man cave exchange visits. I'll cycle to yours for beers and a catch up and you ride down here!
Indeed mate! If I ever get over the sinusitis that's laying me low right now - into week 4 with no sign of relief :(
You need a project to take your mind of it, oh wait... ;D GWS :-*
Cheers! But you're right, keeping busy does help. Trouble is, with no sleep and a brain fried in snot I'm not best placed to do anything technical or requiring intelligence!!
Yes, guilty as charged. I shall find some other distraction.
Post by: Greenbank on 26 November, 2020, 11:29:38 am
https://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard/filco-convertible-2-tenkeyless-silent-soft-linear-action-uk-iso-keyboard.asp
(Might have to move that to the January or February toy bucket.)
Post by: marcusjb on 26 November, 2020, 11:41:03 am
Cheapo Bluetooth mouse ordered, but they keyboard I'd like is £££
https://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard/filco-convertible-2-tenkeyless-silent-soft-linear-action-uk-iso-keyboard.asp
(Might have to move that to the January or February toy bucket.)
I have a Filco with Silent Red Soft - Majestouch 2 (full-size), so not as clever as that one - it was about £100 exc. VAT.
It's very good - and despite moving up to my own office soon, I was sort of pleased when my old DAS keyboard failed at the start of the year as it was very, very noisy.
Silent is a strong term - they're still quite loud really (or maybe that's just my typing style!). Soft maybe.
Not brave enough to go Ninja with them though....
Post by: Greenbank on 26 November, 2020, 12:33:36 pm
Not brave enough to go Ninja with them though....
Quite happy to go ninja or blank on mine when/if I get one. Ideally I'd get a set of blank black keycaps but then get a set of coloured blank keycaps (lime green maybe) for the special keys to give it a properly weird look.
I type at >140wpm and a lot of my typing is coding so I know where all of the various symbol keys are (a few lines of perl and I need most of the symbols anyway).
Ideally I'd want something with media keys (play/pause, forward, back, mute, vol up/down) but I can do most of that with the inline remote on my iPhone headphones plugged into the laptop.
I think most of this (despite WFH 2 days a week for almost 10 years) has been a realisation that if this is how I earn my living then I can afford to splash out a bit to make it as good an environment as I can reasonably justify. I don't need a £1000 chair but then I don't need to sit on a £30 thing that might be messing with my back, there's a happy middle ground that I need to find.
Post by: perpetual dan on 26 November, 2020, 02:08:41 pm
Post by: marcusjb on 26 November, 2020, 03:04:43 pm
QuoteAs befitting the office of someone who writes building management software, it has some cool tech; full Lutron lighting system, Crestron touchscreen in the wall with access to cameras, music (in the office and the speakers mounted on the office for the garden terrace).
I was thinking that I'd thought through everything, but these look like further 'requirements' to investigate!
Trust me; other than lighting control (which makes more difference to how you feel in a space throughout the day/night than anything else) you don't need any of that; it's extreme dog-fooding for me. The stuff I do is normally controlling large country estates etc., so not appropriate for a garden office unless it's what you do day in day out. All sorts of ridiculous toys up there doing some very over the top things for a garden office, but it's part fun, part work for me.
Slowly moving some of the brains of the show up there now:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EnwcTWbXUAIyuGQ?format=jpg&name=large)
Post by: citoyen on 26 November, 2020, 04:42:34 pm
All sorts of ridiculous toys up there doing some very over the top things for a garden office, but it's part fun, part work for me.
That's brilliant* - good that you enjoy your work enough to bring it home! ;D
Presume it means you can get the kit at trade rates as well?
*pun not intended
Post by: SteveC on 27 November, 2020, 12:56:37 pm
A very long time ago, in a previous place, we had a thread on 'what does your computer desktop look like' or similar. I posted a photo (which I cannot now find, which is why it's taken me so long to reply to this) of my blue bubble iMac on the same desk as in the first picture and I think someone commented on the Habitat cubes then as well. They must be over 30 years old now. MrsC had them when I first met her. I think she acquired them when she was still with her first husband.Not as flash as some here, but it did take a bit of effort to go from Mk 1 to Mk 2.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50614812247_409f368024_4k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7E9hF)
WFH Mk 1 (https://flic.kr/p/2k7E9hF) by Steve Cunio (https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecunio/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50614812497_ce44784941_4k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k7E9mZ)
WFH Mk 2 (https://flic.kr/p/2k7E9mZ) by Steve Cunio (https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecunio/), on Flickr
In the Mk 1 picture you can just about see an Ikea bookshelf. That is now in the other spare bedroom. To the left of that was a four-drawer filing cabinet. We've got rid of some books and moved others so the bookshelf has been freed up. We replaced the old filing cabinet with two two-drawer ones which are the outer supports of the new desk.
And while we were at it, MrsC decided we get the room recarpeted. It did need it and that made for only one lot of disruption.
The iMac is my personal machine. The laptop and two left hand screens belong to work. When I'm not working I slide the middle screen behind the left hand one and move the Mac to the centre. The only problem is that the desktop is bowing in the middle. The red drawer units are shorter than the filing cabinets which doesn't help, but I suspect I've just got too much weight on the whole thing.
PALASET CUBES!!!!
Post by: Jaded on 27 November, 2020, 01:35:21 pm
Post by: SteveC on 27 November, 2020, 04:46:48 pm
Post by: Mr Larrington on 27 November, 2020, 07:07:25 pm
Nope, don’t get it ???
Post by: SteveC on 27 November, 2020, 07:36:29 pm
Post by: FifeingEejit on 27 November, 2020, 08:03:21 pm
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201127/3d79736031a73aa71d8afe94f3f8fb3a.jpg)
I couldn't be bothered moving the crt...
Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk
Post by: Morat on 27 November, 2020, 11:06:41 pm
Cheapo Bluetooth mouse ordered, but they keyboard I'd like is £££
https://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard/filco-convertible-2-tenkeyless-silent-soft-linear-action-uk-iso-keyboard.asp
(Might have to move that to the January or February toy bucket.)
I have a Filco with Silent Red Soft - Majestouch 2 (full-size), so not as clever as that one - it was about £100 exc. VAT.
It's very good - and despite moving up to my own office soon, I was sort of pleased when my old DAS keyboard failed at the start of the year as it was very, very noisy.
Silent is a strong term - they're still quite loud really (or maybe that's just my typing style!). Soft maybe.
Not brave enough to go Ninja with them though....
Those look very nice, although I'd miss the number pad. As befits my PC's GaM1N5! roots, I have a Razer Keyboard with ridiculously clicky switches. I love it, and I'm tempted to get another one for the office at the time of the Great Return. I can't imagine anyone would be too thrilled to hear me typing from two doors down but they'd have to be impressed at my industry (on IRC).
Post by: SoreTween on 29 November, 2020, 04:52:48 am
In general my preference is to label plugs and wall-warts where possible, rather than the cable. Easier to read, and less challenging for adhesives. The gold standard for cable labelling is transparent heatshrink, but that generally requires you to be wiring one of the connectors yourself.Have you tried self laminating wraps (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mr-Label-Self-Laminating-Around-Cable-Labels/dp/B07CNNVD51)?
Post by: Morat on 29 November, 2020, 11:08:02 am
Not brave enough to go Ninja with them though....
Quite happy to go ninja or blank on mine when/if I get one. Ideally I'd get a set of blank black keycaps but then get a set of coloured blank keycaps (lime green maybe) for the special keys to give it a properly weird look.
I type at >140wpm and a lot of my typing is coding so I know where all of the various symbol keys are (a few lines of perl and I need most of the symbols anyway).
Ideally I'd want something with media keys (play/pause, forward, back, mute, vol up/down) but I can do most of that with the inline remote on my iPhone headphones plugged into the laptop.
I think most of this (despite WFH 2 days a week for almost 10 years) has been a realisation that if this is how I earn my living then I can afford to splash out a bit to make it as good an environment as I can reasonably justify. I don't need a £1000 chair but then I don't need to sit on a £30 thing that might be messing with my back, there's a happy middle ground that I need to find.
Soon after I arrived at my job, the boss treated himself (at company expense) to a £700 chair. At the time we were scandalised, as the rest of us sit on the cheapest chairs available in the stationer's catalog.
That boss has long gone, and there have been at least 4 replacements since but the chair remains. It has now survived twenty years and looks like it will manage another twenty.
We replace the cheap chairs every few years as they die of "old age".
Post by: Greenbank on 29 November, 2020, 12:03:52 pm
https://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard/filco-convertible-2-tenkeyless-silent-soft-linear-action-uk-iso-keyboard.asp
Just ordered. Also found a cheapish set of Ninja (side print) keycaps on banggood to spice it up a bit:-
https://uk.banggood.com/104-Key-PBT-OEM-Profile-Thick-Side-Printed-Keycaps-for-Cherry-MX-Switches-Mechanical-Keyboard-p-1158342.html?rmmds=search&ID=49326&cur_warehouse=CN
Just the monitor to go (the sub £500 43" 4K monitors are taking a while to come to market. Everywhere I've checked is awaiting stock of the Acer DM431K, supposedly in just after Christmas, and then I'll order one.)
Post by: Kim on 29 November, 2020, 01:00:42 pm
In general my preference is to label plugs and wall-warts where possible, rather than the cable. Easier to read, and less challenging for adhesives. The gold standard for cable labelling is transparent heatshrink, but that generally requires you to be wiring one of the connectors yourself.Have you tried self laminating wraps (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mr-Label-Self-Laminating-Around-Cable-Labels/dp/B07CNNVD51)?
Why would I faff about with that when I've got a label printer designed for labelling cables? Seems to work well as long as you don't use off-brand tape.
(I've found the non-flexible off-brand tape to be acceptable, unless you get a dud cartridge. Indeed, I jokingly batlabelled (https://twitter.com/BatLabels) barakta's tea mug with some during the first lockdown, and it's survived countless rounds of washing-up.)
Post by: SteveC on 29 November, 2020, 03:53:09 pm
The chair I'm using, which didn't get into my photos, is one which MrsC liberated from a previous job when they closed the factory down. It is not only more comfortable than any chair I've had at work, it is also at least 20 years old. The fabric on the seat is beginning to go, but we might be able to do something about that. Vimes' boots theory applies.I think most of this (despite WFH 2 days a week for almost 10 years) has been a realisation that if this is how I earn my living then I can afford to splash out a bit to make it as good an environment as I can reasonably justify. I don't need a £1000 chair but then I don't need to sit on a £30 thing that might be messing with my back, there's a happy middle ground that I need to find.
Soon after I arrived at my job, the boss treated himself (at company expense) to a £700 chair. At the time we were scandalised, as the rest of us sit on the cheapest chairs available in the stationer's catalog.
That boss has long gone, and there have been at least 4 replacements since but the chair remains. It has now survived twenty years and looks like it will manage another twenty.
We replace the cheap chairs every few years as they die of "old age".
Post by: Mr Larrington on 29 November, 2020, 07:08:59 pm
Soon after I arrived at my job, the boss treated himself (at company expense) to a £700 chair. At the time we were scandalised, as the rest of us sit on the cheapest chairs available in the stationer's catalog.
That boss has long gone, and there have been at least 4 replacements since but the chair remains. It has now survived twenty years and looks like it will manage another twenty.
We replace the cheap chairs every few years as they die of "old age".
Another example of the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness. (https://wiki.lspace.org/mediawiki/Sam_Vimes_Theory_of_Economic_Injustice)
Post by: PaulF on 30 November, 2020, 11:10:26 am
(https://i.postimg.cc/yxmFhX7m/CD9156-E3-44-AC-427-C-B54-D-671979042471.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/T5PLfbL1)
As to which side of the room sees more "work" I'll leave as an exercise to the reader's imagination.
Post by: quixoticgeek on 30 November, 2020, 01:09:20 pm
Tomorrow I start my new job. I'm going to have to visit the office to start, to collect everything etc... But then I'm working from home. Because I want a clear separation between work and not work. My intent is to set up on my housemates desk, as she's not using it at the moment. I'm effectively trying to create 3 different work spaces in the small flat. We'll see how that goes.
Gonna be an interesting learning experience.
J
Post by: PaulF on 30 November, 2020, 01:31:39 pm
A good working atmosphere in there, PaulF. Nice!
Thanks!
Post by: barakta on 30 November, 2020, 04:02:44 pm
Have decided to use my regular desk for ergonomics reasons but hope I can get laptop up/down as needed and shove it down the side of the desk with the other work laptop (as I'm keeping 2+ jobs going for a while).
Post by: perpetual dan on 30 November, 2020, 07:15:49 pm
Post by: quixoticgeek on 30 November, 2020, 10:29:29 pm
I hope your first days go well!
Thanks. I'm starting the day with a CT scan, so hopefully I'll arrive at the new office with a nice healthy glow...
J
Post by: barakta on 30 November, 2020, 11:15:37 pm
Post by: Greenbank on 02 December, 2020, 02:38:10 pm
Wireless keyboard will be delivered tomorrow according to Royal Mail.
4-pole headphone extension cable should be delivered Thu/Fri too.
Then I need to work out a way to sling the laptop under the desk (it still needs to have lots of cables sticking out of it, power and USB-C to monitor cable one side; headphones, network, HDMI to other monitor, USB to webcam, USB Garmin cable on the other side) and make it not a complete faff to get it back on to the desk if I really needed to.
Post by: L CC on 03 December, 2020, 03:38:31 pm
FFS.
I suppose it is pantomime season, shame there wasn't much of an audience.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201203/cb6e9e8d9e8ca76fa7071eec66ba63db.jpg)
Post by: barakta on 03 December, 2020, 04:04:35 pm
Post by: Greenbank on 03 December, 2020, 04:06:10 pm
Is the bike ok?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 03 December, 2020, 04:19:58 pm
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 03 December, 2020, 04:24:06 pm
I hope none of those pointy bits came in contact with flesh.
Post by: ScumOfTheRoad on 03 December, 2020, 04:24:34 pm
Wired mouse replaced with wireless mouse.
Wireless keyboard will be delivered tomorrow according to Royal Mail.
4-pole headphone extension cable should be delivered Thu/Fri too.
Then I need to work out a way to sling the laptop under the desk (it still needs to have lots of cables sticking out of it, power and USB-C to monitor cable one side; headphones, network, HDMI to other monitor, USB to webcam, USB Garmin cable on the other side) and make it not a complete faff to get it back on to the desk if I really needed to.
You should look at a USB-C docking station or a dongle.
I have a Dell Thunderbolt dock, so the laptop lives under the desk with a single USB-C cable. The docking station is on the desk under a monitor
https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/accessories/apd/210-ARJD
Or just look for a Ugreen or similar usb-C dongle on Amazon and leave it permanently attached to monitors.
I have a USB-C monitor too, which is a good thing (TM) - it has a wired ethernet port and normal USB ports
Post by: L CC on 03 December, 2020, 04:37:16 pm
Ouch. Poor design rather than old?Old and stressed- I think I'm at its max weight limit.
I hope none of those pointy bits came in contact with flesh.
The replacement will be more robust.
Post by: Kim on 03 December, 2020, 04:39:16 pm
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 03 December, 2020, 04:48:46 pm
Post by: Kim on 03 December, 2020, 05:52:28 pm
As usual, you do seem to get what you pay for, with office chair quality being roughly equivalent to that of a bike of similar price. The cheap ones simply aren't rated for a human wriggling around on them.
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 03 December, 2020, 05:59:59 pm
As usual, you do seem to get what you pay for, with office chair quality being roughly equivalent to that of a bike of similar price.??
A cursory glance shows me office chairs from 23USD (Alibaba so presumably a lot more once shipping and taxes are included) to 179GPB, which is Ikea, so yes there must be some which are much more expensive but I wouldn't expect much from a new bike for 180 let alone 23.
Post by: Kim on 03 December, 2020, 06:03:55 pm
As usual, you do seem to get what you pay for, with office chair quality being roughly equivalent to that of a bike of similar price.??
A cursory glance shows me office chairs from 23USD (Alibaba so presumably a lot more once shipping and taxes are included) to 179GPB, which is Ikea, so yes there must be some which are much more expensive but I wouldn't expect much from a new bike for 180 let alone 23.
Yeahbut buying chairs from Ikea is like buying bikes from Argos.
The one I'm sitting on: https://www.posturite.co.uk/rh-logic-400-high-back-ergonomic-office-chair.html
(Bought second-hand for a couple of hundred, after barakta had a new one funded by DSA. One of the arm-rests has a wobble and a tear in the fabric, but it hasn't been annoying enough for me to source a replacement.)
Post by: citoyen on 03 December, 2020, 06:13:45 pm
New chair required here.
FFS.
The juxtaposition of words meant I first read that as NSFW chair... and wondered exactly what you had been doing to it! :o
Post by: Mr Larrington on 03 December, 2020, 06:18:13 pm
Dead tree carcasses. Never trust them.
Quote from: LJK Setright
Wood is an æxcellent material for making trees but is otherwise not to be trusted.
The office chairs from the Happy Swedish Halls Of Joy are a Rubbish too.
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 03 December, 2020, 06:39:51 pm
Yeahbut buying chairs from Ikea is like buying bikes from Argos.Argos aren't making bikes at the moment, they're only doing repairs and resprays.
(Yes, absolutely, but: buying a 1k office chair is like spending a grand on a bike – you'll only do it if you're already keen; the vast majority of office chairs in offices, not at home, are probably Ikea level at best unless you're senior management; and there's a whole sub-Ikea level of corporate furnishings whereas the equivalent sub-Argos level bikes have almost entirely died out in most of Europe.)
Post by: andrewc on 03 December, 2020, 06:59:23 pm
I've had one of these for several years & it's very comfortable.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLACK-LEATHER-HUMANSCALE-FREEDOM-ERGONOMIC-OFFICE-TASK-CHAIR-FREE-UK-DELIVERY/303770389179
Post by: L CC on 03 December, 2020, 07:43:38 pm
The replacement is costing about 4 times what I spent on the dead one.
It's rubbish for driving a sewing machine but otherwise has been great, and I think it did do its intended purpose of lessening the back pain I still get.
Post by: Kim on 03 December, 2020, 07:47:11 pm
Post by: Auntie Helen on 03 December, 2020, 08:00:26 pm
I just bought a wooden one like fboab’s dead one as I find the metal frame ones much more creaky.
Post by: Afasoas on 03 December, 2020, 08:42:47 pm
After 6 weeks using the office chair we had, my highly esteemed partner developed quite chronic and severe back pain. Another HM chair was borrowed from work until our own replacement arrived. Within a week her back pain had subsided and she has not complained of it since. If you are seated for 8+ hours a day, your derriere deserves a good chair.
Post by: Mr Larrington on 03 December, 2020, 08:50:53 pm
Post by: Greenbank on 03 December, 2020, 11:53:34 pm
You should look at a USB-C docking station or a dongle.
Doesn't solve the problem I have though.
If I was able to put the laptop under the desk somehow then I'd have nothing on the desk, no cables, no USB dock.
Having a USB-C docking station only puts a load of cables back on the desk, no matter how neat and tidy they are.
The problem is how to mount the laptop under the desk.
Post by: Morat on 04 December, 2020, 09:01:35 am
Wired mouse replaced with wireless mouse.
Wireless keyboard will be delivered tomorrow according to Royal Mail.
4-pole headphone extension cable should be delivered Thu/Fri too.
Then I need to work out a way to sling the laptop under the desk (it still needs to have lots of cables sticking out of it, power and USB-C to monitor cable one side; headphones, network, HDMI to other monitor, USB to webcam, USB Garmin cable on the other side) and make it not a complete faff to get it back on to the desk if I really needed to.
You should look at a USB-C docking station or a dongle.
I have a Dell Thunderbolt dock, so the laptop lives under the desk with a single USB-C cable. The docking station is on the desk under a monitor
https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/accessories/apd/210-ARJD
Or just look for a Ugreen or similar usb-C dongle on Amazon and leave it permanently attached to monitors.
I have a USB-C monitor too, which is a good thing (TM) - it has a wired ethernet port and normal USB ports
Surely the correct answer to this conundrum is a desktop computer that can stand on the floor. By mounting a laptop under the desk you're ignoring the advantages of a laptop (screen, size, portability) and only using the ones which are compromised (performance, heat, connectivity).
Post by: Ham on 04 December, 2020, 10:06:59 am
Wired mouse replaced with wireless mouse.
Wireless keyboard will be delivered tomorrow according to Royal Mail.
4-pole headphone extension cable should be delivered Thu/Fri too.
Then I need to work out a way to sling the laptop under the desk (it still needs to have lots of cables sticking out of it, power and USB-C to monitor cable one side; headphones, network, HDMI to other monitor, USB to webcam, USB Garmin cable on the other side) and make it not a complete faff to get it back on to the desk if I really needed to.
You should look at a USB-C docking station or a dongle.
I have a Dell Thunderbolt dock, so the laptop lives under the desk with a single USB-C cable. The docking station is on the desk under a monitor
https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/accessories/apd/210-ARJD
Or just look for a Ugreen or similar usb-C dongle on Amazon and leave it permanently attached to monitors.
I have a USB-C monitor too, which is a good thing (TM) - it has a wired ethernet port and normal USB ports
Surely the correct answer to this conundrum is a desktop computer that can stand on the floor. By mounting a laptop under the desk you're ignoring the advantages of a laptop (screen, size, portability) and only using the ones which are compromised (performance, heat, connectivity).
.... but taking full advantage of the "workplace provided" function
Post by: L CC on 04 December, 2020, 10:27:35 am
My back is bloody killing me today. And my bum is numb on this dining chair. Countdown to the arrival of the balans - TFIF, and I hope POETS.
Post by: Greenbank on 04 December, 2020, 10:46:02 am
.... but taking full advantage of the "workplace provided" function
Exactly. There's no compromise either, it's a perfectly capable laptop that doesn't leave me wanting on performance, mostly because my work is either admin/browser work or connecting to remote machines which do all of the heavy lifting for me.
The laptop sits on my desk closed. It only ever gets opened when it very rarely crashes (once every 6 months?) and needs to be restarted with the power button on the inside. This is why I want it off the desktop, there's no need for it to be there, it takes up space and makes the desk look a bit cluttered. Mounting it under the desk (so that it remains at desk height) is the obvious solution.
Putting it on the floor (or replacing it with a desktop on the floor) means I'd have more cable nonsense to sort out. The majority of the cables need to plug into things at desktop height (and this is a sit/stand desk). Having it on the floor means a whole bunch of cables now need to extend between 70cm->120cm to reach the monitors, webcam, etc that are all at desktop height.
The only two things that plug into it that I need access to are headphones (and I've got an extension cable being delivered) and the charging/data cable for my Garmin Forerunner watch (and that cable is only 50cm long but could be extended with a USB extension cable).
More importantly, I don't want a desktop as then I'd need both a desktop and a laptop for the rare occasions I do need something portable. And keeping data/etc from disparate applications in sync between two machines is a pain.
I'm still looking for a suitable solution to getting the laptop off the desk. The best idea I've seen recently is the DIY laptop hammock: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/03/diy-how-to-make-a-laptop-hammock-for-a-dollar/
I don't like the idea of the cords running across the desk but my desk has suitable holes in the frame that would mean I wouldn't need to do this, and left hand side of the desk is up against a wall so the laptop would be perfectly safe hanging there. The cable routing would work quite well I think and it still gives me relatively easy access in the rare occasion I need to grab it back onto the desk.
So now I'm on the lookout for some dowels/rods and a bit of material (hopefully some kind of mesh to make ventilation a complete non-issue) - the laptop has vents on the back and one side and not the base so I could get away with non-mesh cloth if I put it in the correct orientation.
Post by: Greenbank on 04 December, 2020, 10:53:29 am
Post by: Oaky on 04 December, 2020, 10:55:56 am
I'm still looking for a suitable solution to getting the laptop off the desk. The best idea I've seen recently is the DIY laptop hammock: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/03/diy-how-to-make-a-laptop-hammock-for-a-dollar/
At a previous job, in a large swiss bank, we had a team "server" that was actually one of the team leader's old laptops, installed with Linux and suspended under his desk using a pair of bungy cords and four cup hooks screwed into the underside of the desk. It worked surprisingly well, although the only cables it needed were power and ethernet.
We christened it "dangleberry".
Post by: ian on 04 December, 2020, 11:10:58 am
Post by: L CC on 04 December, 2020, 11:35:56 am
Post by: Greenbank on 04 December, 2020, 11:59:23 am
Also, Mrs GB upped her hours (and is also WFH) and now needs to use the desk on the day I don't work, so it needs to be in a state where she can easily move her laptop there and not feel like she's a intruder in someone else's workspace.
Given that, it was a case of either doing another half arsed sort out to just get by, or doing it properly and sorting everything out to ultimate satisfaction.
Wireless keyboards and mouse mean I can easily take them off the desk completely when I'm not there. My work laptop off the desk means she has more space for her stuff. Easy access to power sockets for her laptop without needing to wrestle Cthulhu on the floor below. Easy plug in to one of the monitors on the desk if she needs it. Nicer desk. Nicer lighting.
Post by: TimC on 04 December, 2020, 12:08:49 pm
.... but taking full advantage of the "workplace provided" function
So now I'm on the lookout for some dowels/rods and a bit of material (hopefully some kind of mesh to make ventilation a complete non-issue) - the laptop has vents on the back and one side and not the base so I could get away with non-mesh cloth if I put it in the correct orientation.
Would an under-desk keyboard drawer be a workable answer? Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Underdesk-Keyboard-Drawer/s?k=Underdesk+Keyboard+Drawer) have various between £10 and £200 that might do what you need - or give the inspiration for a DIY solution!
Post by: ian on 04 December, 2020, 12:42:39 pm
Post by: Greenbank on 04 December, 2020, 12:49:06 pm
Would an under-desk keyboard drawer be a workable answer? Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Underdesk-Keyboard-Drawer/s?k=Underdesk+Keyboard+Drawer) have various between £10 and £200 that might do what you need - or give the inspiration for a DIY solution!
I did look at a keyboard tray but I didn't find one that fits neatly. I don't really want to screw one in to the underside of the desk for various reasons:-
Given this is a sit/stand desk there's a transmission rod that goes across the middle of the underside of the desk so the legs are powered equally. This is a 4cm high ridge in the middle. Given it's only a 70cm deep desk that means there's only ~30cm space either side of it. I don't want the laptop on the front half of the desk as it will get in the way of knees/etc and look untidy with all of the cables, so it needs to go at the back half of the desk, in which case getting the laptop in/out is a bit tricky as access with the big lump of metal that runs down the middle of the desk and the wall is the other side. Most of the keyboard trays don't have good sideways access.
Also many clamp to the desk and stick out from the desk, it's not clear on many whether the clamps can be mounted the other way round to clamp onto the desk but have the tray stick underneath. And, if I can manage it, I'd rather not have clamps on the desk top at all, but I could put up with them if they were black and not too big.
The Duronic DKTPX2 looks like a possible candidate as access from the side isn't bad but it's spendy (£60).
The Maclean MC-839 is a possibility, as it looks like you can use the tray the opposite way which could work, and it is "only" £40.
Still preferring the mini cargo net on the side option at the moment, the bike cargo net I had in the BoxOfStuff(TM) isn't quite big enough so I've ordered a couple of the Topeak ones from Wiggle (as I needed some other bike bits anyway).
Post by: Ham on 04 December, 2020, 01:01:24 pm
Post by: Greenbank on 04 December, 2020, 01:46:35 pm
And, eventually, I'll have a personal laptop on the desk for personal stuff (I just use the work laptop at the moment), but off to the side and not in my main eyeline.
Post by: Jurek on 04 December, 2020, 02:56:30 pm
My wife has her own office and her desk is a dump. It's like a cityscape of paper piles, if that city were Jakarta. Yet she's one of those tidy people who has a folder for every email (me, they're all doomed to general population inbox hell, let the search sort them out).^
My bold.
This. The inbox on my work lappy currently has 108,760 emails (I tend to delete all of the incoming shit that isn't relevant to me)
Finding something is seldom a problem.
Its just number crunching - isn't that what computers are supposed to do?
Post by: ian on 04 December, 2020, 03:12:23 pm
Post by: Greenbank on 04 December, 2020, 03:54:16 pm
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk7.jpg)
Not ideal as it is a bit tight, also I put my laptop in sleep mode prior to the move, unplugged everything, got it in place (tightly jammed in the cargo net) and then realised to get it out of sleep mode I need to open it up and prod the power button (waking up by pressing the USB keyboard or moving the mouse doesn't work if they've been unplugged since going into sleep mode). Managed it though. New cargo net(s) arriving tomorrow are bigger and will therefore make it much easier if access is required.
Desk now a lot clearer:-
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk6.jpg)
The two remaining USB cables are the wired keyboard and the webcam plugged into the USB hub on the keyboard. When I get my wireless keyboard the webcam can plug in to the laptop where the current keyboard is plugged in.
Will also tidy up the monitor/USB/power cables dangling down the back with a spiral cable tidy thing.
Headphone extension cable works fine and I'm glad I didn't order anything longer than the 1m version. The other cable lurking in the back left corner is the Garmin charging/data cable for my watch, that needs to stay but it's nicely out of the way.
Mousemat is disgusting and is probably supporting all number of life forms, but it's a bit of nostalgia (I think I got it when visiting the Sun offices in CA 20 years ago), will get a new mousemat next time I order something from a computer place. It's taken me 20+ years to go through all of the ones I'd acquired over the years, maybe I need one with a motivational message printed on it.
Post by: Jurek on 04 December, 2020, 03:58:01 pm
Post by: ian on 04 December, 2020, 04:17:25 pm
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 04 December, 2020, 04:26:12 pm
Post by: Greenbank on 04 December, 2020, 04:27:47 pm
Mouse mat? Blimey, are those still a thing?
I don't like the crap that builds up on bottom of a mouse if used without. I'm not fastidious about cleaning and will sometimes eat/drink at my desk.
The mouse also makes an annoying scraping sound on this wood desk.
Post by: ian on 04 December, 2020, 05:19:36 pm
Gets the occasional bit of cat belly fuzz in its laser-gummings, which have to tweezed out. Frickin' lasers are always foiled by cat fuzz.
Post by: Mr Larrington on 04 December, 2020, 05:58:45 pm
Mouse mat? Blimey, are those still a thing?
Why, yes! Yes, they are! Mine is about 25 years old and has a picture of a Porsche. On it. BOGOF offer in PC World, I think. Dunno what happened to the other one.
Post by: Jaded on 04 December, 2020, 06:06:53 pm
Ah, my Magic Mice glide across the desk like they've been shaved, lubed, and shoved down a luge.
Gets the occasional bit of cat belly fuzz in its laser-gummings, which have to tweezed out. Frickin' lasers are always foiled by cat fuzz.
Blutack FTW on that...
Post by: Greenbank on 05 December, 2020, 11:32:13 am
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk8.jpg)
New keyboard is lovely, plus it has media keys on the F-keys so that solves that problem too.
Post by: Afasoas on 05 December, 2020, 01:10:28 pm
And...
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk8.jpg)
New keyboard is lovely, plus it has media keys on the F-keys so that solves that problem too.
Good mouse mat/chair coordination
Post by: Afasoas on 05 December, 2020, 01:50:31 pm
Before...(https://i.imgur.com/yCKKmHx.jpg)
After...
(https://i.imgur.com/GAYYQ9C.png)
Well that is phase 1 at least.
Phase 2 involves the empty computer case and wall mounted monitors.
The evolution continues, at least in small steps.
(https://i.imgur.com/kSSWN41.jpg)
Recent changes:
* Additional wall-mounted monitors for observing infrastructure graph/pipeline status
* An external microphone and speakers makes pairing with my colleagues much more comfortable. Bye bye hot sweaty ears and ear ache. Relying on Pulse Audio's echo cancellation which thankfully, seems to work.
Also added a foot rest (not pictured).
Still to do:
* replace noisy desktop PC used to drive wall-mounted monitors with almost finished energy-efficient silent PC (CPU has been ordered but was supposed to arrive in stock + be dispatched 3 weeks ago)
* boom arm for microphone (the integral shock mount doesn't seem to be quite enough to eliminate vibration when typing in anger)
* some means of absorbing room echo - probably applying some foam tiles to the back wall
* some supplemental lighting
* replace the two work provided monitors (the lower pair) and office chair with my own equipment*
This has probably got to wait until the new year, given that I hadn't budgeted for the new desk and accessories to make it all work and I've got to turn my attention/disposable income back to fixing up the house. I think the total cost has run to ~£1500** including the half decent laptop, additional monitors etc..
Overall, I think the better setup has made me much more effective at work, in-terms of being able to see what is going on with our infrastructure at a glance and it has made working from home each day much less of an endurance.
*If I find myself in a position where I have to change jobs/take on some consultancy/go self-employed, I want to be set-up and ready to go without any further outlay - especially, if as a result of an economic slump I've been without work for any length of time
**At the moment the company are relying on around 2/3 staff using their own devices for WFH. Between savings on fuel to get to work and small amount extra they are paying us in work from home allowance, the outlay should be covered in around 2-3 years, depending on extra energy use. I know the company are looking at a scheme where instead of buying computers and laptops, an additional allowance is paid for people to buy their own computers for work so I should hopefully recoup it sooner. Not that it really matters, given the difference the 'office' set-up has made
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 05 December, 2020, 02:17:26 pm
Perhaps I'm just jealous being as our lot recently reverted to being locked down so you can't install anything yourself again, after a happy period of being able to do it without needing an admin.
Post by: Afasoas on 05 December, 2020, 05:09:27 pm
People being allowed to use their own computers to VPN into company networks always seems rather quaint.
Perhaps I'm just jealous being as our lot recently reverted to being locked down so you can't install anything yourself again, after a happy period of being able to do it without needing an admin.
It maybe quaint, but it carries a lot of risk that has to be managed. And it was literally the only way we could get the entire workforce working remotely overnight. I can understand why computers employees use are locked down, if they are being used via a company VPN. Managed workstations are an absolute pain in the proverbial if they are remote. We have evaluated a good number of tools for remote management - they are either incredibly expensive, way too intrusive, don't actually work or cause too much inconvenience to users or a combination of all four.
Ideally we would get to a place where only a select few employees need VPN access, but that is some way off. In the meantime we're relying on an intrusion prevention system (IPS) to detect and drop nasty traffic trying to make it onto the company network and periodically surveying staff to make sure they are doing the needful (OS updates, firewall, encryption etc.) and not opening the company up to nasties.
Post by: ian on 05 December, 2020, 08:29:02 pm
People being allowed to use their own computers to VPN into company networks always seems rather quaint.
Perhaps I'm just jealous being as our lot recently reverted to being locked down so you can't install anything yourself again, after a happy period of being able to do it without needing an admin.
Aboard the mothership, you have to tick the 'developer' box on the form. In blood. And offer them the head of someone senior, still dripping. I'm not actually a developer, but I am boss of developers*, so ha. Double ha as they gave me a Macbook.
Most of the mothership stuff is now off the VPN, other than the Atlassian crap, which unfortunately is what I have to use all the time.
*not literally, I'm not the person they hate, because it's my ideas they have to make work.
Post by: citoyen on 05 December, 2020, 08:47:45 pm
Oh well, it wasn't anything I couldn't manage without, so I've not bothered trying to get access again.
Post by: pcolbeck on 05 December, 2020, 08:57:28 pm
People being allowed to use their own computers to VPN into company networks always seems rather quaint.
Perhaps I'm just jealous being as our lot recently reverted to being locked down so you can't install anything yourself again, after a happy period of being able to do it without needing an admin.
It also leaved the company open to breaches of the data protection act.
If it someone's home computer what are the guarantees about protecting data at rest, is the disk drive encrypted, who else has access to it etc?
It's a minefield.
Sharepoint / Teams awful as it is is a much better solution and you can control what can be downloaded.
Post by: FifeingEejit on 05 December, 2020, 10:11:48 pm
People being allowed to use their own computers to VPN into company networks always seems rather quaint.
Perhaps I'm just jealous being as our lot recently reverted to being locked down so you can't install anything yourself again, after a happy period of being able to do it without needing an admin.
Aboard the mothership, you have to tick the 'developer' box on the form. In blood. And offer them the head of someone senior, still dripping. I'm not actually a developer, but I am boss of developers*, so ha. Double ha as they gave me a Macbook.
Most of the mothership stuff is now off the VPN, other than the Atlassian crap, which unfortunately is what I have to use all the time.
*not literally, I'm not the person they hate, because it's my ideas they have to make work.
Not sure how to break it to you but...
Post by: Afasoas on 06 December, 2020, 01:01:26 pm
People being allowed to use their own computers to VPN into company networks always seems rather quaint.
Perhaps I'm just jealous being as our lot recently reverted to being locked down so you can't install anything yourself again, after a happy period of being able to do it without needing an admin.
It also leaved the company open to breaches of the data protection act.
If it someone's home computer what are the guarantees about protecting data at rest, is the disk drive encrypted, who else has access to it etc?
It's a minefield.
Sharepoint / Teams awful as it is is a much better solution and you can control what can be downloaded.
Only if the corporate VPN provides access to Personally Identifiable Information.
Post by: matthew on 06 December, 2020, 01:52:26 pm
Post by: Morat on 06 December, 2020, 04:08:04 pm
People being allowed to use their own computers to VPN into company networks always seems rather quaint.
Perhaps I'm just jealous being as our lot recently reverted to being locked down so you can't install anything yourself again, after a happy period of being able to do it without needing an admin.
It also leaved the company open to breaches of the data protection act.
If it someone's home computer what are the guarantees about protecting data at rest, is the disk drive encrypted, who else has access to it etc?
It's a minefield.
Sharepoint / Teams awful as it is is a much better solution and you can control what can be downloaded.
Only if the corporate VPN provides access to Personally Identifiable Information.
It will do. Or more accurately, can you prove (and document) that it doesn't?
Post by: Morat on 06 December, 2020, 04:11:07 pm
Wired mouse replaced with wireless mouse.
Wireless keyboard will be delivered tomorrow according to Royal Mail.
4-pole headphone extension cable should be delivered Thu/Fri too.
Then I need to work out a way to sling the laptop under the desk (it still needs to have lots of cables sticking out of it, power and USB-C to monitor cable one side; headphones, network, HDMI to other monitor, USB to webcam, USB Garmin cable on the other side) and make it not a complete faff to get it back on to the desk if I really needed to.
You should look at a USB-C docking station or a dongle.
I have a Dell Thunderbolt dock, so the laptop lives under the desk with a single USB-C cable. The docking station is on the desk under a monitor
https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/accessories/apd/210-ARJD
Or just look for a Ugreen or similar usb-C dongle on Amazon and leave it permanently attached to monitors.
I have a USB-C monitor too, which is a good thing (TM) - it has a wired ethernet port and normal USB ports
Surely the correct answer to this conundrum is a desktop computer that can stand on the floor. By mounting a laptop under the desk you're ignoring the advantages of a laptop (screen, size, portability) and only using the ones which are compromised (performance, heat, connectivity).
.... but taking full advantage of the "workplace provided" function
OK, well Free wins :)
Post by: Afasoas on 06 December, 2020, 05:35:12 pm
People being allowed to use their own computers to VPN into company networks always seems rather quaint.
Perhaps I'm just jealous being as our lot recently reverted to being locked down so you can't install anything yourself again, after a happy period of being able to do it without needing an admin.
It also leaved the company open to breaches of the data protection act.
If it someone's home computer what are the guarantees about protecting data at rest, is the disk drive encrypted, who else has access to it etc?
It's a minefield.
Sharepoint / Teams awful as it is is a much better solution and you can control what can be downloaded.
Only if the corporate VPN provides access to Personally Identifiable Information.
It will do. Or more accurately, can you prove (and document) that it doesn't?
This is a hypothetical.
But my personal take on this is, it is absolutely doable with appropriate network segmentation, firewall rules and practices to give assurance (for example, appropriate monitoring/alerting and conducting of penetration tests).
Post by: quixoticgeek on 06 December, 2020, 07:11:36 pm
So staff who have a corporate laptop get to use a VPN but they can't install software on the laptop without an IT Admin. Consultant plebs have to use laptops provided by our own companies so we can't use the VPN and have to instead connect to a server that is running a VM on the client network. We therefore can't take anything off teh network or put anything on without going through either an email or ftpp system that puts the files through a scan for nasties.
Which fuckwit came up with that policy?!?
J
Post by: FifeingEejit on 07 December, 2020, 12:05:34 am
They were lodging in one of the financial offices in Edinburgh and remoting onto their development VM in Wellington NZ.
The company flew, so they eventually set up properly and recently bought space in "not Edinburgh"
Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk
Post by: Greenbank on 07 December, 2020, 12:11:05 pm
Not quite a perfect match, but I knew this. Different sized Enter key, left shift key and \ | key. Also no replacement # ~ key at all. Hardly a problem and I'll look to replace those individually.
Before:-
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/keybefore1.jpg)
After:-
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/keyafter1.jpg)
and front on:-
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/keyafter2.jpg)
Post by: Morat on 07 December, 2020, 03:09:14 pm
People being allowed to use their own computers to VPN into company networks always seems rather quaint.
Perhaps I'm just jealous being as our lot recently reverted to being locked down so you can't install anything yourself again, after a happy period of being able to do it without needing an admin.
It also leaved the company open to breaches of the data protection act.
If it someone's home computer what are the guarantees about protecting data at rest, is the disk drive encrypted, who else has access to it etc?
It's a minefield.
Sharepoint / Teams awful as it is is a much better solution and you can control what can be downloaded.
Only if the corporate VPN provides access to Personally Identifiable Information.
It will do. Or more accurately, can you prove (and document) that it doesn't?
This is a hypothetical.
But my personal take on this is, it is absolutely doable with appropriate network segmentation, firewall rules and practices to give assurance (for example, appropriate monitoring/alerting and conducting of penetration tests).
Those are all good security practices but what if the employee has a legitimate need to access docs that contain PD? They'll end up with a copy on their personal machine. The personal computer isn't controlled by the mothership and it's up to the user at that point to protect their machine from all threats. Some people are quite capable of this, but others are not.
Post by: mcshroom on 07 December, 2020, 03:44:20 pm
MS Teams was rolled out hurriedly in March, and we are slowly making it more functional, but security concerns have meant we can only use teams on our personal devices, and quite a few of the functions are limited.
Post by: davelodwig on 07 December, 2020, 04:34:49 pm
People being allowed to use their own computers to VPN into company networks always seems rather quaint.
Perhaps I'm just jealous being as our lot recently reverted to being locked down so you can't install anything yourself again, after a happy period of being able to do it without needing an admin.
It also leaved the company open to breaches of the data protection act.
If it someone's home computer what are the guarantees about protecting data at rest, is the disk drive encrypted, who else has access to it etc?
It's a minefield.
Sharepoint / Teams awful as it is is a much better solution and you can control what can be downloaded.
Only if the corporate VPN provides access to Personally Identifiable Information.
It will do. Or more accurately, can you prove (and document) that it doesn't?
This is a hypothetical.
But my personal take on this is, it is absolutely doable with appropriate network segmentation, firewall rules and practices to give assurance (for example, appropriate monitoring/alerting and conducting of penetration tests).
Those are all good security practices but what if the employee has a legitimate need to access docs that contain PD? They'll end up with a copy on their personal machine. The personal computer isn't controlled by the mothership and it's up to the user at that point to protect their machine from all threats. Some people are quite capable of this, but others are not.
People using personal computers to do work is just a sign to me that the company is too tight to buy employees proper hardware, and if they can't be bothered / afford that, then what else are they not doing or cutting corners on.
Edit--
Just thought if they can't / won't buy you a computer to use, then they probably are not doing any of the things Afasoas suggests that costs more than a laptop and a vpn connection once you start paying your IT department to get things sorted out.
Edit--
My current employers provide me with a pretty decent laptop and expect me to only do work on it and only store data at certain classifications on it, everything else goes into SharePoint, stuff above that rating well it's air gapped network time and you won't be working on that from home. On our client sites, they are expected to provide kit, the data and the end results are theirs so they have to pony up the tools, which usually turn out to be VM's rather than physical machines.
Post by: davelodwig on 07 December, 2020, 04:37:23 pm
Our network is very much restricted to company laptops. Those laptops are locked down rather strictly, to the extent I can't even use my wireless keyboard with mine as the company are worried about interception of keypresses.
MS Teams was rolled out hurriedly in March, and we are slowly making it more functional, but security concerns have meant we can only use teams on our personal devices, and quite a few of the functions are limited.
Mines had it's camera and microphone ripped out, does make teams calls interesting.
Post by: Afasoas on 07 December, 2020, 11:00:47 pm
Those are all good security practices but what if the employee has a legitimate need to access docs that contain PD? They'll end up with a copy on their personal machine. The personal computer isn't controlled by the mothership and it's up to the user at that point to protect their machine from all threats. Some people are quite capable of this, but others are not.
We have had a policy of 'you don't put company data onto computers' for years. As the business relies on G-Suite and other browser-based SaaS applications, there is never actually a need to do download any documents. Sadly there is not (yet) an option to prevent download of G-Suite documents ... but regular rebuilds of machines (automated, every two weeks, + 5% random chance on any given morning) effectively enforces this practice. Increasingly, we are moving people in HR and other roles onto Chromebooks which have user data encrypted by default. That doesn't stop someone downloading and emailing themselves sensitive data, but we've always taken a pragmatic view that we don't want to stop people from being able to do their job ... because then you get end users who work against you rather than work with you.
Post by: L CC on 08 December, 2020, 09:04:16 am
And...Tissues on the windowsill. Mmhmmm.
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk8.jpg)
New keyboard is lovely, plus it has media keys on the F-keys so that solves that problem too.
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 08 December, 2020, 06:42:47 pm
That's why the bear is looking out the window...And...Tissues on the windowsill. Mmhmmm.
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk8.jpg)
New keyboard is lovely, plus it has media keys on the F-keys so that solves that problem too.
Post by: Polar Bear on 08 December, 2020, 07:03:44 pm
Post by: FifeingEejit on 08 December, 2020, 07:19:14 pm
Those are all good security practices but what if the employee has a legitimate need to access docs that contain PD? They'll end up with a copy on their personal machine. The personal computer isn't controlled by the mothership and it's up to the user at that point to protect their machine from all threats. Some people are quite capable of this, but others are not.
We have had a policy of 'you don't put company data onto computers' for years. As the business relies on G-Suite and other browser-based SaaS applications, there is never actually a need to do download any documents. Sadly there is not (yet) an option to prevent download of G-Suite documents ... but regular rebuilds of machines (automated, every two weeks, + 5% random chance on any given morning) effectively enforces this practice. Increasingly, we are moving people in HR and other roles onto Chromebooks which have user data encrypted by default. That doesn't stop someone downloading and emailing themselves sensitive data, but we've always taken a pragmatic view that we don't want to stop people from being able to do their job ... because then you get end users who work against you rather than work with you.
That's fine if you're working with a set of tools that are fairly limited in scope.
Me? I'd potentially be opening excel files with highly sensitive data, to some extent office 365 could help there.
The first VPN based solution we had was it took over the network on your PC and then could RPC into you're desktop
That's been replaced with Citrix desktops only, which is no use whne you've got a load of "specialist" tools you need to use (IDEs and the like)
So now we've all got laptops... but we're not allowed to work at home as standard due to board level politics. :facepalm: (even the Health Sec and FM apparently backed out of the argument)
Post by: davelodwig on 08 December, 2020, 07:53:58 pm
Those are all good security practices but what if the employee has a legitimate need to access docs that contain PD? They'll end up with a copy on their personal machine. The personal computer isn't controlled by the mothership and it's up to the user at that point to protect their machine from all threats. Some people are quite capable of this, but others are not.
We have had a policy of 'you don't put company data onto computers' for years. As the business relies on G-Suite and other browser-based SaaS applications, there is never actually a need to do download any documents. Sadly there is not (yet) an option to prevent download of G-Suite documents ... but regular rebuilds of machines (automated, every two weeks, + 5% random chance on any given morning) effectively enforces this practice. Increasingly, we are moving people in HR and other roles onto Chromebooks which have user data encrypted by default. That doesn't stop someone downloading and emailing themselves sensitive data, but we've always taken a pragmatic view that we don't want to stop people from being able to do their job ... because then you get end users who work against you rather than work with you.
If my work laptop got rebuilt every 2 weeks, you'd get it thrown and you and I would go and work somewhere else.
That's verging on the ridiculous and I worked in a school where semi regular rebuilds where the norm.
Post by: davelodwig on 08 December, 2020, 07:58:40 pm
So staff who have a corporate laptop get to use a VPN but they can't install software on the laptop without an IT Admin. Consultant plebs have to use laptops provided by our own companies so we can't use the VPN and have to instead connect to a server that is running a VM on the client network. We therefore can't take anything off teh network or put anything on without going through either an email or ftpp system that puts the files through a scan for nasties.
Which fuckwit came up with that policy?!?
J
Pretty standard in the IT consulting world, customer wants to own the end product but doesn't supply hardware, solution is using laptops to connect to a developer VM on the network through the VPN. If your lucky it's over a proper remote desktop / vnc client, if your not it's in a web browser.
Air gapping the environment from the internet is also pretty standard in a lot of the industries I've worked, banking is super keen on it.
Post by: Chris S on 08 December, 2020, 08:49:56 pm
And...Tissues on the windowsill. Mmhmmm.
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk8.jpg)
New keyboard is lovely, plus it has media keys on the F-keys so that solves that problem too.
No handcream though. You're off the hook, Greenbank.
Post by: barakta on 08 December, 2020, 10:09:50 pm
I'm now doing newjob 2 from home and need to have another look at screens to get 2 side by side rather than laptop + proper screen cos the up/down is doing my neck in. I need zillion screens for video call + captions + browser + email -- cos boss keeps needing me to do stuff while he "talks" (rattles high speed instructions) me through the new systems.
Post by: Greenbank on 08 December, 2020, 10:28:32 pm
No handcream though. You're off the hook, Greenbank.
I'll remember for the next photo. Forgot for this one (it's my thread so I'll post as many pictures of my setup as I want).
Update with new keycaps and also going overboard with the Christmas decorations:-
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk9.jpg)
Post by: Afasoas on 08 December, 2020, 10:58:33 pm
Those are all good security practices but what if the employee has a legitimate need to access docs that contain PD? They'll end up with a copy on their personal machine. The personal computer isn't controlled by the mothership and it's up to the user at that point to protect their machine from all threats. Some people are quite capable of this, but others are not.
We have had a policy of 'you don't put company data onto computers' for years. As the business relies on G-Suite and other browser-based SaaS applications, there is never actually a need to do download any documents. Sadly there is not (yet) an option to prevent download of G-Suite documents ... but regular rebuilds of machines (automated, every two weeks, + 5% random chance on any given morning) effectively enforces this practice. Increasingly, we are moving people in HR and other roles onto Chromebooks which have user data encrypted by default. That doesn't stop someone downloading and emailing themselves sensitive data, but we've always taken a pragmatic view that we don't want to stop people from being able to do their job ... because then you get end users who work against you rather than work with you.
If my work laptop got rebuilt every 2 weeks, you'd get it thrown and you and I would go and work somewhere else.
That's verging on the ridiculous and I worked in a school where semi regular rebuilds where the norm.
Why?
The only absolute downside is you lose anything saved locally to the machine that shouldn't be saved to the machine anyway. Signing into the browser restores bookmarks and preferences. Settings files for other applications are restored to the machine as part of the rebuild. Users are empowered to change the desired state of the machines and if they don't know how to, they can ask anyone on my team to sort it for them. And if there's a problem with your machine (or you've left your laptop at home and you need a loaner for the day, you get an identical replacement straight away which you know will work because it is setup and ready to go 10 seconds after you log into it.
Because users have that dialog with us, and they know they can get changes made, we are accutely aware of their needs and they get kit configured to suit their needs without having to change settings in the applications they use.
In fact, I do the same thing at home. If a machine dies, or I need to rebuild it because I've installed a piece of software that doesn't cleanly uninstall or trashed it in someway, I reboot, hit F12 and choose an operating to reinstall and just grab another machine in the meantime.
Post by: Afasoas on 08 December, 2020, 11:01:14 pm
I would struggle with web-only apps as the accessibility of them is AWFUL, the new Micro$hite desktop apps are bad enough (visually overloading) and the web stuff doesn't keyboard navigate properly.
I'm now doing newjob 2 from home and need to have another look at screens to get 2 side by side rather than laptop + proper screen cos the up/down is doing my neck in. I need zillion screens for video call + captions + browser + email -- cos boss keeps needing me to do stuff while he "talks" (rattles high speed instructions) me through the new systems.
We've got some users with accute needs. They are involved up fronts in pilots/evaluations/trials and we cater to the requests they make. If a web application has an accessibility issue for a given user, then forcing them to use it would be illegal.
Post by: Jaded on 08 December, 2020, 11:26:49 pm
Those are all good security practices but what if the employee has a legitimate need to access docs that contain PD? They'll end up with a copy on their personal machine. The personal computer isn't controlled by the mothership and it's up to the user at that point to protect their machine from all threats. Some people are quite capable of this, but others are not.
We have had a policy of 'you don't put company data onto computers' for years. As the business relies on G-Suite and other browser-based SaaS applications, there is never actually a need to do download any documents. Sadly there is not (yet) an option to prevent download of G-Suite documents ... but regular rebuilds of machines (automated, every two weeks, + 5% random chance on any given morning) effectively enforces this practice. Increasingly, we are moving people in HR and other roles onto Chromebooks which have user data encrypted by default. That doesn't stop someone downloading and emailing themselves sensitive data, but we've always taken a pragmatic view that we don't want to stop people from being able to do their job ... because then you get end users who work against you rather than work with you.
If my work laptop got rebuilt every 2 weeks, you'd get it thrown and you and I would go and work somewhere else.
That's verging on the ridiculous and I worked in a school where semi regular rebuilds where the norm.
Why?
The only absolute downside is you lose anything saved locally to the machine that shouldn't be saved to the machine anyway. Signing into the browser restores bookmarks and preferences. Settings files for other applications are restored to the machine as part of the rebuild. Users are empowered to change the desired state of the machines and if they don't know how to, they can ask anyone on my team to sort it for them. And if there's a problem with your machine (or you've left your laptop at home and you need a loaner for the day, you get an identical replacement straight away which you know will work because it is setup and ready to go 10 seconds after you log into it.
Because users have that dialog with us, and they know they can get changes made, we are accutely aware of their needs and they get kit configured to suit their needs without having to change settings in the applications they use.
In fact, I do the same thing at home. If a machine dies, or I need to rebuild it because I've installed a piece of software that doesn't cleanly uninstall or trashed it in someway, I reboot, hit F12 and choose an operating to reinstall and just grab another machine in the meantime.
You forgot pieces of paper, chats over coffee and telephone calls.
These are normal things that normal people do.
Post by: barakta on 08 December, 2020, 11:30:18 pm
Today's scowl bought to you by HR and their shitty mandatory training which is full of uncaptioned Flash videos which neither I or my blind manager can access. I don't think they liked my polite but WTF email about that.
Next week's scowl is shitty software which is not keyboard navigable which I thought used to be keyboard navigable... So I need to do some digging and inquiring, once I know how to use it at all.
Post by: Afasoas on 08 December, 2020, 11:51:55 pm
We shun the traditional approach to managing users computers and laptops because it doesn't work. Technology should help people do their job, not get in the way of it. End users should be empowered to customise their working environment (directly or indirectly) to meet their needs. Of course that has to be balanced against satisfying security audits and compliance with DPA, GDPR etc..
What we have on-prem works very well, rebuilds and all. It is a technology company and even the folks working in HR and finance can find their way around customising "the build" to make changes. For the few that can't, we are on hand to help. Every aspect of the build is in source control, which the whole company has access to. Changes are committed, approved (providing they aren't installing malware or breaching licensing requirements) and effective immediately for the next build. They can grab another machine, reboot and rebuild it, test their changes work.
In other companies I suspect a feature request is made by one mechanism or another, ticketing system or up and back down through several layers of management. We don't even have a ticketing system because of the latency it introduces, and if we can't as a team react immediately to a request, we are doing it wrong.
We don't do massive disruptive roll-outs. Users are not left waiting ages for machines to update. Or as happened to my partner recently, presentations dont get disrupted by BIOS updates rolled out by an IT department in the middle of the working day. The machines are fast and responsive. Software is always up to date. Having machines in a known-state makes problems easy and quick to diagnose. Most users know how to make their machine rebuild when they do have a problem with it or want to get it back into the state it was in before thr screwed up a lod of settings. And rebuilding a machine is often quicker than working out a registry hive has been corrupted. Problems that crop up are dealt with quickly, even it is a case of swapping out a machine and fixing it on the bench. And as the desktop side of things is well managed, most of our time is free to concentrate on the infrastructure our platform runs on.
Sadly, all this falls apart with remote working which is why we are looking at employees buying their own hardware with an allowance and solving the compliance aspects via other means.
People who have left the company who I am still in-touch with actually miss the approach we take.
Post by: Kim on 09 December, 2020, 12:00:49 am
Every aspect of the build is in source control, which the whole company has access to. Changes are committed, approved (providing they aren't installing malware or breaching licensing requirements) and effective immediately for the next build. They can grab another machine, reboot and rebuild it, test their changes work.
At risk of coming across a bit Timmy Mallett, that's utterly brilliant.
Post by: Afasoas on 09 December, 2020, 12:04:21 am
Lots of things are illegal, sadly enforcing the law in workplaces is hard.
Today's scowl bought to you by HR and their shitty mandatory training which is full of uncaptioned Flash videos which neither I or my blind manager can access. I don't think they liked my polite but WTF email about that.
Next week's scowl is shitty software which is not keyboard navigable which I thought used to be keyboard navigable... So I need to do some digging and inquiring, once I know how to use it at all.
Been recording the security training we deliver to new starters. Captioning the video and providing a full transcript with it.
Is there anything else I can/should do?
Post by: Afasoas on 09 December, 2020, 12:15:20 am
You forgot pieces of paper, chats over coffee and telephone calls.
These are normal things that normal people do.
And pour coffee into their machines. It's no biggy, they grab another one and carry on where they left off.
Probably getting another coffee. You should see the range of coffee available.
Post by: Greenbank on 09 December, 2020, 07:58:40 am
Next time...
Post by: Jaded on 09 December, 2020, 08:42:45 am
Post by: L CC on 09 December, 2020, 08:58:12 am
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201209/edfb2bc89352b6ca13788d7cd4c54a55.jpg)
Post by: citoyen on 09 December, 2020, 09:37:03 am
In other companies I suspect a feature request is made by one mechanism or another, ticketing system or up and back down through several layers of management. We don't even have a ticketing system because of the latency it introduces, and if we can't as a team react immediately to a request, we are doing it wrong.
Our IT department is two people. Even for a company with only around ~80 employees, that's not quite enough to provide that level of service!
Quote
The machines are fast and responsive. Software is always up to date.
Sounds like you've got a good thing going on there. I dread going into the office now because my office desktop is soooooo slooooooooow. I spend at least the first hour of my working day waiting for it to start up and sync with dropbox (since I go into the office one day a month at most these days, there's a lot of syncing to do).
The office computer is an iMac of about the same vintage as my home computer, but as detailed elsewhere, I solved my home computer's slowness by upgrading the HD to an SSD. Which is fine because I can attach an external SSD to my home computer without any risk of anyone leaving the premises with it in their pocket.
Post by: ian on 09 December, 2020, 09:50:09 am
As they say, hilarity ensued.
It basically means that if you submit a ticket (always a ticket) and then we get an update for every single action. As it seems to be passed around the entire population of India, that's a lot of updates. But erm, thanks for keeping me in the loop.
Generally, it's customer service in the Soviet model.
Post by: Polar Bear on 09 December, 2020, 10:30:22 am
In other companies I suspect a feature request is made by one mechanism or another, ticketing system or up and back down through several layers of management. We don't even have a ticketing system because of the latency it introduces, and if we can't as a team react immediately to a request, we are doing it wrong.
Our IT department is two people. Even for a company with only around ~80 employees, that's not quite enough to provide that level of service!
It is all too common that businesses that rely significantly upon IT completely fail to understand the value of that IT working properly and reliably. When I moved from the finance to the retail sector in 2002 I genuinely thought that my colleagues were pulling my leg about lack of fail over, till systems being updated using stacks of 3.5 inch floppy disks to update each individual machine and no control over who or what could update live production software and data libraries.
Seems to me that very little has changed for the better in the last 18 years.
Post by: Afasoas on 09 December, 2020, 11:19:26 am
In other companies I suspect a feature request is made by one mechanism or another, ticketing system or up and back down through several layers of management. We don't even have a ticketing system because of the latency it introduces, and if we can't as a team react immediately to a request, we are doing it wrong.
Our IT department is two people. Even for a company with only around ~80 employees, that's not quite enough to provide that level of service!
It is all too common that businesses that rely significantly upon IT completely fail to understand the value of that IT working properly and reliably. When I moved from the finance to the retail sector in 2002 I genuinely thought that my colleagues were pulling my leg about lack of fail over, till systems being updated using stacks of 3.5 inch floppy disks to update each individual machine and no control over who or what could update live production software and data libraries.
Seems to me that very little has changed for the better in the last 18 years.
It's not a numbers game. It's an automation game. There are four of us, but two are very junior. The trick is investing time automating away the problems that eat into your time. The goal is manage things in such a way, that as the company grows, the workload remains does not grow with it. By not having to be involved in every single change, we're freed up to be involved when we are needed. It's odd, because there are times when I don't feel very productive.
Post by: Kim on 09 December, 2020, 11:51:30 am
New chair. It's a little bit less comfy than it's predecessor - I feel like my legs are too splayed.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201209/edfb2bc89352b6ca13788d7cd4c54a55.jpg)
Was that designed by the smear test nurse? :o
Post by: barakta on 09 December, 2020, 12:20:58 pm
Lots of things are illegal, sadly enforcing the law in workplaces is hard.
Today's scowl bought to you by HR and their shitty mandatory training which is full of uncaptioned Flash videos which neither I or my blind manager can access. I don't think they liked my polite but WTF email about that.
Next week's scowl is shitty software which is not keyboard navigable which I thought used to be keyboard navigable... So I need to do some digging and inquiring, once I know how to use it at all.
Been recording the security training we deliver to new starters. Captioning the video and providing a full transcript with it.
Is there anything else I can/should do?
Try and avoid black text on white, but keep text black and take the BGCOLOR down slightly, pale anything even grey is easier. Make sure the text is TEXT and not images of text or wanky pointless frames or tables of text if it's just text. Avoid wanky colour combinations. I am trying to read black fuzzy text on BRIGHT PINK background or it suddenly switches to BURGUNDY background and white text. All of which sends my vision squiffy... If the user can set fonts, colours, sizes that's best, but aim for a baseline decent readability.
Avoid stupid UI fails - so our current training - where it isn't videos is lots of text on a long page, which then suddenly puts content to the right hand side not down in stupid "click on the image to find out more" and more text inside a shitty little frame thing or worse fuzzy images of text. Think in your head "how will a deaf person access this" "how will a screenreader user access this" "how will someone zoomed into 400% access this" and that's a good start. My boss can't do the wanky little exercises "drag and drop blah to blah" or "identify all the hazards in the X". I failed one of them cos it wasn't clear what was an active element to click on and I clearly didn't click on what they wanted. If you want 'something visual' consider a link to a 'plain version of the test' people can do instead if they want.
And a general content plea, especially for neuro-atypical people (and those of us who hate being told we're wrong when the question was ambiguous), don't have questions where it could be right or could be wrong depending on context which is outside of the training. My colleague failed a unit test cos she elected 4 of 5 options on a thing and didn't really count '5' as a factor cos it hadn't been covered - turned out 5 was a factor. I have learned those "which of these are signs of X" are either blatantly wrong, or it's "select all 5 checkyboxes".
Our system seems to be some Oracle based monstrocity which apparently they can't change and we're waiting for 3 months for Oracle to get their finger out. Which is a shitshow in itself. You need to be able to amend training quickly e.g. if someone spots something problematic (a friend found very blatant ableist research supporting a premise in training last week) or an error.
This is a bit pedantic about line spacing (although that is a huge readability factor) https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/advice/employers/creating-a-dyslexia-friendly-workplace/dyslexia-friendly-style-guide but has some good points also.
Good luck!
ETA: Kim has reminded me, if you have videos avoid pointless background music because it makes it harder to hear and concentrate on the subject. I find many modern videos try to be hip and the music is WAAAY too loud, either have it quiet or off. It's training, not a blockbuster movie for entertainment.
Post by: Afasoas on 09 December, 2020, 12:36:33 pm
Lots of things are illegal, sadly enforcing the law in workplaces is hard.
Today's scowl bought to you by HR and their shitty mandatory training which is full of uncaptioned Flash videos which neither I or my blind manager can access. I don't think they liked my polite but WTF email about that.
Next week's scowl is shitty software which is not keyboard navigable which I thought used to be keyboard navigable... So I need to do some digging and inquiring, once I know how to use it at all.
Been recording the security training we deliver to new starters. Captioning the video and providing a full transcript with it.
Is there anything else I can/should do?
Try and avoid black text on white, but keep text black and take the BGCOLOR down slightly, pale anything even grey is easier. Make sure the text is TEXT and not images of text or wanky pointless frames or tables of text if it's just text. Avoid wanky colour combinations. I am trying to read black fuzzy text on BRIGHT PINK background or it suddenly switches to BURGUNDY background and white text. All of which sends my vision squiffy... If the user can set fonts, colours, sizes that's best, but aim for a baseline decent readability.
Avoid stupid UI fails - so our current training - where it isn't videos is lots of text on a long page, which then suddenly puts content to the right hand side not down in stupid "click on the image to find out more" and more text inside a shitty little frame thing or worse fuzzy images of text. Think in your head "how will a deaf person access this" "how will a screenreader user access this" "how will someone zoomed into 400% access this" and that's a good start. My boss can't do the wanky little exercises "drag and drop blah to blah" or "identify all the hazards in the X". I failed one of them cos it wasn't clear what was an active element to click on and I clearly didn't click on what they wanted. If you want 'something visual' consider a link to a 'plain version of the test' people can do instead if they want.
And a general content plea, especially for neuro-atypical people (and those of us who hate being told we're wrong when the question was ambiguous), don't have questions where it could be right or could be wrong depending on context which is outside of the training. My colleague failed a unit test cos she elected 4 of 5 options on a thing and didn't really count '5' as a factor cos it hadn't been covered - turned out 5 was a factor. I have learned those "which of these are signs of X" are either blatantly wrong, or it's "select all 5 checkyboxes".
Our system seems to be some Oracle based monstrocity which apparently they can't change and we're waiting for 3 months for Oracle to get their finger out. Which is a shitshow in itself. You need to be able to amend training quickly e.g. if someone spots something problematic (a friend found very blatant ableist research supporting a premise in training last week) or an error.
This is a bit pedantic about line spacing (although that is a huge readability factor) https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/advice/employers/creating-a-dyslexia-friendly-workplace/dyslexia-friendly-style-guide but has some good points also.
Good luck!
Thank you for that; really incredibly useful.
I've got the link bookmarked and I'll have a read during my lunch hour. I've used the company tempate for slides, which is black text on white background - I'll look into getting the background changed to not be #000000.
There aren't any questions or evaluation sections with the training, it's mainly to show we take security seriously and encourage people to start a conversation if they see anything that looks like a breach or has the potential to be breached.
Post by: matthew on 09 December, 2020, 01:41:39 pm
So staff who have a corporate laptop get to use a VPN but they can't install software on the laptop without an IT Admin. Consultant plebs have to use laptops provided by our own companies so we can't use the VPN and have to instead connect to a server that is running a VM on the client network. We therefore can't take anything off teh network or put anything on without going through either an email or ftpp system that puts the files through a scan for nasties.
Which fuckwit came up with that policy?!?
J
The ones who have responsibility for GDPR and a database of customer information from billing them for a utility supply. Also they have at least implimented both a vnc for windows boxes and a browser version for the unusual oiks using a flavour of *nix be that MacOS or linux.
Post by: quixoticgeek on 09 December, 2020, 07:04:25 pm
The ones who have responsibility for GDPR and a database of customer information from billing them for a utility supply. Also they have at least implimented both a vnc for windows boxes and a browser version for the unusual oiks using a flavour of *nix be that MacOS or linux.
Work information should only be accessed by work owned and managed devices. No ifs, no Buts.
J
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 09 December, 2020, 07:22:26 pm
Fboab, yes your new chair does look rather wide!
Post by: Pickled Onion on 09 December, 2020, 07:24:45 pm
Work information should only be accessed by work owned and managed devices. No ifs, no Buts.
J
We RDP into our desk machine when working remotely (whether that's from home, from another office, or from a meeting room in the same building).
It's great, just the same as being at your desk - as soon as you log in your phone is diverted (to the one on the desk or your mobile) and your calendar shows where you are and the local time zone.
It's also very secure - nothing can be copied to the local machine, whether by copy/paste, email, or anything bar photographing + OCR.
Post by: davelodwig on 09 December, 2020, 07:36:04 pm
Those are all good security practices but what if the employee has a legitimate need to access docs that contain PD? They'll end up with a copy on their personal machine. The personal computer isn't controlled by the mothership and it's up to the user at that point to protect their machine from all threats. Some people are quite capable of this, but others are not.
We have had a policy of 'you don't put company data onto computers' for years. As the business relies on G-Suite and other browser-based SaaS applications, there is never actually a need to do download any documents. Sadly there is not (yet) an option to prevent download of G-Suite documents ... but regular rebuilds of machines (automated, every two weeks, + 5% random chance on any given morning) effectively enforces this practice. Increasingly, we are moving people in HR and other roles onto Chromebooks which have user data encrypted by default. That doesn't stop someone downloading and emailing themselves sensitive data, but we've always taken a pragmatic view that we don't want to stop people from being able to do their job ... because then you get end users who work against you rather than work with you.
If my work laptop got rebuilt every 2 weeks, you'd get it thrown and you and I would go and work somewhere else.
That's verging on the ridiculous and I worked in a school where semi regular rebuilds where the norm.
Why?
The only absolute downside is you lose anything saved locally to the machine that shouldn't be saved to the machine anyway. Signing into the browser restores bookmarks and preferences. Settings files for other applications are restored to the machine as part of the rebuild. Users are empowered to change the desired state of the machines and if they don't know how to, they can ask anyone on my team to sort it for them. And if there's a problem with your machine (or you've left your laptop at home and you need a loaner for the day, you get an identical replacement straight away which you know will work because it is setup and ready to go 10 seconds after you log into it.
Because users have that dialog with us, and they know they can get changes made, we are accutely aware of their needs and they get kit configured to suit their needs without having to change settings in the applications they use.
In fact, I do the same thing at home. If a machine dies, or I need to rebuild it because I've installed a piece of software that doesn't cleanly uninstall or trashed it in someway, I reboot, hit F12 and choose an operating to reinstall and just grab another machine in the meantime.
Because I do things with computers that need more than a browser, and because I'd have a stream of machines that wanted to rebuild 10 minutes before a presentation or a sprint demo, I like things to be predictable, not rebuild Russian roulette.
I can't remember the last time I rebuilt a machine to be honest, I certainly get given a new one before it comes to that usually.
Post by: Afasoas on 09 December, 2020, 09:10:18 pm
Because I do things with computers that need more than a browser, and because I'd have a stream of machines that wanted to rebuild 10 minutes before a presentation or a sprint demo, I like things to be predictable, not rebuild Russian roulette.
I can't remember the last time I rebuilt a machine to be honest, I certainly get given a new one before it comes to that usually.
Yes, except it's not rebuild russian roullette is it? It's a controlled process that the whole company takes a shared responsibility in.
I wrote a long reply, which is in the spoiler tags below. But the long and short of it is: when I started, we actually had staff leaving because of the way computers were (or rather weren't) managed. Staff were stuck with an old golden image and old software. The technology they were using dictated their working practices and they had little to no choice. Our attrition rate was just shy of 20%. It's now south of 2%!
(click to show/hide)
Post by: Oscar's dad on 10 December, 2020, 12:34:25 pm
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50701510098_aba76f390f_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kfjuxd)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50702250081_9132f66e3f_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kfohvx)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50702333267_910103034a_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kfoHeM)
Post by: Jurek on 10 December, 2020, 12:57:05 pm
Post by: L CC on 10 December, 2020, 01:01:28 pm
[This post may contain traces of inadequate heating at my desk.]
Post by: Jurek on 10 December, 2020, 01:17:42 pm
Post by: marcusjb on 10 December, 2020, 05:55:37 pm
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50702250081_9132f66e3f_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kfohvx)
All looking great - handy to have a fridge within reaching distance of the desk!
Post by: Oscar's dad on 10 December, 2020, 05:58:53 pm
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50702250081_9132f66e3f_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kfohvx)
All looking great - handy to have a fridge within reaching distance of the desk!
Thank you! I can raid the fridge and dry clothes without moving very far!
I think heat (and cooling) are provided by teh magic white box on the wall above Steve's impressive collection of battery chargers.
Indeed! Works like a treat!
Post by: Jurek on 10 December, 2020, 06:34:08 pm
Always a lifesaver.
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 10 December, 2020, 06:58:08 pm
It looks cold.He'll be able to snuggle under all the warm clothes and towels when they come out of the dryer.
[This post may contain traces of inadequate heating at my desk.]
Post by: Oscar's dad on 10 December, 2020, 07:11:35 pm
It looks cold.He'll be able to snuggle under all the warm clothes and towels when they come out of the dryer.
[This post may contain traces of inadequate heating at my desk.]
There’s every chance that once the project is completed I might never leave!
Post by: FifeingEejit on 10 December, 2020, 10:12:41 pm
Because I do things with computers that need more than a browser, and because I'd have a stream of machines that wanted to rebuild 10 minutes before a presentation or a sprint demo, I like things to be predictable, not rebuild Russian roulette.
I can't remember the last time I rebuilt a machine to be honest, I certainly get given a new one before it comes to that usually.
Similar thing, I tend to have a pile of stuff sitting open that is a fairly major disruption* if it isn't just there when I open the laptop in the morning.
Takes a good hour or so to get going again when I lose that mid-week for any reason.
It's bad enough that I have to remember where all our development support tools (like GitLab and JIRA although the latter...) live because the browser histories and bookmarks (yes even Opera) get wiped on every restart. (yes I do use Operas tile home page to get round that one)
Really the only thing that is a pain when we get a Windows 10 update on a Friday, it's 5 to 5 and the cleaner is standing at the door, so that's another hour or so lost on a monday as inevitably the laptop gets put to sleep at 5% of Update done and picks up from there.
We aren't even all that behind on windows updates anymore though, and there's no need for Endpoint to manage our IDEs at all, we do it, I get regular updates of VS, IntelliJ, SSMS, SQL Developer either as and when I want them too or on the suppliers schedule.
Containerisation of the applications we write has also meant I no longer need to run a mix of IIS, Apache and ColdFusion on the laptop either, it's pretty much the base Windows10 image used board wide with admin rights so I can do put the necessary tools on and they're pretty stable.
Although we don't write or use any thick client applications that could right royally mess up a desktop pc.
The fact that I have to maintain a Windows XP VM with VS 2008 on it is entirely down to managed neglect of a critical system and nothing to do with environment builds.
* Yes I take handwritten notes of what I've been doing, one of the few that still do. But I can't read my handwriting so...
I'm really struggling to see where I'd gain from turning up to a fresh Win10 build every fortnight, but I can see it'd result in a new window pain and probably a disciplinary hearing being needed.
Post by: Jaded on 10 December, 2020, 10:59:31 pm
It looks cold.He'll be able to snuggle under all the warm clothes and towels when they come out of the dryer.
[This post may contain traces of inadequate heating at my desk.]
There’s every chance that once the project is completed I might never leave!
A sort of Essex Hotel California.
Unless you don't live in Essex, of course.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 11 December, 2020, 07:35:15 am
It looks cold.He'll be able to snuggle under all the warm clothes and towels when they come out of the dryer.
[This post may contain traces of inadequate heating at my desk.]
There’s every chance that once the project is completed I might never leave!
A sort of Essex Hotel California.
Unless you don't live in Essex, of course.
Mid-Essex if you don't mind - there's a difference! ;D
Post by: Greenbank on 12 December, 2020, 01:51:36 pm
Hopefully it'll work out, and then I can sell the current pair of 23" Dell monitors and monitor arm.
That should be the last bit of my WFH rejig. (Although I do need a new personal laptop that can drive a 4K monitor at 60Hz via DP, HDMI or USB-C.)
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 12 December, 2020, 05:44:28 pm
The difference between Audax Club Mid-Essex and North Essex is as clear as the spot on your nose!It looks cold.He'll be able to snuggle under all the warm clothes and towels when they come out of the dryer.
[This post may contain traces of inadequate heating at my desk.]
There’s every chance that once the project is completed I might never leave!
A sort of Essex Hotel California.
Unless you don't live in Essex, of course.
Mid-Essex if you don't mind - there's a difference! ;D
Post by: Oscar's dad on 12 December, 2020, 05:46:11 pm
Post by: Morat on 13 December, 2020, 08:45:43 pm
You also need enough management clout to get the budget and enforce the rules, which is seems you have :)In other companies I suspect a feature request is made by one mechanism or another, ticketing system or up and back down through several layers of management. We don't even have a ticketing system because of the latency it introduces, and if we can't as a team react immediately to a request, we are doing it wrong.
Our IT department is two people. Even for a company with only around ~80 employees, that's not quite enough to provide that level of service!
It is all too common that businesses that rely significantly upon IT completely fail to understand the value of that IT working properly and reliably. When I moved from the finance to the retail sector in 2002 I genuinely thought that my colleagues were pulling my leg about lack of fail over, till systems being updated using stacks of 3.5 inch floppy disks to update each individual machine and no control over who or what could update live production software and data libraries.
Seems to me that very little has changed for the better in the last 18 years.
It's not a numbers game. It's an automation game. There are four of us, but two are very junior. The trick is investing time automating away the problems that eat into your time. The goal is manage things in such a way, that as the company grows, the workload remains does not grow with it. By not having to be involved in every single change, we're freed up to be involved when we are needed. It's odd, because there are times when I don't feel very productive.
Out of curiousity: What happens if a senior manager decides they need iTunes or decides they need to access personal email through Outlook? Is that OK or does it get imaged away every couple of weeks?
Also, have you considered any virtual desktop solutions like VMWare Horizon?
EDIT: I just realised, if you're using GSuite, does that mean you've weaned your accountants off Excel? Because that would take your set up from Impressive to Godlike!
Post by: Greenbank on 13 December, 2020, 10:29:14 pm
EDIT: I just realised, if you're using GSuite, does that mean you've weaned your accountants off Excel? Because that would take your set up from Impressive to Godlike!
There's no reason that Excel can't be installed as part of the base image. The important thing is getting the data off the local machine. I would guess GSuite is there for email/meetings/etc plus possibly storage of documents (if that's not being done by something else).
Bean counters tend to always want access to Excel as they can't fathom moving to something else. Change = Cost = Risk
Post by: Kim on 13 December, 2020, 11:11:32 pm
Bean counters tend to always want access to Excel as they can't fathom moving to something else. Change = Cost = Risk
It's just pragmatism. If you have to deal with other people's Excel documents (as bean counters are likely to), then Excel is - by a fairly enormous margin - the best tool for the job.
Post by: Afasoas on 13 December, 2020, 11:13:47 pm
You also need enough management clout to get the budget and enforce the rules, which is seems you have :)
There was a bit of capex on PCs to get parity across the business. But the returns have been reaped with improved productivity.
In respect to clout, there's practically no "enforcement" as such. The company is built around 'self-organising teams'; which basically means things get done by consensus. If people couldn't feel the benefit, there would be no consensus and it wouldn't happen.
Out of curiousity: What happens if a senior manager decides they need iTunes or decides they need to access personal email through Outlook? Is that OK or does it get imaged away every couple of weeks?
For streaming, I think people use web apps and their mobiles. Whatever changes are made do get imaged away. I don't think we've had anyone upset over it. Dev's seem to really appreciate they, having local admin on their machines, can install whatever they want and get their machine back into a known state. They'd happily install steam on their machines and spend two hour lunch gaming, then re-image their machine. So long as they aren't breaching licensing conditions for the software they use and it's not getting in the way of work, it's not a problem. For the 'checking personal email in outlook scenario', the "Public WiFi" is pretty good so people tend to bring their own devices in for personal stuff, as and when they need to. I've always taken a Linux laptop into work because sometimes it is useful to have a portable machine running Linux. Also means I can VPN into home if necessary during the day if I need to pull a copy of some configuration I've got in a git repository or lab I'm working on.
Also, have you considered any virtual desktop solutions like VMWare Horizon?
We have. The benefit of the traditional distributed approach is that a hardware failure is one workstation out of action. The problem with the big iron approach is building it to both scale and be highly available. Sometimes it is better to have 100-odd potential problems rather than 3 or 4 major problems. It might become more relevant with WFH if we cant find ways to end the practice of people VPNing into the office or as the company continues to grow.
EDIT: I just realised, if you're using GSuite, does that mean you've weaned your accountants off Excel? Because that would take your set up from Impressive to Godlike!
Not quite. The sales team and account managers are weaned off it. Finance team are quite wedded to it, but I have noticed them using G-Suite more comfortably, for instance they now seem happy if, instead of submitting expense claims as an email attachment, I share them as a GDrive folder. IIRC when we licensed the last office upgrade, we were able to drop the number of licenses by about 70% so it is going in the right direction. The LibreOffice Suite is installed on every machine for the rare occasions something like that is needed - usually when people want to create or manipulate a small CSV file and Calc is the quickest/dirtiest way to get it done.
Post by: FifeingEejit on 13 December, 2020, 11:17:45 pm
The year I was stupid enough to take on the role of club treasurer I kept hitting fairly simple missing features and limitations of it. Like being able to enter the first cell of a SUM(x:y) range formula with a Mose click but not the last
(although I do note that Web excel 365 is equally shit)
Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk
Post by: Afasoas on 13 December, 2020, 11:49:49 pm
Post by: Greenbank on 14 December, 2020, 12:55:26 pm
New monitor is lovely.
(Although I need a desk clamp to be able to move it back a bit as the design of the legs mean the front the screen is 25cm from the wall. I can claim 5cm back by moving the desk back but that would still leave a ~12cm gap between wall and the thickest part of the monitor which is below the mounting bracket. On the look out for a suitable 200x200 VESA desk clamp.)
Post by: perpetual dan on 14 December, 2020, 01:26:48 pm
Post by: Greenbank on 14 December, 2020, 01:36:56 pm
The fan is mostly there for post run cool down (even when I go out running in this kind of weather).
Post by: Afasoas on 14 December, 2020, 04:07:52 pm
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk10.jpg)
New monitor is lovely.
(Although I need a desk clamp to be able to move it back a bit as the design of the legs mean the front the screen is 25cm from the wall. I can claim 5cm back by moving the desk back but that would still leave a ~12cm gap between wall and the thickest part of the monitor which is below the mounting bracket. On the look out for a suitable 200x200 VESA desk clamp.)
That is Large (with a capital L)
Not a good webcam angle for anyone who is folically challenged!
Post by: Greenbank on 14 December, 2020, 06:57:09 pm
Not a good webcam angle for anyone who is folically challenged!
Luckily my average number of video calls per week is 0.
Post by: FifeingEejit on 19 December, 2020, 03:02:09 pm
My searching abilities seem to be somewhat limited as usual and I can't refind it.
Can anyone remember?
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 19 December, 2020, 03:15:29 pm
Post by: FifeingEejit on 19 December, 2020, 03:27:33 pm
I even thought I'd said "noted" so i could find it again but nope :-(
yes there are a few!
thanks
Post by: SteveC on 22 December, 2020, 10:33:40 am
Not as flash as some here, but it did take a bit of effort to go from Mk 1 to Mk 2.Not bothering repeating the pictures, but I have decided to do something about the bowing.
The only problem is that the desktop is bowing in the middle. The red drawer units are shorter than the filing cabinets which doesn't help, but I suspect I've just got too much weight on the whole thing.
Trouble is, what is the best solution.
I can either add more boards under the desktop to fill the gap, or I can remove the old desktop and spacers which are currently there and replace them with some battens (which might be stiffer). The issue is the size. There is a 40mm difference in height between the two types of unit.
The boards are 14mm thick. The closest batten size is 44mm. Do I try to plane the excess off? Or do I get another board or two and pack them out with beermats or some such?
Help? ???
Post by: Pingu on 22 December, 2020, 10:40:29 am
Post by: Jurek on 22 December, 2020, 10:51:31 am
If you look at my setup (back on page 2 of this thread) that front edge of my table is unsupported along its 2400 length other than by a leg at each end. However, it has 50mm x 50mm steel box section screwed to the underneath, about 200mm back from the front edge.
It has been doing its job at three different addresses since around 1994.
ETA - I think you could get away with battening just between the cabinets, as opposed to across the entire width.
ETFA - Provided that the battens are screwed/glued/secured in as many opportunities as are available.
Post by: SteveC on 22 December, 2020, 11:35:58 am
@Pingu - I had considered that, but would rather not unless I have to. Thanks for the suggestion, though.
Post by: SteveC on 27 December, 2020, 10:20:42 am
And I still haven't done the bench strengthening mentioned above. At least the bits for that and the electrics can probably all come from the same shop.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 31 December, 2020, 04:43:42 pm
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50783681841_c9c5cf293b_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2knzDkp)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50783050253_262755410a_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2knwpzX)
Post by: hatler on 31 December, 2020, 04:58:58 pm
Post by: Oscar's dad on 31 December, 2020, 05:04:21 pm
Is that your second home in France on the screens ?
Yes, we have several, that’s the smallest! ;D
Post by: FifeingEejit on 31 December, 2020, 05:52:42 pm
Post by: Mr Larrington on 31 December, 2020, 06:12:45 pm
Is that your second home in France on the screens ?
Yes, we have several, that’s the smallest! ;D
| 5's Mummy: | Looks a bit cramped to me! |
Post by: Oscar's dad on 31 December, 2020, 06:29:28 pm
Where did you find that Consumer unit!
It came with the house when we bought it in 2005. It’s kinda redundant as the garage has an independent supply off the main consumer unit in the house but Steve the Sparky said we might as well leave it where it was.
Post by: Lightning Phil on 31 December, 2020, 08:46:39 pm
Still some loose ends to tie up but the new home office is up and running. It's taken me since mid-October but I'm really chuffed with the results...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50783681841_c9c5cf293b_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2knzDkp)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50783050253_262755410a_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2knwpzX)
Wow, first time I’ve seen a paperless office.
Post by: FifeingEejit on 31 December, 2020, 09:21:38 pm
Where did you find that Consumer unit!
It came with the house when we bought it in 2005. It’s kinda redundant as the garage has an independent supply off the main consumer unit in the house but Steve the Sparky said we might as well leave it where it was.
Ah, my brother's doing the electrics on my new house and had a fit at the mid-90s consumer unit having not been replaced as it's not up to code and there's clearly more modern electrics in the place
That one looks late 70s.
He also found this when replacing the bathroom halogens with LEDs (I know most sparkys wouldn't go into the attic and eat a load of glass fibre insulation just to check the wiring following changing a lamp, in fact he could have just told me to do them and never spotted this but thank feck he did)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201231/bfa0da5aaa2dd3b25d4f01e3a87939ee.jpg)
Post by: Canardly on 31 December, 2020, 09:26:52 pm
Post by: FifeingEejit on 31 December, 2020, 09:29:33 pm
At least the modern insulation material did its job well enough not to have burnt the place out before it was spotted.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 31 December, 2020, 09:55:41 pm
Post by: Oscar's dad on 31 December, 2020, 10:33:18 pm
Post by: Chris S on 31 December, 2020, 11:55:04 pm
Still some loose ends to tie up but the new home office is up and running. It's taken me since mid-October but I'm really chuffed with the results...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50783681841_c9c5cf293b_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2knzDkp)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50783050253_262755410a_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2knwpzX)
Wow, first time I’ve seen a paperless office.
Handy fridge though.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 01 January, 2021, 08:55:29 am
Post by: SteveC on 02 January, 2021, 03:43:14 pm
I recon a couple of lengths of 2x1 screwed/glued to the underneath of the board using the '1' side, would do more for stiffening it up, than laying another board below it.I spent the first part of this afternoon doing this. The desk is certainly flatter. I have only put three screws per batten, which on rereading your EFTA may not be enough, but they're glued as well. I'm not going to sit or stand on it!
If you look at my setup (back on page 2 of this thread) that front edge of my table is unsupported along its 2400 length other than by a leg at each end. However, it has 50mm x 50mm steel box section screwed to the underneath, about 200mm back from the front edge.
It has been doing its job at three different addresses since around 1994.
ETA - I think you could get away with battening just between the cabinets, as opposed to across the entire width.
ETFA - Provided that the battens are screwed/glued/secured in as many opportunities as are available.
Thanks for the advice.
Post by: marcusjb on 03 January, 2021, 11:22:57 am
Still some loose ends to tie up but the new home office is up and running. It's taken me since mid-October but I'm really chuffed with the results...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50783681841_c9c5cf293b_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2knzDkp)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50783050253_262755410a_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2knwpzX)
Looking really good OD - you might even crack a smile about it though hey? ;)
My garden office joinery gets installed the week after next, so expect some gratuitous plywood pics soon. All the pieces have been cut on the CNC and finished (20% satin sheen) ready for installation, I just hope the snow doesn't return and keep the team from getting into the valley.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 03 January, 2021, 06:13:51 pm
Post by: Kim on 03 January, 2021, 07:14:05 pm
Post by: Oscar's dad on 03 January, 2021, 07:32:16 pm
I think you should install a Frankenstein-style knife switch to go with that fusebox. Bonus points for using it to control the lighting in an electrically safe way.
I’ll mention it to Steve the Sparky, he has a pop back in the next week or two.
Post by: darkpoint on 04 January, 2021, 02:00:00 pm
Somewhere on YACF somewhat recently someone posted a bout cheap office chair sales on ebay of the redundant stock variety.
My searching abilities seem to be somewhat limited as usual and I can't refind it.
Can anyone remember?
I used https://corporatespec.com/ who were friendly and have honored their 1 year guarantee, sending me new arm rest pads.
Post by: Morat on 07 January, 2021, 10:30:43 pm
https://www.officefurnitureonline.co.uk/optimise-heavy-duty-task-chair-1.html
One for me and for my new PFY.
We're both very happy with them so far.. of course, durability has yet to be tested but I went for the large person range (bariatric - never heard of that before) hoping it will mean they last longer than the generic "Gamer Chairs" I bought last time round.
Post by: FifeingEejit on 08 January, 2021, 01:00:10 pm
Also if anyone can correctly guess which bag my USB hub is in, that would be great
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210108/ed6b293c5bd405acf5ada1e38bb90f15.jpg)
Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk
Post by: Morat on 11 January, 2021, 08:46:58 am
Post by: Oscar's dad on 11 January, 2021, 04:05:18 pm
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk10.jpg)
New monitor is lovely.
(Although I need a desk clamp to be able to move it back a bit as the design of the legs mean the front the screen is 25cm from the wall. I can claim 5cm back by moving the desk back but that would still leave a ~12cm gap between wall and the thickest part of the monitor which is below the mounting bracket. On the look out for a suitable 200x200 VESA desk clamp.)
I'm thinking of building two work stations into my new home office, one at the current sitting desk and a second on the higher worktop and making it into a standing desk. I could use two laptops logged into the same stuff so effective have duplication across two machines. I'd use my existing standalone screen for the standing work station so could get a new screen for the primary sitting work station. I was thinking of one of those wide curved monitors or a big bugger like yours.
How do they work? Does it break into two or more screens like if you physically had two of more screens or it so big you can just have multiple tiles and place them wherever you want on the screen and whatever size you want?
Post by: Greenbank on 11 January, 2021, 09:44:42 pm
How do they work? Does it break into two or more screens like if you physically had two of more screens or it so big you can just have multiple tiles and place them wherever you want on the screen and whatever size you want?
More the former (multiple tiles) and there's no point maximising everything otherwise it's stupid. That picture above is a typical website (LFGSS in that case, but the BBC website is the same) that if you maximise the window it takes a thin slither down the middle, it doesn't use the extra space.
When I had two 1920x1080 monitors I used to maximise something in each window. Now I don't have to, and I can have 3 of 4 windows across and there's still space.
This monitor (Acer DM431K) also has 4 inputs (1 DP, 3 HDMI) and does Picture-in-picture so I could have 4 separate inputs on the screen at the same time. Don't need that though, occasionally I've had my personal laptop in one corner showing football rather than just having a similar window open on my work laptop.
This is a sit/stand desk so the monitor raises up with the desk if I want to stand.
Post by: Davef on 12 January, 2021, 09:44:24 am
(https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk10.jpg)Not a big fan.
New monitor is lovely.
(Although I need a desk clamp to be able to move it back a bit as the design of the legs mean the front the screen is 25cm from the wall. I can claim 5cm back by moving the desk back but that would still leave a ~12cm gap between wall and the thickest part of the monitor which is below the mounting bracket. On the look out for a suitable 200x200 VESA desk clamp.)
Post by: TimC on 12 January, 2021, 09:48:41 am
Post by: Oscar's dad on 12 January, 2021, 10:06:19 am
I have a 43" 4K screen as a monitor in my studio - it does multiple duties, including running Zwift and playing movies and music vids. When using it for computer duties, I only use the bottom right 25-20% of the screen. It's just too big to scan from the desk chair.
This is what I have my eye on (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-LS34J552WQUXEN-34-Inch-LED-Monitor/dp/B07HLKSTN1/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2MO1HUD5SRLI6&dchild=1&keywords=wide+screen+pc+monitors&qid=1610445727&sprefix=wide+sc%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-3) or similar. As you can see from my earlier photos I currently have a normal sized monitor and use my laptop screen as a secondary monitor, the widescreen monitor would replace this set up.
I'd welcome anyone's thoughts.
Post by: TimC on 12 January, 2021, 10:27:01 am
Edit: this one (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-LC34J791WTUXEN-34-Inch-LED-Monitor/dp/B07FBL6WSC/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=samsung+curved+wide+screen+pc+monitors&qid=1610447270&sr=8-3)
Post by: Greenbank on 12 January, 2021, 10:39:00 am
I then have other windows in the other quadrants, top right tends to be reference material for what I'm working on, bottom left for internal Slack system and work email and bottom right for personal/music.
Most of the other windows are minimised when not in use. I've got (checks) 20 windows open: 4 terminal sessions, 1 email client, 1 Excel, and the rest are browser windows (some with hundreds of tabs) that are compartmentalised bits of work. But I tend to only have 4 or 5 windows on the screen (non-minimised) at any one time.
Glad I moved to a single monitor, it's a much nicer solution to multiple monitors with bezels in the middle and means I can have windows open to the optimum size rather than constrained by individual monitors.
It also helps that my eyesight is also good enough to work with a 43" 4K monitor at ~70cm away.
(Mine is an Acer DM431K.)
Post by: Oscar's dad on 12 January, 2021, 11:43:11 am
I'm still working out how I configure the stand up desk workstation. I don't want it to permanently take up room on my nice big worktop by the window, I think that space is going to be useful. So I'm thinking about a homemade fold down arm to carry the monitor which can fold up against the ceiling when not in use and what will amount to a box which a keyboard can sit on at the correct height. I have some leftover worktop material which can be used to make the box.
With the exception of the aforementioned stand up workstation my new home office is complete. Steve the Sparky has made his final visit and I just have to screw down the worktops and put some trim round the edge of them. When I've done that I'll post some more photos.
At the weekend, assuming there's nothing more important to do, which is doubtful, I'll start on the rest of the garage which is going to be a bike storage, fettling / workshop and home gym area.
Post by: marcusjb on 12 January, 2021, 05:13:30 pm
Small issue with the under-cabinet task lighting - but being sorted.
Should be back later in the week (being that it is a small office and they have to work outside, we're slightly weather-dependent - hoping the snow doesn't appear (our postmaster says a foot's coming and he's valley-born so might be onto something).
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErjAQj8XcAI75cY?format=jpg&name=large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErjAQj1XMAAI8s9?format=jpg&name=large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErjAQj4XYAEjYHr?format=jpg&name=large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErjAQj5XcAQJCin?format=jpg&name=large)
Post by: Oscar's dad on 12 January, 2021, 05:19:01 pm
Post by: Oscar's dad on 13 January, 2021, 08:49:27 am
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50830970362_3b3e16e6ca_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2krL1yJ)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50830883226_e23be98bdf_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2krKyEo)
Post by: psyclist on 13 January, 2021, 11:00:36 am
I think OD's setup is functional but well thought out. I see the GB sticker has gone from the fridge, so guessing Brexit has stopped future trips across the channel for the fridge!
I've got a geezer coming by tomorrow to discuss the final details of a garden office that is currently scheduled for installation early Feb.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 13 January, 2021, 11:03:04 am
I'm liking Marcus' interior setup. That's the real deal!
I think OD's setup is functional but well thought out. I see the GB sticker has gone from the fridge, so guessing Brexit has stopped future trips across the channel for the fridge!
I've got a geezer coming by tomorrow to discuss the final details of a garden office that is currently scheduled for installation early Feb.
Yep, the fridge's globe trotting days are over, not that they ever started :'(
Looking forward to seeing your garden office take shape :thumbsup:
Post by: tedshred on 13 January, 2021, 11:12:37 am
I've got a geezer coming by tomorrow to discuss the final details of a garden office that is currently scheduled for installation early Feb.
Spending too much time in Mid-Essex Psyclist :facepalm:
Post by: Oscar's dad on 13 January, 2021, 11:39:51 am
Post by: psyclist on 13 January, 2021, 11:50:20 am
I've got a geezer coming by tomorrow to discuss the final details of a garden office that is currently scheduled for installation early Feb.
Spending too much time in Mid-Essex Psyclist :facepalm:
I've spent the majority of my life living in Essex, only relatively recently moving across the border. Lost the strong accent I had as a youth.
Post by: marcusjb on 13 January, 2021, 11:50:40 am
I'm liking Marcus' interior setup. That's the real deal!
I've gone all in - whilst business is still good, construction is working even slower than normal, so cash-flow hasn't been as good as it might be. But I'm only doing this once, so might as well get it right even though there's been a couple of bum-clenchy months and my office builder did me a very solid favour on the time for final invoice payment.
Only mistake I've made so far is that thermostat on the wall - that was originally going to be concealed within a piece of joinery and then a remote air sensor mounted discretely. Once I got a better feel for the space, I made a lot of changes to my joinery layout and now I have to see the stat to remind me of my failings as someone who spends their life making tech invisible.....
I've got a geezer coming by tomorrow to discuss the final details of a garden office that is currently scheduled for installation early Feb.
Look forward to seeing plans etc. - enjoy the process - it's been a lot of fun so far, along with a bit of frustration of course.
Post by: TimC on 13 January, 2021, 11:52:59 am
(https://i.imgur.com/beIvbnD.jpg)
Post by: Oscar's dad on 13 January, 2021, 12:02:49 pm
Post by: TimC on 13 January, 2021, 12:04:50 pm
Size matters eh TimC?
I'd love to say 'no, it's how you use it', but I probably fail miserably on that score so, yes, guilty as charged!
Post by: Chris S on 13 January, 2021, 12:08:24 pm
Referring back to the discussion about screens earlier, this is the Chez C arrangement:
(https://i.imgur.com/beIvbnD.jpg)
Are you.... are you a Twitch Streamer, TimC? :o
Post by: TimC on 13 January, 2021, 12:09:12 pm
Referring back to the discussion about screens earlier, this is the Chez C arrangement:
Are you.... are you a Twitch Streamer, TimC? :o
Good grief, no!
I do music for fun, and some voice acting stuff for pocket money.
Post by: TimC on 13 January, 2021, 02:05:04 pm
(https://i.imgur.com/beIvbnD.jpg)
Short: Tim, come on, please get those speakers up to ear height.
Long: Because high frequency sounds travel in a straight line, like a laser if that helps, from the tweeters. Low frequencies expand out in all directions, like a bomb I suppose. If you can get the tweeters up to ear level and pointing in so that they are aiming just behind your head, your ears should be in the line of fire which meas that you may not want the volume as loud as now, and the sound will be more accurate, although if you have got used to the current sound, a more accurate sound may take some adjusting to. Do at least try it, please.
That picture was taken about 30 minutes after the speakers arrived! I'm looking for some good supports for them, bearing in mind that the desktop is at 93cm, so not a conventional desk height.
Post by: marcusjb on 15 January, 2021, 05:08:42 pm
Sockets to sort out over the weekend (awaiting Jordan Bronze finish - so white plastic for the moment), some paint retouching etc. and then I can move up there!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErySqVGXYAA8C74?format=jpg&name=large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErySqVNXEAEfy7f?format=jpg&name=large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErySqVFXcAAM-zG?format=jpg&name=large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErySqVMXYAEX2Pu?format=jpg&name=large)
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 15 January, 2021, 05:12:12 pm
Post by: Oscar's dad on 15 January, 2021, 05:29:04 pm
Marcus is going to win the 'best WFH pr0n' prize in this thread, eh?
I think he has. Very, very impressive!
Post by: psyclist on 15 January, 2021, 05:53:19 pm
Marcus is going to win the 'best WFH pr0n' prize in this thread, eh?
I should be getting a sketch-up view of my new setup soon, but I'll be going for a more minimalist style ... Marcus certainly has my vote for best integrated setup, even before it is complete.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 15 January, 2021, 05:56:47 pm
Post by: Jaded on 15 January, 2021, 06:01:03 pm
Post by: Jaded on 15 January, 2021, 06:09:18 pm
I've grabbed a clip... ;)
Post by: Chris S on 15 January, 2021, 06:35:26 pm
BTW did any East Anglians see me fleetingly on Look East yesterday evening? They’d asked for people to send in photos of themselves working from home so I was happy to oblige ;D
You were just hoping to meet Susie Fowler-Watt, ya perv :-*.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 15 January, 2021, 06:45:32 pm
BTW did any East Anglians see me fleetingly on Look East yesterday evening? They’d asked for people to send in photos of themselves working from home so I was happy to oblige ;D
You were just hoping to meet Susie Fowler-Watt, ya perv :-*.
Always!
Post by: TheLurker on 15 January, 2021, 07:52:45 pm
More plywood porn.Am I the only one here looking at that and thinking, "Model railway layout!" ?
Sockets to sort out over the weekend (awaiting Jordan Bronze finish - so white plastic for the moment), some paint retouching etc. and then I can move up there!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErySqVGXYAA8C74?format=jpg&name=large)
Post by: yorkie on 16 January, 2021, 06:14:31 pm
More plywood porn.Am I the only one here looking at that and thinking, "Model railway layout!" ?
Sockets to sort out over the weekend (awaiting Jordan Bronze finish - so white plastic for the moment), some paint retouching etc. and then I can move up there!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErySqVGXYAA8C74?format=jpg&name=large)
No, you're not the only one! :-D
Post by: marcusjb on 16 January, 2021, 06:49:13 pm
Anyway - I've started making it into an actual office. Needed to order some longer DisplayPort and USB cables as the PC is a lot further away now.
First time I've really had the underfloor going and it's great so far; now the test is how well insulated the office really is - results from super-cold nights have been encouraging so far.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Er386j6XAAEJy2b?format=jpg&name=large)
Post by: quixoticgeek on 17 January, 2021, 11:26:20 am
Marcus,
I have to ask. Show us your rack!
I notice it in the photos under the counter, but can't see what's in it.
J
Post by: Kim on 17 January, 2021, 12:32:49 pm
https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=117439.msg2563512#msg2563512 refers.
Post by: quixoticgeek on 17 January, 2021, 12:38:12 pm
Crestron shiny.
https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=117439.msg2563512#msg2563512 refers.
Ah... That's less interesting.
However Marcus, you've shown me yours, it's only right I show you my rack...
(click to show/hide)
Photo taken this morning in my living room...
J
Post by: marcusjb on 17 January, 2021, 12:43:50 pm
Rack is acoustic damping (there is only the Cisco SG that has a fan, but want to minimise noise), so it is completely black metal when doors and side are on and then contained in the joinery so nothing on display. Temp sensing extract fan when temp in rack hits 37.
Been busy taking a drill to the cabinets today (I should have had the joiners do it on the CNC machine, but wasn’t 100% on a few things).
Now awaiting longer monitor and usb cables and then, annoyingly, the bronze platework that was still 4-6 week lead, shipped on Friday. So next weekend it will be off with the white plastic and on with bronze.
First day of work in it tomorrow - starting with only 2 monitors which is a bit of a pain....
It, so far, seems warm - but things got mild today, need a really cold night to see how how much temperature loss I get.
Still loads to do, but enough to get me working is done and some things like the amp for the outside speakers can wait until spring as I am not planning on sitting out on the terrace drinking coffee just at moment.
Post by: ScumOfTheRoad on 17 January, 2021, 12:44:43 pm
How do you get away with that rack?
Post by: quixoticgeek on 17 January, 2021, 12:47:25 pm
I brought a single 1U server home once... Mrs Scum was fair near for lynching me from the nearest lamp post after she heard the noise of the fans.
How do you get away with that rack?
I only power things up when I need to. Also it's mostly 2U or larger, the larger the machine, the quieter (lower air velocity). Right now everything is powered off, because I'm between projects.
There's a 4U box there with 1TB of ram in it. Currently powered off because I have no idea what to do with it...
J
Post by: Kim on 17 January, 2021, 01:01:06 pm
I'm baffled that quiet rackmount computer equipment isn't more of a thing. Not all racks are in data centres or comms rooms, plenty of them are full of A/V gear in rooms where people are doing things that involve listening to or even recording audio and it's
Post by: marcusjb on 17 January, 2021, 01:09:24 pm
Most of the racks in my world are in comms rooms in basements, or where they are local to cinemas/studios, they will be acoustically isolated from the room. These days the really noisy stuff in AV is the 4K60 video encoders pushing video around the estate; a rack of 20-30 streams makes a real racket when they get going.
Post by: ScumOfTheRoad on 19 January, 2021, 10:04:54 am
These days I would highly recommend PCOIP using thin clients on a desk - they are silent and use a tiny amount of power.
This company is British and makes greeat devices for PCOIP https://www.amulethotkey.com/
Post by: ScumOfTheRoad on 19 January, 2021, 10:07:36 am
I am suffering from backache and am looking for a sit stand desk. Recommendations and what should I look for please?
My work room is quite compact. I also like haveing a keyboard drawer under the desk - so a narrowish desk and keyboard drawer.
I wonder though how well that works with a standing desk?
Thanks for any help.
Post by: Jaded on 19 January, 2021, 10:24:28 am
I see there are quite a few options out there now - a WFH boom, I guess!
Post by: barakta on 19 January, 2021, 01:27:53 pm
If you want specialist advice, many small ergo assessment centres will do it for £50 and knock that off anything recommended. If you have anything odd going on that's worth it.
Post by: Chris S on 19 January, 2021, 01:39:00 pm
Post by: ScumOfTheRoad on 20 January, 2021, 10:09:57 am
ps. I gave away a mesh back support to a charity shop last year. Dooooh...
Post by: hatler on 20 January, 2021, 01:07:43 pm
Post by: ScumOfTheRoad on 20 January, 2021, 01:28:27 pm
Post by: marcusjb on 24 January, 2021, 02:25:23 pm
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsgRJDkXYAEE7lF?format=jpg&name=large)
So far, it's a great environment to work in - absolute best thing being once the sun sets and I can listen to the owls go crazy in the woods now just yards away.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 24 January, 2021, 02:40:29 pm
Post by: marcusjb on 24 January, 2021, 03:16:27 pm
Post by: FifeingEejit on 24 January, 2021, 03:33:23 pm
Yes that is a work laptop hooked up.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210124/beae3a78baebcc61721e55eee69e6e07.jpg)
Need to find some suitable drawers for the corner for the printer to sit on and a load of shit that's still at the parents to go in.
Also need a longer USB A-B cable for the printer so it can sit less wonky, and a longer Cat6 Ethernet cable because the one going to the tower is at the absolute limit.
Once that's done I need to figure out how to procure a small PC for the Telly, Sound System and Minidisc player, because I'm not putting a USB A-B cable round the room, through the wall and into the MiniDisc Deck. And then refind the instructions on how to Hack windows so that the unsigned MiniDisc drivers work.
Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk
Post by: Oscar's dad on 24 January, 2021, 04:58:27 pm
2 touchscreens (basically that is what I do - build interfaces and shiz for house staff to control large dwellings and estates etc.) - 1 7 inch and 1 10 inch there and an iPad Mini.
Very cool!
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 24 January, 2021, 06:50:07 pm
2 touchscreens (basically that is what I do - build interfaces and shiz for house staff to control large dwellings and estates etc.) - 1 7 inch and 1 10 inch there and an iPad Mini.What's the remote?
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 24 January, 2021, 06:51:08 pm
Progress, of 2 types.
Yes that is a work laptop hooked up.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210124/beae3a78baebcc61721e55eee69e6e07.jpg)
Need to find some suitable drawers for the corner for the printer to sit on and a load of shit that's still at the parents to go in.
Also need a longer USB A-B cable for the printer so it can sit less wonky, and a longer Cat6 Ethernet cable because the one going to the tower is at the absolute limit.
Once that's done I need to figure out how to procure a small PC for the Telly, Sound System and Minidisc player, because I'm not putting a USB A-B cable round the room, through the wall and into the MiniDisc Deck. And then refind the instructions on how to Hack windows so that the unsigned MiniDisc drivers work.
Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk
That's a vast improvement on your photo from your folks' house, much tidier :thumbsup:
And nicely organised (I hope) maps.
Post by: marcusjb on 24 January, 2021, 07:28:00 pm
2 touchscreens (basically that is what I do - build interfaces and shiz for house staff to control large dwellings and estates etc.) - 1 7 inch and 1 10 inch there and an iPad Mini.What's the remote?
Touchscreen remote for controlling AV, lights, windows etc.
Post by: FifeingEejit on 24 January, 2021, 08:12:13 pm
That's a vast improvement on your photo from your folks' house, much tidier :thumbsup:
And nicely organised (I hope) maps.
Give me time and the current landrangers will be out of order and the desk a mess again.
I've still got a tonne of stuff to sort out, not quite sure how I can struggle to transport around 3/4 of stuff (there's a bunch of stuff in the "why did I keep that" category) from a garret into an actual house and still be short on storage space...
Post by: Oscar's dad on 03 February, 2021, 07:06:52 am
Post by: tiermat on 03 February, 2021, 07:29:47 am
Interesting article on the BBC News website (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55845735)
That'll be me in August (we are having the back garden completely redone and part of it will be office space)
Post by: Oscar's dad on 03 February, 2021, 07:46:53 am
Interesting article on the BBC News website (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55845735)
That'll be me in August (we are having the back garden completely redone and part of it will be office space)
Nice one, it's the way forward! The article makes some interesting, if obviously points, about how adding office space can add to the value of your house so its money well spent from an investment POV.
Post by: TimC on 03 February, 2021, 08:22:17 am
Meantime, the old shed that was attached to the house is being reduced to rubble and a new slab will be laid to allow a rather more substantial home office/studio/gym to be constructed (by me), with a shower room incorporated. Should be about 5x4m. Still essentially a timber shed, but insulated and soundproofed to at least household standards. Once complete, the 'old' studio will regain its intended role as a summer house and, um, bar.
Post by: tiermat on 03 February, 2021, 08:39:50 am
I built my own, using a cheap-ish commercial summer house structure (pics earlier in thread). With insulation, heating, and electrics, it came to about £3K. I've had to add a de-humidifier, as it has no opening windows and I've moved the turbo in there. I will install a couple of opening windows when the weather is a bit more pleasant for working outside.
Meantime, the old shed that was attached to the house is being reduced to rubble and a new slab will be laid to allow a rather more substantial home office/studio/gym to be constructed (by me), with a shower room incorporated. Should be about 5x4m. Still essentially a timber shed, but insulated and soundproofed to at least household standards. Once complete, the 'old' studio will regain its intended role as a summer house and, um, bar.
Unless cost is the ultimate motivator, I'd look at prefab for the new extension, otherwise known as SIPs. Makes work so much quicker and easier.
Of course, you could well have already thought of the construction method, in which case ignore me :D
Post by: Oscar's dad on 03 February, 2021, 09:00:54 am
Post by: TimC on 03 February, 2021, 09:21:21 am
I built my own, using a cheap-ish commercial summer house structure (pics earlier in thread). With insulation, heating, and electrics, it came to about £3K. I've had to add a de-humidifier, as it has no opening windows and I've moved the turbo in there. I will install a couple of opening windows when the weather is a bit more pleasant for working outside.
Meantime, the old shed that was attached to the house is being reduced to rubble and a new slab will be laid to allow a rather more substantial home office/studio/gym to be constructed (by me), with a shower room incorporated. Should be about 5x4m. Still essentially a timber shed, but insulated and soundproofed to at least household standards. Once complete, the 'old' studio will regain its intended role as a summer house and, um, bar.
Unless cost is the ultimate motivator, I'd look at prefab for the new extension, otherwise known as SIPs. Makes work so much quicker and easier.
Of course, you could well have already thought of the construction method, in which case ignore me :D
Mine needed planning permission and Listed Building Consent, so it had to be a custom structure to fit the exact location and profile of existing buildings, so prefab was not ever a possibility. Including some fairly major groundwork with drainage, it will come in at around £25k. I couldn't get anywhere near that with any of the commercial home office people.
Post by: tiermat on 03 February, 2021, 09:30:26 am
Post by: ian on 03 February, 2021, 09:47:21 am
Post by: TimC on 03 February, 2021, 09:51:31 am
I bet he has a moat.
Well, I've discovered some soakaways I didn't know anything about! Destruction is ongoing....
(https://i.imgur.com/qoHmYyY.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/yIkr3MM.jpg)
And this is what it should end up looking like...
(https://i.imgur.com/ScBorkR.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/uvkIZdc.png)
(the plain door is the selected version)
Post by: Oscar's dad on 03 February, 2021, 09:56:49 am
I bet he has a moat.
And a deer park ;D
[I know where TimC lives so know he doesn't have a deer park which frankly is disappointing!]
Post by: TimC on 03 February, 2021, 09:57:24 am
As you know, I used to have a river, which is rather better than a moat!
Post by: Oscar's dad on 03 February, 2021, 09:58:39 am
Sorry, Steve! I do get muntjack in the garden occasionally!
Well I suppose that's something although we do get muntjack in Shitham so I think you need to try harder!
Post by: TimC on 03 February, 2021, 10:00:43 am
If that chimney is still used Tim it needs lining.
No, it houses a cupboard in the kitchen. Yes, we had a bit of a chuckle at the amount of blowing evidence there is. We had rather less of a chuckle at what a poor state the wall is in generally. It's been covered up by another shed for the last 130 years or so, and no-one's obviously bothered to have a look until now. It basically needs rebuilding. Of course, there are no foundations...
Post by: marcusjb on 03 February, 2021, 11:10:07 am
Whatever building structure you go for I highly recommend a combined heating aircon unit (pictures up thread) - I'm loving mine. It cost £1.2k including installation and is supposedly no more expensive to run than traditional electric heaters and it cools as well which will be very useful in the summer as my home office can turn into an oven. Its also extremely quiet so won't upset your neighbours. If I switch it on early in the morning or am still working in the evening I use the "outdoor unit low noise" function just in case.
This is my only significant concern about mine - summer and heat!
I have electric underfloor and I have to say, the building as a whole is outperforming the house in terms of heat loss overnight even with the very cold nights we're having. Looking at the data on the EUFH, it's coming on for a pre-heat of less than an hour most mornings - the controller is still learning and did manage some dramatic overshoots early on (hit 23 degrees on a 19 degree target).
But summer is concerning - the office is north-facing so gets most of it's direct sunshine in the mornings; so there will be mitigation in the form of making sure the blinds are closed to reduce solar gain in the morning etc.
I am not morally adverse to looking at AC (though I actually don't have a lot of wall space for the unit) but want to see how things perform over summer as I'd rather try and avoid adding to my already significant carbon footprint etc.!
Before it was furnished (and before blinds were fitted), we did get some very hot days and the sealed box went up to 35 degrees - I was pleased to see how quickly the temperature came down with airflow though and I am hopeful that I can keep the temperature down to start with.
Anyway - time will tell whether I made a misjudgement.
As for value to property, it wasn't a consideration for us, but it does ease the pain (though there are some slight accounting/tax challenges if we did sell as my company built the office for me so I really need to let the asset depreciate and then the company dispose of it at a 'fair value' but it's on a fairly long depreciation schedule (I actually don't know how long off the top of my head)).
We're about to do my wife's office next - again the joinery by Kerf - so we end up with a 2-bedroom cottage with 2 fitted home offices - kind of niche, but for a childless couple who run two businesses from home, it works for us!
@TimC - that's going to look bob on that - love the floor to roof apex window!
Post by: Oscar's dad on 03 February, 2021, 11:19:36 am
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50620066813_882a7e7ea0_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k885hD)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/2k885hD) by Steve Rowley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/50089483@N04/), on Flickr
I shall shortly be boxing it in to make it less conspicuous whist not interfering with airflow. In real life its smaller than it appears in the photo (as the bishop never said to the actress)
Post by: marcusjb on 03 February, 2021, 11:36:52 am
Outside, I've got options - some more ideal but rather more visually challenging.
Anyway - we'll see; I'm hopeful that I will be able to manage the heat and on those truly ridiculous 30+ degree days, I can always take a laptop and go and work in the house and/or under the shade of a tree.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 03 February, 2021, 12:30:13 pm
It's my internal wall-space that's limited - too much joinery!
Outside, I've got options - some more ideal but rather more visually challenging.
Anyway - we'll see; I'm hopeful that I will be able to manage the heat and on those truly ridiculous 30+ degree days, I can always take a laptop and go and work in the house and/or under the shade of a tree.
The footprint of my indoor unit (Fujitsu) is 260x830mm and it sticks out by 210mm.
Post by: L CC on 03 February, 2021, 12:35:15 pm
Anyway - we'll see; I'm hopeful that I will be able to manage the heat and on those truly ridiculous 30+ degree days, I can always take alaptop and go and work in the house and/or under the shade of a tree.day off and play in the hills
Post by: marcusjb on 03 February, 2021, 12:38:55 pm
Anyway - we'll see; I'm hopeful that I will be able to manage the heat and on those truly ridiculous 30+ degree days, I can always take alaptop and go and work in the house and/or under the shade of a tree.day off and play in the hills
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Post by: marcusjb on 03 February, 2021, 12:55:31 pm
It's my internal wall-space that's limited - too much joinery!
Outside, I've got options - some more ideal but rather more visually challenging.
Anyway - we'll see; I'm hopeful that I will be able to manage the heat and on those truly ridiculous 30+ degree days, I can always take a laptop and go and work in the house and/or under the shade of a tree.
The footprint of my indoor unit (Fujitsu) is 260x830mm and it sticks out by 210mm.
The two walls without joinery are covered in pesky windows and doors!
I have options if I do need to do it - smaller indoor split units are available or I could go full-on FCU in the shed part of the building and grille into the office part; but that would get costly.
But, ideally, I will be able to manage the temperature okay. The blinds should have good performance for reducing solar gain and the airflow once the side and rear windows are open is very good.
Post by: TimC on 03 February, 2021, 01:40:06 pm
Post by: Oscar's dad on 03 February, 2021, 02:38:22 pm
I never thought about aircon - I might well have a look at that...
The fella I used is based in Braintree so I'd imagine he'd cover your area. Let me know if you want his contact details.
Post by: psyclist on 03 February, 2021, 03:48:18 pm
I do have an MVHR being installed though - it filters the air, extracting heat as air is expelled, and warming incoming air. That'll avoid stale air, and I guess running out of oxygen if I stay in there too long!
Build is due to start on 15th Feb, and take 5 days. I've not been told its been delayed yet ...
Post by: marcusjb on 03 February, 2021, 04:12:05 pm
MVHR is not a bad idea though - being well sealed, the air can get stuffy if you don’t crack the window open etc.
Pictures of the build when they start please!
Post by: psyclist on 03 February, 2021, 07:16:23 pm
Pictures of the build when they start please!
Sure. I did ask if I could rig up a timelapse camera, but that went down like a lead balloon!
Post by: Oscar's dad on 03 February, 2021, 07:23:52 pm
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 03 February, 2021, 08:17:12 pm
Pictures of the build when they start please!
Sure. I did ask if I could rig up a timelapse camera, but that went down like a lead balloon!
What have they got to hide?
Post by: Chris N on 03 February, 2021, 09:27:37 pm
Pictures of the build when they start please!
Sure. I did ask if I could rig up a timelapse camera, but that went down like a lead balloon!
What have they got to hide?
Can we put a camera in YOUR office, Mrs P?
Post by: ian on 03 February, 2021, 09:35:40 pm
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 03 February, 2021, 10:33:40 pm
Pictures of the build when they start please!
Sure. I did ask if I could rig up a timelapse camera, but that went down like a lead balloon!
What have they got to hide?
Can we put a camera in YOUR office, Mrs P?
Yeah, but that's my office, not someone else's home.
Post by: psyclist on 04 February, 2021, 07:09:32 am
I do have an MVHR being installed though - it filters the air, extracting heat as air is expelled, and warming incoming air. That'll avoid stale air, and I guess running out of oxygen if I stay in there too long!
Top marks, sir!
(https://i.imgur.com/r0KYem8.jpg)
I bought one 6 years ago, along with the AC. Together, with installation, they were close to €2,000 but they proved to be ideal. Last year they were transferred to in our new place.
Your setup is on a slightly different scale. I have a single room unit being installed, which will be a small 25cm square panel inside the room, likewise on the outside, and the connecting pipe through the SIP. Runs at 11dB in normal usage.
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 04 February, 2021, 12:47:27 pm
It is a bedroom in the new place. Broadband is consistently over 60Mb download, 17 up. that is like warp factor15 compared to previous residence.
Cheap desk from Ikea (manually height adjustable) and two screens.
Absolutely fantastic. so happy and so much less stressed.
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 04 February, 2021, 12:51:26 pm
Post by: Oscar's dad on 07 February, 2021, 11:42:41 am
Firstly, the primary workstation has a new 34"monitor (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XLDP5NM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1)...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50917441453_a77e3768ec_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kzpcpB)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50918129411_0f60eec8cc_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kzsHUX)
I have bought a new monitor mount which has dual purposes. It can serve my personal laptop so I can have extra screens when sat at the primary workstation...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50918130201_c3c7a5b5a0_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kzsJ9z)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50917442723_105987c980_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kzpcMv)
Or I can twizzle it round to serve my new standing desk :thumbsup: ...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50917441773_b720ca00a1_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kzpcv8)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50918130556_ef9b51f4be_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kzsJfG)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50918130296_197e7ff88a_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kzsJbd)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50917442278_35c207d0fd_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kzpcDQ)
I made the standing desk thingy myself from MDF and Playwood connectors (https://www.playwood.it/en/ply-brackets/wood-connectors-90-degrees/).
Ideally I'd like it to be a bit wider but I wanted it to stow away nicely when not in use...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50917442543_e2c889959d_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kzpcJp)
I'm really happy with what I have managed to pack into a small space which is just 2.4m long and 2m wide (ceiling height 2.06m). The secondary double glazing should arrive next week and then we're done although I keep coming up with new ideas, I'm getting obsessive.
I have already started on the remainder of the garage (a 7m long space), I'm hoping I finish before lockdown does which will herald a welcome return to real life but I won't have as much time to pratt around with my garage!
Post by: Oscar's dad on 07 February, 2021, 12:18:14 pm
OD, it is clear you have planned your home office well and the excellent results are your reward. Well done, indeed!
:-*
BTW, my post contained some errors with the images and links, I have sorted the problems out now.
Post by: psyclist on 07 February, 2021, 01:04:03 pm
Post by: hatler on 07 February, 2021, 02:10:10 pm
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 07 February, 2021, 03:04:13 pm
Post by: psyclist on 10 February, 2021, 12:52:02 pm
This is an old railway embankment, in use until Beeching decided it was no longer needed.
(https://images2.imgbox.com/47/4f/xU2NIGNO_o.jpeg)
Post by: marcusjb on 10 February, 2021, 02:47:26 pm
Fantastic location though, surrounded by trees etc. - it's amazed me just how much additional wildlife I can see and hear just by moving 10 metres closer to the woods behind the house.
Good luck and I hope the weather is kind to your contractors!
Post by: quixoticgeek on 13 February, 2021, 12:34:03 pm
I need to rejig my work from home desk. It's getting a mess, and doesn't scale to having 5 laptops on it at once :(
J
Post by: Oscar's dad on 13 February, 2021, 01:23:36 pm
Looking very swish OD, making full use of the space ... which is a necessity on a boat too, which feature a lot in your bookshelf. Unusual to see a bookshelf full of books that aren't aspirational books connected to one's profession.
That's probably cos I haven't got any professional aspirations. I books on the shelf cover the aspirations I do have :thumbsup:
Post by: FifeingEejit on 13 February, 2021, 01:58:14 pm
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210213/d5a5dfa98732436187db5b47dc52f8df.jpg)
Unfortunately the wee brother put the network points where this (ok the sockets were already there too) is so it needs to sit out a bit but that's fine.
The 2nd speaker for the evoke was an ebay find I've been wanting for ages just didn't have space for.
All I need now is for IKEA to have the stuff I want in stock to yet the map collection sorted
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210213/93bf475431a9bc01a5728d07348d24ad.jpg)
Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk
Post by: quixoticgeek on 13 February, 2021, 02:01:38 pm
Last piece of the furniture jigsaw found and purchased.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210213/d5a5dfa98732436187db5b47dc52f8df.jpg)
Unfortunately the wee brother put the network points where this (ok the sockets were already there too) is so it needs to sit out a bit but that's fine.
The 2nd speaker for the evoke was an ebay find I've been wanting for ages just didn't have space for.
All I need now is for IKEA to have the stuff I want in stock to yet the map collection sorted
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210213/93bf475431a9bc01a5728d07348d24ad.jpg)
Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk
Are you using some weird filter, is is there some artifact of the resize that makes these pictures really fuzzy?
J
Post by: FifeingEejit on 13 February, 2021, 02:32:14 pm
Post by: marcusjb on 13 February, 2021, 05:21:59 pm
Post by: FifeingEejit on 13 February, 2021, 05:58:27 pm
Good looking map shelf!
When I get a few more, there are 7th series (both Scottish and GB weird to think as recently as the late 1950s agencies of the British government still treated Scotland and E+W as separate).
I need to consider how to store the Populars (both 1940s and 1920s) and the even older ones as they're currently in those shoe boxes and a big box in the corner.
Post by: quixoticgeek on 27 February, 2021, 10:51:41 pm
Took me nearly 2 months to get all the parts together, but I now have a revised camera setup on my non-work desk. I have a pair of €10 simple tripods, a pair of €9 monopod extensions, these then support a horizontal 600mm long arca-swiss tripod plate. Then 3 arca swiss quick release clamps, one on each tripod, and one for the android device I use as a camera. This works as a gantry that goes across the top of my laptop. I can slide the android device across to change position if I need to. It's also a convenient place to hold a couple of tools.
I'll see in due course how well it works during calls, but I'm really pleased so far.
Photos will follow when my desk is less of a mess...
J
Post by: ScumOfTheRoad on 02 March, 2021, 12:26:31 pm
Looks like a very good price.
https://www.gumtree.com/p/desks/sit-stand-desk-linak-electric-parrallel-drive/1397555590
Post by: psyclist on 17 March, 2021, 05:42:17 pm
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51047415277_17807c7c84_n.jpg)
Post by: Kim on 17 March, 2021, 05:52:05 pm
My new WFH studio is nearly complete ... and then the glazing person decided to shatter the glass when replacing a broken lock! So near, yet so far from being able to move in!
(https://images2.imgbox.com/15/eb/XyPCynhw_o.png) (https://imgbox.com/XyPCynhw)
Wow, that's the slowest-loading image I've seen since the start of the pandemic. Is it absolutely enormous, or is it being hosted via an acoustic coupler modem?
Post by: Oscar's dad on 17 March, 2021, 06:44:59 pm
Post by: FifeingEejit on 17 March, 2021, 07:15:21 pm
Post by: rafletcher on 17 March, 2021, 07:16:51 pm
More interestingly I clicked on your image psyclist and it took me to a page featuring adverts picturing young ladies in a state of undress! ;D
Yep, I’ve had that before with (I think) Imgur images here, safari onna iPad
Post by: psyclist on 17 March, 2021, 08:20:33 pm
Post by: rafletcher on 17 March, 2021, 08:25:19 pm
Fixed the image ... sorry about that. More resolution than was needed I suspect!
Hmm, I click on the image and get
https://imgbox.com/cwmrGgpt
Post by: Lightning Phil on 17 March, 2021, 08:25:24 pm
Fixed the image ... sorry about that. More resolution than was needed I suspect!
Still slow to load here
Post by: Lightning Phil on 17 March, 2021, 08:26:20 pm
More interestingly I clicked on your image psyclist and it took me to a page featuring adverts picturing young ladies in a state of undress! ;D
That’s based on your search history OD.
Post by: psyclist on 17 March, 2021, 08:51:39 pm
Post by: Lightning Phil on 18 March, 2021, 07:15:03 am
Post by: Oscar's dad on 20 March, 2021, 02:32:59 pm
Although it might not look it I'm making steady progress with the Multipurpose Area (workshop, bike and general storage, home gym).
Yesterday I built a workbench out of off-cuts so have somewhere to site the vice I inherited from my Dad:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51055411726_cad7eac37c_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kMAkaq)
The left hand wall is finished so the four bikes are now in their permanent location:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51055411746_04cb2e511d_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kMAkaL)
Next job is to clad the right hand wall which I partially insulated with leftover materials and also clad the ceiling which has also been insulated.
Post by: psyclist on 22 March, 2021, 09:19:20 am
I'm temporarily installed in my studio. I can't keep electronics in here overnight until the lock and shattered glass are fixed tomorrow.
Cat6 cable is doing the business. 211 Mbps when I just tested it.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51062109617_07a39ce7f3_z.jpg)
Post by: Oscar's dad on 22 March, 2021, 09:20:20 am
Post by: marcusjb on 23 March, 2021, 04:05:52 pm
... and back on topic.
I'm temporarily installed in my studio. I can't keep electronics in here overnight until the lock and shattered glass are fixed tomorrow.
Cat6 cable is doing the business. 211 Mbps when I just tested it.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51062109617_07a39ce7f3_z.jpg)
That all looks amazing - good job!
Hope the glazing gets sorted.
Very very nice.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 13 May, 2021, 11:43:41 am
... and back on topic.
I'm temporarily installed in my studio. I can't keep electronics in here overnight until the lock and shattered glass are fixed tomorrow.
Cat6 cable is doing the business. 211 Mbps when I just tested it.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51062109617_07a39ce7f3_z.jpg)
How are you enjoying your new home working environment? We need more photos!
Post by: psyclist on 13 May, 2021, 02:56:22 pm
How are you enjoying your new home working environment? We need more photos!
Funny you should say that. I've got the final coat of danish oil to apply to the bookcases I built this evening, then I can return everything into an orderly position without tools everywhere. I'll take photos over the weekend.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 13 May, 2021, 02:59:23 pm
Post by: ravenbait on 13 May, 2021, 05:21:04 pm
... and back on topic.
I'm temporarily installed in my studio. I can't keep electronics in here overnight until the lock and shattered glass are fixed tomorrow.
Cat6 cable is doing the business. 211 Mbps when I just tested it.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51062109617_07a39ce7f3_z.jpg)
Oooooh! I didn't know those lifesystems mugs came in copper!
Sam
Post by: psyclist on 13 May, 2021, 06:34:54 pm
Oooooh! I didn't know those lifesystems mugs came in copper!
Sam
Lifeventure. Yes, I've got a matching 'vacuum bottle' that I use for water.
Post by: psyclist on 16 May, 2021, 08:59:07 am
We need more photos!
It is now a very pleasant working environment, with the artisan bookshelves in place. Next tasks are to construct the acoustic panels, which will also feature artworks (by a talented artist, not me!), and to get the ground around the studio sorted. Still undecided between environmentally-friendly decking, stone, or a low growing grass-alternative.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51181991691_4a07cb9caf_z.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51182208303_b7b269beff_z.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51183075925_72c1eb71e7_z.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51182208293_364c61a31a_z.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51181304457_abb4191386_z.jpg)
Post by: psyclist on 16 May, 2021, 11:42:00 am
... the fact that you call yours a studio ... May I ask what you do?
I'm good at marketing! Most of the time I'm just sat at the desk on calls or working on stuff. But it's a bit dull to refer to the building as a garden office, whereas 'studio' evokes something a little more exciting.
I do some public speaking, and record bits and pieces - spoken word rather than musically. The video production side needs better acoustics than the default building provides. Too many hard surfaces currently. Generally I have duvets spread around to absorb the sound, but that's just temporary until I get another rug and have constructed the acoustic panels. The bean bag chairs are useful in that they can easily be moved out of the way when I've got the camera, mic and stuff hooked up.
I should get round to showing my WFH studio which is far from complete - and I started a year before you did.
Please do share as it progresses. Mine has only gone up relatively quickly because I got someone in to do it, rather than doing a self-build as I'd been considering doing for quite a few years. But the next stage will take much longer, getting the exterior bits done and evolving the interior.
Post by: TimC on 16 May, 2021, 12:49:28 pm
Post by: Oscar's dad on 16 May, 2021, 02:36:15 pm
Post by: chrisbainbridge on 16 May, 2021, 06:26:33 pm
Post by: road-runner on 18 May, 2021, 12:00:44 am
I should get round to showing my WFH studio which is far from complete - and I started a year before you did.
Please do share as it progresses.
Alright, here goes. We started in November 2019 so this shows you the last 18 months' work all in one go. My wife and I live in a flat (the white circle on the right) and as musicians we cannot rehearse nor record at home because of the noise we make and the noises we hear. We found a small commercial premises in our building for sale.
(https://i.imgur.com/ZQnvQQG.jpg)
After clearing it we moved a doorway. The steel track is there to show where we will build two walls to create a rectangular studio. Where the old doors are will be storage space and where the camera is will be a place to park our bicycles.
(https://i.imgur.com/H13tNiN.jpg)
Behind the moved (open) doorway will be a miniature kitchen and then a toilet with its own sink. The plumber discovered that the building had been made with non-standard size fittings so much had to be ripped out and replaced. We didn't want white tiles anyway.
(https://i.imgur.com/woxfOf1.jpg)
Someone we had recorded a CD for introduced us to Jozef, a lovely builder and handyman, who built these two walls and has done most of the work you will see.
(https://i.imgur.com/2q6oX8C.jpg)
To make this an isolated (technical speak for soundproof) studio we have to build another room inside the rectangular room. You can tell by the shadows that the steel studs do not touch the outer room.
(https://i.imgur.com/RIDmiIn.jpg)
The studs are shorter than the height of the room to allow for all the isolation hangers that Slavo is installing here. They will hold the new ceiling while keeping it acoustically separate from the original ceiling. The gap between the inner and outer rooms is filled with insulation.
(https://i.imgur.com/y9gxIH0.jpg)
The inner room's walls and ceiling are made of a layer of OSB and ...
(https://i.imgur.com/6F0uKzj.jpg)
... multiple layers of fire-rated (pink) plasterboard. We got John Brandt (jhbrandt.net (https://jhbrandt.net)) to design the room for sufficient isolation (60dB reduction is the target) and to give us a room with acoustics suitable for recording and mixing.
(https://i.imgur.com/qgLgbxl.jpg)
The toilet with new tiles, waiting for its sink.
(https://i.imgur.com/ZGjVd87.jpg)
Worktops in the toilet room and kitchen area for their respective sinks.
(https://i.imgur.com/JDLJVMb.jpg)
HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning). H and AC are handled by the air conditioner and V is handled by this ventilator. Large ducts are used to keep the air speed slow and quiet. The ducts go through 4 silencers (you can see two) to further quieten any noises in the air so that recordings will not be interrupted by motorbikes, ambulances nor the need to open the door to let fresh air in. Peace and quiet at last!
(https://i.imgur.com/r0KYem8.jpg)
A lick of paint.
(https://i.imgur.com/zGP5EfN.jpg)
To complete the isolation phase we need doors. While I wait for them to arrive from Spain I started on the ceiling acoustics. A drop ceiling with handmade acoustically transparent tiles and the entire space above filled with insulation apart from where the other two silencers and the air ducts are. The 6 square holes in the drop ceiling are for lights.
(https://i.imgur.com/Elbzz0y.jpg)
I wanted something a bit more inspiring than an office ceiling so I made 7 hexagons.
(https://i.imgur.com/6zvFfa9.jpg)
And that brings us right up to today. I am making the next thing to hang from the ceiling, called a cloud, so that there will be more than 40cm of insulation above my head when sat mixing.
(https://i.imgur.com/DmOlRfg.jpg)
The difference between psyclist's studio and ours is that he will be recording his voice which means down to about 80Hz. Music goes down a further 2 octaves to around 20Hz so both the isolation and acoustic treatment have to be thicker.
Post by: Kim on 18 May, 2021, 12:10:06 am
Post by: quixoticgeek on 18 May, 2021, 12:12:41 am
Wow...
What she said.
J
Post by: FifeingEejit on 18 May, 2021, 12:20:34 am
Also any idea how to stop a fan motors buzz resonating through plasterboard such that it's noisier in the rooms next to it than in the room with the fan?
Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk
Post by: Mr Larrington on 18 May, 2021, 01:42:01 am
Post by: Oscar's dad on 18 May, 2021, 06:27:40 am
Wow...
Might I add a "Gracious me!"? With regard to office spaces I think psyclist is on the podium alongside marcusjb. I think when it comes to specialist work from home spaces the road-runners and their team are going to be hard to beat.
@road-runner, where do you live if you don't mind my asking?
Post by: psyclist on 18 May, 2021, 06:31:32 am
On the acoustics for voice, I was surprised at the setup in the BBC when I was given a tour of their building before hosting an event there. For the most part it felt like walking around a standard modern office, but with people sat alone in small meeting rooms running their shows. On the doors would be the schedule of who had the room at what times.
The live lounge was a bit different, but the interior space was largely like a meeting room, but with a few comfy chairs, and obviously mics, headphones and such like. Glass walled, but that room had an outer room with settees, acting as a waiting area for celebrities who might be waiting to enter the live lounge.
I would hazard a guess that all the glass around the rooms were sound-insulating. It was illuminating for me to see the setup, as in my mind all the DJs would be in small studios designed like yours, not in glass-walled rooms not too far from the open plan office areas.
Post by: chrisbainbridge on 18 May, 2021, 07:58:51 am
Wow...
What she said.
J
Again Wow!!
Post by: mcshroom on 18 May, 2021, 09:30:30 am
I'm seriously impressed with the thought and care that has been put into designing and building the offices and studios so they work so well.
I built myself a new office in the garden about 3 months back based on a cheap 6'x6' summerhouse squeezed into a corner of the garden, which does everything I need it to do. It's considerably more basic than most on here though. When I finally get round to clearing out the clutter I'll get some photos up, but it does look more like a garden shed than the shiny offices on here :)
Post by: nuttycyclist on 18 May, 2021, 09:36:50 am
I planned it carefully with the sockets, but already run out and my "get a round tuit" list includes adding a couple more (wiring has capacity) as well as at some point wiring the outside light into the empty double light switch.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 18 May, 2021, 09:42:12 am
There are some amazing spaces in this thread :o
I'm seriously impressed with the thought and care that has been put into designing and building the offices and studios so they work so well.
I built myself a new office in the garden about 3 months back based on a cheap 6'x6' summerhouse squeezed into a corner of the garden, which does everything I need it to do. It's considerably more basic than most on here though. When I finally get round to clearing out the clutter I'll get some photos up, but it does look more like a garden shed than the shiny offices on here :)
We need some photos when you're ready :thumbsup:
What I love about this subject is the imagination folks are putting into building themselves home working environments which are truly life changing. Whether you're working in a cheap 6x6 summerhouse, a converted garage or a state of the art pro-built installation the end result is the same. Fantastic!
I've heard it said that thanks to COVID for many of us work is now what we do not where we go. I'm not sure that's 100% true as its not nice if you are working in your living environment, like the kitchen table or your bedroom. Its best if go can still go somewhere to work, even if you aren't leaving the confines of your home or garden.
Post by: nuttycyclist on 18 May, 2021, 10:16:49 am
....
I've heard it said that thanks to COVID for many of us work is now what we do not where we go. I'm not sure that's 100% true as its not nice if you are working in your living environment, like the kitchen table or your bedroom. Its best if go can still go somewhere to work, even if you aren't leaving the confines of your home or garden.
Maybe worthy of a new thread, but I've WFH for many years before covid. I don't have an issue with working in living environment.
I hated being in the office and the dullness of sitting at a desk with a headset on in a conference call. Some days if I knew it would be a long call I'd take in some bike parts that needed fettling as that didn't distract from the call. Once I made the switch to WFH it was more efficient as I could prepare the dinner/load the washing machine/etc whilst still focussed on a call and watching the screen. Hell, for some calls where I know in advance I don't need the laptop I've even gone out for a walk to get fresh air and lost in the woods.
All that I need is a guaranteed quiet space should it be a call I need to put more focus on or host, hence the DIY build, but in the main during summer the garden table is more than enough.
WFH for me has been a freedom. In a way I'm glad that covid has enabled others to experience this although I'd never wish covid on anybody and acknowledge that WFH isn't everybody's cup of tea.
Post by: TimC on 18 May, 2021, 10:45:08 am
Post by: Oscar's dad on 18 May, 2021, 10:47:02 am
WFH is just great, as you describe nutty, but you need dedicated space.
Post by: psyclist on 18 May, 2021, 10:53:22 am
What I love about this subject is the imagination folks are putting into building themselves home working environments which are truly life changing.
I concur with this. I've been working at home either 1 or 2 days or week, or full-time on occasions, for quite a few years. I was thinking about building something myself, but never got sufficient motivation to get things moving. It was only when I started to see what you'd been doing OD that I started to realise what I was missing.
I would have preferred to have built something myself, but having now seen what it took to put my studio together, I realise it would have taken a huge amount of time.
Post by: Mr Larrington on 18 May, 2021, 10:58:55 am
Post by: Oscar's dad on 18 May, 2021, 11:01:52 am
What I love about this subject is the imagination folks are putting into building themselves home working environments which are truly life changing.I concur with this... It was only when I started to see what you'd been doing OD that I started to realise what I was missing.
:-*
Post by: ravenbait on 18 May, 2021, 11:30:19 am
My home office was the first room after the bathroom we renovated in this house when we moved in. I need controlled space to write, so it was a priority for me even before moving to full time working from home in the dayjob. Mr Bait did a fantastic job, but it's nothing like as extraordinary as what some of you are doing.
Sam
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 18 May, 2021, 06:13:38 pm
Post by: citoyen on 18 May, 2021, 07:08:38 pm
With regard to office spaces I think psyclist is on the podium alongside marcusjb. I think when it comes to specialist work from home spaces the road-runners and their team are going to be hard to beat.
Can't disagree with any of that. I now have serious office envy.
Post by: chrisbainbridge on 18 May, 2021, 08:12:06 pm
Post by: FifeingEejit on 18 May, 2021, 08:26:02 pm
Also any idea how to stop a fan motors buzz resonating through plasterboard such that it's noisier in the rooms next to it than in the room with the fan?
The reason it is happening is because the plasterboard is acting as a big soundboard, just like in a piano.
Often the best thing is be to replace the fan with a newer, quieter one. The plasterboard wall possibly has nothing to dampen vibrations and as that would be a major job I would add some flexible duct and move the fan away from the wall, mounting it on the ceiling using sorbothane and a compression plate. Send me a PM with photos of your fan in context if you want to explore this further. I am by no means an expert but have had to understand how unwanted sounds travel.
Thanks, its a relatively new fan with supposed quiet certification, flexible duct and mounted on a wooden board attached to the plaster board as the previous fans hole was bigger.
The Sorbothanes probably the start point on the missing link
Post by: TimC on 18 May, 2021, 10:22:10 pm
I've recorded in some very professional studios in the last year or so, and I can't think of any that have gone to the lengths you're going to. You must have some very demanding clients!
Post by: Bledlow on 18 May, 2021, 10:56:32 pm
More interestingly I clicked on your image psyclist and it took me to a page featuring adverts picturing young ladies in a state of undress! ;DDidn't work for me. :(
Post by: road-runner on 19 May, 2021, 10:56:38 pm
@road-runner, where do you live if you don't mind my asking?
This is all happening in Poprad, Slovakia.
roadrunner, I was wondering if your floor is suspended as well or is it so much a solid piece of concrete that it is irrelevant to the noise?
No, Chris, it is not a suspended floor. It was deemed not necessary as the floor is on the concrete foundation which is naturally acoustically dampened.
I'm curious, RR.
As a semi-pro musician I previously rented a space (after neighbours complained when I worked at home) but that room had its limitations and so the opportunity to buy a room on the ground floor of our building at a price we could just afford was too good to pass by.
Regarding my doing more than pro studios do, every studio needs to ask two questions:
1, How much noise gets into or out of our studio that we need to stop?
The answer in decibels leads us to how much soundproofing we need to do.
2, How correct would I like the sound to be in the control room, the room where the engineer mixes the recordings?
If you don't do enough then your mixes can sound poor when played elsewhere. You can go to extremes, and the massive budget you hinted at could well exceed £1 million.
My studio is only a control room, no live room, and we are on course to spend about 30,000 euros (c£26,000) to convert it from the office it was into a studio, and then all I plan to do is buy a pair of good monitors, somewhere around 5,000 euros (c£4,000) There are no itinerant friends involved, just me, my wife, and a few tradesmen we employ as and when we need. I am now in my 60s and I see this as an investment to see me through until my dying day.
If you want to know more about me, see my old YACF topic The next chapter of life. (https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=29284.0) If you want to see more details about my studio, see the build topic Private studio in Slovakia. (https://digistar.cl/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=81)
Tim, does that answer your questions to your satisfaction?
Post by: TimC on 20 May, 2021, 02:21:42 pm
I have to say thank you for your comprehensive explanations - while I don't aspire to this level of professionalism for my own little studio, I am learning all sorts of useful stuff from your posts!
Post by: marcusjb on 31 May, 2021, 09:15:01 am
We need more photos!
It is now a very pleasant working environment, with the artisan bookshelves in place. Next tasks are to construct the acoustic panels, which will also feature artworks (by a talented artist, not me!), and to get the ground around the studio sorted. Still undecided between environmentally-friendly decking, stone, or a low growing grass-alternative.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51181991691_4a07cb9caf_z.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51182208303_b7b269beff_z.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51183075925_72c1eb71e7_z.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51182208293_364c61a31a_z.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51181304457_abb4191386_z.jpg)
That looks fantastic - the setting looks amazing!
Enjoy.
No significant changes to mine - figuring out how to manage the sunnier days now summer is a little more here! (North-East facing, so sun for the morning; blinds shut etc. in the evening to reduce heat in the morning. Has been around 26 degrees in the office this weekend (but have been away all week, so locked up) - opening the windows on 2 sides reduced that to a much more pleasant 20 degrees within minutes really).
Have just ordered a one of these - https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/dell-ultrasharp-40-curved-wuhd-monitor-u4021qw/apd/210-ayjf/monitors-monitor-accessories (https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/dell-ultrasharp-40-curved-wuhd-monitor-u4021qw/apd/210-ayjf/monitors-monitor-accessories) to clean up my current 2*27 and 1*24 (portrait). Not 100% what I am going to do with everything yet - I can't fit a 27 in portrait under the shelves, so I may just keep the 24 and then move on the 2 * 27s.
Post by: psyclist on 31 May, 2021, 12:02:41 pm
That looks fantastic - the setting looks amazing!
Thank you. It does feel great to be somewhat remote from the house, surrounded by birds, squirrels, and the occasional cat and fox. I’m just hoping the birds are not too noisy now that the windows / doors are needing to be kept open to keep it cool inside.
As an aside, I’ve just read your account of the Super Randonee you rode in 2013. Sounded like a tremendous trip. I’m riding the Cambrian one in 2 weeks time. I’m expecting tough, but without the sleep deprivation of a typical Audax.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 31 May, 2021, 02:51:22 pm
Have just ordered a one of these - https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/dell-ultrasharp-40-curved-wuhd-monitor-u4021qw/apd/210-ayjf/monitors-monitor-accessories (https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/dell-ultrasharp-40-curved-wuhd-monitor-u4021qw/apd/210-ayjf/monitors-monitor-accessories)
:o :thumbsup:
When it comes to monitors size does matter and if you get some curve all the better!
Post by: marcusjb on 01 June, 2021, 12:45:42 pm
Bit of a wait though - another 5 weeks.
Post by: marcusjb on 01 June, 2021, 12:47:11 pm
As an aside, I’ve just read your account of the Super Randonee you rode in 2013. Sounded like a tremendous trip. I’m riding the Cambrian one in 2 weeks time. I’m expecting tough, but without the sleep deprivation of a typical Audax.
Going OT - but good luck! Yes, very tough ride, but with 5-6 hours (ish) a night in a hotel bed, all good fun.
Post by: quixoticgeek on 01 June, 2021, 12:53:49 pm
Sun's out, so I've swapped my WFH setup around a bit...
(http://pbs.twimg.com/media/E2y3T5rXIAIFnkq.jpg)
J
Post by: mcshroom on 01 June, 2021, 01:13:41 pm
Post by: Oscar's dad on 01 June, 2021, 01:43:31 pm
I've topped 31oC today. Just having one wall that is basically a double door isn't enough ventilation for my tiny office it seems. I'll need to look at fitting venting to the rear wall of the summerhouse.
Having spent a grand on aircon (the unit does heat as well) the insulation and secondary double glazing I installed seems to be doing a great job keeping my little home office nice and cool ::-) I now insist that global warming really kicks in so I feel like I'm getting value for money ;D
Post by: marcusjb on 01 June, 2021, 02:00:07 pm
Office currently 23.5, but with good air-flow, that's all okay.
If I'm not around and the windows are closed etc., soon shoots up to high 20s (and beyond I am sure).
My eco-friendlier plan is to look at awnings; I think having shade across the front of the office (catches sun until early-mid afternoon) will reduce solar gain considerably.
Post by: psyclist on 01 June, 2021, 02:43:06 pm
Post by: Oscar's dad on 01 June, 2021, 03:45:38 pm
I've topped 31oC today. Just having one wall that is basically a double door isn't enough ventilation for my tiny office it seems. I'll need to look at fitting venting to the rear wall of the summerhouse.
Having spent a grand on aircon (the unit does heat as well) the insulation and secondary double glazing I installed seems to be doing a great job keeping my little home office nice and cool ::-) I now insist that global warming really kicks in so I feel like I'm getting value for money ;D
I'm sat here with my jumper on. Yes, yes, I know. But I am cos I can :smug:
Post by: TimC on 01 June, 2021, 04:47:48 pm
(https://i.imgur.com/XqgN56H.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/QWTRL4b.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/VB8Ot3z.jpg)
Post by: Oscar's dad on 01 June, 2021, 04:51:48 pm
Post by: TimC on 01 June, 2021, 04:53:35 pm
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 01 June, 2021, 05:18:07 pm
Post by: ian on 01 June, 2021, 05:22:50 pm
Post by: Oscar's dad on 01 June, 2021, 05:29:05 pm
Yeah, well the pub is too far away...!
Absolutely! No-one should be expected to travel that far!
Post by: quixoticgeek on 01 June, 2021, 05:41:23 pm
I'm holding out on aircon.
Office currently 23.5, but with good air-flow, that's all okay.
23.5... that's my comfy temp for the flat temperature... That's what I tend to hold it at in winter...
J
Post by: TimC on 01 June, 2021, 06:31:17 pm
Yeah, well the pub is too far away...!
Absolutely! No-one should be expected to travel that far!
I had complained to the council, and to the owners of the pub (one and the same), that the entrance was on the wrong side of the building. Failing a positive response, I'm building my own pub. The Brewer's Legs will be open fifthwith.
Post by: Oscar's dad on 02 June, 2021, 06:18:11 am
Post by: TimC on 02 June, 2021, 04:51:09 pm
@TimC, I'll see if I can get up your way for a visit sometime soonish.
:thumbsup:
Post by: marcusjb on 07 June, 2021, 11:45:06 am
This arrived a month early, which was a surprise!
40 inch ultrawide.
Have a 27inch portrait for email etc. to the left - this may actually be a little too large, and I may drop back down to the 24 inch.
Post by: marcusjb on 07 June, 2021, 03:43:37 pm
An hour of trying the 27-inch in portrait was enough to convince me that it was too large - the top line of my email inbox was far too high.
Back to the old 24-inch.
But the new monitor is going to take a little getting used to! That's a lot of screen real-estate!
Post by: nuttycyclist on 07 June, 2021, 08:42:14 pm
Unfortunately it's getting harder now that so many other people have ultra-wide screens and insist on sharing the whole thing in online meetings.... Also too many presentations and designs are being produced to fit ultra-wide screens and thus can't be seen as well on the normal screen.
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 04 September, 2021, 07:10:36 pm
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51424818069_6ba240564c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mmeCNi)2021-09-04_07-02-14 (https://flic.kr/p/2mmeCNi) by The Pingus (https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_pingus/), on Flickr
Fecking docking station decided to stop working altogether, but that's another story. At least I can stand up without braining myself now.
Eventually I'll get shot of the crap desk arrangement, hopefully.
Post by: Pingu on 05 September, 2021, 08:02:38 pm
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 06 September, 2021, 04:26:40 pm
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51429821736_59dac66abe.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mmFhdq)2021-09-06_02-54-21 (https://flic.kr/p/2mmFhdq) by The Pingus (https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_pingus/), on Flickr
Post by: Pingu on 10 November, 2021, 05:52:15 pm
Minimalist set up with docked kitties.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50590002491_9c6dc3fedf_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2k5sZdg)
IMG_7056_01 (https://flic.kr/p/2k5sZdg) by The Pingus (https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_pingus/), on Flickr
Getting equipment from work, Mrs P's cast-off desk and a new house means my WFH arrangement now looks like this:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51670400658_3e9551bf3a_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mHWiWS)
IMG_9173_01 (https://flic.kr/p/2mHWiWS) by The Pingus (https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_pingus/), on Flickr
Post by: Jaded on 10 November, 2021, 05:56:37 pm
Post by: Feanor on 10 November, 2021, 08:53:36 pm
Post by: Pingu on 10 November, 2021, 09:31:14 pm
Post by: sojournermike on 10 November, 2021, 09:40:50 pm
I might even do a picture when it’s done.
Post by: road-runner on 25 November, 2021, 08:15:00 pm
The big thing, called a cloud because it hangs below the ceiling for acoustic purposes, was completed ...
(https://i.imgur.com/0G4Slhj.jpg)
... and hung in place with two grid things, called space couplers, underneath. My woodworking skills have had to improve to a level beyond what I thought I was capable of.
(https://i.imgur.com/3pkvAKu.jpg)
Along the way we finished the kitchenette ...
(https://i.imgur.com/RHqnWlx.jpg)
... and the toilet.
(https://i.imgur.com/ySdhxuP.jpg)
Two acoustic steel doors, weighing 160kg each, were installed. We got these from Spain at half the price I had been quoted in the UK and without the post-Brexit delivery headaches.
(https://i.imgur.com/7naEh5N.jpg)
Compression closers mean each door shuts so tight that it is air-tight, sound-tight and well on the way to being water-tight.
(https://i.imgur.com/uOqMElo.jpg)
Then the lino floor was laid in the corridor ...
(https://i.imgur.com/KxFtnJf.jpg)
... and right through the kitchen and toilet areas.
(https://i.imgur.com/9bSu1T0.jpg)
From there I have been left to my own devices to lay the studio sub-floor ...
(https://i.imgur.com/kiS5tBS.jpg)
... and the ash wood floor.
(https://i.imgur.com/K6Ab3kx.jpg)
I still have all the acoustics to prepare and install on all 4 walls but in the meantime I have set up the drums and can start working from home. The timing was perfect as I finished setting up the drums on Tuesday and then on Wednesday at midnight Slovakia started another Covid lockdown.
(https://i.imgur.com/RaRtiiN.jpg)
I am enjoying a break from construction activities until the new year.
Post by: Jurek on 25 November, 2021, 08:18:49 pm
Post by: hatler on 25 November, 2021, 08:20:05 pm
Post by: tonyh on 26 November, 2021, 02:40:34 am
Fantastic stuff. That looks amazing.
Yes!
Thanks for posting!
Post by: psyclist on 26 November, 2021, 05:24:25 am
Post by: Oscar's dad on 26 November, 2021, 09:41:37 am
I picked up on the comment about how your woodworking skills have had to improve beyond the level you previously thought possible. I noticed the same thing. Its amazing what giving a job a "good coat of looking at" as my dear old dad used to say, then giving it a bit of thought, maybe having a mooch around YouTube and adding in the proper tools can achieve.
I think we're all looking forward to the next update :thumbsup:
Post by: chrisbainbridge on 26 November, 2021, 12:40:16 pm
Post by: barakta on 26 November, 2021, 03:56:13 pm
Post by: Jaded on 26 November, 2021, 04:38:32 pm
;)
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 11 December, 2021, 08:19:37 pm
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51740104548_ce8a441c74.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mQ6yu5)2021-12-11_07-36-43 (https://flic.kr/p/2mQ6yu5) by The Pingus (https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_pingus/), on Flickr