Yes, I’m speaking in Lolcat. I’m tired, and that’s about the speed my brain is operating at. Also, I’m working out the kinks, as it were, of the new desk and it’s not… not quite right. I’m seeing the potential in it, though, and that’s pretty cool. It’s all part of the new house, the new surroundings, and the new time (hah!) I’ll have to write in.
The desk is a counter-height jobbie with a drafting top. I can tilt it for drawing or painting, or set it flat for typing. I’m experimenting with typing on the slant, but I’ll tell you now the mouse does not work! On the slant it gets frisky and tries to run away from me. My mouse hasn’t got a leash, so an abrupt leap to the floor might be fatal. Right now, I’m using a folding barstool for sitting at it, but it’s a comfortable height for me to use as a standing desk. Which I can do, because both my monitors are floating. Mice running, monitors floating… It’s cool. I’m not that spacey – the monitors are on adjustable arms and secured to the wall above my desk. The only minor problem is that I had one short cable for the far monitor and it’s thrown off my planned desk alignment.
Which, really, is all part and parcel of life. You can make plans, get everything carefully laid out, and the unexpected detail throws it out of whack. This move hasn’t been flawless, by any means, but it is going overall on the timeline we’d discussed when it started. The slow move has allowed us to do things like taking today mostly off, recovering from yesterday’s big push to get the kitchen fully here, not there, along with a good portion of the books. I’ve been putting stuff away as we go, so the house is orderly, even if no-one knows where to find the can opener (I put it away. It’s here, somewhere). This means that we can relax this evening, making dinner, and I don’t feel like I’m rummaging through boxes to find all the things.
Hopefully, this will mean a return to routine blogging. At least, maybe not daily, but weekdays? I still have a ton to do at the other house – cleaning, more cleaning, and hiring a cleaning crew! I’m also slowly working on my garden, a little here, a little there. It’ll take me years. As our friend Todd told me earlier while I was hanging a coat rack, about the time I get this house the way I like it, we’ll be getting ready to sell it. The Junior Mad Scientist, helping me hang curtains in the kitchen, told me that it’s looking homely. “What? Why is it ugly?” I asked, staring at the curtains I’d just bought.
“It’s not ugly. I like it. I meant homely.”
“Oh. The “L” makes all the difference. Homey is warm and welcoming, a homely kid is an ugly one.”
“It’s definitely homey, then!”
Homemaking is an art. I want to create a secure nest for my family, to have it gracious and welcoming for guests, and practical for the things we do on a daily basis. Like me sitting here typing and listening to the girls chatter while the JMS makes devilled eggs and the Ginja Ninja makes chili cheese fries for dinner. And now I have to go make cornbread!
Comments
31 responses to “I can Haz Desk”
Oooooooooooo. [envious sigh] Nice set up, there.
Thanks 🙂 The desk was flat-pack from Amazon and assembling it was a bit of an adventure. But I’ve been using what is now our dining room table for a desk for the last year, so this was a good excuse for me to upgrade. The arms were also Amazon, and while some are very expensive, these were about $22 each.
I’m so happy for ya’ll *smiles*.
when operating that PC, do you lower the monitors considerably? otherwise, after awhile expect the ‘head tilted up’ viewing angle to become painful.
Yes. Right now I’m experimenting with where they need to be in order to work comfortably. And they may need moved when I switch from stand to sit and vice versa. It’s going to take some time, and a new chair.
yeah, just be careful about that
Funny, funny, funny. Some thinker once postulated that seemingly coincidental events are both caused by one single causation we cannot detect. Earlier today, for the first time in many years, I actually went to visit the “I can haz cheezburger” site, if for no other reason than to see if it was still alive. (It is, btw,) And today you mention it. This must be what Yoda meant by “feeling a disturbance in the Force.” According to this guy, something not detectable in this reality made us both think Lolcat. Ever thought of a distant friend and had them call you five minutes later? Same damn spooky thing.
Why not switch to a trackpad to solve your runaway mouse problem? 🙂 I haven’t used a mouse in over 5 years…
because trackpads are the devil’s work? no, but seriously, some people don’t like trackpads and i have no idea how you’d get any kind pf precision with one.
Someone suggested a trackball, which would work. I’ve used them in the past and liked them. I could just use my pentablet, which will stay put on the slope, too.
Beats the dogmeat outta changing the incline every time you need a mouse.
Well, I can set the mouse on the flat over to the side, but it’s a stretch at times.
Get the trackball and call it a day, Life is too short to deal with bad ergonomics.
If you hit a mouse enough times with a broom, the mouse problem stops. Just remember to wipe the mess up after disposing of the mouse.
You know what your house needs? Chickens.
Like decor? I have potholders with chickens on them 😉 but real chickens, no. I have neither the time nor the inclination to keep fowl.
You want chickens…. Admit it.
IF she ever decides she wants chickens (a big IF right now, LOL!) I have Icelandics and will gift her some. They are cute, good layers (I’m getting six to eight eggs per day right now from my eight hens, usually seven), good foragers, and will go broody. Excellent homestead birds.
I don’t want chickens! Lol
LOL! I know you don’t — but if you ever do, I’ll give you some!
And there are those of us who remember when the height of workplace humor was removing the ball from your coworker’s mouse.
Not, of course, that I ever stooped to do that.
I bet the tilted desktop would offset the tendency for any flat surface to become a landing pad for household stuff.
I have co-workers who have tapped things to the bottom of a laser mouse so it wouldn’t move.
Funny, I was just admiring the beautiful emptiness of the desktop. By all means keep it tilted!
Someone already suggested the trackball, which has been my pointing device for AT LEAST 15 years, but that chair looks uncomfortable. I got the idea from a company of programmers to use a recliner, keyboard in my lap, trackball on the arm. One of my first trackballs was so big I had to duct-tape it to the arm of the chair to get it to stay, but the Logitech M570 sits pretty, compliantly, most of the time.
It also means that naps are relatively easy to take. Depending on your circumstances, that may or may not be a benefit.
Cedar, I bought this chair last year, which at a hundred bucks, seems to be the same quality as chairs costing 2 or 3 times as much. PITA to assemble, but I suspect all are. I’d tout it. It’s comfortable enough for hours long writing sessions. Disclaimer: I have been called a hardass.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MRZ02TL/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Ah, one of those “Yes, we have a wonderful ergonomic track-…”
* Rests LEFT hoof on it*
“…uhm.”
things. Someone once said there is a left version of it, but I’ve never encountered it. Fortunately, the wired ambi version suffices for my purpose.
That desk looks like something I have been trying to find for 2 or 3 years now. I have some serious space issues and would dearly love to get rid of the card-table that I have been using for ages. Got if off Amazon, eh?
Trackballs make my wrist hurt… but anyway: velcro on the desk and a corresponding bit of velcro tape on the bottom of the mouse, and you’ve got a mouse that can handle being set down all the way to vertical. Multiple anchors on the desk, if need be. You can buy self-stick velcro tape; wonderfully useful stuff. You’ll have to experiment to see if you prefer the hook side on the mouse or the desk.
If a trackball makes your wrist hurt, you may have the wrong type, or have it set in the wrong place on the desk.
I have used a Logitech for about 20 yrs, after having mouse use wreck my wrist.
The heel of my hand never moves from the housing, and the ball can be set to as much or little sensitivity as needed. About $20. https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/trackman-marble
Love the clean desk. I only see that when I move to a new house, and then only for a week or so. Echo the comment above on the monitor height and viewing angles. For me height, angle, and distance are critical, but then I do use reading glasses.
Thanks for the books you have done, looking forward to more. JPDev
LOL! at JMS’s confusion on homely vs homey! Nice that she thinks the new house is becoming homey, though! I look forward to the day when our new house looks homey….
It will! I’m looking forward to having some time to come down there and help a bit.