We Need a Work Space Thread

My friend played the piccolo and flute, and she would take her instruments to this little shop in Salem, Virginia. There was a very small waiting area and a counter. You could look into the work space, which was filled with parts and tools for fixing wind instruments. I never had the nerve to ask him if I could take a few pictures. A vast set of tools and jigs, old and used, and none of which I recognized. It was fascinating. It had the simultaneous organization and clutter or a functional workshop.
 
My friend played the piccolo and flute, and she would take her instruments to this little shop in Salem, Virginia. There was a very small waiting area and a counter. You could look into the work space, which was filled with parts and tools for fixing wind instruments. I never had the nerve to ask him if I could take a few pictures. A vast set of tools and jigs, old and used, and none of which I recognized. It was fascinating. It had the simultaneous organization and clutter or a functional workshop.

Just ask if you can take some pics next time, Steve. I did this too and made a whole series in a local bookshop.
They were even happy that someone found their shop and the people working there so important that he wanted to take photos of them.
And now this series is the only reminder for those who ran it and worked there, because the shop had to close down shortly afterwards as one of the "big players" opened a book shop in our town. They were friendly enough to ask most of the team if they'd like to work for them (knowing they'd get hold of the long-time customers like that).
(The disappearance of the small and good)
 
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Oh, so you mean that kind of workspace:

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Our current and prior house have had dedicated office space. So my wife and I have had back to back desks since about 2002.

I'm on the left a desktop and dual monitors. My wife has a standing desk with dual monitors attached to her work laptop and a CVM switch for her home desktop. I have an old laptop as well, but that's mainly a couch / TV system.


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Okay, just a quick "natural light" shot of the new setup, up and running since yesterday.

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I'm just almost all ideas I had appear to have had the desired effect (some minor deficiencies emerged, but I'll put up with those):
  • I now have a "virtual whiteboard" for tele-teaching: The Wacom One works as intended. I can now use the stylus with OneNote, Whiteboard and of course other applications without any major issues (though it's not multitouch, i.e. not recognised as a touchscreen, so OneNote doesn't allow use of a ruler, but that's minor).
  • The little side monitor makes it simple to keep some information (like a text or script) visible at all times without having to switch applications. In a pinch (which won't happen now, but anyway), I can use the Wacom tablet as another screen as well. I virtually doubled my screen real estate, made it more versatile, and what's more, ergonomics are really good now as well.
  • The webcam makes a world of difference - even though I have to blur the background most of the time (way too busy, but no space for a physical screen ...).
  • Everything is close at hand, including storage and backup, plus there's now enough space for paper and books that won't get in the way anymore.
On a slightly different note, this means that I was able to (finally!) away quite a lot stuff, including three laptops I used occasionally because they offered some feature or other the big machine didn't. It's all solved now to an at least satisfying degree - this took some off-the-beaten-track thinking, but it seems to have worked :)

M.
 
I'm retired, so this is not a workplace :). But still, quite happy with this corner in the living room. Here's where I do everything photography and other mostly general things like mail, finance etc. The iMac is 4 years old but still works very well.

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And I'm allowed to semi-permanently occupy part of the dining table with a laptop used almost exclusively for radio reception. At this very moment I'm listening via headphones to an amateur radio chatting network while I'm sitting behind my main PC. The laptop is a 7-years old Macbook Pro, a hand-off from my son who bought a new Macbook Pro less than a year ago. Yes, my wife tolerates graciously whatever space I'm using for my hobbies :).

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I'm retired, so this is not a workplace :). But still, quite happy with this corner in the living room. Here's where I do everything photography and other mostly general things like mail, finance etc. The iMac is 4 years old but still works very well.

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And I'm allowed to semi-permanently occupy part of the dining table with a laptop used almost exclusively for radio reception. At this very moment I'm listening via headphones to an amateur radio chatting network while I'm sitting behind my main PC. The laptop is a 7-years old Macbook Pro, a hand-off from my son who bought a new Macbook Pro less than a year ago. Yes, my wife tolerates graciously whatever space I'm using for my hobbies :).

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I've been working with Macs since 1990 at home. Of course I've always been surrounded by PCs and had to work on them, too (at high school, my wife's and my son's). My impression with working on the two systems: nothing beats the reliability, longevity and user-friendliness of a Mac (the exception proves the rule). The iMac on my workspace photo has been running for ten and a half years now without any problems. The big partition has High Sierra (OS 10.13.6), the small runs with Snow Leopard (OS 10.6.2) for my older software, both running very stable and without any problems (knock on wood !).
 
Okay, just a quick "natural light" shot of the new setup, up and running since yesterday.

View attachment 219158

I'm just almost all ideas I had appear to have had the desired effect (some minor deficiencies emerged, but I'll put up with those):
  • I now have a "virtual whiteboard" for tele-teaching: The Wacom One works as intended. I can now use the stylus with OneNote, Whiteboard and of course other applications without any major issues (though it's not multitouch, i.e. not recognised as a touchscreen, so OneNote doesn't allow use of a ruler, but that's minor).
  • The little side monitor makes it simple to keep some information (like a text or script) visible at all times without having to switch applications. In a pinch (which won't happen now, but anyway), I can use the Wacom tablet as another screen as well. I virtually doubled my screen real estate, made it more versatile, and what's more, ergonomics are really good now as well.
  • The webcam makes a world of difference - even though I have to blur the background most of the time (way too busy, but no space for a physical screen ...).
  • Everything is close at hand, including storage and backup, plus there's now enough space for paper and books that won't get in the way anymore.
On a slightly different note, this means that I was able to (finally!) away quite a lot stuff, including three laptops I used occasionally because they offered some feature or other the big machine didn't. It's all solved now to an at least satisfying degree - this took some off-the-beaten-track thinking, but it seems to have worked :)

M.
Needs more screens. :whistle: Is that a curved monitor? We have a few here and they are really nice.
 
Is that a curved monitor? We have a few here and they are really nice.
Yes it is; it's a huge step forward from the almost as big, but "classic" monitor I had before. It's also a very solid performer - though the old one was UHD, and this one isn't; colours are very good. Even if it wasn't as good as it is, it's much better for long work and tele-teaching sessions. And being able to run applications in sensible sizes side by side is a huge advantage.

I don't have enough room for two full-size screens, btw. The curved monitor solved that problem quite neatly.

M.
 
We have at the office double-monitors and curved monitors. After short running-in I prefer the curved monitor. That's what I miss from the office, working at home. And fresh coffee from cafeteria, and bagels, and colleagues... Ok, better stop now, you get the picture :|
 
We have at the office double-monitors and curved monitors. After short running-in I prefer the curved monitor. That's what I miss from the office, working at home. And fresh coffee from cafeteria, and bagels, and colleagues... Ok, better stop now, you get the picture :|
Don't get me wrong ... It's not as if I *like* being cooped up at home. Heck, I chose my profession because it *means* working with people, face to face, day by day. But a step forward is a step forward. We have to take in in our stride ...

M.
 
My workspace. I really should have gotten a decent office chair - I just have a directors garden-chair - it was fine for casual use in the study before but now its hard going for several hours a day. Still, the room does get a lot of light and being just a little bit uncomfortable helps me focus on work (I'm a big fan of having office air-con set to chill so as to avoid falling asleep in meetings but that might just be me).

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Tell me, do you pull that curtain down at night to convert your desk into a bed?
True multi-purpose space!
 
Tell me, do you pull that curtain down at night to convert your desk into a bed?
True multi-purpose space!

Heh. There is a sofa-bed just behind my desk. The wall-hanging is an indian-print duvet - very handy for covering a large blank wall (& provides extra insulation - bonus!). House is an early 1900's farmers cottage with a late 80's addition set into the side of a valley. Its only 60sqm so its very compact but like a lot of old houses it really leaks heat as autumn/winter set in. Apart from a decent chair, it actually serves as an office pretty nicely although I get a bit of wifi channel congestion even with a booster towards the rear of the house.
 
Spent some time in the "dungeon", last few days with the grand daughter, (she's 17) teaching her the basics of hand tool wood working. Good times!
My health continues to deteriorate, and cannot continue in the shop for much longer. Making so many small mistakes, about things that I know better. But, cannot hold all the thought pieces, in the right order. It's been a grand trip. But, now need to pass the skills on to the younger generation. She is the only one available at the moment that wants to learn and carry on with it. Have a grand son, in the US Marines that would like to. Maybe some day.
 
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