What does your computer desk look like?

[Misery]

Not bad, I wouldn't mind trying-out a typewriter just for the sake of it, I have come across a few of them in the past, and got an idea have how tricky they can be for a modern man like me.

Typewriters are one of those things where you dont really need one, not in this day and age... but they sure are neat. We used to have one over at my mom's house. Though that was back when computers were far less user-friendly, so I was the only one that used the machine we had. So my mom had this typewriter that was kinda old even at that point, but that's what she could use.

It was a mechanical one. AKA, at random intervals (like, every few seconds) it would try to eat your fingers. They do that, those older ones. Definitely if someone had a real need for one these days you'd want an electronic one.

 

[Gerontius]

Not bad, I wouldn't mind trying-out a typewriter just for the sake of it, I have come across a few of them in the past, and got an idea have how tricky they can be for a modern man like me.

Don't expect them to work properly after sitting idle for 40 years. Mine will break down if I don't use it every couple of weeks, and then I need to clean it with sewing-machine oil on a rag and maybe either gasoline or distillate to wash the "segment" where the type bars go. When they are restored they run rather nicely and there really is no trick to it at all if you have good touch typing technique. (And later models from the 1930s-1970s have "touch control" you can adjust, governing how much force is needed when you type--after that, then the electronic ones show up and they are about like a really nice computer keyboard.)

Do you write paper with a typewriter?!

I write everything on it except poetry because honestly, poetry is easier to draft on paper.

It was a mechanical one. AKA, at random intervals (like, every few seconds) it would try to eat your fingers. They do that, those older ones. Definitely if someone had a real need for one these days you'd want an electronic one.

I've written a ton of stuff on the one in the picture since I found it, including a full-length book (two drafts.) In total, probably a quarter million words on this one machine. It's 100% mechanical, all parts are original, 93 years old (built 1927) and is my "daily driver."

What causes them to eat your hands, is a combination of poor maintenance, occasionally badly designed typewriters (cheap late-model portables) and typing technique. I watched WWII typing tutorial films to get the knack down, and have been fine since at it. Can't remember the last time I ended up getting my hand caught in a keyboard.

Electronic ones are OK (and the all-electric ones like the IBM Electric are legendary) but it's not a necessity. They're easier to maintain than manuals which need frequent cleaning & oiling to be usable--but if you know how to work on a manual there is no reason it cannot work as well as any other typewriter. I have had many 1920s and '30s typewriters that were just as good as the day they were made.

 

[Greatshield17]

It was a mechanical one. AKA, at random intervals (like, every few seconds) it would try to eat your fingers.

Okay, my pinky is recovering from a second degree burn via, a run-in with freshly-cooked pizza; so I'm thinking twice.

 

[Misery]

You can't see it from the angle shown, but my desk is way messier then yours!

Hmmmmm

How's that? This is desk #2. Mostly this is where I have food while watching Youtube (cant have food in the basement, because rules). The laptop isnt good for much else. Desk #1 is in the basement, this one is in my room.

 

[clg114]

I've never used a modern computer...just Windows 7, MacOS whatever was in 2017, Win95, and Windows XP. One of these days I want to try driving something nice, computer-wise.

What games are you playing on that thing? I see one controller at least, a gaming mouse, and a sweet keyboard.

I have a 13 year old computer that came with Windows 7. When they stopped supporting Windows 7, I changed it to Windows 10. It is not hard to do, free and a big improvement. This gives me time before I have to buy a new computer.

 

[Judge]

View attachment 63586

That picture needs some music to go with it. Indulge me and my OCD...

But then I also worked for an employer who fired people for not maintaining their workspace to corporate standards. Tough crowd...

 

[Judge]

I have a 13 year old computer that came with Windows 7. When they stopped supporting Windows 7, I changed it to Windows 10. It is not hard to do, free and a big improvement. This gives me time before I have to buy a new computer.

Agreed, though my only concern is if Microsoft ever releases a version of Windows 10 that could potentially make older software- or hardware non-functional. Geez, I even figured out how to run a full version of Photoshop 5.5 (circa 1999) on Windows 10, though some features can cause Photoshop to crash.

I'm still running version 1903 and have no interest in updating to the most recent version 2004. Funny how often I can find articles advising users not to be too fast in downloading such comprehensive operating system "improvements". Though most of the mandatory security-oriented updates are always uploaded immediately.

 

[clg114]

I can't remember the last time I saw the top of my desk, that's how cluttered it is.

Somewhere on my desk there is a sign that says "A Clean Desk is a Sign of a Sick Mind." I haven't seen it for a while.

 

[Greatshield17]

Please do reveal the titles of all those books which are just tantalizingly obscured by shadows!

Okay, from left to right there's all four volumes of The Mystical City of God by Venerable Maria Agreda, The Catechism of the Council of Trent, (I've got a nicer, leather-bound one from Baronius Press which I use instead.) Cor Jesu Sacratissimum by Roger Buck, On the Trinity by Saint Augustine, Mariology by Joseph Pohle, On the Incarnation by Saint Athanasius, Dialogue with Trypho by Saint Justin Martyr, The Dialogue of Saint Catherine of Siena, by the same female Saint mentioned in the title of said book, The Epistle of Barnabas, by the titular person, Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII, The Didache by the Early Church, City of God by Saint Augustine (Abridged version and not to be confused with the Mystical City of God, mentioned above.) The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the Carmelite Order, (I've got a leather bound book from Baronius press by the same name, but the prayers are oddly quite different in the two books, and the ones in the paperback version shown are much longer.) Church Fathers by Pope Benedict XVI (Now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) Behold Your Mother by Tim Staples, How to be Holy by Peter Kreeft; and in the stack on the right there's Father Elijah by Michael O'Brien, The Secret of the Rosary by Saint Louis de Montfort, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawerence, Signs of Life by Scott Hahn, St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism No. 1, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Dr. Ludwig Ott, Moral Theology Vol. I: Books I - III by Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, and (not visible in the photo) A Textual Concordance of the Sacred Scriptures: Douay-Rheims Version by Thomas David Williams.

 

[Greatshield17]

Hmmmmm

View attachment 63586

How's that? This is desk #2. Mostly this is where I have food while watching Youtube (cant have food in the basement, because rules). The laptop isnt good for much else. Desk #1 is in the basement, this one is in my room.

Okay you win, although I wouldn't mind trying having Mountain Dew, chips & crakcers at my desk while being on my computer, and having toothpaste at my desk looks rather convenient.

 

[Gerontius]

having toothpaste at my desk looks rather convenient.

It's the appetizer course.

 

[dragonfire42]

Mine looks like a pair of upper legs covered by blue jeans. I just have a laptop that I use on, well, my lap.

 

[Judge]

Okay you win, although I wouldn't mind trying having Mountain Dew, chips & crakcers at my desk while being on my computer, and having toothpaste at my desk looks rather convenient.

Don't forget a urinal. But expect to stand up to use it with any accuracy.

 

[Gerontius]

Don't forget a urinal. But expect to stand up to use it with any accuracy.

Thought that's what the Mountain Dew bottle was for. Now it's the same color going out as coming in, so make sure you hear the seal crack when you open a full one.

 

[Greatshield17]

Thought that's what the Mountain Dew bottle was for. Now it's the same color going out as coming in, so make sure you hear the seal crack when you open a full one.

LOL, eww.

 

[Misery]

Don't forget a urinal. But expect to stand up to use it with any accuracy.

Fortunately not necessary in my case. The room has it's own bathroom, very convenient.

The problem it DOES have though is that the temperature in that room is *very* unstable. It's either boiling, or freezing. There's a vent there that doesnt quite work right. When it's closed, it's still open. The bloody thing. And the room is directly over the heater (and it's a huge one, to heat a house this size), AND the AC unit is right under my window, because of course it is. It also has more electronic stuff than any other room in the house.

It's summer, very hot outside... but the room is usually cold. Ugh.

 

[Greatshield17]

Fortunately not necessary in my case. The room has it's own bathroom, very convenient.

The problem it DOES have though is that the temperature in that room is *very* unstable. It's either boiling, or freezing. There's a vent there that doesnt quite work right. When it's closed, it's still open. The bloody thing. And the room is directly over the heater (and it's a huge one, to heat a house this size), AND the AC unit is right under my window, because of course it is. It also has more electronic stuff than any other room in the house.

It's summer, very hot outside... but the room is usually cold. Ugh.

My townhouse unit was supposed to have an air conditioner installed by now but haven't due to various reasons, including disagreements regarding townhouse rules for the installing something in one's unit. I'm having some very hot days here recently, I do have two fans running here and I leave the windows open, but it's only helped slightly. Also last night there were a lot of river moths flying around in this room, the screen in my window has a small gap in the frame and thus, some bugs are able to squeeze into my place.

 

[Misery]

My townhouse unit was supposed to have an air conditioner installed by now but haven't due to various reasons, including disagreements regarding townhouse rules for the installing something in one's unit. I'm having some very hot days here recently, I do have two fans running here and I leave the windows open, but it's only helped slightly. Also last night there were a lot of river moths flying around in this room, the screen in my window has a small gap in the frame and thus, some bugs are able to squeeze into my place.

Ah yes, my mom's house was kinda like that when I used to stay there. Well, they CAN have the AC on, but they dont like to. Apparently it costs 5 bazillion dollars per second to do so. So, fans and windows, yep.

But also, bugs.

And the most common insect in that house, is this:

I tell ya, it's quite the experience to look down, and find one of those sitting on your foot. And they can be *big*. Fortunately I've always been fine with insects to be honest, and the things are totally harmless (they actually eat other things that qualify as pests, like ants or termites). To this day the things still inhabit that house.

But... I mean, look at that. For alot of people that is nightmare incarnate.

And there we go, that's today's contribution to everyone's mental health, you're all welcome.

 

[Greatshield17]

But also, bugs.

And the most common insect in that house, is this:

View attachment 63591

I tell ya, it's quite the experience to look down, and find one of those sitting on your foot. And they can be *big*. Fortunately I've always been fine with insects to be honest, and the things are totally harmless (they actually eat other things that qualify as pests, like ants or termites). To this day the things still inhabit that house.

But... I mean, look at that. For alot of people that is nightmare incarnate.

And there we go, that's today's contribution to everyone's mental health, you're all welcome.

For a brief time my family and I once lived in Tennessee when I was small, and one of the first things I did as a child was crawl into the kitchen cupboards and explore. Later, my parents discovered that the cupboards, and much of the house was infested with big centipedes or millipedes or the like; I'm not sure if they were the same, or similar to the species you've posted. My parents were not fans, especially my mom, she actually told me that at night sometimes, she could actually hear hosts of them, dropping down from the ceiling to the floor somewhere in the house.

 

[Isadoorian]