Thinking of redoing my desk

[xsphat]

My quest for a minimalist lifestyle coupled with my love of all things Asian has led me to want to so this sort of a set up.



I think it would be the best and most productive way to work on my writing. About a week ago, I striped my desk of everything except my MacBook on an iCurve, HHKB Pro 2 and Razer Copperhead, speakers, pen cup and stapler. Since then, I have been a lot happier and my writing has also improved.

This has inspired me to get rid of everything else I don't use on a regular basis. So what do you guys think? Could you work on a small low table (tsukue in Japanese) with only the barest of essential work items?

[bigpook]

Man, I would need at least a chair and a desk. Sitting on the floor for hours would kill me.

[xsphat]

I love sitting on pillows on the floor. You'd get used to it after a while.

[iMav]

Back when I used to work for a living, I could get by with just a serial terminal (and did for a couple of days one time).  I even spent a couple of weeks after a blown power supply episode with only a serial terminal and external modem at home.  (my internet usage at that time consisted of a text-based email client (PINE, which I still use off and on today), searching public FTP sites with archie, usenet participation, and IRC.)

[bigpook]

I would still need a chair for my back.The pillow sounds nice but I would tend to hunch over to get to the keyboard. It would not take long for pain to set in for me.

[bigpook]

The barest of essentials for me would be a traditional desk, and a good chair. Maybe something to put my books on/in. You have to consider the computers too, unless they are in a different room. Beyond that I don't know.

[iMav]

I would still need a chair for my back.The pillow sounds nice but I would tend to hunch over to get to the keyboard. It would not take long for pain to set in for me.

Same here.  If I had only a few pillows and the floor, I'd likely choose to lay on my back, pillows under my head, prop my knees up and have the laptop on my lap.

Heck, for nearly a year, this was my "home" setup:

[bigpook]

lol, wait till you get older : ) You will appreciate a quality chair and  proper seating. I sit at my computer for hours on end. I make an effort to keep my arms straight, and level with the keyboard. I keep my back straight and keep my head up. So far I haven't gotten any RSI or any pain in my wrists or hands.

[xsphat]

In Asian countries, they have chairs without legs that sit on the floor. I don't remember what they are called over there but I've heard them called "wandering monk" chairs here. They even sell them here for kids. I may consider getting one of those. They have real ones on BeNippon for like $70 USD. Check them out, they look really comfy.

As for books, I used to keep a reference library on my desk, but now between the Dictionary app in OS X, Wikipedia and Google, there really isn't a question I can't get an answer to (well, there are, but I don't write about those things), so I've been phasing them out and rarely use them anymore.

When I upgrade my computer this fall, I am getting another MacBook just like the one I have now the latest model. I really like this computer, so why not?

[bigpook]

The wandering monk chair can be had here:
http://www.zenbydesign.com/newchair/monk.html

I can't see getting rid of my books just yet though. I like having these within reach.

[xsphat]

This chair is better:
http://www.zenbydesign.com/newchair/rama.html

[xsphat]

I can see it would be hard to not have those books around.

[jemkeys]

What are we doing, moving backwards in time?  Western chairs are the best.  They support your back, and allow you to keep your legs fully extended for greater blood-flow.

Liking Asian stuff for it's uniqueness is one thing... but it's certainly not utilitarian.  I'd have a hard time believing anyone could be more productive with their legs crossed and under them, sitting an inch above the floor, and hunched over.

But again, if you want it for it's coolness factor - that's understandable .

[itlnstln]

@bigpook:

1000 books = Google, FTW!

When I started learning SQL and ASP.NET VB (the self-teaching way), I bought all types of books (mainly for the ASP.NET stuff, I have always been good w/SQL) for reference/learning.  I tried so hard to use them, but, damn, if Google wasn't easier every time.  It was that, and every problem I seemed to come across never was addressed in the books, it was always some obscure, rarely-used function or procedure that worked-around limitations in the language.  I'm not knocking it by any means, but I have not been able to use desk references since around '93 or '94.  Although, I still have old MS Access, Paradox, Harvard Graphics, etc. QUE reference manuals from way back for nostalgia purposes.

[xsphat]

I'm testing different things and this has been my biggest and most successful test of late. Like I said before, I have always been like this and into this stuff. I've been to friend's homes where there isn't even a western chair to be found. Even grandpa sat on the floor in that family. And the thing about these desks is they are small and light enough that I can slide them over my legs to prevent hunching.

I know this isn't going to be for everyone.

What about Asian geekhackers, what do you guys have to say?

[xsphat]

When I started learning SQL and ASP.NET VB (the self-teaching way), I bought all types of books (mainly for the ASP.NET stuff, I have always been good w/SQL) for reference/learning.  I tried so hard to use them, but, damn, if Google wasn't easier every time.  It was that, and every problem I seemed to come across never was addressed in the books, it was always some obscure, rarely-used function or procedure that worked-around limitations in the language.  I'm not knocking it by any means, but I have not been able to use desk references since around '93 or '94.  Although, I still have old MS Access, Paradox, Harvard Graphics, etc. QUE reference manuals from way back for nostalgia purposes.

No matter what anyone says, books are cool. I have a ton of English texts on the shelf directly to the right of my desk, but electronic tools always hold the answers. There are a few that simply can't be replaced like the AP Stylebook, Zounds and Talk the Talk, but they are getting to be few and far between.

And for reading for pleasure, hell will freeze before I'll give up paper.

[bigpook]

Most technical books do go out of date pretty quick. But at the time they served a need. Most of them are dated now, however not all of them are door stops. I won't get rid of them though.
Most/all information can be had by doing a google search. But a book can be nice to have. Its portable, you can write in the margins, you can give a book to another person. Its great when I am in place with no internet connectivity, like the beach. Yeah , I read about Postfix when I am at the beach, and Samba too.

My other library is larger and is either fiction or non-fiction, soft-cover and hard-cover. There are some books I have read multiple times, and some of them only once.
But I like books. I like the paper, and the feel of the pages. Its like the difference between an analog clock and a digital clock. I will take analog each time.

I have friends that don't buy books. Thats what a library is for, so they tell me.  I suppose that is true, but I like walking across the room and just pulling one off the shelf. I read 4 books at a time, at my leisure, at my pace. Getting information off of an LCD display is efficient and cold, and there is nothing wrong with that. But I can't curl up on the couch with a 20" LCD.
Give me a good book, a cup of coffee and a Saturday afternoon. I am happy.

[xsphat]

BigPook, I think you're a pretty cool dude.

[bigpook]

BigPook, I think you're a pretty cool dude.

Thanks man : )