Desk Update Summer 2020
Originally Posted: August 16th, 2020
Desk Update 2.0
Back in July 2019, I impulsively bought a domain and made this blog. I didn’t have a plan, I just knew it was something I always wanted to do. The first thing I wrote was a review of the computer I had at the time, a 2018 MacBook Air. It wasn’t a very good review, but I didn’t care. It felt good to finally put some of my writing out there.
Since I only had one post, I wanted to add some other stuff to pad out the site before I felt comfortable sharing it with people. I thought it would be interesting to capture the computers I had at the time, and how I had everything setup on my desk. More than anything, I wanted to make the website seem less empty, and that was an easy way to do it.
In the year since, I’ve worked on this website in fits and spurts. I’ve written a lot about Apple, Ubiquiti and Wi-Fi, but have hit a lull in motivation over the past month or two. My early quarantine productivity turned into malaise and endless distraction. I’m hoping to get back to more regular updates heading into to the fall. In that spirit, it is time to pad out this website once again. Here’s an update on what gear I’m using, and what my current desk setup looks like.
Work From Home ∞
Back in March, my wife and I both started working from home. We’re both very lucky to still be employed, and able to do our jobs remotely. However, we only had one office. I am able to get by with just a laptop, so I surrendered the office and desk from the last update. That setup got a better keyboard and a few other small changes, but is mostly the same.
I spent the first few days working from the couch, our kitchen counter, or our bed. It was terrible. I went through denial and into the bargaining phase, when I repurposed our kitchen table into a makeshift desk. After finally hitting acceptance and realizing there was no end in sight, I decided to invest in a proper second office.
Once again, can you tell I like orange?
It’s a work in progress, but this is what I have so far. There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s start with the left side and work our way over.
On the far left is my work-issued Dell laptop and crappy 1080p display. This is what I use for my day job as a network engineer. I have had to go into the office a lot lately for a project I am working on, but when I’m at home, that’s what I use.
To the right of that is my 2020 iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard, next to the hand-shaped phone holder. These things move around and aren’t always there. I have fallen into the habit of leaving my MacBook on the desk and using the iPad when I want to roam around the house, or want a personal device to bring with me to work.
Desk-ception!
The corner of my L-shaped desk is the center of my setup. This area is usually covered with a lot more junk than shown in the picture. The monitor is a curved 32” 4K 60Hz behemoth from Samsung. I found a good deal on a refurbished model, and have been happy with it. Below it is a random tapestry I am using to hide the cable mess under the desk. The Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad 2 are sometimes accompanied by a cheap Logitech wireless mouse, but I primarily use the trackpad. Once you get used to 3 and 4 finger gestures, it’s hard to go back.
Quick side note on software: I primarily write in Markdown, and use Drafts or Ulysses. I have tried way too many text editors over the past year, but those are the two I’ve landed on. I really wish Squarespace’s Markdown support was better, and I’m hoping to eventually move to my own custom CMS or possibly Wordpress.
Other random items: a cheap wireless charger under the left side of the screen, dutifully charging my AirPods Pro. In the middle is my Buffway slim wallet. The coffee mug says “We don’t make mistakes, we make happy little accidents” and has Bob Ross on the opposite side. When you pour hot liquids into the mug, it reveals a mountain scene under the black background. I don’t mind cold coffee, but if I wasn’t so lazy I would have filled it up again for the sake of the picture.
Just to the right of the mug is my old AirPods, and my 2020 13" MacBook Pro. That is sitting on this monitor stand, which isn’t exactly what I wanted it to be. I should have been more careful measuring the size of the feet on the Samsung monitor, but it was hard to get an accurate measurement from the pictures I could find online. I eventually want to get something to sit under the monitor and raise it up, but I’m in no rush to spend more money on this setup right now.
Getting back to the bigger picture, to the right of the desk is my eye-searingly orange file cabinet (Thanks Aunt Pat and Tina!) which has some Cisco CCNP certification books on it. Also pictured is a Ubiquiti UAP-AC-HD I have for testing, a Cisco 2702i, and a Cisco Catalyst 9300 switch I am borrowing from work to configure and play around with.
If you squint, you can see the little desk lamp I have behind the monitor, which I use for backlighting at night. I want to get some proper lighting, but that can wait. I also have the box for my UniFi Dream Machine and BeaconHD sitting out.
When I’m not taking pictures of my desk it’s usually much messier. Dog hair is everywhere and there’s usually a dog or a cat sleeping by my feet. It’s not a bad place to be.
Time to get to work.
