December Days in Photos: Day 11: Doing Science

[nanila]

[Me sitting in what the bloke calls "NASA HQ": my home office.]

silveradept asked for a photo of me doing science. I'm afraid this may have turned out to be less exciting than anticipated, since most of what I do is sit in front of a pair of large flat screen monitors and tinker. Anyway, here I am at my desk at home, with my overly long hair half-pinned up. Essential fuel sits in front of me on my desk: a glass of water and a cup of tea. Precariously balanced, semi-organised piles of paper are to my left and a printer/scanner to my right. My notebook, in which I still faithfully record by hand the instrument status every day, as well as meeting notes, etc. On the left screen can be seen instrument ops (this is why the photo is deliberately out of focus) and on the right, a Word document containing an abstract submission that I'm procrastinating on by writing this post in progress.

My desk is not actually a single piece of furniture. It is a piece of wooden kitchen worktop balanced on a pair of lime green filing cabinets (which are packed to the gills). It provides a large surface at a comfortable height, and it was a lot cheaper than buying a desk this size would have been.

Comments

[ayebydan]

That desk idea is GENIUS! Urgh I am so looking into that. I desperately need a new desk but everything is all 'computer desks' and I'm like yes but people tend to need more than just their computer on their desk. Even the desk I have isn't big enough. My books are stacked on top of my chest of drawers which is next to my desk. And my bed gets all my paperwork notes when I'm writing an essay. But you're idea...more cabinets. More space. I like it.

[nanila]

I hear you. I spent a bit more than necessary on my filing cabinets because I wanted a particular colour, but I imagine you could easily do this for about £150 (~£40 each for the cabinets, the rest for the slab of countertop), less if you were a diligent eBayer.

[whereisirisnow]

By now, I've come to realise that 'sitting in front of a computer' is science. *sigh*

Also, I am starting to think hoping that procrastination is part of science as well. Otherwise I am a very, very bad scientist :p

[nanila]

Yes, unless you're lucky enough to end up doing interesting field work, which is rare enough anyway, that is quite a bit of what science is. And even field workers have to spend time analysing and writing up results, which is...sitting in front of a computer.

Procrastination is definitely part of science.

[omnipotent]

Woot for thrifty desk! My friend made a desk with filing cabinets and a tabletop, and it was lovelier than most of the desks one can purchase at a furniture store.

Your hair looks good half-pinned up!

[nanila]

Very cool! I wouldn't say mind is lovely. I definitely need, at some point, to have a good go at sanding down and repolishing the top. But it isn't ugly, and it's very big, which is great.

Thank you!

[pbristow]

Yay! Who needs them fancy expensive curved screens anyway? V-shapes for all, I say! =:o}

(My V-shape actually serves two different computers, and the monitors are totally unmatched to each other anyway (size, resolution, quality, everything!)... But it still looks cool! =:o}

[nanila]

The V-shape meets my needs!

I've got another setup at work, but the monitors are, like yours, totally unmatched. One of them is ancient and I suspect on its last legs. I should probably have it replaced soon. I shall miss it when it's gone, though.

[silveradept]

Thank you - this is an excellent picture of doing science, which is rather more crunching numbers and writing papers than many people believe.

Also, go you on finding a deal solution that works for you - mine has all the mess and none of the room.

[nanila]

Huzzah, I'm glad you liked it, boringly honest as it is!

I'm hoping to have a bash at tidying those papers on Monday & Tuesday, having largely cleared the decks at work for the holidays.