

Ask HN: What is on your desk besides your computer (and components), and phone? - oziumjinx

I have a few business magazines, a picture of an island off the coast of New Zealand, a picture of a Porsche 911, vitamins, a stack of biz cards, and a small fan.
======
cydonian_monk
Hmm.... A small desk lamp, a scotch tape dispenser, two unused staplers, two
unused hole punches, two vertical wire-files for the bits of loose paper that
won't go away (one of which is completely empty, the other half-so), two
stainless steel water bottles, my sunglasses, the wrist watch I never wear, my
keys, a couple of smaller writing pads, and three VOIP phones (for testing).
There's also a couple tech books that I never open (because I use the eBook
versions on my iPhone, exNook, etc., now instead), along with the latest
squarebound corporate policy tome that says I shouldn't post this.

All that and a small model bus with my hometown on the destination board to
remind me that if I fail I'll be back on that bus going somewhere I fought to
get out of.

~~~
hammock
I like the bus reminder. I need one of those.

------
mikey_p
Legal pads. With all the technology I deal with on a regular day, nothing
beats having a legal pad handy to jot notes on. Something about handwriting
really seems to help me remember interesting things from Hacker news, or odd
notes from phone calls.

------
sea6ear
You are looking at the cubical of an average systems administrator. You notice
a few items scattered around the desk (the computer is locked down and cannot
be taken)

Random Books:

    
    
      Pointers on C
      C Programing Language
      Unix Power Tools
      Sed and Awk
      Classic Shell Scripting
      Unix in a Nutshell
    

A set of index cards (half size 2.5x3) with lists for next tasks for each
project/issue being tracked.

A couple of notebooks

A coffee mug and a cup of water

A green marker for the Whiteboard

There is an exit to the West.

------
hammock
Papers of current project, pop-up post it dispenser (indispensable, no pun
intended), a few books I'm currently reading, etch-a-sketch.

------
veyron
sweeping from left to right, excluding imac, kbd, mouse, cell phone, extra
monitor: \- despair.com "Potential" desktopper \- graph 8.5x11 notepad \-
small form diary/calendar \- sunglasses \- my keys [ironically, to a 911 turbo
s cabrio] \- delcom usb led 904005-SB
[http://www.delcomproducts.com/productdetails.asp?productnum=...](http://www.delcomproducts.com/productdetails.asp?productnum=904005-SB)
\- two ipads and two ipod touches \- book for financial exam \- lego police
set [police minifigure collection] and lego helicopter \- cars from a few lego
train sets \- cufflinks \- pencil holder with staedler 0.3 drafting pencils \-
american express

~~~
oziumjinx
If that 911 turbo s cabrio is black with black wheels im probably looking at
the same car.

~~~
veyron
I went with the light blue metallic. That color is strangely entrancing at
night [my 335xi is in a very similar hue]

------
inshane
A few business cards, various papers, glass of water, mug of pens/pencils
etc., postcard received from a friend visiting Amsterdam, small buddha statue
kind of like this: <http://bit.ly/iO2Iy5>

------
cfinke
Nothing. A cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind.

~~~
joebadmo
The reply I've always heard to this is: "Then is an empty desk the sign of an
empty mind?"

~~~
cfinke
I do believe that you've picked up what I put down.

Seriously though, my desktop is essentially bare. I like the space to spread
my arms out as I think, and I find that a large clean surface allows me to
concentrate better than a desk full of books, knickknacks, and office supplies
does.

~~~
joebadmo
Yes, me too. People have mistaken my cubicle for an unoccupied one.

------
nametoremember
From left to right on my deak

A ball, my phone, my laptop, three pens, a mug and a lottery ticket.

------
pokoleo
Screwdriver, book on electric circuits, mug with spare change. (feet)

------
fagatini
* 24 pack of Mt. Dew. * "Learning javascript and vb" book * Unopened bills from 4 months ago * Double dildo * Lube

~~~
allwein
Dude, I'd be embarrassed admitting something like that was on my desk.

 _shakes head at vb book_

~~~
veyron
I kinda wish I had a vb book. I could handle vb6 way back when, but now the
whole .NET thing makes me cry (why is it System.Drawing.Color.Red????)

~~~
billswift
Microsoft sells keyboards.

------
dataminer
a water bottle

