
Analog Memory Desk - damian2000
http://kcamara.com/analog-memory-desk
======
DanBC
It's kind of funny to see HNers talking about the failings of this desk, and
gradually re-designing it - make it smaller, make the top sheet removable to
remove coffee stains, etc -until they end up with something that already
exists.

These are called "Desk Pads" or "Desk Mats".
[http://www.staples.co.uk/calendar-desk-mat-
refill/cbs/413046...](http://www.staples.co.uk/calendar-desk-mat-
refill/cbs/413046.html?promoCode=200200555&Effort_Code=WW&Find_Number=413046)

You don't buy them. Your supplier buys them and has them branded and sends
them to you with a bunch of calendars and wall charts.

EDIT: I do love the desk though. I'd use the hell out of it. I like the
scrolling aspect even though that'd make things harder to find. I'm gently
worried about the strength of butcher's paper. there was a link on HN the
other day about how people used to use rolls instead of books, and was talking
about cookery scrolls. I thought then of a miniature version of this desk for
cookery books. With a wipeclean glass top it could be used in the kitchen
without gloop messing up your favourite book.

~~~
koralatov
Desk pads, when branded thoughtfully, can be a really nice freebie from
suppliers, and is one of the few items for which I'd break my `no gifts' rule.
The problem I find is that a lot of suppliers go completely overboard on the
branding and decoration, and leave almost no space for writing on. The last
two years we received them at my old work, the recruitment agency supplying
them had covered about 80% of the surface with black gradients, green
`starbursts', and various other bits of advertising information, leaving a
tiny island of usable space --- perhaps the size of a sheet of A4 paper --- in
the middle of the pad. They ended up in the recycling because, for most
people, an A4 pad was more useful.

As for the strength of butcher-paper, all that I've encountered in the UK has
been pretty strong, and resists breaking/ripping when pulled from either end.
The downside is I've never seen it for sale by the roll in anything other than
kraft/brown, which might limit its usefulness in this case.

~~~
ghaff
White butcher paper definitely exists. (Staples carries it.) I've seen it used
for disposable tablecloths.

------
escherize
The cognitive overhead of sketching a diagram or jotting a todo is hard to
beat.

I'd love to have a setup like this. I would probably let small objects pile up
on its surface though, which would make it hard to turn.

~~~
detaro
Looking at my desk: Not being able to accumulate to much stuff might actually
be a feature...

~~~
koralatov
I'd agree with that. My desks tend to quickly end up buried under books,
papers, desk tools, mail, and everything else that I lay there ``just until I
put it away''. About half of the people I know do the same thing, especially
when it's their desk at home. This desk almost seems to be designed to _not_
allow that to happen, which is counts as a feature rather than a bug to my
mind.

A nice compromise would be to use butcher-paper that's less wide than your
desk is deep, leaving perhaps the back third of the desk uncovered. That way,
you can put your various permanent pieces of desk furniture --- pen-pots,
charger cables, paper trays, whatever else --- at the back of your desk and
still have the front two-thirds as a rolling writing surface.

That also probably makes it easier to use 100% of the depth of the writing
surface, because reaching right to the back of the desk isn't really
practical. A relatively standard UK desk is about 800mm, or ~32", deep, so
having the back 300mm/~11" uncovered would work out pretty well.

 _Edit:_ Just realised that this comment describes a solution that's
functionally equivalent to panic's comment one level above[0], though does
vary a little in the method of implementation.

[0]:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9202054](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9202054)

------
duncanawoods
I'm not sure that remembering a whole lot of coffee stains is worth tipping my
monitor onto the floor everyday, but hey, I'll give it a whirl.

~~~
keithpeter
Try a small fold away table with a top with sides like a tray for the coffee.
I remember those from childhood. They went out of fashion in the 60s.

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msl
My setup is a bit similiar, except that I don't use paper. I just write or
draw directly on my desk with a pencil. Most of my notes are only needed for a
few minutes and they can be easily erased without any tools.

~~~
koralatov
I used to do the same with a grease-pencil at my old job, and found it a
pretty good method for very fleeting information. It did, however, draw
appalled looks from my co-workers, and was ultimately stopped by a new manager
who refused to allow it (``This isn't a f---ing primary school, stop drawing
on your desk!'')

~~~
msl
I've noticed that a lot of people seem to think there is something
fundamentally wrong with it. Some have told me to stop doing it despite having
never seen my desk. Whenever I mention it to people (which I seldom do
nowadays) I'm told to just write on paper like everybody else. Thus far nobody
has been able to explain me what I stand to gain from the switch. Few people
seem to accept my justification (I find dealing with pieces of paper
inconvinient) for my behavior either.

------
unfamiliar
I see no advantage over keeping a notebook. When you finish your notebook,
throw it in a stack of notebooks.

~~~
blablabla123
Yeah, both are write-only... Except you mean electronic Notebooks ;)

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Aardwolf
Looks good, but if it's the desk I'd use daily it needs more legroom, more
storage, and I'd put so much stuff on top that it'd become impractical to
rotate it.

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keithpeter
Looks lovely. Could be used in art galleries for comments & doodles about the
exhibits (then unrolled to make an exhibit itself).

I have been thinking about the inverse idea: a small desk with a plain pine
plank top with a sheet of acrylic over that. A large piece of paper between
the two with schedule/calendar/mind map for a several month project written on
it. Papers archived after project completed. Important changes noted by
lifting the acrylic.

~~~
RBerenguel
I have a large glass over my desktop. Its main use is supposed to be to cut
leather/patterns on it, but I end up putting papers below it to remind me of
stuff. So, it is a handy idea. I prefer glass, even if it is somewhat unwieldy
to lift up (weights a bit)

~~~
javindo
Do you ever get airlock issues where the glass slides around too much? Have
been considering a glass layer on a desk project for a while but I'm concerned
one wrong move and it could end up on the floor!

~~~
dsr_
Install corner brackets (permanent) or an edge lip on three sides with a
rotating lock on the fourth (semi-permanent) or get it drilled for flat hinges
(liftable).

Or use double-sided tape in a color matching the underlayer.

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ludoo
A really nice project, I might build one for my daughter.

I used to have something similar when I studied Architecture: my drawing table
was always covered with thick yellow paper kept in place with painter's tape,
on which I jotted down notes and sketches. This is much more practical, as you
don't have to cut a new sheet of paper when the old one is too dirty/full.

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drinchev
If the authors are here, I suggest them to do a KickStarter project.

I think it would be valuable.

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mhb
Add a line scanner on one edge.

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reitanqild
Certainly interesting and, personally, I find it nice as well.

Wouldn't work for me I guess but maybe a smaller version would do?

I have also considered a strictly personal blog. It would need to be
thoroughly searchable and did I mention personal.

I came across this idea a few years ago when I worked on a solution for
someone with amnesia.

~~~
hobo_mark
> Wouldn't work for me I guess but maybe a smaller version would do?

Yes, and it is called a whiteboard.

The usability of this thing is a nightmare, good luck clearing your desk
everytime you want fresh paper...

How about something less hipster, make it vertical, attach a linear scanner to
one end of the roll to digitize it as it advances.

If you had one of these things in your conference room, after a meeting you
could automatically email to all participants a copy of what was written.

~~~
keithpeter
Whiteboard and phone camera works quite well for recording what was doodled in
a problem solving meeting.

Your vertical roller version with digitiser suggests the use of a continuous
loop of dry marker roller (this used to exist as canvas painted with a heavy
paint that could take dry marker pens. The paint used to crack after some
years though) so after being scanned, the marks are erased...

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Niksko
I would use the fuck out of something like this. In fact, I might build it
into the desk I want to build one day when I have my own place. Maybe not the
whole desk, because as others have pointed out I'd like to have some room to
store things.

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vanderZwan
I think this would be super-interesting to have and use in practice - you'd
probably end up with a kind of stream-of-conscious scroll of your daily
activities!

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cssmoo
That'd just have coffee rings and skid marks from that odd black shit that
comes off the bottom of mice all over it.

Cone to think of it if you spilled something, game over.

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techas
Actually, its best use could be to remove at once all stuff sitting on my desk
:)

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icantthinkofone
I use a pad of paper. I have lots of pads of paper. None of them did I have to
purchase. They were given to me at work or elsewhere for free. So refills are
free, too. Without cranking.

And I get to use my favorite desk. I can clutter it up if I want.

