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Monday, December 17, 2001
Jaime: Neither Mike nor I have written in a long time, but we've had lots to say. Let's see what I can remember!
First off, I think I'm going to freeze to death in here! So cold! But that's not really a function of the pods, much more of a 7th floor playroom problem. I'm wearing my winter parka and still cold.
There were some problems when we first moved here with people visiting too often. That's gone away, although I still don't read my morning newspaper out in the courtyard, since I'm likely to get interupted if I do. I only get visitors as often as I would in my office.
The noise from the 7th floor playroom area, which I had worried would be a problem, actually isn't that bothersome at all. Sometimes it's fun to listen in on what's going on, but mostly I just don't pay it any attention, and it doesn't bother me. One problem with the high walls, though, which Mike mentioned, is that we can't see who's around even though the walls are high. This causes problems with saying private things around people you wouldn't want to hear.
For example, I am a TA for 6.042. Radhika, one of the lecturers, came up to discuss what would be on the final exam. We had discussed quite a bit before we realized one of our students was sitting right outside in the courtyard. Mike and I really like the courtyard, by the way. Nice to have the semi-private space.
It was also hard when I received some personal news on Friday while at work to not have a truly private place where I could go and close the door. I left the pod and went up to my old office.
Ok, my hands are freezing, so I'm going to stop typing. My head aches have gone away, by the way. Maybe they weren't related to the pods after all ...
Thuesday, December 11, 2001
Jaime: Someone's using the reading nook! Pretty exciting. I've actually seen in used once or twice since Mike moved his hockey sutff.
Thursday, November 29, 2001
Jaime: So I finally moved down. Mike was good and persistent about it. I have just always been so busy, that I haven't gotten around to it. Plus I'm happy in my office! Moving is a pain, and makes me annoyed with the pods again. I need to figure out who's around, and what the printers are, etc. Plus there are some problems with the pods currently that probably won't be problems with real pods -- no phone, not enough light, the 7th floor playroom is cold. Some problems I've noticed with the pods that will exist: With the rash of thefts, I do actually worry about how open it is. I miss my whiteboard. While there is a whiteboard outside here, it's too public to actually use for personal use (such as put my "To do" list up on it). There's no where in private space for Mike and my hockey gear. I left mine in my office. Mike has his taking up the little "reading nook".
Monday, November 19, 2001
Mike: I'm finally moved in for real. My workstation is here and (finally) networked. I had some trouble getting an IP and then a bad hub and.... well who cares. The 21 inch monitor is a bit oppressive for a 9x6 cube. It consumes pretty much my entire desk and writting on my desk will be very hard. A flat screen (or 2?) may be essential.
The dust has settled a bit but I can still feel and smell it. I really need a lockable container. It is hard to make sure that you have no expensive portable devices out in the open: Palm, phone, camera, wallet, etc... A locking drawer would solve many of these problems.
People have been very negative about the whole idea. Everyone has been skeptical and nobody has made any indications that they would want one as an office. If you stop by please try to be open minded. You don't have to like it but try to think of some of the good points, like personal space, customizability, relative quiet, or even think of other benefits.
If you have any of this stuff feel free to give it to me. :-)
- 19 inch flat screen or two 17 inch ones
- locking filing cabinet (smallish)
Tuesday, November 13, 2001
Mike: I added my curtain/door today with a curtain rod and a sheet. It makes things much more cozy and adds some much needed privacy. I also ran ethernet into the pod from an adjoining office. The process of running the cables was quite easy I just jammed them through the gaps in the cardboard. When I return to Boston on Monday I will move my desktop in and then I will be in the pod full time.
Monday, November 12, 2001
Jaime: Can't bring myself to actually move into the pod just yet. SA's not in today, since it's a holiday, so I think my computer will remain in my office for now. I'll do my reading in the pod, but stay up here for computer work. Looking at it today, though, I do feel much less averse to the pod than I did Saturday.
(Later:) Brought some books and personal items down to my pod and sat and did some work I needed to do. The first thing I noticed was there was no where to hang my jacket. Also, the area is still rather messy from pod construction. Mike had labelled the cubes, and that was cute. I tried to get some work done, but first, a guy from Tech Square poked around with some little instrument (a particle counter?), and then the dust got to me. I'm back in my office now. When I left I noticed it was much harder to leave my items there, "out in the open", than I had thought
Mike: I moved in some more stuff but I won't really feel moved in until my desktop computer is down here instead of just my laptop. Upon further exploration with music volume it turns out that there are acceptable volumes that are audible inside and nearly silient outside. Not having a door is a bit of a problem. People are very social and curious which is both nice and tiresome.
Sunday, November 11, 2001
Mike: I moved a bunch of stuff in today. Put some random stuff on the walls and ran an extension cord through the wall to plug in the light and my laptop. Even with just a small desk light, I'm comfortable with the amount of light I have. Not seeing the sun is a drag though. I worked for an hour or two. The dust was pretty bad, I hope it settles out quickly. I was not totally comfortable about playing music which I could definately hear outside the pod. I still need a door (i.e. curtain) and a coat hook. I also miss having drawers for pens, paper, tape, and all the other misc nic-nacs I keep in drawers.
Saturday, November 10, 2001
Jaime: Today Mike and I built our pods. To be honest, building the pods was a pain in the butt. I'm sure I never want to live in mine. I don't have the energy or desire to actually go and move my stuff down there right now. It took over four hours, and we're still not completely done. And I had been hoping to get some work done today. Oh well.
The pod building experience was surprisingly difficult. Mike and I are excited about doing this, get along well, and Mike, at least, is extremely easy going. Yet building the pods required more compromise than either of us would have guessed. When you have complete control over your environment, it's much easier to be picky about what goes where. And we're only moving in for a month!