Dan LaMee
1.) What is your name and where in the WWW (Whole Wide World) do you live?
Dan: My name is Dan LaMee and I live in Boiling Springs, SC.
2.) What do you do for a living, what pays the bills? And what is the thing you do when you are not doing the thing that pays the bills?
Dan: I’m a user interface designer for QS/1 Data Systems in Spartanburg, SC, primarily designing interfaces for our pharmacy, home medical equipment and point of sale applications. When I’m not doing that, I dabble in photography and digital post-processing, listen to music, and chat with my girlfriend who is a missionary overseas.
3.) How much of what you do, personally or professionally, gets done at the work space featured?
Dan: Since my day job has me working in Windows all day, my work space is exclusively for personal endeavors, which is just fine with me. There’s something a little unnatural about running Windows on a Mac.
4.) Typically, what time of the day do you normally find yourself at this desk, and for how long? Night owl, early bird?
Dan: I’m definitely a night owl, at least when I don’t have to get up early to get to work on time. And even that doesn’t really stop me from sitting at the desk working or playing.
5.) How much of what gets done at your desk is for work, how much is it to scratch your own creative itch?
Dan: All of it is for creative itch scratching. (See #3)
6.) What are the essentials that can be found on your desk more times than not? How about those items just out of reach or out of sight? If it’s not on top of your desk what are the things you most often grab out of a top draw or cabinet?
Dan: Mini-USB (for cameras) and iPhone/iPad/iPod cables are always accessible. If it’s not top of the desk, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is on a nearby bookshelf. My girlfriend are reading the series together so it’s gotta be close!
7.) What beverage/food/snack can one usually find at your desk, and why?
Dan: Coffee, hot during the colder months and iced during the warmer, just because I love it! Besides that a glass of water or Dr. Pepper.
8.) Do you have any reasoning or anecdotes that lend some insight into why your desk is setup the way it is, or the thinking behind certain item(s)? How about the things around your desks? Decoration, wall art, figurines, statues, etc? Any particular reason behind those?
Dan: Star Wars and Apple are the biggest influences for decorations, both on the wall and the various Lego sets. I’m a huge LEGO fan, and Star Wars LEGOs in particular. Music is really important to me as well so my CD collection is near by (though most of it is already on the computer).
9.) How much of what you do, or aspire to do, influences your desk setup, tangibly and intangibly.
Dan: When it’s at it’s best, the desktop is clean and clear and with the double side bookshelves on the wings, there’s a nice balance and symmetry, properties of design which I use every day. The iMac’s background is usually one of my photographs as well.
10.) Are you a Mac or are you a PC? What machine(s) are setup and used at your desk? If you are a little bit of both tell us why. How about any other tech gear that can be found at your desk or in your home?
Dan: I’m definitely a Mac and have been completely Windows-free for years. My main machine is a 2.4GHz iMac. Recently a 16gb iPad has more or less replaced an old Aluminum Powerbook G4. I utilize Time Machine which backs my system up to a bare 1TB hard drive in a “toaster”, the Voyager Q. I also use an older Western Digital MyBook 500GB drive and an even older 160GB Lacie drive. Printing is achieved wirelessly with an Airport Express.
11.) What’s the one piece of gear you could not live without?
Dan: Despite it’s age, I’d say the iMac, the giant 24” screen can’t be beat (well, maybe by one of the new IPS display-laden iMacs)! It’s not strictly used at my desk, but these days I’m also loving the iPad for catching up on Twitter, reading books and playing a few games.
12.) What piece of gear cannot be found on your desk, but you wish it could be?
Dan: A great film and negative scanner and a Drobo for photo backups. I’d love to add some really nice speakers and a turntable to the console behind the desk as well.
13.) Software; what do you use more often than not. What helps you get the job done? And what do you not use, but hope one day to incorporate in your workflow?
Dan: Mostly I use Adobe Lightroom for photography, Safari for web browsing.
14.) If you could change one thing about your desk, or the room it is currently in, what would that be?
Dan: I would definitely rip up the carpet and put a hardwood floor in and replace the very old dorm chair with a real desk chair.
15.) Workspace Breakdown;
Think of as many things as possible that comprise the setup of your office or workspace, anything from the paint color on the walls to the floor mat your chair rolls on, and list them out. Who makes your desk, how about the cabinet next to your desk, your lamp, the overhead light fixture? Anything and everything you can see in the pictures shown, give as much color and background on these items as time and memory permits.
Dan:
Furniture
- Bungalow Desk from Crate & Barrel - It was a bit of a splurge, but it looks great and is the perfect size.
- Two Expedit bookshelves (2x4) from IKEA - $70 each
- Besta shelf unit/extension unit (with legs) from IKEA - $80
Accessories
- Lamps and Clock from IKEA
- Star Wars Episode II IMAX poster
Paint
- Olympic D11-4 “Olive Gray” and D11-5 “Rattan Palm” from Lowes
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If you would like to learn more about Dan LaMee, his workspace, or his work, you can find him at the sites listed below;
If you have any questions or comments about this, or any other featured setup, or you would like to have your own setup featured here on SetupsandSpaces.com feel free to email me at FValletutti@me.com.
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