DocuDen

Two sides of my shed.

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 10:24:45 -0800

I love this time of an evening. I've been sat in my office enjoying the last rays of sun as it leaves the garden and the birds are still out in force, having a last feed before night.

Friday night is vinyl night so once I've wrapped up answering a mound of grey mail.. I'll pour a whisky and play some tunes.

The shed easily converts from office to den. I just close the laptop.

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Dealing with cowboy carpenters.

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:42:00 -0800

IMG_1977.MOV Watch on Posterous

Actually, I'm envying the carpentry skills of @Photomanista's (aka Mark Swanson). He has all the kit and knows how to use it.

I can't remember ever seeing a photographer work so hard. :-P

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Finishing Touches

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:52:43 -0800

IMG_1971.MOV Watch on Posterous

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Zinc Storage Basket

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:34:00 -0800

Having your office in the shed means you desk can be even more of a dumping ground than normal. Most of the things I scatter around tend to be items requiring some kind of action in the not too distant future. Filing, filling in, photographing, scanning or archiving. I don't like to chuck stuff in a drawer as there's a chance it will never again see the light of day.

I bought this storage cage from Rockett St George for £14.95, (http://www.rockettstgeorge.co.uk) and although more expensive than nailing a shopping basket to the wall, it's certainly sits better.

In addition to keeping all my paperwork off the desk it allows me to see just how big my 'do it later' pile is getting.

Consolidating all my 'desk mess' to a basket on the wall has really freed up my workspace allowing me to store much more coffee and cake.

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Winner of the Best (shed related) Blog 2011

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 05:09:11 -0800

Thanks to Shedworking.co.uk for awarding this blog best in 2011. I would certainly be interested to know exactly how many shed blogs there are in the world.. Just so I can stop a guy down the pub laughing every time I say the words 'Shed' and 'Blog' next to each other.

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Rumpy Pumpy in the shed.

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 02:00:00 -0800

Last nights Rumpy Pumpy in the shed has left a bitter taste in my mouth.

It was drinkable but not one I'll rush out to buy.

I'm finding it quite easy to keep a constant temperature in @Docuden.. I wonder if I should try to brew my own shed based beer.

Must think of some shed related ale names...

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Hit a wall

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 02:17:00 -0800

This was posted on http://Paynestake.com for VloMo11 but obviously has a shed angle so please forgive me for also dropping it in here.

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Back to base

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:06:45 -0800

I can't begin to tell you how much I love having a sanctuary in the bottom of the garden. I think some people need to have that space for themselves. I am certainly one of them.

I'd be happy to have a box i could sit in with maybe some music and a door to lock out the rest of the world. I'm certainly lucky to have a warm dry, workspace with the internet, heating lights and a solar power source supplemented when needed by mains.

You have to get yourself a shed. Or a den. Or stick a tent in the garage. Anything. Just find that small space you can call your own. where if needed you can power down devices, shut out the world, and just be.

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Vinyl Friday #VloMo11 Day 04

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:58:00 -0700

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Hanging Hats

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:24:00 -0700

The latest addition to my garden hide away is £2.46 worth of brass hooks and a stack of hats that have been languishing in a basket in a shoe cupboard.

Some have history, all have stories.

I've only really worn my green Tilley this summer. (Middle bottom). It's great at keeping the sun off and is always a talking point. Even if it's mostly just a response to the question.. "Why are you wearing a hat?"

As winter approaches I want my hats handy, on display and at the ready.

I love wearing hats. I wish more people wore hats. If ever I managed to embezzle myself into a position of power i'd make hat wearing compulsory on at least one day of the year. And give tax breaks to those that wore them all the time.

With a hat on you're dressed for something. Adventure.. A ceremony.. Mystery.. A job.. A bank job.. You may only be dressing for the weather. All the same, you have my respect.

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What are you looking at?

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:05:00 -0700

One benefit of working for home is you can, if you are lucky, choose your view.

I'm not a 'twitcher' by nature, although I was in the Y.O.C (Young Ornithologists Club) back in my middle school.

So rather than look at the rotary washing line I'd much rather look out on some wildlife if at all possible.

So far while shedworking, i've spotted doves, wood pigeon, a number of finches, thrushes, blackbirds and a black squirrel.

Apparently it's possible to attract over 120 different species of bird to your garden round here, so today I invested in a fancy bird feeder and a sack of mixed grain.

And now.. we wait.

I'd much rather view nature interacting from my desk than my camouflaged underwear flapping in the breeze. That said, the live stream of my underwear gets a respectable amount of online views. So each to their own.

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Solar Powered Weather Station

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 07:44:00 -0700

Working in a heavily insulated shed has so far been cosy during the summer months. Even on those cloudless starlit nights where the temperature plummets towards midnight.

I'm currently working on a plan for heating my outdoor space during the winter and can imagine this being an interesting experiment to see what it takes to keep warm all the year round.

I have a small 500 watt oil radiator I've salvaged and a flat panel electric 600 watt heater that may replace it if it's not up to the job.

Today though, on the hottest day I remember for a long time, I installed a solar powered weather station. As usual for an affordable 'solar powered' gadget the little solar panel faces into the room. Why when these things are designed to capture light the designers do that i don't know. Ideally it would face the other way when it is sat on the window ledge. That said, it's important to keep this out of the sun as it will affect the indoor temperature reading.

I wondered how a device that not only receives time updates from the atomic clock but also wireless temperature updates from an external sensor could receive enough power from such a small panel. The truth is it can't. The panel it turns out is designed mainly to supplement the two triple A's the device runs on. The sensor I have placed outside above my low power security light takes a single AA battery.

At the moment it appears to be 33 degrees C outside and 37.5 degrees C inside. And yes.. I'm feeling it.

The unit records the lowest outside and inside temperature and It will be interesting to see how the insulation in my shed copes.

The Oregon solar weather station RMR 802 is the cheapest of many in the range. I paid £19.99 as I have a pretty good app on my phone to give me a forecast and was more interested in the local temperature inside and outside @Docuden

It seems pretty well made and was easy to set up.

I'm getting up now to open the windows. I'm getting sweat on the keyboard.

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Shediting

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 01:34:00 -0700

I'm easily destracted today. I have an epic backlog of work and most of it is editing video. I do actually find it easier to focus in @Docuden. It's raining out and I feel pretty snug. Plus the fridge and kettle are a health distance away. All i need to do now is put a timer on the internet. Oh.. and hang those lightsabers.

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New Neighbour

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 04:14:00 -0700

Not satisfied with the Shoffice (@Docuden) I have built a smaller shed to house garden tools and maybe a solar light if i feel the need. This went up in about 4 hours and is visible from my desk so I may make it look pretty.. You know paint it a random pastel colour and grow stuff up it.

I'm liking the newly liberated free space now in the garage and look forward to setting up my vice and tool bench. It's been a while since i have had any decent workshop space to get dirty and make stuff.

The 5x7 was less than £250 and has done wonders as a storage solution.

I can see how some people get addicted to these little structures. The little lad wants one now. I may wait till next summer and build him his own den.

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Fixing a reading chair.

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 08:31:45 -0700

Just repaired a broken chair back. It broke in a really weird place.

The only way to hold the split wood together was with an old innertube.

The strange silvery background is leftover insulation from my shed build.

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A Solar Rats Nest

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 07:21:45 -0700

I have have my head in a box for the last hour or so trying to sort out the mess left by unqualified Dunster House wannabe electricians. When a local (qualified) electrician popped round and told me they had left me with an illegal fire hazard I thought I had better sort it out. It's looking much tidier and I have fixed some inline fuses as a precaution.

I have complained on their website but i'm sure it has just been deleted as it appears they don't allow any feedback that is under 4 or 5 stars.

This is another reason I would never recommend Dunster House. People who visit say "Great building, where did you get it?" I tell then not to ask as I have had to spend longer rectifying the errors in the instillation than the time it took for the build itself.

I love what I have more and more but because of the work i have done on it. Not because of what came from the supplier. The bitter taste they have left me with has almost gone as I tweak, fix and adjust.

Be warned.. always look at the independent online reviews as well as personal recommendations.

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I need Buddha in the shed

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 05:58:15 -0700

It's not until you move your 'stuff' from one room to the next that you realise just how much of your 'stuff' is in fact 'crap'.

I am trying not to box it all up and put it in the attic. I am trying to rid myself of it for good. Paperwork that's not sentimental goes in the bin. Useful tech and things with reasonable value that I don't use.. on ebay. The useful stuff of little resale value goes on Freegle.

The Buddha is of course staying. It's my corner of calm in all the chaos.

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The Office Hammock

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 08:15:09 -0700

I've spent a good chunk of my life in a hammock. I've never really been without one. I have three at the moment.

As a kid i'd hang a cheap army surplus one in dens and trees. During my years of travel it was my bed of choice. For both night time or mid day naps. I've strung them on boats, trains, between vehicles and my first camper van had a bed up top and a hammock below.

If I go away bushcrafting or kayaking into the wilderness I have a Hennessy hammock sleeping system. It's a bed, mozi net and weather protection in one. The one in the photo is called the Nomads Hammock and has accompanied me on a couple of camping trips.

I don't know what it is but I seem to be able to concentrate better in a hammock. The slight movement enables me to focus on reading or writing. I can sleep easier too.

So getting one in my shed seemed a no brainer to me. That said it wasn't as easy as I would have liked.

It was impossible to find a shackle with a wide enough jaw to reach round a roof beam and all the other options would have stressed the wood at an angle as the best way to hang a hammock in the space was diagnonally. The solution came to me not in a hammock but while standing in a strange workshop that supplied lifting tackle. I ended up getting some steel cable fixed with eyelets that I could attach to a bolt I passed through the wooden beams. The complete hanging solution cost less than a tenner and means i have pretty even stress on the fastenings.

I was hooking and unhooking the hammock every time i wanted to use it. Not a major faff but not as easy as I wanted. While using the hammock to dampen the acoustics during a recording I soon realised it could easily be fixed out of the way and would break up the hard sound reflecting surface of the shed.

So there it is. Work time power naps will never be the same again. No more swinging by the office. I can swing in mine.

[This blog post was written from the comfort of my office hammock.]

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In case of emergency, eat button.

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 05:32:00 -0700

As my office sits in the garden I'm not sure why I'd need potted plants on my desk or windowsill. I'm surrounded by green stuff.

Pedro the Peyote is more like a pet though. (Apart from the fact I can quite easily neglect him for days on end.)

I bought him over 10 years ago for £1 off a guy who had a greenhouse full of weird and wonderful cacti. He's not grown much, he has 'pupped' though.

The collector sold me this Peyote (Lophophora Williamsii) on the condition I wouldn't digest it.

Yes it does so happen to contain Psychoactive Alkaloids but I've invested way to much time in his casual upbringing to munch on him now. Besides, I think you need 20g of dried buttons to even get a sniff of spiritual enlightenment.

So unless one day I'm having an imagination crisis and need some emergency inspiration (after a bout of vomiting).. He's safe.

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Shed Guevara

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:30:00 -0700

I have just got my first piece of art up on the walls of my garden office. I don't need to tell you how much I like this image. It stands for so much. It has an incredible history and has come to symbolize so many things. One minute it's on a banner in a march, the icon of revolution and the next it's symbolizing the underdog, the iconaclast, printed on a t-shirt worn by someone who may have no idea about the man and his politics. But that's OK. For me it's just as much about the iconic image as the icon himself. For me it's about the revolution of lots of things.

My framed print is a limited original from the creator of the iconic image himself @JimFitzpatrick. I got to meet Jim in Dublin, we talked about it the image and meeting Che Geuvara..

http://audioboo.fm/boos/353933-jim-fitzpatrick-and-the-iconic-image.mp3?sourc...">Jim Fitzpatrick and the iconic image (mp3) />

Later in the day we had another chat. This time in my car and we talk more about his art and the process of creating it.

http://audioboo.fm/boos/354158-talking-art-with-jim-fitzpatrick.mp3?source=embed">Talking Art with Jim Fitzpatrick (mp3)

I'm not sure what else will adorn the walls. More images that inspire I hope.

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