I've been working on two little projects over the past month or so.  

The first is a little thing I made for my computer desk.  My PC is located on the other side of the bedroom from my desk - monitor is connected via a long HDMI cable, and USB peripherals connected via a hub and an active USB extension cable.  But it was a hassle (first world problem) to turn on my PC before walking over to my desk.  So I designed a little box to hold a momentary switch (with a very long cable connecting to the power header inside my PC).  I also found an old electronics kit I put together a few years back (a Knight Rider scanner), so I decided to pop that inside the box too, along with a "Missle"-style switch.  I've always loved those kinds of switches, and it was fun to get the soldering iron out again and play around with adding in the switch.

The finish isn't great.  I built the box using scraps of MDF I had lying around, and the paint+primer I used probably wasn't the right choice.  But I was pleased with it.  I may build a better box in the future, or even try my hand at 3D design and 3D print an enclosure. 

The second project is a new computer desk.  During the first lockdown last year I hurriedly pulled my PC out of retirement and found an old table to use as a desk in my bedroom.  Eight months later I looked at the setup and realised it wasn't really fit for purpose.  So I started looking for a new or second-hand desk that would fit in the space I had, and be a litte more functional.  However, I found most desks nowadays are "long" rather than compact.  So I decided to just build it myself.  It's probably worked out to be much more expensive than just buying something close, but I've really enjoyed solving the problems, using my power tools again, and learning (through error, usually) the better way to do things.  Last weekend I assembled the main parts of the structure - it's not really square (one of the things I've learned about), but it's close enough and looks like it will work out ok. 

I'm finishing the final pieces this week, and will install the main and sliding desktops this weekend.  The sliding desktop is where my Amiga 500, which will shortly be getting an HDMI upgrade, will live, ensuring it is available and accessible to use without taking up valuable desktop space.