It isn't surprising

[austin_dern]

I thought my office smelled a little -- damp, would be the word. And fiddling with the thermostat some confirmed what I suspected, that the air conditioner wasn't working. I figured how to get my window open, although I couldn't just leave it open when I went out for lunch or the bathroom or so because there's that walkway around it. A few hours later a friend came around and asked, very worried, if I had any air conditioning; I had to reassure him that no, it wasn't just his office. He's a bit of a worrier. If you can believe my thermostat it was allegedly 27 Celsius in my office, but it really didn't feel anything like that. Maybe I've just gone native.

About 4 pm they sent out an e-mail saying that they were aware the air conditioning was out on the floor, and they had maintenance working on it -- they didn't say that any contractors had dug through any lines -- and recommended that those affected ``open your windows.'' Just in case you think academics can't handle real-world problems. They also appreciated our patience in the ``-ing problem''. I didn't think the problem was severe enough for bowdlerizing. A little after 5 it kicked on, anyway.

I noticed on the evening news that a prototype nanny robot has been unveiled in, yeah, Japan. All they showed it doing was lifting a dummy, but it looks like it should be good for anyone who wants their children tended by a robot who looks vaguely like Olive Oyl.

Trivia: Anders Celsius was inspired to make a more accurate thermomenter due to his frustration using available instruments while on a trip into the Arctic Circle to measure the curvature of the Earth. Source: Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold, Tom Shachtman.

Currently Reading: Anxious Decades: America in Prosperity and Depression, 1920-1941, Michael E Parrish.

Comments

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

Yikes... glad you found the latch!

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Oh, it wasn't bad even with the windows closed; just a little stuffy. But I have been getting used to warmer temperatures anyway.

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

I figured how to get my window open, although I couldn't just leave it open when I went out for lunch or the bathroom or so because there's that walkway around it.

I suppose you really could've, you know. The question being, did you close it as such out of a desire for security, or so as not to have a window open (i'm picturing a swing-open-type) get in anwyone's way should they need to cross the walkway?

--Chiaroscuro

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

It's a sliding window. I closed and locked it to make it less likely someone would reach in through the big, empty window -- no screens or anything, just an empty space plenty big for a person to crawl through -- and grab the printer or (climbing in onto the desk) the iMac and run off. With the windows closed there's the up-front cost of breaking in somehow.

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. ... Which floor are you on, again? I imagine the real risk of theft, even with walkway, lowers by every floor above ground.. drastically. (Say, 1/(5^X), where X is the floor.

Mind, I'd have probably closed it as well.

--Chiaroscuro

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I'm on the fifth floor, but floors don't quite work like they might for a US campus. For one, the building I'm in is connected to three others directly on every level, and two more through connections there. (You can get through much of the campus without ever having to set foot on the ground -- or out from under cover, for that matter.) For another, my office is on the corridor between the main elevator and quite a few classrooms and computer labs, so it's a reasonably high-traffic region.

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

Ah. So this walkway is a genuine traffied walkway, not just a bit of scaffolding/fire escape, which is what I was thinking.

Perhaps at some point we might see a picture of your building. I'm now curious. I'm sure your campus website will have said picture, but I have no idea where that might be found.

--Chiaroscuro

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this is several feet wide, plenty of room for people to walk. I don't know why they would, since they could go through the building's hallway -- the doors aren't locked and the air is conditioned -- but enough do to keep jolting me out the corner of my eyes.

I'll see what I can do about getting a picture of the place. Actually, it shouldn't be too hard to get a good angle on my office.