June Mounds
Unbearably Hot News
sharonmccutcheon from Unsplash" title="Photo by sharonmccutcheon from Unsplash" />
Photo by sharonmccutcheon from Unsplash
It has been far too hot in the UK for the likes of me and my fair skin. Not that it really bothers me these days.
With the heat and humidity comes disease and destruction. Details of the disease aspect are below, but destruction - well, electronics in constant use do not do well in hot weather. Moreover, electronics in constant use sealed into metal boxes in hot weather do worse. So its not hard to imagine how hot electronics in constant use in hot metal boxes within hot metal lined concrete or brick built boxes on top of hot mountains and tall hot buildings where hot rises to make things hotter might cope in hot weather.
Not very well.
Of course theres more than just hot electronics in boxes in constant use that your average numbers station need to bare in minds. There are maintenance restrictions - especially when there are important mindcontrol activities such as sporting events or political disenfranchisement projects such as elections taking place. Remember, the numbers must continue to be broadcast at all times. Even during hot weather.
So hot weather means replacement doohikies need to go to replace the melted doohikie so that the melted doohikie can be unmelted and repaired if possible. Problem is, a great deal of these doohikies are over 30 years old and replacement parts are hard to come by. Moreover, theres no real idea where these doohikies are in the country or in the secret warehouses around the country - so yeah things are manic at the moment and you might want to bare this in mind if you're unable to listen to the Lincolnshire Poacher or the Shipping Forecast for your instructions any time soon.
Middle Aged Men (and woman) Playing Childrens Games News
Left to right: Tom (DM), some bloke who I don't know (IYKYK), Henry (Bentahn the ranger), Nick (Jackhammer Longshtik - inappropriate dwarf cleric) and Mark (Homebrew Hammerhead Sharkman called Sebastian (prev.DM)). Photo taken by Ewa (Dell, the Thermaturgist)
The lovely evenings have meant the Monday DnD meets have been nice and chill and not a swerve to avoid rural traffic nightmare of the darker months. This brief respite is relished but alas will pass in a few weeks. There have also been a few breaks in continuity due to marking, work, family visits and can't be arsedness but it seems to be continuing as it has for the past...6 years??
Healthy Life News
towfiqu999999 from Unsplash" title="Photo by towfiqu999999 from Unsplash" />
Photo by towfiqu999999 from Unsplash
A strange and curious sequence of events have caused a minor health crisis at The Numbers Station recently.
What began the week as a mild case of hypothermia thought to have been brought on by a malfunctioning A/C vent became an office wide wipe out of COVID.
The heat in the office is, as anyone who has worked with anyone will know, a matter of contention. It's always going to be too hot for some and too cold for others regardless of the time of year. Yet, martyr I am, I dress accordingly at all times and keep a cardigan and a coat in the car just incase it gets a little chilly and try not to wear too thick base clothing in case it gets too hot - its inappropriate to take off one's shirt and trousers in work when feeling overheated it seems - and never complain in case I am singled out as the office banshee/Karen/moaning Minnie. So with the A/C being constantly turned on/off and switched from heat to cool its no surprise sniffles become indemic in the close quarters of the Numbers Station office and furthermore, the heightend levels of pollen affecting those that are affected by the affliction of hayfever - its easy to overlook the levels of coughing, sneezing and snot sliming that takes place in such an environment.
However, little did we know, one hypercautious mask wearing officious fish on Friday eating Numbers Station office worker had, despite still wearing their facemask most of the days since 2020 (even when driving alone) and treating everyone else as plague carriers, contracted COVID and had taken to removing their facemask to cough, sneeze and spread disease unchecked and unchallenged.
This is the table of events
Tuesday previous - everyone in team in the office for routine meeting. This includes home workers. Office is open plan and shared with Fish Friday worker and others. Fish friday worker seen coughing in the canteen during lunch by collegues and admits to having tested positive for COVID but needed to attend a meeting physically (not sure reason why).
Thursday previous - Coworker A complains of heat in office. Gets ratty at suggestion that the AC is left alone. Goes to emergency GP appointment due to shivering and general feeling of unwellness - GP diagnoses hypothermia and instructs Coworker A to take it up with manager.
Friday - most people work from home - usually Fish Friday worker comes in to eat fish as it is Friday. Fish Friday worker was not in as they were feeling unwell with COVID.
Monday came. Coworker B was off ill. Not unusual we thought - they're often ill. It happens.
Tuesday - Mass attendence in office due to retirement of senior Numbers Station engineer including sniffy Mr Fish Friday. Also, team meeting which was held outside due to lack of meeting rooms (having all been booked by attendees of retirement party). Announcement made about CoWorker A and tactic to have A/C switched off because "we all must consider others". Manager goes home feeling unwell after meeting, Coworker A goes home too. Meanwhile, while convalecing at home, Coworker B diagnoses COVID. Informs all. - Manager and Coworker A test positive. Rest of team advised to test when they get home.
Wednesday - Notice on office chat that due to pregnancies and vulnerable workers that it is preferable to work from home until further notice. Coworkers C and D test positive. Coworker E and myself feel ok but Coworker E continues to work from home. I can't really work from home as it is too easy to get distracted and I know I would just end up skiving and sitting round in my underpants all day. Besides it is nice to have the office to myself.
Thursday - Coworker E tests positive. Another day of office solitude.
Friday - What begins as a nice healthy day of more office solitude swiftly changes into a day of dodge the coughing fucker as Mr Fish Friday arrives shortly before 10, makes no comment or vocal observation about the volume of workers in the office being just 1 (he never speaks to me anyway because he's an ignorant fuck and I once audibly got him to check his privelidge when he took offence to a joke I made about scousers and had to explain to him that I was exempt due to my own heritage (iykyk)). Of course, the doors and windows I opened during the morning, mysteriously closed themselves in my absense, the coughing and uncovered faces presented themselves throughout the rest of the day to such a point that again, I audibly mentioned over a telephone conversation how "when I next get winter vomitting bug, diahorrea or dysentry, I'm coming in and licking his fucking desk, see how he likes it".
Rest of the evening was spent worrying I'd contracted something as my temperature fluctuated weirdly, together with odd pangs of joint discomfort and a mild cough that could have been COVIDy or cat fluffy related. This morning - felt fine. Panic over. Jam toasties all round.
Days Out News
This month has been expensive with days out. Charlotte came to visit on the promise of a trip to sunny Brighton. As luck would have it Zoe knows her way to the south and has the qualifications and experience of dealing with the natives that allows safe passage beyond the divide. So into the car we went and southward we went.
New item by Stegzy Gnomepants
photos.app.goo.gl
It has been a while since I was last in Brighton - memories of Mrs Gnomepants v1.0 and I visiting her old uni chums there still linger, especially the vinegar pizza experience of 1998 which was not a good thing. Aside from the ghosts of Stegzy's Past, the city itself has evolved as expected.
Socially, the hipsters of the past 20 years have now all grown up, paired off and bred so now there are lots of bearded extop notted middle aged croc wearing dads with GenA and GenZ kids with tradgedeigh names like Fengshui, Calendula and Shim grumping along in front of them. The organic teetotal harmonic bakers, Eastern philosophically orientated Tofu butcheries and the Blockchain Cat cafes have all given way - no doubt post brexittycovid - to expensive antique tat (mostly Silk Cut ashtrays repurposed as record players and repainted CD players repurposed as coffee tables), craft shops selling shoes knitted out of naval fluff harvested from Jeremy and bookshops selling books with random pages stuck together. So it wasn't that much different from the last time, like I said, just a little more evolved as expected.
One thing I was please about though was the delicious and amazing pizza experience I had at the local Pizza Pilgrims shop in Brighton - wow! The pizza was just like the ones I had years ago in Pizza Parlor on Smithdown Road in Liverpool in the 90's. Not a too doughy base, perfect level of tomatoes in the sauce and the perfect amount of quality cheese. Sadly I didnt take a picture of my food so you have to imagine it instead or look on their website at the ones there. I've been lusting after another one since but the nearest branch is chuffing Cambridge which is too far to go just for a pizza.
Steam News
Today was the 2024 annual Bloxham Steam and Country Fair festival. It didnt disappoint. Unexpectedly I met up with Charlotte and my brother who were just as surprised to see Zoe and I there which I found amusing as I've been going to Bloxham for years (well at least twice pre-covid) and I only live 40 minutes away.
Next weekend is the annual Hollowell Steam which, weather permitting, I'm intending to go to as well. However as this post has rapidly become a wall of text which, statistically, nobody will read anyway, here are some pictures of "CLASSIC" old cars to make stainsteelrat feel old along with a steam traction engine for the nerds.....
sharonmccutcheon from Unsplash" title="Photo by sharonmccutcheon from Unsplash" />
Photo by sharonmccutcheon from Unsplash
It has been far too hot in the UK for the likes of me and my fair skin. Not that it really bothers me these days.
With the heat and humidity comes disease and destruction. Details of the disease aspect are below, but destruction - well, electronics in constant use do not do well in hot weather. Moreover, electronics in constant use sealed into metal boxes in hot weather do worse. So its not hard to imagine how hot electronics in constant use in hot metal boxes within hot metal lined concrete or brick built boxes on top of hot mountains and tall hot buildings where hot rises to make things hotter might cope in hot weather.
Not very well.
Of course theres more than just hot electronics in boxes in constant use that your average numbers station need to bare in minds. There are maintenance restrictions - especially when there are important mindcontrol activities such as sporting events or political disenfranchisement projects such as elections taking place. Remember, the numbers must continue to be broadcast at all times. Even during hot weather.
So hot weather means replacement doohikies need to go to replace the melted doohikie so that the melted doohikie can be unmelted and repaired if possible. Problem is, a great deal of these doohikies are over 30 years old and replacement parts are hard to come by. Moreover, theres no real idea where these doohikies are in the country or in the secret warehouses around the country - so yeah things are manic at the moment and you might want to bare this in mind if you're unable to listen to the Lincolnshire Poacher or the Shipping Forecast for your instructions any time soon.
Middle Aged Men (and woman) Playing Childrens Games News
Left to right: Tom (DM), some bloke who I don't know (IYKYK), Henry (Bentahn the ranger), Nick (Jackhammer Longshtik - inappropriate dwarf cleric) and Mark (Homebrew Hammerhead Sharkman called Sebastian (prev.DM)). Photo taken by Ewa (Dell, the Thermaturgist)
The lovely evenings have meant the Monday DnD meets have been nice and chill and not a swerve to avoid rural traffic nightmare of the darker months. This brief respite is relished but alas will pass in a few weeks. There have also been a few breaks in continuity due to marking, work, family visits and can't be arsedness but it seems to be continuing as it has for the past...6 years??
Healthy Life News
towfiqu999999 from Unsplash" title="Photo by towfiqu999999 from Unsplash" />
Photo by towfiqu999999 from Unsplash
A strange and curious sequence of events have caused a minor health crisis at The Numbers Station recently.
What began the week as a mild case of hypothermia thought to have been brought on by a malfunctioning A/C vent became an office wide wipe out of COVID.
The heat in the office is, as anyone who has worked with anyone will know, a matter of contention. It's always going to be too hot for some and too cold for others regardless of the time of year. Yet, martyr I am, I dress accordingly at all times and keep a cardigan and a coat in the car just incase it gets a little chilly and try not to wear too thick base clothing in case it gets too hot - its inappropriate to take off one's shirt and trousers in work when feeling overheated it seems - and never complain in case I am singled out as the office banshee/Karen/moaning Minnie. So with the A/C being constantly turned on/off and switched from heat to cool its no surprise sniffles become indemic in the close quarters of the Numbers Station office and furthermore, the heightend levels of pollen affecting those that are affected by the affliction of hayfever - its easy to overlook the levels of coughing, sneezing and snot sliming that takes place in such an environment.
However, little did we know, one hypercautious mask wearing officious fish on Friday eating Numbers Station office worker had, despite still wearing their facemask most of the days since 2020 (even when driving alone) and treating everyone else as plague carriers, contracted COVID and had taken to removing their facemask to cough, sneeze and spread disease unchecked and unchallenged.
This is the table of events
Tuesday previous - everyone in team in the office for routine meeting. This includes home workers. Office is open plan and shared with Fish Friday worker and others. Fish friday worker seen coughing in the canteen during lunch by collegues and admits to having tested positive for COVID but needed to attend a meeting physically (not sure reason why).
Thursday previous - Coworker A complains of heat in office. Gets ratty at suggestion that the AC is left alone. Goes to emergency GP appointment due to shivering and general feeling of unwellness - GP diagnoses hypothermia and instructs Coworker A to take it up with manager.
Friday - most people work from home - usually Fish Friday worker comes in to eat fish as it is Friday. Fish Friday worker was not in as they were feeling unwell with COVID.
Monday came. Coworker B was off ill. Not unusual we thought - they're often ill. It happens.
Tuesday - Mass attendence in office due to retirement of senior Numbers Station engineer including sniffy Mr Fish Friday. Also, team meeting which was held outside due to lack of meeting rooms (having all been booked by attendees of retirement party). Announcement made about CoWorker A and tactic to have A/C switched off because "we all must consider others". Manager goes home feeling unwell after meeting, Coworker A goes home too. Meanwhile, while convalecing at home, Coworker B diagnoses COVID. Informs all. - Manager and Coworker A test positive. Rest of team advised to test when they get home.
Wednesday - Notice on office chat that due to pregnancies and vulnerable workers that it is preferable to work from home until further notice. Coworkers C and D test positive. Coworker E and myself feel ok but Coworker E continues to work from home. I can't really work from home as it is too easy to get distracted and I know I would just end up skiving and sitting round in my underpants all day. Besides it is nice to have the office to myself.
Thursday - Coworker E tests positive. Another day of office solitude.
Friday - What begins as a nice healthy day of more office solitude swiftly changes into a day of dodge the coughing fucker as Mr Fish Friday arrives shortly before 10, makes no comment or vocal observation about the volume of workers in the office being just 1 (he never speaks to me anyway because he's an ignorant fuck and I once audibly got him to check his privelidge when he took offence to a joke I made about scousers and had to explain to him that I was exempt due to my own heritage (iykyk)). Of course, the doors and windows I opened during the morning, mysteriously closed themselves in my absense, the coughing and uncovered faces presented themselves throughout the rest of the day to such a point that again, I audibly mentioned over a telephone conversation how "when I next get winter vomitting bug, diahorrea or dysentry, I'm coming in and licking his fucking desk, see how he likes it".
Rest of the evening was spent worrying I'd contracted something as my temperature fluctuated weirdly, together with odd pangs of joint discomfort and a mild cough that could have been COVIDy or cat fluffy related. This morning - felt fine. Panic over. Jam toasties all round.
Days Out News
This month has been expensive with days out. Charlotte came to visit on the promise of a trip to sunny Brighton. As luck would have it Zoe knows her way to the south and has the qualifications and experience of dealing with the natives that allows safe passage beyond the divide. So into the car we went and southward we went.
New item by Stegzy Gnomepants
photos.app.goo.gl
It has been a while since I was last in Brighton - memories of Mrs Gnomepants v1.0 and I visiting her old uni chums there still linger, especially the vinegar pizza experience of 1998 which was not a good thing. Aside from the ghosts of Stegzy's Past, the city itself has evolved as expected.
Socially, the hipsters of the past 20 years have now all grown up, paired off and bred so now there are lots of bearded extop notted middle aged croc wearing dads with GenA and GenZ kids with tradgedeigh names like Fengshui, Calendula and Shim grumping along in front of them. The organic teetotal harmonic bakers, Eastern philosophically orientated Tofu butcheries and the Blockchain Cat cafes have all given way - no doubt post brexittycovid - to expensive antique tat (mostly Silk Cut ashtrays repurposed as record players and repainted CD players repurposed as coffee tables), craft shops selling shoes knitted out of naval fluff harvested from Jeremy and bookshops selling books with random pages stuck together. So it wasn't that much different from the last time, like I said, just a little more evolved as expected.
One thing I was please about though was the delicious and amazing pizza experience I had at the local Pizza Pilgrims shop in Brighton - wow! The pizza was just like the ones I had years ago in Pizza Parlor on Smithdown Road in Liverpool in the 90's. Not a too doughy base, perfect level of tomatoes in the sauce and the perfect amount of quality cheese. Sadly I didnt take a picture of my food so you have to imagine it instead or look on their website at the ones there. I've been lusting after another one since but the nearest branch is chuffing Cambridge which is too far to go just for a pizza.
Steam News
Today was the 2024 annual Bloxham Steam and Country Fair festival. It didnt disappoint. Unexpectedly I met up with Charlotte and my brother who were just as surprised to see Zoe and I there which I found amusing as I've been going to Bloxham for years (well at least twice pre-covid) and I only live 40 minutes away.
Next weekend is the annual Hollowell Steam which, weather permitting, I'm intending to go to as well. However as this post has rapidly become a wall of text which, statistically, nobody will read anyway, here are some pictures of "CLASSIC" old cars to make stainsteelrat feel old along with a steam traction engine for the nerds.....