black ice

Overnight frost + early morning rain = not fun cycling conditions.

It also does funny things to train running times.

Never a dull moment

Truly, there are few dull moments when you work in a small team, headed by a man who should never be allowed caffeine.



We scaled the heights of surreality today in a web training session on the new accounting system. We had a teleconference call to someone in Georgia who knew all about inventory management (you say inventory, I say stock, let's call the whole thing off). We also, via the magic of the tinterweb, had a view of her computer screen, but of course no actual sight of the disembodied voice who talked us through the new system.



Note to office workers: you may like to switch the preview pane for new MS Outlook messages off before beginning a training session in which colleagues across the world can see your computer.



After a series of high pitched yappy squeaks, we began to wonder if there was a dog in her office. Then she broke off explaining bin and warehouse maintenance to comment that 'she obviously wasn't getting enough attention' and five minutes later 'I'll have to put her outside.' Yep, there really was a dog in the office, which someone who's physically met the woman referred to as a pit bull, but which sounding all yappy and frilly and lapdoggy. Until half an hour later it suddenly, from outside the door, let off a low, blood-curdling wolf howl. It's weird assuming someone is in the office, and then realising they must be working from home. Mustn't they?



One truly cringeworthy pun later*, we got on to the subject of being able to review your planned entries to the system before actually making them. As the nice lady in Georgia explained, she doesn't really have an accounting background, so she regularly runs things past her finance people before posting things, as, in her words, the financial controller will really beat you up if you put things in the wrong accounts. Of course, it was our financial controller she was talking to, although she seemed to be under the impression he was a software engineer. Gleefully, he agreed with her that the financial controller is indeed a grumpy sort who shouts at him all the time. Really, we ought to have explained to her what all the barely suppressed mirth was all about...





*You won't thank me for repeating it.**







**Oh all right, it was on the subject of tracking stock with individual labels printed with Bark Codes. You see? I have to work with this man all the time.....

Views from windows

We've been back a week now. We had a short holiday on the Isles of Scilly, with H & T on the Isle of Tresco. This was the view from our window:

In comparison, the previous week, I was on a work visit to a large industrial site on the Cumbrian coast. I stayed in the quite lovely Sella Park House Hotel, and had a view of the No. 1 Pile from my window.

Still very nice, though.