h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Having a cold - even a summer cold, and even the first cold in three years - ain't so bad

One in three years ain't so bad! I seem to average about 2-3 a year!

And I don't even eat five-a-day. That's clean living for you Well, except for the , obviously. And the And the

It's full-on lurgy now. Good thing I have the next two days off. As if I needed a reason to lay back on the sofa watching films and generally doing sweet FA

I do need to get some shopping and some cooking done though

I'm very leery of the lurgy. I hope my recent sinus surgery will prevent a simple sinus infection from making me again, but I can't be sure until it doesn't.

I wish you both better. Watching films on the settee isn't so much fun if you're bunged up and feverish.

Blimey, I must be ill. I just made a pot of tea and then forgot all about it for 20 minutes

I did it again Except this time I actually poured it out, then left it on the counter

I'm starting to gauge how poorly or little I sleep during the night by what things I forget to take to work.

Yesterday it was my near vision glasses. Some days it's my phone.

If it's a really bad night, it might be by badge. That's the worst. In that case I have to make the decision to turn around and be 30-40 minutes (15-20 each way) or go to the Badging office and get a temporary D/A* badge. They've streamlined the process a bit, but it's still a pain as I also have to call the IT help desk to get them to allow me access to my computer via my password and log in name. Our computers are now SmartCard access only without this waiver thanks to Bush the Younger's HSPD-12 directive. Yeah, I normally just turn around at the security gate and go back home for it.



*I've been told with some authority that "D/A" stands for Dumb Ass.

I certainly didn't sleep too well last night

I don't really forget to take things to work, but I do forget to do things *at* work, which is a bit unnerving considering I could mess up tens of thousands of dollar's worth of

One of the things I hate most about a cold is the way it alters the taste of It gives it overtones that are quite unpleasant

It's at the stage now where my heads wants to empty itself of all the congestion.

This is something that's going around Austin - a few friends have and so do a couple of co-workers. Bearing in mind it's just a cold and a sore throat, one of them went to the doctor (not a cheap thing to do in America) and was prescribed steroids for it (also not cheap). Steroids!

I took aspirins. My dad would have taken honey and lemon, piled on the sheets and blankets and sweated it out (as I've done myself more than once).

Kids today

I had a dose of it too, last week. I was a wimp and took Lemsip

I'd be a bit similar to your way of thinking. There's a lot to be said for letting your body fight these little infections. You don't need to go running to the doctor every time you feel a bit crappy. The human body has a pretty complicated and well-developed immune system - give it a chance to work now and again.

that's my attitude too. But sometimes that interferes with what my boss thinks is reasonable

There are places in your private life which the job should not interfere with. A line beyond which the job has no place. That boundary has moved a country mile in my lifetime and forced its way into our private time.

It used to be that you went to work in the morning, came home at night, picked up your wage packet on Friday and enjoyed the weekend... and that was it. Outside of that, you forgot about your job and your job forgot about you.

Bloody millennials and their spreadsheets. Bloody 1980s business culture. Bloody email and mobile phones

And to get back to the subject matter; everywhere I've been in the past three or four days I've encountered someone who sounds the way I do right now - all bunged up. Even the woman who works for our local NPR station during Morning Edition is noticeably croaky and nasal this morning.