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

Ah, to have presumed. We are all supoosed to be wardens as we work alone in the office over night shifts and weekends, therefore are supposed to know what to do. I have a feeling that there's a young lady here who would be more like Clive Dunn screaming Don't Panic, don't panic

What do you do in a Lab?

R&D, process and fin prod control for various customers including a very successful F 1 team, BSB team. Perfect for a know it all like me.

Bad news was the "incident room" is out of order, so we didn't do that bit this time. Pity.

What sort of office work is it that you do?

Sound engineer for the BBC World Service. We put the tapes on the machines, sound balance them then Transmit them around the world. We copy from any format to any format, CD,DAT,Cassette,analogue, minidisc, anything from any thing to anything. We also Record programmes that are going out on air. Supply portable equipment for reporters, journalists and producers going out in the field through out the world. Microphones, recorders, sat phones, laptops, portable studios. We supplied most of the equipment for the Iraq war.

Am I being boring or what/
None of this comes out of the fees, so the public are not paying our wages, it comes from the sale of goods and productions aborad. We help supply most of the recording equipment for Harry Potter films, not us as we are radio, but our section does.

Boring I know.

"None of this comes out of the fees, so the public are not paying our wages".

I take it you get the more than occasional wisecrack.

We have a similar problem. If it cost £30,000/yr to keep a man on shift, how do you justify it? But if just one ship misses a tide there's a $10,000 penalty. But unless it actually misses the tide, nobody notices.

I've forgotten most of my science relating to sound but I do remember its potential, and we've yet to achieve it.

Yeah, I guess we all get pretty defensive about it. The public services always do, though don't they? When ever you're asked for your opinion you always hear them repeating, well I spoke to this man at the BBC and he said...As if you're the font of all wisdom, and they are quoting you.

The problem is if one of us cocks up a lost transmission would be the out come. Imagine someone sitting at home switching on their radio for the news, or the lastest episode of their favourite soap, and all they get is dead air. The main thing is that it's not this country, it's abroad. When I was in Kenya, they had to listen to the World Service is secretcy. President Moi tried to block the transmissions. They said they only way they could find out what was going on in their own country was to listen to us. They couldn't trust some of the others as Moi only wanted them to hear just what he wanted them to hear, everything else was censored.

Russia used to be the same. As did Yugoslavia and some of the Balkan countries.

Hello you two

Sounds like your haveing a intresting debate here

Hi Midnight.

LW funny that you mentioned Russia, I might have to go there for 5 weeks to help set up a lab. Siberia of all places.

As much as I am intregued enough to see the place, I'd rather go as a tourist than see it from some refinery compound.

Looks like I might be making use of the world service!

VFRgal usually gets the "we pay your wages" comment. It's like red rag to a bull!

Hope your feeling better Outrider?
And the dogs of course

All on the mend, thank you for asking Midnight.

Is moved on to my work colleagues now, that'll teach 'em.

Im Glad to hear it


Thats usually the way when you get those sort o9f bugs when your recovering it spreads round everyone else as fast as lightening.

At least they've stopped sniggering at the situation I was in!

Sorry to have missed out of this chat, I was off and have just returned for a series of three nights. Mon Tues & Wed. Didn't know you were ill, Outrider.
I have a dog, a border collie. Very active, and full of fun.

The pups have a couple of collies that they play with. Fantastic combination Boxer brute force and determination versus collie agility and smarts!

Makes me laugh every time!

What an interesting combination of dog

Morning Outrider
Me snigger at you never..

Morning LW Hope your well

Midnight, what are you doing here? You should have boarded your mount by now!

And bring some , lm has spotted ours!

I suppose evryone has gone?
Oh well.
I'm in nights Wednesday then lates Monday Tuesday & Wednesday next week.
Hope some-one is around then.

On nights Tue & Wed, so might get a chance to chat. But rumour has it that the head honcho may sit in with us again. All the questions make it ten times harder to get any work done!!

Isn't amazing? The job runs perfectly, until, the big cheese interfere, then everything goes wrong. Why don't they just sit in their bloody offices and let us get on with the job?

have started a joke thread on askh2g2 called the Jelly Baby Debate. Any comments are accepted.