"The phone, the TV and the news of the world...."

      It's back on the chain gang for me this week, down at the Main Campus with the remnant of the old gang.  The pandemic hit after a staff reduction, and between retirements and "the great resignation," many of the people I worked with for years have moved on.  The critical job vacancies were filled by new hires.

      The new folks are pleasant and, more importantly, skilled.  But between them, the repurposing of the entire second floor* and (long overdue) redecorating of the entire building (except, of course, for Engineering!), it's almost like working somewhere new.  The new decor includes a collection of well-meaning supergraphics that have the hallway walls yelling at passers-by, which takes some getting used to.

      A highly localized Omicron uptick has the place back under a mask mandate for the next week and a half, so I'll be packing a couple of spares.
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* It had become increasingly vacant ahead of the pandemic and something obscure and corporate-level has now filled the empty spaces.  Since this came with huge improvements to the second-floor break room and an upgrade to the snack supplies on both floors, nobody's complaining.  Sara Lee trumps William Burroughs, murmuring myrmidons nothwithstanding!