Back of my neck...

Conditions: Desert-like hotness.

There's nothing like a change of environment to gain a new perspective on things. For the last few days I've been away from the office, free of the sodding computer and the reams of reference material that has terrorised me so, and instead have been putting in some hard labour on a building site. My muscles ache, my skin is a little warm ('You're welcome, mon.'), and I'm quite sore. So sitting back here at my post, confronted yet again by the infuriating puzzles work has lead me to today doesn't seem quite so bad. I can deal with this.

The differences are quite striking, though. On a site you have the immediate satisfaction of a job done, and the appreciation of effort it took to do it. Here, hardly anything is done quickly, and when it is done, there's no visible sign of it. There, you have a constant team dynamic, always working with others. Here, it's an unending solo campaign. And there's the satisfaction thing, so absent from technical work.

If technical work had a teamwork component to it, I think the things we do would be done quicker, would work better, and we'd all appreciate making it a lot more.

Well, at least I have the internet. Happy thanksgiving, suckers.