Saturday, September 13, 2008

A day at the office

I took my camera to work with me recently and thought I'd share some shots of our haunts at Otago Polytechnic.

This first shot of 'D' block is where our offices are and where all our labs and some of our lectures are held. My office is on first floor and Karen's is on the third. There is a partial fourth floor that was originally fitted out as a ship's deck and was used for traning people to be ship's captains.


To the left of 'D' block is a favorite break area where staff and students often mingle. 'A' block is behind the covered walkway and houses the Design school. The covered walkway is a must-have with the number of rainy days we get.




Further left are 'F' block and 'H' block. 'F' block is the three story building that houses our IT services group, management, and most importantly, the faculty staff room. This is heavily used, which I think is a good sign of a healthy organization. 'H' block is the six story building where we have many of our lectures and some labs.


'G' block is mostly nursing, but has some special purpose lecture rooms that we sometimes use if we have a large class. I love the pattern they've done in the patio. At lunch time if the weather is nice, this is often filled with students sitting on the steps and grassy hillsides of the area.


The view out the frond door of 'D' block is across a series of playing fields that are frequently used for hocky games and rugby matches, to some of the hills that surround Dunedin.


Here's a shot of my work area, with the usual mess of work in progress. I salvaged an old iMac that is the same vintage as Ruby. I sometimes use it to access the server I manage.


I share my office with Mike - and sometimes William, who is just about Gabe's age and has been my surrogate grandson until I can see Gabe in person.


Karen was working away when I joined her for lunch, so I took this shot of her work area. It reminds me of the saying, "If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, what's an empty desk the sign of?"


Disco Tech is sitting forgotten on top of a file cabinet at the end of a hallway, but I think it is a cool play on words and a neat sculpture.


Pete often rides one way with us and then bikes the other way. It is about a 20 minute bike ride from our house to school, but most of it is flat. He bikes at least three days a week, which helps keep him fit.