Working in the dark
It’s 42 degrees in Kalgoorlie today, continuing a run of hot, dry weather.
I was working for the second Sunday in a row and had to sub nine pages. Fortunately, the reporter (also a sub) and the photographer had everything ready to go early this morning and it was a smooth run, except …
The power went off about 11am. Our backup supply kept most of the computers going, but two employees working on the new server-based software were shut out of the system. It was only me with ongoing access to all the photos and articles.
Adding to the tension, I was told our backup electricity would only last for about two hours. We had no idea when the main supply would be restored.
The lights were out and so were the air-conditioners. I was sitting in the dark and the heat with only the monitor’s glow and a sense of urgency to keep me focused.
There was a real fear the servers could overheat because their air-conditioners had switched off.
Smoke alarms were sounding in the background, but funnily none of us had any concern for our safety.
Subs are a laconic bunch. We sort of looked at each other, shrugged and got back to work.
One bloke made a cursory tour of the building. He reported there was no fire or smoke, but couldn’t access the locked room where the Miner Mouse suit resides and alarms were sounding.
The plan was to complete as many pages as possible before the auxiliary power switched off and email them into the system for colleagues in Perth to finish the job.
I reckon we would have achieved it too, apart from about four inside pages, which could have been completed in Perth with time to spare.
Early afternoon the power came back on and potential disaster was averted.
I commented to a sub afterwards it was a little disconcerting to have smoke alarms ringing throughout the building.
She sort of shrugged and implied it would take more than a few sirens to stop the paper coming out. It’s like the unwritten code where subs work on sick days unless they’re confined to a hospital bed or a limb has been severed.
Heads were shaking in the ranks this year when one of the new subs took a day off after he was bitten by a dog while jogging. One of the old guard opined it would take a tiger mauling before he missed a day.
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Tags: employment, journalism, Kalgoorlie, media
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Did that guard realize the timing of his remark?  Did you hear about the mauling on Christmas day in California? Sad.Â
Sue’s last blog post..New Year’s Podcast
I did the math earlier when I saw your Twitter post … 42 C comes to about 107 F.
(We had 42 here today, as well. Of course at 42 F it was a lot less gruesome.)
delmer’s last blog post..Dear Lady Shopper at the Kroger
Sue, the tiger reference was made earlier this year, not after the zoo escape.
Delmer, I’d prefer 42 F any time.
Ah, that explains that. Thanks for clearing that up.
Delmer’s right… that’s hot. Of course, where me and D are from, that’s practically unheard of for our region, maybe south of us, but nothing that high.. normally.
Sue’s last blog post..Stepping Stones
The day I arrived in Kalgoorlie (January 24, 2006) was 45 degrees (113F). We’re heading for more of that this week.
I like Kalgoorlie, but January and February are good times to escape because of the heat.