My precious desk...

Late last week, I was called into the MTC - the Microsoft Torture Chambers™ (found just below the Undercoft [yes, we actually have an Undercroft] in the Thames Valley Park campus). I was led past all the Adobe, Google and Sun developers screaming in agony, led past the Implant Center™ where the new hires go to be 'inducted' and led past the Chocolate Bunny Making Institute™ where...well, I won't go into that here.

Normally I'd have stopped at the Ministry Of Truth™ in order to share my opinions and technological expertise with some foolish developers who were thinking of using a competitive product, so you can see why I was slightly worried as I went deeper and deeper into the bowels of the MTC.

I was right to be worried, for there was bad news awaiting me. I was to be moved from my precious fixed desk, and instead to be left at the mercy and whim of the hotdesking area. Admittedly, I'm only in the office a couple of times a week nowadays, so I can see the logic, but I was still heartbroken.

No longer will I work in an environment full of my personality and quirks, instead I'll now be sitting at a bare and corporate looking table, grinding away with my work. Or, ideally - I'll actually be outside, talking to developers, rather than wasting my days on Outlook. That's one of the management excuses for moving me anyhow.

I took a couple of snaps some weeks ago, when I was trying to find the author of the latest addition to my open whiteboard, where anyone and everyone was encouraged to leave whatever was on their mind - always giving me a smile as I walked in of a morning to discover the latest mysterious quotes of pieces of art. The latest was the lengthy text to the left (click to zoom):



Neither will I be surrounded by the various XKCD, Tie-Dye Heart and Cyanide & Happiness comics that currently litter the area around me, along with odd news clippings and Microsoft freebies:


_{For some reason, I only took a photo of some of the XKCD ones}

And, whilst I'm grabbing photos from Ben's camera, here's one of myself presenting at some University in Wales (I forget which one...Newport possibly). Note the ultimately cool Logitech Airmouse I'm wielding.



It's not all bad though, I'm working from home today, due to the aching muscles and inability to move, both of which are the result of yesterday's marathon. I could get used to conference calls in bed and development by the light of the TV...