Probably not what you think it means. To me, it means cold, a terrible chill in my lab that makes it uncomfortable to work there, just as I’m getting the freedom to work there. Every summer, when the physical plant starts working to cool the building, they seem to start with refrigerating my lab space. The whole building is out of balance, so while my lab is sitting at a chilly 15°C, the lab right next to mine is a feverish 27°C. It has been driving me mad for years, and nothing ever gets done to fix it.
It’s not good for the spiders, these Southern belles that were collected in Florida and dragged up to Minnesota.
They’ve all got heating pads under their cages, but there’s a steep gradient from the floor of the cage to the top, so no wonder they’re all huddled as low as they can get all the time. The babies are in incubators, so they don’t care, yet…but once they get to a size that demands more space, I have to move them out into the main lab.
It’s not good for me, either. I have to wear my winter coat every day to keep warm at the microscope and computer. I have to yell at the administration, but maybe you’ve noticed that I’m rather soft-voiced and apparently totally ineffectual.
My plan for this week, as my teaching responsibilities diminish, is to pack up all the adult spiders and bring them home. Don’t worry, I’ve already cleared it with Mary.
Maybe I should pack up all the microscopes and computers and bring them home, too. The university isn’t making the effort to create a livable working environment, so they can’t complain if I abscond with all the gear and instruments, right?
You just need to sublease some of your lab space as an AI server farm. That should warm things up. It’s more environmentally friendly than a resistance heater, and it can talk to your spiders when you’re not around.
Set up a lab at home with Carbonaceous – level oxygen levels. See how big they can become after a few generations.
Have you tried using heat lamps like the kind that are sold in pet stores? They’re usually used for reptiles but unless they get too hot for your pets, I would think it would bring the temp up to a cozy level.
Years ago, when I was part of a student theatre troupe, there was one term when I did not have a major role in the production. I was only on stage once, but I was often the technical director or scenic designer so I was usually quite busy during move-in week.
But this one semester I was just assembling sets and painting. So, since for years I had heard complaints about the mezzanine being too hot while the stage was freezing I took a look at the HVAC ductwork. The plant was below and behind the stage, with the ductwork coming up behind the stage and then across the audience. The closest vents to the AC was the stage, the furthest vents were the mezzanine. When I investigated, I found all the vents were set to full-open.
So for the next week I tweaked the vents. When I was done only the mezzanine vents were fully open, and as the vents got closer to the AC source the amount of airflow through those vents was reduced. By the end of the week the entire theater was pretty balanced, the mezzanine wasn’t too hot and the stage, even with the lighting, wasn’t too cold. The audience area was a little cooler than the stage, but I reckoned that when it was full of people it would be about the same, if not a little warmer.
Six months later we came back for another show, and someone had opened up all the vents to 100% again. With the same result that the stage was frigid while the mezzanine was boiling. I can’t imagine that anyone other than one of the university plant guys touched them, the louvers were not all that obvious and I had to work deep in the flies to reach them. My only conclusion was that people hired to do HVAC work are often not particularly familiar with fluid dynamics, or even have any intuitive understanding of how air flows.
Get one (or several) of those lovely oil-filled space heaters. Put one under your desk, others all around. No noise, no motor, no fire hazard; you can leave them on 24/7. The energy they use is the price Campus Maintenance pays for failing to properly control your room’s temperature.
Cricket season!
But wait, its not Summertime at all. Its just after Anzac Day which means it should starting getting nice and cool and rainy..
Oh wait.
Damn you global hemispheres and consequent opposite seasons!
FWIW today is World Tapir Day now too – in both hemispheres of course!
See :
https://www.tapirday.org/