Ibexx ,OFF TOPIC, WAY OFF, Re: "3 years ago I was spending the summer at Oxford U.
working on a project. At the end of my tenure, I asked for access to a computer so
that I could pound out my lengthy paper. After being shown a pre-386 machine..."
Let me guess: the Oxford building where they set you up with the pre-386 machine was an old greystone or brick building, that looked like it was built to last forever. The cornerstone said 18xx, maybe even 17xx. Inside, going upstairs, you notice the wooden stairs all have troughs worn into them, on both sides near the bannisters, from decades or centuries of students trudging up and down, on their way to English Lit.,or Philosophy, or Sociology or History class.
The corridors are mostly dark, getting little light from the windows, which are reserved for the classrooms only. The windows are those very high ones, requiring long poles with hooks on the end to open or close.
In winter it's always cold and drafty inside, your feet are especially always cold. In summer, it's hot and humid, the few fans offering little respite. The chemistry lab is relegated to the top floor, in deference to the citizens of the English countryside, in an attempt to keep the Hydrogen Sulfide and other noxious gases as far from their noses as possible.
I don't know, something about the thought of Oxford and I go liberal arts all over the place. Maybe it's the heat.
Tony |
