Gadget Broke

There are a few things that can make me nervous down in the Hive. And having a fubar radio with no way to call out if I need to is one of them.

I got a radio when I first came in and it seemed to be working fine at first.

While I was up front close to the base station.

Then when I got down to the Hive and had been down there a little while I realized that all I seemed to be getting was chopped up noise. That happens sometimes when the battery is low, so I swapped out a new one with Miz Maybe up in the bubble. We have spare batteries and our own charger for just such an occasion.

No joy. So I tell Sgt Miz P that I'm gadget broke and going up front for a new one. No big deal. It happens, sometimes.

Troop all the way up front and get a new dingus from Mr Odd in the Comm Room.

Sounds fine at first. Picking up everything. While I am up front, close to the base station. Then as I walk further and further away down towards the Hive...... there it goes again.

Nothing but a static hiss and chopped up garbage like "kkkkkk... one..... yard....kkkkkkk.... releasing..... kkkkkkk........ unit."

Okey dokey.

Told Sgt Miz P. Told her I couldn't hear snap out on the rec yard so if she needed me, have Miz Maybe pop the rec door. She told me she would leave the window open so if I needed her, just yell real loud.

What a way to run a railroad.

Sgt Miz P said they have been having some trouble with the radio repeater (the thing that amplifies our signal and spreads it out all over the camp) but they don't seem to be in any hurry to fix it.

Once again, it's going to take someone getting hurt for them to realize they have a problem. They don't seem to get that sacrificing employees is not a good way to run a quality control check.

If they are going to leave us swinging in the wind with no backup, they better give us some better tools to work with.

But you know that isn't going to happen either. The Governor said the other day we have to trim another half a zillion dollars from next years budget or we are going to be in trouble.

Got a news flash for ya, bub. We are already in trouble.