You know it’s Fall at CERN when…
… you’ve forgotten what a sunny day looks like, because it’s been cloudy and raining since the end of September.
… you’ve forgotten what a sunny day looks like, because the sun rises after you’ve gone to work and sets before you’ve gone home, and your office blinds are mostly shut because any glare on your computer screen impedes your research.
… the snow line starts creeping down the Juras.
… ski season starts creeping into conversations.
… fondue is once again an acceptable — and delicious! — dinner option. (N.B. Only tourists eat fondue in the summer. Seriously.)
… Christmas lights go up in Saint-Genis-Pouilly, but they don’t get turned on for some time, possibly because the French have built a certain amount of flexibility into the schedule to take into account strikes and coffee breaks.
… people are preparing for Winter Conferences, and you already begin to resign yourself to a holiday break filled with both cookies and code.
… protons aren’t colliding in the LHC. (Zing!)
… the days keep getting shorter, so how do your workdays keep getting longer?!
… [Readers, what have I missed?]
— Burton
