It’s hot out there, and it’s hot at 1100 Broadway, too. Employees at The Tennessean have been sweating a little more often than the rest of us who work indoors this summer, though: The air conditioning system at the newspaper’s offices isn’t working properly. The office temperature has reached a fever pitch, judging from the paper’s “Save the Chillers” Facebook Group dedicated to restoring a comfortable workplace climate.

One comment compared the malfunctioning equipment to the Russian Space Station Mir and jokingly proposed keeping log entries for the unwelcome indoor heat wave: “Day 87: “The sweaty journalists at 1100 Broadway endured high-decibel fan volumes while waiting for chiller operations to be restored.”

Staffers have suggested holding a bake sale and giving the building’s three chillers names (so that the devices will feel more human) in order to remedy the situation. As of late last week, a post to the group’s wall suggests that help may be on the way. In the meantime, here are several suggestions from the group for keeping cool:

• Wear a sleeveless shirt, so you don’t have to worry about armpit stains. Watch out for male reporters wearing muscle shirts.
• Wear shorts and flip flops.
• Use a hair clip to keep your neck cool.
• Hire a cabana boy to “fan you with palm branches and keep you plied with frozen cocktails.”
• Buy a photon lumbar pack from the North Face.
• Consume spicy foods and herbal teas, because they will make you sweat and cool you off.
• Wear loose clothing made of cotton, linen or any other breathable fabric, which allows air to circulate. (This one and the one before it were borrowed from a list of tips for enduring the heat in Southeast Asia.)
• Work in the news conference room or the cafeteria when they aren’t occupied: “If you sit in the middle where those big blue vents can reach you, it’s like being in a wind tunnel. Hold on to your napkin!”

Having had to work in an office in the past when the air conditioning stopped working, I can definitely sympathize. It  can be a challenge to get things done when even stapling can induce sweating. Since the temperature is going to be near 100 this week, take precautions when you’re exposed to the heat, whether you’re outdoors or inside.