Democrats....You Own This Now

This evening Donald Trump became the third President in history to be impeached.  I wasn't sure after the Clinton impeachment that I would see another one of these in my lifetime, but now I'm thinking I might see two or three more.  The standard of impeachment has now been cheapened to where a President can be impeached simply because those engineering the impeachment simply don't like him.

I had stated an opinion in my last post that the Republicans would not retaliate in the future.  I am thinking that I may be wrong in this.  Trump is a fighter among the likes we haven't seen since Andrew Jackson, and I think he's going to take this one to town.  The Democrats now own an issue that they can't run from, so they will have to run on this, and they're about to find out that 63 million Americans (and likely more) are angry, and this will come back to bite them.

Did I just say that the Republicans might retaliate?  I'd better re-think this.  I'm now going to bring up another thought I had earlier today.

After Trump leaves office, there is the possibility of the fatass politicians retaliating against the voter.  The Democrats certainly don't like the way that people vote and there is ample evidence that Establishment Republicans don't like it either.  Remember Trent Lott?  "Talk radio is running the country, and we've got to do something about it."   Do I dare accuse the Republican party of being in *support* of the Constitution?

Some of them will want to retaliate against a future Democrat President.

Whether or not that happens depend on how much of the swamp gets drained.

The Democrats are going ahead with this, and in one way I'm in favor of it.

It will be fun watching Mitt Romney squirm on this one.

They Can't Stop the Train Now

It's been announced that two Articles of Impeachment against President Trump will be drafted, voted on, and likely sent to the Senate.  Neither one alleges bribery, or "quid pro quo".  The charges are "abuse of power" and soliciting interference for an election that hasn't even started the primary process.  Not one witness observed evidence first hand.  Hearsay is not permitted in any court of law under United States jurisdiction but we are now finding out that it can be considered in a Congressional inquiry.

The odds of a Senate conviction are about half as likely as the Beatles getting back together, yet the House Democrats are going forward with this anyway.  There are two questions to ask.  One is "why?".  The other is "why not?"

Let's take the why.

One reason why they are doing this is because they can.  Another is that if they do this at this time for the reasons thus cited, they've lowered the bar for impeachable offenses......meaning that they can do this again if the first attempt fails.  Now I can observe that if they do this, that the Republicans at some future point can also retaliate in kind against a future Democratic President.  (Hold that thought, we'll get back to this).

The two reasons why listed above don't quite cover this.  A third reason is that Madame Speaker Pelosi can't stop the train.  The process was allowed to start to placate that wing of the party that has been hijacked by "the Squad" and their followers.  Speaker Pelosi doesn't have the tight grip on her caucus that other Speakers and party leaders have had.  Their dam started cracking when they regained power and all attempts to patch it up have failed.

Now we'll go into the why not.

One, why not do this if you have the opportunity?  How do the Democrats know that they'll have the House in the next Congress?  They can't run against the economy.  They can't run against record low minority unemployment.  They can't run against the United States being an energy exporter for the first time in decades.

For the second reason along the why not line of thinking.......and now we're back to that thought I asked you to hold.

Does anyone think that the Republicans are going to retaliate?  If they wouldn't go after the Obama administration gunrunning "assault weapons" then why would they go after a future Democratic President for something less than that, but something more than "abuse of power"?  Did the Republicans repeal Obamacare?  Did the Republicans secure the border?  Did the Republicans do anything about the national debt?  Let's be honest about something here.  The Republican Establishment is just as much as an enemy to your way of thinking as Organized Media is.

And this now goes on to something else.

What reason do I have to vote for Martha McSally next year?  I know, she's being primaried, but the the McCain machine won't let her opponent succeed, and if for some reason he does then the McCain machine will back Mark Kelly for that Senate seat (and Mark Kelly will win too).  There's a swamp in Phoenix that needs draining too.

Meanwhile, the Impeachment Train is rolling right along.

My opinion is that it's only a matter of time before it jumps the tracks.

A Quick Visit to California

Last Thursday Sheila and I got on a plane for San Jose.  We were picked up by an old friend of mine that I hadn't seen for a long time, that being Craig P, who I heard described as (and I will describe him as that too) "an amazing guy".  He is one of the few from the old days that has remained in San Jose.

The purpose of the trip was to take possession of my dad's pickup truck, and to drive it back to Tucson.  We took Craig, Debbie (a friend of my mother's) and my mother out to a favorite Mexican restaurant of mine, after which there was some bank stuff to do and a visit to DMV.  I had wanted to take to the road at 2:00 PM to beat the traffic rush, but we were held up and didn't leave until 4:00ish.  Traffic was the worst I'd ever seen, but we were able to get into Los Banos for the night.

On most of my road trips, I've taken I-5 down, but with this one, and the previous two, I came down state highway 33 in the central valley.  Sometimes you don't want to be on the interstate.  It was Sheila's first time seeing that part of California, which is enjoyable (you're away from the urban centers).  When we got to Mendota, we headed over to state highway 99, and then it was down that road to state highway 223, through Arvin, and on to Mojave for the night.

It would have been nice to have made Victorville, but I wasn't sure I wanted to attempt I-15 traffic on a Friday afternoon, so Mojave it was.  Our motel of choice was across the street from a Subway that is collocated with a Shell station/convenience store, which is nice as that I got to enjoy a beer with my sandwich.

The next day we were on the road again.  We realized that if we had made it to Tucson, we would have been dog tired that night and useless the next day, so night number three was in Quartzsite, AZ.  I've stayed in Quartzsite a few times and the Super 8 had a room.  I really wanted United States soil under me that night which is one reason we didn't stop in Blight......excuse me, Blythe.

We returned home Sunday afternoon at 1:30ish.  I was tired but not too tired to indulge two very special cats who were glad to see their daddy.  They were on the clingy side that day and the next, (which I had off), and now it's back to work,.

The getaway was nice, but it wasn't long enough.  I really wanted to drive down the coast and visit with my dad in his resting place, but I wasn't sure about US101 and the wildfires that some parts of the coast are having.

About work, I'm going to say this.  Things there have gotten better since I last mentioned it.  I'm seeing the team members work with each other instead of against each other.  I think it's a matter of the divergent personalities learning how to grow together.  It appears in a few weeks I will be involved in testing UHF/SATCOM radios, which is good.  I can't call myself a satellite engineer anymore and that may not happen again, but my desire for that experience is more borne out of a desire to learn some new things.

That's going to be it for the time being.  The holidaze are fast sneaking up on us.  Right now it's the calm before the storm.

Living in California? I Don't Think So

Today was a busy day as far as my email inbox went on one of my three accounts.  I use one for "social', one for "business", and one for ham radio.  The inbox for the business account brings in emails every day for recruiters looking to fill engineering positions, but one recruiter found a way to my personal inbox to ask me to apply for an engineering position in California.....Northridge, to be exact.  That employer has a presence in several states (including Arizona) but they, like a lot of employers in California, are hurting for engineers.

I'm somewhat tempted to troll for some information (I've been known to do that), but I don't see myself doing that this time.  One, I already know of the incentives they are offering.  A $20,000 signing bonus.  Relocation assistance.  Buying your house out from under you.  A one week househunting trip.

Although I could use twenty thousand smackers, I'm not biting.  One, the job is in California.  Two, 20K doesn't go very far in California.  Three, California has some serious problems and I believe it will get much worse there.

Now some Californians will brag online about how great their state is.  World's 5th largest economy.  Great weather.  Great places to visit.  Beaches.  Mountains.  Sand dunes.  Redwoods.  Wine.  Skiing.

I can't argue about the weather and most of what I listed.  But world's 5th largest economy?  It appears that way, when you look at it strictly in the volume of dollars that are spent there, but does that mean things are golden in the Golden State?

Prices and cost of living are MUCH higher there than elsewhere.  The dollar volume, in my estimation, is inflated due to dollars not being worth as much there as they are elsewhere.  Sure, I can get a higher salary there, and I might even realize a 30% raise, but what good is that going to do if I don't get to keep it?

I am paying less on a monthly mortgage for a nice house in Tucson than what I would spend on a third rate one bedroom apartment in the Los Angeles basin.  I pay anywhere from $1.50 to $2.00 less for a gallon of gas here in Arizona.  My property tax bill is about 25% of what that would be for a similar house in CA, I would be in much worse traffic, and I would be in a higher tax bracket.  In a per capita sense there might be more dollars available, but what good is it if you have a lower standard of living?

There's more.

I've read where California now has one third of the nation's homeless and one fourth of the nation's illegal aliens.  This thing called Proposition 47 has sent property crime through the roof.  Photos that I see on the net's top news sites depict rows of tents along the sidewalks of Los Angeles, and I've seen those rows of tents in San Jose.

The state also has trouble keeping their lights on.  PG&E has cut off power to tens of thousands of customers so as to prevent their aging infrastructure from setting off more wildfires.  There is a convincing argument that they can't replace that infrastructure since the environmentalists won't let them.  (There is also an equally convincing argument that PG&E has some corruption amongst their top management).  If you do get electricity, you're going to pay a lot more for it.

I will be responding to that email with a thanks, but I will be declining invitations for discussions.

I may not be living in the world's 5th largest economy, but I am living very well.

An Apology

I wish to apologize to the American people and to the rest of the world for voting for Mitt Romney when he was running for President in 2012.  I originally was going to sit that one out, but I fell for his phony line about how he was a true conservative, even though there was evidence that he wasn't.

I also feel bad for having once endorsed his choice of Paul Ryan as Vice President.  Once I saw how Speaker Ryan was, I realized Romney could have done better.  I guess I can make the argument that it was the best choice he had available at the time, but I didn't know Ryan as well as I should have.

Mitt Romney, a/k/a Pierre Delecto. 

Mitt Romney, setting up a fake Twitter account.  That's as dishonest as Hillary and her missing emails and those smashed hard drives.

Voters of Utah.........will you now please step forward and apologize too, for sending Mitt Romney to the Senate?

Why the Rush to Impeach?

For at least a week, most of what we have heard about it is the so-called "impeachment inquiry" against President Trump.  I will note here that it has not gotten past me that Speaker Pelosi has NOT scheduled a vote on this.  This reminds me of when she openly speculated she would "deem and pass" the legislation called Obamacare when she didn't yet know she had the votes she needed.

There is a lot of speculation as to why.  I think the answer lies in something the Congressman Al Green said.

If we don't impeach him now, he will be re-elected.

What I don't get is why the Speaker won't bring this to a vote.  In a way, it's clever.  Yes, she caved to the Squad, but she's also protecting those Democrats who are the swing districts.  OK, I've just answered my own question, but if you're going to make this a campaign issue then vote.

There is another reason being speculated on.  A lot of dirt is about to make the light of day.  Attorney General Barr has someone looking into this, who is threatening to produce more than Robert Mueller did and in less time at that.

We are in some very interesting times.

The Man Who Was Shot in the Neck

Many years ago Mark told me a story about his earlier days.  When he was in elementary school, there was a construction trailer on the grounds near the perimeter.  It was largely ignored until a rumor about it was started.

The rumor was that there was a guy who was living in that trailer.  He was shot in the neck.  He was in perpetual bleeding from that wound, and was a danger to anyone who would go near that trailer.  Of course he wasn't seen, but that little factoid was ignored.  There was a man who was shot in the neck living in there, and he was a threat.

As with some childhood rumors, this one got out of hand.  No kid wanted to walk by that trailer, whether he or she was alone or with a group.  The area was avoided during PE.  And soon it got to where the kids didn't want to be outside waiting for their parents to pick them up.  The Man Who Was Shot in the Neck just might come running out of that trailer, snatch you, and do you harm.  Think about it some.  Would you go near a trailer with kind of person living inside of it?  I wouldn't.

It got so bad that the prinicipal finally got on the intercom one afternoon.  He insisted emphatically that there was no man who was shot in the neck.  There was no one living in the trailer.  There was no danger.  Again, there is no such thing as the Man Who Was Shot in the Neck.  No such person ever existed, no such person exists, and no such person will ever exist in the future.  End of story.

We laughed about that when he told that story to me.  It reminded me of an incident when I was five years old, and convinced that there was a monster living inside of the storm drain on the street where we lived, and if you looked in the hole you would see it in there and you would see it looking at you.  And because we wanted to see it, we saw it.

Anyway, events at work have reminded me of the absurd story of the Man Who Was Shot in the Neck.

In other words, it's a lot like an elementary school atmosphere there these days.

My lead and my manager would disagree with that.

They insist that it's a day care center.

Yes, we're having some personnel problems.

No, I won't tell you what they are.  Not at this time.

"We Need to Go Over Things"

I have several peeves, and one of them is that person who calls me on the phone so that we can "go over things".  Nine times out of ten this conversation isn't really needed, and this post in no way is directed to anyone belonging in the ten per cent.  What this is directed at is someone who could obtain information by due diligence on their part.  It's also directed at that someone who can function independently without calling me up to "go over things".

Several years ago at work, I was dragged into a technical problem that had the attention of several people, including department managers and others who were aware of it but who weren't tasked in any way to help resolve it.  This one landed in my lap late one afternoon, and the very next morning I had my heart set on getting that one put to bed.

Five minutes after arriving at my desk, my phone rang.  It was from someone who wanted to "go over things".  That person could have read the email trail, and probably did, but still wanted to tie me up for twenty minutes so that we could "go over things".

I was done with that call, but within five minutes the phone rang again.  It was someone else who wanted to "go over things".  OK, this time it's another 20 minutes, maybe a half hour, so that I could "go over things".  I finally got dispensed with that, went for a bio break, came back to my desk, and the phone rang.

Now I've got a third person who wanted to "go over things".  I'm thinking, we engineers might not be the best of communicators, but why couldn't he call one of the earlier callers to "go over things"?  Well the drawback here was that I was thinking logically.  This is the third person who called me up so that we could "go over things", and I couldn't very well be rude to that person.

Once I got rid of that one, guess what?  The phone rang again!  I now had a fourth person who wanted to "go over things".  So I spend twenty minutes going over things, repeating myself for the third time, and then comes the question.  "What progress have you made?"

"None."

"What do you mean, 'none'?  How come you're not working on this?"

"I haven't gotten anything done on this because I keep answering the phone."

"You're answering the phone?"

"Yes.  You're the fourth person who called me this morning wanting to know where I was on [xxxx], and all of my callers want to go over things."

"Oh!  I guess I'd better get off of the phone and let you work on this!"

I guess you might be surmising that I hate telephones, and if you are you're accurate in that assessment.  I realize that from time to time you have to call up your insurance agent and "go over things".  Well the insurance agent gets paid to "go over things".

If you've hired a lawyer, you're going to have to "go over things".  The lawyer gets that, and is happy to go over things, and if you don't mind the legal bill then "go over things" with your lawyer.

But what about that co-worker who calls you up in the middle of your supper, so that he can "go over things"?  You know, that one person who can't understand why you're not good with your food getting cold because he/she wants to call you at random so that they can talk about work and "go over things"?

My suggestion:  don't be that guy.

And no, I did NOT answer the phone recently or replied to a text from a co-worker who called/texted at 6:30 PM so that we could "go over things".

It's September Already, and Tomorrow Will be Christmas

I woke up yesterday morning and it was September.  It was day two of a four day weekend (I took Friday off) and now I'm at the end of day four.  It was a good opportunity to rest and I got some of that in.  There were also other things to take care of and some of them were, but there's more to do with respect to others.

I had hoped to be on the air this weekend.  I got on Saturday morning, worked two stations in Colorado, and the bad conditions got worse.  Two coronal holes on the sun triggered a geomagnetic storm which made radio almost useless.  I tried going on for a little bit today when the geomagnetic field quieted down some.  I knew I was getting out as that spotting stations in Alberta got my signal, but there weren't that many people on the air.  I then called Mark and we discussed some antenna ideas, bouncing our thoughts off each other, and I've now got another antenna project I want to work on.

On another front, Sheila and I had a discussion about the house.  We've decided that we're going to fix it up and get it ready for sale.  I know I've mentioned it before, years ago, but life got in the way.  We are in the process of applying for a HELOC and we're prepared to put some serious money in upgrading a few things.  The front yard has a small (as in one foot height) wall around it.  That needs to be removed, and replaced.  Some plants have to go (the eucalyptus tree and the saguaro get to stay, and two barrel cacti will get to stay as well).  

In the back, the brick planter around the spa needs to be removed, and either replaced or left as if it was never there.  I am sorely tempted to have the spa itself removed and hauled away.....I've put some good money into it over the years but we don't use it any more.  

Electrical work needs to be done.  I want an outlet next to my workbench in the garage.  I want some work done outside.  An oleander tree needs to removed (do NOT buy property that has oleander on it!).  The interior needs painting.  And we need new carpeting.  New sinks (two down, three to go).  

After all that, we'd like to move.  My preference is Vail, though Sheila is open to Sorry Vista (I'm not, but it's on its way to being a better place to live than Tucson).  The idea is to get a few acres in Vail where I can have an antenna farm.  

If we don't move, then we end up with a better house to live in.  My original plan was to retire and then some day die in my own living room right here inside the house, but I'm thinking I might as well die further out in the desert. 

And now it's September.  The monsoon season is still with us, and it's been hot and humid outside.  Once things cool down I'll be doing some yardwork.  I also want to do an antenna project....maybe next Saturday if the conditions won't permit being on the air.  

I figure on some trips to Ace Hardware (the one that Pat Sumrall goes to) in the very near future.

With it being September, I'm afraid I might see Christmas decorations being available for sale.

"Well I'm Stuck in Sorry Vista...."

"....and time keeps draaaaaging on."

With that shameless ripoff from Johnny Cash, I now start this entry.  Even though I've called Sierra Vista "Sorry Vista" more times than I can remember, it's a much better place to be than Trashcan or Newark (the one in NJ) or Detrash or Gary Indiana.

There is more in the realm of political theater to discuss, and some current events, but not tonight.  This is one of those nights better spent decompressing by watching the Looney Tunes or Green Acres or Gilligan's Island.  I might do just that, but first, what's on my mind.

The situation at work is fast becoming one of those where the squirrel is shorting out the transformer.  I seem to be seeing a lot more of that lately in life than I remember.  Odds are it's always been that way, but if you're watching Foghorn Leghorn give the dog a paddling and laughing about it you're not thinking about the squirrel and the transformer.

I won't go into details, other than to say I'm really being challenged.  A good friend of mine just two days ago told me that this is what it is really like to deal with that kind of customer, so I wasn't surprised that there is more beating over what you failed to do, since you didn't have time to do it as that you were taking care of something else you were being beaten for.  An individual can put up with this for some time, but that time is not finite, and I have this feeling I'm going to be watching at least one co-worker walk away from this.

My employer, great as they are about taking care of their people, will align with the customer on a few things here and there.  One of them is that they don't want to hear excuses, they want to see results.  A team effort has been put forth in producing results, but we're being beaten for results that we don't yet produce because there is A, a learning curve involved, and B not enough time being allocated to do this.  That's my opinion of course, and if the customer shares that opinion they're not going to pass that along to me.  They in turn answer to someone up higher, that someone answers to someone higher still, and those up they chain don't want to hear about our problems.  Truth is, they have their own set of pressing problems to deal with,

So how do I cope?

I forge on ahead.  I didn't get here by dropping out of high school or quitting college.  That next to last semester was one royal son of a bitch to get thru and I'll admit I was on the edge of despair for a while there.  That said, I was too close to the goal line, and I didn't want to settle for a field goal.

I will eventually get out of this current mess, which is no where near as adverse as the mess that I had on my hands just a few months before I came to Arizona.  No, I won't talk about that mess either.  That situation will never again be my problem.

In the meantime, there's this cold bottle of San Pellegrino mineral water beckoning me, and it's time to knock that one off.

Cheers.

The Political Situation Report (As I See It), 8/1/19

I have deliberately been trying to avoid politics these past few posts (months), but there's been too much political theater to ignore.  Plus, my history teacher back in college in 1977 encouraged us to document from time to time, what we thought of current events, as that historians would appreciate that.  Provided that this entry and/or blog is not censored, you may be reading years (decades?) into the future of what is going on now, as I write this, as I see this.

This evening we had a rally from President Trump.  The previous two evenings we had debates from the gaggle of Democrats who are running for President.  I watched a good chunk of the rally but didn't watch the Democrat debates (I did listen to talk radio analyze them).  Here is what struck me.

One.  On night one, Marianne Williamson, who I will from this point forward affectionately refer to her as the New Age Queen, outshone the others.  She led a prayer for white people who wanted to apologize for being white.  I wasn't aware that there was anyone who needed to apologize for who they are or what they were born as, but it's readily apparent that the universe where my thought resides is different from hers.  In a way I'm rooting for her.  She stole thunder from Elizabeth "I Have High Cheekbones" Warren and the Bern Man himself.

Two.  On night two, the knives were out for Joe Biden, who fumbled since there wasn't anyone there in a wheelchair who he could tell to stand up.  We also had Tulsi Gabbard go after Willie Brown's former mistress Kamala Harris.  When I heard the sound bite I thought "wow!", and the one night a week I get to watch Tucker Carlson on Fox, he's got Tulsi on his show and I'm once again thinking, "wow!".  I wouldn't agree with Tulsi Gabbard nearly as often as I would disagree with her, but I have to give her kudos with which the way in which she presented herself on Tucker Carlson.  And guess what?  She's now being called an agent of Putin!  Cheese Louise!  Is everyone who disagrees with these uber radical Democrats an agent of Vladimir Putin?  Really?  He's really got that kind of reach??

Three.  I watched some of the Trump rally,  He was on fire tonight.  This time he didn't go after the "Squad" (I haven't mentioned their existence until now, and believe me I held off for as long as I could), but he did go after sanctuary cities and the Democrats who run them.  And I'm thinking, has Trump always felt this way?  I knew of him many years ago, and I would have pegged him as a Democrat.....which I have read that he was....and why does he now have the positions he has?   I had trouble believing he was the real deal in 2015 but folks, we know now he means what he says.  I voted for him to keep Hillary out of the White House for more than any other reason, and now I can't wait to vote for him again.

So what do I make of this?  If I were to make predictions, what would I make?

I'm going to confess something here.

I don't like to make predictions.  I don't.  I've seen way too many predictions made by others fail, and that is the kind of company that I don't want to be known for keeping.

I'm not going to predict what will happen between now and the election, or who is going to win it.  I am thinking that the Democrats are so caught up in their ultra left policy positions, that they are too far invested in them, that they don't dare let them go.  They will march off the cliff believing in them, or rather, convincing themselves that they believe in them, and with more than one year to go we're going to hear more about the Green New Deal, reparations, Universal Basic Income, higher taxes, man made "climate change" (remember, they don't call it "global warming" anymore).......what they haven't thought of (yet) is calling for illegal aliens being able to vote.

That said, I don't personally think next year is going to go very well for them.  My advice is that they stock up on six years worth of prozac, and the rest of us better prepare for six more years of Russia Russia Russia.

Tuesday, 7/9/19

If I were in to going into detail about what happens at work, I could have told you of some interesting drama going on there.  I don't, because what happens there (mostly) stays there.  I'll make some generic mentions of it on occasion, but I'm not going into detail.  All I'm going to say is that I was more than positively impressed with the way in which the necessary management intervention took place.  I came away feeling really good about the guy who hired me.  I wish I knew a little more of his background but he has excellent leadership skills and those showed.  He's not one to talk about himself a whole lot, but some evidence slipped out that he reads the Bible.

There is another positive development to report.  A new guy started yesterday, and he lives in Tucson.  He's also a longtime licensed amateur radio operator.  We're going to see if we can work out a carpooling arrangement starting next month.  He's committed to a vanpool for the next four weeks and so I'll be staying in Sorry Vista on average of two nights per week.

I tend to avoid vanpools as that I've seen how these guys drive on the interstate.  Their favorite tactic is to hog the left lane, and hang in the blind spot of whoever's in the right lane.  Not only do they refuse to pass the person in the right lane, they insist on being where the driver in the right lane can't see them.  If the driver increases speed by 3 mph, the vanpool driver will match that.  If the driver slows down by 3 mph, so will the vanpool driver.  It isn't just the vanpool drivers who do this......there is no shortage of cretins on any interstate who derive perverse pleasure in doing this.  Some states ticket left lane hogs but if Arizona is one of them I haven't heard anything about it.

On the ham radio front, conditions have been in the outhouse these past few weekends.  Well, I'll clarify that.  On some of the bands, the conditions stink.  I went on 40 meters this past weekend and was able to work France and Slovenia.  I wouldn't have thought it possible on 40 meters during the summer but I got France and Spain in late April, which tells me that 40 can be a good band outside of winter during a solar minimum.  There is recent evidence that Cycle 24 is ending and Cycle 25 is getting under way.  If that's the case, then we've hit bottom, and it will get better from here.

Yes, hams like sunspots, but when there aren't any the DX can be found elsewhere if you're patient and you know where to go.  I've got all six continents on 40, as well as on 20, the King of the DX bands (40 is called the Queen).

At home, it's going mostly well.  Seems as if as of late there is at least one member of the household who is under the weather.  I had my turn last Saturday.  As I write this I am tired and somewhat exhausted, as that I had some more of that sinus blockage that I'm going to die with but not from.

That will be for now.  Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat......or a bunny rabbit for that matter if you have one.

Situation Report for Wednesday, 6/19/19

As of tomorrow I will be one month into the new job.  Things are slower than I would like for them to be.  That though is dependent upon my new employer getting some things worked out with the customer.  I know that the process is on-going and I've been promised that this time around, I will not be pigeonholed into a specific role like my previous employer did.  My task lead this time around wants his engineers to be able to wear more than one hat.  That was made clear before I had a chance to voice any concern about being typecast.

The vacation, sick time and comp time policies are also miles ahead of their competition.  Vacation time earned has no expiration date, like most companies do.  That said, I have to make sure that it doesn't back up to two years worth.  Most employers confiscate it from you; allowing only 40 hours carry-over into the next calendar year.

Sick leave is also accrued into a separate account.  I didn't know there was any company around that still did that.  Folks, this is not a small employer I am working for.  They have tens of thousands of employees and a presence in several locations.  I am feeling more and more like I did the right thing with accepting the job offer.

On another front......well guess what, I had another dream about that trial.  I really didn't want to talk about this soon after the last post but the dream had its own appreciable merit of absurdity.  We were standing around the defendant, confronting him......and I was yelling at him.  I kept yelling over and over, "you're going to the river!  You're going to the river!"  We were overlooking a river that the bank we were standing on was some ten feet above the river, and we were going to throw him into it and never see him again.

Thing of it is, I was yelling it so loud in the dream that I woke up Sheila.  This wasn't the first time that she's had to settle me down about some dream that's a consequence of being there at the trial.  I'd like to think though that it will be several months before I wake her up again in such a manner.

On the ham radio front, conditions haven't been that great lately.  I have concentrated on chasing sporadic E, which is much more dependent on season than it is solar flux, and have made some good contacts.  And in spite of the dismal conditions, I was able to get France twice one late afternoon on the 20 meter band, which isn't affected by sporadic E.

I have it in mind to try two new antenna projects.  I can get to both of them right away but one of them will take a little more effort and probably could use some more deep thought.

And on the political front..........I don't have much of anything to say, aside from the observation that the theater might be akin to watching a squirrel short out a transformer.  Yes, this is the second time in two posts I am mentioning the squirrel, but that is how life is sometimes.

End communication.  Beep.  Boop.  zzzzzzzzzzt.

That Jury Trial Still Lives On in My Mind

I didn't know this until last week, but I am still processing that trial that I served on.  I haven't had occasion to think about it and it hasn't come up in conversation very often.  Well, last week I woke Sheila up in the middle of the night, screaming out the name of the defendant and saying something else that in that dream that I felt needed to be done.  I had no recollection the next day that I even dreamed about it in the first place, and would never have known if I had not been told.

So yes, I guess it's still there.  It came up in conversation with another couple we met for dinner last Saturday night that we've become good friends with.  They know the details of the crime, they know what I know about it (which is a different story than what Organized Media told  their audience) and since it came up I made use of the opportunity to vent about it a little.

OK, I've let it be known that this had the attention of Organized Media.  Organized Media did NOT tell the same story that we in the jury box and those attending the trial heard.  Organized Media was there at the trial, they had people who knew more of the context than I originally did, but Organized Media could not resist the opportunity to paint those they didn't like in a bad light.  In some cases it was due to sloppy reporting and in other cases it was due to their agenda, which in this one, could not have possibly advanced a political cause of any kind imaginable, but it was an opportunity to make the right people look bad and there was no way they were going to let that go.

As tempting as it is to tell the story here, I'm not going to do it, and this time I'm going to tell you why.

One.  The conviction is being appealed.  That may take a year or two to run its course.  I say nothing here because I want no influence whatsoever on the appeal process and the eventual decision.  I will say that the prosecution did their homework, we took the instructions seriously, we gave the charges due deliberation, and my conscience is clear in how I voted and what I argued for when we finally got to discuss the case.

Two.  Even if this wasn't appealed, I still wouldn't talk.  I have reason to believe that Organized Media isn't done with this yet.  It's going to come up again in a couple of years.  The story will be told again in reenactment form on some channel somewhere, and those telling the story simply will not be able to resist the urge to embellish this.  Several of the details are bad enough as they are.  It's downright bizarre.  I simply will not help Organized Media in this in any way, shape or form.  They have the facts.  I can't make Organized Media tell the truth about this.

Three.  There are the innocent parties to be taken into consideration, some of whom had their turn on the stand.  Those involved have gone thru their own personal hell over this.  They are never going to get over it.  Time will not heal these wounds.  I know of other serious crimes that will leave scars, but folks, in this one, there are many more people who will never get over this.  Let them get on with their lives.

OK.  I realize I'm still processing what happened.  I may be doing this for some time to come.  A lot of tabloid type of stuff was involved, and like most true crime stories it's both fascinating and revolting at the same time.

As Birdman would say.......it's a lot like watching a squirrel short out a transformer.  As grotesque as it is, you can't help but stare at it.

Forward Motion on the Transition (and other things on my mind)

This afternoon my badge access to the labs went into effect.  As that my office is physically inside one of those lab buildings, this now lets me come and go as I please.  I also got my laptop and docking station this morning but until my network access is switched over to Arizona from Maryland (why did they think I was there?) the laptop, docking station and monitors are decoration.

I am feeling better about taking this job.  I was really vexed over the long weekend about these "assignments" that come out of left field from the corporate office in Florida that I can't get to until I'm on my home computer that they want turned around right away.  I also couldn't log in to get the family signed up for medical benefits, and I really didn't want to write a check for COBRA.

Well, that's all taken care of, and although I'm not seeing playing time on the field my turn to step up to the plate will come.  I probably ought to enjoy this lull while I can, because things can and will get frantic later on.

Like I did two years ago, I'm staying down in Sorry Vista two to three nights per week.  The commute really isn't that bad but I don't want to get burned out on driving.  The vanpool drivers continue to exempt themselves from the vehicle code and common courtesy while on the freeway, but they seem to know where the state troopers and the county mounties hang out.  I see the marked (and sometimes unmarked) patrol vehicles strategically placed along state highway 90 every day I make the drive, and on some (if not most) they're also watching drivers in Huachuca City, which has the local reputation of a speed trap.

Next Monday, if I'm not too tired, I hope to attend my first meeting of the Cochise Amateur Radio Association.  I think Wendell will offer to drive me there.  I know where it is but I don't know how well I would find it at night.  I attend meetings of the Radio Society of Tucson whenever I can get to them as well as the Southern Arizona DX Association of which I'm also a member.  So will I join CARA?  I likely will for as long as I'm working down there.  Membership in ham radio clubs is a great deal more affordable than other clubs.

In the meantime, I'm being bombarded with lots of calls from recruiters.  I'm beginning to think that some of them suffer from ADD.  I don't like talking on the telephone (truth is I hate telephones) and I especially don't want to take these out of state jobs that they want to tell me about.  Most of them won't leave messages, but they'll call two or three times a day.  A recruiter based in Georgia has already called me 8 times this week (I'm now keeping score) and one of Florida is in second place with 5 calls.  I get emails from them too, mostly the impersonal "Hi, I hope you are doing well.  Below is a job description...".

Not to mention that my office is inside of a building where cellphone reception isn't the greatest and I wasn't going to step outside to yak on the phone since up until this afternoon my badge wasn't working to let me back in.

Anyway, we'll see tomorrow if that guy in Georgia can get past ten, and the lady in Florida narrow the gap to first place.  I could block the numbers, but I suffer from this morbid curiosity about how many times they will call before they give up.

And I haven't stated this yet in this post, but I believe that some of these calls are schemes to get personal information with the purpose of identity theft.  I know of two agencies that have street cred, and neither one of these has been calling me lately.  Of course, one of them knows that I just started a new job, and the other one in my opinion is not as good.

That's a wrap.

Transition to a New Job

I am now in my second week of the transition.  My start date was on the 20th.  It almost didn't happen.  My new employer hired a third party to conduct a background check on me.  I gave that third party all the information that they wanted.

The next day, they wanted some W2 forms to verify previous employment in Nevada and down here in Sorry Vista.  I had those FAXed in, and asked for a callback to make sure that they got them by leaving a voicemail to the point of contact.  I didn't hear anything until the next day.  "Well now we want W2 forms for this other employer".  And I'm thinking, why didn't they ask for those the previous day?  I called my point of contact again, and left a message.  Just like the previous day, he refused to return my phone call.

I then had to escalate it.  I called my employer, and was referred to their corporate HR.  I made them aware of the situation.  Then within one hour, my phone call got returned.  He admitted that he got some of the W2s, but he wanted another one sent again, and then some others.  OK.  I got them sent.

The next day, they claimed I gave them the wrong birthdate.  Yeah, like I would do that.  They refused to fix the date.  I had to do it all over again.  I called corporate, and corporate pretty much asked me to humor them.  So I did.

The second time, it went thru, giving credence to a saying I came up with two years ago:  you need to do things twice in order to get them done once.

The pain of onboarding may or may not be over yet.  I got an assignment from someone else over in corporate.  Yes, I filled out the W4 forms, but now I need to call this toll free number and get a confirmation number from Ernst & Young, who are somehow involved in determining something called WOTC eligibility, which I know that I am not eligible for.  But I had to go over that with them all over again, was issued a confirmation number, and that was emailed to that corporate lady who came in out of left field to want that little tidbit of information.

Meanwhile, I'm not getting any real work done.  I haven't been issued a laptop yet.  That has to come from their customer, through whose network I must interact.  My task lead (who is a great guy) told me it might take three weeks.  Then, I can request that my badge be accessed to the labs that I will need to get into (not to mention the building where my office is).  He pointed out that the customer is low on computers, and that there's no guarantee that I will get one that will actually work.    He told me it would be his job to worry about that and not mine.  While I am waiting, I am reviewing test procedures and documentation for some rather specialized methods of radio communication.  One standard I am very familiar with and the others are new.  Being a ham radio operator, I'm being paid a good salary to read this.  That said, they'll be getting their money's worth out of me once we are up and rolling with funded task orders.

As I (think I) explained previously, this is essentially my old job again.  The employer back then lost the contract to the employer I have now, and it has taken both the new employer and the customer 18 months or so to transition this.  Neither side expected that length of time.

I'll have to be honest about something.  I wasn't sure I was doing the right thing going back to this job.  The Good Lord opened that door, and as painful as it has been for me to get settled, I ought to stay in this one.   The task lead is a great guy.  The engineering manager who hired me likely is also but I have yet to meet him in person (I'll try to get that taken care of this week).  The deputy program manager is as down to earth as anyone can come.  And the company has an excellent reputation.

On the other fronts in life, I have been very busy in ham radio (still).  I put up a new antenna for the 40 meter band and results have been great.  I've already worked Spain, France, Curacao, Bonaire, the Cayman Islands, Japan, Korea and Australia.  Lots of hams are complaining about conditions lately (and I remember when they were better), but when there's a solar minimum then great things happen on 40 and 80 meters.

You just have to go where the fish are biting.

A Surcharge to Help the Environment?

This link caught my eye when I looked at Drudge yesterday.  It's a story out of the Sacramento Bee.  Environmentalists in the People's Republic of California are trying to get restaurants there to tack on a one per cent surcharge at some Sacramento restaurants.  It's not mandatory by means of sales tax hike (yet) and restaurant participation is "voluntary".  The proponents are doing this since it makes them feel good; they have a cause; they can proudly trumpet to their Twitter followers and Facebook friends about what great global citizens they for caring about the environment while not having anyone in Organized Media following them to see if they will eat in these restaurants to pay the fee.

When you think about it, it's somewhat ingenius.  Guilt the restaurants into setting up and collecting the surcharge, the restaurants in turn will guilt the customers into paying this surcharge, and those who pay get to spend the drive home esteeming themselves over the fact that they've "done something" to help the environment.  It's a win-win solution, right?

Well let's think about this some.  One per cent of the tab goes towards the fight against what's now called "climate change" (they don't like using the term "global warming" anymore).  One per cent's not so bad, right?  No, I don't suppose that it is, in and of itself, but then what?

Someone else will then come along and want their one per cent for their cause.  Consider the fight against breast cancer.  That's a very serious fight which I personally would like to see us win some day.  What if we have another one per cent for that?  How do I argue against that?  I would personally prefer writing out a check to a trusted charity as opposed to paying a surcharge, but those advocating a surcharge aren't going to like my way of doing it.  They might say "well not everyone is going to write that check!  We MUST raise awareness of this at the point of sale!  If you guilt them, they WILL pay!"

What about one per cent to fight homelessness?  That's a serious problem in California.  Relief organizations are in need of volunteers and support.  Wouldn't it be a good idea to hit those up who can afford to go out and eat for one per cent to help those who are homeless?  Now here is where you can really guilt the customers.  We can ask them, "is it fair for you and your wife to have this nice meal here while some homeless guy goes to sleep hungry tonight?"

You see where I'm going with this, right?  There are lots of good causes out there.  I'm sure there are enough to where you can have twenty of these one per cent surcharges on eating out.  Would everyone pay an extra twenty per cent?  Just how much money can you guilt someone out of anyway?

Yes, I'm skeptical about some of the charities and causes that are out there.  I'm even more skeptical about "man made global warming", but that's beside the point I am attempting to make.  I have my own local pet charity here in Tucson and I have another local cause that's important to me.  I could publicly beat my drum here about either of them but my own personal feeling is that giving is best done by a sincere motivation to give rather than doing so out of being guilted into giving.

But let's now get to that point I want to make.

Isn't there a better way to fundraise?

I'm convinced that there is more than one better way.  Corporate and political groupthink says there isn't, and that bothers me.

I Can Now Go Public With This

Effective this morning, I have separated from my employer that I've had for the past year and a half.  It was brought about by a confluence of events that I can now make public.  I was offered employment two weeks ago down in Sorry Vista by the company that took over the contract I was working on in the last half of 2017.

I had kept tabs of what was going on down there, mainly out of curiosity, but more recently out of my desire to not retire just yet.  After one month of furlough, I began to realize that I had better get a plan B going, and with not even three weeks of searching I landed something. 

Upon advice of Sheila, I held fire of resigning what was until this morning, my present position.  I made some discreet contacts with connections that I had with their Oro Valley customer, and learned that the new management is going to make the attempt to squeeze blood out of the turnip, and they are suffering from the delusion that they'll be the first to succeed.........even though corporate managers have been trying that for decades.

Their other major customer up in Phoenix that I supported kept trying to convince me to take a 30% pay cut to join them.  They went through a third party recruiter to keep their fingerprints off of this scheme (as of yesterday they are still trying to get me to take it).  As interesting as commercial aviation can be, I was realizing that the good money was going to be elsewhere, thus one month ago I initiated a serious search.

One of the possibilities was my old job down in Sorry Vista.  I kept tabs on the new company coming in.  They have an EXCELLENT reputation, and I felt it was in my interests to apply for an opening that emerged.  It wasn't quite my old job......instead of leading efforts to test and certify HF radios, the requisition was more steered towards UHF SATCOMM....where I had previous experience as a satellite engineer.

I applied for the position on a Monday, the 16th of April.  On a Wednesday afternoon I got the phone call from a hiring manager.  It was a great conversation.  It was positive.  I trolled for information, as in has the engineering manager been identified?  Have the other team members been selected?  I heard the names I wanted to hear and did not hear the names of who I did not want to hear.

I then asked, "are you bringing me down for an interview?"  "We just had that.  I'm going to put together a package."  The next day I got the offer, and I accepted.  And then now what?  I've got to write a resignation letter that I hoped I would never have to write.

Sheila talked me out of doing that right away.  The plan was to resign this coming Friday.  But then I got a phone call yesterday.

I was told that due to business conditions, they couldn't continue my furlough very much longer, and I was going to be laid off.  Then I brought up that I had gotten an offer two weeks ago, and that I was going to have to resign anyway.  What do we do now?

I learned that if I resigned, one of the owners would veto any attempt to return to them in the future.  However if I accept the layoff, they pick up my medical/dental/vision  for the month of May, and I'm eligible for rehire.  I felt it was in my best interest to accept the layoff.

Whether or not I go back is unknown.  I'm leaving a company that is really great to work for to join another company that is also great to work for.  Yes, the commute to Sorry Vista is long enough to where I'm going to stay down there and live out of a motel room three nights a week.  But the new employer is going to pay me more (they even exceeded my salary request) and I will be allowed to flex hours and go home early on Fridays or get every other Friday off. 

Yes, they really wanted me.  Part of it is that I know where some of the bodies are buried, and that I can start on day one and be up to speed one day before I report to work. 

As for my now ex-employer:  I hated to see it end, but the commercial aerospace industry is an in extreme state of dysfunction as I write this.  It will be one year minimum before things change for my ex-employer.  And the other issue is, is that even if their Phoenix customer restores funding for environmental testing of that new unit and creates a job opening for me............how do I trust them? 

About half as far as I can throw my house.

The Situation Report for 4/12/19

There hasn't been much change in my situation to report other than that today I am under the weather and have some flu-like symptoms.  Sinus issues have come largely into play due to unusual weather this week.  Two straight days of gusty winds (and a session this afternoon of them) have kicked up lots of pollen and I think that's what's really got me slammed.

I remain on furlough.  It's been passed along to me that they're trying to bring me back.  Meantime, they are paying my medical/dental/vision benefits and I'm accruing vacation.  Two of our biggest customers have had recent management shakeups and the new sheriff in town always takes it out on the subcontractors.  I've seen this before and I will see it again as long as I remain in the industry.

I have intelligence that one of our customers is trying to bring in some help via independent contractors, but lowballing them by offering rates 30% less than what they were paying before.  That's their right to do that of course, but they're not getting any takers.  They certainly are not going to lure away people from our other major customer that needs that kind of talent, and it should go without saying that engineers who are smart enough to qualify flight hardware are also smart enough to qualify medical devices, and the medical device industry appears poised to expand in the near future.....along with mining.

On a brighter note, aside from the past three days, the weather here has been great and I've taken to barbecuing again.  It is amazing what you can do with a grill.  Did you know that scrambled eggs from the grill taste a whole lot better than those cooked in the kitchen?  Yes, I've done that before....spraying cooking spray into a foil pan and then cooking eggs in that pan.

Yesterday I slow-cooked some pork tenderloins, potatoes and green beans.....wind be damned.  I don't have the energy to do that again this evening, but later on this weekend I've got some ideas I want to try out.  One of them is marinating some chopped steak in tequila, and then cooking that out on the grill with the intent of it being burrito filler or fajitas.  Salmon and ribs are on the short list as well.

On the political front, I'm not going to say very much of anything this post.  The political theater these past few weeks has been unusually good.  We haven't had a President like this since Andrew Jackson.  As far as Congress goes the whole lot of them get better at being more useless as time goes one.

And on the ham radio front, it's been a slow week but a good one.  My last time on I was able to get Spain and Chile.  A few weeks ago I bagged Uganda and I now have the WAC, or Worked All Continents award pending.  The equinoctial propagation conditions will give way to the sporadic E season, which for me means more time on VHF.  We're about one month away from that.

With that I'm going to sign, and slam down some liquids.

Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.

Situation Report for 3/19/19

Last night I had a dream of the type that I hadn't had for a while.  It was again about that jury trial.  I dreamt that I came on here and spilled the beans about it, without giving away very much.  I know that I have mused before about venting, but I stopped thinking about it a couple of months ago.  Life was returning to its new normal and I got involved in other things.

No, I'm not going talk about it here.  I'm not going to talk about it in any online forum that I frequent nor do I say anything about it over the air.  I have discussed the matter offline with a ham radio friend of mine who knows the details, but not on the air.  My co-workers know about it.  My family knows about it.

I am willing to discuss what happened, but only with those that I know well.  I'll leave it at that.

* * * * * * *

My furlough from work is now in its fourth week.  These past two weeks have been more sabbatical in nature than the first two weeks, although I have been busy with other projects.  I am occasionally heard joking that I need to get back to work so that I can get some rest.

I have been catching up on a lot of reading (mainly ham radio magazines) and I've been on the air too.  This time of year, being an equinoctial period, has been good for propagation to South America in the mid to late afternoons.  I tend to go QRT (off the air) around sunset, though I should stay on longer to see if I can get Australia and New Zealand.  Propagation to Japan is almost year round; I either talk to them when it's late afternoon here and morning there, or I get up at 3:00 AM when it's past their sunset (which I've only done once).

One thing I am doing.  Whenever I make contact with someone, I will later on go online and look up where they are on Wikipedia to learn more about their area.  One locale I learned about in Argentina turned out to be a tourist destination in the province of Córdoba.  It's a great way to learn about the world.

* * * * * * *

Unless you've been on Mars for the past six months, you can't help be aware of the alt left hijacking the Democrats.  They've got what.....20 people running for President?  All of them in favor of reparations, strict gun control, strict Internet control, Green New Deal, free healthcare, free college tuition, free pre-school, etc..

I know that I have raised the question before, where is the money going to come from?  It's like no one stops to think about that anymore.  Where the money is going to come from is a non-issue.  They might admit taxing the rich, but a lot of wealth is in stocks and bonds that are worth something because there are a lot of people who think it's worth something.  In other words, the entire global economy is based on an illusion that a piece of paper is worth something.  Yes, you've heard me say this before.

Asking the question "where is the money going to come from?" doesn't work with these people.

So......I'm going to propose another question.

If something is free, is there ever going to be enough of it to go around?

20 Years Ago Today

It was 20 years ago today that I arrived in Tucson.  It was Wednesday, the 24th of February, 1999 that I came here to begin a new chapter in life.  I was in the townhouse that afternoon accompanied only by my cat Sylvia, a mattress, and some odds and ends.  The rest of the stuff was delivered on Friday the 26th, and I spent the weekend unpacking.  I reported for work the following Monday, and by Friday I either had AZ plates on the truck or the new driver license.  I know I did them in two separate visits but I can't remember which one I did first.

I had no idea how long my stay here would be.  There was no where else in the United States where I wanted to live at that time and it was that way for some time (I can now be talked into relocating to New Mexico, or elsewhere within Arizona).  I was in the process of recovering from some adverse circumstances and I think coming here accelerated that process.

I have, for some time, lived longer in Tucson than anywhere else, and yes, that includes that 15 month exile that I had in Las Vegas.  Although there were 23 years in California, 16 of them were spent in San Jose, and another 7 elsewhere.  I don't miss San Jose, I never have, and although I can reminisce about the good times I had there, most of the people I had them with have left too.  I told Mark a few months ago that six days in San Jose is seven days too long.  And that's a shame, as that there was a time where San Jose was one neat city to live in.  That was many years ago.  By the late 1980s it had already become unlivable.

Unfortunately Tucson isn't what it used to be.  I like my house, I like the scenery here, I like the cuisine here, and I like the attractions here, but Pima County is on its way to becoming a third world country (we might already be).  The roads are in poor condition, law enforcement won't respond to a call unless someone is killed (not necessarily their fault; the fatass politicians are more interested in illegal aliens), and I don't see things getting any better. 

I could move to Phoenix metro, but I don't think I would like it much better.  I'd consider Prescott, but the cost of living there started going thru the roof years ago, as it is in Flagstaff.  There's not much to do in Kingman, Yuma is unbearable in the summer, and I'm not a fan of Sorry Vista.....excuse me....Sierra Vista.  Casa Grande has some problems I don't want to deal with, and I don't think Sheila would like the other areas I haven't mentioned.

That said, coming here 20 years ago was the right thing to do.  It changed my life, and very much so for the better.  I had to learn some lessons about some things during my time here, but not at a cost that others would have had to pay. 

That said, I think I'm staying here.  Maybe not in this house.  I could move farther out, and yet be close enough.  The local ham radio scene here is a good one and I'm much more involved with the local ham clubs (note the plural) than I have ever been before in my life.

I remain grateful to the Good Lord for bringing me here.

Global Warming? Not Here.

Some winters down here are mild.  The last three were.  This one isn't.  We had snow earlier this month, which can and does happen in Tucson, and it wouldn't surprise me if it happens again this week.

We've had cold temperatures, and rain......a lot of rain as far as a February goes.  It's drizzling outside as I write this.  We had some last Friday.  We have another installment this coming Friday.  And once again, we're in for some freeze warnings this year.

Last year about this time, we had a few days where it was in the lower 80s.  I remember talking to another ham in Cold Lake, Alberta.  He told me what the weather was doing there and yes, Cold Lake was living up to its name.  When he turned it over to me, I said "Mike, you might not want to hear this, but it's 80 Fahrenheit right now".  I explained that those temps were unusual for Tucson in February. 

I haven't talked to him since.  The three Alberta hams I've talked to have been great guys; one of them I've chatted with a few times and he has relatives down here in Tucson. 

* * * * * * *

There's been some chaos at work.  The customer I'm supporting has abruptly decided that there won't be any environmental testing for a unit we're supplying them that monitors other aircraft components.  I was told today I'm being furloughed for one month, though there's a possibility of my returning to help out another customer we have in Oro Valley. 

To be honest, I could use some time off......but not a whole lot of time off.  I have a week's worth of ham radio projects to work on.  Two of these are antenna related.  And I need to work on the coin collection some.

When our Phoenix customer decides they want my services again, then my employer will have to make a decision on who gets me if I'm tied up in Oro Valley.  My preference at this point is the Oro Valley gig, even though the commute is a pain.  (I support the Phoenix customer from our business office right here in Tucson).  I have a very good friend working there in OV and we and our wives get together once a month or so for a Saturday night dinner. 

As it is though, my employer will put me where they need me the most, and our Phoenix customer lacks the expertise in environmental testing.  It's also possible that my furlough may be delayed as that I might be needed for an odd job.

I wouldn't mind a situation where I work three months, and then take one month off.   I could do that for the next five years.  That's not how it works, as that we're task-driven and work at the whim of our customer(s).

Four Years of Marriage

Sheila and I were married four years ago today.  In two days it will be exactly six years when we first met.  Things were so much different then and things are so much better now.

I can't remember who it was who first told me that I should drop to one knee and pop the question.  It was either Jeff Handt or it was Birdman.  I know both of them said that.  I don't think Jeff Handt had met her yet then, but he knew.  And so did Birdman.

I'm amazed at how happy a soul can be.  I am very blessed to have her.