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.
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Monday, June 10, 2019
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.
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.
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