And Some of the Other News

It's been a rough couple of days, but there are other items that I feel the need to talk about. 

These past two weeks have seen some overtime (paid) at work.  My project is understaffed, our customer has lots of things they want from us, and that's because their customer wants those things.  There's no doubt that the program manager both at our end and at the customer end know that we are going beyond where we normally go and they're just as swamped as we are.  The effort is very important in my mind, and the teamwork has been awesome.

I've had a couple of discussions with the deputy program manager.  He appreciated the patience that we've all had, and I told him that he told us it was coming and we braced for impact.  I put in a couple of long days getting what's called the Master Verification Matrix done, and I learned Friday that I was nominated for an award, which means a lot. 

This weekend we have a breather.  I tried going on the air yesterday and I made some contacts, but my heart wasn't in it.  The news about Moe hit me really hard.  I spent time with him yesterday and again today, and there will be more this evening.  Every evening I am upstairs with Sheila and we are joined by Larry and Moe.  Both want attention and it was that way last night.

In one way I am at peace.  When I brought the boys home around Memorial Day weekend of 2007, I resolved that I was going to be a better owner for them than I was for Sylvia.  These guys would see the vet once or twice a year.  They were fed better food (Sylvia was on Science Diet but I learned that wasn't the best you could get) and these guys had premium food that had no rice or other grains mixed in it.  And of course, I spoiled them like I did Sylvia. 

When they go, if they get to talk to God, they will tell God that they had a great home and were well taken care of.  Maybe they might complain that there were a few more times that they could have gotten pets.  But on most days, they got to interrupt me from doing something so that they could get their loving.

What can I say?  I like cats.  I like dogs.  I never adopted a dog because I was between marriages for several years, and it wouldn't have been fair to whatever dog I would have taken in.  So it was cats, two of them to keep each other company while I was away at work, which they did, but I didn't think both of them would be as demanding as they turned out to be.  I thought Larry would be the wallflower and Moe would be the Lap Boss.  Wrong.  And being wrong like that is a good thing.

Yes, I'm having my moments.  The grieving has started.  It has to happen.  It has to run its course.  Grief is normal and it is necessary.  I've been down this road before.

That's all for now.  I need to get outside for a bit.

Some Sad News to Report

Yesterday we learned that one of our cats, Moe, has an agressive form of cancer and will not have very much longer to live.  Its emergence was sudden as that he passed a physical around Memorial Day and had a clean bill of health.  The Xrays don't lie.  He has bone cancer and there's nothing that can be done, aside from making him as comfortable as we possibly can.

This isn't the first time I've lost a pet and it won't be the last.  It's hard, you grieve, and you wonder if you're ever going to get another one who will bring you as much joy.  Then one day you either go to an adoption fair or you meet a young kitten or a young puppy and at that point, you've been had.

I can't tell you how much longer the Lieutenant Demander has.  All I can tell you is that he enjoyed life today.  All we can do is treat the symptoms, and he is responding well to the treatment.  He's as sweet as he ever has been.....he spent some time grooming me, which is the highest honor he will give anybody.

I'm at peace, but I also have my moments.  When he can no longer find joy in his life, then it will be time to send him back to his Creator, who blessed us with Moe's presence for over 13 years.

Larry, the Solicitor General (nicknamed that for the manner in which he solicits pets) is in good spirits, though is being treated for a kidney issue.  I thought we were going to lose him a few months back but that big turkey got his old self back and is just as demanding of attention as is Moe.

Moe, the Lieutenant Demander, would "angrily" demand attention with the way he meowed for it.  He really loved cuddling and he still does as of this afternoon.

It will not be easy to say goodbye to him, nor to Larry when his time comes.

Odds are that when the grieving is done, I'll meet some kitten who will steal my heart, and at that point I'm had.

We'll do what we can for you Moe.

The Dog Days of Summer

I'm not really sure why these days of summer are called the "dog days".  I'll take a guess and say that it has something to do with the dog star Sirius.  Maybe the sun is right next to it or something like that, or maybe this is the best time of year to look for Sirius.  When I was in the sixth grade or so, I was really into astronomy and I could have told you when the best time to look for Sirius was.  I can't do that right now without looking it up. I can still recognize the Big Dipper and Orion the Hunter, and I might be able to tell you which planet is Mars.  As it is, an interest in the stars was overcome by one thing and then another, and I probably ought to get a telescope out as that I live in one of the best areas in the country for stargazing.

Anyway, with summer being in full swing, we have some really hot weather and we've almost set some records these past few days.  We've also had some afternoon thunderstorms roll in, though yesterday we got sprinkles as that that one grazed us and centered on somewhere else.  There are clouds to the south of us as I write this, but if we were in for storms there would be a dark thunderhead out there right now instead of sunshine.

The job continues to go well, though it is really intense.  I mean that in a good way.  I learned yesterday that I am considered as being part of program management but the word "manager" is not in my job title nor in my job description.  I am the one man Test Engineering Department for the program if you will, and although I may get some help and have some engineers support me, I'm not in the business of assigning charge numbers and tracking them.  I'm an engineer, I like being an engineer, and for this employer I actually get to be an engineer.  Three decades of my career was spent working for large corporations, and with two of them being an engineer meant you got to make charts and collect metrics.  Forget about making technical decisions.  They didn't want you doing that so that you wouldn't end up messing up the schedule.

Fortunately I have had small companies in the mix, and I'm in one right now, where the very nature of the job forces you to work smart.  I like that kind of challenge.  Small companies are great in the sense that the company owners know who you are, and in those situations they are very approachable.  A small company also carries with it risk, as that if they lose a customer, they end up losing employees, and that's no fault of their own.

In the case of being with a large company and funding to your project is cut off, they may get an assignment picked out for you.  Key word:  "may".  Forget it if you're approaching 50 years of age, as that their beancounters think that someone fresh out of college can do your job for half the pay and be twice the performer that you are.  You're shown the door, and if this happens to you in a downturn you'd better have one year's worth of house payments in the bank.

Thing of it is, is that your replacement, odds are, will want to be made a manager six years before they are eligible for their five year pin.  Not everyone gets to be "manager", and I can tell you that's a good thing as that many is the time when I've seen a situation where there are too many chiefs and not enough Indians.  It ain't pleasant, and if you're one of those Indians then you waste large amounts of time on the phone because every wannabe chief is calling you up so that they can "go over things".

And eventually, some of those wannabe chiefs get fed up and leave for another company.  Company A trains them for a year or so, and then Company B offers them a job with a 20% raise and Company A then wonders why they can't get people, with it never occurring to them that their reputation is in the trashcan since they ran the greybeards off some years back and replaced them with these Young Turks.  

Yes, you need some Young Turks on hand, but you also need the Moustache Petes, so that the business can leverage the strengths of both groups, and the company that does that then gives Companies A and B some competition and takes business away from both.  And folks, that is the way it is, and it cannot, nor ever should be, fixed by legislation.  The dog eat dog world has some very vicious little dogs, and it ain't the size of the dog in the fight.....it's the size of the fight in the dog.

OK.  I didn't know that when I started writing this I would go off in this tangent.  

I just wanted to say it's hot out there, the monsoon season is under way, ham radio is still fun, and I wouldn't trade places with anybody.

Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat!  And remember:  it's all about the simple pleasures!

Question for 7/9/20

If Mayor Regina Romero were to issue an order to the Tucson Police Department to shoot anyone on sight who is not wearing a mask, would Senator Martha McSally respond by tweeting a picture of her dog?

The 4th of July

Last night the neighbors got a bunch of us together to light off fireworks.  We did not wear masks and we did not practice "social distancing".  I even shook hands with one of them.  Yes, we were out there, lighting fireworks, drinking in public, and celebrating the founding of our great nation.

Anyone who has a problem with that is free to chain themselves to the door of the nearest Federal Building.

* * * * * * *

When I see images on TV and on the internet of protesters pulling down statues, smashing windows, and burning police cars, it doesn't make me want to vote Democrat.

When a bunch of Republicans stand around and watch all of this with their hands in their pockets, mumbling to themselves and not otherwise saying anything, it doesn't want to make me vote for them either.

* * * * * * *

A lady who was visiting her doctor asked "how much longer with COVID-19 last?"  The doctor thought for 10 seconds or so, and then said "I don't know.  I'm not much into politics."

* * * * * * *

A very curious thing about the news reports about the spike of COVID-19 cases in Arizona.  Not one single news outlet is telling us about how this is filling up hospital beds.  Neither is a news outlet reporting a commensurate increase in fatalities.

What it is, is that more people are being tested, and anyone having antibodies against it are going to be reported as a "case".  Even if there are no symptoms and nothing happens, it's still a "case".

Hey, a number is a number.  Gotta have numbers so we can get federal funding.

* * * * * * *

Another curious thing.  This time with the local spike, the elected leaders in Arizona are *NOT* calling for a lockdown like they did in March and April.  They want us to wear masks, and they want to fine us if we don't, but they're not making us stay home.

I find that very odd.  Don't you?

* * * * * * *

Although not under house arrest, I am working from home three days per week.  Sometimes four.   There really isn't any reason why I should go in and sit at a desk if I have to spend a good chunk of the day doing Zoom meetings.

That may change in a few weeks, as that my job title is "Lead Test Engineer", and one of our programs is going to need me to support testing of a ground unit, that is identical to a flight unit that's going up to the Space Station in December.

* * * * * * * 

I could say more, but I want to move on to something else.

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

Brainless in Seattle

I have consciously avoided posting anything about recent events and social unrest, aside from the government-imposed house arrest related to the virus, but that situation in Seattle has now been deemed worthy of observation and comment.  If you're of the snowflake type, you might want to stop here because of the possibility of you not liking what you are about to read.  If you're not of the snowflake type, then odds are you're going to find yourself in a safe space, but without coloring books and therapy dogs. 

As you no doubt know, a bunch of "activists" in Seattle have seized control of the Capitol Hill district, and immediately started calling it "CHAZ".....Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.  The first thing these activists did was erect barricades around it, and not even being aware of their hypocrisy in being against the border wall.  Many of the guards are carrying guns, which is legal and their right to do so, but again they're unaware of their hypocrisy in wanting to outlaw the types of guns that they're carrying. 

It gets better.  This morning there was talk of renaming it "CHOP", as in Capitol Hill Occupied Protest.  Some of the movers and shakers within that entity are now saying they're not trying to secede, which explains why the signs they put up saying "YOU ARE NOW LEAVING THE USA" have been taken down and are no longer available in Google searches.  "CHOP" might be more accurate as that an "autonomous zone" would not have to be soliciting donations in the form of cash, cigarettes, liquor, food, and the like. 

So what do we do about this mess in Seattle?

One, we can do nothing.  This is hoping that the activists will get tired of it all and then go home.  In some situations that might work.  Whatever happened to "Occupy Wall Street"?  Have you heard anything from them lately? 

The problem with that is that Organized Media and some fatass politicians don't want this CHAZ/CHOP thing to go away anytime soon.  You have to wonder what they want out of this.  Do they want a civil war?  Are they hoping for some extremists from the other end of the spectrum to show up with their weapons and then starting something?  Odds are those other types might regard that as a waste of their time and ammunition, and they'd rather be doing what they are doing now instead of doing something about this. 

Two, we can build a wall around CHAZ/CHOP.  No one goes in.  No one comes out.  No commodities are allowed to breach that wall in either direction.  It won't result in another Kurt Russell movie, but it might have the effect of starving them out.

There's a problem with that too.  What about the civil rights of residents who are trapped within that barricade?  Many people regard that area as still being United States soil, and the residents as being willing citizens.  Do we punish them along with the activists?

Three.....send in the Marines.  Just go ahead and invade them, take it over, and then place them under military occupation.  Eisenhower had to send in the 82nd Airborne to enforce desegregation in some places in the South, so there's precedent for military action.  But does this go beyond the scope of what we have a military for?  Before we answer that, didn't we send an Army into the Confederate States of America to quell a rebellion, and take back the states that seceded?  How do we argue that this is not an option?

One thing I think is clear.  President Trump has told the local government there to fix it, or he will.  Is he bluffing?  Does he mean that?  I think he does. 

It doesn't appear that Seattle will fix this anytime soon.  The police chief is saying that it wasn't her idea to abandon Capitol Hill.  The mayor, well she's suffering from the Neville Chamberlain Syndrome.  Governor Inslee claimed that he didn't know what was happening, so it's not like he can be relied on knowing what to do.

Regardless of how this plays out, we're in for some interesting news. 

And soon.

It's Still Going Good

It's hard to believe that it's already been over one month in the new job.  I have been very busy, I've gotten two people I know hired (and two referral bonuses are pending), a third might get an offer this week (and that would be a third referral bonus pending) and I'm already helping out the President/CEO with a task.

No, I can't talk very much about it.  We are in that sector of aerospace that is very healthy right now.  One other local company is not doing well, but they've brought that on themselves. 

That's as far as I'm going to get with this post.

I'm putting in some long hours, but I'm having a great deal of fun in this job.