Folks, We're in Serious Trouble

This jigsaw puzzle has confounded me for a while now. This morning, I woke up ahead of my usual 4AM alarm with most of the pieces fitting suddenly falling into place.

It's scary and we need to all wake up now.

I guess it was the "60 Minutes" piece on the Bush administration silencing or rebuking climatologists who warn of Global Warming. CBS' correspondent Scott Pelley went north to view effects of a rise in the Earth's temperature, studied by scientist Bob Corell. In the piece, it seemed pretty obvious to me that "the top of the Earth is melting," as Pelley put it.

The Bush administration is systematically dismantling what this country had become and it cares for noone else but Big Business. Sounds like a broad brush stroke, but it's not. Whenever gas prices spike, this administration trots out their talking heads to say "Americans are addicted to oil," and "alternative fuels are in America's Interest." Then when prices dip, the story goes back to how we're mucking with other governments. The networks - for fear of being cut off from 'exclusives' - now regularly feature the "good" news from Iraq. If they just get (or coerce) a few positive stories from war-torn Baghdad, it can't be ALL bad, can it?

But back to global warming. So far, I think the only positive story out of New Orleans was the return of Mardi Gras, but the cameras had to go in pretty tight to not show the devastation this administration is embarrassingly slow to repair. Oops, no good news there. Hurry George, point us somewhere else! Oh yeah, there are ballet and dance classes resuming in Iraq for little girls. I almost can't hear the neighborhood splattered with the internal organs and blood of another attack in the erupting civil war...

So..hard....to stay on.....global..warming....
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How 'bout them twisters in the Midwest? Another outcome of GW when cold air meets warmer and warmer air from the Caribbean.
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I live in California, and we've had enough rain to make me think I moved (floated?) to Seattle. I guess it helps out usual drought conditions, but most of us are now waiting for a dry spell...
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Speaking of Seattle - now THERE'S a wet area. Bet they feel like they've moved (sunk?) into the Puget Sound.
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Hawaii? Over 40 days straight with rain. I know it showers there nearly every day during the monsoon season, and it's tropical so you expect this, but when it makes the papers here, it's unusual.

You can check all over the world and see changes, but I think I've figured out what the administration can do to spin this:

It's a simple Adjustment Period!

Of course, how silly of me. This is just one of those pesky adjustments God is making to the environment.

(watch how I weave the Christian Right into this)

Look at a Red-Blue map of Republicans and Democrats in the 2004 election. Look where the Blue states are. Right next to the water. Raise the water? Make those Birkenstock-wearin' gay-lovin' abortionist radicals move to higher ground. They'll buy land from Red-staters, eating up farm land so exporting more jobs to higher-ground countries is necessary. More money for the conservatives, and you can force former Blue-staters to live downwind from your pig farm.

Now, the weather is terrible, but God is wiping out stuff we don't need (Polar Bears, Liberals, Penguins, Adam&Steve, etc.) so that once every drop of oil is burned out of an exhaust pipe, we will have warmed up the atmosphere until that nasty weather problem goes away. No cold air up north, no twisters, right George? The oceans will be like warm baths everywhere, and if every place is like pictures of what Florida must have been like (somewhere South of Atlanta, wasn't it?), we won't have far to drive in LNG cars (still powered by Exxon-Mobile ya know), so we'll all become energy savers. Since most people won't be able to afford homes (you think it's expensive now, wait until there's 1/3 less land, 100 million gotta move, and Billy Ray is sitting on good high ground at $500/SF (slightly higher to live upwind of the Pig Farm, remember), most people will live multi-generational, reshaping our morals in the way of Pat Robertson's dreams, absent Hugo Chavez, Muslims, and so on.

Have I covered it? Wow. All I have to do is throw logic out the window and it all becomes clear.
Thank you, Bush administration. All we need now are a lot of diversions and some smoke (Iraq again? bad boy), mirrors and shackles to keep us busy, quiet, or occupied... how about MP3 players, Internet Chat, the E! Channel, a billion hours of mindless TV... hmmm, that should do it, and if you can replay the Iraqi ballet girls every week, we'll just KNOW everything's going to be OK... as long...as I vote... for Good...Christian...white... leadership.

Be nice.
Tell me I'm wrong. Outrageous yes, but wrong? Brother I hope so.

The New Job

Well, last time I posted, I was going to leave my old job and move on, mostly for financial reasons. As I expected, Mark has been good to me, having me help with a few projects we were working on and continuing some development. I felt free to embrace the new job now.

I actually forgot what being around a group of professionals was like. Not that my co-workers before were unprofessional, but this is also a professional atmosphere with goals, expectations, and fortunately for me, a need for someone like me. I fit in.

I think change can be good when you aren't challenged or pushed to achieve something you haven't done before. We need that to grow. Maybe that's what I like about a smaller company with a dream. Remember the dot-com-era commercial where the staff is all standing around a computer as they launch their website? They're excited when - ding! - they get a sale. Then two, then six, then 50? When it hits 10,000, they're all a little scared. That's how it is at ITAN.

The company is really "InTheAirNet," a division of Rogerson Aircraft, which manufactures many airborne devices, electronic and mechanical, from the cockpit to the bathrooom. This division is going into the IFE market, or In-Flight-Entertainment. We will place live TV, Movies, Games, and Wi-Fi access to the Internet onboard any airline that will give us a shot. Getting in is a "Catch-22" affair, because an installed base gets you customers, but you need a customer to first get an installed base. There are some big players like Panasonic and Rockwell, but we've got agility and hunger. We just need a chance... We're excited and anxious to get a system in the air. We've got skills and we've a solid design. We've got veterans of the inductry (myself included), and financial backing from an established aerospace company with the Rogerson reputation. If we land even a small airline, we'll be like those people in the commercial. Yippee... and Uh-oh.

I'll keep you informed. Wish us luck!
Be nice.
p.s. today is the 30th anniversary of my entry into the work world, all of it in the engineering arena. I think I've got another 30 in me... sometimes.

Never Do Business With Family

Ever loan $20 to your brother and expect it back?
I don't dislike the family, but the saying is true.

But this post isn't about the small stuff.

I decided to leave my job for another one. I'll get 80% more pay and bennies like I made in the old days, pre dot.com implosion. I should be happy...
Mark is my best friend outside of my marriage. I've known him since 1985,. when we worked together. Most work relationships don't last past getting another job, but we've held on. Strangely, we have little in common - I write stories, he writes software. I just sat here for 5 minutes trying to write more 'me versus him' examples, but the first one really says it best. What we have in our friendship is a comfort level that allow us to peer into each other's world and not compete. He's been the stable one, where I have been more ... flighty? I seem to keep searching for the next adventure while Mark know what he does best and sticks with it.

Which is why the latest adventure is making me sick.

Mark hired me to work for his company almost 2 years ago. He couldn't afford much as he was on a mission to grow the company from a one-man operation to a mature business, requiring my design skills and the help of others. I love what I do in the engineering world, and though I'd rather be a full-time author, this pays the bills usually. Well, this job didn't pay all the bills, and I fnally - out of necessity - allowed a recruiter to tell me about an opportunity to do pretty much what I do for Mark, but without the drain to my savings.

I could say "Well, he knew I had to keep my eyes open for other work," but did I? My relatives tell me I have to look out for 'number one' and "you gotta do what you gotta do," but except for my wife Debbie, who else is number one? He's being stoic and wants me to help him out part-time so as not to cut off the work relationship - I wish he'd get pissed and yell at me so I'd feel good about looking out for my bottom line. I feel like a rat fleeing a ship that's not sinking - the rations have just run a little low. Jeez, I'm not even writing this very well.

See what I mean about family? Mark is family and I should be happy to score a better gig. Right now I am a little ambivalent. In time, maybe things will be OK, but right now I feel greedy.

The Process, Part 1

Why did the government get it wrong after Katrina? There are a lot of stupid things that happen these days, but this has been a pretty well documented showcase if idiocy.

I think I know why it went so horribly wrong - THE PROCESS.

The boss at a company I worked for back in 1996-99 came to our staff meeting, smiling and excited like a teenage boy who just figured out girls are fun. Karl told us - more than that, he proclaimed - the "Process" was king. It was the rule in all decisions. You couldn't go wrong if you just followed it, and if you went wrong, it was the process that failed, not you.
In short, it was "Process or Perish."

What kind of horse-hockey is this? Something didn't sound right...

As an engineer, I understand the concept. There is a group "out there" called the International Organization for Standardization (ISO for short - you'd think it would be IOS, but it seems to be a translation-thing). When you can document the processes that make your company work and then demonstrate that you can carry them out, you can get various levels of "ISO" approval. Companies are proud to get ISO-9000, 9001, 9002 approvals, and you see these designations on a lot of technical companies. The importance is kinda like getting a degree in college. You have proof that you've endured a process to learn and apply yourself like other graduates, so employers know what they're getting for an AS, a BS, or an MS. Levels of ISO show the depth of the processes you've defined within your organization, so that government agencies and other companies who desire your product know you've done the "due diligence" to produce consistency at the level of your ISO approval.

So yeah, it is important.

Problem is, people like Karl (and way too many others - think FEMA staffers) use THE PROCESS as a get-out-of-jail card or a pardon from the governor. Folks who worship THE PROCESS (we'll call it TP for short), these people justify their actions (or inaction) as following the steps defined by TP. It looked like the FEMA managers sat at computers and monitored email, sending out warnings and status reports. They weren't out there making things happen to save lives, they weren't screaming at supplier and rescuers and the National Guard to get into action. I'll bet few of them ever got wet. But...

I'll bet they used TP and technically did their job. What would your answer be to the following scenarios?
1. You need four signatures to release food and ice and blankets and you can only get three, and you'll get in trouble for not following TP. Are you really wrong for allowing the Superdome quagmire to occur?
2. You're a FEMA manager watching CNN and people are drowning and survivors are clinging to rooftops and you haven't received a request from the mayor in the proper format. Can you send your helicopter to help?
3. There are dozens of school busses parked in a lot that you as mayor or city manager could use to evacuate people who you KNOW are probably too poor or ill-equipped to figure out how to get out of New Orleans. You'll catch hell for borrowing them without permission, and maybe lose your job for not following TP. What do you do?
The answers are either one of Morality or according to TP:
1. TP says nope, you did your job. Crack open a beer and have documentation ready.
2. TP says hell no, you may not risk my helos, those things are expensive!
3. TP says call for permission, document the denial of permission, send a few emails calmly warning of trouble, but don't usurp TP - it is after all, your "out." Who'd hire a loose cannon like you?

1, 2, and 3. Morality says "My God, make a judgment, forge the last signature if you have to, steal the equipment, lie to those who cling to TP, and save those poor people! How can you face yourself otherwise?!"

When was the last time someone who followed the Moral decision really got his head handed to him? There might be some ass-whipping to endure, but I doubt it. Remember Mayor Juliani after 9-11? He could have sat in his office and said "Gee, this looks bad. Send emails to my staff advising them of the situation, I'm gonna hide in the emergency command station, make the required phone calls, and come out when things are clear." No, Rudy was on the ground, making snap decisions, seeing for himself, doing the work of a human being and being immortalized on the run. I doubt he referred to TP.

The Process is how we all make things happen without asking "Do you know what to do here?" and that's fine. The Process is how fires are fought, surgeries choreographed, battles won. But in all these scenarios, things can go disastrously wrong, and when the playbook doesn't have a chapter on "too much smoke/blood/bullets" you had better make tough choices or you'll rest your performance on TP. TP is also a familiar acronym for toilet paper, and if you can't switch to a moral choice when lives are at stake, The Process can really be just TP.

Told you I'd get serious at some point.
Be nice.

Where should your next car come from?

I have really had it with American cars. Up to here (fingers at chin)!
I always had American cars as a young driver - Chevy, Pontiac, Lincoln-Mercury, Plymouth. While the quality was just so-so, I was young and wouldn't consider Japanese or European. I believed the "Live Better - Work Union" bumper stickers. (Back then, no foreign cars were build here.) I figured you kept Americans employed and that was good for the country, and foreign cars were probably no different, quality-wise. My Chevy Malibu's rings went out when it was 6 years old. My Firebird - though sexy - had numerous mechanical problems. A neighbor told me he worked on a Pontiac line in Van Nuys in 1989, and said the line was sped up to increase production, so they just threw bolts that were supposed to hold the car together into the spare tire well ... sure enough, there they were! My Zephyr (yes, I had one, but don't judge me on that one - again, I was young) rattled and shook like the bolts weren't tight anywhere. My 1973 Plymouth Duster was the best of the lot, but was lost when an idiot "t-boned" me in 1978.

When I finally jumped ship it was out of desperation. I had owned a 1985 Buick Century I supported for three years. The dealer service center was on my speed dial, and I was on a first name basis with the towing company (Bruce was the usual guy) that took my car to them for me. The door handle fell off and I was told that the bumper-to-bumper warranty didn't consider that part "essential." I mean after all, it IS easy to put the window down to reach outside and open the door, isn't it? I had 2 transmissions and 3 on-board computers - I mean this one was a dog with retarded fleas!

A friend who sold cars worked for a while at a Nissan dealership in Orange County. With his coaxing, I was talked into a Nissan Maxima for 1989, and I held on to it for 9 years. Held on TIGHTLY, I should say. In that time, I never really knew where the local dealer service was because NOTHING WENT WRONG. Were it not for a job change that allowed me to purchase a newer car (a Toyota), I would still have it. Anyway, I was sold on Japanese cars. The 1999 Avalon was equally spectacular. Never a hitch.

I married Debbie in 2000, and her family was all for Ford. I married her anyway because I thought we'd still use the Toyota. Well, she needed a car and with reservations, I bought her a Taurus (to replace her aging one). You know, it wasn't bad, but once you go Jap, all else is crap (no, I'm not sorry for the politically incorrect word, it's just a contraction, and besides, it rhymes). I have had 7 recall notices on the Ford, it's heavy and lumbering, the performance is lackluster, and the styling is BORING. I will say it has been better than previous American-label cars, but there's just something not quite right about it.

Also, when people have to tell you "try a Ford (or the brand you've been recommended) - you know they're much better than they used to be!" that is not very reassuring. How long have American car makers had to get it right now? Like, a century? I know the Japanese took advantage of lessons learned from domestic development, but why haven't our own manufacturers put the same lessons into practice? Arrogance, not stupidity, is my opinion.

Now that a lot of cars bearing foreign labels are made here, the jobs-issue has subsided, so buying a Toyota or a Nissan or Honda - to me - is the way to go. Same with European, as long as they're not GM or Ford subsidiaries. I think the American labels have had enough time that they should go the way of TVs and most other electronics. Buy the best and don't worry.

That reminds me of a blog I'll write about foreign goods, but that's another evening's work.
Till then,
be nice.

Can the Theater Experience Get WORSE???

We went to see the newest Harry Potter flick. "Goblet of Fire" is good, but Edwards Cinemas has NO CLUE how the experience has degraded, I am quite sure.

First there's the $7.50 matinee price, but the stadium seats are great and the sound excellent. I guess $15 for the big screen is the occasional treat. But then...

The trailers ended (finally, my God I was almost through my snack!), they ended with the warning to silence cell phones, keep quiet, watch out for trash, blah blah get to the movie.

Then I remembered - when NO LESS than 7 conversations were going on around me during the film - SILENCE you cell phone?! I thought it was TURN OFF, not merely silence. Theaters are now pandering to idiots who insist on being able to get calls from the lobby (one of the calls, in front and to the right, a guy ordering snacks when his girlfriend went to the bathroom), friends, or fellow watchers (two of the girls were actually discussing NOT the movie but boys) while I was trying to concentrate on the movie!

This screening room (number 7) had two ceiling fans up in the back that were turned up to "Katrina." It's warm in November in California (low 80s) so who brings a jacket? I finally went to the manager and got him to turn them down. Actually he turned them off completely, which wasn't all that much better. I'm sure those things can be set to comfort the audience, not irritate...

I know people have to go to the bathroom, but I swear a walking trail had been installed in our row that morning, because it seemed relentless. Our parents always raised us to "try" before an outing, and we rarely used public facilities. C'mon people...

But more so, C'mon Edwards Cinemas! Surely you need the business - I've heard the gripes and the changing strategies from you owners. You execs ought to sit in your own theaters once in a while instead of private screening rooms. It's a friggin' circus in there sometimes.

This is the second time I've written about the theater experience, and coincidentally this is the first time since the last movie that prompted the first observation. It's getting THAT rare that we go out to a movie anymore. I like the shared experience of watching a movie in a crowded room, so how do we fix it....

I feel there are only two ways to send a message:
1. Complain. LOUDLY. How will they know is we don't speak up. Tell the manager, not the kid selling buckets of popcorn. This is not his career (I hope).
2. Don't go to a theater. Let them starve. Download the movie or borrow it from someone. Don't buy - don't rent. Starve the food chain. I have a home-theater system and it does well with most movies. Some movies ARE best on a big screen, but the annoyance-level these days makes a hefty home screen just fine.

People, put your movie money into a larger screen at home, take the phone off the hook (or turn the cell off), turn up the sound, sip a glass of wine, and when Brad Pitt can't buy his 14th Hummer because nobody can afford production costs, we'll get real theaters again.

Be nice (except to theaters - financially, that is).

Debbie and I on a cruise to Mexico in 2004