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The State of the [Your Job] Address—2020

Everything that would not belong anywhere else.
 

Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 02 Feb 20, 14:55Post
The address has been postponed until the climate for it is more favorable.

Just kidding! Announce away. It's time that thread got a facelift.

The previous boss at my current fac boomeranged back and we took it right to the teeth. She's so dumb that she put out a memo that controllers were leaving "H/" off of "B757." She said, "There's no such thing as a B738, fix that typo, it's high visibility."

Utter moron, but hey, those who can't control, manage. And micromanage.

My friend here, who has the most experience in aviation and, well, just about everything, that I've ever seen, is leaving. He told our company that he'd like to go to the sandbox to get away from the return of the hell-queen.

They approved it. A slight delay on his medical produced weird results. He got an email from an unknown entity requesting all sensitive data, saying that they were his new boss.

So obviously he forwarded that info to the senior recruiter for OCONUS contracts. She said, "We have no clue what this scam is, but we'll look into it."

Then he gets an email from the site lead at the OCONUS fac saying, "Hey man, I don't know what all of this is, but yeah, our company lost a bunch of contracts, including this one. That's the company that won, and we're in the middle of turning over. If they're willing to hire you, see how much of a pay cut it'll be and then decide."

No kidding. The company didn't even know that they lost a contract! They were still sending people over to Iraq! Morons!

Meanwhile, the last company is also contractless, and went down in flames. Glad that I bailed on that sinking ship.

Meanwhile, I've multiple companies soliciting me (thanks, LinkedIn) to go OCONUS with them...some for the same locations. Apparently everyone has lost their ever-loving minds.

I and several others think that our company lost the contract here, and that we're not being told because the company will be fined if we all bail early.

Anyway, decisions to be made. I have R&R in March or something. Was supposed to be in July, so that I could hike, but no, the harpy-queen here decided to hose me, randomly, for March/April. Can't ski then, really. Can't hike. Great.

With all that said, I've still been working hard, and diligently, and going far beyond what is in my job description, because that's who I am, but the incompetence and mendacity wears on me.

Long-term, I'm trying to learn new skills. This career has really made me into a person that I don't like. When you're like me, being of a bad disposition is the last thing you need. (If you want to get married at some point.)
ShanwickOceanic (netAirspace FAA) 21 Feb 20, 11:50Post
Still in Finland, still hacking code, babying imagers and doing my best to avoid the "special" users. Good days, bad days, and all too many of the bad days are caused by holes in my own software development processes - really need to get a grip on some of those. Not all my fault, though:

One of my 20-percenters came to me today. Bangs on the door, pulls me out of the "zone" that I've only just got back into after the last interruption and all my code thoughts disappear in an instant. "My plate's images don't show up in your software." In that whiny even-if-it's-not-your-fault-it's-your-problem plzbro voice.

OK, let's take a look.

Are they showing up in the imager's own control software? (First question I always ask, so I can get some idea where the problem is.) Um... well...

OK, what's the (4-character) barcode? Second question I always ask. Uhhhh... hmmm...

Finally get a barcode out of him. Full imaging history, including a set from 2 hours ago.

Oh, that's NOT the barcode? What IS the barcode?

Oh look, images. 0, 12, 24 hours then every 24 hours out to 7 days. Last set was taken six days ago and it'll be imaged again tomorrow, as you well know. What's the actual problem here, since everything is working as intended?

So there's no problem. But you would like to trigger an imaging now and it's really, really hard - right-click, Image Plate. Plzbro... We walk downstairs to the imager and I point to the rack. Where is it, so I don't have to trawl through a list? (The barcodes are at the back so the robot can see them, which means I can't.)

And the muppet reaches up onto a nearby shelf and hands me the plate.

So explain to me how the hell it was my fault that my software failed to show recent images of a plate that wasn't scheduled to be imaged recently and isn't even in the damned imager? I still don't think he gets it.

This is the same one whose ass I saved because his laptop shat the bed with the only copy of his nearly complete doctoral thesis and the only copy of his supporting data. A beer for the two days I spent on that would have been nice. {sarcastic}

And now there isn't enough time to get my thoughts together and start programming usefully again before some meeting or other. Just one part of a fairly typical day. The two days I worked from home last week were more productive than the previous two weeks. Better coffee, too.

On the other hand, some of the people I work with are absolute gold. Helping them out, and seeing the delight on their faces when something I've done turns an hour's manual slog into two or three clicks, makes the idiocy worthwhile.

And he has to get his PhD and go away some time, right? ;)
My friend and I applied for airline jobs in Australia, but they didn't Qantas.
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 22 Feb 20, 05:42Post
There is a movement afoot to have my job reclassified to be included as a "First Responder."

My job isn't quite as stressful or as intense as, say, a Dispatcher (which my Department recently recognized as First Responders), but it does have a lot of similarities. Sometimes, a Deputy doesn't get backup unless I'm quick to react from my control room full of cameras and radios. Sometimes those images and sounds don't fade away easily.
Make Orwell fiction again.
Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 22 Feb 20, 18:21Post
ShanwickOceanic wrote:Still in Finland, still hacking code, babying imagers and doing my best to avoid the "special" users. Good days, bad days, and all too many of the bad days are caused by holes in my own software development processes - really need to get a grip on some of those. Not all my fault, though:

One of my 20-percenters came to me today. Bangs on the door, pulls me out of the "zone" that I've only just got back into after the last interruption and all my code thoughts disappear in an instant. "My plate's images don't show up in your software." In that whiny even-if-it's-not-your-fault-it's-your-problem plzbro voice.

OK, let's take a look.

Are they showing up in the imager's own control software? (First question I always ask, so I can get some idea where the problem is.) Um... well...

OK, what's the (4-character) barcode? Second question I always ask. Uhhhh... hmmm...

Finally get a barcode out of him. Full imaging history, including a set from 2 hours ago.

Oh, that's NOT the barcode? What IS the barcode?

Oh look, images. 0, 12, 24 hours then every 24 hours out to 7 days. Last set was taken six days ago and it'll be imaged again tomorrow, as you well know. What's the actual problem here, since everything is working as intended?

So there's no problem. But you would like to trigger an imaging now and it's really, really hard - right-click, Image Plate. Plzbro... We walk downstairs to the imager and I point to the rack. Where is it, so I don't have to trawl through a list? (The barcodes are at the back so the robot can see them, which means I can't.)

And the muppet reaches up onto a nearby shelf and hands me the plate.

So explain to me how the hell it was my fault that my software failed to show recent images of a plate that wasn't scheduled to be imaged recently and isn't even in the damned imager? I still don't think he gets it.

This is the same one whose ass I saved because his laptop shat the bed with the only copy of his nearly complete doctoral thesis and the only copy of his supporting data. A beer for the two days I spent on that would have been nice. {sarcastic}

And now there isn't enough time to get my thoughts together and start programming usefully again before some meeting or other. Just one part of a fairly typical day. The two days I worked from home last week were more productive than the previous two weeks. Better coffee, too.

On the other hand, some of the people I work with are absolute gold. Helping them out, and seeing the delight on their faces when something I've done turns an hour's manual slog into two or three clicks, makes the idiocy worthwhile.

And he has to get his PhD and go away some time, right? ;)


I read that twice. You're working with Peter O'Hanraha-hanrahan there. That goon is getting his PhD? Sheesh.

@Shy that will potentially qualify you for helpful home loans and such!
ShanwickOceanic (netAirspace FAA) 22 Feb 20, 19:10Post
Lucas wrote:That goon is getting his PhD? Sheesh.

Well, that's the question... {boxed}
My friend and I applied for airline jobs in Australia, but they didn't Qantas.
Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 22 Feb 20, 21:39Post
ShanwickOceanic wrote:
Lucas wrote:That goon is getting his PhD? Sheesh.

Well, that's the question... {boxed}


So that one made me literally LOL. "Will the bumbler make good?"
Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 24 Feb 20, 18:41Post
Well, got into a yelling match with my boss today. She started it. I won.

We'll see how long it is until she fires me now.

The braindead bonobo with rabies.
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 24 Feb 20, 20:00Post
Lucas wrote:@Shy that will potentially qualify you for helpful home loans and such!

Probably not.

Lucas wrote:Well, got into a yelling match with my boss today. She started it. I won.

Happened to me once. I got an apology even.
Make Orwell fiction again.
ShanwickOceanic (netAirspace FAA) 25 Feb 20, 01:38Post
Lucas wrote:Well, got into a yelling match with my boss today. She started it. I won.

YOU got into a shouting match? Dang... she must be special. {crazy}

Lucas wrote:"Will the bumbler make good?"

Won't help if he does. Apparently he likes it here and wants to stay. {banghead}
My friend and I applied for airline jobs in Australia, but they didn't Qantas.
miamiair (netAirspace FAA) 25 Feb 20, 09:35Post
Lucas wrote:Well, got into a yelling match with my boss today. She started it. I won.


Let's hope it wasn't a Pyrrhic victory.
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 25 Feb 20, 20:21Post
miamiair wrote:
Lucas wrote:Well, got into a yelling match with my boss today. She started it. I won.


Let's hope it wasn't a Pyrrhic victory.


Oh yeah, I'm fired for sure. No doubt about it. She got my last coworker who left locked up once he got stateside. Lol, he just got out of jail!
miamiair (netAirspace FAA) 26 Feb 20, 00:10Post
Let me know where to send the cake with the diamond files inside.
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
ShanwickOceanic (netAirspace FAA) 26 Feb 20, 00:20Post
miamiair wrote:Let me know where to send the cake with the diamond files inside.

Nice!

Surstromming, frozen and dropped into the walls.
My friend and I applied for airline jobs in Australia, but they didn't Qantas.
Fumanchewd 19 Mar 20, 01:04Post
We were all sent home to work remotely because of this hysteria. We are an aviation supply chain and our sales are almost nil right now. If it keeps up there will be layoffs or worse in a month or so.

My family of 5 (including my mother-in-law) are living in a shit two bedroom apartment for now and are due to close on our newly built house with a large mortgage April 10th.

I am so fucked... {laugh} {laugh}
"Give us a kiss, big tits."
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 19 Mar 20, 03:52Post
If I had 4 40" flat screen monitors, a Motorola APX8000, and two PCs, I could technically work from home. The company we contract with to maintain our CCTV and Door Control system has the ability to remote in to fix issues.

Alas, I still have to go in. Need to figure out how to train myself to not poop at home, though.
Make Orwell fiction again.
ShanwickOceanic (netAirspace FAA) 19 Mar 20, 09:20Post
ShyFlyer wrote:The company we contract with to maintain our CCTV and Door Control system has the ability to remote in to fix issues.

Oh boy! I bet the security on that is as watertight as a screen door.
My friend and I applied for airline jobs in Australia, but they didn't Qantas.
Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 19 Mar 20, 14:41Post
miamiair wrote:Let me know where to send the cake with the diamond files inside.


Hahaha, well I'll just say that a blessing or two came my way and she's changed her tune. :)) {angel} {angel} {angel}

COVID has hosed me on my ability to leave, though. 60 day travel ban, can't go get a new job, etc. {embarrassed}
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 19 Mar 20, 14:42Post
Yeah, that's the concern we all have. If push comes to shove, though, we can just pull the plug on the servers and go "old school." We've already had practice with this when, during the upgrade process, the old systems suffered a catastrophic failure.
Make Orwell fiction again.
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 21 Mar 20, 05:09Post
Starting to get real tired of all the "support resources" flooding my inbox at work. Yeah, I get it. Trying times and all. But there were no less than 8 separate emails regarding this stuff. Today. Alone.
Make Orwell fiction again.
JLAmber (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 21 Mar 20, 19:34Post
My whole team just got "stood down". We'll get 6 weeks at 80% of our salary then reviewed, which will either result in our being asked to return to work or being laid off altogether. I'm having a few days off then heading to my friend's farm to assist there. I can't wait!
A million great ideas...
DXing 22 Mar 20, 01:42Post
I'm day by day. Retirement eligible so I could punch out at a moments notice but I'd rather stay and add to the retirement fund. The pension is the controlling factor for me. I cannot afford to lose that. Just keeping a finger to the wind at this point. If the government actually gives the airlines enough to out last this insanity I will stay. If not, eject..eject..eject.
What's the point of an open door policy if inside the open door sits a closed mind?
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 23 Mar 20, 04:28Post
Looks like HR reduced my pay by the amount of my merit-based raise. This past paycheck was the first this year without some sort of overtime so I didn't suspect anything.

I pulled an overtime free paystub from just before my new payrate was to become effective. Sadly, my fears were confirmed. I'm making a bit over 3% LESS than last year.
Make Orwell fiction again.
captoveur 24 Mar 20, 14:14Post
Just once I want a job where I am not "essential" so I can sit home and chill for 14 days instead of work 16 hour days dealing with an organization rolling out a bunch of things 6 months ahead of schedule because of a case of the sniffles.
I like my coffee how I like my women: Black, bitter, and preferably fair trade.
Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 25 Mar 20, 17:12Post
ShyFlyer wrote:Looks like HR reduced my pay by the amount of my merit-based raise. This past paycheck was the first this year without some sort of overtime so I didn't suspect anything.

I pulled an overtime free paystub from just before my new payrate was to become effective. Sadly, my fears were confirmed. I'm making a bit over 3% LESS than last year.



Say WHAT!?!


@captoveur, what are you doing these days. I have forgotten.
Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 25 Mar 20, 17:13Post
Oh and BTW:

Here is a look at Navy leadership. Setting: an island with only one method of access—air.

    1.) We don't want COVID-19. All active duty personnel going to another assignment are prohibited from leaving. Contractors may leave, but they may not return.
    2.) Contractors will not be allowed to fly to the island.
    3.) But active duty personnel are allowed to fly to the island. (They surely can't get COVID-19.) 
    4.) Dang it, those active duty folks weren't immune. Stop pax flights.(Who could have known?)
    5.) All public spaces are closed. Do not visit the beach. The gym remains open for health and wellness reasons. (COVD-19 can't be there, right?)
    6.) Flight crews which are on the ground for over 180 minutes will be detained and quarantined for 14 days. They may go wherever they wish and do whatever they want as long as they're back in the plane within 180 minutes. (Because COVID-19 doesn't start to spread until you've been mucking around somewhere for over 180 minutes.) 
 

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