New York November NYC Meet-Up

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Calzone

Gear Whore #1
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November approaches. Someone pick a Sunday. Then I'll pick a location.

Yesterday "Maggie" had a video shoot for Kate "Shovel." She left the apartment before I did and arrived home after I did. Pretty much she put in a long day. The video was a green screen, and will be another cute video using mucho special digital effects. Already talk of a sequel.

Seems like Maggie has become an ambassador for Kate Shovel, and that every year she does two videos, and then also gets stuff sent to do posts about.

So my past of being a dirtbag who was the "King of the $200.00 cars" has again come to roost. Seems like my 18 year old cyclotron is very much like an old junky car.

It seems that cars like to be driven by only one driver, and that cars with only one driver actually last the longest. It seems that my old cyclotron does not respond well when my boss has to operate it. He has troubles.

I yell at him, and say, "You suck." Even when he looks over my shoulder the machine acts up, and I yell at him, "Go away, the machine does not like you."

Pretty much we limp along with a tired machine that needs a $700K overhaul. I just need 4 more years and three months to retire at 66. Meanwhile my boss will likely retire himself in the next year. I would expect a promotion and a raise, as they I would have to hire and train my own replacement.

It is an interesting sitch-E-A-tion.

Last night on the news they had a segment on "Living Large." and featured an estate in Garrision opposite West Point right on the Hudson River. Too bad it cost $a little more than 9 million dollars. Brutal.

Had a two bedroom guest house and the main house was a three bedroom. Had a quarter mile of riverfront with those great views.

Cal
 
Did you ever play a rated Chess player? I have. Jerry was the President of the Grumman Chess Club, and at lunch we would play. I never beat him, but Jerry said I was an interesting player that did very well with my unconventional "openings."

Since I was an art major my strat-edgy was to occupy and dominate space in my openings. I learned a lot about how in chess you had to think 2-3 and sometimes 4 moves ahead. In Chess the end game is very much like a combination street fight and a mugging.

So "How-Weird" my boss is going to go to Human Resources next week to talk about a retirement date.

So here I am again where life is calculated, and like in a game of Chess, there are probabilities, probable moves, likely outcomes, and then finally "forced moves" of an "endgame."

I figure the odds are 66%-75% that I still will work in my lab. I'll likely get promoted to "Cyclotron Manager," and I'll have to hire my replacement. Nothing changes really and all I need is a little more than 4 more years of continued employment, 4 1/2 if I'm greedy because in April of every year is a pay increase that would up my pension. You know me: I'm a CB.

Only a 33%-25% chance my position would get downsized or eliminated, but the consolation would be being absorbed into working in another group at the hospital's main campus. I'm not really afraid of becoming unemployed or being forced into retirement.

If I got released though I would end up fine, but my lifestyle would get a haircut of sorts, because the money has to come from somewhere. In fact retiring early could accually be a great thing. Oh-well I say.

Let's see how dumb the management is. Know that they do dumb things all the time. Also know that these decisions involve another big hospital where my lab is located, and this complicates things. Not so easy for my institution to just walk away.

Add onto this the drama that my Cyclotron needs a $700K overhaul to continue operations for a decade or 15 years more, and it it not cost feasible to replace my machine because of the cost (over 3 million), and pretty much the present building was built around the machine and would also be required to be dismantled.

"Oh-well," I say.

Cal
 
Cal,
Your account of your cyclotron reminds me about the modern Navy supercarriers and how they are built. The USS John F. Kennedy was built to Nimitz specifications but a set of reactors wasn't available quickly enough to put the ship into service so it was built with a standard hybrid gas turbine / electric powerplant which was basically off the shelf. She was the last supercarrier that was conventionally powered and as a result the only example that was eligible to become a museum. The rest of the Nimitz class are built around their two reactors and the Enterprise was built around a whopping eight. So when the ships are decommissioned, they will be cut into thirds, the reactors will be removed and the remaining metal will be sold to the highest bidder. No chance for any of our nuclear ships to become museums. Where the JFK comes in is that she has been up for museum bid for the last few years, sitting in the Phillly Naval yard. The time of offers passed earlier this year, if I recall correctly, and no one wanted an 1100 foot ship in their harbor as a museum. JFK was the the ONLY example of our modern projection of power at sea that the public could have visited but instead she will be towed to Brownsville and cut apart over the course of a few months. Your cyclotron forces either its use or the complete destruction of the building just to remove it.
Also, make sure you have confidence in your future and your options. You gave percentages of what could happen after changes at your workplace, but remember that yesterday morning there were a couple very prominent economists who were taken by surprise by the Fed interest rate cut. Most folks predicted the cut but some highly respected economists still hedged that the Fed would be conservative in that they would not make the change, and those folks were left with egg on their face, so to speak.

Phil Forrest
 
I used to play chess with all the guys on Washington Sq park on my lunch break while i was in school.
Pay for lessons, if you win, lesson is free.... 🙂
Damn those guys were good.... and good with sleight of hand, but couldn't point it out or they would get pissed and team up. lol
 
fiddle said:
I used to play chess with all the guys on Washington Sq park on my lunch break while i was in school.
Pay for lessons, if you win, lesson is free.... 🙂
Damn those guys were good.... and good with sleight of hand, but couldn't point it out or they would get pissed and team up. lol
Click to expand...

Fidel,

Like in bike racing I took a beating like a man riding with guys that were much stronger, faster, and younger.

Jerry encouraged me to get serious because I had clever moves.

Problem for me though is I had all these teachers professors and others as mentors wanting me to become their proto-shey.

Cal
 
Phil_F_NM said:
Cal,
Your account of your cyclotron reminds me about the modern Navy supercarriers and how they are built. The USS John F. Kennedy was built to Nimitz specifications but a set of reactors wasn't available quickly enough to put the ship into service so it was built with a standard hybrid gas turbine / electric powerplant which was basically off the shelf. She was the last supercarrier that was conventionally powered and as a result the only example that was eligible to become a museum. The rest of the Nimitz class are built around their two reactors and the Enterprise was built around a whopping eight. So when the ships are decommissioned, they will be cut into thirds, the reactors will be removed and the remaining metal will be sold to the highest bidder. No chance for any of our nuclear ships to become museums. Where the JFK comes in is that she has been up for museum bid for the last few years, sitting in the Phillly Naval yard. The time of offers passed earlier this year, if I recall correctly, and no one wanted an 1100 foot ship in their harbor as a museum. JFK was the the ONLY example of our modern projection of power at sea that the public could have visited but instead she will be towed to Brownsville and cut apart over the course of a few months. Your cyclotron forces either its use or the complete destruction of the building just to remove it.
Also, make sure you have confidence in your future and your options. You gave percentages of what could happen after changes at your workplace, but remember that yesterday morning there were a couple very prominent economists who were taken by surprise by the Fed interest rate cut. Most folks predicted the cut but some highly respected economists still hedged that the Fed would be conservative in that they would not make the change, and those folks were left with egg on their face, so to speak.

Phil Forrest
Click to expand...

Phil,

I have been in this corner before, twice, at the end of the Cold War.

Grumman use to employ over 30K people and was Long Island's largest employer. When Reagonomics caused all the merging, downsizing, and economic destruction, I was one of the last 10K still employed.

I draw the anology that it was like driving my Jeep Scrambler when it had a bad sending unit for the gas gauge, and I would fill up and have to gauge the milage to prevent getting stuck. I knew I was low on gas at times, but when the engine sputtered, and I stalled, each time I was surprised because in a ways it came unexpectedly.

I was laid off twice: once at Grumman, and a few years later when I got my old job back when it was Northrop-Grumman.

This time I'm somewhat as well prepared as I can be if I have to retire early. I'll be okay, but retirement won't be as rich as I once thought. In my case the numbers are good, but the numbers are much better if I can get 4 more years and retire as planned at 66.

Still the complications of two big institutions moving forward, as well as an aging machine that requires a large outlay/infusion of funds has to be worked out.

Either way I'll be alright, but 66 means a very comfortable retirement. The higher probability is further employment, but then at what capacity: either my current position off campus; or a new position on campus. Somewhat remote the trap door falling open leaving me dangling.

BTW "Maggie," although retired from academia, is still very busy and is working hard making big money.

Cal
 
Just get a stencil with the word "Leica" -- then paint Leica all over the cyclotron. People will buy pieces. Divide 3 mil by the cost per piece and you will then know how many Leica names to paint. Then do a Kickstarter and charge people a fee to help build the new cyclotron - and you will have a new cyclotron in two shakes of a neutron. And hire me to be your assistant and I will spearhead the initiative and throw myself upon said spear should I fail!
 
NY_Dan said:
Just get a stencil with the word "Leica" -- then paint Leica all over the cyclotron. People will buy pieces. Divide 3 mil by the cost per piece and you will then know how many Leica names to paint. Then do a Kickstarter and charge people a fee to help build the new cyclotron - and you will have a new cyclotron in two shakes of a neutron. And hire me to be your assistant and I will spearhead the initiative and throw myself upon said spear should I fail!
Click to expand...

Dan,

Kinda funny. Also consider that my Cyclotron was made in Canada, and you know the Leica and Canada connection.

More smut: seems like How-Weird is setting the date for the first week in January. The idea here is that medical benefits continue till the end of the month, just in case...

My situation is a bit like being a refugee in a war zone. I'm sure there will be mucho fighting, hair pulling, and even biting as two wealthy big institutions that both advertise on TV do the battle royal over my machine.

I'm hoping I don't end up being collateral damage, but like a refugee I try to stay out of harm's way, powerless, just trying to live another day, day-by-day.

My hope is 4 more years on my pension, I get a promotion as a manager and raise; I inherit an office space; and I hire someone to replace me to do all the work.

Plan "B" is that I get removed and absorbed into the other cyclotron and chemistry group on the main campus, but I see this as unlikely.

I just thought of a plan "C" that is also a remote possibility, but not without politically bad fallout. If my employer decides to abandon my Cyclotron (know that they have another on the main campus) and decide they don't need the old guy with the ponytail, this would leave the other big institution in a lurch/bind. They would inherit an old tempermental cyclotron and have no one to run it.

This is not so good for my retirement because 4 more years on my pension leads to a rich retirement. I would have to play hard ball for a pretty high amount of compensation, and know that I kinda have a vice grip clamped to this institution's left testicle.

Plan "D," early retirement seems unlikely and not probable, but I acknowledge could happen. BTW I know that some people get a cash incentive to retire early, so show me the money. LOL. If my institution wants to simply walk away and abandon my machine, I can see getting paid to leave if this is the "end-game" they want. Cuts the losses, downsizes two employees that don't really contribute much, and they are off the hook for spending half of $700K for the overhaul.

A combination of plans "C" and "D" might be a possibility, and almost everyone gets what they want: no responsablity/liability and an escape for my institution; a free used working Cyclotron for the other institution that needs a $700K overhaul; and a double dipping greedy Calvin who gets a bonus to leave and uses testicle crushing leverage to get a great amount of compensation because experienced Cyclotron Engineers are not easy to find.

BTW 4 years is about what is required to hire a replacement and train someone to take over. The rebuilding process has a long lead time and the the actual overhaul would take about 3 months.

This is an interesting game of "Chess."

Cal
 
Has a date been set ...
I need to get out before I go mad
It isa constant battle to pull oneself out of the all devouring quicksand of grief

This will give me a reason to shoot 😉
 
helenhill said:
Has a date been set ...
I need to get out before I go mad
It isa constant battle to pull oneself out of the all devouring quicksand of grief

This will give me a reason to shoot 😉
Click to expand...

Helen,

Pick a Sunday. I think we will have the Meet-Up at Sharlene's in Brooklyn. Pretty much I think I found another "Puck Fair" that is a short walk from the Barclay's Center. This is an old bar on Flatbush Avenue.

Can't wait to give you a kiss and a hug. I love your new avitar. Love is forever.

Cal
 
Every November I get reminded about the time I ran the NYC Marathon "off the couch" when suddenly my friend offered me his bib to run in his place the Friday before the event 12 years ago, when I was 49.

Definitely a cool moment in my life.

"Maggie" tells me that one of her followers dressed up as the "Accidental Icon" for Halloween. How cute is that?

Today I'm leaving work early to pick up the free Tour de Bronx t-shirt. I'm cool if it uses the same graphic of a cropped BMX handlebar with a fist holding a grip. Maggie thinks this shirt is so ghetto, and for me that is its charm. Basically she hates this shirt. LOL.

Cal
 
I haven’t been to one of these yet but I’m a long-time fan of Sharlene’s (since it was Mooney’s). I’m free any Sunday except the 10th.

I’ll be watching for a date.
 
Pentode, its a tradition since we starting meeting up many years ago that the newb has to buy the first 6 rounds for the group.. 😛 😀
 
Pentode said:
I haven’t been to one of these yet but I’m a long-time fan of Sharlene’s (since it was Mooney’s). I’m free any Sunday except the 10th.

I’ll be watching for a date.
Click to expand...




AH, Mooneys. I remember that name. I grew up in ParkSlope But usually headed out to Manhattan for drinks.
Most of the bars that I knew in ParkSlope disappeared with the gentrification of the 80s & 90s.
-Bern
 
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