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stevetuba.co.uk
Stories XII
The Rest of a Story
There were four of us working that fateful rainy night. The crew consisted of my friend Dennis Daley, the foreman, another friend and fellow adjuster Willie Lange, a field engineer Bob Anchondo from Otis-San Francisco and myself. Willie and I were back in town on the same job we'd left weeks before, having been sent to San Diego to adjust the west coast's first Otis Elevonics 101's, the latest solid state (computer controlled) elevators. We'd just nailed the problem and were (dragging up) heading home. Exiting the building, we discovered that we were locked-in within the perimeter fence! Gads! Taking stock, and wishing to leave...I decided there and then that I would jump over said fence, which had barbed wire along the top, using a style I'd learned back in junior high PE...namely the Western Roll. The fence was eight feet above the ground, not counting one foot of barbed wire, but there was a deck that serviced the temporary outside service elevator, which was about six feet high, cutting the height I'd have to clear. The tricky part would be in clearing the barbed wire in as much as I didn't want to tear or snag my coat. I got over the prickly wire just fine. Thirty minutes later I was in hospital laying on a table with broken bones in my foot, soon to be officially diagnosed as a shattered right heal, as a result of my nine foot fall. I had done the famous dead cat bounce...and made it look not only graceful...but easy. The male nurse gave me a choice as to whether he'd cut my boot off, or hurt me. I chose the latter. What use would one boot be? He did cut the sock off though, just to impress me...I was. It was later acknowledged by my two friends that my form was in fact quite good...and rated it at least an 6 or 7. It was right out of The Six Million Dollar Man..."we can put him back together again". Well it took a five inch piece of eight inch diameter stainless steel driven into the back of my heal to do it...but it did work. The ghoulish part was that one inch of this length of steel was sticking out of the back of my heel...and set into the cast...which from the start showed signs of bleeding! I did the cast scene for the obligatory eight weeks plus, during which time I managed to drive and climb the garage roof. Oh...it was my right foot. Still in the cast, I would return to the job site, usually on Wednesdays, to help out. I did solve a few would-be major problems and Dennis put me in for pay. Thanks dude. One problem that comes to mind had to do with a car that would make two unexpected stops while running up and down the hatch. Going up, floor to floor, it would make a stop close to the middle of the hatch but not at a floor, and instead of making it to the top floor, the car would run back to that same location in middle. They had fought the problem for the better part of a week. A call had been placed to Otis-SF and a field engineer was scheduled to fly up. That Wednesday I met the crew for lunch, at our usual restaurant while on that job. It was over lunch that I first heard about the problem. As soon as I did, I thought I knew the solution, though...I didn't say anything. Floor positions were manually recorded...in hexadecimal, on paper...and later entered into the elevator's computer...again manually. I had asked to see the list, but was hold that it was back at the machine room, where once I was able to take a look, it became apparent. It was a classic. The old d to b transversal trick. As soon as I explained it, Willie headed down to the shack and called O-SF to cancel the trip. The elevator had in effect been told that the top floor was located in the middle of the hatch! This error created a false floor. OH! And this is the big OH! Finally the day came and I went in to have the cast removed...for which I'd be more than grateful. This young cast remover tech person had me lay down on the table...ok fine. THEN he shows me the instruments! GADS! To my trained eyes it looked to be a knock-off of a Black and Decker angle grinder...a type that I'd used often...with the grinding wheel replaced with a cutter...like in...shiny and sharp! He held it up...with a maniacal grin...I swear...and only lacked a cackle to make the scene complete. I'll level with the reader...I was...mortified at the thought that this...this PERSON was not going remove my cast without a lot of blood...and a few missing toes thrown in for good measure. It seemed incredible to me that he'd be able to hold the tool steady enough as to depth...while traversing the eighteen inch length of the cast. I mean...I'd have had a hard time doing it...and I knew what I'd be doing! At the same time I'm asking myself how it could be possible that I'd have gone through surgery, successfully, and to now what? Was I already scheduled to be taken to the trauma center? Anyway...he started in on me. I was sweating by this time. This was not going to go well. At one point I could FEEL the blade...CUTTING into my foot. I don't know how, but through some miracle, the cast was off. Little did I know that a few months later I would be going through this ordeal again. It was a few months later, while on another job and out of a the cast, after having made dozens of trips up and down long flights of stairs that I became aware of ever increasing pain in my left knee. I had been favoring my right leg...hence a heavier load on the left. I felt the knee and realized that it was now the size of a largish grapefruit. Gads! Twenty-four hours later I was in hospital again. After arthroscopic surgery for torn cartilage, it felt much better...though... My right heal was now not doing too well. There was a grating feeling as it moved. Back in hospital again...the bones were fused. That took care of that problem! And, for all practical purposes ended my career, in the field, with Otis. I had had some close calls with death while in the field and the last thing I was about to do was to "buy the farm" for loss of balance. The operation limited the movement of various bones...subtalar motion...as in the loss thereof...I think the doctor called it. I was in a cast again and looked forward to its removal...did I say looked forward to...GADS. I'm happy to report that this time was a totally different experience. I was put very much at ease by the clinician when he showed me the tool and explained how it operated...this older black gentleman knew what he was doing relative the fears people have of the unknown. The proceeding has been just the lead-in to the story I wanted to tell... A year passes...(VP at Kromatic Systems Inc.) It was not long after that that I'd be hired by Sound Elevator Company as the supposed replacement for the then ailing (death being close at hand) Bill Black, the Head of Engineering. [My friend Dennis Daley and I had been out of work at the same time. He from elevator construction...and I having given it up as per above. I was a frequent house guest and one day I made the observation that he was a natural salesman. It was not long thereafter...having taken it to heart... that he got a job in sales with Sound Elevator. A bit later I joined up with an old acquaintance with a new startup company...Kromatic Systems Inc. So when a year later Kromatic Systems Inc. went bust...I was again out of work. It was then that Dennis brought me to the attention of Sound Elevator.] At the time there were but three people in engineering, Bob Logan, Eric Moore and of course Bill Black...though Dale Baker was doing our installations...I think he considered himself not part of the Lab as such. He was at the time in the elevator union...while the rest of us...not counting Eric...were by that time...civilians. And ravishing Kasey...the engineering department's secretary. [I've added "ravishing" since she will soon be reading this page...19 April 2010.] Bill Black was a typical small man stuck in a short body and hence had a highly developed, though not uncommon, Napoleon complex. He was a power hungry control freak. I read somewhere that one should never work for a boss that was shorter than yourself. I knew this at the time...but did it anyway! Given that it would only be a matter of a few months that Bill would not be with us...one way or the other...rendered it a moot point...I hoped. From the very first phone conversation...the BS had started. Ok fine...so later on I played that game too. It was limited to one...technically false statement. If he could make stuff up...so could I. The rules of engagement had been established! In the long run...no matter how good the job sounds...a short man will ALWAYS fuck it up! There is not a short man anywhere that doesn’t think that he was short changed in life. Heroes are TALL. Hence they can’t become a hero...they believe. So...typically...Bill would spend a great deal of time and energy TELLING you all the ways in which he thought himself as...somehow...extraordinary. He was the butt of many jokes...given that over time you’d have heard all his BS stories. Pieced together...they didn’t make sense. In one story he’d be in the US Army...the next in the US Air Force. One story he’s in Korea...the next Viet Nam. In one story he’s some kind of field telephone maintenance/repair/installer...guy...Army...not sure exactly...then he’s getting shot up flying in C-119s over Viet Nam. This would have had to have been during the French Indochina War! A rodeo rider...a farmer. OH! He was part American Indian...ok fine. He’d attend events on the Indian Reservations. One day he showed up with a car...in need of some repair...supposedly...really not sure...and I don’t remember what the problem was. Anyway..someone made the observation that this car was a REAL PIMPMOBLE. I pictured Bill driving onto the Reservation in it! He’d heard the comment...not from me...but not long afterwards he got rid of it. At one time or another he’d first ask you...and over time others...if you knew the best way to kill someone so that the victim did not make a sound! Having missed that day at assassin school...you’d indicate that you didn’t remember...at which point he’d proceed to tell you in great detail! This was something we in Engineering and everyone else in the company really needed to know. Boy was I impressed...not! This particular story would come up out of nowhere...as did most of the others...and as likely as not...on company time. You have to imagine the lead-in to such a story. How do you get from some technical engineering matter to the best way to kill someone? Early on I was invited to lunch with Bill. There would be others too. He once said that he hated to eat alone...yeah right...no captive audience for his storytelling. So after a couple of years...I declined his invitations. After a year...all the stories would be retold. Some of the stories changed. I have a very good memory...(for some things all of the time...and all things some of the time)...so when I’d detect a discrepancy...I’d make a note of it. Anyway... Bob and Eric worked in the Lab while Bill had a corner office in the main part of the building, which, knowing Bill, he'd made sure to get. [Corner offices are considered prime real-estate by the power hungry.] Not long after I'd been on the payroll, Bob was moved inside. The Lab was, at the time, one smallish room to which access was gained from the main offices, or from the warehouse. People in the offices would traverse through the Lab as a shortcut...coming and going. The Lab was an appendage so to speak. Above the Lab was a large mezzanine that was used to store the Lab's inventory of parts which grew over the years. I was assigned to work in the lab so as to get my "feet wet"...fair enough. I was not given any authority...just one of the guys in the lab...which by then was just Eric and I. Eric was a young Turk as it were, and of course thought he knew it all and assumed that he was high on the seniority list over me. I never told him who or what I was. For me, there was a lot to learn and do...and I could play this game. Time passed... I soon became disillusioned by the way things were done procedurally and had started to create forms that would be used by the sales department to make clear exactly what they wanted and in effect create a paper trial which had been lacking. Up to this point the back of an old envelope was as good a document as any...or simply over the phone. There were many misunderstanding as a result of incomplete information...or a lack of understanding on the part of the sales personnel...just not knowing what it actually took to do that which they thought they wanted. This resulted in lost time and money...and frustration. We...Engineering/Lab...were blamed for these mistakes. Well...there would be no more of that shit... Over time, I created more than 10 forms (on my own time...and with my own program and on my own computer) for everything the lab would/could do. These were for all of the routine work we would be doing...plus a blank. I then came up with one other form. This was printed on orange paper. It was the Fast Track form. Anything on that form was to have top priority. This form...now formalized those situation when Sales would hit us with a last minute do or die...request. We had argued that there was way too much of this last minute stuff...which would totally upset the normal routine of not only Engineering...but hence the Lab too. While it may not have been literally a case of "need it in an hour"...it was most often a result of sales not getting to it...until it became an emergency. There was a popular saying..."Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!" My Fast Track form would leave a paper trail of the frequency of these..."emergencies". Later at staff meetings...they could/would be used to as an indicator for the "efficiency" of the sales department. Factitiousness intended! After working out a few bugs...and making some additions...my forms worked perfectly...thereafter. As these forms came to the Lab...I'd categorized them...by type of work...and them by date needed. It was then possible to know exactly what was in the pipeline at any given time. Any parts that might be needed would be ordered...if not in our inventory. Young Eric made it clear early on how he felt about work orders...saying that they were not to be taken too seriously. As in...the sales department request dates were never realistic. In effect he'd wait until someone rattled his cage. This was not my idea of a properly run operation. Six months pass and I went to Bill and told him that someone had to be in charge of the lab...not just two guys doing what and when they wanted. It needed organization...badly...in my opinion. Bill didn't disagree and there and then named me officially, Head of the Lab. The word was passed. I was the boss. You needed something from the Lab...you now came to me. Eric defecated the proverbial cinder cuboid. I'm not sure that it was ever explained to young Eric what my position was...or was to be. And I didn't tell him! This was something that Bill would never have done. He used to say that the best way to get everyone’s attention...as in being the newly hired boss...was to fire the first person (in your new domain) you ran into! Bob's official position on the other hand was never clear to me. [There never was a formally stated job description for anyone...nor a chain of command....though of course Bill was at the top. Since the positions were essentially talent based...if you needed help with something...there were people that you'd never go to...as would be the case had there been a standard chain of command. We went laterally in most cases. All of our business cards read "Field Engineer" while Bill's read "Head of Engineering". If I found myself the victim my CAD program’s sense of humor...I was alone...it was my problem. Hell...I was the expert. [It was not until Jennifer the drafting babe came along that it was realistically possible to get help from someone that was generating as many drawings as I was...hence would eventually run into the same problems.] He (Bob) had some crucial (social) deficiencies, making him unsuitable to be Bill's replacement given the fact that I was ostensively there to replace Bill, yet was moved inside thus escaping my subsequent control as Head of the Lab. [Was this a case of Bob having a problem with me being his boss? Or as likely...he was simply entrenched. I mean he would have been privy as to why I was there...no?] In something more than a theoretical sense I'd be taking orders from Bob also...parallel with Bill. Ok...Fine. Over time, Bob and I became comrades-in-arms...of sorts...we were both ex-Air Force, but not bosom buddies. The common enemy was of course Bill. So it was...that Bob would come and visit upon me his problems. He had this habit of never giving you the satisfaction of having made a great point about anything...but just leaving to try your idea, and it's not a stretch, taking credit for it, not directly perhaps, but just forgetting to mention the real source of the solution! It would never have happened that Bob would run to Bill to exclaim..."Bill...Bill...Tuba has just saved my ass...What a guy!" Well...there was one time! Young Eric would test me when the mood struck him, which was most always. Given his age...20-21(?)...and his insecurities...it was understandable...but nonetheless annoying. He was laboring under the misconception that we were equals...hence in competition! The flipside was of course his need to show you just how smart he was. So it was...TQ #312. "Which was the better conductor (of electricity)...gold or silver?" I laughed...inside. I may have even snorted...Gads! Anyway...off he goes with my answer. You have to picture this...logically. Eric asked the question. Had he known the correct answer it would have been the end of it. Now not sure...AND/OR perhaps more likely...he goes to Bob with it...thinking that Bob will enjoy this...as much as he thinks he will....believing that I was wrong...a major gotcha in the making! "Tuba say that...blah blah is the best conductor...can you believe it? Ha ha ha!" About five minutes later Bob appears...alone. "You say that silver is the better conductor?" he asked. I said "Yes"! He said nothing as usual and left. This meant that HE was now not so sure either...given the same logic...that had he known the correct answer as fact...it would have ended it there and then. One step back...he’d have ended it by telling Eric there and then that my answer was correct. Since that didn’t (logically) happen...he didn’t know the correct answer either. Bob returned ten minutes later to inform me that..."YES...I WAS RIGHT". GADS! I didn't hear back from Eric, too busy thinking up another question I guess. There is a danger in asking test questions to which you don’t actually know the correct answer. Logically...he‘d have given himself a point...if right...but what if he had it wrong...as he was? I say that I gained a point...and he lost two. One for getting it wrong...and another one for asking a question to which he didn’t know the answer in the first place. Tsk tsk tsk! Another time Eric brought me a Larson cartoon...and asked me to read it...out loud! What the hell is this all about...I thought? I read it out loud. As I was reading it...I came to a word that I don’t believe I ever saw in print. I know and use many word that I could never spell. I knew the use of many words...in context...and was able to use them just fine. So...there was this word. Ha...I thought...realizing that I was again being tested. Snort! The word was not one that you were likely to come across but once in a Blue Moon. I had in fact used it myself on more than one occasion. BUT...I had never seen it in print. I must admit that I was taken aback...but just for a fraction of a second. In context...it was perfect...given Larson’s sense of humor. Anyway I read it straight through. Eric was...to say the least...deflated. Oh...the word...was..."epitome". I guess he was hoping for..."eepie-to-me". Funny...really! Gotcha! Ultimately, Eric was fired. Not for being the epitome of prick tricksters as one would first believe. I mean think about it. He’d have to have come across the cartoon and read it. Then think that here was a great opportunity to show me up as it were. OH! It was not my conscious plan...but it worked out well. We had a PC in the lab and somewhere along the line I began to use it for various things. This was...at the time a DOS based machine. You’d have to type in commands. And so it was that on this occasion Eric was hovering over my shoulder...watching. What he expected to see...I’m not sure. Anyway...there were a number of command suffixes that could be appended to some commands. These were in the form of a letter(s) which were the abbreviation for the modifier. It was typed in after the main command following a comma...then the letter. For a reason now forgotten...having looked up the modifier...I began to use it. It happened to be the letter r...but could have any other...as not germane to my story. So...there I was typing in the command...and Eric was simulating a vulture...when he saw me adding the ",r" after the command. I hit ENTER. WELL NOW. He was beside himself...and wanted to know what I was doing. I didn’t like the tone of his voice either. The punch line you ask? I wouldn’t tell him! GOTCHA! Revenge is best served COLD! Oh...We had one guy doing engineering’s installations in the field...his name was Dale Baker and it turns out that he and I were not only the same age but had gone to Asa Mercer Jr. High School at the same time....1958...8th grade. Once the discovery was made we naturally compared notes about who we mutually knew. Interestingly, he didn't acknowledge knowing me (I was something of a jock)...but it turned out that we did have a few mutual acquaintances...and one...a girl. He was strangely guarded in his description of the girl but I knew right away who he was talking about (Carol Simpson). I had the impression that he had had the hots for her...though I doubt he’d ever admit it. Those years of school were a bit convoluted...because of the baby boom of the second world war...that was then going through the school system. New schools were being build but would not be ready and at some high schools the class years were reorganized. Up to that point high schools were for four years...9th -12th . So it was that I went to one Jr. High School for the seventh grade...and another one (newly built) for eight and ninth...since the Sr. High School that I would be attending had dropped the ninth grade. Dale...would be attending another Sr. High School which still had the ninth grade as the first year of school there...hence he went there...along with the aforementioned...and I might add...vivacious...Carol Simpson. Anyway our two high schools were rivals in a friendly sort of way and though not relevent...most of the time we dominated. The last time I saw Carol was after a high school football game ....in which I played...held at Memorial Stadium. She appeared out of nowhere. We chatted a bit...but it was no big deal...I thought. Anyway... I didn't mention to Dale that she'd had the hots for me. She'd call me on the phone...talk and cry. Ultimately...Dale was fired. But not for the fact that he’d had the hots for Carol as you’d first think. Anyway...on this day the problem was an ongoing one dealing with the feasibility of cracking the Dover Traflowmatic elevator software code. The idea was to make changes to the stored data (in EPROMs) in cases where it was either just plain wrong or it needed to be changed to satisfy a client's new or altered needs. This would save not only time but would make the company a few coins. Dover wanted an exorbitant $1500 (subject to better data) to make a change. This money would/could be going to Sound. Note: Every time we used my program it would in effect pay my wages for 8 days. Sometimes Bob would just want someone to listen to his troubles, and I'd just listen. But after a few rounds of this I began to get a better picture of the situation/problem and listened with a bit more than passing interest. This was Bob’s way of asking for my help...by not asking for my help. Well now...we were able to read the EPROMs easy enough, but according to Bob...they contained only bits and pieces of information that he could recognize. There were two eproms involved. He may have even shown me a partial printout or a screen display. Yes...that was the case...incomplete...not coherent...bits of data. From my Otis days I remembered a few things and asked Bob to provide me with a complete copy of the data contained in the two chips, on a floppy...two files. A few days later I reported back to Bob with my findings. Well, I'd cracked it. It had not been hard to figure out. When I told Bob...in response to his asking "ok...now what?"...that all that was needed was a software program that would put the data together from the two eproms and then after editing, take it apart...and then rewrite it back onto the two eproms...he nearly choked. You see...Bob was not a programmer. Well...that was not a problem...I was! It took me about a week, working on it part time to end up with a fully functional, well-documented and user friendly BASIC program. As usual...Bob went off with the floppy containing my program...with not so much as a..."gee that's neat"! And though he was technically above me in the chain of command he was younger...and it was not in his personality repertoire...to give me an "at-a-boy"! Since I was not the type that needed to tag along to gloat as my little program did its thing...he took the floppy and left. I knew that it worked perfectly. This little program would go on to make a few bucks for the company. I never received any official acknowledgment. And there were a few times that Bill would tell the story about cracking the code...right in front of me...and never mention that it was I who'd done it! Right in front of me! This was typical of Bill. He'd tell so many stories to so many people that he'd loose track of whom he'd told what. And if the story sounded better with himself as the hero...so much the better. Not a way to gain my admiration, respect...or trust! Is that it...you ask? Is he whining again? No...just illustrating the sad human condition. And later the consequence thereof. Love it. I'm getting to the real point...just bare with me...We're talking MONEY here! Don't quote me on this...but there was some kind of deal running in the background that I was only remotely aware of. No one ever told me point blank how it worked...which is understandable if it was not to be widely advertised but it was nonetheless damn sure underhanded and sneaky. AND I NEVER ASKED! And the fact that Kasey...our secretary...never volunteered the information. We had had numerous lunch dates...so it was not the lack of opportunity. But I never brought it up. Call me stupid! It had to do with PC boards. Printed circuits can be produced in a number of ways...I'm referring to the artwork that creates the traces. At Sound, at that time, it was done as a 2X (?) tape up that would be reduced photographically in the transfer process. Well now...it turns out the creator of said artwork was paid some amount on a per board sold basis. Fair enough. Except I was not informed of this. This scheme may have made sense at one time...OK fine. I can only think that it was a form of compensation for...what...working overtime? Or was it beyond the call of duty? Like my little program? Hello! Two or three year pass...and... We have a new guy in engineering...Keith Neeley. Keith and Bill went back a number...of years...as did Bill and Bob...for that matter. Keith was a very sharp fellow. He too had been an adjuster while in the field. And, did I mention, so had Bob. And so had I. Though I was still running the lab, I was to be moved inside too. I'm sure that this came down from the company president Buzz Dana. but Bill made it sound like it was his doing. There were to be three of us in the newly created space, Keith, Bob and myself. I did the layout for the furnishing per individual preferences. We specified our computers, monitors and we were to be hooked up to a common laser printer one floor down at our secretary's...Kasey Phillips...office. That worked about...once! Who the hell came up with this nutty idea anyway? This printer was one that was compatible with Generic Cad...such that it was able to print Cad drawings. This meant that the printer had to be set to an emulation mode...manually at the printer. Running up and down to do so was ridiculous. Soon thereafter I hit Bill up for personnel printers for each of us. We got them. For what the company was paying us, it was waste of money for us to be running up and down...only to find that someone had changed from or to the default setting...etc. And as likely as not...it could be for just one page! A ridiculous amount of time and energy was wasted on getting five computers networked to one laser printer...remotely sited at that. And if someone was printing a great many pages...it would tie things up...having to wait then an unknown amount of time for it to clear the printer. I introduced the lads to Norton Commander. It must be remembered that his was before Windows...and with the exception of...you guessed it...Bob...everyone else liked it and used it. A bit later it became apparent that we'd need a program to generate PCB (Printed Circuit Board) artwork...etc. I did the research and came up with OrCad. It was expensive but we did need it in light of all the new boards we expected to produce. [All the old tape-ups were falling apart.] No more hand tape-ups! Did you pickup on that? Well! Along with running the lab, I was also kept busy with all the sheet metal layout work for which I used Generic Cad which I had also introduced to the lads. Bill never got the hang of it...proficiency wise. He was using it more like an Etch-a-Sketch. This fact also pointed to what must have been an indication that Bill was not really computer literate. And the fact that he had had an Apple computer meant nothing at all. Some jobs were of a repeat nature...in the form of Fire Service Control Panels. The panel would have the same switches and indicators...and a variable number of floor position displays. The text on the panel varied per the job. The panel was made of stainless steel and had holes that were mostly round...of various standard sizes along with rectangular holes for the digital floor position displays. The back of the panel mounted the switches, indicators and digital display boards. This was accomplish by the use of spot welded threaded studs of various lengths. Locating these studs relative the holes...manually as we had been doing...was a very frustrating and labor intensive task. Over time I created precision scale drawings of everything that would/could be needed on a given panel. These component drawings included everything pertinent to it. It’s dimensions, locations for its mountings...that is stud location relative to it...text...etc. These were put into the relevant (Cad) layers...such that I could at will...generate a drawing of the front panel as it would appear. From the back showing stud locations. Another one showing just the panel with dimensions for it and the holes and their locations...another one for just the text that would be painted on. Creating these components was time consuming...but paid off well in the end. I could...given say a panel for nine elevators...create all the necessary drawings in perhaps an hour...two at most. I would then send...over a modem...the dimensioned drawing to a place in Walla Walla...where they would laser cut the panel with all the holes. Once the panel arrived...I would create a 1 to 1 scale drawing of the stud locations. The drawing was then taped to the back of the panel...and all the stud locations would be center punched...leaving a small crater in the metal. It was then just a matter of spot welding the studs. No guessing...involved. These panels were on average about 25 inches square...though some were larger. There was a box to match...hence a drawing of that too. Thus set...it was actually quite fun to start work on a new panel. Soon after the company bought OrCad...Keith was turning out all kinds of boards. Ok...Fine. But there were a lot of boards that were not priority...that is, not attached to any project. They were relatively easy to do...and we did sell them. So guess what...? Who is getting paid for these new, Cad generated boards? There were dozens of boards, literally...dozens. What made the PCB's so special? Give me a break! About a year later it's decided that we'd design a (very) soon to be federally required...by code (ADA)...emergency telephone for the elevators. Keith did all of the electronics design work. I would end up doing all of the sheet metal Cad work...by default. That is...I took it to be just a part of my job. There would be a lot parts to design. I had had Generic Cad at home for some time before introducing it to the lads and had become quite proficient with it. This self-taught knowledge transferred very well to work and without modesty...I was hot. I created hundreds of components, fully integrated into the various layers. This whole PCB business was somewhat strange in that I had made PCB's before young Eric was born, or at least in diapers, and Bob was still trying to determine the cosmic significance of the pattern his pimples had made on his face. "Oh...look...there’s the Big Dipper!" What was the big deal? So...one day Keith comes to me, hands me a schematic and asks me to design a PCB for him. I’d guessed that he had larger fish to fry, and this would be just a small board...anyway. Later I did think about it...as in a bit strange because I felt that he was almost insisting that I do it...not that he didn’t have the time! Ok fine...I pressed forward with what would be my first official OrCad job. Keith...hovered! I felt that there was something...afoot! I...we...finish the design and in fact boards were produced. Since I was not told the reason as to why I was even doing the board...I forgot about...until... Time passes and I find out that the board (mine) would NOT be used after all in the final design! I can only guess...and I could be totally wrong...but it could have struck Keith odd, that I was not part of the clique. Here I was doing all this work relative the (his) telephone, and would not see a dime extra as he would. NOW the punch line! Wait for it! Keith comes to me one day and tells me about a meeting that had just taken place. This was toward the end of the prototype stage. Oh! This telephone would require FCC type approval...meaning that it would need to be tested and certified. This was federally mandated by law. We made arrangements with a certified inspector [Larry Parks]...located in Renton, to perform the test. I was asked to go along. [Why me?] I recognized every piece of test gear he had in performing the test and made a note of it. I understood the test. It was fun to watch. In retrospect...it was a very crude arrangement I thought. Anyway...in the end... We failed the test! OK...fine. The inspector had great, though misguided, faith in ferrite beads, and recommended that we install some...and he'd test us again...once...for free. We did...and we failed again! The fee for these tests ran well into hundreds of dollars...so we couldn't just keep running back and forth blindly. It would be much better if we could run tests ourselves...no? Keith never talked to me about the situation as he then saw it. There must have been a "Holy Shit!" moment though...given that the product was going nowhere without certification. And since the company lacked RF test equipment it was not possible to make progress fixing the problem. Thinking about the problem now...we could have rented test equipment. But who (factitiousness intended) would have known exactly what test equipment was needed and had the technical know-how to run it...hence perform the test? There would have been a learning curve to contend with also. A Spectrum Analyzer...a flatbed plotter...certified Test Antenna...and an RF Survey Receiver. A pile of cables. Depending on the time it took to nail the problem...the costs could have been substantial. And since the test had to be performed after working hours, it would have meant long days of work...perhaps weekends too. I had been buying surplus test equipment for decades. While at Sound...I bought more from all over the country...from adds in Nuts and Volts Magazine...and had these pieces of equipment delivered there at Sound. So it might have been noted. I never showed anyone in Engineering...my stuff...at home. Though my friend Dennis...he worked in Sales...had been there on numerous occasions...I’m not sure how that information if at all...trickled down. And... Dennis would not know a Sig-Gen...from a TXCO Frequency Standard...much less a Spectrum Analyzer. Well now...I had sufficient test gear of my own to perform a simple version of the official test. I knew what I was doing...I was in my element as it were. [Not simple actually. I had to use much more test equipment to accomplish the test then had the inspector. And I also had to plot my results by hand...the inspector had a flatbed plotter. I had to first identify all those frequencies that exceeded the limit...per the inspectors plotted data. Using my Field Strength meter I would tune it to my best guess as to the freaquency...gived that the inspectors plot lacked sufficient resolution. Once found...I'd note the signal strength. I would then tune the HP 608 Sig-Gen to find that frequecny as indicated on the FS meter. Then I'd measure it's (the HP 608 output) frequency on my frequency counter...and plot it. I also measured the frequencies so that if new ones appeared and exceeded the limits...we'd know that it a was new one...or at least different. My test took about 4-5 times as long to perform.] I gathered it all up...a Signal Generator, Field Strength Meter, Frequency Counter, a Radio...antennas...etc. We set up a test site in the warehouse. It was impossible to do the test during working hours because of all the (RF) interference caused by the computers in use...so we did it after work. My data matched the inspector's...and it was then just a matter of coming up with a solution. And test it. The problem was that the main PCB was radiating too much RF (Radio Frequency) energy at certain frequencies. This would have to be cut down below limits...the more the better. How to do that was the big question. Well now...Keith, for all his knowledge had made a fundamental mistake which was not to address the issue of trace width relative the power distribution on his PCB...and the effect it would have on RF emissions. In terms of reducing RF radiation, the wider the better...over a ground plane better yet. His were narrow, no ground plane...and I saw this the first time I looked at his design. I had not been asked to comment on it. After our test...and the ferrite beads having done nothing...I remember saying to Keith that..."I can fix your/the problem!" I knew that all I had to do was...as a demonstration for test purposes...was to isolate the power hungry (fast) chips and power carrying traces with large gauge wire fed from a single point. This I did...and tested it. It looked good and we made an appointment to re-test. It passed. [It must have occurred to Keith at that point that he...most likely...would not have found a solution to the problem easily! Or if he did...manage...it would have taken considerable time. When I told him to widen his power traces and establish a common point from which to run power to the faster ICs...he commented that I was in effect (only) decreasing the (DC) resistance. Of course while it did decrease the DC resistance...a miniscule, nearly immeasurable amount...it was the reactive component of the trace that was the cause of the problem...which he’d not realized.] Interestingly...in a few months I virtually had the very same test equipment that the inspector had though by that time we'd not need it. I had bought said equipment for my own use...it just worked out that way. It turns out that this product was to be patented. Dover Elevator would be buying these units from us, though they had shown interest in manufacturing it themselves. These units would be installed in all new elevators nationwide and as a retrofit into those already in service, making for a great many units. Keith and anybody else named in the patent would be in line to receive royalties. So...Keith came to me one day...pissed off...after a meeting...to say that Bill had just assumed (wrongly) that his name would be on the patent, and was now insisting that his name appear on it! Gads! The sheer gall! Hah! Keith would have none of it! It was in fact all his design. Bill had nothing to do with it...except that he was head of engineering! By Bills logic...Buzz...the president of the company should have been named also...if it was based on nothing more than the chain of command. Gads! Maybe he was! I never saw the document. I should do a search on it! Keith was looking for morale support...and got it from me. I mean...hells bells...why not put my name on it...given that there may well not have been a product had I not save it. Did Keith even mention the fact? The overall improvements in the quality and quantify of products that took place during my years at Sound were a result of the individual talents of a few people...despite Bill's meddling interference which had a negative effect on not only our (engineering dept.) morale, but the company as a whole by virtue of any contact he'd have. Bill was a disruptive entity. I can again only guess that Bill may have had something to do with my board not being used, hence no additional moneys. Why had Keith insisted that I make the board...and then how did it come about that it would not be used. To then not used it...meant that it...the circuit...had to be integrated onto the main PCB. Was it a technical decision...or political...by others? So...my heartfelt thanks to Keith for at least trying to make things right. At the same time... Since Bob was in hospital...with his heart attack...a critical project came to a grinding halt as a result. With the prospect of Bob being out of action for a number of months (six months +) and the possibility that he may never come back...as in dead...someone...logically...had to be found to pick up where Bob had left the project. No one knew anything about it...except that he was working on it. Not what it was...that is the project itself...but what and how Bob was doing to make it work...how far had he gotten...what problems there were...etc? So...with Keith busy with his ADA phone...me with running the Lab...and my never ending Cad work...and Bill incapable...[It’s interesting to note that when I was with the company for just a short time...I’d heard that Bill had an Apple computer...and Bob had a Amiga. I JUST assumed that they were both writing programs like I had been doing for years! That’s what I thought everyone was doing who‘d bought a computer at that time. I was wrong.] So...what made Bill think that I was qualified? I did list programming as something that I knew...but was never asked about it at the time I was hired. Anyway...Bill came to me. Would I start right a way...top priority...picking up where presumably Bob had left off? Programs are NOT linear...as such. You don't just pick up where someone has left off. Now...this was essentially a database program that was to control and collect data from our second generation entry/access control product...which was called Entry+...Entry Plus. An installed Entry+ unit...along with all the peripheral hardware...controlled access to building doors and elevator floors...at the same time recording who went where via card...(more about card codes later)...and key codes. This unit was connected to an IBM compatible PC...which in turn was to run said program. Simple...NOT! The magnitude of what was being asked of me was off the scale. To pick up where someone had left an unfinished...un-documented...non working...broken piece of software was close to ridiculous! No...not close...it WAS! This was another case of Picking and Choosing...jobs...hence not assigning the work to the most qualified. Bob was...as stated elsewhere...NOT a programmer! And since Bill was not a programmer either...he never understood the problem. The saying goes..."Anything is possible for the man that doesn’t have to do it!"...made worse yet by "A man that doesn’t know how to do it"! So...with a customer desperately waiting...I TOOK ON THE JOB! A case of fools rushing in as it were! Bill had asked Keith to take it on...but he refused. [I mean what the hell was Bill thinking? And now that I think about it...I was Bill’s...WHAT...second choice?!!! What if I’d have refused? On the other hand...I never did know if Keith was able to write program code...or not.] I got onto Bob's computer...only to find that Norton Commander was not installed. Damn Bob! I needed a quick and efficient means to navigate his machine's hard drive. Bob liked typing in DOS commands...it made him feel in control...and mysterious I guess. I installed NC! I then got down to the task of finding the control program he'd been working on...along with rBase...the database program. Done deal. I spent the next few days...mostly familiarizing myself with the various pieces of...now...my puzzle. At one point I moved all the relevant files onto my computer. I didn't want to butcher Bob's original work...to then have him return and find it unrecognizable. It was his computer though that was hooked up to hardware located at the other end of the room...so when need be...I'd transfer the program back onto it for test runs. As I read through the lines of code...I was struck by a number of anomalies. These anomalies...made no sense to me. The program contained...what in Basic would have been termed Goto statements. Some were nested...but some went outside the main body of the program. Very confusing...in deed! Chasing calls...Goto's...was an impossible task...on the monitor screen...especially if you were not the original author of the code...AND it's immense size! So...there was nothing for it! I printed out the entire program code. It ran about a hundred pages. I then taped them to the blank wall just opposite my space. MUCH BETTER! I could now see the entire program at once. The pages covered ten feet of horizontal wall space...and floor to ceiling! With a hi-lighter...I began to connect calls with destinations. GADS! Time passes. More lines...connecting bits and pieces of code. More confusion than clarity. Having said that...what was becoming painfully clear was that it was one gargantuan mess! There were calls to places that never should have been there. There were orphaned lines of code...here and there. Time passes. Slowly...I weeded out everything that at that time didn't seem to make any sense. The duplicate lines of code...all out! I'd then re-printed the entire program...not wanting any confusion in what I was seeing. This cycle went on for a few more iterations...and it meant taking down and tossing out all the old pages for the same reason. I didn't want to find myself reading the old...hence useless pages. They were dangerous! It must be stated that I knew absolutely nothing about rBase. My knowledge was only conceptual...though I had played with a database program called Reflex...so I was not totally in the dark...and after all it had to be logical. Weeks pass. Test runs showed that parts of the code worked. I needed a way to flag which events had or had not taken place...so I inserted beeps. One beep here...two there and so one. If the event did take place...it beeped. I also needed activity indicators to tell me that the program had not simply hung up...stopped. Once when I was demonstrating my progress to Bill...he noted the beeps...and thought that they were great...and should be left in the working version of the program. They marked milestones in effect...that the program had in fact gotten to a certain crucial point...hence all was well. Weeks pass. By this time the program was about 80% functional. But there were still bugs in the program. When... Bob returned. What happened after that I don't know? However...I do know...that... Bob took out my beeps! And as I recall...we never engaged in any in-depth discussions about the program. I would never find out how he fared after that...because... [During this same time Sound Elevator hired an EE to specificaly design a PC based Entry+. This would have intigrated the entire Entry+ concept into "one box". Who was to write the controling program is unknown to me. There were a number of "points" (issues) that I would have liked to have brought up...regarding said design. But again I was never asked. This was just another example of Bill Black's major deficiency. He thought he knew...all that needed to be known.] [This project may have "died on the vine" as the result of the ultimate implosion.] [OH! There was to be some sort of gathering of the powers that be...which included some of the "big wigs" from Dover. As part of the entertainment...there were to be humorous "skits". The one involving Donald (Buzz) Dana was to be an explanation of some complicated piece of equipment...which included a large fictitious schematic...of said fictitious equipment. What was needed were a number of fictitious...though plossible...very technical sounding 3-4 word phrases to round out the performance. The request for these phrases was passed to Engineering...and Bill to the rest of us. While I went on working...phrases began to just pop into my head. Some were were funny...I thought...though sounding very plosssible. I began to write them down. Once I got "into it"...more and more came to mind. "Sympathetic Synthesized Circumciser" to name one. Time was short...so I soon took my list to Buzz. I don't now remember exactly how it came to be...but the way I heard it...Buzz had asked Bill if these...phrases were "real"...as in NOT fabricated. Bill was to have answered that they were REAL! The fact was that ALL of them were made up...by me. In fact I made sure that none of the phrases described any known circuit.] Epilog: It was not long after the above events that an incident took place that...broke the camels back...as it were. I gave notice on the spot...later to be modified as to finishing the project I was currently working on...but still just a few weeks out. I was asked by Buzz...as courtesy...not to...in effect...make the rounds talking about my pending departure. He needn't have...since I was inclined not to do so anyway...at least not on company time...it was simply not my style. But...! BUT! Interestingly...had I been found...by Bill...talking to someone...at their office space...guessing that I had no engineering business being there...he’d have gone ballistic...and come unglued! However... The very next day Bill made the rounds telling all who'd listen that HE would be leaving soon...as in, since I was leaving...(he'd just leave too)...but never telling them the cause. Yeah right! It was reported to me that he was tying his leaving to mine! The reality was that no one could just pickup the work that I'd been doing...all modesty aside. So here I was...muzzled in effect from talking...about the reason I was leaving...which then left the door wide open for Bill to say whatever he wanted. To in effect paint himself as not the cause of my leaving! Was this the classic case of a rat leaving a sinking ship? If anyone...he’d have seen the hand writing in the wall. For all practical purposes...I had made life easy (7 years) for Bill Black...but now that push came to shove...he was out the door before the fire started. How had I become SO important so as to cause him to leave? Interestingly, I told very few people of my pending departure, and certainly not making a big deal out of it, hence a great many people first heard of my pending departure from him. Bill tried a few times to talk me out of it...as had Buzz...but there was nothing for him or Buzz to bargain with. Bill was the problem and he was what he was...and there was no changing that. It was a done deal...however... I had asked for and was granted...in passing...a six-month sabbatical, by Buzz the president. This was mostly an afterthought. Eugene Jones...Head of Purchasing...and I were talking outside in the parking lot...just after work. The subject was of course my pending departure...and hence Bill. We’d been talking for about ten minutes when Buzz appeared heading for his car. I had in fact been thinking of other possibilities...such as asking for a one year sabbatical. I wanted a long break anyway...given that I had many projects that I wanted to devote more time to. I had enough money...so that was not a problem for me. So when Buzz stopped to talk...I hit him with a sabbatical...but chickened out...asking for only six months. It was something that I'd not thought through. Six months is a long time...relatively speaking. Many things could change in six months...much less a year! Time passes...and so it did. I heard...through the grapevine...that the $500,000 worth of inventory that I'd controlled had been liquidated...meaning that the Lab was no more as such and I guess Keith had retired to Idaho. AND the company was sold...i.e. no longer a part of Dover Technologies! Gads...an implosion! Buzz (the president) went off with a few key people, Bill Western being one, and started up another company...Sterling Elevator. I had the greatest admiration and respect for both these guys, Buzz Dana and Bill Western. They were top of the line. Other than Bill, I had a good time at Sound Elevator. I was able to use all the knowledge and skills that I'd gathered over the years. I loved Cad. I also did a number of fire service overlays which I didn't particularly like doing. They were recognized as being a real bitch to do. I never did see Bill or Bob ever doing one. I did the software for what must have been the most complex building security overlay imaginable...for Motorola in Texas. Loved it! Oh! Speaking of which. This points to the half assed-ness of things. Here I had created a very complex...(logic)...control program. There was no facility to add notes to the program itself. The component labels were limited to four characters as I recall...if you can believe. Hence it was very difficult to even guess what an element...relay, relay contact or timer...did. I was running out of four letter combination that meant anything. It was all kept in my head...though I was able to print out the (ladder) logic diagram...so that I could label them with their true designations...at least on paper. The work that I was doing was not meant to be proprietary. Should I have fallen ill...as had Bob...anyone picking up the action...would be in a "world of hurt". No written description of my logic in creating the lines of code ever existed. It was all in my head...alone! It would not have been possible...for me at least...to have written a document describing the program logic in any detail...prior to actually having completed it. I even built a simulator to check its operation. To have then written a manual for it would have taken a great deal of time....which was never in the budget....nor the mindset of the Engineering Department...Bill. A month later...I'd not know what I'd done and why. My own code...a mystery! Hence...parish the thought if there was a problem sometime later. What would Bill, Bob or Keith have done had there been a problem after it had been placed in operation? Entry+ worked in the basis of cards and/or key codes. Building personnel were assigned key codes that they entered manually on key pads to gain access to building doors and elevator floors. Card readers could be provided as well...hence personnel were given cards. The cards were numbered sequentially. The customer naturally needed to know the code represented by a given card number. And since the code per card was fixed...that is not alterable...we needed to provide a list. Other factors complicated the problem. Hence it was expedient for us to generate the random list of card codes...and have the cards manufactured as such. I wrote the program that would generate these random codes. At first we would just send the raw list to the card manufacturer. Later we discovered that while feasible...there was a better...faster way to go from list to manufactured card. If the manufacturer could be provided with not the raw card code...but with the complete data string that they would then enter...apparently manually...to produce the requisite card code...the turnaround time would be cut immensely. I asked the manufacture to provide me with algorithm that they used. Well now...it turned out that the data was in binary...which shouldn’t have surprised me. And it was not just the numbers alone. There was PARITY, a CLEAR, an ENTER and of course the numbers...which were in a proprietary format. This meant that the number 1 was not represent by the equivalent binary 0001. It didn’t really matter...just interesting...though it did mean that I had to use/create a "look up table" instead of a straight decimal to binary converter. Anyway...I wrote a program that in the end would be 387 lines long. It was a thing of beauty...even if I do say so myself. My program would generate the random codes...test for duplicates...and print a list if it was just key codes that were required. If card codes were required...it would in addition create and later print a string of 34 binary digits that the card manufacturer then used to create the card. It could look something like this: 1 1100 1111 1011 0111 1110 1010 0110 0100 0 I also provided a feature that I know I would have wanted as a customer/head of security...and if not provided...create myself. One... was a list showing the distribution of the (supposedly) random number which showed that card codes were truly random. Two...a list of the codes arranged in decade groups. That is...all codes 30000 and up...and all codes 20000 to 29999 and 10000 to 19999 and so on grouped together. This would allow the assignment of card code groups to various groups of personnel within their company such that once the system was up and running...security could then tell at a glance from which group an individual gained entry to a particular door or elevator floor. For example...certain groups of codes could be assigned to the executives...finance...maintenance...and of course security. For whatever reason...Bob never included the provided feature in the printouts to the customer! Duh! On the light side. I had gotten hooked on playing various games on the computer. Mah Jongg, Microsoft Solitaire etc. My version of Mah Jongg was by Ron Balewski. I would play this game every chance I had and with a fast computer and a good mouse I did quite well, with my top ten scores ranging between 1 minute 53 seconds to a bit faster 1 minute 42 seconds. The Drafting Dept. (one person) had been upgraded with a computer at the same time the company hired a new drafting person. Up to that point the drawing were drafted by hand. I again recommended Generic Cad since it was inexpensive and until they needed something better...it would do just fine. [By the way...Generic Cad (6) is now considered a legendary piece of software. 2010] Jennifer, the new drafting babe was very sharp and I enjoyed helping her set it up in the beginning and later with the occasional problem she encountered. After awhile, I would call her for help with my problems...when GC6 got...funny! I'd dial her number and ask in a serious and even tone; "Is this the drafting babe?" knowing full well that she'd be the only one answering the phone. To which she'd answer "Yes" in a formal voice, but then giggle since I was the only one to call her that as part of my communication etiquette. [Pronounced "etty-quetty"...just in case Eric is reading this.] We'd do this just to break the office humdrum. It was always good for a laugh. Anyway...I brought Mah Jongg to the office and gave a copy to Jen... One day I get a call and it's the babe telling me her high score. It was slower than my fasted time but she was getting closer. Shorter time being better. Time passes. You guessed it...she posted a time faster than mine! Gads! The battle was joined. Back and forth the high scores would alternate. At one point I wised up and would only tell her a score (out of ten) that was just enough to beat hers, reserving my highest scores till needed. Note: We would only play the game before work and during our lunch breaks, never on company time. By this time Jen had informed the other females in the office and it soon became a battle of the sexes! GADS! She'd pass the word as soon as she had a higher score and I'd be chided by the gals for being behind. OK...FINE. Then one day it happened...I didn't have a higher score left! She was clearly ahead! This was not good. I couldn't believe that she had gotten so much faster! Damn! I mean, I was greased lightning personified...etc. etc. Now...there were two ways to play the game...logically speaking. One was to simply play out a new game and take whatever score you got...and simply go on to a new game. The other way to play, and I didn't think of this until I was being beaten...badly, was to...wait for it...PLAY THE SAME GAME OVER AND OVER until you had the moves down pat. The more I thought about it...it was the only way she could have beaten me. The only problem was that I didn't know how to do that...that is to get the program to let you do it. There were games that you soon realized were going very well. The pairs just kept coming up...one after the other...but by that time you also realized that your time...score...while good...was not going to be better than your previous high score. It made a great difference just knowing that a particular game was not just winnable...but had you known...it could have be completed faster. On a hunch I took a look at the listed files and sure enough there was a doc or readme file. Reading it for the first time, I found the magic button as it were. I assume that Jen had read it right from the start, and hence knew about it all a long. Well now...my scores improved in a matter of a few games and I was on top again, sufficient to hold the lead to the very end. Jen got married (the UPS man) and moved to the Dover, Horn Lake plant as the DRAFTING BABE. It was great fun while it lasted. The Mickey Mouse factor! [MMF] I decided that our inventory/inventory control system needed work. I planned and executed a major upgrade to the mezzanine. New shelving...a forty foot wall was constructed...upon which was mounted new parts bins. And eventually all parts were to have numbers. This was naturally the result of its ever increasing size...and hence value. The company had an IBM mini-computer at the time that was used exclusively by the finance department. It was programmed by an obscure little man. The IBM computer was not as versatile as some of the latest IBM compatible PCs! BUT...someone came up with the idea to use it for the Lab‘s inventory also. The proposal was related to the obscure programmer but...though not a happy camper...with great earnestness agreed to do it. He did state that he had never done an inventory/control program in his life...adding that it will be a difficult task...meaning on the IBM Mini. The MMF was that he did not...and/or no one else knew any better... how to actually implement it. So...the path of least resistance was taken. The part number were to be assigned sequentially! Had they asked me...I would have told them that that was a stupid thing to do! But no one asked! So...we ended up with a very long list of parts that grew at the tail end...as new parts were added. What no one thought of...was that to find a specific part on a list that ran into thirty some odd pages was a mind numbing task. There was no rhyme nor reason as to where a particular part was located. There were even cases of the same part having two different part numbers...because the original was never found to exist...hence a new number simply created and added. I had some experience with inventory part numbering systems that dated back to my Air Force days...twenty years prior. If anyone had it figured out...it was the military. One could look at a part number and know what it was...within a range. All like parts had the same prefix digits. Hence all capacitors, resistors, transistor, diodes, nuts and bolts could be distinguished from one another...at a glance. Hence they would appear grouped together on any printout. Well...not on ours! Similar parts were scattered all over the place. Hence to place an order for x number of various part...it was first necessary to see how many were already in stock. Finding them was inordinately time consuming. And stupid. No one asked me! More of the MMF. I had asked that my pay be tied directly to the current elevator union scale. If it went up...as it did over time...so would my pay...automatically! Done deal. However... Because I was salaried...I came under office rules. This meant that I was up for formal review every year! It was never made exactly clear to me...but this review system should have meant...in my opinion...that my supervisor...Bill Black...should have been the one to write it. So when I was informed that I was to write my own review...I was pissed off to say the least. I was either doing a good job or not. AND if you remember...none of us had formal job descriptions! How the hell can you evaluate someone’s performance without it...I must ask? I can say without modesty that my contribution to the overall good of the company exceeded that of many (most) others. At the same time I was the lowest paid individual within engineering not counting the Lab’s technicians...and Kasey. AND I had to write my own review to justify my existence? [And/or what they were paying me!] Give me a bloody break! Back to serious stuff. Bob had had a history of heart trouble...as it would turn out. One day he just keeled over...and we called the medics. A number of months passed and I had left my office and gone down to check up on something in the Lab. At one point I found myself talking to Keith about some matter...neither of us was in hurry to get back to our offices. Done talking...I headed back. My space had been the first one upon entering the room...by design...and as such I didn't know whether Bob was in or not, his space being the next one over from mine. Well now...I was just about to sit down when I hear my name being called out in a weak voice. "Steve"... the voice had said. Gads...Bob had never called me by name...ever! [Yeah I know...weird...huh?] The voice called out again...and it took me a second to realize that it was in fact Bob calling me. I stepped out and around my desk and expected to see Bob sitting at his desk...but that was not the case. The voice called out again...and I then located the source. Bob was lying on the floor! I picked up his phone and called 911...and asked for the medics. Fill in the story above about his database program. After Bob returned from hospital, he related the fact that he'd died a number of times as they worked on him. Before I left for my would-be sabbatical, the word was put out that anyone wishing to be considered for the position of Head of Engineering could do so...given that Bill was leaving too. This fact also meant the that there was not an heir apparent. And/or that Keith was given a shot at it if he wanted it. Postdated 31 Dec. 2009: As I edit this page...a few observations come to mind. Could it have been that there was the thought that if I had applied...and Bill did in fact leave...that is to say I changed my mind...given that HE would leave nonetheless...that I'd have gotten it? If so...would Bob have had a problem with it? I know that Keith would have...but he'd have had a problem with Bob too...more than a good guess. And Keith wouldn't want the job either. It would require a long term commitment. And Keith was not a front man...nor was Bob. Not sure I was for that matter. I did say...to myself...that I could never fill Bill's shoes...as he wore them...but that it would be...well...the same but different. Bill had too many old contacts...that one could not just pick up after the fact. That given...what more can you ask for...after all. I let it slide for obvious reasons, and a few days later Bob came to me and asked if "I'd have a problem with working for him". I told him..."no"...I had no problem with him being Head of Engineering...but then added that since I'd not be there...it rendered the question moot. This also meant that my sabbatical had been accepted...as fact. I would leave...and six months later return...supposedly. It also meant the Bob got the job not because he was the first choice...but that he was only one still standing! And that Keith had in fact not applied! The position was hollow. With me gone, Bill going...and soon Keith too...all that was left of Engineering was the Lab...and it's two or was it by then three techs...and half a million dollars of inventory..to eat up! Bill had been the front man...and it was he that would not only take orders from around the country and our own internal orders...but priced them too. I'm not sure if Keith or Bob would have known how to do that...exactly. I sure as hell would not have known. Granted one could look at old invoices...but not know if there was some sort of deal going down! The transition would be VERY messy! [I cleaned off my computer's hard drive of all my personal files. I left all the Cad files that I created over the years...including the detailed components. I seen to remember giving both Bob and Keith a copy of my "layers"...though at the time they would not really need it. It would have made life a bit easier for them should there be need to Cad up a panel.] So...there we have it...I had been hired to replace Bill...meaning that Bob was not considered suitable...and after seven years...who ends up with the job? As a result of the implosion and the subsequent sale of the company...all the years of gained knowledge about Dover elevators became redundant...as did a lot of our inventory as it related to Dover equipment. My six months passed and soon it was a year...I never called...and neither did they. Things had changed...unknown to me...in the extreme...and hence I was by then persona non grarta. With Buzz gone...my returning was not his problem any longer. As I understood it...Bob stayed on with the company. Kasey...eventually...fed up with Bill’s BS had transferred out of engineering months before. Also...the Lab had an extremely high turnover rate...the stress was just too much...I guess. It’s all about synchronicity. I remember thinking every time I took a vacation...that as soon as I had left the office... that by the time I had reached the Evergreen Floating Bridge...I had totally disconnected. It’s as though I had never worked there. And so it was that last day. I never looked back...until now...to tell the story...of what happened. Thus ended 1994. I was 50. An era had ended...I have not worked since...(2010).
Continued: Words and Deeds
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