The Drama Continues

Why do I stay in this business? I do wonder sometimes. Obviously out of love for the topic. Gosh knows I've had more than my share of ups and downs in the last two years. Sort of reminds me of all the uncertainties my family dealt with while working at Eastern Airlines in the '80s, when I first started paying attention to the world of work. My dad, stepmom, aunt, and uncles held in there pretty much until the end of the airline--out of hope, out of desperation, out of love of the airline and the people they worked with.

The latest ratcheting of tension comes in the deceptive form of a reprieve: the Congress passed another two-week budget while cutting that ~$300 million from the "Cross-Agency Support" line of the NASA budget. What's Cross-Agency Support? Other industries call it G&A (General and Administrative) or overhead. In short, they cut the non-technical bureaucracy, of which I am a part. Has my particular job been directly threatened? No...not yet. But jeez, I'm starting to wonder if I should reach behind by back to see if someone's attached a "Stress Me" sign back there.

Is any other industry really much more secure? I don't know. I DO know, however, the following things:

• Any job--civil service or contractor--dependent upon government funding is subject to politics, votes, and annual budget fights. It's not for the faint of heart or tense of stomach.
• NASA/space exploration is not a national priority, and has not been since two weeks before I was born, when we won the race to the Moon against the Soviet Union. NASA is now 0.4% of the U.S. federal budget and dropping.
• Space activities will not be a priority until one of two things happen: 1) an asteroid is heading directly for the Beltway, or 2) we discover alien life in the solar system or--more likely--beyond this solar system. And then, if it's option 1), it becomes the province of the Department of Defense, and if it's option 2), it's the State Department's problem (if the aliens are sufficiently advanced)...or DoD if State doesn't do its job right.

I was explaining to a friend today that a couple things trained me well for being a space advocate: I grew up in a family that cared little to nothing about space, and I'm a Cubs fan.

Just wait 'til next year!

Dodging Bullets

Okay, so I just dodged a major bullet...at least for 90 days. My company managed to find work for me and my four coworkers through the end of September, each doing different things. I myself will be helping the Engineering Directorate write (internal) proposals that will, hopefully, result in more work for the Center come the new fiscal year. Mind you, I might be going through this soap opera again in three months, but for now I can pay bills, and I consider that a blessing and a win.


Stay tuned. No doubt more drama to come.

How Do You Keep a Space Geek in Suspense?

I've never really enjoyed thriller or "suspense" movies because I don't enjoy anxiety in the real world. Case in point: the last week, month, or heck, year or two with regard to my job. No wonder I have grey hair.

So I guess I should clarify my status a bit. My company's ability to charge labor hours to the Constellation Program will cease June 30. In practical terms, that means my company needs to find other work for the five of us or we'll be out on the street. We'll know more Monday. Maybe. Or perhaps not. Right now we just don't know! I could end up doing work elsewhere within NASA, or I could be job hunting on Thursday. I appreciate that they're trying--and it's a lot easier with five people than dozens or hundreds--but the not-knowing and the stress get to be a bit much after awhile. My goal is to get out of town today. Somewhere, anywhere. Just get the heck out so I don't have to think about this foolishness. I have about two hours of leave left, so a vacation isn't an option--nor is it particularly smart, given potentially constrained finances.

A lot of my friends are in a similar sort of limbo. Those on "stop work" orders still have their NASA badges and (in some cases) their personal effects in the office, but are at home with or without pay until the Program decides what can or can't be done. I wouldn't want the boss's job on July 1. It's going to be very sad and very creepy in Marshall's Building 4203 come Thursday.

Back in Action


On the advice of a friend, I'd deactivated this blog to help preserve my job at NASA. That not having worked (my job will be terminated next Wednesday), I decided to push a few buttons and found that I could, in fact, reinstate this place. So, here I am: back in the blogosphere, and about to be unemployed. Suh-weet.

A lot of friends are sharing my fate, so it's not like I'm alone in this--my entire communications team is facing the axe, barring some last-minute miracle-working by my program manager--it's just been a little stressful all around.

So what's happening? Basically, in a rush to comply with the Contract Termination Liability set-aside, the contractors servicing the Constellation Program are acting on letters from Procurement to cut $1 billion from this year's budget. The only way to do that, really, is to reduce headcount, so that's what's happening with a vengeance. Six hundred people have lost their jobs at Johnson Space Center, and another 700-800 are expected to lose theirs at Marshall.

The situations really vary by contract and company. Some folks are on what's called a "stop work order," which is theoretically a temporary freeze that could be lifted in 2-4 weeks. Other folks got laid off. Others, like me, are facing flat-out termination. It's been sad watching folks clear out cubicles, and I started my cleanout process today.

Where do I go from here? Not a clue. I don't have a lot of free-floating cash, and unemployment in Alabama is next to bupkis, so I can go only a few weeks without work before I have to do without lights or food...unless I want to cash out the 401(k) and screw any chance of retiring. Best not think about that right now.

What will happen to the human spaceflight program? Not my responsibility anymore. I have to figure out what to do with Bart. Let someone else worry about the future of humanit for awhile.

Follow-Up: Bad Behavior, Embarrassing Pictures, and Job Security in Internet Age

Having vented previously on people's foolish behavior on the internet, I now must take a contrary stance. Why? Because, while the new reality of the world is that individuals can get fired for bad or embarrassing behavior they exhibit on the internet, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's good or right.

That Obama speech writer was tacky, but did his behavior rise to the level of a punishable offense? Did a hockey player deserve to be suspended from his job because of some sexist, crass remark about a former girlfriend? It depends on who you talk to.

When people talk about "political correctness," this is what they mean. There are just Some Things That Must Not Be Said. It is a manner of thinking and speaking that restrains anything that might be perceived as insulting to particular individuals or groups. Now am I endorsing full-out rudeness, crudity, or impolite behavior? No. However, I know that no one is capable of perfectly well-behaved, appropriate speech, partially because the rules keep changing, and partially just because people are people, and slips of the tongue are likely to happen. In short, we need to lighten up.

The end result of PC-speak is, as George Orwell notes in his description of Newspeak in 1984, to restrict the range of political speech and (by derivation) thought. If you can't say certain things--laughing at or judging particular behaviors--it becomes impossible to offer up alternative views. So today businesses will fire someone because of individual, personal crassness. What will be next? What happens when it's your turn to make a slip that shows up on the internet?

How do we fix this? I have no frickin' clue.

Bad Behavior, Embarrassing Pictures, and Job Security in Internet Age

It's amazing how many people have put themselves into hot water by posting or having things posted about their behavior on the Internet. Consider the following:

An Obama speechwriter is in trouble for joking around with a friend and pretending to grope the breast of a Hillary Clinton cutout.

In the sports world, a Calgary Flames hockey player is about to be suspended for comments he made regarding another player picking up his "sloppy seconds" (i.e. his ex-girlfriend).

But one need not look to the famous to see examples of people screwing up their lives because of some bad behavior appearing on the internet. Workers have been fired for postings made on Facebook. Criminals have been caught showing off or doing bizarre things and then bragging about it on the Internet.

What is it with people? Once upon a time, people had pictures taken at inopportune times, and they could burn the negatives and be done with it. No more. Now those pictures can be taken with a phone and emailed around the world before any explanation or apology can be issued. Even the burning-the-negatives-and-prints strategy is not a guarantee that personal foibles remain private. Digital scanners can commit those pictures to electronic format, and from there they end up who knows where.

Aside from the crudity and general stupidity of the actions, there's also this seemingly willful ignorance of how actions performed in the virtual world can affect the real world. The internet, with its limited, albeit worldwide opportunity for publicity, allows people to put their personalities "out there" for all to see. I've succumbed to this myself, via blogging and Facebook. But I also know that my coworkers and managers either read or see what I do. Thus my unwillingness to get extremely foul in my language or to post pictures from friends' bachelor parties. The electronic world has made everyone potential victims of tabloid journalism, and I don't think Gen Y has fully absorbed what that can mean for their futures.

The bottom line on all this is that, if you do something stupid and photographic evidence exists that you did said stupid thing--or you yourself have posted that evidence--you have to accept that there will be consequences. That Obama speech writer and hockey player are about to learn what those consequences are. With the internet and wireless and digital cameras everywhere, it is increasingly difficult to avoid any private sins from becoming very public. And that lack of privacy and public willingness to display (or unwillingness to hide) bad behavior can result in you losing your job. It might not sound fair, but it is very much the way of the world.

There was a phrase that was very popular in the '60s: "The personal is political." Well, welcome to the 21st century, where "The personal is professional." Meaning, if you exhibit some sort of negative personal behavior or attitude or belief, and it's on the internet, your professional future can be eroded very quickly if you embarrass your employer. Bosses can Google, too.