LTE 2.0

[windsor]

So glad to see CTN back online! I have big news that I was most anxious to share, to be found in the next installment of...

As the Bunsen Burns

Yesterday was an eventful day in my little corner of the world. First, I had a surprise visitor late in the afternoon: a friend who works for an instrument company. In fact, this friend works for the company that sold Wile E. Coyote his instruments. Poor thing, she was in town because Wile E. Coyote has been complaining loudly and often that his new instruments are not working correctly. Yes, the problem is operator error. My friend had to completely rewrite the instrument methods that WEC had created because he had things so messed up. If you recall, he refused to buy the manufacturer training that normally comes with the instrument because he's "an expert and doesn't need it." I learned a bit more, too. WEC is insisting that the top engineer in the region (the one that only comes when the instruments are really messed up) come in to work on his instruments. He refuses to allow the regular service engineer into his lab, insisting that it has to be the expert, and he's forcing the expert to come in to do the exact same routine maintenance that Bar Minion performs on Road Runner's instrument. Holy cow, this guy is inept. All I could do was apologize profusely. Fortunately they all realize that WEC's ineptitude is not representative of the rest of the institution.

The second big event has to do with the ongoing saga of the Gang of Three's plot (that would be Road Runner, MacGyver, and me). The director of the program that will be housing the potential new instruments had a meeting with the Provost yesterday afternoon. Long story short: we now have the blessing of the Provost and a guarantee for space in the area adjacent to Road Runner and WEC's labs. So, things are picking up steam. We are going to meet with The Provost in a couple of weeks for a "dog and pony show" to tell him of our plans and get the final approval. We have not yet told The Boss, and I cannot convince Road Runner that we need to do so. This makes me very, very nervous.

Exciting goings on. It seems the legend of WEC is spreading far and wide. The more people that realize he is incompetent ego maniac the better. Sooner or later perhaps the fog will lift and The Boss will see the light.

Excellent news on the new instrument. Glad things are moving along. I don't blame you for being nervous about keeping the boss in the dark, but there is really not much you can do but cross your fingers since you can not end around your co-conspirators. Vibes that things move swiftly to a positive conclusion.

[ArkieDukie]

Exciting goings on. It seems the legend of WEC is spreading far and wide. The more people that realize he is incompetent ego maniac the better. Sooner or later perhaps the fog will lift and The Boss will see the light.

Excellent news on the new instrument. Glad things are moving along. I don't blame you for being nervous about keeping the boss in the dark, but there is really not much you can do but cross your fingers since you can not end around your co-conspirators. Vibes that things move swiftly to a positive conclusion.

There are multiple levels of intrigue. First off, the Gang of Three cannot stage an intervention with The Boss and clue him in to Wile E. Coyote's reputation of ineptitude with pretty much the entire world outside of our little corner of paradise. Biggest problem is that WEC appears to be The Boss' little protege, and such actions cannot have a happy outcome. They've worked together for a very long time (my guess would be close to 10 years), and The Boss hasn't yet gotten the memo. We fear that if we do clue The Boss in, we (most definitely me) would be forced to work with the inept little bozo. I do not want to be made into his little technician. Fortunately for us, WEC avoids us as much as we avoid him. Our working theory is that he knows that we know more than he does, and he thinks he can keep his incompetence in the dark for a longer period of time if we're not associated with his work. Sorry, dude, but that memo is already out for most everyone in the department. A couple of the junior faculty have commented on it to me. Moreover, one of the same people noted that Wile E. Coyote gets preferential treatment in the form of special assistance from The Boss that no one else gets. If one person has noted this and is vocalizing it, chances are that more have noticed and are not commenting. Is it just me, or is that NOT the message you want to be sending as a department chair?

The second level of intrigue has to do with keeping The Boss in the dark. If this is a done deal before he finds out, he is going to be 100 kinds of pissed off. At this point, he pays 90% of my salary. Road Runner and MacGyver pay exactly 0%, although Road Runner is allegedly going to pick up some of it. Here's the thing: if we have the full and enthusiastic support of the Provost (i.e. The Boss' boss), The Boss really has no option but to give his blessing to my participation in our new endeavor. At least, I don't think he does. Another thing that worries me: is the Provost going to be displeased that we went around our boss to get his blessing? If I was in his shoes, I'm not sure I'd be thrilled about being used in such a manner. With that being said, a little birdie has told Road Runner that the Provost really doesn't like The Boss. AND our little endeavor will bring a great deal of positive press to the institution. Provosts like such things. Guess I'll just have to wait and see how it all plays out.

Edited to add: Before WEC's arrival, I was invited to departmental faculty meetings. I'm not any more. Given some comments that The Boss made before asking me to justify my existence, I think someone complained. Given the timing of the complaints, I suspect it was WEC.

[DukieInKansas]

Can you spin your onvolvement along the lines of helping the others, mostly on your own time, because your knowledge was helpful in a oroject to benefit the institution. Prestige for the institution can only help all departments. Your participation shows his dwpartment has quality people. (minus one notable exception.)

[DukePA]

Can you spin your onvolvement along the lines of helping the others, mostly on your own time, because your knowledge was helpful in a oroject to benefit the institution. Prestige for the institution can only help all departments. Your participation shows his dwpartment has quality people. (minus one notable exception.)

Excellent idea!

[ArkieDukie]

My undergrad school, a small liberal arts college in Arkansas, revived their football program. Yesterday was their first game since 1960. Fortunately they won, which means I can wear my favorite shirt for another week. It reads, "Hendrix College Football: Undefeated Since 1960." Loads of alums own this same shirt and are not happy about having football added back to the mix. With that being said, few schools can brag that their football players have an average ACT score of 27.

Arkansas tried to lose to Samford but pulled out the win. They didn't look as good as they did last weekend. A large number of the key contributors are first-year players. They will get better as the season progresses. I have determined that I like the new coach (Bret Bielema). FAR less ethically challenged than Bobby Petrino.

I'll go out on a limb and make a prediction: at the end of the season, Duke will have the best record of my 3 football teams.

[ArkieDukie]

Can you spin your onvolvement along the lines of helping the others, mostly on your own time, because your knowledge was helpful in a oroject to benefit the institution. Prestige for the institution can only help all departments. Your participation shows his dwpartment has quality people. (minus one notable exception.)

Excellent idea!

I think we can try to spin it this way. The Boss is a major control freak, though, and will likely be upset that he wasn't in on the planning from the outset.

How much of a control freak, you ask? Well, we had an issue with one of the instruments last week. The Boss was all irate and wanted the vendor to fix it IMMEDIATELY. Demanded that I get on the phone and talk to someone fairly high up the food chain, telling them that we were suspending all instrument purchases from their company until this issue is resolved to our satisfaction. They requested data so they could assist in troubleshooting. We were delayed 24 hrs in sending it out because The Boss wanted to approve the information we were sending to them. This type of micromanagement seriously inhibits my ability to do my job.

[windsor]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr- ... ncaaf.html

Tom Izzo. Classic. Brilliant.

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

AD, I'm keeping the OP abreast of the happenings in this drama. He's been dealing with prima donnas and politics in universities his whole life and tends to just nod the nod of familiarity and roll his eyes when I tell him of your latest episode. He agrees that it's a distinct probability that the Boss will have a pretty major melt down when he hears how far this has gone.

What has kept the OP in such demand for over 50 years in consulting is that he spends a great amount of effort keeping current -- so current, in fact, that even en route to teach a class in Europe, his secretary is frequently still putting his dog and pony show together gathering the most recent data available to be waiting for him by the time he gets there.

Probably the most frustrating thing to him is having to work with colleagues who want to keep doing the same ol' stuff over and over and over again rather than having to learn something new. He feels your pain.

What kills me is that so many awards and promotions, etc. are given to the wrong people -- the ones who are just the most visible and flashy -- rather than the ones who are too busy working to go around schmoozing. He began discouraging me from going to important dinners with the real big shots long ago because I have such a hard time resisting the opportunity to tell it like it is! He considers me a loose cannon and I make him nervous , bless my heart. It's a good thing I found my calling at home 'cause I'd never make it out there among the wolves.
Love, Ima

[IowaDevil]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr- ... ncaaf.html

Tom Izzo. Classic. Brilliant.

WTG Izzo!

[DevilWearsPrada2.0]

Get Well Anthony Boone!!!!!!

[ArkieDukie]

AD, I'm keeping the OP abreast of the happenings in this drama. He's been dealing with prima donnas and politics in universities his whole life and tends to just nod the nod of familiarity and roll his eyes when I tell him of your latest episode. He agrees that it's a distinct probability that the Boss will have a pretty major melt down when he hears how far this has gone.

What has kept the OP in such demand for over 50 years in consulting is that he spends a great amount of effort keeping current -- so current, in fact, that even en route to teach a class in Europe, his secretary is frequently still putting his dog and pony show together gathering the most recent data available to be waiting for him by the time he gets there.

Probably the most frustrating thing to him is having to work with colleagues who want to keep doing the same ol' stuff over and over and over again rather than having to learn something new. He feels your pain.

What kills me is that so many awards and promotions, etc. are given to the wrong people -- the ones who are just the most visible and flashy -- rather than the ones who are too busy working to go around schmoozing. He began discouraging me from going to important dinners with the real big shots long ago because I have such a hard time resisting the opportunity to tell it like it is! He considers me a loose cannon and I make him nervous , bless my heart. It's a good thing I found my calling at home 'cause I'd never make it out there among the wolves.
Love, Ima

Ima, I have a feeling that the OP and I would get along very well - as well as I would get along with you. I also tend to be a little less than diplomatic, which got me into trouble with my former boss (standing up to Pushy PI got me the "insubordinate" tag). Like the OP, I recognize that I keep working with the same personality types over and over again. Having dealt with them before, it does tend to make it a bit easier to know what to do in a particular situation. One of my former deans (someone I respected a great deal) always said he was going to write a book on the various faculty members he had dealt with in his very long career in academia. He was planning a special chapter for the faculty member who lobbied the hardest against me in my tenure case. Pushy PI reminded me a great deal of this particular faculty member, and unfortunately I'm starting to put The Boss in this same category. I believe this is why I fear The Boss' reaction: I've seen it before, and it will not be pretty.

While I understand the reasons for Road Runner and MacGyver to want to keep The Boss in the dark (he is NOT current and thinks he is, thanks to Wile E. Coyote), there's a big part of me that believes The Boss has every reason in the world to be irate. Given his control freak nature, he will definitely view our actions as insubordinate - and he's right. The major reason we're keeping him in the dark? We do not want Wile E. Coyote to be involved in this venture in any way. WEC had an opportunity to buy the instrument we're being given, and he didn't want to purchase it because he didn't want to learn the software. Rather than saying that, though, he convinced The Boss that this particular instrument is not as good as the ones that he purchased. I broached the subject of acquiring our potential new instrument with The Boss (in the infamous "justifying my existence" meeting) and was shot down immediately based upon WEC's opinion of the instrument. From this we can only conclude that The Boss would not support our venture in any way, even though his opinion is based upon WEC's biased intel. I think we get around this by finding a way to make The Boss look good in the end, once everything goes public. It's the only way I can think of to make our actions palatable to him. I think the spin needs to be that we wanted to surprise him with something we felt would make him look good.

[windsor]

AD, I'm keeping the OP abreast of the happenings in this drama. He's been dealing with prima donnas and politics in universities his whole life and tends to just nod the nod of familiarity and roll his eyes when I tell him of your latest episode. He agrees that it's a distinct probability that the Boss will have a pretty major melt down when he hears how far this has gone.

What has kept the OP in such demand for over 50 years in consulting is that he spends a great amount of effort keeping current -- so current, in fact, that even en route to teach a class in Europe, his secretary is frequently still putting his dog and pony show together gathering the most recent data available to be waiting for him by the time he gets there.

Probably the most frustrating thing to him is having to work with colleagues who want to keep doing the same ol' stuff over and over and over again rather than having to learn something new. He feels your pain.

What kills me is that so many awards and promotions, etc. are given to the wrong people -- the ones who are just the most visible and flashy -- rather than the ones who are too busy working to go around schmoozing. He began discouraging me from going to important dinners with the real big shots long ago because I have such a hard time resisting the opportunity to tell it like it is! He considers me a loose cannon and I make him nervous , bless my heart. It's a good thing I found my calling at home 'cause I'd never make it out there among the wolves.
Love, Ima

Ima, I have a feeling that the OP and I would get along very well - as well as I would get along with you. I also tend to be a little less than diplomatic, which got me into trouble with my former boss (standing up to Pushy PI got me the "insubordinate" tag). Like the OP, I recognize that I keep working with the same personality types over and over again. Having dealt with them before, it does tend to make it a bit easier to know what to do in a particular situation. One of my former deans (someone I respected a great deal) always said he was going to write a book on the various faculty members he had dealt with in his very long career in academia. He was planning a special chapter for the faculty member who lobbied the hardest against me in my tenure case. Pushy PI reminded me a great deal of this particular faculty member, and unfortunately I'm starting to put The Boss in this same category. I believe this is why I fear The Boss' reaction: I've seen it before, and it will not be pretty.

While I understand the reasons for Road Runner and MacGyver to want to keep The Boss in the dark (he is NOT current and thinks he is, thanks to Wile E. Coyote), there's a big part of me that believes The Boss has every reason in the world to be irate. Given his control freak nature, he will definitely view our actions as insubordinate - and he's right. The major reason we're keeping him in the dark? We do not want Wile E. Coyote to be involved in this venture in any way. WEC had an opportunity to buy the instrument we're being given, and he didn't want to purchase it because he didn't want to learn the software. Rather than saying that, though, he convinced The Boss that this particular instrument is not as good as the ones that he purchased. I broached the subject of acquiring our potential new instrument with The Boss (in the infamous "justifying my existence" meeting) and was shot down immediately based upon WEC's opinion of the instrument. From this we can only conclude that The Boss would not support our venture in any way, even though his opinion is based upon WEC's biased intel. I think we get around this by finding a way to make The Boss look good in the end, once everything goes public. It's the only way I can think of to make our actions palatable to him. I think the spin needs to be that we wanted to surprise him with something we felt would make him look good.

...and given his reservations about this equipment you wanted to make SURE it would make him look good before you involved him..

[lawgrad91]

On campus peeps: The Rev. Lawgrad is at Duke today and tomorrow for some sort of "you need this to get ahead in the Methodist world" class. He just texted that he was in the bookstore.

If you see him, remind him that my birthday is in 2 weeks, and there are all sorts of neat things there he could get for me.

[CathyCA]

On campus peeps: The Rev. Lawgrad is at Duke today and tomorrow for some sort of "you need this to get ahead in the Methodist world" class. He just texted that he was in the bookstore.

If you see him, remind him that my birthday is in 2 weeks, and there are all sorts of neat things there he could get for me.

Could we just send him blatant reminders via Facebook?

[lawgrad91]

On campus peeps: The Rev. Lawgrad is at Duke today and tomorrow for some sort of "you need this to get ahead in the Methodist world" class. He just texted that he was in the bookstore.

If you see him, remind him that my birthday is in 2 weeks, and there are all sorts of neat things there he could get for me.

Could we just send him blatant reminders via Facebook?

He is bad about checking Facebook.
I could drag him to the bookstore on Saturday.

[Very Duke Blue]

I have missed all of you. We were in the mountains in Virginia. No cell, no internet. I just finished "catching" up. AD, some how, you are going to come out of this mess on top.
We really enjoyed our trip. Sat. we went to the church yard sale. I got Henry some get educational toys for near nothing. We donated some things for them to sell. Bud's class reunion was Sat. night. Sun. was church and then a church picnic. We will go back for the apply butter cooking in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing lots of you Sat. GO DUKE!!!!!

[CathyCA]

On campus peeps: The Rev. Lawgrad is at Duke today and tomorrow for some sort of "you need this to get ahead in the Methodist world" class. He just texted that he was in the bookstore.

If you see him, remind him that my birthday is in 2 weeks, and there are all sorts of neat things there he could get for me.

Could we just send him blatant reminders via Facebook?

He is bad about checking Facebook.
I could drag him to the bookstore on Saturday.

We could go down to the Duke store with his credit card, too, and leave him back at the tailgate. You'd get exactly what you want for your birthday, and he wouldn't even have to shop for it!

[lawgrad91]

We could go down to the Duke store with his credit card, too, and leave him back at the tailgate. You'd get exactly what you want for your birthday, and he wouldn't even have to shop for it!

I think this is a FINE idea!

[CathyCA]

We could go down to the Duke store with his credit card, too, and leave him back at the tailgate. You'd get exactly what you want for your birthday, and he wouldn't even have to shop for it!

I think this is a FINE idea!

Let's do it!

[IowaDevil]

We could go down to the Duke store with his credit card, too, and leave him back at the tailgate. You'd get exactly what you want for your birthday, and he wouldn't even have to shop for it!

I think this is a FINE idea!

Let's do it!

And I'll offer all the moral support you need from Iowa! Enjoy!