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Prince Andrew settles with Virginia Giuffre's civil suit. Amount sealed and will go to charity.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/15/us/prince-andrew-virginia-giuffre/index.html

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Olympics

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Doneness

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DBD Cooking Academy

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DBD AV Club

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Today in Covid

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Elsewhere in college

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OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY

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PRO

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CAL

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Bah went to move my car at 3:04. I'd gotten a ticket at 2:24.

I guess this is a sign that I DON'T need that $50 blanket from Jeni's (since the ticket is $58)

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Feb 15, 2022·edited Feb 15, 2022

My boss is retiring. While I'm happy for him, I have had the sudden realization that I will miss him greatly.

Also, I do not relish the idea of breaking in a new boss, particularly since that person is likely to be someone who is not eminently qualified for the position. The likely candidate will come from outside the division and will almost certainly be an engineer. Although I highly respect engineers at EBMWU, the best qualified candidates are already internal to the division and do not possess an engineering degree. If a candidate comes from outside the division, that candidate should have extensive experience in distribution system maintenance, including the personnel, safety, and regulatory issues that are omnipresent to the work we do. Our division has the most critical and public facing mission - maintain the distribution system; keep water in the pipe.

Engineers don't have to deal with those issues on a daily basis. Most engineers deal with designing new parts of the distribution system (some of which replace aging and failing portions), or facilities that feed the system (reservoirs, pumping plants, water treatment plants, aqueducts, etc.). Some engineers also work in distribution system planning and there is one senior engineer in particular who does this work in planning and who I respect greatly. But even that person did not apply for the job opening probably because he knows that he doesn't have the background needed to be effective.

Frankly, I'm a wee bit unhappy that senior management has clearly indicated they will select an engineer from outside the division and not someone with the experience needed for a smooth transition. They're setting up someone for failure and for damaging the morale of the division's rank and file. No bueno, to put it mildly.

There will be a very bumpy ride if an engineer is selected and I will not be able to anticipate every issue much less train them properly, even if my institutional knowledge is vast. My own retirement may consequently happen sooner rather than later, which could produce its own bumps. I'm not a happy camper.

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Came up to Truckee yesterday. Snow was looking sad. Got a dusting overnight (with light flurries still going). It's cold, tho: in the teens (-7C).

Heading to Tahoe Donner – never been there – with 6-yo. Last year was her first days skiing and got her on some blues at Soda Springs by the end. Curious to see how much muscle memory she's retained...

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Why does everyone, including the golden retriever, have a damn firearm?

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