Far East Cynic

Of my life I won’t get back.

I had anticipated a nice quiet day off today-before the new herd comes into town. It should have been fairly straightforward, old herd just got back to Dullsville and the new herd is still getting ready to travel. Fairly easy eh, what?

Except when my crackberry rings at 1:45 in the morning-still 4:45pm in Dullsville. Seems time zone differences don’t bother the powers that be when its them on the back side of the difference-and God forbid our customer would ever drop their rather unique habit of dropping a tasker on a Friday afternoon that is due Monday morning if not sooner. Since the S.O. had just gotten into this town for a short visit to the manly man in her life-it was not just one but two people who were annoyed. Of course since I was only half awake for the conversation-its real import did not dawn on me till after breakfast this morning.

I’ll spare you the details-just suffice it to say that it was something so involved-and at the same time so utterly useless, that the very fact that they asked for it is nothing short of insulting. That someone did-with a straight face-is probably the biggest commentary yet as to what is wrong with the government agency running this little endeavor. An agency that actually trusted its people-and empowered them-would never have had the balls to ask. Not here.

Furthermore this was the third time it was asked. Since the task in question is both ridiculously insulting and at the same time utterly ignorant of the facts on the ground, the various agencies had passed this hot potatoe around (including me) under the guise of an action passed is an action taken. Plus, they-like me-were in utter disbelief that someon had had the balls to ask.

So even though I had already submitted a draft in answer to the second request, to the powers who should have been doing it, the requirement came flying back across the Atlantic yet again.

Problem was the S.O. who had finally slept off her jet lag-was anxious to get out and see Bucharest. This posed a dilemna: “wait till Sunday evening-knowing full well I would have time on Monday to get it done” or attack it now and have a pissed off S.O.?

I opted for the middle path. Screw it for now-get the S.O. enough bearings to get out and see a few things-then bail and come back to the hotel to begin slaving over the computer.

All for something that was totally useless and would be meaningless in two days. “Fly want you want-log what you need.”

So after a good six hours out in the beautiful Bucharest sun, the S.O. decided she wanted to go back and lay by the pool. Which allowed me the window I needed.

Of course-as I expected-this was one of those things the more you dug into, the more work it needed. So finally some four hours later-it was done. And sent in a very visible fashion to all the boneheads back in Dullsville who should have known better-knew about it.

Its not the work I mind so much-it is the fact that people who are asking for it are so uncaring as to the fact of how insulting it is. And that the person who it ultimately came from-ought to know better.

But they don’t. I guess this is what they say in the Army-is known as a loyalty check.

Oh it may be a check all right-but its just one more reason to ask , “Check please!-I going to find another restaurant.”

I’ve been thrown out of better bars than this one………     and thus my crackberry is now locked in the hotel safe-and there it will stay tomorrow. Talk to the voice mail.

The micromanagement experience

For the individual, this tends to be incredibly frustrating. They are being treated as if they are incapable and untrustworthy. We often see ourselves as others see us and, when treated as unworthy, we will soon feel unworthy. In this way, people who are micromanaged can become dependent, unable to make the smallest decision without asking their manager. Alternatives to this total submission, which many take, include remaining frustrated or leaving. In any case, it is easy for one’s confidence to be severely knocked.

Thus endeth the rant for today. Hope you all have a better weekend!

You start watching videos like this one:

On the other hand its a pretty good analogy for a lot of things these days.

Good night!

One month down-unknown how much longer to go. Stay tuned.

Things have settled down to controlled pain. It looks like I will be out exploring the Romanian country side later on this week. That ought to be an adventure. I’ve driven twice during my stay here-I did not like it. Picture Naples with Eastern Europeans at the wheel. Here, like Naples-traffic signals seem to be optional. Took a taxi ride a couple of days ago that had me praying to make it stop-that guy was crazy. To make a left turn he pulls up and backs into the cross street-in front of everyone else sitting at the light! Suffice it to say the drivers behind him were not amused……………..

The Israelis lost an H-53 here last night. 7 guys killed. 1 Romanian and 6 Israelis. That in and of itself is something of a shock-I never realized they came up here to train. Its the second big helo crash in a month in this country.

The heat has dissipated some-today was actually nice. Considering air conditioning in the building I am working in  is a luxury-I am happy. Hope it stays that way.

Wish I had more to post-but its been very busy so far this week-but better than last week.

More later.

The big dogs are finally out of here! As a result, it made me think of this post I wrote up a few years ago-that is worth reviewing again. It’s review of Slogans and cliches is probably worth looking at again:

The high muckety mucks are outta here!!!!!!! They are on the train to Narita, meeting is over, so now:

Like making sausage, getting to the end product is immensely painful, nobody wants to see how its made , but everyone wants a piece of the end product. And, if I do say so myself, we produced a good product this week, even if I did have to corner a couple of people at the bar and threaten to break out the naked pictures of their wives to get the job done…….

For a meeting like this one it seems to me that the movie Casablanca is very instructive of the types of discussion that is generated. At any meeting in which the military is involved there are basically 3 types of people:

1) There are the Capt Renault types: ” I blow with the wind and today the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy (Airspeed, Cost Wise Readiness, Five Vector Model, MCPON, CNO’s goals or any other trite phrase, fill in the blank as needed).

These are the folks who say one thing in the worker bee sessions and then totally change their opinion when they hear a flag officer say that he thinks that so and so would probably be a “real good idea“. Then just like Capt Renault, they are shocked, shocked I say, to find out that it :a) will not work or b) is going to cost them a lot of money.

Usually at that point the croupier comes along and says, “Your winnings , sir!”……..

2) The second type are the Rick Blaine’s of the world. “I stick my neck out for nobody. ” These guys are usually very skilled at showing up, eating the donuts, and flipping slides, talking in side conversations, and leaving as soon as they can. When pressed for an answer to a direct question they usually call a lateral and redirect the question or information to someone else. However when cornered or they have to, they can get something done:

If you think I’m staying late tonight, think again!

3) Finally, there are the idealists, the Victor Lazlo’s of the world:

It’s a heck of a way to run a railroad!

These guys are the ones who want to make a difference and have either not yet been chewed up by the reality of bureaucratic indifference or have been through the wringer a couple of times and now know where are all the skeletons are buried. They argue the day forcefully and are either cut off at the knees, or sometimes, on those rare occasions when the moon and the stars align, are able to carry the day and have their idea heard, and more importantly have their ideas accepted. Of course there is a cost, by then the Rick’s and Capt Renault’s have run off with their girl………….

How extravagant you are, throwing away women like that. Some day they may be scarce.

Life is tough for Victor and those like him. To tell the truth these days, in the days of corporate groupthink, is a personally hazardous undertaking. Yet without the Victor Lazlo’s nothing important would get done. There used to be a lot more of them. However, 5 years of this guy, all but killed the breed. Hopefully with careful management, the species can make a comeback. Unfortunately, all of his clones are still out there………

The flags Vorta serve the Founders, in all things!

Still, its a living. And right now its paying the bills so I guess I just have to deal with it. Someday however, Someday…………..

Speaking of learning about cliches, it seems Dick Cheney has learned the old one about “bad news, unlike wine, does not get better with age!”

I told you, its rabbit season!

Murphy wins again!

Getting ready for the big dogs to come tomorrow….this was what my day was like today:

H/T to E @ L!

I find the need to share some with you.

So as a public service, I want you to read Jeffery Goldberg who points out for literally the thousandth time-why Palin is an idiot ( albeit a dangerous one):

There are those on the Interwebs who doubt whether I possess any sort of “liberalism” whatsoever, but let’s put that issue aside, because this reader asks a fair question: Why do I find Sarah Palin dangerous?

There are two reasons, the first having to do with Israel, the second with America, though they are related. I certainly appreciate the sincere feelings of Christian Zionists. I have theological, spiritual, political, and personal trouble (nobody knows the troubles I’ve seen) with the branch of Christian Zionism that yearns for the destruction of Israel because it holds that Armageddon will be the harbinger of Christ’s return, and Sarah Palin has affiliated herself on occasion with people who adhere to this branch. But mainstream Christian Zionists — people who believe that God blesses those who bless the Jews — well, I’m not going to argue with that point. It is not, then, Palin’s theology that bothers me as much as her actual understanding, or lack of understanding, of Middle East politics that is so troublesome. Palin has positioned herself as a territory maximalist, arguing for the righteousness of continued Jewish settlement of the West Bank, including those parts of the West Bank, presumably, beyond the security fence. This line of argument places her well to the right of the position taken, late in his career, of Ariel Sharon. As I have pointed out on innumerable occasions, this position, seemingly Zionist (or super-Zionist, even) on the surface, actually undermines the idea of Israel as a Jewish state, because settlements are the vanguard of eventual binationalism, not of a Greater Israel. Israel simply cannot absorb the West Bank’s Arabs and remain either a Jewish state or a democracy. For an American politician to argue otherwise is a danger to Israel. Sarah Palin encourages the most recidivist elements of the Israeli right, and it is absolutely vital for the Israeli right to grapple with demographic, political and moral reality, before it’s too late.

The last sentence is critical-because too many Americans-especially of Palin’s moronic political persuasion- think they understand Israel. In reality, the country is in no way like their pre-conceptions. Israel is NOT, America in the Middle East. It is a different culture with different values-and while we may be committed to supporting them-we should never, ever forget that what Israel wants is not always what America needs. Palin forgets that at our peril.

Sarah Palin, from what I see so far, views Islam as a monolith, and because of this view, she argues for policies that could do severe damage to American national security. This is a complicated war we’re in, and Sarah Palin is, by the evidence at hand, dangerously simple-minded.

Now I am no fan of Islam-but Goldberg is right. And Palin is once again wrong-unless you really think we have the moral and physical ability to destroy a worldwide population of almost a billion people.

Nitwit.

Not mine-someone elses.

Today was the first day off I have had in two weeks. And I did not do a damn thing with it. No sightseeing, just slept, paid bills, filed my weekly expense report, and lounged by the pool. The hotel here does a Sunday brunch kind of thing that allows folks to come in, pay about 45 Euro’s and have full access to the pool and the fitness center ( which is pretty nice).  They also have a huge spread of food and all the wine and beer you can drink. All in all a pretty good deal.

I just ate and drank-and watched really wonderfull women in bikinis. A few even decided to lay out topless. !

Last night the hotel hosted a wedding reception. This is the third one I have seen since I arrived.  Evidently, when you get married in Romania-its an event and the reception literally goes all night long.

So it was a big surprise to me when I saw the bride, in her wedding dress, about midnight, come down the steps with her girlfriends ( all of whom are dressed to kill) and walk right out the front door and across the street to the local pub that has become my home away from home during this stay. The bride was stunningly beautiful. Great rack-and the rest her was not to bad either.  Oh man!

Anyway- I asked the bartender, “What is up with that? Why would a bride leave her own wedding reception?” He explained to me that there is a custom called kidnapping the bride that happens during the reception. The women take the bride away, go someplace away from the reception and then the groom has to negotiate the price of her return. I guess it used to be done in person through emissaries-but now it appears to be done by cell phone. When an acceptable ransom is agreed upon, the bride and her smoking hot friends return to the reception. It appeared to happen a couple of times because the bride showed up as I was paying my bar tab , again.

I thought about crashing the reception-but I was not dressed for it. Sigh.

Othere than that-not so much to report. I had planned to go down to Piata Unniri (Union plaza) and take some pictures, but my overall level of tiredness and the poolside buffet derailed those plans. I am hoping it will work out next weekend since this week is going to suck-work wise. Its crunch time for what we are doing with an impending visits from the big bosses. Guess who got tagged with making sure it all goes well?

That was not supposed to be part of the deal.  But it remains to be done.

One other point-I am amazed how many Romanian women can pull off being in a bikini into their 40′s.

Gotta like that. More tomorrow (hopefully). Ja ne!

I really thought I was going to get some posting done this week. Lots to write about with the Tour De France, Steinbrenner dying, and other events going on.

But alas it was not to be. Maybe tomorrow. I’m locking my blackberry in my safe and not touching it all day. Say hello to my voice mail.

Hopefull when this week is over-and the team size drops again, I will have more of a reasonable life again. One can dream can’t he?

“PowerPoint makes us stupid.”

“It’s dangerous because it can create the illusion of understanding and the illusion of control. Some problems in the world are not bullet-izable.”

In General McMaster’s view, PowerPoint’s worst offense is not a chart like the spaghetti graphic [of our Afghan strategy], which was first uncovered by NBC’s Richard Engel, but rigid lists of bullet points (in, say, a presentation on a conflict’s causes) that take no account of interconnected political, economic and ethnic forces. “If you divorce war from all of that, it becomes a targeting exercise,” General McMaster said.  Commanders say that behind all the PowerPoint jokes are serious concerns that the program stifles discussion, critical thinking and thoughtful decision-making. Not least, it ties up junior officers — referred to as PowerPoint Rangers — in the daily preparation of slides, be it for a Joint Staff meeting in Washington.

Even more dangerous, the article implies, is that it leads to bad decision-making, with serious consequences:

Commanders say that the slides impart less information than a five-page paper can hold, and that they relieve the briefer of the need to polish writing to convey an analytic, persuasive point. Imagine lawyers presenting arguments before the Supreme Court in slides instead of legal briefs.

I put in 65 hours last week and that is not even logging all the time I spent.

Amazing. I’d tell you what Bucharest is like except I’m not seeing so much of it. I know the way from my hotel to where I am working pretty well though.

Incredulous you say? Well you should be. Its not that we have to be putting in 65 hour weeks-it is that the people who ultimately are running this project do-and think there is nothing wrong with demanding everyone else do the same. And these are men who “don’t want their time wasted”

I did get out for a while though yesterday morning after getting caught up on time sheets and getting arrangements to get paid for this little extravaganza. I decided to head up to the biggest park in Bucharest so I could see something different before the phone started ringing.

It is a nice park-athough not quite as well kept as one might expect. The park is called Herestrau park and is accessible by the Bucharest subway.When you get there you come out near the Cross honoring the Aviators. ( Aviatorilior).

After which, you have to say hi to Charles De Gaulle on the way in. I sure did not expect that.

Then you have plenty of choices, go right, left, or straight. I decided to go left and head down this avenue:

Plenty of suprises here. There is also a big lake that is a long run or walk around.

From the lake you can see one of their government buildings-lots of these , what I call, Soviet Style buildings here.

Soviet Style except for the beer sign of course. Ciuc is a local beer-its pretty good. Adeverul is a local paper. They tell me the media here is full of yellow journalism and most of it is directed at their President-kind of like ours only amplified ten fold. (“If they don’t get a story they just make one up!”)

Then again-when in Bucharest, you don’t have to go to Paris to see the Arc de Triomphe:

This will be an up and down week- I will try to post when I can.

But a lot  busier than I should be. Primarily due to what I call “spoiled children syndrome”-the big dogs get so used to having things just magically work that they forget the work involved in getting it done.

But posting should resume this weekend.

Got here safely after the usual hubub of changing planes at Dulles. Was upgraded to buisness class-was suprised to not see it full. That, Mr. Tilton, is a crime. You should always fill first class and business-then open up some room in Economy. The rest of the trip here was fine.

Actually had to go straight to where I am working from the airport. They had actually sent someone to meet me-and take me there. I did not consider it a good sign of partying opportunities to come.

So where am I ?

Let’s see who can guess-prizes are still to be determined:

-From AD 106-271 this country was part of the Roman Empire. The Romans called the place, Dacia.

-This country has a an “L” shaped mountain range that splits the country into two parts.

-The Eight Air Force did not like a city here during World War II. One of the largest bombing raids of the war occurred on a city in this country.

-The leading cause of death for males 18-40 is traffic accidents.

-Like Korea-this country has its own language. Unlike Korea-this language is spoken by several neighboring countries.

-The women are among the most beautiful, stylish, well dressed, educated, and loving women in the world!

-Dracula has his bank here.

The last clue should be a dead give away. Gotta run-0630 comes early and I have to work to earn my beer!

It has been a heck of a week. From finding out on Monday I was going to be on this project-to making my final preparations and getting ready to get on a plane this weekend. I’ll keep you guess where I am going for a while-but I’ll give you a hint it is a new place for me. And its for a protracted period of time. I’d be more excited-except as I am watching this particular drama unfold, its pretty obvious that- for at least the first couple of weeks, I will be putting in some pretty long hours. Not because I need to-but because the people who have concted the schedule-refuse to push back against some pretty stupid ideas. The result with probably be a train wreck with me in the middle.

Till then-I just have to enjoy the ride.

Which brings me to a point. Managment-at least in the organization I work with (not my company) has gotten way too used to having everything go its way. Rather than step back and take a breath and ask itself, ” Do we really need to get all of this work done in two weeks? ( With a ton of “go backs” over the next six.)- why not take a longer period of time. Work some normal hours and produce a really good product? Especially for something that may turn out to be important.

I blame part of it on people and part of it on technology. The technology piece is due to the advent of e-mail and other devices-leaders refuse to let go and let the folks do the job. We have seen our schedule changed three times for at least six stupid reasons that I can think of. The other part is on people-on especially on one person who has made a pretty silly decision and refused to back away from it.

Fortunately for me-I am not so much in the thick of it. I just have to stay alert and avoid flying debris when the train wreck happens.

Tickets anyone? ALL ABOARD!

For not posting. However this is the only excuse I have.

On Monday I was notified that I was going to be allowed to participate in different part of one of our current projects-STARTING THIS WEEKEND.

Its a good news / bad news situation. The good news is I will be posting from across the globe starting this weekend. That’s at least a break from Shopping Mall. The bad news is the hours will be long which will probably negate the idea of being overseas in the first place.

Be careful what you wish for. All the news from a new location coming soon.

So consider what George Will has to say about Afghanistan. More to say on the return of the “Teflon General” tomorrow-but suffice it to say, I’m still not necessarily a fan of the man. Fox Fallon must have had his reasons not to like the guy-and I’d like to know more about those -and less about the success of the “surge”  Which was neither a surge and not a success-not by the standards that the were set for the surge-e.g. giving the Iraqis time to solve their political mess. They got the time-they never solved the mess. Are you really surprised at that?

Of course when the Afghan’s screw up any gains that are made-it will never be there fault, or Petreaus’s. But it seems pretty clear that William the Bloody will be happy-the war there will go on and on and on with no end in sight. The war and occupation stretching for ever into the future, with no realistic chance of success.

More on that tomorrow. When it comes to Afghanistan-as with Iraq, I am a total pessimist. No amount of counter insurgency will fix either the Afghan or Iraqi people. They both have had years to change and haven’t. Don’t think they are going to start now.

I was going to post tonight.

A 13 hour day at work cured that notion.

Now if it were doing something useful that made sense-well that’s one thing. But to just have to re-do work because some idiot thinks its a good idea, and then demands things on an unreasonable deadline-that is another thing entirely. By my figuring a whole boatload of man-hours were wasted today, just because of the whims of one person. For the work we do-that’s simply ridiculous.

End of rant. Night.