I have lots of time to play radio now

[w8cbc]

as my job was cut out of the budget today.

What the hell. I have all these parts I've collected over the years with the intention of doing something with them. I may as well get ambitious.

[VE7NOT]

I say too bad and great at the same time.



I have been mostly snowbound for the last week.

(you've been here.. we never are ready for snow http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif )

Darn its 28F out there with 7 inches of snow. 3 snowplows in the area... none been around today

Spent time actually reading the manuals of trhe radios and setting them better (never had time before)

Ready to try some dx tommorow 15m seemed okay today.

Otherwise it's been family time

[al2i]

Quote[/b] (w8cbc @ Nov. 29 2006,18:56)]as my job was cut out of the budget today.
That sounds typical as we head into the holidays. I hope you are given more than a boot to the tailpipe OM.

Warmest wishes from the Arctic.

[al2i]

http://www.davemcgraw.com/Images/OrgChart.gif

[w2amr]

Quote[/b] (w8cbc @ Nov. 29 2006,19:56)]as my job was cut out of the budget today.

What the hell. #I have all these parts I've collected over the years with the intention of doing something with them. #I may as well get ambitious.
Sorry to hear it Andy. My wife is about to lose her Job of 36 years with a major insurance company , It's being sent to costa rica.
Looking at your bio, #maybe a tube type QRP CW transmitter would be fun to build and operate. I built a qrp rig around a 6L6 crystal osc. and had a ball with it.

[w2amr]

Quote[/b] (VE7NOT @ Nov. 29 2006,20:03)]I say too bad and great at the same time.



I have been mostly snowbound for the last week.

(you've been here.. we never are ready for snow #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif )

Darn its 28F out there with 7 inches of snow. 3 snowplows in the area... none been around today

Spent time actually reading the manuals of trhe radios and setting them better (never had time before)

Ready to try some dx tommorow 15m seemed okay today.

Otherwise it's been family time
It's going up to near 70 today here in South Joisey. Har har hardie har har. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[al2i]

Quote[/b] (VE7NOT @ Nov. 29 2006,19:03)]I have been mostly snowbound for the last week.
http://www.davemcgraw.com/Images/snowyouthouse.jpg

[w2amr]

Quote[/b] (al2i @ Nov. 30 2006,03:45)]Quote[/b] (VE7NOT @ Nov. 29 2006,19:03)]I have been mostly snowbound for the last week.
http://www.davemcgraw.com/Images/snowyouthouse.jpg
Better you than me Dave.

[w3bny]

Quote[/b] (w8cbc @ Nov. 29 2006,19:56)]as my job was cut out of the budget today.

What the hell. #I have all these parts I've collected over the years with the intention of doing something with them. #I may as well get ambitious.
Condolances mate.

What burns me up is the time frame that companies pick to drop the poop bomb on you. Never fails. "its the most wonderful time of the year.. GM announces they are cutting 1.2 millions jobs this year and rasing executive salaries 70%

And my wife wonders why I simply DESPISE this time of year.


Desu! ah mean YIFFU

[w8cbc]

Thanks guys.

The severance package is okay - a weeks' pay for each year so I got 5 weeks' worth - and I have what's left of UI to fall back on if I don't scare up something meanwhile.

Needless to say, I'm going to kick back and let the world go by for a little while.

I was one of 15. Some of the rest were real surprises. It goes to show that there is no such thing as job security in that business.

'2i - That's a great picture. I've seen stuff like it but never to that extent.

[KG6OPR]

Quote[/b] (w8cbc @ Nov. 29 2006,19:56)]as my job was cut out of the budget today.
Sorry to hear that at this time of year. Sounds like Cheap Channel is at it again. Looks like they are selling off 42 of their TV stations also. Best of Luck To Ya!

[KD6NIG]

http://www.kd6nig.net/ms/retirement.jpg

I've been laid off 3 times in my life (from the computer sector) and I'm only 32!

Luckily I think the job market is a bit better now. My last layoff resulted in a 5 month cutoff-which when you have 6 months of UI, you start sweating a bit.

Good luck http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif I had to go back to the job I did while I was in tech school...security. It pays the bills though, which is the primary goal http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[N5RLR]

Quote[/b] (w8cbc @ Nov. 30 2006)]<span style='color:blue'>...It goes to show that there is no such thing as job security in that business.</span>
As far as I'm concerned, there is no job security in *any* business. #Especially in an &quot;employment-at-will&quot; state such as Texas.

I've been out of steady work since January, scraping by via various means. #It stinks, to put it nicely. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

You have my condolences.

[w8cbc]

I'm glad I got that severance. Ohio sliced its UI coverage to 50% for 20 weeks. I've no doubt the &quot;savings&quot; went to various friends of the Taft administration. It was notorious for that sort of thing.

Everyone I speak to is after me to apply for UI right away. I would rather not. What I have will carry me awhile - perhaps long enough to turn something up.

[w8cbc]

'RLR - I know what you mean. I had a few years of that in northern Ontario in the 90s. It ain't fun by any means, not knowing if you'll be able to pay the bills this month.

Hang in there.

[K9STH]

In 1999 TXU eliminated the telecommunications department and got 152 of us in basically &quot;one fatal swoop&quot; (actually took 3 weeks to complete) including the direct report to the vice president who had been with the company 32 years, his direct report who had been with the company 34 years, etc. By the time they got to me (10 years with the company) I was a &quot;newcomer&quot;.

However, we got 5 weeks for every year with the company, our accrued vacation, &quot;out placement&quot;, and free health insurance for a year.

A couple of years later the company eliminated all of the TU Services people (of which the telecommunications department had been a part), about 4500 people (all in the downtown 47 story headquarters building). Now these people were not &quot;layed off&quot; but were transferred to a &quot;new&quot; company. However, TXU only owned about 5 percent of this &quot;new&quot; company (well, it was set up as a &quot;new&quot; subsidiary which, technically, was a completely separate company) but the employees were only guaranteed 6 months of employment by the &quot;new&quot; company. Starting a little over 6 months later they started &quot;terminating&quot; people. Within a year over 90 percent of those people had been terminated. However, since all of those employees were &quot;new hires&quot; by the &quot;new&quot; company, they didn't get any severance, only accumulated vacation time (2 weeks maximum).

If the employee had retirement benefits under the &quot;old&quot; company they did retain that. But, as for anything else . . .

Frankly, those of us who were &quot;let go&quot; in 1999 definitely got the better end of the deal!

Glen, K9STH

[w8ob]

Well I have been out on early retirement for almost two weeks now. I ended up getting a serious knee injury last year just before Christmas and was off work on comp for like 8 months. Went back to work with restrictions for a couple of months and took the company buyout (before they could put me out to pasture with less) and settled a lawsuit with one of the quacks. So here I am sitting here thinking about what I can do with 27 percent of one leg left. I am thinking of starting up another Electrical contracting business or moving back to Michigan and starting up a dog boarding/training business. I guess my choice will depend on how I come out from a last ditch effort surgery coming up. I hope things go well for you and yes it sure seems like the corporations use the holiday season to get in a few extra kicks.

[wb7dmx]

VE7N0T:
nice picture of your radio shack.

with the way things are going in the job field today, I fear for the younger generation growing up, what kind of future will they have.
myself, I am enjoying retirement and playing radio all day long and half the night too.
my winter project is learning PIC programing.
I have a life time collection of parts to play with and still collecting more.

[KE5FRF]

Quote[/b] (w8cbc @ Nov. 29 2006,21:56)]as my job was cut out of the budget today.

What the hell. I have all these parts I've collected over the years with the intention of doing something with them. I may as well get ambitious.
That REALLY bites OM.

If it is any condolence to you, I've been there before, and know how it feels. Just take your time, don't &quot;settle&quot; for a job you won't like, and take advantage of that unemployment check (You earned it and paid for it).

And if you happen to talk to the &quot;Ghost of Christmas Past&quot; about the Scrooge at work who laid you off, tell him I never got my Lionel train that I wanted when I was 8 and to please deliver it to my QRZ.com bio address. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[w8cbc]

Thank ya.

I've been here before too. The last time, just under six years ago, I wanted the hell out and they did me a great big favour. That company, based in Albany, New York, was a real rat-hole.

CCR is leagues better, even now, in its declining stages. I can't say I wish them the best because it's their own damned fault they became an overextended mess. However, I neither wish them ill. Clear Channel did some innovative things in its day. If they can bring the internal bureaucracy under control and get back to basics, maybe they can re-light some of those creative fires that made them such a big deal. That's a big &quot;if&quot;. The bureaucracy isn't what's getting cut. At least, not this year.

[W1GUH]

'cbc - here's hoping you find something before he sweat starts. #Meanwhile, enjoy while you can.

Somebody mentioned out-placement.

So re: resume's....

Just about every out-placement I've been to or read has said &quot;Make your resume brief - one page is best.&quot;

Well, in hi-tech that's complete bravo-sierra. #What hiring managers want is all the detail that out-placement firms want you to leave out. #

In all the job changes I've made (most voluntary, a couple mandated), the format/style of the resume was of very little importance. #It's the content they wanted &amp; didn't notice the style.

You probably already know that, but out-placement firms can be persuasive.

In one of my &quot;sweat&quot; periods I saw a church marqee that said,

&quot;When God closes one door, he opens another.
But it can be Hell in the hallway.&quot;

(Not cleaned up 'cause I'm quoting a church.)

Good luck!

Paul

[W8EFA]

Sorry to hear that, seems like they could have waited till after the NEw Year. If I were you I would sign up for UI. After all you have been paying into it all these years and I think it &quot;costs&quot; your former employer. It may take a little while to find something these days.

[WS2L]

I was forced to retire at age 35 after 15 years service to the state when I was assaulted on the job. Granted I worked in a Max prison and the chance is always there. Funny thing is that I wanted to call off sick that day but it was the end of November and I used my last sick day just a few days prior. I just turned 43 and retirement sux but I can't handle anything that requires lifting more than 10 pounds and the medication I take for chronic pain has me sleepy most of the time. So now I play radio and internet all day and spend quality time with my kids.

[K0RGR]

Quote[/b] (KD6NIG @ Nov. 30 2006,12:51)]http://www.kd6nig.net/ms/retirement.jpg

I've been laid off 3 times in my life (from the computer sector) and I'm only 32!

Luckily I think the job market is a bit better now. My last layoff resulted in a 5 month cutoff-which when you have 6 months of UI, you start sweating a bit.

Good luck http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif I had to go back to the job I did while I was in tech school...security. It pays the bills though, which is the primary goal http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
I don't want to share my pessimism about the future of computer jobs in America. It gets too gloomy, too fast.

The successful computer person in America in the 21st century will be the one who correctly identifies a job that can't be done in India.

Gathering application requirements and finding the correct solution(s) for those requirements should still be a local activity. This kind of activity will really only take place in the large corporations - 'mom and pop' shops will depend on vendors to do it for them. One problem is how the corporations will reward those who do this work. The historical titles for this kind of work included 'analyst'. Now, the range of pay for 'analysts' is all over the map.

Project management will continue to be a big opportunity, but again, for the larger companies or working as a vendor with lots of smaller clients.

It's not too late to change to the medical field. All of us aging wonders are going to need more people to take care of us in a few years.

It sucks to get laid off. Been there twice, hope it doesn't happen again.

[KB3LIX]

Sorry to hear the bad news Andy.
I too have been there-done that several times over the years.
I wish you better luck than I have had finding something.
I have been laid off for several years, but due to partial
disabilities, I am limited in what I can do, and have been
unable to find anything that matches my knowledge
and capabilities to a job opening. I'm also fighting the over
50 syndrome.

But you are young, and should find something rapidly.
Best of luck.
Too bad that employers do not show the kind of
loyalty employees usually demonstrate to the company.
Years ago that was the case, you could expect to retire
from a company that you had given 15-20-30 or more years
of service.

Not any more. We are all collectively, just a number.

[WB2WIK]

Sorry about the bad timing of your layoff.

Just heard Ford intends to lay off about half their employes, what a nice Xmas present for them.

Good news is, this really is the land of opportunity. A lady in Florida made a million dollars selling old Coke bottles on eBay (no joke -- it made the news).

Remember, when one window closes, a door opens. No reference to God, I'm just referring to the wind. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif But it's an old saying, and does seem to be true.

Not sure I ever want to collect UI, but I've sure paid into it for 39 years. You can collect what I put in, that's okay. Heck, if you actually did collect what I've put in, you'd be a millionaire and could come back here and tell us about your new IC7800. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

73 es GL OM

WB2WIK/6

[w8cbc]

Heh.

I've no moral problem with UI - I went through it six years ago and it IS insurance, you get back some of what you've paid in. So I got over all the &quot;I'm a bum&quot; stuff then. Five months of UI in 2001 just about equalled the unpaid overtime I had put in on that particular job. When I learned that the company was paying for most of my UI benefits - believe me, I had no problem at all with it. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

It's mainly a situation of wanting to stretch my resources as far as possible. Assuming the severance comes through, I won't need anything more for a couple of months. I would rather not cut into the 20 weeks of UI I have available until I must.

One way it's different this time is I do get that severance, and I also have a little saved up. It's a little bit of independence that I am loathe to give up.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who's chimed in. I appreciate it.