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Post subject: Re: Bad New, Good News
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 5:38 am
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Martian wrote:
On the up side, apprenticing under a bonafide luthier should be mentally therapeutic as well as fun. I don't have the answer but I sincerely wish you the absolute very best to somehow spring back bigger and better real soon!


That it is.

Thanks very much.

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Post subject: Re: Bad New, Good News
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 5:39 am
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AlexeiY wrote:
bluesky636 wrote:
Well, maybe not good news but neat news.

The bad news: I'm being laid off from my job. My last day is Monday 8/13. I've spent the last 35 years working as a systems engineer as a contractor in the Intelligence community. I have some very high level clearances (some that I can't acknowledge I even hold) and have worked on very black programs for goverment customers that don't exist publicly. I have been looking for a new job for the last 6 weeks and though I have had some promising interviews, no real offers yet. Guess I am just too old and cost too much money. Everybody wants young kids right out of college who don't have a clue as to what a full scope poly really means. Oh, well.

The neat news? I am working part time, while I hunt for a permanent job, for a well known luthier (yeah, this guy is an honest to goodness luthier, not just a "guitar tech) who custom builds some absolutely fantastic guitars, both acoustic and electric. I don't want to name him and risk upsetting the mods, but if you want to check him out, shoot me a PM and I will give you his website URL.

:D


I'm saddened by this news; you are one of the members of this forum whose posts are timely and informative and in a perfect world, would never have such a challenge imposed.
But....perhaps this is the sign that your talent as an electrical engineer is to be used to create amplifiers (guitar effects as well??) and give you the satisfaction of following your heart with the added bonus of being able to talk more openly about what you are doing.
Starting over and building up a business is not an easy thing to do, but I know that you know that as well. I did this once, but I was in my 20's and times were very different in the early 70's...I had way more energy :)
Best Regards,
Alex


Thanks. I purchased an O-Scope and audio signal generator from E-Bay last night. I also ordered the Weber dummy load. 8)

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Post subject: Re: Bad New, Good News
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 5:40 am
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Solid Body Love Songs wrote:
bluesky636, glad to see you making the most out of a tough situation. Best of luck with your job search and with your new vocation!


Thanks.

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Post subject: Re: Bad New, Good News
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 6:08 am
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bluesky636 wrote:
AaronK wrote:
By the way, is the information still classified if you are getting laid off. Surely the information you have in your brain can no longer be controlled by the company who is disposing of you. Your brain is not a piece of document that you can leave behind. I do understand that you can't go posting it all on Forums and newspapers but do your close friends not get an insight to your line of work?


Classified is classified until the government says otherwise. The type of work I have done will get you sent to prison for a long, long time if revealed. My wife does not even know what I have done for a living nor the places I have been to for work.

You gotta admit, you lived an exciting life knowing what
you know. Gotta say pretty damn cool, I have a couple of buddies in NASA
and don't think they have your clearance level.

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Post subject: Re: Bad New, Good News
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 8:53 am
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AaronK wrote:
bluesky636 wrote:
bluesstrattone wrote:
Bluesky are you an electrical engineer or mechanical by trade?


Electrical engineer by degree, systems engineer by trade. I have worked with a lot of MEs and know enough to get myself in trouble. :lol:


That's exactly what I am too Bill, but over here we are labelled "Mechatronic Engineers" because it describes the Electrical/Electronic/Mechanical/IT aspects of the work we do as a whole.

By the way, is the information still classified if you are getting laid off. Surely the information you have in your brain can no longer be controlled by the company who is disposing of you. Your brain is not a piece of document that you can leave behind. I do understand that you can't go posting it all on Forums and newspapers but do your close friends not get an insight to your line of work?



Classified info remains classified. Sometimes forever.
Declassification can happen but it depends on the nature of what it involves.

Even if you leave the employer holding your classification, you cannot divulge information.

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Post subject: Re: Bad New, Good News
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 11:18 am
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Seems we're into 'if I told you then I'd have to kill you' or vice-versa territory. :? Perhaps we shouldn't go there. :idea:

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Post subject: Re: Bad New, Good News
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 11:45 am
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Best Wishes Bluesky for success in divergent avenues...I mean that !!..

A friend of ours is an electrical engineer but builds custom amps in his spare time....He actually is having trouble keeping up with demand as small boutique amps tailored to the player are becoming increasingly in demand....I will probably have him build me one in the near future, I'll build the cabinet then deliver it for component install...( that is actually his demise, building the cabinetry is quite time-consuming and thus takes up the timeline of the components..)
I'm thinking of a variable wattage 15 to 40, One 12 Celestion, reverb, vibrato, as for tubes he knows best as he is also an excellent guitarist, plays in the House Combo @ Nic-a Nee's every monday night.....
Other than having a custom amp built I can't seem to hear a production amp that closely resembles my old Magnatone... ( I know about the Phil-X Evil Robot ) It's an option but having something special built by local craftsmen is unbeatable.... 8)

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Post subject: Re: Bad New, Good News
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:20 pm
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bluesstrattone wrote:
bluesky636 wrote:
AaronK wrote:
By the way, is the information still classified if you are getting laid off. Surely the information you have in your brain can no longer be controlled by the company who is disposing of you. Your brain is not a piece of document that you can leave behind. I do understand that you can't go posting it all on Forums and newspapers but do your close friends not get an insight to your line of work?


Classified is classified until the government says otherwise. The type of work I have done will get you sent to prison for a long, long time if revealed. My wife does not even know what I have done for a living nor the places I have been to for work.

You gotta admit, you lived an exciting life knowing what
you know. Gotta say pretty damn cool, I have a couple of buddies in NASA
and don't think they have your clearance level.


I have seen some really cool stuff in my career. Some really scary stuff too. I told my wife I would tell her what I really did when one of us is on our death bed ..... If I could remember! :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Post subject: Re: Bad New, Good News
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:21 pm
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tyronne wrote:
Classified info remains classified. Sometimes forever.
Declassification can happen but it depends on the nature of what it involves.

Even if you leave the employer holding your classification, you cannot divulge information.


Yep.

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Post subject: Re: Bad New, Good News
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:22 pm
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ZZDoc wrote:
Seems we're into 'if I told you then I'd have to kill you' or vice-versa territory. :? Perhaps we shouldn't go there. :idea:


Or go to jail for a very long time. :wink:

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Post subject: Re: Bad New, Good News
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:27 pm
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53magnatone wrote:
Best Wishes Bluesky for success in divergent avenues...I mean that !!..

A friend of ours is an electrical engineer but builds custom amps in his spare time....He actually is having trouble keeping up with demand as small boutique amps tailored to the player are becoming increasingly in demand....I will probably have him build me one in the near future, I'll build the cabinet then deliver it for component install...( that is actually his demise, building the cabinetry is quite time-consuming and thus takes up the timeline of the components..)
I'm thinking of a variable wattage 15 to 40, One 12 Celestion, reverb, vibrato, as for tubes he knows best as he is also an excellent guitarist, plays in the House Combo @ Nic-a Nee's every monday night.....
Other than having a custom amp built I can't seem to hear a production amp that closely resembles my old Magnatone... ( I know about the Phil-X Evil Robot ) It's an option but having something special built by local craftsmen is unbeatable.... 8)


I am seriously looking at this. As noted earlier, I have purchased a scope, sig gen and dummy load. "Bob" my luthier friend has said he would work with me once I get things set up. This would only be a very limited, part time venture for now, probably doing basic repairs and such. I'm going to contact Weber and ask them about being one of the people they refer out to for those that don't want to build a Weber kit themselves. We'll see what happens. Maybe nothing, maybe a second career. Who knows. 8)

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Post subject: Re: Bad New, Good News
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:49 pm
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bluesky636 wrote:
Maybe nothing, maybe a second career. Who knows. 8)

......you never know where and when the next shoe will drop.

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Post subject: Re: Bad New, Good News
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:59 pm
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ZZDoc wrote:
Seems we're into 'if I told you then I'd have to kill you' or vice-versa territory. :? Perhaps we shouldn't go there. :idea:

It helps if Wife also has an issued Top Secret/SCI. Though you are not supposed to make common knowledge of possession which is why the wearing of badges in public when leaving site is a big no no. The only time you acknowledge is if asked by Fed Officer or if in possession of material at which time you must also have a couriers card which means material in possession can not be searched except by like clearance individual with need. If listed compartment sensitive no one outside department may see.
When leaving a job you are supposed to be debriefed and sign a non discloser just like the one you sign when granted.

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Post subject: Re: Bad New, Good News
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 2:03 pm
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cvilleira wrote:
ZZDoc wrote:
Seems we're into 'if I told you then I'd have to kill you' or vice-versa territory. :? Perhaps we shouldn't go there. :idea:

It helps if Wife also has an issued Top Secret/SCI. Though you are not supposed to make common knowledge of possession which is why the wearing of badges in public when leaving site is a big no no. The only time you acknowledge is if asked by Fed Officer or if in possession of material at which time you must also have a couriers card which means material in possession can not be searched except by like clearance individual with need. If listed compartment sensitive no one outside department may see.
When leaving a job you are supposed to be debriefed and sign a non discloser just like the one you sign when granted.

This is what must be known as The Bourne Legacy. 8)

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Post subject: Re: Bad News, Good News
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 4:47 pm
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Today I worked on an old Teisco Del Ray. The complaint was that one position of the Rythmn/Solo switch didn't work. No wiring diagram to be found. Turned out that the entire guitar was wired backwards from the markings on the switch selectors (the pickups were off when the switch was set to "On"), and the tone control had a major impact on the Rythmn/Solo switch. After tracing everything through, we concluded that it was working as designed, which was a very weird design. I didn't change anything and just put it back together. :lol:

I also rewired an old Hofner bass. It needed a new output jack and a general cleaning of the electronics. The pots had fuzz growing on them. :shock:

The mother of the owner of the Epiphone bass that I replaced the battery connector on yesterday came in to pick it up. When we plugged it in to show it to her, it didn't work. The volume came up real loud then died to nothing. "Bob" was convinced (again) that the preamp was fried. I poked around in it and discovered that one of the tone pots had twisted so that the outer terminal was touching the shielding paint and had bent in and was also touching the center lug. How I missed it yesterday, I don't know. I loosened the pot, rotated it away from the body wall and separated the lugs. A little electrical tape on the inner wall just in case and everyone was happy. :D

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