| | Agreed, Luke. But see the "Employment Anecdote" from Fred Bartlett. When was the last time you reported to a manager as competent as William McKinley? We have gone around on this before. The tremendous achievement of space flight does not change the fact that NASA is not Apple. You work at what is easily the most risk-averse organization on the planet. I lasted two weeks as a contractor. it's a great story.
I was hired to update the procedures for recycling the Space Shuttle solid rocket boosters. We were caught in the doldrums waiting for managers to decide something or other while changes were being made not to the machinery, but to the management structure. Finally, I got a piece of paper. I changed it. I called the person who was to sign off on it. His extension had changed. I tracked him down. I got in my car and drove across the Cape. The facility was secured. I pressed the buzzer. "I have a memo for This Person." Come in, the voice said. "I don't have an escort," I replied. The voice said, "I will be your escort." I met the receptionist who walked me to a meeting that was breaking up. I handed the memo over. "Where is your escort?" a woman asked. Two days later, I was fired for the breech in security. That's NASA as I knew it.
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