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The Good Soldier
May. 25th, 2015 08:20 pmThere is much I love about my workplace. High performance computing provides the computational infrastructure which allows scientists to make discoveries quicker and make life better for all of us. Just this week, I am thrilled to see my old work colleague Dr. Mike Kuiper once again finds himself making great discoveries that will save lives, ably assisted by HPC systems. It is very important to me that the workplace is a non-profit company (even if we have a separate commercial arm). I know that we don't have the same sort of resources as the commercial sector. That is why when travelling on the company's dime I fly the cheaper lines, stay at the cheaper accommodation, and typically eat in rather than dine out on a expense account. I like the fact that we're a registered research agency, and that the work being conducted here is (or should be) for the public good. That is part of the reason why I document much of the technical work of what I do (pretty pleased with my work on GAMESS in the past few days) - so other sysadmins around the world in similar institutions may get some understanding in the complex world of optimised compilations of scientific applications.
Which makes it all harder when the axe comes down and staff have to be "let go" to use the euphemism, which is what happened to several staff on Friday. It's almost Victorian in it's politeness isn't it? "We're giving you an opportunity for a new beginning". I imagine it doesn't feel that way to those on the chopping block. Certainly there were a couple whom I think weren't quite pulling their weight and there were others "let go" which quite surprised me. The reason for the axe falling was quite reminiscent of the last time; cash flow. In addition this time there was what I consider a serious structural issue which also contributed significantly to these matters. Senior management and the board carry responsibility for this - and they should know it; "the possession of great power necessarily implies great responsibility" - and that means responsibility in failure as well as success. I cannot help but think of Marx's comments on The Civil War in France when looking at the pay scales of the Commune - representatives should receive never more than the average worker. Management is a privilege as well as a responsibility.
The good soldier however continues their work from the trenches. Many of us have worked ourselves as if possessed by demons in the past year which has generated extraordinary uptime and usage for our clusters along and despite the devastating news we will continue to do so. However sometimes I wonder whether these efforts and the resulting research receives due consideration in a world where soporific entertainment is more worthy than great art and groundbreaking science, where political policy is determined by majoritarian opinions regadless of veracity, and where bureaucracy is more worthy than real work. Half a league, Half a league, Half a league onward ... Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why. To the good soldiers who have a fallen, I salute you: This is the saddest story I have ever heard.
Which makes it all harder when the axe comes down and staff have to be "let go" to use the euphemism, which is what happened to several staff on Friday. It's almost Victorian in it's politeness isn't it? "We're giving you an opportunity for a new beginning". I imagine it doesn't feel that way to those on the chopping block. Certainly there were a couple whom I think weren't quite pulling their weight and there were others "let go" which quite surprised me. The reason for the axe falling was quite reminiscent of the last time; cash flow. In addition this time there was what I consider a serious structural issue which also contributed significantly to these matters. Senior management and the board carry responsibility for this - and they should know it; "the possession of great power necessarily implies great responsibility" - and that means responsibility in failure as well as success. I cannot help but think of Marx's comments on The Civil War in France when looking at the pay scales of the Commune - representatives should receive never more than the average worker. Management is a privilege as well as a responsibility.
The good soldier however continues their work from the trenches. Many of us have worked ourselves as if possessed by demons in the past year which has generated extraordinary uptime and usage for our clusters along and despite the devastating news we will continue to do so. However sometimes I wonder whether these efforts and the resulting research receives due consideration in a world where soporific entertainment is more worthy than great art and groundbreaking science, where political policy is determined by majoritarian opinions regadless of veracity, and where bureaucracy is more worthy than real work. Half a league, Half a league, Half a league onward ... Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why. To the good soldiers who have a fallen, I salute you: This is the saddest story I have ever heard.
