In Forward Momentum, the Chief unthinkingly commits a fairly significant personnel management error.

He'll have to deal with the repercussions soon enough.

And no, I'm not talking about Perth.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

Hmm. I was thinking about going back and rereading it; now's a good time, 'cause I have no notion what that error was.

"They say one should not speak unkindly of the dead, so I say, 'nice try'." --Lezard

...He let's someone deck Ecklie? Or rather, allows Barry to deck Ecklie?

I guess that would make Conrad good fodder for the Mag10, but I can't see what else would be the problem...

Unless you're talking about Barry Allen doing days while Sara's on nights (I was wondering about the training bit...).

t.

Trigger Argee
trigger_argee@hotmail.com
Manon, Maccadon, Orado, etc.
Denton, never leave home without it.

"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." - HST

>...He lets someone deck Ecklie?

Well, be fair, he was up on the 38th floor when that happened; he could hardly have intervened. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

I've no idea what the error did, although it did occur to me that when Barry asks when the new day shift chief will be leaving his existing cushy job, Gryphon might mention that Barry's already been promoted out of it and how is he getting along with his permanent job?

I'm guessing it has to do with Lab personnel in general:

1) Barry Allen, day shift lab tech, is currently day shift supervisor out in the field.
2) Greg Sanders, until recently night shift lab tech, is now a night shift field op.

That leaves a temp substituting on Day shift, and a FNG on night shift...

Of course, I could be wrong, but I'm hoping for a no-prize :)

Offsides

[...] in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.
-- David Ben Gurion
EPU RCW #π
#include <stdsig.h>

Like everyone else, this is probably wrong but...

Where I work, if a day-shifter leaves the company, the first option for replacing them is the senior staff on the night shift, and you only start looking outside for a replacement if they don't want the job.

I'm thinking that Grissom should have at least been asked "Do you want the day shift job?" and looking at some of the other senior night or Day shift staff (Cath, Warrick) before going to the outside.

I think I've identified it.

In the here and now, it's generally considered a bad idea for people in supervisory positions to have romantic relationships with their subordinates. Yet here, we have the following:

Gryphon got home a little after six, for a change, and spent the
first few minutes after his arrival wondering just what he was going to
do with himself. With the younger crowd out marauding and the older
ones either on assignment or off doing their own stuff, he was at a bit
of a loose end. He considered finding out what Paige was up to and, if
it happened to be work-related, tagging along, but -
"Evening, Chief!" said a voice cheerily from the archway into
the living room. "Got a minute?"
Gryphon whirled, yanking a plasma pistol from inside his coat,
and found himself leveling his weapon at a grinning Sara Sidle, who
stood leaning against the archway, arms folded.
"Gah!" Gryphon blurted. "Wh - how did you get in here?"
Sara looked back over her shoulder, then said nonchalantly, "Oh,
uh - turns out I can run through walls if I try hard enough."
"Jeez." Gryphon put away his weapon. "Don't do that. I
could've shot you."
Sara gave that a moment's consideration, then said matter-of-
factly, "Actually, I don't think you could."
"... This is going to be a problem, isn't it," Gryphon observed.
"That you can't shoot me?" Sara asked with a quirky smile.
"That your attitude's getting weird," Gryphon replied.
"Oh, come on," said Sara. "You're always after me to lighten up
a little."
"Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"I took the day off," said Sara casually, as if that were
something she, well, -ever- did. "Got plans for dinner? I thought
maybe you could get a jet or something and I'd race you to Perth."
Gryphon eyed her skeptically for a moment, then grinned.
"You're on. Just give me time to get to Mathews." As they left the
house, he asked, "By the way, just out of curiosity, does this mean
we're Sort Of Dating Or Something again?"
"Well," said Sara judiciously, "Catherine said you were worried
about me getting hurt by your enemies? And I'd like to see them try to
-catch- me now."
"Don't get cocky," Gryphon cautioned her.
"What, you don't -want- another shot?" she asked, breaking out
her quirky smile again. Then, shrugging with affected nonchalance, she
added, "That's cool too."
"Ahh, I didn't say that," Gryphon replied.

If he followed through on that, I think that would be the mistake right there.

-Joe-

>If he followed through on that, I think that would be the mistake
>right there.

        "I work for him," Sara noted.
        "Not directly."
        "It's still probably inappropriate."
        "Yeah, it's a tough call," Catherine agreed.

Catherine was right, it is a tough call, and it may well constitute an error in judgment on somebody's part - and we certainly haven't seen the last of that angle...

... but, in this case, I specifically said I wasn't talking about Perth.

--G.
-><-
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Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

Oh Please. Gryphon has been dating women under his command for hundreds of years, starting with his wife and ending with... whoever the last women he saw socially, I'm sure.

I'm sure he doesn't do it lightly or with no consideration, but even suggesting that it will be a serious hinderance is frankly preposterous.

Personnel management, eh?

Let's see. The only significant thing that comes to mind from a cursory reread is the (temporary) promotion of Barry Allen. We know from The Curse of the Big Train that he'll only have the job until Horatio Caine shows up. Barry may or may not be field-qualified, but even if he isn't, I suspect that he's perfectly capable of handing out assignments and doing the paperwork. The Chief wouldn't have put him in the slot otherwise.

My guess, therefore, is something that doesn't exactly happen onscreen. Catherine got selected for -something-, and Gryphon presumably had to sign off on it, even if it was just a rubberstamp of Skuld's recommendation.

BRIGHTEST DAY? We still don't know what that is, but it's only been about four months since she got the go-ahead for it.

We're in wait and see mode, I suppose.

Looking forward to the next episode.

-Jason

>Personnel management, eh?
>
no, its GOT to be something to do with Echlie's separation from service. Cant put my finger on it any more than that though.

Don't see how it could be, really. Ecklie got suspended when he was charged, but that wasn't personnel management, that was established procedure. He resigned of his own free will. Maybe Gryphon made a mistake by not trying to keep him?

...no, I really don't think I could make that argument.

LAST EDITED ON Nov-15-07 AT 10:49 AM (EST)
 
>Don't see how it could be, really. Ecklie got suspended when he was
>charged, but that wasn't personnel management, that was established
>procedure. He resigned of his own free will. Maybe Gryphon made a
>mistake by not trying to keep him?
>
>...no, I really don't think I could make that argument.

No, Gryphon's mistake was in ALLOWING him to resign, instead of facing a full investigation and termination for gross negligence. Now Echlie can just brush it off as saying "I resigned" instead of being forced to admit "I was fired for cause after I almost killed someone."

In addition, people might now wonder if there wasnt some sort of cover up over just why Echlie left, which terminating him after a full and public investigation would have nipped in the bud.

>No, Gryphon's mistake was in ALLOWING him to resign, instead of facing
>a full investigation and termination for gross negligence.

The man's facing criminal charges - serious ones, up to and including attempted murder (under the "depraved indifference to sapient life" clause). Those aren't going to go away just because he quit the job he was doing when he allegedly committed the crimes in question.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

Stab in the dark:

    "Gryphon, Raven, meet the newest member of the special trauma
team," said Hunnicut, gesturing.  "Dr. Allison Cameron.  She comes to us
from the Earth Alliance medical system."
        Gryphon arched an eyebrow, shaking Dr. Cameron's hand.  "Highly
recommended?"
        Cameron smiled.  "With no recommendation at all," she replied.
"With luck, I was here before they realized I'd left."

Dr. Cameron's former employer did in fact notice her absence. He's good at noticing things. He's on his way to New Avalon right now, ready to brutalize the IPO with his own personal brand of biting sarcasm and acidic wit.

Knowing UF I bet he has a sword hidden in that cane of his.

Oh please let it be so.

> He's on his way to New Avalon right now,
>ready to brutalize the IPO with his own personal brand of biting
>sarcasm and acidic wit.

He won't stop at sarcasm. He'll probably go all the way to *irony*.

I'm picturing a repeat of the "where are all our hardest hitters?" scene in Last Transport, except with "our wittiest banterists".

LAST EDITED ON Nov-17-07 AT 08:26 PM (EST)
 
>He won't stop at sarcasm. He'll probably go all the way to *irony*.

You mean... Doug Piranha? Eep.

-- Bob, tongue-in-cheek
-------------------
The President is on the line
As ninety-nine crab rangoons go by...

"Gregory House. P-13, Psi Corps."

Seriously, though, that hire wasn't Gryph's call.

Peter Eng
--
I'm only a Charter Member because of the DCForum upgrade, and because there's no rank below "Clueless F!wit."

>"Gregory House. P-13, Psi Corps."
>
>Seriously, though, that hire wasn't Gryph's call.

Indeed. Though she's under the protection of the International Police because she's on Nightwatch's Disloyal Citizens list (a courtesy the agency extends to all refugees from the EA's various documented sapient rights abuses), Dr. Cameron isn't a member of the IPO. She's a civilian employee of the Avalon County Department of Health, which owns and operates Boyce Memorial; she was hired by the hospital's board of managing surgeons and reports to Dr. Hunnicut in his capacity as director of the Special Trauma Department. Until he met her in that scene in Parallel Lines, odds are G had never heard of her.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

>"Gregory House. P-13, Psi Corps."

Call me crazy, but I couldn't see House as a telepath. He was created in the Sherlock Holmes mold, so the character just wouldn't work if he could just casually rip information out of people's heads. Would take all the fun out of making educated guesses and seeing the reaction on people's faces.

How about a TK? Now, before you go on and say that he could use his ability to negate his limp, remember that something like that takes a constant focus. Thus, as much as that leg smarts, he can't really afford to devote any mental bandwidth to alleviate the pain.

Also, given the medical technology of the time... Would he even really have that limp?

Black Aeronaut Technologies Creative aerospace solutions for the discerning spacer "To the commissary we should go," Yoda declared firmly. "News of this kind a danish requires."

This is probably heresy on a UF board (or any fanfiction page, for that matter), but what's so bad about having a guy who is really smart, really good at his job, and his only superpower is that he's an asshole?

Hell, Dennis Miller's been making a living off the third one and his reputation for the first two for years.

One of the nice things about the universe is it tends to chuck out a little bit of everything, and normal people are a pretty large percentage of that.

Well, he's not an asshole per se (unless you're a bad guy) but Inspector Bailey's sole special ability is his sheer stubborn determination with which he can withstand, unassisted in any way, a full-on assault from a P-12.

Black Aeronaut Technologies Creative aerospace solutions for the discerning spacer "To the commissary we should go," Yoda declared firmly. "News of this kind a danish requires."

I don't see where this would be Gryphon's problem, except (very) indirectly as the "shadow dictator" of the Republic of Zeta Cygni's government as it pertains to a part of Avalon County's health system. He also doesn't know her, or at least is acting like it - another indicator that he probably wasn't involved in the hiring decision. While he was behind the founding the trauma unit in question, isn't Hunnicut the director and therefore the one in charge of personnel management? So... no, I don't think this is what the author's talking about, although Cameron's former employer may want to have words with Hunnicut, assuming he's not on the staff of either the hospital or the IPO himself.

Is House the one that was mentioned as being sensitive earlier, though?

The only thing I can see where there's an error is letting Allen off that lightly. Granted, there's extenuating circumstances, and this is the IPO, but that's the only thing that seems serious enough. The personnel issues around the lab don't seem too screwy, otherwise. Either that, or something relating to what's going on with Catherine and Skuld.

>The only thing I can see where there's an error is letting Allen off
>that lightly.

'Lightly'? Now, I MIGHT be off here, but...with what Ecklie did(like that name, it works SO well in Swedish) the only reason he got what he DID is because some folks in New Avalon, such as Lisa's parents, might get all upset if they up and cheered for him, would be my assumption.

>>The only thing I can see where there's an error is letting Allen off
>>that lightly.
>
>'Lightly'? Now, I MIGHT be off here, but...with what Ecklie did(like
>that name, it works SO well in Swedish) the only reason he got what he
>DID is because some folks in New Avalon, such as Lisa's parents, might
>get all upset if they up and cheered for him, would be my assumption.

Yeah, I figured the whole "punishment" angle was facetious; UF-Gryph needs somebody to head up Days for a while, Allen's the most qualified, done. Ultimately it's an internal affair (unless Ecklie presses charges, which is doubtful), and it's not like this is some chronic behavior that needs to be held in check, which makes punishment a bit pointless.

- Chad