Thursday 5 October 2006

It's that time of year again. With the appearance of the first string of pumpkin-shaped lights, I know we are headed into The Holiday Season. Things will not be normal around here until the first week in January.

A jolly ghoulette in Human Resources beat Laura this year in hanging the first of the pumpkin lights.

Perhaps I should stay in my office more.

Friday 6 October 2006

I discovered Paul's hiding place today. He's hardly ever in his office, and no one seems to know where he hides, or even if he was on site. He has a hidey hole down in the Archives, surrounded by shelf upon loaded shelf of hard copy records of his work over the past 55 years.

He has an ancient jukebox loaded with equally antique 45 rpm records, a lava lamp, and a typewriter. I did not think there was a typewriter left at Genomex.

Saturday 7 October 2006

Inspiration!

Maybe it had something to so with re-watching the Sheena movie with the Arabian horse painted to look like a zebra, but I awoke this morning inspired with the design of a wig with a completely different look: zebra stripes!

Sunday 8 October 2006

Rummaged through the personnel records to check up on a few things.

Monday 9 October 2006

I faxed my sketch and wig description for the Very Special Zebra Wig to my wigmaker. Within 10 minutes, he called me back.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, of course."

"I just wanted to be certain before we made it and billed you."

"I appreciate the consideration."

"Well, 'tis the season, after all. We'll get to work on it right away so you will have it in plenty of time."

"Thank you."

But I was uncertain exactly what I was thanking him for, or what season he had in mind. Zebra season? Could there be such a thing, except among lions?

I spent much of the day reviewing reports about Tricorps Botanicals. Information about Tricorps has been hard to come by, and once in hand, often contradictory.

My technical people say some of the Tricorps work would be a good fit and complementary to our programs. Other portions of their research, I'm told, are either of no value to us or anyone else, and the pursuit of such work by Tricorps was puzzling.

Tricorps founder, Dr Kenneth Harrison (who represents himself variously as a botanist, geneticist or medical doctor!) gives the impression of being something of a character. Unrelated to any Tricorps research, Harrison has a personal hobby of raising carnivorous plants.

Should Genomex acquire Tricorps, Harrison would be part of the deal.

When asked about Tricorps' financial status, the accounting people became nervous and squirmed. One fellow who thought I was not watching rolled his eyes. I then heard about 25 minutes of mind-numbing financial jargon.

"So, what you are saying is that Tricorps' books reflect inspired creativity?"

"Yes."

Financial headaches I can do without and a nerd who grows plants that consume living creatures I can do without. I have to look into how quickly I could sell off the pieces of Tricorps with the look of nothing but trouble.

Carnivorous plants…

Tuesday 10 October 2006

Someone in Shipping and Receiving has a candy dish of unwrapped candy corn sitting out on their desk! At least the dish has a cover, but all day long people reach in with their hands, and inevitably touch kernels someone else will ultimately eat.

The thought is sufficient to make me queasy. I think I will take a long lunch and lie down in the dark for a while until my stomach settles.

Wednesday 11 October 2006

I received a brief –very brief—email today from Nicole carter indicating that the last of the mess Nexxogen made earlier is cleaned up, and that the site is once again entirely presentable.

When the decontamination began, I asked exactly how the process was being done. She turned her back on me, and walked away, saying, "You don't want to know."

One always hears stories about rogue corporations burying the worst of their industrial accidents to avoid paying settlements to the survivors and to avoid the attention and fines of regulatory agencies. I have come to believe these stories are like urban legends: there is never a specific corporation or date, and the industrial processes are never described.

Martez was real enough. I was surprised by Paul's casual acceptance of events; in terms of public relations, it was a near-disaster for Genomex.

Under-sized pumpkins are appearing on desktops everywhere on site. Probably no one bothers to wash them before bringing them into the building. The little orange orbs probably have a small but finite amount of soil still adhering to them.

I tried to ban this nasty vegetation years ago, but Dr Varady insisted that such personal displays were important to employee morale…and there is the fact that Laura grows miniature pumpkins. She'll have two or three dozen of them in her office any day now.

Thursday 12 October 2006

Sat down and took a long look at the Eleanor Singer Memorial Fountain this morning, and wondered if there was a company that would remove this eyesore in return for keeping the metal as scrap.

No normal child ever looks as manic as those in the fountain's statuary. They are children out of a nightmare.

As long as Paul is here, the fountain is not going anywhere, I'm afraid.

Friday 13 October 2006

My lucky day.

I found a good deal on ever-so-slightly used trench coats. There are only three or four styles, so all of my agents will look somewhat alike. Since the entire GSA development was funded as a 'black project', no one will seriously scrutinize expenses, but expenditures go over budget, I may have difficulty slipping another few million past Paul without questions. Wherever possible, I have cut expenses, using items like the slightly worn CIA trench coats.

I contacted the FAA about Adam's 'stealth' aircraft. It may have stealth characteristics, but what it does not have is proper markings. The FAA frowns upon this. They also frown upon anyone darting through airspace frequented by commercial traffic. Adam's plane may be stealthy, but it still has substance. A mid-air collision with it will be no less disastrous. Then, there is the matter of his low-level operations. The people I spoke with at the FAA said the information solved several puzzling questions.

As a result, Adam may find himself sharing the sky with fighter planes tasked to possibly bring down unmarked aircraft in urban spaces…

Just as his cars without license plates draw more attention than those bearing standard plates, Adam's unmarked, unregistered aircraft draws a lot of attention, and brings trouble, including the possibility of getting blown out of the sky.

How unfortunate that would be.

Saturday 14 October 2006

This morning I discovered that someone's 'cute' little desk pumpkin had begun the descent from sound, whole vegetation to compost.

I had two security people carry away the corpse and clean fluids from the desktop while I penned a note to the owner strongly suggesting that this never happen again.

Sunday 15 October 2006

To minimize the disruption of my work routine, the antiseptic misting solution system is being installed in my office today. Located in the ceiling, several hundred tubes will dispense a fine mist of the in-house Genomex antiseptic. So far, this material has killed every single-cell organism and every virus particle in trials.

The marketing group is looking into the possibility of consumer sales.