Is CR4 Activity Inversely Proportional to Unemployment?

Activity does fall off between the end of one semester and the beginning of another.

Could be the world has become moderated without need of intrigue...

But we depend upon stalwarts such as yourself to keep up the pace

Even I gave you a GA for that one.

I couldn't resist.

I check CR4 at work all the time.

I also go back to work nights and weekends when needed. (no extra pay, comp time)

I imagine lots of us don't throw a switch at 4:30PM and never consider work till the next day at 8:00AM.

I let my conscience be the guide. ^{_{That's why I'd never beg for a GA! Like that cat did!}}

Yeah.. I can't even begin to add up all the hours I've spent here after hours, before the place is open, and on the weekends. I'm only "Required" to be here Mon-Friday 8:00-5:00, Yet somehow I can never seem to leave until at least 5:30 every day... coming in on Saturday on my own time is fun as well... Its nice to be alone in the building, when I don't have to hear the phones ringing.

I have no guilt whatsoever for playing on CR4.

So some of you sit in your office and play around online all day while yet you complain about you heavy work load and how your higher than average pay is not near what you think your worth for the long hours and tedious nothings you actually are doing all day?

Try doing the workers jobs and see how many hours a week you can get in on the computer at your favorite chat/help website. I bet you would see less online time in most months than some of you do in a typical day if you were in their shoes.

Now get back to work and stop playing with your friends or your fired!

Or on second thought your demoted to grunt laborer and your position will be given to one of the sub peons who will love to have your pay and workload! Plus once he figures out that all your magical solutions come from an online source and not really you, well.... you figure it out.

This may or may not have been meant in good humor.

Any Humor is good humor.

I've never had a problem with the workload... its always there... however sometimes you just need to let it stack up a bit to get the gumption to tear through it.

I've ALWAYS been the guy in the shop running the welder, torch, turning the wrenches, taking the measurements, sketching the drawings, and making the plans. I've been in the office life now for not quite two years.. and already long to be back in the trenches where the real activity is. I do go on location now and then to help out a customer or two with some design help, which is great to battle the monotony/boredom of the office. I don't think I'll ever be at home under florescent lighting, in a cube thats always a perfect 72 degreesF. Gotta have sweat on my brow.

I guess i just need some outlet... any outlet really (just happens to be CR4) to help break up the day and give a bit of light in this otherwise dark place.

^{As far as complaining about pay... If you knew what i was being paid... you would sleep under your desk for 7 hours.. play on CR4 for 45 mins and take a 15 minute break.}

Actually, the falloff was due to the transiency of Summer. The first half of this month has produced some of the highest traffic numbers we've ever seen.

This is a good point that Americans might not get Chris. In the rest of the world it is pretty common for engineers to get 5 weeks plus vacation per year. As a result in July and August it is almost impossible to get work done as most everyone is on a 3 to 5 week vacation.

I personally for the first time in 20+ years took off four solid weeks this summer for a tour of Europe. Back home in Texas I got three weeks a year vacation, in my new position in Malaysia I get six weeks. With six weeks I can take a long holiday, with three weeks a year it is much harder.

So if you are dealing with anything international, expect July and August to be slow month as many are gone.

Actually as an example let us look at the contributions of Chrisg288, who posted many wonderful contributions as he was at loose ends and finally got a job.

Ain't seen his posts and contributions near as much since then. I myself am awfully happy for him.

I myself would not be around as much if I had better focus. What I have been doing is looking for paying work, and then diverting to questions that fascinate me, or intrigue me in some way, while I am forced to wait for answers.

We have seen a plethora of people who show up on the Forum who cross a line and have gone so far as to demand that we tell them things we know they ought to know are "work".

This is a small community of friends. Right now there are only 125 on the Forum.

I can't complete my thought right now, other than to say feel grateful that you have a job, and can check in on things as you may to get a bit of insight or inspiration from a cubicle or office not all that common to many as you may think.

_{It's all my fault....}

I can't speak for others, but I never had (or would use) "company" time to post on these forums. The occasional evening post would appear IF I felt strongly about a particular topic. Now that I'm actively searching for a new position, the daily scan of CR4 topics is on "my time" and is just a minor part of the daily job search and professional networking tasks.

Just to clear up the posting on company time issue...

I don't get paid for my time, I get paid for my work. If I were an hourly employee things would be different, however I just have to be available for our sales team to consult with technical matters to keep their tails out of the fire. I also crank out drawings when they are needed. As long as I'm at my desk and a available resource, which responds when called upon, that is my role. However there are some days when i do let a couple drawings (which are always tied to a project on hold, or deadline is way off in the distance) sit for longer than i probably should before getting them finished up.

I'm an Available resource for everyone in the company to use when needed (for technical/engineering help)... when I don't have a direct problem to solve I enjoy finding them.

"Just because you somehow became a responsible adult, this does not mean that you are not still a child."

-Still a child I am indeed, An adult is what I've fooled everyone into thinking I am (disregard the grey). I aim to keep it that way until the day I'm 6 under.

"At CR4s best, it is a bit of recess."

-Exactly how I see it. Its my daily recess for the mind, and the playground has so many fun things to play on.

Very Well said. I'm not sure this thread can warrant any GA's, but I really share the exact same views. ^{so I will anyway}

Thank you, Have an excellent day!

In a case of being salaried they are paying you for the time spent on your machine and on your time in your building also...

I would never use company time to check out CR4 unless it had some direct bearing on my current task.

It just so happens that my work is very diverse and seems to follow along with CR4 on almost every post.

Odd how that works out.