Internal animosity at the Technical Publications Department
isn’t what’s pushing back the timetable on the delivery edge wafer
processor, though. The engineers keep redesigning the system, even
redesigning and rebuilding it in the CR. This means Neutron has to
special-order unique metal parts from other companies, which have to
build them by hand. Construction and shipping take time. All just
standard practice in the semiconductor business, says the team lead.
On Dec. 22, Neutron employees met at Fast Eddie’s because
some of them thought the official holiday party was too constraining
with their significant others around. Instead, the gathering
at Fast Eddie’s was even more constrained. Nobody wanted to say too
much for fear of saying the wrong thing. A lot of the team from the CR
had been working non-stop for more than eight hours; when they said anything,
it was either about work or sports. Fast Eddie’s name is misleading, by
the way. All of us at the table had trouble getting service, which ranged
from slow to non-existent. I stayed until traffic thinned and left for excitement.
Which I didn’t find.
In January, the office boss returned to Japan. In
his honor, Neutron sponsored a luncheon at Beluga, where a Russian owner
served Japanese and Korean food while Brazilian-esque electronica
created by waiter played on the sound system. It’s the best Japanese
food I’ve had since I
dated the barnburner.
Then there was that time I ate at a Chinese-German restaurant. The food
was delicious, but an hour later I was hungry for power.
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