I'll Think About It... How to Procrastinate

 Isn’t it great to sleep on a project, and find the inspiration to finish the problem the next day? In this defense of procrastination, I do not encourage finishing work under an adrenaline rush, or fear of failure; but through the synthesis of information after mulling through it in one’s head in a state of reflection.

At the beginning of this year, I knew that I would be refocusing my blog into the topic of engineering.  I even got an internet domain name. The “study skills” posts of the past two months were an advance party for writing in a new genre: any engineering blog worth its salt needs to talk about the Professional Engineering exam. Then it dawned on me: How much remarkable content could I produce? How many State Board meetings would I need to sit in, to capture good soundbites? How could I be regarded as an authority, when I am still early in my career? Weekly posts on monthlong projects might sound like project status updates. But as I attended the needs of graduate school, and now for Professional Engineering licensure, I let the concept sit; and simmer into good stew.

An older idea I had was to develop a central listserv of continuing education opportunities in the marine engineering field. Today, each ‘school’ maintains its own course catalog of regulatorily- equivalent education.  Since it would not be a blog, per se, I set the idea aside. Now, I revisited why I warmed to this training directory idea in the first place: to share useful knowledge in the marine engineering field. So, in early 2022, after some more planning, I expect to move my blog into that specialized direction. Such clarity of intention took a year to develop; I’m glad I procrastinated.    

Voting Matters: The High Turnout Virginia Races

 

On a recent Tuesday night, Virginia just broke one of the longest statewide Democratic voting streaks in the nation, on par with California and New York. The oft-presumed blue state, which had not elected a statewide Republican since 2009, appeared quite red with a sweep of statewide offices.  With just three statewide offices, in addition to the two senators and the Presidential vote, these races have become high-stake affairs; and down-ballot offices coming with national notoriety.

The Democratic Party bench appears much weaker than before. Former Governor Doug Wilder, a Democrat, wisely criticized incumbents Terry McAuliffe, running for a second, non-consecutive, term as Governor; and Mark Herring, running for a third term as Attorney General, for blocking the advancement of new leaders. Congresswomen Abigail Spanberger and Elaine Luria represent future statewide potential; it seems unlikely that recently-elected Northern Virginia progressives could mount a successful statewide campaign.

 

The Party of Virginia’s Attorney General

Weeks before Incoming Attorney General Jason Miyares was elected, “Woke Prosecutors” found themselves under investigation for misuse of position, retaliation, neglect of office, and neglect of state law. Outgoing Attorney General Mark Herring seemed to be more interested in national issues, such as abortion, than what was happening in his own Loudoun County backyard. Prior to Mark Herring’s narrow 2013 election were a string of five one-term Republican Attorneys General who each sought higher office. Progressives handed Jason Miyares, 45 years young, fuel to feed his political ambitions.

 

Solid South or Something New?

Democrats held the Virginia House of Delegates for 2 years before losing it in this month’s election. Their last hold of the chamber lasted the entire 20^th century. Followed by 18 years of Republican leadership, these long tenures reflect the political stability of the Solid South. The recent, liberal Democratic Party majority chose confrontation, and the brute force of narrow statehouse votes, over lasting collaboration. Their leaders are now paying the price.

It would be premature to assume that the legislative “Class of 2019” was a mere blip on the Republicans’ rightful legislative dynasty. Prior to the Trump presidency, Republicans held a supermajority in the House of Delegates. Court-ordered redistricting allowed Democrats to gain seats, and suburban voters soured against the Republican Party during Trump’s presidency. Concerningly, today’s new and thin Republican majority has no representation in the first two rings of counties surrounding Washington, DC, and a scant two seats in the third ring; although Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin fares from Great Falls, an upscale district along the Potomac River. These growing Northern Virginia suburbs are at risk of becoming a one-party region.

A characteristic of the Solid South is the maintenance of social hierarchy, with the proven effect of limiting class mobility. Incumbent businesses are protected, creating a drag on productivity and economic growth. At the end of Massive Resistance to desegregation, conservative Democratic Party leader Harry Byrd had a choice: hunker down or embrace change. He chose the latter (although his statue would lose its place at the Virginia Capitol). This libertarianism, once favored by both major parties in Virginia, is found in areas such as gambling, alcohol; and business regulation, such as limiting non-compete clauses and favoring the right-to-work. As liberal Democrats have shied away from economic liberties, Republicans are in a better position than before to secure the votes of educated, suburban, pro-business moderates.  Blue Virginia noted that upscale, educated, politically-balanced districts within Democratic-voting counties had extraordinary turnout in this year’s election.

 

Virginia Senate Changes Little

With a 21-19 split in favor of Democrats, and a spirit of collegiality, one observer quipped that the Senate Democrats would work better with House Republicans than with the Democratic Party progressives who led the last two legislative sessions.

The Democratic Party leadership in the Virginia Senate might prefer to work on compromises to Glenn Youngkin’s agenda, rather than acting as a stonewall. In this later case, two swing-voting Democrats from Fairfax City and Richmond, with the incoming Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears, a Republican, would hold immense power in government. In the last year, faced with a single defection from party line voting, marijuana and policing bills were decided on tiebreaking votes in the Virginia Senate. Outgoing Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax tipped these bills in favor of Democrats; on future tie votes, Winsome Sears would tip the bills the other way.

 

“RINO” Hunters Decide that Voting Matters

Virginia is home to many low-propensity and fickle conservative voters that continually vexed the Republican party. Geographically, they are concentrated in rural areas west of Richmond. They came out for John McCain in 2008, but were overwhelmed by Barack Obama’s supporters. They stayed home in 2012, when they could have won; then came out for Trump, but were again outvoted. It was to this group that Trump, in his fury, suggested boycotting future elections. This year, Republicans made a concerted effort to get these dissatisfied citizens to vote.  On gun and religious forums that appeal to this demographic, authors reminded readers to scrape off their bumper stickers reading: “My Governor is an Idiot”.

In a high-turnout election with six weeks of in-person early voting, Republicans prevailed, challenging the orthodoxy that increase ballot access favors Democrats. The 45-day early voting period, a now-permanent product of COVID-19 countermeasures, represents a unique opportunity for Republican Presidential candidates: they can ground-stomp for Virginia votes in October, before turning to traditional swing states in the last weeks of the race.

Staying on Track

 Anyone who works around large infrastructure projects understands that scheduling is a fiction. Why is that? Unrealistic expectations and poor planning, I must say. 

Past results indicate that for the Professional Engineering exam, 300 study hours, or 200 quality study hours, are recommended to pass the exam. For most examinees, that amounts to two hours per day from the time they are authorized to test.  Realistic to ally, one preemptively cancels out major holidays, and other known events . Taking this measure makes the schedule more robust, and approachable for adherence. Myself, yes, unexpected things pop up, like an evening plumbing repair or a real estate meet-up. But I am aware of my study plans, and make sure to catch up as soon an as possible. Written on a scheduled skip day for Halloween. 

Addressing Elephants in the Room

 When starting a new endeavor, I like to go into it with a clear a mind as possible, Which means tying off loose ends of unfinished tasks. One of these is the sustainability of my neighborhood payphone (as written  in a blog post on Oct. 31, 2020). It's not a growth industry, and I looked at options ranging from microgrants to forming an endowment consisting of telecom stocks. The solution came to me in the form of a different coin-operated machine: I could buy into an equity share in a local and established car vacuum business. The return on investment would support the phone operation. In fact, the vacuum business had started as a payphone operation, and according to records, he still maintains a couple of phones in his hometown.

The second loose end was the phone bill. For the past year, my neighborhood payphone  was treated as a general business line instead of a payphone. My local service provider has 132,000 employees, and finding the responsible party was like finding a needle in a haystack. In the past decade, its coin-operated telephone division has moved long distances. Now it is no longer an office of its own, but a group email address. It was in Bloomington, Illinois; a part of the country where state governments have sought to maintain payphone service; then in Garden City, New York, a suburb of New York City, home to 1 out of 5 payphones in the USA. Finally, the "department" found a home in Silver Spring, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC, where federal telecommunication regulations are made. Once I found my point of contact, my service issues were resolved quickly. 

Of course, I have other "want to do" and even a few "need to do items". But I do feel that the pressure has lightened. 

Approved to Test

 "Who knows when thou mayest be tested? So live that thou bearest the strain!"

From "The Laws of the Navy", by Rear Admiral Hopwood

I've been through the routine of large exams: US Coast Guard Marine Engineer Licensing, twice, National Registry for Emergency Medical Technicians, and the NCEES' own Fundamentals of Engineering. Now, it's time for the Professional Engineering exam. 

In contrast to school exams, predictably scheduled,  professional exams occur based on the ebbs and flows of work experience, completion of prerequisites such as career training, and by the individual's own volition. So there is a general sense of when things will come together, but the "statutory" readiness occurs when it does. As for the individual readiness of studying, it's good to be prepared ahead of time, but to prevent knowledge attrition, the six-month period before the exam is critical. 

Which brings me to the point of scheduling the exam. Exams for certain desirable positions, such as high-end firefighting and ship's harbor pilots, only test twice a decade. More commonly, they might be twice-annually, as the Professional Engineering exams used to be. So you would typically schedule for the next exam available. And when there is flexible, daily test availability? Just schedule it and hold yourself to that date.

Break the Ice on Travel

 

I only realized the momentousness of the journey as I rode the drizzly waves on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry between Delaware and New Jersey. It was my first trip outside Virginia or DC since March 2020. During the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, I simply had no need to travel for work, and national guidance advised against leisure travel. Airline flights? Forget about it; I heard enough stories about 4-leg transcontinental flights on routes that had once been non-stop. Hotels that once provided scrumptious breakfasts resorted to handing out bagged muffins “because of COVID”. In fact, until the vaccine was widely available, my employer documented all personal travel out of town, which would start a two-week isolation period upon return to work. Why travel?

Like after 9/11/01, enough time has elapsed so that some of the imposed travails of travelling- perhaps familiar to horse-and-buggy trail warriors in the 19^th century- have been lifted. Last weekend was an opportune time to visit New York; not Manhattan, but the Alma Mater just east on Long Island. Reflective of the times, the Alumni event was scheduled in May after loosening of CDC guidance; then cancelled in August on account of the Delta Variant spike; then resurrected in a low-key format after it was revealed that people had bought non-refundable airline tickets to travel.

Among the several dozen attendees, I was the sole long-haul, work-from-home person. I listened intently to the stories of international quarantine, and promotions earned as a result of others’ early retirements. Onboard ship, in a shipyard, or even in the design shop, the maritime field is very hands-on and relationship-oriented. It felt great to break out of a period of professional isolation, a phenomenon studied in rural doctors, scientists, and sole proprietors; but which now applies to millions of white-collar professionals who ground out their work from laptops at home. While work-from-home has received favorable reviews from workers and some managers, I wondered how many more months of value could be added when professionals were running on autopilot, without conferences, training, and collaboration. In just a weekend, a switch was flipped in me. By Monday, I registered to attend an upcoming workboat show in New Orleans.

The College Experience: Now Customizable

As I walked around Old Dominion University, I felt like I was back in the Fall of 2019. There were students on the streets and in the student center and in the local shops; I was no longer “the lonely graduate student” on an empty campus. While there are many anecdotes of college students joining the full-time workforce instead of attending classes online, evidence shows that traditional college enrollment has remained fairly stable. They have presumably been living with their parents while attending online class. Thus, while dormitories and dining halls remained available during the pandemic, they had been empty save for a small number of non-traditional students. At ODU, the Spring 2021 semester was conducted in a hybrid format. In addition to the essential lab and practical courses for nursing students that were never cancelled, in-person seats were made available in many other undergraduate classes. 

So even when the opportunity presented itself, many of the youngest adult generation passed on "The College Experience". This college generation has better sensibility in avoiding frivolous expenditures. Tuition and expense estimators are now placed prominently on each state university's website. Understanding the effects of automation on entry-level white-collar work, this generation is more realistic about life expectations than those who attended in the early 2000s' campus amenities boom.

“The College Experience” for millennials was not built in a vacuum. As they were born in the 1980s and 1990s, there was a widespread feeling that moral and professional underachievement racked society from top to bottom, from the corporate boardroom’s tolerance of workplace inefficiency, to the high school dropout. Books like A Nation At Risk were published, and programs such as No Child Left Behind, and Common Core were implemented. These were good decades for the professional middle class, but would their children fall from grace?

A concatenation of data did offer a model for intergenerational middle-class replication: The only sensible way to succeed in life was to attend college for four consecutive years, while living on or near campus with peers. This assumption was built into the Post-9/11 GI Bill of 2008, giving extra benefits to veterans participating in the traditional “College Experience”. In addition to ostentatious amenities like indoor water parks, the university had become a city in itself, replete with administrators and counselors; paid for primarily by student debt. This in turn led to young graduates expecting comprehensive workplace amenities and luxury apartments in a time of corporate restructuring.    

As the perceived struggles of young college graduates permeated the media, resentment grew against ivory-tower professors and administrators. Populists, in both major parties, sought to replace “The College Experience” with low-cost community-centered colleges, a few large campuses with good football teams, and massive online open classrooms (MOOCs). The Ivy League and the professional-managerial elite would be banished from positions of authority. I hesitate to call this the “conservative” model of higher education, because it was the early 20^th century Progressives who advocated for vocational and practical instruction at high schools and colleges. In Europe and Asia, students attending barebone but competent colleges engage in the local community for housing and social needs.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a break from the perceived path to success, and a reassessment of how young adults are shaped in America. The “College Experience” was very formulaic, and assumed a student’s unbridled control of their future. As late as 1973 in the US, mandatory military service affected where, when, and even in what subjects a college student would study. While students today have more choice in how to spend their pandemic semesters; as online students, trade apprentices or volunteers; the academic interruption of COVID-19 will bring an end to the cookie-cutter resume.     

 

(Enrollment Information: It’s Time to Worry About College Enrollment Declines Among Black Students - Center for American Progress)