As you may know, the development of LISTSERV is presently frozen because (1) I
have an urgent report  to write and (2) the only local  CEARN terminal is dead
and remote  access is unacceptably slow.  I cannot install a  test LISTSERV on
LEPICS because this would imply that I am  not working on what I am being paid
to work (not that I am presently ask  to do anything, but I am not being asked
not to do anything  either :-) ). I hope the terminal will  be repaired when I
have finished this report (which I have not yet started considering the amount
of interrupts I got these days).
 
A more serious matter  is that I will most probably  leave CERN before august.
As I have already told some of you,  CERN has turned down my offer to work for
them on the basis that I am available for  2 years only before I have to do my
"service militaire", although I had formally agreed to resign when I leave for
the army  so that the job  can be re-allocated (surprisingly  enough, it would
appear that you can leave your job  in CERN for a few years without resigning,
and they  cannot re-use it for  someone else unless  they pay you one  year of
salary  as a  compensation). I  had also  said I  would come  back afterwards,
although I could not make a formal statement in writing about this. There were
2 available jobs (for the migration of VM services to VM/XA) and 5 applicants,
and they  decided to choose other  people, which is  fine with me. But  2 days
after turning me down, they came back with another proposal that I should work
for  them during  6 months  as an  "external consultant",  and then  good-bye.
Although I will examine  this proposal (mostly out of respect  for some of the
CERN/DD people), I am  very likely to turn them down. In  particular, I do not
like this procedure, although I understand that I was turned down by a certain
category of (administrative)  people and that another  category of (technical)
people convinced  them to offer me  an alternate contract, and  of course only
the  former  category of  people  are  to blame.  I  am  not interested  in  a
6-months-goodbye contract, especially  if I don't have  "CERN employee" status
(means even more  paperwork, have to pay  taxes, etc). It's a  pity, because I
liked this place, especially the fact  that you meet people from everywhere in
the world all  the time, and that you  can come to work when  you want without
having to wear ties and suchlike. Oh well.
 
Anyway I don't know where I will be  next, I just hope it will be somewhere on
the  net. Some  of  you have  already  talked  to me  about  working for  your
institution. To save time I have prepared a memo with relevant information and
questions, and  I will also translate  my (french) resume into  english when I
have finished  this report  (which I  haven't yet  started :-(  ). If  you are
interested, just  REPLY to this note  (I have inserted a  REPLY-TO pointing to
myself, let's hope it  stays at it is), and I will send  you the memo. You can
then REPLY TEXT to  the memo to answer the questions. Anyway,  I will keep you
informed of my plans when I get a clear idea of what I will do.
 
Thanks in advance, Eric