Sep 3, 2007

The Livermore Blog

While we've been blogging away about LANL a new blog has been taking shape over at LLNL. The transition may seem like old news here, but its happening right now at Livermore.

Please visit their blog to show your support, vote in their poll, and even consider buying a t-shirt.

The Livermore blog can be found at http://llnl-the-corporate-story.blogspot.com/.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

OK, the t-shirt is funny.

But what's up with a blog that doesn't allow comments?

Frank Young said...

I noticed that too. If he doesn't turn comments on then people are welcome to leave their comments on this post.

Anonymous said...

They have some interesting posts.

Some time ago, commenters from LLNL and LANL were tied up on this blog discussing the fact that LANL had a larger non-match for TCP-2, etc. It seems as though the fact that benefits at comparator companies had apparently gone down (relatively) was somewhat lost in the discussion. As I recall, it was something like an ~5%(?) drop in comparator benefits during that one year between the LANL and LLNL benefits values study dates. While this is something that was probably obvious, I don't recall seeing it mentioned directly when people on this blog were giving data dumps to LLNL on the LANL transition. Does anyone think benefits will be increasing at the comparator groups? Per the contracts, I assume this determines the direction of the total compensation package(s) at LANL and LLNL going forward.

Anyone have the list of comparators? Is IBM on the list?

Here's a few blurbs about IBM's India workforce:

http://tinyurl.com/ysf98h

http://tinyurl.com/yr4guw

http://tinyurl.com/ytkjy8

Maybe none of this has an impact on the benefits and salaries of their US workforce?

Anonymous said...

Looks to me as if your LLNL counterparts have more sense than you do, by turning off comments and not allowing the malcontents and morons from across the globe to pursue their hidden agendas. Get a clue, PATB & Gussie.

Frank Young said...

Don't hold back, tell us how you really feel!

Anonymous said...

5:12pm has a point, maybe they saw our cesspool of a blog and thought the comments would be a bad idea. I could just picture what might happen if they did have comments.

"LLNL is a total waste of the taxpayers money it should be shut down now!"
"LLNL is filled with self obsessed fucking coneheads." "It is too bad the big earthquake did not destroy LLNL and leave the rest of the Bay Area intact." "At night the people who work at LLNL put on white hoods and burn crosses because LLNL is the epicenter of bigotry." "The scientists at LLNL live in the is fantasy land of their own making unaware of the low opinion the rest of the world has of them."

"There is not a single scientist at LLNL who could get a job the real world, not one!" "Anyone who was any good LLNL left long ago to other Bay Area businesses." "LLNL is reason for high drug use in the Bay Area." "LLNL is just welfare for stupid self-absorbed California coneheads who could not get real
jobs." "LLNL really hurt the economy of the local cities so we need to close
it now!" "LLNL really needs to have a honest courageous, truth seeking, and totally sane person like person Chris Mechels to tell the truth about it."

"The fucking coneheads at LLNL never cease to amaze me at just how
entitled and arrogant they are!" "The taxpayers, the nation, the earth,
universe and alternative universes
would be better off if we just close LLNL down now!" "I was not fired from LLNL, I left because I got sick of the place, my life is just so much better now so I use all my time to post how much I hate LLNL, by the way I have no agenda." "I am writing my Ph.d theses on how sick LLNL is, I bet it will be summa cum laude, thank you LLNL for being so messed up" "All these comments
really show just what the world thinks of LLNL." " If these comments are
any indication of what LLNL is really like than it must be one sick place and
should be closed down now!" "I am not Chris Mechels but he is the greatest person in the world."

"I do not have a hidden agenda I just refuse to give actual facts or numbers." "The problem with the fucking coneheads at LLNL is that they thinks facts and numbers mean something, it just shows amazes me how clueless the idiots at LLNL are." "The people at LLNL are like, never mind that the rest of the world thinks we are screw-ups, where so smart and so special" "Everything that is done in LLNL can be done ten times cheaper and ten times better at any university so why are we wasting the tax-payers money on them?" "Why should the tax-payers care about papers and citations from some fucking coneheads at LLNL" "The problem with LLNL is that they have scientists."

Frank Young said...

That's the spirit!

Anonymous said...

Actually, I am 5:12 and am not the same person as 6:59...but 6:59 was a great post. I could not agree more.

Anonymous said...

The LLNL blog has a very high signal-to-noise ratio. Readers get treated to well thought out articles that are moderated. Very nicely done, a real class act.

Frank Young said...

Kudos to both of you. Anytime you have something to say we'll be here for you.

Anonymous said...

The LLNL blog was much better when it allowed posts. Now it's only a one-sided person talking to himself.

Anonymous said...

9/3/07 9:16 PM, said... "The LLNL blog was much better when it allowed posts. Now it's only a one-sided person talking to himself."

We seem to have a lot of that here too! The only difference is that the blog moderators here are not the ones doing the talking!

Anonymous said...

Welcome to the wonderful world of the LLC, Livermorians. It will take you about a year to fully realize all you have lost with your transition. During this time you can expect to see workforce morale sink lower and lower and lower. And, whatever you do, don't dare ask LLNS about the salaries and perks of your new LLNS executive team. It's considered top secret proprietary information, don't cha know.

Anonymous said...

What is a blog without the bloggers? That would be the LLNL "so-called" blog.

Without input, its just one person's opinion.

Anonymous said...

The Livermore blog I am sure was set up so that it didn't get comments like those of 6:59 PM. Comments like this totally distract from the subject matter and surely don't express the facts. From what I have seen the only heartburn to date at Livermore is the fact that they have lost their UCRP pension and that the status quo are doing their best to push people into TCP-1 as if they were rounding up cattle to be taken to slaughter. The sad thing is, thousands are falling for it. Then there comes the change is paydays and now working hours. I am sure that LLNL has many more changes that will be rebutted but that's the way it goes. After all we are now to be as cut throat as any other private company on the outside world where people are treat like dirt, replaced by illegal immigrants, outsourcing is very common, and no one is ever secure in their job from day to day. It's life in the real world. Lay-offs, well I figure that just going to be a common practice and an avenue for the LLC to get rid of who they don't like for what ever reason. Survival, well that just a matter of you being able to pull a vacuum of 1 X 10 -6 with your lips,or your gone. Of course I have seen this under UC and as you can see those who can pull down very hard have risen to the top. Other than that I don't think you'll hear the screaming, from LLNL. Now if the LLC comes in with an attitude of, we're the boss and you'll do as we say", standby, crap will hit the fan but it will be done in a manner that the LLC never dreamed of and you may even see a blog that mirror LANL with comments open and bombs away.

Anonymous said...

Having a blog without permitting comments is a little bit like what LANS management is doing to us. Not permitting complaints!

Anonymous said...

Poster 6:13 AM, staff have plenty of opportunities to ask hard questions of the Director during any of the All-Hands meetings. Unfortunately, there appears to be little fortitude in the LANL staff for asking these questions. LANS isn't keeping us from commenting about our current situation. A scared and cowardly staff is doing this all on its own.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 9/4/07 11:24 AM writes:

"Poster 6:13 AM, staff have plenty of opportunities to ask hard questions of the Director during any of the All-Hands meetings."

Sure, this would be good time to ask hard questions. A RIF is coming and the housing market is tanking.

C

Anonymous said...

Poster 3:57 PM, your comments just prove my point. The LANL staff is full of cowards who will continually look for excuses as to why they can't ask any tough question of their management. The staff will risk nothing. Thus, they will get nothing in return.

Anonymous said...

12:36 AM - you are an ass. Myself and others have spoken up and questioned management during an all-hands meeting. My AD then made sure I was spoken to and threatened to never question her in a public forum. I almost lost my Deputy GL position as a result. I have a family - what more do you want from me and others in the same boat? You speak up and you can lose your job in my directorate.

Anonymous said...

Poster 9:18 PM, sorry to hear your situation, but I'm shocked that you willingly work under fear of such reprisals. It sounds like your AD is really screwed up if she can't stand up to questions from her own work force. There is obviously no sense of true leadership coming from this AD. She needs to be removed from her position ASAP if your description of the situation is in any way accurate.

Only a weak and ineffective leader attacks those who ask the difficult questions. Effective leaders relish the chance to take on difficult questions, whether they can answer them or not.