Comment of the Week

The theme for this week's COW is Yin vs. Yang. As those of you who follow eastern philosophy no doubt already know, these are two opposing forces, or perspectives. "Yin" would be dark, passive, downward, cold, contracting, and weak, "yang" would be bright, active, upward, hot, expanding, and strong.

The following are selected comments that exemplify the light and the dark perspectives on what it is like to work at today's LANL:


From last week's Comment of the Week post, a Yang view:

"more idealistic motifs are reasons for work, such as making great discoveries, serving the country or mankind."

all of the above. i am one of the lucky ones at LANL, since i still get to do science, and i look forward to coming to work every day to do so. yeah, the bureaucracy is a big, ridiculous pain, but i know a lot of very talented unemployed people these days, so i count my blessings that i have a good job; one that is intellectually fulfilling/challenging, and that i enjoy very much. and, yes, it pays very well.

any bad thing could happen at any time, but until that time comes, i am going to try to get as much good science in as i can. what else is there to look forward to? if i pay too much attention to the fact that i have no trust in top management, my quality of life diminishes.

This was followed immediately, of course, by a nugget of Yin:

Nicely said, 7:54. Thanks. Too bad that will never make the comment of the week. Too coherent and not anit[sic]-LANL enough.

More Yang, from the Will this be a problem? post:

By all means be honest about the DWI. And, be prepared for several follow-on questions regarding your use of alcohol since the incident.

Alcohol related history can also drive several questions regarding any use of controlled substances.

Best of Luck.

This triggered some more Yin:

To the original poster: Is coming to LANL the best you could do? You reference an "internship" - does that mean a post-doc? Be aware you will be subject to so many safety and security rules (regardless of your area of work or clearance) that you will not be allowed to get any actual work done. If you can, avoid LANL like the plague. Your career will not be advanced here, but retarded. Your stint at LANL will always be seen as a negative. You will not be happy working at LANL, and your spouse (if any) will find the Los Alamos social, cultural, and shopping wasteland a hell on earth. Stay away if you can - you do not want to be sunk in this swamp.

and

If you've been reading this blog and you still think working at the Lab is a great idea you may not be so young anymore. But dumb?

and this one, which sort of straddles the fence between Yin and Yang.

If I were you, I'd run, not walk, to just about any other job you can find. If you decide to stay, check your ethics at the door. The only way to advance these days is as a LANS manager with no moral code whatsoever. Good luck.

Comments this which week which notably did not make the COW list included political spammings, such as verbatim repostings (including footnotes) of press releases of political speeches, and claims that this or that posting originated from Chris Mechels. The latter, as usual, didn't even survive the comment rejection process.

Keep trying, though. You'll get the Yang of it eventually.

--Doug