tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-282202002024-03-05T09:49:24.629-07:00LANL: The Rest of the StoryLos Alamos National Laboratory: You know The Real Story. You know The Corporate Story. Now you'll know The Rest of the Story.Frank Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02134775226991383924noreply@blogger.comBlogger1357125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-13138372475604200842010-01-27T07:59:00.003-07:002010-01-27T10:09:53.103-07:00Last PostIn memory of Frank Young.<div>1963 - 2010<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6z5U8xswCZoyiPRKTCQ1oDSXwlhSo7MdbI1Ukf_wtdQF5Zod4SFVu8ZGpRuNj_nPoPJlJPAMDZsHLUDuyTcNKJy3vI3pnHtD-07M3XWmIQVbCRDh7mLEXABauYDHykjWm_il9A/s1600-h/Frank_Bomber-scaled.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6z5U8xswCZoyiPRKTCQ1oDSXwlhSo7MdbI1Ukf_wtdQF5Zod4SFVu8ZGpRuNj_nPoPJlJPAMDZsHLUDuyTcNKJy3vI3pnHtD-07M3XWmIQVbCRDh7mLEXABauYDHykjWm_il9A/s400/Frank_Bomber-scaled.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431434905800841746" border="0" /></a></div>Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-76133601265635027762010-01-23T14:57:00.005-07:002010-01-27T08:03:06.475-07:00Frank<div>I just received this note from Frank's wife:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: medium none ; margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><i>I just got a call from Frank's parents in South Carolina. Frank's body was found this morning at the motel where he was staying near our property where he was building our house. I don't have many more details. I know he's been ill the last few weeks. His parents and I were encouraging him to see a doctor, but he had refused.</i></div> <div><i><br /></i></div></blockquote><div><br /></div>I will be shutting this blog down shortly. If someone wants to start a new LANL blog send me email at <a href="mailto:lanlblog@parrot-farm.net" target="_blank">lanlblog@parrot-farm.net</a> and I will post a link to it.<div><br /></div><div>--Doug<br /><br /></div>Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-24202044567992376232010-01-19T20:26:00.008-07:002010-01-19T21:31:06.424-07:00Position Open<div><b><br />Job Title: Blog Maintainer</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Job Description: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Long hours, no pay, no measurable benefits. Current maintainers totally fed up. Plenty of (potential) upside. Must be willing to take abuse from Anonymous Cowards.</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Plenty of purported reportable corporate malfeasance and active cover-up activities currently in progress. Think explosions.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Applicants inquire within. Contact current (and soon-to-be past) blog maintainers for job interview.</div><div><br /></div><div>Reply to lanlblog@parrot-farm.net, Ref: <i>There Are Plenty Of Better Jobs Out There, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">if interested.<br /><br /><br /></span></i></div>Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-1067166355181781422010-01-12T12:45:00.021-07:002010-01-17T22:25:27.055-07:00Time to Declare VictoryYes, I do believe it's time to declare victory.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWV7u0hsUg0bY2In0f5JVXhOQUR9Mr9Gqkm4zZJYc2afRaxxmG8F1VH_vx1xSdXmpNttIDDtrpnnEGIgwCBr21oK1sZpqQ7xLjiPgWhOvhLBNykpiMK4PCsQZi6kuEPXpa2flqOw/s1600-h/victory.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 335px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWV7u0hsUg0bY2In0f5JVXhOQUR9Mr9Gqkm4zZJYc2afRaxxmG8F1VH_vx1xSdXmpNttIDDtrpnnEGIgwCBr21oK1sZpqQ7xLjiPgWhOvhLBNykpiMK4PCsQZi6kuEPXpa2flqOw/s400/victory.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425942509791860530" border="0" /></a><br /><br />LANS has won; nearly everybody else lost. I agree with the consensus opinion that a new Deputy Administrator at NNSA will not make a bit of difference with regards to how the "new, improved" LANL is being run. Given that, there really is not much reason for my continued participation in moderating this blog.<br /><br />One reflection of the new work environment at LANL is that while we still occasionally receive a clever or humorous contribution from a reader, the vast majority of comments we see here depict an increasingly bitter, back-stabbing, cowardly, and (dare I say) <span style="font-style: italic;">stupid</span> element from the "new, improved" LANL community. Kudus, however, to Anonymous poster of 11:46 AM from the <a href="http://lanl-the-rest-of-the-story.blogspot.com/2010/01/will-it-make-any-difference.html">Will it make any difference?</a> post. <i>LANS is leading LANL to greatness.</i> Funny stuff.<br /><br />From my perspective the time has come to leave you all in the capable hands of that crack team of upper-level LANS managers, their <span style="font-style: italic;">Performance Blog</span>, and not least of all, that fine cadre of spin-masters (Hi, Kevin!) who work in the LANL Communications Office.<br /><br />I'll still hang around here, but probably won't contribute much; we'll leave that to Frank. In the mean time, I'll share some of the more appropriate contributions from the good folks at Despair.com which seem to have been written specifically with LANL in mind.<br /><br />Later,<br /><br />--Doug<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTD7RFxMShHA8xBRkHxQWwzfVj66Ql1NC59OMl6sBPruHut_5obSp6tAbYTHyyj9kHqO2YkSihHB2coFImQzwnDu7n4IJRkovCCbzsmnr4sEN9GbkKmC5MpZDT9s4N_dR2KfppUg/s1600-h/consistency.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 335px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTD7RFxMShHA8xBRkHxQWwzfVj66Ql1NC59OMl6sBPruHut_5obSp6tAbYTHyyj9kHqO2YkSihHB2coFImQzwnDu7n4IJRkovCCbzsmnr4sEN9GbkKmC5MpZDT9s4N_dR2KfppUg/s400/consistency.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425950014074846882" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQvfNF19h00BviNzfFnnDtj02AYGzZRDt1ZeqkSxnp9eQbheiF3QkEIRVN3UIyaGFWUAhF8oMac8QPjveUQwDt1ZhLZeLmBpi0415hH1SeKfi1BwEcBeyrZbwwGq4gj6-EzAYHQ/s1600-h/blame.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 335px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQvfNF19h00BviNzfFnnDtj02AYGzZRDt1ZeqkSxnp9eQbheiF3QkEIRVN3UIyaGFWUAhF8oMac8QPjveUQwDt1ZhLZeLmBpi0415hH1SeKfi1BwEcBeyrZbwwGq4gj6-EzAYHQ/s400/blame.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425949664289121058" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUxXKAqVx1_F6FlnXCEIQwIh9EFTwFF2OlaGCcA1IdQ_pkvozmVIRo8FIBccg8Cyr-gbvkUeHYXPcwZ3vEy6weY3LRlmHn6ysEoXTbIVLdWVIOHCe1hlWL6qWhVzZzUyyD0_AoRg/s1600-h/defeat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 279px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUxXKAqVx1_F6FlnXCEIQwIh9EFTwFF2OlaGCcA1IdQ_pkvozmVIRo8FIBccg8Cyr-gbvkUeHYXPcwZ3vEy6weY3LRlmHn6ysEoXTbIVLdWVIOHCe1hlWL6qWhVzZzUyyD0_AoRg/s400/defeat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425950029686644802" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhvz3dK9Nz8Y_qLtONMJnFsty7mg6GdsT1DQvroZoxSl_8L5-OraCjmGrY82ZcqjXlVMn3r7BA-1mhXGywnkAlOIcJPlIdxWJCvfdYcGquE9XlYQOjVtrb4B6xZ3Gs_OPujsTog/s1600-h/blog_monkeys.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 340px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhvz3dK9Nz8Y_qLtONMJnFsty7mg6GdsT1DQvroZoxSl_8L5-OraCjmGrY82ZcqjXlVMn3r7BA-1mhXGywnkAlOIcJPlIdxWJCvfdYcGquE9XlYQOjVtrb4B6xZ3Gs_OPujsTog/s400/blog_monkeys.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425950024228811346" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoH-kX90xpAgaT9gLbUQZQkPlFDRru4haY30jsjRkWctIagYR9-1-od9xi_dEE3VDFz31Kq429o5vWMLKm00Ap9bMLHkCqL918ylm2NSv2qkC1_7asTHS1mvMQfp0fDA1yChsOUA/s1600-h/corruptiondespair.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 336px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoH-kX90xpAgaT9gLbUQZQkPlFDRru4haY30jsjRkWctIagYR9-1-od9xi_dEE3VDFz31Kq429o5vWMLKm00Ap9bMLHkCqL918ylm2NSv2qkC1_7asTHS1mvMQfp0fDA1yChsOUA/s400/corruptiondespair.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425950015258186274" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOoSfDhGuoJfXuLEndi1QZuj3oj0zTtM1Ta6gVi3_Xb0lw5I30-gupko7RDjhyen1yd8NxwE2KaY49EEKZ18Iyy0cuPJevyQpMI6EZ_h5odkjJ4JaliuJvZVtlPGFX-lfkxqCIJQ/s1600-h/ambition.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; 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display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJjihUbhZ2cqqaAgnpmUptSuUSmzsTOwoaXhtWkjj_uaiXmTA1Wc42P3RHJyhH5yXqJ3kvV8Iv5N3Ifm4ydlvIXZZjNzUVFKN4tp1AeVnXGZuoSubs5JCaq_ZYjpEhyphenhyphenmZbEKgkQ/s400/insp_continuity.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425950596880714034" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlQERVIbfn3cFzUdRNXhoB21OQK-Oj-VlPhw2ipKBgD_quk6VtVKs5RscC5TbIUAXppMMH7cufI7ugz1kMIQg5gU7N1ofr9gdoIIarIRpRvRhSNkPQ_hc37AdFVtuY2cTZOEHiA/s1600-h/Ineptitude.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlQERVIbfn3cFzUdRNXhoB21OQK-Oj-VlPhw2ipKBgD_quk6VtVKs5RscC5TbIUAXppMMH7cufI7ugz1kMIQg5gU7N1ofr9gdoIIarIRpRvRhSNkPQ_hc37AdFVtuY2cTZOEHiA/s400/Ineptitude.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425950589977477842" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8H4vSq-5gj9vVhNNY6ceJ_2fXVZM0zJaqarH-cO5ozZyz-E-qbK0QDXqlF9BiwGQ5fXMR2NNLDHa4R-QmjSHICc9ftuRfXl0tDG6DJtLvzZb1uIvuBTp7AcI5UbehkFF_dTjH6Q/s1600-h/humiliation.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 335px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8H4vSq-5gj9vVhNNY6ceJ_2fXVZM0zJaqarH-cO5ozZyz-E-qbK0QDXqlF9BiwGQ5fXMR2NNLDHa4R-QmjSHICc9ftuRfXl0tDG6DJtLvzZb1uIvuBTp7AcI5UbehkFF_dTjH6Q/s400/humiliation.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425950586353315138" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwftR8-T7TIjvUnOD1QwgtndPtEyuycH5je0jQKA6GybiTbmPRQSU71DIBzFpmQ5ru0xeUApnfNL9_nmUugTMG3_0WObNbJJ0b-Kfzbk0jkpZqiyMLmeakhZCoU1tzNnmDrdbGaA/s1600-h/Despair.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 322px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwftR8-T7TIjvUnOD1QwgtndPtEyuycH5je0jQKA6GybiTbmPRQSU71DIBzFpmQ5ru0xeUApnfNL9_nmUugTMG3_0WObNbJJ0b-Kfzbk0jkpZqiyMLmeakhZCoU1tzNnmDrdbGaA/s400/Despair.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425950583921192322" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc43kSWlt-d6JWE0uyxbKdAsQc9TbP0al2mDNUTzG8bOHpkKKRQ0gmnOa1YHxZ2RpKm_VJL4fSvXP7-TrzvnrYnlnyEdZsSz5xF7lVR8qPADyYFPg6pNjX2I4CBK9pzyJcvbWNKg/s1600-h/motivation.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 335px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc43kSWlt-d6JWE0uyxbKdAsQc9TbP0al2mDNUTzG8bOHpkKKRQ0gmnOa1YHxZ2RpKm_VJL4fSvXP7-TrzvnrYnlnyEdZsSz5xF7lVR8qPADyYFPg6pNjX2I4CBK9pzyJcvbWNKg/s400/motivation.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425951185887958498" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rL7stMf_kCsWLIo1j7_LRLFNPRZ6fRN0LiB-ppjHBYU6bbbV4FOvHOTfxIrUcd8uRlfTrtNeTzw9ehNEXvXR2e6yJRNKhTH4tTVYmkCjpZGnQIH5z_kMcj39Qky-b-4wwJe6zw/s1600-h/mistakes_thumb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 396px; height: 335px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rL7stMf_kCsWLIo1j7_LRLFNPRZ6fRN0LiB-ppjHBYU6bbbV4FOvHOTfxIrUcd8uRlfTrtNeTzw9ehNEXvXR2e6yJRNKhTH4tTVYmkCjpZGnQIH5z_kMcj39Qky-b-4wwJe6zw/s400/mistakes_thumb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425951183786770850" border="0" /></a>Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-77386466338739866132010-01-10T12:17:00.010-07:002010-01-19T11:17:10.031-07:00Will it make any difference?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy0vbNG0VX7gH19tF-h3pez0KIxx_ehYIr0uV6lXIoREz9EL8Ge5RpYmrC4f1K1bYrg0_vWTuK1aS-jdOMCOr48yOrECrz8P_PuhnWo6OY78KJxhwwaqqrLywpK_YusKzJ-5ImgA/s1600-h/deputy.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy0vbNG0VX7gH19tF-h3pez0KIxx_ehYIr0uV6lXIoREz9EL8Ge5RpYmrC4f1K1bYrg0_vWTuK1aS-jdOMCOr48yOrECrz8P_PuhnWo6OY78KJxhwwaqqrLywpK_YusKzJ-5ImgA/s320/deputy.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425193236976273106" border="0" /></a>Will the appointment of a new Deputy under D'Agostino at NNSA result in any improvements at LANL? I personally doubt it.<br /><br />PBI's, baby.<br /><br />--Doug<b><br /><br /><br /></b> <div style="margin-left: 40px;"><b>Donald L. Cook, Nominee for Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs, National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy</b><br /><br />Dr. Donald L. Cook was the Managing Director of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in the United Kingdom from 2006 to 2009. In this capacity, he was accountable for AWE’s performance on the contract with the U.K. Ministry of Defence, which includes support of the U.K. Trident warheads and development and sustainment of capability in nuclear weapon design, development, manufacturing, qualification, assembly, transport, support in service, and finally, decommissioning, dismantlement, and disposal. Prior to heading AWE, Dr. Cook worked at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico for 28 years in Pulsed Power Sciences, Microtechnologies, Infrastructure, and Security. From 1999-2006, he was Director of the MESA Program Center, accountable for design and construction of the Microsystems and Engineering Sciences Applications (MESA) complex. In 2003, he assumed Program Director responsibilities for Sandia’s Infrastructure Program and for Sandia’s Safeguards and Security Technologies Program, which responded to a new Design Basis Threat. From 1977-1999, Dr. Cook led efforts in pulsed power accelerator design and experimentation, fusion research, hydrodynamics, radiography, diagnostic development, and computational code development. He managed the Sandia Inertial Confinement Fusion program from 1984-1993 and was Director of Pulsed Power Sciences from 1993-1999. Dr. Cook is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Institute of Physics (IOP). </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><br /></div>Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-1233432180913197352010-01-08T19:44:00.005-07:002010-01-19T22:07:52.818-07:00Continuing in the Theme<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWXIRUr_UIHStRFYDYP6oJhfqYt8mtjEi-qEsJqMYGuoycP11oDBaC4lBsuXT4VLqt8YuLB0pAx6_OEhIMD9RYYjY7NkkCzC3hhgHefYQR324dUbQ86H6vFS5eX1fu9XjrnLwO0A/s1600-h/im_an_important_piece_of_the_puzzle_tshirt-p235123349672751497qmkd_400.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWXIRUr_UIHStRFYDYP6oJhfqYt8mtjEi-qEsJqMYGuoycP11oDBaC4lBsuXT4VLqt8YuLB0pAx6_OEhIMD9RYYjY7NkkCzC3hhgHefYQR324dUbQ86H6vFS5eX1fu9XjrnLwO0A/s320/im_an_important_piece_of_the_puzzle_tshirt-p235123349672751497qmkd_400.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424567192936311634" border="0" /></a>A comment from the previous post:<blockquote style="border: medium none ; margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 40px; padding: 0px;"> </blockquote><br /><blockquote style="border: medium none ; margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 40px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">DOE Gives Nuclear Labs One Heck of a Long Winter Vacation</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Enjoy your vaction.</span><br /><br /><div style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><div><a href="http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2010/01/doe-gives-nuclear-labs-one-heck-of-a-long-winter-vacation.html" target="_blank">http://pogoblog.typepad.com/<wbr>pogo/2010/01/doe-gives-<wbr>nuclear-labs-one-</a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghEHOVnp6dearlJj0xTFo-UImtJsL4XUZutYlkRhXbqa3xiH4lgrgd22Ftz5uP9U7G3lpsEAOPHs_jtgGj34w22BLvnrqW4MkcIo4WVlOBvZtTxOuCELd3VNReeHBn1zI7Mw5uTw/s1600-h/figure+putting+red+piece+into+white+puzzle+%28cropped%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 229px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghEHOVnp6dearlJj0xTFo-UImtJsL4XUZutYlkRhXbqa3xiH4lgrgd22Ftz5uP9U7G3lpsEAOPHs_jtgGj34w22BLvnrqW4MkcIo4WVlOBvZtTxOuCELd3VNReeHBn1zI7Mw5uTw/s320/figure+putting+red+piece+into+white+puzzle+%28cropped%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424568950058634626" border="0" /></a><a href="http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2010/01/doe-gives-nuclear-labs-one-heck-of-a-long-winter-vacation.html" target="_blank">heck-of-a-<wbr>long-winter-vacation.html</a></div> </div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: medium none ; margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 40px; padding: 0px;"> </blockquote><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>No oversight required: friends cover for friends. Monkey no see, monkey no [yada yada] ...<br /><br />--Doug<br /></div></div>Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-63927293464313972082010-01-03T11:15:00.010-07:002010-01-19T12:37:32.402-07:00Cover-up?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJFLC2R1oof4BCRnA6reu0HhDxqq1xUU5xpvcyCqxRu_ANLZZG6VWRJa2qkTBJ9604L4uCYJiDuOUyQQ4v6s88-tGChjLAlySYtU9Hwm5cIyObne04hpE4G0rpygZc_3Lqv4WlA/s1600-h/coverup_what_coverup.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJFLC2R1oof4BCRnA6reu0HhDxqq1xUU5xpvcyCqxRu_ANLZZG6VWRJa2qkTBJ9604L4uCYJiDuOUyQQ4v6s88-tGChjLAlySYtU9Hwm5cIyObne04hpE4G0rpygZc_3Lqv4WlA/s320/coverup_what_coverup.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422579132794624610" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:small;">Back in early 2005 when the bid preparation activities for the LANL contract were hot and heavy, NNSA's Tom D'Agostino justified the 10-fold increase in the new LANL contract award fee by stating that "increased efficiencies of operation" by the new Corporate M&O would "more than offset" the additional cost of the contract.<div><br /></div><div>Now, five years later we see that the real additional cost of running LANL is on the order of $200 million more than it was back in the days of non-profit operations when the University of California ran the place for a mere $8 million per year. Since LANL is now run by a for-profit corporation, it has to pay Gross Receipt Taxes to the state of New Mexico, which accounts for most of the additional cost of operations over and above the current $79 million award fee.</div><div><br /></div><div>Have we seen any cost savings due to <i>increased efficiencies of operation</i> by the new corporate M&O of LANL? Let's innumerate some of the <i>efficiency improvements</i> that the NNSA and LANS, LLC have brought to LANL:</div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>JB Weld! Stuffed into the USB ports of every lab computer in sight. In addition to making use of the computer less efficient, it voided the warranties of thousands of LANL machines.</li><li>Ladder Training.</li><li>Shoes that GRIP!</li><li>LOOK out for each other!</li><li>Tripling the number of upper-level managers.</li><li>NNSA-mandated 5% annual staff attrition rates.</li><li>Glovebox computing.</li><li>Efficient loss of all email accrued during the 2008 holiday shutdown.</li><li>Efficient (and friendly) service by the laboratory's Personal Security Group.</li><li>Abysmal "Employment Engagement" survey results, with planned 5-month results "rollout".</li><li>"Secret" NNSA lab Performance Reports.</li><li>Automatic LANS, LLC annual contract renewal, in perpetuity.</li><li>On again, off again manned guard stations.</li><li>Ballooning overhead burden. This may have something to do with the 40 - 50 additional highly-paid top level managers who now enjoy employment at LANL. It may also be related to the <i>increased efficiency of operations</i>.</li><li>A new, efficient T&E system, with blazingly fast turn-around.</li></ul><div><br /></div><div>Considering that one person, NNSA's Tom D'Agostino was the sole person responsible for selecting the Bechtel-led LANS, LLC to be the new LANL contractor, and</div><div><br /></div></div><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div>considering that the promised "efficiency improvements" never materialized, and</div></div><div><div><br /></div></div><div><div>considering that Mr. D'Agostino has declared that the annual NNSA Performance Evaluation awards by which NNSA judged LANS, LLC deserving of an <b><i>Outstanding, 90%</i></b> performance rating this year are <b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC0000;">Secret, Not For Public Viewing</span></i></b>,</div></div></blockquote><div><div><br /></div><div>You don't suppose that there is a government/corporate cover-up in progress, do you?</div><div><br /></div><div>Nah, me neither.</div><div><br /></div><div>--Doug</div><div><br /></div></div></span>Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com115tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-50382380332495229402009-12-28T11:32:00.002-07:002009-12-28T11:44:58.650-07:00Lab Performance Reports Withheld<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWJctU7gFMvZW4keCIMUyohQBL1mjbhGlKrDSCNRGM4Mvmjax462z9pTK-OJnOPJ0vWIqtPj7GlavfSw9v3C1ggB5qKVBaogHm2C0KGzOqVadYbU1NvJyv96iDAlLdxkseAgq9Q/s1600-h/top-secret-rubber-ink-stamp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWJctU7gFMvZW4keCIMUyohQBL1mjbhGlKrDSCNRGM4Mvmjax462z9pTK-OJnOPJ0vWIqtPj7GlavfSw9v3C1ggB5qKVBaogHm2C0KGzOqVadYbU1NvJyv96iDAlLdxkseAgq9Q/s320/top-secret-rubber-ink-stamp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420359716258917618" border="0" /></a><br />From John Fleck's Albuquerque Journal Science blog last week:<br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.abqjournal.com/abqnews/john-fleck-nm-science-mainmenu-31/17770-lab-performance-reports-withheld.html">Lab Performance Reports Withheld</a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">By </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.abqjournal.com/cgi-bin/email_reporter.pl?staff=yes&storyid=abqnews&byline=By%20John%20Fleck">John Fleck</a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Monday, 21 December 2009 12:24</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Nearly three years ago, the Journal and the National Nuclear Security Administration tangled over whether the annual "Performance Evaluation Report" for Sandia Labs, which the government reviews Sandia's stewardship of taxpayer dollars and U.S. nuclear weapons, should be a matter of public record. Since then, things improved, and NNSA did a better job of clearing the document for public review in a timely fashion. The copies I got had some key information redacted, but they were at least public in large measure.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">No more. The NNSA told us last week that, as a matter of policy, the reviews of Sandia, Los Alamos and the other contracts that manage our nuclear stockpile, </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.abqjournal.com/north/19233554north12-19-09.htm">are now considered sensitive procurement-related</a><span style="font-style: italic;">. So we know that NNSA thinks the Bechtel-led team in charge at Los Alamos is doing a better job, but the details of how that decision was arrived at are secret.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">As of this morning, my Freedom of Information Act requests are in the mail. I'll let you know what NNSA says in response.</span><br /><br /></div><br />Let us know if you gain any insight from your FOIA requests, John. We're curious why NNSA thinks LANS is doing such a great job up here.<br /><br />--DougDoug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com68tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-61864810180085011552009-12-26T09:08:00.003-07:002009-12-26T09:14:03.322-07:00Comment of the Week<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOahyvSiwVHJmkw5Z49S3cpl9erFySzUoZH0UCMG9EBhyphenhyphen-Z9WKooKqTC5-oV8T2XZDSGSrzgOnv182cZvwzvuMPQXJ4-FEjZ7rJOoUsDFhaPgJWEPXIX0y5U8Ddovv7SmVqm7KQ/s1600-h/training.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOahyvSiwVHJmkw5Z49S3cpl9erFySzUoZH0UCMG9EBhyphenhyphen-Z9WKooKqTC5-oV8T2XZDSGSrzgOnv182cZvwzvuMPQXJ4-FEjZ7rJOoUsDFhaPgJWEPXIX0y5U8Ddovv7SmVqm7KQ/s320/training.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419578403561026706" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">From the <a href="http://lanl-the-rest-of-the-story.blogspot.com/2009/12/nuclear-bomb-researchers-accidentally.html">Nuclear Bomb Researchers Accidentally Blow Up Building</a> post. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Short, sweet:<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><b><i>We need door training.</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div></blockquote><br /></span></span></div>Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-38408053268437469532009-12-25T07:05:00.002-07:002009-12-25T07:14:06.798-07:00Merry Christmas!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97kKjwh16i5c9oSqro2IOBiZ9rmumI-yA7S8Bka8ibE-xB1hvDtxPgHnOmjUf6msJ21th6se9xuNt8jXWIsQcLm1y2NjUi9YNRoN3SgkoLqWByCANPaRn0kLbQGH69MgJsuOKOg/s1600-h/1+december+a+003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97kKjwh16i5c9oSqro2IOBiZ9rmumI-yA7S8Bka8ibE-xB1hvDtxPgHnOmjUf6msJ21th6se9xuNt8jXWIsQcLm1y2NjUi9YNRoN3SgkoLqWByCANPaRn0kLbQGH69MgJsuOKOg/s400/1+december+a+003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419175908779755410" border="0" /></a><p style="text-align: center;"> © 2009 Eric Fairfield</p>Frank Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02134775226991383924noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-63607480934487895252009-12-24T11:35:00.006-07:002009-12-25T17:40:16.123-07:00Nuclear Bomb Researchers Accidentally Blow Up Building<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qp0JzQJuGmEDmb5BLVKDsRRkJJJkSE3Hi3IsAsG1bJcr_DVf6_AEXvoDJpzSmgcbl7Xk4_qCdTKCQyO1GIAQkN6G4RHhB4G-UGLMpxbdNIT9nJBFekFa5T715qlws4-J2uPLMQ/s1600-h/500x_mushroomcloudgood.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 242px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qp0JzQJuGmEDmb5BLVKDsRRkJJJkSE3Hi3IsAsG1bJcr_DVf6_AEXvoDJpzSmgcbl7Xk4_qCdTKCQyO1GIAQkN6G4RHhB4G-UGLMpxbdNIT9nJBFekFa5T715qlws4-J2uPLMQ/s320/500x_mushroomcloudgood.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418876080341507570" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:small;">So, who are we to believe? According to a number of news sources, LANL staffers accidentally blew up part of a building with a "gun which acts like a Civil War Cannon" last week. Here's one report:<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://gawker.com/5433432/nuclear-bomb-researchers-accidentally-blow-up-building">http://gawker.com/5433432/nuclear-bomb-researchers-accidentally-blow-up-building</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's another, from Frank Munger's Atomic City Underground blog:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://blogs.knoxnews.com/munger/2009/12/new_twist_in_a_long_history_of.html">http://blogs.knoxnews.com/munger/2009/12/new_twist_in_a_long_history_of.html</a></div><div><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGTRubeT1VrTiR7zuHEB5rv0nT9eUM0weLtNUIeku2pPygU-b0D_GTZoC_JNEszHtawBixaMucF81b5cDiHAM6q6PKHnF9lj69XawrS5REdpBmOxs3oq-xRo7PQPW5mp9PAgwVA/s320/500x_guncannon.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418875651026991570" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span><div>But then we learn that LANL/NNSA has already "Roarked" the story. <i>Wired</i> reports that they've received an email from National Nuclear Security Administration spokesman Damien LaVera which implies that what we've first heard might not be the exact story:</div><div><div><br /></div></div><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div><i>Here are the facts: On December 16, Los Alamos conducted a standard proof test on a new design for a catch tank in the target chamber for one of our large bore powder guns (LBPG). These types of experiments are routine and responsible. The LBPG is used to conduct measurements of material properties at pressures needed for understanding nuclear weapons performance. During this particular test, unexpected explosive damage occurred and, because that damage could result in $1 million in damages, an investigation was automatically triggered. That investigation will seek to identify the cause of the incident and any changes in procedures that might be required. NNSA, Los Alamos, and all of our facilities take their commitment to safety very seriously. It is important to note that no personnel were injured from this event, no hazardous or radioactive materials were involved, and that lab's incident response mechanisms appear to have performed as intended.</i></div></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Which version is the Real Story? We'll ponder this over the holidays.</div><div><br /></div><div>--Doug</div></span>Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-20934796319170404212009-12-20T06:38:00.001-07:002009-12-20T06:42:04.090-07:00Where LANS Fits in the Overall Scheme<object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/17jymDn0W6U&hl=en_US&fs=1&hd=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/17jymDn0W6U&hl=en_US&fs=1&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object>Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-52274529429882611402009-12-17T20:37:00.005-07:002009-12-17T21:16:25.773-07:00From the Nut Files<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTx4CAEc2obeD8HXa-1koSqAGow_wzc26v-zv_Sk8uM0IG9uEngPptjRSr6n895-TXNbjPkapWn3dXT0TX9IgHmmDkVt4Hbma9YaY0zQKxLjuIbed68EYHS3HKWweDv-H9YUNEw/s1600-h/nutcase.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTx4CAEc2obeD8HXa-1koSqAGow_wzc26v-zv_Sk8uM0IG9uEngPptjRSr6n895-TXNbjPkapWn3dXT0TX9IgHmmDkVt4Hbma9YaY0zQKxLjuIbed68EYHS3HKWweDv-H9YUNEw/s320/nutcase.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416424071542189426" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Submitted for your approval (imagine Rod Serling's voiceover here).</div><div><br /></div><div>On this blog we receive with frightening frequency untold numbers of contributions from left wing-nuts, right wing-nuts, and a few from those wing-nuts that are somewhere in between. What all of these fringe contributors seem to have in common is that they fly into semi-spectacular tizzies after it eventually dawns on them that their submission has been rejected. The usual reason for rejection is that the comment had nothing to do with LANL.</div><br />As is the case with our latest contribution in this genre. However, something about the earnestness of this one kind of tickled me, so I figured I'd go ahead & share it. It has all of the elements of dozens of previously-rejected comment submissions in this class: right-wing mouth-foaminess, a pervasive theme of "Obama is bad", all mixed in with the delicate stench of good ol' Amerikan Red Neck-iness. <div><br /></div><div> Here it is. Enjoy, while imagining (as I do) wide staring eyes in which you can practically see the slowly counter-rotating spirals, and that endearing little fleck of foaming spittle that collects in the corner of his mouth as the rant progresses.</div> <div><br /></div><div>Oh, I almost forgot: <b><i><span style="color:#cc0000;">!!!</span></i></b><br /><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: medium none ; margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 40px; padding: 0px;"> <div><span style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;"><b><i>Four major non-posted stories on this blog:<br /><br />1. The Global Warming Hoax has arrieved at their respective doorsteps at DOE, and LLNL, Mr. Gregory Friedman (DOE), Mr. Paul Ehlenbach (LLNL), and Mr. Benjamin Santer (LLNL), due to the Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla) Climategate investigation, and notifying them to retain documents related to the release of emails from CRU/UEA in UK, November 24, 2009.<br /><br />1.1 DOE has paid the Junk Scientist Mr. Phil Jones at CRU/UEA for 25 years, WHY?<br /><br />1.2 Doesn´t Mr. Phil Jones, DOE, and Mr. Benjamin Santer at LLNL understand the Scientific Method???<br /><br />1.3 Defend the Scientific Method!!!<br /><br />2. Obama Threatening To Close Offutt AFB If Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson Doesn´t Fall In Line On Health Care, as is reported by the Weekly Standard, Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity at FNC, Rush Limbaugh, The Obama File, The Washington Examiner, Hot Air Blog, ATLAS SHRUGS, Theodore´s World, BNI, ACE OF SPADES HQ, and WND. (Offutt AFB in Nebraska is the headquarters for US STRATEGIC Command.)<br /><br />2.1 Defend Our Defenders!!!<br /><br />3. "Harvard Simulation: U.S. Will Fail to Stop Iran Nukes," IsraelNN.com, December 6, 2009, "Iran successfully simulates nuclear wahead detonation - report," DEBKAfile Special Report, December 4, 2009, and "Iran´s Missile Rattling Signals Command Defiance and Rising Military Threat," December 16, 2009, at <a href="http://blog.heritage.org/" style="color: rgb(42, 93, 176);" target="_blank">http://blog.heritage.org/</a>.<br /><br />3.1 Defend US Against a Nuclear Armed Iran!!!<br /><br />4. "41 Senators to Obama: No START Without Nuclear Modernization," December 17, 2009, at<a href="http://blog.heritage.org/" style="color: rgb(42, 93, 176);" target="_blank">http://blog.heritage.org/</a>, and "Don´t Circumvent the Senate´s Important Role in Negotiating Strategic Arms Reductions Treaties," December 9, 2009, by Baker Spring, WebMemo #2725, at the Heritage Foundation.<br /><br />4.1 Defend Our Defenders!!! </i></b></span></span></div></blockquote><div><span style="border-collapse: collapse;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13;"><br /></span></div><div> <span style="border-collapse: collapse;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13;"><br /></span></div></div>Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-4109296524256561352009-12-17T12:02:00.005-07:002009-12-17T12:19:16.345-07:00Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLJYkWtlmsdBaMhq3L1GYi_nxG6-74wyuxQ3DmHtj4Q_yGQyUVVida0-EPby1cOtKQpMENe_EN3NRJt4YD1drJtCcuyjAyrXwAYMkZRZUGDTkvhlAVGRcWyHqVTdG2wbkXlmpBA/s1600-h/Belshaz-Rembra.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLJYkWtlmsdBaMhq3L1GYi_nxG6-74wyuxQ3DmHtj4Q_yGQyUVVida0-EPby1cOtKQpMENe_EN3NRJt4YD1drJtCcuyjAyrXwAYMkZRZUGDTkvhlAVGRcWyHqVTdG2wbkXlmpBA/s320/Belshaz-Rembra.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416283948290545106" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:small;"><div>For me, the handwriting has been on the wall since December, 2005 when D'Agostino announced that LANS had been awarded the LANL contract. The recent LANL Performance Review demonstrating that NNSA is extremely happy with LANS' performance is just one more bit of validation that LANL is on a carefully charted course, no variations wanted nor expected. </div><div><br /></div><div> Enjoy the trip!</div><div><br /></div><div>--Doug</div><div><br /></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>PS: Sorry to have interrupted your deep, meaningful conversations about snow removal, please continue...</i></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><b><i>2009 performance review gives LANS, LLC 90% of available award fee and another year to contract term</i></b></div><div><b><i>By comparison, the award fee for FY08 was 88% and 81% for FY07.</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>The National Nuclear Security Administration has evaluated the Laboratory’s performance for fiscal year 2009 and awarded LANS, LLC 90% of the available award fee and added another year to the term of the LANS contract to manage and operate Los Alamos National Laboratory. That extension stretches the contract term through September 30, 2015. By comparison, the award fee for FY08 was 88% and 81% for FY07.</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>NNSA cited its “very high expectations” and noted significant progress in the Lab’s performance overall, especially in achieving its mission and delivering on program assignments.</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>“Thank you for your continued hard work and dedication to continuous improvement,” said Lab Director Michael Anastasio. </i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>Anastasio noted that many accomplishments throughout the Laboratory contributed to this encouraging customer assessment, including substantially completing construction of the RLUOB facility as part of the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement project, the use of the Roadrunner supercomputer, and the accelerated shipment offsite of transuranic waste.</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>“We’re proud that this year's assessment continues our upward trend,” said Ike Richardson, deputy director. “NNSA’s view of our work is a tribute to the LANL team's continued efforts to enhance discovery science as well as productivity.”</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>SUMMARY OF FY2009 LANS AWARD FEE DETERMINATION</i></b></div><div><b><i>Los Alamos National Security, LLC</i></b></div><div><b><i>Manager and operator of Los Alamos National Laboratory</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>Total available fee: $80.2 million</i></b></div><div><b><i>Earned “fee at risk,” or incentive fee: 84%, or $43.3 million</i></b></div><div><b><i>Portion earned of overall fee: 90%, or $72.1 million</i></b></div><div><b><i>(includes fee at risk, fixed fee, work for others): </i></b></div></blockquote><br /></span>Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-9241299891594669222009-12-12T12:22:00.012-07:002009-12-12T13:36:51.597-07:00Customer Service<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Y8dluAmYIAL0S8tf9u_ZeT_OFe4dIzrYoSHT9Fs8omWIEQ9pcXH22k0ZD28HENdfvte07fsvPS3mAvLK9mppsF0IFq9qu_SpT88UuSib2RIe8WGKAZIOC41aMBXAfSRkB836Wg/s1600-h/poorcustomerservice.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Y8dluAmYIAL0S8tf9u_ZeT_OFe4dIzrYoSHT9Fs8omWIEQ9pcXH22k0ZD28HENdfvte07fsvPS3mAvLK9mppsF0IFq9qu_SpT88UuSib2RIe8WGKAZIOC41aMBXAfSRkB836Wg/s200/poorcustomerservice.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414435657934758690" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";font-family:arial;font-size:small;"><div>By request, we are making a top level post around this rather bizarre letter that was sent to all staff last week by Larry Freestone, Group Leader, Personal Security.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's the letter, which was posted to the <a href="http://lanl-the-rest-of-the-story.blogspot.com/2009/12/dont-plan-on-going-anywhere-anytime.html">Don't plan on going anywhere, anytime soon</a> post:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="border-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><b><i>Serving close to 2,500 employees per week, the Laboratory's Personnel Security Group is a hub -- helping Lab staff address clearance issues, resolve badge-related problems, process classified visit requests, respond to drug tests, and so on.</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>Few Lab employees engage Personnel Security by choice, and our staff periodically sees some unprofessional behavior that should not be present in any workplace. Fortunately, these people represent a small percentage of personnel security customers, but the numbers seem to be increasing.</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>"Customer service is not easy. Few people have the temperament to be successful in this type of job. However, every single person working at Los Alamos National Laboratory provides some level of customer service."People seem to be less tolerant and more vocal in ever-increasing numbers both here and across the country. Common courtesies are giving way to rude, sarcastic, cutting, or belittling comments. What perceptions does this behavior create in other Laboratory workers and in our visitors?</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjgOlwku7FbaTSzlYzn11gpwq0DLXDfuZZINMNbIkLCgMS0Ac8u2uS17k1E79LTmO_nx82OG4TGZn8HnxwxQvt_cFYazQm-dCEM4Ne1e_U08sd6UhvDNFDprJKN8DT-htBq2Fucg/s1600-h/ngservice.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjgOlwku7FbaTSzlYzn11gpwq0DLXDfuZZINMNbIkLCgMS0Ac8u2uS17k1E79LTmO_nx82OG4TGZn8HnxwxQvt_cFYazQm-dCEM4Ne1e_U08sd6UhvDNFDprJKN8DT-htBq2Fucg/s200/ngservice.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414437206070444258" border="0" /></a><b><i>Although we are unsure why some choose to behave badly, we hope that it's not the result of perceived inefficiencies by Personnel Security. We strive to make every customer's visit as pleasant as possible given the conditions and procedures over which we have control. When any customer service agent, not just those in Personnel Security, fails to meet expectations, please patiently seek to understand why.</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>Customer service is not easy. Few people have the temperament to be successful in this type of job. However, every single person working at Los Alamos National Laboratory provides some level of customer service. It may be behind a counter dealing with walk-ins, observing a procedure to ensure it is being done safely, troubleshooting an equation, or courting visitors who have programmatic funds to spend.</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>I am proud of Personnel Security Group employees for their pleasant and professional behavior day in and day out. There is no place for rudeness; patience and understanding should be the norm. In other words, please treat others as you would want to be treated.</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>Larry Freestone, Group Leader, Personnel Security</i></b></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This is one of the comments that discusses the letter.</div><div><br /></div><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="border-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><b><i>The trouble with Freestone's letter is that it was driven by a single incident in the personnel security department. Also, while in general personnel security have provided good customer service, unfortunately, there have been a few incidents where they have provided very poor service, particularly in the past. There have been incidents where they have treated my military (Air Force and Navy) customers without any care or patience. In fact, one my key customers from the Air Force Weapons Laboratory (AFWL) indicated he had never been treated so disrespectfully. The other problem I have with this letter, is that I'm sure Anastasio gave the approval to send this to All Employees. Will this be a pattern of hammering all employees every time Mike get's an opportunity? It was "poor customer service" in itself to send this letter to us. LANS wonders why they have not yet "commanded" any respect from us when they send us letters like this one.</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div></blockquote></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Sounds like we may be hearing more about this.</span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com92tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-19443841595566259902009-12-12T11:26:00.003-07:002009-12-13T10:22:15.348-07:00LANS "Engagement Survey" Analysis Summary<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><br /></span></span></div>Thanks to the two of you who took the time to analyze the LANS Morale Survey. I'm sure the LANS "Communications Office" (have you noticed how I tend to use quotes to denote an ironic misnomer?) will come out with their own attempt to spin the survey as being positive, but the numbers tell us the Real Story.<div><br /></div><div>I got a call from an Albuquerque Journal reporter on Thursday who was looking for some kind of quantifiable proof of the degrading morale among LANL staff over the years, but I was only able to give him my own subjective opinions. Thanks to 9:22's contribution on the "Survey Rollout" post we now have some solid comparison numbers:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><b><i>Well, having supplied the data to Doug for posting, I have to say I'm really disappointed you all have been so lazy about analyzing results. (Maybe it's true all the A students have left?) Some of the old survey data is still available from the Newsbulletin archives. So for example:<br /></i></b><b><i><br /></i></b><b><i>"I am proud to be associated with the Laboratory"<br /></i></b><b><i>1997: 82% agree<br /></i></b><b><i>2004: 79% agree<br /></i></b><b><i>2009: 66% agree (now "I am proud to tell people I work for the Laboratory")<br /></i></b><b><i><br /></i></b><b><i>"Morale in my group is high"<br /></i></b><b><i>1997: 45%<br /></i></b><b><i>2004: 40%<br /></i></b><b><i>2009: 28% ("Morale of my coworkers is good" - note the bar appears to be lowered from "high" to "good").<br /></i></b><b><i><br /></i></b><b><i>Also:<br /></i></b><b><i>2009: 46% agree that "My morale at work is good." </i></b><b><i><br /></i></b><b><i>2004: 78% "My work gives me a sense of personal accomplishment"<br /></i></b><b><i>2009: 66% "My work is rewarding"<br /></i></b><b><i><br /></i></b><b><i>2004: 66% "Employees are treated with respect, regardless of position"<br /></i></b><b><i>2009: 49% "Employees are treated with respect"<br /></i></b><b><i><br /></i></b><b><i>2004: 60% "Satisfied with my overall compensation incl benefits</i></b></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><b><i>2009: 62% "Satisfied with my overall compensation incl benefits"<br /></i></b><b><i>(Perhaps the only category that's held steady)<br /></i></b><b><i><br /></i></b><b><i>2004: 64% "Lab keeps me informed about matters affecting me"<br /></i></b><b><i>2009: 49% "I feel well-informed about events/decisions/news that affect my job"<br /></i></b><b><i><br /></i></b><b><i>2004: 69% "Would recommend Los Alamos as good place to work</i></b><div><b><i>2009: 63% "The Laboratory is a good place to work"</i></b></div></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Also, 1:28 AM pointed out that most of the lowest-rated responses are a direct reflection of the quality of LANL's current "management team" (there I go with the quotes again):</div><div><br /></div><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div><b><i>Let's cut to the quick. Here are the key percentages that register in this document as "Agree"...</i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i>-----------------</i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i>The leadership team is working together to advance the Laboratory mission. : 37.75 %</i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i>Career opportunities at the Laboratory are good. : 33.73 %</i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i>Laboratory managers set good examples. : 27.58%</i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i>I have confidence in the leadership of the Laboratory. : 28.69 %</i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i>The morale of my co-workers is good. : 27.75 %</i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i>Laboratory managers consult employees about decisions that affect them. : 25.42 %</i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i>The Laboratory rewards those who contribute most. : 23.57 %</i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i>I believe that action will be taken on the results of this survey. : 17.30 %</i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i>-------------------</i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i>In most organizations, abysmal ratings like this would result the the sudden resignation of the executive management. It indicates a total failure of leadership and severe lack of trust of the employees in their top management team. However, with LANS you can be almost certain that there will be no real outcome for their poor leadership skills. PBIs, baby! That's all that matters to NNSA.</i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div></div><div><div><b><i>Thanks to who ever handed this data off to Doug. Have no doubt, you did the right thing and the many blog readers appreciate the risk you must have taken. God bless you, my friend!</i></b></div></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>--Doug</div><div><br /></div></span>Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-1865741470334380632009-12-09T20:47:00.006-07:002009-12-10T10:36:34.517-07:00Official LTRS Rollout of the 2009 LANS "Engagement Survey" ResultsOtherwise known as: the LANL Morale Survey. The summary numbers can be found <a href="http://parrot-farm.net/LTRS/Morale-Survey-Results.pdf">here</a>. Sorry about the sideways orientation of the report, but the results are pretty self explanatory. Please feel free to supply your own analysis.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0r6OBn-c12QLX9L0bzjSmU6EhonX2wJC-Iv9SmMx-E2kbrru3PXmqZ7GCbBKCsHLcrKDOeajVX10dpkcyLzTOVs_uw845j2GYISDZxbkHhpVOfIOQGOalgoDTDRFxIByEo0EzOA/s1600-h/survey-chart.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0r6OBn-c12QLX9L0bzjSmU6EhonX2wJC-Iv9SmMx-E2kbrru3PXmqZ7GCbBKCsHLcrKDOeajVX10dpkcyLzTOVs_uw845j2GYISDZxbkHhpVOfIOQGOalgoDTDRFxIByEo0EzOA/s400/survey-chart.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413452422083536498" border="0" /></a>Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com59tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-66480928560662645692009-12-08T10:50:00.003-07:002009-12-08T10:58:48.465-07:00Indefinite CareerSince you LANL folks have the day off (purportedly, according to one pissed off-sounding anonymous commenter because Mike Anastasio did not want to drive in the snow up from Santa Fe) I thought you might be amused to learn that somebody in the <span style="font-style: italic;">University Of California Office Of The President</span> ended up on the blog here by searching for "indefinite career". It looks to me like UC wants to be in this for-profit NNSA lab business for the long haul. The host name "<span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">sor-fharms-1.ad.ucop.edu" </span>should help identify who was looking into this lifetime career opportunity.<br /><br />--Doug<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdHv6PLsnc8S6R1HIf3x2xEIF89aZ9cs_gUa7uDrELuKznFmI14s5WoeKbSD4lSgTYtQV3e0tiGutPqYS39mD_dQl5RzaMISya7WfuIORPvMrVtD9KerJH1ShtgDBPdaJFv9rhw/s1600-h/ucop-oep-indefinate-carreer.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdHv6PLsnc8S6R1HIf3x2xEIF89aZ9cs_gUa7uDrELuKznFmI14s5WoeKbSD4lSgTYtQV3e0tiGutPqYS39mD_dQl5RzaMISya7WfuIORPvMrVtD9KerJH1ShtgDBPdaJFv9rhw/s400/ucop-oep-indefinate-carreer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412924586895878066" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Click to enlarge</span></div>Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-26163284218416725762009-12-07T21:02:00.005-07:002009-12-07T21:24:51.808-07:00Don't plan on going anywhere, anytime soon<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlMCT6XW05eUwSqlhq5-yqqwRdnT0ejl8XaK4RXG4nDjIJrnLMoq6BOsOPtbQgiy74rDWxMhNi7qts0T54wET3j6eKFM2sDEk31EyV9sv1iqohB-13G0Bdaop0i-g7E3pVlq8Sg/s1600-h/broken_walk_sign.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlMCT6XW05eUwSqlhq5-yqqwRdnT0ejl8XaK4RXG4nDjIJrnLMoq6BOsOPtbQgiy74rDWxMhNi7qts0T54wET3j6eKFM2sDEk31EyV9sv1iqohB-13G0Bdaop0i-g7E3pVlq8Sg/s320/broken_walk_sign.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412712855314804562" border="0" /></a><br />From the "It's really, really broken" department:<br /><br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><i><b>Date: Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:19:49 -0700<br />To: <a href="mailto:admin-support@lanl.gov,as-additional@lanl.gov" target="_blank">admin-support@lanl.gov,as-<wbr>additional@lanl.gov</a><br />From: Distributions <a href="mailto:distributions@lanl.gov" target="_blank"><distributions@lanl.gov></distributions@lanl.gov></a><br />Subject: Status of Travel Claims<br />Sender: <a href="mailto:owner-admin-support@maillist.lanl.gov" target="_blank">owner-admin-support@maillist.<wbr>lanl.gov</a><br /><br />Status of Travel Claims<br /><br />The Travel Office is currently experiencing a high volume of expense reports and phone calls. We are working to assist everyone as promptly as possible. The current turnaround time for reimbursement is 10 business days. Please advise your travelers of the turnaround time. We work expense reports in the order they are received so let them know it will be approximately 2 weeks before they receive their reimbursement. They should not call the Travel Office. Also, please advise your travelers that by linking the reservations and the credit card transactions to the expense report, it will increase the timeliness of their reimbursement as the processors will not have to look for additional information.<br /><br />Also please advise your travelers that if they need assistance with entering an expense report, they should refer to the training and checklist provided on the Travel Home Page. Due to the high volume of expense reports, the processors are not available for training. Should you need to call the Travel Office, leave a message. The phone calls are tracked electronically so unless you leave a message we will not have a record of your call so that we can assist you. For Domestic Reimbursement, please select Option 1 "reimbursement" from the main menu and then select Option 1 again for Domestic Reimbursement. For Foreign Travel, select Option 1, then Option 2. For Relocation, select Option 1, then Option 3 for relocation reimbursement. Your patience is requested as we are answering calls as promptly as possible.<br /><br /><br /></b></i></div> Don't call us, we'll call you.Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com66tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-36631460104310200352009-12-07T05:17:00.002-07:002009-12-07T05:38:49.137-07:00<h2><a href="http://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/050143state12-05-09.htm">Lab Conducts First X-Ray Test on Mock Weapon</a></h2><span style="font-weight: bold;"> By John Fleck, </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Albuquerque Journal Staff Writer</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Saturday, December 05, 2009</span><br /><br /> Los Alamos National Laboratory on Thursday evening took the first ever three-dimensional X-ray movie of a mock nuclear weapon detonation, a milestone two decades in the making.<br /><br /> The test at the lab's Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test Facility, known as "DARHT", used the world's most powerful X-ray machines to take pictures of the inner workings of a W78 nuclear warhead, said Dave Funk, head of the lab's hydrodynamics experiments division.<br /><br /> The 6:09 p.m. test, with more than 60 Los Alamos staff in attendance, was a success, yielding good data on the W78's behavior, Funk said in a telephone interview Friday.<br /><br /> The massive X-ray machine is part of the National Nuclear Security Administration's suite of test equipment and computer simulations used to maintain U.S. nuclear weapons without underground test blasts.<br /><br /> Garrett Harencak, a senior National Nuclear Security Administration official overseeing the lab's weapons work, issued a statement calling the test "an important development in the NNSA's stockpile stewardship mission."<br /><br /> "I applaud LANL for reaching this important milestone. DARHT will help ensure a safer and more secure stockpile without testing," Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said in a statement.<br /><br /> The test ends an embarrassing episode for the weapons program. DARHT was originally planned in 1988 with a price tag of $30 million to $54 million, but a series of delays because of litigation by environmentalists, design changes and design flaws dragged out the project, and pushed the final price tag over $300 million.<br /><br /> For the first five decades of the U.S. nuclear program, weapons were actually detonated to test them, first above ground and then underground beginning in the 1960s. "You got the answer, right? It worked or not," Funk explained.<br /><br /> The United States abandoned full test blasts in 1992, establishing a program of small-scale experiments and computer simulations instead.<br /><br /> In a nuclear weapon, high explosives are used to squeeze plutonium to create a critical mass, yielding its nuclear blasts.<br /><br /> DARHT tests allow weapons designers to X-ray a mock nuclear weapon during the early stages of that blast, to compare the weapon's performance to predictions made by the lab's supercomputer simulations, Funk explained. Without the explosive plutonium, there is no nuclear yield, and the blast can be contained with a big steel vessel, according to Funk.Frank Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02134775226991383924noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-5459394235498456822009-12-06T21:32:00.005-07:002009-12-06T21:38:40.793-07:00Comment of the Week, The Winner<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRkM8rSD9ws-thXy4Jkenk0X05IHWLOpLYvcPYSPFwoYq1QdJzUMrd7OpaR21-kxnsd6jWCBDhekyoN1fosvR5UtX5ahqxr4dNVXBzOWgE1rDCeYFpw-hO7UwYkIYxwI6VT0hlJQ/s1600-h/coward-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRkM8rSD9ws-thXy4Jkenk0X05IHWLOpLYvcPYSPFwoYq1QdJzUMrd7OpaR21-kxnsd6jWCBDhekyoN1fosvR5UtX5ahqxr4dNVXBzOWgE1rDCeYFpw-hO7UwYkIYxwI6VT0hlJQ/s320/coward-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412347626348607154" border="0" /></a>Sad, but true. We do. I never much cared for the anonymous character assassination that has flourished on all three of the LANL blogs. I believe it says something unsavory about the people who work there. <br /><br />From the Saturday COW, here is our selection for Comment of the Week:<br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><i><b>Actually, the anti-Pedicini folks should shut their holes. At least John isn't afraid to (a) speak his mind even if the opinion is not what people want to hear and (b) he signs his name when he posts on the blog. There is a reason why LANL higher-ups want to keep him around ... he knows what he is talking about even if they don't want to hear him say it. </b></i><br /></div><br />I respect someone who has the courage to use his own name to voice his convictions. Not so much respect for anonymous cowards.<br /><br />--DougDoug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-85843674084126313022009-12-05T12:28:00.008-07:002009-12-05T15:19:35.184-07:00Comment of the Week, Saturday Edition<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvZiDrIdCintmHtkXUcQpKMpE1bmt9F9WT4chtz2m0l4UkmzOj-9tV-yrvy8lILHBiFyTKqw7XTBeQLQI-G7ni8IXablcCAqsamBRHWc17Yv9XLst_uM7adLzMlpSe0896np2bQ/s1600-h/certificateofgreatness.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvZiDrIdCintmHtkXUcQpKMpE1bmt9F9WT4chtz2m0l4UkmzOj-9tV-yrvy8lILHBiFyTKqw7XTBeQLQI-G7ni8IXablcCAqsamBRHWc17Yv9XLst_uM7adLzMlpSe0896np2bQ/s320/certificateofgreatness.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411838054801406370" border="0" /></a><br />For those of you in the LANS PASO (Public Affairs Spin Office -- Hi, Kevin!) who like to claim that this blog only reports bad news about LANS, I am happy to set the record straight with this upbeat note sent in by a reader on the <a href="http://lanl-the-rest-of-the-story.blogspot.com/2009/12/comment-of-week-wednesday-edition.html" target="_blank">Comment of the Week, Wednesday Edition</a> post.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><b><i>Good News! Your LANS team is working harder than ever to make LANL a great place to work. The future looks bright with the steady hands of our LANS executive team at the helm.<br /><br />This week, Dr. Anastasio released a heart-to-heart memo to his fellow employees at "the lab". In it, he urged our world class "best and brightest" to press on and take LANL to even greater levels of achievement.<br /><br />Here are just a few, small pieces of the good news that Dr. Anastasio had to say to employees:<br /><br /><br />"The bills (FY2011 funding) are good for the NNSA enterprise and good for the Laboratory."<br /><br /></i></b><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9VOFyxpGdTamRIpA1tPtsun2rhrxGSckScN5x49yE2MUFtjLRt2jMq-feGHrGNHnkZNohtsEQlszk99A_VX6XYTGcF33c9vfbDJkibNvHh0LLFV6Gop0ZoiqXMe5nYJnxmihSsQ/s1600-h/You+Are+Destined+For+Greatness.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9VOFyxpGdTamRIpA1tPtsun2rhrxGSckScN5x49yE2MUFtjLRt2jMq-feGHrGNHnkZNohtsEQlszk99A_VX6XYTGcF33c9vfbDJkibNvHh0LLFV6Gop0ZoiqXMe5nYJnxmihSsQ/s320/You+Are+Destined+For+Greatness.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411837911889303650" border="0" /></a><b><i>"All of this is good news - especially when you add to it to the considerable investment being made at LANL through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), or “stimulus bill. We have received $212 million for our cleanup activities, and we have competed for and won (to date) close to $40 million in ARRA-funded work in science and technology."<br /><br />"As with every year, we can’t sit back and rest on what we have. I – along with my fellow Lab directors – have been working with the Administration as they formulate the FY11 budget."<br /><br /><br />Dr. Anastasio is working very hard for LANL, but even with his hectic schedule, he has announced that he will be taking time out to have a All-Hands meeting with his employees in early January. It's clear that this is one Director who intends to get down in the trenches and stay engage with his hard working staff. You won't want to miss this upcoming meeting!<br /><br />Yes, LANL is turning around and headed for greatness. Our Director and his new business-savy team from Bechtel and </i></b><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjP7oHhAsw_F_4_y22JSbjx3z61T7avsGVSvKkB2ybAhYCY759p71G7G8Xx0MLxVX0-InGabrm6CvO3Ww7FxrspElGaEjICLGqaBa6DwJ0KVS9gttm75P_w9YQOj-u0utXF9gzKw/s1600-h/ThumbGreatGreatnessW.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjP7oHhAsw_F_4_y22JSbjx3z61T7avsGVSvKkB2ybAhYCY759p71G7G8Xx0MLxVX0-InGabrm6CvO3Ww7FxrspElGaEjICLGqaBa6DwJ0KVS9gttm75P_w9YQOj-u0utXF9gzKw/s320/ThumbGreatGreatnessW.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411838168470000082" border="0" /></a><b><i>BWXT are all actively working overtime to make LANL a huge success. Recent survey results demonstrate that over 91 </i></b><b><i>percent of the workforce is dedicated to helping LANS achieve success with its efforts. Join this incredible LANS team in their hard work that is making it all happen. Great things await us as we push forward. Onward, ever onward, people!<br /><br /></i></b><br /></div><br />This is clear, indisputable evidence that LANS is on a trajectory for greatness that the history books will not forget. Posterity will remember LANS fondly for the great greatness that it brought to LANL.<br /><br /><br />--DougDoug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-30799436931210141582009-12-02T10:03:00.002-07:002009-12-02T10:04:52.285-07:00Comment of the Week, Wednesday Edition<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOx_Av3o-V_gZtmPTiNFmR_Fvzqj6CszJki3mhtMF573S7kCz3Qrlk5gMFXP5atwGp7VINL9kGrc-xCQg5_Bl4TrbW0i7gxGUKQxP-ifVo7bMdWmuQXFA1i7deXIRnp_Q_isNZHg/s1600-h/1109660-4-locked-up-and-forgotten.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOx_Av3o-V_gZtmPTiNFmR_Fvzqj6CszJki3mhtMF573S7kCz3Qrlk5gMFXP5atwGp7VINL9kGrc-xCQg5_Bl4TrbW0i7gxGUKQxP-ifVo7bMdWmuQXFA1i7deXIRnp_Q_isNZHg/s320/1109660-4-locked-up-and-forgotten.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410685724060680946" border="0" /></a><br />Ok, guys, here's our COW. From the <a href="http://lanl-the-rest-of-the-story.blogspot.com/2009/11/coverups-are-bad-transparency-is-good.html" target="_blank">Coverups Are Bad, Transparency is Good</a> post:<br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><i><b>It's only taken a little over a month and employees are already beginning to forget about the morale survey fiasco. This LANS mess will die a quick death. By April, it will all be forgotten as word of the FY2011 budget start to come around and employees prepare for a further dose of LANL downsizing (excuse me, I mean... "right-sizing". I'm still new at this LANS-speak thing). </b></i> </div><br />To me, as a relative outsider these days (even though I still collaborate with a few of my LANL colleagues) it is fascinating to observe how well LANS is managing to maintain a public <i>happy face</i> regarding conditions at LANL. Keep those tweets coming, D'Ag!Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-68152046249395825022009-11-25T14:45:00.003-07:002009-11-25T14:48:26.682-07:00Comment of the Week, Day Before Thanksgiving Edition<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjmF__DaCD2lGPNmakV2KEQs__Qwr-Q53s-3ZpA9rwujeRy5rnqMIgeONSxunUw1ZaqA2GZghOQMRPgD0OhX717JUy5JrdAbQQsZ-IM-oHQ6x4hjm9-bn5UBHIAirgVLLPWCHjbA/s1600/2006-349-clean-politician.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjmF__DaCD2lGPNmakV2KEQs__Qwr-Q53s-3ZpA9rwujeRy5rnqMIgeONSxunUw1ZaqA2GZghOQMRPgD0OhX717JUy5JrdAbQQsZ-IM-oHQ6x4hjm9-bn5UBHIAirgVLLPWCHjbA/s320/2006-349-clean-politician.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408161134597051122" border="0" /></a>Left earlier today on the <a href="http://lanl-the-rest-of-the-story.blogspot.com/2009/11/coverups-are-bad-transparency-is-good.html" target="_blank">Coverups Are Bad, Transparency is Good</a> post:<br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><b><i>Richardson may be unhappy about the survey results, but only because they exist and will have to be made public. History shows that he has no problem with low morale at LANL, which he single-handedly created as Energy Secretary when he raked John Browne over the coals in the wake of the Wen Ho Lee revelations.</i></b><br /></div><br />Bill Richardson is a consummate politician, and as such will seize every opportunity to do what is best for Bill Richardson. No surprises here. Maybe he will see the poor performance of LANS as an opportunity to grab a few sound bites, publicly chastise Anastasio and LANS, and maybe even the NNSA over the morale issues they have created, and by so doing generate a few favorable vibes for himself.<br /><br />Or, more likely, he will just continue to toe the party line that <i>"NNSA is doing a terrific job, and LANS is doing a terrific job; costs are down, productivity is up, and everybody is just thrilled to be working at LANL now that the troublesome UC has been kicked out."</i><br /><br />--DougDoug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com101tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-49447932786114746752009-11-25T12:11:00.006-07:002009-11-25T13:19:11.056-07:00Happy Thanksgiving, Don't Drink the Water<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZYdwuULb1FUWnTRaj5OipokT5k9T5K4KJOFk5EljXzUjD2z7xfZMJnBfpgWTnvYEOxmZ47MFsX94sRWG6AL2ETTeyYfBe4nm2jqUjfJc1oWYVkihyphenhyphenrZFxh7DbCDLOlnVz3BNjg/s1600/lanl.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 112px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZYdwuULb1FUWnTRaj5OipokT5k9T5K4KJOFk5EljXzUjD2z7xfZMJnBfpgWTnvYEOxmZ47MFsX94sRWG6AL2ETTeyYfBe4nm2jqUjfJc1oWYVkihyphenhyphenrZFxh7DbCDLOlnVz3BNjg/s320/lanl.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408122140194868818" border="0" /></a>From our friends over at the Santa Fe Reeper (sfreeper.com):<br /><i><br /></i> <div style="margin-left: 40px;"><i>The details change, but the story never does.</i> <p><i>The latest <a href="http://www.lanl.gov/" target="_blank">Los Alamos National Laboratory</a> (LANL) brouhaha unfolded yesterday, when the <a href="http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/" target="_blank">New Mexico Environment Department</a> slammed the lab with a hefty $960,000 penalty for failing to properly monitor radioactive pollutants in nearby watersheds. This time, it’s particularly scary: the groundwater in question provides drinking water for Los Alamos County, White Rock and the lab itself—“and it may well be the same aquifer that’s connected to the Buckman well field,” the environment department’s hazardous waste bureau chief, James Bearzi, says. Without proper monitoring, Bearzi worries the lab’s cleanup of Material Disposal Area G, its only active (and unlined!) waste disposal site, due to be finished by 2015, may do little to deal with the radioactive contaminants leaching into New Mexico’s precious water resources.</i></p> <i>LANL, of course, sees things differently. [...]</i><br /><br />See the full story <a href="http://www.sfreeper.com/2009/11/24/dont-drink-the-water/">here</a>.<br /><br /></div><br />BTW: Has anybody seen the actual LANL morale survey results yet? We're ready to do the rollout, just waiting on our copy...Doug Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09584327679578206598noreply@blogger.com22