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LGBT intolerance problem at Sandia? I was just checking glassdoor.com and noticed several comments suggesting intolerance to LGBT at Sandia...
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So did you SSVSP and why? Give details.
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“Raise a concern, get blackballed then lose your job and benefits…” “…instead of raising your concerns just leverage on your skills and go t...
42 comments:
Randy Pico was hired in the 80s without even a 2 year technical degree earned before hire. "Savvy", would be a gross understatement.
Randy took a chance and did a stint at CEBAF, and then came back. I would not fault him on his cleverness or cunning in taking advantage of the system. Sense of humor is not his strong suit, though. Although he probably had a right to be outraged at the whole “Randy Bucks” episode.
Young Randy was fairly principled and approachable. Older Randy, was indoctrinated in lab politics and employee bias that he clearly despised in his youth. Strange but not shocking ($$$$?). Nothing to be proud of, but that's how it goes at LLNL.
As a privileged and protected "underutilized" minority, Randy knows his superiors have always been scared S _ _ T less, to expose him for his conduct at LLNL. If it were not for that label, he would have never been promoted and instead, he would have been fired years ago. When they are no longer fearful of Randy's authority, other lab employees will come out and voice the same.
Is it possible that the person in question is a very good and highly qualified worker and that it is simply bigotry that is driving the negative comments?
"Is it possible that the person in question is a very good and highly qualified worker and that it is simply bigotry that is driving the negative comments?"
I hope bigotry is never the reason for blog comments. The race/bigotry card is easy to play but it is not a substitute for poor behavior right? The race card didn't work well for Tomas and the post doc affair, and that was long before the #MeToo Movement. The race card doesn't work as a shield for poor behavior if those you have impacted hold a similar card, or if a spouse that was wronged isn't fearful of reporting security violations.
I know for a fact that Randy is a federally recognized American Indian (CDIB) with land on multiple reservations. He did graduate Summa cum laude from college and was the first Lifetime achievement award for diversity at LLNL. Largely for his outreach efforts, and mentoring of others. His position requires integrity, judgement and among there things humility. I agree this blog is leading to bigotry and unnecessary bias. There have been far more "minority" success stories at LLNL that have made much less impact on the greater whole.
"He did graduate Summa cum laude from college"
After 20+ years at LLNL, Randy graduated from Fremont DeVry with a tax payer paid undergraduate scholarship "technical management" degree when he was already a LLNL manager for nearly 2 decades prior (?). Randy was also previously and simultaneously on the LLNL hiring board for DeVry Fremont grads. A little incestuous at best. A waste of tax payer dollars deluxe. The LLNL undergraduate scholarship at the time was designed to promote science and engineering. It wasn't designed to advance existing managers. Your tax dollars at work. Randy was adopted by his father Pechanga tribe leader Norman Pico Sr.
5/09/2020 5:24 PM
Brutus is an honorable man
"After 20+ years at LLNL, Randy graduated from Fremont DeVry with a tax payer"
I don't know anything about Randy but I looked up DeVry. Not pretty. The end is in sight for many of these "for profit colleges". This is not a degree you want on your resume. I suspect 8:31 PM is actually a troll.
https://money.cnn.com/2016/01/27/pf/college/devry-university-ftc/index.html
Another for-profit college is in trouble with the government for allegedly misleading students about their chances of getting a job and increasing their income after graduation.
DeVry University was sued by the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday for ads that it said deceived students.
"If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back." - Carl Sagan
Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back." - Carl Sagan
5/10/2020 5:14 PM
Sounds like jealously, just because one a player played the game better than you, you are upset. Be a a better charlatan or give props the to ones that are better than you.
"Sounds like jealously, just because one a player played the game better than you"
There doesn't have to be a jealous player to voice open loop entitlement. Sorry this concept doesn't meet your expectations or level of understanding.
Back in the day, AZ DeVry offered a BSET and ASET degrees both with the rigors of math and science, they also offered an "Electronics Lite" Associates degree or ET Certificate with minimal math and science requirements. The AZ DeVry BSET techs I worked with at LLNL were all top notch.
Just my 2 cents.
I think it is very wrong to call out someone this way personally on the Blog.
A slippery slope, for sure.
I think it is very wrong to call out someone this way personally on the Blog.
A slippery slope, for sure.
5/11/2020 3:36 PM
This is a good point but at the same information on a persons character gets out one way or another. A blog is often a way for information to get out that would be difficult to get out by other methods. Of course it can be abused because someone can make something up that is false, say something out of context, or only mention a small number of bad things or faults and leave out all the other good things. Such things need to be taken into consideration however these points can also be countered on the blog. The other question is how is this related to the bigger issues at the lab or just someone agenda by someone. This can be argued either way in this case.
Back in the day, AZ DeVry offered a BSET and ASET degrees both with the rigors of math and science, they also offered an "Electronics Lite" Associates degree or ET Certificate with minimal math and science requirements. The AZ DeVry BSET techs I worked with at LLNL were all top notch.
5/11/2020 2:54 PM
That could be true "back in the day" and also that certain technical programs could be good. The problem is that many of these for-profit colleges started to slip and put out an increasing number of degrees that they offered for money. As I understand it as the number of people who worked for the government grew a new industry of these essentially bogus degrees from the for profits grew since in many cases your pay depended on your degree no matter where the degree was from, so if you got a bs or ms degree your pay went up. In many cases these degrees are also paid for by the government. What is odd about all this is that your pay should be evaluated by how good of a job you do. If your degree gives you the skills to improve your job you should get a raise but you should not get a raise simply because you have a degree.
The big issue with these for profits is are the actually providing useful skills and one way to measure this is to see what kind of jobs that people are getting. Many of these programs are now in trouble because they claim all these great things about their programs but numbers do not add up. Below gives you some idea what is going on.
The Downfall of For-Profit Colleges
The industry has faced numerous investigations, widespread closures, and serious threats to federal funding.
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/02/the-downfall-of-for-profit-colleges/385810/
"I think it is very wrong to call out someone this way personally on the Blog. A slippery slope, for sure."
Please offer a mutually constructive non-blog method to raise leadership concerns or discrepancies.
"they also offered an "Electronics Lite" Associates degree or ET Certificate with minimal math and science requirements."
Didn't Pico attend AZ DeVry having not completed the "Electronics Lite" Associates degree before being hired by LLNL?
What precisely did this man do that is wrong? Is this just character assassination because he makes more money than you with a degree from DeVry?
"He did graduate Summa cum laude from college"
Independent of this person, there can be grade inflation which could call for an asterisk * next to a Summa cum laude status. If it was a for profit college, perhaps 2 asterisks ** , and if a student had material input on that college's graduates hired at a nearby employer, that would be 3 asterisks *** or more next to a Summa cum laude designation.
"The race card didn't work well for Tomas and the post doc affair, and that was long before the #MeToo Movement."
What is the connection if any between an alleged affair between Tomas and a post doc? What am I missing?
5/13/2020 3:25 PM
Summa cum laude or any other honor is something for universities. What does it have to do with a for profit "college" that has had numerous legal problems.
5/13/2020 12:41 PM Said:
“What precisely did this man do that is wrong? Is this just character assassination because he makes more money than you with a degree from DeVry?”
LOL! He did nothing “wrong.” Randy worked the system with the proficiency and design of a master. I get it that people are resentful about his success, or feel that they were mistreated by him. Anyone with a pulse saw him coming, and if they didn’t read the tea leaves right, it’s on them. The only question that remains is whether or not he will become a MUFON Field Investigator like another past superintendent.
Randy found a niche market and exploited it. The lab got PR points. One hand washes the other.
"LOL! He did nothing “wrong.” Randy worked the system with the proficiency and design of a master. I get it that people are resentful about his success, or feel that they were mistreated by him. Anyone with a pulse saw him coming, and if they didn’t read the tea leaves right, it’s on them."
How thoughtful. The ability to read the tea leaves, have intuition, or clairvoyant abilities, wouldn't help much if people had no ability to get out of his way ya think? Your argument sounds like something Weinstein's defense attorneys would say. "It is the victims fault". Now that is a slippery slope indeed.
5/14/2020 1:18 PM Said:
“How thoughtful. The ability to read the tea leaves, have intuition, or clairvoyant abilities, wouldn't help much if people had no ability to get out of his way ya think? Your argument sounds like something Weinstein's defense attorneys would say. "It is the victims fault". Now that is a slippery slope indeed.”
Social intuition, innate or learned, is a big part of how people get by in this world. I can understand the sentiment that would have all risk removed, all uncertainties erased, but it is a fantasy. If you took the time to read the black part, you would understand that everyone has a piece of the action while moving about the landscape. If you can’t deal with that, perhaps you should seek a safe space, and yield to people who wish to take that risk and engage with the world as it is in that moment.
LOL! He did nothing “wrong.” Randy worked the system with the proficiency and design of a master. "
Exactly!!!. To make fun of his degree and knowledge are pointless as he has proven his talent and understanding of social realities. Not everyone can do this. We live in a systems of rules official or unofficial and one succeeds by playing by the rules. You cannot get on his case for playing by the rules and winning at the game. A lot of people are upset because he makes way more money than they ever will. As for Weinsten, he got tripped up because the rules changed but for 30 years or more he played by the rules and succeeded. The changing of the rules was no fault of his own. Don't think it will not happen to you, one day the rules could change and you too will find yourself in hot water, but it is a risk you must take and sometimes it pays off and other times like Weinstein it does not.
"I can understand the sentiment that would have all risk removed, all uncertainties erased, but it is a fantasy"..."engage with the world as it is in that moment."
Were those piecemeal quotes from Neville Chamberlain? If possible, try to stay on topic. This is not the first time people in leadership positions at LLNL and LANL have been questioned on this blog.
5/14/2020 6:11 PM
You made this about Covid-19? Obsess much?
"To make fun of his degree and knowledge are pointless as he has proven his talent and understanding of social realities. Not everyone can do this."
Your admiration is noted. You are welcome to worship at the alter of your choice.
@5/15/2020 8:13 AM
Neville Chamberlain, eh? Your disquiet induces you to speak nonsense. The topic has been unmolested, although it may have a trajectory not to your liking. When one posits an explanation of the dynamics of human relationships, it in no way diminishes the questioning of “people in leadership.” Because, you know, this is discourse.
Your admiration is noted. You are welcome to worship at the alter of your choice.
5/15/2020 5:30 PM
You can cast you judgement as you wish. The rest of us know how the world actually works.
"When one posits an explanation of the dynamics of human relationships, it in no way diminishes the questioning of “people in leadership.”"
Nice try. Under the guise of "human relationships" you reveal a distain for non-homogeneous free thought, open opinion, and so attempt in a roundabout way, to undermine it.
"Peace for our time"
-Neville Chamberlain
" you reveal a distain for non-homogeneous free thought, open opinion, and so attempt in a roundabout way, to undermine it.
Excuse me but "non-homogeneous" is what got us in so much hot water, people believing crazy conspiracy theories, not string indoors.
@5/16/2020 2:41 PM
The gain and Q of your detector is so high that you are hearing demons and symphonies due to thermal variations; a superregenerative receiver for imagined injustices. My goodness, do you even bother to read the text, or do you reflexively regurgitate victim narratives when the conversation and reality contradicts, or is not in full agreement with your model?
If you honestly believe this tripe about non-homogenous free thought, then you have no idea about the system in which you are operating. We all deal with disparate opinions, data, and emotions on a day to day, minute to minute basis. Everyone, at some point in their lives, learns how to deal with difficult people the best they can. There is no algorithm, AI or authority that will be as good as what’s between your ears, so learn and adapt. If you insist on tilting at windmills, at least take the time to learn the ways of that windmill you wish to skewer, instead of blindly raging at all who don’t immediately pick up what you drop.
On this blog over the years many past and present senior managers at LANL and LLNL have been openly criticized including Ph.D free Mike Campbell, Ed Moses, George Miller, Monya Lane, Charley McMillan, Tomas Diaz de la Rubia, and the list goes on and on. Most of the responding comments to criticisms of these managers didn't include "jealous losers".
So either Pico is as pure as the driven snow and his critics have unfounded grudges against him, or Pico has layers of protection that have yet to be openly revealed for PC or other reasons.
On this blog over the years many past and present senior managers at LANL and LLNL have been openly criticized including Ph.D free Mike Campbell, Ed Moses, George Miller, Monya Lane, Charley McMillan, Tomas Diaz de la Rubia, and the list goes on and on. Most of the responding comments to criticisms of these managers didn't include "jealous losers".
So either Pico is as pure as the driven snow and his critics have unfounded grudges against him, or Pico has layers of protection that have yet to be openly revealed for PC or other reasons.
5/17/2020 9:05 PM
The difference is no one is criticizing his decisions, his management style, etc. (one small blurb in one comment). They are criticizing the fact that he got into a postion of power without the glorious paper (degrees, published works). All of the things that some people think equate the totality of a person's worth. Lab snobbery at its worst.
"Lab snobbery at its worst."
Total BS and hypocrisy, because Pico used to strut around speaking of tier 1, tier 2, colleges when he had not earned any technical degree from any technical school during the first 20 years of his LLNL career.
Anonymous said...
"Lab snobbery at its worst."
Total BS and hypocrisy, because Pico used to strut around speaking of tier 1, tier 2, colleges when he had not earned any technical degree from any technical school during the first 20 years of his LLNL career.
5/18/2020 7:35 PM
Face palm.
"BS and hypocrisy"
Some people born on third base, begin to believe they hit a triple and act accordingly. To them, calls of hypocrisy have no meaning.
To others, only "jealous losers" would think otherwise.
... third base... I know folks who hit between left and centerfield with no fence, and claim "home run"
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