Is NIF worthy of The Prize?

 Is the NIF a ignition achievement worthy of a Nobel Prize? I have my own options but didn’t want to bias the question.

Top tier ET colleges for Lab Jobs?

 

DeVry University in Arizona use to offer 3 Electronics Technology Degrees, a BSET, an ASET, and an AAET, which was basically Electronics “Lite”, with minimal math and science requirements. UC/LLNL hired at least one DeVry Arizona college student (that I know of), who had not even completed 1 year of his AAET, which was the Electronics Lite Certificate portion of the AAET degree.

Most UC/LLNL ET new hires at the time either completed a BSET, ASET, or had significant Military ET experience. So why did UC/LLNL hire this DeVry student who had not completed his AAET degree? Because UC/LLNL was HELL-bent on filling “underutilized” job categories. It was DEI on steroids. Because of his “underutilize” status, this individual quickly became a Teflon Politician/manager, nothing bad ever stuck to him.

Oddly, this manager would often speak of the need to hire from top tier ET colleges for Lab jobs. Oh, the hypocrisy of the anointed ones.

The work is just beginning.

 

Giant laser from 'Star Trek' to be tested in fusion breakthrough

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-giant-laser-star-trek-fusion.html

Remember LIFE?

 Was “LIFE” completely defunded in 2012, after NIF failed to reach ignition goals in 2012?

DOE has vacated the Atomic Energy Commission’s 1954 decision In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer

 Secretary Granholm Statement on DOE Order Vacating 1954 Atomic Energy Commission Decision In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer

https://www.energy.gov/articles/secretary-granholm-statement-doe-order-vacating-1954-atomic-energy-commission-decision

In 1954, the Atomic Energy Commission revoked Dr. Oppenheimer’s security clearance through a flawed process that violated the Commission’s own regulations. As time has passed, more evidence has come to light of the bias and unfairness of the process that Dr. Oppenheimer was subjected to while the evidence of his loyalty and love of country have only been further affirmed. The Atomic Energy Commission even selected Dr. Oppenheimer in 1963 for its prestigious Enrico Fermi Award citing his “scientific and administrative leadership not only in the development of the atomic bomb, but also in establishing the groundwork for the many peaceful applications of atomic energy.”

When Dr. Oppenheimer died in 1967, Senator J. William Fulbright took to the Senate floor and said “Let us remember not only what his special genius did for us; let us also remember what we did to him.” Today we remember how the United States government treated a man who served it with the highest distinction. We remember that political motives have no proper place in matters of personnel security. And we remember that living up to our ideals requires unerring attention to the fair and consistent application of our laws.

https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/S1%20Oppenheimer%20Order%2012.12.22%20signed%20by%20S1%2012-16-2022.pdf

Edward Teller, the true story!

 Edward Teller is the father of the hydrogen bomb. From Nature:

https://www.nature.com/articles/news030908-6

This used to be mainly a LLNL blog. Many of us that worker there saw Edward and knew many people who interacted with him at one time. The stories we have are numerous and I invite people to share them here. Unfortunately there has been a thread about Teller that has relied on canned attacks and verbal gymnastics to discount his contributions and label him a villain. I would like to have a discussion that looks at the entire man and measures his impact on science and the nation.

Los Alamos quality of life

 The quality of life in Los Alamos seems to be declining. Too much traffic take forever to get to work whether driving or riding the bus, grocery shelves sometimes empty, prices too high for bad quality products, no housing available,constant blackouts, etc. The lab should be more straightforward with new employees and let them know the town is full.

Was Teller wrong?

 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11548419/J-Robert-Oppenheimer-father-atomic-bomb-black-mark-government-nullified.html

Architect of the American atomic bomb J. Robert Oppenheimer is finally CLEARED - 68 years after losing his security clearance amid accusations he was a communist: Cillian Murphy to play the genius in new biopic.

I guess Teller was wrong.

Poor new On-Line training

 Poor new On-Line training, brought in as a last-minute pandemic patch.

Recycled horribly ended and recorded videos. Where the Audio Level will constantly change up and down, from section to section so distracting that it's almost impossible to follow the subject matter. Or where the person making the video didn't pay attention to the scaling, and you end up with a 3-inch Square video, in the middle of your 40 inch monitor. Yet LLNL has it in-house video production division. That generates some of the most polished videos, with a production value that is worthy of a luxury car ad. Even the most current videos that were being used during training. We're almost unintelligible and unwatchable. I realize that certain concessions had to be made due to the pandemic. We are tell Rita hands on training classes that should have taken a few hours, we're reduced down to a few minutes. No actual testing of your knowledge was done. Either the instructor would tell everyone the answers. Or you filled out whatever you thought was right and was never given feedback on your answer. The only class that still resembles anything that I would consider training. Was the first aid and CPR, happened to have an excellent instructor. All of the other classes seem to be taught by one of three instructors, and we're a fall safety and entrapment safety class, was supposed to take two and a half hours, was over in less than 20 minutes.

Module that was taught on confined spaces, was a joke. The gas detectors they had in the classroom were all broken and out of calibration. to add insult to injury the cans of specially mixed gas that you were to spray into your 5 gallon Home Depot bucket to simulate and enclosed environment we're empty. Not only did a new hire that had never worked in this field before not learn anything. More senior employees it will retaking the class, in an attempt to help the training only serve to reinforce bad habits. after working there for a few years. it became a parent that LLNL is the definition of government waste. Between the atrocious low quality online training, it was Couples with the inability to actually schedule the Hands-On training, as there was never any slots open, and when they did show up in the system they would be filled immediately. The training coordinator was oblivious to her own job. Having to make constant phone calls requesting for training classes to be scheduled. I felt no safer after completing the entire training program then I did before I started.

Theft cases

 Either the LLNS employee Copper thief that stole $117,667 worth of copper from LLNL from 2011 to 2014, is the luckiest guy on Earth for only given a misdemeanor charge, or LLNS navigated a path to minimize or eliminate a NNSA financial penalty for this chronic copper theft.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/former-biden-official-sam-brintons-mug-shot-released-bail-set-15000

What a waste of taxpayers'money!

 the current process seems to be specifiy whatever you want from whatever manufacturer you want it from regardless of the cost. And we will order three or four of them. Just a waste at Site 300 alone, keeps a multiple amount of recycling companies in business, scrapping stainless steel, brass and copper there are cabinets full of parts at Site 300, for various projects, that will never be used. Either they were ordered in haste, to have enough on hand only for project to be canceled. Or they were just continuously ordered by people thinking that they were still needed. As an example, a small box made by Pomona electronics. Approximately 2 in long with a BNC connector on each end, commonly they will have cable Equalization circuits built inside. I have personally seen a box that contains over 500 of these Parts enclosures unused. Yet more were ordered because these were "old and used flat blade instead of Phillips screws" each enclosure list price Which is less than the government pays, is $65 each.

When a simple 12 volt bench power supply was needed to test a strip of LED lights (from Amazon), The power supply chosen cost $2,800. Would provide 0 to 80 volts at up to 5 amps. With full computer remote control, positive and negative dual Supply rails with double ground isolation.

The lab could save enough money by just cleaning up and organizing what supplies are stuffed in too cabinets all over site 200 and Site 300. would pay for the staff needed to do the job, including testing and calibration to ensure the parts were still viable.

I understand that there's a time and place where new appointment has to be acquired, due to the fact that technology Marches On, however it seems that at LLNL new equipment has to be ordered on an hourly basis. Companies such as McMaster Carr Have made Rich by the fact that they spend $15 for one 5/8 Amber coated rust resistant Bolt.

On average 6 or more 20 yard debris boxes will leave LOL headed for recyclers. Containing tons of brass and stainless steel. Not to mention dozens more containing chassis, power supplies, random test equipment. Now some is sold at auction through govdeals.com. but it's not even 1% of the equipment absorbed into that laboratory. When we're tired we'll make it to auction.
Rather than make it available to Public Schools and colleges, or for that matter why not have a building that sells Surplus parts and equipment, to the General Public . With the understanding that the lab does not guarantee whether or not the part is fit for your application is. Site 200 Insight 300 are the true definition of government waste.

Cafeteria food quality

 Why was it necessary for the lab to privatize all of the cafeterias. And close the cafeteria at site 300. So the employees had to create a workaround by creating their own snack shacks. Where are they purchase items at Costco and store them in freezers. Should you forget to bring your lunch. I remember a time at the Nevada Test site, where the food was good, made in-house and very inexpensive. Made the assumption that this was one of the perks of working for the Federal government, in a remote location.

Now all is offered is subpar industrial food, brought in by either Cisco or nugget depending who got the contract, you will pay top dollar for food that is barely edible. Don't believe the fancy video that shows you a day in the life of a live employee. There is very little idea like about it, and the breakfast they show you when I duplicated it during my employment, it cost me $18.

Agreement reached over Hanford site contractor’s alleged hiring discrimination

“The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs found that Richland-based Washington River Protection Solutions discriminated against Hispanic applicants seeking jobs as health physics technician trainees throughout 2019.”


https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/agreement-reached-over-hanford-site-contractors-alleged-hiring-discrimination/?amp=1

Major breakthrough at DOE?

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/net-energy-gain-us-scientists-makes-breakthrough-nuclear-fusion

The US department of energy has said energy secretary Jennifer Granholm and under-secretary for nuclear security Jill Hruby will announce “a major scientific breakthrough” at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on Tuesday.

“If this is confirmed, we are witnessing a moment of history,” said Dr Arthur Turrell, a plasma physicist whose book The Star Builders charts the effort to achieve fusion power.

“Scientists have struggled to show that fusion can release more energy than is put in since the 1950s, and the researchers at Lawrence Livermore seem to have finally and absolutely smashed this decades-old goal.” Russian propoganda?

Unlimited free energy!!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11526987/California-scientists-make-history-using-worlds-biggest-laser-replicate-reaction-powers-sun.html

Amazing!!!. 2023 Noble for LLNL for sure.

Nuclear weapons are cool and all that but a far more greater threat to humanity is global warming. NIF may have just solved that and saved all of our lives. Tip of the hat folks!!! Unlimited free energy.

Sam Brinton

 

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/sam-brinton-biden-nuclear-waste-official-luggage-theft-1234644687/

12/09/2022 7:05 PM

 Anonymous said...

It has recently come to light that Sam Brinton, a high-level government Trans-Activist diversity hire with a puppy play fetish, has been caught stealing luggage at airports. This is a shocking and disappointing revelation, to say the least. It begs the question: why do the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense insist on hiring people in the service of a woke ideology, even when they have clear and obvious flaws and can pose grave security risks? Sam was recently a feature on LLNL Newsline and had an hour long webex chat posted celebrating his hire.

Furthermore, another diversity hire, LLNL lab director Kim Budil, was recently arrested for a DUI. This raises even more concerns about the hiring practices of these government agencies and LLC's such as LLNS. It is clear that something needs to be done to prevent these kinds of hires in the future.

One possible solution is to implement stricter background checks for all government hires, regardless of their diversity status. This would ensure that only qualified and capable individuals are selected for these important positions. Additionally, there should be consequences for those who do not live up to the standards expected of them, including the loss of clearance and potential legal action.

It is important that the DOE and DOD prioritize the safety and security of the American people above all else. Hiring individuals who do not meet the necessary standards is a disservice to the country, and it is crucial that steps are taken to prevent it from happening in the future.

Luggage theft by DOE official

 A DOE official with a passion for fashion may be sourcing their wardrobe from stolen luggage.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/sam-brinton-biden-nuclear-waste-official-luggage-theft-1234644687/

Triad gets 5 year extension.

 5 more years 

Mason Says Triad LLC Five-Year Contract Extension Is Direct Result Of Workforce’s Hard Work And Dedication

This is a outstanding news and shows the comment and experience of UC in leading LANL. Hopefully NNSA will see what is going on and get rid of Bechtel from LLNL. Congrats to LANL, UC, and TRIAD!

The first wormhole?

 https://www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-create-a-wormhole-using-a-quantum-computer-20221130/

Physicists Create a Holographic Wormhole Using a Quantum Computer

The unprecedented experiment explores the possibility that space-time somehow emerges from quantum information.
Physicists have purportedly created the first-ever wormhole, a kind of tunnel theorized in 1935 by Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen that leads from one place to another by passing into an extra dimension of space.

This is incredible and scary at the same time suppose China or Russia can do the same thing? This will make nuclear weapons seem like cap guns. We will be throwing black holes at either going through space time wormholes on quantum computer created on quantum computers!

This shows that the labs are misguided and trying to fight the cold war when new technologies and quantum weapons are the future. We need to reinvest our money now to start looking at the future. Bombers, missiles, guns are not gone mean anything in the new battle field. The labs are trapped in the past. And no I do not want to hear someone say this is all hype.

Fusion Technology Is Reaching a Turning Point

 In November 2021, the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California achieved a historic step forward for inertial confinement fusion.

https://www.sciencealert.com/fusion-technology-is-reaching-a-turning-point-that-could-change-the-energy-game

LLNL, Site 300 operations up for review

 LLNL, Site 300 operations up for review

https://www.ttownmedia.com/tracy_press/llnl-site-300-operations-up-for-review/article_0dc3f3b8-71d6-11ed-a941-873cd80c3a96.html

LANL's pit production a year behind schedule

By Scott Wyland

 Updated Oct 5, 2022 

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/lanls-pit-production-a-year-behind-schedule/article_ca2262a2-43f9-11ed-84da-eb276b365663.html

Recurring theme: disinformation

Bringing this topic back. Musk is about to give amnesty on band  correction: banned) twitter people. That means we will (be) in for an onslaught of fake information and violence. If we cannot shut down twitter can the labs at least use science and tech to combat fake information? This could be more important than any possible nuclear war.

Carbon capture technology

 

Climate Now’s James Lawler was invited to tour LLNL’s Carbon Capture Lab. 

https://climatenow.com/podcast/what-is-the-future-of-carbon-capture-technology/

NIF Back on Track

 High-Laser-Energy Shot Puts NIF Back on Track Toward Ignition

https://lasers.llnl.gov/news/high-energy-shot-puts-nif-back-on-track-toward-ignition

Can physicists combat nuclear war climate damage?

 https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/202212/nuclear.cfm

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-022-00573-0
This paper claims 2 billion would die in war between Pakistan and India.

As near as I can tell their numbers are off by a factor of 100 to 1000

What is odd is they even mention " after the 1783 Laki eruption in Iceland1 or the 1815 Tambora eruption in Indonesia2,3' They could have considered Krakatoa as well. All these events are like 100-1000 times more ash than Pakistan India war. I cannot for the life of me figure out wow they get 5–47 Tg of soot, which would most likely be less than 16 by their own numbers. I do not think these soot numbers are even correct since they comparing them to volcanos. None of their numbers make any sense to me if you do some simple back of the envelope calculations in comparison to past volcanic events. They also do the usual thing and assume the nukes are dropped right on top of the most populated cities where they would mostly be used against military targets.

They use CESM is a state-of-the-art climate model but I think it is pretty clear these climate models are not very accurate.

Safety Concerns at NNSA

 Inspection Report on Allegations of Safety Concerns at the National Nuclear Security Administration Albuquerque Complex

https://www.oversight.gov/sites/default/files/oig-reports/DOE/DOE-OIG-23-03.pdf

Is the big one coming?

 https://www.globalresearch.ca/us-nuclear-forces-chief-says-the-big-one-is-coming/5798277

The commander that oversees US nuclear forces delivered an ominous warning at a naval conference last week by calling the war in Ukraine a “warmup” for the “big one” that is to come.

“This Ukraine crisis that we’re in right now, this is just the warmup,” said Navy Adm. Charles Richard, the commander of US Strategic command. “The big one is coming. And it isn’t going to be very long before we’re going to get tested in ways that we haven’t been tested [in] a long time.”

Richard’s warning came after the US released its new Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), which reaffirms that the US doctrine allows for the first use of nuclear weapons. The review says that the purpose of the US nuclear arsenal is to “deter strategic attacks, assure allies and partners, and achieve US objectives if deterrence fails.”

LLNL versus Twitter

 LLNL versus Twitter

In light of recent events should LLNL and LANL remove their twitter accounts to help the fight against Fascism? Lets take a vote.

Just what the world needs...

 US Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday says US war with China over Taiwan could happen in the next 12 months. Just what the world needs...

"It’s not just what President Xi says, but it’s how the Chinese behave and what they do. And what we’ve seen over the past 20 years is that they have delivered on every promise they’ve made earlier than they said they were going to deliver on it,” Gilday said when asked about the so-called “Davidson window,” referring to former U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. Phil Davidson testifying to Congress in 2021 that China wanted the capability to seize Taiwan within the next six years.

“When we talk about the 2027 window, in my mind that has to be a 2022 window or a potentially a 2023 window. I can’t rule that out. I don’t mean at all to be alarmist by saying that, it’s just that we can’t wish that away,” the CNO added."

https://news.usni.org/2022/10/19/chinas-accelerated-timeline-to-take-taiwan-pushing-navy-in-the-pacific-says-cno-gilday

Our path to nuclear war

  Sobering assessment of the near term potential nuclear use by Russia in its Ukraine war and how it will escalate from tactical nuclear exchanges to strategic nuclear city busters.

https://warontherocks.com/2022/10/the-end-of-the-world-is-nigh/

What happens if the nukes fall?

 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11327611/What-happen-Russia-hit-major-city-nuke.html

What happens if the nukes fall? Expert reveals which areas of London, New York and other cities will be instantly obliterated by Putin strike…and where you'd stand best chance of surviving

To be honest I think military targets would be hit not cities. Think places like ABQ and Livermore not NYC. I have talked to friends on both sides of the political spectrum and they seem to not care and fine with a nuclear war. One group says it is worth the risk to defeat Putin so Trump cannot be reelected and so what if we lose a million people Trump wold kill more with Covid 2. The other group is saying the world is falling apart anyway so just get it over as it would be better to have a nuclear war than transgender bathrooms. There are a small number voices in the middle that say we should support Ukraine but not to the point of nuclear war such as my self and we are told that we are either Russian bots, Fascists, cowards, racists, or Q anon followers. My parents told me about how afraid everyone was during the Cuban missile crisis. Today everybody is like so what, everything sucks anyway, it is either nuclear war or climate collapse, fascisim or communism, high gas prices and being yelled it by Karens for not wearing a mask. It seems like everyone is resigned to this.

Does LLNS have a suicide prevention program?

 

Does LLNS have a structured suicide prevention program that strives to reach out and help lab employees with suicidal thoughts, and if warranted, the authority to investigate employee and management conduct leading up to a suicide event without employer bias?

In some cases, the California Courts may consider "severe emotional stress" caused by "cyber bullying" and "hateful messages" leading to a suicide as a "wrongful death", making it possible for the family members of the deceased to hold the offending party liable in Court.

https://www.jmllaw.com/blog/wrongful-death-and-cyberbullying-how-social-media-trolls-and-bullies-can-be-held-liable-for-suicide.shtml

LANL expanding workforce

 LANL is rapidly trying to expand its workforce and the problem trying to get qualified people with some tech background.

We have a solutions,

Facebook 'looks to quietly cull 12,000 underperforming workers' - 15% of its staff - in WEEKS: Mark Zuckerberg freezes hiring and shuts NYC offic


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11279459/Facebook-looks-quietly-cull-12-000-underperforming-workers.html

LANL could grab 3-4k of these people. The issue is will they even want to go to LANL? I say they should bombard Facebook with LANL adds right now.

Nobel prize and LLNL

John Clauser received his B.S. in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1964, his M.A. in physics in 1966 and Ph.D. in physics in 1969 from Columbia University. From 1969 to 1996 he worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the University of California, Berkeley.

https://www.johnclauser.com/about-me

Enthusiasm at the RE+ conference

 After several months of frustration and slowing momentum for the solar industry.... 

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/a-renewed-wave-of-excitement-for-the-energy-transition-seen-at-re/632923/

China is playing a game!

 At least 154 Chinese scientists who worked on government-sponsored research at the U.S.’s foremost national security laboratory over the last two decades have been recruited to do scientific work in China ...

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/scientists-americas-top-nuclear-lab-recruited-china-design-missiles-dr-rcna48834

LLNL Director arrested gor DUI

 It is not in the media, but Kim Budil,  LLNL Director, sent a lab-wide email this week (19th) admitting to being cited (arrested actually) for drunk driving and speeding

NNSA, the board of governors etc. have all been informed.

Are we ready for WW3?

I find it kind of funny that in 1999 most people assumed the need for nuclear weapons was over and that we should close the labs or least one of of the labs. Also we should let a sleazy for profit people run them or that total nut like Nanos should be made director. Anyone who was at the labs from 1999 to 2015 saw that decay, loss of talent, and demoralization. LANL for example
took constant beatings in the press, constant attacks from politicians, calls to shut it down, people saying what is done in Los Alamos
that could not be done anywhere and so on.

At the same time there where plenty of people who said that Russia and China where long term threats. Anyone who said Russia would be an issue was simply laughed at. Also people pointed out that the constant long term beatings of the labs and privatization of the labs
might be noticed by our enemies.

Well here we are. Let us hope that after 20 years of decay that Russia knows that the US has a credible deterrent.


https://www.huffpost.com/entry/russia-ukraine-war-putin-partial-mobilization_n_632ab2a1e4b0ed991abe589a


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11234251/America-hit-Russias-military-devastating-strike-Putin-nukes-Ukraine-says-general.html

How about that?

 MIT students are part of the large team that achieved fusion ignition for the first time in a laboratory.

https://scitechdaily.com/mit-contributes-to-success-of-historic-fusion-ignition-experiment/amp/

China to produce clean energy with nuclear fusion by 2028?

 So far, Chinese scientists have achieved a reaction running at a slightly cooler 70 million degrees celsius for more than 17 minutes.

https://interestingengineering.com/science/china-aspires-unlimited-clean-energy-2028

Safer Nuclear Fission Power Plant Fuel by 2025?

 Safer Nuclear Fission Power Plant Fuel by 2025?

“5 Things You Should Know About Accident Tolerant Fuels

These nuclear fuels will not only increase the safety of today’s light-water reactors but also improve plant performance at a crucial time for the U.S. nuclear industry. A number of reactors are currently under economic stress and the benefits that these fuels bring to the table could make the case for utilities to extend plant operations.”

https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/5-things-you-should-know-about-accident-tolerant-fuels#:~:text=Accident%20tolerant%20fuels%20beat%20the,%2C%20corrosion%2C%20and%20high%20temperatures.

NIF defunding

 When will NIF get significantly defunded in favor of accident prevention designed (rigorously engineering controlled) new fission power plants? How long can CA, the USA, and World wait given the geopolitics and concerns of global warming?

Is the end (of NIF) near?

 When will NIF get significantly defunded in favor of accident prevention designed (rigorously engineering controlled) new fission power plants? How long can CA, the USA, and World wait given the geopolitics and concerns of global warming?

The NEW Hydrogen Breakthrough

 The NEW Hydrogen Breakthrough That's Set To DISRUPT The Energy Market

https://www.google.com/search?q=hydrogen+breakthrough&source=hp&ei=nwYWY_7IKK7ZkPIPrbSyoA8&oq=&gs_lcp=ChFtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1ocBABGAEyBQgpEKABMgIIKTIRCCkQgAQQsQMQgwEQxwEQ0QMyEAgpELEDEIMBEMcBENEDEEMyAggpMgIIKTIECCkQDTICCCkyAggpMhEIKRCABBCxAxCDARDHARDRAzIECCkQDTIHCCkQoAEQCjICCCkyBQgpEIAEMgIIKTIOCAAQjwEQ6gIQjAMQ5QIyDggAEI8BEOoCEIwDEOUCMg4IABCPARDqAhCMAxDlAjIOCAAQjwEQ6gIQjAMQ5QIyDggAEI8BEOoCEIwDEOUCMg4IABCPARDqAhCMAxDlAjIOCAAQjwEQ6gIQjAMQ5QIyDggAEI8BEOoCEIwDEOUCMg4IABCPARDqAhCMAxDlAjIOCAAQjwEQ6gIQjAMQ5QIyDggAEI8BEOoCEIwDEOUCMg4IABCPARDqAhCMAxDlAjIOCAAQjwEQ6gIQjAMQ5QIyDggAEI8BEOoCEIwDEOUCMg4IABCPARDqAhCMAxDlAlAAWABgthBoAXAAeACAAQCIAQCSAQCYAQCwAR4&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-hp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:d1803ae7,vid:8TMnkGvOqhQ,st:0

Quiet quitting

 Some call it “quiet quitting,” and some call it “ghost quitting.” But this phenomenon is decreasing productivity, whatever the vernacular in your area. And most managers or business owners may not even realize their employees are doing this.

https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/labor-day-lament-quiet-quitting-stifling-business

Is quite quitting a thing at LLNL and LANL? It seems like this is the case but this also occurred before the pandemic.

Two new offices

 This is real progress happening quietly... 

From Clean Technica:

"Two New DOE Offices Will Support the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Investments to Modernize the Electric Grid, Help States, Communities, Tribes and Territories Build Out Clean Energy Infrastructure and Revitalize Economies"

https://cleantechnica.com/2022/09/01/biden-harris-admin-launches-new-offices-to-lower-energy-costs-deploy-clean-power-nationwide/

How can national labs join the fight for democracy?

 So Biden laid down the gauntlet on we stand as a nation and that we in one of the most perilous moments in our history. He made it very clear who the enemy is and the treat is greater than anything from China and Russia. How can the labs joint the fight in saving the US democracy. People keep sayin the blog is not suppose to be about politics but is becoming clear that the labs are going to have to get involved.

Have LLNL employees benefited from subsidized college education?

 Have LLNL employees benefited from subsidized college education?

For decades, the University of California and California state colleges were free. Some of you may not have known this. I'm sure some of the students of that era were or are working at LLNL. Since ~1980, college tuition has grown faster than inflation. Many years ago, Peter Schiff said the spiraling cost of college in the USA was largely due to easily acquired federal loans, since that allowed colleges to continue to raise their tuitions and fees. Then colleges could raise costs, the federal loans increased, and the cycle repeated. Something to consider before criticizing the $10K student loan forgiveness.

LLNL names deputy director

 Worth a topic of discussion?

https://www.llnl.gov/news/carolyn-zerkle-named-lawrence-livermores-deputy-director

What cities are next?

 Are the California “sanctuary cities” of Berkeley, LA, Napa, San Francisco, San Jose, and others next?

“Operation Lone Star Ramps Up Busing Of Migrants To NYC, D.C. To Provide Relief To Border Communities”

"In addition to Washington, D.C., New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city,”

https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/operation-lone-star-ramps-up-busing-of-migrants-to-nyc-d.c-to-provide-relief-to-border-communities

Will the labs join in the fight against domestic threats?

Dangerous GOP. 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/michael-hayden-cia-director-republicans_n_62fe52e4e4b077bb77a966d8

Ex-CIA Director Says Today’s GOP Is Most Dangerous Political Force He’s Ever Seen
“I agree,” said Michael Hayden, in response to a journalist who covers extremism describing Republicans as "nihilistic" and "contemptible."

Contract versus permanent

 In 2022, is LLNS still pitching to prospective “career indefinite” employees, that sub-contractor employees, are a funding and employment buffer? If so, is it really true?

Fusion confirmed but...

 "If we could harness this reaction to generate electricity, it would be one of the most efficient and least polluting sources of energy possible." Newsweek 8/12/22

https://www.newsweek.com/nuclear-fusion-energy-milestone-ignition-confirmed-california-1733238?amp=1

Trump is a Butthead Cowboy!

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11103507/Justice-Department-asks-judge-UNSEAL-search-warrant-Trumps-raid.html

FBI agents were searching for classified documents about NUCLEAR WEAPONS when they raided Mar-a-Lago, according to report, as Merrick Garland says HE approved search warrant on Trump's Florida home

Did Trump ever visit LANL and their cowboy culture rub off on him?

8/11/2022 6:35 PM

LLNL draft vision statement

 Proposal for LLNL Vision statement draft:

We aspire to become an anti-racist and health-promoting research institution where:

Diversity, equity, shared governance, and expansive notions of excellence are core institutional values.

Wellness and an ethic of care are embedded throughout our campus culture and all policies and practices.

We invest in a resource-rich learning environment to support the development and success of citizens of plural identities and from diverse socio-economic, racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.

Climate, environmental, and racial justice align with sustainable economic and planning decisions with local and global effects.

Community engaged scholarship, service, and reciprocity are embedded in University practices that promote the economic, social, and cultural well-being of the communities we serve

We hold ourselves and each other accountable to ensure these values drive all decision-making in research, pedagogical innovations, resource allocation, and the development of policies and practices.

Are NSF grant decisions racist?

 From LLNL scientists

https://www.science.org/content/article/nsf-grant-decisions-reflect-systemic-racism-study-argues

The analysis supports earlier studies finding similar racial disparities in the funding of scientists by other federal agencies, notably the National Institutes of Health (NIH). And its authors—a team led by geochemist Christine Yifeng Chen, a postdoc at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory—attribute the gap in NSF funding rates, with white scientists at the top and Asian researchers at the bottom, to “systemic racism.”

The NSF funding disparities “have cascading impacts that perpetuate a cumulative advantage to White [principal investigators] across all of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,” they write in their study, posted earlier this month on the Center for Open Science preprint site.

Zero emissions

 Is the projected CA Electric Grid Capacity in line with the growth of "Zero Emission" EV goals in CA, or are we getting over our skis?

There is CA proposal to ban new gas engine vehicle sales in CA by 2035 in favor of zero emissions vehicles, like EVs, which will require more capacity from our CA electrical grid. Increasingly, CA cities are no longer installing natural gas furnaces, natural gas stovetops, and natural gas water heaters. Again, this will require more CA electrical grid capacity. And let's not forget about those ~200 natural gas fired electrical generating "peaker" plants in CA. Are those slated to be shut down to reduce pollution too? There is also talk of removing some hydroelectric dams in NE California for environmental reasons.

Some assumptions (please modify as needed)

1. The average work commute of a CA driver is 47 miles/day.
2. The average EV can travel 4 miles/kWh, so 11.75kWh/day is needed to allow for the average daily commute distance. If one recharges overnight that's 1.47kW grid load for 8 hours.
3. If one recharges the full 58.75kWh needed for a weekly commute using a "Level 2" charger, that's 7.34kW grid load for 8 hours. (Assumes 100% charging efficiency which is more like ~88%). As shown in assumption 4 below, this level of power is comparable to the power demand of 2 air conditioners each having a 3.5 ton rating.
4. In the hotter parts of CA, a typical 2,200 square foot home will have a 3.5 ton air conditioner. Assuming an average (older + newer) SEER rating of 12, a 3.5 ton air conditioner which has a 42,000 btu rating, will draw 3,500W. However, air conditioners cycle on and off over a 24 hour period, so the average power draw will be much less.

This leads me to believe the electric power demand for a material increase in CA EV drivers, may be high enough to repeatedly reach a CA electric power demand tipping point. Will charging EVs at night prevent such a tippi

ng point Will charging EVs at night prevent such a tipping point? Hmm. Remember, home air conditioners are the item we are encouraged to raise the thermostat on during high grid demand periods and we are also encouraged to reduce all electrical consumption from 4pm to 9pm.

Are fission plants a CA option and if so, don't they each take 5-10 years to bring on line? If new CA fission plants are not on line by 2035, or if CA wind and solar can't meet the higher electrical demand by 2035, then what? We purchase out of state power that emit green house gases? I would like to see the bones of a plan that has projected EV power demand in alignment with the projected ability to meet this demand. The cost to add such grid capacity and the cost for CA residents to purchase EVs will be of value as well. Lastly, will the raw materials needed to built EVs in mass be largely imported, putting the USA in a dependent and vulnerable position?

WIPP bid protest

 Carlsbad Operations Alliance LLC has filed the 2nd bid protest for the WIPP Contract awarded to Bechtel

https://www.gao.gov/docket/b-420913.2

Nuclear fusion research news

 From the University of Osaka:

https://www.inverse.com/science/lasers-artificial-magnetosphere/amp

Future of UCRS

 In the latest LLNL retirees newsletter, UCRS declared they had finished divesting from all companies with ties to fossil fuels. That sounds like a big hit to the bottom line of the fund. How are they going to replace the cash-flow coming from oil, gas, and coal? Or is UCRS about to take a huge dive into the red in order to please a bunch of eco-alarmists?

GreggS

Not so fast!

Nuclear waste repository contract delayed 3 months amid protest from losing bidder

https://www.yahoo.com/now/nuclear-waste-repository-contract-delayed-160115292.html

Chinese fusion research

 China is carrying out extensive fusion projects to promote the final application of clean fusion energy.

https://phys.org/news/2022-07-key-material-fusion-energy-application.amp

Back to the drawing board

 Not exactly good news for NIF

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02022-1

Nuc fusion

 Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have made a breakthrough in nuclear fusion technology, pushing the goal of harnessing limitless energy closer to reality...

https://eurasiantimes.com/holy-grail-us-china-fight-it-out-for-dominance-in-limitless-energy/?amp

Resistance to wind energy

 https://www.iwf.org/2022/07/20/when-it-comes-to-clean-energy-wind-is-an-expensive-loser-for-the-american-people/

WIPP management

 DOE Awards WIPP Management and Operating Contract to Tularosa Basin Range Services, LLC (TBRS), Comprised of Bechtel National, Inc.

https://www.energy.gov/em/articles/doe-awards-waste-isolation-pilot-plant-wipp-management-and-operating-contract

How bad will this get?

 Another Covid surge is on its way, LANL is back to masking and many people are talking about work of from home again. How bad will this get?

Get inside, NYC!

 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11003825/New-York-City-releases-new-PSA-NUCLEAR-ATTACK-three-simple-steps.html

New York City releases PSA for a NUCLEAR ATTACK after Russian state media boasted Putin could wipe out the US East Coast: Video says 'keep radioactive dust away from you' In a new 90 second clip, NYC's Emergency Management Department tells New Yorkers to: 'Get inside, stay inside and stay tuned'

I get the feeling that they are trying to tell us something? In any case I am sure that putting Bechtel in charge of LLNL will sure put the fear into Putin.

Mello on LANL

 Greg Mello posted on this on a local news paper. I would guess that "former" director is Sig Hecker.

LANL should be closed. I have a conversation with a former lab director who told me LANL was (at the time we spoke) twice the size it needed to be for the mission. (Now that would be 3 or even 4 times the size needed, in his very experienced view.) Back in the early 1950s, there were voices in the Atomic Energy Commission which wanted LANL closed, saying LANL was the wrong place for its work.

Until 2018 there was not going to be an industrial pit mission at LANL. NNSA wisely thought it unlikely to succeed, or to succeed for long, and/or would not be cost-effective. That's still true. The dramatic expansion we see at LANL today is the result of a) our NM senators organizing Senate pressure on Trump, who was easy to pressure, and later b) the contractors and a neoconservative cabal in the Pentagon (which Biden has kept intact) blackmailing Trump using Inhofe, Liz Cheney, and others during the second impeachment ("give us a gigantic spending increase, in part to fund two pit factories, or we will have to assume you are a Putin stooge and vote against you").

A man who is now a senior federal nuclear safety official said to me in 2019, "Greg, we all know what is going to happen at LANL. They will go on until they have accidents and incidents that shut them down. We can only hope not too many people will be hurt."

Experiment at Sandia

 Now this is the type of research Sandia is cut out for:

https://twitter.com/SandiaLabs/status/1545143047146684416

Sandia lawsuit update

 Sandia lawsuit claiming research misconduct proceeds to federal court:

https://nationworldnews.com/sandia-national-labs-nuclear-scientist-sued-after-being-fired/

Who's calling the shots?

 We are coming up to year since NIF had the one great burning plasma shot. Celebrations where at hand, Nobel prizes where to be given, rapid progress would soon happen, Lux!!!.

What happened? Was the shot ever reproduced? Seems odd that a year latter and they cannot duplicate it.

Pension checks

 You can check

 https://bnym.accessmyretirement.com 

for access to your check history. Julys check is processing.

Any COLA news?

 Any clue as to the amount of the upcoming LLNS retiree COLA due July1?

LLNS death stats

 I'm reading here that at least 2 LLNS employee deaths (that we know of) may have been prevented with appropriate management employee engagement. My question is, how do these loss of life tragedy stats differ from other USA employers if they do at all? Are LLNS employment related death stats consistent with non-government funded employers?

Russia’s Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons

 From the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies...

"Russia’s Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons and Its Views of Limited Nuclear War
Dr Sidharth Kaushal and Sam Cranny-Evans
21 June 2022

Russia’s nonstrategic nuclear weapons are designed to achieve deterrence and military success against a technologically superior opponent. They are unlikely to be deployed in Ukraine.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia’s nonstrategic nuclear arsenal has come to play an increasingly important role in its defensive plans. The definition of nonstrategic nuclear weapons in Russian parlance covers weapons with a range of less than 5,500 km. Tactical nuclear weapons (TNW) are a sub-category of nonstrategic nuclear weapons that are limited in range, typically to 500 km.

Most such weapons are in the kiloton (kt) range. For example, the nuclear capable SSC-8 carries a 10kt warhead. Notably, some Russian missiles which fall into the category of strategic weapons, such as the Layner submarine-launched ballistic missile, are also capable of carrying low-yield warheads suggesting substrategic missions. Though it has been suggested that unlike the Soviet Union, Russia is willing to resort to nuclear first use and has lower nuclear thresholds, this is not quite right. The Soviets incorporated the early use of battlefield nuclear weapons into their planning for a war in Europe. Rather, Russian thinking differs from its Soviet predecessor in that it considers the possibility of limited nuclear use as part of efforts to inflict ‘unacceptable damage’ upon an opponent within the context of a coercive strategy. This is dissimilar to the Soviets who, though they held out the possibility of avoiding strategic exchanges between the Soviet Union and the US, assumed that even tactical nuclear use in

Europe would assume catastrophic proportions. For Russia, nonstrategic nuclear weapons are a controllable part of a framework for achieving both battlefield results and war termination."

https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/russias-nonstrategic-nuclear-weapons-and-its-views-limited-nuclear-war

Who is Deterring Whom?

 Who is Deterring Whom? The Place of Nuclear Weapons in Modern War

https://warontherocks.com/2022/06/who-is-deterring-whom-the-place-of-nuclear-weapons-in-modern-war/

"In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, old questions about nuclear deterrence have been revisited by a broad swath of academics, scholars, and pundits who have spent the past three decades acclimated to a climate of dramatically reduced nuclear risk. For those of us working in what has been a niche subfield, the attention has been both validating and, at times, surprising.

What is not often said is that nuclear deterrence is working and, as a result, both the United States and Russia face constraints in how they approach conflict that involves the other. Nuclear deterrence has limited the escalation of the conflict in profound ways, despite brutal fighting, heavy casualties, and the supply of substantial amounts of Western weaponry to Ukraine. This is welcome news, but there is a caution: There is no guarantee that it will continue to do so, nor can there be. The management of escalation means that the United States and NATO will have to accept that they too face limits in how to approach the conflict. It would be unwise to hand-wave away Russian nuclear threats, or to dismiss as so many have the Russian threat to use nuclear weapons, based on a warped understanding of deterrence theory."