Google's AI going nuts?

 This is interesting, Google has rediscovered the classic "garbage in garbage out" paradigm in computer science using chatbots trained from the internet:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rashishrivastava/2024/05/28/the-prompt-googles-ai-suggested-adding-glue-to-pizza/?sh=3c23ee6f1091

Google told people they could use glue to ensure that cheese sticks to pizza, that they could stare at the sun for up to 30 minutes and that geologists suggest eating one rock per day.

LLNL hiring practice

 A friend of mine,  an LLNL employee,   mentioned to me that when there is a search to fill an internal position, it is lab's policy to interview external candidates too.  

That's a great policy, except that what my friend  added was outrageous! Often times, an internal candidate had already been selected but the interviews continue.

Isn't this a waste of resources?  external candidates stand no chance!

This ought to be illegal.

I am an external candidate who was planning on joining the lab.

Would I be wasting my time?

Have you seen this practice? Has it always been in place or is it the brain child of LLNS?

Have you spoken up?

DUIs

 A lab worker bee DUI is an immediate “intent to dismiss” (firing) offense, but a Lab manager DUI from a supervisor and above, not so much?

Fusion news: General Atomics restarts experiments

 

DIII-D at General Atomics restarts experiments, as scientists seek to make the vast potential of nuclear fusion a reality

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/story/2024-05-24/general-atomics-tour

Is limitless energy here?

 

Scientists use rare metal to set new record in effort to produce limitless energy...

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/scientists-rare-metal-set-record-053000492.html

Progess in proton acceleration

Smaller laser facility uses new method to exceed previous record for proton acceleration

https://phys.org/news/2024-05-smaller-laser-facility-method-exceed.html?_gl=1*gqzqsi*_ga*cjdPa29ZZkVEZE4zR0VMMjY2d1dJbnV0eGtiVGJuVXMwVWRIWW5IM0s2Q0hkcWNieFdSNlQyWnQwR3FfWjB3Qw..*_ga_6M86390YBL*MTcxNjE3ODIxNy4xLjEuMTcxNjE3ODIxNy4wLjAuMA

LLNL 2026

 The “LANSLLNS” for-profit cash cow empire, took a blow when LANS lost the contract to manage LANL in favor of Triad.

Will the surviving for-profit LLNS retain the contract to manage LLNL in 2026?

More on EPA whistleblower

 This is an article about the East Palestine whistle-blower case against the EPA:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/whistleblower-questions-delays-mistakes-epa-sensor-plane-after-110219868

https://abcnews.go.com/US/whistleblower-claims-epa-wasted-critical-time-after-devastating/story?id=110313045

He was evidently one of the key people working on it, and was associated with Los Alamos:

https://www.osti.gov/biblio/987102

Some of the details are in this affidavit:

https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24662298/kroutil_signed_statement1_may12_2023.pdf

Story of an EPA whistle blower:

 Here's a story about an EPA whistle blower:

https://whistleblower.org/in-the-news/pittsburgh-post-gazette-whistleblower-questions-delays-and-mistakes-in-way-epa-used-sensor-plane-after-east-palestine-derailment/

Evidently, this technology for monitoring chemical disasters dates back to work done at Los Alamos by Kroutil.

DOE Whistleblowers

 Charles E. Grassley

Ranking Member
Committee on the Budget

April 26, 2024

DOE Whistleblowers

https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/grassley_to_doe_-_whistleblower_protections_open_gao_recs_from_2016.pdf

Petition to investigate Boeing whistleblowers

 Petition calls on DOJ to investigate deaths of Boeing whistleblowers

BY JULIA SHAPERO 05/09/24 05:15 PM ET

https://thehill.com/business/4654691-petition-calls-on-doj-to-investigate-deaths-of-boeing-whistleblowers/amp/

Gas trap

 “Scientists Create Synthetic Molecule That Traps the ‘Most Potent’ Greenhouse Gasses”

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ylSckcAgGeQ&pp=ygVXU2NpZW50aXN0cyBDcmVhdGUgU3ludGhldGljIE1vbGVjdWxlIFRoYXQgVHJhcHMgdGhlIOKAmE1vc3QgUG90ZW504oCZIEdyZWVuaG91c2UgR2Fzc2Vz

'carbon gobbling" plants are here

 This is really interesting -- it may be possible to improve photosynthesis even more than previous genetic engineering efforts, leading to schemes to increase crop yields for agriculture, biofuel and bioplastics production, and carbon removal from the atmosphere:

https://phys.org/news/2024-05-scientists-key-carbon-gobbling-major.html

LLNS pension plan funding

 You may have received a funding notice from LLNS.

The funding percentage keeps dipping year after year even with hefty employee contributions. It is sitting at 92% for 2023 down from 115% in 2022.

It makes sense to retire as soon as possible while the plan is solvent.

Is my panic justified?

I was told the plan invests heavily I'm  corporate bonds. These have been performing well.  So, what could be the reason for the underfunding?

Open letter of support from LLNL and LANL?

Many of the UC campuses, including UCLA, are having protests in support of Gaza. Many of these protests are coming under attack from outside forces and police.


A number of faculty at universities all over the nation have signed open letters supporting the student and condemning the police actions. Since LANL and LLNL are partially under UC management, should they also create an open letter in support of the protests? Should the labs also have some encampments?


I looked at the open letters; thousands of faculty members signed the letters, but I needed more from the physics or engineering departments. You get 95% of the anthropology department to sign these letters and zero from EE. Weird.

The second whistleblower linked to Boeing dies

 Boeing-Linked Whistleblower Dead, the Second in 2 Months: ‘He Possessed Tremendous Courage,’ Lawyers Say

https://people.com/boeing-linked-whistleblower-dead-the-second-in-2-months-8642445

YUCCA Mountain news

 According to thebulletin.org,

To really advance federal policy and innovation on spent nuclear fuel, congress needs to learn the lessons of Yucca Mountain and to stop trying to revive it.

https://thebulletin.org/2024/04/to-find-a-place-to-store-spent-nuclear-fuel-congress-needs-to-stop-trying-to-revive-yucca-mountain/