Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate......

It's Monday night!

2009-07-13T21:43:00.003-05:00

The Huntsville Arts Council's Concert in the Park was pretty good and I had a chance to sweat it up kickin' the hacky sack for well over an hour. The Abstract Band and Toy Shop were good. Next week, it's Olde Towne Brass and the Huntsville Concert Band.

Not a whole lot else, so here's the weekly (and perhaps geeky, in a nuclear sense) roundup of what was put into the NRC's ADAMS system about Browns Ferry last week. Actually, the stuff about the Browns Ferry fire in 1975 is kind of interesting:

U1 & Site

1. CEB-75-12,"Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Units 1 & 2 Approximate Temperature Zones Derived From a Review of Physical Evidence Produced by the March 22, 1975, Fire."

2. "Fire at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant on March 22, 1975."

3. Tennessee Valley Authority - Submittal of Report in Accordance with 10 CFR 26.719 (c)(1) for Drug and Alcohol Testing Errors.

U2&3

4. ACRS Meeting with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, - June 4, 2009, Slides.

These are a few of my favorite things....

2009-07-12T21:25:00.003-05:00

• Enjoyed Mongolian grill-style food for a long time now. A new Mongolian grill joint recently opened in Huntsville and it's pretty good: Stir Fry Mongolian Grill

• CHOCOLATE! Found a new one at Wally World made by Chuao Chocolatier: Chuao Chocolate

• Liberty! Ask anyone who knows me and they'll probably tell you that I was not a fan of the last group of people to hold the reins of power in DC. Some things they did were right (in my view) or right-minded but plenty of others were not. Some of the things that Obama and company are currently doing are right or right-minded but, again, some are not. I enjoy reading a lot of the material from cato.org. They discuss plenty of things that seem right to me and do it far more eloquently than I could ever hope to: The Cato Institute

• Funny cats! 'nuff said: ICanHasCheezburger

• Concerts in big Spring Park: Huntsville Arts Council's Conerts in the Park

I'm a little slow this week...

2009-07-08T20:41:00.002-05:00

233 years ago.....

2009-07-04T00:00:00.002-05:00

we held some truths to be self-evident! As we enjoy the holiday (and I guarantee that I definitely will), let's remember the blood, sweat and tears of those who have helped protect our freedom....

Here's a resource from the Library of Congress with more on the Declaration of Independence.

Happy Independence Day!

Video of pictures from a nice little walk this afternoon...

2009-07-03T19:39:00.000-05:00

Happy Iraqi Sovereignty Day...

2009-06-30T20:15:00.002-05:00

Let's hope they're ready to take care of business!

Check out the latest edition of Secrecy News from the Federation of American Scientists. If that's not exactly your cup of tea, check out Issue #91 of Improvijazzation Nation.

And last, but not least, here's what the NRC posted about Browns Ferry last week...

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Unit 1 - Status of Decommissioning Funding Assurance.

Notification of Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant - Component Design Bases Inspection - NRC Inspection Report 0500259-09-008, 05000260-09-008, and 05000296-09-008.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Pant - Notification of Triennial Fire Protection Baseline Inspection While Transition to 10 CFR Part 50.48(c) is in Progress (NRC Inspection Report No. 05000259-09-009, 05000260-09-009, and 05000296-09-009.

06/29/2009 Cancellation of Meeting Notice, Meeting with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to Discuss Extended Power Uprate at Browns Ferry.

Browns Ferry, Unit 2 - Core Operating Limits Report (COLR) for Cycle 16 Operation.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 3 - Status of Decommissioning Funding Assurance.

If the recent political scandals prove anything...

2009-06-25T20:55:00.003-05:00

It's that members of any political party can make mistakes. John Ensign, Slick Willy, John Edwards, Mark Sanford....

Heck, I'm willing to bet that Socialists and Libertarians (and some members of all other parties) can do and have done the same stuff. The errors that folks make don't necessarily negate the views they have. They just prove that we're all human.

Check out the latest CRS reports available from the Federation of American Scientists Secrecy News newsletter. Topics include an analysis of selected Sotomayor opinions, the recent Iranian elections, and the FY2010 appropriations request for homeland security...

Speaking of the Iranian elections...

Much of the coverage we see has a western orientation to it. Unfortunately, it appears that the official mouthpiece of the Iranian state isn't currently serving up an English version. Here's Al Jazeera's Iran section. How about the Mousavi page on Facebook? Or Google's translation of Mousavi's news site? To end the streak, check out Mousavi on Twitter...

In closing, RIP to Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson!

This past Monday night...

2009-06-24T20:15:00.002-05:00

We tried a new recipe from a Better Homes & Gardens special recipe magazine. Tonight, the wife unit decided to head out with the girls. That left me with the decision of what to make myself for dinner. Having enjoyed the "Greek-style quesadillas" (from the other night), I decided to experiment. I had actually decided what I would make well before I got home from work. Please pardon me for not including all the measurements of ingredients. I am HORRIBLE at measuring when conducting experiments. Here's what I made:

Mediterranean style tuna quesadillas

About 5 tbsp. kalamata olives
1 11 oz. foil package of tuna
3 tbsp. bottled Greek vinaigrette salad dressing
Diced tomatoes (to your taste/visual appeal)
Chopped red onions (to your taste/visual appeal)
3 oz. of Athenos basil & tomato crumbkled feta cheese
Two Toufayan wheat wraps
Olive oil

Combine all ingredients, mix well and marinate for at least one hour. Cover one half of each wrap with the tuna/veggie/dressing mixture. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in skillet (or grill) to about medium. Brush each side of wrap with oil (I used Hain's garlic infused oil). Heat for 6-8 minutes (flipping halfway through) until both sides are browned. Enjoy!

I only made two wraps and I think there's enough filling left for at least eight more. I believe I'll carry some more to work tomorrow or Friday. What would I do different? I'd probably add a bit more feta cheese. I definitely feel I had the wrong ratio of fish to feta. All in all, this experiment turned out to be fairly tasty. I'll be making this again (and maybe I'll measure better)!

In closing, there's some interesting reading below. I've included links to 20 recently added reports from opencrs.com.

Canada-U.S. Relations

Latin America and the Caribbean

U.S.-Iraq Withdrawal/Status of Forces Agreement: Issues for Congressional Oversight

Strategic Arms Control After START: Issues and Options

U.S. Military Stop Loss Program

Ocean Acidification

Department of Homeland Security Assistance to States and Localities: A Summary and Issues for the 111th Congress

Senate Rejections and Committee Votes Other Than to Report Favorably, 1939-2009

State, Foreign Operations Appropriations: A Guide to Component Accounts

Cars and Climate: What Can EPA Do to Control Greenhouse Gases from Mobile Sources?

Tax Credit Bonds: Overview and Analysis

Cuban Migration to the United States: Policy and Trends

Airport Improvement Program (AIP): Reauthorization Issues for Congress

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Updated "Safeguards" and Net Assessments

Oversight and Related Issues Concerning International Security Agreements Concluded by the United States

Access to Broadband Networks: The Net Neutrality Debate

The Role of the Department of Defense During A Flu Pandemic

Military Installation Real Property and Services: Proposed Legislation in the 111th Congress

Greeenhouse Gas Legislation: Summary and Analysis of H.R. 2454 as Reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

Military Aircraft, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Program: Background and Issues for Congress

OK, this morning I tweeted a link to the Campaign for Liberty's petition drive to audit the Federal Reserve...

2009-06-23T19:44:00.004-05:00

Here's the petition link and here's the tweet.

You might ask "What's the big deal?" The best explanation I have found so far is the short speech that Ron Paul gave when introducing H.R. 1207 just this past February. I will include the full text and a link to the GPO's pdf file. To read the full text of Dr. Paul's introduction speech (and the rest of this post), click "Read more!" below...

H.R. 1207 introductory remarks made by Dr. Ron Paul on 2-26-09

"THE FEDERAL RESERVE TRANSPARENCY ACT
HON. RON PAUL OF TEXAS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, February 26, 2009

Mr. PAUL. Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Federal Reserve Transparency Act. Throughout its nearly 100-year history, the Federal Reserve has presided over the near complete destruction of the United States dollar. Since 1913 the dollar has lost over 95% of its purchasing power, aided and abetted by the Federal Reserve’s loose monetary policy. How long will we as a Congress stand idly by while hard-working Americans see their savings eaten away by inflation? Only big-spending politicians and politically favored bankers benefit from inflation.

Serious discussion of proposals to oversee the Federal Reserve is long overdue. I have been a longtime proponent of more effective oversight and auditing of the Fed, but I was far from the first Congressman to advocate these types of proposals. Esteemed former members of the Banking Committee such as Chairmen Wright Patman and Henry B. Gonzales were outspoken critics of the Fed and its lack of transparency.

Since its inception, the Federal Reserve has always operated in the shadows, without sufficient scrutiny or oversight of its operations. While the conventional excuse is that this is intended to reduce the Fed’s susceptibility to political pressures, the reality is that the Fed acts as a foil for the government. Whenever you question the Fed about the strength of the dollar, they will refer you to the Treasury, and vice versa. The Federal Reserve has, on the one hand, many of the privileges of government agencies, while retaining benefits of private organizations, such as being insulated from Freedom of Information Act requests.

The Federal Reserve can enter into agreements with foreign central banks and foreign governments, and the GAO is prohibited from auditing or even seeing these agreements. Why should a government-established agency, whose police force has federal law enforcement powers, and whose notes have legal tender status in this country, be allowed to enter into agreements with foreign powers and foreign banking institutions with no oversight? Particularly when hundreds of billions of dollars of currency swaps have been announced and implemented, the Fed’s negotiations with the European Central Bank, the Bank of International Settlements, and other institutions should face increased scrutiny, most especially because of their significant effect on foreign policy. If the State Department were able to do this, it would be characterized as a rogue agency and brought to heel, and if a private individual did this he might face prosecution under the Logan Act, yet the Fed avoids both fates.

More importantly, the Fed’s funding facilities and its agreements with the Treasury should be reviewed. The Treasury’s supplementary financing accounts that fund Fed facilities allow the Treasury to funnel money to Wall Street without GAO or Congressional oversight. Additional funding facilities, such as the Primary Dealer Credit Facility and the Term Securities Lending Facility, allow the Fed to keep financial asset prices artificially inflated and subsidize poorly performing financial firms.

The Federal Reserve Transparency Act would eliminate restrictions on GAO audits of the Federal Reserve and open Fed operations to enhanced scrutiny. We hear officials constantly lauding the benefits of transparency and especially bemoaning the opacity of the Fed, its monetary policy, and its funding facilities. By opening all Fed operations to a GAO audit and calling for such an audit to be completed by the end of 2010, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act would achieve much needed transparency of the Federal Reserve. I urge my colleagues to support this bill."

That pretty much sums it up. For more understanding of exactly what the Federal Reserve does, here's the Wikipedia article about the Federal Reserve System and here's a 6 page report from the Congressional Research Service (from 2005) entitled "Structure and Functions of The Federal Reserve System". OK, enough about that. If you feel that this bill has some merit, please sign the petition and contact your Congressman (particularly if they don't support HR 1207).

Want an interesting read? Check out what the Congressional Budget Office had to say about Obama's FY2010 budget just last week. I was never a fan of the last administration, but allowing the public debt (not the total debt) to reach over 80% of GDP (as estimated in the CBO post) is irresponsible.

Last but not least...

What kind of documents regarding my nuclear plant were added to the NRC's website last week?

Browns Ferry Unit 2 - Safety Evaluation For Relief Request 2-ISI-18R1 Associated With Inservice Inspection Examination Coverage.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Unit 2 - Verbal Relief Related to Instrument Line Weld Overlay (TAC No. ME1319) (2-ISI-21).

First and foremost...

2009-06-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

To all you dads out there (particularly mine):

Happy Father's Day!

Today was a fun day. It started off with 17 miles on a bicycle riding with my long-time best friend. Then we met the rest of our family for breakfast. After breakfast, we picked up our various cars and bicycles and took a drive to and through the Harmony Park Safari. It's kind of trippy having rams and emus and the occasional bison come up to your window wanting food. If you're in Huntsville and you haven't checked out Harmony Park Safari, you're definitely missing out. Especially if you have kids...

As we're continuing to hear from Iran....

2009-06-19T22:47:00.002-05:00

Many folks are questioning the outcome of the election and protests are indeed happening. I'm not at all fond of the individual who was "elected" or the "fundies" that back him. Personally, I don't think they are playing with a full set of marbles given the statements they often make. Anyway, I wish those who are protesting the best of luck in trying to implement change. I mentioned a site called The Reagan Files a few posts back. Having glanced through a couple of the documents there, it certainly appears that Reagan and company were all complicit in and knowledgeable of (whether Reagan forgot or outright lied) the arms deals known as Iran-Contra. The current crisis in Iran reminds me of why I consider myself a Libertarian....

Entangling Alliances

Thomas Jefferson's first Inaugural address in 1801 contains the following passage:

"Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none; the support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns and the surest bulwarks against antirepublican tendencies; the preservation of the General Government in its whole constitutional vigor, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad; a jealous care of the right of election by the people—a mild and safe corrective of abuses which are lopped by the sword of revolution where peaceable remedies are unprovided; absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority, the vital principle of republics, from which is no appeal but to force, the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism; a well disciplined militia, our best reliance in peace and for the first moments of war, till regulars may relieve them; the supremacy of the civil over the military authority; economy in the public expense, that labor may be lightly burthened; the honest payment of our debts and sacred preservation of the public faith; encouragement of agriculture, and of commerce as its handmaid; the diffusion of information and arraignment of all abuses at the bar of the public reason; freedom of religion; freedom of the press, and freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus, and trial by juries impartially selected. These principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation. The wisdom of our sages and blood of our heroes have been devoted to their attainment. They should be the creed of our political faith, the text of civic instruction, the touchstone by which to try the services of those we trust; and should we wander from them in moments of error or of alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and to regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety."

Many folks seem to believe that general non-interventionism means complete isolationism. There ARE those who would build a wall around the country and let whatever goes on outside the wall go on. My view (and that of most Libertarian-minded folks that I know) is that business dealings are absolutely fine and to be encouraged. However, the amount of government dealings with other countries should be drawn back immensely. There are times when it would become necessary to intervene even if not directly threatened. Egregious violations of basic human rights by a country poised to take over one continent and establish a base of power with the potential to threaten us merit strong consideration for intervention. Yes, I am talking about Nazi Germany and Japan and World War II. Afghanistan was absolutely the right thing to do. I still feel that Iraq was a diversion from the main "war on terror". We should have devoted as many troops as possible to deal with the Afghan problem and provide a limited amount of help to keep the situation under control and not engage in nation-building.

Back to Iran...

The US has a history of relations with Iran that goes back a couple hundred years. The past hundred years have included the hostage situation, Iran-Contra, a CIA sponsored coup and the Shah and SAVAK. One item that is particularly interesting about Iran-Contra is that not two years before it occurred, we favored Iraq. That and the fact of US hostages held for 444 days not 7 years prior... It seems questionable at best to have provided shady arms to a country like Iran (or Iraq for that matter). Some of the justification Reaganites used was "to provide assistance to potentially US friendly factions in Iran" should they come to power, further promoting democracy. That worked well, didn't it? Our checkered history of attempting manipulation of the foreign policy (or business or other policy) of other sovereign nations stands as a reminder (to me at least) that such gyrations often fail and, at times, even blow up in our face. What does that mean for Ahmadinejad and crew? We keep a VERY close eye on them... and that's all we do for now. The ever-sprawling tentacles of US government manipulation and foreign aid need to be surgically removed to a more manageable and sensible length. Bush wouldn't have done that and Obama surely won't.

Other links of interest:

Congressional Research Service Reports on the Middle East

The Iran Documentation Project @ The National Security Archive

Nothing OVERLY interesting on the NRC site regarding Browns Ferry last week....

2009-06-16T21:09:00.002-05:00

But here's what they added to their ADAMS system:

Relaxation of Order for Compensatory Measures Related to Fitness-for-Duty Enhancements Applicable to Nuclear Facility Security Force Personnel.

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3 - Letter of Intent to Adopt National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 805, Performance-Based Standard for Fire Protection for Light Water Reactor Generating Plants, 2001 Edition.

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, & 3, Withdrawal of Proposed Request for Exemption from 10 CFR 50, Appendix R, Paragraph III.G2, Fire Protection of Safe Shutdown Capacity.

G20090158/EDATS: OEDO-2009-0133 - March 18, 2009, ACRS Ltr on Using Containment Accident Pressure in Determining Available Net Positive Suction Head of Emergency Core Cooling System and Containment Heat Removal System Pumps.

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2 & 3 - Response to Request for Additional Information Regarding Technical Specifications Change 444 - Adoption of Changes to Standard Technical Specifications Under Technical Specification Task Force Change Number - 448, Rev. 3...

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2 & 3 - Technical Specifications Changes TS-431 and TS-418 - Extended Power Uprate - Results of Revised Containment Overpressure Analyses for Appendix R - Drywell Coolers Operating.

Browns Ferry Units 1, 2 & 3 - Technical Specifications Changes TS-418 and TS-431 - Extended Power Uprate (EPU) - Response to Round 24 Request for Additional Information (RAI) EMCB.209 Regarding Steam Dryer Analyses (TAC Nos. MD5262, MD5263, and MD5264).

Brown Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFN), Units 1, 2, and 3, Technical Specifications (TS) Changes TS-431 and TS-418 - Extended Power Uprate (EPU) - Results of Revised Analyses for Short-Term Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) and Appendix R Regarding.....

On a different note, here are two links to the RSS feeds of some Libertarian oriented folks on Twitter:

LibEverywhere
Mises Institute

Enjoy!

Hopefully interesting tidbits...

2009-06-14T18:13:00.002-05:00

The Reagan Files website

The map on this page shows greenways/trails in and around Huntsville as of 2006. I hope that the greenways that are shown as "proposed" come to fruition. There are already a fair amount of outdoor activities to enjoy in Huntsville and this would just add that much more...

Don't forget, two new episodes of Gene Simmons Family Jewels tonight.

Facebook just made their "username" feature live.....

2009-06-12T23:25:00.002-05:00

Get yours today while they're hot! I went with an old standby:

http://www.facebook.com/vejadu

There's a new Chinese restaurant/buffet in Athens...

2009-06-11T19:19:00.002-05:00

It's called the New China Buffet and it's pretty good!

From new china buffet

One TV show that has recently returned with new episodes....

2009-06-08T22:19:00.002-05:00

and is watched in this household is Gene Simmons Family Jewels. Check out the first segment from the latest episode. This is truly one of the only television shows I watch fairly regularly. Set your DVRs....

Browns Ferry related documents placed on the NRC website (ADAMS) from 6/1/09-6/7/09...

2009-06-08T11:59:00.002-05:00

Bertram Morris, E-mail re: Chart Table of COP that have been Granted to Other BWRs for EPU.

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3 - Draft COP Position Paper Submitted by E-mail.

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3 - Issuance of Amendments 274, 301 and 260 Regarding Control Rod Notch Test Frequency (TS-462).

Browns Ferry, Unit 2, Withdrawal of Proposed Request for Exemption from 10 CFR 50.55a, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Section XI, Inservice Inspection Program for the Third Ten-Year Inspection Interval - Request for Relief 2-ISI-22.

Browns Ferry, Unit 2 - American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Section Xl, Inservice Inspection Program for the Third Ten-Year Inspection Interval - Request for Relief 2-1Sl-21, Revision 1 - Resubmittal.

You know what I hate?

2009-06-06T09:00:00.002-05:00

I don't hate much (if anything), but it's slightly annoying (to me) to wake up and read a link to a recipe from Food Network on Facebook and see a comment like this:

"Hecks no. One more reason America is the most obese country."

One simple question was asked. "Would you eat this?" It's not the healthiest food (not much from Paula Deen is), but an occasional meal consisting of grease and butter and sugar and other less-than-healthy food probably won't kill us. Now, the "one more reason" part of the offending comment is absolutely right. It just seems to me that there might be a better place for someone and their soapbox. Rant all you want (I know I will) but please do it on your own turf...

My M&M residual self image...

2009-06-06T00:52:00.002-05:00

The mental projection of my digital self...if I was an M&M!

NRC documents regarding Browns Ferry added to the NRC website during May...

2009-06-04T12:35:00.001-05:00

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, NRC Security Inspection Report 05000259-09-402, 05000260-09-402 & 05000296-09-402.

LER 09-001-00 for Browns Ferry, Unit 2, Regarding Manual Reactor Scram Following Stator Cooling Water Equipment Failure.

IR 05000259-09-002, 05000260-09-002 and 05000296-09-002, on 01/01/2009 - 03/31/2009, Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2 and 3; Surveillance Testing, Identification and Resolution of Problems, and Event Follow-up.

NUREG/BR-0361 - The Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Fire of 1975 and the History of NRC Fire Regulations.

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3 - Annual Radiological Environmental Operating Report for 2008.

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2 and 3 - Technical Specifications Change 464 - Application for Technical Specification Improvement to Adopt Technical Specification Task Force TSTF-476, Rev. 1, "Improved BPWS Control Rod Insertion Process".

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFN) - Response for Additional Information Regarding Units 1, 2, and 3 - Technical Specifications (TS) Change 444 - Adoption of Changes to Standard Technical Specifications Under Technical Specification Task Force (TSTF) .....

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFN) Units 1, 2, & 3 - Technical Specifications (TS) Changes TS-431 and TS-418 - Extended Power Uprate (EPU) - Response to Request for Information Regarding Containment Parameters for NRC Confirmatory Analysis...

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2 and 3, Submittal of Annual Radioactive Effluent Release Report - January Through December 2008.

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2 and 3, Offsite Dose Calculation Manual 0-ODCM-001, Revision 0019.

Changes to Distribution Lists for TVA Dockets.

Sequoyah, Units 1 and 2 and Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2 and 3 - Project Manager and Backup Reassignments.

Browns Ferry, Unit 2 - American Society of Mechanical Engineers Section XI, Inservice Inspection Program - Request for Relief 2-ISI-21, Revision 1 - Examination of Piping Weld Overlays.

Twenty years ago this week....

2009-06-03T20:46:00.000-05:00

Big things were happening in China...

2009-06-03T18:02:00.002-05:00

Are You A Libertarian?

Take the World's Smallest

Political Quiz and find out!

The only drawback to walking in the woods on a beautiful day like today...

2009-06-03T16:47:00.002-05:00

are the little buggers of the biological family Ixodidae. Well, snakes could be right up there as well, but I didn't find any of those. Besides, snakes don't bother me that much. I'll have to remember to spray next time.

Wade Mountain 6-3-09

2009-06-03T14:14:00.000-05:00

View all

Get your own

My mom tries to help take care of this cat that hangs around where she lives....

2009-05-31T22:17:00.002-05:00

FWIW, this cat TOTALLY DIGS me...