Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2005

Diversity Cinema screening is today

"From Swastika to Jim Crow," a chronicle of Jim Crow America and the tale of two seemingly different groups - the formal, heavily-accented Jewish scholars who fled Nazi Germany and their young, southern Black students - who enriched each other's lives in ways still being felt today, will be screened at 11:30 this morning in the Physics Building Auditorium at Technical Area 3.

The video is about an hour. There is no cost to attend the screening, and free popcorn and soda will be provided.

After the video, a facilitated discussion led by Danny Branch of the African American Diversity Working Group and the Communications and External Relations (CER) Division, and Jack Shlacter, Physics (P) Division leader, will be held.

The screening is part of the Lab's observance of national Black History Month. The theme of Black History Month is "The Niagara Movement: Black Protest Reborn, 1905-2005," which highlights the first organized effort to lobby for African-American voting rights.

For more information, contact Danny Valdez at DVO at 5-7215 or see Monday's Daily Newsbulletin.

Updated 2/15/05

Volunteer opportunities

1. Request for Handmade Bowls - Self Help Inc. will sponsor the 12th Annual Empty Bowl Project from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., March 5, at Fuller Lodge. For the price of admission ($10.00) attendees are served a soup and bread lunch and also choose a hand-crafted bowl to take home. All of the money raised in this annual event goes directly to support the work done by Self Help, Inc. as they help families and individuals throughout Northern New Mexico. In addition to the Soup and Bowl lunch, a much diversified silent auction will take place. Self Help needs volunteers for all aspects of the event. If interested, contact Ellen Morris at 662-4666 or Jane Clements at 661-6570.
2. Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation - Los Alamos Ambassador: Volunteer as part of a team to promote the community of Los Alamos at trade shows, receptions, community events, ribbon cuttings and other functions. Must be personable, presentable, exhibit a positive attitude toward the community and be willing to travel to assigned events in Northern New Mexico. If you have any questions, contact Cindy of the Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation at 661-4815.
3. Cimarron High School's Career Exploration class is having a career week and needs individuals to come in and educate students on their careers. They are focusing on a career cluster that is working with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and are requesting that interested volunteers visit the school and give students a presentation on their careers. Included in the presentation: what training or education it required to obtain your degree; how much people in the same field make money wise; actually what all your jobs consist of everyday; and a demonstration or hands on activity for students. This career cluster will be presenting from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., March 24. If interested, contact Kayleigh Braunlich at (505) 376-2241 or write to kbraunlich9@cimarronschools.org by electronic mail.
4. The 2005 New Mexico Regional Science Bowl is scheduled for March 5 at the Albuquerque Academy. This year they expect 50-60 teams from 20-25 schools. Breakfast, lunch and snacks will be provided. For more information, contact Ted Wolff of Sandia National Laboratories at (505) 284-5204 or write to tawolff@sandia.gov by electronic mail.
5. Daffodils for Hospice 2005 - supporting the hospice programs of Los Alamos Visiting Nurse Service and Los Rios Home Health Care (Española). LAVNS needs volunteers to help deliver fresh cut daffodils from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., March 11 (all shifts available). If interested in volunteering, contact Debbie Weber at 662-2525.
6. The Board of Directors of the YDI Foundation voted to hold a Northern New Mexico Business Community Fundraising lunch or dinner to raise funds to support YDI's Northern New Mexico Programs. This fundraiser is to be held in Española, in late May or early June. In addition to being a fundraiser, this event is intended to educate Northern New Mexico Businesses about the tremendous services YDI provides within their community. Volunteers interested in helping with the coordination and planning of this event should contact Michelle Luna of the YDI Foundation at 242-7306 ext. 18 or write to mluna@ydinm.org by electronic mail.

Employees participating in science and/or math outreach activities may be eligible for Community Service time (paid leave, up to 32 hours per calendar year). For more details and procedures for application (before volunteering), go to http://www-stb-internal.lanl.gov:8080/wosaserver/form?app=comServ online.

The Laboratory Volunteer Program is a Laboratory-approved community relations and support activity. For more information, contact Debbi Wersonick at 7-7870.

Updated 2/15/05

Records managment class

• The Point of Contacts mandatory training has been scheduled from 1 to 5 p.m., Feb. 16, at Canyon School, Room 164. This session is for those POCs who have not taken the prior POC training. The two POC classes offered last year have been combined into one. This class will concentrate on the POC responsibilities as listed in LIR 308-00-02.0, Laboratory Records Management and also will expand into some records management topics. This class is a mandatory requirement for all POCs. The session will provide interested employees with the basic tools needed to continue to implement this LIR and answers to questions regarding its requirements.

The Basic Records Management (#22477) class scheduled for Feb. 25 has filled up so no more registrations are being accepted.

There is no cost for this session and registration should be done through Virtual Training on the Lab's homepage. For more information regarding this session, contact Dolores Salazar at dolores@lanl.gov by electronic mail.

Updated 2/14/05

Wellness Center offers stress managment class

Stress Management to Relax the Mind and Body - Stress isn't going away, so why not learn how to cope more effectively? Class participants will take away skills in restructuring of thoughts, relaxation techniques, "Humorobics" and more. 2 to 4 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 17, Wellness Center Room 106.

Register at http://www.wellness.lanl.gov/svc/classes/hp/hp_sch.htm online or call 7-7166.

Health promotion classes are open to the entire Laboratory work force.

Updated 2/10/05

Weather delays Trinity Drive drainage project

The recent rain and snow has brought much-needed moisture to Los Alamos, but it has caused some delays in completing a drainage improvement project on Trinity Drive.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation is now looking at completing the project later this month. The state agency is replacing three drainage drop inlets on Trinity Drive in front of the Mountain Village complex. The drop inlets have been installed on the westbound lanes of Trinity Drive; work has now moved to the eastbound lanes.

Dry conditions are needed to complete some of the final portions of the project, according to Miguel Gabaldon of the Department of Transportation.

Motorists may wish to seek alternate routes, especially during the noon hour and evening commute. Signs and other traffic control devices will be in place alerting motorists to the work. Signs and other traffic control devices are in place alerting motorists to the work.

For more information, contact Gabaldon at 827-9527 or see the Jan. 13 Daily Newsbulletin.

Updated 2/4/05

Cookie sales

Many Laboratory personnel have children or friends in schools or organizations that sell cookies, candy or other low-cost items as fund-raisers. Low-key, local participation (within a co-located team or group) in charitable events or school fund-raisers is permissible at the Laboratory during work hours as part of the social fabric of our workplace. However, selling commercial products (such as cosmetics or candles) is not allowed (see AM 701.03, Government Resources).

Here are some common-sense guidelines to assist employees:

• Informally taking orders from co-workers for Girl Scout cookies or school candy is permissible.
• Setting up a table at the Otowi Building Cafeteria to sell Cub Scout popcorn is not permissible.
• Setting up a tray or booth at an employee's desk to sell candy in support of a sports team is not permissible.
• Soliciting donations or selling club candy in a reception area or an area typically frequented by employees or guests from outside the co-located group is not permissible.
• Systematically "working" an office building or organization by asking every resident to purchase school or club items is not considered "low-key," and thus is not permissible.
• Spending substantial amounts of office time on informally soliciting cookie sales is not "incidental," thus is not permissible.
• Selling raffle tickets is not permitted under AM 705, Gambling.
• Managers or others in a position of authority must refrain from any fund-raising activity that might present the appearance of coercion.

Lab employees who have concerns about the propriety of any internal solicitation should contact either their manager or Staff Relations (HR-SR) at 7-8730.

Updated 2/3/05

Lab has new telephone exchange

The Laboratory now has 606 telephone exchanges to go with its 664, 665 and 667 numbers.

Like its other numbers, Laboratory employees only have to dial the last five digits when calling a 606 number from inside the Lab. For example, when responding to a page from 606-0055, dial 6-0055.

Updated 2/1/05

Skolnik training classes

Skolnik Technical Training Institute will host the following classes:

• "Solder, Hands-On" training class from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Feb. 23 - 24, at Skolnik Solder Training Center in Albuquerque. This class is designed for anyone who would like to learn how to solder or to obtain a refresher in soldering. The tuition fee is $699.
• “Special Four-Day Advanced Electronics” training class from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., March 1 - 4, at the Howard Johnson Conference Center in Albuquerque. This training class is designed for engineers, technicians, managers and anyone who would like to learn about the realistic, practical, real-world industrial applications of electronic components and circuits that were not taught in school. They will discuss and study in depth the different electronic components and their complete, detailed operations and applications. The tuition is $1,999. 
• "Enhanced IPC-A-610 CERTIFICATION, Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies": a four-day "IPC-A-610 Certification" training class from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., March 1 - 4, at Skolnik’s soldering training facility in Albuquerque. This IPC-A-610 class is designed to provide soldering certification to assemblers, technicians and/or engineers, for end-product acceptance criteria of high reliability electronic assemblies. The tuition is $945.
• IPC/EIA J-STD-001 CERTIFICATION, Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies": a five-day "IPC/EIA J-STD-001 Certification" training class from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., March 7 - 11, at Skolnik’s soldering training facility in Albuquerque. This IPC/EIA J-STD-001 class is designed to provide soldering certification to assemblers, technicians and/or engineers, for end-product acceptance criteria of high reliability electronic assemblies. The tuition is $1,149.
• “Introduction to RF” and “Advanced General RF & µWave Measurement, Theory and Practice” training classes from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., March 7 - 11, at the Howard Johnson Conference Center in Albuquerque. The “RF, Introduction” class (March 7 and 8) will cover the theory and practical aspects of RF components, design, test and measurement, whereas the “Advanced RF” class (March 9 - 11) is designed to provide the practical RF design and troubleshooting skills for engineers and technicians. The fee for the “RF, Introduction” class is $1,150 and is $1,599 for the “RF, Advanced” class.

Skolnik Technical offers competitively-priced, first-class calibration services for instruments from numerous manufacturers. Their calibration and supply certification for industry applications are in compliance with MIL-STD-45662A, ANSI / NCSL-Z540-1, and traceable to NIST, with or without data points. Different levels of certification are offered to meet specific quality standards and individual conformance needs and requirements. 

For more information on any of the classes or equipment calibration and repair services, go to http://www.skolnik-tech.com/ online or call the registration department at (505) 299-1157.

Updated 2/15/05

CDS training classes in Albuquerque

Commercial Data Systems is providing Sun, Oracle, Veritas and Linux training classes in Albuquerque. The classes are held at the CDS office, located at 4828 Hardware Drive NE.

For a list of classes, click here (Adobe Acrobat Reader required). For more information, contact Renato Taralli at (505) 314-4017 or write to renato@cdsinc.com by electronic mail.

Updated 1/25/05

Support for tsunami victims

Laboratory Director G. Peter Nanos asked employees to consider how they might assist the victims of the Dec. 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami in southeast Asia.

To read a all-employee memo, click here (Adobe Acrobat Reader required).

Updated 1/13/05

National Instruments LabVIEW classes

The following LabVIEW classes are being offered by National Instruments, in New Mexico, during January and March, 2005.

The LabVIEW Basics I course shows attendees how to develop test and measurement, data acquisition, instrument control, datalogging and measurement analysis applications using LabVIEW. The LabVIEW Basics II course is a logical extension of Basics I and shows how to design complete, stand-alone applications in LabVIEW.

The LabVIEW Intermediate I course teaches structured practices to design, develop, test and deploy LabVIEW applications. The Intermediate II course builds on skills developed in LabVIEW Intermediate I by doing in-depth examination of memory management/performance techniques to extend your ability to develop LabVIEW code to maximizes application efficiency. This training is suggested for LabVIEW users pursuing Certified LabVIEW Developer certification.

LabVIEW users who have not yet attended this LabVIEW training can register for these classes at www.ni.com/training online or by calling toll-free (888) 484-4436. For more information or for a quote, write to Hank.Buterbaugh@ni.com by electronic mail or call (800) 433-3488 ext. 30218.

Updated 2/3/05

Employees leaving Lab must attend termination presentation

Employees who are leaving the Laboratory or changing to casual status must attend a benefits termination presentation held by Benefits (HR-B).

The termination presentations are held every Laboratory pay day for University of California Lab employees. Employees who are retiring aren't required to attend a presentation, but rather, they should schedule a meeting with their designated benefits specialist.

The presentations begin at 8:30 a.m. in room P280 on the second floor of the Otowi Building at Technical Area 3. Pre-registration is required. Employees should register on line at http://hrcluster.lanl.gov/TIOCourses/TIOAha.asp?CourseNumber=21013 one to two weeks prior to their last scheduled work day to sign up for a benefits termination presentation.

Employees also must obtain a departure processing form from Staffing (HR-S) before the presentation. This form is available at http://www.hr.lanl.gov/hrstaffing/Terminations/index.stm online.

At the presentation, employees will receive a packet of information about their benefits and savings balances. They will learn about options to continue or convert insurance plans and distribution options for savings funds.

Employees who require a sign language interpreter should write to benefits@lanl.gov by e-mail three days in advance of the presentation they plan to attend. Or call the benefits office at 5-3842 (TDD).

Because of limited parking, employees should plan to arrive early and/or make alternative transportation arrangements, such as using Johnson Controls Northern New Mexico's ride service.

Updated 10/25/02

Lost and found

Found: ladies silver bracelet at TA-3, Bldg. 200, 2nd floor. Call Dawnetta at 5-0424 to claim.

Found: a onyx necklace with a bear pendant in the HOV parking lot between the Ad Building and CMR. To claim the necklace, call 7-9774.

Found: one key on green holder marked BWXT #5. Found outside Motorola building on Jan. 24. Please contact Lou at 663-5555 to claim.

Lost: rhinestone pendant, inch wide with chains/rhinestones attached around the Otowi Building at Technical Area 3 on Jan. 19. If found, please contact Belinda Valdez at 5-1364.

Lost: pair of ladies black leather gloves. Hole in the right thumb liner. Perhaps at Canyon Complex, Research Park or in parking lot off Truck route and Pajarito. Contact Veronica at vencinas@lanl.gov if found. They were a gift from my husband.

Lost: Nissan thermal travel mug, stainless steel, on Jan. 13 near entrance to commuter bus lot off of Truck Route. If found, call Chris at 5-6228.

Found: pair of black ear warmers for headphones outside Administration Building (TA-3, SM-43) southwest door. Call Bill at 5-3398 to claim.

Found: four keys at Occupational Medicine, Bldg. 1411. To claim, call Di at 7-7890.

Found: cell phone on Pajarito Road, near intersection of Pajarito Road and Diamond Drive. Call 5-2977 to claim.

Found: gold colored french wire earring near Physics Building. To claim, call Wendee at 7-5724.

Lost: three keys in vicinity of S Compound and CMR parking lot. If found, contact Judy Bell at 7-5886.

Commuter's Corner

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