Hanford Reservation Tour

The Department of Energy (DOE) gives periodic public road tours of the Hanford Site. As with many things after the 9/11/2001 attacks security increased and the tours were less frequent. Recently, the tours started up again. DOE offered five tours this month with reservations taken via a web page. The last round of tour spots were filled within minutes after reservations opened. On whim I checked the site and got the very last spot for this month’s block of tours. No cameras were allowed so we’ll all have to be satisfied with the virtual tour at the Hanford Reservation web site.

The whole tour took about four hours and included the HAMMER training center, the 300 area, the 100 area with a stop at the B reactor where we took a walking tour around the reactor building, the 200 area, and the vitrification plant currently under construction. By seeing these areas in their modern context and learning about their history and future, you gain a sense of the challenges and problems facing the people who run the operation.

The public tour program is an excellent public relation tool and very informative to the public. Our main guide was the federal official responsible the 200 area cleanup, a pretty high level man. He was very open and informative. Never did I get the feeling that he was trying to whitewash any issues. He freely took questions and answered them openly (except for two questions of a classified nature). This seems to be a trend at Hanford, keeping the public informed about the realities and challenges of the clean up effort. He made his point near the end of the tour of the 200 area by stating something to the effect of “We all live here too and want to make sure all this is cleaned up properly.”

If you have the chance to get in one of these tours go. It really gives you a chance to see a unique piece of United States history and legacy. The next tour slots will become available on August 1, 2007.

Four Eyed Monsters

I’ve been following the progress of the film “Four Eyed Monsters” for several months, but had not been able to see it at several of the screenings they’ve had. In a marketing move and an attempt to get themselves out of debt the creators have put the whole movie up on YouTube to encourage people to signup on the Spout movie review site. Each person that signs up gets them $1 (up to $100K). The movie will be up for 1 week. Have a look and support these guys, they have potential.

This is a film about a creative process that is the driving force in the relationship between the film’s creators. Sounds simple, but the creative act of the film is the basis of their relationship and as you watch the film you really start to wonder where the film stops and the relationship begins (or vice versa). While is obvious that this couple has poured their selves into the film you wonder if they have poured themselves into each other. I guess if the film is them they have. It shows a version of the process that takes place when two people start to merge together, into a “four eyed monster.” This is a very human story. The couple is messed up and really meant for each other. In a way it is quite a charming story.

On another level this project is what is really exciting about the current Internet. Creative people, regular people, getting there ideas out to the world and having a go at fulfilling the dream of supporting themselves on their ideas. Ten years ago you would have not see a project of this scale be done by a few people. With the distribution channels accessible we are in for some real treats in the future as more people explore and expose their ideas. This is assuming that the powers that be don’t lock all of the goodies for themselves, like has been done some many times in the past.

LIGO Tour

Have you ever walked into a geek’s paradise? No, I don’t mean an Apple store, but a big budget NFS research facility. It ends up that there is one in my backyard, well not really my back yard, but about a 20 minute drive away. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory’s (LIGO) goal is to measure the presence and magnitude of gravity waves (regular, propagated distortions in space-time) as they pass through the Earth. One part is on the Hanford reservation were in Washington and the other is 2000+ miles away down in Livingston, LA.

On the second Saturday of each month they give a ad hoc, “drop-in” tour. The tour starts with e seminar and then the staff takes you to see the control room and an overpass with an excellent view of both legs of the instrument. This place is a physicist’s and an engineer’s dream. The scale of the technical challenges that the scientists and designers face are amazing. I haven’t thought about most of the issues they face since I took physics in college, but as a fellow scientist I can appreciate the issues that they face. On the tour you don’t actually get to see any of the guts of the instrument, but you do see the control room and the magnitude of the facility. I wish that I would have taken my camera.

Vegas

When you mention Las Vegas images of hard core gamblers throwing away there money in hugh glitzy, smokey rooms come to mind. All of the hotels are decorated to the giles with neon and lights, beckoning you to some inside and blow more of your hard earned greenbacks. You also think of the Rat Pack, Elvis and a slew of other entertainers from the current and fresh to the washed up with no where else to go. Everywhere you look someone is trying to sell you something. You are visually overwhelmed and saturated.

That was my image of the city and in that regard I was not disappointed in the least during my first visit to The Strip. Several months back my mother got the idea in her head that she wanted to celebrate her birthday in Las Vegas. This was the fourth trip and my parents, so needless to say they get some enjoyment out of the city. They don’t go to gamble, they go for the shopping and the shows. This is the other side of the city and seems to be the reason why a growing number of people are visiting. I saw quite a few families for example. All of the other stuff you’d expect is still there and I think is still were most of the money is made. Everywhere you want to go you have to walk through a casino. What I saw was a 4.5 miles long stretch of road that is completely dedicated to the satisfaction of people’s non-necessary desires.

While in Vegas we saw four shows and had some pretty good food. I didn’t need any of that and I can’t say that it was all that enriching, but I did have a good time. Seeing the Cirque du Soleil put on a show centered around the music of The Beetles (Love) or seeing there version of a battle scene choreographed on a vertical stage (KA) was amazing. Seeing tons of Star Trek props and related paraphernalia complete with a multimedia experience was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. Spamalot is amazingly funny for an almost complete rehashing of old Monty Python material (mostly from Monty Python and the Holy Grail). Throw in a magic show and you have a fun pack (and expensive) long weekend.

All that said, it seems that the only reason Vegas exists is to satisfy frivolous desires and to many a few people very rich. It’s in the middle of the desert. But people are coming in drives. The local chamber of commerce cites that over 6,000 people move there each month. The area is booming. Large construction projects were going on on at least 3 different sites around our hotel. The city just put in a pretty convenient monorail system along the strip, but the 6 lane road that runs through the middle of The Strip was constantly congested. there are plans to build a new airport. You have to wonder how long the area can support this type of system. All of the water, power, and fuel being use for really no necessary purpose. I’m not the only person raising these questions. This city is the perfect example of people putting human desires ahead of any other considerations. Like New York City, there is no place on Earth like Las Vegas, but you do have to wonder if it’s worth it and how long we will be able to support such places. In the mean time, like many things, lots of people are making money and others are paying money to enjoy themselves. So, we just turn a blind eye and move on to another issue.