Monday, October 05, 2009

Hmmmm, where to begin?

So, I'm in the middle of a seven day stretch off of work. I've had a few chances to work OT, but I've been otherwise occupied. Friday and Saturday were right out. Suzy had business to attend to in Boaz on those days (btw, you can see her waaaay in the background in the first picture on page 11 of those pictures). We stopped to eat on the way home both nights. Friday night involved a fairly standard pizza buffet. Saturday night we tried Wintzell's Oyster House in Guntersville. I had heard some good and some bad opinions beforehand. Bad reviews notwithstanding, we liked it! Plus, Wintzell's is supposed to be coming to Huntsville in December. Yesterday was a day to work out. That started at 6 AM with my best friend. We all went to eat breakfast after that. Yesterday afternoon was reserved for time on the elliptical machine. Today has been mainly recovery time from a busy weekend. That was interrupted, of course, by an hour and a half of exercising. I really love to sweat...

We'll see what the rest of the week will hold. I know that I'm looking forward to trying something new for dinner tomorrow night...

Since I was slack about posting last week, the past two weeks of ADAMS info for Browns Ferry can be viewed by click "read more" below...


U1 & sitewide

1. Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, & 3, Revised Schedule for Extended Power Uprate Amendment Request Review.

2. Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3, Sequoyah, Units 1 and 2, Watts Bar, Units 1 and 2, Bellefonte, Units 1 and 2, Change to Correspondence Addressee and Service List Update.

3. Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 1, 2 & 3; Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 & 2; Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Unit 1 & 2; and Bellefonte Nuclear Plant, Units 1 & 2 - Submission of Revision 20 to Tennessee Valley Authority Nuclear Quality Assurance Plan.

4. Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3, Sequoyah, Units 1 and 2, Watts Bar, Units 1 and 2, Submittal of Report in Accordance with 10 CFR 26.719(c)(1) for Drug and Alcohol Testing Errors.

5. Browns Ferry Office of Investigations Case Number 2-2009-006 Synopsis Release.

6. Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, & 3, Response to Request for Additional Information Regarding Generic Letter 2008-01, Managing Gas Accumulation in Emergency Core Cooling, Decay Heat Removal, and Containment Spray Systems.

U2

1. LER 09-005-00 for Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Unit 2, re: Reactor Motor Operated Valve Board 2D & Residual Heat Removal Subsystem Inoperable Longer Than Allowed by the Plant's Technical Specifications.

2. Browns Ferry, Unit 2, Nine-Month Supplemental (Post-Outage) Response to NRC Generic Letter 2008-01: Managing Gas Accumulation in Emergency Core Cooling, Decay Heat Removal, and Containment Spray Systems.

3. Browns Ferry, Unit 2, American Society of Mechanical Engineers Section Xl, Inservice Inspection, System Pressure Test, Containment Inspection, and Repair and Replacement Programs - Summary Report for Cycle 15 Operation.

U3

Nothing additional

Saturday, September 26, 2009

I hate to toot my own horn, but...

This is a milestone post. Number 500! That doesn't include the original blog I maintained.


Blasts from the past:

Check out a sneak peek of a retooling of the V miniseries from the 80s:



The new V begins on 11/3/09.


As for new shows, check out this clip from FlashForward:



I've never watched a lot of stuff from ABC (or CBS for that matter). However, this is a pretty cool new show!




We were entertaining the idea of checking out our best friends' boy's soccer game this morning. However, all games were canceled. It's all about the rain. We've had TOO much. See?

From Blogger Pictures





Last night, I was jonesing for something sweet. I didn't feel like going out to buy anything, so I improvised with ingredients that I had on hand. Here's a picture of the "bread pudding" I made last night. I put that in quotes because I didn't use any kind of recipe. Come to find out, most (if not all) recipes use eggs to make a custard-like consistency. Mine is just kind of a gloppy mess. But, it tastes REALLY good! It should with most of a stick of butter and about a cup and a half of sugar (a mix of brown and granulated). Check it out:

From Blogger Pictures

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

I don't watch a lot of TV....

But I love House. Last night's season opener was no exception. This is a great show. Who would've thought there would be a House wiki?

This past weekend was fun. We had a little neighborhood cookout on Saturday. I had the pleasure of attempting to smoke ribs for the first time ever. It was an experiment, but it turned out pretty well. I used this to baste the ribs for part of the last hour (of 5) that they were on the grill...

I've been slacking a little bit in posting, so I have the last two weeks (9/7-9/21) of stuff that the NRC has added to ADAMS regarding Browns Ferry. Just click "read more"...


Units 1, 2, & 3

1. Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 - Request for Additional Information for Extended Power Uprate - Round 17 (TS-431 and TS-410) (TAC Nos. MD5262, MD5263, and MD5264).

2. Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, And 3; Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 And 2; Watts Bar Plant, Unit 1, - Enclosure 1 Re: Summary of Conference Calls With Tennessee Valley Authority Regarding Decommission Funding Assurance.

3. 06/09/2009, 06/30/2009-Summary of Conference Calls with Tennessee Valley Authority Regarding Decommissioning Funding Assurance, Browns Ferry, Sequoyah, Watts Bar.

4. Tennessee Valley Authority, Notification of Primary Contact Change Update.

5. CDI Report No. 09-24NP, Rev. 0, "Stress Assessment of Browns Ferry Nuclear Unit 1 Steam Dryer to 110% OLTP Power Level", Cover through Chapter 4 (Non-proprietary Version).

6. CDI Report No. 09-24NP, Rev. 0, "Stress Assessment of Browns Ferry Nuclear Unit 1 Steam Dryer to 110% OLTP Power Level", Chapter 5 through End (Non-proprietary Version).

7. C.D.I. Report No. 09-22NP, Rev. 0, "Acoustic and Low Frequency Hydrodynamic Loads at CLTP Power Level to 110% OLTP Power Level on Browns Ferry Nuclear Unit 1 Steam Dryer to 250 Hz" (Non-proprietary Version).

8. Browns Ferry, Unit 1 - Technical Specifications (TS) Change TS-431 - Extended Power Uprate (EPU) - Response to Round 24 Request for Additional Information (RAI) EMCB.208 Regarding Steam Dryer Analyses (TAC No. MD5262).

9. Browns Ferry, 1, 2, and 3, Sequoyah, Units 1 and 2, and Watts Bar, Units 1 and 2, Notification of Submittal of Latest Revision of TVA's Organization Topical Report, TVA-NPOD89-A on 09/14/09, Instead of the Originally Planned Date 08/29/09.

10. ER 05000259-09-301, 05000260-09-301, 05000296-09-301, 07/13-17/2009 & 07/22/2009, Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Operator License Examinations.

11. Browns Ferry, Unit 1 - Submittal of Technical Specifications (TS) Change TS-431 - Extended Power Uprate (EPU) - Steam Dryer Reports.

12. Browns Ferry SRO Written Exam Package.

13. Browns Ferry RO Written Exam Package.

14. CDI Technical Note No. 09-12NP, Rev. 0, "Limit Curve Analysis with ACM Rev. 4 for Power Ascension to 120% OLTP at Browns Ferry Nuclear Unit 1," Enclosure 7.

15. CDI Report No. 09-23NP, Rev. 0, "Acoustic and Low Frequency Hydrodynamic Loads At CLTP Power Level to 120% OLTP Power Level on Browns Ferry Nuclear Unit 1 Steam Dryer to 250 Hz," Enclosure 6.

16. Calculation Package 0900833.302, Rev. 0, "Steam Dryer Hood Stiffener Stress Relief Modification Stress Reduction Factor (SRF) Computation," Enclosure 4.

17. Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 1, Summary of August 11, 2009, Meeting With the Tennessee Valley Authority To Discuss Proposed Extended Power Uprate Analyses Path Forward.

18. Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 - Request for Withholding Information From Public Disclosure for Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (TAC Nos. MD5262, MD5263, and MD5264).

19. CDI Report No. 09-25NP, Rev. 0, "Stress Assessment of Browns Ferry Nuclear, Unit 1 Steam Dryer to 120% OLTP Power Level," Enclosure 5.

20. Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3, Sequoyah, Units 1 and 2, & Watts Bar, Unit 1, Decommissioning Funding Assurance.

21. Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 - NRC Response to Letter of Intent to Adopt Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 50, Section 50.48.

22. NEI Fire Protection Information Forum Plenary 2, Session 1, Jack Lewis, 1975 Browns Ferry Fire Event Presentation.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Most important matter at hand?

Happy Birthday Daddy-o!




Next? The new season of House, M.D. begins tonight!




More later....

Friday, September 11, 2009

Where was Joe Wilson.....

in the wrangling over the "Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act" (MMA)? We were discussing the "health care reform" at work today and I pointed out that I didn't recall financial conservatives being as rabid in 2003 (regarding the aforementioned MMA) as they have been this go-around. There was definite debate over MMA, but it didn't seem like this. Add to that the fact that some folks in the Bush Administration covered the true costs up to appease the financial conservatives. The conservatives came around when promised that the 10-year costs of the measure wouldn't exceed $400 billion. At last glance, that number was nearer to $1.2 trillion.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

My silence is deafening.....

Hmmm, where to start?

In starting, I'd like to recall and remember the victims and families and generally the United States on the approaching 8th anniversary of 9/11.




Zzaj recently posted Issue 94 of Improvijazzation Nation. I don't remember if I posted the link to Issue 93 up here, so here it is.




I've been somewhat silent about politics here this year. My views still haven't changed (I'm still a raging Libertarian), but it really doesn't matter which of the two big parties holds power. They'll both still find a way to screw things up. That being said, I didn't vote for the individual in office right now. However, I find it sad that the right and left are so polarized that an innocuous "Do well in school!" message caused such an uproar. I find it sad that some parents were considering (and probably did) holding their kids out of school over THIS! This country is going to be consumed by extreme partisan politics....




The Secrecy News section of the Federation of American Scientists site had some new and interesting CRS reports on 9/1 and 9/10.




Not my video, but here's "Techno Viking vs. Feindflug":






In closing, I'll include the NRC postings to ADAMS for 8/31/09 to 9/6/09. If you're interested, click "read more" below to see this information. I'm including that info in the full post only so the main page you are reading isn't as cluttered.



NRC info added to ADAMS regarding Browns Ferry during the week of 8/31/09 to 9/6/09:

U1 & sitewide

1. Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 - Withdrawal of an Amendment Request Concerning Extension of Emergency Diesel Generator Allowed Out of Service Time (TAC Nos. ME1515, ME1516, and ME1517).

2. Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 1 - Request for Additional Information for Extended Power Uprate - Round 26 (TAC No. MD5262) (TS-431).

3. LER 09-003-00 for Browns Ferry, Unit 1 Regarding A Train Standby Gas Treatment System Inoperable Longer Than Allowed By The Technical Specifications.

4. IR 05000259-06-016 on 09/25-29/2006 for Tennessee Valley Authority, Browns Ferry, Unit 1, Recovery Special Program for Fire Protection.

5. Browns Ferry Inspection/Activity Plan 09/01/2009 - 12/31/2010.

6. Mid-Cycle Performance Review and Inspection Plan - Browns Ferry Nuclear Station Units 1, 2 and 3.

7. Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 1 - Extended Power Uprate Steam Dryer August 7, 2009, Conference Call (TAC No. MD5262).

8. Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant - NRC Security Inspection Report 05000259-09-403, 05000260-09-403 & 05000296-09-403.

9. Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 - Request for Withholding Information From Public Disclosure for Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (TAC Nos. MD5262, MD5263, and MD5264).

10. 08/07/2009 TVA Conference Call Presentation Slides on Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 1 Steam Dryer Analysis.

U2 & U3

Nothing additional

Monday, August 31, 2009

Been a bit of silence here, eh?

I'll start with the material added to the NRC's ADAMS site concerning Browns Ferry over that past TWO weeks:

U1 & sitewide

Letter from R. M. Krich Regarding New Point of Contact for Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 - License Amendment, The Amendments Revise the Technical Specifications (TSs) to Adopt the Content of Technical Specification Task Force (TSTF) Change Traveler TSTF-448, Revision 3, Control Room Habitability.

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3 - Technical Specifications Changes TS-431 and TS-418 - Extended Power Uprate - Response to Round 25 - Request for Additional Information - SCVB-82 Through SCVB-86 and Replacement Documentation.

IR 05000259-09-006, 05000260-09-006 and 05000296-09-006; 5/29/2009 - 6/17/2009; Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2 and 3; Biennial Inspection of the Identification and Resolution of Problems.

Browns Ferry Units 1, 2 & 3, Technical Specifications Changes TS-431 and TS-418 - Extended Power Uprate - Response to Round 25 - Request for Additional Information - SCVB-82 Through SCVB-86 and Replacement Documentation.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3, Technical Specifications Changes TS-431 and TS-418 - Extended Power Uprate - Response to Round 25 - Request for Additional Information - SCVB-82 Through SCVB-86 and Replacement Documentation.

Browns Ferry, Unit 1, Second 10-Year Interval Inservice Inspection Program Related to the Examination of Piping Weld Overlays.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 1, Relief, The Second Ten-Year Interval Inservice Inspection Program Relate to ASME Code Case N-504-3, Alternative Rules for Repair Of Classes 1, 2, and 3 Austenitic Stainless Steel Piping ME0155.

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3 - Response to NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2009-11, Preparation and Scheduling of Operator Licensing Examinations.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3, RAI, Generic Letter 2008-01, "Managing Gas Accumulation in Emergency Core Cooling, Decay Heat Removal, and Containment Spray Systems".

08/11-12/2009-Summary of Meeting re 2009 US NRC Initial Exam Development Workshop.

U2

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 2 - Relief Request 2-ISI-21 for the Third Ten-Year Interval Inservice Inspection Program Relate to the Examination of Piping Weld Overlays (TAC NO. ME1319).

LER 09-003-00 for Browns Ferry Unit 2 re: Main Steam Relief Valve As Found Setpoint Exceeded Technical Specification Lift Pressure.

LER 09-004-00 for Browns Ferry, Unit 2, Regarding Technical Specification Shutdown Due to Rise in Unidentified Drywell Leakage.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 2 - Request For Additional Information For Second 10-Year Interval Inservice Inspection Program Plan Relief Request 2-ISI-19 Revision 1 (TAC NO. ME0764).

Browns Ferry, Units 2 & 3 - Specifications (TS) Change TS-418 - Extended Power Uprate (EPU) - Supplemental Response to Request for Additional Information (RAI) Round 3 & 18 & Response to Round 20 Fuels Methods RAIs.

U3

Nothing additional


As noted, there wasn't anything additional for Browns Ferry Unit 3 over the past couple of weeks. However, Unit 3 did go offline a week ago. I was there when the unit went down. We were back up and running at the end of last week.


This past weekend was great. In addition to the standard exercising and hanging/dining out with friends and family, we went to a get-together with some friends in Tennessee. I'd like to say THANKS to them in this forum. We had a lot of fun. One takeaway:
When climbing a tree, it's best to make sure that the limb you are going to use is alive BEFORE you use it! No harm done. It was more shocking than painful. Plus, it'll make for good laughs years from now! Snap, THUD!!!


Speaking of laughs...

I got some out of the "Techno Viking" site. I'm closing with a video that I recently found. Totally cool!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

If you're on Facebook and from the Huntsville,AL area...

check out this FB group!!!

Where to start?

I'll start with the mundane and usual stuff this evening. Here's what the NRC placed in its ADAMS system for Browns Ferry for the week of 8/10/09-8/16/09:

U1 & sitewide

Technical Specifications Change Request TS-466-T - Request for One-Time Extension of Completion Time for Emergency Diesel Generators; Extension of Time to Respond to NRC Request for Supplemental Information (NRC TAC Nos. ME1515, ME1516 and ME1517).

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, & 3, Technical Specifications Change TS-466-T - Request for One-Time Extension of Completion Time for Emergency Diesel Generators; Withdrawal of Request.

Plants Transitioning to NFPA 805.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, & 3; Sequoyah, Units 1 & 2, and Watts Bar, Unit 1 - Decommissioning Funding Assurance.

U2

LER 09-002-00 for Browns Ferry, Unit 2 Regarding Leak In An ASME Class I Code Reactor Pressure Boundary Pipe.

U3

Nothing additional

Now for the real stuff!

My best friend told me about the HiWAAY Huntsville Sprint Triathlon in late June. It was a very miniature version of a triathlon but that made it that much more tempting to take part. We ended up participating in it this past weekend (8/15). I would have liked to beat the one hour mark, but this wasn't a bad start. I ended up being 160 out of 449 folks who finished. It was fun to run!

We tried a new recipe for dinner this evening. It was called "Thai Barbecued Salmon".

Thai Barbecued Salmon Recipe | Taste of Home Recipes

Shared via AddThis

Another friend of mine started a Facebook discussion (wishful) about the dinner fairy yesterday. Someone suggested that she order pizza for her family. As I understand it, she did, but she couldn't partake due to a wheat allergy. For those of y'all out there who fight that kind of problem, take a look around for these products...

One last bit of entertainment and food for thought. Check out Beloit College's Mindset List for the Class of 2013.

Peace y'all!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

I just have to rave about a new recipe we tried for dinner this evening...

We recently tried quinoa for the first time. The first time we had it, we just boiled it in stock and added a bit of seasoning. It was good but somewhat bland. The second time, I just cooked it in water. After it was ready, I added minced garlic, salt, pepper and a confetti salad mix of radish, broccoli, cauliflower and red cabbage. The second attempt was definitely more flavorful. I did some more digging and found a "Quinoa Pilaf with Pine Nuts" recipe from Food Network. Tonight, we did that up with an old standard and the results were GREAT. I highly recommend the quinoa pilaf! If you're interested in quinoa, a few more recipes can be found here and/or here.

Items about Browns Ferry added to the NRC's ADAMS site last week (8/3/09-8/9/09):

U1 & sitewide

1. FRN: General Notice. Biweekly Notice Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses Involving No Significant Hazard Condersidations.

2. Browns Ferry, Sequoyah, Watts Bar, Change to Primary Correspondence Addressee.

3. IR 05000259-09-003, 05000260-09-003 and 05000296-09-003, on 04/01/2009 - 06/30/2009, Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2 and 3, Maintenance Risk Assessment, Access Control to Radiologically Significant Areas, and Event Followup.

4. Ack receipt of 961011 request for approval to change QAP description & informs that based on current review schedule, review will be completed within 60 days.

5. Forwards repts prepared by regions for Employee Concerns Program,per Temporary Instruction 2500/038.

6. Forwards policy endorsed by Commission,establishing expectations for NRC staff & licensee to have open & professional communication,due to alleged inappropriate regulatory actions taken by NRC staff against licensees.

U2 & U3

Nothing additional

Ending on a funny note (not my kitty):

funny pictures of cats with captions
see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Navy News Service - Eye on the Fleet

The linked picture of 2 ships side-by-side by itself is pretty run of the mill. However, when you consider the airpower present on the flight deck of the USS George Washington, the old saying 4.5 acres of freedom is reinforced. The higher resolution picture is pretty good!

Navy News Service - Eye on the Fleet

Shared via AddThis

Friday, July 31, 2009

Thursday was an extraordinarily lazy day for me...

But that's just fine! It all started after getting home from dinner (at Papou's) on Wednesday evening. I had grandiose plans of staying up and running on the treadmill and going to WallyWorld and whatever else would keep me up. For whatever reason, I just couldn't stay up. It probably had a bit to do with the big dinner at Papou's. The last place we had access to good Greek food was in upstate New York. I noticed Papou's last year and we just now got around to trying it. Dinner was going to start out with a couple of orders of tyropita, but they were out. We opted for the spanakopita. Tasty! For the main course, Suzanne ordered tilapia "Papou's style". Here's how the dinner menu describes "Papou's style":

"Oven Baked in Zesty Tomato Sauce, Topped with Feta Cheese"

Very good! I opted for the Papou-tesera (or as the waiter noted, "all four"). I'm a fan of Greek food and I wasn't disappointed with the standard foods (moussaka, dolmades, spanakopita and pastitso) that were included. Yum! The huge bowl of ice cream at my mom's (we stopped by to say hi) probably didn't help much.....

Anyway, after all of that, I couldn't stay up much past midnight. Then 6 AM rolled around and I actually woke up early. That's not normal for me. I was going to go back to sleep for several hours, but didn't end up getting back to sleep until 11 AM because of technology issues. After getting back up around three in the afternoon, I tried to deal with the same techie issues that had perplexed me earlier. Still no luck. Fixing my problem took me dealing with it on and off (interrupted by the treadmill and dinner and laundry) until 9 PM. At least I'm persistent...

I did all of the stuff I meant to do early Thursday morning THIS morning. That included an hour workout, a hot shower, a trip to WallyWorld and one more load of laundry.

Yeah, not necessarily exciting (the food was, try Papou's!), but that's life sometimes.

One thing I heard about that DOES sound interesting is an upcoming series (5) of classes put on by the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. Unfortunately, I won't have the time to check this out, but if you're interested and available for five Tuesday nights between September 8th and October 6th, here's where you register. Sounds kinda cool!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Plenty of stuff here...

In starting, please feel free to check out my daddy-o's latest opus, entitled "AC, not PC":

Dick%20MetcalfQuantcast



Here's what the NRC added to their ADAMS document system about Browns Ferry last week:

U1 & sitewide

1. 08/11/2009 Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 1 - Notice of Meeting with Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) To Discuss Extended Power Uprate.

2. Browns Ferry August 2007-301 Exam Post-Exam Comments - No Comments.

3. Browns Ferry August 2007-301 Exam FINAL RO/SRO Answer Keys.

4. Browns Ferry, August 2007-301 Exam Draft RO Written Exam.

5. Browns Ferry August 2007-301 Exam Final Simulator Scenarios.

6. Browns Ferry August 2007-301 Exam Final JPMS.

7. Browns Ferry August 2007-301 Exam Draft Written Outlines & ES-401-6.

8. Browns Ferry August 2007-301 Exam DRAFT Simulator Scenarios.

9. Browns Ferry August 2007-301 Exam Draft JPMs.

10. Browns Ferry August 2007-301 Exam Administrative Documents.

11. Browns Ferry August 2007-301 Exam DRAFT SRO Written Exam.


Here are the latest CRS reports available from the Federation of American Scientists. Regarding CRS reports, a new Senate resolution has been proposed to create a public access website making most CRS reports available. The resolution was sponsored by Senator Joseph Lieberman and co-sponsored by Senators Susan M. Collins, Russell Feingold, Tom Harkin, Patrick Leahy, Richard Lugar and John McCain. What's the status? The measure was introduced (and referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration) on 4/29/2009. If you are interested in this type of information being made available to the public (your tax money makes these reports possible), consider contacting one (or more) of the Senators on the committee. Here's a list:

Senators Charles E. Schumer, Robert Bennett, Robert C. Byrd, Daniel K. Inouye, Christopher J. Dodd, Dianne Feinstein, Richard J. Durbin, E. Benjamin Nelson, Patty Murray, Mark L. Pryor, Tom Udall, Mark Warner, Mitch McConnell, Thad Cochran, Kay Bailey Hutchison, C. Saxby Chambliss, Lamar Alexander, John Ensign and Pat Roberts.


We were unhappy when Mama Fu's closed its doors in Huntsville last year. It closed with little or no notice or reason given. There's a new restaurant in its place called Mei Wei. Mei Wei has just opened up in the past couple of weeks. The menu is VERY similar to that of the now defunct Mama Fu's. We ate there Saturday night and we'll be going back. I hope that this place can generate the traffic necessary to stay in business. Here's a slideshow of the menu with links to larger images of the menu on Picasa:

Friday, July 24, 2009

A couple of things...

As usual, the Federation of American Scientists recently posted some new CRS reports. The one that I've found most interesting in July (most are somewhat interesting anyway) is the first one at http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/2009/07/070909.html#2. CRS reports are a product of YOUR TAX MONEY, but are often limited in distribution.

Locally, the Tennessee Valley Authority is beginning a study into how best to meet the Valley's future electrical needs. To that end, a series of "scoping meetings" will be held at various venues until August 6. There are four meetings left, so if you are an interested member of the Valley public, check check out one of these meetings.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

I can't believe I missed the chance last night.....

To give props to NASA for the 40th anniversary of man on the moon. Much of the future regarding manned space flight appears in flux at the moment, but I absolutely believe we'll continue to move forward into space. I truly love the fact that private companies have emerged in the quest to achieve more in space. Check out NASA's subsite for the 40th anniversary of the Apollo moon missions.

I missed giving props last night to go see the Huntsville Arts Council's Concert in the Park. Olde Towne Brass and the Huntsville Concert Band did a good job. And I can't fail to mention that the Greek fast food we picked up from Taziki's was great!

Not much else to say, so here's what the NRC added to their ADAMS system about my nuclear plant last week:

U1 & Sitewide

Browns Ferry, Operator Licensing Written Examination Approval 05000259/09-301, 05000260/09-301 and 05000296/09-301.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3, RAI, Request For Supplemental Information Regarding Extension Of Technical Specification Completion Time For Emergency Diesel Generators.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3; Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2; Watts Bar Plant, Unit 1 - Summary of Conference Calls With The Tennessee Valley Authority Regarding Decommission Funding Assurance.

IR 05000259-09-007, 05000260-09-007 and 05000296-09-007; 04/20 - 24/2009; Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2 and 3; Focused Fire Protection Baseline Inspection.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 1, Request For Additional Information (RAI) For Extended Power Uprate - Round 25.

U2

Browns Ferry, Unit 2, Status of Decommissioning Funding Assurance.

U3

Nothing additional

Monday, July 13, 2009

It's Monday night!

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.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

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

• 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

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

I'm a little slow this week...

I didn't figure that I had a great deal to say. The following are documents that were added to the NRC's ADAMS system for the week of 6/29/09-7/05/09:

Browns Ferry Unit 1 & site

1. Forwards TVA documents to be released to PDR.

2. Request encl N Markisohn 890821 & J Donohew 891106 ltrs be placed in PDR.

3. Forwards order modifying licenses to require preservation of integrity of original unexpurgated records,prohibiting removal of records & providing NRC access to original records for insp & copying.

4. Notification of rescheduled 860512 meeting w/util in Bethesda,MD to discuss util inspector general interaction w/employee concern program.Meeting rescheduled from morning to afternoon.

5. Notification of 851218 meeting w/TVA in Chattanooga,TN to discuss TVA proposed responses to questions raised by NRC 850917 ltr re 10CFR50.54(f).

6. Forwards transcript of 851212 meeting w/TVA in Bethesda,MD re progress on concerns described in NRC 10CFR50.54(f) ltr.

7. Order modifying licenses to prohibit removal of unexpurgated original records from employee concern program & providing notice of 5 working days before control of unexpurgated records relinquished.

8. Forwards encls to rept to Commission on status of staff actions re TVA.Staff actions will be discussed at next Commission meeting on 860207.

9. Meeting Announcement - Category 2 Public Meeting, 2009 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Initial Examination Development Workshop.

10. Browns Ferry, Initial Exam 2008-302 Post Exam Comments.

11. Letter from F. Godwin, TVA to NRC on Browns Ferry Proposed Request for Exemption from 10 CFR 50, Appendix R. Paragraph lll.G.2, Fire Protection of Safe Shutdown Capacity.

12. Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3, Corrections to Amendment Nos. 274, 301, and 260 Regarding Control Rod Notch Test Frequency.

13. Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3 - Technical Specifications (TS) Change TS-466-T - Request for One-time Extensions of TS 3.8.1 Condition B Required Action B.4 Completion Time - Emergency Diesel Generators (EDGs) A, B, C, D, 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D.

14. Browns Ferry, Initial Exam 2008-302 Final Administrative Documents.

15. Browns Ferry Initial Exam 2008-302 Final Simulator Scenarios.

16. Browns Ferry Initial Exam 2008-302 Final SIM/In-Plant JPMs.

17. Browns Ferry Initial Exam 2008-302 Final Administrative JPMs.

18. Browns Ferry Initial Exam 2008-302 Draft SRO Written Exam.

19. Browns Ferry Initial Exam 2008-302 Draft Simulator Scenarios.

20. Browns Ferry Initial Exam 2008-302 Draft Sim/In-Plant JPMs.

21. Browns Ferry Initial Exam 2008-302 Draft RO Written Exam.

22. Browns Ferry Initial Exam 2008-302 Draft Administrative JPMs.

23. Browns Ferry Initial Exam 2008-302 Draft Administrative Documents.

Browns Ferry Unit 2

10. Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Unit 2 - Withdrawal of Relief Request (2-ISI-22) For Repair of Classes 1, 2, and 3 Austenitic Stainless Steel Piping (TAC No. ME1320).

Browns Ferry Unit 3

Nothing additional

Saturday, July 04, 2009

233 years ago.....

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!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

If the recent political scandals prove anything...

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!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

This past Monday night...

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

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

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

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).

Sunday, June 21, 2009

First and foremost...

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...

Friday, June 19, 2009

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

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

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

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

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!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Hopefully interesting tidbits...

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.

Saturday, June 06, 2009

You know what I hate?

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...

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

Thursday, June 04, 2009

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

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.

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Friday, May 29, 2009

Being at least somewhat interested in what's happening in Washington, DC.....

I occasionally check out the Congressional Record (one of the links on the linked page). Additionally, the Congressional Record can be searched and viewed and browsed via the GPO Access site. Unfortunately, the farthest that either site goes back is 1989. For material prior to 1989, you'll have to find a Federal Depository library...

However, there is some Congressional Record (and related) material available at another section of the Library of Congress website. The material available here has records of documents and debates in Congress from 1774-1875. Pretty cool! It would be cool to see an archive site that had Congressional materials from the inception of this country to the present....

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Seeing that I work at one of TVA's fine nuclear facilities and live relatively close....

I figured it might be useful to cull the NRC's site for documents related to my site and post the links. Many are technical or purely administrative in nature, but there are interesting tidbits of info from time to time. Here are the results for NRC documents (all PDF) related to Browns Ferry for the month of April (sorted by ascending date):

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3, Sequoyah, Units 1 and 2 and Watts Barr (WBN) Nuclear Plants - Insurance Status.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 - Schedule Update for the Extended Power Uprate Amendment Requests (TAC Nos. MD5262 and MD5263) (TS-431 and TS-418).

04/23/09 Notice of Category 1 Public Meeting with Tennessee Valley Authority, Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2 & 3, to Discuss NRC's Reactor Oversight Process Annual Assessment.

Brown Ferry, Unit 2 - Notification of Inspection and Request for Information.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2 & 3 - Technical Specification (TS) Changes TS-431 & TS-418 - Extended Power Uprate (EPU) - Transmittal of Containment Parameters and Total Shutdown Power Fractions.

Browns Ferry - Notification of Insp. & Request for Info. for Problem Identification & Resolution Inspection.Browns Ferry - Notification of Inspection. & Request for Info. for Problem Identification & Resolution Inspection.

Press Release-II-09-020: NRC to Discuss 2008 Performance of Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant.

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

Brown Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 1, 2, and 3 - Request For Withholding Information From Public Disclosure (TAC Nos. MD5262, MD5263, And MD5264) (TS-431 And TS-418).

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 - Public Letter and RAI - Request For Additional Information For Extended Power Uprate-Round 23 (TAC Nos. MD5262 And MD5263) (TS-431 And TS-418).

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, NRC Security Inspection Report 05000259-09-402, 05000260-09-402 & 05000296-09-402.

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.

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

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.


Here are the results from May 1 to May 24 (sorted by ascending date):

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.


From here on out, I will try to post the results weekly for anyone interested. One of the documents included mentioned the estimated number of people living in a 50 mile radius as about 778,000. That's a lot of stakeholders who would like to know that we are operating safely. More to come...

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Mmmmmmmm, bacon!!!

Bacon Flavored Vodka; Is it Really Something We Needed?
Bacon flavored vodka is sure to be the next party sensation as fans of vodka seek to figure out exactly what it tastes like. Issued from the Bakon Vodka Company, the bacon flavored vodka is seeking to fill a niche.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1784346/bacon_flavored_vodka_is_it_really_something.html

Monday, May 25, 2009

Classic garden couscous...



Courtesy of http://www.neareast.com/

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chicken breast, skinless, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1-1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons white cooking wine
1 Package (5.9 oz.) NEAR EAST Couscous Parmesan Mix
2 cups fresh or frozen broccoli flowerets, thawed, chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped

Preparation Instructions

1. In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Cook chicken and garlic for 5 to 8 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and no longer pink inside.
2. Stir in water, cooking wine and contents of spice sack; bring to a boil.
3. Stir in Near East couscous and broccoli; cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in cheese and tomatoes right before serving.

6 Servings (1 cup each)

Nutrition Information
Calories: 220, Calories from Fat: 50, Total Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 45mg, Sodium: 430mg, Total Carbohydrate: 23g, Dietary Fiber: 2g, Sugars: 3g, Protein: 19g

Remember!!!



Happy Memorial Day!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

So, in a sour economy with wars in two countries, what does one Georgia Republican Representative feel there is plenty of time for?

A Marriage protection amendment to the Constitution and 2010 as the "National Year of the Bible" among other things. That's just for this year (the 111th Congress)...

How about Paul Broun's input to the 110th Congress? Here are those results. Groundbreaking stuff you're proposing there, Representative Broun.