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

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

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Get your own

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

FWIW, this cat TOTALLY DIGS me...

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....

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...

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

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!

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.

Hulu.com rocks!

Short and sweet and to the point here....

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

I'll be particular and say a special thanks to all of those women that I happen to call Mom......

More trails...

BTW, feel free to take and/or use any of the pictures if you like them. Visit http://picasaweb.google.com/vejadu/42509?feat=directlink

Ron Paul does me one better....

I often try to stay aloof of the standard goings-on of the culture because much of it just doesn't concern me...

I had even missed most of the buzz regarding the whole Miss California-gay marriage controversy. I saw something regarding it and it sparked my interest. No one probably cares, but here's my two cents:

Carrie Prejean's answer was just fine. I don't happen to agree, but it was fine for her. I personally don't care about same-sex marriage one way or the other and I lean toward allowing marriage between whoever wants it. The qualifying statement there should be that it is between consenting people who have reached the age of majority unless the state has a legal exception regarding age. My opinion is not driven by conservative Christianity on one side or an embrace of the "gay agenda" on the other.

A little further research led to finding a post where the gay blogger called Miss California a "dumb bitch". The blogger subsequently apologized, but this is just another symptom of the standard "deeply held belief" (in some cases, approaching militant) agendas of both sides in this issue. Both sides should realize that they will never come to agreement and accept the outcome of the democratic process wherever they happen to live or work to change it. Working to change the rules can still be done in a civil manner. Unfortunately, I have often seen (and even heard) the debates turn into name-calling and other such ugliness. Get a grip, folks....

One other quickie here...

Facebook has a number of "Name Generators". I just happened to use the "Drag Queen Name Generator". Someone commented that they'd "never mention that at work". I would. And I'll do it here as well. I think it's hilarious! BTW, please pardon the picture colors. That's the color scheme I use on my computer....

Happy Earth Day!

To that end:
http://www.earthday.gov/
http://www.earthday.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day

One other quick thing...

The "World Digital Library" was recently launched internationally. Sounds interesting...

A little walky walky on 4-17-09...

Additionally, I feel compelled to give a little linky linky action to SDF. I've hosted this blog on SDF for years now. Here's what SDF is all about in their own words:

"The Super Dimension Fortress is a networked community of free software
authors, teachers, librarians, students, researchers, hobbyists, computer
enthusiasts, the aural and visually impaired. It is operated as a
federally recognized non-profit 501(c)(7) and is supported by its members.

Our mission is to provide remotely accessible computing facilities for
the advancement of public education, cultural enrichment, scientific
research and recreation. Members can interact electronically with each
other regardless of their location using passive or interactive forums.
Further purposes include the recreational exchange of information
concerning the Liberal and Fine Arts.

Members have UNIX shell access to games, email, usenet, chat, bboard,
webspace, gopherspace, programming utilities, archivers, browsers, and
more. The SDF community is made up of caring, highly skilled people who
operate behind the scenes to maintain a non-commercial INTERNET.

For information about membership levels, click on 'join' above."

The basic user level account only requires a one-time donation of $1. I've contributed a little more than that over the years because I strongly support the mission of SDF. Check it out...

On the way home from work last night, I stopped by the local Wal-Mart....

I had a few things to pick up. I was walking through the ice cream aisle after I picked up some frozen yogurt bars. A pint of the Blue Bell flavor "Southern Blackberry Cobbler" was calling my name. I just tried a few spoonfuls a few minutes ago. Words cannot describe how awesome this ice cream tastes! I just have to be careful now or else I'll eat the whole pint...

Are you...

A Wikipedia user with interest in Alabama? Check out (and maybe even join) the Wikipedia:WikiProject Alabama. Perhaps Alabama's not your cup of tea. Check out the WikiProject directory.

And then...

We were engaging in some nostalgic (e.g. '80s) YouTube posting wars on Facebook. I got to thinking about one of the favorite pieces of clothing I had ever owned. Enter Google....

I hopped on "the Google" and searched for what I thought might provide the desired result. Lo and behold, I found the item of clothing I was looking for. Turns out, it was on eBay for under $10. Plus, the seller was based out of New Market, AL. The shirt came yesterday. Needless to say, I WAS SUPER-STOKED! I have NEVER seen another shirt like this (other than on the rack when it was purchased in the mid-80s).

Click on the thumbnail for the bigger picture if you wish...