Tuesday, Oct. 13, 1998
Be ready for the millennium bug
The end is near!
Just 300 or so work days from now you may walk into work, refreshed after a holiday, and switch on your personal computer.
But it won't start.
You do some trouble-shooting, but nothing works. You call in technical support experts from Desktop Consulting in the Customer Service Group (CIC-6).
After a quick examination, you get the diagnosis: your computer is dead, that report you worked so hard on before vacation is gone, that draft of a paper on your latest research has vanished -- everything's kaput!
The date: Jan. 3, 2000, the day the data died.
Call it the millennium bug, the Y2K problem or the Apocalypse, the failure of computers, software and other electronics to recognize the date change from '99 to '00 is something for which many at the Laboratory remain unprepared, despite an avalanche of media attention.
You can escape this disaster quickly and painlessly, perhaps in less than 15 minutes, said Diane Weir, chair person of the Laboratory's Year 2000 Council.
"If you have a personal computer or PC clone, you need to test your hardware to make sure it will work in 2000," Weir said.
She added that hardware problems don't apply to Macintoshes, Sun or Hewlett-Packard workstations, but owners of these machines should learn about potential software problems and upgrade key software to ensure they don't face disaster in January 2000.
The Information Architecture project in August surveyed computer users across the Laboratory about their readiness for the Year 2000. Less than a fourth of personal computer users said they knew for certain that their computers had been tested for Year 2000 readiness. Another one-third said they had not tested their computers and the rest said they didn't know.
Survey results are at http://www.lanl.gov/projects/ia-lanl/fy98surv/highlights.html#y2k
"These figures stand out because there are known issues with Year 2000 readiness among PC users," Weir said.
She said the PC Real Time Clock, Basic Input-Output System, or BIOS, the Windows operating system and other software all may need upgrades to handle the Year 2000 date change without glitches.
The saddest part of the Los Alamos survey results may be how easy it is for Laboratory users to learn whether they have a problem and what to do about it.
Users can download and run a Laboratory standard program, called 'Y2K,' that tests Year 2000 readiness in PC Real Time Clocks and BIOS systems. The test program is available free from the Laboratory's Electronic Software Distribution web site. Users download the program to a bootable disk, then run the test and generate a report which they should print and file so they have a record of their computer's readiness for Year 2000.
The entire process takes less than 15 minutes.
Weir said that because the program is freeware, Laboratory employees may use it to test their home computers as well.
If even that sounds too difficult, many Laboratory organizations have Desktop Group (CIC-2) personnel on staff who can download and test PCs. Some divisions, like Environment, Safety and Health (ESH), have their own trouble-shooting teams who will check computers and software for Year 2000 readiness.
A recent inspection of personal computers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory looked for problems with the Real Time Clock and BIOS and found that 11 percent of their personal computers needed an upgrade or replacement.
"Eleven percent isn't a big number, but it could be your machine," Weir pointed out.
Users shouldn't ignore the problem just because they recently bought a new PC, either. Some machines that shipped to customers this year will experience failures when the Year 2000 rolls around. When buying new computers and software, Laboratory users should make sure they meet the millennium successfully.
"You have a less than 15 months to decide what to do about the problem," Weir said. "Test your PC now, before it's too late."
For more information about the many Lab-wide efforts to prepare for the Year 2000 problem, point your web browser to http://www.lanl.gov/projects/ia/year2000/.
--Jim Danneskiold
Final Hispanic Heritage Month talk scheduled
for Wednesday
Archaeologist Brad Vierra of Ecology (ESH-20) will talk about the findings of his archaeological excavation of a campsite near the Coronado Monument in Bernalillo at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday in the Department of Energy's Los Alamos Area Office conference room at Technical Area 43.
Vierra's presentation is the last in a series of Hispanic Heritage Month talks at the Laboratory. Hispanic Heritage Month is observed nationally from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.
The theme for the Laboratory's Hispanic Heritage Month observance is "400 Years of Technology in New Mexico: A Cuarto Centenario Commemorative." The Hispanic Diversity Working Group and the Diversity (DV) Office are sponsoring Hispanic Heritage Month activities at the Lab.
The DOE-LAAO office is located off of Trinity Drive. Employees and subcontract personnel who want to attend the talk can call Johnson Controls Northern New Mexico's van service at 7-TAXI for a ride to and from the talk.
The findings of Vierra's excavation in the late 1980s of a site south of NM 528 in Bernalillo, near the Coronado Monument and Coronado State Park were included in the Laboratory of Anthropology's publication, "A Sixteenth Century Spanish Campsite in the Tiguex Province."
The University of Colorado Press also published "The Coronado Expedition to Tierra Nueva: the 1540-1542 Route Across the Southwest," in which Vierra's excavation findings were reported.
The excavation is believed to be the only archaeological site that has been attributed to the Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado circa 1540, according to Vierra.
Hispanic Heritage Month activities at the Laboratory conclude Saturday with a banquet to generate scholarship funds for MANA Del Norte, IMAGE de Los Alamos and the Society of Mexican-American Engineers and Scientists, or MAES. The banquet is in the Cities of Gold Hotel in Pojoaque. Admission is $25.
At the banquet, the Hispanic Diversity Working Group also will honors three New Mexicans as part of national Hispanic Heritage Month's "Latinas in Leadership" program. Virginia Rey of Radiation Protection Services (ESH-12), Liddie Martinez of Protection Technology Los Alamos and KOB television morning news anchor Monica Armenta will be recognized. "In keeping with the national theme for Hispanic Heritage Month, we felt it was appropriate to recognize these local Hispanic women for their accomplishments," said Yvonne Gonzales of Property Management (BUS-6) and a co-chair of the banquet along with Josie Saiz of Johnson Controls Northern New Mexico.
The keynote speaker at the banquet is Santiago Rodriguez, an independent management and marketing consultant who has been involved in civil rights, community and diversity issues for more than 25 years.
For more information about Hispanic Heritage Month activities at the Lab, go to http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/dvo/hdwg/hhmonth.html online.
--Steve Sandoval
Energy Awareness Month
Winter winds will be whistling soon
The cold winds of winter will be blowing sooner than you think. Now is a good time to take a few moments and make sure your home isn't leaking precious energy and save money on your heating bills at the same time. October is Energy Awareness Month and the Department of Energy has provided the following tips to help homeowners save energy and money by weatherizing their homes.
First, test your home for air tightness. On a windy day, hold a lit incense stick next to your windows, doors, electrical boxes, plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets, ceiling fixtures, attic hatches and other locations where there is a possible air path to the outside. If the smoke stream travels horizontally, you have located an air leak that may need caulking, sealing or weatherstripping.
Caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows that leak air.
Caulk and seal air leaks where plumbing, ducting or electrical wiring penetrates through exterior walls, floors, ceilings and soffits over cabinets.
Install rubber gaskets behind outlet and switch plates on exterior walls.
Look for dirty spots in your insulation, which often indicate holes where air leaks into and out of your house. You can seal the holes by stapling sheets of plastic over the holes and caulking the edges of the plastic.
Install storm windows over single-pane windows. Storm windows as much as double the R-value of single-pane windows and they can help reduce drafts, water condensation, and frost formation. As a less costly and less permanent alternative, you can use a heavy-duty, clear plastic sheet on a frame or tape clear plastic film to the inside of your window frames during the cold winter months. Remember, the plastic must be sealed tightly to the frame to help reduce infiltration.
When the fireplace is not in use, keep the flue damper tightly closed. A chimney is designed specifically for smoke to escape, so until you close it, warm air escapes 24 hours a day!
For new construction, reduce exterior wall leaks by either installing house wrap, taping the joints of exterior sheathing, or comprehensively caulking and sealing the exterior walls.
For more information on Energy Awareness Month, visit the DOE's Energy Awareness Month web site.
Representatives from BlueCross BlueShield New Mexico will be at the Laboratory from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday to meet with employees to discuss claims or issues. The BlueCross BlueShield representatives will be in the Benefits Office on the second floor of the Otowi Building, said Deborah Lee of Compensation and Benefits (HR-1). Employees are asked to make an appointment at least a day ahead of time, said Lee. They should call the Benefits Office at 7-1806 or write to benefits@lanl.gov by electronic mail to schedule an appointment time. Lee said BlueCross BlueShield representatives are scheduled to be at HR-1 every other Wednesday to meet with employees. BlueCross BlueShield New Mexico became the new health-care provider for University of California Laboratory employees on Jan. 1. --Steve Sandoval |
'Plenty to smile about'
From left to right: Nonproliferation and International Security (NIS) Division Director Terry Hawkins, Northern New Mexico Community College President Sigfredo Maestas and Tom Garcia, acting deputy director for Business Administration and Outreach, had plenty of reason to be smiling last Friday in the J. Robert Oppenheimer Study Center, especially Maestas. He received a check for $12,306 from Hawkins and Garcia as part of the NIS Student Education Scholarships Program, designed to entice quality undergraduate and graduate students to work for NIS once they complete their educational programs. Forty-eight students and employees, 15 of them from New Mexico, received scholarships. The Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation, of which Garcia is board president, provided matching funds for the portion of scholarship money that remained in New Mexico. Thus, NNMCC received $6,153 from NIS, and the foundation matched that amount. NNMCC plans to use some of the money to offer scholarships for students who enroll in a new program called Electronics Packaging Design Technology; the remaining funds will be used to credit the educational accounts of those winning students who attend the college. Photo by LeRoy Sanchez
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BlueCross BlueShield representatives at the Lab Wednesday