Fermilab TodayFriday, November 14, 2003  
Calendar
Friday, November 14
9:00 a.m.- 6:30 p.m. de Sitter Days: alphavac to omegalambda
The Fermilab Workshop on Quantum Aspects of de Sitter Space
3:30 p.m. Wine & Cheese - 2nd Flr X-Over
4:00 p.m. Joint Experimental Theoretical Physics Seminar - 1 West
Speaker: O. Long, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
Title: The Angles of the Triangle - Recent and Future Results from BaBar
7:30 p.m. Fermilab International Film Society - Auditorium
Double Feature: Alien and Aliens (NOTE TIME)
Tickets: Adults $4

Saturday, November 15
8:00 p.m. Fermilab Arts Series - Auditorium
Scrap Arts Music
Tickets: $22/$11

Monday, November 17
THERE WILL BE NO THEORETICAL ASTROPHYSICS SEMINAR THIS WEEK
3:30 p.m. Director's Coffee Break - 2nd Floor X-over
4:00 p.m. All Experimenters' Meeting - Curia II
Special Topic: MINOS

Cafeteria
Friday, November 14
Split pea soup
Chef's special $3.50
White fish baked in a Provencal sauce w/fresh basil $4.75
Specialty gourmet sandwich $4.75
Double patty burger topped w/cheddar cheese, grilled onions and a green olive mayo $4.75

Eurest Dining Center Weekly Menu
Chez Leon
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WeatherCloudy 49º/36º

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Computer farms
Run II Computer Farms at the Feyman Computing Center
Computing Division Tape Robots Move 20 Terabytes of Data In One Day
In physics, data is everything, and Fermilab has a lot of it. Central storage systems at Fermilab have recently moved to and from tape over 20 terabytes of data in a single day. But it was not a one-time stunt. Supporting CDF, DZero and other experiments continually requires a lot of data movement. "This is the equivalent of reading 10,000 of the 8mm tapes used in Run I," said Don Petravick, Head of the Computing Division's Computations and Communications Fabric department.

The lab now holds 1.1 petabayes of data in automated tape libraries. Five robots in the Feynman Computing Center's storage "silos" grab tapes and insert them into drives at the command of distant users. A lab-written software package, called enstore, manages these libraries and supervises the movement of the data between tape and the experiments' computer systems.

The lab will store even more data as Run II progresses, as activities supporting CERN's Compact Muon Solenoid detector increase, and as other elements of its experimental program move forward.

Fermilab Wins Employer Recognition Award from the Illinois Department of Human Services
Dianne Engram
Dianne Engram
On October 28, Dianne Engram, Equal Employment Office Manager since 1988, accepted for Fermilab its second consecutive Employer Recognition Award from the Illinois Department of Human Services' Office of Rehabilitative Services. The Americans with Disabilities Act and our obligations as a Federal contractor require ramps and other accommodations for disabled employees. For going beyond these requirements Fermilab earned what the ORS calls its "Extra Mile Award."

Engram's office coordinates the accommodations for disabled employees, including new office equipment and reconfiguration of workstations for the mobility impaired. The lab has also provided internships for disabled undergraduates and job coaching to help people learn new tasks and refine old ones. This support improves efficiency for the employees and their coworkers. Engram has worked in the office for 24 years. "We've had some real successes," she said. "These employees form an important facet of our diverse population."

In the News
From Nature, November 13, 2003
Towards a clean collider
The high-energy physics community has grand plans to probe deeper into the structure of matter and space-time. The proposal for a multinational linear collider merits strong support.
Although the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is still years away from completion at CERN in Geneva, the particle-physics community is already mobilizing to push through the funding for its next project — a US$6-billion linear collider to study collisions between electrons and anti-electrons.
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Bob's Blackout Bulletin
Power Outage Today at 10:00 a.m.
Bob Mau
Bob Mau
This morning at 10:00 a.m. Accelerator Operations Chief Bob Mau advises that Fermilab will experience a power outage for about 20 minutes. The outage will not affect the Village, the Main Injector or NuMI. Mau recommends that you shut down your computer and other sensitive equipment before the power outage.
Windstorms Cause Damage, Power Outages on Fermilab's Site
Lab A wind damage
Winds damaged the roof of the Geodesic Dome on Wednesday night.
It's not called the Windy City for nothing. Windstorms with gusts up to 60 mph swept through the Chicago area on Wednesday night, causing power outages and damage throughout the region. Dave Nevin, Head of FESS, reported that the wind damaged the Kautz Road power line somewhere off site. "ComEd told us to shut down the Kautz Road substation while they repaired the damage off site," said Nevin. Fermilab switched from the Kautz Road substation to the main substation. Sometime in the middle of the night, the situation got worse. The winds threatened the only working power line by breaking the static line that runs above the conductors. "We were in a very difficult position," said Nevin. "We lost the only static line on the only station coming into the site." Fermilab remained on the problematic main power line until Thursday evening, when ComEd allowed the lab to switch back to the repaired Kautz Road power line. This allows the lab to repair the damaged static line.

The high winds also caused damage near SiDet and Shipping & Receiving. Leonard Nelson, of ES&H, reported that a section of the Geodesic Dome blew onto Lab C. "One of the flat sections of the Geodesic Dome blew off and flew onto to the adjacent building, Lab C," Nelson said. "We took it down to prevent it from causing damage to cars and other surroundings." FESS is currently getting an estimate to have the roof repaired, but they don't know how long the repairs will take. Roads & Grounds also reported that a very large weeping willow tree fell down in front of the Receiving Building on Wednesday night.

Lab A wind damage
High winds caused this copper and metal section of the Geodesic Dome to fly onto Lab C before it was taken off the roof.
Announcements
Prairie Burn Today
Weather permitting, Roads & Grounds will burn a tract of prairie in the southeast corner of the site near the prairie path at approximately 11:00 a.m. today. Roads & Grounds personnel on the prairie path will keep cyclists away from the burn.

New Classified Ads on Fermilab Today
New classified ads have been posted on Fermilab Today. The ads will remain posted for a week. A permanent link to the classifieds is located in the bottom left corner of Fermilab Today.

Fermilab Film Society Tonight
The Fermilab Film Society will have a double feature on Friday, November 14 at 7:30 p.m. (Note the early start time.) The feature movies will be Alien and Aliens.
more information

Fermilab Arts Series Tomorrow
Few tickets still available!
The Fermilab Arts Series presents Scrap Art Music on Saturday, November 15 at 8:00 p.m.
more information

Fermilab Barn Dance
The first afternoon Fermilab Barn Dance of the season is Sunday, November 16 at 2:00 p.m. Eric Zorn will call to the music of the Money Creek Boys. This dance is being held in conjunction with the Real Olde Tyme Storytelling event, featuring Mama Edie Armstrong, the Double Deckers, and Gene Gryniewicz, which starts at noon. You'll find us in the Warrenville Community Building, 3S240 Warren Ave., Warrenville.
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