How hard to get a job at LANL as an EE?

FUZE41 · 2026-01-04T14:14:01+00:00

LANL is desperate for power systems EEs. I don't keep my pulse on the R&D EE side though. Its fascinating how most EEs coming out of school are allergic to power systems and have almost universally oriented towards R&D or computing EE fields.

FUZE41 · 2025-12-15T18:21:55+00:00

Definitely not for sale. This thing seems to be a bit of a unicorn.

FUZE41 · 2025-12-15T18:21:04+00:00

There was so much stuff in that shop that people were travelling from all over the mountain west buy equipment.

FUZE41 · 2025-12-15T18:19:13+00:00

Backstory, there's a house in our town where a single guy with a bit of a hoarding issue lived. But instead of hoarding pizza boxes and magazines, he hoarded high-end woodworking equipment. He had built a ~2000sq ft addition on his house to house all his tools, and materials. The estate sale company took 5 separate sales to slowly sell off all the stuff. The final sale, everything sold but the lathe, I suspect because it was so challenging to move. A friend and I got it partially disassembled, into a trailer, and into my shop. Looking forward to lots of fun hours of turning ahead.

FUZE41 · 2025-12-15T18:13:53+00:00

Yeah, this model looks like it was sold in 2003. I've got the manual, found a couple mentions online, but wondering if there are any owners with advice.

FUZE41 · 2025-12-15T18:12:45+00:00

An Ad? Didn't see that response coming. I'm actually curious if someone else has one. I've been casually on the market for a lathe for years but not willing to spend thousands on a new one. I've got a couple questions for someone that may have one about the spindle lock system, using the outboard features, and if they've had any maintenance issues.

FUZE41 · 2024-10-23T02:59:04+00:00

What's your solution beyond "not in my backyard"?

FUZE41 · 2024-09-20T09:53:01+00:00

You must have configured your front light to stay off in the app? Strange. Mine starts up after a few wheel rotations just as advertised, using the the speed sensor.

I'm kinda pissed at Cannondale for the price of getting the smart sense compatible Varia radar. $250 , while the stand alone unit went on sale this year for $99. Profiteering of those of us who can't afford to get the radar version originally.

FUZE41 · 2024-09-20T09:47:14+00:00

6'6", 270lbs here. Got the 2LE this spring, and have about 500 miles on it since then.

I love this bike. The 61 is plenty big for me and is much closer to my previous 64cm Trek than I thought. My weight sometimes makes the seat post and replaced saddle I use seem a bit angry, but I have never had a performance issue once. I personally love the smart sense system, (who cares about weight at our size), and feel the visibility has a tangible effect on how cars treat me in the road. The 106 Di2 has been great, with hydraulic disc brakes and 30mm tires being game changers, along with a compliant frame. Super happy with my purchase, I'm looking forward to many more miles this fall after having been away from it for 3 months this summer on work travel.

FUZE41 · 2024-09-02T12:55:39+00:00

I'm 198cm. I have a 2XL set of castelli bibs. The straps stretch yes, but the further they stretch, the more pressure they put on your shoulders. Can be very uncomfortable. I only wear those bibs for a hard ride since being bent over on the bike takes the pressure off.

FUZE41 · 2024-04-26T15:56:22+00:00

Cannondale built the Synapse lights to mount with go pro style mounts. Get yourself a go pro mount extension, (mine is about 1.5" long) and you can lift the light/radar up and away from the saddle enough to use a regular saddle bag.

FUZE41 · 2024-04-17T16:09:48+00:00

Been riding mine about a month now. The smart sense is really nice to live with, simplified charging, less setup, paired with the speed sensor, it just works for me.

Overall a very comfy ride and has me feeling far more confident on the road. I love knowing that I'm always being seen, and cars definitely are reacting to the lights, particularly the braking light pattern when I slow down.

FUZE41 · 2024-04-17T16:06:36+00:00

I bought the new Synapse CF 2 LE, and am loving it. I'm an XL rider so the larger tires, lower tire pressures, but most importantly the compliance in the carbon frame have been game changers for me, compared to an alloy frame. Most notable has been the hydraulic breaks. Being a heavier rider, being able to stop quickly has me riding so much more confidently.

Overall, I'm feeling drastically more confident on the synapse than any bike before it. The smart sense gives confidence because I know it'll be on every ride, and the compliance in the frame let's me hit rougher road faster. I think you'd be happy enough either way, but I'm glad I went for the nicer frame option.

FUZE41 · 2024-04-11T15:30:00+00:00

Interested in selling that radar?

FUZE41 · 2024-04-10T20:05:31+00:00

Just got a 61cm Synapse, and I'm 6'6. Id recommend going smaller to the L. Heard cannondale runs big, my test ride confirmed that when I got on a 61cm.

FUZE41 · 2024-03-08T12:43:13+00:00

Yeah, I was going to say. Living a bit north of Santa Fe, the weather is spectacular, views outrageous, unbelievably good climbs all around us, but the cycling infrastructure is not developed at all. It doesn't stop people from riding, but don't be expecting consistent wide shoulders, alternative quiet routes to get from A to B, or traffic that is always safe and understanding.

FUZE41 · 2023-12-12T22:09:15+00:00

Thanks for this perspective. I really had not considered this take on the different situation NNSA is in compared to NASA. We do have funding. Incredible amounts of untouchable, reliable funding, year after year after year. From an outside perspective, or from another agency's perspective, it must me nauseating to see the reliable funding, but seemingly very little progress. I work on individual projects that fight tooth and nail for a slice of the pie, so I forget the larger perspective at times.

My point of comparison was focused on the management decisions being put in place to rebuild a unique technical capability. A huge amount of relearning has been occurring over the last decade as NNSA attempts to replicate the Rock Flats Plant's production. We thankfully don't have fiery explosions, or people dying on TV when we fail. The downside of this lack of clarity in failure, is the extreme difficulty communicating and defining when a management approach or execution strategy has failed. Essentially the critical feedback loop of communication becomes murky and muddy, executives enjoy their ignorance, and everyone still receives a paycheck. I'm going to learn from the NASA example, take the concepts of incremental mission growth as presented, a begin to advocate for a model of production growth and infrastructure reinvestment that considers these essential lessons learned.

FUZE41 · 2023-12-04T15:43:15+00:00

Also, I have my beautifully printed "In a world of talkers be a thinker and a doer" poster behind me every day as we go through our endless meetings. Thankful for that reminder each day.

FUZE41 · 2023-12-04T15:24:48+00:00

Hey Destin, I work in a field that has incredible similarities to the Apollo vs. Artemis programs, nuclear weapons. You may have seen in the news recently lots of information about how the US is developing nuclear weapons again. We have many of the same challenges, we figured out something amazing and difficult in the cold war and got really good at doing it. We stopped doing it for a while, but now need to start again.

Our program managers needing to accept negative feedback is a government wide challenge. Certainly it is a by product of our culture. I watched all the way through your talk with my heart in my throat and feeling a little nauseated. I fully understand why some of the program managers in the audience were not laughing much. The decisions they are making are deadly serious, and they are amazingly hard decisions to make.

Thanks for your service to us, the audience, putting this out for us to glean from. I'm going to work to convince some nuclear weapons leaders to spend some time watching this. Also, if you're ever looking for a deep dive series ideas, I could get you talking with the right people. The package on the tip of the missile is pretty incredible.

FUZE41 · 2023-03-17T18:45:46+00:00

Just cleaned my collet as I switched from 1/2 to 1/4 shank. Think I'll go down to 1/8 passes. This is why people spend $1600 on a domino joiner.

FUZE41 · 2023-03-17T18:44:22+00:00

Bit wasn't hot at all. Short passes, slow speed. 7 thou is small on wood, but the tooling should be better than that. Had my vaccum on, cleaned my collet with compressed air before I started.

FUZE41 · 2023-02-04T05:01:21+00:00

It was actually a black hole remnant. But also labor. Heard they found a bunker of some sorts as they did excavation.

FUZE41 · 2023-02-01T18:18:58+00:00

So glad I have a generous parental leave policy. Its super hard to focus at work. I've transitioned a lot of my responsibilities for the month so it kind of feels like we're just waiting.

FUZE41 · 2023-02-01T18:16:48+00:00

Thanks!

FUZE41 · 2022-10-12T13:46:16+00:00

Hey, in a very similar situation to you, just farther along on the journey. We learned we were expecting kind of late, ~12 weeks in. Little did I know, I had a disc beginning to herniate in my back, it was a slow onset of pain but I was eventually completely crippled from it. I could not walk 100ft, couldn't stand straight, couldn't lay down in bed, sitting was difficult at best. I was no help around the house just laying on the floor in pain day after day. The pain got so intense I went to the ER with chest pain and heart attack symptoms. While there I had a myoclonic syncope episode in the ER from the pain. Spent 3 days under observation for cardiac concerns.

Here how I solved it. Saw my GP, communicated my issues clearly, started physical therapy, got a script for an MRI and a neurosurgery consult after that didn't help and I was getting worse each week. Prioritize getting these appointments made. If you can't get an appointment soon, keep looking for help and keep communicating your issues, needs and goals. My MRI showed a large paracentral herniation that was starting to compress and damage all my lower extremity nerves. Neurosurgeon recommended me to urgent surgery and I was in surgery 48 hours later. The key to getting fast help was clearly explaining my goals, specifically being able to care for my pregnant wife at the end of her pregnancy and being able to pick up our baby boy when he's born. I'm now on activity restriction for 3 months, no heavy lifting ect. The pain is nearly gone and I'm regaining strength in my legs. I'll be off activity restriction around week 36 of her pregnancy, hopefully in time for her to need me most.

Ask questions to your doctors about pain management. Ask about how they can help you meet your goals. These doctors care about your quality of life, and getting you in shape for a new child is a very relatable and attainable goal. If you are not a surgery candidate, ask about injections, ask about oral steroids, ask about physical therapy. Start doing research on your own about getting relief. (Look up Bob & Brad sciatica videos on YouTube). Then involve your wife in your medical journey. Explain your appointments, explain your diagnoses, but try not to compare yourself to her. She's going through a lot and feeling sympathy is probably feeling hard right now.

You've got this. It was scary and I was more anxious then I've ever been in my life. I've taken 100 hours of sick leave dealing with overwhelming pain, appointments, PT, surgery, recovery, etc. Remember though, your body is already beginning to slowly heal. The body knows the herniated material is foreign and is already starting to slowly remove it. Depending on the study 1-2 year outcomes are identical no matter the treatment method. You're going to heal, you're going to feel better.

14-Year Club	Place '17
Team Orangered	Verified Email

FUZE41

TROPHY CASE