Sardana control application

Yesterday, one of the gurus of Tango and project leader of Sardana presents an internal seminar for the control system section in Alba:

One of the images that I like more to represent the meaning of this Sardana package is one:

In the upper layer we have the area of the presentation layer, where we develop taurus. Is the screens with the user interacts. How you manage the coordination of the movements together with the acquisition in not the business of the final user. Even more, they don't case about how you did it, they only want the thing running with reliability.


Also there is the possibility for the user to have a user interface based in a command line screen, and for this there is spock (is an ipython console with the philosophy of spec):

But furthermore than a console usage of a beamline, the GeneralBeamlineGui is the best example of the use of taurus, together with Sardana to have a full control of a beamline to do the experiements. With a layout of the beamline the user can click on the elements to know the details of each instrument in the beamline. 

Christmas shutdown

Today, more specific, this night will start the Christmas shutdown.

This are running well, and it's very interesting to have the shutdown were they are planned...

Postscriptum: How many synchrotrons can show an snapshot of the machine status with absolutely all the frontends open? But they have much more beamlines. The probability to have this situation is much bigger being in beamlines commissioning and having only 7 beamlines.

Alba's Director vacancy (III)

Official announcement! We will have to get use about this kind of things. It's very grateful to have a different think than weird rumours that you don't know if it's true or fake.


Focus on the President of the executive commission communication to all the Alba's workers: it's official that we already have an acting director. That is an worker who is already knowing in Alba, who will carry the directorate duties. It's a person who is already working here.


The CELLS Rector Council have decide to open again the position to call for directors. This will take some time. Let see how the things will go in the behaviour of this little ecosystem of the synchrotron.

European Spallation Source, Bilbao

In Spain, is under construction another science facility different and complementary to Alba synchrotron: An Spallation Source in Bilbao.

This facility is one of the options to have a neutron source, and it's the only option that doesn't have a nuclear plant to get this fast free neutrons.

In the media area of the ESSBilbao website, there is a video with an explanation of the project. That is much more than what we have in Alba (I've seen a very few official video of our facility, but they are not promoted in our website).

Another video that looks interesting to follow what's a spallation source, is from the ESS Scandinavia, from where the Bilbao's project is child.

An Spallator can be resumed as a large proton linear accelerator with a metal target at the end of the line, where the impact of the fast protons produces free and fast neutrons in many directions.

There is another video, a bit larger, that shows something more about an Spallation source:

Finally, I like to mention that the website of ESS-Bilbao is in 3 languages: International English and the two local languages: Basque and Spanish. With this, some local people without knowing English can read the website content (perhaps because the study when is Spain the foreign language was French, not all the public must be young-scientist). In Alba, everything is in English, we are not open enough to one closest public.

debt, money and credit

Two months a go I have write some ideas about money. Yesterday I read the Spanish translation of an interview to David Graeber (I think this is the original in English). I didn't read before about this guy, who is described in Wikipedia as "American anthropologist and anarchist".


It's interesting what he says about the origin of the money, specially the sequence between credit, debt and money. Before the existence of money, there where already credit and debt. And the coinage of the money was (at least in the mentioned cases) the solution to pay the troops. The people who produces something, had something to exchange, but the troops needs coins to get things. This coins are after requested by the boss to the people to pay the taxes to pay the troops.


It's also interesting from this interview reading that the debt make slaves. How the extortion can create and produce a relation of debt. Changing what is said there with the word "Mafiosi" by "the markets", and "extortion" by "speculation" you can describe the current situation of this "European debt crisis".


But still the money doesn't exist. Yes, today the banknotes and the e-cash are used all the days by (almost) every one. We all are in the loop, specially in the loop of the debt more than in the richness. Renting your arms in a factory for a salary, is the way of debt. Non of the ones who have accumulated richness have get it working hard 40 years in a factory. We lived over our possibilities? Well, you can be agree or not, the thing is that the ones who says that to the PIGS are still living with in the same good way than before.


Governments have to generate debt to pay the black holes of the banks, and this debt is bought by the banks who next will request money to the governments. This is like a pyramidal trick, there is no way to get out of it. Maybe only with the system reset.

Alba's Director vacancy (II)

Finally! We have got an official announcement! Today the President of the executive commission (just above the directors position) have sent an email to all the Alba's stuff.


Then: official announcement that we don't have director. Yesterday I have wrote about this. Also it's official that the Rector Council of the CELLS consortium have nominated a new director, but some paperwork pending. Finally this selected person have rejected the position due to personal reasons.


Now the position is now open again, and the President have said that he will keep us informed. Only with this it's a big change in the relation with the workers.


This synchrotron project will continue as it's planned. In a few months, we will receive the first scientist to use the facility. I feel this change is the beginning of a new era in Alba. I hope I'm not being to optimistic, many inertias must change. Cooperate in the efforts for this start up, means many things, including don't refuse a proposal of agreement about work condition because it comes from the workers side.


With common sense and good intentions we can reach the balance, having back the smell the illusion in the corridors of this synchrotron.