Monday:

Atlanta has no gasoline. If you're thinking about driving here, do so in your own tanker truck. Ignore the mile-long line of people trying to follow you to a BP.

Meeting started at noon, with introductions of the instructors and of the students. I'm not the only IT with no prior nuclear experience, but there aren't many of us...yet. Get ready--the numbers show we're going to have to hire from outside the industry and Navy.

Next was a breakout exercise, somewhat of a diagnostic, where the five tables split a 50-question multiple guess test of TSD (not SAT) knowledge. After an answer period, the test was turned into a game where each table read its answer, and the other tables were able to challenge and pick up points. It was fun, but it wasn't the best test; there were a lot of ambiguous stems and distractors.

After a break, we came back to a discussion of our duties. I was surprised at the range of duties that ITs have across the industry. Some of us only coach instructors, while others do everything from lesson plan approval to ASER writing and more. I was also surprised at the disparity in numbers of ITs at various plants. Some of us have 5 per unit, and some have 1 for multiple units. There seems to be little rhyme or reason other than budget.

After another break, Paul Manning did a short presentation on nuclear power that led to the Special Characteristics video. I'd seen it, but it is a powerful presentation of the need for safety culture and questioning.

Off to dinner. Perhaps more posting afterward if I think of anything to add later. Please feel free to offer up your comments to the blog as well.

Edited to add: Bill, I ate at Pappadeaux tonight. You were right--it was delicious.