Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 8, 2011

11

THE WORLD AROUND YOU

 Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 8, 2011 


Closeups of Saturn’s Moon Rhea Show Unprecedented Detail


Newly released by NASA, images of Saturn’s second largest 
moon Rhea obtained by the Cassini spacecraft show dramatic 
views of fractures cutting through craters on the moon’s surface, 
revealing a history of tectonic rumbling. 

During a flyby In March 2010, the Cassini craft made its 
closest approach to Rhea’s surface so far, swooping within 62 
miles. An even closer flyby is planned on January 11, 2011, 
when Cassini will take images just 47 miles above the icy, cratered 
surface. “These will be by far the best images we’ve ever 
had of Rhea’s surface—details down to just a few meters will 
become recognizable,” said Thomas Roatsch, a Cassini imaging 
team scientist based at the German Aerospace Center Institute 
of Planetary Research in Berlin.

Images from the March 2010 flyby show bright, “wispy” 
fractures resembling some that were first spotted on another 
part of Rhea by the two Voyager spacecraft in 1980 and 1981. 
At that time, scientists thought the wispy markings on the 
trailing hemispheres—the sides of moons that face backward 
in their orbit around a planet—of Rhea and the neighboring 
moon Dione were possible cryovolcanic deposits, or the residue 
of icy material erupting. The low resolution of Voyager 
images prevented a closer inspection of these regions at that 
time. Since July 2004, Cassini’s imaging cameras have captured 
pictures of the trailing hemispheres of both satellites several 
times at much higher resolution. The images have shown 
that the wispy markings are actually exposures of bright ice 
along the steep walls of long scarps, or lines of cliffs, indicating 
that tectonic activity rather than cryovolcanism produced the 
features.

A mosaic of the March flyby images shows bright, icy fractures 
cutting across the surface of the moon, sometimes 
at right angles to each other. A false-color 
view of the entire disk of the moon’s Saturn-facing 
side reveals a slightly bluer area, likely related to 
different surface compositions or to different sizes 
and fine-scale textures of the grains making up the 
moon’s icy soil.

“These recent, high-resolution Cassini images 
help us put Saturn’s moon in the context of the 
moons’ geological family tree,” said Paul Helfenstein, 
Cassini imaging team associate, based at Cornell 
University, Ithaca, N.Y. “Since NASA’s Voyager 
mission visited Saturn, scientists have thought of 
Rhea and Dione as close cousins, with some differences 
in size and density. The new images show 
us they’re more like fraternal twins, where the resemblance 
is more than skin deep. This probably 
comes from their nearness to each other in orbit.”

The new images have also helped to enhance 
maps of Rhea, including the first cartographic atlas 
of features on the moon complete with names approved 
by the International Astronomical Union. 
Thanks to a recent mission extension, Cassini will 
continue to chart the terrain of this and other Saturnian 
moons with ever-improving resolution, especially 
for terrain at high northern latitudes, until 
2017.

You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@MtnViewsNews.
com.

Rhea’s Western Wisps

Icy fractures on Saturn’s moon Rhea reflect sunlight brightly in this high-
resolution mosaic created from images captured by NASA’s Cassini 
spacecraft during its March 2, 2010, flyby. This flyby was the closest 
flyby of Rhea up to then. Photo courtesy NASA


Ask jai……


Ask jai is a weekly column that will strive to honestly answer your job search questions relating 
to job searching techniques, networking skills, resume writing and interviewing. The employment 
situation is getting better, however, it is still a challenge finding were the jobs are located and how to 
get pass the “gate-keepers”. As an Executive Recruiter I was privy to working directly with Corporate 
Recruiters and understanding their process in selecting which candidates to interview and hire. I will 
candidly answer your questions, possibly bluntly answering you questions, but I will be totally honest. 
My objective is to help you achieve your employment goal.

Tablet Computing:

Beating The Champ

Q: I spend between 10 and 20 hours a week applying on-line and sending out resumes to about 20 employers 
with no results! What am I doing wrong? 

Unemployed and desperate

Dear Unemployed and desperate,

 There could be numerous and various reasons. So, I am going to answer your question based on the information 
that you have given me. “It’s a job looking for a job”! You have probably heard this or read it somewhere. 
It is true. You probably worked 35-40 hours a week for your previous employer and the reward on payday was 
money. Now - it is time to work for you. You should increase the time you spend job searching to at least 40 
hours a week. This will result in you finding and applying for more job opportunities and increase your chances 
of being contacted by employers. Your payday will be getting an interview and, hopefully, a job.

Q: Everyone thinks I have a great job and work for a wonderful company. I hate my company. I hate my job. 
I hate what I do. What do I do? Miserable

Dear Miserable,

 It’s time you find out what you would like to do. Employment should be enjoyment. Start by identifying 
what you really enjoy. This could be an activity, volunteer work, a hobby or something that you enjoy doing with 
your free time. Look for a company or industry that is this area. Re-write your resume and focus on your skills, 
experience and education that will target your new interest and objective. Devote time and a lot of energy in 
your new job search. You will be surprise how many companies you will find and the type of positions that will 
be open to you. 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year for the next 30-40 years doing something you hate does not 
make either a happy person or sense. Finding out what you like to do will result in finding the right company, 
the right job and being happily employed.

Q: I am being told that I dress inappropriate for job interviews. I have my own personal and unique style of 
dressing and refuse to change it. Stylish. 

Dear Stylish,

 I would suggest that you research the company culture before applying for employment or accepting interviews. 
This can be achieved by searching the company on the internet, reading trade magazines, talking with 
employees, sitting outside the company and observing employees entering and exiting the building or asking the 
person who contacted you for the interview. You can not change a company’s culture. Find employment with a 
company that matches with your style of dressing. They do exist.

 It’s becoming more common these days to 
hear some computer users making the case 
that their iPad could totally replace their PC 
or other desktop computing model and, for 
a large number of users, this may actually be 
the case. If a user typically stores very little 
data on their local machine and is primarily 
interested in connecting to internet-based 
resources, then the iPad or one of its many 
competitors just might do the trick. As the 
field of likely challengers to the dominance of 
the desktop computer continues to enlarge, 
both in number and types of alternative 
mobile devices, one no longer has to wonder 
if the desktop computing will be replaced one 
day, but when that day will be upon us. 

 There’s an old adage about “beating the 
champ in order to take the title” that may 
shed some light on exactly what it is that the 
new tablet computing model will have to do 
in order reign supreme over the old desktop 
computing model. It’s clearly not enough for 
the contenders to the throne to merely equal 
the performance standards and paradigms set 
by the desktop computing model. They will 
have to exceed those standards on many fronts 
and, in some cases, create new standards that 
are not currently reachable with a desktop 
Mac or PC.There are several factors that make 
this task easier for the new guys than in times 
past. 

 The first among these is basic computing 
power. While your basic desktop computer 
has grown in computing power over the years 
to the point where no one expects anything 
less than a computer that has all the bells-
and-whistles right off the shelf when shopping 
for a new machine, the entire generation of 
smartphones and tablet computers simply 
started out that way and are progressing at 
what may be rightly termed breakneck speed. 
This solid foundation in computing hardware 
gives the new platforms plenty of room to 
work out the more comprehensive operating 
systems and applications that allow the new 
guys to compete and regularly attract new 
converts. While the new guys are still growing, 
the basic hardware and software for desktops 
has virtually stood still; new titles and versions 
but no new tricks. 

 Another factor that bodes well for tablet 
computing is price competition. These devices 
are seriously honing in on delivering more 
bang for the buck with each new release and in 
many cases they’re doing just that. The trend 
towards internet services being delivered via 
“the cloud” also works strongly in favor of 
tablet computing. In a properly configured 
home or business office, a tablet computer may 
be all that the user really needs. Some users. 
But the most significant factor would be the 
great trending towards the marketing of our 
ever-increasingly mobile culture. Our mobile 
culture is in all ways about being connected 
wherever we are and staying connected as we 
move from point A to Point B and desktops 
and notebooks just can’t keep up on these 
fronts. But for all of the apparent pluses for the 
new guys they still have a ways to go in order 
to be king.


Molly’s Miracle


I will never forget the day I first met “Molly“. She 
had just been adopted by my dear friend and 
neighbor Frederick, who fell in love with her the 
very moment he saw her. I had asked Fred to call 
me when she arrived, so I could meet her and be 
the first to welcome her to the neighborhood. 
Somehow, I already knew that Molly was going to 
play a very important part in Frederick’s life, but 
I had no idea that she would have such a positive 
impact on mine.

If you have never visited an SPCA facility, I highly 
recommend it, even if you are not ready to adopt 
a pet. Although it can be an emotional and somewhat 
sad experience, if you are an animal lover one 
thing is for sure, it will prompt you to do whatever 
you can to play a part in saving homeless animals 
in your community. Frederick’s visit to the San 
Gabriel Valley Humane Society last year proved to 
be a life changing experience for him. It had been 
a few months since he had said good-bye to his 
beloved four-legged friend of many years, “Chelsea” 
who died of bone cancer, and Fred was finally 
ready to adopt a new companion. After a walk 
down the isle between the fenced kennels housing 
numerous adult dogs waiting to be claimed, 
he asked the caretaker if there were any puppies 
available for adoption. He was taken to the puppy 
department, where he stepped through the doorway 
and immediately locked eyes with a brown-
eyed babe who looked up at him as if to say, “we 
were made for each other”! Frederick didn’t even 
bother to walk over and take a closer look at her 
before he told the lady at the desk, “I definitely 
want that one”. He later confided in me that he 
felt as though Chelsea was there, telling him to 
take that little girl home; “She is the one for you”. 
Chelsea had played such a big part in Frederick’s 
life over the past several years, and that would be 
a tough act to follow for sure, but his instincts told 
him he had made the right choice.

My first impression of Molly was that she had the 
most darling, honest face and an amazing ability 
to show her appreciation for having been invited 
to live in such a cozy home, with a big yard where 
she could romp and play freely. I remember 
thinking that she somehow knew she would be 
loved unconditionally for the rest of her life!

Within a couple of days after her arrival home, 
Molly became quite ill. The veterinarian diagnosed 
her with kennel cough, and treated her accordingly. 
This was not great news, but with the 
proper treatment, we knew Molly would recover 
and grow strong and healthy. Unfortunately, Molly 
did not respond to treatment as expected, and 
soon it became clear that there was something 
radically wrong with her. She was re-evaluated 
and re-diagnosed with a much more serious disease…
Molly had distemper. Canine distemper is 
a contagious, very serious viral disease with technically 
no known cure. The disease affects dogs, 
and certain species of wildlife such as raccoons, 
wolves, foxes, skunks and ferrets. Young, unvaccinated 
puppies and non-immunized older dogs 
tend to be more susceptible to the disease. Molly 
had been vaccinated by the SPCA after being rescued, 
but unfortunately it was too late. She had 
already been infected with the disease before she 
received the vaccination.

This news broke Frederick’s heart. After the trauma 
of loosing Chelsea earlier that year, he was just 
not ready to let go of his new-found friend. When 
I got the news about Molly’s real diagnosis, it was 
all I could do to hold back the tears. I have always 
been a praying person, believing that God 
listens and answers our prayers, however it had 
been quite some time since I had prayed to God, 
and I was way over-due for a good long talk with 
Him. I guess sometimes it takes a traumatic experience 
to drive us to our knees. I did get on my 
knees that day and I prayed that God would grant 
a miracle for Molly. I thanked Him for people like 
Frederick who are willing to care for the animals 
he created. I asked God to let Molly live, mostly 
for Frederick’s sake, because he clearly needed her 
in his life. 

Things got worse before they got better. There 
were moments when it seemed Molly would 
die, then she would get stronger and show signs 
of recovery. This went on for several weeks, but 
with continued medical attention and consistent 
tender loving care, Molly did indeed recover. She 
now lives a full, very happy healthy life and she 
brings smiles to the faces of all of the neighbors 
who greet her during our daily walks together. I 
don’t know what I would do without seeing that 
open, honest little face with those perky ears peering 
up at me each morning before our walks. I 
believe that God did indeed grant Molly a miracle, 
not the least part of which is manifested in the joy 
that little girl brings to Frederick and to me, as 
well as so many others who know and love her! 
Thank God for “small” miracles!

Happy Tails is a new feature of the Mountain Views 
News brought to you by Chris LeClerc an avid animal 
lover and pet owner who operates Canyon Canines 
in Sierra Madre. For more info on Chris go 
to: www.canyoncanine.com.

Happy Tails

by Chris LeClerc

STAMPEDE AT THE 

PRIME RIB STATION

What’s your favorite restaurant? 
Is it some romantic 
bistro with dim lights and 
Puccini playing softly in the 
background? Or do you like 
homey pubs with bangers and mash and darts? 
I don’t have one particular favorite, but I can tell 
you one thing – it’s not a buffet! It’s not that I 
hate buffets; it’s just that they bring out the worst 
in human nature. All that’s grotesque and greedy 
is aroused by the prospect of endless food to be 
had for the taking. I don’t frequent buffets, so 
I’m approaching this subject from limited experience. 
However, I’ve 
been to enough of them 
and have conducted 
enough “interviews” to 
speak with some small 
amount of authority.

Obviously, not all buffets 
are the same. At 
one place, folks race to 
get to the prime rib station 
first. At another, 
patrons’ gluttonous self-
interests might be much 
more subdued. The difference 
is the amount of 
control one has over the 
food! Of course, what 
makes a buffet a buffet is the promise of limitless 
helpings, but some establishments make this 
trickier than others. At one popular diner, you 
get a plate and they funnel you toward the salad 
bar, where there are no seconds. You could linger 
over the Wonton Chicken Happiness salad, 
but there’s a line of people behind you, and they 
might get ugly if you don’t move along in a timely 
manner. 

Some buffets have stations where servers prepare 
omelets, crepes, or burritos to order. I’ve seen 
people rush to get to there before the attendant 
leaves, but once there they are at his mercy. Sure, 
they could ask him to add two additional pints of 
cheese to their omelet, but that might seem a little 
tacky.

I discovered a wealth of tips on the Internet 
for maximizing one’s ability to consume as much 
food as humanly possible. “Don’t have too much 
soda or soup, liquid takes up space.” “Wear big 
pants.” Then there’s the two-plater strategy. 
Since I don’t have great balance, the concept 
of maneuvering through a crowd carrying two 
heaping plates of food never entered my mind.

The buffets I hate most are the ones where people 
camp out by popular entrees such as prime 
rib or crab legs. They seem to come solely for 
these items, stealthily waiting 
for the server to bring a 
fresh batch. Then they descend 
like a swarm of locusts 
to consume all they can. 
I’m surprised the waitress 
doesn’t lose a finger or two 
in the frenzy. Some people 
even enlist their children in 
staking out optimal positions 
near these hot spots.

Of course everyone knows 
Vegas is the Mecca of buffets. 
As if an entire strip of eating 
options wasn’t enough, the 
casinos have now made it 
easier for visitors to sink to 
a new low in indulgence. I speak of the all day 
buffet pass. Yes, now you have 24 hours to get 
your money’s edible worth. 

When buffet-ing, you must consider the likelihood 
of others contaminating the food. Do you 
really want that unsupervised saeven year-old 
dipping his fingers into the communal mashed 
potatoes tub? You must also gauge how long the 
turn over is for some foods. Is that iridescent 
sheen on the sashimi sesame oil or rancidity? At 
the end of the day I demand only two basic consumer 
rights –don’t give me ptomaine, and don’t 
give me a black eye if I want to get a crab leg!