Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 15, 2011

14

THE WORLD AROUND YOU

 Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 15, 2011 


NASA Telescope Catches Thunderstorms Hurling Antimatter into Space


Scientists using NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have 
detected beams of antimatter produced above thunderstorms on 
Earth, a phenomenon never seen before.

Scientists think the antimatter particles were formed in a terrestrial 
gamma-ray flash (TGF), a brief burst produced inside 
thunderstorms and shown to be associated with lightning. It is estimated 
that about 500 TGFs occur daily worldwide, but most go 
undetected.

“These signals are the first direct evidence that thunderstorms 
make antimatter particle beams,” said Michael Briggs, a member of 
Fermi’s Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) team at the University 
of Alabama in Huntsville. He presented the findings Jan. 10 at the 
American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle.

Fermi is designed to monitor gamma rays, the highest-energy 
form of light. When antimatter striking Fermi collides with a particle 
of normal matter, both particles immediately are annihilated 
and transformed into gamma rays. The GBM has detected gamma 
rays with energies of 511,000 electron volts, a signal indicating an 
electron has met its antimatter counterpart, a positron.

Although Fermi’s GBM telescope is designed to observe high-
energy events in the universe, it is also providing valuable insights 
into this strange earthly phenomenon. The telescope constantly 
monitors the entire celestial sky above and the Earth below—and 
130 TGFs have been identified since its launch in 2008.

The spacecraft was located immediately above a thunderstorm 
for most of the observed events, but in four cases, storms were far 
from Fermi. In addition, lightning-generated radio signals detected 
by a global monitoring network indicated that the only lightning 
at the time was hundreds or more miles away. During one TGF, 
which occurred on Dec. 14, 2009, Fermi was located over Egypt. 
But the active storm was in Zambia, some 2,800 miles to the south. 
The distant storm was below Fermi’s horizon, so any gamma rays it 
produced could not have been detected.

“Even though Fermi couldn’t see the storm, the spacecraft nevertheless 
was magnetically connected to it,” said Joseph Dwyer at 
the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. “The TGF 
produced high-speed electrons and positrons, which then rode up 
Earth’s magnetic field to strike the spacecraft.”

The beam continued past Fermi, reached a location, known as a 
mirror point, where its motion was reversed, and then hit the spacecraft 
a second time just 23 milliseconds later. Each time, positrons 
in the beam collided with electrons in the spacecraft. The particles 
annihilated each other, emitting gamma rays detected by Fermi’s 
instruments.

Scientists long have suspected that TGFs arise from the strong 
electric fields near the tops of thunderstorms. Under the right conditions, 
they say, the field becomes strong enough that it drives an 
upward avalanche of electrons. Reaching speeds nearly as fast as 
light, the high-energy electrons give off gamma rays when they’re 
deflected by air molecules. Normally, these gamma rays are detected 
as a TGF.

NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is an astrophysics 
and particle physics partnership. It is managed by NASA’s Goddard 
Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. It was developed in 
collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, with important 
contributions from academic institutions and partners in France, 
Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden and the United States.

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


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.

A Change Is Coming

I am in my 60’s and after being self-employed for the last 20 years, I find that I must 
go back to work for someone else. But, when I look online, my education and experience are outdated. 
How do I write a resume that will showcase my strong points, excellent people skills, crisis management 
and creativity? Sixtyish

Dear Sixtyish:

 Key questions for you to answer right now are: Why do I want to work? Is it for need or added income? I 
am bored? Want to give back to society what I have learned? Do I want to do something different or change 
careers? Once you have answered any of these questions you can move onto the next step.

 First, I would say you already have a lot of value that you can bring to the table for any company or organization. 
You are obviously a successful business owner to have survived for over 20 years. So you will want to 
showcase those skills and accomplishments as strong points in your resume. 

 You should use a functional resume format instead of a chronological formatted resume. The functional 
resume is the best resume format for: career changers, people with over 15 years work experience with one 
company or in the same field. There are at least three sections in the body of a functional resume: Summary, 
Accomplishments and Experience, Skills, Education. The Summary section should state your key qualifications 
and achievements. You should categorize the skills section with headings (i.e, Customer Service, 
Strategic Marketing and Sales Planning, Finance and Budgets, etc.). List your accomplishment statements 
under each Skill heading. Try to list those accomplishments that you are most proud which have happened 
within the last five years. Accomplishment statements can include: business development, written and 
verbal communications skills, management, motivational and organizational skills, creative thinking and 
problem solving skills. Be sure to add quantitative and qualitative terms to your accomplishment statements. 
List community, volunteer, associations and membership activities, classes or conferences that relate to the 
position you are pursuing. Also include sections for computer, software and language skills. I would “fudge” 
the dates and probably use the following 2000 – present in the Accomplishment and Experience section. Do 
not list dates in the Education section. Include a focused and intriguing cover letter with your resume. The 
cover letter should state why you are submitting your resume, the position you are seeking, and the reason 
you no longer want to be self-employed. Emphasize that you will bring your entrepreneurial spirit and success- 
driven value to their organization. 

 There are plenty of jobs out there for people over 60. You will have to really do your research and network 
to find these positions. Here are a few websites to visit: seniorjobs.org, wisherworker.com, seniorjobbank.
com, workforce50.com, retirementjobs.com and aarp.org.

Everything you every wanted to know about how to find a job … but didn’t know who to ask. ASK jai. Send 
your questions to: jai@resumeandcareerservices.com or visit the website at www.resumeandcareerservices.com.

 If you haven’t already, perhaps now would 
be a good time to mark February 19, 2011 
on your calendar. It’s not any holiday that 
I know of and I didn’t see anything listed 
on the World Holiday Calendar (go ahead 
– Bing it). I’m sure many nice people were 
born on this day and it will mark special 
anniversaries for countless others but that’s 
not why we’re looking at this date right now. 
This day is relevant for us techies because it 
marks the day that the Internet will officially 
run out of IP addresses, specifically the 
32-bit IP addresses that most people are 
acquainted with (eg, 123.45.67.89) and use 
to connect to the Internet. It’s estimated 
that 98 percent of these addresses (4.2 
billion unique addresses) have already 
been assigned for public and private use. 
No one is expecting the Internet to come 
crashing down on that day in particular but 
it will make things a little more interesting 
for those in the business of assigning IP 
addresses.

 Typically, IP addresses are assigned by 
ISP’s and other telecom providers for 
the purpose of granting access to the 
telecommunications network known as 
the Internet. The IP addressing scheme 
is what allows devices connected to the 
Internet to find and communicate with 
each other and it does this by ensuring that 
each device has its own unique address. 
At its inception in the 1960’s and under 
further development in the 70’s and 80’s, no 
one could have imagined that the TCP\IP 
addressing scheme would ever need more 
than 4 billion addresses to accommodate 
IP communication between unique devices 
connected to the Internet. 

 When it began to become apparent that 
this really would be the case one day, 
development began on what is known as IP 
version 6 or IPv6 for short. IPv6 uses 128-
bit addresses where IPv4 uses only 32-bit 
addresses. Under IPv6, there are a total of 
2128 (about 3.4•1038) addresses or 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 individual addresses (pronounced - 
Three hundred and forty undecillion, two 
hundred and eighty-two decillion, three 
hundred and sixty-six nonillion, nine 
hundred and twenty octillion, nine hundred 
and thirty-eight septillion, four hundred 
and sixty-three sextillion, four hundred 
and sixty-three quintillion, three hundred 
and seventy-four quadrillion, six hundred 
and seven trillion, four hundred and thirty-
one billion, seven hundred and sixty-eight 
million, two hundred and eleven thousand, 
four hundred and fifty-six). 

 In other words, a ‘blankload” of addresses. 
In order to facilitate the global move to the 
new IP addressing standards makers of the 
operating systems we use on our computers, 
smartphones and other internet-enabled 
devices have been implementing the 
IPv6 standard in their software and on 
their devices using a process called “Dual 
Stacking”. This effectively allows both 
versions of the IP standard to run on a 
single device at the same time. 

 June 8th has been designated World IPv6 
Day by ISOC, the international Internet 
society. On this day Google, YouTube, 
Facebook and Yahoo will all turn on their 
IPv6 stacks for a full 24 hours to test user 
IPv6 connectivity. Users will still be able 
to connect via their default IPv4 addresses 
but for the purposes of testing worldwide 
IPv6 implementation these companies and 
specially selected ISP’s will be measuring 
the effect of running their sites and services 
under the new protocol. You can test your 
IPv6 connectivity now by going to http://
test-ipv6.com.

NED & PRINCE


My dear Auntie Evelyn turned 97 years old this past 
November, and believe me when I say that you would 
never know it if I hadn‘t told you. She is remarkably 
healthy for her age, she has a “steel-trap” mind that 
is as sharp as a tack and she still lives on her own! 
Evelyn Swallow-Leake was born in 1913 in Worcester, 
Massachusetts. She spent her years as a teen-ager 
growing up during the Great Depression, which as we 
all know was a rather difficult time in history. On the 
other hand, it was a time that seems purely ethereal to 
me, at least from the way my Aunt Evelyn describes 
it. She really enjoys sharing her childhood memories, 
and I truly enjoy hearing them. I try to write most 
of what she shares with me down in my journal, and 
I treasure many of her memories as if they were my 
own. 

In one of my recent conversations with Aunt Evelyn, 
she recounted a very vivid memory of the many 
times she accompanied her Uncle Carl Woods (my 
great uncle) on a horse-drawn carriage, during his 
lumber deliveries from one area of town to another. 
Evelyn, who was about 12 years old at the time, would 
wait by the road side after school had let out, knowing 
that was when Uncle Carl was expected to pass by 
with two horses towing a load. She would ride along 
with him during the latter part of the day, until it was 
time to take the horses back to the barn.

Even as a young child, Aunt Evelyn was an avid animal 
lover who was fortunate enough to have had pets 
of her own. Her face lights up every time she reflects 
on her memory of showing her appreciation and affection 
to the two work horses that pulled the lumber 
truck Uncle Carl drove. She delights in remembering 
the fact that she made sure each horse got a carrot 
and a friendly pat on the nose before she was hoisted 
up and assumed her position in the seat next to Carl, 
then off they would go. Among the many specific details 
that my aunt remembers about this experience, 
most amazing to me is the fact that she recalled the 
name of the company that Uncle Carl worked for at 
the time. It was “Stone & Berg Lumber Company” of 
Worcester, MA. Even more amazing is the fact that 
Auntie remembered the names of the two horses 
that pulled the loaded lumber cart. Their names were 
“Ned” & “Prince”.

The day after Aunt Evelyn shared this fascinating 
story with me, I decided to do a little research on Stone 
& Berg Lumber Co., just to see if there was any history 
available on the internet that I could connect to 
Auntie‘s childhood memory. Well, I am happy to say 
that my Google search rendered way more than I had 
expected to find. First of all, I was so surprised to discover 
that Stone & Berg Company is still in business! 
I called the phone number provided on the website, 
and I was directed to the current owner of the company 
Jennie Berg. Jennie was very cordial and kind, 
taking the time to listen to my story of how my Aunt 
Evelyn had vivid memories of having been on several 
Stone & Berg lumber delivery excursions back in the 
mid 1920‘s. Needless to say, Jennie was as please as I 
was with the fact that Auntie had such clear memories 
about the early days of the Berg family’s business, including 
such specific details as the names of the horses 
that pulled the cart and delivered the lumber. Jennie 
confirmed that Evelyn’s memories were perfectly consistent 
with the history of their company, and amazingly 
accurate down to the last detail. She was pleased 
to know that my Auntie was able to remember and 
share her story of having been there when the Berg 
family business was in the hands of her grandfather, 
so many years ago!

Soon after we talked on the phone, Jennie was 
thoughtful enough to send me a package of Stone 
& Berg Lumber Company memorabilia items, most 
important of which was a photograph of the two 
horses Auntie remembered, Ned and Prince, hitched 
and harnessed to a fully loaded lumber cart parked in 
front of the Stone & Berg building with a gentleman 
standing beside. I forwarded the photograph to my 
Auntie Evelyn as part of her Christmas package this 
year, and after comparing the face of the man in the 
Stone & Berg picture to a family photo taken around 
the same time, we all agreed that the man standing 
next to the hitched horses is indeed my great Uncle 
Carl! I can’t begin to describe how happy it made me 
to be able to bring my Auntie‘s story to life and “full 
circle“! All it took was a listening ear, a little research 
and a bit of random kindness from someone I have 
never even met face to face. As you can well imagine, 
my Aunt Evelyn and Jennie Berg were also very 
pleased to have found a bit of their own family history 
in a place and time where we might have least 
expected it!

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc


GREETINGS FROM THE HEART

New Years is behind us, 
the lawn Santas have 
been deflated for the 
last time, and browning 
Christmas trees line 
the streets like rejected 
orphans. I didn’t decorate 
much this year. 
Arranging greeting cards on a bookcase 
was the extent of my festive efforts. 

 Since postage rates rise faster than 
inflation, and the Internet has replaced 
hand written letters with email, mail-
delivered cards have become more comforting 
and nostalgic. Considering that 
most of my mail is bills and 
junk ads, the fact that someone 
cared enough to put pen to paper 
and spend 44 cents to send 
me something is a real boost.

Also, if they’re anything like 
me, and find card buying a 
daunting task, it means even 
more. Sometimes the right 
card jumps from the rack into 
my desperate hands, but most 
of the time I stand staring at a 
greeting card wall for a good 
long time. This section is deceptive 
because despite the 
rows and rows of cards, 90% of 
them are so recipient-specific 
that they wouldn’t work for 
you. For example, last summer 
I just wanted to buy a Happy Graduation 
card, but everything either said “For 
Our Son/Daughter,” “For the Brightest 
Niece/Nephew/Granddaughter/Grandson,” 
“You’re Out of College Now!” or the 
popular “From All of Us!” Finally I found 
something that didn’t directly identify 
my familial relationship or the graduate’s 
level of education. The artwork left much 
to be desired, but I felt fortunate to have 
found anything at all!

Besides narrowing their audience, greeting 
cards have become increasingly extravagant. 
I’m thinking about the ones 
with a small, computerized chip containing 
more technology than existed in the 
entire U.S. in 1950. These cards serenade 
you once you open them, or play a prerecorded 
message from Uncle Bernie congratulating 
you that you’ve grown up from 
the snot-nosed kid you used to be. I guess 
if you’re going to pay upwards of $5, the 
card better sing and dance for you. It’s 
preferable to receive these in the mail instead 
of at a birthday dinner, where other 
restaurant patrons indiscreetly glance over 
to see why Lesley Gore is belting out “It’s 
my birthday and I’ll cry if I want to!” 

I didn’t get any of these singing cards for 
Christmas, which is fine by me, but now 
that it’s time to put them 
away, I’m faced once 
again with a quandary 
I periodically find myself 
in –to toss or not to 
toss, that is the question. 
Beneath my sarcasm is a 
sappy sentimental core. 
So, disposing of cards can 
be difficult. Even though 
my mom sends me a card 
for practically every major 
and minor holiday, 
not to mention periodic 
notes of humor and encouragement 
in between, 
I can’t bear to part with 
any of them! They cover 
my desk, and postcards 
have overtaken the fridge like ivy. I think 
there might actually be duplicate postcards 
of sea otters from Morro Bay.

My husband, on the other hand, is not of 
such a sentimental nature. I remember 
retrieving a postcard I sent him when we 
were first dating from under a chest of 
drawers. I laughed when he defensively 
said that was his “special saving place” 
for it. At least I only spent about $1 and 
15 minutes of my time composing it. If I 
ever get him a singing or dancing card, it 
better not end up crooning for the dust 
bunnies!