Mountain Views News          Saturday, March 12, 2011

14

THE WORLD AROUND US

 Mountain Views News Saturday, March 12, 2011


Scientists Study 4 ••• Billion-Year-Old Meteorite 


Scientists have performed a microprobe 
analysis of the core and outer layers of a 
pea-size piece of a meteorite some 4.57 
billion years old to reconstruct the history 
of its formation, providing the first 
evidence that dust particles like this one 
experienced wildly varying environments 
during the planet-forming years of our 
solar system. 

 The researchers interpret these findings 
as evidence that dust grains traveled over 
large distances as the swirling proto-
planetary nebula condensed into planets. 
The single dust grain they studied appears 
to have formed in the hot environment of 
the Sun, then may have been thrown out 
of the plane of the solar system to fall back 
into the asteroid belt and eventually to be 
recirculated back to the Sun.

 This odyssey is consistent with some 
theories about how dust grains formed 
in the early proto-planetary nebula, or 
proplyd, eventually seeding the formation 
of planets.

 “This has implications for how our solar 
system and possibly other solar systems 
formed and how they evolved,” said Justin 
I. Simon, a former University of California, 
Berkeley, post-doctoral fellow who led 
the research, published in the March 4 
issue of the journal Science. “There are 
a number of astrophysical models that 
attempt to explain the dynamics of planet 
formation in a proto-planetary disk, but 
they all have to explain the signature we 
find in this meteorite.”

 Meteorites have puzzled scientists for 
more than 100 years because they contain 
minerals that could only form in cold 
environments, as well as minerals that 
have been altered by hot environments. 
Carbonaceous chondrites, in particular, 
contain millimeter-sized chondrules and 
up to centimeter-sized CAIs (calcium-
aluminum-rich inclusions) that were 
once heated to the melting point and later 
welded together with cold space dust.

 “These primitive meteorites are like time 
capsules, containing the most primitive 
materials in our solar system,” Simon said. 
“CAIs are some of the most interesting 
meteorite components. They recorded 
the history of the solar system before 
any of the planets formed, and were the 
first solids to condense out of the gaseous 
nebula surrounding our proto-sun.”

 Perhaps the most popular theory 
explaining the composition of 
chrondrules and CAIs is the so-called 
X-wind theory propounded by former 
UC Berkeley astronomer Frank Shu. Shu 
depicted the early proto-planetary disk 
as a washing machine, with the Sun’s 
powerful magnetic fields churning the gas 
and dust and tossing dust grains formed 
near the Sun out of the disk.

 Once expelled from the disk, the grains 
were pushed outward to fall like rain into 
the outer solar system. These grains, both 
flash-heated chondrules and slowly heated 
CAIs, were eventually incorporated along 
with unheated dust into asteroids and 
planets.

 “If you were this grain, you formed near 
the proto-sun, then likely moved outward 
to a planet-forming environment, and 
then back toward the inner solar system 
or perhaps out of the plane of the disk,” 
Simon said. “Of course, you ended up 
as part of a meteorite, presumably in the 
asteroid belt, before you broke up and hit 
the Earth.”

 In terms of today’s planets, the grain 
probably formed within the orbit of 
Mercury, moved outward through the 
region of planet formation to the asteroid 
belt between Mars and Jupiter, and then 
traveled back toward the Sun again.

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.

Hand in Hand

I think one of my references is keeping me from getting hired. I am not sure who it is and I don’t want to 
embarrass anyone. I get 2nd and 3rd round in-person interviews from employers. So, I assume they are really 
interested in hiring me. So, the last step is their request to check my references. Within the week, I usually 
receive a telephone call or e-mail saying that they have hired someone that they felt was more qualified. I really 
think that I am not getting a job because I have chosen the wrong people to be on my reference list. What 
should I do and who do I ask to be a reference? Suspicious

 

Dear Suspicious

It could be your references that are not helping you get a job. Try asking the employers if you did not get the 
position because of a bad reference. However, they probably will not disclose that to you. It is very important to 
select the appropriate people to list as your references. You should choose at least three very outspoken and positive 
people to include on your reference list. 

Start by asking and interviewing at least five or more people who you feel could testify about your skills, 
accomplishments and personality. Let the intended references know that you are job searching and asking them for 
a good recommendation. Find out what areas that they would feel comfortable speaking about you to employers. 
References can include current supervisors or co-workers as long as you feel that you have their confidentiality. 
Instructors, customers, former supervisors and co-workers, clergy and business executives are also great references. 
Some employers will even ask for a personal reference. Add to your reference list a close personal friend or family 
member. Your reference list should include the name, title, company, address, telephone number and e-mail. Tailor 
your reference list for every position and company. Choose at lease three references from your list and submit them 
only upon request from the employer. Please note that you must include your references, if requested, when filling 
out Employment Application forms. A general rule of thumb is to never include your references when submitting 
your Resume and Cover letter. Please do not add “references upon request” to your resume! That will date you. 
Create a Reference List and submit it separately and only when requested by an employer. 

Always let your references know which companies and positions that you have applied. Keep them posted and 
let them know when they should expect a call from that company and the name of the person. Send your resume 
to your references so that they become familiar with your work history, skills and accomplishments. It would 
also be very beneficial for you to give your references information about the position and employer. This type of 
information will help your references to appropriately tailor their responses and give you a great referral. 

Everything you ever wanted to know about how to get a job…but didn’t know who to ask. Ask jai! Send your questions to: jai@
resumeandcareerservices.com or visit her website www.resumeandcareerservices.com.

Earlier this week the 2011 “Pwn2Own” Computer Hacking Contest took place at 
the CanSecWest security contest in Vancouver, British Columbia. The conference 
itself focuses on issues of importance in the field of applied digital security. The 
“Pwn2Own” (said: pone-2-own) hacking contest offers cash and prizes to the hacker 
who successfully can access and read\write information to a computer\smartphone\
tablet computer on a variety of hardware and software platforms, outside of the 
prescribed security operating parameters. Contestants are limited to accessing the 
target device through the web browser running on the hardware and to users of 
their technical caliber this makes the challenge all the more enticing. As more and 
more of the hardware that we use to access digital information becomes web-enabled 
(basically the Windows, Mac or many other interfaces we use on our gadgets are in 
fact browsers) browser security is more crucial than ever and this particular event is 
turning into one of the premier proving-grounds for all the big players in the browser 
development market. Microsoft (Internet Explorer), Google (Chrome), Mozilla 
(Firefox), Apple (Safari) and other browser were all in attendance and running on a 
variety of hardware platforms. Also on the firing line were browsers for the various 
smartphone OS’s (Blackberry, Apple OS, Android, Symbian and HTC Windows 
Phone). 

The contestants taking part in this competition are security experts and all had time 
prior to the contest to make preparations for their attempt at cracking the presented 
targets. Many entrants were teams composed of the employees of various security 
firms and hacker groups. The browser manufacturers were also represented by 
the most updated and patched versions of their respective browsing technology. 
Smartphone manufacturers were also in attendance to see how their products fared. 
Written into the Entrance \ Participation Agreement is the provision that no exploits 
that were successful in breaching the security of the various target hardware and 
software platforms would be published until the manufacturers have published a fix 
for the exploit. As of this writing, Google’s Chrome was the only undefeated browser 
still standing.

At first glance it might seem a little odd that these big companies would be such 
willing participants in this hackfest, especially since their most popular and lucrative 
offerings are being picked apart by the best that the hacker world has to offer. But 
another way to look at the whole thing is to realize that this would be going on 
whether they participated in the activities or not. The only difference would be that 
the big companies would miss out on the opportunity to see what their products are 
up against “in the wild” and to benefit from the valuable information and knowledge 
gained in order to better secure their products in the future. 

Everything you ever wanted to know about how to get a job ….but did not know who to ask. ASK jai. Send 
your questions to: jai@resumeandcareerservices.com or visit website www.resumeandcareerservicesc, or call 
310-858-85821.


Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc

FUN WITH ENGLISH

I used to love Friday nights, not only because it was Friday, but 
also because “Says You” came on at 7:30. I still love Friday nights 
because they are better than Sunday nights, but since KCRW 
dropped my beloved word play show I feel like a piece of me is 
missing. I love that show! It’s based on the British show “My Word” 
(might just be me, but doesn’t it seem that most good literary 
things come from Britain?). My favorite part is when a panel of 
three is given an obscure word; two of the players have about a 
minute to bluff definitions and one player is given the real meaning of the word. The 
opposing team has to decide which is the true definition. For example, “famulus” 
--is it A) possessing notoriety due to scandalous behavior, B) a primordial fin used 
to scoop nutrients into the oral cavity of early gastropods, or C) a private assistant or 
secretary to a magician or scholar? Have fun making up your own meanings for this 
and other gems like “mumpsimus,” “growlery,” and “omphaloskepsis.” (skip to the end 
for the real definition for these and “famulus”).

Then there are the words you sometimes read, but rarely hear. When you’re faced with 
the necessity of speaking these phonetic enigmas you might wind up embarrassing 
yourself with “epi-toam” 
and “aloom-nus” for 
epitome and alumnus. 
Perhaps even worse is the 
situation wherein someone 
misheard a word long ago 
and has been confidently 
using their neologism in 
public ever since. This is 
how we come across terms 
like “Old timer’s” and 
“expresso.” Usually there’s 
a grain of truth in these 
mistakes. Most people 
with Alzheimer’s are old 
timers. Most people 
ordering espresso want it 
express! 

 “Euthanasia” was my word of misunderstanding. As I child, it didn’t pop up in any 
of my reading material, but I heard adults talking about it in relation to dying pets or 
the very old and ill. With my limited world knowledge I determined the term was 
“youth in Asia,” a practice started in an overpopulated country by which the elderly 
are left to die so only the youth are left. Luckily I corrected this mistake early in my 
academic career.

Thanks to the pseudo marriage of pop culture and technology, our American lexicon 
is ever expanding. Sarah Palin contributed “refudiate,” (to rebut someone’s argument), 
but eventually recanted her creation. For a while, though, she was on talk shows 
throwing “refudiate” around with all the assurance of the folks who grimly state “The 
doctors say it’s Old Timer’s for sure.”

And now for the spoiler, if you haven’t come up with your own definitions already!

Famulus –An assistant or secretary to a magician or scholar. “If I don’t make it in 
Hollywood, I can always be a famulus for my old Sociology professor.”

Omphaloskepsis –“Navel gazing,” figuratively, intense introspection by which one 
becomes oblivious to the outside world. “The teenager absorbed herself in the pastime 
of omphaloskepsis.”

Growlery –A solitary place to go when one is in a bad mood or upset. “Every 
kindergarten has a growlery where the kids go for time out.”

Mumpsimus –A view one stubbornly insists is correct even when proven wrong. 
“Some people hold on to the mumpsimus that it is ‘Old timer’s,’ even when the report 
says ‘Alzheimer’s’.”

RAPTOR’S RAPTURE

Last weekend my husband and I decided it had 
been far too long since the last time we‘d gone “out 
to country”, so we put everything else aside and 
drove to Lake Matthews in Perris, CA to spend the 
day at the Animazonia Wildlife Foundation’s big cat 
refuge. Animazonia opens the gates to their gorgeous 
sanctuary for public visitation and site tours on 
the first Saturday of each month. If you have never 
visited the Animazonia Wildlife Refuge, or the Lake 
Matthews area for that matter, I highly recommend 
it. Steep, rounded rolling hills with huge boulders & 
dramatic outcroppings add remarkable beauty to the 
wide open country as you wind your way up passed the 
lake and you’ll enjoy the fabulous view of (currently 
snow-capped) Mount Baldy in the distance, to the 
north. You’ll see herds of sheep on the hillsides and 
small farms along the way with horses, chickens and 
goats. But to me, the best part of the drive was seeing 
numerous big birds soaring in the sky around the lake 
and over the meadows. If you do decide to take that 
drive, be sure to stop by and say hello to the ladies who 
work so hard at Animazonia Wildlife Foundation.

This month’s feature event at Animazonia, entitled 
“Raptor Release” was sponsored by the Orange 
County Bird of Prey Center (OCBPC) and presented 
by veterinarian Dr. Scott Weldy, director of the 
organization and owner of Serrano Animal & Bird 
Hospital in Lake Forrest, CA. Raptors, or birds of 
prey, include owls, eagles, falcons, condors, hawks, 
ospreys, kites, and vultures. They have strong grasping 
feet with sharp talons for catching and holding 
prey, their hooked upper beak tears and kills their 
catch, and their binocular vision allows them depth 
perception for hunting. Raptors are very important 
to our environment because they help maintain the 
balance of nature by controlling the population of 
rodents, reptiles, insects and other prey. Because of 
the important role they play in the balance of nature, 
raptors are now protected by state and federal laws, 
but if you ask me, their beauty and elegance alone is 
enough reason to protect them.

Well-known for his sincere heart-felt dedication to 
rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned, injured or ill 
birds of prey, Dr. Weldy brought with him 5 raptors, 
3 of which had been rehabilitated and were ready for 
re-introduction to the wild. The other 2 were “Hank”, 
a gorgeous red tail hawk, and “Gus”, a sweet petite 
screech owl. Both had been rescued as youngsters and 
had spent their formative weeks as babies being cared 
for by humans, so they came to know the humans as 
their parents. This phenomenon of nature is called 
“imprinting” and it can be the reason why some 
wild birds in captivity will never have a chance to be 
released and fly free again. 

Dr. Weldy and the Animazonia staff volunteers gave 
a very interesting and educational presentation which 
was quite a treat, but the best part of the event was 
when the 3 raptors were released. For me, it was an 
emotional experience to watch them take to the sky, 
after having been in captivity for treatment & care that 
allowed them to become healthy enough to fly again. 
As each bird flew away, I couldn’t help thinking of how 
it was like they were being lifted up to the heavens and 
given a second chance at life, much like the “rapture” 
described in the Bible. All 3 birds had their own 
story to tell, whether it was being pushed out of the 
nest too early by a larger sibling or falling from the 
sky after flying into an electrical wire or some other 
obstruction. All 3 had been rescued at a crucial time, 
when it was touch and go, life or death. They were the 
lucky ones who were found by someone who cared 
enough to rescue them. As I watched each raptor 
being “raptured” up, it gave me new hope that wild 
creatures are way more tenacious and durable than I 
sometimes think they are. It is true that they can be 
rendered vulnerable due to habitat encroachment, or 
various other causes of injury or illness, but the raptor 
is one tough bird who will not give up without a fight, 
and that is yet another lesson learned from nature’s 
wild creatures that I can live by!

If you should happen to come across an injured or 
orphaned raptor, or bird of prey, please call the local 
Animal Control Department, or contact OCBPC @ 
949-837-0786 to report it. Do not attempt to care for 
an injured or orphaned raptor yourself. Not only is it 
against the law to do so, but it may result in serious 
injury to you and/or the bird. If it is necessary to 
handle the injured bird, use heavy gloves and a towel 
or blanket for easier handling. Grasp the bird on the 
sides, over properly folded wings and place it in a 
cardboard box just slightly larger than the bird itself. 
It is important to keep a record of the time, date 
and location of the capture. Some raptors have been 
“banded”, meaning they were in captivity at some 
point, and are now wearing an identification bracelet 
that will provide important information and maybe 
even a phone number to call. Be certain that any baby 
bird you might find is truly orphaned before removing 
it from the area. It may have fled its nest, but is still 
being cared for by the nearby but not visible parents, 
in which case it is much better off being left alone in 
its natural habitat.