Mountain Views News          Saturday, July 23, 2011

15

THE WORLD AROUND US

 Mountain Views News Saturday, July 23, 2011 


Dawn Spacecraft Returns Close-Up Image of Asteroid Vesta


NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has returned the first 
close-up image after beginning its orbit around 
the giant asteroid Vesta. On Friday, July 15, Dawn 
became the first probe to enter orbit around an 
object in the main asteroid belt, which lies between 
the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

The image shows Vesta in greater detail than ever 
before. When Vesta captured Dawn into its orbit, 
there were approximately 9,900 miles between the 
spacecraft and asteroid.

Vesta is 330 miles in diameter and the second 
most massive object in the asteroid belt. Ground- 
and space-based telescopes have obtained images 
of Vesta for about two centuries, but they have not 
been able to see much detail on its surface. 

“We are beginning the study of arguably the 
oldest primordial surface in the solar system,” said 
Dawn principal investigator Christopher Russell 
of UCLA. “This region of space has been ignored 
for far too long. The images received to date reveal 
a complex surface that seems to have preserved 
some of the earliest events in Vesta’s history, as well 
as logging the onslaught that Vesta has suffered in 
the intervening eons.” 

Vesta is thought to be the source of a large number 
of meteorites that fall to Earth. Vesta and its new 
NASA neighbor are currently approximately 117 
million miles away from Earth. The Dawn team 
will begin gathering science data in August.

After traveling nearly four years and 1.7 billion 
miles, Dawn also accomplished the largest 
propulsive acceleration of any spacecraft, with 
a change in velocity of more than 4.2 miles per 
second, due to its ion engines. The engines expel 
ions to create thrust and provide higher spacecraft 
speeds than any other technology currently 
available. 

Engineers have been subtly shaping Dawn’s 
trajectory for years to match Vesta’s orbital speed 
around the Sun. Unlike other missions, where 
dramatic propulsive burns put spacecraft into 
orbit around a planet, Dawn simply eased up next 
to Vesta. Then the asteroid’s gravity captured the 
spacecraft into orbit. 

“Dawn slipped gently into orbit with the same 
grace it has displayed during its years of ion 
thrusting through interplanetary space,” said 
Marc Rayman, Dawn chief engineer and mission 
manager at JPL. “It is fantastically exciting that we 
will begin providing humankind its first detailed 
views of one of the last unexplored worlds in the 
inner solar system.” 

Although orbit capture is complete, the approach 
phase will continue for about three weeks. During 
approach the Dawn team will continue a search for 
possible moons around the asteroid; obtain more 
images for navigation; observe Vesta’s physical 
properties; and obtain calibration data. In 
addition, navigators will measure the strength of 
Vesta’s gravitational tug on the spacecraft to more 
accurately compute the asteroid’s mass.

Dawn will spend one year orbiting Vesta, 
then leave in July 2012 to travel on to a second 
destination, the dwarf planet Ceres, arriving there 
in February 2015.

UCLA is responsible for Dawn mission science. 
Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., designed 
and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace 
Center, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System 
Research, the Italian Space Agency and the Italian 
National Astrophysical Institute are part of the 
mission’s team. 

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 your 
questions, but I will be totally honest. My objective is to help you achieve your employment goal.

Now That We’re All Here...

About a month ago I had my resumé critiqued and revised by a professional Resumé Writer. The resumé writer 
charged me an arm and a leg to write it. I felt the final resumé was a waste of my money. The resume was 
awful! She removed all my work history and reduced my resumé to 1 page! The end result was a useless piece 
of paper. I originally had a great 3-page resumé that included all my work history and described everything I 
had ever done for an employer. I have over 20 years’ experience as an Administrative Assistant in the Healthcare 
industry. I was with my last employer for 10 years and worked in several different departments. Previous to that 
I was employed by 5 different employers. The Resumé Writer explained to me that she felt that the resumé she 
had written would better represent me to employers and that the employers did not want to receive nor read a 
3-page resumé, especially for an Administrative Assistant position. She re-formatted my resume as a Functional 
Resumé. I really feel like my previous work history was meaningless and as she put it…”totally irrelevant to my 
future employment”. Don’t employers want to know that I am committed to long-term employment, that I am 
loyal, and not a job hopper? I don’t want to post this resumé on any job board or send to any employer. Should I 
go back to using my old resumé? Really Upset

Dear Really Upset:

 A Resumé Writer’s objective is to write you an effective resumé that will get you results. Employers and recruiters 
really do not want to read a three-page resumé. Any information on your resumé that is older than ten years is 
considered obsolete. A resumé is basically an introduction regarding your work history, skills, and accomplishments. 
The key objective of a Resumé Writer and the resumé is to get you an interview. The goal is to make the resumé 
interesting and content oriented enough for the employer to invite you to interview for their position. I expect the 
Resumé Writer composed you a functional resumé instead of a chronological resumé. This sometimes is a shock to 
their clients. A functional resumé summarizes your past ten years of experience and accomplishments in a summary 
format and then list the job title, company and years of employment separately. This really is the best format for 
someone like yourself who has worked for one company over ten years and in similar positions. It is a shock sometimes 
when you have your resumé revised, updated and re-written, especially by a professional resumé writer. However, they 
have your best interest at heart and their goal is for your resumé to “grab” the attention of the employer and to contact 
you for an interview. Submit the revised resumé and see you if start getting results. I bet you will. 

 Everything you ever wanted to know about how to get a job …but did not know who to ask. Send your 
questions to jai@resumeandcareerservices.com or visit website www.resumeandcareerservices.com. 

 It’s pretty hard to argue against the tremendous impact that social media has 
had on modern life. Online dating, in one form or another, almost seems to have 
overtaken the old-fashioned method of just meeting people through random 
encounters. Facebook, Twitter and other similar sites now boast total memberships 
that may be approaching a billion unique users and any pundit who says they 
predicted this state of affairs way-back-when (and didn’t invest every dollar they 
could get their hands on when they had the chance) can hardly be taken seriously. 
We knew that things in the future would be different ,but almost certainly not 
this different. But I guess that’s the whole point of social media – for us to get 
together. And now that we’re together – all in one place – the original backers of 
the Internet would like to use this state of affairs to more closely monitor what’s 
going on online and possibly predict what society as a whole might do probably 
even before they even know they’re going to do it. To this end , DARPA , or the 
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, are making available $42 million in 
grants to develop what it calls a new science of social networks. The new program, 
Social Media in Strategic Communication, is designed to “develop automated 
and semi-automated operator support tools and techniques for the systematic and 
methodical use of social media at data scale and in a timely fashion “, DARPA 
stated. MISC will require the confluence of several technologies including, but not 
limited to, information theory, massive-scale graph analytics and natural language 
processing. While SMISC will not directly support natural language processing 
development efforts, DARPA says, it will certainly use the results of previous 
programs as well as contribute new challenges to further stimulate ongoing efforts. 
DARPA went on to say the program has four specific goals. Primary among these 
is the detection, measurement, classification and measurement of the development 
and spread of ideas, memes, purposeful information or deceptive messaging and 
misinformation. Next on the list is the recognition of campaign structures and 
influence operations across social media sites and communities. The designers 
of the project are hoping that these steps will lead to better identification of
dominant personalities and emergent communities. ‘

It almost seems likes the next logical step in the use of social media for data 
mining: using what were doing online to predict what we’ll do in the real world. 


KATIE Tse..........This and That

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc.

Canyon Canine Dog 

Walking & Pet Sitting Services

LOVE ‘EM & LEASH ‘EM

TIGHT ENFORCEMENT

Did you run into Will and Kate during their recent trip to L.A.? 
I only saw them on TV and in print, but I had hoped they would 
grace the Sierra Madre British Home with an appearance like the 
queen did back in 1983. Oh well, maybe they’ll come again and 
visit the largest flowering vine in the northern hemisphere.

You’d have to be living under a rock to not have seen all the 
articles about how Kate commands a sweeping influence over 
fashion and lifestyle both in Britain and, some suggest, the U.S.. Kate’s great. And I 
hate to critique someone who shares my name (Although she spells her full name with 
a “C,” so, shouldn’t she be Cate?) While I can’t say I don’t envy her poise, confidence 
(you’d have to be pretty unshakable to face the queen), patience (“Waity Katie” dated 
Will for nearly a decade), and figure (say no more), there are some things I’ll never 
allow myself to be induced into using; the first --panty hose!

You’ve probably read about the royal mandate that ladies at royal events shall wear 
mid-length skirts, closed-toe shoes, stockings, etc. You also might recall the article 
by Rita Wilson, Tom Hank’s wife, stating that prior to a state banquet at Buckingham 
Palace, she didn’t even own a pair of sheer hose! Kate may be driving up hosiery sales 
in Britain, but I think it might take a lot 
more for the trend to catch on this side 
of the pond. 

When I think of panty hose, the first 
thing that pops into mind is “Robin 
Hood: Men in Tights.” Right after that 
come childhood memories of itchy nylons 
constricting the circulation in my legs as I 
attended fancy church or school functions. 
Besides being generally uncomfortable 
and impractical (this is why the women’s 
line to the loo is always ten times longer, 
especially at formal events), nylons create 
a significant amount of static electricity. 
I’ve heard there are sprays for this. I’ve 
also heard there are creams to make one thinner and younger. Add this to panty hose’s 
faults: flammability. Apparently they melt to the skin when ignited. Hmm... Friction 
and combustible clothing... Why would I wear this, again? (This is the only clothing 
advice I’ve ever given in this column. I readily admit my total fashion ignorance!)

The second Kate-popularized thing I couldn’t be paid to do is her wedding-prep 
Dukan diet. This French spin on Atkin’s involves four phases, starting with an 
exclusively protein period lasting no more than 10 days (that should tell you something 
about the safety of cutting out everything except meat and water). After you’ve lost 
“enough” weight, you slowly start including some non-starchy vegetables and fruits 
over the next three phases. You’re also expected to exercise to expedite weight loss, 
although sluggishness from lack of carbohydrates might hinder this. The final phase 
is supposed to last the rest of your life; you eat normally and practice one protein-
only day per week. But if your previous, “normal” diet was Krispy Kreme doughnuts 
and chocolate shakes, somehow the idea of a weekly redeeming protein day sounds 
ineffectual. Admittedly, I haven’t exhaustively studied this diet, but I know that 
protein-exclusive diets are totally counter to our physiology. Besides rotting your 
kidneys, protein-heavy diets include side effects such as low energy, bad breath, foul-
smelling urine, and constipation... real attractive. If the choice is between that and a 
few extra pounds, I’ll choose the latter! Oh, and I’ll be doing it sans tights.

Correction: In last week‘s article, entitled “Answered 
Prayers for Birds of Prey”, I mentioned that the Ojai 
Raptor Center’s 5th annual fund raiser, “For the Birds, 
V” would be held in a public Ojai park. Please note 
that the event will actually take place at a private ranch 
in Ojai (much better!). For more information, please 
visit the Ojai Raptor Center website at: http://www.
ojairaptorcenter.org/.

As a youngster growing up in a rural setting in the 
deep south, I was lucky enough to have had lots of farm 
animals and domestic pets throughout my childhood. 
I remember enjoying the luxury of allowing my dogs 
to roam freely at will, knowing that they would most 
likely wander through the woods in our back yard, 
head off to the neighbor‘s house to play with their dogs 
and beg for left over scraps, then return home just in 
time for supper. That was indeed a luxury of freedom 
for both myself and my pets, and I imagine there are 
many Sierra Madre locals who have similar childhood 
memories of their own. 

Those were the days, weren’t they? With acres 
of undeveloped land surrounding us, ample space 
between our homes, and a heck of a lot less traffic 
passing through our neighborhoods, the risks were 
minimal for a pet with a nose for wanderlust who 
wanted to explore the great outdoors. It just seems 
natural, right? Well, unfortunately the open acreage 
and broad land gaps that used to exist between homes 
have shrunk dramatically in most parts of America 
over the years, and few & far between are the moments 
of silence without a vehicle passing swiftly by on the 
boulevards and streets that divide our properties. Let’s 
face it folks, as residents in America, or at least most 
certainly in Los Angeles County, the days of “free-
range” pet ownership are far-and-away long-gone. 

Not only is it extremely risky to allow a dog to run 
free these days, it is also against the law. Pet owners 
who live in Sierra Madre and other parts of LA County 
should now know better than to think it is OK to let 
their dogs roam off-leash. I learned my lesson several 
years ago, while living in Hermosa Beach with my 
dog, “Lady”. She was a friendly pup, so I was never 
concerned that she might hurt anyone, and at the time 
it never dawned on me that she herself could be hurt 
by roaming free. I lived 2 blocks from the beach, and 
I loved to let “Lady” go play on the sand during the 
off-season months when there was minimal traffic and 
there were few tourists in town. One day, I let Lady go 
and a cop stopped and cited me for having my dog off-
leash. The leash laws were new to me, so I was taken 
very much by surprise when I was told I had to take 
a day off work to appear in court and pay a fine. That 
was the last time I ever allowed my dog to roam free. 
Although I admit that it seemed ridiculous at the 
time, I have since learned to respect the leash laws, 
particularly in LA County (one of the most densely 
populated places in the entire US) and I guess I have 
become a self-appointed advocate for full compliance, 
mostly for the sake of the animals. 

While we would all love to think that our own dog is 
smarter than most … smart enough to stay out of the 
street and behave properly no matter what, it is simply 
an unsafe assumption that amounts to nothing less 
than negligence. A domestic dog is a creature driven 
more by instinct than taught intelligence or allegiance 
to its master, regardless of how much training he has 
received. In fact, the human’s delusion of owning 
the perfectly obedient dog is an excellent example of 
how, in some ways the dog is indeed smarter than 
the human being. No offense to those responsible 
owners who have taken the time to properly train and 
discipline their pets, it’s just that humans need to come 
to grips with the fact that a canine will do what comes 
naturally to itself, and much of the time the instinctual 
behavior of the canine is not in tune with the natural 
behavior of the human being. 

Even a well-trained, very obedient domestic dog 
harbors a tendency to chase a squirrel scrambling up 
a tree, a bird taking flight or a cat meandering by on 
the opposite side of the road, and, when he does see 
such playful prey within his proximity, his instincts 
are likely to override any obedience training he may 
have had, prompting him to cross the street and take 
chase after whatever it was that caught his attention. It 
only takes one time for a fast-moving vehicle to pass 
by the wrong place at the wrong time, to end the life 
of a beloved pet, so I say set your “pet pride” aside, 
and take proper precautions. The risks are simply not 
worth it, and it would be you, not your dog, being 
blamed if such a tragic accident should happen. 

A truly loving, caring pet owner will always protect 
their pet from harm, and that kind of unconditional 
love includes educating ones-self and forfeiting some 
of the freedoms that we would all love to enjoy, such as 
roaming off-leash like we did in the good old days. If 
you love them, you will leash them!