Mountain Views News          Saturday, August 27, 2011

15

THE WORLD AROUND US

 Mountain Views News Saturday, August 27, 2011 


STARS AS COOL AS YOUR HAND

 
Scientists using data from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey 
Explorer (WISE) space telescope have discovered the coldest 
class of star-like bodies, with temperatures as cool as the human 
body.

 Astronomers hunted these dark orbs, termed Y dwarfs, 
for more than a decade without success. When viewed with a 
visible-light telescope, they are nearly impossible to see. WISE’s 
infrared vision allowed the telescope to finally spot the faint glow 
of six Y dwarfs relatively close to our Sun, within a distance of 
about 40 light-years.

 “WISE scanned the entire sky for these and other objects, 
and was able to spot their feeble light with its highly sensitive 
infrared vision,” said Jon Morse, Astrophysics Division director 
at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “They are 5,000 times 
brighter at the longer infrared wavelengths WISE observed from 
space than those observable from the ground.”

 The Y’s are the coldest members of the brown dwarf family. 
Brown dwarfs are sometimes referred to as “failed” stars. They 
are too low in mass to fuse atoms at their cores and thus don’t 
burn with the fires that keep stars like our Sun shining steadily for 
billions of years. Instead, these objects cool and fade with time, 
until what little light they do emit is at infrared wavelengths.

 Astronomers study brown dwarfs to better understand how 
stars form and understand the atmospheres of planets beyond 
our solar system. The atmospheres of brown dwarfs are similar 
to those of gas giant planets like Jupiter, but they are easier to 
observe because they are alone in space, away from the blinding 
light of a parent star.

 So far, WISE data has revealed 100 new brown dwarfs. More 
discoveries are expected as scientists continue to examine the 
enormous quantity of data from WISE. The telescope performed 
the most advanced survey of the sky at infrared wavelengths to 
date, from Jan. 2010 to Feb. 2011, scanning the entire sky about 
1.5 times.

 Of the 100 brown dwarfs, six are classified as cool Y’s. One 
of the Y dwarfs, called WISE 1828+2650, is the record holder 
for the coldest brown dwarf—with an estimated atmospheric 
temperature cooler than room temperature, or less than 80 
degrees Fahrenheit.

 “The brown dwarfs we were turning up before this discovery 
were more like the temperature of your oven,” said Davy 
Kirkpatrick, a WISE science team member at Caltech’s Infrared 
Processing and Analysis Center. “With the discovery of Y dwarfs, 
we’ve moved out of the kitchen and into the cooler parts of the 
house.”

Kirkpatrick is lead author of a paper appearing in the Astrophysical Journal 
Supplement Series, describing the 100 confirmed brown dwarfs. Michael 
Cushing, a WISE team member at JPL, is lead author of a paper describing 
the Y dwarfs in the Astrophysical Journal.

 The Y dwarfs are in our Sun’s neighborhood, from about nine to 40 light-
years away. The Y dwarf nine light-years away, WISE 1541-2250, may 
become the seventh closest star system, bumping Ross 154 back to eighth. By 
comparison, the star closest to our solar system, Proxima Centauri, is about 
four light-years away.

 “Finding brown dwarfs near our Sun is like discovering there’s a hidden 
house on your block that you didn’t know about,” Cushing said. “It’s thrilling 
to me to know we’ve got neighbors out there yet to be discovered. With WISE, 
we may even find a brown dwarf closer to us than our closest known star.”

 JPL manages WISE for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. The 
principalinvestigator is Edward Wright of UCLA. 

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

This artist’s conception illustrates what a “Y dwarf” might look 
like. Y dwarfs are the coldest star-like bodies known, with 
temperatures that can be even cooler than the human body. 
NASA/JPL-Caltech


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.

‘TWO’ MANY GOOD-BYES

This week online news 
saw the resignation of 
two prominent figures in 
the world of all-things-
computer. Steve Jobs made 
headlines around the 
world when he announced 
that he was stepping down 
as the CEO of Apple due 
to his continuing battles 
with health issues. It’s 
been reported that he will 
continue to be involved 
with the company as 
Chairman of the Board 
but the day-to-day 
operations of the company 
will be handled by newly-
named CEO Tim Cook, 
who has manned the helm 
several times during leaves 
of absences taken by Steve 
Jobs. 

 It should be beyond 
argument the significant 
impact that Apple has 
had on the world of 
computing, and more 
specifically, the world of 
personal computing. Steve 
Jobs directed the show at 
Apple during some of the 
company’s most dynamic 
periods of growth and 
innovation and he was 
also responsible for some 
of the company’s worst 
product releases – see 
Apple Lisa, the Cube and 
Apple TV – but that’s par 
for the course when your 
mission is to push the 
envelope. Although this 
will be the second time 
that Jobs has left Apple, in 
light of health issues that 
probably played a role in 
the decision to step down, 
the announcement has a 
ring of finality to it. Friend 
and Foe alike will miss 
what Steve brought to the 
table.

 The other prominent 
figure to call it a day doesn’t 
have the name recognition 
that Jobs does, and in 
truth I only found out his 
real name while reading of 
the announcement myself, 
but the news of his moving 
on shook the online tech 
world nonetheless. The 
person I’m speaking of is 
Rob Malda, better known 
as “CmdrTaco”, Founder 
and Editor of Slashdot 
(http://slashdot.org). The 
banner for the site reads 
“News for Nerds. Stuff 
that Matters”. A fitting 
welcome message, indeed. 

 Slashdot is a discussion 
site, meeting place and 
information site for cutting 
edge technical issues and 
other topics of discussion 
from a nerd’s perspective. 
From CmdrTaco’s own 
words – “Slashdot has 
been read by kernel 
engineers and billionaires; 
By sys-admins and CEOs; 
by high school kids and 
government bureaucrats. 
But what brings so many of 
them together is that we are 
nerds.”

 Founded in 1997, 
Slashdot filled a niche 
that no one knew existed - 
until Slashdot filled it. I’ve 
visited the site daily since I 
found out about it in 1998 
and I’m hardly alone in 
my devotion. In fact, the 
upsurge in web traffic to 
a site after having a story 
about that site appear has 
come to be known as being 
“slashdotted”, meaning the 
site has become slow or 
unresponsive from the 
excessive linking to the 
story from Slashdot. In the 
days of the late 90’s/early 
2000’s internet, getting 
“slashdotted” meant 
having your site crash 
from the overwhelming 
traffic load and new-
found attention from the 
nerd crowd. Slashdot is 
the fruit of a simple idea 
that has served a finicky 
demographic and served 
it well. 

Thanks, CmdrTaco. You 
will be missed. 

Q: I think I have posted my resume 
on every career board and job site 
that exists over the past year and 
have not received any good responses. 
People are telling me that the jobs 
listed on these sites are usually filled 
or non-existent. Where are the jobs 
and how do I get one? Peter

Dear Peter:

 Only a small percentage of 
businesses list or advertise their 
positions on the internet or job 
boards. However, there is an 
alternative source for you to seek 
employment or a “bridge” until you 
find your ideal position. Register 
with staffing and temporary agencies. 
Most companies, especially small 
businesses do not advertise their 
positions, this is because they do not 
have the staff or budget to search, 
screen and review candidates. These 
companies totally depend on word 
of mouth, employee referrals, or 
contract with a staffing agency to 
find them employees. A staffing 
agency provides a pool of candidates 
and works on behalf of the employer 
to fill temporary and occasionally 
full-time positions. They will 
search and resource companies for 
positions that will never be publicly 
advertised. The agency will assist the 
company in screening, interviewing, 
recommending and usually placing 
candidates directly in their open 
positions. These types of positions 
could last 3-6 weeks or 3-6 months 
and sometimes longer. Employers 
occasionally use agencies to “test” 
out a candidate for their positions. I 
like to call this the “courtship period”. 
The candidate and employer have 
a period of time to find out if they 
“like” each other. During this 
“courtship” time the candidate can 
learn and decide if they like the job 
and the employer. The employer 
will also evaluate and assess if the 
candidate is a good fit for them. This 
also allows for a “clean break” for the 
employer and candidate at the end 
of a project or if a decision has been 
made that it is not working out. The 
agency will then search for another 
position for you, the job seeker. 
Working with an agency is great for 
people who want the opportunity to 
work at different companies, meet 
people, like a challenge, and a change 
in responsibilities and duties. It is 
relatively easy to find and register 
with a staffing or temporary agency. 
As always, do your research. Search 
on-line and register. Or check them 
out by visiting their offices and 
meeting with a representative before 
your register. Look for agencies 
in your local and regional area. 
Register with agencies that focus 
on your area of expertise, skills and 
industry. Find and register only with 
agencies that have been in business 
for many years. Contact employers 
and ask them which agencies they 
use for staffing. Sign-up with more 
than 10 agencies to increase and 
broaden your chances, options and 
opportunities to find employment. 
Do not register with an agency that 
charges you a fee for their services. A 
reputable staffing agency will always 
be compensated by the employer. 
Working with a staffing or temporary 
agency is a great alternative if you are 
not having any success at finding the 
job you want. It is a good alternative 
and opportunity to bridge your 
economic and unemployment 
situation until you find that ideal 
position. 

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


CLASSICAL FOR THE CANINE


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

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc.

Canyon Canine Dog 

Walking & Pet Sitting Services

KATHY & BONITO, PART I

 I was 
strolling 
down 
Baldwin 
the other 
day 
when 
I saw a 
“Found parrot” sign. While 
it’s always cheerier posting 
a found pet sign than lost 
one, acquiring animals 
doesn’t come without its 
own challenges. A good 
illustration of this is the 
account of Bonito, a parrot 
my mom’s friend (we’ll call 
her Kathy) discovered in 
Montebello several years 
ago. To do her justice, 
any story involving Kathy 
must include a description 
of her. Kathy isn’t an 
“odd” person, she is just 
a person to whom odd 
things happen. Similar 
to being lucky, accident-
prone, or handy, Kathy 
attracts oddness. So rich 
are Kathy’s stories that I 
might do a whole series of 
her tales. But I digress.

 One day Kathy was 
driving in Montebello with 
her sick puppy in the back 
seat (see, a Kathy story 
can’t even start normal). 
Suddenly a parrot flew in 
front of her car, narrowly 
missing it, and landed 
on the sidewalk. The 
magnetism emitted by a 
victim of oddness must’ve 
attracted him. As she 
tried to pick up the bird, 
obviously an escaped pet, 
it clamped onto her hand 
in that soft part between 
the thumb and first finger 
and wouldn’t let go. (She 
had two V-shaped welts 
for a while.) With nothing 
in the car except the LA 
Times and a sick puppy, 
she wrapped up the 
parrot in newspaper like 
a thrashing burrito. Back 
in the car, she stuck the 
bird under her left arm, 
where he continued to tear 
through the newspaper 
while she drove (aren’t 
there some major arteries 
in your armpit?).

 Back in placid Sierra 
Madre, my mom gets a 
frantic call from Kathy 
asking her to meet her 
somewhere to take this 
bird. My parents and I 
are “bird people,” in the 
sense that we’ve nursed 
along starlings, sparrows, 
and crows, in addition to 
our permanent parrots 
and “killer” finch. “Sure,” 
my mom said, and then 
asked, “What’s that 
sound?” “That’s the bird, 
he’s almost chewed out of 
the newspaper, so I had 
to cover him with the 
puppy’s blanket.” Hmm... 
A vicious hook-bill. That’s 
okay, we love a challenge! 
They decided to meet in 
half an hour at the parking 
lot at Michillinda and 
Foothill, since it’s close 
to the freeway. After 
finding an empty birdcage 
in the garage (which is a 
challenge in itself!), my 
mom and I waited outside 
the shoe repair shop in 
the Marshall’s strip mall. 
Forty five minutes passed 
and, being mid-December, 
it was starting to get dark. 
Tired of standing, we 
moved to a bench in front 
of a store that carries plus-
sized women’s clothing. 
Shoppers hurried by, 
eyeing us suspiciously. 
Smiling at them made it 
even worse, so we tried act 
casual and ignore them. 
But it is strange to see two 
ladies sitting in front of 
the Big Dress store with an 
empty bird cage at night.

 Finally we get a call 
from Kathy. She’s lost, the 
bird has gnawed through 
the towel and bitten her a 
few times. She asked if we 
could meet her. “I’m at a 
Ralph’s, and there’s a bank. 
It’s a big street, I think it’s 
Hutchins or something.” 
Through our stellar 
process of elimination 
we concluded it was the 
Ralph’s at Baldwin and 
Huntington. Glad to leave 
our lonely post, we sped 
to Huntington, figuring 
that Kathy might’ve lost a 
finger or two by now.

 Kathy called to us from 
her parked SUV. The towel 
was now bloody from 
Kathy’s wound, and much 
of the newspaper had been 
shredded to confetti. A 
foul smell emanated from 
the back seat, and Kathy 
explained the puppy had 
vomited and experienced a 
small episode of diarrhea. 
With the finesse of 
someone used to handling 
noncompliant birds, my 
mom thrust the parrot in 
its remaining newspaper 
wrapping into the empty 
cage. He quickly devoured 
the remaining Times. We 
parted, and Kathy drove 
home in a smelly car, but 
at least she didn’t have to 
fend off a feathered beast 
trying to kill her by way of 
the armpit. *Tune in next 
week for Part 2! 

 It is a well-known fact that music 
can play a major part in altering the 
mood of the human being. When I 
am feeling a little low on the energy 
level and I need a boost, all I have to 
do is tune in to one of my favorite 
rock and roll or bluegrass channels on 
Pandora, let it play away, and before 
I know it I am up and about, dancing 
in my living room and cleaning my 
house like a white tornado! On the 
other hand, if I am feeling a little 
stressed or edgy after a hard day of 
walking dogs in the heat, I turn to 
my best baroque buddies, Chopin 
and Mozart to calm my nerves and 
settle my soul by serenading me 
with beautiful sonnets on the piano, 
clarinet and violin. Music inspires 
me in so many ways, but what does 
music do, if anything, for a dog? 

 Numerous research studies have 
been conducted over the years, 
to determine how sounds might 
effect the behavior of the canine. 
Among the more scientifically 
important research studies is one 
that was performed by Belfast-
based psychologist and animal 
behaviorist, Dr. Deborah Wells, in 
2002. Dr. Wells undertook a research 
program to determine the influence 
of five types of auditory stimulation 
on the dog: human conversation, 
classical music, heavy metal music, 
pop music, and a silent control 
(no music at all). The results of 
Dr. Wells’ study clearly indicated 
that classical music had a marked 
soothing effect on dogs in animal 
shelters when compared to the other 
types of auditory stimulation. In the 
discussion section of her published 
research, Dr. Wells stated, “Classical 
music resulted in dogs spending 
more of their time resting than any 
of the other experimental conditions 
of auditory stimulation. This type of 
music also resulted in a significantly 
lower level of barking. Research 
suggests that calming music may 
have a beneficial effect 
on humans, resulting in 
diminished agitation, 
improved mood and 
lower levels of stress. 
Although the specific 
effect of classical music on dogs 
remains unknown, the findings from 
this study suggests that it may, as in 
humans, have a calming influence.” 

 She also observed that heavy 
metal music tended to agitate the 
dogs, which was mainly manifested 
by increased frequencies of 
standing, fretting and barking. Upon 
completion of the project, Dr. Wells 
stated, “Further work is still required 
to unravel the specific acoustic 
elements that dogs respond to.” 

 Dr. Wells’ research results inspired a 
small group of American scientists & 
musicians to embark on a subsequent 
study of their own. Their mission 
was to take bioacoustics research to 
a higher level, where no man had 
gone before. In 2005, neurologist 
Susan Wagner initiated and directed 
the Bioacoustics Research & 
Development (BARD) project, and 
working closely with her associates 
Joshua Leeds (sound researcher) and 
Lisa Spector (concert pianist), she 
came up with some very interesting 
and enlightening results which she 
and Lisa Spector later documented 
in a book entitled Through a Dog’s 
Ear. 

 Sound is a complex phenomenon, 
consisting of energy waves, the speed 
of which are measured in units called 
hertz (one wave cycle per second). 
The normal range of sound heard by 
the human is about 20-20,000 Hz. 
Although audible frequencies varies 
from one species to another, we know 
that most animals have a much 
higher range of perception than that 
of the human, and dogs can receive 
up to at least 50,000 Hz. Volume or 
loudness of sound is measured in 
decibels (dB). A whisper is measured 
at a range of about 30 dB’s and a 
normal conversation occurs at about 
50 dB’s, while the average rock concert 
is measured in at around 130. 

 Perception of sound is what we 
call hearing. Dr. Wagner refers to the 
hearing side of sound as the science 
of psychoacoustics, which involves an 
individual’s psychological and physical 
orienting response to incoming Hz 
frequencies. In lay terms, it is the 
way one perceives what one hears, 
both biologically and mentally (and 
perhaps even spiritually). Although I 
prefer to refrain from using technical 
terminology in this “light-reading” 
weekly column, I describe these terms 
to help explain the overall point I wish 
to emphasize, which is the positive 
impact that calming, classical music 
can have on animals - particularly 
dogs. 

 Interestingly enough, the final 
outcome and end results of Dr. 
Wagner’s 2005 study on how sounds 
affect the behavior of the dog, re-
confirmed the findings of Dr. Wells’ 
research project back in 2002. In short, 
because of physical sound receptors 
and ability to interpret what is heard, 
a dog’s response to sound is much like 
that of a human, but perhaps more 
intense. Therefore, because of the way 
a dog hears and responds to sound, it 
is safe to assume that classical music is 
an excellent choice to bring relaxation 
and rest to our canine companions. 

 Not that it took a scientific study 
to prove that point to me. I see the 
results in my own home on a regular 
basis when Tater goes from baying at 
the leaf blowing landscaper across the 
wash, to laying still on her pillow on 
the porch in a momen’ts time, when 
I tune in to Bach or Beethoven on 
Pandora. Still, it is nice to know that 
even scientists will agree that canines 
do love their classical music, and 
I think it says a lot for those early 
European music-making maniacs as 
well! Who doesn’t want to be loved by 
a dog?