Mountain Views News          Saturday, September 3, 2011

15

THE WORLD AROUND US

 Mountain Views News Saturday, September 3, 2011 


NEWS FROM OUR GIANT PLANETS Jupiter-Bound Space Probe Captures Earth and Moon

On its way out to Jupiter, the biggest planet in 
the Solar System, NASA’s Juno spacecraft took 
time to capture an image of its home planet and 
Earth’s natural satellite—our own Moon.

“This is a remarkable sight people get to see 
all too rarely,” said Scott Bolton, Juno principal 
investigator from the Southwest Research Institute 
in San Antonio. “This view of our planet shows 
how Earth looks from the outside, illustrating a 
special perspective of our role and place in the 
universe. We see a humbling yet beautiful view 
of ourselves.”

The image was taken by the spacecraft’s camera, 
JunoCam, on Aug. 26 when the spacecraft was 
about 6 million miles away. The image was taken 
as part of the mission team’s checkout of the Juno 
spacecraft. The team is conducting its initial 
detailed checks on the spacecraft’s instruments 
and subsystems after its launch on Aug. 5.

Juno covered the distance from Earth to the 
Moon (about 250,000 miles) in less than one day’s 
time. It will take the spacecraft another five years 
and 1 billion,740 million miles to complete the 
journey to Jupiter. The spacecraft will orbit Jupiter’s 
poles 33 times, using its eight science instruments 
to probe beneath the gas giant’s obscuring cloud 
cover to learn more about its origins, structure, 
atmosphere and magnetosphere, and look for a 
potential solid planetary core.

The solar-powered Juno spacecraft lifted off 
from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida 
on Aug. 5 to begin its five-year journey to Jupiter.

Cassini Closes in on Saturn’s Tumbling Moon 
Hyperion

Meanwhile, much farther away and now 
orbiting our Solar System’s second-largest planet, 
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured new views of 
Saturn’s oddly shaped moon Hyperion during its 
encounter with this cratered body on Thursday, 
Aug. 25. Images were acquired as the spacecraft 
flew past that moon at a distance of about 15,500 
miles, making this Cassini’s second closest 
encounter with Hyperion.

Hyperion (meaning “the high one” and named 
for one of the twelve Titan gods of ancient Greece) 
is a small moon, just 168 miles in diameter. It 
has an irregular shape and surface appearance, 
and it rotates chaotically as it tumbles along in 
orbit. This odd rotation prevented scientists from 
predicting exactly what terrain the spacecraft’s 
cameras would image during this flyby.

However, this flyby’s closeness has likely 
allowed Cassini’s cameras to map new territory. 
At the very least, it will help scientists improve 
color measurements of this moon. It will also 
help them determine how its brightness changes 
as lighting and viewing conditions change, 
which can provide insight into the texture of 
the surface. The color measurements provide 
additional information about different materials 
on Hyperion’s deeply pitted surface.

Cassini’s closest encounter with Hyperion 
was on Sept. 26, 2005, when the spacecraft flew 
approximately 310 miles above the moon’s surface. 
Cassini’s next flyby of Hyperion will be on Sept. 
16, 2011, when it passes the tumbling moon at a 
distance of about 36,000 miles.

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.

EXPERTS-EXCHANGE 

Experts-Exchange (Http://www.Experts-Exchange.com) is a membership-based 
online “ask an expert” site for computer and IT related questions. Founded in 1996 the 
company has gone through a few re-orgs and has emerged as a profitable, premier IT 
expertise site in a very crowded field. At Experts-Exchange, users are awarded points 
for answering questions asked by other users or writing articles the general community 
values as resourceful. This results in a competition for obtaining more points to achieve 
various experts’ certifications. The site offers a paid subscription service that offers 
full access to those who primarily use the website to get their IT and tech questions 
solved. By actively participating users can earn points in order to get a subscription 
by bartering expertise. Those who obtain 10,000 points are given access to all features 
of the web site known as premium services. Additionally they need to obtain at least 
3,000 points each month to keep these privileges. “EE” also offers subscribers access 
to its extensive knowledgebase of answers they’ve accumulated over the years and this 
feature alone has proven very useful to many a weary system-admin looking for an 
online solution to a vexing technical issue. This knowledgebase is divided into sections 
covering such areas as Microsoft, Apple, Networking, Database, Security, Hardware, 
Software, Storage, Programming and Web Development. The site also features a Blog 
section and an Articles section for further search options for users who can’t find what 
they’re looking for in other areas of the site. 

If a user seeking answers is unable to find a resolution to their problem he\she can 
post a question directly to the board and wait for answers from the community. When 
posting a question the user is directed to assign the question to a pre-selected category 
for easier classification. The wait time for responses to posted question tends to be 
short as the competition for points can be described as nothing short of intense but 
the quality of the answers tends to be right on the money. The user has the option 
of awarding points for accepted solutions or dividing awarded points between partial 
answers accepted. 

I recently was laid-off after 7 years as an Office Manager with a financial company. The company just decided 
they had to cut staff by 75% in order to stay afloat. I started sending out my resume and applying for positions on-
line within three months after being laid-off. I thought with my office, computer and management skills I would 
be able to find employment immediately. To my surprise, that is not the case. I have aggressively networked with 
former co-workers, family, friends, neighbors, and met new people at events, introduced myself to employers at 
job fairs. Nothing seems to be working. My mother suggested I start going from door-to-door knocking and asking 
employers if they have any openings. She said that is what she used to do in her day. I am not opposed to doing 
that if I have to. What is your opinion? Do you think that is a good idea or would it make me seem anxious? Are 
employers and businesses open to people going to their offices and asking if they have any openings? Norma Sue.

Dear Norma Sue,

 I say yes. It’s a great idea! However, the 21st century version is somewhat different. It’s called “cold calling”, or 
telemarketing yourself. Yes, you pick up the telephone and start to call employers! This actually works! Employers 
who are open to this type of solicitation are the small to mid-size companies which employ 50-1,000 employees. 
These employers do not advertise or post their positions because of the enormous cost. They rely on word of mouth, 
employee referrals or someone like you making a telephone call and asking if they might have any openings. This 
process is going to take some time and a lot of hard work on your part to make it happen. First: know what type 
of position you are going after. Second: build a target list of small to mid-size companies you feel might need 
someone with your skills and work experience. Third: prepare a script with talking points; why you are calling, 
who you would like to speak to (this could be a title only), ask if could you fax or e-mail your resumé to them either 
for a position now or for future consideration. Or, better yet try to make an appointment to meet and speak with 
someone. You are going to have to be a little aggressive to get pass the telephone “gate keepers”. I suggest you 
ask whoever answers the phone for their assistance, treat them with respect and don’t forget to thank them. You 
will find this treatment will usually get you to the right person. I have found a little bit of niceness goes a long way. 
However, also get ready for a lot of direct “in-your-face” rejection. It is going to happen. Don’t take it personally. 
Keep on posting your resume on-line, e-mailing, mailing and now “cold calling”. These efforts will eventually land 
you employment in a shorter period of time. 

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.resumeandcareerservices.com.


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

Kathy & Bonito, Part 2

 
In case you missed last week’s article, we left off “on a dark and 
lonely December night,” when my mom’s friend, Kathy, entrusted 
a lost pet parrot she found to our care. 

Once we got our visitor home, we transferred him into a larger 
cage. Being “bird people,” we always have a couple extra cages 
buried somewhere in the garage. The LA Times Kathy wrapped 
the parrot in was now completely gnawed to newsprint pulp. It 
was late, so we carefully pushed food and water cups into the parrot’s cage, covered it 
with a towel, and called it a night.

In the morning, we moved the 
new parrot next to our other two 
parrots and the “killer” finch. We 
gave the finch that moniker after 
his (or her) second cage-mate died 
unexpectedly. Anyway, our parrots 
weren’t taking kindly to this 
newcomer, and scooted away to the 
far side of their perch. “Killer” was 
unfazed, probably relishing the 
challenge of taking on larger prey. 
The new bird was high strung like 
a chain smoker in withdrawal. He 
kept pacing, squawking “Bonito,” 
and “pin pointing” his eyes. Pin 
pointing is when birds dilate their 
pupils in and out really fast, like a 
bird version of ogling. My mom 
and I could safely change his food 
and water, but “Bonito” made it 
clear, with vicious lunges, that he 
preferred us to my dad.

Acquiring a lost pet parrot (or any 
parrot for that matter) is not the 
same as finding an escaped turtle or abandoned kitten. Parrots are a hot commodity 
and even the “cheaper” ones sell for a high price. So, if you should find yourself in 
temporary care of a parrot, don’t advertize that you’ve found a beautiful Double Yellow 
Head Amazon, because you’ll have at least 10 people claiming it as their missing loved 
one.

With this in mind, my mom went casing the area in Montebello where Kathy originally 
encountered our guest. By sheer good fortune, she happened to spot a “Lost Parrot” 
sign for “Bonito.” It had a mug shot, the promise of an unspecified reward, and was 
dated the same fateful day Kathy found him. From then it was a simple matter of 
calling Bonito’s contact and arranging a bird transference.

I don’t recall the event, (I was probably busy checking groceries at Howie’s), but my 
mom claims Bonito’s owner was an intimidating, highly tattooed individual. (In 
defense of all highly tattooed people, one of the most sterling and devoted parents I 
know fits this same description. Best not to judge a book by its cover, or a person by 
his or her tattoos.) Bonito had lived in an outdoor aviary and apparently escaped from 
the opened door one day. Unfortunately, Bonito had the same negative sentiments 
towards his male owner as he did towards my dad. Bonito’s “dad” gingerly moved 
him into a travel container, explaining that the bird liked his wife and daughter 
more than him. (Some parrots have been known to prefer one gender over the other, 
proving the old adage that blonds -and redheads, have more fun.)

Bonito’s owner offered my mom the “reward,” of which sum she does not recall. She 
offered it to Kathy, to at least cover the cost of her Bonito-induced wounds, but she 
graciously declined. My mom periodically called Bonito’s family, to see how he was 
fairing. She offered to call them again for the latest update, but I declined. With an 
average lifespan of 50+ years, Bonito will undoubtedly outlive us all.

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc.

Canyon Canine Dog 

Walking & Pet Sitting Services

Pretentious, Powerful Plants of Prey

If you are like me, you probably 
think of plants as simply live, yet 
inanimate objects that help feed us, 
help keep our air clean and oxygenated, 
and add ornamental features to our 
environment that make the world 
around us far more beautiful than it 
would be without them. I am sure we 
all agree that these are all true facts 
about plants, but some varieties of that 
gorgeous green growing fauna we tend 
to take for granted, are way more active 
and animated than most. The plant 
species that prey on insects and small 
animals are the ones that fascinate 
me the most. Who isn’t amazed by 
the beast-like behavior of the Venus 
fly-trap? I remember seeing “Rocky 
Horror Picture Show” for the first time 
as a kid, and thinking the screen-writer 
had invented the concept of a predator-
like plant, until I learned that they 
really do exist! The following narrative, 
written by contributors to the Botanical 
Society of America (www.botany.
org) provides a very interesting and 
informative summary about the origin 
and development of several plants that 
prey on foods other than the nutrients 
found in water and soil. I hope you find 
it as fascinating as I do.

Carnivorous plants have the most 
bizarre adaptations to low-nutrient 
environments. These plants obtain 
some nutrients by trapping and 
digesting various invertebrates, and 
occasionally even small frogs and 
mammals. Because insects are one of 
the most common prey items for most 
carnivorous plants, they are sometimes 
called insectivorous plants. It is not 
surprising that the most common 
habitat for these plants is in bogs and 
fens, where nutrient concentrations are 
low but water and sunshine seasonally 
abundant. As many as thirteen species 
of carnivorous plants have been found 
in a single bog (Folkerts, 1982). Most 
plants absorb nitrogen from the soil 
through their roots. But carnivorous 
plants absorb nitrogen from their 
animal prey through their leaves 
specially modified as traps.

Traps work in a variety of ways. 
Pitfall traps of pitcher plants are leaves 
folded into deep, slippery pools filled 
with digestive enzymes. Flypaper (or 
sticky or adhesive traps) of sundews 
and butterworts are leaves covered 
in stalked glands that exude sticky 
mucilage. Snap traps (or steel traps) 
of the Venus flytrap and waterwheel 
plant are hinged leaves that snap shut 
when trigger hairs are touched. Suction 
traps, unique to bladderworts, are 
highly modified leaves in the shape 
of a bladder with a hinged door lined 
with trigger hairs. Lobster-pot traps of 
corkscrew plants are twisted tubular 
channels lined with hairs and glands.

Carnivorous plants are fascinating 
because, even when they are not 
trapping insects, their unusual forms 
are intriguing. However, you should 
not collect plants in the wild because 
most of them are relatively rare. Habitat 
destruction and over collection are two 
of the greatest conservation threats to 
carnivorous plants. If you are interested 
in growing carnivorous plants in your 
home or classroom, purchase the plants 
from a reputable grower who uses tissue 
culture or vegetative means to grow the 
plant, or starts them from seeds.

We now know that the carnivorous 
habit evolved independently in many 
plant lineages (Albert et al., 1992; 
Ellison and Gotelli, 2001; Cameron et 
al., 2002; Muller et al., 2004). Pitfall 
traps evolved independently in four 
plant groups (the eudicot orders 
Caryophyllales, Oxalidales, Ericales, 
and the monocot family Bromeliaceae), 
and sticky traps, in at least three 
(the Caryophyllales, Ericales, and 
Lamiales). These are examples of 
convergent evolution. In contrast, the 
snap trap and lobster-pot traps evolved 
only once among carnivorous plants.

Carnivorous plants have features to 
attract, trap, kill, and digest prey, and 
absorb nutrients. A number of plants 
have only some of these characteristics. 
Glands that secrete sticky substances 
are found in many plants. Pitcher-like 
tanks are common in bromeliads and 
in few other plants. While perhaps not 
fully fledged sticky traps or pitfall traps, 
these features hint of the potential for 
carnivory. The list of plants described as 
near carnivorous, protocarnivorous, or 
borderline carnivorous is quite diverse, 
including Ibicella lutea (Mameli, 1916), 
Dipsacus (Christy, 1923), Passiflora 
foetida (Radhamani et al., 1995), 
Paepalanthus bromeloides (Jolivet, 
1998), and Geranium viscosissimum 
and Potentilla arguta (Spomer, 1999). 
No single definitive list exists. Ibicella 
lutea, which has not been studied since 
1916 (Juniper et al., 1989), is sometimes 
listed as carnivorous, and Catopsis 
berteroniana is sometimes described 
as borderline. The ability to digest 
prey and absorb the amino acids is 
considered the real clincher.

Carnivory is more widespread than 
just the plant and animal kingdoms. 
The fungi kingdom has flesh eaters 
also (Pramer, 1964). Living in the soil 
are over 200 species of fungi (identified 
as zygomycetes, basidiomycetes, 
and hyphomycetes) that use special 
structures to trap nematodes. Like 
carnivorous plants, these fungi have 
the ability to trap prey and to absorb 
nutrients from the body of their prey. 
The traps of fungi come in two general 
types: constricting rings (active traps) 
and adhesive structures (passive traps). 
These trap types occur in separate 
fungi lineages (Ahren et al., 1998).

Exploring and learning more about 
the amazing world of carnivorous 
plant life somehow gave me a much 
wider perspective on how I view the 
greenery that surrounds me and makes 
this world such a gorgeous place to live. 
Recently, I even find myself talking 
out loud to the trees and flowers as 
I pass by while walking through the 
neighborhood. Perhaps I should start 
wearing a blue tooth during my walks, 
just to set my neighbors’ minds at ease 
and keep the “men in white” at bay!