p16, v5.43 — The World Around Us

The World Around Us

Mountain Views News Saturday, October 22, 2011

MVNews this week: Page 16

THE WORLD AROUND US

Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 22, 2011

Wet & Mild: Caltech Researchers Take Mars Past Temperature

Researchers at Caltech have directly determined
the surface temperature of early Mars for the first
time, providing evidence of a warmer and wetter
Martian past.

By analyzing carbonate minerals in a four-
billion-year-old meteorite that originated near
the surface of Mars, the scientists determined
that the minerals formed at about 18 degrees
Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit). “The thing that’s
really cool is that 18 degrees is not particularly
cold nor particularly hot,” says Woody Fischer,
assistant professor of geobiology and coauthor
of a paper published online in the Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on
October 3. “It’s kind of a remarkable result.”

The finding in the Martian meteorite is just
one data point—but it’s the first and only one to
date. “It’s proof that early in the history of Mars,
at least one place on the planet was capable of
keeping an Earthlike climate for at least a few
hours to a few days,” says John Eiler, the Robert
P. Sharp Professor of Geology and professor of
geochemistry, and a coauthor of the paper.

To make their measurement, the researchers
analyzed one of the oldest known rocks in
the world: ALH84001, a Martian meteorite
discovered in 1984 in the Allan Hills of
Antarctica. The meteorite likely started out tens
of meters below the Martian surface and was
blown off when another meteorite struck the
area, blasting the piece of Mars toward Earth.
The potato-shaped rock made headlines in 1996
when scientists discovered tiny globules in it that
looked like fossilized bacteria. But the claim that
it was extraterrestrial life didn’t hold up upon
closer scrutiny. The origin of the globules, which
contain carbonate minerals, remained a mystery.

“It’s been devilishly difficult to work out the
process that generated the carbonate minerals
in the first place,” Eiler says. There have
been countless hypotheses, he adds, and they
all depend on the temperature in which the
carbonates formed.

Finding the temperature through independent
means would therefore help narrow down just
how the carbonate might have been formed.
The researchers turned to clumped-isotope
thermometry, a technique developed by Eiler and
his colleagues.

In this case, the team measured concentrations
of the rare isotopes oxygen-18 and carbon-13
contained in the carbonate samples. Carbonate is
made out of carbon and oxygen, and as it forms,
the two rare isotopes may bond to each other—
clumping together, as Eiler calls it. The lower the
temperature, the more the isotopes tend to clump.
As a result, determining the amount of clumping
allows for a direct measurement of temperature.

The temperature the researchers measured, 18
± 4 degrees Celsius, rules out many carbonate-
formation hypotheses. “A lot of ideas that were
out there are gone,” Eiler says. For one, the mild
temperature means that the carbonate must
have formed in liquid water. “You can’t grow
carbonate minerals at 18 degrees other than from
an aqueous solution,” he explains.

Could this wet and warm environment have
been a habitat for life? Most likely not, the
researchers say. These conditions wouldn’t have
existed long enough for life to grow or evolve—
it would have taken only hours or days for the
water to dry up. Still, these results are proof that
an Earthlike environment once existed in one
particular spot on Mars, at least for a short time.

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.

“One More Time”

Blackberry service was restored early Thursday morning, after what the brand is
calling its worst service interruption ever. A hardware outage and a flawed backup
system is reported to be the cause of the outage which began in Europe, the Middle
East and Africa. From there it soon spread to South America and from there began
to affect service in the United States and Canada.

The outage primarily affected the texting and Internet functions for user of
Blackberry products and for the most part left phone operations working normally.
A cursory review of service performance shows that the popular smartphone maker
has experienced a serious service interruption every year going back as far as 2006.
Although a record like this might doom a lesser company to certain second-tier
status, the Blackberry brand still remains a strong performer in the marketplace.

The reason the Blackberry device remains popular is that it works the way its
users like it to work. I’m a Blackberry user and although I was irked by the events
of last week, I was pretty much over my frustration as soon as my service returned
to normal. As a matter of fact, while I was researching the source material for this
article, I found it hard to believe that the Blackberry service had experienced a
major outage for so many years in a row. I had a difficult time remembering the last
outage, except for the fact that I reported on that outage 2 years ago in this column
(“Blackberry and the 5 9’s”). It was a big deal at the time, as was the latest outage,
soon followed by no memory of the outage in the first place.

It’s been a week since the last big deal, and other than the millions of words
devoted to the analysis of Blackberry and its future, not much has happened with the
company. Undoubtedly since the outage there has been a flurry of activity internal
to Blackberry, devoted to shoring up the technical underpinnings of the popular
service. A kickback to the customer base would definitely be nice but I’m sure that
idea will be kyboshed by the financial honchos at Blackberry, most probably because
there’s no need for a kickback. The sales numbers for Blackberry remained strong
after every other outage over the last several years and, during all that time, the
much-feared exodus of disgruntled users never materialized; it probably won’t
happen this time, either. I know I’m not ready to turn in my Blackberry just yet and
I’m pretty sure that I’m not alone in feeling this way.

Is it important to include my computer skills on my resume? I am a computer professional and feel that
employers should know that I am expert in my field? What other skills should I list on my resume? Kenny

Dear Kenny:

Yes, it is very important for you to list your computer skills on your resume. Employers do not have
the time to contact you and find out if you have specific skills. Employers use keywords and criteria when
searching for candidates in resume databases. 99.9% of employers will use applicant screening software to
identity candidates. Having the correct skill set keywords included in your resume is mandatory in order
for an employer to find you. If you do not include skill sets on your resume, an employer might assume that
you do not feel that the skills are important enough to performing the position or worse yet not important
to you at all. Not including skill sets on your resume or application could result in you being screened
out of consideration for a position. I know candidates who were not hired because they did not include
Microsoft Word and Excel on their resume. The employer just assumed they were just not computer savvy.
As a high tech or computer professional you should definitely include your technical and professional skills.
These include skills performed in a job, task, or class, acquired by reading, training, or education. Create
a Computer Skills section with sub-headings on your resume. I suggest that you place this section at the
beginning of your resume and include any operating systems, hardware, software and programming skills
that you have experience using over the past 5 years. It would be to your advantage to list all your computer
skills rather than lose a job opportunity, because you were too selective. Do not just list “Microsoft Office”,
list each individual software program (i.e., Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, etc.). Add any proprietary
software programs that you learned at a former company. Listing proprietary software programs will reveal
to the employer that you can adapt to any computer system. Include any foreign languages that you may
speak or write in a Language Skills section. I know job seekers who were interviewed and hired based solely
on their foreign language skills. Technical Skills and Equipment Skills are great sections to add to your
resume as long as they are relevant to the position you are seeking. Any special projects that you have
participated in or managed can be included in an Occupational Skills section. The Work Experience and
Education Section of your resume should support your skills sections. These two sections should explain
how you acquired the knowledge, where you used the skills and your accomplishments.

UNCONDITIONAL CARE
FOR

CATS & CANINES

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc.

Canyon Canine Dog

Walking & Pet Sitting Services

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

MORE Professional Development!

In case you missed last week’s article, or repressed it from your
memory, we left off with our protagonist (me) attending a professional
development workshop delivered by one of my company’s victims
- I mean “employees.” Susan, our presenter, finally divulged the
meeting’s previously confidential topic, “Problem Solving!”, and
instructed us to open our packets (a hallmark of workshops). In it
we found a line drawing of a totem pole. “You’ll see there are six
animals on your ‘collaboration pole’,” Susan noted. “Now I want you to get up and
find six people -who aren’t at your table- and write their names on the figures.” We
rose in an early morning stupor and stumbled around writing down the names of our
colleagues on various beavers and salmon. Thank goodness this meeting only included
people from my department, otherwise I would’ve been hard pressed to approach six
strangers.

“Does everyone have six names?” Yup. “These are going to be your partners for
different activities throughout the day. I’m not going
to stand up here and do all the talking!” she said with
a little laugh. I inwardly groaned, as I suspected my
coworkers did as well.

“So, what is ‘problem solving?” Susan posed. Solving
of problems, I mentally answered. My vocal peers called
out, “Critical thinking,” “Inference,” and “Thinking
outside the box.” Whoa, Charlie! I thought. Don’t
spend all your buzz words in the morning; you’ll need
plenty more later on.

And I was so right. Our first task was to discuss the
inherent qualities of a problem solver with our “totem
frog” collaboration partner, and report our finding to
Susan. “One who thinks critically. One who infers, and
thinks outside the box. One who analyzes...” Darn!
Groups 2 and 3 already took our problem-solving
qualities! When they came to me and Leslie, my petal
partner, we shot our wad and called out “Abstraction.”
A collective “Ooh!” rose from the group, apparently
they hadn’t happened upon that one yet.

“Great! Really insightful,” Susan beamed. “Now go
back to home base” (the table where we left our coffees). She then directed us to a page
in our packet containing a collection of crude icons, including a sun with emanating
rays, and addition and subtraction signs separated by a forward slash. These were
“smart icons,” Susan explained. Some of the audience agreed with an understanding,
“Uh huh!” They had already attended the “Smart Icons” professional development
workshop. These visual paradigms can be used to illustrate and enhance any concept!
You see, the sun and rays represented the main idea and details (wow, there’s a new
one!). And the plus and minus signs stood for the cutting edge technique of - wait for
it - “compare and contrast.” The icons are essential because, if left to your own devices,
would you come up with the main idea and contrasting details all by your problem-
solving self?

With the aide of innumerable power point slides, Susan managed to cram many
additional group activities involving oversized chart paper, scribes, and spokespeople
into the day. Just when the prisoners - “team members” - grew restless to the brink of
mutiny, our boss broke out the Halloween chocolate. The staff attacked it like Siberian
wolves ripping through Bambi’s mother. It was only this serotonin-boosting chocolate
and our camaraderie that saw us through those remaining hours. The problem of
making the meeting end faster was never solved, but we all escaped. And I think Susan
was gladdest of us all!

Nothing touches my heart in a more positive way
than the random kindness of those who are willing to
nurture the needs of homeless pets, particularly when
it involves elderly or ill animals that require special
attention. Providing constant & consistent convalescent
care to those cats and canines who may be considered
“less-desirable“ or “less-adoptable” is an admirable act of
compassion and a true labor of love. I must admit that at
times I can get a bit down on humans who apparently do
not care much about the health and welfare of animals,
(as any reader who follows my column well knows), but
fortunately (for both the reader and myself) this week’s
“Happy Tail” is on the up!

The happy side of this animal tale can be attributed
to a fabulous network of heroic helpful human beings
whom I happened to come in contact with this past week.
They are people who dedicate their time, energy and
resources to making the lives of numerous needy, four-
legged furry friends comfortable and worth living for
the entire duration of their existence. I am talking about
a remarkable group of down-to-earth, hard-working
animal-loving individuals who joined together as a team
with the common interest of helping homeless animals
live a fulfilling life and helping them find permanent
homes. Founded in 1992, “C.A.R.E.” is a non-profit
animal welfare organization that maintains a cage-free,
no-kill sanctuary for orphaned animals regardless of
health status, age or adoptability. They are well known
for their willingness to rescue at-risk special needs pets
who may otherwise be abandoned or euthanized.

C.A.R.E. is actually an acronym for “Cat and Canine
Referral and Education”, which is the full title of this
awesome organization. The name tells it all with regard
to their mission, and they truly do live up to their name.
Although there are numerous other animal shelter
facilities throughout Southern California, most are
funded by state or local government agencies and are
managed and manned by employees who may or may
not have the kind of heart-felt compassion for animals
as the volunteers at a non-profit facility have. I am sure
that most shelters for homeless pets do their best to
place the animals they receive in proper homes, and I’d
like to think they employ humane practices in working
with the animals while they are in their care. However,
unfortunately the majority of the government funded
animal shelter facilities in Southern California are run
on a very low budget, and are forced to maintain a policy
of euthanasia as a means of population and cost control.
For example, an animal that is not adopted from an
SPCA facility within a very short period of time after in-
take, is inevitably “put to sleep“ regardless of how young
or healthy it may be.

This never happens at C.A.R.E. because they make it
their mission to love and nurture each and every animal
for the rest of their life, regardless of age, health or
adoptability. Of course the people at C.A.R.E. recognize
that there are times when an elderly or ill animal must be
euthanized as an act of compassion, because prolonging
their life in pain and suffering would be inhumane. But
they never put an animal to sleep simply because they
could not find a home for it within a given period of
time. Many of the animals nurtured by the loving folks at
C.A.R.E. require daily medications and/or special living
conditions. Many have diseases that must be treated,
some have suffered physical abuse or psychological
trauma, some have lost limbs and many of the elderly
have age-related problems that must be tended to with
patience and tender-loving-care. Remarkably, this
organization’s facility maintains and cares for an average
population of somewhere between 150 to 200 animals
at any given time. Many of the animals they house
are considered to be un-adoptable, while others hold
more hope for finding a permanent home with loving,
responsible owners. Either way, they are all welcome to
stay as long as it takes, even if it means living out the
rest of their life being loved and nurtured at the C.A.R.E.
sanctuary. For more information about C.A.R.E., and
to find out how you can help support their efforts or
adopt a pet of your own, visit their website at: www.
care4pets.org. There, you can watch a very informative
video about their beautiful animal sanctuary located in
Antelope Valley, and meet several of the precious pets
who live there. If your like me, after getting to know this
organization and seeing all the great things they do for
needy animals, you will not be able to resist supporting
such a worthy cause. Thank you for being there and
loving animals in need, C.A.R.E.! You truly warm my
heart with your random acts of kindness!

What’s On YOUR Mind? What D0 YOU Think?

We’d like to hear from you!