Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, October 29, 2016

THE WORLD AROUND US

10

Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 29, 2016 


GOING OUT IN A BLAZE OF GLORY: CASSINI’S GRAND FINALE


With the conclusion of the international Cassini 
mission orbiting Saturn and its moons set for 
Sept. 15, 2017, the spacecraft is poised to soon 
begin a thrilling two-part endgame.

 Cassini will enter the first part of this 
denouement on Nov. 30, 2016, when the 
spacecraft begins a series of 20 passes just 
beyond the outer edge of the main rings. 
These weekly loops around Saturn are 
called the F ring orbits, and they send the 
spacecraft high above and below the planet’s 
poles. During these orbits, Cassini will 
approach to within 4,850 miles of the center 
of the narrow F ring, with its wispy and ever-
changing structure.

 “During the F ring orbits we expect 
incredible views of the rings, along with the 
small moons and other structures embedded 
in them, as we’ve never seen them before,” said 
Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at JPL. 
“The last time we got this close to the rings was 
during arrival at Saturn in 2004, and we saw 
only their backlit side. Now we have dozens 
of opportunities to examine their structure at 
extremely high resolution on both sides.”

 Cassini’s final phase—called the Grand 
Finale—begins in earnest in April 2017. A 
close flyby of Saturn’s giant moon Titan will 
reshape the spacecraft’s orbit so that, instead 
of passing outside the rings, it passes through 
the gap between the rings and the planet. The 
spacecraft is expected to make 22 plunges 
through this gap—an unexplored space only 
about 1,500 miles wide—beginning with its 
first dive on April 27.

 During the Grand Finale, Cassini will 
make the closest-ever observations of Saturn, 
mapping the planet’s magnetic and gravity 
fields with exquisite precision and returning 
ultra-close views of the atmosphere. Scientists 
also hope to gain new insights into Saturn’s 
interior structure, the precise length of a Saturn 
day, and the total mass of the rings—which may 
finally help settle the question of their age. The 
spacecraft will also directly analyze dust-sized 
particles in the main rings and sample the outer 
reaches of Saturn’s atmosphere—both first-
time measurements for the mission.

 The mission will come to a dramatic end on 
Sept. 15, 2017, after more than 13 years studying 
Saturn, its rings and its moons—and nearly 20 
years since launch. On that day, Cassini will 
dive into Saturn itself, returning data about 
the chemical composition of the planet’s upper 
atmosphere until its signal is lost, after which 
the spacecraft is expected to burn up like a 
meteor.

 “While it will be sad to say goodbye, Cassini’s 
final act is like getting a whole new mission 
in its own right,” said Spilker. “The scientific 
value of the F ring and Grand Finale orbits is 
so compelling that you could imagine an entire 
mission to Saturn designed around what we’re 
about to do.”

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


CHRISTOPHER Nyerges

OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder

SAVING WATER AND 

LIVING BETTER

 

 

 Water conservation is good all the time, especially for anyone living here 
in Los Angeles County. After all, there are far too many of us living here in 
this wonderful climate which is a coastal desert plain. That’s right – we live 
in a desert! That’s why most of our water is imported from hundreds of miles away.

 Water conservation makes sense. It’s the way we should be living all the time, not just when 
we’re forced to by circumstances.

 But the suggestion to just stop watering trees and shrubs and plants and let them die off is not 
a viable suggestion. 

 Consider the great mystery of trees and the wonderful things they do. They draw water up 
to the surface with their deep roots. They constantly transpire, sending water vapour into the 
surrounding environment. This means it is always cooler around trees and other plants. Due to 
this effect of transpiration, trees also create little microclimates – they create weather – and even 
localized wind can be created by the updraft of water vapour from trees. We do NOT want to just 
let our trees die off for the short-sighted goal of “saving water.” That would more rapidly create 
our environment into a barren wasteland.

 Through water conservation and water-saving efforts, the land so worked can be cooler and be 
more fruitful from an ecological point of view, even when it is hotter and drier elsewhere.

 For example, all household water (minus the toilet) can be easily recycled back into the yard 
to water the garden, the trees, and even the drought-tolerant plants. 

 Assuming the lay of your land is somewhat downhill, you can disconnect the washing 
machine drain pipe, connect a long hose and let the water drain to your yard or garden. (Buy 
biodegradable soaps). One load of wash and rinse can use 30 plus gallons, depending on your 
system. All that water can wash your clothes, and feed your yard.

 I have always disconnected bath tub lines and let the water drain into the yard. This is simple 
plumbing which most folks should be able to do in a few hours. Building and Safety takes a 
dim view of these practices since they don’t want people breeding mosquitoes for the entire 
neighborhood, so give careful thought to how you do this, and make sure your system doesn’t 
become a problem. 

 Oh, I just remembered: all the officials constantly declare that we should take showers since 
“showers use less water.” Really? Have you ever actually measured the amount of water you 
use in a shower? How long do you stay in there? If you’re disciplined, you could take a water-
efficient shower, and let that water flow into the yard. I have actually taken solar showers in the 
back yard, and the water all went to the grapefruit tree.

 But typically, I take baths. I don’t fill up the entire tub and then get in. Rather, I turn on the 
hot water, get in, and add a few small clothes items that I always wash by hand, thus relieving the 
load on the washing machine. Plus, it is much healthier to sit in the tub a bit and to scrub, rather 
than to race through the process. When I am done with the bath, I save some water in one-gallon 
jugs and recycle it by using it to flush the toilet. I let the remaining water drain out into my 
garden. I am using that water and getting much more out of it, and keeping my landscape alive 
and thriving and producing water-vapor-filled oxygen. 

 For dishwater, you can simply take the dish basin out into your yard and empty it on trees, 
roses, garden, etc. All the little food scraps will actually be a sort of fertilizer for the plants. 

 Be a part of the solution. Recycle all your water and keep your oxygen-producing plants alive. 

 I do agree with DWP that a lawn is pointless. Plant succulents, cactus, fruit trees – things 
that are useful and don’t require excessive water. Some good and useful drought-tolerant plants 
include Peruvian mint, wandering Jew, New Zealand spinach, jade, aloes, prickly pear cactus, 
and many, many others. 

 We can live here in this desert and we can live here well. We just need to adapt to the desert, 
rather than arrogantly thinking that the desert should adapt to us.

[Nyerges’ latest book, “Self-Sufficient Home,” which includes a chapter on water-
saving methods, will be available everywhere in September. He can be reached at www.
ChristopherNyerges.com, or Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041. WTI’s water saving class can 
be seen on-line at www.wtinc.info]

HOW DID THE DEVIL GET MY 

CELL PHONE NUMBER? 

I am not one easily rattled. When I am rattled, look out for 
anything can happen.

 For the most part, I try to stay calm, cool and collected. 
Then there are times when I have had enough and I am not 
going to take it anymore.

 When I am rattled about something, it is not small or 
insignificant. I can swat pesky little bugs all of my life and 
never get rattled by a bug.

 Lately, some things have been developing “in my world,” 
that has me more than a little concern. In fact, it is bordering 
on the territory of being rattled. Something needs to be 
done because if I am rattled in this area, look out!

 I am not sure, if I am just now noticing it or if it has 
been here for a while. When I got my cell phone, I was 
under the impression the only people who would have 
my cell phone number would be those I gave it to. I 
am not one to give out my cell phone number to just 
anybody. If you have my cell phone number, you are in a 
high-level category of BFFs.

 I believe sincerely that the devil has hacked into my cell 
phone, collected my cell phone number and is selling my 
number to the most despicable people he owns.

 Lately, I have been getting political calls. People trying 
to interview me concerning the up coming election. They 
want me to contribute to political polls being evaluated. 
They want my opinion and they have a whole slew of 
questions they are going to be asking me.

 I know they do not want my opinion because all of these 
calls are what is called Robo calls. In other words, is not an 
actual person asking these questions, but rather a machine. 
If you think for one moment that I am going to carry on a 
conversation with some machine, you do not have all your 
wires connected.

 How they get my cell phone number, is beyond me. It 
probably is their close connection with the devil himself.

 I have also been getting calls from some company that 
feels I am in some sort of pain. They call and say I requested 
on their website this pain solution. Now, what they want to 
know is it my back pain, or elbow pain, or a knee pain?

 I have been so fed up with these calls that I finally said, “I 
do have a pain in the neck.” To which, I got an excited reply 
as to how they could help my pain in the neck.

 You know what’s coming. I told them that the pain in my 
neck was them calling me and if they want to help this pain 
in the neck go away to stop calling me, for Pete’s sake.

 I just about had it with this. The question I wrestle with 
is, should I lie to these people calling me?

 For instance. Somebody called me last week telling 
me they noticed a certain virus on my computer and if I 
would allow them access to my computer they could fix my 
computer. Talk about a pain in the neck!

 This was about the 15th time this company called me 
offering to fix my computer. So, I thought if they are going 
to waste my time by calling me, maybe I should waste their 
time by trying to get them to fix my computer.

 “Oh yes,” I said as excited as I could sound, “please fix my 
computer for me.”

 Now they wanted me to turn my computer on and so 
forth and so on. I must confess that at the time I wasn’t your 
my computer I was on my cell phone.

 They gave me instructions and I obeyed them, or at least 
I told him I was obeying him.

 “All right,” I said, “My computer is on what I do next?” I 
will confess to you if you promise not to tell anybody, but I 
did not have my computer on.

 Then they gave me instructions that I was to go to a 
certain website.

 “Okay,” I said, “I’m there, what do I do now?”

 They gave me a password I was supposed to use to get 
access to them so they could get access to my computer.

 “Have you done it yet?”

“Yes, I punched it in and what I do next?”

 “Something’s wrong,” the person at the other end of the 
phone said. “You must not have put in the right password. 
Let me give it to you again.”

 He gave it to me again, which in turn I gave it back to 
him, again.

 This went on for about 20 minutes and the person on the 
other end of my cell phone was getting very frustrated and 
borderline anger. I, on the other end of the cell phone, could 
hardly control my laughter.

 By the time he hung up, he was very frustrated and could 
not understand why it was not working.

 After this person hung up on me and I quit laughing, I 
thought of what David said. “Give them according to their 
deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: 
give them after the work of their hands; render to them 
their desert” (Psalms 28:4).

 Sometimes giving back what you get can bring you to a 
certain level of joy you did not have before.

Dr. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God 
Fellowship, Ocala, FL 34483, where he lives with the 
Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone 1-866-
552-2543, e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. Website is www.
jamessnyderministries.com.


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