Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, September 16, 2017

THE WORLD AROUND US

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, September 16, 2017 


CASSINI SPACECRAFT MAKES ITS FINAL APPROACH TO SATURN


NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is on final approach 
to Saturn, following confirmation by mission 
navigators that it is on course to dive into the 
planet’s atmosphere on Friday, Sept. 15.

 Cassini is ending its 13-year tour of the Saturn 
system with an intentional plunge into the planet 
to ensure Saturn’s moons—in particular Enceladus, 
with its subsurface ocean and signs of hydrothermal 
activity--remain pristine for future exploration. 
The spacecraft’s fateful dive is the final beat in the 
mission’s Grand Finale, 22 weekly dives, which 
began in late April, through the gap between Saturn 
and its rings. No spacecraft has ever ventured so 
close to the planet before.

 The mission’s final calculations predict loss of 
contact with the Cassini spacecraft will take place 
on Sept. 15 at 4:55 a.m. PDT. Cassini will enter 
Saturn’s atmosphere approximately one minute 
earlier, at an altitude of about 1,190 miles above the 
planet’s estimated cloud tops (the altitude where 
the air pressure is 1-bar, equivalent to sea level on 
Earth). During its dive into the atmosphere, the 
spacecraft’s speed will be approximately 70,000 
miles per hour. The final plunge will take place 
on the day side of Saturn, near local noon, with 
the spacecraft entering the atmosphere around 10 
degrees north latitude.

 When Cassini first begins to encounter Saturn’s 
atmosphere, the spacecraft’s attitude control 
thrusters will begin firing in short bursts to work 
against the thin gas and keep Cassini’s saucer-
shaped high-gain antenna pointed at Earth to relay 
the mission’s precious final data. As the atmosphere 
thickens, the thrusters will be forced to ramp up 
their activity, going from 10 percent of their capacity 
to 100 percent in the span of about a minute. Once 
they are firing at full capacity, the thrusters can do 
no more to keep Cassini stably pointed, and the 
spacecraft will begin to tumble.

 When the antenna points just a few fractions of 
a degree away from Earth, communications will 
be severed permanently. The predicted altitude 
for loss of signal is approximately 930 miles above 
Saturn’s cloud tops. From that point, the spacecraft 
will begin to burn up like a meteor. Within about 30 
seconds following loss of signal, the spacecraft will 
begin to come apart; within a couple of minutes, 
all remnants of the spacecraft are expected to be 
completely consumed in the atmosphere of Saturn.

 Chief among the observations being made 
as Cassini dives into Saturn are those of the Ion 
and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS). The 
instrument will directly sample the composition 
and structure of the atmosphere, which cannot be 
done from orbit. The spacecraft will be oriented so 
that INMS is pointed in the direction of motion, 
to allow it the best possible access to oncoming 
atmospheric gases.

 For the next couple of days, as Saturn looms ever 
larger, Cassini expects to take a last look around 
the Saturn system, snapping a few final images 
of the planet, features in its rings, and the moons 
Enceladus and Titan. The final set of views from 
Cassini’s imaging cameras is scheduled to be taken 
and transmitted to Earth on Thursday, Sept. 14. If 
all goes as planned, images will be posted to the 
Cassini mission website beginning around 11 p.m. 
EDT (8 p.m. PDT). The unprocessed images will be 
available at:

 You can contact Bob Eklund at: 

b.eklund@MtnViewsNews.com.


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder

CHRISTOPHER Nyerges

AFTER THE DISASTER:

The Necessity of Sanitation, toilets and otherwise. [part 2]

MY SNEEZE IS NO GENTLE BREEZE

It has been days (or has it been 
years) since I have enjoyed a 
sneeze free day. The Gracious 
Mistress of the Parsonage told me it is simply that time of 
the year and I should learn to deal with it. “After all,” she 
opined, “you’re not going to die.”

 That news was not quite encouraging, because it was 
the hope of dying keeping me alive so far. If my brain was 
functioning anywhere half-decent, (and I can’t remember a 
time it has) I probably could remember when I felt worse. 
However, it does not matter how I have felt in the past it is 
how I’m feeling right now that really matters.

 I have gone through a million boxes of tissues this past 
week.

 I would not mind an occasional sneeze every now and 
then. For example I could live with a simple “aah-choo,” 
and be done with it. But, oh no, my nose has different ideas 
about the whole thing.

 It is what I call the unholy Trinity. It goes something like 
this.

 Aaaaah Choooooooooooo.

 Aaaaaah Choooooooooooooo.

 Aaaaaaaah Choooooooooooooooo.

 Each sneeze tries to outdo the previous one. I can never 
sneeze one time, it always has to be in multiples of three.

 Of course, sometimes my nose tries to outsmart me. For 
example, when a sneeze comes I gear up for three in a row. 
Then my nose will sneeze two times and I am ready for the 
third one and it does not come. It will do this several times 
in a row, then it will sneeze twice, there is a small pause, and 
I think it is over and the third thunders forth.

 Notwithstanding, this has made certain inconveniences 
in the life I once enjoyed. For example, in the middle of the 
night when nature calls I try to be as careful in getting out 
of bed and going as I possibly can. I never open my eyes so 
as not to become fully awakened in the middle of the night. 
Once awake I find it difficult to go back to sleep.

 Just the other night I was responding to nature’s call as I 
normally do and was just about ready to get back into bed 
when my nose realized what was happening and called 
forth three mighty sneezes.

 Not only did it bring me to full awake status, but also the 
lady sleeping in my bed was aroused to full alertness, and 
yelled, “What happened?”

 I live by one basic rule. Never wake up grouchy.

 I’ve learned one thing about what not to do when you 
have this condition. That is simply never brush your teeth 
during this condition. My mirror in my bathroom will be 
shiny bright and never have a cavity, guaranteed.

 I have noticed when you are sick and people find out 
about it they feel obligated to share with you their medical 
expertise on the situation at hand.

 One person said to me, “What you need is plenty of 
vitamin C. I recommend you drink as much orange juice as 
you possibly can. That’ll take care of it for sure.”

 I don’t know who is worse. The one giving advice or the 
one taking it.

 Being in such desperate straits, I decided to take the 
orange juice regimen. For one whole day, I drank as much 
OJ as I possibly could get down. For a while, it seemed to 
work, but then the inevitable raised its ugly head. Everybody 
knows when you drink as much OJ as I have been drinking 
there comes the necessity to go to the bathroom.

 I got to the bathroom, just in time, and in midstream, 
I had a ferocious attack of the sneezes. When the storm 
subsided, the bathroom looked like the aftermath of 
Hurricane Charley. I tried explaining this to my wife but 
she only crossed her arms, looked at me and raised her 
eyebrows in a way I knew she did not buy what I was saying.

 While I was still in this sniffling-sneezy-stuffy condition, 
I ran into a friend of mine. It is hard to hide your condition 
when all you are doing is sneezing and sniffling. He 
understood, of course, and then offered me his expert 
medical advice.

 “I have found the perfect cure for your condition.”

You would think by this time I would have learned my 
lesson, but I was feeling so down I was grasping at straws.

 “When I get what you have I always take a laxative 
regimen.”

 Had I been in my right mind and had my mind been 
clear I would have considered this as stupid advice. 
However, being in the condition I was in it somehow it 
sounded plausible.

 “This laxative regimen,” he explained, “flushes all the 
poison contributing to your condition out of your system.”

 Either, my friend had never tried the remedy himself or, 
he had forgot to warn me about a very serious side effect. 
One sneeze can trigger a flush. Don’t ask me how I know.

In the midst of all of this nonsense, my bleary, teary eyes 
rested on an old familiar friend. It is found in Psalms 103:1 
(KJV), “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within 
me, bless his holy name.”

 I discovered one good thing about sneezing in public. 
People are always kind enough to say, “God bless you.”

 Ah, it’s a wonderful world…Aaaah Chooo!

 “God bless you.”

 Thank you.

 Dr. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God 
Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with 
his wife in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 352-687-4240 or 
e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site is www.
whatafellowship.com.

[Nyerges has been teaching 
survival skills since 1974. 
He is the author of several 
books including “How to 
Survive Anywhere,” which 
has a complete section 
about emergency toilets, natural soaps, and the 
necessity of sanitation after emergencies. He can be 
reached at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com.]

GENERAL SANITATION

 It’s important to stay clean, especially after a 
breakdown of municipal sanitation. Watch what 
you touch, and re-consider whether or not to shake 
people’s hands. Be extra conscious about putting 
your finger in your mouth, or scratching your eye. 

 When people take hot water and soap for granted, 
they are less likely to immediately be extra cautious 
after some disaster, which might be accompanied 
by an outbreak of cholera or some other infectious 
disease.

 If you’re using water from a large bucket, for 
example, establish some protocol so that the main 
bucket does not become contaminated. If the water 
bucket has a spigot (which it should), then your 
problems are diminished considerable. But if you’re 
using a bucket which has to be scooped, you want 
to be extra careful that the scooper doesn’t get dirty.

VINEGAR OF FOUR THIEVES

 Some centuries ago during an outbreak of 
bubonic plague in France, four thieves managed 
to loot the empty plague-ridden homes without 
contracting the dreaded plague. That immediately 
caught my attention when I read that, since our 
society is probably ripe for such an outbreak of 
disease, for a variety of reasons. If a widespread 
outbreak of plague were to erupt anywhere in a 
U.S. big city, would we realistically be able to rely 
on doctors and hospitals? Some Middle Ages 
accounts tell us that during some of the worst 
plague outbreaks, the dead outnumbered the living, 
and the dead could not be buried fast enough. If 
that were to happen here, to us, who would operate 
the 911 phone line? Would the paramedics be able 
to handle the emergency? What would happen to 
basic “law and order”? Well, it wouldn’t be a pretty 
sight!

 Anyway, these four thieves were arrested by 
policemen, and were brought before the French 
judge in Marseilles. Wondering aloud, the judge 
asked how it was that these four thieves managed to 
resist the plague, especially since they had been in 
and out of so many plague-infested homes.

 “We drink and wash with this vinegar preparation 
every few hours,” they answered. The judge made 
a shrewd bargain. The thieves would be given their 
freedom in exchange for their ”anti-plague recipe.”

 This recipe is recorded in Dian Buchman’s Herbal 
Medicine book. Buchman writes, “this recipe has 
been used for centuries, but legend has it that it was 
discovered during a devastating bubonic plague.” 

See the SIDEBAR for the recipe. 

The vinegar is probably the most active ingredient 
in this recipe. We have used raw apple cider 
vinegar (in our drinking water, in ratio of about 2 
teaspoons per quart) and have found that it keeps 
the mosquitoes from biting us, and helps reduce 
heat stress when working out in the sun. Whole 
books have been written about the health benefits 
of vinegar, such as Vermont Folk Medicine by 
D.C. Jarvis, M.D. However, be sure to use only the 
raw apple cider vinegar. Also, the garlic has anti-
bacterial properties, as does the rue. I’ve never seen 
an analysis of this exact recipe combination, but I 
suspect that simiar concoctions would work as well, 
assuming they had at least the vinegar, garlic, and 
rue. 

WATER PURIFICATION

In the United States, most campers assume water 
should be boiled for a period of ten minutes, before 
drinking, just to be safe. In some countries, however, 
the ability to boil water has proven to be a major 
obstacle, in large part because of a lack of firewood. 
Research shows all pathogens in the water are dead 
when the water reaches around 170 degrees F. (or 
about 75 degrees C), so, in fact, simply bringing the 
water to a boil is sufficient.


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