Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 5, 2011

14

THE WORLD AROUND YOU

 Mountain Views News Saturday, February 5, 2011


Sark Becomes World’s First Dark Sky Island

A Good Place for Looking Up…

The Channel Island of Sark has been recognized for 
the quality of its night sky by the International Dark-sky 
Association (IDA), which has designated it the world’s first 
dark sky island, the latest in a select group of dark sky places 
around the world.

Sark has no public street lighting and there are no paved 
roads and cars, so it does not suffer from the effects of light 
pollution in the same way as towns and cities do. This means 
that the night sky is very dark, with the Milky Way stretching 
from horizon to horizon, meteors streaking overhead, and 
countless stars on display. 

Located between the islands of Guernsey and Jersey, Sark 
is the smallest of the British Channel Islands, just 3 miles 
long and 1 ••• miles wide. Despite its small size, it has ample 
tourist accommodations—from award-winning hotels and 
restaurants to campsites. 

The announcement was hailed as a great success by 
astronomers. Professor Roger Davies, president of the Royal 
Astronomical Society, said, “This is a great achievement 
for Sark. People around the world are become increasingly 
fascinated by astronomy as we discover more about our 
universe, and the creation of the world’s first dark sky island in 
the British Isles can only help to increase that appetite. I hope 
this leads to many more people experiencing the wonders of a 
truly dark sky”.

The awarding of the “dark sky island” status followed a 
long process of community consultation, which included the 
assessment of the sky darkness and an audit of all the external 
lights on Sark. Under a comprehensive lighting management 
plan, many local residents and businesses have altered their 
lighting to make it more dark sky friendly, ensuring that as 
little light as possible spills upwards where it can drown out 
starlight.

The government of Sark, the Chief Pleas, was supportive 
from the start. Conseilleur Paul Williams, chair of the 
Agriculture Committee, which oversees environmental 
matters, said, “Sark becoming the world’s first dark sky 
island is a tremendous feather in our environmental cap, 
which can only enhance our appeal. Sark is a wonderful 
island and this recognition will bring our uniqueness 
and beauty to a wider audience.”

This designation means that Sark joins the select 
group of international sites chosen for their dark 
skies, including Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, which 
became Europe’s first International Dark Sky Park in 
November 2009.

Steve Owens, the dark sky development officer 
who led Sark’s application to the IDA, recognizes the 
benefits that this might have for the community on 
Sark. “This is an ideal opportunity to bring stargazers 
to the island throughout the year, and I think that Sark 
is about to see a boom in astro-tourism, especially in 
the winter months,” he said. “We’ve seen a surge of public 
interest in astronomy in recent years, with the International 
Year of Astronomy in 2009 and more recently with the success 
of BBC “Stargazing Live,” and it’s great that places like Sark 
and Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park are allowing people from 
towns and cities to come and experience a dark sky.”

To learn more about Sark: http://sark.info/

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 you questions, but I will be totally honest. 
My objective is to help you achieve your employment goal.

A Lesson Learned

A friend sent me an e-mail notice about several job fairs taking place in my city. I really believe attending Job and 
Career Fairs is a waste of time. It seems the employers who participate in these events are only looking for entry-
level, un-skilled or some level of skilled labor people. I am a college-degree mid-level Manager with over ten years 
experience in sales. Do you think I would be wasting my time attending Job and Career Fair? Joseph

Dear Joseph,

 I think any time you spend searching for employment is time well spent. I suggest if you have the time, you should 
attend every job fair possible and meet with every employer. My reason for suggesting this is you never know who 
might have a Management position open in their Sales or Marketing Department. Human Resource professionals who 
participate in job fairs are usually not the hiring or decision makers. However, they are the ones who do the screening 
and referrals to the decision makers. So, you should take advantage of this opportunity to meet and introduce yourself 
to every company representative at the job fair. Just think. All you have to do is walk in, meet and begin interviewing. 
Or, in your case: introduce yourself, state what type of position you are seeking, and describe your skills and experience. 
You could possibly meet 50 to 100 employers in one place, in one day! Do not discriminate against any employer at the 
job fair. Meet with every attending employer and company representative. Do not get discouraged if a recruiter says 
they are not interviewing for any sales management positions or do not have any current openings. Human Resource 
people frequently network, refer and share job seeker information and resumes amongst themselves. The recruiters you 
meet at a job fair might be aware of a recruiter or company not in attendance who is looking for a sales management 
person. That person could be you! Stay up-beat, thank them for their time, and ask them to please take your resume 
for future consideration. Be sure to get their contact information and follow-up with a “met you, thank you and keep 
me in mind” e-mail or note. Attending a job fair is also a great way for you to network, meet new people (attendees) 
and development new contacts. Which could turn into future job referrals! Job searching is all about staying active, 
meeting and networking with old and new acquaintances, contacting employers, and distributing your resume until you 
find the right position for you.

Everything you ever wanted to know about how to find a job…but did not know who to ask. ASK jai. Send your 
questions to: jai@resumeandcareerservices.com or visit her website at www.resumeandcareerservices.com . 

A long time ago in the world of 
computers (1994), a small company you 
may have heard about had a hot product 
they wished to rush to market in order 
to make a lot of money and to maintain 
their position as the market leader in 
their particular corner of the computer 
kingdom. This company wasn’t really 
all that small and, as far as the world of 
computers was concerned, it was not 
likely that any other company would be 
outdoing them in sales or innovation 
anytime soon. Maybe the company had 
been doing things a certain way but 
whatever they had been doing had been 
working for them for quite some time 
and, as a result, they enjoyed the type of 
success that other companies could only 
dream about. When the new product 
finally hit the market it was an immediate 
success and generated millions of dollars 
in sales for the company. Because the 
new product represented the cutting 
edge in computer technology, its 
introduction into the marketplace got 
it a lot of attention from the scientific 
types of the time, who ended using the 
product to conduct many experiments 
and calculations that would push the 
limits of the new products. It was 
during one of these experiments that 
a flaw was discovered in the new 
product and that flaw was confirmed by 
other independent researchers. When 
proof of the flaw was disclosed to the 
manufacturer, at first the company 
did everything it could downplay and 
minimize the effect of this flaw on the 
performance and effectiveness of the 
new product. It was later confirmed by 
other independent researchers that the 
company’s assessment of the flaw was 
correct but by the time that all of this 
was public knowledge, the damage to 
the company’s reputation had already 
been done. When it was later revealed 
that the company knew of the flaw prior 
to the release of the new product but 
chose to go forward anyway, the damage 
to company’s reputation was made 
even more acute and steps to repair the 
damage cost the company millions more.

Fast-forward to January 2011. The 
company has grown considerably in 
reputation and in assets. By this time the 
company found itself in a marketplace 
with far more competition than it had 
grown up with, but by this time the 
company was mature and confident in its 
own abilities and its position in the world. 
The company is still an innovator these 
days, as it was back then, and still is very 
concerned about getting new products 
to market ahead of its competitors. And 
then it happened again. A new product 
being introduced with much fanfare 
and promise for the future. A flaw in 
product design is discovered in the new 
product and it has the potential to affect 
systems utilizing the new chip. This time 
the company is all over the issue before 
anyone else even has time to discover 
the bug. The company issues technical 
bulletins and recalls for products already 
sold. Sometimes a company really does 
learn from its mistakes.

In the first example, Intel was highly 
motivated to get its Pentium processors 
out into the market and into as many 
PC’s as possible. The chip design and 
performance of the new Pentium 
processor had the potential and promise 
to set the market leader even further 
ahead of its nearest competitor and 
enhance its already solid reputation as 
the then market leader in microprocessor 
technology. All of these factors may 
have led to the decision to move 
forward with the release of a known-
to-be flawed product and hope that the 
public wouldn’t notice. Unfortunately 
for Intel, the public did notice and the 
cost expenditures to repair the flaw, 
recall defective product and repair its 
reputation were substantial. When 
the “Sandy Bridge” chipset flaw was 
discovered by Intel in January of this 
year, the chip manufacturer was on 
top of the situation before anyone else 
and spared no expense in correcting 
the situation. Motherboards with the 
implemented fix will be available for the 
public later this month. 

Sometimes a company really does learn 
from its mistakes.

Man’s Best Friend

As owner & operator of Canyon Canine Dog Walking 
and Pet Sitting Services in Sierra Madre, I spend a lot of 
my time hiking the canyons and strolling the sidewalks of 
our small town with my furry, four-legged clients. On any 
given day, during the course of an hour long walk in this 
tiny burg, it is not unusual to stumble across at least ten 
or twelve other dogs walking on leash with their masters. 
Of the several dogs that I might come in contact with 
in such a short period of time, it is rare that any two are 
anything alike. The wide variety of colors, shapes, sizes 
and behavioral patterns among the many breeds of dogs in 
today’s society truly amazes me. My most recent internet 
search for how many dog breeds there are currently in 
existence rendered a result of 164 purebred canine types 
registered with the American Kennel Club. If you add 
the list of un-registered breeds that have been officially 
named and propagated throughout the US and other 
parts of the globe, the total count comes to somewhere 
around 200 canine breeds. I must say, that truly blows 
my mind! Especially when you consider the fact that 
the variety of characteristics from one breed to another, 
are the direct result of nothing more than a minute .2% 
genetic difference.

For the past two centuries, man has been asphyxiated 
with the concept of forming the “perfect” dog through 
the applied science of eugenics, the intentional practice of 
“improving” or somehow altering the genetic composition 
of a given population. In this case the population 
happens to be the canine species, or what we dog-loving 
Americans like to call “Man‘s Best Friend“. What lead to 
the human’s insatiable desire to create the ideal specimen 
of a dog? How did man come to rely on the canine to 
be his “best friend”? Well, there are various schools of 
thought on how it all came about, however a combination 
of extensive research & scientific studies have left little 
room for argument that the domestic dog we are so 
familiar with originated from the grey wolf, scientifically 
known as Canis lupus. The mainstream theory among 
most canine history research scientists is that man’s 
first one-on-one contact with the grey wolf occurred 
unintentionally. It is said to have happened sometime 
around 7000 BC (+/-), when the human population began 
to grow, moving away from an extremely primitive way of 
life, to occupy previously un-developed territories where 
they built living structures and established unprecedented 
property perimeters between themselves. The grey wolf 
was already in residence in the forests and other natural 
pristine spaces where man made claim to the land as 
“home“, therefore the interface between the two species 
became inevitable.

Remains of the earliest known domesticated dog, 
scientifically known as Canis lupus familiaris, were 
discovered at the Jaihu archaeological site in China, 
dating back to the early Neolithic period (7000-5800 
BC). Needless to say, a lot of changes occurred between 
that time and two hundred years ago, when intentional 
breeding resulted in the various varieties of the domestic 
dog that we know and love today. By the early 17th 
century, the dog had become a very important part of 
everyday human life. In fact, without the assistance of 
the dog, one can’t help but wonder where man would be 
today, in terms of basic survival and “progress”. During 
the earlier stages of canine breeding, the main focus 
was to develop a dog that would make life easier for the 
human. The hunting dog helped by keeping food on the 
table. Herding dogs helped control livestock, and perhaps 
the more loyal yet aggressive breeds served to protect the 
home and the family. Around the mid 19th century, man’s 
effort to refine the specific qualities and characteristics 
of the domestic dog had become far more focused on 
aesthetic values than practical needs, and by the turn of 
the twentieth century the dog had become well known as 
a symbol of social status.

While the dog has proven to be “man’s best friend” over 
many years of change, ironically enough man has proven 
to be somewhat less of a best friend to the dog. While the 
side effects of breeding were certainly not intentional, they 
definitely have taken their toll. One example of eugenics 
gone bad is in the case of the Dalmatian, sometimes 
known as the “Firehouse Dog”, mainly used as a carriage 
dog in it’s early days. The Dalmatian’s white and spotted 
coat are what set this breed apart from the others, however 
it is the white beneath the spots that is directly associated 
with it’s tendency for blindness due to a gene that will not 
allow vitamin A to nourish the retina. Other examples of 
experimental breeding side effects include hip dysplasia in 
the German Shepherd and obsessive compulsive disorder 
in the Bull Terrier. Eye & ear allergies in the Bloodhound 
are other examples of undesirable results of intentional 
breeding of dogs for a specific purpose. Yes, man has 
benefited immensely from the efforts made to create the 
perfect pup. But there have been prices paid.

Fortunately, there is a proverbial pot of gold at the end of 
the eugenic rainbow. Scientific research on how to reduce 
the side effects of breeding have had a double benefit to 
human society. By studying the problems that prevail as a 
result of canine eugenics, we are also learning how to treat 
some of the diseases that we as humans fall victim to. So, 
the dog has indeed been man’s best friend through thick 
and thin, from the beginning to the end! In earlier days, 
the dog helped us move from the “cave to the castle”, now 
it helps lend knowledge and understanding for our own 
health as human beings. Who can argue the fact that the 
dog has indeed proven itself to be “Man’s Best Friend”!


Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc


ONE DOWN

Do you know what 
today is? It’s National 
Weatherpersons’ Day; 
congratulations, Fritz 
Coleman! Besides that, 
it’s also the first weekend 
in February, which 
means it’s been about 
a month since you made your New Year’s 
resolutions. How are you doing on those? I 
stopped making resolutions long ago when 
I realized I probably don’t have enough 
remaining years to tackle the vast amount 
of self-improvement needed in my life. But 
I commend all of you who hold yourselves 
accountable for reaching diet, exercise, or educational goals. I even congratulate those 
of you who made resolutions but have broken them by now. At least the intention was 
there!

We had an interesting conversation about this at work the other day. One of my 
coworkers was bemoaning his failure to adhere to his new low-fat, low-carb diet, 
while another coworker was miserable that she hadn’t kept up her rigid, new aerobics 
schedule. Other coworkers were beating themselves up over their failure to give up 
smoking or stop cursing in front of their kids. Several of them had diluted Spartan 
vows such as “only eating steamed vegetables, soy protein, and whole wheat, and not 
partaking past 7 pm” to promises like “making no more than three visits to Burger 
King per week.” The fledgling exercise enthusiasts quickly decreased their daily 5K or 
10K runs to bi-weekly strolls around the block or to Starbuck’s.

As a collective raincloud of failure gathered over the group, I realized that some of 
my coworkers actually did do pretty well on resolutions – just not necessarily their 
own. The guy who couldn’t give up cheese, butter, and pasta was really good at keeping 
his language G-rated. The chain smoker didn’t have a problem avoiding fat or carbs 
(probably due in part to the nicotine). The couch potato never touched a cigarette 
in her life. And the guy with the potty mouth consistently got in his daily hour of 
exercise. The thought occurred to me that I should suggest they swap resolutions.

I guess it would feel little odd congratulating yourself on effortlessly meeting 
someone else’s goal while failing your own, but some success is better than nothing. 
Don’t feel bad, though, about blowing it on your resolution this month. Lent is coming 
up soon, and you’ll have another opportunity to try giving something up. And at least 
Lenten sacrifices are a little easier than big, bad New Year’s resolutions, because Lent 
only lasts forty days!