How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming Whole Book Review - Kaitlyn Francel

How Brown Killed Pluto, but Captured the Audience’s Heart

METAPHOR

The book “How I Killed Pluto and Why it Had it Coming” did a wonderful job of making a dense topic more lighthearted and easy to read. It poses the story in a relatable way since Brown describes his experience in science simultaneously to his experience in childrearing. Brown makes the job of being a scientist much more “real” by providing the detail that he is a parent. He puts the topics such as the discovery of Pluto as a dwarf planet and the understanding of the Kuiper belt side-by-side with the innocent growth arc of his daughter. He even utilizes his job as a scientist and applies it to his parenting life when he watches the sleep/wake/eat cycles of his new daughter whom he is fascinated about:

“Lilah did little more than sleep eat and cry, which to me was the most fascinating thing in the entire universe”(Brown, 2012).

It’s so important to note that with all the incredible discoveries that Brown makes, he still finds his daughter to be the greatest of them all. That makes me appreciate Brown so much more as a person, and builds his character amidst the negative publicity surrounding the dwarf planets.

STYLE

Not only did the author use metaphor to exemplify his life as he “killed Pluto,” but he also had an excellent way of defining information. We’re not all scientists, and he doesn’t make us feel bad about that. He defines difficult things like “dwarf planet, Kuiper belt, heliocentric system” without relaying any judgement or smugness.  Along with that, his writing is fairly straightforward and easy to understand, without the requirement of looking up difficult terms.

THE END

I would like to draw attention to a particularly interesting part of the book, and the part that really ties everything all together. It is the very end of the book, during the Prague conference that decided it all. At the time, I’m sure that the conference was extremely scattered and confusing. However, Brown did an amazing job of explaining the events of the conference and made it simple enough to understand. For example, I learned that naming Pluto a “dwarf planet” was a compromise that did anger many people, but the alternative, “classical planets vs planet,” would have been equally as distressing. I also learned the definition of a planet and how that connects with understanding Pluto’s “predicament.” All of the definitions are tied together in a story that seamlessly connects.

Overall, I really enjoyed Brown’s explanation of the “downfall” of Pluto. I learned the significant parts of the Pluto debacle, while enjoying an easy read! I would recommend to anyone looking for a quick read.

Reference

Brown, M. (2012). How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming. New York: Spiegel & Grau

            Trade Paperbacks.

Final Job Memo - Kaitlyn Francel

Kaitlyn Francel

WRIT 340 – Clark Hansen

23 January 2019

Jersey Mike’s Subs Shift Supervisor

A job at Jersey Mikes is a sandwich. No, not a literal sandwich! A figurative sandwich with multiple layers of skill and expertise. What I mean is, being a Jersey Mikes employee isn’t just about making food. It requires the perfect combination of communication, timeliness, cleanliness & freshness, and customer experience. I will talk about each of these components below:

Communication

-Discussion between customer and employee

-Intercommunication among employees

-Small talk, friendliness

-Make correct order via verbal commands

Timeliness

-Get food done quickly

-Get to work on time

-Clean efficiently and effectively

Cleanliness & Freshness

-Clean and sharpen utensils

-Inspect store for clean floors, soda machine

-Wash dishes throughout day

-Wipe off countertops, cutting boards

Customer Experience

-Friendliness of employees, casual conversation

-Overall well-kept, beautiful atmosphere

-Good quality and taste

A normal day for me involves coming in for either a morning or evening shift. For this paper, I will discuss a night shift. I would arrive around 4pm and clock-in, followed by ensuring that my hair is pulled back, my apron and hat is on, and my register card is on hand. Then, I would check that the meat stations are stocked and ready to go for the night. I would check in with all my employees to ensure that they are at work on time and in uniform. Then we would build the perfect sandwich, with each person assigned a role:

Slicer – Takes the slabs of meat and slices them finely on to the bread.

Sprinkler – Puts on toppings and condiments, either “Mike’s Way” or custom.

Wrapper – Ensures the sandwich is securely wrapped in sub paper and placed in a paper bag.

Cashier – Finalizes the transaction, takes the cash and thanks the customer, ensuring that they had the best customer experience, and taking note of any complaints we may need to address.

***Any employee that is not doing one of these things (or is not on the “Front line”) is used to expedite, grab ingredients, or spot clean as necessary.

I absolutely love the customer experience part of this job, because every time I encounter a customer they have a different story! For example, I had a customer come in who went to USC! At the time, I had not yet been accepted to USC but I was waiting to hear back from them about my application. Once he came to the register, I complimented him on his Trojan gear. He asked if I had attended there, and I told him I was eagerly awaiting to hear back on their decision. The customer was so enthusiastic for me. Flash forward 2 years later, I went back to Jersey Mikes to work for a Christmas break, and that same customer came in. He remembered me and asked, “So, how’d the USC application go?” And I told him that I had been attending there for two years. Again, he was so thrilled for me. I was so touched that some stranger cared so much about my happiness, and it made me realize how many kind people there are in the world. Now I really look forward to my customer interactions every time I work any job!

Of course, the customer experience comes with pros and cons. With that, another more difficult skill to develop is that of “the customer is always right” mentality. I particularly struggled with these “difficult” customers when I first started work. An example of this is when I got a customer complaining that she had onions on her sandwich. She ran up to me at the register and started screaming at me that she deserved a new sandwich, etc. I got really fed up and incorrectly responded, “they’re just onions!” Shocked beyond belief, she screamed that she needed to speak to my manager, and my manager came over to take control of the situation. I was very lucky that I had a kind manager, who explained what I did wrong, and told me to never do that again. But I learned that to be in a customer service job, you need patience and that “customer is always right” mentality, whether you like it or not!

Yes, working at Jersey Mikes is simply a food service job, but I enjoy it. I’ve enhanced my skills on tidiness, timeliness, and social conversation. I’ve also met some great friends and very fun people along the way!

Introduction to the Book: How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming

I'm reading the book titled How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming. I chose this book because I really enjoy learning about science, and the solar system is so interesting. My father works at NASA JPL as a fireman and EMT. Upon visiting him, I have experienced a lot of behind the scenes information in the labs. Being exposed to this has really sparked my interest in space. 

What I know so far about this book, is that it centers around the discovery of Eris and the new definition of "planet." I also have read that it is an easy read that is an enjoyable memoir and that it is a good way to easily learn a bit more about science.

So far, I have read the prologue, which discusses an overview of how the author discovered the planet Xena. Xena was a planet that was closely tied to Pluto. When the world went to vote on whether or not Pluto was a planet, they were simultaneously voting on Xena. And that vote was that they were no longer planets, crushing the author's wife.

I also read the first chapter, in which the author goes back to his days spent in the big Hale Dome, where he first thought that there may be a planet after Pluto. He delves into a discussion about how he initially got his hunch that there was another planet, when he heard about the Kuiper belt beyond Neptune. That is when the author created a bet with his friend, that someone would find the planet before December 31, 2004. The author delves into a backstory about how he became interested in planets by watching Jupiter and Saturn move their locations in the night sky. Finally he closes the chapter saying that it is hard to define what a planet really is.

So far this book is very casual and easy to read, and thus enjoyable!
-KT