Astronomers have for the first time discovered two alien planets whirling around a pair of stars: a complete solar system with twin suns just like Luke Skywalker's fictional home world Tatooine.
Most stars like our sun are not singletons, but rather come in pairs that orbit each other. Scientists had found planets in these binary systems, so-called circumbinary planets with two suns like Tatooine in the "Star Wars" universe.
To find more circumbinary planets, astronomers analyzed data from NASA's prolific Kepler space telescope, which has detected more than 2,300 potential alien worlds since its March 2009 launch. Kepler had to date detected four systems with circumbinary planets — Kepler-16, 34, 35 and 38.
"Kepler-47 shows us that binary stars can have close-in planetary systems, just like the ones we see in single stars," study lead author Jerome Orosz at San Diego State University told SPACE.com. "Most of the stars in the galaxy are in binary or higher-order multiple systems, so the fact that planetary systems can exist in these types of systems is important. If we were restricted to looking for planets around single stars, we would be missing most of the stars in the galaxy."
The planets are much too far away to see with the naked eye. Rather, they were discovered by the drop in brightness they cause when they cross in front of, or transit, their host stars.
This dimming is tiny, only 0.08 percent for planet Kepler-47b and 0.2 percent for planet Kepler-47c. By comparison, Venus blocked about 0.1 percent of the sun's surface during its recent transit. Data from Kepler enabled researchers to deduce the relative sizes of the objects and orbits. They also relied on follow-up observations performed by telescopes at the McDonald Observatory in West Texas.
The inner world completes an orbit every 49.5 days, while the outer one takes 303.2 days, giving it the largest known orbit for any transiting exoplanet. The stars themselves whirl around each other every 7.5 days.
The scientists published their findings online Aug. 28 in the journal Science. They will also detail their results Aug. 29 at the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Beijing.
This illustration shows the orbits of the two alien planets circling two stars of Kepler-47, and the orbits of our own solar system planets for comparison.
Planet in the habitable zone?
Intriguingly, the outer planet lurks in the system's habitable zone, where a rocky planet like Earth is the right temperature to have liquid water on its surface.
"We've learned that circumbinary planets can be like the planets in our own solar system, but with two suns," said study co-author Joshua Carter at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Although the outer planet is probably a gas giant slightly larger than Uranus and therefore not suitable for life as we know it, these findings do show that circumbinary planets can and do exist in habitable zones.
"The thing I find most exciting is the potential for habitability in a circumbinary system," said study co-author William Welsh at San Diego State University. "Kepler-47c is not likely to harbor life, but if it had large moons, those would be very interesting worlds."
This artist's illustration shows a comparison of the two alien planets discovered to orbit twin stars in the Kepler-47 system. The smaller planet is up to 4.6 times the Earth's diameter. The larger world is likely slightly larger than Uranus.
Circumbinary planets might undergo relatively wild climate swings.
On Earth, the sun is a relatively stable source of light, with the solar insolation or energy we receive only varying by 0.1 percent or so. "As a result, we don't need to worry about what the sun is doing, at least over time-scales of years to decades," Orosz said. "For a planet around a binary system, there can be changes in the insolation of several percent on the time-scale of days to weeks. In addition, if the planet's rotation axis is tilted, then that also has an effect. Therefore the seasons are rapid and complicated."
"Also, let's say for the sake of discussion that the planet's rotation period is 24 hours, just like the Earth," he added. "Because you have two suns instead of one, you can have more than 12 hours of daylight, depending on the positions of the stars at sunrise or sunset."
In addition, since all the circumbinary planets the Kepler space telescope has discovered have orbits closely aligned with the orbits their stars have with each other, "you would see your suns eclipse each other on a regular basis," Orosz said. "In the case of Kepler-47, when the secondary star passes in front of the primary, the total light drops by 15 percent. This would happen every 7.5 days or so."
The new discovery show that planetary systems can form and survive even in the chaotic environment around binary stars.
The researchers expect that the planets in Kepler-47 originated much farther out than their present orbits, at locations where the conditions for the formation of giant planets are more favorable. They eventually then migrated inward due to interactions with the disk of gas and dust that also encircled the stars.
"We think these planets and most other planets formed from a residual disk of debris left over from the star-formation process," Orosz said. "It was not at all obvious that this disk could survive near a newly formed binary star, given the orbital motions of the two stars. However, it now appears that apart from minor differences in the orbital spacings, planetary systems around binary stars can be similar to those around single stars."
In the future, the researchers want to look for smaller and smaller alien planets around binary stars.
"We are at the limit of what simple visual searches can do, so we need better software to help us automate the process," Orosz said. "Given more time and data, I think we can find more circumbinary planetary systems in the Kepler data."


NOEL GALLAGHER has given an exclusive interview to NME.COM where he claimed new LP ’DON’T BELIEVE THE TRUTH’ is their best effort since their classic debut ’DEFINITELY MAYBE’.
Although they scrapped it three times and it took three years Noel told NME.COM that Oasis are back on form and he’s prouder of their sixth studio album than any other Oasis record in the last ten years.
With single ‘Lyla’ being released on May 16, the album following two weeks later on May 30 and a massive tour including appearances at V Festival (August 20-21) to come, Noel admitted it felt strange to return to full action with Oasis after ‘Don’t Believe The Truth’’s isolated recording process.
‘Don’t Believe The Truth’’s elongated recording process has contrasted sharply to the regularity between the band’s previous albums, leading some to suggest Oasis were in crisis. However, Noel insisted he never panicked.
As with the ‘Heathen Chemistry’, Noel was joined on songwriting duties by his bandmates, and he believes the results back the new approach.
“People are telling me it’s really varied, I just think the album is a good collection of songs,” he explained. “Liam’s are great, Andy’s are brilliant and Gem’s – seriously – are the closest anyone’s going to get to ‘Revolver’.
With the album now finished, Oasis are turning their attention to touring. The band will play nine massive UK shows for June and July – including a three night stand at The City Of Manchester Stadium (June 30, July 2-3), home of Noel’s beloved Manchester City – as well as playing Madison Square Garden (June 22) and The Hollywood Bowl (September 12) in America.
For the full interview with Noel, see this week’s issue of NME, which is out nationwide now.


Intel's boss has finally admitted software fixes to address the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities in most modern CPUs will incur a performance hit.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday, Brian Krzanich stuck to the line the design weaknesses represented an "industry-wide issue across several different processor architectures".
He said Chipzilla has no evidence that the processor flaws – successfully demonstrated by security researchers – had been exploited by malicious hackers and advised businesses and consumers alike to apply security patches.
"As of now, we have not received any information that these exploits have been used to obtain customer data," Krzanich said. "And we are working tirelessly on these issues to ensure it stays that way. The best thing you can do to make sure your data remains safe is to apply any updates from your operating system vendor and system manufacturer as soon as they become available."
Krzanich went on to promise fixes for the majority of Intel CPUs within a week, with the rest to follow by the end of January.
"We believe the performance impact of these updates is highly workload-dependent," he said. "As a result, we expect some workloads may have a larger impact than others, so we will continue working with the industry to minimise the impact on those workloads over time."
Intel's admission follows public statements by other IT heavyweights that applying the Spectre and Meltdown patches incurs a price. Red Hat has spoken of a performance hit of between one to 20 per cent, while Google has spoken about "minimal performance impact".
Impacts are workload-dependent with Amazon customers, among others, already seeing the effects of patching, as previously reported.
The reduced horsepower effects are mainly the consequence of Meltdown patches, which on Linux apply separation between the kernel and user virtual memory address spaces through a technology called Kernel Page Table Isolation, or KPTI.
Meltdown and Spectre have shaken the IT industry to its core since they were exposed by The Register last week.
Meltdown creates a means for user applications to read kernel memory and is limited to Intel processors (and the Arm Cortex-A75). Radical patches for Linux, Windows and macOS have been designed and delivered to address the vulnerability.
The other flaw, Spectre, is more difficult to exploit, and potentially more serious and trickier to fix properly. Spectre has been demonstrated on Intel Ivy Bridge, Haswell and Skylake processors, AMD Ryzen CPUs, and several ARM-based Samsung and Qualcomm system-on-chips that end up in smartphones.
A combination of microcode updates and kernel countermeasures known as Indirect Branch Restricted Speculation (IBRS) have been developed to thwart attacks that steal data from kernels and hypervisors. But Intel has not yet released updated microcode for Linux users – official downloads date back to November 2017.
Reader Tim S told The Register: "This has left Linux users and developers in the dark and has forced e.g. Debian developers to package unofficial versions dating from December but this doesn't patch many processors. Even for relatively recent processors such as Skylake desktop processors, the available packages (both official and 'unofficial') include Skylake microcodes dated April 2017 – before Intel was notified of the bugs – and so almost certainly don't patch the problem."
Another variant of Spectre, through which hackers might be able to spy on applications, remains unpatched. Several software-based mitigation approaches for Spectre have been suggested and may well have some utility, even though it looks like they will fall short of completely nailing the problem.


DURING November 1968, in the aftermath of the previous year's Arab-Israeli Six Day War, a ''Joint Declaration by 20 representatives of the German left'' appeared in the American left Zionist magazine Jewish Frontier. It argued that the left ''would lose its credibility for all time to come if, through one-sided sympathy for the Arabs, it were to contribute to a new Auschwitz''.
The declaration condemned the inconsistent ''crying out against the war of destruction being perpetrated by the Americans against the population of Vietnam and passing over in silence the far worse Holocaust being planned by the Arabs against Israel''. Signatories included the leading Marxist scholar Ernst Bloch and novelist Gunter Grass.
As many Western leftists abandoned Israel following its post-1967 occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, Sinai and the Golan Heights, instead embracing the then novel Palestinian cause, Grass remained pro-Israel. Some four decades later, few would describe Nobel-prize-winning author Grass, 83, in the same terms.
Grass' controversial recent poem What Must Be Said, published in the German daily Sü¨ddeutsche Zeitung, severed any friendship that existed between himself and the Jewish state. Grass alleged that a nuclear-armed Israel ''threatens the already fragile world peace'' and railed against the inability of Germans to take Israel to task for fear of being labelled anti-Semitic. Nine stanzas of poetry sparked a global outcry.
It is self-evident that a former Waffen SS (Nazi military unit) member should exercise extreme caution when commenting upon the actions of the nation-state he unwittingly brought into existence. Still, the decision of Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai to declare Grass persona non grata scarcely requires condemnation. Censoring writers is the antithesis of liberal democracy, however repugnant their views may be.
Much of the debate over Grass' poem has centred on the equation of democratic Israel with the Iranian theocracy and his trivialisation of the existential threat posed by regime in Tehran (whose leader has threatened to ''wipe'' Israel from the map). Yet, perhaps the most repugnant element of Grass' poem was his Freudian suggestion that Israel was contemplating an attack in order to ''annihilate the Iranian people''.
At best, Grass is guilty of attention-seeking opportunism. At worst, his attack constitutes classical anti-Semitism in two respects.
First, it rehashes allegations of mendacious Jewish behaviour and conspiratorial, censorious control of governments and the media.
Second, Grass's casting of Israel as the likely next perpetrator of genocide implies that Jews are collectively possessed of evil intentions.
The Grass scandal is hardly some isolated phenomenon. Rather it points to a far deeper intellectual and moral malaise on the political left, although as British journalist Nick Cohen pointed out in a penetrating recent essay for Standpoint magazine, what has been described as the new anti-Semitism from the far left and militant Islamic groups was in fact ''extraordinarily consistent'' during the previous century.
Anti-Semitism masquerading as anti-Zionism has stolen a march in the early 21st century, albeit shorn of overt racism. Instead, the world's oldest hate manifests itself politically via the bizarre demand that Israel, alone among the world's nations, must cease to exist in favour of a bi-national Palestine. For academic Philip Mendes, such fundamentalist discourse demonises ''all Israeli Jews and all Jewish supporters of Israel as the political enemy''.
Most depressing of all for this committed two-state supporter is the thundering silence of the Western left. As Ari Shavit, a columnist for the left-wing Israeli daily Haaretz, writes: Grass's poem ''doesn't contain Goebbels-like propaganda'' yet the ''words said by Grass and the words not said against Grass prove that the gangrene of delegitimisation is gradually spreading and devouring us''.
Australia, too, has not been immune to such developments. Witness the ugly Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions rallies staged outside the Israeli-owned chocolate shop Max Brenner throughout last year, where protesters literally chanted blood-libels (''There's blood in your hot chocolate''). Yet the response of leading left intellectuals, who ought to know better, was to uncritically defend the protesters.
Those protests were the handiwork of Students for Palestine, a front group of the far-left Socialist Alternative group, itself routinely accused of anti-Semitism. It was no coincidence that the same folks recently planned to protest outside the Adass Israel Synagogue on Sabbath. Amazingly, the demonstration was cancelled not out of any concern about anti-Semitism but because ''anti-Zionist Jews'' were allegedly among the congregants.
This is a new twist on an old far-left strategy whereby the views of a tiny minority of radical anti-Zionist Jews are ostentatiously paraded. Not only is Israel routinely libelled, but anti-Semitism is written off as a disingenuous tactic of Zionist polemicists. Thus, Michael Brull, writing on ABC online's The Drum, described self-confessed jihadist Mohammed Merah, who last month murdered four French Jews, as not anti-Semitic but a ''secular'' killer.
Israel is hardly a perfect nation but the interventions of Grass et al are passing strange. Over the past 15 months, an estimated 13,000 Syrians have perished as a result of President Bashar Al-Assad's brutal crackdown. This is roughly the same number of casualties produced by the Israeli/Palestinian conflict since the onset of the 1948 war. Yet Grass's poetic stylings avoid altogether the continuing Syrian bloodbath. What must be said indeed.
Nick Dyrenfurth is the author of several books on Australian politics and history.


North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday it no longer wants Secretary of State Mike Pompeo involved in ongoing disarmament negotiations, after Pyongyang’s state media claimed he has been too reckless in his remarks about the talks.
President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Friday to say he would reverse new sanctions on North Korea, defying his own Treasury Department.
Russian billionaire and metals magnate Oleg Deripaska sued the Treasury Department on Friday, claiming U.S. sanctions are crippling his businesses and were only enforced as a result of politically motivated reports about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Two years after the Trump administration designated the former vice president of Venezuela a drug kingpin, U.S. prosecutors brought an indictment Friday that puts him at the center of a sanctions-busting conspiracy hopping across Turkey and Russia.
More sanctions are coming for banks that support Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a team of foreign relations experts told lawmakers Thursday.
A federal judge granted the estate of the late Prince Rogers Nelson sanctions against a music company for spoliation of evidence: wiping their phones after being ordered to preserve evidence after litigation began.
European Union member states have unanimously rejected a proposal by the EU executive Commission to blacklist 23 countries and territories it believes pose a high risk of money laundering or terrorist financing.
Calling Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro an illegitimate former president, the U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions Friday against six military leaders who played a role in blocking humanitarian aid to the embattled South American nation.
President Trump said he walked away from his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un because Kim demanded the U.S. lift all of its sanctions, a claim that North Korea’s delegation called a rare news conference in the middle of the night to deny.
Alan M. Simon, a former justice with the Village Court of Spring Valley, must be disbarred for sanctioning a legal services organization for a perceived personal slight, and engaging in a physical fight with a student worker, a New York appeals court has ruled.
The Securities Exchange Commission on Wednesday hit one of the biggest accounting and professional services firms in the world with a $2 million fine for operating with a conflict of interest.
The Trump administration on Monday ratcheted up its efforts to oust embattled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, leveling sanctions against the state-owned oil company aimed at cutting off $11 billion in annual oil export revenue for Maduro’s government.
Sidestepping opposition from Congress, U.S. Treasury officials lifted sanctions Sunday against aluminum giant United Company Rusal and two other businesses tied to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
A bid by the Trump administration to lift sanctions imposed on companies tied to a Russian oligarch faced swift but likely impotent opposition Thursday from the House of Representatives.


This may not come as a surprise to anyone who owns an iPhone or tests set-top boxes, but wireless and consumer technologies are driving the growth of many of the largest chip vendors. According to the latest rankings released for the first half of the year by IC Insights, Intel keeps its top spot, but the most growth came from Qualcomm, which saw its sales increase by 29 percent over the same period in 2007.
Wireless chip vendors Broadcom and Infineon also saw their growth increase, while the No. 2 wireless chip maker, Texas Instruments, remained flat (it’s still ranked as the third largest vendor, though). Fellow blogger Vijay Nagarajan would likely point out that this is less of a wireless industry problem and probably has to do with TI’s non-existent 3G baseband chip catalog (it does do custom chips for 3G). Other than wireless, Nvidia, Samsung, and Panasonic all saw growth rates above 20 percent, indicating the strength of consumer devices.


Are you ready to build that dream homes. We have an excellent building lot. Only a few miles from town this lot is exactly what you need to build a grand home. 7 acres of woods is the perfect back drop with 2.5 acres cleared for building Owners have county soil sample done and some installation for the septic system maybe negotiable.


The lawyer for a former Connecticut college student accused of smearing bodily fluids on her roommate's belongings said Tuesday that he doesn't expect authorities to file hate crime charges.
Attorney Tom Stevens' comments came after former University of Hartford student Brianna Brochu appeared before a state judge in Hartford. The 18-year-old Harwinton resident is charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief and breach of peace.
Brochu, who is white, wrote on Instagram about rubbing used tampons on her black roommate's backpack and putting her roommate's toothbrush "where the sun doesn't shine," according to West Hartford police. She also called her roommate, Chennel "Jazzy" Rowe, a "Jamaican Barbie" and wrote that she put moldy clam dip in her roommate's lotions and spit in her coconut oil.
Rowe said in a Facebook Live video that she developed "extreme throat pain" and doctors couldn't diagnose an illness.
Hartford State's Attorney Gail Hardy said Tuesday that investigators are reviewing additional information at the request of Rowe's lawyer. She would not elaborate. She said any decision on adding charges will be based on evidence and the law.
Brochu recently told The Republican-American newspaper that she had acted foolishly but isn't racist.
"I think that when it's all said and done, what you're going to see is that there was nothing racist that motivated this," he said outside the courthouse. "These were two students who were placed together ... who didn't like each other ... and it escalated."
Brochu told police that she did put tampon blood on Rowe's backpack and licked Rowe's plate, fork and spoon, but denied doing anything else, authorities said. Brochu said she lied in the Instagram post in an attempt to "appear funny," a police report said. She said her actions were in retaliation for Rowe's "rude behavior" and Rowe posting videos of her sleeping and making fun of her snoring.
University of Hartford officials said Brochu is no longer a student at the school and will not be returning.


Neil deGrasse Tyson once again schooled B.o.B when it comes to the rapper’s flat-Earth claims. Over the last couple of days, the rapper has been challenging Tyson with his truther theories about the earth being flat. There were even diss tracks made in the process.
But hopefully, after Tyson’s appearance on The Nightly Show, B.o.B will finally go back to rapping about things other than science.
Tyson joined show host Larry Wilmore to basically settle the score once and for all. And he did it in the most glorious way.
“Listen, B.o.B, once and for all. The Earth looks flat because, one, you’re not far enough away, at your size,” Tyson said, making fun of the rapper’s diminutive height. “Two, your size isn’t large enough relative to Earth to notice any curvature at all. It’s a fundamental fact of calculus and non-Euclidean geometry: Small sections of large curved surfaces will always look flat to little creatures that crawl upon it.
“But this whole thing is just a symptom of a larger problem: There’s a growing anti-intellectual strain in this country, and it may be the beginning of the end of our informed democracy,” Tyson said. “Of course, in a free society, you can and should think whatever you want. If you want to think the world is flat, go right ahead.
Tyson’s pièce de résistance came at the end: “And by the way—this is called gravity,” he said while dropping the mic.


The Education Ministry says the latest school payday has another batch of errors caused by schools' difficult start-of-year process.
School staff are complaining that Wednesday's pay had a lot of mistakes and some fear a return to the serious problems that plagued the Novopay payroll system in 2012 and 2013.
But the ministry says that is not the case. It says the problems lie with schools' start-of-year processes and there are likely to be a similar number of errors as a fortnight ago, when more than 500 staff suffered serious pay mistakes.
Earlier in the month, the primary school teachers' union warned that the Novopay payroll system was continuing to take a toll on staff and the Government needed to do something about it quickly.
The Principals' Federation says 500 out of 700 principals surveyed on Novopay, say mistakes from previous pay rounds still haven't been fixed.


"They could be in the process of trying to gracefully wind down," according to one industry analyst.
A huge for-profit college plans to cut its enrollments by as much as 60% in an effort to reduce costs amidst a crackdown by the Department of Education and other regulators.
ITT Technical Institute, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, told investors Friday that it will slash spending on marketing and recruiting, sending its new student numbers in the second half of 2016 plummeting. While the cuts will boost profitability in the short term, the loss of new students will choke off the company's revenue stream in the coming years.
It's the latest in a series of blows to the college operator, whose stock has plummeted in recent years.
ITT Tech has long been defined by its daytime television commercials, taglined "Education for the Future," in which graduates boast of their high-paying tech jobs and degrees that have enabled them to lift their families out of poverty. Once prospective students called the phone number in the ads, lawsuits agains the company allege, a well-oiled sales machine would call them back repeatedly, and on-campus recruiters would use high-pressure sales tactics to convince them to enroll.
The tactics worked. By 2010, ITT's student body peaked at 84,000 — a number that declined to 45,000 in 2015 as the school's many struggles hit enrollments. But now, facing a litany of serious threats to its future, ITT plans to do away with most of its advertising and recruiters.
The company said the changes are designed to create a "smaller but more efficient" business. But some industry-watchers say the slashing of enrollment could be a sign that ITT, which has been closing campuses nationwide, plans to eventually shut down altogether.
"What this looks like, hypothetically, is that they could be in the process of trying to gracefully wind down," said Trace Urdan, an industry analyst at Credit Suisse. "The moment where you know you maybe aren't going to make it, and you need to look for a way to wind down that is sensible and minimizes damages — this is exactly what that would look like, though it's not necessarily happening."
ITT was once seen as a darling of the for-profit college industry, steadily raking in cash and, for a time, defying the plummeting stock prices of other for-profits, like the now-defunct Corinthian. But its stock has fallen 95% since January 2014.
The most serious and pressing threat to ITT's future comes, at the moment, from the Education Department, which has demanded the company post a $123 million letter of credit to ensure the school could pay its bills if it closed abruptly. The savings from slashing recruitment costs, ITT said, would be used to pay the department.
But the company faces many other serious challenges beyond the Education Department's demands. The school's accreditor, the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, or ACICS, has threatened to yank the colleges' accreditation. And ACICS, which is embroiled in scandals of its own, looks set to be killed off by the government. Either event would cut off ITT's access to federal student loan dollars — the company's lifeblood — unless it finds a new accreditor, which is a challenge of its own.
Then there are the lawsuits: one by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which says the company operated a predatory lending scheme, one by the Massachusetts attorney general, who is accusing the school of misleading its students, and one by the SEC, which has charged the company, its CEO, and its former CFO with fraud.


SUMMARY: Russell Bishop stands trial for a second time for the murders of Brighton schoolgirls Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows, both 9. A jury at The Old Bailey in London heard how Bishop was cleared of the killings in 1987.
But now fresh evidence has allowed prosecutors to try him again.
He was jailed for the kidnap, sexual assault and attempted murder of another girl, aged 7, in 1990.


Residents of several Orange County, California cities are complaining about a strange, mysterious odor in the air -- and local municipal agencies seem to be pointing fingers at each other as to the cause of the bad smell.
The odor is affecting cities like Orange, Anaheim Hills, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, according to Patrick Chandler, spokesperson for the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
We have received many reports of a strong odor traveling through the city. The smell has traveled throughout many OC cities. We have made notifications to the proper authorities for follow up. At this time we do not know where the odor is originating from.
Residents are reporting smells similar to petroleum, paint thinner or butane in the air.
Capt. Tony Bommarito, a public information officer for Orange County Fire, told ABC News that a recent vector control spray for mosquitoes was "not the cause of the odor."
Regarding the chemical smell, you could also report to AQMD at 1-800-288-7664. If you begin to experience any abnormal symptoms, please call 911 to report a medical emergency.
The ongoing investigation is now being handled by South Coast Air Quality Management, officials said.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article included the wrong title for Capt. Bommarito and incorrectly quoted him. We regret the error.


Work on expanding the 200-square foot John J. McKenna, IV Military Courtesy Room at the Albany International Airport in Colonie has begun.
"The room will be expanded to accommodate the high volume of military personnel now using the facility," said Doug Myers, airport spokesman.
The expansion will more than double the room size to 430 square feet.
More than 3,500 military personnel and their families have found comfort as they utilized the Military Room and services before and between flights since it opened in March of 2010.
The construction of the expanded Military Room began on March 13. The room expansion will be completed within a week to 10 days, according top Myers. The total cost of the expansion is estimated at $50,000, he added.
"The cost of the labor and materials to be used in the expansion of the Military Courtesy Room expansion is being donated by BBL Construction Services and their sub contractors," said David E. Langdon, chairman of the Albany County Airport Authority. "Donald Led Duke, the late chairman of BBL had a strong commitment to the nation's military and his legacy will live on within the Military Courtesy Room.
The John J. McKenna IV Military Courtesy Room is located on the third floor of the Airport's terminal. The room is staffed by more than 140 volunteers and offers light refreshments, snacks and a welcoming atmosphere to all military personnel and their families. The room is equipped with cable TV, DVD, video games and both phone and e-mail service.
The initial concept for a Military Courtesy Room was presented to the Airport Authority by John McKenna III of Clifton Park, whose son, Marine Reserve Capt. John McKenna, IV, of Clifton Park, was killed on Aug. 16, 2006 in Fallujah, Iraq.
"We were immediately impressed by what a tremendous service and comfort that the Courtesy Room and its volunteers are able to provide in such a limited space," said BBL's Vice President Jonathan deForest. "We knew we could do our part to make it even better. We all need to ensure that the men and women serving our country know how much we appreciate the sacrifices they make each day."
Subcontractors that will be donating their services include Collett Mechanical, Carey Electric, The Competitive Advantage Group, Stuart Painting, MMC Millwork, Flooring Environment, Towne TV, RBM Guardian Fire Protection, Kamco Supply, and Gilhooley Designs.
Douglas Berinstein of Clifton Park, was promoted to first lieutenant while serving with the Army National Guard's 206th Military Police Company.
Mark Tremblay of Troy, was promoted to first sergeant of Company A, 42nd Special Troops Battalion.
Thomas Akin of Wynantskill, and Jose Mercado of Schenectady, advanced to master sergeant while on duty with the Joint Force Headquarters.
Anthony Buchanan of Melrose and Matthew Sagendorf of Hoosick Falls, advanced to staff sergeant while assigned to 2nd Battalion, 108th.
Kenneth Falzarano of Schenectady was promoted to staff sergeant while serving with the Joint Force Headquarters.
Donald Leinfelder of Wynantskill, was promoted to staff sergeant while serving with 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation.
Joshua Stickle of Rensselaer, advanced to staff sergeant while on duty with 42nd Infantry Division.
Sergeant: Michael Boulerice of Ballston Lake, 466th Medical Company, Area Support; Anthony Bruno of Albany, Headquarters, 42nd Infantry Division; David Murray of Ballston Lake, 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation; Tameka Powell of Watervliet, Joint Force Headquarters; and Michael Walker of Albany, 42nd Special Troops Battalion.
Specialist: Kristi Bennett of Petersburgh, Headquarters, 42nd Infantry Division; Patrick Decker of Troy, 727th Military Police Detachment, Law And Order; Holden Davenport of Sharon Springs, 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade; Timothy Deyo of Ballston Spa, 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry; Brandan Flansburg of Duanesburg, 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry; Alexander Madeo of Glenmont, 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry; and Matthew Whalen of Troy, 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade.
Air Force Airman Sarah Pennella of Glenville graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio.
Army National Guard Pvt. Jamie Spaulding of Ballston Spa has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.
Army Pfc. Justin Davis of Loudonville has graduated from Basic Combat Training at Fort Sill, Lawton, Okla.
News of your soldiers and units can be sent to Duty Calls, Terry Brown, Times Union, Box 15000, Albany, NY 12212 or by e-mail at brownt@timesunion.com.


Elon Musk apologizes, Mercedes struggles to deliver cars, VW is lacking powertrain engineers and more await you in The Morning Shift for Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018.
Correction: Thursday, August 2, 1:20 p.m. ET A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the individuals Musk apologized to as journalists. Copy has been corrected below.
Tesla shares rose as much as 12 percent after the company held its second quarter earnings call last night, Bloomberg reports. Among contributing factors to the jump was Elon Musk’s apology to analysts (which you can read here), whom he had scolded in a previous conference call for asking “dry” and “boring, bonehead” questions.
It was a step in the right direction from a CEO who, especially recently, has been dishing out some rather childish remarks that have spooked investors, and which have been followed by drops in Tesla stocks.
Also contributing to the jump in Tesla shares was the announcement that Tesla had only burned through $740 million over three months ending in June, instead of $900 million that analysts were apparently anticipating.
Steps in the right direction for Tesla and for Musk, who clearly needs to sleep more.
For the longest time, for a vehicle to be certified in Europe, it has had to undergo the New European Drive Cycle, or NEDC, fuel economy and emissions test procedure.
But now, after over 25 years, the NEDC will bow out for the new “Worldwide Harmonized Light Duty Vehicles Test Procedure,” or WLTP, which promises to more accurately represent driving conditions, and thus provide more representative fuel economy and emissions test results.
With Diess saying “Engine development expertise has been lost,” and with the automaker recently snagging BMW powertrain expert Markus Duesmann, Reuters says VW’s got a significant skills shortage to overcome.
Light vehicle sales dropped an estimated 3.7 percent in July, Automotive News reports, with Fiat Chrysler, VW, and Subaru appearing to be the only winners, while pretty much every other major automaker posted losses.
Mercedes-Benz deliveries tumbled 23 percent last month to 20,034 — the steepest drop and lowest monthly total so far this year for the Daimler AG brand — shrinking its lead over BMW AG to 3,514 vehicles. The German automaker said a “temporary dealer inventory shortfall” related to a changeover in 2019 models, and an unrelated “mainframe outage” gummed up dealer operations in the busiest week of the month. Resolution of the technical glitch is “nearing completion,” the company said in a statement.
CEO of Mercedes’ U.S., Dietmar Exler said in a statement that the company is working to figure out how to recover from the 2019 model year delays, but that sales figures will likely suffer as a result.
Yikes. Looks like a major blunder.
Ford Motor Co. is pondering an exit from the South American market and has started shopping its money-losing business there to rivals Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Volkswagen AG, according to people familiar with the matter.
The automaker made overtures to several competitors while considering its options for the unit, said the people, who asked not to be named because the conversations were private. Dearborn-based Ford hasn’t shown a pretax profit in South America since 2012 and has lost $4.2 billion in the market since then.
Sounds like big changes are in store. Whether that means a sale or a partnership, we’ll have to wait and see.
Fiat Chrysler will hold memorial services for the CEO who saved the company, Sergio Marchionne, whose death was announced last week after complications arose from a shoulder surgery.
According to the Detroit News, one service will take place at FCA’s U.S. headquarters in Auburn Hills on Sept. 27, while another will be held Sept. 14 at Turin Cathedral not far from FCA’s headquarters in Italy.
The latter service, the news site states, will be open to the public, though apparently details on the one in the U.S. still need to be ironed out.
Andrew Smith Hallidie tested the first cable car at 4 o’clock in the morning, August 2nd, 1873, on Clay Street, in San Francisco. His idea for a steam engine powered - cable driven - rail system was conceived in 1869, after witnessing horses being whipped while they struggled on the wet cobblestones to pull a horsecar up Jackson Street. As the story goes, the horses slipped and were dragged to their death.
Neutral: How Do You Feel About Musk’s Apology?
How does his behavior influence you as a potential customer, and how do you think it influences shareholders?


Samsung has denied rumours that there is a "massive inventory" of unsold Galaxy Tab tablets because the device is not selling as well as many would have expected.
A media outlet called MoneyToday (ed : no link in the Reuters report), was the source of the "news" which refers to "market rumours" stating that Samsung was sitting on several hundred thousands units.
A spokesperson for Samsung flatly denied it saying that "We don't comment on market speculation but such talk is absolutely groundless" before adding that "Our tablet strategy is offering a broad product range with different sizes to support wider customer choice."
Samsung sold more than three million of its smaller 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab hybrid smartphones and paper launched a bigger 10-inch tablet at Mobile World Congress last month.
The Register suggests that the Tab was a "foot-in-the-door" product, one that allowed it to take a six months lead over the rest of the competition, allowing it to become the second best selling tablet around.
Yesterday, Samsung launched two more refined Galaxy Tab devices, a 8.9 and 10.1-inch model, both of which do not come with any voice capabilities unlike the original Galaxy Tab.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab can be purchased from Best Buy from as little as £349 with a free 16GB microSD card, that's less than half the suggested retail price it carried at launch.


This year in the US they’re holding an election and I’m planning to become an American citizen. Happily, as a dual national, I can now also remain a loyal subject of the Queen. It’s as if, after the Declaration of Independence, the British shook hands with the colonists and said, ‘Jolly good, chaps. Great idea! Now let’s just beg to differ on a few details and carry on as normal, shall we?’ Of course, the power’s shifted a bit since then, but when I was in Marin County, California, last autumn, almost the entire population turned out to cheer the Prince of Wales touring organic farms and attending a local church.
In spite of being a strong supporter of a traditional House of Lords, I like the idea of voting for a senator. A constitutional monarchy and a constitutional republic are more opposed on paper than in practice. Both are perfectly good ways of running a democracy.
In spite of a streak of radicalism which finds strong resonances in the work of that great English-American Tom Paine, I’m inclined to support the status quo in both our great nations. In Texas, before Tom Delay’s gerrymandering gave me a congressman who was a threatened Democrat hundreds of miles away in the Rio Grande valley, I was represented by nominal Republican Ron Paul, a libertarian who voted consistently against his party. True to the principles of John Quincy Adams, who advised his fellow Americans not to seek foreign monsters to slay, he voted against the Iraq war. He has also voted against laws to make you wear seat-belts and crash helmets and he disapproves firmly of universal healthcare.
While I don’t hold with most of Ron Paul’s ideas, he represents some of my idealism about America. He started off as a Democrat. They were reasonably upset, having invested campaign funds in him, when he changed parties. Some of us are strategic voters; Mr Paul is a strategic representative. Some regard him as a turncoat. Others see nothing wrong in his position, given his often-stated principles as a constitutional fundamentalist. In England we make inviolable deals with a monarch representing the state (from the Magna Carta to the BBC). In the USA we make deals guaranteed by the Founding Fathers.
Of course, I like the sound of a charter beginning ‘We, the People…’ and a declaration beginning ‘When, in the Course of human events…’. But on a practical level I’ve been paying taxes long enough to get social security and Medicare, so I think it’s time I had some representation. Recently I’ve been in Louisiana, seeing how courageous and generous in the face of disaster so many Americans can be, and how inefficient central government is. In Texas I’m associated with a Bill of Rights defence organisation with members in all states, founded to keep a check on any abuse of power resulting from laws introduced after the shock of 9/11. Americans, despite the naive stereotype preferred in Europe, value their liberty and understand how thoroughly the Constitution enshrines it. Any threat to the Constitution, and people of all parties begin banding together. Our group runs the spectrum from Republican and Democrat to socialist, liberal and left or right libertarian. In this area we’re principally Christian. Membership elsewhere includes Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Confucians and proselytising atheists.
There is a deep-rooted constitutionalist tradition in American politics which Europeans sometimes fail to appreciate. It’s why political radicals of the Left will defend the Second Amendment rather more vigorously than Brits defended their own slightly more limited right to keep and bear arms (see the British Bill of Rights, 1689, modified to include Catholics circa 1850). It explains the concept of a citizen army, and why it is so important to support it. It explains why kindly, nature-loving men try to teach their children how to hunt and live off the land. It explains why a concealed handgun law, which allows me, should I wish, to hide a licensed .38 about my person, has actually worked to reduce gun crime and burglary in Texas. Car-jacking, a fashionable crime when I first arrived in the West, is now almost unheard of. Gun crime is down almost 5 per cent in Austin, my nearest city. This doesn’t make me want to come out and demonstrate against Michael Moore, but it does put some of his documentaries in a slightly different perspective.
I first moved from London and Oxfordshire to this area of Texas that looks like the Cotswolds but supports 16 different deadly snakes, not to mention poisonous spiders and scorpions, because I wanted to be near relations and didn’t want to settle in one of those New England enclaves so many Brits seem to think representative of the US. I wanted to learn why Americans weren’t some sort of failed Europeans. I already knew most Americans displayed a surprising lack of knowledge about Europe, but I wanted to find out what it was that Europeans don’t know about America (they think they know a lot and actually know very little). I wanted to find out why 70 per cent of Americans have never cared to own a passport. Admittedly, I also wanted to understand and experience real American life with all its advantages and drawbacks. I moved here because it seemed the Clinton administration was about to put through some kind of national health plan (I’m now more in favour of individual state health plans), while Ann Richards, then a popular Democrat governor of Texas, was bent on improving Austin’s public transport and building a TGV system between Dallas and Galveston.
Between the time I settled here and 2000, a great many former Texan Democrats voted a straight Republican ticket. As a result, though popular, Richards was replaced by George W. Bush whose record was reassuring only to Texas’s powerful energy and insurance companies. But at least I got the experience I was after. I am certainly not living in a liberal enclave. Almost everyone I know keeps a gun in their car, attends one of this town’s many churches and voted for Bush, at least the first time around. The Iraq war was, until recently, strongly supported. Now the flags flying from car antennae are a bit faded, and while the belligerent bumper stickers have largely disappeared, Support Our Troops is still more likely to be seen than Troops Out Now (which, admittedly, is beginning to mean the same thing).
Shortly after I arrived here I was sitting in a cowboy bar, full of guys in big boots and hats who were drinking beer, smoking Camels and listening to Randy Travis on the jukebox. In conversation, I mentioned how, in the recent UK election, I had voted ‘socialist’ (that is, for NuLabor). I can’t swear that the jukebox stopped playing, but there was a distinct hush in the bar. Then a 6ft6 cowboy in a vast black stetson strolled towards me, jingling as he walked. I knew I probably wasn’t going to get killed, but I wasn’t otherwise optimistic. As he loomed over me I wondered unhappily if I could afford the dental work I was surely going to need. A bottle of Shiner Bock in one fist, he reached towards me with the other. His massive hand fell on my shoulder. He looked me up and down. I prepared for the worst. In this bar the UN was usually dismissed as a communist institution and ‘socialism’ meant the authoritarian rule of a centralised government imposed by Washington. I consoled myself that at least I had spoken up, like Gary Cooper. The bar seemed to disappear into the distance. The two of us stood face to face in the expectant silence.
umbled approvingly, ‘yore a troo Texan.’ I could hope for no finer praise. That’s how I learnt that Texans will always support bolshie individualism over social conformity.
Lately I’ve been learning a lot more as Americans, disturbed by the failures of the Bush administration to support their interests, fall back increasingly on a fundamentalism deeper than anything the religious Right taps into, which is exemplified by Paine’s Common Sense, Jefferson’s practical idealism and Sam Adams’s checks and balances. It makes their kind of freedom worth fighting for. I’m looking forward to voting in the coming elections. I have a feeling that Americans will be putting their house in order rather sooner than the British, because once the People realise there is a problem, We are usually surprisingly quick to fix it.
Michael Moorcock’s The Vengeance of Rome is published by Jonathan Cape.


Penn President Amy Gutmann announces the university's intention to recognize its hundreds-year old ties to slavery.
The University of Pennsylvania announced Friday that it will take steps to recognize the school's hundreds-of-years-old ties to slavery, an issue unearthed by undergraduate students and their professor during research last fall.
Penn president Amy Gutmann said in a statement that "no fewer than 75 of the university's early trustees owned at least one enslaved person" and that the work of slaves was used to support Penn faculty and students. Some of its faculty and alumni advocated for slavery and supported the Confederacy, while its medical school faculty engaged in "racial pseudoscience," she said, citing findings from a university committee.
"This was a profoundly painful and odious part of our nation's history," Gutmann said. "No segment of American society or institution founded during the 18th century, including the University of Pennsylvania, escaped its scourge. Far from it."
The university, she said, will continue its research, develop a site to share the information, and join a consortium of other universities studying their ties to slavery.
Penn's announcement comes after similar steps by other universities founded in the colonial era, including Georgetown and Princeton Universities. Georgetown, which profited from the sale of slaves, has said it would offer preferential treatment in admissions to descendants of slaves.
Whether Penn will take similar steps will be something to discuss as more research is done, said Joann Mitchell, senior vice president for institutional affairs and chief diversity officer. "One of the things we haven't gotten to yet is what to make of it and what seems to be the right course of action," she said.
Penn's commitment follows research by the Penn Slavery Project, a group of undergraduate students and professor Kathleen Brown, who first uncovered some of Penn's ties to slavery, though the university in the past downplayed any significant links. Gutmann then established a committee to look into the matter; the report this week came from that group, citing the student research and augmenting it.
"We learned a lot from what they had said," Mitchell said, "and we knew there was clearly a lot more we needed to know and wanted to know."
Students were thrilled with the recognition and that their university was stepping up to face its past.
"It sends a very strong message that our work as undergraduates is important, that we're valued, that we're equal members of the team with faculty," said Dillon Kersh, 20, a junior history major and one of six student researchers on the project.
Brown said she wanted to research Penn's ties after seeing what other universities had done. Her students were eager to help. Her class schedule was booked, so she ran it as independent study.
"It really put a lot of burden on them to do the work independently, and they rose to the occasion," Brown said. She said as soon as university officials "realized we were on to something, they were really supportive."
Brown and her students will continue research in the fall with support from the university.
Included in the findings was that Penn's first provost, William Smith, was among the 75 early trustees (out of 121) who owned slaves. But the ties ran deeper.
"For 13 years, from 1757 to 1770, the university's trustees reimbursed Ebenezer Kinnersley, Penn's first professor of English and oratory, who also was a dormitory steward, for the work of an enslaved man that he owned," Gutmann said. "In this and other ways, the labor of enslaved people was used to support and care for Penn faculty and students."
One medical school faculty member, John Morgan, owned at least one slave and traveled to Jamaica to seek funds from families who owned slaves, the report found. Medical school faculty, under dean William Horner, were instrumental in promoting "racial pseudoscience," she said.
Furthermore, Penn faculty and alumni "were actively involved in framing the Constitution to support slavery and in administering state slavery laws," Gutmann said. An alumnus and math professor, Hugh Williamson, "was instrumental in arguing for the insertion of the three-fifths clause into the U.S. Constitution," which counted slaves as three-fifths of a person, she said. And other alumni who owned enslaved people were "prominent leaders or supporters" of the Confederacy.


Small Business of the Year (small size): Snake River Pool & Spa of Idaho LLC.
Small Business of the Year (medium size): Western Heating & Air Conditioning Inc.
Nonprofit Excellence: The Salvation Army Boise.
Financial Services Industry Excellence: U.S. Bank.
Healthcare Industry Excellence: Terry Reilly Health Services.
Travel Industry Excellence: Block 22 LLC d.b.a. The Grove Hotel, CenturyLink Arena and Idaho Steelheads.
Government Advocate of the Year: Elam & Burke P.A.
The chamber also honored Dennis Johnson, president and CEO of United Heritage Life Insurance, with its 2016 Hall of Fame Award. Johnson was chairman of the chamber board in 2005-06.
Cope Collision Center in Meridian has been certified by Assured Performance, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, for maintaining the right tools, equipment, training and facility to repair vehicles of participating automaker brands according to the manufacturer’s specifications.
D. L. Evans Bank was recognized by the Small Business Administration as “SBA Community/Rural Lender of the Year” for 2015.
The University of Idaho College of Law was recently ranked No. 18 for employment outcomes for its graduates by the American Bar Association. The data, based on the Class of 2015, ranks the college No. 3 west of the Mississippi River, behind the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford.
The U of I says employment outcomes improved more than 10 percent over 2014, with more than 78 percent of law school graduates in the Class of 2015 finding full-time, bar passage-required jobs in the legal industry.
The college also climbed 16 spots in this spring’s U.S. News & World Report data, to No. 111 of the best law schools in the nation.
Law School Transparency, a website aimed at giving prospective law students the most complete information available about law school costs and outcomes, ranks the U of I school as No. 30 in the country. It also scores UI as the fourth-least-expensive law school based on projected debt at repayment. The College of Law’s average student indebtedness at the time of graduation is in the bottom 20 percent nationally.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has awarded a three-year, $2.9 million contract to evaluate the Statewide Healthcare Innovation Plan, or SHIP, to a team of researchers led by the University of Idaho. The team comprises researchers from the U of I, the Idaho WWAMI Medical Education Program and Boise State University’s College of Health Sciences.
Funding comes through a $40 million 2014 grant from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to create and test a model health care system that focuses on value rather than the volume of care provided. Fifty-five Idaho medical practices have been selected as the state’s first cohort, with the goal of expanding to 165 practices over the next two years.
Janet Reis, research professor, and Tim Dunnagan, dean of the College of Health Sciences, will serve as principal investigators on the subaward to Boise State. They will partner with other U of I and Boise State researchers, including Jayne Josephsen, associate professor in Boise State’s School of Nursing; Shenghan Xu, the evaluation team’s overall principal investigator and program director and an associate professor of operations management in the U of I College of Business and Economics; Jeff Seegmiller, director of Idaho WWAMI and an associate professor in the U of I College of Education; and SeAnne Safaii, an associate professor in the U of I College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
WWAMI stands for Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. WWAMI provides publicly supported medical education to increase the number of primary-care physicians.
The College of Idaho has been named to the 2016-17 edition of Colleges of Distinction, a guidebook that features schools it considers the nation’s best places to learn, grow and succeed.
Ada County Paramedics has received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline Quality Achievement Award for two years in a row. The award recognizes success in improving measures for patients with heart attacks, known as STEMI (ST elevation myocardial infarction).
The U.S. Department of Commerce presented three Idaho companies with the president’s “E” Award for making a significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports. They are AERO Specialties Inc. of Boise, HMI Hamilton Manufacturing Inc. of Twin Falls and PakSense of Boise.
The Idaho Transportation Department won three awards from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, including two for efforts to increase public awareness of critical highway-safety initiatives.
The department’s Idaho Online Driver Record Dashboard won in the Innovative Use of Technology category. The tool lets businesses constantly track the status of employees’ driver’s licenses.
“Gramma’s House or the Big House” won the Public Affairs and Consumer Education award in the Digital Graphics category. The campaign based on the theme “Impaired driving wrecks the holiday” included a visual providing a clear choice of two possible destinations for holiday dinner.
The “Drive Safe, Belts On” video won the Public Affairs and Consumer Education award in the Internally Produced PSA or TV Commercial category. The ads were aimed at young drivers to help make seat belt use a habit early.
Treasure Valley Hospice and Healthwise have been honored with 2016 When Work Works Awards for use of workplace strategies to increase business and employee success. This awards are part of the national When Work Works project administered by the Families and Work Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management.
Wire Stone, a digital marketing agency in Boise, has acquired Tenthwave Digital, a New York City agency, on undisclosed terms. The acquisition expands Wire Stone’s national footprint to include the East Coast and adds about 60 people to its 200-employee roster of integrated marketing specialists.
Barry Equipment & Rental Inc., of Nampa and Twin Falls, have become authorized sales, service, parts and rental providers of Doosan construction equipment, including crawler excavators, wheel excavators, material handlers and wheel loaders. The dealership’s two locations are at 2324 Caldwell Blvd., Nampa, and 465 Addison Ave. W., Twin Falls.
Spherion Staffing Services has opened a Meridian office at 3999 Overland Road. It will be managed by Aubrey Robison in partnership with Ron and Jennifer Zarbock, of Utah. Robison joined Spherion in 2013 and has served as vice president of the company’s six Utah-based affiliates.
The Boise Hawks Baseball Club, a Class A Short Season Northwest League affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, has announced a partnership with TuneIn internet radio to broadcast all 2016 Hawks’ games. Each of the 76 home and away games will be available via BoiseHawks.com, the Minor League Baseball First Pitch mobile application (Android and iOS), and the TuneIn Radio mobile application (Android and iOS). This season, Steve Granado will be the voice of Hawks baseball.
New Plymouth’s Internet Truckstop Group, a freight-matching network, announced an investment from Bregal Sagemount, a New York private-equity firm,to support the company’s continued expansion. Phil Yates, a Bregal Sagemount founding partner, will join ITG’s board. Other terms were not disclosed.
AT&T says it invested more than $150 million in 90 upgrades in its Idaho wireless networks from 2013 through 2015 to improve reliability, coverage and speed. The company said it doubled capacity at more than 30 sites including Boise, Caldwell, Meridian, Pocatello, Rexburg and Twin Falls. It also launched nearly 30 4G LTE cell sites in areas including Albion, Ashdon, Driggs, Island Park, Mountain Home, St. Anthony and Swan Valley.
Mayor Dave Bieter recognized seven businesses, organizations and building owners at a May luncheon hosted by the Building Owners and Managers Association of Idaho. Here are the winners and the city’s reasons.
La Pointe Apartments, 1011 La Pointe St. The building uses natural colors and textures that complement adjacent buildings and the colors and textures along the Boise River.
Hawkinson Building, 592 W. McGregor Drive. The building was designed and constructed for the owner’s personal woodworking shop and storage. It recalls the industrial designs of the early 20th century.
St. Luke’s Shoreline Center, 1471 W. Shoreline Drive. The building was fully sprinklered and a new fire alarm system was installed. An accessible entrance ramp was added.
Ashtree Passive House, 727 N. Ashtree Way. A new single-family residence that meets the stringent Passive House building standards. The project is Idaho’s first PHIUS+ Certified Passive House.
VA Women’s Wellness Center, 500 W. Fort St. The new clinic is designed to meet the needs of women veterans and their families. The building meets the VA Sustainable Design and Energy Reduction standards.
Ada County Paramedics Medic 17 Station, 1666 W. Ridenbaugh St. The existing Ridenbaugh Street Ada County Paramedics Response Station was remodeled to provide an efficient site for a two- to three-person crew.
The Terraces of Boise, 5301 E. Warm Springs Ave. The retirement community offers residential living, assisted living, skilled nursing and memory care all on one campus.
This is the ninth year Boise has partnered with BOMA in presenting the awards.


A Perth man accused of murdering a New Zealand man doesn't deny pushing him through a second-storey hotel window to his death, a trial was told yesterday.
The question facing a West Australian Supreme Court jury was whether it was an accident.
On the first day of the murder trial of Stefan Pahia Schmidt, 25, the jury was shown a security video of 29-year-old Tauranga man Andrew Marshall plunging to his death on the evening of May 8 last year.
The film showed a window being dislodged and falling from the second floor of the Ocean Beach Hotel in the Perth suburb of Cottesloe, shattering on the concrete below.
Mr Marshall followed, landing in a crumpled heap on the footpath.
He died hours later in hospital.
The video, which also featured the lead-up to the incident, was played to the court as prosecutor Amanda Forrester explained what was happening on the screen.
At one point, two young women identified as friends of Schmidt were seen to walk off camera, with Mr Marshall following them.
A large, bald man identified as Schmidt - who weighs 152kg - then strode in the same direction.
Ms Forrester told the court Schmidt argued with Mr Marshall over the girls and pushed him through the window.
In the video, Schmidt reappeared and seemed to briefly exchange words with a bar patron before punching him to the ground and throwing him across the floor.
The film then cut to outside the pub, showing Mr Marshall falling about 7m to the ground and security guards and patrons rushing to his aid.
The final frames, Ms Forrester told the court, showed Schmidt leaving the hotel from the ground floor and, "with barely a glance to his left, where Mr Marshall lay dying on the pavement ... he walks off into the night".
Schmidt has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer, Tom Percy, said Mr Marshall's death was a tragic and dreadful accident.


The young boy finds trouble in the first verse, but Atkins' father takes ownership of the kid and deals with him properly. In the chorus we hear a little anger, but a whole lot of pride.
"And I said he's mine, that one / Got a wild hair side and then some / No surprise what he's done / He's every last bit of my old man's son / If you knew me then there'd be no question in your mine / You'd know he's mine."
It's a good concept for a song, but the second verse doesn't do enough to completely tell the story. "Limelight barely shined on him / But everyone still remembers when / He whooped on that boy way bigger / For taking that cheap shot on our little kicker / And they threw him out / Oh man, you should have heard me shout."
One is left craving a few more lines to round out the action, but instead Atkins repeats the chorus two more times and wraps it up. An effective bridge could have taken a good song to the next level. This was the safe choice for the follow-up to 'Take a Back Road' because it goes back to the formula that made Atkins a star three years ago.


Three arrests were made Wednesday after an initial report of three naked females at a rest area led Florida Highway Patrol troopers on a pursuit that ended in Dade City.
According to a media release, at approximately 11:15 a.m. Wednesday, FHP units in Pasco County were dispatched to a suspicious persons call at the northbound I-75 rest area, south of State Road 54.
» LISTEN: 3 naked women spotted at a rest stop lead police on a high-speed chase.
Trooper Danielle Poulin arrived on scene and observed three black females naked, who stated that they had showered and were “air drying.” As Trooper Poulin attempted to gather information, the three subjects ran and got into a white 2009 Nissan Sentra and fled through the northbound rest area entrance (heading southbound) before turning back northbound. They then traveled north on I-75 toward State Road 52. Trooper Poulin initiated a pursuit; however, was cancelled due to the pursuit not fitting FHP criteria.
A citizen then called into *347 to report the reckless vehicle and remained on the phone with FHP dispatch providing location updates. As the vehicle turned east onto State Road 52, Trooper Christopher Brando was in the area and located the vehicle which was driving in the wrong direction briefly, then turned back eastbound on State Road 52. Trooper Brando initiated a pursuit for the observed reckless driving. Trooper Brando was able to deploy StarChase projectiles successfully which allowed troopers to back off and dispatch to coordinate FHP response/perimeter activities.
The suspect vehicle was tracked as it pulled into the convenience store parking lot located at State Road 52 and Curley Road where it was promptly located empty. As the three females exited the store and got into the car, Trooper Ronald Paulin attempted to take one of the females into custody who had not made it back into the vehicle. While Trooper Paulin was attempting to arrest that subject, the driver purposely drove directly at Trooper Paulin who had to disengage and jump back to avoid being struck by the car. The other passenger exited the vehicle with a metal bat in an effort to assault Trooper Paulin. Sgt. Dennis Rich, seeing that Trooper Paulin was in imminent danger, rammed the suspect vehicle with his marked patrol vehicle, and the vehicle fled again, eastbound on State Road 52.
The subjects were able to flee again in the vehicle, with Sgt. Rich and Trooper Paulin again in pursuit. Dade City PD responded to the area and deployed stop sticks, successfully deflating the right side tires. Due to the aggravated assault charges and the totality of the circumstances, Trooper Brando was authorized to PIT the vehicle. Trooper Brando completed the action successfully, bringing the pursuit to a conclusion at State Road 52 and 21st Street in Dade City.
Once stopped, Trooper Paulin utilized his ASP to break out the vehicle windows as all three occupants refused to comply and continued to actively resist arrest and interlocked their arms together in the vehicle. As a result, all three were tasered, taken into custody, and transported to the Pasco County Jail. Several of the troopers sustained minor injuries during the events listed.
Arrested were the driver, Oasis Shakira Mcleod, 18; Jeniyah Mcleod, 19; and Cecilia Eunique Young, 19. Charges in the case include fleeing to elude, resisting arrest, aggravated assault and lewd behavior.


In the just-reported third quarter, AT&T's new approach to device and service sales put pressure on the telecom giant's profit margins. Shares fell on the news.
Telecom giant AT&T (NYSE:T) just reported results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2014. Reacting to the news, shares fell as much as 3.4% in after-hours trading.
AT&T saw third-quarter revenues rise 2.5% year over year, landing at $33 billion. Diluted non-GAAP earnings fell 4.5% to $0.63 per share. Analysts were looking for earnings of $0.64 per share on $33.2 billion in total sales, so both results came in slightly below expectations.
The company added 2 million net net subscribers in the quarter, including 785,000 postpaid subscribers on long-term contracts. A year ago, AT&T added less than a million new subscribers and 363,000 postpaid users. Average revenue per user fell 8% compared with the year-ago period.
To put AT&T's subscriber figures into perspective, chief rival Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) added 1.5 million postpaid subscribers in the equivalent quarter.
On the hardwired side of AT&T's business, gains in the U-Verse TV and Internet service outweighed subscriber losses in traditional copper-based voice services. All told, wireline sales increased 3% year over year.
Digging a little deeper into wireless results, AT&T added 466,000 million net new postpaid smartphones and 434,000 data subscriptions for tablets. In addition, 500,000 new cars were sold with included AT&T data plans this quarter.
"Our strategy is on track, and our investments in giving customers best-in-class service to access content everywhere and on any screen continue to pay off," said AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson in a prepared statement. This strategy involves revamping the wireless business model with more subsidy-free device sales and shared data plans.
These new wireless tactics are putting pressure on AT&T's profits. Wireless operating margins came in at 24.6%, down from 26.4% in the year-ago period.


(CN) – Bad press led a Connecticut school board to rescind its offer of a superintendent position to a highly touted Chicago administrator, he claims in court.
Though the complaint Terrence Carter filed in New London Superior Court on Nov. 25 does not say what was reported about him, the Hartford Courant notes that the New London Board of Education vote 6-0 against awarding Carter an employment contract this past August amid revelations about Carter’s own schooling.
According to the Courant, the board’s attorneys confirmed that Carter had used “Ph.D.” and “Dr.” with his name for at least five years despite not having a doctorate from an accredited college.
The attorneys also reportedly corroborated the New London Day’s findings that large portions of Carter’s job application were identical to language in articles published on the Internet.
Carter now claims that his job offer was rescinded after he had already resigned his position in the Chicago Public School System, put his Chicago real estate on the market for sale, relocated to New London with his partner, put his personal property in storage, and contracted and purchased real estate in New London.
The New London Board of Education was two days away from its schedule meeting to approve Carter’s contract when chairperson Margaret Curtin told Carter “that there was a negative newspaper article being published, but that she would handle the issues with her fellow board members,” according to the complaint.
Carter says Curtin told him that he did not need to attend the meeting where the board would be deciding his compensation. She then allegedly informed the other members of the board that Carter was unavailable to answer questions.
“As a result of the actions previously plead in this complaint, the defendant breached its agreement with the Plaintiff, Terrence Cater, to his economic loss,” the complaint states.
Carter wants the court to find that the board improperly rescinded the offer, an award of damages. The breach-of-contract complaint also accuses Curtin of interference.
Carter is represented by William McCoy of Heller, Heller, and McCoy in Uncasville.


All i can say, is well I won't say. well I'll say this-funny how as soon as she got a white shirt and stripes she became a different person. Should she be treated this way? No. But stories started about her before she passed probation.


Leeds have apologised to Derby for spying on their training and will remind head coach Marcelo Bielsa of his responsibilities.
The build-up to Friday night’s 2-0 home win over Derby was dominated by claims from the Rams that a man was caught outside their training ground on Thursday.
Derbyshire Police were forced to intervene and it transpired the individual was an employee of Leeds, who was watching a training session.
Bielsa spoke to Derby boss Frank Lampard over the phone to accept full responsibility and was open about the incident when speaking to the media at Elland Road on Friday evening.
The former Argentina and Chile coach insisted it was not his intention to gain an advantage in a lengthy explanation that saw him admit it is something he has done for a number of years.
On Saturday morning, Leeds issued a statement, which read: “Following comments made by Marcelo Bielsa yesterday the club will look to work with our head coach and his staff to remind them of the integrity and honesty which are the foundations that Leeds United is built on.
The Football Association is investigating, but, following Friday night’s win, which saw his side move five points clear at the top of the table, Bielsa refused to rule out continuing to employ the same ‘spy’ tactics.
“I’m not trying to justify anything,” he said. “I’ve just explained why I feel I’m not a person who cheats and why I accept any reaction this behaviour creates.
“Things are as English football says. I have to respect the habits and traditions of this country.
“I would accept any sanction the club takes against me and any sanction the federation takes against me, and also the judgement of Derby County.
“This episode affects me. Of course the win is important. The only thing I’m going to apologise for is to have contaminated a football game with this subject.
“If I was a child, I would say I won’t do it again, but I wouldn’t feel right responding like this and would lose credibility.
While Lampard had joked the three points should be reversed when addressing the media after the match, he went on to suggest the FA needed to take firm action.
“It’s not for me to say what happens,” the former Chelsea and England midfielder said. “I believe there’s not an absolute clear-cut rule about it.
“But we can’t open the door to this thing happening every week. What kind of farce would that be? Everyone sending undercover people, drones etc into training. It would be farcical.
Lampard felt Bielsa had acted against the spirit of the game and insisted he would rather quit coaching than employ the same tactics.
“Cheating is a big word,” he added. “If you talk about details and gaining advantages, great and good managers do that.
“But this one is over the line. It’s not just a toe over the line, it’s a hop, skip and a jump over the line.


LOUDON, NH (TheSpread) – The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is at New Hampshire Motor Speedway today for the Sylvania 300. Here is a look at the drivers to bet on.
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Brad Keselowski is the clear favorite with 5/2 odds while Kevin Harvick has 5/1 odds and Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch each come in at 6/1.
It’s hard to be against Brad right now. He is coming off a win last week, has the lead in the point standings and won the pole position for today’s race. He has already won at New Hampshire in the past and seems like the guy to put your money on to win the Sprint Cup title this year. Look for another winning performance today.
After a strong 2014 season, Gordon is looking to get back control of his points lead and this could be a good track for him to do it at. He is a three-time winner at New Hampshire with a driver rating of 107.7, which is the second best of any driver competing today. Look for Gordon to have a strong run this afternoon.
Biffle needs a strong showing, or even a win, today to avoid being cut following next week’s race. Currently sitting 15th in the standings, Biffle has to pack on some points today or face a serious elimination threat next week. Biffle does own a win at this track and also has six top 5s. With the long odds but desperate situation, we like gambling on the No. 16 today.


I had a sit down with Jeff Bridges, The Big Lebowski himself, to promote his film The Amateurs.Jeff talked about the film, photography, his mom, and more.
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Desert Tracks: Rowie Schulz on moving to the Northern Territory 35 years ago as newly graduated teacher.
Rowie Schulz came to the Northern Territory 35 years ago as a freshly graduated teacher.
She decided to postpone a backpacking trip around Europe to start life teaching in the small community Ali Curung just south of Tennant Creek in the Barkly.
29mins 5secs Desert Tracks: Rowie Schulz on moving to the Northern Territory 35 years ago as newly graduated teacher.


In November 2011, a small Renaissance painting known as the Salvator Mundi (“Saviour of the World”) went on show at the National Gallery. It was a compelling, moody, somewhat odd picture: a half-length figure of Christ with ringlets of auburn hair, holding a transparent crystal orb. Even more compelling was the label, describing it as a newly discovered work by Leonardo da Vinci.
This attribution, at the upper end of the art world’s Richter scale, was controversial for various reasons, not least because – contrary to National Gallery policy – it radically enhanced the market value of a privately owned artwork. Its owners were at this point mysterious: an American “consortium” was mentioned. They were, in fact, two mid-table New York dealers, Robert Simon and Alex Parish, who had bought it in 2005 on an intuitive whim, heavily overpainted and in poor condition, from a small auction house in New Orleans. They paid $1,175. Cleaned, stripped and painstakingly restored by Dianne Modestini, authenticated by distinguished Leonardo experts such as Martin Kemp and David A Brown, and launched with the imprimatur of the National Gallery, the Salvator Mundi had arrived. After five centuries of obscurity it was an international celebrity, a fairytale frog turned into a prince of paintings.
In 2013 Simon and Parish sold the picture for $80m to a Swiss middleman, who promptly resold it to a Russian oligarch, Dmitry Rybolovlev, for $127.5m. These were private sales, but when Rybolovlev in turn decided to sell, it was in the full theatrical spotlight of a public auction at the Christie’s New York saleroom in the Rockefeller Center. On the evening of 15 November 2017, the auctioneer opened the bidding on Lot 9b, which he billed as “the masterpiece by Leonardo of Christ the Saviour”. After a couple of minutes it reached $180m, breaking the previous record for a painting sold at auction, set in 2015 by Picasso’s Women of Algiers. For a while there were five bidders in the game – all anonymous, though all doubtless classifiable, in the unlovely terminology of high-end art-dealing, as UHNWIs (ultra-high-net-worth individuals) – but for the last 10 minutes there were just two slugging it out. The final price tag was $450m, which included Christie’s commission of $50m. The buyer was a minor Saudi royal, Prince Badr bin Abdullah al Saud. He is widely rumoured to have been a proxy for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, though the immediate beneficiary was the new Louvre Abu Dhabi, for whom (according to official Saudi sources) he was acting as an “intermediary purchaser” of the painting.
The story of the world’s most expensive painting is narrated with great gusto and formidably researched detail in Ben Lewis’s book. He has talked to just about everybody involved, even the publicity-shy Rybolovlev, whom he describes as a “textbook oligarch” with the “blank air” of the billionaire. The book is timed well, as celebrations gear up for the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s death on 2 May. Lewis has a background in arts journalism and documentary films: snappy reportage of mega-buck deals is his element. But to his credit, much of the book is in a rather different mode of patient historical investigation. He examines the chequered career of the painting from its inception – probably in Milan, sometime around 1507-10 – which leads him into areas where lurk many more questions than answers.
His investigation of the provenance of the Salvator Mundi casts considerable doubt on claims that it was once in the collection of Charles I, and that it is listed in an inventory of 1650 as “a peece [picture] of Christ done by Leonard”. This idea was advanced in the National Gallery and Christie’s catalogues to indicate that the painting was traditionally known and valued as a Leonardo. The question of provenance is complicated by the existence of several other paintings with the Salvator iconography, some very plausibly attributed to pupils and imitators of Leonardo. One of these, in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, was definitely in the royal collection, as it bears the stamp CR (Carolus Rex) on the back of the panel. This painting, attributed to Giampietrino, may well be the “peece” itemised in 1650.
The first certain sighting of the Salvator Mundi is not until 1900, when it was purchased by a wealthy textile manufacturer, Sir Francis Cook. It hung in the Cook family house in Richmond until 1958, and was then sold at Sotheby’s to an American businessman, Warren Kuntz, for £45, “a sum so low, it suggests he was the only bidder”. Kuntz and his wife Minnie lived in New Orleans, which is where the painting was later spotted on a sale room website by the speculative eye of Alex Parish.
Some red chalk sketches of sleeve draperies, found in the Royal Collection at Windsor, are certainly by Leonardo. They are similar, though not identical, to the sleeves in the painting, and even if they were identical they would not tell us whose paintbrush copied them on to the walnut-wood panel of Salvator Mundi.
These workshop practices are an essential context. The pertinent question is not “Is it by Leonardo?” but “How much of it is by Leonardo?” In 2012, Carmen Bambach argued: “Much of the original painting surface may be by Boltraffio” – one of Leonardo’s most brilliant Milanese assistants – “but with passages done by Leonardo himself.” She identifies the hands and the crystal orb as Leonardo’s. In the latest edition of his catalogue raisonné of Leonardo’s works, Frank Zollner describes the Salvator as a “high-quality product of Leonardo’s workshop” based on a design by him. In an article in the German magazine Monopol he identified the question that underlies the attribution debate. “It is about money,” he writes. “A good workshop painting would fetch an estimated $20m.” His article appeared the day before the painting, heavily hyped as by Leonardo, sold in New York for 20 times that sum.
None of the earlier experts who saw the painting in Richmond had any inkling it was by Leonardo. Tancred Borenius, who catalogued the Cook collection in 1913, described it as a “free copy” after Boltraffio – two degrees of separation from Leonardo – while another cataloguer identified it only as “Milanese school of circa 1520”. This is perhaps not surprising, as the painting is atypical – it is Leonardo’s only solo portrayal of the adult Christ, and its full-frontal posture is quite different from the three-quarter profiles and fluid contrapposto of his secular portraits.
Lewis sums up the story of the Salvator Mundi as a narrative with “too many plot holes” – “the provenance is speculative, the attribution optimistic, the restoration extensive” and “the price exorbitant”. A “potpourri” of vested interests has combined “to turn a workshop painting into a Leonardo”. But he remains even-handed: grateful for the painting’s survival, admiring of Simon and Parish’s chutzpah, and defensive of Modestini, whose restoration has been criticised for “Leonardising” the vestigial remains of the original. The painting, he says, is “a Leonardo for our time, a post-truth Leonardo”.
There is one last “plot hole” that is giving those involved in this tangled affair some cause for concern. The Salvator Mundi has – temporarily, at least – disappeared. Three weeks after the auction sale, Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture tweeted: “Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi is coming to #LouvreAbuDhabi”. The gallery’s website gushed: “Lost and hidden for so long … [the] masterpiece is now our gift to the world.” Then in September last year, two weeks before the scheduled unveiling of the painting in its new home, the event was abruptly cancelled. A press release promised further information, but none has been forthcoming – an unexpected chapter of silence, which the ghost of Leonardo might just be enjoying.
• Charles Nicholl’s Leonardo Da Vinci is published by Penguin. The Last Leonardo is published by William Collins (£20). To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £15, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99.


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For those who have a job in this economy of ever-rising unemployment, under employment and general malaise, it seems almost ungrateful to complain about anything that produces a paycheck. But over a 50-year span, the average American spends about 100,000 hours working. With so much of our lives spent at our jobs, sometimes it is important to stop and consider a question that may sound childish or unrealistic in this job market: What do you want to be when you grow up?
It’s not an easy question to answer for most. More than half of all students change majors at least once, and a recent survey found that the average American man changes jobs every four and one-half years, the average woman every three years. The model of employee and employer forming a lifelong relationship no longer fits. And with 42 consecutive weeks of unemployment over 8 percent (using the most optimistic of job numbers), many have found that their job loyalty meant nothing in a bad economy.
Today choosing a career is generally not a one-time decision; it's a series of decisions, made through different stages of life, experience, and responsibility. But with more than 60 percent of Americans saying they are not satisfied with their current jobs, it seems obvious that it’s time to consider new patterns for choosing a profession.
For students choosing a course of study or for those considering what kind of work will stand the test of time, Crown Financial Ministries spent more than 10-years developing and fine tuning Career Direct® using standard psychometric principles of testing and measurement and putting those to work in 17 languages, reaching more than 120,000 adults and students worldwide. It asks up front the basic question of life – who are you? – before telling you how to spend most of your waking hours during your adult years.
On the cutting edge of self-evaluation is the question of values and what kinds of choices produce meaning. Meaning has a high value especially for millennials, the current generation of new graduates, but they are not alone in that regard.
For those with a faith perspective, the fact that people are “fearfully and wonderfully” made begs the question, what are my unique skills and talents? The success of faith-oriented dating websites show that today there is an appreciation for core values in making a lifetime choice. And that includes seeking a job as well.
1. Choosing the first or easiest job you can get. To choose a job based on its ease is not being a good steward of talents and abilities. Our goal should always be to move into areas in which we use our strengths.
2. Choosing a job based on salary. This error is so established in our culture that it'll take a strong commitment to a larger vision to choose a job based on talents, rather than on money alone. And if that high-paying job disappears, your resume advertises you with skills in a profession you may hate.
3. Choosing a job because it provides a good title. Doing what you're good at and what you enjoy is generally a far better consideration in choosing a career than selecting a title and doing the work that accompanies it. You are not your title.
4. Taking a job just because management offers it. Discuss your work-related attributes with your employer to indicate the areas that will be the best fit for you. You may be better off expanding your area of responsibility in your present job, instead of moving away from your skills and area of expertise.
5. Choosing a job because that's what your parents do. Don't choose a career track because that's what your parents do. Discover your gifts and develop your career plans around them.
6. Choosing a job to fulfill your parents’ unfulfilled dream. Parents must be careful not to steer their children toward something the parents would like alone; rather, children should be encouraged to follow a career path that best suits them.
7. Choosing a job just because you have the minimum ability to do it. There are many jobs we can do, but a job that involves our strongest skills, our personalities, and our motivations will take us farther and last longer.
8. Choosing a job or major without any serious study of yourself. Evaluation tools, such as Career Direct® and others exist to provide a roadmap so that people can avoid becoming lost in pursuits that don’t satisfy without knowing why. Before investing years of your life or possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars in education, take serious time to reflect on your skills and interest. Don’t spend more time researching the next car you’ll buy than you spend researching your career.
In this economy, faith about work is dead. The traditional models have failed, and many struggle with regret over their past work choices.
It’s time to consider new tools for reaching our potential and to be as deliberate in our choice of majors and jobs as possible. With one in two new college graduates jobless or underemployed, we need to utilize our intellects to create lasting opportunity. Primarily, we need to understand who we were uniquely created to be before we can fully understand how to best spend our energy over a lifetime.


THE DERBY took place in Manchester last night but only one horse was running.
This was a race between a thoroughbred and a donkey set for the knackers yard - and it wasn’t hard to work out which was which.
For those who have been living on a different planet for the last eight months then Manchester United are the latter.
The fallen champions have taken some heavy punches this season but the one delivered by the boys in blue after just 40 seconds topped the lot.
It came from Edin Dzeko, after David Silva and then Samir Nasri had been denied by a combination of Rafael Da Silva and the post.
If this had been a boxing match the referee would have stopped it in the first round.
But he didn’t and the blows just kept on coming from Manuel Pellegrini’s men to leave United floundering on the ropes like some punch-drunk fighter.
That is what United resemble now - a competitor way beyond his peak who knows those around him have left him behind in terms of ability and skill.
In fairness to the home side, they tried to fight their way back into the contest but their task was on a par with wading through treacle.
City should have been home and hosed before half time, but Silva missed a good chance and David De Gea produced a world-class save to deny Dzeko.
Pellegrini’s men ran riot, with Silva and Yaya Toure allowed to run amok in midfield, where Tom Cleverley proved once and for all he is out of his depth at this level and Marouane Fellaini resorted to violence to try to stop the blue tide surging towards him.
Both players were hauled off before 66 minutes had elapsed and if David Moyes wanted to show the Glazers once and for all how desperately short of midfield class he is, then his point had been firmly made.
The shift in power between these two rivals happened long before this game.
This was City’s third straight league win on this ground but they were not about to give-up the chance to offer United a harsh reminder of who now rules these parts.
The pain was etched on the face of Moyes as he surveyed a game he knew, deep down, his side had no chance of even drawing - let alone winning.
But here is the most worrying aspect of this whole sorry mess from United’s point of view.
This was the 150th league meeting between the two and, more importantly, a golden chance for United to do some real damage to City’s title hopes.
This is how far United have slumped. They have become nothing more than possible party-poopers, but still the huge incentive didn’t make a jot of difference to Moyes’s men.
They simply let their neighbours stroll round to their house and ransack it.
United hadn’t been humiliated like this since, well, earlier this month when Liverpool came to town.
Dzeko doubled City’s lead on 56 minutes before Toure hammered the final nail in United’s coffin to reward his side’s total dominance.
Moyes must want the season to end now but sadly for him it won’t and there will be more pain to come - provided he lasts long enough to suffer it of course.