Chad Buchanan / Frazer Harrison, Getty Images

Here’s a look at some notable birthdays being celebrated today:

Pete Townshend
Age: 67
Occupation: Singer, Songwriter and Musician
Known For: Being the guitarist for the legendary rock group the Who, known for scores of songs like ‘I Can See for Miles,’ ‘Pinball Wizard’ and ‘Baba O’Riley,’ his guitar-destroying antics at the end of their shows, solo singles including ‘Let My Love Open the Door,’ and being on just about every list of the greatest guitarists of all time

Dusty Hill
Age: 63
Occupation: Singer, Songwriter and Musician
Known For: Being the bassist and one of the bearded vocalists from ZZ Top, known for 40 years of hits including ‘La Grange,’ ‘Tush,’ ‘Gimme All Your Lovin’,’ ‘Sharp Dressed Man’ and ‘Legs’

Jim Lehrer
Age: 78
Occupation: Author and Television Journalist
Known For: Being the executive editor and former news anchor for ‘PBS NewsHour,’ his role as a frequent debate moderator during elections, and his non-fiction and fiction writing that draws from his experiences and interests in history and politics

Peter Mayhew
Age: 68
Occupation: Actor
Known For: Putting his 7-foot-3-inch frame to good use as Chewbacca in the ‘Star Wars’ movies, a role that earned him a Lifetime Achievement Award from the MTV Movie Awards

Grace Jones
Age: 64
Occupation: Singer, Model and Actress
Known For: Being a muse to Andy Warhol, having a string of dance club hits including ‘Pull Up to the Bumper,’ ‘Slave to the Rhythm’ and ‘I’m Not Perfect (But I’m Perfect for You),’ her often androgynous appearance, and appearing in movies like ‘Conan the Destroyer’ and ‘A View to a Kill’

Hulton Archive, Getty Images

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history:

1536 – Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded (More info)

1897 – Writer Oscar Wilde is released from Reading Gaol Prison (More info)

1921 – The US Congress passes the Emergency Quota Act, establishing national quotas on immigration (More info)

1962 – Marilyn Monroe croons ‘Happy Birthday’ to President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden (More info)

1994 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis dies in New York (More info)

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A small group of seniors at Cascade High School in Clayton, IN celebrated their upcoming graduation with a prank, covering school doors, offices and windows with more than 12,000 colorful Post-It notes.

But the school superintendent apparently didn’t think it was so funny — he suspended almost 60 students, and a janitor accused of helping during the prank could lose her job.

Five seniors and one junior were suspended for two days, and superintendent Patrick Spray also recommended the custodian be fired. Dozens of outraged students took to the school gym to stage a sit-in protest — which resulted in scores of more one-day suspensions.

“Disrupting the school day and causing a disruption during the school day is not justified,” Spray said. “It’s part of every school’s code of conduct, and I believe it’s very consistent.”

Kim Rouse, the custodian whose job is at risk, said she didn’t let the students in the building as Spray believes, but is “overwhelmed with all the kids’ support. That does help me a lot.”

Watch a news story about the episode below.

[RTV6]

jar0d, flickr

Researchers now say they can tell whether people are depressed without even talking to them first — all they have to do is watch how those individuals use the internet.

In a study conducted at Missouri University of Science and Technology, researchers watched the internet habits of more than 200 students who were later tested for signs of depression.

The researchers then cross-referenced the information, and found that the depressed group had markedly different ways of using the internet than everyone else.

Specifically, those who were depressed frequently switched among applications, used email and chat programs more often, watched more online videos, and played more online games. Study researcher Sriram Chellappan said the haphazard nature of the students’ internet usage may indicate trouble concentrating — a characteristic associated with depression.

Chellappan said he’d like to use his findings to develop software that could analyze internet usage patterns to predict the onset of depression, adding that such software may be useful to counselors on college campuses.

[LiveScience]

zoutedrop, flickr

Attention, dieters: stop counting calories and start watching the clock.

That’s the takeaway from a new study that says what you eat doesn’t matter as much as when you eat it.

Research conducted by Satchin Panda from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA and his colleagues found mice that ate an unrestricted diet for eight hours and fasted for the remaining 16 hours didn’t have higher rates of obesity, diabetes or high cholesterol than mice that ate a healthy diet.

“For millions of years, we humans spent our lives as diurnal species — eating most of our calories only in the daytime and fasting overnight,” Panda said, adding that over the past century, we’ve stayed up later and eaten more at night, leading to excess weight.

“The gist of this study is that the timing and the number of hours you fast impact your weight gain,” he said. “Watch the times of day you eat as opposed to what exactly you eat. You don’t have to be as strict in counting calories.”

But some doctors aren’t convinced, saying that what works in mice doesn’t always translate to humans. Keith Ayoob, associate professor in the department of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, also said telling people they can eat whatever they want — even for a restricted time period — could be dangerous advice.

[ABC News]

Thinkstock

When you think about “the news” do you think of war, national unemployment figures and President Obama? Because in local news, there’s so much more, ranging from crime to weather to the latest on the school board.

In fact, according to a Pew Research Center study of 2,251 adults, 72 percent follow the local news closely most of the time. Twenty-five percent only follow the local news when something important is happening around their town, and three percent didn’t answer the question.

In what should be music to the ailing newspaper industry’s ears, the survey also found that most people still get their local news from their local paper.

[Pew Research Center]

Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

Everyone’s been buzzing about Facebook’s IPO for weeks. But as shares of the social networking site began trading on Friday, analysts warned that not everyone should jump into the fray.

“Yes, it’s the biggest investing storyline of the year, but I would tell the average investor: stay away from Facebook,” said Andrew Tonner, financial editor of the Motley Fool. “Sit on the sidelines. Having interest in the IPO doesn’t necessarily mean you need to participate in it.”

Facebook’s stock offering, initially priced at about $38 a share, is expected to raise $16 billion and value the company at $104 billion. But for investors, experts say there are dangerous risks, pointing to recent technology IPOs like LinkedIn, Zynga, Pandora and Groupon in which only one — LinkedIn — has recently traded above its IPO price.

Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments in Chicago, said there was “no way” she’d buy Facebook shares as an individual investor on the first day of trading. “The institutions have gotten there first,” she said. “And we’re getting their sloppy seconds.”

As of this writing, shares of Facebook are trading at just under $41 — about 7.5 percent higher than the opening price.

Watch Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ring the NASDAQ bell from the company headquarters on Friday.

[ABC News]

Sara D. Davis, Getty Images

According to a controversial new biography about the Obamas, ‘The Amateur: Barack Obama in the White House,’ author Edward Klein claims the president and his wife, Michelle, nearly divorced over a decade ago — but is it true?

Klein, whose previous works include books about Hillary Clinton and the Kennedy family, says he interviewed nearly 200 people before writing the unauthorized Obama biography. In it, Klein writes that in 2000, Michelle advised Barack not to run against Democratic congressman incumbent Bobby Rush for a Chicago House of Representatives.

Barack ran against Rush anyway and lost — badly.

“During the dark days that followed his defeat, he turned to Michelle for comfort. But she was in no mood for sympathy,” Klein reportedly writes, saying that Michelle was so infuriated that he hadn’t listened to her warnings and “put his family in a precarious financial position” that she “actually had divorce papers drawn up.”

But presidential spokesperson Eric Schultz says not a word of the account is true. On Monday, Schultz said, “Ed Klein has a proven history of reckless fabrication in order to sell books. Nobody in their right mind would believe the nonsense in this one.”

[The Washington Examiner]

roundedbygravity via flickr

On May 20th Twin Falls will experience a partial solar eclipse. Sunday evening, starting at about 6:00pm, the moon will block nearly all of the sun leaving only a thin crescent visible. It should be spectacular!

We spoke with Chris Anderson, from CSI about some of the misconceptions regarding viewing safety.  Here are a few things we learned

This event comes with a warning:  DON’T LOOK AT IT!  At least not without the correct, protective glasses that are made specifially for viewing a solar eclipse.

• Viweing the elcipse through a camera is NOT safe
• Squinting your eyes is NOT safe
• Tanning goggles are NOT safe
• A welding mask is NOT safe.  In fact – A welding mask can be worse becuase it might make you inclined to ignore your natural instinct to look away.  In other words, you won’t necessary feel the damage that’s being done before it’s too late.  In other words, a welding mask is NOT SAFE.
• Watching the eclipse through your expensive glasses with special “UV Protection”… NOT SAFE

As of 9am, May 18th… The Herrett Center at CSI had about 200 glasses left for $2 each but we think they’ll go fast.  <Update:  As of May 18th, 1130am, they are sold out>

They are going to reserve about 50 for the special vewing party at the Centennial Observatory from 6p-9p.  These will go fast and we have yet to be able to locate a second resource.

Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

You might want to think twice about consuming that Big Mac and fries or that Whopper with cheese.

A new study has revealed that nine out of 10 fast food chain entrees fail to meet federally recommended nutrition standards and exceed their imposed limits. You might want to hold back on that Happy Meal for your kids, too, since the study indicates that the meals for both adults and children are not up to snuff.

Ninety-six percent of the entrees sold at the leading fast food establishments exceed the daily limit for calories, sodium, fat and saturated fat. One meal provides more than what is recommended by the Department of Agriculture.

None of this is actually shocking, if you’ve ever watched ‘Supersize Me,’ Morgan Spurlock’s entertaining and informative documentary about the fast food industry, where he consumed three squares per day from Mickey Ds and saw a rapid decline in his overall health, in addition to weight gain.

According to USA Today, the 18-month study scoured the nutritional content of 30,923 menu items from 417 restaurant brands across the country.

Even with the addition of calorie counts to the menu board and the offering of supposedly healthier items, there are other “hidden” caloric additions in things like appetizers. Family restaurants showed themselves to be even worse than fast good, which seems obvious, since those types of dining situations mean large portions and extra items.

[USA Today]

CSI.edu

We love it when Chris Anderson from CSI stops by to talk about some of the fun things going on at the Herrett Center in Twin Falls.  Here are some fun (and cheap) events you can plan for your entire family.

A pretty terrific solar eclipse is coming up this Sunday afternoon/evening. The moon will cover 81% of the sun. This is the first time in a decade that Idaho has been in the moon’s shadow. The eclipse starts at 6:17 p.m. and will be at its peak at 7:28 p.m. You do need eye protection to see the eclipse! The Herrett Center is selling special, low-priced eclipse glasses and the Centennial Observatory will be open to provide help with the viewing as well as providing a scientific explanation of what’s happening. It’s all free of charge.

Chris’s bi-monthly Astronomy Talk will be this Friday evening at 8:15 in the Herrett Center’s Rick Allen Room. “James Cook’s Venus Transit Voyage.” Chris will talk about Cook’s first voyage in 1768 to observe the planet Venus silhouetted on the sun’s face from the South Pacific. Learn about this rare event that we’ll be able to see here in Idaho on Tuesday, June 5^th!

And a partial lunar eclipse is also coming up soon – starting at 2:45 a.m. Monday, June 4. This won’t be a total lunar eclipse – 31% of the moon will be darkened by the earth’s shadow.

dreamsjung, Flickr

With the popularity of eBay and craigslist, it has become very easy to get great deals on “gently used” items without leaving the comfort of your home, but as the weather warms up, we can’t deny that there is just something much more exciting about finding those great deals while on the hunt at garage sales all over town.

In order to make sure you’re getting the best deals possible, and not wasting time and money, this isn’t something you should just rush into and do without some planning.

You, too, can spend the next six months getting great stuff for ridiculously small amounts of money, but you need to be ready. Here are 10 ways to get the best deals during the 2012 garage sale season.

Learn the Market

macinate, Flickr

First of all, if you’re going to shop efficiently, bargain smartly and save money on garage sale items that you don’t have to purchase for retail, then you need to know the market. In order to know what kinds of things you should be looking out for, you need to know what useful items you’ll be able to find at garage sales. You can usually get great garage sale buys for baby items, kids’ clothes, shoes, jewelry, accessories, tools, camping gear, games (both board and video), DVDs, CDs, off-season holiday items, speakers, spare parts, craft supplies, gift items and furniture. Make sure you stay away from computer and electronic items that you can’t test, or pricey “antiques” with interesting histories that you can’t verify. Then, do a little research early in the season and while you shop. Check prices for items you want online and pay attention to the prices people have on their garage sale items. If you always see books priced at about 25 cents apiece, you know not to pay $1 apiece for them somewhere else. This is also a good way to know if you’re at a garage sale where everything is way over-priced and you’ll just be wasting your time.

Have a Plan

John Beagle, Flickr

The next thing you have to do to be sure you’re getting the best deals possible at garage sales is to have a plan. For one thing, you don’t want to spend a fortune in gas driving randomly all over town just to save a few bucks on an old table. Use an app like YardSaleMapper that maps sales listed on Craigslist, or any mapping program to help you find the most efficient route to your selected sales. Also, to find the best stuff at low prices, make sure you’re shopping in a relatively upper middle class area. These garage sales usually have nicer items that are less used and they are usually trying to just get rid of them, rather than make their livelihood. Also, look for group sales where you’ll be able to shop for more items in less time. Finally, your plan must be well-timed. It’s common knowledge among the pros that the good stuff goes early. Things will be cheap at the end of a sale, but it will also be picked over. You may have a harder time negotiating the lowest price for something early on, but if you wait too long, it’ll be gone. Check for sales that start during the week and don’t wait until Saturday or Sunday if you can avoid it. Plan your route according to when people are starting their sales. Don’t show up early, though. Nobody wants to make deals with the early bird, because now you’ve made them cranky.

Don’t Look Like You Have Money to Burn

m.gifford, Flickr

Now that you’re ready to actually get out and shop, you need to think about your presentation. If you want to be able to negotiate prices down, don’t show up in your expensive car with your expensive clothes and your expensive accessories. Nobody wants to lower prices for someone who looks like they could easily pay retail without blinking an eye. You’ll get better deals if you look like it would help you to get them. This seems obvious, but it’s an easy mistake to make. Leave the Coach bag and BMW at home. Wear your Old Navy and drive the clunker you’re saving for when your toddler’s a teen. You’ll definitely get the best deal possible if you look the part.

Bring Notes & Tools

Bob n Renee, Flickr

The best way not to waste your money at a garage sale is to know exactly what you need and exactly what will work for you. At the start of the season, make a list of the items you’re hoping to find during your sale quests. It doesn’t matter what the list contains, it just matters that you make a list so you don’t get sidetracked by interesting stuff that will only turn into clutter later. Then, make notes. If you’re looking for clothing, have everyone’s sizes with you. If you need a gift for Aunt Matilda, note what she likes. If you’re getting video games for the kids, know what system and games they have. Then, bring a garage sale kit. You need to have a tape measure for furniture, batteries to test battery-operated items, a small screwdriver to open battery compartments, a portable CD player to test CDs, a CD to test CD players, a DVD to test DVD players, an extension cord to test electric items, a working light bulb to test lamps, bags to carry items, newspapers to wrap breakables and a rope to tie large things to your car.  Also, make sure you bring munchies so you can keeping ‘saling even if it’s lunch time.

Show Interest in the Stuff You Like

Bob n Renee, Flickr

Don’t be afraid to show a seller that you’re interested in the items for sale. If you are interested in more than one item, the seller will like you more because his taste will be validated. Also, if you’re interested in what you see on the tables, you can strike up a conversation about certain items, further forming a bond with the seller. This means he’ll be more likely to negotiate a good deal with you because he’ll like you. If he has things out that are similar to other items you’ve been searching for, but not exactly what you want, ask about the items you’re looking for. For example, if you know your husband needs a certain tool and the sale has some tools, let the seller know what you’re looking for because he might be willing to part with it. Maybe he has something inside that he didn’t put out because he thought it wouldn’t sell, but would be willing to sell it if asked. Or, maybe he’s seen it somewhere else in his garage sale excursions and can give you a tip.

Take Small Bills

BrownPolyester, Flickr

This is something, as a beginner, you may not have considered, but having small bills when you hit the sales is a must. It’s hard to make a deal if you’re whipping out a 20, especially if you’re early and the seller can’t make change. You can negotiate better prices if you can make exact change, and if you’re pulling out fives and ones, it won’t look like you have tons of money to spend. Here’s another important money idea — keep your bills in separate pockets. This way, if you’re offering $3 for an item, you don’t have to flip through a bunch of tens to get to your ones. You simply reach in your ones pocket and grab what you need without looking. Again, it won’t appear you have tons of money to spend and you can score better deals. Also, it adds to your efficiency and you can move on to the next sale that much faster.

Be Ready to Negotiate…Nicely

BrownPolyester, Flickr

People expect to negotiate at garage sales, so you need to have your skills polished. The first thing to remember is that negotiating goes much smoother if you are polite and complimentary to the seller. Whatever you do, don’t insult the products. Telling someone her items are second-rate will not help you negotiate. Instead, tell her how much you are interested in the item and then let her know the price just isn’t in your budget. If you can’t get to a good price, try buying things in groups. The seller will appreciate that you’re going to clear a lot of the things she’s trying to get rid of and may be willing to let things go for a bulk discount. Above all, be reasonable, non-confrontational and polite. And, be ready to walk away. Know what value the item has for you and don’t overspend if you don’t want to. You can always check back at the end of the sale.

Leave Business Cards Before You Go

giuliana_miranda, Flickr

If it turns out that you can’t get the price you want for an item and it’s early in the day, have a card on you that you can leave with your best offer written on it. If the item is still unsold at the end of the sale, the seller may just want to get rid of it at a bargain price and will contact you. Sellers are especially eager to get rid of large items they don’t want to drag back into the house at the end of a long day. You can go to sites like VistaPrint.com and have basic cards with your name and number on them printed for a very low price, or even free. It’s well worth it for that perfect piece of furniture that you know you can get for a steal.

Thoroughly Check Items Before You Buy

Dick Penn, Flickr

Test. Test. Test. Taking home an item that doesn’t work is more of a waste of money than buying something for retail that you can get at a sale. Paying $3 for garbage is not smart at all. Turn things on. Plug things in. Check board games for all the parts. Use your smartphone to look up items and see what a complete version of it looks like. Make sure decks of cards contain every card. Don’t buy a puzzle unless you know for sure it has all its pieces. Ask the seller if she can play a CD or DVD for you to make sure it plays, and then check for scratches yourself. It’s not rude to make sure something works properly before you buy it. Just make sure you get permission to start taking stuff apart before you do it. No seller should have an issue with you saying, “Do you mind if I put batteries in this and see if it works first?” If they do, put it down, thank them for their time and walk away.

Be Picky

colros, Flickr

Finally, you aren’t saving money if you’re going around buying things you don’t want or need, or couldn’t sell for a profit. Garage-saleing isn’t about getting things at cheap prices, it’s about getting the things you need at bargain prices. Having a house full of useless junk isn’t the best way to stretch your dollar. Keep track of your list and make sure you have a plan for everything you purchase. Is it something you’ve wanted for a long time? Is it something you or someone in your family needs or could use? Or, is it something you could clean up and mark up and then sell it at your own garage sale for a profit? If you can’t answer “yes” to any of these questions, walk away. Don’t get caught up in the moment. You aren’t going to buy something at every sale, so keep your money in those pockets until you find something on your list.

Watch This

Just so it all sinks in, here’s a quick howdini.com clip describing the best ways to get fantastic deals at garage sales. Happy ‘saleing!

Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

There are few people who can’t get through their busy day without a cup of strong black coffee. It gets the blood moving, make your brain work faster and keeps you from falling down face first at your desk in a puddle of your own drool.

Some don’t drink it at all because they think it’s not good for them. However, it may not be as unhealthy as you think. A new study from the National Cancer Institute found that guys who drank six cups or more a day actually a 10 percent lower chance of dying prematurely. It’s 15 percent lower among women. Some can even take this good thing too far. Here’s how to tell if you’re one of them.

1. Your blood pressure finished in single digits.

2. You’re so jittery that Sherman Williams hired you as a paint shaker.

3. Your three children are named Venti, Grande and Tall.

4. You’ve showered, made breakfast, fixed a flat tire on the car, read the entire newspaper, fixed lunches for the kids, res-sewn the buttons on all of your shirts, given the house a second coat of paint, finished your taxes and painted a perfect reproduction of the fresco Palazzo del Te by Giulio Romano for the bathroom wall and you’ve only been awake for five minutes.

5. You ask the guy at Starbucks if they can serve your latte in an IV drip.

6. After sex, you go for a one-mile run — and you’re a guy.

7. Your heart beats so fast that you can lay on your stomach and do push-ups without using your arms.

8. You’ve replaced your cocaine habit with nutmeg.

9. You save time so you can drink more coffee by drinking it black, injecting yourself with half-and-half and snorting a line of Sweet’N Low.

10. Your doctor says you’ve got the foamiest blood he’s ever seen.

11. Your favorite coffee mug says, “I’d rather be drinking coffee.”

eralon, Flickr

Recent college graduates may have a rough time finding a job, but a new survey has revealed the companies where they’d most like to work — and a few may surprise you.

Every year, employer branding organization Universum surveys tens of thousands of American college students for its IDEAL Employer Rankings. And although stalwarts like Google and Apple are always at the top, it’s the companies a bit further down the list that caught everyone by surprise.

Ford, General Motors and Chrysler all made the top 100, with GM ranking as high as number 19 among engineering students. That’s a shocking turnaround for companies that were all but dead just a few years ago, and industry analysts say it shows just much the big three automakers have not only revamped their companies, but their image, as well. What’s more, they’re all starting to focus on recruiting college grads.

Overall, here are the top 10 firms for which recent college grads say they’d most like to work (see the full report for more):

1. Google
2. Apple
3. Walt Disney Company
4. Ernst & Young
5. Deloitte
6. J.P. Morgan
7. Nike
8. PwC
9. Goldman Sachs
10. KPMG LLP

[Time]

English106, Flickr

Do you ever check your email and it seems like the first 25 emails are about cake in the break room at work, when you are waiting for an important response from your boss. Half the time you end up getting so frustrated that you delete the important email because it was surrounded by the unimportant emails. This can be very frustrating and very time consuming. I often wish I could program my email to know exactly which emails I care about and which ones I didn’t care about.