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Thursday, July 17, 2014

Idaho Falls Indian restaurant now open

Tandoori Oven owner Jatin Arora
Tandoori Oven, Idaho Falls' first Indian restaurant, is finally open for business. It is located at 3204 S. 25 East, where Play N Trade used to be.

Owner Jatin Arora only got the signs hung today, but had a few people in for lunch. The restaurant, which seats about 75 people, is looking for help.

This is the second Tandoori Oven. Arora has been doing business in Logan, Utah, for about 10 years. He said he was originally looking at Pocatello, but a longtime friend from Idaho Falls alerted him to the absence of Indian cuisine here.

"I've been to Idaho Falls quite a few times, and it seems like an ideal market for us," he said. "There is no real Indian restaurant, and there seems to be a demand for Indian cuisine."

Asked to guess how many locals have never had Indian food, he said, "I would think it's a high percentage." If you have never eaten Indian, he advised going with a chicken masala or coconut kurma the fist time.

Tandoori Oven's hours are 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch, Monday through Saturday, 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday for dinner and 4:30 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Partnership for Science and Technology names new executive director

Leslie Jones-Huddleston
The Partnership for Science and Technology has named Leslie Jones-Huddleston its new executive director and chief executive officer. She replaces Lane Allgood, who retired in June.

A longtime resident of eastern Idaho, Jones-Huddleston most recently served as the regional director for U.S. Senator Mike Crapo.

“PST is extremely fortunate to have Leslie lead our organization,” said Mike Hart, president of the PST board. “She has a deep understanding of energy and environmental issues, knows the importance of science and technology, and brings a new vibrancy to the organization.”

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Budweiser Clydesdales to visit Snake River Landing on Saturday

The Budweiser Clydesdales are famous across the nation.
Watkins Distributing is bringing the famous Budweiser Clydesdale team to Snake River Landing this Saturday. The Clydesdales will begin at 1 p.m., will parade through the landing and will be available for photos until 3 p.m.

The team dates back to April 7, 1933, when August A. Busch, Jr. and Adolphus Busch III surprised their father, August A. Busch Sr, with the gift of a six-horse Clydesdale hitch to commemorate the repeal of Prohibition. The six-horse hitch shortly became an eight-horse hitch, which it remains today. 

The horses continue to be an enduring symbol of the Anheuser-Busch brand. The company currently owns approximately 250 Clydesdales, which are used for marketing and promotion at community and national events throughout the year.  

Monday, July 14, 2014

Idaho National Lab wins two R&D 100 Awards

Idaho National Laboratory has won two R&D 100 Awards in the 2014 international competition hosted by R&D Magazine, bringing its total to an even 50 over the past 18 years. The annual competition recognizes the top 100 inventions of the past year. Both winning technologies relate to innovative modeling systems.

The Advanced Electrolyte Model analyzes and identifies potential electrolytes for battery systems. It offers significant resource savings by optimizing material combinations for new batteries. AEM predicts and reports key properties underlying electrolyte behavior in the electrochemical cell environment.

The Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) makes it easier for scientists to predict phenomena ranging from nuclear fuel and reactor performance to groundwater and chemical movement. Such simulations can help speed the pace of scientific discovery but traditionally required more computing resources than most scientists and engineers could readily access. Here is a YouTube video explaining it:
"These awards recognize the tremendous value of our national labs," said Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, in a news release. "Research and development at the national labs continues to help our nation address its energy challenges and pursue the scientific and technological innovations necessary to remain globally competitive."

INL nominated three technologies for the 2014 R&D 100 Award competition and now has earned a total of 50 R&D 100 Awards since 1986.

The banquet and awards presentation, honoring the 2014 winners will take place Nov. 7 at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Five ways to get fired from your job


Raise your hand if you love your job! Now raise your hand if you hate your job! Are any of you in between?

All of us can say we start our jobs with a sense of excitement and always with the best intentions, and most employees are never really gunning to get fired from a job. Whether you love it or hate it, getting fired from a job is no fun. Psychologically, it’s almost just as bad as being dumped when you thought you were in a long-term relationship with the love of your life (or at least someone you wanted to date for more than a couple months.)

I am fully aware there are really poor managers who don’t know how to manage employees, firing at will and fairly often at that. I have met them, I have worked with them, and there really and truly is no hope for them.

Still, the majority of managers loathe the days they have to terminate employees, and many will go through disciplinary processes or just take the “see no evil/hear no evil” approach and ignore bad situations for long stretches of time.

Most of the time, people who get fired are fired for common sense reasons. My HR colleagues and I even considered at one time compiling all of our “Here’s Your Sign...” employment termination moments for a book to provide comic relief in the workplace. Luckily for some of the people I have had to let go I have not done that yet.

I have, however, compiled my top five reasons for how to ensure that your career path is about to change. If you are looking to strike out, take note of the following. They are more than likely to lead to immediate termination very soon.

1. Insubordination. Not doing your job or failing to follow through on what management asks you to do. Failing to comply with policies and procedures is a sure way to make sure management will send you on your way to a new workplace and manager. If management is asking you to do something unethical or illegal, go ahead and be insubordinate (think Enron scandal). Otherwise, do what you're told.

2. Sleeping on the Job. Sleep is awesome and necessary, just not at work. Unless you are being paid as a sleep study subject, keep awake and alert. There are a few people who have sleep disorders. If you are one I hope you have at least given management a heads up so when you are caught drooling over your sales report you won’t be woken up and escorted out of the building with a paper stuck to your face.

3. Theft. From timecard fraud to stealing company supplies or petty cash, theft is costly and stealing is wrong. If you are teaching your kids not to grab a pack of gum at the store without paying for it, don’t grab a garbage bag filled with office supplies and walk out (something that actually happened with one of my clients, who tried to justify her theft by saying she needed it for camping and didn’t have time to go to the store.)

4. Dishonesty. Not telling the truth leads to distrust. Distrust leads to damaged workplace relationships. Damaged workplace relationships lead to termination. No matter what the little white lie may be, keep in mind that if you can’t be trusted to tell the truth on any level how can management trust you are doing your job right?

5. Being Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs. Maybe it has been a bad Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean it's OK to head to the bar to grab a few beers on your lunch break. Being under the influence can and will impair your ability to work. It can also create legal liabilities for your employer. Drug-free workplaces are common now, as are zero tolerance policies, so hold the drinks until after work.

You could easily add to any of the above with:

  • Inappropriate comments
  • Careless social media behavior, e.g., posting about your job and/or company
  • Sharing confidential information
  • Violence or horseplay in the workplace
  • Failing drug tests
  • Tardiness, leaving early and unexcused absences

If your goal is to be fired, I would recommend trying any of the above.

Monica Bitrick is CEO of Bitrick Consulting Group, a human resources company in Idaho Falls.