INL plutonium powers newest Mars probe

https://inlportal.inl.gov/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=1269&mode=2&featurestory=DA_584405

Here's a link to the latest big news from the Idaho National Laboratory, which has been involved in creating the power supply for the Mars rover scheduled to be launched this weekend.

Steve Johnson, director of INL's Space Nuclear Systems and Technology Division, led the team that fueled and tested the Mars Science Laboratory's power system.

Museum of Clean opens in Pocatello

I find this more than a little ironic.

Last month, Pocatello was voted the “dirtiest city in America” by a Web site called Alice.com. The ranking was based on nationally compiled sales figures for stuff like Lysol, Tide, Tidy Bowl or whatever.

I questioned it then and on Friday, as if by magic, Pocatello’s Museum of Clean opened to the public.

Located in the old six-story Salt Lake Hardware building at 702 South First Avenue, in Pocatello's old warehouse district, the museum offers visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in the history of housework, even back to Ancient Egypt. (It seems that neat freaks have always been with us, just not at my house.) The very first vacuums are on display, as well as an exhibit of toilet seats through the ages.

Five years in the making, the museum comes from the mind of Don Aslett, founder of Varsity Contractors, a veteran of more than 50 years in the cleaning business and the author of 40 books.

A self-described urinal colonel, porcelain preacher and king of the toilet ring, Aslett told local news reporters that the point of museum is “selling the value of clean."

"I think the word clean is more important than any word except for probably faith," he said. "And we're talking about the scope of it: clean water, clean air, clean sheets, clean floors; everything clean is beautiful.”
http://www.museumofclean.com/wp/

INL parent company gets airtime on NPR

Battelle Technology, parent company of Battelle Energy Alliance, the contractor for the Idaho National Laboratory, got a nice shout-out on National Public Radio this morning. For those of you who didn't hear it, here's a link:
http://www.npr.org/2011/11/21/142583959/youre-probably-using-battelle-technology-and-dont-even-know-it

Mangini's Take and Bake marks birthday, plans move

Saturday marks the second anniversary of Mangini's Take and Bake Pizza, with big changes planned in the next few months.

Mangini's Take and Bake owner Leo O'Ryan

Even though the price of cheese has been skyrocketing, Owner Leo O'Ryan said business has been good enough since they opened Nov. 19, 2009, that they are moving from 525 Second Street to a bigger location at 531 Lomax Avenue.

A sign is already at the new location, but O'Ryan said it could be late December before they move. "There are a lot of details that need to be taken care of," he said.

The new store will be almost double the size, and O'Ryan plans to gradually expand the menu to include pasta dishes. The biggest advantage of moving will be the traffic. Going by the city's traffic count, 6,500 cars will pass by on Lomax every day, and on North Holmes Avenue, where they will have a sign, the count is 7,000.

How many cars drive by the Second Street store? "Sixty, probably. I've never counted and don't think the city ever would," O'Ryan said.

Ammon retail center moving forward

Work is proceeding on Comfort Construction's 11,000-square-foot retail strip center at 3379 E. 17^th Street, next door to Ace Hardware. Developer Dean Mortimer has three tenants lined up, Domino’s Pizza, Subway and Salon Suites. The project is slated to be finished in May 2012.

Domino’s will own its own part of the building, while Subway will lease. Salon Suites, another one of Mortimer’s companies, leases beauty salon and massage therapy spaces to contractors who want to operate on their own.