Older hybrids a chore at state emission test sites

In Indiana, all vehicles must pass an emission test. It does not matter if the vehicle is electric, natural gas or hybrid--just like the cute 2006 Prius I wanted to buy.

Something told me to research the emission testing record before taking the plunge. I found numerous boards where owners are complaining the hybrid cars are untestable or outright putting out too many emissions. These are the type of cars you must take to the dealer. In Indiana one must pass emission testing to get tags for the vehicle.
I called someone at the Indiana emissions testing office and he said get the dealer to test the vehicle before buying it and resolve all issues.
He said all types of vehicles have failed the testing including the Prius. I was heartbroken.
If you have an issue with your hybrid, please let me know. I want to find out what I am getting into before it is too late.
This is so not fair.
Prius message board

Grief, Shock After 'Outstanding' Guard Loses His Life in the Line of Duty - washingtonpost.com

Grief, Shock After 'Outstanding' Guard Loses His Life in the Line of Duty - washingtonpost.com: "Colleagues called Stephen T. Johns 'Big John,' for he was well over 6 feet tall. But mostly friends recalled the security guard's constant courtesy and friendliness."

Job Seekers: What Not to Do

Well, here are some additional dos and don'ts for job seekers. Apparently one cannot use links to additional information when corresponding with recruiters because it is a pet-peeve.

Short-Cut Introductions

With more people looking for work in today's economy, I've been seeing an increase in what I call "lazy introductions" come across my desk. It goes something like this: "I'm writing you to introduce myself. I live in New York and I'm looking for a job," and in the signature is a link to a LinkedIn profile or possibly a resume. A brief introduction should come with a background, highlights, and reason for connecting. A job search is a job in itself and requires some personalization and effort for each and every introduction.
-- Lindsay Olson, partner, Paradigm Staffing
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Autism/Special Education software wins honors

SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio--ComputEd Gazette and the Association for Educational Publishers (AEP), two organizations respected for their highly competitive awards programs, recently honored VizZle(TM), a web-based software for educators from Monarch Teaching Technologies, Inc. (MTT) with awards for MTT's autism/special education software.

"The special education field desperately needs viable, cost-controlled solutions to optimize a school's ability to serve children with special needs like autism," said Terry Murphy, CEO of MTT. "Now more than ever as public schools try to qualify their spending under federal stimulus funding guidelines."

VizZle both earned the Teacher Tools/Special Education Website accolade and received the distinction of a standout review for its autism and special education software by the ComputEd staff writers (http://www.computedgazette.com/page8.html).

AEP sponsors one of the educational publishing industry's largest and longest-running competitions, the prestigious Golden Lamp Awards. The AEP describes Golden Lamp Finalists as "...defined by their superior use of content, design, and fulfillment of the product's educational mission. Four finalists are chosen in each entry category, representing 16 of the year's most elite educational products." VizZle was named as a finalist in the Technology Innovations category, which is considered an award in and of itself. The final winners will be announced in June (http://www.aepweb.org/awards/index.htm )

VizZle is a proprietary, web-based software as service providing educators and parents with convenient, easy-to-use tools to create or modify customized interactive visuals-based educational materials for autism and special education. For more information, visit http://www.monarchtt.com/.