Hope you and the kids had a nice 3 months of maxing, relaxing, and … snaxing? Because, sadly, it’s time for everyone to get back to the school year routine. Ease the transition back to soul-crushing reality by giving your kids a technological leg up. Use those screen time powers for good and download these apps that touch on a bunch of subjects. Each will hopefully give your preschool or elementary school student a refresher on how to learn — from a crash course on counting to a more advanced tutorial on the solar system. “Hey, Alexa … you got this?”

Basic Math: Intro To Math

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From Euclid to Hawking, they all started with 1-10. This app teaches math’s most basic foundation through puzzles starting with stacking and sequencing objects of different sizes and progressing through matching numerals to quantities and recognizing the numbers and drawing their shapes. Montessorium’s modernized and beautifully designed take on the fundamentals will ensure your kindergartener can count to 10 even while wearing mittens.
$4.99 (iOS)
Ages: 3-5

Astronomy: SkyView

Point your phone’s camera at the night sky and SkyView will determine your location via GPS and identify all the planets, constellations, stars and satellites that are currently visible. The robust search function helps you find things like the International Space Station, the Hubble telescope, or the Big Dipper (which, really, you should already know how to find). It also has daily updates that point out when new things have become visible. Like your kid’s interest in astronomy.
$1.99 (iOS) (Android)
Ages: 4+

Natural Sciences: Leafsnap

Leafsnap uses software similar to facial recognition to scan a photo of a leaf that you take with your phone and cross-reference it with a database of hundreds of different tree species. The folks behind the app — Columbia, the University Of Maryland, and the Smithsonian — are adding species all the time. So if your tree identification chops start with “Apple trees have apples” and ends with “Trees without apples aren’t apple trees,” Leafsnap will help you see (and name) the trees from the forest.
Free (iOS)
Ages: 4+

In May, my husband, Tyler, and I bought a house in the suburbs of New York City.

We had lived in Manhattan for six years, so the move was a big adjustment. It was an exciting time in our lives — and it felt like a fresh start.

So a week or so after moving in, I thought to myself, now would be the perfect time to make some positive lifestyle changes.

Tyler and I decided we wanted to kill a few bad habits — like watching too much TV and buying unhealthy lunches every day — and vowed to form better ones.

Sure, it had crossed our minds that we'd probably also save some money along the way. But that wasn't our main motivation, so we hadn't thought too much about it. But after noticing that my credit card bill has been lower these past few months, I decided to find out why.

You guessed it: Those lifestyle changes have been saving us way more than we thought they would.

Here are the six small changes we made — and how much money they save us per month:

SEE ALSO: Seeing my husband's 401(k) balance was a huge wake-up call about the way I save money

Change 1: We started preparing and bringing lunch to work.

Before May, we almost never brought lunches with us to work.

Every day, I'd run to the pizzeria next door to my office for a salad (which was always drenched in fattening dressing), or the sandwich shop a few blocks away for a (greasy) veggie panini. Sometimes I'd order sushi or Thai food.

Tyler did the same.

We decided when we moved into our new home that we wanted to be healthier, and we began preparing lunch at home and bringing it with us to work.

No, we don't do this every day — but our goal is to make lunch at least four times per week. As a result, our waistlines feel slimmer, and our wallets fatter.

To figure out exactly how much we're saving, we recently looked at our credit card statements and did the math.

Before, we were each spending, on average, $11 a day on lunch. That's a total of $110 per workweek, which is about $485 per month (if a month has 4.4 weeks).

Now we buy groceries every Sunday night and spend about $25 total on ingredients we use to make our lunches for the week.

So assuming we each still order or go out for lunch once per workweek, that means we're now spending a total of about $205 per month.

Monthly savings: about $280

Change 2: We started cooking dinner more often.

For the same reasons we started making lunch, we've made an effort to cook dinner at home more often.

When we lived in the city, we had a tiny kitchen with an even smaller refrigerator (I'm talking mini fridge!) and almost no counter space. Oh, and did I mention that we didn't have an oven? Don't get me wrong — it was a great apartment. But it wasn't all that conducive to cooking.

So we ordered in — almost every night. It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad habit.

Not only were we eating not-so-healthy food, but we were spending a ridiculous amount of money.

About six nights per week, we'd dish out around $25 for dinner, including the tip for the delivery person. (And one night a week, on average, we'd go out for a nicer dinner — which we still do.)

We were spending $150 for six dinners per week. That's about $660 per month.

Now we still go out about once a week for a nicer dinner — but for the six nights we cook, we spend about $50 on dinner groceries per week. That means we now spend about $220 per month on dinner (not including the four or five times we go out).

Monthly savings: about $440

Change 3: We gave up cable.

We've never watched much TV, but a few months before we moved, I started to get into this habit of picking up the remote whenever I had some free time.

And I didn't like it.

So Tyler and I decided that we'd try living without our $100-a-month cable. We do still have Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime (which we've been subscribing to for years) — so it's not as if we're totally depriving ourselves.

Monthly savings: $100

C-Suite executives are known for pulling in a pretty penny. But as it turns out, doctors make even more.

That's right: On average, those sporting scrubs and stethoscopes bring home fatter paychecks than those donning suits and ties, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates survey.

The survey, which reflects May 2015 salary and employment data gathered from more than 1 million businesses, found that nine of the nation's top 10 highest-paying occupations are in the medical field.

The best-paying job of all: anesthesiologist.

On average, anesthesiologists in the US earn an average annual salary of $258,100 — which is more than five times what the average American earns.

According to the American Society of Anesthesiologists, these medical doctors are responsible for the safety and well being of patients before, during, and after surgery. In the US, they're required to complete a four-year undergraduate college degree, four years of medical school, and a four-year anesthesiology residency program. Most anesthesiologists become board certified, and many complete an additional fellowship year of specialty training.

A 2014 physician compensation report by Medscape found that nearly 80% of anesthesiologists spend 40 hours or more per week with patients.

Here are the 37 highest-paying jobs in the US— all of which earn more than $115,000 a year, on average:

SEE ALSO: 17 high-paying side jobs you can do in your spare time

37. Computer and information research scientist

Mean annual pay: $115,580

Number of people who hold this job in the US: 25,510

Projected growth (2014 - 2024): 11%

36. Optometrist

Mean annual pay: $115,750

Number of people who hold this job in the US: 35,300

Projected growth (2014 - 2024): 27%

35. Judge, magistrate judge, or magistrate

Mean annual pay: $116,100

Number of people who hold this job in the US: 29,020

Projected growth (2014 - 2024): -1%

It may go against conventional career wisdom, but sometimes it can be the right decision to quit your job without having the next opportunity lined up. But, before we get to those potential situations, first things first: your mother was right when she told you that it's easier to get a job when you have a job.

It's also easier to afford to pay your bills when you're getting a paycheck, especially since most workers are ineligible for unemployment if they quit.

That said, sometimes life throws you a curve ball and you have to adapt. Here are a few situations that might indicate you need to quit sooner rather than later:

SEE ALSO: We asked and you answered — here are 25 moments you realized you needed to quit your job

DON'T MISS: We asked, you answered — here are 27 more moments when you realized you needed to quit your job

DON'T FORGET: Here are 27 of the most dramatic stories we've ever heard about quitting a job

1. Your health is suffering

Stress will damage your health over time. If you're sleep-deprived, depressed, or suffering from a lack of work/life balance, it might be time to reassess what you really want out of a career. Taking the time to recharge before applying somewhere new can allow you to focus on physical and mental health. If you're feeling miserable every day at work, having that breathing room will help you gain a fresh perspective before diving into a new position.

2. You want a total career change

If you've been thinking about heading in a completely new career direction, a pause between jobs might be the best idea. Spend time volunteering to build up experience in an unfamiliar industry, or networking in order to land that ideal opportunity further down the line. A gap in the resume can be fully explained if your goal is to go for something totally different. That type of initiative and willingness to step out of your comfort zone should appeal to the right kind of prospective employer.

3. Your life is changing in a big way

Moving across the country? The relocation will be big enough without stressing over finding the right job before you even get there. Unless you're moving specifically for employment, try to save enough to settle in for a couple of months as you search for the ideal company and position to start your new life with. If you're not familiar with the area, there could be all sorts opportunities that you may not have previously considered.

As the CEO of a fast-growing startup, and in my capacity as a self-employed consultant to many businesses, my biggest struggle is with productivity.

Often, at the end of a "very busy" day, a quick analysis of my work shows that I've been unable to get anything tangible done.

Research shows that I’m not alone, and productivity is a major struggle we all deal with.

According to research by Gallup, an alarming 70% of American employees are not working to their full potential.

These employees cost the American economy up to $550 billion in lost productivity every year.

There's a science to getting more done, though. Here are some effective and proven techniques that have made me more productive:

SEE ALSO: 15 signs that you're emotionally intelligent, even if it doesn't feel like it

1. I embraced the "early to rise" principle

In 1735, Benjamin Franklin popularized the saying, "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise" when he included it in his Poor Richard's Almanack. I've found that saying to be as true as it was when it was first said.

Perhaps the most important thing I have done for my productivity is waking up between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. Interestingly, waking up early is a core part of the morning routine of some of the world's most successful people — with many making it a habit to work up before 6 a.m. every day.

Tucker Hughes, who became a millionaire at age 22, credits waking up by 4 a.m. and being in the office by 5:15 a.m. every day to be one of his best success secrets.

Personally, I find that waking up really early (usually by 4 a.m.) every morning helps me complete most of my tasks for the day before noon. Interestingly, this is backed by research that shows that the morning is the most productive period for most people.

2. I get straight to work as soon as I wake up

I've been noticing a shift in my productivity since I started working first thing. Initially, my first waking hour used to be occupied by exercise and preparation for the day. However, I found that it wasn't unusual to have my momentum wear off when the time came to really start working.

Now, however, the first thing I do after waking up is go straight to my tasks for the day. The result: a significant boost in productivity.

By getting to work immediately I take advantage of my most focused hours of the day. Once I've gotten two or three hours of serious work done, it is easy to make the rest of my day much more productive.

I did some research and found out that there's a scientific explanation for this, and it's the same whether you're an early bird or a night owl. According to behavioral psychologist Dan Ariely, the most productive hours of our day are the first two hours after we wake up. By capitalizing on these first two hours, instead of wasting them on unimportant tasks and social media, we can ensure a more productive day.

3. I prepare a task list ahead of the next working day

It may seem inconvenient to have a task list, yet making one is one of my greatest productivity secrets.

I often used to find myself wandering between doing nothing and dilly-dallying on tasks every day. Instead of moving from task to task efficiently, I would spend hours (that felt like a few minutes) doing unnecessary tasks and checking social media.

This all ended when I started using a task list, however. Not only does this give me direction for the day, but ticking those checkboxes has a way of making me feel accomplished and motivated to do even more.

From China's robotic waiters to the world's first robotic lettuce farm, robots are only becoming more advanced. And robots are not only waiting tables and manning farms, but making food in the kitchen too. 

They might even take over chef and food service jobs in the future.

Here are seven of the most sophisticated robots that can make meals, including burgers, sushi, and pizza.

SEE ALSO: What's working — and what's not — in the effort to revolutionize patient record-keeping

The Foxbot slices perfect noodles faster than humans.

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The Foxbot, a robot created by the engineers at Foxconn Technology Group, can slice noodles from dough quicker than a human. In a windshield wiper-like motion, the robotic scissor hand cuts noodles that are the same size every time.

Three of the robots work at Dazzling Noodles, an open-kitchen restaurant chain in North China's Shanxi province.

This robot can make 400 burgers in an hour.

San Francisco-based Momentum Machines has developed a robot that can slice toppings, grill a patty, and assemble and bag a burger by itself.

The 24-square-foot machine features a stamper that grinds and shapes the meat, and then transfers it to its an oven. It can reportedly crank out 400 burgers in an hour.

The startup plans to open an actual restaurant featuring the machines in San Francisco.

This robot can compile sushi in a matter of seconds.

Developed by the Japanese robotics manufacturer Kawasaki, this robot can assemble nigiri in under a minute.

One robotic arm — on the right in the GIF above — clinches the sides of the pressed bundles of rice and moves completed nigiri pieces to a wooden block. The arm on the left picks up tubes of wasabi and squeezes a little bit onto the rice. It also picks up a small vacuum, which it then uses to lift up the fish and place it on the rice.

Being able to speak different languages is a coveted skill. It doesn't come easy to everyone, however.

I've observed friends and family members learning Italian, Japanese, Spanish, German, Greek, French, and Irish Gaelic.

Still, according to Gallup, only one in four Americans can hold a conversation in a language other than English.

Personally, I'm definitely not in that skilled 25% of the US population. I barely scraped through five years of basic Latin (and today, the handful words I remember mostly pertain to carriages getting stuck in ditches, thanks to the supremely weird textbook we used).

Just because learning languages can be a difficult process, doesn't mean that you should just give up. Picking up another language can open so many doors in your personal and professional life. One 2015 Quora post titled "As a person with English as my first language, what would be the most useful foreign language that I could learn?" covered this topic quite extensively.

Using Quora poster Sanda Golcea's list of the most spoken languages in the world by native speakers and number of countries, here are five languages that might be a bit trickier for English speakers to master, but are definitely worth the effort:

SEE ALSO: The Most Useful Foreign Languages For English Speakers

Chinese

Writing on Pinyin.info, a site that provides guides to writing Mandarin, University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies David Moser reveals that Mandarin can pose quite a challenge for English speakers.

"If you don't believe this, just ask a Chinese person. Most Chinese people will cheerfully acknowledge that their language is hard, maybe the hardest on earth. (Many are even proud of this, in the same way some New Yorkers are actually proud of living in the most unlivable city in America)."

He lists the writing system, lack of an alphabet, lack of cognates, and status as a tonal language as aspects that might prove particularly confusing for beginners.

That being said, Chinese is the most spoken language in the world, according to Ethnologue — without even considering the other varieties of the language, 897 million people speak Mandarin alone. So while it might take years to fully master, learning Chinese will definitely be worth the effort.

Hindi

In the Quora thread "Is it really difficult to learn Hindi?" posters gave several reasons why learning the language might be challenging for individuals who aren't native to a related language, citing differences in gender and handling the language's script.

Still, as an Indo-European language, there are word roots that are quite similar between Hindi and English, as one anonymous user noted.

Hindi is the fifth largest language in the world by speakers, according to Ethnologue.

Arabic

In an article for Slate, Robert Lane Greene writes that Arabic's script, the lack of vowels in its written form, and certain pronunciations can be quite tricky for an English-speaker to figure out. Additionally, there are numerous different dialects of the language that vary between countries.

However, Ethnologue reports that altogether, these various branches of the language make Arabic the fourth most popular language in the world by number of speakers.

New Yorkers will soon have an easier time getting their hands on legal marijuana, thanks to several new policies announced this week.

Under the new regulations, patients too ill to travel can have their cannabis delivered, and nurse practitioners may now certify patients for access to the drug. The state may also double the number of companies allowed to operate dispensaries, from five to 10. 

Earlier this year, we toured one of the first medical marijuana dispensaries to open doors in New York. It's run by Columbia Care, a a medical marijuana company with locations in California, Nevada, and Massachusetts, and designed by the retail display group RPG.

Located just east of Union Square, the new Manhattan office is sleekly modern — here's a look. 

Drake Baer contributed to a previous version of this story.

Walking in from 14th Street, the first thing you see is the Columbia Care logo of nested Cs.

One thing you notice about the design of the space, from the reception on in, is that there are very few hard right angles. Everything has a nice flow.

Walking in, Columbia Care doesn't feel clinical. There are plants, wood, and soft lighting throughout.

For once, it wasn't Kanye West's words that stood out at the MTV Video Music Awards. It was a woman named Teyana Taylor.

When the rapper took the stage at the 2016 VMAs Sunday night, he delivered a typically tangent-filled speech, defending his "Famous" song's use of Taylor Swift and once again comparing himself to Walt Disney and Steve Jobs. But he also premiered a music video featuring a woman everyone is still talking about.

Teyana Taylor is the dancer seen in the explicit, bizarre, and entrancing music video for "Fade," off of Kanye's album "The Life of Pablo," and many were not familiar with her before seeing the video.

But Taylor is a singer who has put time in the industry, making a name for herself.

Here's everything you need to know about Teyana Taylor:

Teyana Taylor is an R&B singer who's worked with big names.

The 25-year-old artist from Harlem, New York, signed with Pharrell Williams’ Star Trak Entertainment record label in 2007 under Universal Music Group.

She's now on the roster of Kanye West's GOOD Music label, under Def Jam.

Here's her 2014 video for "Maybe," featuring rappers Pusha T and Yo Gotti. It's almost as steamy as the "Fade" video.

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Her debut studio album “VII” came out in 2014. She also released an EP, “The Cassette Tape 1994,” in 2015.

Back in the day, however, she was just Teyana on MTV's "My Super Sweet 16."

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She was on the reality show before she got signed to Williams' label, and made her dream old-school hip-hop-themed birthday a reality.

Source: Uproxx

Travis Kalanick may be the public face of Uber, but he hasn't built the company by himself. 

Like any chief executive, Kalanick leans heavily on his team and direct reports to manage all parts of the business, from people operations internally to putting out regulatory fires externally. 

As Uber faces challenges on all fronts in 2016, here's who is leading the charge internally to make transportation "as reliable as running water."

SEE ALSO: The 21 most innovative startups in tech

Jeff Jones is Uber's new president of ridesharing.

When Travis Kalanick asked Jeff Jones how well he did on his TED talk, the then-Target CMO gave him a B-minus and told him he needed to fix his talking points. 

That's harsh feedback for Kalanick, but also a valuable insight. As Uber has tried to rein in his free-wheeling city offices, it's needed to fix its global branding problems. 

In August, Uber announced that it had poached Jones from Target to become its president of ridesharing, overseeing all of its operations, marketing, and customer support.

Ryan Graves was the company's first employee and first CEO.

When Graves responded "heres a tip. email me:)" to a tweet about a startup job, there was no way of knowing Uber would become the $62 billion company it is today. 

Graves joined and became its first CEO and general manager from February 2010 until December 2010. At that point, Graves was "super pumped" that Kalanick (who was "frickin' pumped") would take over the role. 

Graves led Uber's international expansion and growth as its former SVP and head of global operations until Jones joined the company. Graves' new role at the company is as its resident entrepreneur and builder, overseeing Uber's people operations and UberEverything along with working with Kalanick on special projects.

He's also on Uber's board.

Austin Geidt is in charge of expanding Uber everywhere.

Joining the ride-hailing startup after battling a drug addiction, Geidt was the fourth hire at Uber and has been with the company ever since.

"I'm so proud of the work my team has done at Uber and the work I've done at Uber. But it's not the proudest thing I've done, right? I'm more proud of being sober,"she said at a Fortune conference. "I just have perspective."

As head of global expansion, she's taken Uber from one city to more than 100 and plots on a map where Uber is going next. 

If that wasn't enough of a job, she also oversees the PRO team, Uber's equivalent to business ops, that's in charge of streamlining the company. One of her special projects is Uber's 1 Million Women initiative to sign up 1 million women to the platform by 2020.

Every week, employees at the world's largest hedge fund spend at least an hour with "management principles training" lessons (MPTs), where they analyze recordings of meetings and answer questions about what they observed.

Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio implemented this process around 10 years ago as a way to further instill his unique management insights into his growing firm, which now has $150 billion in assets under management and 1,700 employees in its Westport, Connecticut offices.

Dalio founded his hedge fund out of his apartment in 1975, and in the '80s developed a culture of "radical truth" and "radical transparency," codified in his 2010 guide "Principles," which all employees must read. In this environment, the majority of meetings are recorded, via an opt-in audio recorder or camera, and any time employees mention a colleague not present, they are supposed to send the recording to that person. Some of these recordings become MPTs, if they contain a "teachable moment." Others are sent to share an important, informative meeting with the entire company.

It's a unique process all job candidates know they'll be getting themselves into, since Bridgewater shows a couple of examples during its application process. To learn how they worked and have been received, Business Insider talked to several former junior- and senior-level employees. We are refraining from sharing any identifying details of these former employees so as not to jeopardize their standing with the company.

SEE ALSO: Bridgewater just released a series of videos that looks like something Facebook or Google would produce

Getting to know Ray

The lessons are intended to take an average of 15 minutes each workday, but one source remembers spending anywhere from two to four hours each week on the lessons. This person said that if you ever pitched spending a few hours each week on office culture and management strategy to executives at a traditional financial firm, where this source also worked, they would "laugh you out of the room," but that Wall Street could actually benefit from more time spent on the topics.

MPTs typically consist of audio, video, or text from a meeting and/or relevant document followed by a survey, and can be completed in as little time as five minutes or as long as more than an hour. They are released in batches with deadlines, and some are released outside of batches under special circumstances. There may not be a "correct" response to the survey questions, but employees see the aggregate results after they submit their answers.

Any employee is subject to be featured in an MPT, though the majority feature the senior management team and a notable amount star Dalio. Dalio appears in so many, in fact, that one former employee told us that even though their job didn't put them in regular contact with Dalio, they felt as though they got to know him personally through the lessons.

Here are a few examples of actual MPTs, based on descriptions from sources:

1. Question your superiors

A junior-level employee meets with his manager regarding a problem he submitted in the company's issue log. He explains to his boss that he's concerned about working with third-party consultants to Bridgewater because they are not immersed in the Bridgewater way of doing things and he feels there is a culture clash. The boss explains that he and members of senior management already discussed this issue and reached a decision, and that it's not this employee's concern, anyway. They move on.

In a followup, the boss' own supervisor chastises him for the way he handled the previous situation. An employee with a problem should not be shut down, the supervisor explains. The first reaction should be to find out, "Is there truth here?" and work with the employee to get at the root of his position. Then, it's your duty to explain your decision-making to that employee. The supervisor explains that it's a manager's responsibility to encourage employee feedback, since a manager can lose track of how their actions are affecting their team.

The source who shared this story with us said that the initial interaction between the manager and his employee, where a boss tells his underling to respect his decision and roll with it, would have been normal at any other company where the person had worked.

2. Admit your weaknesses

A senior-level employee meets with Dalio. There has been some tension between them, but the employee begins explaining the ways that they have failed recently, and how this is tied to bigger-picture personal weaknesses.

This employee's self-assessment is shown as a positive example of one of the harder aspects of "Principles" in action. As Dalio writes in his guide:

"I call the pain that comes from looking at yourself and others objectively 'growing pains,' because it is the pain that accompanies personal growth ... Remember that: Pain + Reflection = Progress.

"Much as you might wish this were not so, this is a reality that you should just accept and deal with. There is no getting around the fact that achieving success requires getting at the root causes of all important problems, and people’s mistakes and weaknesses are sometimes the root causes. So to be successful, you must be willing to look at your own behavior and the behavior of others as possible causes of problems."

Sometimes it can be hard to know just how many calories you're consuming in one sitting.

We teamed up with Dario, an app that offers an extensive food database and allows people to track carbohydrates and calories, to identify the calorie count of popular snacks and meals.

While the number of calories in certain foods might surprise you, it's good to keep in mind that our bodies need calories to function, so more doesn't always mean bad.

Keep scrolling for a clearer picture of what you're putting in your body.

Macaroni and cheese (one cup): 310 calories

Cheese pizza (one slice): 285 calories

Steak (one ounce): 679 calories

A new report from the Government Accountability Office dives deep into the all important question the Air Force and the Senate Armed Services Committee have been wrestling with for years — should, or can, the Air Force divest itself of the A-10?

The report, thoroughly researched and evaluated, gives a clear answer — definitely not. 

Even with the looming adoption of the all important F-35, the report finds that retiring the A-10 would leave significant capability gaps behind, and that the Air Force currently has concrete plans to bridge those gaps.

In the slides below, find out exactly what the A-10 does, and how the Air Force, whether they admit it or not, just can't live without it.

SEE ALSO: Why the F-35 could 'never in a million years' out dogfight the RAF Typhoon or the Russian Su-35

Here's an overview of the Department of Defense's close air support (CAS) platforms:

This graphic shows that the US actually employs many different CAS platforms, but the A-10 remains unique among them.

The A-10 has the cheapest operating cost of any of the manned aircraft pictured here. It also has its famous gun.

No other plane in the Air Force's inventory packs anything close to the A-10's GAU-8 Avenger 30 mm gun.

Source: Government Accountability Office

Primary mission: CAS

Description: Air action by fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft against hostile targets that are in close proximity to friendly forces and that require detailed integration of each air mission with the fire and movement of those forces.

Why the A-10 does it best: The simple reason the A-10 community dominates at CAS is their training. They train twice, in some cases three times, as much on CAS compared to other pilot communities.

This graphic shows the full details:

Also, the A-10 has the benefit of its gun. The gun can strike targets more precisely and than even the best, million-dollar guided munitions in the Air Force's arsenal. 

"It's a low-collateral-damage weapon, pinpoint accurate, and we employ high-explosive incendiary rounds so nothing's walking away from that if they get hit," Air Force Col. Sean McCarthy said of the A-10's gun.

Source: Government Accountability Office

Primary mission: Forward Air Control (Airborne) (FAC(A))

Description: A specifically trained and qualified aviation officer who exercises control from the air of aircraft engaged in CAS of ground troops. The FAC(A) also provides coordination and terminal attack control for CAS missions, as well as locating, marking, and attacking ground targets using other fire support assets.

Why the A-10 does it best: Again, it comes down to the incredible training the A-10 community undergoes. A-10 pilots train about 4 times as much as F-16 pilots do for FAC(A), and are required to "Attain mission proficiency" in this role "while F-16 FAC(A)s and future F-35 FAC(A)s are only required to have familiarity with the mission," the report states.

About half of the Air Force's airborne Forward Air Controllers are A-10 pilots, and for good reason it would seem. 

Source: Government Accountability Office

Sometimes relationships end for a good reason. People grow apart, and both parties are happier on their own, or with other people.

But sometimes, relationships end because one or both partners made an avoidable, but incredibly destructive mistake.

Psychological literature is rife with examples of behaviors that can hurt a romantic relationship. We rounded up seven of the most common.

Don't get paranoid. If you recognize one or more of these patterns in your relationship, you can now take steps to remedy the problem instead of staying mired in conflict.

Read on and learn how to stop a breakup in its tracks.

SEE ALSO: 15 relationship facts everybody should know before getting married

Distancing yourself from your partner

Recent research found there's a deadly combination of characteristics that predict relationship dissatisfaction: sensitivity to rejection and the tendency to cut your partner off emotionally.

People who are really worried about getting hurt might distance themselves from their partners, which ends up making the relationship less satisfying in the long run. In other words, they effectively create what they fear.

If this sounds like you, try telling your partner about your fears. You might be surprised to learn that they share some of those concerns, and you can work through them together.

Hiding your finances

Nearly two in five Americans in one poll said they've lied to their partner about money (financial infidelity), which can lead to fights, distrust, and in some cases divorce.

The problem is that money isn't just about numbers— it can symbolize power and love. So insecurity about what your partner's doing with his or her money means insecurity about the relationship in general.

Before you decide to combine (or even partially combine) finances with your partner, it helps to have a conversation about budgeting and your financial histories, and to come up with guidelines for making big individual purchases.

Forming a 'fantasy bond'

Psychologist Robert Firestone coined the term "fantasy bond," which describes the illusion of connection with your partner.

You replace genuine feelings of love and passion with the idea of being a couple, or a unit. Emotional closeness is often replaced by adherence to routines.

The real danger, according to Firestone's daughter, the psychologist Lisa Firestone, is that you start to lose your individuality in your attempt to find safety in the relationship.

If you feel like you've entered into a fantasy bond, Robert Firestone says it helps to explore your fears of individuation and separation from your partner and work toward developing a more honest communication style.

Nintendo's in a bad place.

It's last console, the Wii U, tanked. As such, the company is rocketing away from it on the way towards its next console. 

But even though Nintendo is down-and-out, the Japanese video game giant remains beloved. Millions of the fans the world over are anxiously awaiting Nintendo's next console. We've got good news: it's almost here. Here's everything we know!

SEE ALSO: The 'GoldenEye 007' remake almost happened before it fell apart — here's what it looked like

Thus far, the console only has a codename: "NX".

Nintendo hasn't offered an official name, nor a description, nor really any other major details. Late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata first mentioned the console during an investor presentation in March 2015:

"As proof that Nintendo maintains strong enthusiasm for the dedicated game system business, let me confirm that Nintendo is currently developing a dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept under the development codename 'NX.' It is too early to elaborate on the details of this project, but we hope to share more information with you next year."

It will be a "brand new concept."

From the beginning, Nintendo has insisted that the NX will be a "brand new concept" in the world of gaming. But what does that mean?

Late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said the console is not intended to simply replace the Wii U or handheld 3DS console.

Iwata also commented on the different ways that "dedicated game systems" are played in Japan and elsewhere, with handheld devices being much more popular than home consoles nowadays in Nintendo's native country. With that in mind, Nintendo wants to "create a new platform that will be accepted by as many people around the world as possible."

Based on those statements and reports from industry insiders, the popular thinking for a while has been that the NX will do something to bridge the gap between home consoles and handheld systems.

According to one report, it's a console you can play at home on a TV and take it on-the-go.

With Nintendo remaining tight-lipped about the Nintendo NX, it was only a matter of time before someone leaked information. That came via an extensive report from Eurogamer in July, which pegs the system as a home/handheld console hybrid — small enough to take with you, perhaps in your pocket, but powerful enough to power TV-based gaming.

What’s the difference between marinara and pomodoro sauce? How about ricotta and mascarpone? Aren’t ice cream and gelato the same thing? These are just a few of the questions we’ve asked ourselves when trying to decide what to eat off a trattoria menu. Avoid confusion and impress your dinner crew with this cheat sheet for ordering in Italian, and buon appetito!

1. Pomodoro

Pomodoro means “tomato” in Italian, and you’ll often see the term as part of the classic Italian dish “pasta al pomodoro,” a simple pasta with a sauce of olive oil, fresh tomatoes and basil. The difference between pomodoro and marinara? The tomatoes aren’t as chunky in pomodoro, the sauce is cooked longer, and it’s darker in color.

 The Spaghetti Pomodoro at Bar Primi in NYC is fresh and light, prepared al dente with fresh basil and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

2. Arancini

Arancini are stuffed rice balls fried in bread crumbs that take their name from the word “arancia,” meaning “orange” in Italian due to their shape and color. Common fillings — which vary regionally — can include meat or tomato sauce, mozzarella, peas or mushrooms. The dish is great as an appetizer or a side with a main course.

Currently, the arancini at G by Mike Isabella in Washington D.C. are served as a part of an Antipasti Misti platter, alongside burrata and beet salad.

3. Tiramisu

Just as its name suggests, tiramisu (meaning “pick me up” or “cheer me up” in Italian) is a light-as-air, popular coffee-flavored Italian dessert. To make it, ladyfingers (sponge biscuits) are dipped in coffee and layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar and mascarpone (Italian cream cheese) and finished with a dusting of cocoa.

The Tiramisu at Osteria Mamma in Los Angeles is the perfect melt-in-your-mouth ending to any Italian meal.

Gym battles are the least intuitive part of "Pokémon Go." It wasn't until my fourth battle that I learned I'm supposed to tap to attack, hold down on my Pokémon to activate a special move, or swipe to the side to dodge.

And until Tuesday, I had no idea how to switch Pokémon in the middle of a battle. Reddit user kial trelis taught me — and apparently much of the Silph Road subreddit — how. Just swipe up!

Here's a breakdown of how to do it battle:

I'm about to go into battle against this extremely powerful Dragonite. I will probably lose.

My Tangela won't last long. BUT I can swap it out for a different Pokémon.

Simply swipe up from the screen or tap on the button with the arrows underneath "run."

It is not easy coming back to work after an August break.

With autumn beginning to draw in, and a lengthening to-do list, it's natural to start thinking about working abroad.

The only problem is to decide on where.

InterNations, an expat networking website, surveyed 14,000 people who had left their country to work somewhere else to find out where people are happiest.

The survey accounted for different factors, such as ease of settling in, quality of life, and cost of living to decide the rankings of countries.

Here are the 19 top destinations in the list.

19. Bahrain. The country saw a noticeable drop in the Quality of Education subcategory, among others, which has fallen from 8th in 2015 to 22nd this year.

18. Thailand. A lot of Australians are attracted to Thailand, which ranks highly for friendliness and ease of settling in.

17. Germany. More than seven in ten respondents (71%) are generally satisfied with the level of job security, with 23% saying they are completely satisfied.

Some nights we want a bright, fruit-spiked salad, other nights we crave a huge, hearty spread, but most nights we want lotsa pasta—something that's quick, simple to prepare, and so satisfying you would never know it took you thirty minutes. Add some chicken to the mix and you have yourself a square meal (that still fits in a bowl). Here are 5 chicken pastas to sate any weeknight craving you have—from nutmeg-spiced hakka noodles to classic penne with meatballs.

Classic Chicken Piccata

See full recipe here >

From Linda Johnson.

Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Soup

See full recipe here >

From foxeslovelemons.

Chicken Sausage Meatball and Broccoli Pasta Bowl

See full recipe here >

From inpatskitchen.

A couple years ago, Google paid a select group of its employees huge sums of money to figure out which shade of blue users liked best. It sounds like a frivolous job, but the investment paid off: Google has earned hundreds of millions in extra revenue from people clicking on perfectly-blue ads.

Ayah Bdeir thinks that's the world we live in now, one in which odd-seeming jobs keep the world turning.

Bdeir is the CEO of the home-invention company littlebits, a TED senior fellow, and an alum of MIT's Media Lab. She believes that 65% of jobs for the class of 2030 don't even exist yet, so students need to learn a variety of skills to stay adaptable.

Here are five of the jobs Bdeir thinks could explode in the next 15 years.

SEE ALSO: Libraries of the future are going to change in some unexpected ways

1. Robotics Veterinarian

The line between biology and technology is blurring.

In 15 years, pet owners could be taking their furry friends to people who have more of an engineering background than a medical one.

Bdeir believes robotics vets will help live animals who may have prosthetic limbs or implanted chips, or animatronic animals — like Big Dog from Boston Dynamics — that need some careful rewiring.

2. Behavioral Game Designer

In the coming decades, Bdeir suspects gamification will become even more useful in helping people de-stress and get healthy.

In the same way Pokémon Go helped a population of couch potatoes get up and move and fitness trackers turn step-counting into a high score, programmers will create clever apps and products that make healthy living the most appealing option.

Students will need skills related to problem-solving, computational thinking, and empathy.

3. Holoportation Specialist

Microsoft is already working on technology that lets you project your body someplace else, similar to how R2-D2 played a holographic message from Princess Leia in "Star Wars."

The company calls it "holoportation."

Bdeir says it'll be the job of a holoportation specialist to make sure transporting someone's virtual presence to another location is seamless and natural, much like how several companies are currently racing to make virtual reality as immersive as possible.