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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? All of the players in the blockbuster deal that brought Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks

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carmelo anthony

The Carmelo Anthony trade remains one of the biggest trades in NBA history.

The 2011 blockbuster finally ended the saga known as "Melo-drama," sending Anthony from the Nuggets to the Knicks to form what was supposed to be a super-team with Amar'e Stoudemire.

The trade occurred just over six years ago, and with the NBA trade deadline drawing near, revisiting the deal remains fascinating. With so many changing parts — don't forget, the Minnesota Timberwolves were involved in the trade, too! — it helped shift at least some of today's NBA landscape.

With the help of Pro Sports Transactions, we tracked down where all of the players and draft picks are today.

Carmelo Anthony, of course, was the centerpiece of the deal. He wanted to go to the Knicks and essentially forced the Knicks' and the Nuggets' hands into dealing him before the trade deadline.



Today, Anthony is still on the Knicks, though trade rumors constantly swirl around him.



The Knicks also got Chauncey Billups, a respected, capable veteran point guard, in the trade.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

This woman traveled to 100 countries and all 7 continents before her 30th birthday

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melissa roy/cyprus sunset

The INSIDER Summary:

• After a difficult childhood, Melissa Roy caught the travel bug while studying abroad in Argentina.
• She set a goal of visiting 100 countries and all seven continents by age 30 — and did it.
• Her favorite way to explore a place is staying with local hosts.



Melissa Roy will take couch surfing in a stranger's house over a hotel room any day.

She wishes that people would be a little more trusting. Instead of warily asking locals for directions and walking away, she stays in their homes, views the world through their eyes, and swears it's the best way to travel. 

However, Roy knows that trusting people isn't always easy to do. After a tumultuous childhood in Indiana, all she wanted to do was leave everything — and everyone — behind. 

She set herself a goal of visiting 100 countries and all seven continents by age 30 — and did it. She also did it all on her own dime — a rarity in an age of sponsored Instagram travel celebrities and branded #wanderlust.

Now 31 years old and at 109 countries, she hopes to one day see them all.

After what she calls a "traumatic" childhood involving restraining orders and custody battles, Roy longed to explore new places.

"I just never liked being at home," she said. "I always wanted to be out and get my mind off things."

 



She spent her sophomore year of college studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and knew that she'd found her calling.

While most students went home for their winter break, Roy worked her way through South America.

"I just traveled everywhere," she said. "Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, Machu Picchu — I got the travel bug and it never went away."



She loved it so much that she did a Semester at Sea during her senior year.

"You live on a giant cruise ship with 1,000 students and you circumnavigate the world," she said. "We went to 12 countries in 100 days and saw all of the world wonders."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 43 most powerful female engineers of 2017

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Women engineers 2017

In honor of National Engineer's week (February 19-25), we bring you our annual shout-out to the most powerful women engineers in tech.

Yes, the tech industry is doing a well-documented terrible job in attracting women into engineering. And once they enter this male-dominated world, some women are subject to some appalling sexism and/or sexual harassment.

But that only tells part of the story. There are also women who are leading important tech teams at important companies. And there are women who are building cool cutting-edge technologies at startups. 

In other words, there are women having fabulous careers at engineers, building the technology that millions of people use on a daily basis. With that in mind, here are 43 powerful women who are developers, designers, engineering directors, bio scientists, nuclear scientist and rocket scientists.

SEE ALSO: The tech industry has $21 billion worth of open, high paying jobs — here are the top 15

No. 43: Gixo's Selina Tobaccowala

Selina Tobaccowala is founder of a new startup, Gixo.

But she's well known in the Valley as the former president and CTO of SurveyMonkey, working on it for nearly seven of its big growth years.

She's the former SVP Product & Technology for Ticketmaster Europe, having landed there after it bought the startup she co-founded back in 1997, Evite. She was the vice president of engineering at Evite.

Gixo is still in stealth but many people in the Valley already expect good things from it, thanks to Tobaccowala.



No. 42: LinkedIn's Kamilah Taylor

Kamilah Taylor is a senior software engineer at LinkedIn (which was recently acquired by Microsoft).

She's been involved in all sorts of major projects at LinkedIn, including the rewrite of LinkedIn’s major app, messaging, as well as infrastructure, and the LinkedIn Learning iOS app.

But she's probably best known for her work in advocating for women and people of color in the tech industry. She's the author of "Women in Tech: Take Your Career to the Next Level with Practical Advice and Inspiring Stories", she volunteers her time for a bunch of organizations like BlackGirlsCode, she organized the Tech Beach Retreat in Jamaica and she speaks at conferences.



No. 41: Forward's Casey Edgeton

Casey Edgeton is the senior product designer at up-and-coming health care startup Forward.

Forward is the much-watched concierge medical practice in San Francisco founded by former Alphabet exec Adrian Aoun and backed by a who's who in tech (Marc Benioff, Eric Schmidt, Aaron Levie, Joe Lonsdale).

Forward wants to reinvent health care by giving patients a private doctor and an artificially intelligent app that makes use of health tech from body scans to DNA tests. Plus, it charges a flat fee of $149/month and doesn't bill insurance companies.

Edgeton is the woman running the design team at Forward. She's also one Uber's first designers who helped develop the interface for its app. 

 

 

 

 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

9 of the most fascinating TED Talks about money

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TED Talk Courtney Martin

Money matters are complicated, and there's far more to finances than balancing a checkbook.

Fortunately, there are plenty of resources to turn to, from podcasts to books to personal finance gurus, that will teach you the basics and then some.

We've rounded up nine TED Talks — all between 10 and 20 minutes — that could alter the way you think about money, and how you choose to save, spend, and earn.

Check out the talks below:

This is an updated version of a post by Kathleen Elkins.

SEE ALSO: The 27 most important finance books ever written

DON'T MISS: 5 of the best documentaries about money on Netflix

Neha Narula: The future of money

"Money isn't anything objective," Neha Narula, a director of research at the Digital Currency Initiative, a part of the MIT Media Lab, says in her TED talk. Actually, the value of money is a "collective fiction" that citizens of the world have agreed upon.

Using modern cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, we can take this concept a step further, Narula says, and redefine how we value, and ultimately exchange, money. Narula illustrates a world where we use "programmable money," effectively removing the responsibility and power from big institutions and returning it to the individual. 



David Burkus: Why you should know how much your coworkers get paid

In his talk at TEDxUniversityofNevada, David Burkus poses the question: "What would happen if we had total pay transparency?"

As a management researcher and the author of "Under New Management: How Leading Organizations Are Upending Business As Usual," Burkus has spent several years studying pay transparency and found that employees at companies that are open about salary tend be more engaged, work harder to improve, and are less likely to quit. At companies where salary is kept secret, employees generally feel they're being underpaid and discriminated against.

In this talk, Burkus presents compelling research to back up his claim that keeping salary secret within an organization could lead to what economists call a "total market failure."



Courtney Martin: The new American Dream

For the first time in US history, across all demographics, the majority of parents don't think their kids will be better of than they were, says journalist Courtney Martin in her talk.

Martin explores the new American Dream, where we're "not finding steady employment, not earning as much money, and not living in big fancy houses." But that doesn't really matter, she says, because the dream that treasures these marks of success isn't shared by everyone. 

By answering two key questions — how we should work and how we should live — Martin wonders if there's a smarter way to define "better off" and how we can arrive there.

 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The easiest ways to prevent the eyestrain caused by staring at screens, according to ophthalmologists

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eyestrain stressed tired computer working

If you work at a computer, you know how awful your eyes often feel by the end of the day.

After staring at screens, eyes become dry, itchy, blurry, irritated — and that discomfort is frequently accompanied by a headache.

This phenomena is known as eyestrain, often referred to as "digital eyestrain," since many of us experience it after staring at computers all day (it probably doesn't help that we stare at phones during breaks and often return to staring at computer or other screens at home).

"It's an important issue," says Dr. Rahul Khurana, clinical spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmologists. Still, he explains, it's possible to overhype the concerns about eyestrain too. For example, there's no evidence that looking at screens is causing things as severe as vision loss. For this reason and others, there's no need to purchase special glasses to avoid eyestrain. "It causes people to be uncomfortable, it causes irritation," he says. But "we haven't seen any issues with eyestrain causing permanent damage."

By following a few simple procedures, it's possible to avoid most of the negative effects of eyestrain in the first place.

SEE ALSO: Computer glasses that claim to protect your eyes from screens are selling like crazy, but they probably aren't doing you much good

Understand the main cause of eyestrain: blinking (or really, not blinking enough).

We blink less when we focus intently on something like a computer screen. Instead of blinking 15 times a minute, we'll do so 12 or 10 times, which dries out our eyes. This isn't just a computer problem either — focusing on books or magazines can cause the exact same symptoms.

"Over the course of the day if [cornea cells] dry out beyond a certain point, they can't recover," says Dr. Richard Rosen, director of retina services at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai and ophthalmology research director at the Icahn School of Medicine. "Not until they're replaced overnight will you feel comfortable."



Try to keep your eyes moist.

It's hard to remember to blink when you're focusing intently, but it's worth making an effort.

Artificial tears, or eye drops, can also help keep your eyes feel refreshed throughout the day. If you're in a particularly dry environment, a humidifier may help as well. 



Give your eyes a break with the 20-20-20 rule.

To give your eyes a break from that intense, eye-drying focus, you can follow a simple rule, according to Khurana. Every 20 minutes, look at something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds. That'll allow your eyes to rest and give yourself a little time to blink normally.

 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

After saving for 6 years, a couple turned an army truck into a mobile home and drove around the entire African border in 19 months

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Eight years ago, Steve Lorimer and his girlfriend Roxanne Harvey spent 19 months driving around the entire border of Africa in a converted army truck.

The couple is now married and older, but their journals are preserved for posterity on their blog, OverAfrica. And their trip remains unforgettable. 

SEE ALSO: A 29-year-old who's been traveling the world for 4 years explains how he affords it

Steve Lorimer grew up in South Africa during apartheid and always wanted to gain a better understanding of Africa as a whole.

"It was always this cloud hanging over me as a South African," he said.



He bought a 4x4 British military truck for £6,000 (about $7,600).

He saved up for six years to afford the truck and the trip.



It took a year and a half to refurbish — and even that wasn't enough time.

"My intention was always to build it myself, but then we started looking into warehouse space in London and the warehouse space in London cost more than the truck, so it was actually cheaper to outsource the job to someone who could do it professionally," he said.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 17 shortest celebrity marriages of all time

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kim kardashian kris humphries

Unlike us "normal folk" who get divorced or have their marriages annulled, famous people don’t get the luxury of privacy during those trying times.

That means that the entire world knows when, why, and how they decide to call it quits. Even more so when that life-long commitment doesn't even last a year.

Here are the shortest celebrity marriages of all time:

17. Jennifer Lopez and Cris Judd: 218 days

Lopez met Judd back in 2001 when he worked as a back-up dancer in her "Love Don't Cost a Thing" video. They got engaged and married within the year, but the marriage came crashing down 218 days later.

Judd doesn't blame the limelight for their failed marriage, but it certainly wasn't his favorite part of their time together.

"You know it's very tough," Judd said while reminiscing on their relationship with Us Weekly in 2014. "Your privacy is breached. You're no longer a normal person. [Our wedding] was a circus. I think several people got arrested trying to climb up a mountain … trying to sneak in. We actually rented the airspace." 



16. Elizabeth Taylor and Conrad "Nicky" Hilton: 205 days

She was 18 at the time she said "I do" to the hotel heir. Her first marriage (out of eight) ended before she even turned 19. 

In her 1965 memoir, Taylor said the marriage was practically over by the time they returned from their two-week honeymoon. By the time the divorce was final, they'd been together 205 days. 

"The honeymoon in Europe lasted two weeks," she wrote. "I should say the marriage lasted for two weeks. Then came, yours sincerely, disillusionment rude and brutal."



15. Drew Barrymore and Tom Green: 163 days

The MTV host and famous actress eloped in 2001. Green filed for divorce 5 months later. In 2014, he revealed to Oprah that they're no longer in communication. 

"I haven’t talked to her in many, many years," he said. "I’m glad she’s doing great. I’m really happy that she’s doing good."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Ikea just launched a DIY flat-pack indoor garden that can feed a whole lot of people at once

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Space10, Ikea's innovation lab, has designed a piece of living furniture that can feed quite a few people, from the looks of it.

Called the Growroom, it's a flat-pack spherical garden that grows plants, veggies, and herbs.

"Standing tall as a spherical garden, it empowers people to grow their own food much more locally in a beautiful and sustainable way," its designers write on Medium.

Though Space10 launched the Growroom in late 2016, the designers just made the plans open-source. You can download the instruction manual on Space10's site.

Check it out below.

SEE ALSO: The 12 cities with the most trees around the world

Measuring about nine feet tall, the Growroom lets you grow plants indoors.



You can also sit inside and admire the crops.



Though the Growroom pictured below features mostly plants, the structure can grow anything, including fruit, herbs, and vegetables.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here's the movie that won best picture at the Oscars the year you were born

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titanic 20th Century Fox

The Oscars' designation of best picture is Hollywood's most coveted award. While some fantastic films have been honored with the title, other less-than-stellar picks have been named best picture. But no matter your opinion on the movies, there's no denying the Academy Awards' legacy for recognizing the great films of our time.

Keep reading for a look at the movie named best picture the year you were born, as well as every other film given the golden statue.

SEE ALSO: Jordan Peele explains why his horror movie about racism is what we need in the Trump era

1929: "Wings"

Plot: "Two young men, one rich, one middle class, who are in love with the same woman, become fighter pilots in World War I."

Stars: Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Richard Arlen, and Gary Cooper.

Source: IMDB



1929 (again*): "The Broadway Melody"

*The first Academy Awards ceremony of 1929 recognized movies from the 1927/1928 movie season, while the second ceremony was for 1928/1929 movies.

Plot: "A pair of sisters from the vaudeville circuit try to make it big time on Broadway, but matters of the heart complicate the attempt."

Stars: Bessie Love, Anita Page, and Charles King.

Source: IMDB



1930: "All Quiet on the Western Front"

Plot: "A young soldier faces profound disillusionment in the soul-destroying horror of World War I."

Stars: Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, and John Wray.

Source: IMDB



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25 breathtaking photos of what life looks like underwater

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underwater/dancing octopus

The INSIDER Summary:

• The Underwater Photographer of the Year competition highlights photos from beneath oceans, lakes, and rivers.
• Categories include shipwrecks and portraits of underwater life.

• The winning photo features an octopus "dancing" in shallow water.



There's more going on under the sea than you might think.

The Underwater Photographer of the Year competition proves this by showcasing the best shots of the incredible variety of wildlife swimming beneath oceans, lakes, and rivers around the world.

Photographers braved freezing waters, pitch-black caves, and hungry predators, sometimes waiting days for the perfect moment to photograph a reticent crab or a swift school of fish.

Here are 25 photos from this year's collection of winners.

Captions have been condensed and edited for clarity.

"Sea lion playing with starfish" by Francis Pérez

"In Los Islotes there is one of the most important sea lion kindergartens in Mexico... I spent about four hours in the water. I came and went to the area where there were more juveniles, until finally getting closer little by little, and, with respect, I was able to capture this photo."



"Out of the Blue" by Nick Blake

"Kukulkan Cenote on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula forms part of the Chac Mool system and is noted for the spectacular light effects as the sun penetrates the darkness... The light show flickered on and off as the sun was periodically covered by cloud and as it reappeared, I beckoned to my buddy and dive guide, Andrea Costanza of ProDive, to edge into the illumination of some of the stronger beams, completing the composition."



"Under My Umbrella" by Caitlin Craciun

"The idea for this photo came from the need to show people that free diving is not ONLY about going down and up on a line, but rather exploring, dreaming and applying it for having fun and to explore."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 'doomsday' vault that stores every known crop on the planet just got a delivery of nearly 50,000 seeds

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Svalbard Seed vault seed return

Buried in the side of a mountain in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole, the Global Seed Vault stores virtually every kind of seed.

And on Wednesday, that seed vault got even more seeds — almost 50,000 new samples — to help preserve biodiversity. Those returning samples include the ones sent out in 2015 to replace a collection that had been damaged by the Syrian civil war. 

Cary Fowler, the man considered the "father" of the seed vault and a former executive director of the international nonprofit organization Crop Trust, compares it to a safety deposit box: the point of the vault is not for apocalyptic scenarios, but serves more as a sort of back-up drive.

Fowler told Business Insider in October that the vault is used to store duplicates of existing seed banks that have been collecting seeds for 100 years. That way, if a regional seed vault loses something, the Svalbard collection can replace the sample.

Take a look inside the vault:

SEE ALSO: The man behind the 'doomsday' vault that stores every known crop on the planet explains how it came to be

DON'T MISS: There could be a surprising link between how people respond to a new cancer treatment and their microbiome

The vault is located in Svalbard, an archipelago that's part of Norway. It's a cold area filled with polar bears and snow scooters, along with brightly colored houses.



The archipelago is located in the Arctic Ocean, midway between the North Pole and Norway, where the warmest temperature this year was 58 degrees Fahrenheit. The winters remain below 0 and -1 degrees Fahrenheit.

Source: Norwegian Meteorological Institute



The entrance to the vault sticks out of a mountain, illuminated with a light installation by Dyveke Sanne.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here's what 63 best actress winners have worn to the Oscars

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jennifer lawrence Oscars 2013

The 89th annual Academy Awards are Sunday on ABC and all eyes will be on the red carpet.

While the stars will convene at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood dressed to the nines, the looks that will be the most-talked about will be those of the best actor and actress winners.

What does an Oscar winner look like? 

There have been dozens of gorgeous looks over the years at the Academy Awards. From long gloves to backless showstoppers, see how fashion on the Oscar red carpet has evolved.

November 1930: Norma Shearer wore a jacket over her dress that had fur-trimmed sleeves when she won the Oscar for her role in "The Divorce."

Source: Today



November 1931: Norma Shearer gives the Academy Award to Marie Dressler for her part in "Min and Bill."



March 1937: Luise Rainer took home the Oscar for her portrayal of Anna Held in "The Great Ziegfeld."

Rainer is seen with Oscar winners Paul Muni and Frank Capra on March 6, 1937.



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People are rediscovering a great American artist from World War I

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Claggett Wilson isn't exactly a household name, but his battlefield watercolors are getting buzz at a big new exhibition of World War I and American Art.

"[Wilson's] watercolors of exploding shells and mad-eyed soldiers are standouts in an exhibition rich in intensely original work," Holland Cotter wrote in the New York Times.

"I was most moved ... by an artist I had never heard of: Claggett Wilson," Thomas Hine wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer. "The works vary a good deal in style ... [but] what they share is immediacy and intense emotion."

"These are incredible," Slate's Amanda Katz tweeted in response to a series of Wilson works tweeted by her colleague Rebecca Onion.

The exhibition, which includes Wilson works not publicly exhibited since the 1920s, is at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts through April 9 before moving to New York and Nashville.

Claggett wilsonWilson was one of the few American artists who saw combat in the war. Even rarer, he did it as a soldier, serving as a second lieutenant in the Marines and winning a citation for bravery under fire.

Historian David Lubin, who is one of the curators and the author of "Grand Illusions: American Art and World War" (and this reporter's father), says Wilson's artistic contributions were unmatched in America. He writes: "World War I did not produce an American artist of [German painter Otto] Dix's brilliance and depth, but Claggett Wilson was the closest equivalent."

Although critically acclaimed, Wilson's works didn't sell well initially and were left to languish for decades in storage. As one 1935 article declared, "Like the bursting of a shell, an arresting brilliance, then silence, is the fate of these paintings which were once considered America's most ambitious contribution in art to the memory of the Great War."

With permission from PAFA, we're running a set of works by Wilson below, along with insights from "Grand Illusions" and the exhibition catalog.

SEE ALSO: More amazing American art from World War I

DON'T MISS: 17 works of art made from AK-47s

Wilson's dreamlike painting of Marines at Bois de Belleau shows the beginning of one of the deadliest battles in the history of the Corps.



Wilson himself was gassed during the battle and found himself stranded in no man's land for three days. Here's his painting of another shell-shocked soldier.



Another work from Bois de Belleau shows wounded French troops retreating.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 10 super-agents in the NBA who represent more than $1.5 billion in player salaries

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Rich Paul with John Wall and LeBron James

As salaries in the NBA continue to skyrocket and player movement has become more difficult, agents are more powerful than ever.

As we near the NBA trade deadline, we have already seen the impact agents can wield as it is widely believed that the underwhelming return in the DeMarcus Cousins trade was driven by his agents telling teams Cousins would not re-sign with any team that traded for him.

Not surprisingly, most of the NBA's biggest stars are represented by a select few agents. In fact, of the nearly $3 billion in team payrolls, more than $1.5 billion in salaries are represented by the ten most powerful agents, according to data collected by Hoops Hype and Spotrac.

Here is a closer look at those agents and the players they represent.

 

Jeff Austin

Agency: Octagon Basketball

Players: 11

All-Stars: 4

Players with max contracts: 1

Total value of 2016-17 salaries$98,795,986

Notable recentdeal: Giannis Antetokounmpo signed a four-year, $100 million contract extension with the Milwaukee Bucks in September. The Greek Freak will have salaries that will eventually reach $27.5 million during this contract. However, it is a deal that will almost certainly look like a bargain in a couple of years as some of the NBA's other biggest stars will soon have salaries north of $45 million under the new collective bargaining agreement. Austin's other top clients include Marc Gasol and Luol Deng.



Aaron Mintz

AgencyCreative Artists Agency

Players: 17

All-Stars: 1

Players with max contracts: 2

Total value of 2016-17 salaries$104,210,503

Notable recentdeal: Mintz's biggest deal is one that has not happened yet. Paul George still has two years left on his contract with the Pacers, but can opt out after the 2017-18 season. If George makes one of the NBA's All-NBA teams after the season, he will be eligible for a "designated player" extension, which would be a contract worth more than $200 million. However, that can only happen if he stays with the Pacers. His name has been mentioned in trade rumors, although it seems more likely that he will not be dealt. Mintz's other top clients include Reggie Jackson and Allen Crabbe.



Dan Fegan

AgencyIndependent Sports & Entertainment

Players: 12

All-Stars: 1

Players with max contracts: 2

Total value of 2016-17 salaries$104,483,642

Notable recentdeal: Fegan has been at the center of two of the more notable player moves in the last year. Recently, one of his clients, DeMarcus Cousins, was dealt to the Pelicans despite warnings to teams to not trade for Cousins. That move likely cost Cousins close to $30 million. Fegan also helped Chandler Parsons land a $94 million contract in free agency with the Grizzlies despite concerns over his health. So far, that deal has not worked out well for the Grizzlies.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

This astronomer's poem beautifully explains the monumental discovery of 7 Earth-sized planets

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Seven rocky, Earth-size planets have been found circling TRAPPIST-1, a red dwarf star about the size of Jupiter.

A few of the worlds might even be habitable.

The monumental discovery has prompted scientists to launch a website for the planetary system — and yes, it has an equally monumental domain: trappist.one.

Researchers inspired by the new planetary system, which is about 39 light-years from Earth, are using trappist.one to publish fiction, artwork, and even poetic prose about it.

One poem by Sean Raymond, an astronomer at the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux who co-authored a study in Nature about the planetary system, caught our eye.

Called "Ode to 7 orbs", it beautifully explains the discovery and importance of TRAPPIST-1's seven planets.

Raymond gave Business Insider permission to share his work, which we've reproduced here with a few illustrative additions.

SEE ALSO: Why dim red stars may be our best hope of finding aliens

DON'T MISS: The 'Earth next door' may have a cozy atmosphere — and we could find out in just 2 years

"Ode to 7 orbs"

Wake up now people, I've got some big news!
You won't want to miss this. You don't want to snooze
We just found some planets while we were stargazing
Gather 'round, listen up. These ones are amazing!



And it's not just one new planet. There are seven!
All orbiting one star up there in the heavens.
(With seven planets it still goes to eleven…)



The thing 'bout this system that just makes us squeal,
All seven are Earth-sized. Now, that's a big deal!
And four of those planets could have the conditions 
For liquid water! (based on their positions)



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22 beautiful road trips to take this spring

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CatalinaRemember when Dorothy dozes off among scarlet poppies in The Wizard of Oz? Well, those vivid flowers weren’t just a figment of Hollywood magic. Similar poppies set California’s Antelope Valley ablaze in spring, luring road-trippers from L.A. and beyond.

The arrival of spring inspires us to break out from winter’s hibernation and embrace the fresh outdoors. A road trip naturally satisfies that spontaneous travel urge, and we’ve mapped America’s best spring drives—routes that bring you up-close to nature’s finest floral displays, from a California poppy tour to Texas Hill Country’s bluebonnets.

Of course, flowers in bloom aren’t the only draw for these American road trips, many of which meander by woodlands, lakes, small quaint towns, even historic mansions and museums. Consider Colorado’s 232-mile San Juan Skyway, which takes visitors up melting snowcapped mountains, past natural hot springs, and through restored ghost towns. It’s an officially designated American Byway, one of nine we’ve featured, among them, Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway in South Carolina.

Road trips are an American pastime, and you don’t need to travel far to enjoy some of spring’s loveliest drives—these routes start at 25 miles—and free smartphone apps like GasBuddy can point you to the cheapest nearby fuel options. Some of T+L’s other favorite gas-saving tips include: pack light (less weight in your vehicle means better gas mileage); charge it (many credit cards give cash back on gas purchases); and drive steady (conserve fuel by going easy on the pedals).

No matter what route you travel and no matter how many detours you take, spring into action this season by road-tripping through America’s most awe-inspiring floral landscapes.

Texas Hill Country Bluebonnet Tour

The Route: 25 miles.

This green parkway reveals one floral show after another—591 wildflower species, from large-flowered valerians to Virginia bluebells—as you drive from the Great Falls of the Potomac through D.C. and south to Mount Vernon. The most famous are the cherry trees that bloom around the Tidal Basin in D.C.

Where to Stop: Hike the many trails that crisscross the 700-acre Turkey Run Park (just seven miles north of D.C.), which is carpeted in bluebells come late April.



Acadia All American Road, Maine

The Route: 40 miles.

Pack your binoculars for this coastal drive that skirts the woodlands of Acadia National Park, a prime spot for spying bald eagles and nesting peregrine. The 27-mile Park Loop Road segment follows the high ridges of Bar Harbor down to Sand Beach and Otter Cliff and loops inland along Jordan Pond. It’s the centerpiece of the drive, which starts in Trenton, takes Route 3 south, turns on the Loop Road, then rejoins Route 3.

Where to Stop: Local small towns begin buzzing in late spring. For homemade ice cream and popovers, pull over at the historic Jordan Pond House (open for the season as of May). Then put that energy to work hiking Acadia’s Cadillac Mountain, whose 1,532-foot peak overlooks the Atlantic.



George Washington Memorial Parkway, Maryland and Virginia

The Route: 25 miles.

This green parkway reveals one floral show after another—591 wildflower species, from large-flowered valerians to Virginia bluebells—as you drive from the Great Falls of the Potomac through D.C. and south to Mount Vernon. The most famous are the cherry trees that bloom around the Tidal Basin in D.C.

Where to Stop: Hike the many trails that crisscross the 700-acre Turkey Run Park (just seven miles north of D.C.), which is carpeted in bluebells come late April.



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Here's what 29 celebrities look like without makeup

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alicia keys

For years, celebrities have hit red carpets with their wildest outfits and fiercest faces. They became the inspiration for both professional and amateur makeup artists, and many started their own beauty lines or collaborated with big names like Maybelline and Revlon. 

More recently, however, they have started to ditch their foundation and powder for fresher faces.

Whether it's at awards shows or using hashtags like #nomakeup, celebrities are showing the world that they aren't that perfect. They're just really, really close to it. 

Here's what 29 celebrities look like without makeup: 

Adele

The Grammy-winning singer is usually known for rocking some of the best winged eyeliner, but she recently took to Instagram to show off her bare face.



Adriana Lima

The Victoria's Secret Angel proved her pout looks just as good with makeup as it does without.



Alicia Keys

She made a statement (and started a movement) when she went makeup free in May 2016. She hit the VMAs sans makeup and stuck with it through her time on "The Voice."



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9 companies in the UK that offer employees unlimited holiday days

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working on vacation

Taking a holiday once in a while is crucial to let us recharge our batteries, get away from the stresses of work, and generally just have some time to ourselves.

Most companies have a set number of paid days employees can take off every year, which normally increases with seniority, but many companies now offer their staff the chance to take as much time off as they like.

The practice of unlimited holiday is one that stirs strong feelings. Advocates say it lets employees manage their own time without arbitrary limits on how much time off they're allowed, while opponents say it leaves employees confused as to how much vacation time they should actually take. As a result, they can end up taking much less than they would if there were specific guidelines in place.

The practice is reasonably common in the USA, particularly in the tech community, but it is now starting to trickle into the UK where the statutory minimum holiday amount is 28 days per year, including bank holidays.

Jobs marketplace Glassdoor, which tracks perks like unlimited holiday, has provided some firms in the UK that have the policy. A handful are US companies with UK operations, while others are UK-based. Check them out below:

Netflix

What they do: Netflix is now among the most recognisable tech companies in the world, providing a widely used movie and TV streaming service, as well as creating original programming. CEO Reed Hastings is a big proponent of unlimited vacation, and takes at least six weeks a year off.

What employees say: "Great company culture, challenging missions, autonomy and valuable feedback from your peers and management."— Former Marketing Employee



LinkedIn

What they do: LinkedIn is probably the best known social network for business professionals, allowing people across the world to connect and share ideas. It was acquired by Microsoft in December 2016.

What employees say: "The culture is a solid representation of what they believe important. Diversity, integrity and respect whilst continuously being pushed to take responsibility and ownership."— Current Employee, London.



EventBrite

What they do: Founded in San Francisco in 2006, EventBrite is a platform that allows customers to buy tickets for concerts, sporting events etc, as well as providing a platform to register for free events.

What employees say: "With cutting edge benefits like free daily lunch, all you can eat snacks (lots of choices), and a "take the time you need" PTO policy, Eventbrite has positioned itself to be a unique employer."– Current Employee



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A definitive breakdown of the gloomy state of Wall Street

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wall street trader sad

Don't be fooled by the strong rebound in Wall Street trading revenues at the end of 2016: Investment banks still had a lousy year. 

According to new data from Coalition, 2016 revenues at the 12 largest investment banks in the world fell 3% last year, making for a fourth consecutive decrease in revenues. 

One bright spot was fixed income, currencies, and commodities revenues, which were up 9%. Still, that couldn't offset a weak performance in equities and investment banking. 

Have a look:

SEE ALSO: Deutsche Bank is shuffling some of its top investment bankers in the US

Total revenues fell 3%. While that decline isn't hugely significant, it means revenues have fallen every consecutive year since 2012.



Fixed income, currencies, and commodities was a bright spot. Revenues increased 9%, driven by a big rebound in rates and credit revenues.



Equities revenues fell 13%, meanwhile, with equity derivatives especially weak.



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DINOSAUR FEET AND SALVADOR DALI: Inside the incredible, art-filled office of London PR firm Freuds

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love freuds banksy art

When most people say they work in a cool office, it means dress-down Fridays and a ping-pong table. If you're really lucky, you might even have a slide.

But Freuds, a London public relations firm, takes it to a whole new level.

Founded in 1985 by Matthew Freud — great-grandson of legendary psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud — Freuds' offices are stuffed with the rafters with an eclectic collection of artworks and curiosities.

Original works from Banksy, corridors full of Damien Hirst pieces, vintage furniture and even multiple dinosaur feet — it has to be seen to be believed.

Earlier this month, Business Insider UK took a tour of Freuds' office, and took photos of the whole thing.

So if you think you've got an exciting office, take a look, and think again... 

It's down a nondescript side-street in Fitzrovia in central London. This is how it looks via the outside (via Google Maps). Nothing super-exciting — but can you spot Obama peeking through? Inside, it's a very different story....



Once you enter the high-ceiling lobby, you're greeted by a huge wall displaying an eclectic collection of objects — everything from works of art by Banksy and Damien Hirst to a piece of Concorde and a dinosaur leg.



Here's what a few of the objects on display are...

  1. "Progress," by Shepard Fairey, 2008.
  2. An Andy Warhol piece — "Sigmund Freud (Ten Portraits of Jews of 20th Century)," 1980.
  3. "Beautiful Asthma, Abestosis the Light at the End of the Tunnel No Use Crying Over Spilt Milk," by Damien Hirst, 2005.
  4. A three-rotor Enigma cipher machine used by British WWII codebreakers.
  5. A piece of Concorde. As in, the plane. 
  6. A dinosaur foot from Moa, New Zealand. And it's not even the most impressive dinosaur fossil in Freuds' office.
  7. "Portrait of Lord Philip Gould," by Adrian Steirn.
  8. "Street Kid, Favela Morro da Providencia, Rio de Janiero, Brasil," by JR, 2008.
  9. An 18th century human skull, kept in a Victorian glass dome.
  10. "Happy Head," by Damien Hirst, 2007.
  11. "What?" by graffiti artist Banksy, 2007.
  12. An heirloom grandfather clock.
  13. A copy of Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies, published in 1623.

 



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