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Over the course of my career, I’ve had the opportunity to represent people who have been hurt on the job in a wide range of workplace settings. Many of these injuries are the type of serious and catastrophic injuries that change lives, including the lives of the workers’ families.  In many of these cases, the failure is the same.  The companies that were supposed to be in charge of safety on the job site failed their responsibility to properly plan for the hazards of the job. There are a couple of different ways to refer to this planning process, and one of the most common terms for the concept is the job hazard assessment, or JHA.  Generally speaking, the JHA works like this:  Qualified individuals familiar with the job analyze the job task step-by-step.  At each step, the subject matter experts ask a very simple question - what could go wrong?  That is, they ask themselves what hazards are associated with each step of the process.  Where serious and dangerous hazards are identified, the JHA demands that companies undertake steps to eliminate or at least mitigate those hazards. The first and best mitigation option is always to eliminate the risk if at all possible.  Is there another way to accomplish the same task without undertaking the hazard? Could a different set of steps or a different piece of equipment eliminate the risk entirely?  If so, the problem may be solved.  If not, the companies involved must do what they can to minimize or mitigate the risk.  That would include making sure that the employees are specifically warned that there is a hazard of the job that cannot be eliminated and by verifying that all of the employees have and use the proper protective equipment. Through this simple but deliberate process, a great many catastrophic injuries could be prevented. Of course, this JHA process has applications beyond the workplace.  When I began my senior year at West Point, the officer in charge of my company sat all of us down.  He knew that as seniors, we would begin to enjoy certain privileges that were not available to the same extent as when we were underclassmen.  One of those privileges was the ability to leave post much more frequently and the thought of New York City being a short trip down the road was very appealing.  I still remember what our Captain had to say.   He didn’t try to convince us not to go have fun.  That type of speech to a room full of 22 year olds would not have been effective.  Instead, he simply asked us to consider whether or not our “fun” had been properly planned.  Did we know who was driving?  Had we considered where we might go?  Did we have a way to get in touch if somebody got separated from the group?  Had we thought about where we would be sleeping?  Did we have a back-up plan in case something went wrong? These are the advantages of having an Infantry officer with combat experience helping you with a plan to go out in NYC. His point was a good one, though.  Before engaging in any potentially dangerous activity, we might stop to ask:  What are the steps of this activity?  What are the risks of those steps?  What can I do to eliminate those risks?  If I can’t completely eliminate those risks, what can I do to protect myself if something does go wrong?

As much as I hate to see the warm weather leave us, one of the things I love about fall is how good soup tastes. There is something cozy about a bowl of soup on a chilly, fall day.  Growing up we had a lot of soup, mostly Campbell’s.  Campbell’s condensed soups were invented in 1897.  Today, Campbell’s Tomato, Cream of Mushroom and Chicken Noodle Soup are three of the most popular soups in America.  Americans consume approximately 2.5 billion bowls of these three soups alone each year. My favorite was bean with bacon to which I added lots and lots of crackers!  I remember being at my Grandma Springer’s house one time and her asking me what she could make for me the next time we visited her house.  I told her bean with bacon soup.  As promised, the next time we visited my grandmother’s house, she had bean with bacon soup – homemade!  I wouldn’t touch it.  Poor Grandma! When my mother would make homemade vegetable soup, my sisters and I would turn up our noses.  Where were the alphabet noodles?  And what was all this cabbage floating in there.  Yuk.  Over the years I have come to love homemade vegetable soup.  Chili was about the only homemade soup any of us would eat. My how that has changed.  I eat all kinds of soups now and much prefer they be homemade, not condensed out of a can.  I love vegetable, bean (with or without bacon), cream soups, fish soups and my newest favorite, Thai Curry Butternut Squash soup.  I make the butternut squash soup for dinner and take leftovers for lunch.  On those days, I can’t wait for lunchtime!  Here’s the recipe – be sure to make this on the next chilly soup day. Thai Curried Butternut Squash Soup Soup Prep 15 mins � Cook 25 mins � Makes 48 ounces � Source Cookieandkate.com Ingredients ·       2 tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil ·       2 pound butternut or kabocha squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into small ½-inch pieces (about 3 cups) ·       1 medium yellow onion, chopped ·       4 garlic cloves, pressed or chopped ·       2 to 3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste ·       2 teaspoons ground coriander ·       1 teaspoon ground cumin ·       ¼ teaspoon sea salt ·       ? teaspoon red pepper flakes (up to ¼ teaspoon for spicier soup) ·       1 tablespoon fresh lime juice ·       4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth ·       ½ cup full fat coconut milk for drizzling on top ·       ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes ·       Handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped Directions 1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add squash, onion, garlic, curry paste, coriander, cumin, salt and red pepper flakes to skillet. Stir to combine. 2. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until squash is soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. 3. While the soup is cooking, toast the coconut flakes in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden on the edges. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. Transfer coconut flakes to a bowl to cool. 4. Once the squash mixture is done cooking, taste and add a little more Thai red curry paste if it’s not quite flavorful enough for you. Remove the soup from heat and let it cool slightly. Working in batches, transfer the contents pan to a blender (do not fill your blender past the maximum fill line!). Securely fasten the lid and use a kitchen towel to protect your hand from steam escaping from the top of the blender as you purée the mixture until smooth. Transfer puréed soup to a serving bowl and repeat with remaining batches. 5. Stir the lime juice into the blended soup. Taste and season with additional salt if necessary. Ladle soup into individual bowls. Use a spoon to drizzle coconut milk over each bowl, then lightly swirl the spoon through the topmost layer for a pretty design. Top the soup with toasted coconut flakes and a sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro.

We just started into another autumn season and although I am a summertime girl, there are many things I embrace about fall. After all, there’s something extra special about living in the state of West Virginia and a reminder of that is this time of year.  We have the beautiful scenery so many only experience through a portrait—these images are real and they are actually in our own backyards! The changing leaves and the mountaintop landscapes - we can lay out a blanket on the ground and look up in amazement and see the beauty right before our eyes.  It’s absolutely breathtaking. Even raking the fallen leaves can turn  into fun by jumping into piles of them and rolling around a few times, or maybe by building a scarecrow. Warm sweaters, cool evening bonfires, going to the ballgames and sipping hot chocolate when the chill of the late evening sets in are some awesome things that come with the change of every season. These are just a few that standout for me. It won’t be long before the children will be carving pumpkins and walking up and down the streets in their Halloween costumes.  This is only the beginning of a busy upcoming holiday season as Thanksgiving rapidly approaches.  It’s exciting, and this is an excellent time of year for catching up with our families. Once the leaves have fallen and the spectacular colors have gone, we will welcome Old Man Winter, finding the positive attributes it, too, holds. Should you have the opportunity to travel over the next couple weeks, even if it’s taking a day for a long drive, take advantage of our state’s parks, trails and scenery.  Southern West Virginia has mountaintops so high the hillside could blend right in with a rainbow.  There are some magnificent views right here underneath your nose.

In 1973, a special prosecutor by the name of Archibald Cox subpoenaed President Nixon’s now-infamous Oval Office audiotapes. Unable to broker a deal, Nixon summoned the attorney general of the United States, Elliot Richardson, into his office on a Saturday night and ordered Richardson to fire Cox. Richardson refused, and resigned in protest of Nixon’s unethical and illegal order. Undaunted, Nixon called for the Deputy Attorney General, William Ruckelshaus, He ordered Ruckelshaus, now the Acting Attorney General, to fire Cox. Ruckelshaus refused the unethical and illegal order from the President of the United States, and resigned. Nixon had to go all the way down to an ambitious right-wing lawyer named Robert Bork to find someone willing to write a letter dismissing Cox from his job as Watergate prosecutor. Bork did it, but the story broke in the papers and Nixon’s public image never recovered. He was driven from office ten months later. The firings became known as the “Saturday Night Massacre.” Nixon didn’t lose his presidency over a “third-rate burglary,” but over his abuse of power. Our system does not allow the President to directly control the prosecutorial apparatus of the United States because this is not a banana republic, where political opponents are jailed on trumped-up charges. Even the President is not above the law, and though Nixon famously said, “ When the President does it, that means it’s not illegal,” he turned out to be wrong. That is what it means to have a nation of laws. It means having lawyers willing to follow and enforce the law in the face of politics and power plays. Without it, the sacred charter of our Constitution ceases to have any meaning. Sunday night another massacre took place. The second Presidential debate featured Trump’s statement that Hillary Clinton will “be in jail,” if he becomes President. Trump indicated that he would use the powers of the Presidency to prosecute the (hypothetically) losing candidate, by reopening a now-closed investigation. What Nixon only dared to do after winning the Presidency twice, Trump promises to do before his first election: to use the power of his office to prosecute his enemies. During the second Bush Administration, certain government surveillance of US citizens had to be authorized by the FBI. The Attorney General, John Ashcroft, was hospitalized at the time and his deputy refused to allow certain parts of the surveillance program because they violated the Constitutional rights of American citizens. The White House Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, and another ambitious right-wing lawyer, Alberto Gonzalez, actually went to Ashcroft’s hospital bedside to attempt to go over the Acting Attorney General’s head and get the permission they wanted to violate the Constitution. Ashcroft hung in there, and said the Deputy AG was acting in his place and if his Deputy would not allow the surveillance, it could not go forward. The Deputy AG stood firm, saying he would resign if ordered to authorize unconstitutional actions. The White House backed down. That Deputy AG found himself back in the news this summer. His name was James Comey. This is what it means to have a nation of laws. It means that constitutional due process comes first, and scratching the back of the man who appointed you, or the political party you belong to, comes somewhere after that. Ashcroft and Comey, like Richardson and Ruckelshaus before him, did their duty and served their country first when power knocked on their door. Many people know the quote from Shakespeare: “the first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” Lawyers hear it all the time. But not everyone knows the whole play. That line comes from Henry VI. The scene features a criminal rebel, hoping to seize dictatorial power. He makes a series of ridiculous boasts, claiming that he is “valiant,” “able to endure much,” and that he fears “neither sword, nor fire.” He continues with absurd promises to his gang, including “seven half-penny loaves sold for a penny,” “a three hoop’d pot shall have ten hoops,” and “all shall eat and drink on my score. . . and worship me as their lord.” Sound familiar? Anyway, when he has bragged enough, and promised the moon, one of his toadies is there to say, “the first thing we’ll do. . .” Then the gang heads out to murder an innocent man. To be a nation of laws, we need lawyers, and not just any lawyers. We need the likes of Cox, Richardson, and Comey – lawyers who have what it takes to stand up to a President. Lawyers who have what it takes to set aside party and ambition and do what is right for their country. American lawyers take their fair share of abuse (and sometimes earn it), but they are what separates us from third-world countries and military tyrannies where losing the election means going to jail.

For those of us who often hit the road, we’ve all been in that familiar scenario where nature calls and we have to pull into a gas station, run inside, grab the bathroom key, brace ourselves, hold our breath and dart inside hoping to get in and out as soon as possible out of concern for the germs we assume are lurking inside. If you’ve ever had a similar experience, I have some “good news” for you. Turns out the bathroom is hardly the dirtiest thing you encounter at the gas station. But only because recent research has tagged the gas pumps themselves as being at the top of the list of the unhealthiest things you can handle outside the home. Feel better now? I recently stumbled across a Kimberly-Clark study investigating germ “hot spots” and was somewhat surprised to learn that handles on gas pumps have an average of 2,011,970 viable bacteria cells (or “CFU”s) per square inch. The buttons on the pumps (where you select the grade of gas) are even worse housing an average of 2,617,067 CFUs per square inch. By comparison, a toilet seat has a relatively miniscule 172 CFUs per square inch, while money, long-considered to be quite dirty since it changes hands so often, has only 5.2 CFUs per square inch. In other words, that gas pump handle is about 11,000 times more contaminated than the gas station toilet seat (and the gas pump button 15,000 times more contaminated). And it’s not just the number of germs on the pump, but the type of germs that are present. According to University of Arizona microbiologist Charles Gerba (nicknamed “Dr. Germ”), 71 percent of the pumps studied were highly contaminated with germs associated with disease, including bacteria of the gram-positive cocci variety, that can cause pneumonia, toxic shock syndrome and problematic skin infections and bacilli, another type of harmful bacteria linked infections in newborn baby, along with food poisoning. When considered in connection with the chemical contamination of pump handles from the gasoline fumes themselves, these stats give a whole new meaning to the phrase “pain at the pump.” I guess these results should come as no great surprise when you consider how many different people touch gas pumps every single day. But the scope of the contamination is something I would think most people do not typically ponder or appreciate. I certainly didn’t, and I am on the road quite a bit. But if you’re reading this, please consider stocking your car with hand sanitizer to clean your hands after filling up. You can also use a paper towel to hold the handle and push the button, or wait to hit the restroom until after you filled up.

Hopefully, everyone is prepared for any emergency that may occur in your home and/or business. The month of October is typically when fire departments all over the country conduct seminars, training and prepare to visit schools in their communities to make everyone aware of the many fire hazards that exist and what they can do to be safe. The National Fire Prevention Association observes Oct. 9 (and the week that it falls in) as Fire Prevention Week. The first Fire Prevention Day proclamation dates back to 1920 by President Wilson. Since 1922, a Fire Prevention Week proclamation is signed by the president each year. It was established to commemorate the Chicago and Peshtigo fires that started in October 1871. The International Fire Marshals Association decided to observe this date with public awareness of fire prevention. Over the years there have been many themes and this year’s theme is Don’t Wait – Check the Date! Replace Smoke Alarms Every 10 Years. Go ahead and check those detectors for the manufacture date.  If the detector is at the 10-year mark or older, please replace it.  We all know to check the batteries in our smoke detectors each month. It is advisable to replace the battery at least once a year even though it may still be working.  It is now time to do just that—replace all the batteries in your smoke detectors.  Do a manual check of your hard-wired detectors also because they have batteries as a backup and do not forget to check your carbon monoxide detectors. It is best to follow the manufacturer instructions when checking smoke alarms and replacing the batteries. Here are some additional tips: ·      All homes need a working home escape plan that is practiced by all in the home, working smoke detectors on each level, and especially inside and outside of all sleeping areas. ·      Keeping doors closed will help to keep smoke, heat and fire out. ·      When the alarm sounds, get out and stay out. ·      When the alarm sounds you may only have one to two minutes to escape. ·      Most fires occur between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. ·      Cooking is the leading cause of home fires. ·      The cause of a smoke alarm not sounding is missing and/or disconnected batteries. ·      If a detector is chirping, replace the battery and re-test. ·      Interconnected smoke alarms are best because when one sounds, they all sound. Please stay safe!!!

Have you and a friend ever had one of those “inside jokes” that run indefinitely and that no one else seems to understand? Well, one of those running jokes started during on the Bordas & Bordas Vegas trip last spring.  On the way to Vegas, my friend Michele and I overheard someone talking about wanting to see Terry Fator’s Vegas show.  At that time, I don’t think either of us knew who he was but we quickly learned.  One of the first things we saw when we arrived was a giant Terry Fator billboard.  Little did we know at that time that we would be seeing Terry Fator’s face just about everywhere we looked for the duration of our time in Vegas. When we arrived at our hotel, we went into Terry Fator overload.  We discovered that our hotel was actually the home of Terry Fator’s Vegas show.  As we walked through the casino to go to our room, we passed countless Terry Fator themed slot machines and posters advertising his show.  When we went into the market/gift shop to grab water to have in the hotel room we were confronted with Terry Fator shirts, stuff animals and other miscellaneous souvenirs.  By that time, we had probably been up almost 24 hours and could not stop laughing about seeing Terry Fator’s face all over the place.  And so the Terry Fator game began… For the next three and a half days, it was a contest to see who could see and point out something “Terry Fator” first.  From billboards, to bus station posters to placards on taxis, we didn’t have to look far to find the next “Terry Fator”.  I think we received more than a few strange looks from some of our traveling companions and other passersby when one of us would randomly blurt out “Terry Fator” and we would start laughing.  While I think we both assumed the Terry Fator game would end when we left Vegas, it seemed that fate (or Mr. Fator) had other ideas. As we were packing to leave, Michele found a Terry Fator postcard in the hotel room. I guess Mr. Fator wanted to come home with us.  After we returned home, the postcard would randomly appear in cars and purses– getting passed back and forth when the person not having Terry Fator custody at the time would least expect it.  While I think Michele currently has custody of the postcard – she stepped up the game a while back.  Let’s just say waking up to the “pleasure” of a picture of Terry Fator posted to my Facebook page is something not easily forgotten.  As soon as I stopped laughing, I knew I would have to step up my game.  Since it has taken me so long to respond, I’m guessing she thinks I have forgotten about it … but I haven’t.  I have just been planning my revenge.   Terry Fator will be returned to her when she least expects it and in a way that she won’t anticipate.  Once this plan has been fully executed, I will need new ideas to step up the game once more.  Any suggestions?

A lot has already been written about the great Vin Scully, the long-time play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mr. Scully has officially retired after calling 67 seasons of Dodgers’ baseball.  It is absolutely amazing to realize that Mr. Scully moved with the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1957 and has, therefore, been the Dodgers’ play-by-play man the entire time the team has been in Southern California. I’m a big fan of listening to baseball on the radio.  There is something about the pace of play  (sometimes slow, I know) that lends itself to listening on the radio while playing with the kids outside.  While I mostly listen to the Yankees broadcasts over the Internet, I had a chance to tune into Vin Scully Day from Dodger Stadium last Friday night while driving home from my son’s football game. The Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax spoke at the ceremonies and he told a story about Mr. Scully that will stick with me for a long time. Mr. Scully is a devout Catholic and before the World Series, he would make it a point to go to church.   Mr. Scully didn’t pray for victory, though.  He didn’t pray for good luck, or good pitching or good hitting either.  As Mr. Koufax related the story: “Before the World Series, Vin would go to church and pray — not for a win, but that there would be only heroes in the World Series, no goats,” Koufax said. “He didn’t want anyone’s future to be tarnished with the fact that they lost the World Series for their team.” What strikes me about that story is the amount of perspective displayed by Mr. Scully.  It’s part of who he is.  As part of another recent broadcast, I heard him honor Los Angeles’ first responders as the “real heroes” before returning his attention to the “child’s game” of baseball.  Of course, he didn’t mean to demean baseball.  He only meant to keep it in perspective and to understand its relative importance in a life filled with joy, tragedy, family and faith. For a man that has devoted his entire professional life to baseball, I admire the fact that he was able to keep his job, and the sport, in its proper perspective.  That perspective will be missed.

Recently I had the opportunity and pleasure of spending a “girls’ weekend” with three girlfriends in the Elkins area of W.Va. Our girls’ weekend has become a very looked forward to time away, when we do a lot of talking, playing cards and board games, drinking some wine, soaking in the hot tub and generally relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.  We set off one day for a planned picnic lunch to Spruce Knob Lake, and decided to take a different back road than the one normally traveled by some in our group.  After traveling several miles on the winding, very narrow gravel road, we saw something dart out in front of us and cross the road.  It was a beautiful fox standing in the woods staring back at us.  We spent a few minutes watching the fox, as surprisingly, this was the first animal we saw in the woods all day. As we continued to watch the fox, a tractor trailer came speeding around the sharp turn ahead of us.  We all anticipated that he would slow down, but he did not.  He continued flying towards us at a high rate of speed.  At that point, my friend, Brenda (who was driving) began honking the horn and waving her arms out the window to try to get the tractor trailer driver’s attention, but still he kept coming towards us without slowing down.  Brenda pulled her truck off the road as far as she could, but there was nowhere else for us to go.  I unbuckled my seat belt and was prepared to jump out of the truck because I was sure he was going to hit us.  Finally, after what seemed like several minutes, the truck driver saw us and began to slow down.  Needless to say, we did exchange words with him over his erratic driving style. When we all got calmed down, we proceeded on our way to the lake.  Brenda commented that God must have been watching out for us.  If we had not stopped to look at the fox, we would have met the truck in the blind turn and surely been hit head on.  We did not see another animal in the woods the entire day—only that fox.  Realizing what could have happened gave me a very eerie feeling.  God intervened by sending that fox to us at just the right time and in just the right place in order to avoid a collision with the tractor trailer.  I also think maybe the chain of events that day occurred to remind us of who is really in charge and to reinforce our belief in Him.  I truly believe He intervened and it was His way of looking out for us and letting us know it was not our time to go.  He apparently has other plans for the four of us.

For the past few years I have had the pleasure of being a member of the Moundsville Lions Club. My father and grandfather were both members of the Lions Club back in southern West Virginia and I have had the chance to continue the family membership here in the northern part of the state.   I have gotten to know and work with many great Lions over the years and I am extremely happy to be a member myself. I wish I could actively participate in more events than I am currently able to.  I am the second vice-president of the club and look forward to holding the presidency in the not too distant future. I have had the opportunity to blog a few times about joining the club and various events and programs that the club sponsors.  Social organizations like the Lions Club are great opportunities to make friends, network and learn about various topics through our weekly programs. Jim Bordas, our founding partner, was even able to present a discussion at one of our weekly meetings earlier this year.  During the meeting, Mr. Bordas graciously donated $1,000 to the club to assist in our various programs. Bordas & Bordas has also been proud to provide support to the Moundsville Club in its recent hosting of the West Virginia Lion’s Club District 29-L Convention held in Wheeling, as well as various other philanthropic events benefitting the community. The Club is quite active in the area.  On Oct. 7, the Moundsville Lions are co-sponsors of the yearly Red Cross Blood Drive that will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Moundsville.  This blood drive is touted by the Red Cross as one of its most consistent producers of blood in the area.  If you have the chance to come by and donate blood please take the opportunity to do so. The Moundsville Lions Club deserves big congratulations this year as it celebrates its 75 th anniversary!  The occasion will be marked at our meeting on Oct. 4 when we will be honoring several individual members of the club who have been active for more than 50 years and many who have been members for 25 years! These gentlemen are community and business leaders and have helped fight for Moundsville and the surrounding communities for a long time.  For the past 75 years, the Lions Club has been an active community participant in Moundsville and still has one of the largest active groups in the region.  The Club is still going strong and still welcoming new members all the time.  I am proud to be one of the younger members of the group and can only hope that I am still around in for the next 50 years.  If you are interested in joining the Lions Club you can find out information from the International Lions Club website at www.lionsclub.org.  You can also follow the Moundsville Lions Club on Facebook to learn what the club is up to and what events are coming in the future.

I make an effort to stay away from the discussion of politics with anyone outside of my own home. I have my opinions and I have strong feelings, but I find it somewhat disturbing and almost comical how passionate political conversations can often turn in to an argument, and rather quickly. For this very reason, I shy away from those conversations.  In my mind, it becomes counterproductive because it separates people rather than unitING people, which is what we should be able to do maturely in the UNITED STATES. Rather than intelligently discussing the pros and cons of the candidates, people tend to shut down after they have stated their thoughts and are not always open to listening to anyone else.  No one said you have to agree, but mutual respect for opinions and feelings should be adhered to. I will, however, give you my take on the importance of being proactive and voting for the candidate of your choice. Make a decision by keeping in mind that we are building a future for our children and their children.  Choose the leader that you feel will best bring change to the table for a greater United States of America for years to come. This is your chance to be heard.  Your candidate may or may not be elected into office, but if you do not take a position for your voice to be heard through our election process then don’t complain about what is or isn’t being accomplished in our government. Take the time to make a decision based on your very own observations.  Educate yourself to be confident in your choice.  Use the right that you were given in this great country of ours and vote.  If you have not yet registered, you still have time, but that deadline is soon approaching.  Your opinion matters.  Your voice can be heard.  Help make a positive change to impact the lives and futures of so many who are counting on us to fight for the candidate we believe can do that job. GOD BLESS THE USA!

What's your zodiac sign? Are you a Libra? Virgo? Aries? After yesterday's announcement of the newest and 13th zodiac sign, Ophiuchus, you may want to double check to see if your sign has changed. Those who read their daily horoscope may have to learn to look for their new zodiac and may be very unhappy about this change. There has been a shift in the dates of the Western zodiac calendar, which has resulted in each zodiac starting later than the originals. For example, the calendar once categorized those born between Aug. 23 and Sept. 22 as Virgos, but now that zodiac is for those with a birthday from Sept. 16 to Oct. 30. Thus some Virgos are now Leos. The Babylonians introduced the zodiac over 3,000 years ago, and now NASA decided to throw everyone off by switching up signs.  Though this is not a life or death change, a number of people look at their sign as a guide to life. However, NASA is simply doing their job by studying astronomy and has no time for society’s astrology problems. Has your whole horoscope been a lie this whole time? Are you an Ophiuchus? Take a look: Capricorn: Jan. 20 to Feb. 16 Aquarius: Feb. 16 to March 11 Pisces: March 11 to April 18 Aries: April 18 to May 13 Taurus: May 13 to June 21 Gemini: June 21 to July 20 Cancer: July 20 to Aug. 10 Leo: Aug. 10 to Sept. 16 Virgo: Sept. 16 to Oct. 30 Libra: Oct. 30 to Nov. 23 Scorpio: Nov. 23 to Nov. 29 Ophiuchus: Nov. 29 to Dec. 17 Sagittarius: Dec. 17 to Jan. 20