The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Your secret of success -- one you often share with others -- is to take your work seriously, but never yourself. So while you are enjoying your well-deserved success right now, remember that it's important not to get a swelled head. Not only could that alienate you from potential allies for your next venture, but it might cloud that remarkably sharp mind that's been the key to so much of your good work.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia

Calcutta, West Bengal, India

Seoul, Kyonggi-Do, Korea

Paris, Ile-De-France, France

Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmatk

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

New Delhi, Delhi, India

Colchester, England, United Kingdom

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Hyeres, Provence-Alpes-Cote D'Azur, France

Kabul, Kabol, Afghanistan

Buenos Aires, Distrito Federal, Argentina

Galway, Galway, Ireland

Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany

Turin, Piemonte, Italy

Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Sheffield, England, United Kingdom

Essen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Bilbao, Pais Vasco, Spain

Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia

as well as Singapore, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the United States in such cities as Jefferson, Bethalto, Bronx, Fargo, Chattanooga, Topeka and more

Today is Tuesday, April 6, the 96th day of 2010.

There are 269 days left in the year.

Today In History April 6

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

Teflon Day

Today is Tartan Day

Americans of Scottish descent have played a vibrant and influential role in the development of the United States. From the framers of the Declaration of Independence to the first man on the moon, Scottish-Americans have contributed mightily to the fields of the arts, science, politics, law, and more. Today, over eleven million Americans claim Scottish and Scotch-Irish roots -- making them the eighth largest ethnic group in the United States. These are the people and accomplishments that are honored on National Tartan Day, April 6th.

And of course the clan Tartan:

And you see our personal Tartan everyday in the upper left hand corner of Carolina Naturally.

It's official ... Baseball season has begun

Obama confuses crowd during first pitch

A surprise gets the crowd buzzing before the president tosses the season's first pitch.  

Watch his shrewd move 

Also: 

• See the photos
• First-pitch bloopers
• Obama plays HORSE

Interesting In General

Interesting In General

Chinese lady embroiders with her feet

When it comes to being a clever sew and sew Chinese seamstress Liu Jianming is the clear winner.

Born without any arms she has learned to sew with her feet, and since she was a teenager has worked as a seamstress creating beautifully embroidered pictures.

Unable to afford a shop, every day she turns up on a street corner in the Chinese city of Kunming Yunnan in southwest in China and works on creating embroidered designs as well as any other seamstress work that she can get.

Kunming is the capital of Yunnan, an area recently affected by a severe drought.

She said: "I'm quite proud of my work - people are always skeptical that the creations are all my own work when they first see them - but once they've seen me threading a needle then they lose all doubt."

But she added that now she was getting older it was getting harder, saying: "I still don't have any problem using my feet to sew - the problem is my eyesight is not as good as it used to be and it's hard to see the thread."

Burning Bridges

The Mike Curb Congregation

The theme from the best anti-war movie ever made ... Kelly's Heroes

Old wives' tales

Old wives' tales: Which are true?

Find out if ginger is good for upset stomachs and if honey speeds up healing.  

Which you should believe 

Also: 

• Take these supplements
• Why fiber's important
• Find urban legends

Local Hospitality

Local Hospitality

At a time when everyone seems to be looking for a job, at least one industry is valiantly looking for workers.

North Carolina Short on Restaurant Workers

2 teens charged after woman killed

A South Carolina woman was struck by a rock thrown into a car from an overpass.

As The World Turns

As The World Turns

Bungling thieves bury safe below high tide mark

Full Story

Two Polish men were arrested while frantically trying to retrieve a safe they had buried on a beach underneath the high tide mark.

Children Slain for Rituals in Uganda

Full Story

The practice of human sacrifice is on the rise in Uganda, as measured by ritual killings where body parts, often facial features or genitals, are cut off for use in ceremonies. The number of people killed in ritual murders last year rose to a new high of at least 15 children and 14 adults, up from just three cases in 2007, according to police.

Talk about being cheap!

Women tried to smuggle corpse onto plane

Full Story

Two women were arrested at a British airport on suspicion of trying to smuggle a dead relative onto a flight bound for Germany, police said on Tuesday.

Dozens of Police Dead After Maoist Ambush

Full Story

Seventy-two police officers were killed in an attack early Tuesday by suspected Maoists in eastern India, authorities said.

The State Of The Nation

The State Of The Nation

U.S. states that might have been

A new book chronicles proposals for states that didn't pass muster. 

Nashville, Transylvania  

Also:

• State names' origins
• Quarters celebrate parks
• Missing bunnies puzzle

10,000 cameras keep watch over city

Chicago has developed a surveillance system hailed as one of the most sophisticated. 

Crimes caught on tape 

Also: 

• Chicago tourist spots
• Cabbie's terrorism charges
• 'Wilding' mayhem in NYC

Father's mystery helper in child rescue

Father's mystery helper in child rescue

A still-unknown Frenchman jumps into the East River to help a father save his 2-year-old girl.  

Rode away in a cab 

Also: 

• Other amazing rescues
• Central Park mystery

Daily Comic Relief

Stranded ship a 'ticking ... time bomb'

Stranded ship a 'ticking ... time bomb'

Crews scramble to stop a vessel spilling heavy fuel oil from breaking apart in the Great Barrier Reef. Fears, outrage 

Also: 

• Video from the scene
• Find worst oil spills
• Supertanker hijacked

Fast-food joints axed at Afghan bases

Fast-food joints axed at Afghan bases

The military wants soldiers to remember they are at war, not in "an amusement park." 

What's getting cut 

Also: 

• Afghan air force rebounds
• U.S. military in region
• Marines make offer

The Karnival Kid

Mickey Mouse from 1929

Exxonmobile paid no federal income tax in 2009

Let this headline sink in

and then get angry...very, very angry.

Exxonmobile paid no federal income tax in 2009

Lunatic Fringe

Lunatic Fringe

The media wants you to believe that teabaggers are toothless hillbillies.

  This is a very sophisticated crowd.

~ Michelle Bachmann (retard-batshit crazy)    

  

Yes, a very 'Sophisticated Crowd' indeed!

Memphis Tea Partier Thinks Rep. Steve Cohen Calling Them Out for Hate Speech Equals Hate Speech

More evidence that NAZIs don't like to be called NAZIs

The Top 12 things the progressive movement has given America

 My gawd, don't let the truth out, the wingnuts will go crazy ... wait, they already are - never mind, let the truth be proclaimed from the mountaintop!

Tea Party movement is really just the Very White Sore Losers' movement

True Dat!

Wingnuts say Pelosi's Big Gavel is ample cause for despicable Teabagger behavior

OK, the Thorazine shots begin immediately, enough is enough!

Liars and Fools

WingNutDaily hack on Faux's Handjob says "We're looking at an attempted socialist coup d'etat in Washington, DC".
Again a moron doesn't know what 'socialist' means and the coup d'etat was aborted in November 2008 with the ouster of the cabal.

Faux's Glen Brick says Obama administration wants network "silenced".
No, we (the entire world) want it silenced.

Wingnuts dismiss wingnut 'Patriot' group's threats to governors as harmless hyperbole.
Just what the NAZIs said in 1929 about their threats to the German government - how'd that turn out?

Alan Grayson does it again

If you voted for Obama...seek urologic care elsewhere. 
   ~ Sign posted on the office door of Florida urologist Dr. Jack Cassell, (retarded-crybaby)   

  Maybe he thinks the Hippocratic Oath says, 'Do no good'. 
  If this is the face of the right wing in America, it's the face of cruelty. 
  Why don't they change the name of the Republican Party to the Sore Loser Party? 
  ~ Representative Alan Grayson, telling it like it is!

In case you were wondering ...

We've just come through the fifth warmest winter on record.

Relativity

It's all relative, I guess.

Seven easy dinners

Seven easy dinners

Don't worry about what to make for dinner with these quick menus for every day of the week.  

Get recipes 

Also: 

• Spice up grilled cheese
• New pasta sauces
• Fun dinner ideas

Major risks to a secure retirement

7 major risks to a secure retirement

There are many things that can go wrong, even with a carefully planned retirement.  

Your biggest worries 

Also: 

• $1 million is not enough
• Top places to retire to
• Find jobs in retirement

Sweetie Come From America

Well Please and Satisfied

Bring on the Pelicans!

From Treehugger:

 

Credit: Bill Rudden.

It seems pretty likely that Asian carp are bound to make it into the Great Lakes, some day, some way. A six-week search for the monster fish recently failed to turn up any of the despised carp, despite DNA evidence of their presence. But the fish are already in Illinois rivers that lead to the lakes. And even with an upgraded electronic barrier, or the closing of Chicago-area locks, the fish are bound to get into Lake Michigan sooner or later, possibly with human intervention. Maybe that's pessimism. But here's some optimism: We could always turn to pelicans if the lakes become crowded with carp. The big-billed birds seem to love 'em.

Article continues: Asian Carp Solution for the Great Lakes? Bring on the Pelicans!

Nearly 1/4 of Rocky Gray Wolves Killed in First Hunting Season in Decades

From Treehugger:

Photo via KSAX

The first hunting season for the once-endangered Rocky gray wolves in decades has ended, leaving an estimated total of 500 dead. According to Earth Justice, some 250 of those were killed by hunters with permits, and another 250 were killed by federal and state agents protecting livestock. There were 1,700 gray wolves counted at the end of the year, after 500 were killed--which means nearly a quarter of the entire population was wiped out.

Article continues: Nearly 1/4 of Rocky Gray Wolves Killed in First Hunting Season in Decades

It's The Economy Stupid

It's The Economy Stupid

Stocks may have room to climb higher

Many billions may pour into the market as bonds fall out of favor, says one analyst.

Reasons for optimism 

Also: 

• How Dow is doing today
• The risk of rising rates
• What is a P/E ratio?

In-demand jobs that are here to stay

These professions require highly skilled workers who can't be easily outsourced. 

Top pros in one field earn $75,000 

Also: 

• Big companies hiring now
• Photography jobs that pay
• High-paying green jobs

Grim job outlook for college grads

Companies have cut back recruiting at some universities by half.  

Majors seeing the most demand 

Also: 

• Fields adding jobs
• Research top careers
• Advice for graduates

A town's staggering price for phone service

A town's staggering price for phone service

The federal government subsidizes remote Stehekin, Washington's few links to the outside world.  

The cost per line 

Also: 

• The most remote towns
• Nuclear heartland of U.S.
• A geothermal town

Careers that actually pay you to play

Careers that actually pay you to play

Jobs that let you have fun, like leading cruise ship activities, can provide seriously good pay.

Up to $90K a year 

Also: 

• High profile but low pay
• 5 flexible careers
• Cruise ship jobs

In Matters Of Health

In Matters Of Health

Study: Breast-feeding could save lives

Following guidelines could save billions of dollars and hundreds of babies' lives.   

Illnesses that could be prevented 

Also: 

• Exercise, birth weight link?
• Popular baby names
• Pregnancy-cancer risk

Looking at photos of sick people boosts your immune system

It turns out that looking at images of sick people actually boosts your immune system, according to researchers at the University of British Columbia.

The researchers asked young adults to watch a 10-minute slide show containing a series of unpleasant photographs. Some of these participants looked at pictures of people who looked obviously sick in some way (people with pox and rashes, people coughing and sneezing and blowing mucus out of their noses). The participants gave blood samples both before and after each slideshow. Next the researchers exposed these blood samples to a bacterial infection, and measured the extent to which white blood cells produced interleukin-6 (IL-6). IL-6 is a proinflammatory cytokine that white blood cells make when they detect microbial intruders. More IL-6 indicates a more aggressive immune response to infection. So, by measuring IL-6 before and after the slide show, the researchers were able to determine whether seeing pictures of disease-y people actually stimulated the immune system to fight infection more aggressively. And it did.

Douglas Kenrick of Psychology Today interviewed one of the researchers in the study, social psychologist Mark Schaller.

The psychological immune system

In case you didn't know ...
A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.

Not the first bad news I've seen for high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and not even in the first 200. The stuff is why America's getting terminally obese. HFCS will kill you and ought to be avoided period
Oh, but wait, there's more: High fructose corn syrup, which some studies have linked to obesity, may also be harmful to the liver, according to Duke University Medical Center research.

How long the big-money interests can keep the accumulating evidence against HFCS under the radar. Within five years or so, don't be surprised if HFCS gets a thalidomide-like reputation.

Can mental illness make you creative?

Sometimes the spark of genius burns too brightly

Health care reform adds tax hikes, breaks

Here are 13 changes in the massive overhaul that will affect your tax bill.  

For better or worse 

Also: 

• New health care scams
• More benefits for seniors
• Health care reform

It's Allergy Season ... with a vengeance

Allergic to pollens? You must be suffering right now

Since early March, this year's oak pollen count has been twice as high as last year, a Charlotte allergist said, and cedar pollen has been even higher.

Pollen pollen everywhere 04.06.10

90-degree mark possible today

Tips for coping with allergies

Scientific Minds Want To Know

Scientific Minds Want To Know

NASA counts down the end of an era

With Discovery's launch, the U.S. space program moves closer to an uncertain future filled with risk.

Russian rockets 

Also: 

• Space City's concern
• Shuttle hangar photos
• Future of space travel

Night skies suited dino-bird's eyes

The eye sockets of the flying dinosaur Archaeopteryx were similar to those of today's nocturnal birds

Velociraptor 'caught' eating dino

Fossil fragments reveal a predatory Velociraptor caught in the act of eating another larger plant-eating dinosaur.

Earth struck by most powerful space storm in three years

The most powerful geomagnetic storm to hit Earth since December 2006 arrived on Monday, a day earlier than expected.

Sites in Canada, Norway, and Greenland (here) were examined. Photo: Museum of Natural History and Archaeology, Trondheim via flickr.
Most of the time when the words 'thawing permafrost' and 'greenhouse gas' appear in a headline together it naturally leads to talking about methane, but not this time. Reuters reports that new research shows how another greenhouse gas is getting released as the Arctic warms: Nitrous oxide.

Article continues: Thawing Permafrost Releasing Another Overlooked Greenhouse Gas

"Oriental Yeti" has been captured

According to The Times, this unusual animal was captured in the Sichuan province in remote central China. Nicknamed "the oriental yeti," the unidentified animal is on its way to Beijing for DNA tests. "There are local legends of a bear that used to be a man and some people think that's what we caught," one of the hunters said.

"'Oriental yeti' that looks like a bear without fur shipped for tests"

Ayurveda out of balance

Traditional Ayurvedic medicine could face an uncertain future as 93 percent of the wild plants used in the practice are threatened with extinction due to overexploitation, the Times of India reports. [...]
Of course, other traditional Asian medicines have been attacked for their use of parts from endangered animals, such as tiger bones and rhino horns, but Ayurveda has so far avoided such criticisms.

Ayurveda out of balance: 93 percent of medicinal plants threatened with extinction

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Upping the cute factor some more ...

Hippo and Dog

Police crime lab goes to the cats

Police crime lab goes to the cats

San Francisco police used felines to handle a rat problem. Now they have a cat problem.  

'Not nice'  

Also:

• Search: Feral cats
• Junk food hurts pets
• Granny fined over goldfish

Erykah Badu Fined $500 for Stripping in Window Seat Video

Erykah Badu has been fined $500 for her controversial nude video shoot for her new song “Window Seat.” Dallas police have issued Badu a disorderly conduct citation for filming the nude portion at Dealey Plaza, where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

In the video, Badu strips off all her clothes and pretends to be shot in the head.

The citation comes after a witness told police she was offended by Badu stripping in public.

Odds and Sods

Odds and Sods

Cash Facts

Here are 78 things you didn't know about Johnny Cash.

For example:

• When he was a child working in the cotton fields, Cash used to eat young cotton buds, despite his mother's warnings that they would give him bellyaches.
• After being arrested for trespassing in Starkville, Mississippi, Cash broke his toe trying to kick out the bars of his jail cell.
• Cash's advice on living life on the road: "Back in 1957, there was no Extra Crispy. Other than that, it's the same."
• An ostrich attack left Cash with five broken ribs and internal bleeding.
• When Cash was 5 years old, his dad shot his dog for eating the table scraps meant for the hogs.
• The tune for "I Walk the Line" was inspired by a recording of Bavarian guitar music Cash had accidentally played backwards.

In Cop News

These 'cops' are totally wrong in everything they did and said in this video and should be fired and imprisoned.

Surveillance video shows Vermont cop repeatedly shooting jailed man with pepperball gun for 40 minutes

Louisiana cop arrested for wife-beating

New Jersey cop is arrested for arson and insurance fraud

Texas cop gets eleven years for bribery, cocaine trafficking and smuggling undocumented immigrants

Indiana police defend use of Taser on 11-year-old