Welcome to ...

The place where the world comes together in honesty and mirth.
Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.


Monday, June 14, 2010

The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift
Today's horoscope says:
You're a deeply thoughtful and somewhat complicated person, while those closest to you might be more about the simple life.
Is this a case of irreconcilable differences?
Of course not!
Just be honest and acknowledge your differences -- that's the first step.
Then be sure to respect them -- that's the next.
You might just find that everything else falls neatly into place afterward.
Some of our readers today have been in:
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
London, England, United Kingdom
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Bad Homburg, Hessen, Germany
Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Colombo. Colombo, Sri Lanka
Seoul, Kyonggi-Do, Korea
Chester, England, United Kingdom
Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Skien, Telemark, Norway
Quebec, Quebec, Canada
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Turin, Piemonte, Italy

as well as Singapore, and the United States in such cities as Indian Trail, Arab, Vista, Mifflinburg and more

Today is Monday, June 14, the 165th day of 2010.
There are 200 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are:
There aren't any.

But it is Flag Day
http://thm-a02.yimg.com/nimage/111d70f32d771fac

How the current U.S. flag was designed

In 1958, high-school student Bob Heft was just hoping to get a good grade on his class project.
Also: 

Local Hospitality

Local Hospitality
Gov. Beverly Perdue expressed frustration Friday over the latest instance of behavior by a North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper that has resulted in a criminal investigation.

World Cup Considers Vuvuzela Ban

Ask a South African what they think of the vuvuzela, and they will say it's traditional, and that they love it. Ask some of the organizers of the World Cup what they think of the cheap, plastic, monophonic trumpets, and they may compare it to a herd of rampaging elephants.

On The Job

On The Job
Hiring managers share the worst errors they've seen. Find out what not to do.
Also: 
New technology and an aging population are creating high demand in many fields.  
Also: 

It's The Economy Stupid

It's The Economy Stupid
The card that's in your wallet might not be the right one for your spending habits.  
Also: 
Some markets across the U.S. are showing signs of life, though the overall picture is still rocky.  
Also: 

Rainbow Family Gathering

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/75/189129412_0d81d8ece3.jpg 
The 2010 Rainbow Gathering will be in Pennsylvania.

University students commit 'suicide by laptop'

Two University of Edinburgh students, Robert Miller, 20, and James Robertson, 19, have apparently committed "suicide by laptop." The pair, childhood friends, used a device attached to a laptop computer to administer a lethal injection, similar to Dr. Philip Nitschke's so-called Deliverance Machine.

Lithium in Afghanistan

The U.S. identifies nearly $1 trillion in rare untapped mineral deposits.  
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Droning on

The push from some companies to use the pilot-less aircraft has government officials concerned.  
Also: 

Shoe

Shoe

Jimmy Dean is dead

The Grammy Award-winning country music legend was also known for his sausage brand.
Also: 

Coke afraid of competition

A dairy farmer in New Zealand has found himself pitched against the world's biggest soft drink maker and the largest farm expo in the southern hemisphere, all over his invention of a fizzy milk drink which comes in a can.

Richard Revell had hoped to launch his cola and lemonade milk soda at the National Field Days in Hamilton, New Zealand, which attracts about 140,000 farmers.

But instead of being on show, he has been banned from selling his drink because it constitutes competition for Coca-Cola.

Yaks Funny

Cattle ranchers in the foothills of Wyoming's Big Horn Mountains are no longer yukking over a herd of yaks that keeps getting loose.
John and Laura DeMatteis of Buffalo, Wyoming, raise the woolly, cattle-like animals on their 300-acre Yak Daddy Ranch.
http://sharing.kxan.com/sharewlin//photo/2010/06/14/AP04102304539_20100614044925_320_240.JPG 
They sell the animals, which are native to Asia, for their meat and wool. Problem is, the herd keeps wandering off — more than a dozen times in recent years.
Local ranchers say the roaming yaks were funny at first. Now the ranchers say they eat they grass and worry they could mate with their cows.
Local officials say they're pursuing an ordinance against "yaks at large."

Coventry man charged with keeping tiger in his garage

A Midlands dad has been charged with trading in endangered species after a tiger was allegedly discovered in his freezer. Police who raided Alan Dudley’s suburban home in Coventry are said to have found his garage and fridge packed with an array of exotic dead animals.

The freezer alone allegedly contained the bodies of the tiger, lemurs, a Goeldi’s monkey, sparrowhawks, buzzards and owls. The remains of a chimpanzee, marmosets, loggerhead turtles, and the skulls of a baby seal and penguin were also discovered in his garage, it is claimed.

Mr Dudley, who is married with children, was arrested after his home was raided by West Midlands Police and Customs and Excise investigators. He has been charged with 10 counts relating to alleged breaches of the Customs and Excise Management Act, as well as of the Control and Trade in Endangered Species Regulations 1997.

The 52 year-old first appeared at Coventry Magistrates’ Court on March 5 in connection with the charges. His last hearing was on June 3 at the same court. He is due to attend a plea and case management hearing on July 23 at Coventry Crown Court. He has not yet entered a plea and is expected to do so at his next hearing. Mr Dudley was arrested by West Midlands Police in February 2008, but has only recently been charged.

Scientific Minds Want To Know

Scientific Minds Want To Know
Depth of Himalayan Mountain Roots Revealed
An epic collision between two ancient continents pushed the Himalayas up from the Earth's surface. That much is known, but a new study reveals how deep the unseen wreckage penetrated underground.

Ancient Martian ocean may have supported life
Evidence that a vast ocean may have covered one-third of the surface of Mars some 3.5 billion years ago gives new support to the idea that the planet may once have harbored life.

One hundred and one uses for a rubber band

Use #102
This looks like a pretty good way to cope with a stripped screw: use a bigger screwdriver and insert a rubber band between the tip of it and the screw-head to give you some traction.
How To Remove a Stripped Screw Without an Extractor 








*****

B.C.

B.C.

Brits are 'friendly and soccer-mad'

Most British are polite, welcoming and obsessed with football, according to a survey.

Britain's first thumb-sucking clinic opens its doors

Only in England ...

For many, the sight of a child sucking their thumb is the ultimate picture of innocence. But Britain's first "thumb-sucking clinic" is promising to deter children from a habit which can damage teeth and jaws if it continues too long.

Orthodontists who say they have treated hundreds of patients with buck teeth and jaw alignment problems caused by prolonged thumb-sucking have founded a practice which aims to help break the habit, as well as repairing damage caused. Most children stop sucking fingers or thumbs between the age of three and six, when it causes no damage.


However, those who continue as their adult teeth grow risk affecting their jaw development and the position of their teeth, according to NHS advice. While most orthodontists are accustomed to treating such symptoms, the Metamorphosis centre in West London is the first to set up a "thumb-sucking clinic" to tackle the habit itself.

Weapons in its arsenal include a range of metal devices fitted in the mouth, which mean those who suck thumbs or fingers no longer derive comfort from it, as well as more conventional plastic "thumbguards" which cover the thumb itself and which children find difficult to remove. Dr Neil Counihan, the clinic's founder, said he decided to open the private service after years of treating children whose jaws and teeth had been badly affected by prolonged thumb-sucking.

NY barkeep famed for flaming liquor stunt arrested

From the "Some people have way too much time on their hands" Department:
A barkeep whose flaming liquor show was featured in "Real Housewives of New York City" has been arrested for performing the fiery feat.

First, the barkeep has way too much time to waste ...
Second, the police obviously have nothing better to do ...

Ziggy

http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=dc57c592c4473ccaa71512cb16465645

Radio in Scotland Receives Vintage Broadcasts

A radio at the Montrose Air Station Heritage Center in Scotland has been picking up radio broadcasts from the WWII era.
The vintage radio set is kept in a recreation of a 1940s room. Several people have heard Second World War era broadcasts including the big band sound of the Glenn Miller orchestra and speeches by Winston Churchill. The broadcasts come on at random and can last for up to half an hour…
“It plays Glenn Miller, and that’s what everyone has heard. It is very faint and you have to put your ear to it, but that’s what it’s playing.
“It’s not just one of us who’s heard it – most of us here have. We are talking about highly educated, reliable people.
“My wife Aileen was with me when we heard the Glenn Miller Orchestra last weekend. She’s a physicist and not predisposed to believing in things like this but no-one has an explanation.
The fact that the radio is not plugged in will cause some people to be skeptical, and assume that an audio device has been hidden inside the radio case.  However…
Technicians who examined it removed the back, but found “nothing but cobwebs and spiders”.

Bad Cops

Bad Cops