The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
You're an expert at keeping plans in motion, and at avoiding anything that could come between the beginning and the end of those plans.
At the moment, though, someone close has opted to be difficult and deliberately wander from your arrangement.
That doesn't mean you need to count them out of your life forever, but for now, at least, you've got to put them on temporary suspension.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutaun, Malaysia

Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Manchester, England, United Kingdom

Quebec, Quebec, Canada

Coffs Harbor, New South Wales, Australia

Roma, Lazio, Italy

Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina

London, England, United Kingdom

Oldenburg, Neidersachsen, Germany

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

New Delhi, Delhi, India

Huddersfield, England, United Kingdom

Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Paris, Ile-De-France, France

Stavanger, Rogaland, Norway

Cairo, Al Qahirah, Egypt

Chester, England, United Kingdom

Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany

Ekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk, Russia

Jakarta, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia

as well as Singapore, and the United States in such cities as Basin, Burley, Latrobe, Valrico and more

Today is Thursday, June 17, the 168th day of 2010.

There are 197 days left in the year.

Today In History June 17

Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are:

Dump the Pump Day

Stewarts Root Beer Day

and

Recess At Work Day

World Cup Soccer

Staggering World Cup upset

Switzerland, a 250-1 long shot, pulls off a devastating upset of tournament favorite Spain.

The big play 

Also: 

• More Cup long shots
• Maradona zings Pele
• More World Cup coverage

Family beats man to death for wanting to watch soccor instead of religious show

A South African man who wanted to watch a World Cup football match instead of a religious program was beaten to death by his family in the northeastern part of the country, police said Thursday.

David Makoeya, a 61-year-old man from the small village of Makweya, Limpopo province, fought with his wife and two children for the remote control on Sunday because he wanted to watch Australia play Germany in the World Cup.

The others, however, wanted to watch a gospel show.

Full Story

And you wonder why religion is bad for your health? 

Helpful Hints

Helpful Hints

Surprising uses for baking soda

It's cheap, contains no harsh chemicals, and can be used on everything from hair to tires.  

It even puts out kitchen fires 

Also: 

• Safe cleaning products
• Save money, go green
• Smart snacks for kids

Five plants that can survive in any garden

From the "They obviously don't know my wife" Department:

(Her 'Black' Thumb Is Legendary)

Five plants that can survive in any garden

Choose the right plants for your yard, and even a black thumb won't stop them from thriving.  

Some bloom in dry soil 

Also: 

• Summer planting
• Budget yard makeover
• Get ready for houseguests

Afghan mineral wealth underestimated

Afghan mineral wealth underestimated

Afghanistan's vast, untapped deposits of rare minerals could be triple the original U.S. estimate. 

Official's new figure 

Also: 

• Shell threatened in Nigeria
• Oil rig workers job hunt
• Rare earth elements

Turnip Rock on Lake Huron

Cool island! The land around Turnip Rock is privately owned, so the only way to reach it is by boat. Lars Jensen has more great photographs from his kayaking trip on this page.

(photo by Lars Jensen)

A mattress for 30K?!

How a mattress can cost $33,000

People desperate for a good night's sleep are paying exorbitant prices for bedding.  

As much as $69,500 

Also: 

• 8 sleep-better foods
• Sleep and heart health
• Costs of a midlife crisis

'Otzi' had Smoker's Lung

Full story

Scientists have revealed that 'Otzi' the 5,300-year-old mummy found frozen in a glacier suffered from a bad case of smoker's lung.

CO2 Linked To Ice Ages & Past Global Climate Changes

photo: Dominic Alves via flickr

Taking a look back to past global climate changes, researchers led by Timothy Herbert of Brown University have determined that for at least the past 2.7 million years tropical temperatures have "changed in lockstep" with the cyclical spread and retreat of ice sheets, and that CO2 has been the main factor dictating global climate patterns.

Article continues: CO2 Linked To Ice Ages & Past Global Climate Changes

Bad Cops

Bad Cops

Court lets NYPD keep mum about hundreds of arrests at 2004 Republican convention

Florida correctional officer charged with battering pregnant girlfriend

Three New Orleans police officers and two former officers are indicted in the shooting death of black man who bled to death in police custody

Baltimore cop who allegedly murdered Marine goes missing

Minnesota police officer who robbed bank was under incredible stress, defense lawyer says

Fired New York cop is arrested for chasing and physically beating a woman

Fired Memphis police officer convicted of 2nd-degree murder

Louisiana deputy charged with multiple counts of evidence tampering, weapons violations and drug offenses

Ziggy

On The Job

On The Job

America's top-paying blue-collar jobs

Here are five high-earning jobs where you can skip the suit and work outside.  

Top profession makes up to $98,190 

Also: 

• Jobs outside the cubicle
• Reroute your career
• Retirement fund checkup

Great jobs for every salary range

Check out three careers that pay $80K and up, as well as several between $40K and $70K.  

How to get started 

Also: 

• Great careers for dads
• Jobs that get you moving
• Cost of living calculator

Summer office attire mistakes to avoid

Exposing your shoulders could lead coworkers to doubt your judgment.  

Are flip-flops or sunglasses OK? 

Also: 

• Attire tips for interviews
• Manners fade at work
• Crazy things bosses say

Unemployed ... then don't bother applying here

It's the old why should we hire you ... since your not working you're unreliable shtick companies have been doing for ever. That and the oldie but goodie "You're OVER Qualified" horseshit because they don't want to pay you what you are worth coming to the fore once more.

Double whammy for the unemployed

More companies are telling out-of-work job seekers not to even bother applying.

'Myth' sparks troubling trend 

Also: 

• Bad sign for hiring
• Jobless benefits take a hit
• Explain gaps in résumé

Get around new roadblocks to refinancing

Get around new roadblocks to refinancing

Even small changes to appraisals and credit scores can be big barriers to getting a new loan.  

'Dramatic impact' 

Also: 

• Housing outlook bleak
• Construction still down
• Avoid foreclosure

Become a millionaire

Become a millionaire over the long run

Follow this one simple investing trick, and you can increase your wealth exponentially. 

Change how you think 

Also: 

• Typical investor mistakes
• The most hated fees
• Dollar cost averaging

Baby owl survives three days in lion’s cage

This is the moment a baby owl had a miracle escape after it fell from its nest into a zoo enclosure only to leave it face to face – with a lion.

The fluffy tawny owlet managed to survive for three days after it tumbled from a branch and landed inches from the killer lioness. Onlookers watched as the female Asiatic lion called ‘Indu’ eyed the surprise visitor – who weighed just a few grams.

The owl – who had not yet learned to fly – then spent three days in the enclosure near seven-year-old Indu and her mate. But amazingly she survived being eaten and after several clumsy efforts eventually managed to take off – and flew away to safety.

The incredible pictures were taken by retired teacher Sheila Hassanein, 64, who was visiting Paignton Zoo in Devon. Sheila said: ”Someone saw the chick fall out of a tree and it landed right in the lion enclosure. A big group of people quickly gathered round to watch.

”We were all very concerned about the owl as it looks completely helpless in there. It was so tiny compared to the lions. At one point one of the lions went over to it and I felt sure she was going to eat it, but she just didn’t seem bothered at all.

”The staff couldn’t go in there to remove the chick so it was in there for three days before it was able to fly off. It was very lucky to escape because I saw a pigeon land in there once and the lion ate it up straight away.”

A turn of a phrase

The whole shebang

Meaning: All of it; the whole thing.

Origin: This is an American phrase, from the 1920s. The first question for those of us not living in the USA, and I suspect quite a few that do, is, what's a shebang? That isn't so easy to answer. The earliest known citation of the word uses it as some form of hut or rustic dwelling. That's in Walt Whitman's Specimen Days, from Complete Poetry and Collected Prose, 1862:

"Besides the hospitals, I also go occasionally on long tours through the camps, talking with the men, &c. Sometimes at night among the groups around the fires, in their shebang enclosures of bushes."

Some have speculated that there might be a connection between 'shebang' and the Irish word 'shebeen', which has a similar meaning to the 'rustic dwelling' above. There doesn't seem to be any justification for that though and the words' similarities appear to be just coincidental. Just a few years after Whitman's poem, the Marysville Tribune, November 1869 printed a list of 'The Idioms of Our New West' and defined 'shebang' like this:

"'Shebang' is applied to any sort of house or office."

Soon after that, Mark Twain uses 'shebang' to refer to a form of vehicle - in Roughing It, 1872:

"Take back your money, madam. We can't allow it. You're welcome to ride here as long as you please, but this shebang's chartered, and we can't let you pay a cent."

There are various 'the whole' expressions which derive from America - 'the whole ball of wax', 'the whole nine yards', 'the whole box of dice', 'the whole shooting match', 'the whole enchilada', 'the whole kit and caboodle' etc. Whilst these by and large refer to real objects, none of them represents 'wholeness' and they have just been tacked on to 'the whole' to make catchy phrases. 'Shebang' was also used that way - and that the fact that people using it didn't know what a shebang was didn't really matter. It was simply a colourful way of saying 'thing'.

The word appears to have arrived fully formed in the 1860s. Prior to 1862, there are no examples in print. During the 1860s there are dozens of examples in US newspapers, literature etc.

That 'vehicle' usage does suggest a possible link with the name for a form of early UK sightseeing bus, i.e. charabanc (pronounced sharra-bang). This derives from the French char-à-bancs - carriage with benches. Charabancs, affectionately known to passengers as 'sharras', were a commonplace in Britain from the introduction of horse-drawn examples in the early 1800s to as late as the 1970s.

Could 'shebang' be a variant of 'sharra-bang'? Well, it's certainly possible, although the evidence to support that view is entirely circumstantial.

In June 1872, the same year that Twain was using 'shebang' to mean vehicle, the Sedalia Daily Democrat printed a piece which used the name just to mean 'thing', and this is the earliest example of 'the whole shebang':

"Well, the Democracy can flax [beat up] the whole shebang, and we hope to see our party united."

See also: the whole kit and caboodle and the whole nine yards.

Paris bans 'anti-Islamization' pork-and-wine street party

Paris police on Tuesday banned a controversial "pork sausage and wine" street party planned by extremist groups to combat what they saw as the "Islamization" of a city neighborhood. The event was planned for Friday evening at a time when the district's streets are usually jammed with Muslims coming out of mosques and just before Algeria were due to play England in the football World Cup.

But police banned the event and any rival gatherings in the Goutte d'Or area of northern Paris' 18th arrondissement, or district, saying in a statement that it was likely to cause "serious risks to public order." The plan had sparked outrage from politicians and anti-racism groups who said it was blatantly racist and could lead to violence on the streets.

The controversy comes after a government-sponsored debate on national identity earlier this year spotlighted anxieties about the integration of France's five to six million Muslims. The Goutte d'Or party, or "apero geant" as it was called in French, was a new and politically-charged take on a growing trend in France for huge open-air drinks parties organized on the social networking site Facebook.

Many of them have been banned because authorities fear mass drunkenness. The original idea for the Goutte d'Or gathering apparently came from a local woman who set up a Facebook page announcing the event to fight against what she saw as the increasing "Islamization" of her area.

The truth about teabaggers

Just so the wingnut teabagger relig-o fascists understand this nation was NOT founded on judeo-christian 'values' and the 'ten commandments' are NOT the basis for our laws and by no stretch of their fevered deluded imaginations will it ever be so. And on a further note there over 600 'commandments' so why only go into fits of demented apoplexy over just ten of them?

Lush Dimbulb thinks hungry children should "dumpster dive" for their dinner

karoli posted this over at Crooks and Liars:

 

Rush Limbaugh's ongoing assault on family values continues.
This ugly excuse for a human being actually went on the radio and went off on hungry children in the US. Whether he likes it or not, hunger becomes a real problem when children don't have even a school lunch because many children rely upon the federal school lunch program to get their one decent meal a day.
Here's what Limbaugh said:

God, this is just -- we can't escape these people. We just can't escape them. They live in the utter deniability of basic human nature. They actually have it in their heads somehow that parents are so rotten that they will let their kids go hungry and starve, unless the schools take care of it

Sometimes it's not a question of "let". Sometimes it just "IS".
There's more:

I think, you know what we're going to do here, we're going to start a feature on this program: "Where to find food." For young demographics, where to find food. Now that school is out, where to find food. We can have a daily feature on this. And this will take us all the way through the summer. Where to find food. And, of course, the first will be: "Try your house." It's a thing called the refrigerator. You probably already know about it. Try looking there. There are also things in what's called the kitchen of your house called cupboards. And in those cupboards, most likely you're going to find Ding-Dongs, Twinkies, Lays ridgy potato chips, all kinds of dips and maybe a can of corn that you don't want, but it will be there. If that doesn't work, try a Happy Meal at McDonald's. You know where McDonald's is. There's the Dollar Menu at McDonald's and if they don't have Chicken McNuggets, dial 911 and ask for Obama.
There's another place if none of these options work to find food; there's always the neighborhood dumpster. Now, you might find competition with homeless people there, but there are videos that have been produced to show you how to healthfully dine and how to dumpster dive and survive until school kicks back up in August. Can you imagine the benefit we would provide people?

The idea of this fat bastard SOB ridiculing hungry children by telling them if they just look in the kitchen cupboards they'll find Ding-Dongs, Twinkies, Lays ridgy potato chips and all kinds of dip just makes me sick. It makes me want to deface his pudgy ugly picture.
Let's look at what it's like to be a child whose only reliable meal is a hot lunch. This was written by a friend of mine. I keep it bookmarked and read it weekly to remind myself to have gratitude that my children aren't hungry, aren't cold, have a home and their basic needs met.
Via MOMocrats (It's a little long, but well worth the read):

But going hungry — that is a different story. That's waking up in the morning hungry. Feeling, throughout the day, hungry. Lying in bed not able to sleep just yet because you are hungry. Dreaming about feeling hungry.
And there is not any trip to the taco place down the street and not a trip to McDonald's instead and not a trip to the farmer's market or the grocery store, either, because there is no money for those things. There is not even the option of a trip to the backyard for some homegrown tomatoes or cucumbers or strawberries because there is no yard when you live in a run-down apartment or a shelter or a car.
There is only your hollow-eyed mother who is hungrier than you are dividing the last stale crackers to make them last. Assuming that you are lucky enough to have a mother. And crackers.
And the going part of going hungry means of course that you keep going this way. That despite the aching hollow in your belly and the listlessness that overtakes you brain, you do keep going — to school or to work or to the streets or at the least from one side of an empty room to another. You keep waking up in the morning and going about your day as best you can as if you were not hungry. Because the world expects it of you, because you are ashamed to admit you are hungry, because your body holds some sort of ancient optimism that there will be food again around some corner, because, after all, what else can you do?
You don't forget going hungry, and I know that you don't forget it because I was once a hungry child and some of my earliest and most indelible memories are of going hungry. Of feeling motivated by hunger. Motivated to suck on a lone slice of pickle for hours just to keep the feeling of food in my mouth. (I can still taste that pickle when I think about it. I was four.) Motivated to think that someone else's trash smelled like food. Yes, hunger motivates people.

This is what that fat bastard ridiculed. Made fun of. Children without even the most basic food and shelter.
So I don't leave you on a downer, here is the happy ending to Jaelithe's story:

But you see, it was the free school lunches I qualified for, in those early days, when I was hungry, that kept enough glucose in my brain that I could pay attention in my classroom. It was the knowledge that her children would still eat if she went back to school that allowed my high-school-dropout teenage mother to spend my early childhood finishing her college degree instead of working at McDonald's. State-sponsored food, given to me at a crucial time by the fine state of Missouri, helped lift my family out of poverty.

I never want to hear any fan of Rushbo ever -- EVER -- tell me they believe in families and family values. Not today, not tomorrow, not next week. Rush Limbaugh is an evil, ugly man. Supporting him is an evil, ugly act.

***

And to show he is even more vile than you imagine:

Lush Dimbulb joins Glen Brick in mocking Malia Obama

(Also posted by karoli over at Crooks and Liars)

 

What is it with these "family values" guys that compels them to mock and belittle kids? First Glenn Beck does it, then apologizes. Sort of. Now Rush Limbaugh, fresh from his honeymoon with wife #4 decides it's ok?
Enough with the mean Malia impressions already. My kids are both older than she is and they ask me the same question. Contrary to Rush's bombastic nasty worldview, they actually care whether the Gulf drowns in a pool of oil.
This is tag team desensitization, in my opinion. Rush knows full well how audiences on both sides reacted to Beck's nasty mockery of Malia Obama after the President's press conference. By engaging in the same behavior, he slowly brings his already-receptive audience around to the idea that it's perfectly all right to mock and belittle a 12-year old girl.
I sure am glad the right wing cares about family values. Aren't you?

The repugicans are opposed to BP paying compensation for oil disaster

And are we surprised?
Seriously, who is advising these people? Oh, yeah, that's right, BP. Never mind.

Batshit Crazy Michele Bachmann:

"The president just called for creating a fund that would be administered by outsiders, which would be more of a redistribution-of-wealth fund," […] "They have to lift the liability cap. But if I was the head of BP, I would let the signal get out there -- 'We're not going to be chumps, and we're not going to be fleeced.' And they shouldn't be. They shouldn't have to be fleeced and make chumps to have to pay for perpetual unemployment and all the rest -- they've got to be legitimate claims."

repugican study committee: (you're joking right)

“BP’s reported willingness to go along with the White House’s new fund suggests that the Obama Administration is hard at work exerting its brand of Chicago-style shakedown politics.

They're against it

 

repugicans - no matter what it is they're against it

It's Only The Environment After All

It's Only The Environment After All

Fleeing spill, wildlife gathers near shore

Scientists studying the BP disaster's effects are seeing some strange — and troubling — phenomena.  

Surprises 

Also: 

• Gulf coast wildlife
• BP's deals with Iran
• 'Small people' comment

It's Not Like We Don't Have Another One

B.C.

Culinary DeLites

Culinary DeLites

The worst baked goods to snack on

Choose wisely when craving a treat because these goodies can be total calorie bombs.  

Healthy alternatives 

Also: 

• Healthy cookie recipes
• America's best 'donuts'
• Eco-friendly food swaps

Surprising end dates for pantry staples

The shelf life of these baking supplies may be a lot shorter than you'd expect.

How to keep them fresh 

Also: 

• What to keep, what to toss
• Get an organized kitchen
• Recipe substitutions

Clever Flipper bridge for untangling traffic

Clever Flipper bridge for untangling traffic

People on one side of this proposed bridge drive on the left, but the other side drives on the right.

More 

Also: 

• City's landmark change
• Washed-out bridge woe
• Left-driving countries

Woman builds house from old 747 plane

Woman builds house from old 747 plane

Francie Rehwald needed helicopters, cranes, and piles of permits to realize her dream home.  

What it looks like 

Also: 

• Recycled home materials
• Attendant helps land jet
• Solar plane test flight

Some schools ban the strangest things

Some schools ban the strangest things

A recent kibosh on Silly Bandz is just one step concerned schools have taken.

Why kids can't make Father's Day cards 

Also: 

• The Silly Bandz issue
• Items banned by schools
• Students stage walkout

Surprise! Man's interrupted dream led to assaults

An interrupted dream apparently inspired the assault of a Surprise police officer and two medical workers late on Monday. Surprise police Sgt. Mark Ortega gave this account of the situation: An employee at the Chevron gas station near U.S. 60 and Parkview Place walked up to Surprise resident William Meadows' pickup truck and knocked on his window when he noticed the man was laying down inside.

Meadows, 47, awoke and became violent. A Surprise officer arrived at the gas station about 7:30 p.m. to find Meadows yelling. The officer ordered Meadows to sit down and asked what upset him. Meadows said the gas station employee had interrupted a "very good dream." The officer handcuffed the Surprise man and sat him inside a police cruiser.

Meadows then began to kick the back window. Police placed restraints on Meadows' legs but the Surprise man continued to act violently. Officers decided to call for firefighters' help because they were concerned about the cause of Meadows' behavior. Upon a fire crew's arrival, a police officer began to take Meadows out of the police cruiser. Meadows spit on him.

Officials decided to take Meadows to Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center. Meadows bit the hand of a staff member helping to load him into an ambulance. Once at the hospital, Meadows punched a nurse. Examiners found nothing to explain Meadows' behavior.

Fake priest blesses police after being collared

Full story

A thief who disguised himself as a priest to rob a Catholic college in Rome became so caught up in his holy pretense that he blessed the police officers who helped foil his bid to steal a batch of antique books.

Taxi driver retires after passenger leaves him £250,000 tip

Taxi driver Don Pratt retired from work after a regular passenger left him a £250,000 tip – in her will. Cabbie Don, 65, spent 20 years ferrying pensioner Mary Watson to and from her local shops in Newquay, Cornwall.

He picked her up from her house and took her wherever she needed to go – until her death aged 86 early this year. But Mary, in her 80s, left her favourite taxi driver one final large tip – a quarter of a million pounds.

Mary left Don her whole estate which included a small house and - savings – worth a total of over £250,000. Father-of-four Don, a taxi driver for 30 years, has now retired thanks to Mary’s last act of generosity.

He said: ”She was always a good tipper in life and she’s was an even better tipper when she went. This money means that we can retire and go travelling. We want to go around England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland – to start with anyway.”

'The Smurfs' get a modern makeover

From the "Yeah, Like I know you care" Department:

'The Smurfs' get a modern makeover

The blue cartoon characters are remade using computer-generated special effects.

What they look like now 

Also: 

• More on 'The Smurfs'
• See the Smurfs villain
• 'Toy Story 3' clips

How to feel strong and healthy at 101

How to feel strong and healthy at 101

Improve the length and quality of your life by making these simple changes now.

Centenarians reveal their secrets 

Also: 

• Signs you'll live to 100
• Less salt = more years
• The oldest U.S. person

No stockings, now no problem at Disney theme parks

Full story

Female workers at Disney theme parks have been granted the right to bare legs. Disneyland spokeswoman Betsy Sanchez says that women working the Anaheim theme park and other Disney resorts no longer have to wear pantyhose when dressing in skirts.

Indian fish trader nearly dies after fish jumps down his throat

It was virtually a rebirth for a fish trader from Kanhangad in Kerala as doctors in Mangala Hospital and Mangala Kidney Foundation successfully removed a 13-centimeter-long fish stuck in his windpipe.

On Saturday, Mohammed Kunhi while clenching a live fish with his teeth attempted to free other fish entangled in the fishing net. In the melee, the fish slipped and got stuck in his windpipe. Kunhi was initially rushed to a local hospital and on the doctor’s advice he was shifted to a private hospital in Mangalore. As the hospital lacked sophisticated equipment to remove the fish, he was shifted to Mangala Hospital and Mangala Kidney Foundation at around 7 pm.

“By the time Kunhi came to our hospital, his lungs, due to lack of oxygen, had collapsed and he looked sure to die of aspiration pneumonia,” Dr Ganapathy who led the team in removing the fish from the windpipe said.

The sophisticated equipment in the hospital came in handy to the team. A bronchoscopy revealed the location of fish. Finally opting for the technology used to break kidney stones, the fish was removed through an incision in the throat. This is the third incident in Mangalore where a patient was admitted with a live fish in the windpipe. Two others died of aspiration pneumonia before doctors could remove the fish.

Rednecks and other assorted weirdos

Rednecks and other assorted weirdos

 

Redneck BBQ

Odds and Sods

Odds and Sods

I'll Have a Chupacabra Burger, Hold the Mayo

Buffalo is known for its chicken wings. Philadelphia is known for its cheesesteaks.

Up To 60 Human Heads Discovered At Airport

A US airline worker has discovered between 40 and 60 human heads during a routine security check, prompting fears of a black market trade in body parts.