The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
You're reaching a crossroads in your life, and the path you should choose might not be terribly obvious right away.
To help make your decision, just think about which direction offers you the least amount of resistance.
Now is not the time to seek out conflict or challenges to your ideas, no matter how much they might make you stronger.
You deserve a break from that type of energy ... you deserve the easier path, so feel free to take it.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Quebec, Quebec, Canada
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
London, England, United Kingdom
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia
Erode, Tamil Nadu, India
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

as well as Slovakia, Malta, Bulgaria, Israel, Finland, Austria, Norway, Georgia, Mexico, Peru, Kuwait, Serbia, Bangladesh, Latvia, Greece, Scotland, Hong Kong, Denmark, Wales, Iran, Singapore, Poland, Taiwan, Sweden, Afghanistan, Belgium, Tibet, Croatia, Pakistan, Romania, Paraguay, Sudan, Vietnam, Argentina, Cambodia, Egypt, France, Estonia, Puerto Rico, Maldives, Qatar, Brazil, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Slovenia, China, Iraq, Ecuador, Nigeria, Colombia, Chile, Honduras, Paupa New Guinea, Moldova, Venezuela, Germany, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Czech Republic, Vietnam, Norway, Finland and in cities across the United States such as Coconut Creek, Walnut Creek, Battle Creek, Coddle Creek and more.

Today is:

Today is Sunday, March 6, the 65th day of 2011.

There are 300 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is: 

U.S. Snowshoe Day.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Perdue Vetoes Health Overhaul Bill

And rightly so!

Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue on Saturday vetoed a repugican-pushed challenge to the federal health care overhaul, setting up another political showdown early in the legislative session.

Full Story

The Lunatic Fringe and The Real World

 The Lunatic Fringe

Wingnuts dismisses white house report on women's rights

Wingnuts move to disenfranchise voters in 22 statehouses

The Real World

Help recall the Wisconsin hacks
 
5 things unions have done for America

 Maddow beats brick in key demographic

Personal Army For Arizona Governor?

The wingnuts in Arizona must be tired of the wingnuts in Wisconsin stealing all their insanity headlines to come up with this horseshit ...

It's Senate Bill 1495: Arizona repugican Bill Would Let Gov. Brewer Create An Armed Militia For Whatever She ‘Considers Necessary’.

Section 1. Section 26-174, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
Arizona state guard; establishment; purpose; appropriations
A. If the national guard of Arizona or a major portion thereof is called into active federal service, or if the national guard or a major portion thereof is alerted for federal service or for any other reason the governor considers to be necessary, the governor may establish an armed force for the safety and protection of the lives and property of the citizens of the state which shall be known as the Arizona state guard.

Funding? From the federal government (read - your taxes ... yeah, you in Massachusetts and the other states),  I think:

C. Appropriations made to the national guard shall be deemed appropriated to both the national guard and the Arizona state guard, if and when the latter organization is established, and any funds which that are unexpended from appropriations to the national guard may be used for establishment and maintenance of the Arizona state guard.

Nothing good can come of this - you can bet your life on it - and you will be.

Filmmaker joins protesters

Filmmaker joins Wisconsin protesters

Michael Moore urges a pro-union crowd to continue the fight against the wealthy elite.  

Compares stand to Egypt's revolt 

Also: 

• More on Michael Moore
• Governor plans layoffs  
• Thousands protest bill

Twenty (and counting) lies from Scott Walker

A heavily-linked and cited list of 20 lies told by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker makes for good Sunday reading. The cynicism and manipulation from Walker and his handlers has been really depressing, an attack on hard-working people who earn less than their private-sector counterparts, who made concessions, and who are in no way responsible for the budget shortfall in the state.

Walker: claims that states without collective bargaining having fared better in the current bad economy. The truth: According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, three of the 13 non-collective bargaining states are among the 11 states facing budget shortfalls at or above 20% (Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina). Another, South Carolina, comes in at a sizable 17.4%. Nevada, where state employees have no collective bargaining rights (but local employees do) has the largest percentage shortfall in the country, at 45.2%. All in all, eight non-collective-bargaining states face larger budget shortfalls than Wisconsin.
Walker: Public employees are more richly compensated than their public sector counterparts.
The truth: According to the Economic Policy Institute, wages and salaries of state and local employees are lower than those for private sector employees with comparable earnings determinants such as education and work experience. State workers typically are under-compensated by 8.2% in Wisconsin.

20 lies (and counting) told by Scott Walker

Enough already

Just zip it!

Top colleges for business majors

Best business schools for undergrads

The top-ranked programs give students lots of exposure to the global economy.  

3 public universities make the top 10 

Also: 

• Degrees that lead to jobs
• Pell Grant cuts looming
• Should parents help pay?

Stop saving for retirement

Stop saving so much for retirement

A novel retirement strategy lets people spend on cruises and other indulgences without a loss of income. » The catch 

Also: 

• Find lost pension money
• Get a jump on the recovery
• Retiree home upgrades

Seven tax-filing money savers

Seven ways to cut the cost of filing taxes

You may qualify for IRS programs that offer free tax preparation and advice.  

Deadline nears for a $5,000 write-off 

Also: 

• Unclaimed IRS refunds
• Enormous tax breaks  
• Oddball deductions

Don't fall for these ten scams

Don't fall for the 10 biggest scams

These tips will protect you against online-shopping fraud and high-pressure pitches.  

Average cost to victims: $810 

Also: 

• ID theft dangers
• Avoid ATM fraud 
• Credit card complaints

America's top restaurants

The premier restaurants in America

The chef at the top spot failed in New York before finding success out West.  

And, he now boasts No. 2 as well 

Also: 

• Why restaurants are loud
• Save while dining out  
• Top restaurant views

Thailand Tried to Barter Chickens for Fighter Jets

Not that there’s anything wrong with a lot of frozen chickens — even 80,000 tons of chicken. It’s just that Lockheed Martin wanted a more transferable currency for its F-16 fighter jets:

For the embassy in Bangkok, winning achieved two goals: helping Lockheed and keeping the Russians from selling planes. There was, however, a small complication with the terms — the Thai government didn’t want to pay cash. Instead, it proposed trading 80,000 stockpiled tons of frozen chicken.
“Embassy contacts said that until Lockheed Martin offered a proposal to sell F-16s that included countertrade, the (Thai government) could not seriously consider its offer. Contacts also suggested that an offer that included an agreement to buy Thai chicken would be especially welcome,” the embassy said in a March 2005 cable setting the scene for the competition.

Full Story

'Slumdog' star's home destroyed

'Slumdog Millionaire' star's home destroyed

Rubina Ali's one-room shack and family belongings are consumed in a Mumbai slum fire.  

Oscar photos lost 

Also: 

• More on Rubina Ali
• 'Slumdog' photos
• Child star in legal limbo

Thieves Break Into Prison

A prison break usually involves someone wanting to get out, but someone actually broke into New Plymouth Prison in New Zealand Friday night. Firefighters responded to a blaze in the prison administration building and found the curtains on fire. Police were called because the window was found to have been forced open. A 50″ plasma screen TV set was missing.

The level of security at the prison varies from building to building, according to the Corrections Department website.
The old jailhouse is surrounded by a large stone wall topped with razor wire, while a newer unit is surrounded by a fence topped with barbed wire.
Security measures include searches, dog teams, electronic security devices, cameras and closed circuit television.

Full Story

Eric Clapton spotted doing his own washing in public launderette

If you want a job done properly, sometimes you simply have to do it yourself. But you’d think Eric Clapton, with a £125million fortune, would leave his washing to someone else these days. Or at the very least, have a laundry to do it in. But Slowhand doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty on wash day.

The 62-year-old singer and guitarist was seen in a laundrette near his Los Angeles home, bundling towels into a washing machine and then waiting around before shoving them in a dryer. In baggy jeans, brown jacket and trainers, he looked like any other customer with a pile of washing on his to-do list. And he transported the lot in a £5 mesh carrier bag.

According to the Sunday Times Rich List, Clapton is the 18th richest musician in Britain. He has built his fortune on decades as one of the world’s most talented guitar players. ‘I could not believe it was Eric Clapton and I would not have looked twice unless I was a huge fan,’ said an onlooker who spotted him cooling his heels between the rinse and spin cycle.

YouTube link.

‘I have no idea why somebody like him would be in here. Maybe his washing machine is broken and he just needed to do some laundry. Then again he could just enjoy coming to the laundrette, a lot of people enjoy having a chat when they do their washing.’

Non Sequitur

Take a ride in a flying zeppelin

Relic of the skies takes flight again

The last zeppelin in the U.S. caught fire in a notorious disaster, but that's not a worry today.  

View from above 

Also: 

• More on Hindenburg
• Safest airlines in U.S. 
• Most visionary cities

Spitfire makes anniversary flight

A Spitfire has taken to the skies over its birthplace to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first flight of the world famous aircraft.

Full Story

The Thirteen Most Famous Trains In The World's History

Trains have been around longer than planes and automobiles and they carry a special charm into the world of transportation. They were present when the West was conquered and the railways were the predecessors of civilization in many parts of the world.
Here are the most famous trains remembered in the history of our society.

Ziggy

Kenyan Villagers Turn Invasive Plant into Moneymaker

Lake Victoria. 

Photo: Lukas Bergstrom / Creative Commons.

The rapid growth of invasive water hyacinths has taken a serious toll on Kenya's Lake Victoria, creating inhospitable conditions for the fish local people depend on, while sheltering other unwelcome guests: disease-carrying snails and deadly snakes. But with a little help from a U.S.-based organization, villagers living near the lake are turning this environmental crisis into an economic opportunity.

Article continues: Kenyan Villagers Turn Invasive Plant into Moneymaker

Awesome Pictures

The Research Station At The End Of The World

Concordia

 

image credit

These pictures could easily be publicity stills from a new science fiction blockbuster set on an ice bound planet circling a distant sun. It is, however, the Concordia Research Station which is located on the Antarctic Plateau in Antartcica - the largest desert in the world. It is one of only three research stations on the plateau to operate permanently on a year round basis.

Icing the Medieval Warm Period

photo: Hans Splinter/Creative Commons

The following is a post from Skeptical Science by Daniel Bailey

"It's cold out!" 

Not strange to hear that during the winter, here in the Northern Hemisphere.  But strange to hear that raised as an objection in the warming world in which we live today. How much warmer it's going to get and what are the related impacts is what science is currently debating.
One of the commonly raised objections from those who would have us debate even the existence of gravity is that "It was warmer in the Medieval Warm Period." This is an innocent, but untrue, claim clearly unsupported by the available literature. Indeed, Martín-Chivelet et al reveals the 20th Century as the time with highest surface temperatures of the last 4000 years.

Article continues: Icing the Medieval Warm Period

Science News

The warming arctic leads to colder northern hemosphere winters

Science proves listening to music is good for you

Scientist claims discovery of alien bacteria in ancient meteorites

A NASA scientist, publishing his findings on Friday, March 4 in the March edition of the Journal of Cosmology, believes he has found evidence of alien life in ancient meteorites.

Full Story

Want a shark's tooth?

What big teeth you have! This jaw, containing  182 teeth, is 11 feet wide and over 8 feet high and was made from resin scaled up from a Great White jaw set.   The teeth, measuring up to 7 5/8 inches along the diagonal, come from the megaladon,  an extinct species of predaceous shark that could grow to the length of two city buses. The late scuba diver and fossil collector, Vito Bartucci, spent sixteen years collecting the  right teeth to create the world’s largest jaw set. The specimens were found mostly in the rivers of South Carolina and surrounding Mid-Atlantic states and were arranged in the jaw in four rows – the better to eat you with. The jaw set will be going up for auction in Dallas with an opening price of $625,000.

Full Story

B.C.

Animal Pictures