The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Communication with others will bring you an exceptional amount of joy right now, so it's in your best interest to initiate discussions whenever -- and wherever -- you can.
Strangers are only friends you haven't met yet, and although new friendships might not be what you're looking for right now, you should try to break the ice in a public situation.
It will add a pleasantness to your day and remind you that everyone is essentially the same inside.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
London, England, United Kingdom
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Cork, Cork, Ireland
Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

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 Coraopolis, Fredricksburg, Marshfield, Barstow and more.

Today is:

Today is Tuesday, June 28, the 179th day of 2011.

There are 186 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

There isn't one.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

U.S. captures Cup opener

USA off to great start in World Cup

The top-seeded Americans come out strong in the second half to beat a young North Korean team. 

Details 

Also: 

• Solo a victim of sexism?
• Ocampo's booming goal
• Germany sets TV record

U.S. plays World Cup in 'nurse' uniforms

An expert blasts the look, calling it the “ugliest women’s football jersey” she has ever seen.

See if you agree 

Also: 

• USA outlasts N. Korea
• Arsenal's odd new uniform
• Sweden edges Columbia

OK, who really gives a rat's ass what their shirts look like. They could be naked for all that most care. (Especially since they're winning!)

Upping the cute factor

Lucy and Elvis waiting for Lucy's grandmother 'MeMe'.

Signs your child may be gifted

10 signs your child may be gifted

Highly intelligent tots often have longer attention spans than their peers.  

Are early talkers more advanced? 

Also: 

• Get kids to love sports
• Summer art activities
• Top destinations for kids

Non Sequitur

Veteran fights to fly flag

Veteran fights to fly his American flag

A homeowners' association says Fred Quigley's patriotic display violates residential rules.  

Neighbors respond 

Also: 

• Confederate license plate
• Network's pledge apology
• Protecting your home

Charge dropped against woman who taped cops from own yard

Emily Good, the Rochester woman who was arrested for filming a traffic stop from the vantage point of her own front yard, won't have to go to court. The District Attorney's office said the charge of impeding the officer should be dismissed for lack of evidence. Gary Craig writes:

[Assistant DA] Stare noted that, under the law, Good would have needed to use intimidation, force or "interference" to disrupt the police traffic stop. Good was 10 to 15 feet from the police and doing nothing to interfere with them, Stare argued in court papers. ... The dismissal of the criminal charge, however, may not bring an immediate end to the controversy. Police say they have started an internal investigation into whether Good's arrest by Officer Mario Masic was justified.

Good is considering a civil lawsuit. Good.

Charge against Emily Good in videotaping case dismissed

Daily Comic Relief

Supreme Court blocks another campaign finance law

And in still yet another wrong decision!

"Campaign finance laws have now gone 0 for 5 in the Roberts court" 

The Supreme Court, sharply divided along ideological lines, struck down part of an Arizona campaign funding law, ruling that states and cities may not seek to "level the playing field" by giving extra public funds to candidates who agree to abide by spending limits.

Full Story

Lunatic Fringe

Bachmann Proud to Share Origins with John Wayne ... Gacy, Serial Killer.

Just after Michele Bachmman announced her presidential candidacy in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, Monday morning, she told Fox News, "Well what I want them to know is just like, John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That's the kind of spirit that I have, too."

But Bachmann got her John Waynes mixed up. The rugged manly-man movie star was born in Winterset, Iowa, three hours away. The John Wayne that Waterloo was home to is John Wayne Gacy, the "killer clown" who murdered 33 young men in the 1970s.

In a related piece:

Tom Petty Tells Michele Bachmann to Stop Playing 'American Girl'

Michele Bachmann hasn't exactly gotten her campaign off to the best start. It's bad enough to confuse movie legend John Wayne with serial killer John Wayne Gacy and crazily insist that John Quincy Adams was a founding father at the age of nine but now she's gone and pissed off Tom Petty.

Full Story

New symbols of neo-Nazis

Startling neo-Nazi secrets revealed

Numbers, certain clothing, and new symbols help the movement stay alive out in the open.

Telltale signs 

Also: 

• Atrocity marked in Romania
• Goebbels's estate for sale
• Nazi photographer ID'd

Dictators' uncertain future

Dictators face an uncertain future

One country has become the exile venue of choice for despots fleeing the Arab uprisings.

Likely fate for Gadhafi 

Also: 

• 'Game over' in months
• Syria activists meet
• Obama response criticized

Part of bridge made in China

Bridge has a 'Made in China' label

Sections of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge are being built at a sprawling plant in Shanghai.

Reaction 

Also: 

• More on the Bay Bridge
• China copies foreign town
• Mich. bridge controversy

How to slash cooling costs

Easy ways to slash your cooling costs

One simple move could lower your home-energy expenses by $180 a year.

Best place for your air conditioner 

Also: 

• Sunscreen buying tips
• How we saved $1,000
• Laziness can cost you

Vehicle Can’t Be Stopped

Don't get in its way: Top Gear finds 'world's most unstoppable vehicle'.

The Marauder is a ten-ton military vehicle that the public can buy - if you have £300,000 spare. To prove its credentials on the battlefield, Hammond conducted a series of tests to show just what it can do.
Most staggeringly of all, the presenter placed seven pounds of plastic explosive under the vehicle to see what damage it caused. The answer was very little. In fact the car barely even had a scratch, with just a flat rear tire and damage to a piece of trim. In contrast a Hummer - another military vehicle - was blown to pieces by the same amount of explosive during the test.
Hammond also blasted through brick walls in Johannesburg without even slowing, and showed a cheeky wheel-clamper who was boss by pulling his tow-truck.

As you can see here, even lions can't damage it.

Storm Warnings: Extreme Weather Is a Product of Climate Change

More violent and frequent storms, once merely a prediction of climate models, are now a matter of observation.

In North Dakota the waters kept rising. Swollen by more than a month of record rains in Saskatchewan, the Souris River topped its all time record high, set back in 1881. The floodwaters poured into Minot, North Dakota's fourth-largest city, and spread across thousands of acres of farms and forests. More than 12,000 people were forced to evacuate. Many lost their homes to the floodwaters.

Full Story

House survives North Dakota floods

Lone house miraculously survives floods

Powerful waters surround Taya Voeller's N. Dakota home, but inside it remains a dry oasis. 

Secret weapon 

Also: 

• Businesses get creative
• Worst floods in N. Dakota
• Huge cost of weather

And I Quote

Little house of big secrets

A little house of big secrets in Wyoming

More than 2,000 companies are registered at a 1,700-square-foot brick home in a small city.  

Inside activity 

Also: 

• Shell companies dupe feds
• Group targets tax dodgers
• Off-the-grid dome home

Hotel chain to trial 'snore absorption' room

A leading hotel chain is to trial a "snore absorption" room, including soundproofing and a specially-designed pillow to help guests sleep.

Full Story

The Family Farm

Perks for great credit scores

Red carpet treatment for credit scores

Raise your rating high enough, and businesses will fall all over themselves for you.

The deals you can snag 

Also: 

• All-cash budget plans
• What not to pay for
• Prevent ID theft

Backlash hits couponers

Stores push back against couponers

TV’s "Extreme Couponing" has led big retailers to make it harder for some shoppers to save.

The new rules 

Also: 

• Coupon queen's secrets
• Grocery bill halved
• Retail markups revealed

Retail chain sued over hijab

Worker sues Abercrombie over hijab

A Muslim woman says she was fired after refusing to remove her headscarf.

Previous discrimination allegations 

Also: 

• Abercrombie 'look policy'
• Weightlifter's hijab fight
• Pope's new Web portal

Unemployment crisis worsens

Troubling long-term unemployment crisis

The average jobless spell is at an all-time high of 9 months, and only getting tougher.  

Tell us your story 

Also: 

• Future for jobs, housing
• Surprising six-figure gigs
• How to beat work stress

Career-hurting mistakes

Common mistakes that may hurt a career

These errors are easy to make, but they could have major consequences for your professional life.

Dangers of perfection 

Also: 

• 5 types of bad bosses
• 8 great but wacky jobs
• Get the pay you deserve

Job-juggling to pay the bills

Paying the bills by juggling many jobs

More people are now working like Louise Gassman, who makes ends meet in four ways.  

$5 bills in Tupperware jar 

Also: 

• Possible sign of recovery
• Saving $14K in one year
• Riding out the 'soft patch'

Early Retirement A Scary Health Care Option

Employers are getting out of the retirement insurance business.
This could be worrisome for American workers who want to retire, before hitting the Medicare-eligible age of 65.

Full Story

Computer eyestrain relief

Tricks to beating computer eyestrain

If you're usually parked in front of a screen, seeking relief is probably a priority.  

Low- and no-cost options 

Also: 

• Improving your eyesight
• Dealing with carpal tunnel

Weird health symptoms

Explanations for weird health symptoms

Find out what it means when your foot cramps, ears ring, or hands get sweaty

Do you always sneeze in threes? 

Also: 

• Dangerous warning signs
• Sleep, exercise link
• Stress cravings explained

Wizard of Id

Uncommon healthy snacks

The healthiest snacks you aren't eating

Ingredients like pumpkin, kale, and wild boar make these treats anything but boring.

Organic popcorn pick 

Also: 

• Diet-friendly frozen treats
• Kids' meal toys removed
• Bizarre donut creations

A Day at the Fair

What’s in store for you at your local or state fair this year? You’ll get a preview as Jill Harness takes us on a virtual trip to the San Diego Fair. She found out what deep-fried delicacies will be offered this year, and took pictures of strange displays. Don’t miss the chocolate-covered corn dog!

Full Story

Beer archaeologist

Patrick McGovern, 66, is a beer archaeologist. An adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania, he's considered the world's leading expert on ancient fermented beverages. Smithsonian profiles McGovern, whose work not only gives insight into pre-biblical agriculture, medicine, and economics, but has also led to new brews at his favorite pub.

From Smithsonian:

He has identified the world’s oldest known barley beer (from Iran’s Zagros Mountains, dating to 3400 B.C.), the oldest grape wine (also from the Zagros, circa 5400 B.C.) and the earliest known booze of any kind, a Neolithic grog from China’s Yellow River Valley brewed some 9,000 years ago... McGovern has innumerable collaborators, partly because his work is so engaging, and partly because he is able to repay kindnesses with bottles of Midas Touch, whose Iron Age-era recipe of muscat grapes, saffron, barley and honey is said to be reminiscent of Sauternes, the glorious French dessert wine.

The Beer Archaeologist

Now, that's something you don't see everyday

Fabulous Fungi Patterns

This picture of “various isolates of ascomycete fungi grown on agar nutrient plates” is from a Tumblr blog called Electric Orchids, which features great photographs of anything to do with biology, from exotic animals to fossils to microscope images.

Full Story

The creepiest trees on Earth

Creepy trees appear to have faces, fur

Unusual growths make some of these plants look more like animals or magical creatures.  

See the photos 

Also: 

• 9/11 memorial revealed
• Fighting desert sprawl
• Film sparks debate

Awesome Pictures

French village bemused by Apocalyptic strangers

Residents of the tiny southern French hamlet of Bugarach, population 194, are up in arms at a rising influx of Doomsday believers convinced it is the only place that will survive judgement day in 2012. Apocalypse devotees dressed in white are now a familiar sight in this picturesque village, drawn here by various New Age theories including claims that a nearby rocky outcrop, the Pic de Bugarach, harbors an alien technical base.

"These blasted prophets from all over the world have turned our mountain into some sort of UFO garage," Jean-Pierre Delord, mayor of Bugarach, said. "You may think it's funny, but they're deadly serious ... The end result is that all these fanatics are coming here to hide out," he said.

The Internet is awash with predictions that the world will come to an end next year, based in part on an interpretation of the ancient Mayan calendar which claims December 21, 2012, marks the end of the current era. Surrounded in legend for centuries, Bugarach has become a focal point for many Apocalypse believers as rumors have circulated that its mountain contains doors into other worlds, or that extraterrestrials will return there on Judgement day to take refuge at their base.

YouTube link.

In sleepy Bugarach, 86-year-old Marie-Simone, whose job it is to decorate the small village church with flowers, just sighs and shrugs when she hears of the esoteric goings on. "Apparently it all comes from the Internet. But they should just clear off, they'll never find any UFOs," she said, adding that neither she nor the village priest believe a word of it.

Drunk US evangelist claims he's on a mission from god

An American evangelist visiting Australia, who claims healing powers has walked from a NSW court without even a fine despite driving 110km blind drunk and crashing into a parked car. Self-claimed "prophet of god" Jason Hooper declared god had forgiven him for his double-shot whiskey binge that ended in a mangled wreck on the Mid North Coast. "I've worked it out with the lord. I was wrong," Hooper said.

Hooper not only had god on his side but magistrate Wayne Evans who let him go, saying the preacher was a "person of good character" under a lot of "ministerial pressure". The decision disgusted local police, who said Hooper could have been sent to jail for 18 months but got off with "a slap on the wrist". The disgraced and disheveled preacher, who claimed god had forgiven him for his terrible sins, also found he had the court on his side, escaping without a fine after he was involved in a crash with another car.

A member of the worldwide Morningstar Fellowship Church, Hooper - from South Carolina, was disqualified from driving in NSW for three years - a sentence that outraged local police and road-safety groups. "When you think about the penalties for high-range drink-driving, he got off with a slap on the wrist," a police source said. "The maximum fine is $3300 and you can go to jail for 18 months - he escaped both." The boss of a road-safety group called for Hooper to be fined and deported back to the US.

A sheepish Hooper begged the court for mercy, saying he didn't normally drink and would seek counseling on his return to the US. "I have spent the last week wrestling night and day with how I could have made such an error in judgment," said Hooper. When asked how the incident would affect his faith, Hooper said that he was forgiven because he had "worked it out with the lord". Asked how, he said there was a "process" he had gone through for forgiveness but declined to elaborate.

Witch is religious leaflet target

The owner of a witchcraft shop in Devon said she had been targeted by "religious" literature. Nikki Kitchen, who practices witchcraft and runs White Trinity Witch in Plymouth, said pro-christian leaflets were pushed through the door. Anonymous handwritten notes have also been delivered to the shop.

Ms Kitchen previously had to stop running a stall in Plymouth's indoor market because of abusive comments. Ms Kitchen said: "Churchgoers think we're the spawn of satan. It's been quite harsh and heavy but you've got to laugh it off. They expect us to accept their religion but they don't look at Paganism as being one of the oldest religions going.

"I think people are just uneducated, it's not about devil worship at all. It's about love light and using the earth to heal the people around us." Dr Theodore Danson-Smith who runs a company which distributes leaflets like Ms Kitchen received, said: "We don't send any hate mail whatsoever.

"It's not hate mail, it's telling the way of salvation. Any witchcraft shop is working for satan not for god." He said he did not know which christian group had posted the leaflets, which are entitled "The Beast" and written in comic book form, through Mrs Kitchen's door. "I don't know who they are but god bless them, they're wanting to save her from going to a lost eternity."

Thor

Russian scientists expect to meet aliens by 2031

Russian scientists expect humanity to encounter alien civilizations within the next two decades, a top Russian astronomer predicted Monday.

Full Story

B.C.

Talking dogs say "I Love You"

Apparently a lot of people have dogs that can speak English and not only that, they can also express their emotions in words to their owners. 
I had a hard enough time teaching my dog to sit. 
Watch as the 5 dogs tell their best buds how they really feel.

Read More

Holy Rats of Karni Mata

It seems to be a universal truth that a thing reviled is also a thing revered, depending on location. While rats are an annoyance and a pest (as well as known harbingers of disease) in most of the world, they are sacred inhabitants of the Hindu temple of Karni Mata in India. Accidentally killing one of these holy rodents brings a hefty fine of replacing the rat with one made of gold, while having one skit over your feet is a blessing.
The story of Kari Mata, revered as an incarnation of the goddess Durga, the rats, and lots more pics of the temple are on The Ark in Space.

'Inflatable' shark revealed

Strange 'inflatable' shark discovered

The deep-sea creature is among 300 new species that have been found in the Philippines.  

Other bizarre finds 

Also: 

• Hope for Tasmanian devil
• China's panda census
• Mental therapy for pets

Dog alerts family to dangerous gas leak

Edmonton’s latest hero saved her family’s life with her own two paws, and a good nose. Luna, a six-year-old Husky, alerted her owner, Jenny Conarroe and her family to a gas leak at their home in Millwoods. Late on Wednesday night, Conarroe let the dog out for a last run, and was horrified when she returned covered in thick mud.

“She was just filthy, we had to hose her down,” said Conarroe, who admitted she felt it was too dark to check out the source of the mud that night. Conarroe and her husband Ryan waited until the following evening to investigate the backyard and what they found shocked them. “She had dug a huge hole, probably three feet by four feet, and a puddle had formed overnight, and it was bubbling,” said Connaroe.

After discussing the situation with a neighbor, the couple decided the phenomenon was probably gas related and promptly phoned Atco Gas. Less than 10 minutes later a gas engineer arrived at the home and confirmed the leak. “She must have smelled it, and if she hadn’t started digging we probably wouldn’t even have noticed it even standing right there,” she said.

Gas had been spewing up from a dislodged pipe, a dangerous situation for the couple and their six children had it gone unnoticed. “I don’t even want to think what would have happened if she hadn’t found it. We have six kids, all between three years old and 16,” said Conarroe. “The kids are calling her a hero, and she is.”

Animal Pictures