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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.


Friday, August 19, 2011

The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift
Today's horoscope says:
When it becomes dramatically clear that you can't do it all today, you'll have to let go of some of your obligations. 
But this is very good news -- and it will send a message to someone powerful that you are not superhuman. 
Adjusting expectations is important, and doing so is sometimes necessary if you want to keep harmony in your life. 
You'd do well to adjust some of your own expectations of someone close to you. 
The fact that the two of you are not on the same page isn't a problem.

Some of our readers today have been in:
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Kuching, Sarawak. Malaysia
London, England, United Kingdom
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Albury, New South Wales, Australia
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Newbury, England, United Kingdom
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Venice, Veneto, Italy
Ankara, Ankara, Turkey

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 Coalinga, Chantilly, Carlsbad, Charlotte and more.

Today is:
Today is Friday, August 19, the 231st day of 2011.
There are 134 days left in the year.


Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are:
There aren't any.
  
Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

The truth be told

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Are babies smarter than we think?


Are babies smarter than we think?Once again, science is catching up with what moms already know – our own babies are the most brilliant people ever.

Here are the studies that show exactly how intelligent those ironic-onesie-wearing infants really are.

'Three dead' as storm hits festival

At least three people have died after a storm hit an open-air music festival in Belgium, according to reports a storm has swept through an open-air music festival in eastern Belgium, killing at least three people and injuring more than 70 others, an official said.

Non Sequitur

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Threat over Letterman joke

The comedian is targeted on a jihadist website for comments he made about an al-Qaida leader.
Also: 

Syria's leader must go

Obama says Assad is "imprisoning, torturing, and slaughtering his own people" and must go.  
Also: 

Mimi and Eunice

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Secret Service agent arrested for DUI

A Secret Service agent on assignment in Iowa to help with presidential security has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Police seek man wearing flowery dress with panties over head who robbed gas station

Detectives from the Dallas Police Departments Crimes Against Persons Unit are asking for the public's assistance in identifying and locating an aggravated robbery suspect who robbed the Exxon Tigermart at 2503 Lemmon Ave. This crime took place on August 16, 2011 at 5:25 AM.



In the surveillance video, the suspect is seen entering the store wearing what appears to be a black and white flower dress with white boots. His face is also covered with what appears to be undergarments. He demands money from the cashier and a patron while holding what could possibly be a gun under the dress. He then flees the store in an unknown direction. The suspect is described as a white male, 5'05" and weighing 145 lbs

Bad advice on retirement

These widely accepted rules might be steering you in the wrong direction. 
Also: 

Justice Department finally investigating S&P mortgage ratings

To be fair to the Justice Department, the crash only occurred in 2008 and they've been busy prosecuting the bankers who caused the crash. Oh wait.

NY Times:
The Justice Department is investigating whether the nation’s largest credit ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s, improperly rated dozens of mortgage securities in the years leading up to the financial crisis, according to two people interviewed by the government and another briefed on such interviews.

The investigation began before Standard & Poor’s cut the United States’ AAA credit rating this month, but it is likely to add fuel to the political firestorm that has surrounded that action. Lawmakers and some administration officials have since questioned the agency’s secretive process, its credibility and the competence of its analysts, claiming to have found an error in its debt calculations.

In the mortgage inquiry, the Justice Department has been asking about instances in which the company’s analysts wanted to award lower ratings on mortgage bonds but may have been overruled by other S.& P. business managers, according to the people with knowledge of the interviews. If the government finds enough evidence to support such a case, which is likely to be a civil case, it could undercut S.& P.’s longstanding claim that its analysts act independently from business concerns.
If they do manage to move these cases forward and prosecute it suggests that once again, those at the low end of the market will take the beating. The credit rating agencies deserve punishment for their dodgy business but what everyone wants is to see the banks brought to justice.
The government is reviewing the rating agency's role in the mortgage crisis for two reasons.  
Also: 

Shake, Rattle and Fall

The Dow plunges 4% as the market opens to fears about European banks.  
Also: 
The market's jumpiness rests on fears over France and Germany that won't end soon.  
Also: 

Iconic brands that fizzled out

Woolworth's, General Cinemas, and Diners Club once had big sales and lots of buzz.  
Also: 

    Students sour about Hershey's

    The exchange students are fed up with the working conditions at the candy factory. 
    Also: 

    Fifteen surprising microwave uses

    This handy appliance can sanitize your cutting board and help you get more juice from citrus.
    Also: 

    America's best new restaurants

    Eateries in Chicago, Charleston, S.C., and Seattle make one food writer's list of favorites. 
    Also: 

      Four items to ban from your kitchen for healthy cooking

      From Japan To Your Table

      Sushi
       
      Sushi is a very popular food these days, and many cities offer a wide variety of sushi restaurants to choose from. Still, this Japanese style cuisine is not as well known to Americans as, say, Mexican or Italian dishes are. Here are some fun and useful things to know about sushi when you go to eat in your local Japanese restaurant.

      Daily Comic Relief

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      Iconic image's untold story

      The subject of "American Girl in Italy" wants you to know what really took place in 1951.
      Also: 

      Six Weird But Cool Cameras

      The gun camera. The trigger works just like one on a regular gun, which gives a whole new meaning to shooting wildlife.

      Ziggy

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      Where to travel on the cheap

      Flights and hotels cost less than ever for these seven desirable destinations.  
      Also: 

      And I Quote

      A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.

      ~ Unknown

      Mexican Government To Release State Protected Mayan Secrets

      http://ts3.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=1169001426382&id=fe86214c96c4ba083ace76141367a211
      There are more than 3 million websites on the internet dedicated to the upcoming end of the Mayan calendar in 2012 and therefore they will welcome the announcement just made by the Mexican government.

      Mexican man captures live fairy

      An unemployed 22-year-old bricklayer who claims he found a fairy has caused a commotion in this western Mexican metropolis. Jose Maldonado, who charges a monetary “donation” in exchange for displaying what appears to be a simple plastic figure kept in a container of formaldehyde, says he has already received 3,000 visits from people eager to see the so-called fairy at his home in Lomas Verdes, one of Guadalajara’s poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods.


      “I was picking guavas and I saw a twinkling. I thought it was a firefly. I picked it up and felt that it was moving; when I looked at it I knew that it was a fairy godmother,” Maldonado said. The tale of the fairy that Maldonado claims to have discovered last weekend has run like wildfire through the area and his home is now besieged by the curious, some of whom wait for up to an hour to enter, according to what Efe was able to verify on Thursday.

      What Maldonado shows the paying public is a small container filled with formaldehyde containing a humanlike figure about 2 centimetres (0.8 inch) tall, with a gelatinous consistency and a certain resemblance to Peter Pan’s Tinkerbell. Maldonado says that what seems to be just a little plastic figure is a fairy and that it was alive when he found it. And there are those who believe him. “I’ve seen everything and, yes, I believe the fairy is real. Therefore, I wanted to come to confirm that those myths are true,” Cesar Ramirez, one of the visitors, said.



      To be allowed to examine the “fairy” for a few seconds and take a photograph of it, the curious must make a donation to financially help out Maldonado, who recently lost his job. His neighbors have also taken advantage of the situation to sell photographs and keyrings with the image of the fairy for about 20 pesos ($1.60), as well as refreshments including drinks and food to those people while they wait in line outside Maldonado’s house.

      Swedish house up for sale, complete with skeleton

      A Swedish real estate agent has an unusual piece of property up for sale: a five-bedroom house, complete with medieval tomb and skeleton in the cellar.

      The central Visby town house on the Baltic Sea island of Gotland was built in 1750 on the foundations of a Russian church.

      Housing rebound cities

      Home values have been rising steadily since January in these metropolitan areas.  
      Also 

        Top 9 Strange Streets In The World

         
        Did you know that the world's shortest street is only 6 ft 9 in? Or that the world's narrowest street is 12.2 in? Or that the steepest street is Baldwin Street in Dunedin in New Zealand?

        Here are the top 9 strangest streets in the world.

        Awesome Pictures

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        Underwater Cave Stretches Five Kilometers

        Near Orda, a Russian village in the Ural Mountains, you can find an enormous underwater gypsum cave. It’s one of the largest in the world, with galleries stretching as far as five kilometers. Victor Lyagushkin led a team of divers deep inside to photograph this natural wonder. You can view many beautiful pictures of it here

        What's the age of the moon?

        http://ts1.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=1130552765224&id=acf51414f6ca8330692487e37a0a6727
        That old moon might not be as antique as we thought, some scientists think. 
        They say it's possible that it isn't a day over 4.4 billion years old.

        B.C.

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        Newly Discovered Skull Teaches About Dogs

        Researchers recently uncovered a canine skull that is over 33,000 years old, making it the oldest evidence of the evolution between wolves and dogs that we’ve ever found.
        The skull shows a mixture of traits seen in dogs and wolves. The snout is similar in size to early domesticated dogs in Greenland from around 1,000 years ago, but its large teeth are closer to those found in 31,000-year-old European wolves.
        Learn more about the skull and what it means to scientists here

        Rare 'bugnado' swarm seen

        Scientists offer a simple explanation for the airborne insect frenzy recently spotted in Iowa.
        Also: 

          Six Terrifying Animal Weapons

          Humans might be one of the only animals to use tools as weapons, but Crack has a great list of animals born with weapons built right into their bodies -like the Giant Amazonian Centipede’s ninja skills, which allow him to catch and eat whole bats.

          Fanged Frogs Are Highly Evolved

          These frogs aren’t going to give up their legs lightly. Species of frog are rapidly evolving adaptations, such as the small fangs they’ve grown,  on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, and scientists are amazed by how far they’ve come in such a short period of time. One reason is their lack of competition on the island, another reason being the frogs that live on the island all dwell within their own individual pocket, so as to avoid further rivalry over food. Nine species of frogs on Sulawesi have never been documented by scientist before, and thirteen species have developed the cute little choppers, making them look like something out of a Twilight-Muppets crossover.

          There’s lots more to read on the subject at PhysOrg.com.

          Gigantic lobster finds new home

          A California seafood worker saved the colossal crustacean, which is thought to be 75 years old.  
          Also: 

          Animal Pictures

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