Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift
Today's horoscope says:
On the road of life, there's always a perfect time for you to pull over to the side of the road, turn off your engine and get out and walk for a while. 
Right now you should keep moving forward, but you need to do it slowly. 
It's time for you to feel like you're a bigger part of the journey. 
If you go too fast, you'll whisk right by some beautiful, enriching people and places. 
Plus, going slowly will enable you to feel more content with where you're going.

Some of our readers today have been in: 
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Yogykarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Newbury, England, United Kingdom
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
London, England, United Kingdom
Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Basauri, Pais Vasco, Spain
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Selayang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Guetersloh, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Morini, Morini, Comoros
Berne, Bern, Switzerland
Munich, Bayern, Germany
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Albury, New South Wales, Australia
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Port Louis, Port Louis, Mauritius
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Metz, Lorraine, France
Ankara, Ankara, Turkey
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Paris, Ile-De-France, France

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 Sedalia, Kailua, Caledonia, Atlanta and more.

Today is:
Today is Tuesday, September 20, the 263rd day of 2011.
There are 102 days left in the year.


Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:
There isn't one.
  
Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

And this is surprising ... how?

From the "Tell us something we didn't know" Department:

Bioclimatic No Walls House In Northern Colombia Is Caribbean Paradise

No Walls Bioclimatic Wooden House In Northern Colombia By Plan B Photo
Photos: Sergio Gomez.
World renewed for their work in Medellin, especially with the Orchid House at the Botanical Garden, Colombian firm Plan B Architects is busy and keeps coming up with great projects.
One of their latest is this wall-less house in Rio Cedro, a city located by the Caribbean Sea, 200 miles north from Medellin.
Article continues: Bioclimatic No Walls House In Northern Colombia Is Caribbean Paradise

Patagonia Converts Sheep Factory to Luxury Adventure Hotel

After nearly a century, the landmarked post-Victorian circa 1915 Bories Cold Storage Plant will breathe new life with the December debut of The Singular Patagonia , the Chilean region's newest luxury retreat, the result of a meticulous 10-year restoration and renovation.

Ancient Swedish Fishers Put Human Heads On Stakes

Swedish archaeologists have pulled a trove of 8,000-year-old human skulls from a peat bog that was formerly a lake near Motala, Sweden.
The rituals at Kanaljorden were conducted on a massive stone pavement constructed on the bottom of a shallow lake (currently a peat fen). Some crania were fairly intact while others were found as isolated fragments. The more intact ones represent eleven individuals, both men and women, ranging in age between infants and middle age. Two of the skulls have had wooden stakes inserted all the way from the base to the top. In another case a woman’s temple bone was found inside the skull of another woman. Besides human skulls, the finds also include a small number of post-cranial human bones and bones from animals, as well as artefacts of stone, wood, bone and antler.
The skull depositions at Kanaljorden are clearly ritual in character. The next step is to find out if the human bones are relics of dearly departed that were handled in a complex secondary burial ritual, or trophies of defeated enemies. The archaeologists hope that the ongoing laboratory analysis [stable isotopes] will give clues as to whether the bones are the remains of locals or people with a distant geographic origin, and if they represent a family group or persons unrelated to each other.
Read more at Aadvarchaeology.

One Tin Soldier

The original version by Original Caste

People Really Hate Banks Right Now

Plenty of people are irritated with the banking system right now, but you know people are angry when people are willing to pay $25,000 for a painting of a Chase bank burning up:
Tapping into popular sentiment, Alex Schaefer’s painting of a Chase bank on fire just sold on eBay for $25,200. Part of what drove up the price was online buzz after police questioned him while he was painting it, asking him if he planned to do what the painting depicted.
While I wouldn’t pay that much for one of these paintings, I certainly support the sentiment Mr. Schaefer is expressing.

The repugican mis-led states change voting rules ahead of 2012

After years of expanding when and how people can vote, state legislatures now under new repugican juntas are moving to trim early voting days, beef up identification requirements and put new restrictions on how voters are notified about absentee ballots.
Democrats assert that repugicans are using midterm election wins to enforce changes ...
Typical repugicans - the more people that vote ... the less chance they can steal elections - so they try and limit voters (they do it every time they think they have a shot at it, this time it will fail just as miserably as it always has before).

Amazon under fire

The heat inside a company warehouse reached 102 degrees, and 15 workers collapsed, an exposé reveals.
Also: 

Customs Tries to Take Aussie Diplomat's Vegemite

Australia's foreign minister said American authorities tried to confiscate his supply of Vegemite as he entered the U.S. Men at Work sang about it, and it's Australia's favorite sandwich spread, but U.S. Customs agents had no idea what Vegemite was when a Down Under diplomat had a jar in his carry on bag.

How To Make American Cheese

 
What exactly is American cheese? The American cheese that you find on supermarket shelves isn't cheese made in the traditional way. Instead, it's either a blend of cheese and additives, or it's a highly processed mixture of ingredients such as water, milk, milkfat, milk protein, whey, food coloring, flavorings, and emulsifiers.

By making your own American cheese, not only will you know exactly what went into it, but also you can add in flavorings such as black pepper, roasted red peppers... you name it.

Here's how to make American cheese.

Dinosaur Used Sharp Claw in Combat

Dinosaur Used Sharp Claw in Combat
A fossil of the feathered raptor reveals it damaged its clawed foot -- most likely during a fight.