The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:

A few wonderful things in your life are ending, it's true -- but if you take a moment to look around today, you will also see that some very beautiful things are beginning. 

A relationship between two people close to you is coming to an end, and this may affect you deeply. 

It's okay to ask for the time you need to process your feelings -- you know how long it will take you to adjust, and your loved ones will understand. 

Trust yourself.

 Some of our readers today have been in:

Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Morini, Morini, Comoros
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
London, England, United Kingdom
Berne, Bern, Switzerland
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Ankara, Ankara, Turkey
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Tweed Heads, New South Wales, Australia
Newbury, England, United Kingdom
Harelbeke, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

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 Antioch, Caledonia, Des Monies, Zephyr Hills and more.

Today is:

Today is Monday, October 10, the 283rd day of 2011.

There are 82 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

National Kick Butt Day.

  

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Non Sequitur

Manic Monday

And I Quote

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they infiltrate your group to discredit it with uncalled-for violence ...

American Spectator editor admits to being agent provacateur in dc museum riot @ #occupydc:

immediately after the incident began hitting the newswires Howley published a “breaking news” story with the American Spectator online in which he reveals that he had consciously infiltrated the group on Friday with the intent to discredit the movement. He states that “as far as anyone knew I was part of this cause — a cause that I  had infiltrated the day before in order to mock and undermine in the pages of the American Spectator — and I wasn’t giving up before I had my story.”

According to Howley’s story he joined the group in its march toward the air and space museum but the protesters on the march were unwilling to be confrontational. He states “they lack the nerve to confront authority. from estimates within the protest, only ten people were pepper-sprayed, and as far as I could tell I was the only one who got inside.”

He claims that upon arrival at the museum the group of approximately one hundred protesters split into two factions with the smaller of the two “rushing the doors,” the majority “staying behind.” Howley then admits in his piece that he snuck past the guard at the first entrance in order to “infiltrate” the building and then confronted another guard. He then “sprinted toward the door” at which time he was first hit with pepper-spray.

As he describes his next actions “I forced myself into the doors and sprinted blindly across the floor of the air and space museum, drawing the attention of hundreds of stunned khaki-clad tourists (some of whom began snapping off disposable-camera portraits of me).”

Fully inside, despite the orders of the security guards that the museum was closed to the public, Howley made his way upstairs – to the location where a banner was unfurled protesting the museum’s exhibit of unmanned drone weapons.

“I strained to glance behind me at the dozens of protesters I was sure were backing me up, and then I got hit again, this time with a cold realization: I was the only one who had made it through the doors. As two guards pointed at me and started running, I dodged a circle of gawking old housewives and bolted upstairs.”

A reminder that (a) #occupystreet attendees are non-violent and (b) the wingnuts will do anything to discredit the truth.

Awesome Pictures

Jobless seek protection against unemployment bias

A growing number of unemployed or underemployed Americans complain they are being screened out of job openings for the very reason they're looking for work in the first place.

Full Story 

How to switch fields

Switch fields in as little as two years

You could reinvent your life after completing an associate's degree or certificate program.

Five career paths 

Also: 

• Four reasons to quit
• Lasting pain for jobless
• Cost of a 401(k) loan

How to live on $20,000 a year

How one man lives well on $20,000 a year

Aspiring novelist Joseph Fonseca says getting by involves "prioritizing what you really need."  

 What he sacrifices 

Also: 

• Where to get free samples
• Ways to make extra cash
• Advice from the rich

How U.S. Cities Stack Up To Other Countries

Have you ever wondered how your city’s economy would compare to a small country? Well, if you happen to live in one of America’s larger cities, you can now find out thanks to this fascinating article on The Atlantic.

Take LA for example:

With a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of $737.9 billion, the LA metro’s economy is bigger than Turkey’s ($732.2) and slightly smaller than the Netherlands’ ($782.3) — the equivalent of the 18th largest nation in the world.

Full Story

FBI tip nets woman $2 million

Ex-beauty queen gets $2 million FBI reward

A stray cat leads a former Miss Iceland to cross paths with crime boss "Whitey" Bulger and his girlfriend.

  Details 

Also: 

• Las Vegas man's claims
• Girlfriend's trial date delay
• Families lose appeal case

Crabby Road

Deadly unrest spreads in Cairo

Sectarian violence rocks Egyptian capital

At least 24 are dead and over 200 are wounded following a Christian protest.  

 Worst conditions since Mubarak 

Also: 

• Emergency meeting called
• Arabs observe Polish vote
• Yemenis doubt Saleh claim

USPS Rescue Plan: More Junk Mail!

The US Postal Service is like a damsel in distress. Severe distress. The rise of email and the Great Recession, coupled with bad management and its high labor (and labor's retirement) costs have caused the institution to be near collapse.
But, like the analogy goes, there's a white knight! Here's how the Post Office plans to rescue itself from bankruptcy: more junk mail for everyone!

Many consumers are irked by the catalogs, credit-card pitches and other "junk mail" they receive. But the U.S. Postal Service loves it—and wants to deliver more.
The agency, beset by historic losses and a plummet in first-class mail, is running promotions, easing rules and planning television and radio ads to encourage more businesses to send pitches by standard mail, the official term for bulk mailings used by marketers to prospect for customers.
"What we want to do is to make standard mail more interesting for customers so we can grow the total volume," Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said in an interview. "We don't call it junk mail—it's a lucrative avenue for anyone who wants to reach customers."

Full Story

Forced To Listen To Lush

In Texas: Woman sues PD for forcing her to listen to Lush Dimbulb.

Not only did Bridgett Nickerson Boyd's car break down on her way to work, but when she pulled over to the side of the freeway, a sheriff's deputy named Mark Goad pulled behind her, wrote her a ticket for driving on the shoulder, decided to arrest her, followed her to the hospital when her suddenly racing heart prompted a call to paramedics, then took her into custody again after she was treated by doctors and finally drove her to jail.

To make matters worse, Boyd claims in a lawsuit that the handcuffs were put on her wrists painfully tight - she claims she explained to the officer she had just had surgery on her hand - and that she was forced to listen to Lush Dimbulb "make derogatory comments about black people" all the way to the jail. Boyd is African-American.

Immigrants sign over kids

Immigrant parents take extreme measures

Terrified by Alabama's crackdown, many sign over their children to friends and co-workers.  

 'Living day to day' 

Also: 

• Kids shunning school
• Feds seek stay of law
• A humanitarian crisis?

ID thieves target foster kids

Foster kids targeted by identity thieves

On her 18th birthday, Dee Saint Franc is shocked to discover $3,000 worth of bills in her name. 

  'I was 8 years old' 

Also: 

• Kids' sense of fairness
• Big sperm donor families
• Avoid Halloween injuries

Daily Comic Relief

Ten Unusual Food Bans

 

We all know that doughnuts are bad for you and too much pizza won't do any favors for your skin - but what happens when a particular type of food is so unhealthy, a government decides to veto it altogether?

Last week, the French government took the unusual step of banning ketchup in primary schools. Kinder eggs are banned in the USA because it contains a 'non-nutritive object embedded in it.' From jelly sweets to Marmite and beyond, take a look at the products that - in some peoples' eyes - pose a clear and present danger.

Fool-proof chili recipe

Chili recipe is fast, fool-proof — and $5

The ingredients for this healthy update to the dinnertime staple couldn't be easier to find. 

  'You cannot mess it up' 

Also: 

• Quick and easy recipes
• Healthier junk foods
• Food-freezing myths

Myths about freezing food

Common myths about freezing food

While it’s true most edibles freeze under the right conditions, there is plenty to consider.

  Never freeze these items 

Also: 

• 'Healthy' junk food
• Perfect tomato sauce
• Pricier peanut butter

Random Celebrity Photo

Jayne Mansfield

Signs to ditch your dentist

Signs that you need a new dentist

One red flag might reveal itself even before he or she starts examining your mouth. 

  Five more indicators 

Also: 

• Rules for brighter teeth
• Tips to stop bad breath
• Trendy-toothpaste truth

Rules for life

RULES LEFT OUT OF “LIFE’S LITTLE INSTRUCTION BOOK” THAT WE SHOULD KNOW:

1. The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.
2. If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.
3. Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.
4. Deja Moo: The feeling that you’ve heard this bull before.
5. Psychiatrists say that 1 of 4 people are mentally ill. Check out three of your friends. If they’re OK, guess what….
6. Nothing in the known universe travels faster than a bad check.
7. A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a unicorn.
8. It has recently been discovered that research causes cancer in rats.
9. Always remember to pillage BEFORE you burn.
10. If you are given an open book exam, you will forget your book.
11. COROLLARY: If you are given a take home test, you will forget where you live.
12. The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody appreciates how difficult it was.
13. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
14. My law: You can’t fall off the floor.
15. The average woman would rather have beauty than brains, because the average man can see better than he can think.
16. Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.
17. Vital papers will demonstrate their vitality by moving from where you left them to where you can’t find them.
18. Law of Probability Distribution: Whatever it is that hits the fan will not be evenly distributed.

Ways to combat mental illness

5 ways to boost your mental health

Combat common mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression with these five straightforward steps. 

NHS advice 

Also: 

• Signs of depression
• Diet can help mental health
• Compare health insurance

Reject those negative waves

Brain 'rejects negative thoughts'

One reason optimists retain a positive outlook on life despite all evidence to the contrary has been discovered, say researchers.

Ziggy

Giant kraken lair discovered

Long before whales, the oceans of Earth were roamed by a very different kind of air-breathing leviathan.

Full Story

Travel spots in jeopardy

World's most endangered travel spots

Known for its coral and fish, the Belize Barrier Reef has been damaged by excessive development.

  Lone U.S. site 

Also: 

• Seven scenic drives
• Most amazing bridges
• Family-friendly hotels

Diver Down

Hawaiian Dollars

Immediately after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, US officials were worried about a Japanese invasion and occupation of those islands. One particular concern was the disposition of US currency in banks in Hawaii. They could not allow that money to fall into Japanese hands. So the military governor of Hawaii found a clever solution:

In January of 1942, the military governor of Hawaii (the territory was under the military’s control after the Pearl Harbor bombing) recalled most of the currency in the future state, with some allowances as to not pull all of the cash out of the islands’ economy. Five months later, bills like the one pictured — called “Hawaii overprint notes” — were issued. The theory was simple: if Hawaii fell into Japanese hands, these bills would no longer be legal tender in the United States. This contingency plan never came into play.
In total, over 65 million Hawaii overprint notes were created (totalling over $300 million), in four denominations — $1, $5, $10, and $20, with the $5 note pictured above the rarest of the quartet. On October 21, 1944, ten months before Victory over Japan Day, the required use of these bills ceased.

Full Story

Self-Cleaning Fabric

Are you a messy eater? Is ketchup for whatever reason incredibly attracted to the front of your t-shirts? University of California, Davis is working on a solution that could be designed just for you; a fabric that kills bacteria and breaks down compounds for all your fashion needs.

“The new fabric has potential applications in biological and chemical protective clothing for health care, food processing and farmworkers, as well as military personnel,” said Ning Liu, who conducted the work as a doctoral student in Professor Gang Sun’s group in the UC Davis Division of Textiles and Clothing.
Liu developed a method to incorporate a compound known as 2-anthraquinone carboxylic acid, or 2-AQC, into cotton fabrics. This chemical bonds strongly to the cellulose in cotton, making it difficult to wash off, unlike current self-cleaning agents. Unlike some other experimental agents that have been applied to cotton, it does not affect the properties of the fabric.
When exposed to light, 2-AQC produces so-called reactive oxygen species, such as hydroxyl radicals and hydrogen peroxide, which kill bacteria and break down organic compounds such as pesticides and other toxins.

Full Story

Twenty Things You Didn't Know About ... Fire

In the October issue of Discover magazine, LeeAundra Keany tells us that a bonfire is “basically a tree running in reverse,” and other interesting facts.

1  Fire is an event, not a thing. Heating wood or other fuel releases volatile vapors that can rapidly combust with oxygen in the air; the resulting incandescent bloom of gas further heats the fuel, releasing more vapors and perpetuating the cycle.
2  Most of the fuels we use derive their energy from trapped solar rays. In photosynthesis, sunlight and heat make chemical energy (in the form of wood or fossil fuel); fire uses chemical energy to produce light and heat.
3  So a bonfire is basically a tree running in reverse.
4  Assuming stable fuel, heat, and oxygen levels, a typical house fire will double in size every minute.

Read the rest at Discover.

Sunsquatch

See any resemblance between these two photos? You recognize Bigfoot on the right, of course. The picture on the left is a detail from a larger picture of an eruption of ionized gas from the surface of the sun. Dr. Phil Plait recognizes pareidolia when he sees it, leading one commenter to speculate that Bigfoot sightings increase in conjunction with solar activity. Read more about it at Bad Astronomy Blog.

Rider on the Storm

In 1959, Marine Corps pilot William Rankin was cruising at nine miles above the earth in an F-8 Crusader combat jet when something went wrong and he had to eject. Between him and the ground was a big, black storm.

After falling through damp darkness for an interminable time, Rankin began to grow concerned that the automatic switch on his parachute had malfunctioned. He felt certain that he had been descending for several minutes, though he was aware that one’s sense of time is a fickle thing under such distracting circumstances. He fingered the rip cord anxiously, wondering whether to give it a yank. He’d lost all feeling in his left hand, and his other limbs weren’t faring much better. It was then that he felt a sharp and familiar upward tug on his harness–his parachute had deployed. It was too dark to see the chute’s canopy above him, but he tugged on the risers and concluded that it had indeed inflated properly. This was a welcome reprieve from the wet-and-windy free-fall.
Unfortunately for the impaired pilot, he was nowhere near the 10,000 foot altitude he expected. Strong updrafts in the cell had decreased his terminal velocity substantially, and the volatile storm had triggered his barometric parachute switch prematurely. Bill Rankin was still far from the earth, and he was now dangling helplessly in the belly of an oblivious monstrosity.
A cumulonimbus “anvil” cloud.“I’d see lightning,” Rankin would later muse, “Boy, do I remember that lightning. I never exactly heard the thunder; I felt it.” Amidst the electrical spectacle, the storm’s capricious winds pressed Rankin downward until he encountered the powerful updrafts—the same updrafts that keep hailstones aloft as they accumulate ice–which dragged him and his chute thousands of feet back up into the storm. This dangerous effect is familiar to paragliding enthusiasts, who unaffectionately refer to it as cloud suck. At the apex Rankin caught up with his parachute, causing it to drape over him like a wet blanket and stir worries that he would become entangled with it and drop from the sky at a truly terminal velocity. Again he fell, and again the updrafts yanked him skyward in the darkness. He lost count of how many times this up-and-down cycle repeated. “At one point I got seasick and heaved,” he once retold.

After that, it gets interesting. Damn Interesting, in fact, which is where you can read the whole story.

Full Story

Prehistoric Teen Girl's Grave Found Near Henge

The finding of the 17-year-old girl's grave adds more evidence that henges were linked to death rituals.  

Read more 

B.C.

Prehistoric Dog Found with Mammoth Bone in Mouth

The dogs' brains may have been used for ritualistic purposes by humans.  
Read more

Rare Moths Flock to Warm Britain

Unusually warm temperatures in Britain are attracting rare moths usually only found in the Mediterranean.  

Read more

Animal Pictures