The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:

Even if you feel like you're at a major turning point in your life, resist the urge to get too far into your own head and thoughts right now.
A loved one is in need of a good listener -- and possibly a shoulder to cry on.
Send out a few feeler emails today (you might have to coax this shy person into spilling what's on their mind) and see what's up with the people in your life.
Be the supportive person everyone knows you to be, and enjoy the distraction.

 Some of our readers today have been in:
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Jakarta, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia
Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Munich, Bayern, Germany
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Bilbao, Pais Vasco, Spain
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Pozan, Wielkopolskie, Poland
Athens, Attiki, Greece
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Moscow, Moskva, Russia
London, England, United Kingdom
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Quezon City, Manila, Philippines
Woodlands, Singapore, Singapore
Woking, England, United Kingdom
Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia
Morini, Morini, Comoros
Newbury, England, United Kingdom
Cork, Cork, Ireland
Berne, Bern, Switzerland
Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia
Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain
Bucharest, Bucuresti, Romania
Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Bangkok, Krung Thep, Thailand
Frienze, Toscana, Italy
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Lalitpur, Bagmati, Nepal
Prague, Hlavni Mesto Praha, Czech Republic
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Hanover, Niedersachsen, Germany

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 Campobello, Gillett, Sebewaing, Wimauma and more!

Today is:

Today is Friday, November 18, the 322nd day of 2011.

There are 43 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

Push-button Phone Day.

  

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Non Sequitur

Far-Out Friday

Ultrarare 1880s autograph

Rare 1880s autograph may fetch a fortune

Mike "King" Kelly, the Babe Ruth of the 19th century, left behind a very special signature. 

From junk trunk to auction 

Also: 

• Valuable autographs
• Gifts for sports fans
• Kershaw wins Cy Young

Clashes erupt on day of mass protests

Clashes erupt on day of mass protests

Police start making arrests as hundreds gather to block traffic into New York's financial district. 

  'Critical moment' 

Also: 

• Scenes on the street
• 84-year-old becomes icon
• Ex-banker joins protests

Secret Service checked if White House shooter Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez had ties to OWS, did they check tea party ties too?

It's interesting that news stories about Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, the man who allegedly fired shots at the White House, and apparently got one bullet lodged in a window of the President's personal residence, are noting that the Secret Service investigated whether the shooter had ties to the Occupy movement.  I wonder if they also investigated possible ties to the tea party or other wingnut groups?  After all, the man "hated" Obama.  And he's from Idaho (hello?). That's repugican territory.  On our side of the aisle, we're sometimes "disappointed" in the President, but "hate" is the domain of the other guys.  Speaking of the other guys, the fact that the Secret Service has found no connection to the Occupy movement hasn't stopped Faux from calling him "the Occupy shooter."  They really are such a diligent propaganda arm of the repugican party.

Wingnut "gotcha" agitator James O'Keefe bedeviled by infighting, lawsuits, lack of funds

How sad.  Nice blockbuster of a story by Ken Vogel at Politico.  It seem that James O'Keefe, the guy who did the Acorn sting and the NPR sting (and selectively edited the videos to portray things not quite as they were) is apparently watching his empire fall apart around him.  Former colleagues are dissing him to Politico.  Lawsuits are being threatened all over the place (amongst themselves).  And funds aren't quite pouring in.  It's a heartwarming tale, read it.

Canada's plastic high-tech money

Canada's high-tech plastic $100 bill

The currency has windows and other new features to thwart counterfeiters.

  One other big advantage over paper 

Also: 

• PayPal's Facebook feature
• Hackers eye Canada firms
• Credit card rates steady

Foolish financial moves

Foolish financial moves that'll cost you

You might as well fling $100 bills out the window as you cruise off the lot in your new car.  

 Paying off debt vs. saving 

Also: 

• Things to stop buying
• Worst home fixes
• Retire on a low income

Keep these off your tax return

Things you might mistake as tax-deductible

Driving to and from your job is clearly a work-related expense, but the IRS still won't let you deduct it.

  One exception 

Also: 

• Most, least taxing states
• Deduct your vacation
• Find your tax refund

Should employers be allowed to raise insurance rates for smokers or obese?

Unless the plans include a lot of help for people to quit smoking or lose weight, this doesn't sound fair. The thought of charging someone a high premium because of their cholesterol also sounds unfair. I know people who have high cholesterol but are very fit. Once again, companies and the insurance industry do this because they can.

New York Times:

But some benefits specialists and health experts say programs billed as incentives for wellness, by offering discounted health insurance, can become punitive for people who suffer from health problems that are not completely under their control. Nicotine addiction, for example, may impede smokers from quitting, and severe obesity may not be easily overcome.

Earlier this year, the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association were among groups that warned federal officials about giving companies too much latitude. They argued in a letter sent in March that the leeway afforded employers could provide “a back door” to policies that discriminate against unhealthy workers.

Kristin M. Madison, a professor of law and health sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, said, “People are definitely worried that programs will be used to drive away employees or potential employees who are unhealthy.”

Tips to relaunch your career

Tips to help forge a new career path

Having a clear understanding of what you want from your professional life can help focus your search.

  Build a brand 

Also: 

• Work-life balance options
• Second-act careers
• Flexible degree choices

Distressing retirement age

Depressing retirement age for 1 in 4

A quarter of middle-class Americans are so pessimistic that they're now delaying retirement to an extreme age.

  How old 

Also: 

• Worst-case portfolio
• Sabotaging your retirement
• Bad investment advice

Ziggy

Turkey brining mistakes

Turkey brining mistakes beginners make

Brining is the secret to a moist bird, but you never want to do this with some turkeys.

  When to skip it

• Healthier side dishes
• 5 menu-planning tips
• Feed eight for $80

When fats are good for you

Why you shouldn’t skip eating fats

Experts say 25 to 30 percent of your diet should come from healthy fats like olive oil.  

 Which ones to eat and which to avoid 

Also: 

• 3 diet mistakes
• Diabetes superfoods
• 'I lost 85 pounds'

Foods that age you

5 foods with ingredients that age you

That tempting, sugary breakfast pastry is a problem for your skin as well as your waistline.

  Nutritional 'nightmare' 

Also: 

• Tips for soft winter skin
• Wrinkle-fighting foods
• Budget skin-care products

Crabby Road

Man with "I'm a Drunk" T-Shirt Arrested for Drunk Driving after Ramming Police Car

So do you get drunk in order to fulfill the message on your t-shirt, or do you put on the t-shirt because you plan to get drunk?

A man wearing a t-shirt reading “I’m A Drunk” crashed into a police car early Thursday on Long Island and is being charged with driving while intoxicated, police said. [...]
The entire message on his t-shirt reads “I’m Not An Alcoholic, I’m A Drunk. Alcoholics Go to Meetings.”

There are so many different crimes that people can commit. Surely there is a market for a t-shirt for each one!

Full Story

Shamed robber retreats after children offer him life savings

An armed robber who held up a babysitter at gunpoint in Lower Saxony, Germany, was shamed into leaving empty-handed by the two young children of the house who offered him their pocket money. The man had rung the doorbell of the house in the northern town of Schwanewede near Bremen on Monday evening, and forced his way in.

Wearing a balaclava and a long black coat, the man had the terrified babysitter at gunpoint when the children she was looking after, came downstairs. When they offered him their savings, he was obviously overcome with shame and left the house without a word – or a cent.

“The children had heard what was going on from upstairs and came down with their money, all their savings,” a police spokesman said. He said he was not releasing the ages of the children in order to protect them from being identified, but that they were both younger than seven.

“The robber must have realized what he was doing was awful, and simply put his gun away and left,” said the spokesman. The authorities are now looking for the would-be robber, described as in his early twenties, 185 centimeters tall and thin.

Daily Comic Relief

Discovery could rewrite physics

Discovery could rewrite the laws of physics

An unexpected find gives scientists a "tantalizing hint" at one of the universe's biggest mysteries.

'Charmed' particles 

Also: 

• Did Einstein get it wrong?
• New look at 'Great Dying'
• LHC to get huge upgrade

Moon to outshine meteors

Leonid meteor shower may be outshone

The annual light display will likely be upstaged by a celestial neighbor tonight.  

» Lunar 'interference'

• Photos of past showers
• Astronauts given medals
• Life on Jupiter moon?

'Ghost alps' puzzle solved

'Ghost alps' of Antarctica reveal their secret

An astonishing mountain range deep below the ice has baffled scientists for more than 50 years. 

  Mystery solved 

Also: 

• Mystery in Chinese desert
• Clues to buried moon lakes
• Milky Way's midlife crisis

The Most Incredible Volcanic Eruptions Seen From Space

Dangerously hot ash spewing forth from a volcanic vent and lava traveling at great speed down a mountainside and incinerating everything in its path is not something most people would want to witness from close up. Yet, seen from the calmness of space, volcanic eruptions take on a whole new identity.

Study details world's worst die-off: hell on Earth

During the world's biggest mass extinction, Earth seemed pretty close to a description of hell - fiery, smoky and explosive - created by massive volcanic eruptions, according to research dug up in China.

Full Story

B.C.

'Extinct' frog hops back into northern Israel

Omri Gal of Israel's Nature and Parks Authority said Thursday the Hula Painted Frog was seen for the first time in 50 years this week.

 'Extinct' frog hops back into northern Israel

Six Wacky Stories of Crazy Beast Masters

Meet Koun Samang. When he was only three months old, his father found a python curled up in his crib. The dad removed the snake from the house, but it showed up again. It was released back in the jungle and then it came back again. It happened a total of three times before the Koun’s dad finally gave up and just let the snake hang out with his baby. Seven years later, the kid and the snake (now over 20 feet long) are best friends.
Of course, that’s not the only bizarre animal/human story friendship story. Cracked has five more and they are all equally fascinating.

Full Story

Animal Pictures