CAROLINA NATURALLY: Apr 19, 2010

Monday, April 19, 2010

The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Whatever you do to deal with frustration, make sure that you've got it in reserve today.
None of your best-laid plans are likely to work out the way you want them to for a little while, which is hard on you.
You can deal with it, of course, just as you always do, because preparedness is one of your key strengths. Make sure that you've got everyone on your side.

Some of our readers today have been in:

London, England, United Kingdom

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia

Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Paris, Ile-De-France, France

Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany

Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark

Ankara, Ankara, Turkey

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Nicosa, Nicosa, Cyprus

Durban, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

New Delhi, Delhi, India

Dundalk, Louth, Ireland

as well as Poland, Malaysia and the United States in such cities such as Casselberry, Tifton, El Cajon, Wilkes Barre, Simi Valley and more

Today is Monday, April 19, the 109th day of 2010.

There are 256 days left in the year.

Today In History April 19

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:
National Hanging Out Day

http://www.digtriad.com/genthumb/genthumb.ashx?e=3&h=240&w=320&i=/assetpool/images/100411051722_Halley%27s%20Comet.jpg

Halley's comet was able to be seen with the naked eye after weeks of only being able to see it via a telescope on this date in 1910.

As The World Turns

As The World Turns

Warships sent to rescue stranded travelers

The U.K. enacts a new plan as tempers flare on Day Five of the ash-cloud travel crisis.

Telltale sign at volcano's base

Also:

12-year-old Indian girl is headmistress at school

As an infant, Bharti Kumari was abandoned at a railway station in Bihar, one of India’s poorest states. Now, at the age of 12, she has become the head teacher at a school in Kusumbhara, her adopted village.

Every morning and evening, under the shade of a mango tree, she teaches Hindi, English and maths to 50 village children who would otherwise receive no education.

In between, she attends a state school in Akhodhi Gola, a two-mile walk away. Dressed proudly in her school uniform, she passes on the knowledge gleaned from her lessons to the village children, aged between four and 10, in her own class.

“I have a long day. My school is from 10am to 3pm and I study late,” she said. “This is what I love doing. I enjoy teaching children their ABCs as well as the Hindi alphabets.”

Her pupils are among the 10 million Indian children who are outside the state education system because their parents are so poor that they need them to work or no schools are nearby. Earlier this month the Indian government pledged £3.6 billion for a “right to education” scheme which aims to provide free schooling for all.

Bharti’s adoptive father, Rampati, an impoverished farmhand, said he would not follow the rural tradition of pushing girls into early marriages but would allow her to continue her studies. Her future career has already been decided. “I definitely want to become a teacher when I grow up,” she said.

At least 7 killed, 30 injured after magnitude 5.3 earthquake hits northern Afghanistan

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck in mountains north of Afghanistan's capital early Monday, killing at least seven people and injuring 30, officials said.
Full Story

Local Hospitality

Local Hospitality

President Obama, Family Will Spend Weekend In Asheville

An Asheville official said the value of having the president of the United States for a weekend vacation is "Priceless."

Drop out of school, lose your license

South Carolina teens who drop out of school could lose more than opportunity -- they could also lose their license.

Upping the cute factor

Cat and pigeon are best friends

Putting the cat among the pigeons is not normally an affectionate affair, but in Wainoni, New Zealand, an unlikely bond has formed between a pair of natural enemies. Homer, the pigeon, and Henry the cat, are living proof that differences can be put aside, since the pair each adopted their owners, Sandra and Murray Campbell.

"They eat together and play fight together. The pigeon flaps its wings and the cat puts its paws up. Homer even sits on the cat's back and when the cat stalks sparrows on the front lawn, old ding-dong pigeon follows behind to watch,'' Mrs Campbell said.

Henry arrived as a stray at the Campbell's a year ago. Six months later, Homer landed. "My daughter was visiting from Australia and we were sitting here looking out the door when my daughter goes `Oh my God there's a pigeon with Henry!'

"We thought it was going to have its head bitten off. But no, they got along fine." The pair have been found sleeping on a bed together although Henry is more likely to be found in the bird house Mr Campbell built for Homer.

Where the pair came from remains a mystery, but the Campbell's speculate the pair may have come from the same home originally. "We'd love to know but we're quite attached to them now."

Homer doesn't stick around at night, disappearing about 6pm each evening. "But he's back the next morning about 6.30am coo-ing and carrying on," Mrs Campbell said.

Meerkat goes online looking for love

Small? Furry? Looking for love? The owners of a lonely meerkat hope to find the perfect partner on the internet.

Lilly, a single lady meerkat living at a theme park in Leicestershire, began to pine after an arranged marriage fell through. In desperation her owners decided to build a dating website for meerkats in the hope of finding her true love.

Modeling the site on matchmaking sites for humans, Lilly’s profile describes her as an “alert, dark-eyed, inquisitive, free-spirited lady with a good sense of humor who enjoys fine dining, digging and cozy nights in”.

Since the site went live, Lilly has been inundated with messages from well-wishers, though so far no proposals, indecent or otherwise.

Rethinking the American dream

Rethinking the American dream

Some families are coming to realize that owning a home can have as many hassles as rewards.

Signs of a shift

Also:

Lunatic Fringe

Lunatic Fringe

Dimbulb says the Iceland volcano is god's reaction to health care reform

The sad part is how many wingnuts listen to this asshole.

Full Story

Editor of wingnut NV paper wants to repeal 19th amendment since women are voting for Harry Reid

John Aravosis had this to say:

In a real newspaper this kind of story would likely be sarcasm. But this is the conservative Las Vegas Review-Journal. I'm told the paper has no women on its editorial board, and that the publication had to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit with a former female editor who was passed over for promotion. All the major decisions at the paper are made by men. And now the men want to repeal women's suffrage. Classy.

PS That's the editor, Thomas Mitchell, in the upper left.

Major blow to Goldman Sachs

It couldn't be happening to a 'nicer' bunch of assholes!

A bad rap

The civil fraud charges against the Wall Street bank could wreak havoc on its business.

Serious problem looming

Also:

Businesses that are built on fear

Businesses that are built on fear

Consumers will often pay top dollar for products that let them feel more secure.

Profiting from your peace of mind

Also:

Too True

http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=05582b34f441a3e25c831f9070ddc771

Time To Consider Ocean Transport Again

We have been noting that flying is dying for a couple of years, as the combination of peak oil and security concerns conspire to make it miserable and expensive. Now we can toss in volcanoes, and question whether it is time for a return to liners as a viable mode of translatlantic travel. Ships like the Queen Mary 2 are not really transportation; it is more about the cruise. But every berth is overbooked for Thursday's sailing as people consider it transportation once again. It only carries 2,620 passengers, but Kris at Lo-tech Magazine calculates that if people were packed into it as tightly as they are into a 747, it could carry half a million.
Nobody is going to try that, but there is a compromise somewhere.

Article continues: Time To Consider Ocean Transport Again?

Phrases that can sink your resumé

10 phrases that can sink your resumé

These clichés aren't just outdated in 2010, they're also terrible ways to convey your skills.

'Strong work ethic'

Also:

Scientific Minds Want To Know

Scientific Minds Want To Know

Swept Away: New Modeling Buoys Raft Theory for Origin of Madagascar's Mammals

The African island of Madagascar, situated some 430 kilometers off the coast of Mozambique, is famous for its unique fauna, particularly its charismatic primates, the lemurs. But how the lemurs and other land mammals got there has proved an enduring mystery.

Colony of microbes 'as big as Greece' found in ocean

A vast carpet of underwater microbes that covers an area as big as Greece has been discovered on the seabed off the west coast of South America. Scientists believe the microbes could be directly descended from some of the earliest life forms to have evolved on Earth.

The discovery is part of a series of astonishing finds made since 2000 as part of the decade-long Census of Marine Life, an international project by more than 2,000 scientists from 80 countries to explore the largely unknown life which inhabits the oceans.

The "microbial mat" lives in a deep layer of seawater that is deprived of both light and oxygen and seems to have survived by "eating" hydrogen sulphide and "breathing" nitrates. It could represent a present-day community of organisms descended from primitive microbes which first evolved about 3 billion years ago, when there was no oxygen on the planet.

Vast underwater carpet

Interesting In General

Interesting In General

Oceanographic researchers photographed a strange object, 3 miles beneath the waves.

In 1964, while trolling the depths to photograph the ocean floor, the crew of the oceanographic research ship USNS Eltanin made a startling discovery in the waters near Antarctica. Amid the countless prints of vast terrain 13,500 feet beneath the waves, one picture contained something that no one could imagine: what appeared to be a large antenna, anchored to the seabed. News of the object spread quickly, as did theories of its origins. Some thought it fell off a ship or was placed there by the Soviets, while others insisted that it was extraterrestrial--but the answer turned out to be much closer to home.

Article continues: How Nature's Deep Sea 'Antenna' Puzzled the World