The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
You've had the urge to travel lately, and whether it's for reasons of business or pleasure, you're still not willing to forget about it -- so don't.
Make your reservations, and if you can, take a loved one along for the ride.
Who knows what might happen when you get there?
At the very least, you'll be able to enjoy yourself like you know you need to.
Indulge yourself.
If anyone has earned it, it's you.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

Faro, Faro, Portugal

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Espoo, Southern Finland, Finland

Sittard, Limburg, Netherlands

Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark

Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Paris, Ile-De-France, France

Gelsenkirchen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Bangkok, Krung Thep, Thailand

Annecy, Rhone-Alpes, France

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Santander, Cantabria, Spain

as well as 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, 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, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Vietnam, Norway, Finland and in cities across the United States such as Englewood, Gaffney, Pacifica, Providence and more.

Today is:

Today is Monday, December 27, the 361st day of 2010.

There are 4 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is: 

National Fruit Cake Day.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

It's National Fruitcake Day

A holiday dessert to try — or toss

Fruitcake gets its own holiday, but next month it gets the heave-ho in an annual contest.  

Fruitcake Toss record 

Also: 

• More on Fruitcake Toss  
• History of eggnog
• New Year's Eve menu

Culinary DeLites

What to make for dinner this week

Combine cheese tortellini and leftover chicken to make a warming one-pot meal.  

Six more new suppers 

Also: 

• Over 700 stew recipes
• Lucky foods for 2011  
• New Year's Eve recipes

Superfoods that fight cancer

Six superfoods that fight cancer

To reduce your risk of disease, you don't need to look any further than your fridge.  

Garlic's powerful benefits 

Also: 

• Cancer risk factors
• 'Health foods' that aren't
• The dangers of sitting

The Angry Pepper

Don't Mess with the Angry Pepper

Storms slam yacht race

Boat race slammed by storms and hail

Gale-force winds cut into Sydney's Hobart Yacht Race, sending two crewmen falling into the swell.  

Photos 

Also: 

• More on the event
• Paris river cruises halted
• Resort boat capsizes

Images from blizzard

Snowy scenes from East Coast blizzard

The storm delivers 20 inches of snow to New York City as it pounds the entire coast.  

Photos of the chilly aftermath 

Also: 

• Air travelers stranded
• Global warming's impact
• Storm moves to Canada

Snow in the Subway

New York City got such a snowfall that it even accumulated underground - in the subway stations!

Snow strands subway riders

NYC subway riders stranded for 6 hours

People in an elevated subway car spend a cold, snowy night trapped a few feet from a station.  

No water or heat 

Also: 

• Caller: 'Agitated...crying'
• Photos of the storm
• Travelers still stranded

Snow blankets East Coast

Dangerous storm strands holiday travelers

Flights and trains are halted for a second day as officials beg drivers to stay home.  

'It's just not stopping' 

Also: 

• Photos of the storm
• Check your forecast
• Boston, Philly digging out

Why The Kids Don't Blog And Grandma's On Facebook

Teenagers are abandoning blogs, while members of the 'G.I. Generation' are flocking to Facebook. These are two of the findings in a report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

The central finding of this year's report is highly intuitive: Across the board, people are using the Internet more. Email, search engines, health information, news and podcasts, product sites, travel sites, banking sites - all were accessed more, by the old and the young alike.

Muslims: A new consumer niche

American businesses' new consumer niche

McDonald's, Wal-Mart, and other companies are tentatively beginning to cater to Muslim consumers.  

Backlash 

Also: 

• Imam promotes NYC center
• Definition of 'halal'
• Anti-Muslim rhetoric

Avoiding auto repair ripoffs

How to avoid auto repair ripoffs

The dealership gave Victoria Rumsey an estimate of $2,000 — but she paid $150 elsewhere.  

Find price comparisons 

Also: 

• What warning lights mean
• Innovations in car tech
• Browse for new models

Repugican Unmasked

Why is it that this picture just screams 'repugican'?

On The Job

Three fields ready to staff up in 2011

A temporary position may be a great way to get a start at many businesses. 

One role makes an average of $99K 

Also: 

• When you're unemployed
• Who will do well next year  
• Most want new job in 2011

Is it time to leave your job?

Signs that it's time to leave your job

If you aren't excited to spend 40 hours a week with your coworkers, it may be time for a change.  

Worst reason to quit 

Also: 

• Make work more fun
• Get a raise in 2011 
• Happiest companies in U.S.

Fifteen key year-end money moves

15 essential year-end money moves

Acting now will help you avoid some tax and investment headaches in 2011.

Time to rebalance your portfolio 

Also: 

• Avoid 2011 credit troubles
• 4 huge money mistakes
• Credit score tier system

Where richest Americans live

Where the richest Americans live

U.S. households that earn over $200,000 per year are in the top 3.8% nationally.  

Highest concentrations of wealth 

Also: 

• Middle-class gap grows
• Outlook for jobs in 2011  
• 10 best U.S. charities

Baby boomer retiree crisis

Baby boomers facing a retirement crisis

More than 10,000 boomers a day will turn 65 as of January, which is a major cause for concern.

Many not prepared 

Also: 

• Ways to reduce shortfall
• Tax agreement benefits
• Economy's key voices

A must read ...

... Corporate America's plan to loot our pensions.

Non Sequitur

Bad Cops

Two Pennsylvania cops fired for beating that left one man with a broken jaw and another unconscious

Two Illinois cops charged in separate felony cases

Georgia deputy charged with terroristic threats and false imprisonment

Minnesota customs officer is accused of sexually assaulting a young girl multiple times (announcement curiously comes a month after arrest)

New York sheriff to begin collecting pension, while he continues to earn his salary

Witness supports victim's account of harsh treatment by New York police

Texas man says police officer kicked him, broke jaw

Pennsylvania police officer accused of assaulting wife

This isn't surprising ...

... mental health patients disproportionally targeted for tasering.

Woman Charged With Arson, Assault Arrested

An Apple Valley woman charged with assault, arson and trying to escape the police is in jail Monday night, according to the Dakota County Sheriff's Department.

Full Story

Russian tycoon found guilty

Russia's ex-richest man found guilty

Critics call Mikhail Khodorkovsky's case a sham that could hurt relations with the West.

The charges against him 

Also: 

• Michail Khodorkovsky
• Nuclear talks planned  
• Ethnic violence rally

Iraqi man kills daughter who wanted to be suicide bomber

An Iraqi man killed and buried his teenage daughter after learning she had intended to become a suicide bomber for al Qaeda, a security official said on Friday.

Iraqi security forces raided the man's house in Mandili, 100 km (60 miles) northeast of Baghdad, to search for Shahla Najim al-Anbaky after receiving information that she had ties to the Sunni Islamist militant group.

They arrested her father, Najim Abd al-Anbaky, on Thursday when he confessed he had killed his daughter and buried her body near his house, said Major Ghalib al-Jubouri, a police spokesman in Diyala province.

"He confessed he killed her when he learned she worked for al Qaeda and she wanted to blow herself up," Jubouri said. The man guided security forces to his daughter's grave, he said. Diyala, a mainly Sunni Arab province with significant Shi'ite and Kurdish populations, has seen some of the worst violence since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Leopard attacks villagers in India

A leopard has injured seven villagers, including two minors, in northern India. The incident took place in Bhawaria village of the state, when villagers saw the big cat roaming in nearby fields, and tried to scare it away.

The locals chased the leopard to a field and set the grass on fire to smoke out the animal. The leopard came out of the burning field and attacked the gathered people, and ran and hid in the nearby woods.

Forest officials and police personnel have been scouting the area to capture the animal. The officials have said the leopard came from a nearby forest reserve.

 

YouTube link.

Scared villagers armed with sticks and other weapons have been patrolling the outskirts of the area where the leopard was last seen.

For the Pun of it

* Energizer Bunny arrested - charged with battery.

* A pessimist's blood type is always b-negative.

* Practice safe eating - always use condiments.

* Shotgun wedding: A case of wife or death.

* I used to work in a blanket factory, but it folded.

* If electricity comes from electrons... does that mean that morality comes from morons?

* Marriage is the mourning after the knot before.

* A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

* Corduroy pillows are making headlines.

* Sea captains don't like crew cuts.

* Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?

* A successful diet is the triumph of mind over platter.

* A gossip is someone with a great sense of rumor.

* Without geometry, life is pointless.

* When you dream in color, it's a pigment of your imagination.

* Reading whilst sunbathing makes you well-red.

* When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.

Shoe

Brazilian woman wakes up in her coffin hours before she would have been buried alive

A woman being prepared for burial gave funeral parlor workers quite a shock when she came to life inside her coffin. Maria das Dores da Conceicao, 88, is currently hospitalized in the intensive care unit of the Municipal hospital which declared her officially dead a few days ago. The Brazilian's body movements and breathing, spotted in her coffin at a local funeral parlor, resulted in the coffin and body being rushed back to the hospital, where she is recovering in the intensive care ward.

Her granddaughter Noeme Silva Amâncio, 31, was among the first family members to greet her grandma back to life. She said 'when I got to the hospital 's first emergency aid entrance, I sighted grandma in her coffin, which was inside the funeral hearse. She was breathing and moving about on one side of the coffin more than when she had been initially hospitalized.'

The Mayor's office of this provincial city near the state capital of Belo Horizonte, declared in an official note that Police were investigating the case in order to clarify the details to the shocked family. The note added that Mrs. Conceicao entered the hospital last Tuesday morning with a medical history of arterial hypertension, obstructed arteries and Alzheimer's. She had been bedridden and brought the hospital complaining of pains.

'Since Wednesday, 22 December, the patient did not present any signs of being alive and was declared officially dead at 16:50 and brought to the funeral parlor at 20:30.' Custodia Amancio, daughter of the resuscitated Brazilian woman says 'we are happy to know my mother is alive and unhappy with the lack of respect due her. We are still not sure if we will sue the municipality and hospital. She continues in the intensive ward treatment ward and we are praying that she will improve quickly.'

Mailboxes Made From Repurposed Objects

 

image credit

Some really cool and unusual mailbox designs - all of them made with recycled and repurposed items.

Unique Game For Party Amusement

From Modern Mechanix, January 1933: A unique game for party amusement.

'Spike the Potato' is a highly entertaining game for any party. All that is needed is a single large potato, a number of paper cones and some needles. When you roll the paper cones into shape, slip a needle or pin into the small end and daub it with glue.

This, when dry, will hold it in place. At the same time, glue the edge of the paper fast. Then pull a small tuft of cotton into a fluffy ball and after rubbing some glue on the inside of the open cone end, push the cotton in.

Unusual Locomotion

Unusual Locomotion is a site about unusual off-road vehicles. Often, these vehicles will remain at the prototype stage because they are too eccentric, too expensive compared to the improvements, or too far ahead of their time.

Unusual Locomotion aims to summarize and share some more knowledge on the evolution of these vehicles and their techniques. It still includes documentation of classic 4x4, 'unusual' construction machinery and reports of visits of 'old iron' museums.

Candid photos of Civil War battlefield injuries

On April 1, 1865, Alfred Lane was shot in the hip during the Civil War Battle of Hatcher's Run, Virginia. He died about a month and a half later, after the wound became gangrenous.
This photo, and the description of the patient, come from a series of images posted to Flickr by Mike Rhode, archivist at the National Museum of Health and Medicine—which began its existence during the Civil War as the Army Medical Museum. The photos get a lot more graphic than this—both in terms of wounds, and general nudity—but it's an amazing collection that's mostly never been seen by the general public before, and which offers a rare, un-edited peek into the casualties of both war and early medicine. Both contributed to the death of people like Alfred Lane. From the University of Toledo Libraries ...

Amputation of a wounded arm or leg was the most common operation, due largely to the .58 calibre Minie ball ammunition used during the war. This heavy conical-shaped bullet of soft lead distorted on impact causing large, gaping wounds filled with dirt and pieces of clothing. Its heavy weight shattered any bone it contacted. Because of the severity of the wounds and the overwhelming case load, surgeons usually elected for fast and easy amputation over trying to remove the bullet and save the limb.
Early in the war it became obvious that disease would be the greatest killer. Two soldiers died of disease (dysentery, diarrhea, typhoid, and malaria) for every one killed in battle. Soldiers from small rural areas suffered from childhood diseases such as measles and mumps because they lacked immunity. Outbreaks of these "camp and campaign" diseases were caused by overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in the field.

The gangrene, ironically, probably came from an infection Lane picked up in the Hospital, itself.

The full photo set on Flickr

How bullets were removed during the Civil War.

Awesome Pictures

The Lion Awakes

Jimmy Cliff

B.C.

How a pet can cost $20,000

How a pet can end up costing $20,000

Mary Cotter has a new nickname for her golden retriever after paying for a slew of vet bills: "$20K."  

Horror stories 

Also: 

• Mixing kids and pets
• Top 10 owner mistakes  
• 6 pet offenses explained

World's Rarest Animal

Animal Pictures

Father and Son