CAROLINA NATURALLY: Mar 7, 2011

Monday, March 7, 2011

The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
An everyday choice could carry additional weight for you today ... be careful not to make any of your decisions too quickly, because other people are involved in the outcome of your situation.
You are at one of those critical points -- when it seems like wrong decisions aren't possible and everything is 'win-win'.
But this is not necessarily the case ... you need to think everything through and do what is best for the largest group of people.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Tallinn, Harjumaa, Estonia
Vienna, Wien, Austria
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
London, England, United Kingdom
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Zagreb, Grad Zagreb, Croatia
Bradford, England, United Kingdom
Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Santander, Cantabria, Mexico
Quebec, Quebec, Canada
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Kuwait, Al Kuwayt, Kuwait

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 New Bern, Concord, Asheville, Farquay-Varina and more.

Today is:

Today is Monday, March 7, the 66th day of 2011.

There are 299 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are:

National Be Heard Day
Fun Facts About Names Day
and
Casimir Pulaski Day.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Have a Dream (Sleeping with the enemy)

Roger Hodgson (from Supertramp)

Odds and Sods

Virgin Blue Flight Attendant Fired After Putting Toddler In Overhead Bin

Virgin Blue has fired a male flight attendant after he reportedly placed a then 17-month old toddler into an overhead bin during a flight.

Lunatic Fringe

Wingnuts turn on Glenn Beck

The repugican assault on unions is the assault on the Democratic party

Islam debate renewed

New focus on radicalization of U.S. Muslims

A House leader says some American Muslims aren't cooperating enough with law enforcement.

A thorny issue

Also:

And now for ...

http://4gifs.com/gallery/d/180170-1/Mortar_fail.gif

The "Oh Shit!" Moment

Wizard of Id

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/uc/20110307/largeimagecrwiz110307.gif

Tapping U.S. oil reserves

White House considers tapping oil reserves

Some Democrats support tapping into America's emergency supply to cool rising prices.

Recovery threatened

Also:

End of 30-year mortgages

The 30-year mortgage may go away

A fixture of American life since the '50s will become a luxury product for the few, experts say.

Loss of loan giants

Also:

How to get a $400 tax break

How to get the new $400 tax credit

You must fill out a special tax form or a worksheet to grab the Making Work Pay credit.

Who isn't eligible to claim it

Also:

On The Job

High-paying jobs for ambitious people

The right training will prepare you for a profession where you can have a big effect.

Salary of up to $120,000

Also:

Clamshell Scrip from the Great Depression

This specimen comes from the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian.

When the Depression and resulting banking crisis hit their community, the residents of the coastal town of Pismo Beach, California picked an unusual but logical medium of exchange… The Chamber of Commerce and no fewer than eleven merchants issued clamshell scrip.
Each piece was numbered, and each piece was signed on the front and on the back. As with the stamp notes of the Midwest, it was necessary to sign each clamshell on the back in order to keep it in circulation. No formal requirements may have existed, but informal pressure certainly would have endorsed the practice.
Restwell Cabins issued “notes” in three denominations: twenty-five cents, fifty cents, and one dollar. The larger the amount, the larger the shell. The issue may have been partly intended as a spoof, or for sale to tourists, in the manner of German notgeld around 1920. Redemption would never be a problem because collectors would want to keep these pieces in their cabinets or trade them with their friends.

Full Story

Economy turning against women

'Mancession' now turning against women

A sweeping economic change will be painful for working women, says an expert.

Gender split in unemployment

Also:

Noise abatement

Ground: "Flight 2341, for noise abatement turn right 45 degrees."

Pilot: "But Center, we are at 35,000 feet. How much noise can we make up here?"

Ground "Sir, have you ever heard the noise a 747 makes when it hits a 727?

Mexican town's 21-year-old police chief fired

Young police chief fired for fleeing threats

A 21-year-old who stunned the world by taking charge of a violent Mexican town vanishes across U.S. border.

Rumors

Also:

City's crime jump a warning

Crime jumps after N.J. city's police layoffs

Camden's violent crime problem bodes poorly for other cities and states facing major cuts in services.

'Perfect storm'

Also:

Walmart greeter robs fellow drone

In Statesville, NC

An 83-year-old Walmart greeter is charged with robbing another employee and firing a shot as he left the store Sunday night.

Full Story

Virginia firefighter accused of taking drunken joyride

Authorities in Virginia say a volunteer firefighter is accused of taking a fire truck on a drunken joyride and nearly smashing into a deputy's patrol car.

Full Story

Mother forced by timetable to leave toddler on German train

German railway officials refused to heed a mother's pleas to halt an express with her two-year-old aboard alone – because the train had to run on time. Marie Luise Kracht, two, sat alone as the train sped through the countryside near Berlin for an hour while a police car raced to catch it up.

Ulrike Kracht, 19, had pleaded with Deutsche Bahn staff to somehow stop the train after its automatic doors closed at a station. She was unloading her possessions and pushchair before returning for Marie Luise when her way was blocked and the train began pulling away. Ms Kracht spoke of how she had spent the weekend with Marie Luise at her grandmother's near Berlin and was returning to Pritzwalk.

“I was getting my things out of the station at the stop when the doors suddenly closed with my daughter inside!“ she said. “It was the worst moment of my life. I heard Marie Luise shout 'mama' and she was gone!“ She said two German railways employees banged frantically on the doors to try to get them open but without success. But when she asked to radio ahead to stop the train she says she was told: “We can't do that. It must run on schedule.“

Later a railways spokeswoman said: “There was no train coming back in the other direction anyway because of a strike.“ The child was alone for an hour until the train halted in Neurippin. Her mother was in a police car racing through the countryside with its lights and sirens blaring to get to the station before the train moved again. “I was all right until I saw her and then the tears came and she started crying then too,“ said Ulrike. Deutsche Bahn has promised an inquiry.

Bathtub Hot Rod

It’s a dilemma that we’ve all faced: you need to take a bath, but you need to get somewhere at the same time. eBay seller toymaker46 offers this solution. He notes that it’s not yet fully operational, so you’ll have to work on it some.

Full Story

Real Life Floating House, Inspired by Up

For their new TV series How Hard Can It Be?, the people of National Geographic have created a 16 feet by 16 feet house inspired by the Pixar movie Up that can fly for real, thanks to 300 helium-filled weather balloons.
My Modern Met has the photos:here.

Beautiful Photos of Antarctica

Over at In Focus, the news photography blog for the website The Atlantic, they have recently added 47 amazing photos of Antarctica – “its environment, and some of the scientific work taking place there”.

Full Story

Rare peek at priciest painting

Rare glimpse at world's priciest painting

A 1932 masterpiece born out of an obsessive love affair goes on display for only the second time.

Record price tag

Also:

The 10 Most Eccentric Millionaires

Ever heard of the millionaire who decided to give away his entire fortune because he was unhappy? Or the millionaire who changed his mansion for mud after being adopted by tribe in Kenya? They're a funny bunch of people, those millionaires.

Here are the 10 most eccentric millionaires.

The Happiest Man in America

Statistically speaking, anyways. Every year, Gallup polled randomly selected American adults about their lives, including how happy they are:

The New York Times asked Gallup to come up with a statistical composite for the happiest person in America, based on the characteristics that most closely correlated with happiness in 2010. Men, for example, tend to be happier than women, older people are happier than middle-aged people, and so on.
Gallup’s answer: he’s a tall, Asian-American, observant Jew who is at least 65 and married, has children, lives in Hawaii, runs his own business and has a household income of more than $120,000 a year.

Does that person actually exist? The New York Times went a-sleuthin':

A few phone calls later and ... Meet Alvin Wong. He is a 5-foot-10, 69-year-old, Chinese-American, Kosher-observing Jew, who’s married with children and lives in Honolulu. He runs his own health care management business and earns more than $120,000 a year.

Full Story

Happiest states in the U.S.

Happiest states in the U.S. revealed

Wyoming is the runner-up in the latest national survey of well-being across America.

Which state topped the list?

Also:

Ways to help you live longer

Five tips that may help you live longer

People living at high altitudes have a lower risk for heart disease, one study determines.

Other life-extenders

Also:

In Matters Of Health

Six Fun Ways To Help Your Heart

Sex works. So does chocolate. And music. Who said watching your BP had to suck? It is estimated that one in four people between the ages of 15 and 64 years suffers from it.

What women must tell doctors

What women shouldn't keep from doctors

It's tempting to fudge on the details about personal issues, but beware of the consequences.

Reasons to confess

Also:

Avoiding illness at work

Cold and flu season is here. It might be tempting to crawl in a hole until it passes, but most people have to work.

Full Story

Culinary DeLites

Delicious dinners for every day this week

Try this colorful chicken casserole with rice, black beans, and tomatoes.

Get food on the table quickly

Also:

Microwavable popcorn put to the test

Three brands rise to the top in a blind tasting of a dozen varieties available in stores.

'Salty but not overwhelming'

Also:

Apples to Oranges

Whether you prefer apples or oranges, this tongue-in-cheek infographic is one worth reading. I especially like this “pie chart” which is, of course, a bar chart. And you might see a little bias in the author’s stats.

Full Story

Ziggy

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/uc/20110307/largeimagezi110307.gif

Alexander Julian Designs Green UNC Graduation Regalia

alexander julian green graduation gown photo

Alexander Julian with his "true Carolina Blue"- and green-designed UNC regalia.

Courtesy photo: UNC

Fashion designer Alexander Julian has clearly had enough of the University of North Carolina's aqua graduation gowns, he's gone and given his alma mater's regalia a "true Carolina Blue" makeover and used recycled materials in the process, too, according to UNC, via Ecouterre.

Article continues: Alexander Julian Designs Green UNC Graduation Regalia

Freaks and Geeks

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhegedj9kz1qfbemzo1_500.jpg

Freak or Geek?

Or just an Elf?

How many full moons can you name ?

From January to December, the order is wolf moon, snow moon, worm moon, pink moon, flower moon, strawberry moon, buck moon, sturgeon moon, corn moon, harvest moon, beaver moon, and cold moon.

They are all explained at the Farmers' Almanac. The one in the above APOD photo is a red "snow moon" over Edmonton.

New evidence of alien life

Scientist presents evidence of alien life

A probe into a rare meteorite reveals the fossils of previously unidentified tiny organisms.

Skeptics can examine

Also:

This is speculative - unlike the all too real 'alien' life depicted in the Animal Pictures post.

Vulcan is busy

Lava spews 65 feet high after crater collapse

Scientists in Hawaii say a new vent has opened at one of the world's most active volcanoes, sending lava shooting up to 65 feet high.

Scientists on Sunday were closely monitoring heightened activity at Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii, after a fissure sent lava spewing 65 feet in the air.

Full Story

Earthquake

Magnitude-6.2 earthquake shakes northern Chile

A magnitude-6.2 earthquake has shaken a northern region of Chile, but no injuries or major damages have been reported.

No damage, injuries after 4.6 quake west of Eureka

No damage or injuries were reported after an earthquake hit early Sunday morning off the coast of Humboldt County.

Full Story

Powerful earthquake strikes off Solomon Islands

A powerful earthquake has struck waters off the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific.

***

I do believe Ma Nature is trying to tell us something ...

Additional Sun Appears

This changes everything: 'Two suns' spotted in China defy explanation.

Weeks after a story shot across the Web claiming that the imminent explosion of a nearby star would result in the appearance of a second sun in the sky — a story that was later debunked — two suns were caught on camera yesterday in China. The suns — one fuzzy and orange, the other a crisp yellow orb — appeared side-by-side, one slightly higher than the other.

No one can explain it, so just get used to it: We now have two suns. This might be a good time to buy stock in companies that make sun-screen products.

'Light sheets' image life in 3D

'Light sheets' image life in 3D

A technique to image living cells in action, in an unprecedented mix of detail in both time and space, is described by researchers.

Magic mushrooms used 6,000 years ago

Long before the modern hippie discovered them, magic mushrooms -- hallucinogenic fungi -- were used by ancient humans in religious ceremonies.

Full Story

Found: 12,000-year-old fishing gear

Scientists find 12,000-year-old fishing gear

A discovery in California could help archaeologists learn how North America became populated.

See the tools

Also:

Three thousand-year-old ivories go on show

Carved ivories dating back almost 3,000 years, which were excavated with the help of novelist Agatha Christie, will go on show for the first time after being bought for 1.17 million by the British Museum in London.

Fill Story