The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Inspiration will be humming all around you, coming from the expected sources as well as a few surprising ones.
Sure, the gorgeous sky and the melodious sounds of nature ignite the poet inside of you, but do not be surprised if your creativity gets excited by the rhythm of traffic or the symmetry of grocery store check out lines.
Your brain is hungry for stimulation, so much so that it will resort to some fun, creative ways to find it.
Enjoy your new perspective.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Sheffield, England, United Kingdom
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia
Prague, Hlavni Mesto Praha, Czech Republic
London, England, United Kingdom
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Hamburg, Hamburg, 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 Palo Alto, Plano, Parkville, Pilot Mountain and more.

Today is:

Today is Sunday, March 27, the 87th day of 2011.

There are 278 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

Viagra Day.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Geraldine Ferraro, 1st woman on US presidential ticket, dies

Geraldine Ferraro, the Democratic congresswoman who became the first woman on a major party presidential ticket as Walter Mondale 's running mate in 1984, died on Saturday at the age of 75, her family said.

Full Story

Meanwhile in Wisconsin

Wisconsin organizers say they've got enough signatures for a Randy Hopper recall election.

Nevada official reprimanded for racial remarks

Commissioners in central Nevada's Nye County have voted unanimously to reprimand the county assessor, after she sent emails to the sheriff questioning the citizenship of workers building a new county jail.

Full Story

Random Celebrity Photo

Sharon Tate

It happens to everyone

Video of locked-out Obama lights up Web

An awkward moment at the White House.  

Watch 

Also: 

• Distractions vex president
• Odd euphemisms for Libya
• Viral ad campaign a hoax

Crews say NC Marine base fire mostly contained

Authorities said Saturday that crews are close to containing a wildfire that has scorched more than 14 square miles at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune.

Full Story

Non Sequitur

Libyan woman claims abuse, rape by soldiers before being detained

A distraught Libyan woman stormed into a Tripoli hotel Saturday to tell foreign reporters that government troops raped her, setting off a brawl when hotel staff and government minders tried to detained her.

Libya: Woman struggles to tell foreign journalists of kidnapping, rape by Qaddafi militia

"A Libyan woman burst into the hotel housing the foreign press in Tripoli Saturday morning and fought off security forces as she told journalists that she had been raped and beaten by members of the Qaddafi militia. After nearly an hour, she was dragged away from the hotel screaming." (New York Times)
Her name is Eman al-Obeidy. CNN's Nic Robertson was present, and his tweeted account is screengrabbed here. "CNN camera was violently snatched, systematically smashed to pieces and video footage stolen," he wrote. "Some journalists were beaten in blatant display of regime thuggery."
"Journalists are demanding to see her. David Kirkpatrick of the New York Times and I went to officials in charge who claimed they don't know who took her, or where she was taken."
A related Reuters item is here. Above: A related Sky News clip. The UK Telegraph also has video coverage. More at The Globe and Mail.

Libyans retake strategic city

Libyan rebels retake strategic city

Anti-government protesters and civilians celebrate the first significant turnaround of the uprising.  

'All of Ajdabiya is free' 

Also: 

• NATO takes control
• Photos from the uprising
• Obama speaks on Libya

Islamic militants in Yemen seize control of weapons factory and town

Islamic militants seized control of a weapons factory, a strategic mountain and a nearby town in the southern Yemen province of Abyan Sunday, said a witness and security officials, as a political stalemate in the capital causes security to unravel around the country.

Full Story

Not a bad idea ...

... not sure it would work though.

Overcome tax-filing fears

Overcome these common tax-filing fears

You don't have to worry about making a costly goof on your 1040 if you take a few precautions.  

Six terrors 

Also: 

• Increase your refund
• What your preparer needs  
• Changes on tax forms

Would you buy an $825 wallet?

Would you pay $825 for this wallet?

The manufacturer says it’s “virtually indestructible” and can only be opened by your fingerprint.

Has its own alarm 

Also: 

• Shop for men’s wallets
• Buying the right camera 
• Compare men's shoes

Seventy years old and no savings

Seventy years old and no savings at all

Susanna Wilson makes dresses for little girls to supplement a meager Social Security check.

'I can never retire' 

Also: 

• How much do you need?
• Biggest fears for boomers  
• Managing a longer life

Awesome Pictures

Did 'Simpsons' spark odd plan?

Did cartoon beat Qatar to the punch?

A plan to use an artificial cloud for shade at the 2022 World Cup isn't as novel as advertised, a writer says.

Funny theory 

Also: 

• Americans tie Argentina
• Ochocinco is a reserve 
• Funny lost ball video

Drug Resistant Superbugs Hit U.S. Hospitals and Nursing Homes

Photo:kaibara87

A deadly drug-resistant bacteria is spreading to elderly patients in nursing and long-term care facilities in Los Angeles County, according to CBS Local Los Angeles. Today 350 cases have been counted, most found in the elderly population. It's called the CRKP bacteria and currently, it has no cure.

Article continues: Drug Resistant Superbugs Hit U.S. Hospitals and Nursing Homes

Program had its limitations but generally seen as big step

Thirty years ago, in North Carolina, Willie Monteith's name hung on the lips of powerful politicians and bureaucrats across the state.

Full Story

Rubber Glass

 

Inventables is a store where you can find special materials for filmmaking effects or for science demonstrations -or just for fun! If you’re going to smash through a window, consider making a pane of rubber glass. Mix two chemicals together and mold it into whatever glass or ice shape you need, then let it cure for a day. Once cured, it will look like glass, but cut your skin like rubber (meaning it won’t). They also have bendable wood, stainless steel paint, aluminum foam, and squishy magnets.

Full Story

Mysterious Monastery In The Atlantic

Skellig Michael

 

image credit

Nine miles off the coast of County Kerry in the west of Ireland there are two small rocky islands peeking out of the Atlantic Ocean. The larger of the two, Skellig Michael, is home to something quite extraordinary - a 1400 year old monastery which only a handful of people get to see each year. Who could possibly have wanted to live here - and when?

It is thought that the monastery of Skellig Michael was founded at some point in the seventh century and monastic life persisted there for over 600 years. Why it was abandoned is lost in the sands of time but because of the sheer inaccessibility of the island what the monks left behind remained, through the centuries, remarkably intact.

Top 10 Most Mysterious Disappearances In History

It's a fact that literally thousands of people go missing every year. Some of these are likely well-covered up homicides, but most are voluntary. However, there are a few vanishings that remain inexplicable or have so captured the public imagination that they continue to intrigue us to this day.

Here is a listing of the top ten most mysterious or famous disappearances over the years that continue to baffle investigators to this day.

Ziggy

Four arrested after fight at high school

Four people were arrested Friday after a fight at North Mecklenburg High School.

Full Story

Brawl between territorial police caught on camera

In a bizarre territorial dispute, police officers from neighboring towns in Pennsylvania began brawling while a woman lay injured on the ground nearby. Newly released video of the fracas shows officers from the Colwyn and Darby boroughs of Delaware County arguing over which police force should have responded to the incident.

The confrontation happened last Friday when an officer from Colwyn arrested a man on the street who allegedly punched a woman in the face. The officer had crossed from Colywn into Darby to respond to the incident.

YouTube link.

Officers from both boroughs - including Darby's police chief - soon arrived on the scene. The chief began arguing with the Colwyn officer, who was sitting in his patrol car. On the video, other Darby officers can be heard trying to calm the chief down. But the argument escalates.

The chief shouts, "Get out of Darby," as the Colwyn officer gets out of his patrol car and then has to be restrained. Meanwhile, the victim lays on the ground as emergency crews work on her.

Man high on bath salts thought he was being chased by electricity

Believing that his car was melting and that he was being pursued by electricity, a 31-year-old Elizabethtown man abandoned his vehicle and broke into a home, police said. Chased by the owner of the home on Gravel Hill Road in East Hanover Township, Lebanon County, police said, Seth Thomas Sanders broke into the man's garage, fled, then jumped onto the hoods of two vehicles, including a state police cruiser, before being apprehended.

Following his arrest in the Feb. 27 incident, police said they found Sanders had been under the influence of the US's newest "designer drug" craze: bath salts.

Marketed as bath salts "not for human consumption," they are sold under a variety of names, including "Red Dove," "Blue Silk," "Zoom," "Bloom," "Cloud Nine," "Ocean Snow," "Lunar Wave," "Vanilla Sky," "Ivory Wave," "White Lightning," "Scarface," "K2" and "Hurricane Charlie," according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

Thrill-seekers are snorting, smoking, injecting or using atomizers to ingest the fine powder known to some users as "legal meth" or "legal cocaine." And it's legal. "If someone's obviously impaired and driving, we still have arrest powers," Pennsylvania state police spokeswoman Lt. Myra Taylor said. "As far as actual possession of some of the products, at this point, we don't have too much control in terms of enforcement and legalities."

Homes with cool indoor pools

Homes that go all out with indoor pools

Owners of these five multi-million-dollar spreads get to swim laps of luxury.  

50-footer in a California living room 

Also: 

• Swim to slim down
• 'Gatsby' house to be razed 
• Pop diva mansions

Ever had one of those days

Efficiency Expert

The efficiency expert concluded his lecture with a note of caution. "You don't want to try these techniques at home.".

"Why not?" asked somebody from the audience..

"I watched my wife's routine at breakfast for years," the expert explained. "She made lots of trips between the refrigerator, stove, table and cabinets, often carrying a single item at a time. One day I told her, 'Hon, why don't you try carrying several things at once?'"

"Did it save time?" the guy in the audience asked.

"Actually, yes," replied the expert. "It used to take her 20 minutes to make breakfast. Now I do it in seven."

Culinary DeLites

Diet-friendly snacks that taste good

Healthier popped and baked chips can actually be delicious, testers find.  

Eat 27 chips for just 110 calories 

Also: 

• Worst late-night snacks
• Desserts that fight fat  
• 7 diet-busting habits

What to eat for better sleep

Can't get through the day without a cup of coffee, a caffeine-fueled soda or an afternoon candy bar?

Certain foods and drinks may help perk you up, but the effect is often short-lived and usually leaves you feeling more tired.

Full Story

B.C.

Horse Boarding

If a horse cannot be fed by its owner every day, it is usually kept at a boarding stable, where the staff will care for the horse for a fee. This is called horse boarding. But horse boarding is also a sport where participants are towed behind a horse at 35mph on an off-road skateboard. Adrenaline junkies stand on a mountain board while gripping a rope and attempt to maintain their balance as the horse is spurred into a gallop by its rider.

Professional British stuntman Daniel Fowler-Prime invented the sport five years ago after he strung a rope between his off-road 'mountain board' and a horse. Now he has developed the daredevil stunt into a fully fledged sport and is looking forward to hosting the UK's first ever horse boarding championships this summer.

Small Signs of Hope for World's Most Endangered Cat

An Iberian lynx.

Photo: Programa de Conservación Ex-situ del Lince Ibérico / Wikimedia Commons.

The woodlands and pastures of southern Spain once provided fertile hunting ground for the Iberian lynx, but habitat destruction, loss of prey, and trapping diminished the population of the reclusive feline dramatically, to just 100 animals a decade ago, making it the most endangered cat in the world. Now, thanks to a combination of political action, high-tech monitoring, and improved public awareness, the lynx is making a slow, if not always steady, comeback in Andalusia.

Article continues: Small Signs of Hope for World's Most Endangered Cat

Russia: no more time changes

Starting today, Moscow will be permanently four hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, because people and cows are being stressed out.

Russia: no more time changes, it makes our cows unhappy

Dog tries to do headstands

Agile pup attempts to stand on head

Most dogs like to pounce on the bed, but Buster is much more ambitious. 

See how long he holds position 

Also: 

• Cat asks for directions
• Pup plays the piano
• Dog tries to reach ball

Snakes on a plane

Snakes on a plane, well almost

Indonesian airport authorities said they have detained two men who attempted to carry 40 pythons on board a flight to Dubai.

NY zoo closes reptile house after cobra disappears

Officials have closed the Reptile House at New York's Bronx Zoo after a poisonous Egyptian cobra disappeared from an enclosure that's separate from the animal exhibits.

NY zoo closes reptile house after cobra disappears

Dino the Facebook Bear Shot in Slovenia

Image: Facebook, Dino the Bear

Dino, the bear with over 25,000 Facebook friends, mostly Italians, was shot by a hunter in Slovenia. Hunting bears is legal in Slovenia, where approximately one hundred bears are killed annually, under permits intended to maintain the population at current levels. But the bears, like Dino, that wander west into parts of Europe no longer inhabited by their species gain a degree of special protection, under efforts to re-introduce wild bears to their former range. Thus it came as a surprise to learn, according to the headlines in Italy's Corriere della Sera, that Dino was killed on purpose.

Article continues: Dino the Facebook Bear Shot in Slovenia

Animal Pictures