The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
It's all about imagination!
Revert back to your childhood days of making up the world around you -- because imagining something in a new form is the first step toward making real improvements.
Exercise creativity in everything you do and put a new twist on how you dress, communicate or spend your money.
Folks around you might not know what to make of you at first, but they will certainly be delighted by your unique take on life.
Your ideas may inspire a similar change in others.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Kulim, Kedah, Malaysia
Ibiza, Islas Baleares, Spain
Reynella, South Australia, Australia
Lyon, Rhone-Alpes, France
Antalya, Antalya, Turkey
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
London, England, United Kingdom
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Stoke On Trent, England, United Kingdom
Jakarta, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
Noble Park, Victoria, Australia
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Ahrensburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Piraeus, Attiki, Greece
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Bergen, Hordaland, Norway
Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

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 Chapel Hill, Durham, Winston-Salem, Raleigh and more.

Today is:

Today is Thursday, April 7, the 98th day of 2011.

There are 267 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

No Housework Day.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Apartment is just 90 square feet

Happiness in a 90-square-foot apartment

Felice Cohen’s New York City home is smaller than some people's closets.  

See how she makes it work 

Also: 

• Apartment has own slide
• Loft out of ping-pong balls  
• Pro's kitchen cleaning tips

Most, least peaceful states

Most peaceful states in the U.S.

America is becoming less violent as a whole -- with one oasis at the top, a study finds. 

Most violent also laziest? 

Also: 

• Best states to reside
• U.S. teen births decline  
• Rail funds for states?

Ziggy

Things They Won't Tell You

Six things your nail salon won't tell you

One medical expert estimates that 75 percent of these businesses don't properly disinfect.

The greatest danger 

Also: 

• Perfect DIY pedicure
• A 14-day manicure?  
• Spring hair color trend

Earthquake

Another strong quake strikes off tsunami-hit Japan

Japan was rattled by a strong aftershock and tsunami warning Thursday night nearly a month after a devastating earthquake and tsunami flattened the northeastern coast.

Full Story

Earthquake Shakes Wide Area of Mexico

Buildings swayed for several seconds in Mexico City and the temblor was felt strongly in Chiapas, a state bordering Guatemala.

Full Story

Ma Nature is speaking folks ... are we listening?!

Glenn Beck's Faux show dropped

The Good Guys win one!

Faux News Channel on Wednesday said it was dropping Glenn Beck's afternoon talk show, which has sunk in the ratings and suffered financially due to an advertiser boycott.

Glenn Beck's Faux show dropped

After losing 40mil in advertising he's out!
Now for the rest of that den of vipers!

Classic Movie Lines #59

Fireman saves choking student

Visiting fireman saves choking 9-year-old

Eric Stewart was eating with his son in the school cafeteria when a teacher interrupted.

'I didn't wanna die' 

Also: 

• Boy saves choking mom
• Tsunami's hero fireman
• Arson at NPR station?

Culinary DeLites

The 10 best superfoods for spring

Figs have more minerals than almost any other fruit — plus plenty of fiber.

Leeks & asparagus are cancer-fighters 

Also: 

• How to cook with figs
• Eight Easter meals  
• Must-have spice blends

Why food tastes better in technicolor

 

Five dishes with crazy amounts of salt

P. F. Chang's Double Pan-Fried Noodles with Pork is a heart-stopper with 7,900 mg of sodium.  

3 1/2 days' worth 

Also: 

• Recommended intake
• Cook with less sodium  
• 46 smart uses for salt

Urban Farming: Farmer Meets Homeowner

Photo: Kelly Rossiter

Last month I noticed some signs posted around in my neighbourhood asking people if they would like to offer some of their yard space for a vegetable garden, without actually having to do the work themselves. According to a report in the Toronto Star, one young woman is doing some urban farming in Toronto using other people's land and in return, will give them a basket of produce each week. New farmer Erica Lemieux says "They have the land but no time. I have lots of time, but no land". Sounds like a winning combination.

Article continues: Urban Farming: Farmer Meets Homeowner

Weird and wacky

Inventors show off their devices

They say there's a gadget for just about everything. 

That now includes boots which detect radiation and a kangaroo tail for weary humans who'd like a rest but can't be bothered to sit down.

Full Story

Library of Congress picks 25 songs to preserve

The 1908 tune, "Take Me Out to the Ball-game," that became the anthem for America's favorite pastime, will be preserved at the Library of Congress, along with 24 other recordings chosen for their cultural significance, the library announced Wednesday.

Library of Congress picks 25 songs to preserve

Odd origin of 1,600 words

The unusual origin of 1,600 words

William Shakespeare had a secret way to fight writer's block — he made up words still used today.

'Accused' 

Also: 

• Troupe's record Bard claim
• Slang added to dictionary  
• Does literature matter?

Wizard of Id

Ancient Mariners Sailed A Homemade Raft Across The Atlantic

Sailing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic is quite an accomplishment, but what these guys did was a bit more daring. First, they built their own tiny raft out of pipes tied together, and second, the four sailors proved that age is not a limiting factor:

Talk about your ancient mariners! British adventurer Anthony Smith, 85, and a senior citizen crew have sailed their tiny raft, An-Tiki, some 3,000 miles from Portugal’s Canary Islands to St. Martin in the Caribbean. They arrived this morning.
Smith and his three-man crew wanted to show what the elderly can do when they set their minds and hearts to it. [...]
According to the adventure newsletter Expedition News, Smith’s latest escapde began more than three years ago when he placed the following advertisement in a London newspaper, The Daily Telegraph: "Fancy rafting across the Atlantic? Famous traveler requires 3 crew. Must be OAP [Old Age Pensioner]. Serious adventurers only." He got hundreds of eager replies from men fed up with gardening and playing bridge with their wives.

Full Story | An-Tiki official website

Incredible Photos of Sulfur Harvesting in Indonesia

Russian photographer Dmitry Ivanov visited the Ijen volcano complex in Indonesia took pictures of people mining fresh sulfur deposits there. He writes (as rendered by Google Translate) of the hazards experienced by the workers:

The best remedy for the treatment of depression of office – to organize tours to the crater Idzhena: and a secretary and bookkeeper, and even the janitor miner immediately fell in love with my profession!

Part 1 (Google Translate) and Part 2 (Google Translate)

Five Soviet Space Programs that Prove the USSR Was Insane

The Soviet Union used their space program as one of the front line battles of the Cold War. And for a time they were ahead, as anyone who remembers Sputnik and Gagarin will tell you. They had an edge in that reaching their goals was more important to the nation than the lives of the cosmonauts. Documentation on the cosmonauts is limited, and some evidence has been altered, such as the disappearing cosmonaut in the photo here. Then there was Voskhod 2, the mission featuring the first space walk.

The launch went up safely, got into an orbit, and a cosmonaut, Alexei Leonov, became the first human to perform a spacewalk. Super. But that was about when things took a turn for the cataclysmic.
On his way back in, Leonov’s spacesuit inflated due to the vacuum of space, which, apparently, the guys who designed the suit had never heard of. His suit was so laughably ballooney, in fact, that he could barely move and most definitely couldn’t fit back in the spaceship door. Leonov was forced to let some air out, all the while suffering from heatstroke and the bends. By the time his little 12 minute walk turned into a 20 minute walk, he was up to his knees in sweat. But he made it back in to the ship, safe and sound.

However, things got worse for Voskhod 2 after that.

Read all about it at here.

Unusual gamma-ray explosion observed in faraway galaxy by NASA telescopes

Astronomers are puzzling over an extraordinary cosmic blast in a distant galaxy.

Full Story

Awesome Pictures

Odds and Sods

Woman cleans purse, finds winning lottery ticket

A Georgia woman's decision to clean out her purse paid off in a big way when she found an old lottery ticket worth $189,302. Rhonda Williams, 55, of Fairburn says she found the winning Fantasy 5 ticket in the bottom of her purse after cleaning it out over the weekend.

Credit card thief sends victim a thank you note

A woman who was the victim of credit card theft got a thank you note from the person who took her information.

Latest trick of identity thieves

'Spear-phishing' behind huge data breach

Online crooks posing as legitimate companies are especially dangerous and convincing. 

Emails to never open 

Also: 

• Hackers prey on Facebook
• Limits to online security  
• Make your computer faster

Both Dugard Kidnappers Plead Not Guilty

The kidnappers of Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was abducted off a street in South Lake Tahoe in 1991 and then imprisoned in the couple's home for some 18 years have both pleaded not guilty.

Full Story

Gunman opens fire in Brazilian school

A gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and at least 13 people were killed, including the shooter.

Full Story

Man delivers decomposing body to ER

Police in the northern New Mexico city of Espanola say a man tried to get help at a hospital emergency room for a woman who had been dead as long as a day and a half.

Full Story

Man murders wife, shows parents her body on webcam

A man who murdered his pregnant wife and then showed his parents her body on a webcam was arrested just minutes before he planned to kill her sister too.

Full Story

This Idea Sucks

Boy, does it ever ...

Police in Lincoln, Nebraska arrested William Logan Jr. on a misdemeanor theft charge. Logan was caught on a surveillance camera using a vacuum to suck change out of coin laundry appliances.

Photos show a man entering the laundry room with a backpack, which contained a vacuum. The man pries open the coin tray, plugs in the vacuum and sucks out the change.
On Tuesday morning, detectives said they made contact with William Logan Jr., 40, and his father at the residence they share. Logan’s father immediately recognized his son in the surveillance images, according to Lincoln police.
Authorities said Logan was able to get about $20 in quarters from the machines at an apartment on Holdrege Street. According to police, Logan no longer has the vacuum.

Logan was previously convicted of stealing a Christmas tree from the Salvation Army.

Full Story

Epic Fail

Possible delay for tax refunds

Would shutdown delay tax refunds?

Mail would be delivered, but a government shutdown could disrupt other services.  

Tax deadline unchanged 

Also: 

• Shutdown blame game
• Effect on troops' pay  
• Yellowstone worried

Software you can get for free

Great software that doesn't cost a penny

Before you buy Microsoft Office or an antivirus program, consider these free alternatives.

Can save you hundreds 

Also: 

• Network may disrupt GPS
• Apple iPad rivals struggle
• Data 'spear-phishing' risk

Corporate Sponsorship of Homes

If corporate sponsorship can save beleaguered sports teams, arenas, and schools, why not houses? Adzookie is offering to sponsor your mortgage in return for turning your house into a colorful billboard! You get an extra bonus if your home already needs a new coat of paint.

Adzookie launched the offer on its website Tuesday — and by late afternoon, the company had already received more than 1,000 applications, according to Adzookie CEO Romeo Mendoza. One even came from a church.
“It really blew my mind,” Mendoza said. “I knew the economy was tough, but it’s sad to see how many homeowners are really struggling.”
Adzookie intends to paint its logo and social media icons onto participating homes. Houses must remain painted for at least three months, and the agreement may be extended up to one year.

Full Story 

Link to their website.

Truth about government pay

Are federal employees really overpaid?

The average government worker earns $101,628, versus $60,000 for a private employee.  

But statistic is misleading 

Also: 

• Assessing Ryan's budget
• Social Security changes 
• Six-figure salaries

How to choose where to retire

How to decide where you should retire

Size up these factors to boost the odds of winding up in a location you’ll love.  

States with the lowest taxes 

Also: 

• Best U.S. retirement spots
• Bargain places to retire  
• Timing your Social Security

Waste Time, Become More Focused

Print this article and show it to your boss: Wasting time on the internet at work makes you 'a more focused employee'.

If you spend the day surreptitiously trawling Facebook and reading Carolina Naturally, while trying to convince the boss you are hard at work, then such clandestine behavior could soon be a thing of the past.
Wasting time on the Internet might actually be beneficial to the work environment, according to a study.

On The Job

Eight careers well-suited for outgoing types

If you possess strong people skills, one of these fields could be an excellent fit for your future.  

How to train for them 

Also: 

• Jobs for smart people
• Today's hottest career  
• Fields on their way out

Clever ways to negotiate a bigger salary

This expert’s tips can help you score a raise or a more lucrative job offer.  

Same techniques as FBI negotiators 

Also: 

• Eight steps to higher pay
• How to get hired 
• New rules for resumés

Psych 101

Beautifully Eerie Abandoned Hospitals

Photo by Matt Lambros There’s a plethora of T.V. shows out there that explore the creepiness of abandoned buildings, visiting them at the witching hour with night cams, trying to record ghostly spirits making an attempt to communicate with the living. But those same abandoned buildings can be quite gorgeous too. Photographer Matt Lambros has captured that beauty in a gallery of pictures – that’s the South Carolina State Hospital above. He’s also been exploring the abandoned Brooklyn’s Kings Theater for a documentary called After the Final Curtain.Link

Better Thinking Through Neurogenesis

Ignoring countless science-fiction movies warning them of the perils of tampering with nature, scientists are forging ahead with research to build a better brain.
Need a smarter noggin?
Perhaps neurogenesis is for you:

The researchers engineered mice with a genetic switch that would turn off a gene that kills most new neurons in the adult hippocampus, thereby allowing more of these neurons to proliferate. The switch was turned on when the mice were injected with a specific drug, allowing the researchers to intervene only in adulthood.
The engineered mice performed better at a task that required them to distinguish between a chamber in which they had previously received an electric shock and a similar one with slightly different features that they’d experienced as safe. Sahay explains that pattern separation "is a mnemonic process that we use on a day-to-day basis in navigating our environments" and that it is needed to form memories and make judgments.

Full Story

Natural Short Sleepers

Late to Bed, Early to Rise and Damned Cheerful, Too!

Got sleep? Most of us hate getting up in the morning without getting a full night’s sleep, but for a small group of people (about 1% to 3% of the general population), sleep seems to be a waste of time.
No wonder they can accomplish so much more: they’re awake all the time (and not be cranky about it, either)

Natural "short sleepers," as they’re officially known, are night owls and early birds simultaneously. They typically turn in well after midnight, then get up just a few hours later and barrel through the day without needing to take naps or load up on caffeine.
They are also energetic, outgoing, optimistic and ambitious, according to the few researchers who have studied them. The pattern sometimes starts in childhood and often runs in families.
While it’s unclear if all short sleepers are high achievers, they do have more time in the day to do things, and keep finding more interesting things to do than sleep, often doing several things at once.

Full Story

Top Tips to Increase Longevity

The median life expectancy is somewhere around seventy-seven years of age. 

Yet, many folks around the earth are living to well beyond the 100 year mark.

 Top Tips to Increase Longevity

Ten Tips for Maintaining Your Health

When you think of nurturing your health, what comes to mind? 

Good health goes way beyond your doctor's office. 

10 Tips for Maintaining Your Health

Superbugs Winning

Nature's way of dealing with over-population: Europe 'losing' superbugs battle.

Antibiotic-resistant infections have reached unprecedented levels and now outstrip our ability to fight them with existing drugs, European health experts are warning.
Each year in the EU over 25,000 people die of bacterial infections that are able to outsmart even the newest antibiotics. The World Health Organization says the situation has reached a critical point.
A united push to make new drugs is urgently needed, it says. Without a concerted effort, people could be dealing with the "nightmare scenario" of a worldwide spread of untreatable infections, says the WHO.

It's especially problematic in India.

Bees "Entomb" Contaminated Pollen

Scientists have uncovered another clue in the perplexing mystery of worldwide disappearance of honeybees, also known as the Colony Collapse Disorder:

Scientists have found numerous examples of a new phenomenon – bees "entombing" or sealing up hive cells full of pollen to put them out of use, and protect the rest of the hive from their contents. The pollen stored in the sealed-up cells has been found to contain dramatically higher levels of pesticides and other potentially harmful chemicals than the pollen stored in neighbouring cells, which is used to feed growing young bees.
"This is a novel finding, and very striking. The implication is that the bees are sensing [pesticides] and actually sealing it off. They are recognising that something is wrong with the pollen and encapsulating it," said Jeff Pettis, an entomologist with the US Department of Agriculture. "Bees would not normally seal off pollen."
But the bees’ last-ditch efforts to save themselves appear to be unsuccessful – the entombing behaviour is found in many hives that subsequently die off, according to Pettis. "The presence of entombing is the biggest single predictor of colony loss. It’s a defence mechanism that has failed." These colonies were likely to already be in trouble, and their death could be attributed to a mix of factors in addition to pesticides, he added.

Full Story

B.C.

Feathered Dinosaurs Probably Had Lice

Non-avian feathered dinosaurs might have spent much of their time nibbling off insects and scratching themselves.  

Read more 

Dogs More Likely to Approach Male Owners

Although dogs may stick closer to male owners, these canines won't necessarily prefer male company.  

Read more

Deer Protects Goose

In a cemetery in New York: Bambi Protects Mother Goose.

It's a scene right out of a Disney movie, a mother goose has lost her lifelong mate and was left alone to create and tend to her nest.  She spends the day sheltering her eggs from the cold spring air inside an empty cemetery urn chosen as home.
The loss of her male partner now makes her vulnerable to any would-be predators who choose to approach the nest.  But, in an unlikely twist of fate, an adult deer has befriended the mother goose, taking over the role of protector.
This animal arrangement is highly unusual, since there's no known way that a deer and goose can communicate. Yet somehow the deer has come to understand the need of the nesting mother.
The deer now spends its days near the urn acting as guardian when needed.  As passersby approach the area the deer stands and places itself between the person and the nesting goose.  On one occasion the deer even took a protective stance taking on a barking dog near the area of the urn.

In this age of war and strife, it's a refreshingly inspirational story, with a mirthful lesson for children of all ages.

Polar bear video sparks debate

Viral polar bear video sparks Web debate

A cross-country skier makes an abrupt U-turn after an unexpected encounter.

Pros, cons on its authenticity 

Also: 

• Where polar bears live
• Video star wins dunk title  
• HS hockey goal nets fame

Swedish flamingos massacred in frenzied anteater attack

A flock of ten flamingos have met a brutal end at a zoo in Eskilstuna in eastern Sweden after a curious anteater broke into their compound and clawed them to death, leaving a further five birds nursing injuries.

"It is not as dramatic as it sounds. The anteater panicked when the birds cackled and flapped their wings and it struck back," Helena Olsson at the Parken Zoo said. "The anteater is not a meat-eater, unless you consider ants meat, but when it feels threatened, it will defend itself," she said.

Olsson said that the South American animal, whose claws she said are strong enough to damage concrete, became curious and managed to pull apart the fence separating their pens and enter the enclosure holding the long-legged birds. "The birds are very frail and the anteater is very strong," she said.

Zoo wardens reacted swiftly to the commotion to put a halt to the one-sided slaughter, Helena Olsson said, furthermore confirming that the fence has been repaired in a bid to avert a repeat. Aside from the ten fatalities a further five birds were injured in the incident but they are expected to make a full recovery.

Animal Pictures