The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
You are definitely family-oriented.
Whether this means you visit your great-great uncle Melvin at least once a month to hear about how things were back in the day, or you make sure your 'friendship family' gets together on a regular basis for 'potluck and how are you' night, you give a lot of yourself to your circle.
It's time to let them give you something back.
You deserve a little pampering!

Some of our readers today have been in:

Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Riyadh, Ar Riyad, Saudi Arabia
London, England, United Kingdom
Doha, Ad Dawhah, Qatar
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Jakarta, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Geneva, Geneve, Switzerland
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Duisburg, Nordrhein-Westfalen, 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 Savannah, Charleston, Norfolk, Wilmington and more.

Today is:

Today is Saturday, April 9, the 100th day of 2011.

There are 265 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

National Cherish An Antique Day.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

President Obama's Weekly Address

Last night, after weeks of long and difficult negotiations over our national budget, leaders of both parties came together to avert a government shutdown, cut spending, and invest in our future.
This is good news for the American people.  It means that small businesses can get the loans they need, our families can get the mortgages they applied for, folks can visit our national parks and museums, and hundreds of thousands of Americans will get their paychecks on time – including our brave men and women in uniform.
This is an agreement to invest in our country’s future while making the largest annual spending cut in our history.   Like any compromise, this required everyone to give ground on issues that were important to them.  I certainly did.  Some of the cuts we agreed to will be painful – programs people rely on will be cut back; needed infrastructure projects will be delayed.  And I would not have made these cuts in better circumstances.  But we also prevented this important debate from being overtaken by politics and unrelated disagreements on social issues.  And beginning to live within our means is the only way to protect the investments that will help America compete for new jobs – investments in our kids’ education and student loans; in clean energy and life-saving medical research.
Reducing spending while still investing in the future is just common sense.  That’s what families do in tough times.  They sacrifice where they can, even if it’s hard, to afford what’s really important.
A few months ago, I was able to sign a tax cut for American families because both parties worked through their differences and found common ground.  Now, the same cooperation has made it possible for us to move forward with the biggest annual spending cut in history.  And it’s my sincere hope that we can continue to come together as we face the many difficult challenges that lie ahead – from creating jobs and growing our economy to educating our children and reducing our long-term deficits.
That’s our responsibility. That’s what the American people expect us to do.  And it’s what the American people deserve.

April is Poetry Month

Because I could not stop for Death 

by Emily Dickinson

Because I could not stop for Death
He kindly stopped for me
The Carriage held but just Ourselves
And Immortality.

We slowly drove, he knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For his civility.

We passed the School, where Children strove
At recess in the ring
We passed the fields of gazing grain
We passed the setting sun.

Or rather, he passed us
The dews drew quivering and chill
For only Gossamer, my gown
My tippet only tulle.

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the GROUND
The roof was scarcely visible
The cornice in the ground.

Since then 'tis centuries and yet
Feels shorter than the DAY
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.

The truth be told

And I Quote

Glenn Beck retired or got fired … and a lot of people are asking who will now speak for the raving lunatics who startle you outside of a parking garage?

~ Bill Maher

Credit card thief sent victim flowers with a thank you note

A cold-hearted thief in Rhode Island has a message for the woman he scammed: Thanks for the money.

Stephanie Marisca, from Narragansett, R.I., said she received a £65 bouquet of flowers with a thank you note a few weeks after Bank of America alerted her that someone had charged nearly $2,500 to her credit card.

The handwritten note read: "thnx for ur money." The victim said she was horrified and insulted. "Someone had the nerve to steal someone's card and then say 'Thank you?'" Police said they were working to track down the thief, who used the woman's card for the online shopping spree.

YouTube link.

The bank said it had closed the account and wouldn't hold Marsica responsible for the charges. Still, the mocking gesture stung. "Sending the flowers, rubbing it in her face, I think that's horrible," a neighbour said.

Woman disguised as man to collect debt breaks into wrong house

A stun gun, a knife, nunchukas and a fake moustache are just a few of the items police say the found on 51-year-old Maricela Aguilera Rodriguez when they arrested her in Tyler, Texas, on Thursday morning.

Authorities say they received a call from a home-owner claiming a man had broken into their home. The victim said she and her three children, were then bound and duct-taped.

Photo source.

Once Rodriguez began searching the home, the victims ran to a neighbors house before calling the police. Once police arrived they cornered the robber and found that Rodriguez was actually a woman who had disguised herself as a man.

Police say through their investigation, Rogriguez was previously deported to Mexico in 2008 by immigration and customs enforcement. She is charged with intent to commit a felony.

Non Sequitur

Avoiding car emergencies

Car noises and smells that spell trouble

These subtle signals can tip you off to potential gas leaks and dangerous tires. 

What your dashboard doesn't say 

Also: 

• Toughest cars on the road
• Autos with timeless style  
• 85-mph speed limit

Medicaid to offer rewards for healthy behavior

A federal grant program authorized in the health overhaul law is offering states $100 million to reward Medicaid recipients who make an effort to quit smoking or keep their weight, blood pressure or cholesterol levels in check.

Full Story

Ziggy

Panoramic HDR Photo Of Tower Bridge, London

A panoramic High Dynamic Range photo of the Tower Bridge in London.

I Always Wondered What Those Big Hats Were Hiding

Aha! I knew it! Those aren’t bearskin caps after all, as this ad for Eurostar by the Leg Agency proves.

Full Story

This is the Life ...

The Green Thing

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized to her and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”

That’s right, they didn’t have the green thing in her day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks.

But she’s right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby’s diapers because they didn’t have the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts – wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. Cobblers repaired their shoes, so they lasted decades.

But that old lady is right, they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house – not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a pizza dish, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you. When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used wadded up newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she’s right, they didn’t have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty, instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled pens with ink, instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But they didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus, instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But they didn't have the green thing back then!

Paris Promotes Natural Parks and Community Gardens In Its Bid To Be An Ever Greener City

A community garden in Paris' 14th arrondissement. 

All Photos: Alex Davies

Paris just wrapped up its Week of Sustainable Development, a showcase of the City's myriad efforts to promote green thinking, from renewable energy to pedestrian and cyclist-friendly policies. Paris has also made a big push to green its already-green spaces: its parks and gardens. With 82 parks designated for "ecological management" and about 60 community gardens, Parisians are growing their own food and enjoying life in open spaces that are not only more sustainable, but more natural.

Article continues: Paris Promotes Natural Parks and Community Gardens In Its Bid To Be An Ever Greener City

Shoe

In Life ...

Always remember to stop and smell the flowers.

The Migration Of The 'Arctic Unicorns'

In a unique aerial sequence, the migration of narwhal (nicknamed Arctic Unicorns) with their distinctive unicorn-like tusks is filmed for the first time. The whales' journey is risky as they travel along giant cracks in the ice. If the ice were to close above them, they would drown.

YouTube link

Animal Pictures