The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Look at the world around you today and see the truth about where you live.
Seeing the plight of people who are less fortunate than you might cause a few pangs of paralyzing guilt, but ultimately your compassion will take over and inspire to do something.
Your big heart will push you to get involved in helping your community become a more supportive, welcoming place.
Don't be surprised if your philanthropic efforts cause you to meet a kindred soul.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
London, England, United Kingdom
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

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 Brownsville, San Antonio, Austin, El Paso and more.

Today is:

Today is Sunday, May 22, the 142nd day of 2011.

There are 223 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are:

There aren't any.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

We're Still Here!

 

We weren't taken by the raptor!

Doomsdays that didn't happen

Coping with doomsdays that don't happen

When end-of-the-world predictions fail, believers are forced to face some uncomfortable truths.

The fallout 

Also: 

• Believers' mixed reactions
• Evangelist stays silent
• Other failed predictions

"Zombie Apocalypse" campaign crashes website

A blog post by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that mentions a "zombie apocalypse" as a lighthearted way to get Americans to read about preparing for hurricanes drove so much traffic that it crashed the website, the agency said on Thursday.

Full Story

Was Roswell 'Flying Saucer' Mystery a Soviet Plot?

According to a new book, the Roswell incident of 1947 wasn't a crashed flying saucer, it was an elaborate Soviet plot to cause mass panic in the U.S.

Read more 

Most Famous Pirates of the Caribbean

Long before Captain Jack Sparrow came along other pirates controlled the seven seas.

Read more 

Art

Do you remember ...

Flappers

New Tape Says NATO Wants To 'Steal Libya's Resources'

A jihadist website on Saturday posted an audio message purportedly from key al-Qaida figure Ayman al-Zawahiri. The message, according to the website, was recorded "prior to the martyrdom of Sheikh Osama bin Laden." The speaker talks about "winds of changes" that have occurred in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

Full Story

Westboro Baptist Cult Raises $44,000 for Gay Men's Health Crisis Organization

The Westboro Baptist Cult raised $44,000 for the Gay Men's Health Crisis organization of NYC, in a manner of speaking: comedienne Lisa Lampanelli promised to donate $1,000 for every WBC protester that showed up at her performance Saturday night in Topeka, Kansas, and she counted 44.

Full Story

It's a Blond World

A blonde calls Delta Airlines and asks, ‘Can you tell me how long it’ll take to fly from San Francisco to New York City?’

The agent replies, ‘Just a minute’

‘Thank you,’ the blonde says, and hangs up.

Random Celebrity Photo

Shaq's loud health scare

Shaq's battle with common health scare

The NBA legend gets medical help for a serious condition after loud noises wake up his girlfriend.  

How he's dealing 

Also: 

• More on the condition
• Durant gets schooled
• NBA playoff coverage

Magical kids' room nooks

Magical nooks and niches for kids' rooms

A secret spot behind a bookcase or child-size cubbyholes create charming hideaways.  

C.S. Lewis-inspired entry 

Also: 

• Bizarre but cool beds
• More fun kids' rooms 
• Maximize natural light

College-bound kids' likely habit

What college-bound kids have in common

Children with one particular money habit are six times more likely to continue their education.

Easy step to take 

Also: 

• Community college aid
• Career advice for grads
• Seven student loan tips

Dilbert

Missouri among states shortening duration for unemployment benefits

Some of the states that have drained their unemployment insurance funds are cutting the number of weeks that a laid-off worker can count on those benefits.

Full Story

More working past age 70

Traditional retirement slips away for many

Almost four in 10 Americans say they'll keep working after age 70 — or simply never retire.  

Why it's getting harder 

Also: 

• Who's most likely to delay
• Social Security meltdown
• Retire without savings

The New Job

A man joined a big Multi-National Company as a trainee.

On his first day, he dialed the kitchen and shouted into the phone "Get me a cup of coffee, quickly!"

The voice from the other side responded "You fool, you've dialed the wrong extension! Do you know whom you're talking to?"

"No" replied the trainee..

"It's the Managing Director of the company, you idiot!"

The trainee shouted back "And do you know whom YOU are talking to, you IDIOT?"

"No!" replied the Managing Director angrily.

"Thank God....!!" replied the trainee and put down the phone.

Five products for less

5 ways to buy imperfect products for less

From an overrun in supply to blemishes, product mistakes often lead to big discounts.

Appliances up to 40% off 

Also: 

• How to save $100 a week
• Food costs now and then
• 7 things getting cheaper

Top ways to avoid card fraud

Protect yourself from new skimming scams

Experts say you should always wiggle your card when you insert it into the ATM.

How this trick could save you 

Also: 

• ID thief's secrets
• Gold-dispensing ATM
• Best new credit cards

Ziggy

Biggest cities for gas guzzlers

America's biggest gas-guzzling cities

Because of their driving habits, people in these metro areas feel the most pain when gas prices rise.  

Unexpected No. 1 

Also: 

• Compare green cars
• Five biggest car flops
• Best-selling family cars

Wouldn't you know, we have the top three right here in North Carolina! Dang it all!

'Nuff Said

Muscle

SUV Hits Mother and Child

And it was caught on tape!

Caught on tape - an SUV runs over a mother and child at a Scottsdale Arizona intersection - and miraculously no one was hurt.

Full Story

Brazil police say thief stole woman's long hair

Brazilian police say a thief cut off and stole a woman's long hair while she waited at a bus stop.

Full Story

Boy rescued from cliffs after dare

A teenager had to be winched to safety by helicopter after getting stuck as he climbed down 100ft cliffs for a birthday dare.

Full Story

Mythbusters

This is funny!

Powerful Iceland volcano erupts

Iceland's vaunted Grimsvotn volcano erupts

The event is minor in comparison to last year's that shut down international air traffic.  

Series of small earthquakes 

Also: 

• Iceland volcano photos
• Nicaraguan alert raised
• Nyiragongo eruption pics

Across The Universe

Fiona Apple's version of the Beatles song is the best non-Beatles version.

Buying George

George Washington's things that is ...

George Washington's compass and an assortment of other personal items, including pieces of his coffin, have sold at auction for more than $167,000.

The items passed down through generations of Washington's family were among hundreds relating to the nation's first president offered for sale Saturday by Heritage Auctions in Dallas.

The top lot was the first president's compass, which fetched $59,750, and a 24-inch wooden ruler that was a precursor to the slide rule that brought nearly $42,000.

Several pieces of Washington's original coffin brought more than $12,000 total. His body was placed in a marble sarcophagus in 1837.

While items related to Washington aren't rare, experts say it is unusual to have pieces up for auction that had been kept in the family for so long.

Jane Austen's Unfinished Manuscript for Sale

 

In July, Sotheby’s of London will auction off the only handwritten Jane Austen manuscript in private hands. It’s the unfinished novel The Watsons, which some say Austen might have completed if it weren’t so close to her own family life.

The Watsons manuscript shows how Austen’s other manuscripts must have looked. It also shines an interesting light on how she worked. Austen took a piece of paper, cut it in two and then folded over each half to make eight-page booklets. Then she would write, small neat handwriting leaving little room for corrections – of which there are many. “You can really see the mind at work with all the corrections and revisions,” said Heaton.
At one stage she crosses so much out that she starts a page again and pins it in. It seems, in Austen’s mind, her manuscript had to look like a book. “Writers often fall into two categories,” said Heaton. “The ones who fall into a moment of great inspiration and that’s it and then you have others who endlessly go back and write and tinker. Austen is clearly of the latter variety. It really is a wonderful, evocative document.”
The Watsons was written in 1804, not a hugely happy time for Austen professionally – she had one novel rejected and another bought by a publisher who failed to print it.

The manuscript is expected to bring between £200,000 and £300,000.

Full Story

Mimi and Eunice

Surreal Eden Of The Jungle

Las Pozas

 

image credit

If you wander away from the town of Xilitla in Mexico and enter the tropical rain forest then you are likely to come across something unexpected but extraordinary. The jungle, at over 2,000 feet above sea level, retreats to uncover 80 astonishing acres of pools, buildings, statues and walkways. You have just discovered Las Pozas (The Pools in English).

The 'Web' as it really is ...

The 200-foot-tall Ferris wheel now spinning

The tallest Ferris wheel in the eastern United States, a 200-foot-tall, $12 million wheel with a million LED lights and 42 air-conditioned gondolas, started spinning Friday in this beach resort on the South Carolina coast.

Full Story

Missing Link

Upset win at the Preakness

Shackleford pulls off huge Preakness upset

Shackleford leads all the way and holds off a furious charge by Derby winner Animal Kingdom.  

How they finished 

Also: 

• Pimlico photo gallery
• Jockey wins comeback
• Triple Crown winners

Three albino baby raccoons found in Canadian house

A wildlife control company made a rare find on Thursday after they were called to a Scarborough home to remove a litter of raccoons - three of them albinos. Brad Gates, owner of Gates' Wildlife Control, said they had been called by Jay Zheng, who saw one of the albinos in his house.

"Mr Zheng and his family weren't sure what they had because of the white animal they saw in the garage," said Gates. His technician Scott Liddle believed they might be up against a skunk after hearing the family's description. Instead, they found three white raccoon kits and another with normal markings. The litter appeared to be six to eight weeks old and in good health, although the albinos were smaller than their 'normal' brother.

Gates said two albinos were found in the attic; their mother was found taking a "break" from the heat of the attic on the rooftop. Albino raccoons are uncommon - about one in 500,000, according to Gates' research. Three in one litter - that's extremely rare. "I think you take that (statistic) and it's exponential as to the odds of that happening," said Gates.

YouTube link.

His company has only encountered two cases of albino raccoons in its 27-year history, and each time it was only one in the litter. Gates said they rescued the animals by hand and put them in a release box, which was later placed on the roof to be reunited with their mother. "She'll take one by one to another safe den that she has set up in the neighbourhood," said Gates.

Homeowner, Mr Zheng, also made his own video of the albino triplets.

Animal Pictures