CAROLINA NATURALLY: May 28, 2011

Saturday, May 28, 2011

The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
After a busy period of many new beginnings, you're faced with a lot of endings in your life: You are dealing with the loss of someone close to you.
This person is headed for a better future, so do not worry about what he or she is going through.
Transitions like this are difficult, but you are blessed with people in your life whom you can really count on.
Reach out to them, and don't be afraid to wear your heart on your sleeve.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Prague, Hlavni Mesto Praha, Czech Republic
London, Ontario, Canada
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Manila, Manila, Philippines
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Berne, Ber, Switzerland
Brussels, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewests, Belgium
Berlin, Berlin, 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 Colorado Springs, Palo Alto, Baton Rouge, Mount Laurel and more.

Today is:

Today is Saturday, May 28, the 148th day of 2011.

There are 217 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holiday or celebrations is:

Slugs Return From Capistrano Day.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

President Obama's Weekly Address

Vice President Joe Biden delivers the Weekly Address, celebrating the success of the American auto industry in the wake of Chrysler paying back their loans.

America's 10 best beaches

America's best beaches revealed

A Gulf Coast gem with sand "like sugar" and warm, emerald water grabs the top spot in this year's survey.

Runner-up

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Human Stories

Blind people can 'see' using echoes

Echolocation, a process used by bats to navigate, is also being used by many humans.

Surprising new study

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Mom whose brain 'rebooted' builds new life

When a household accident wiped out her memory, Su Meck had to learn even basic skills from scratch.

'Scary' path

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Ring found 72 years later

Man's class ring returned 72 years later

Jesse Mattos thought his ring was long gone when he flushed it down the toilet in 1938.

Its remarkable journey

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First look at new 'Three Stooges'

New 'Stooges' actors caught in costume

Clandestine set pics reveal the length the actors go to in the new version of the comedy classic.

Star unrecognizable

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Random Celebrity Photo

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Where to Live in the USA to Avoid Natural Disasters

Hurricanes in the east, earthquakes in the west and tornadoes in the middle. Where should you live to avoid natural disasters?
Matthew Ericson, Joe Burgess and Bill Marsh of The New York Times created this infographic guide to find the safest and most dangerous places to live in America:

The analysis below, by Sperling’s Best Places, a publisher of city rankings, is an attempt to assess a combination of those risks in 379 American metro areas. Risks for twisters and hurricanes (including storms from hurricane remnants) are based on historical data showing where storms occurred. Earthquake risks are based on United States Geological Survey assessments and take into account the relative infrequency of quakes, compared with weather events and floods. Additional hazards included in this analysis: flooding, drought, hail and other extreme weather.

So, where should you live? The metro areas with lowest risk:

Corvallis, Ore.
Mt. Vernon-Anacortes, Wash.
Bellingham, Wash.
Wenatchee, Wash.
Grand Junction, Colo.
Spokane, Wash.
Salem, Ore.
Seattle

The highest risk:

Dallas-Plano-Irving, Tex.
Jonesboro, Ark.
Corpus Christi, Tex.
Houston
Beaumont-Port Arthur, Tex.
Shreveport, La.
Austin, Tex.
Birmingham, Ala.

Our hearts go out to the tornado victims in Joplin, Missouri, and in Oklahoma, which happened just weeks after the deadly twisters that struck six southern states. It makes one wonders, what's up with all these tornadoes?

Weather experts were at a loss to explain the deadly flurry of tornadoes, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it had found no link between the recent storms and climate change. Environmentalists disagree. Is global warming to blame?

Bacteria: Blame them for the rain?

We already blame bacteria for spoiling our food, damaging our gardens, and causing all sorts of infections and illnesses and make us squirm and sneeze.

Full Story

Soggy Northern Plains braces for second slug of water

Montana residents struggled against widespread flooding that could linger for several weeks as the soggy Northern Plains braced for the flood waters to descend from higher elevations.

Full Story

Ode to a Tree

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Measles cases skyrocket

Big worries over measles outbreak

A disease once considered totally "eliminated" in the U.S. is making a comeback.

Extremely contagious

Also:

Good Question

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America's Real Radicals

The 40 Senators Who Voted Against Medicare

When 40% of the Senate votes for a policy that's opposed by 78% of the public, it suggests that one of our political parties has been profoundly radicalized.

Full Story

Gas prices squeeze families

Pump prices are draining family budgets

For every $10 the typical U.S. household earns before taxes, almost a full dollar goes to gas.

'We're always worrying'

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They're New

New lawyers stripped of pay, prestige

They try to put the best face they can on earning half what their counterparts earn.

Goodbye $160K starting salaries

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Best cities for new college graduates

These top 10 metropolitan areas have strong economies and vibrant social scenes.

Located all over the country

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Non Sequitur

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Culinary DeLites

Championship grillers share their secrets

The kings of barbecue say amateurs make the same four mistakes over and over.

Meet the 'pork whisperer'

Also:

The bitterest taste in the world

People's tolerance for Brussels sprouts and coffee varies, but nobody enjoys this flavor.

Where it's found today

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Ziggy

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Lawsuit seeks $15,000 for rose thorn prick

A Lake Mary man is suing Winn-Dixie Stores and a flower importer for a finger prick caused by rose thorn. Charles Imwalle filed a lawsuit on Monday against Winn-Dixie and Passion Growers LLC and is seeking $15,000 in damages.

Imwalle, 41, claims he suffered pain, disfigurement, medical bills and lost wages after pricking his finger on a thorn from a bouquet of roses he purchased for his wife to celebrate their anniversary. Before he was able to hand the roses to his wife, a thorn pricked his right hand, underneath the joint of his index finger.

Imwalle's lawyer, Paul Thompson, released a statement describing what happened next: "Over the next 24 hours, Mr. Imwalle’s hand began to swell and the pain became so excruciating he could not use it. On presentation to the emergency room at Florida Hospital Altamonte, his hand was 3 times its normal size. He was transported to Florida Hospital Orlando for an infectious disease consult and was ultimately taken to surgery where his hand was lanced and a PICC line placed through which he would receive intravenous antibiotics over the next thirty (30) days.

Mr. Imwalle was unable to work for two months, had lost full use of his hand and has suffered significant scarring and disfigurement. His medical expenses exceeded $45,000.00 and he sustained a job-related economic loss of more than $5,500.00. Both Winn-Dixie and Passion Growers have denied liability for what doctors confirm was an infection caused by bacteria transmitted through the puncture wound caused by the thorn." The lawsuit is based on the premise that the injuries could have been avoided by better wrapping the thorns with a protective wrap, or simply removing the thorns as many florists do.

No Good Humor in Frosty Pennsylvania Frozen Treat Feud

Police are hoping the threat of losing their permits will be enough to thaw the frosty relationship of two Pennsylvania ice cream truck drivers accused of trying to run each other off the road.

Full Story

Reclusive NYC heiress dies

Likely fate of reclusive heiress's fortune

Huguette Clark dies at the age of 104 after decades hidden away in a massive New York apartment.

Her total value

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Odds and Sods

Argentina intercepts mailed pre-Inca mummy, skulls

The shipping label said the mailed package contained replicas of Peruvian ceramics.

Body found in freezer after 11 years

Eleven years: that's how long detectives believe a woman's body had been sitting in a freezer behind a home in Sun City.

New tests of U.S. airport scanners find radiation OK

From the "Yeah, Right?!" Department:

New tests of full-body scanners deployed at airports found that the radiation they emit was within acceptable levels, the Transportation Security Administration said after previous checks found some anomalies in results.

Full Story

Daily Comic Relief

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Criminal deportees worry Mexican border mayors

Mexico's border mayors say they are worried about a possible surge in deportations of criminals to their cities after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling ordered California to reduce its prison population by 33,000.
Mayors of 14 border cities from Tijuana to Matamoros meeting in Mexico City on Friday say they already have problems because U.S. authorities ...

Full Story

Russia joins rest of G8, calls for Gaddafi to go

Russia was Gaddafi's Option B and there was no Option C.

Time to move on.

Colonel Gaddafi has been left diplomatically deserted after Russia, his sole international interlocutor joined the rest of the G8 nations in declaring the Libyan leader had lost all legitimacy and had to go.

But continuing differences between Russia and the west prevented agreement on how to pressurize the Syrian regime to end its oppression; a planned reference to take the issue to the UN security council was removed from the G8 communique.

On Libya, David Cameron claimed there would be no attempt to reach a compromise deal, saying the only message to the Libyan leader was that he had to give up power. Cameron, who held a council of war with Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday night, claimed the war against Gaddafi was entering a second phase and the pressure on the regime was beginning to tell.

Troops In Somalia To Retake Market From Militants

African Union and Somali troops appear ready to move into the skinny alleys of Mogadishu's largest market to oust the militants who control it in an operation that, if successful, could be the most visible win against militants in years.

Full Story

Dutch Government to Ban Cannabis Tourism?

Last week, it was marmite.

Soon, it will be pot-smoking tourists who will be banned from Dutch’s cannabis shops:

The Dutch government on Friday said it would start banning tourists from buying cannabis from "coffee shops" and impose restrictions on Dutch customers by the end of the year.
The Netherlands is well known for having one of Europe’s most liberal soft drug policies that has made its cannabis shops a popular tourist attraction, particularly in Amsterdam.
Backed by the far-right party of anti-immigrant politician Geert Wilders, the coalition government that came into power last year announced plans to curb drug tourism as part of a nationwide program to promote health and fight crime.
"In order to tackle the nuisance and criminality associated with coffee shops and drug trafficking, the open-door policy of coffee shops will end," the Dutch health and justice ministers wrote in a letter to the country’s parliament on Friday.

Full Story

Granny mugger strikes in South Africa

Police in South Africa are searching for an elderly woman who allegedly persuades young men at a mall to help carry heavy bags from her car, then kidnaps them from the parking lot and robs them. The woman, who works with two male accomplices, targets shoppers standing in bank queues at the Maponya Mall in Soweto, has struck at least twice recently.

"I never suspected anything wicked about the old woman as she looked like a pensioner and had a walking stick," said 18-year-old victim Kabelo Dube. He said he was waiting in line to deposit money at the bank when a young man approached and asked him for help unloading the old woman's bags.

He went with the pair to the car and began to help with the bags, but then felt a gun pressed against his head and was ordered to get in the car. The woman and her two accomplices then drove a short distance from the mall, took his money - 1,200 rand (£105, $172) - and forced him out of the car.

"I went back to the mall and reported the incident to the security guards, who advised me to go to a police station and open a case," he said. "Before I could leave another man came into the security control room to report that he had also been robbed by two men and a granny." A police spokesman said a case had been opened and officers were searching for the suspects.

Awesome Pictures

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The Remains of War

What happens to all of our tanks, planes and ships when the war is over? It seems that a lot of them are left on the battlefield to rust and rot as seen in this interesting collection of photos.

See the full gallery at the here.

AK-47 Turned into a Guitar

César López, a sculptor from Colombia, takes rifles formerly used by paramilitary units in his country and turns them into guitars:

The idea came to Lopez back in 2003 when, while playing in front of a Bogota country club, he witnessed a car bomb explode. In the ensuing confusion, he noticed how the army guards all carried their rifles in a manner that resembled the way he carried his guitar and out of that explosion came the first escopetarra—a Winchester rifle/Fender Stratocaster hybrid.

The Vice President of Colombia donated a dozen AK-47s to López to encourage his art. At the link, you can see photos of other rifle-guitars that he’s made and a video of him performing music on one of them.

Full Story

Miscellanea

Music Therapy

I'm guessing that ever since the first caveman banged two rocks together and hummed a tune, music has been blamed for corrupting our youth.

Reindeer see a weird and wonderful world of ultraviolet light

Researchers have discovered that the ultraviolet (UV) light that causes the temporary but painful condition of snow blindness in humans is life-saving for reindeer in the arctic.