The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
You don't have to let weighty issues get the better of you.
If there is a big decision on your plate, you can handle it better right now if you take your emotions out of the equation.
It's true that your gut and your sixth sense have served you well in the past, but today you need to turn away from taking a purely personal point of view.
Think about what will make things better for everyone, not just for you.
You will find more to celebrate when you think selflessly.

Some of our readers today have been in:

 Madrid. Madrid, Spain
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Cheras, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
London, England, United Kingdom
Manila, Manila, Philippines
Gengenbach, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Petrozavodsk, Karelia, Russia
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Newbury, England, United Kingdom
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland
Panta, Bihar, India
Cork, Cork, Ireland
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

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 Hana, Tampa, Atlanta, Kailua and more.

Today is:

Today is Wednesday, August 3, the 215th day of 2011.

There are 150 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

Watermelon Day.

  

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

It's the weather whether you like it or not

Non Sequitur

Hey, ain't it the truth

"You’re not pinning this turd on us"

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Jon Stewart does it again ... tells it like it is!

"The four great hypocrisies of the debt deal"

Tell'em Keith!

Reality is ...

Meet the 'Super Congress'

Deal now in hands of 'Super Congress'

The powerful new bipartisan committee must concoct a plan to cut up to $2 trillion.  

Behind closed doors 

Also: 

• Few winners from deal
• U.S. keeps AAA rating
• An economic power shift

The truth be told

Debt 'nightmare' for Pentagon

Debt deal is Pentagon's 'worst nightmare'

The days when the military got money for programs it didn’t even request are over.  

How deep will cuts be? 

Also: 

• Obama's new worries
• GOP's hidden debt agenda
• States could be hit hardest

1. FAA shutdown's high cost
2. Money moves after debt deal
3. Debt 'nightmare' for Pentagon
4. Hosni Mubarak's trial begins

Mimi and Eunice

Huge series of cyber attacks

Huge series of cyber attacks uncovered

The list of victims includes the U.N., the U.S. government, defense contractors and high-tech firms.

Who's behind it? 

Also: 

• Q&A on the hack attacks
• Gov't courts hackers
• Cybercrime costs rise

Alabama immigration lawsuit

Feds sue Alabama over immigration law

Justice officials say the state rule could lead to police harassment of people here legally.  

 'National responsibility' 

Also: 

• Law's affect on schools
• Judge blocks Kansas law
• Gambling corruption trial

Hosni Mubarak's trial begins

Mubarak goes on trial in hospital bed

The 83-year-old former president, looking frail, denies charges of killing protesters.  

Wheeled into a courtroom cage 

Also: 

• Offered asylum by friend
• Timeline: 30 years in office
• Syria sanctions weighed

Knocked Off Retailers and Knock-Off Retailers

Famous stores starving for customers

Giant discounters and management missteps have socked these retail chains.  

What happened to Sears? 

Also: 

• Hot sandwich chain cools
• Back-to-school skimping
• HSBC to cut 30,000 jobs

Retail store has Ikea knockoff feel

A shop in China mimics the furniture giant's look, right down to the distinct color scheme.  

'New phenomenon' 

Also: 

• Go inside the store
• Fake Apple stores closed
• Effort to stamp out piracy

Random Celebrity Photo

Do you recognize this rather well known lady?

How to get all your fruits and vegetables for two bucks a day

How to get all your fruits and vegetables for two bucks a day

Picky Eaters and Lo-Cal Temptations

Is it OK to trick picky eaters?

It isn't hard to hide children's veggies in other, more appealing foods, a study finds.

Why one dad still has doubts 

Also: 

• Ways to keep kids healthy
• Right way to wash fruit
• 4 summer health myths

 

Cheesecake Factory tries low-cal menu

The restaurant chain known for its rich entrees is rolling out a "SkinnyLicious" new menu.  

Difference in calories 

Also: 

• Fast-food kids' menus
• Happy Meal overhaul
• Guilt-free frozen treats

Headaches you can't ignore

Six headaches you shouldn't ignore

Some pains are harmless, but others could be a sign of something serious — and possibly deadly.

The thunderclap 

Also: 

• Summertime headaches
• Hazards in your backyard
• Common skin mistakes

Man Can Hear His Own Eyeballs Move

A common experience is to hear faint beat of your own heart, normally after a vigorous workout. However for Stephen Mabbut, the noise of his own eyeballs moving in his head was so loud and audible it was driving him mad. This frightening experience was later attributed to a rare condition, superior canal dehiscence syndrome.

He added, “The first symptoms appeared around 2005. I found if I raised my voice, I’d get a vibration in my head. If I was eating a bag of crisps, the crunching noise drowned out people speaking. Then I found I would be hearing my heartbeat.”
But this year, a CT scan showed a tiny hole in the temporal bone in Mr Mabbutt’s skull, which meant that fluid from the semicircular canals of the inner ear was leaking into his brain and conducting internal sounds.

Full Story

Ziggy

Money moves after debt deal

Smart money moves after the debt deal

Financial pros suggest taking these steps to protect yourself from the fallout.  

 Latest Social Security advice 

Also: 

• Americans cut spending
• Why U.S. isn't Greece
• Low taxes for business

Ways to save when you pay

Eight ways to save when you pay

Keep your costs down by avoiding hidden fees at the checkout register. 

Problem with prepaid cards 

Also: 

• Inflation outlook 'dire'
• Why we have money envy
• Cut auto costs in half

Five bills not to use autopay for

Five bills you shouldn't use autopay for

You may be setting yourself up for sneaky fee hikes and surprise costs.

'They hope you're not paying attention' 

Also: 

• Student's coupon strategy
• Paying off a big wedding
• Ways to manage your debt

Affordable cities to live in

The most affordable U.S. cities

These metropolitan areas boast the nation's lowest housing prices and living costs.  

 Homes for under $75,000 

Also: 

• Home affordability tool
• Best cities for elderly
• Compare neighborhoods

Old Caboose Turned into a House

In 1975, Marcia Weber bought a caboose made in 1909. Over the past thirty-six years, she’s gradually turned it into a functional home with indoor heating and plumbing. There are beds, a full kitchen, and even a washer and dryer. See more photos of this amazing home conversion here.

The 10 Most Notorious Money Laundering Cases Of The 20th Century

Money laundering is the process by which illegally obtained cash is made to appear as if it has been obtained by legal means. The funds are moved into valid accounts or businesses in order to hide or disguise the financial trail that leads back to the criminal activity. In 1996, it was estimated that between 2 and 5 percent of the world's gross domestic product consisted of laundered money.

That's a lot of dirty money made to look whiter than white. Here are 10 of the most notorious money laundering cases of the 20th century.

The first sound ever recorded

This is the first sound ever recorded, by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville, in 1860, before Edison's wax cylinder experiments. Ironically, the "phonautograph" was designed only to record sounds, not to play them back.

The 10 seconds ghostly voice is a woman singing "Au Clair de la Lune".

Canned Air From Prague

Need something to go with your dehydrated bottle of water? Here's Canned Air from Prague!

The design of the label is simple and clear, clear as the morning sky over the Charles Bridge on sunny summer morning. We carefully collect the air from the most popular places in the city.
Air Contains:
20% - air from Wenceslas Square
20% - air from Charles Bridge
25% - air from Old Town Square
15% - air from Prague Castle
10% - air from Lesser Town
10% - air from Zlata Street.

Full Story

The Scent of Lithuania

Quick, what comes to mind when we mention "Lithuania." Nothing (besides a mayor who destroys illegally parked car)?
See, that's the problem that three businessmen from the country is trying to fix:

"If I say chocolate and watches, what do you think? Switzerland. If I say Guinness and Leprechauns? Ireland. Fish and chips? England,” Mr Rutkauskas told The Guardian.
“But here in Lithuania we don't have an internationally recognized symbol of our identity. Yet.”

Their solution? A national scent:

They claim the “national perfume" – which is more an air freshener – was a crude attempt to create the “scent of Lithuania”.
The scent is a mix of bergamot, wild flowers, ginger, raspberry and grapefruit.
It is added with base notes of amber, cedar, sandalwood, patchouli and "tree moss and tree smoke”.
The £25 scent was released on the market earlier this year and more than 1,000 bottles have since been sold.

What a great idea! New Jersey should jump at this opportunity: Full Story

British Pathé Video And Film Archive

image credit

Founded as Société Pathé Frères in Paris, France on 28 September 1896 by brothers Charles, Émile, Théophile and Jacques Pathé, during the first part of the 20th century, Pathé became the largest film equipment and production company in the world.

British Pathé was established in London in 1902, and by 1910 were producing their famous bi-weekly newsreel the Pathé Gazette. After the First World War they started producing various Cinemagazines as well. By the time Pathé finally stopped producing the cinema newsreel in 1970 they had accumulated 3,500 hours of filmed history amounting to over 90,000 individual items.

On British Pathé you can view films and still photographs from the entire archive covering newsreel, sports footage, social history documentaries, entertainment and music stories from 1896 to 1976.

Who says that Ancient Greeks don't have a sense of humor?

Ancient Greek Winged Thunderbolt Sling Bullet Says "Take That"

Who says that Ancient Greeks don't have a sense of (lethal) humor? The lead sling bullets above have a winged thunderbolt engraved on one side and the inscription "take that" on the other side!

Full Story

Blood Red Lake

West Texas reservoir turns blood red

Thousands of dead fish float in a few feet of dark red water that some are saying is a sign of end times.

Cause 

Also: 

• Rain hits driest desert
• Tropical Storm Emily's path
• UFO on ocean floor?

Asteroid pictures stun scientists

Scientists stunned by surface of asteroid

Photos reveal unexpected features as the spacecraft prepares to move even closer.  

Unique ion engine 

Also: 

• Contest for space trip
• Jupiter probe goes green
• 'Smiley face' on Sun

World’s oldest protractor?

This object was found more than a century ago in an Egyptian tomb belonging to an ancient architect who lived around 1400 BCE. In the Turin museum where it’s displayed, the artifact is identified as a decorative case for a balancing scale. However, physicist Amelia Sparavigna thinks it may be the oldest surviving protractor. From New Scientist:

The key, she says, lies in the numbers encoded in the object’s ornate decoration, which resembles a compass rose with 16 evenly spaced petals surrounded by a circular zigzag with 36 corners.
Sparavigna says that if the straight bar part of the object were laid on a slope, a plumb line would revealed its inclination on the circular dial.
The fraction of one-sixteenth features in a calculus system the Egyptians used, says Sparavigna, and they also identified 36 star groups called the decans, which later formed the basis of a star clock. She suggests the object was “a protractor instrument with two scales, one based on Egyptian fractions, the other based on decans”.

Egyptian tomb mystery may be world’s first protractor

B.C.

Upping the cute factor

Personal grooming is so very important!

Plants Evolve Leaves Making Sounds Bats Enjoy

While plants normally have pretty colors in order to attract bugs and other pollinators, one type of plant has evolved to attract bats using sound. I wonder what’s on its playlist?
The Marcgravia evenia plant relies on bats to pollinate its flowers. But given that their target animals rely on echolocation rather than eyesight, these plants have evolved leaves that are attractive audibly rather than visually. The plant’s leaves are uniquely dish-shaped, with almost hemispherical concave curves. When the bats go out flying, the leaves return an echo that’s louder and broader than other plants, making them easier for the bats to detect — and halving the time it takes to find the foliage.

Full Story

Family watches as snake slithers over windshield while driving on highway

A slithering serpent snuck up on a Memphis area family's SUV as they barreled down a highway. Rachel Fisher, 26, was at the wheel going about 65 miles an hour as the sizeable snake slid across her windscreen. Her husband recorded the spectacle as she alternated between girly screams and nervous giggles.

"Ooooh my God. Oh my God. Oh my god," she says, while their three children - Elizabeth, 3, Judah, 2½, and Rivers, 4 months - babble from the backseat of their GMC Yukon. The family were traveling from Cordova, a suburb east of Memphis, into the city. They had been driving for about 15 minutes, when Tony, a 29-year-old financial planner and church worship minister, noticed their unseemly visitor.

"My husband saw it out of the corner of his eye and did a double-take," Rachel said. "He whipped out his phone and turns it on and captures the whole thing until it falls off." The family suspects the snake stole its way into the SUV's engine compartment overnight July 15 and emerged the next day once they got going on Tennessee's Sam Cooper Boulevard.

YouTube link.

"We assume the engine just got too hot and it went looking for a cooler place," Fisher said. "Usually, snakes don't freak me out that much, but I was clenching everything," she said. "It was really weird. I mean, didn't know what the heck it was. We just knew it was a huge snake and the kids were the in back."

Animal Pictures