The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Suddenly, your image is very much on your mind -- but why?
Is impressing others really that important to you?
Before you answer that, consider the people who impress you.
They share an air of effortlessness -- they make it all look so easy, don't they?
That's because they're not trying.
They're just living.
So if you really want to make a strong impression on someone right now, you should just be yourself.
Be honest -- there is nothing more impressive than that.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada
Seoul, Kyonggi-Do, Korea
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Bath, England, United Kingdom
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
London, England, United Kingdom
Berne, Bern, Swizterland
Tranbjerg, Arhus, Denmark
Newbury, England, United Kingdom
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Surabaya, Jawa Timur, Indonesia
Prague, Hlavni Mesto Praha, Czech Republic
Cork, Cork, Ireland
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Madrid, Madrid, Spain

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 Phoenix, Baton Rouge, Cleveland, Denver and more.

Today is:

Today is Tuesday, August 9, the 221st day of 2011.

There are 144 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are:

There are none.

  

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Non Sequitur

Money may be waiting for you

There may be money waiting for you

Billions in tax refunds, bank accounts, and pension benefits sit unclaimed.  

An easy way to start searching 

Also: 

• Why pay full price?
• Debit card secrets
• Retail markups revealed

Things to avoid buying used

Five products to avoid buying used

A great price could mask potential safety problems with kids' gear. 

Where the dangers lie 

Also: 

• Car tips that pay off
• Amazing hidden treasures
• Back-to-school guide

Reality is

Fannie Mae downgraded

S&P downgrades Fannie Mae

The housing agency loses AAA status due to its reliance on U.S. government.  

 Impact on homebuyers 

Also: 

• Stocks get slammed
• U.S. debt: 'Gold Standard'
• 2011 vs. 2008 crisis

Debt downgrade and consumers

How debt downgrade could pinch you

Interest rates on mortgages will likely spike, but credit cards may be protected.  

Advice for homebuyers 

Also: 

• Will you be squeezed?
• Market rout explained
• Lowest mortgage rates

Stock Market Leaves Billionaire Carlos Slim $8 Billion Poorer

It appears everyone is affected by a tumultuous stock market including the super rich, like Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu.

Full Story

Stocks Tumbled Yesterday

U.S. stocks tumble as trading opens

The Dow falls 250 points minutes after the opening bell as investors fear a repeat of 2008.  

Nasdaq down over 3% 

Also: 

• Traders brace for week
• Investors: Think long-term
• Moody's urges deficit cuts

Dow Jones plummets 634 points

Stocks get slammed on the first trading day after the U.S. debt is downgraded.

Biggest one-day drop since 2008 

Also: 

• Investors dump stocks
• Fed takes the spotlight
• Oil hits eight-month low

Next recession may be worse

Why the next recession could be worse

The economy is weaker than in the 2007 downturn, and policymakers are running out of tools

'It would be disastrous' 

Also: 

• A case for more stimulus
• Problem with U.S. wages
• Moody's rating explained

The Wingnut Mantra

Lunatic Fringe

A senior citizen files voter suppression complaint against Americans for prosperity.

The ACLU asks DOJ to block South Carolina's voter ID law.

And the corporate death panels are still very hard at work.

U.S. House ends teen program

U.S. House ends prestigious program

The 180-year-old political rite of passage for high school students will soon fade into history.  

 Main reasons 

Also: 

• Waivers for school-aid law
• College faces U.S. lawsuit
• Bullying’s test-score link

There is something about Ohio

Neil Armstrong has been hailed on the anniversary of the moon landing.
He is from Ohio.
The first man to orbit, John Glenn, and the first man to fly, Orville Wright, were also from Ohio.

It shows that no challenge is too great when a man is trying to get out of Ohio.

WWII hero 'White Mouse' dies

WWII heroine ‘the White Mouse’ dies

Nancy Wake was called "devastatingly effective" in her daring exploits with the French Resistance.  

How she got name 

Also: 

• Long-lost Purple Heart
• Last gay Nazi survivor
• Russian spy's new job

Scenes from London riots

Startling scenes from London riots

Flaming cars and charred buildings are widespread during the violent disorder in the British capital.  

View photos 

Also: 

• Third city hit by mayhem
• Mobile service used in riots
• 2012 Olympic concerns

Glimpse of an ancient war

Glimpse of ancient war in tunnel discovery

A passage under Jerusalem yields a sword and other relics from a revolt 2,000 years ago.  

Theories on conflict 

Also: 

• Photos of the tunnel
• Sudan palace found
• Clues to elderly society

A 98-year-old sets judo record

98-year-old gets highest black belt

Keiko Fukuda is the first woman and one of only four living people to reach the top level in judo.

She started in 1935 

Also: 

• Origins of judo
• Caring for aging parents
• Exercises worth trying

Jacqueline Kennedy Reportedly Believed LBJ Behind JFK's Assassination

Jackie Onassis believed that Lyndon B Johnson and a cabal of Texas tycoons were involved in the assassination of her husband John F Kennedy, ‘explosive’ recordings are set to reveal.

The secret tapes will show that the former first lady felt that her husband’s successor was at the heart of the plot to murder him.

She became convinced that the then vice president, along with businessmen in the South, had orchestrated the Dallas shooting, with gunman Lee Harvey Oswald – long claimed to have been a lone assassin – merely part of a much larger conspiracy.

Texas-born Mr Johnson, who served as the state’s governor and senator, completed Mr Kennedy’s term and went on to be elected president in his own right.

The tapes were recorded with leading historian Arthur Schlesinger Jnr within months of the assassination on November 22, 1963, and had been sealed in a vault at the Kennedy Library in Boston.

The then Mrs Kennedy, who went on to marry Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, had ordered that they should not be released until 50 years after her death, with some reports suggesting she feared that her revelations might make her family targets for revenge.

She died 17 years ago from cancer aged 64 and now her daughter, Caroline Kennedy, has agreed to release the recordings early.

In the tapes, Jackie allegedly blames President Lyndon Johnson for the death of JFK, who took over the post from her husband after his assassination

A programme featuring the tapes will be aired by U.S. network ABC, and it is understood British broadcasters are in talks to show it here too.

ABC executives claimed the tapes’ revelations were ‘explosive’.

They are believed to include the suggestion that Mr Kennedy was having an affair with a 19-year-old White House intern, with his wife even claiming that she found knickers in their bedroom.

And they go on to reveal that she too had affairs – one with Hollywood star William Holden and another with Fiat founder Gianni Agnelli – as a result of the president’s indiscretions. It has also been claimed that, in the weeks before Mr Kennedy’s assassination, the couple had turned a corner in their relationship and were planning to have more children.

Historian Edward Klein, who has written several books on the Kennedy clan, said: ‘Jackie regarded the pretty young things in the White House as superficial flings for Jack. She did retaliate by having her own affairs.

‘There was a period during which she was delighted to be able to annoy her husband with her own illicit romances.’

It is believed that Caroline, 53, agreed to the early release of the tapes in exchange for ABC dropping its £10million drama series about the family.

The Kennedys, starring Tom Cruise’s wife Katie Holmes as Jackie, critically charted the family’s political and personal trials and tribulations since the 1930s. The series was eventually broadcast on an independent cable channel, and on BBC2 in the UK, against Caroline’s wishes.

Minister Tazes Pastor, Another Woman Stabbed During Fight at Church

You know it had to be in Alabama and it had to be baptists ....

Mobile County Sheriff's officials have issued warrants for 2 people after a pastor was tazed and a woman stabbed during an altercation at New Welcome Baptist Church, officials said today in a news release.

Full Story

This Congress's "Green-Friendly" repugicans are a Joke

Photo: laszlo-photo via Flickr/CC BY

And the bar has officially been lowered. If the media sees it somehow newsworthy that "greens" are not absolutely "friendless" in the House repugicans merely because a few repugicans voted to allow the Endangered Species Act to continue to exist -- as this report from a mainstream newspaper does -- we are in dire straits indeed. Just witness this vain attempt to cast some members of the repugican Congress as green-friendly -- frankly, it's pathetic.

Article continues: This Congress's "Green-Friendly" repugicans are a Joke

Australian Military Urged To Plan For Greater Antarctic Role As Nations Eye Its Natural Resources

photo: US Embassy New Zealand/CC BY-ND

Australia claims 42% of Antarctica as its own, though the international community doesn't recognize that claim. Now, the Lowy Institute for International Policy has issued a policy brief urges the nation to stop thinking of Antarctic as a national security issue. As The Age glibly puts it, stop thinking of Antarctica as just a "scientific playground".
Behind it all: Climate change and similar growing ambitions to grab natural resources to what we're seeing in the Arctic.

Article continues: Australian Military Urged To Plan For Greater Antarctic Role As Nations Eye Its Natural Resources

Northeast Passage Will Be Open Through September At Least

Russian meteorological authorities are confirming that Arctic sea ice has melted to levels that are "way below average...at historically low levels" (Times of India). Repeating something which has happened for several years now, the Northeast Passage (also known as the Northern Sea Route) along the nation's northern seaboard can be navigated for nearly the entire way without icebreaking ships leading the way.

Article continues: Northeast Passage Will Be Open Through September At Least, Russian Meteorologists Say

Texas drought's huge impact

Texas drought’s huge 'domino effect'

As the state suffers the worst one-year drought in its history, entire ecosystems struggle to survive.

  Reservoirs empty 

Also: 

• Lake turns blood red
• Texas billionaire killed
• Sports can be OK in heat

Terrifying Clouds

I've seen many scary clouds in my life but none as terrifying as this one. Pat Kavanagh took this shot of an explosive black storm from the roof of his house in Taber in Alberta, Canada, last month. Go to the article to see the whole picture.

How to spot meteor shower

How to spot meteor shower this week

Bright moonlight may cause havoc during one of the best times to catch a glimpse of the Perseids. 

  When to look 

Also: 

• New meteorite findings
• Mysterious goo identified
• Effect of solar storms

Awesome Pictures

Healthy Living

• What to eat to beat depression
• Sneaky ways to work in exercise
• 7 things in life you should never regret
• Health food myths debunked

Becareful what you wish for ...

... you just might get it.

Culinary DeLites

Easy, indulgent weeknight recipes

Lobster tails and adults-only grilled cheese make workdays feel like weekends.

Healthy risotto 

Also: 

• Budget fruits and veggies
• Recipes from 'The Help'
• Tips to waste less food

The Noid is Back!

Looks like Domino’s is capitalizing on the trend of revitalizing ’80s and ’90s ad campaigns and programming, because the Noid is back! (Remember when he had his own video game?) If you like Domino’s on Facebook, you can play their Noid shootout game and receive a coupon for a free pizza if you’re the high scorer that round. I played once and didn’t even come close to winning, but you’re probably much more talented than I am. Good luck.

Full Story

Alchemy Emblems

Bibliodyssey has a collection of 14 weird alchemy emblems, which were published in the German picture book Emblemata Nova in 1617. These emblems combined symbols that the reader was expected to decipher, although accompanying captions and poetry helped a little. A commenter called them “flash cards for the insane”!

Full Story

The Geekiest cities in America

The five geekiest cities in America

Silicon Valley isn't the only place with a huge concentration of science and engineering types. 

Huntsville, Ala., too 

Also: 

• Origins of word 'geek'
• Kids at hacker convention
• Boeing seeks space pilots

Six Classic Characters With Serious Disorders

Sure you might love Ariel, Belle, Glinda, Scarlet and Sherlock, but did you know they all have serious mental disorders? Cracked takes a look at the character’s questionable mental states with this great article. I think their assessments seem pretty spot on for the most part. What about you?

Full Story

Ziggy

Upping the cute factor

Kids and their pets or is that Pets with their kids?

Shark Discovered In New Hampshire Forest, Miles From the Ocean

Image via video Screengrab

Well this isn't a great way to start off the week after Shark Week. After smelling something odd, a resident of in Milton, NH went looking for the sources of the smell and discovered a decomposing blue shark -- an open ocean species -- in the woods. How on earth did it get there?

Article continues: Shark Discovered In New Hampshire Forest, Miles From the Ocean

B.C.

Weasels That Understand The Future

Up until now, only a few species of primates and birds have shown the ability to understand the concept of the future. But now, a type of weasel, the tayra, has shown it can plan for the future. The weasel has been observed gathering up unripe plantain bananas and hiding them away for later enjoyment when they are ripened. While plenty of critters hide food away for later, the tayra is special in that it selects bananas that are not ripe and returns when the fruit is ready.

Full Story

Animal Pictures