The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:

It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results -- which is probably why you feel as though you're going crazy. 

One of your relationships is going through some turmoil, and the two of you seem to be dealing with the same issue over and over again. 

So try a different approach -- it's the only way you'll get different results. 

Think of other ways to communicate. 

Writing your thoughts down will help you get clarity.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Brussels, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, Belgium
Minden, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan. Malaysia
Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
Jakarta, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia
London, England, United Kingdom
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Sydney, New South wales, Australia
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Dusseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Albury, New South Wales, Australia
Reykjavik, Reykjavik, Iceland
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Munich, Bayern, Germany
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Canberaa, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Cork, Cork, Ireland
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Lille, Nord-Pas-De-Calais, France
Napoli, Campania, Italy
Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka
London, Ontario, Canada
Katowice, Slaskie, Poland
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel
Bangkok, Krung Thep Thailand
Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden
Manila, Manila, Philippines

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 Lizard Lick, Tick Bite, Bat Cave, Nags Head and more.

Today is:

Today is Monday, August 15, the 227th day of 2011.

There are 138 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

National Relaxation Day.

  

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Five dead at Indiana State Fair

Early reports say ...

At least 3 killed at Indiana State Fair

Strong storm winds topple a stage onto fans waiting for an outdoor concert to begin.

About two dozen injured 

Also 

• More on the collapse
• Wisconsin fair mob attack
• Mississippi fire kills 5

Deadly stage collapse at Indiana fair

Hundreds of concertgoers rushed to tend to the injured, lifting the steel scaffolding off them.

Fatalities, critical injuries 

Wind blamed for state-fair tragedy

Indiana's governor says a giant gust that toppled a stage and killed five people was "a fluke."

 At least 45 hurt 

Also: 

• Crowd was on the move
• Doctor recounts horror
• Singer makes statement

Non Sequitur

Spending cuts are a bad idea right now

The experts agree.

Something anyone who has a functioning brain knew to begin with.

NYT:

The prospect of further reductions worries forecasters. Jerry Webman, chief economist of OppenheimerFunds, wrote in an analysis that while the cuts were not huge this year or next, “they are nonetheless contrary to what would be expected in a fragile economic environment.”

In separate interviews, Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, a forecasting firm, and Laurence H. Meyer, its co-founder and a former Federal Reserve governor, called the reductions “job-killing spending cuts” — playing on repugicans’ mantra against “job-killing tax increases.”

“At the very least,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, Congress should renew for another year two measures that expire after 2011 — payroll tax relief for employees and extended unemployment compensation — as Mr. Obama has proposed. If either expired, Mr. Zandi said, that could shave roughly a half-percentage point from economic growth next year.

Repugicans are resistant. And Democrats are too cowed to counter much, given polls that show many Americans believe Mr. Obama’s 2009-10 stimulus package did not work, despite studies to the contrary.

A Democratic Congressional adviser, granted anonymity to discuss party deliberations, said: “We’re at a loss to figure out a way to articulate the argument in a way that doesn’t get us pegged as tax-and-spenders.”

The message has got to get out that it is the repugicans who are the 'tax-and-spenders' ... they always have been since their inception, even their saint ronny raised taxes 11 times while he raped the nation.

How to irritate a wingnut

100 Things You Can Say To Irritate A Wingnut.

1. A Socialist wrote the Pledge of Allegiance and 'under god' isn't part of it.
2. jesus healed the sick and helped the poor, for free.
3. Joseph McCarthy was an un-American, witch hunting sissy.
4. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are traitors.
5. The Founding Fathers were Deists, Agnostics and Atheists, get over it.
6. The Founding Fathers were liberals.
7. Fascism is a right-wing trait.
8. Sarah Palin is an ugly cow (said to wingnut males).
9. The Earth is round.
10. Reagan raised taxes eleven times as President.
11. Reagan legalized abortion as Governor of California.
12. Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency.
13. Ronald Reagan supported gun control.
14. Global warming is real.
15. repugicans hate illegal immigrants, unless they need their lawns mowed or their houses cleaned.
16. The military is a government-run institution, so why do repugicans approve the defense budget?
17. The Cold War is over and the Soviet Union no longer exists.
18. Paying taxes is patriotic.
19. repugicans: Peddling the same failed economic policies since 1880.
20. The repugican Party began as a radical party.
21. The Presidents’ full name is Barack Hussein Obama and he was born in the United States of America.
22. George W. Bush held hands with the King of Saudi Arabia.
23. President Obama saved the American auto industry, while repugicans wanted to destroy it.
24. Hate is not a christian virtue.
25. jesus was a liberal.
26. repugicans spend MORE money than Democrats.
27. Tea parties are for little girls.
28. Public schools educate all children; private schools are for indoctrinating children.
29. The Constitution is the law, NOT the bible.
30. Sharia law doesn’t exist in America.
31. The President is NOT a Muslim.
32. Corporations are NOT people. People are people.
33. Faux News isn’t real news, it’s just a racist, sexist, hateful, right-wing propaganda machine.
34. The Federal Reserve was a repugican idea.
35. Women are equal citizens who deserve equal rights.
36. Women control their own bodies.
37. Abortion is a relevant medical procedure, just ask Rick Santorum.
38. Please use spell check.
39. It’s “pundit”, not “pundint”.
40. Social Security is solvent through 2038.
41. Health care is a right, not a product.
42. Roe v. Wade was a bipartisan ruling made by a conservative leaning Supreme Court.
43. G.O.P also stands for Gross Old Perverts.
44. The donkey shouldn’t be the Democratic mascot because repugicans are the real jackasses.
45. Barack Obama ordered the killing of Osama Bin Laden. It took him two and half years to do what Bush couldn’t do in eight.
46. Waterboarding IS torture.
47. 9/11 happened on George W. Bush’s watch, therefore he did NOT keep America safe.
48. repugicans invaded Iraq for oil, so Iraq should be allowed to invade Texas to get it back.
49. Separation of church and state is in the Constitution, it’s called the First Amendment.
50. muslims are protected by the Constitution, just as much as christians.
51. Barack Obama is the first African-American President, get over it.
52. The Oval Office is NOT a “whites only” office.
53. America is a nation of immigrants, therefore we are all anchor babies.
54. The white race isn’t disappearing, it’s evolving.
55. god is a particle.
56. Evolution is real.
57. The Earth is 4.54 billion years old, not 6,000.
58. The Founding Fathers did not free the slaves.
59. The Revolution was NOT fought over slavery.
60. Paul Revere warned the Americans, NOT the British.
61. Federal law trumps state law.
62. The Civil War was about economic control of the country, NOT slavery.
63. Corporations care more about profits than they do about people.
64. Getting out of a recession requires government spending.
65. Glenn Beck is a nut-job.
66. repugicans: Paranoid since 1932.
67. repugicans don’t want to pay for your birth control, but they want you to pay for their Viagra.
68. repugicans actually NEED Viagra.
69. Faux News is owned by an Australian and has a Saudi prince as an investor.
70. repugicans complain about immigrants taking American jobs, then freely give American jobs to foreigners overseas.
71. repugicans hate communism, so why do they refer to themselves as red states?
72. Labor unions built this country.
73. repugicans hold America hostage as a political strategy; the temper tantrum throwing kind of political strategy.
75. When repugicans see black, they attack.
76. Inside every repugican is a Klansman or a Nazi waiting to bloom.
77. repugicans only care about children BEFORE they are born.
78. repugicans are hypocrites, they’re just too stupid to know it.
79. The christian-wingnuts boycott movies that have violence, and then promote guns and insurrection.
80. I think therefore I am NOT a Republican.
81. Republicans that oppose gay marriage are most likely in the closet themselves.
82. churches should stay out of politics, or be taxed.
83. People are too poor to vote repugican.
84. Democrats think for themselves, repugicans form think tanks to do it for them.
85. repugicans hate education because they couldn’t hack it in school.
86. Greed is one of the seven deadly sins and repugicans wallow in it.
87. A little socialism on the Left is better than a little fascism on the right.
88. The current corporate tax rate is the lowest in 60 years, so stop whining about it being too high.
89. repugicans: Anti-Gay Marriage, Pro-Lesbian sex.
90. repugicans: Terrorizing the American people since 1981.
91. repugicans have their own terrorists, just look up Timothy McVeigh.
92. repugicans love outsourcing, just ask the Chinese Communists.
93. The repugican answer to the oil spill was to apologize to BP, a foreign oil company.
94. Democrats will be working hard to bring jobs to Americans, while the repugicans tea bag each other in the middle of the aisles.
95. Voter disenfranchisement is immoral and un-American, that’s why repugicans do it.
96. repugicans would let your house burn down unless you pay them to put it out.
97. Democrats want to take care of the sick. repugicans take their credit cards and then deny them medical attention.
98. repugicans say teachers are union thugs, then proceed to rape and mug the entire middle class on behalf of corporations.
99. repugicans think rape isn’t a crime, but miscarriages are.
100. repugicans are idiots and arguing with them is a waste of time!

Bottom line? If you want to anger a wingnut, tell them the truth.

Organized Crime

A 63-year-old wrestles robber

63-year-old man teaches robber a lesson

Fred Kemp acts quickly after a man with a gun demands money from him and his wife. 

  Impressive wrestling moves 

Also: 

• Kimbo wins boxing debut
• Controversial end to bout
• UFC's new dress code

The truth be told

Get this ...

The post office to plans to fire 120,000 workers and cut off health insurance for those that don't get a pink slip.

Time stands still

Times Square from NY Times Building (1922)

And to think it's still the same traffic jam today!

Man arrested after Walmart bathroom picnic

While rest rooms traditionally are known as places to relieve oneself or freshen up, a 22-year-old man may have pioneered an alternate lavatory use, according to a recently released arrest affidavit. A loss prevention officer at a Walmart Supercenter in Vero Beach stated on Aug. 7 that Taylor Allen Dresia was "eating food" on the bathroom floor.

Dresia's apparent picnic in the potty blocked the commode for patrons, and a store manager asked him to leave. "After a few minutes Dresia left and then returned in another entrance yelling that an employee stole something from his backpack while he was in the bathroom," the affidavit states.

Dresia, who ultimately was arrested by an Indian River County Sheriff's deputy, was described as argumentative. He also was accused of yelling during the incident at the store in the 5500 block of 20th Street. The affidavit didn't state whether Dresia was in the mens or ladies rooms, nor was it clear what he was eating. The incident happened at 4 p.m.

A deputy told Dresia to leave immediately. Dresia said he wasn't leaving and that he wanted to write something down. "I then advised Dresia not to play games and exit the store now," the affidavit states. "Dresia again refused." Deputies got Dresia, listed as homeless, out, arresting him on misdemeanor charges of trespassing after warning and resisting an officer without violence.

Can a Specific Protein Reduce Obesity and High Blood Sugar?

Diseases related to obesity and high blood sugar are more prevalent these days. As of a study conducted in 2010, 33.8% of adults were considered obese.

Full Story

Seven surprising uses for everyday foods

Don’t throw out that orange peel!

You can put your extra edibles to work around the house, doing everything from cleaning your kitchen to soothing your sunburn.

Read More

Perspectives

The truth about protein

The truth about protein in your diet

A juicy hamburger meal contains two to three times what your body needs for an entire day. 

What to eat to stay healthy 

Also: 

• Hidden sodium sources
• Healthy eating on holiday
• Seven key superfoods

Replacing Red Meat Serving with Nuts Reduces Diabetes Risk

Photo: Sara Novak

We know eating lower on the food chain, meaning choosing plant-based foods, is easier on the planet. Animal husbandry on the factory farm level uses an abundance of natural resources in production, burps out loads of pollutants, and is needlessly inhumane. But a new Harvard study takes it a step further. According to a new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, red meat consumption is linked to Type 2 diabetes. Even after an adjustment for age, BMI, dietary, and lifestyle risks, red meat consumption was positively associated with an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes. This was particularly true of processed red meat consumption.

Article continues: Replacing Red Meat Serving with Nuts Reduces Diabetes Risk

Memories

The brain ...

Cultural Clash

Fry Ponders ....

Get a better banking deal

How to get a better banking deal

Free checking, free ATMs, and higher savings rates aren't necessarily things of the past.  

Pick your favorite perks 

Also: 

• Not OK for credit cards
• Tricks of informercials
• Pump up your savings

Helpful Hints

5 Tips to Make Money at Your Yard Sale

• 5 Ways to Avoid Getting Angry

Ziggy

The Good Old Days

Grandpa Aaron was always going on about the good old days, and the lower cost of living, in particular...

"When I was a kid, my mom could send me to the store, and I'd get a salami, two pints of milk, 6 oranges, 2 loaves o' bread, and a magazine, some new blue jeans... all for a dollar!!

Then Grandpa said sadly ..."You can't DO that any more...they got those damn video cameras everywhere you look..

Vintage Photo

c. 1910

The Smithsonian Celebrates its 165th Birthday

One of America's greatest institutions celebrates a birthday -- and it's come a long way.

Read more 

Wit of the World

Starchild Skull

Shocking DNA Results Show, The Skull Is Alien

The starchild skull came into the possession of Lloyd Pye in February 1999, the skull was found around 1930 in a mine tunnel about 100 miles southwest of Chihuahua, Mexico , buried alongside a normal human skeleton that was exposed and lying supine on the surface of the tunnel.

Full Story

Looking for the Thumbprints of Parallel Universes

It looks like cosmologists might be able to have their cake and eat it too in an "Eternal Inflation" universe.

Read more 

Gold Plated, Diamond Encrusted Contact Lenses

 

Inspired by the diamonds planted on his wife's teeth, Chandrashekhar Chawan, an optometrist at India's Shekhar Eye Research Center, has created gold plated, diamond encrusted contact lenses that will bring 'that special twinkle in your eyes.' He uses Boston Scleral lenses to hold the jewelry in such a way that it doesn't touch the cornea, thus making the fashion accessory 'very safe.'

The lenses cost $15,000 a pair, and Chandrashekhar Chawan says all the proceedings will go toward treating patients suffering from Stevens Johnson Syndrome, a skin condition that can lead to loss of eyesight.

Traffic Light Hourglass

Tired of waiting at traffic lights?  Well, its inevitable, isn’t it? Perhaps it would help if you knew how long you had to wait at the light. Designer designed this traffic light that would let you know exactly how long you had to wait or exactly how long you have to scoot through! Although I’m not sure that this design would work for colorblind drivers, it sure would be cool to know how much longer I had to apply mascara before I had to pay attention to the road again. Yanko features two other alternatives to traditional traffic lights and signs that are pretty darn cool as well.

Full Story

World War II: The American Home Front In Color

In 1942, soon after the United States entered World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order creating the Office of War Information. The new agency was tasked with releasing war news, promoting patriotic activities, and providing news outlets with audio, film, and photos of the government's war efforts.

Between 1939 and 1944, the OWI and the Farm Security Administration made thousands of photographs, approximately 1,600 of them in color. While most of the scenes were posed, the subjects were the real thing - soldiers and workers preparing for a long fight.

Tree Art

Curtis Killorn is an artist that works with aged desert trees that have been dead for centuries and brings them to life again by making them into art installations. Check out his website for his future work and his plans for Burning Man 2011.

Full Story

Fake pterodactyl nabs surfer in statue prank

A bronze surfer statue near San Diego that's been the target of many gags has been hit again.

Full Story

B.C.

Elephant, Rhino Poaching Driven By China's Economic Boom

The Guardian reports on a new study which has found that "the number of ivory items on sale in key centers in southern China has more than doubled since 2004, with most traded illegally." Fears about the future of elephants and rhinos of Africa has the researchers calling for China to tighten the enforcement of ivory trading regulations. Read the full story on The Guardian.

Article continues: Elephant, Rhino Poaching Driven By China's Economic Boom, Study Says

Trauma Dogs in Court

Photo Credit: Kelly Shimoda for the New York Times

Psychiatric dogs have been in use for several years.  They routinely help vets cope with PTSD and trauma victims establish their lives again and now psychiatric dogs are finding a new place to provide comfort–the courtroom. Rosie, a golden retriever has recently been put to use to aid rape victims who find it distressing to confront their perpetrators in court. Notably leaning against an anxious person giving testimony, she provides comfort to those who feel  overwhelmed. Naturally, defense attorneys say that the presence of a cute dog prejudices the case against their clients but courts are beginning to feel inclined to use these doggie companions who make a difficult procedure all that easier.

Full Story

Behold the Hagfish

 

Why you gotta hate on the hagfish?

Wolf comeback helps other animals thrive

Good news for a red wolf is good news for a turkey. 

At least it is in Eastern North Carolina.

Wolf comeback helps other animals thrive

Animal Pictures