The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:

If things have been getting silly instead of serious between you and someone else, you will have to court them more aggressively. 

It's time to let down your walls and let them know how you really feel. 

Going out on a limb is definitely scary, but you won't get anywhere unless you make a move. 

Do not underestimate the power of music to help you say what you need to say. 

Song lyrics are poetry -- and they could help you express yourself in a very captivating and effective way.

Some of our readers today have been in: 

Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Morini, Morini, Comoros
Newbury, England, United Kingdom
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
London, England, United Kingdom
Annecy, Rhone-Alpes, France
Cork, Cork, Ireland
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia
Gengenbach, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Jakarta, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Athens, Attiki, Greece

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 Charlotte, Boone, Columbia, Aiken and more.

Today is:

Today is Monday, September 12, the 255th day of 2011.

There are 110 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

There isn't one.

  

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Non Sequitur

Manic Monday

The Worst Commutes Around The World

Commuting to work is rarely a fun exercise, but it's easier in some places than others. IBM's annual Commuter Pain survey of 8,042 commuters in 20 cities spells it out: Roadway traffic has largely improved over the past three years, but people around the world say that road traffic is negatively affecting their stress levels now more than ever.

As it stands, commuters in clogged cities like Moscow and Mexico City sometimes get stuck in traffic for hours on end. IBM's Commuter Pain study calculates the places where getting to work causes the most mental anguish.

It's Monday Again!

It's Moanday, The Worst Day Of The Week

If you woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning, then try to find comfort in the fact that you're not alone. Monday is officially the most miserable day of the week, a survey has found. It may not be the first time such a suggestion has been made, but this time there is clear evidence.
 
Flomax Relief conducted the research of 2,000 adults. The results say that more than half of us will spend the day complaining, particularly in the morning. The average respondent in the survey spent 34 minutes moaning on a Monday morning, compared to just 22 minutes during the rest of the week. One in three people said they hated Monday more than any other day of the week.

Flight in 1 - 2 - 3

'Nuff Said

The truth be told

More ground turkey is recalled

Cargill Inc. announced a second recall of ground turkey products Sunday after a test showed salmonella in a sample from the same Arkansas plant tied to a recall issued last month.

Full Story

Very True

Quick paths to new careers

Quick ways to start a new career

Two of these degree programs can be completed in as little as one year.

Health care, business, paralegal options 

Also: 

• Degrees with some fun
• Best states for business
• End of working 9-to-5

Work rules you should break

Outdated work rules you should break

Many people think they should just keep their heads down and their noses to the grindstone.

Not always true, though 

Also: 

• Struggling in your job?
• Five public-speaking tips
• Failed celeb businesses

Massive job cuts at BofA

Bank of America to slash 30,000 jobs

The layoffs will be part of the embattled bank's first phase of cost-cutting.

Saving $5 billion a year

Also: 

• Why firms aren't hiring
• Surviving a job loss
• Obama calls on Congress

Banks face radical reform

Of course you realize this isn't in the U.S.

Banks 'barred from risking your cash'

Banks can no longer carry out activities that could put depositors' money at risk under new restrictions. Radical 

Also: 

• Compare saving accounts
• Key points of the report
• Reaction to the review

Expect huge swings in stocks

Brace for more wild market swings

Global economic chaos and computers make stock plunges and surges the new normal.  

 Is it really a problem? 

Also: 

• World stocks tumble
• How money splits couples
• Why tax cuts are likely

Long-missing tycoon turns up

Elusive tycoon turns up after 20 years

A quirky tech CEO who owes more than $100 million in taxes reappears in the Caribbean.

  How he was discovered 

Also: 

• Stolen Rembrandt mystery
• Amazon's digital library
• Broadcom to buy NetLogic

How to really fail with your money

Worst ways to fail with your money

If you're an adult, you should know exactly how much is in your bank accounts.  

What if you don't? 

Also: 

• How to stash more cash
• Gadgets that pay back
• 7 unusual ways to save

Ziggy

Walking on Water

All of his life Ole had heard stories of an amazing family tradition. It seems that his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had all been able to walk on water on their 21st birthday.

On that day, they'd walk across the lake to the boat club for their first legal drink. So when Ole's 21st birthday came around, he and his pal Sven took a boat out to the middle of the lake. Ole stepped out of the boat and nearly drowned!

Sven just barely managed to pull him to safety.

Furious and confused, Ole went to see his grandmother. "Grandma, it's my 21st birthday, so why can't I walk across the lake like my father, his father, and his father before him?"

Granny looked into Ole's eyes and said, "Because, you dummy, your father, grandfather and great-grand father were born in January; you were born in July.

Marcoule Explosion

Explosion at French nuclear site

One person is killed and at least four are injured after a blast at the southern French nuclear site of Marcoule but there have been no leaks, officials say.

• Marcoule's long nuclear history
• Nuclear power mapped

Five arrested after police rescue 24 men 'kept as slaves' on Bedfordshire caravan site

Twenty-four people believed to have been held as slaves have been rescued following a dawn raid in Bedfordshire. One hundred and fifty police officers were involved in the operation at a site close to Leighton Buzzard. It is believed the people were recruited from soup kitchens, benefits offices and other locations, with the promise of accommodation and work. When the people were brought to the site though, they had their heads shaved, mobile phones confiscated and made to work as laborers for no pay and live in squalid conditions.

Five people were arrested during the raid. Detectives are eager to talk to at least another three people in connection with holding people against their will, and slavery offenses. Some of those found on the site are believed to have been held there for as long as 15 years. If they tried to leave they were threatened and beaten. Detective Chief Inspector Sean O'Neil from the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Major Crimes Unit told Sky News: "Generally they were held in dirty, filthy conditions, hardly any food, not replacement clothing, as compared to their gangmasters who were living in almost palatial backgrounds.

"They were generally the most vulnerable people in society, who can disappear and be held here without anyone knowing they were missing." Detectives were alerted to what was going on by 28 people who had escaped from the site. When they arrived the police expected to find around 15 people who were being held as slaves. After a search of the entire site, a total of 24 men were found, most of them British. Detectives said they were found in an awful state. They had been living in small caravans or sheds spread throughout the travelers site.

They were made to work as laborers on projects across Britain and even in Scandinavia, detectives added. In return the men were paid nothing and given little food. On their one 'day of rest' on a Sunday, they were made to get up at 6am and clean the travelers site. All 24 people are now being cared for at a reception center, where they will get held from medical and other professionals - one of whom is a specialist in torture. The four men and one woman arrested, all Irish are being questioned by the police.

There's a news video here.

Shariah court in Nigeria orders right hand amputations for two men

An Islamic court in northern Nigeria's Zamfara state has sentenced two youths to amputation of their right hands for stealing a bull. The court ruled that the wrists of Auwalu Abubaka, 23, and Lawalli Musa, 22, should be amputated in public.

Amputations under Islamic law are rare in Nigeria and the court said the men could appeal against their sentences. Nigeria's government recognizes aspects of Islamic law in its 12 mainly Muslim northern states.

Judge Muhammadu Abubakar, hearing the case in the village of Nassarawan Mailayi, said Abubaka and Musa had pleaded guilty to stealing the bull from a local resident. "Based on the admission of guilt by the two of you of trespassing into the house... and stealing a bull whose worth is well above the minimum value to warrant amputation, I hereby order that each of you should have his right wrist amputated," Judge Muhammadu Abubakar told the convicts.

The bull was valued at $867 (£544), reports say. The sentence would take place on "market day [8 October] for members of the public to witness", Judge Abubakar said. The judge, however, gave Abubaka and Musa the right to appeal against the sentence.

B.C.

Rap song ruled hate speech

S. Africa rules rap song is hate speech

Criminal cases can now be brought against those who sing the song quoted by a politician.

  Reaction to ruling 

Also: 

• Sudan OKs military action
• 100 dead in Kenyan fire
• Chirac denies taking cash

Early Knife Pistol

It’s a knife with a single-shot percussion pistol. There’s a crown marked into the steel, but otherwise, its origin is a mystery.

Full Story

Coin Trees of the UK

That’s not bark, but coins driven into the surface of a tree! In several locations in the UK, people have stuck coins into “wishing trees”. Colossal has a picture roundup of these oddly lovely trees and The Guardian provides some historical information about the practice, which apparently dates back to at least the Eighteenth Century.

Image Gallery and News Article

Confounding News

BBC NEWS; Archaeologists working at Shakespeare's old house in Stratford have been confounded today by the discovery of a room in the basement containing the remains of 1,000,000 monkeys chained to tiny typewriters.

Stonehenge

Accidental Archaeological Discoveries

On the anniversary of the chance discovery of the Lascaux Caves in France, take a look at other fortuitous finds.  

Read more

Odd species discovered

Scientists discover odd ancient fish

Researchers say the lumbering creature preceded dinosaurs, or any land animals for that matter.

'Very big teeth' 

Also: 

• Closest human ancestor
• Gore talks climate change  
• Hype over electric cars

Google Invests in Pig Poo Power

Google is investing in a poo-to-power system on a hog facility in North Carolina.

Read more 

Extremophiles

Meet the Energy Superbugs

Rugged heat- and salt-loving organisms could unlock the secret to efficient biofuel production.  

Read more 

Upping the cute factor

Scientists Create Glowing Cats in Fight Against AIDS

 

Photo: Mayo Clinic

As the quest for a cure to Aids continues to offer hope to millions suffering from one of the world's most devastating health epidemics, it's also producing some particularly peculiar sights along the way. Scientists studying how genetic engineering could help combat HIV infection have successfully birthed a litter of kittens spliced with virus-resilient DNA from a monkey, along with luminescent genes of a jellyfish -- producing cats that literally glow in the dark and that one day may help save countless lives.

Article continues: Scientists Create Glowing Cats in Fight Against AIDS

Poisonous Rhinos Discourage Poachers

Applying poison to rhino horns deters both parasites and hunters.

Read more 

Fame of killer bull named 'Mouse' spreads in Spain

With more than 3,000 fans cheering, a hulking, black-and-white fighting bull named "Mouse" chased one daredevil runner after another Sunday, trying to flip them airborne and skewer them as he did a month ago in a fatal goring that enshrined his reputation as Spain's most feared and famous beast.

Full Story

Animal Pictures