The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:

A gigantic surge of creativity will hit you today -- be prepared to take advantage of it. 

Carry your journal and pen with you so you can jot down your brilliant ideas. 

This is the beginning of a very productive period full of experiments, educational challenges and opportunities for self-improvement. 

Don't immediately discount any idea that you have today -- even though you may have to sift through a lot of them to find a gem. 

Resist the urge to censor yourself.

Some of our readers today have been in: 

Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Sri Aman, Sarawk, Malaysia
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
London, England, United Kingdom
Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Kota, Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia
Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia
Manila, Manila, Philippines
Lisboa, Liboa, Portugal
Athens, Attiki, Greece
Gengenbach, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Port Louis, Port Louis, Mauritius
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Morini, Morini, Comoros
Amstelveen, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Buenos Aires, Distrito Federal, Argentina
Milton, Keynes, England, United Kingdom
Versailles, Ile-De-France, France
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Cork, Cork, Ireland
Milan, Lombardia, Italy
Ankara, Ankara, Turkey
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Makati, Manila, Pilippines
Bitburg, Rheinland-Pflaz, Germany
Newbury, England, United Kingdom
Prague, Hlavni Mesto Praha, Czech Repulic
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Barcelona, Catalonia, 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 Kathleen, Gary, Henrietta, Logan and more.

Today is:

Today is Tuesday, September 13, the 256th day of 2011.

There are 109 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

International Chocolate Day.

  

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Non Sequitur

Tuneful Tuesday

Tuesday's Gone by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Train roll on, on down the line,
Please take me far, away
Now I feel the wind blow outside my door,
Means I'm leaving my woman at home.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
Well my baby's gone with the wind.

And I don't know oh where I'm going.
I just want to be left alone.
Well, when this train ends I'll try again,
But I'm leaving my woman at home

(Tuesday's gone with the wind.) X 3
My baby's gone with the wind.
Train roll on.
Tuesday's gone.

Train roll on many miles from my home,
See, I'm riding my blues away. Yeah.
Tuesday, you see, she had to be free
But somehow I've got to carry on.
Lord And.

(Tuesday's gone with the wind) X 3
My baby's gone with the wind.

Train roll on.
Ahh on.
Cause my baby's gone.
Im riding my blues day.
Train roll on blue.
(Ride on train.) X 2
Ride my blues day.
Goodbye Tuesday. X2
Ahh Train.

Debate crowd cheers death

What a bunch of raging assholes!

Debate crowd cheers letting uninsured die

When Ron Paul is asked if society should let a man in a coma die, the audience goes wild.

  'Taken aback' 

Also: 

• Staffer: ‘Sick and sad’
• Was Rick Perry in pain?
• Opponent boosts Romney

Heroes lift car, save man

Lucky for mankind there are more people like these than there are the assholes in the previous post!

Crowd lifts burning car to save man

A group of people risk their own lives to rescue a man pinned underneath a flaming BMW. 

Dramatic footage 

Also: 

• Deadly bus-train crash
• Truck driver sentenced
• Search for missing boy

Culinary DeLites

A week's worth of easy dinner recipes

This late-summer stew can be ready in just 30 minutes, or try the zesty couscous and shrimp.  

More recipes 

Also: 

• Easy school-night meals
• Creative taco ideas
• Coca-Cola taste test

How to Build a DIY Solar Oven

Image credit: Popular Mechanics

From a heat-storing solar grill to solar ovens created for an international market, we've seen plenty of commercial models of sun-powered cooking devices. And from a solar oven death match to an oven created from old CDs, we've featured a few DIY varieties too. But there are now some promising signs that solar cooking is going mainstream, with Popular Mechanics featuring a build-your-own solar oven project for your average DIY enthusiast.

Article continues: How to Build a DIY Solar Oven (Video)

Odds and Sods

Museums To Exhibit 'Most Authentic' Rembrandts

The North Carolina Museum of Art will show an exhibit of Rembrandts that curators say has the most authentic works from the artist's American collections that have ever been assembled.

Time To Check That Furnace

Whether you like it or not, it's probably time to start thinking about checking your furnace for the winter. Especially considering the high tomorrow is going to likely hover in the 50s.

Poe Museum Nevermore?

Of all the U.S. cities that claim a connection to the troubled author Edgar Allan Poe, Baltimore likes to think its case is strongest.

Full Story

Only the Scots

At an art auction in Edinburgh, Scotland, a wealthy American lost his wallet containing £20,000 (i.e. $31,570).

He announced to the gathering that he would give a reward of £200 to the person who found it.

From the back of the hall a Scottish voice shouted, 'I'll give £250.'

Disastrous debut for new film

Film has worst box-office opening ever

"Creature" earns less than any other widely released movie in history in its debut. 

  Cheesy monster, plot 

Also: 

• More 'Creature' details
• 'Contagion' wins weekend
• Toronto fest photos

Chicago cops sued for beating man who photographed them abusing other suspect

If this story is true, and it certainly rings true from my experience in dealing with far too much hubris in far too many police departments (local officials genuflect to the police the same way federal officials pander to the Pentagon), those cops should be fired and then some. 

From WLS Chicago:

Brad Williams was standing on the front porch of his home when he saw the driver of a Chicago Police car reach his arm out the window and grab a man walking alongside the....

Williams took a photo of the incident and the driver’s partner exited the vehicle and approached, telling him it was illegal to photograph the police and he did not want to be on YouTube, the suit claims....

Both officers then returned to Williams, and verbally and physically assaulted him, the suit said. They handcuffed him and grabbed him by the throat.

Williams’ mother tried to open the door and an officer held it shut, then let go of it, causing her to stumble through the door and fall to the ground, the suit claims.

More from legal expert Jonathan Turley:

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit became the latest court in a recent decision to rule that police efforts to bar such videotaping is a violation of the First Amendment. That case involved Boston attorney Simon Glik, who was arrested for recording another arrest in public. We discussed the case earlier.

These cases continue to occur because officers are not disciplined for such abuses. Most such threats probably succeed and other cases are simply dropped with no action taken against officers. In the meantime, city council members and state legislators have done little to protect the public from such violations.

U.S. hopes for quick release of hikers

The United States is hopeful for the quick release of two remaining detained American hikers in Iran, after Iran's president pledged to release them, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday.

Full Story

First Woman Zeta Leader Arrested by Mexican Marines

The first woman leader of a Zeta operation has been arrested by the Mexican marines in Monterrey, Mexico according to the Navy Secretariat.

Full Story

When China Takes Over the World ...

It's probably just a matter of time before China becomes the largest economy in the world. When it does claim the top spot, what sort of dragon will it be? Will China be a benign hegemon?
The Economist pontificates:

If China does usurp America, what kind of hegemon will it be? Some argue that it will be a “premature” superpower. Because it will be big before it is rich, it will dwell on its domestic needs to the neglect of its global duties. If so, the world may resemble the headless global economy of the inter-war years, when Britain was unable, and America unwilling, to lead. But Mr Subramanian prefers to describe China as a precocious superpower. It will not be among the richest economies, but it will not be poor either. Its standard of living will be about half America’s in 2030, and a little higher than the European Union’s today.
With luck China will combine its precocity in economic development with a plodding conservatism in economic diplomacy. It should remain committed to preserving an open world economy. Indeed, its commitment may run deeper than America’s, because its ratio of trade to GDP is far higher.

Full Story

Drugstore do's and don'ts

What to buy and skip at the drugstore

Some items offer big savings, but you'll be surprised which products are often overpriced.  

Which water to pass up 

Also: 

• Saving at supermarkets
• What to buy secondhand
• Best deals in September

Red flags on credit reports

Six red flags for your credit report

You know about bankruptcies and missed payments, but these can be just as bad.  

 Rejections for cards, loans 

Also: 

• Hit a perfect credit score
• Credit binge recovery
• Clever coupon tricks

Big change to jobless benefits

Plan could change jobless benefits forever

Obama's jobs bill contains an idea to radically transform the safety net for the unemployed.

Modeled on Georgia's

Also: 

• Unemployment prediction
• Key elements of jobs bill
• How plan will be paid for

U.S. poverty rate swells to nearly 1 in 6

The ranks of U.S. poor swelled to nearly 1 in 6 people last year, reaching a new high as long-term unemployment woes left millions of Americans struggling and out of work.

Full Story

Job Creation: The true story

You're Fired

Workers Who Left With a Bang

Getting fired is never a fun time. 

These very public oustings show both the pain and the glory of losing a job.  

Read more 

Career tips from women executives

Career tips from elite businesswomen

These top executives have thrived at work by taking risks and embracing their own power. 

  'Stop believing in balance' 

Also: 

• Are you a sly manager?
• How Twitter got me hired
• Negotiating your raise

Dorm-room biz goes big

Retail success started in a dorm room

Susan Gregg Koger founded her online clothing company as a freshman.  

How it grew to employ 240 people 

Also: 

• How Twitter got me hired
• 'My wealth-building plan'
• Entrepreneur-in-waiting?

Ziggy

Marshmallow Experiment Repeated

The Ability to Delay Gratification Doesn't Change Much with Age

Back in the 70's, researchers conducted the now-classic "marshmallow" study to see how children deal with delayed gratification.
Now, they tracked down the original participants and found that their ability (or inability) to defer gratification doesn't change much over the years:

In the earlier study, 4-year-olds were given a choice. They could either have a marshmallow or a cookie now, or, if they waited a little longer, they could have double the treats.
Those who couldn't hold out and took the initial treat qualified as low delayers, while those who could postpone their reward were deemed high delayers. [...]
Because marshmallows aren't as irresistible to adults, the researchers asked participants to react to a series of emotional pictures, primarily happy and sad faces.
"The happy face took the place of the marshmallow," said Dr. B.J. Casey, director of the Sackler Institute at Weill Cornell Medical College and lead author of the study. "The positive social cue interfered with the low delayers' ability to suppress his or her actions."
The findings suggested that those better at delaying gratification as children remained so as adults. Likewise, those who wanted their treats right away were more likely to seek instant gratification as adults.

Full Story

And the 'Parents of the Year' Award goes to ...

Florida woman charged for leaving toddler at home to go partying

A Florida woman was arrested Saturday night for leaving her 3-year-old child home while she went out partying in Ybor City.

Full Story

Bail Set For Father Accused Of Abandoning Son

Bail was set at $5,000 Monday in Dakota County for a Lakeville man accused of abandoning his 11-year-old son.

Full Story

Life in the trenches

Facebook 'friend' dangers

Facebook 'friend' may want to rob you

Beware of social media scammers using clever come-ons to fleece innocent victims.  

 'I was referred to you...' 

Also: 

• What to do after ID theft
• Find work with Twitter
• Boost Android speed

And I Quote

Second planet found outside our system that could be habitable

Astronomers believe they have found a second planet outside our solar system that seems to be in the right zone for life, just barely.

But it would feel like a steam bath - hot, sticky and beyond uncomfortable.

European astronomers announced the discovery on Monday along with about 50 other planets outside our solar system at a US conference.

The most exciting of those planets is only the second to be confirmed as lying in what astronomers call the habitable zone or the Goldilocks zone.

That means it is not too hot and not too cold for liquid water to be present.

Full Story

Arctic ice melts to historic low

Melting ice is visible near Greenland's Ilulissat glacier, one of the areas seeing the effects of global warming in the Arctic.

Full Story

Belizean Barrier Reef Sunk by Quake

The quake caused landslides on the undersea slopes where the corals grew.  

Read more 

Crystals Break Slow Growth Record

Buried a thousand feet below Mexico's Naica mountain, the "Cave of Crystals" are the slowest growing ever measured.  

Read more 

Awesome Pictures

The 10 Creepiest Abandoned Resorts on Earth

From the beaches of Thailand to the deserts of the U.S, for a variety of reasons, some very expensive vacation resorts were deemed a loss, and no longer worth the trouble of upkeep. Years later, the photographs fascinate by illustrating their falls from grace. Environmental Graffiti shows us places that were once luxurioius playgrounds for tourists and celebrities, but are now being reclaimed by nature. Shown is a resort in Famagusta, Cyprus, which was permanently emptied when Turkey invaded in 1974.

Full Story

Amazing Underground Cities

We’ve all heard of underground societies, but rarely is the term used in such a literal manner as these amazing underground cities featured on Dornob.

Cities, empires and religions have risen and fallen around these unique underground havens once used by early Christians to hide from Roman armies, yet they remains occupied to this day – 100 square miles with 200+ underground villages and tunnel towns complete with hidden passages, secret rooms and ancient temples and a remarkably storied history of each new civilization building on the work of the last.

Read more about these amazing homes and enjoy the stunning pictures here.

The house built by 'Chipmunks'

The house built by 'Chipmunks'

The billion-dollar empire of Alvin and his squeaky brothers paid for this oceanview mansion.  

 Cartoon colors, of course 

Also: 

• Homes of the future
• Fun, copycat houses
• Most expensive cities

B.C.

Girl, 6, dug up rare 160m-year-old fossil with plastic spade

A girl of six got more than she bargained for when she went digging with a plastic spade and found a 160 million-year-old fossil. Lucky Emily Baldry unearthed the massive Rieneckia odysseus fossil during her first archaeological dig last year. And now after months of restoration she has donated it to a museum to be enjoyed by the public.

Photo from SWNS.

She pulled the 130lb specimen — which has a diameter of 40cm — out of the ground in March last year when she was just five. Stunned dad Jon Baldry couldn't believe his eyes when Emily's seaside spade hit the fossil at Cotswold Water Park in Gloucestershire. It has since undergone a year's worth of careful restoration and now boasts fearsome 2cm spikes.

Emily, who lives in Chippenham, Wilts, was reunited with the rock on Sunday when she presented it to the Gateway Information Center near Cirencester, Gloucs. She said she was very impressed with the transformation of her rock, which she nicknamed Spike, saying: "It is so exciting to see him. I was very happy when I first saw him and now he looks very shiny. I bring him into school and all of my friends like him too." Proud dad Jon, 40, added: "It is really breathtaking how much work has gone into restoring Spike.

Photo from SWNS.

"It is so lovely to see it on display and great that others can enjoy it. Emily found it so she is its official owner, which is quite remarkable at the age of six, but we will keep bringing it to wherever people want to see it." The stone will go on display at the center, run by the Cotswold Water Park Trust, for three weeks for other experts and children to admire. The fossilized sea creature with a spiral-patterned shell was a mollusc that lived in the oceans during the Jurassic period — the same time as dinosaurs.

Pre-Dino Subterranean World Discovered

Life on Earth 240 million years ago flourished in the seas, on land, and in intricate underground burrows.  

 Read more 

Invasive Tree-Killing Insects Cost U.S. Over $3.5 Billion a Year

Photo credit: Denis Defryne via Flickr/CC BY

The rise of invasive species is well-known: As globalization advanced, nations started shipping more and more goods across the planet, intrepid creatures started hitching rides and showing up across the ocean from where they belonged. Invasive species can be dangerous, irritating, disruptive, and, as a recent study reveals, expensive as hell. A new study in the biology journal PLoS One reveals, for instance, that tree-killing invasive forest insects alone are costing the US billions of dollars a year.

Article continues: Invasive Tree-Killing Insects Cost U.S. Over $3.5 Billion a Year

City Girls

"Er, excuse me Sir, but why doesn't this cow have any horns?" asked the young lady from a nearby city.

The farmer cocked his head for a moment, then began in a patient tone....

"Well, ma'am, cattle can do a powerful lot of damage with horns. Sometimes we keep'em trimmed down with a hacksaw. Other times we can fix up the young 'uns by puttin' a couple drops of acid where their horns would grow in, and that stops 'em cold. Still, there are some breeds of cattle that never grow horns. But the reason this cow don't have any horns, ma'am, is 'cause it's a horse!"

Man vs Beast Showdowns

Man v Beast: The greatest showdowns

The athlete who beat a racehorse and the rugby star who raced a cheetah make our rundown.  

Top 10 

Also: 

• Man v Animal
• More sporting top 10s
• Premier League videos

Six Things Animals Do Just Like Us

Did you know that parrots name their babies? Or that monkeys that understand money immediately use the idea to solicit prostitution? As it turns out, animals are a lot more like humans than many of us ever imagined.

Full Story

Rare Persian Onager Foal Born

The National Zoo celebrates the birth of a rare Persian onager foal.

Read more 

Animal Pictures