The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:

You'll need to push yourself a bit harder than usual in order to get that delicious feeling of accomplishment today. 

'Good enough' just won't be, well, good enough. 

You haven't been making the most of your abilities, and while that may make life easy, it won't make life rewarding. 

You want the world to have an accurate idea of how fabulous you are -- don't you? 

Or are you holding back because you don't want people to expect more from you?

 Some of our readers today have been in:

Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Woking, England, United Kingdom
London, England, United Kingdom
Brussels, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, Belgium
Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Crawley, England, United Kingdom
Moscow, Moskva, Russia
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Newbury, England, United Kingdom
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Barnet, England, United Kingdom
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

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 Paramus, Orange, Bellevue, Charlotte and more.

Today is:

Today is Tuesday, October 4, the 277th day of 2011.

There are 88 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are:

Kanelbullens Day (Cinnamon Roll Day)
World Animal Day
and
Ten-Four Day.

  

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Non Sequitur

Tuneful Tuesday

I've Had Enough by Paul McCartney and Wings

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: 10 things to know

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: 10 things to know

A lot of people talk about preventing breast cancer, but the correct term is risk reduction.

- Romine Powell: Don't let fear rule mammogram
- Flono: Breast cancer scary but many will have it
- Advice from breast cancer survivors

Navigators steer breast cancer patients to hope
Retailers offer ways to 'shop for the cure'
Breast Cancer Awareness Month events
Database: Charlotte-area health resources

Fight breast cancer at every age

We know the stats, we do the checks.

But we also know there's more we can do to protect our bodies from breast cancer.

Here’s how to outsmart the risk in your 20s, 30s, and 40s.

Read More

Beating Breast & Prostate Cancer

The medical innovation series The Cutting Edge returns on Oct. 8 , and this time we're uncovering the latest diagnostic and surgical innovations in two of the most prevalent forms of cancer in women and men - breast cancer and prostate cancer.

Full Story

Homecoming queen is hero in big game

Homecoming queen is hero in big game

A Michigan high school girl is crowned at halftime and then stars in her football team's upset win.

'It was a good night' 

Also: 

• Tragedy at L.A. game
• QB breaks Texas record
• Penalty for cemetery talk

Crabby Road

Knox returns home after court victory

Knox returns home after court victory

Amanda Knox returns to Seattle after a jury cleared her of killing a UK student in a dramatic trial climax. 

Tears of joy

The Wingnut Brain

And just how do repugicans honor soldiers overseas?

They bar them from voting.

In a very determined effort by Colorado's repugican secretary of state, Scott Gessler, to make sure as few people as possible actually get to vote in Colorado, U.S. troops serving overseas won't get to vote.

***

So, how do you like 'the we support the troops party' now?

War milestone's bitter truth

Afghanistan War milestone's bitter truth

Osama bin Laden is dead and al-Qaida is weakened, but the real threat is growing stronger.

  'Dirty little secret' 

Also: 

• Christiane Amanpour
• Impact of al-Awlaki death
• Jazz's role in Pakistan

Durbin and Miller take swipe at greedy banks

From Huff Post:

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Rep. Brad Miller are going on the offensive against Bank of America after the financial behemoth cited Wall Street reform in announcing a new five dollar monthly debit charge last week. Miller, a Democrat from BofA's home state of North Carolina, plans to introduce legislation that would make it easy for consumers to switch banks and simultaneously swap their direct deposit, electronic bill paying and other automatic features that make moving money from one bank to another more hassle than it's often worth.

Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, meanwhile, is encouraging consumers to abandon the bank's debit card. "My word to consumers across America is talk with your feet, look for a debit card that doesn't charge the Bank of America fee," Durbin told HuffPost, adding that the revenue from the new fee likely far outstrips what they'll lose to swipe fee reform. "It would be no surprise if we found out that Bank of America is overcharging consumers again. They've been found guilty of that in the past, but I really encourage consumers across America to look for competition that doesn't charge this fee, move their debit cards."

This is the most important part of the article:

On Saturday, the Federal Reserve instituted a 24 cent cap on swipe fees, estimating that running the card costs banks between 7 and 10 cents per swipe. The cap is roughly 20 cents lower than the average swipe fee had been previously.

So it costs banks around 7 to 10 cents every time a debit card is used. But the banks charge around 44 cents. If my rusty math is correct, that's at least a 340% profit in the middle of the worst economy since the Great Depression.

That's what the banks are complaining about. Durbin is "only" letting them have a 140% profit. And Bank of America just can't live with that.

The truth be told

Damage from Coal Costs US Economy More than the Electricity it Generates is Worth

Photo: Jen SFO-BCN via Flickr/CC BY

I was out on vacation last week, but I still caught wind of the new headline-making study Environmental Accounting for Pollution in the United States Economy. The study, which was published in the prestigious journal the American Economic Review, caused quite a stir in green circles, and for good reason -- the authors found that mining and burning coal actually imposes more costs on the economy than the value it creates by generating power. It's hard to find a sexy way to frame this wonky-seeming finding, but it is absolutely huge. It means that continuing to rely on coal does more damage to our economy than good. And forget, for a second, about the health risks and sullied natural habitats -- this is strictly economically speaking.

Article continues: Damage from Coal Costs US Economy More than the Electricity it Generates is Worth: New Study

That about sums it up

Planning a second career

How to plan a great second career

Look for creative ways to transfer your skills and experience into a field you'll love.

Websites with job opportunities 

Also: 

• What not to put on resumé
• Job-hunting email etiquette
• Retiring in a college town

Goofs that hurt credit scores

Four ways you hurt your credit score

Charging a lot on one department-store card can turn into a painful mistake. 

  How parking tickets bite back 

Also: 

• Establish a credit history
• How to use credit cards
• Beat the new bank fees

Daily Comic Relief

Repetitive Warnings Don’t Work

I knew it all along: Annoyed by public address messages? Now experts say they don't even work.

They are the inescapable accompaniment to life in Britain – the repetitive public address messages at railway stations, airports and shopping centers.
Now, experts say the constant barrage of announcements is actually counter productive.
They warn that in many places, messages are broadcast with such frequency that their actual meaning is blocked out by listeners, in a psychological phenomenon known as "habituation".
Judy Edworthy, a professor in applied psychology at Plymouth University, said: "People habituate to any kind of stimulus and eventually filter it out and the same thing happens with warnings and announcements.
"It is rather like crying wolf – people get warning fatigue. It means people could actually be at more risk of what they are being warned about."

By the way, the white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only.

Judgment Day Coming Up

For some reason, he's not getting much attention this time: Harold Camping strangely quiet as October 21st Judgment Day approaches.

Thus we can be sure that the whole world, with the exception of those who are presently saved (the elect), are under the judgment of god, and will be annihilated together with the whole physical world on October 21, 2011, on the last day of the present five months period. On that day the true believers (the elect) will be raptured. We must remember that only god knows who His elect are that He saved prior to May 21.

I'm pretty sure it's really going to happen this time.

Funny Pictures

Researchers Design Locks that Can be Opened with Certain Hand Gestures

Researchers from Taiwan have developed a machine that reads people’s hand gestures and thereby permits them to open doors by waving a few fingers:

“In the future, you won’t have to worry about losing or forgetting your keys,” said Tsai Yao-pin, who teaches at the Technology and Science Institute of Northern Taiwan.
At the heart of the technology developed by his team is a chip that can detect movement in three dimensions, as used in Nintendo’s Wii video game console, he said.
The technology allows users to easily unlock their doors by repeating a gesture preset in the sensor, according to Tsai.

You’ll just have to be careful about your body language.

Full Story

Climate Change Caused Angry Runts

During the Little Ice Age climate changes led to war and stunted Europeans.

Read more 

New telescope activated

Massive telescope goes to work

The world's biggest astronomy project provides a view of space unmatched by other observatories.  

 First images arrive 

Also: 

• Telescope's photos
• Giant asteroids ID'd
• Challenging Einstein

Plants That Look Extraterrestrial

 

image credit

The Dragon Fruit is a rare and exotic plant that may look extraterrestrial but is very much a part of our world. Take a look at some plants that are simply out of this world.

Ziggy

Healthy Living

7 foods that help you think

• The sneakiest cause of hair loss in women
• 4 vaccines you need now
• 5-minute self-defense workout

Culinary DeLites

A week's worth of easy dinner recipes

Garlicky breadcrumbs and roasted zucchini give plain old spaghetti a delectable twist.

  Meatloaf Monday 

Also: 

• How to cook pasta
• Make magnificent meatballs
• In-season fruits, veggies

How to fix cooking mistakes

How to avoid common cooking mistakes

These simple tricks can salvage an oversalted sauce and prevent limp, soggy veggies. 

Secret to a perfect sear 

Also: 

• Cook perfect pasta
• Star never had spinach
• Tasty pantry staples

B.C.

Washington man banned from parks for digging up fossil

A Longview, Wash., man accused of digging up the skull of a hog-like animal that predated humans by 20 million years has been banned from national park lands for a year.

Full Story

A 20 Foot Long New Species of Crocodile Found in Colombia

The crocodile, Acherontisuchus guajiraensis , the latest prehistoric reptile to be found in El CerrejA3n coal mine, was dug up by Associate Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, Jonathan Bloch and Carlos Jaramillo, a Paleo-botanist with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Full Story

Peru Juice Bar Sells Fresh Frog Juice

"The Peruvian Viagra"

A Peru bar in Lima, adds frogs to their juice. Actually, it's a fresh juice bar and the owner says frog juice restores vigor and keeps a body strong.

Full Story

The Skiing Ostrich

Couple attacked by bear inside home

A married couple was injured early Monday when a bear followed the family dog into their rural central Pennsylvania home and went on the attack, state Game Commission officials said.

Full Story

Nearly extinct nine-spotted ladybugs found in upstate N.Y.

The rare nine-spotted ladybug, subject of a nationwide citizen science project launched after it appeared the insect had gone extinct, has been found in New York state for the first time there in 29 years.

Full Story

The 10 Longest Animal Lifespans In The Absence Of Human Interference

We as human beings are accustomed to being the most important species on this Earth. In spite of our self consciousness, there are animal species out there able to outlive us and even more to exist better and longer in our absence. Have you ever asked yourself how long your pet is going to live, or if your kids will have the chance to see the Blue Macaw you loved so much at the zoo? If so, you most likely wondered about how long the animals of the world live.

Some species are far more capable to cheat death than we are while some are truly an example of longevity. The main point is that if life is allowed to go on without us interfering in it, the animal world may surprise us with its longevity.

Chickens born and bred in one-bedroom New York apartment as part of couple's local food routine

In a city where the local food movement is growing despite the scarcity of arable green space, one Queens couple has come up with a creative way to ensure they have a ready supply of fresh eggs. Robert McMinn, 45, and Jules Corkery, 45, are raising three hens inside their one-bedroom apartment in Astoria.

"I don't think it's the ideal situation," conceded McMinn, a public policy associate at the mental health group Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services. But "they're cute. They're fun to [watch] run around. They're excited when we come home." The Serama hens, a small domesticated breed that typically weighs about a pound, nest in a converted ferret cage in the living room, McMinn said.

They have the run of the apartment - except for the bedroom - and lay about two eggs each a week. They also have a litter box of sand so they can give themselves cleansing dust baths. But "they poop everywhere," said McMinn, who uses the droppings to fertilize the soil in nearby community gardens.

"A chicken can save you money. It's a cheap hobby, and it improves your gardening," said McMinn, who doesn't recommend raising them indoors. "You get the eggs and they're delicious." The small brown eggs can also pick up the flavour of what the chickens eat, said McMinn, who feeds his pets table scraps.

Animal Pictures