CAROLINA NATURALLY: Oct 5, 2011

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:

A few new opportunities are going to pop their pretty little heads up today, but before you get too excited, it's important for you to realize that not all of them are going to fit easily into your life.

Be wary of these new schemes, if for no other reason than to make absolutely sure that you find the perfect one to take on.

Be a tough questioner, and don't be satisfied until you get the answers you want.

You should not have to make any compromises to get in on the game.

Some of our readers today have been in:

London, England, United Kingdom
Morini, Morini, Comoros
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Tranbjerg, Arhus, Denmark
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Barnet, England, United Kingdom
Newbury, England, United kingdom
Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland
Gengenbach, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Male, Kaafu, Maldives
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
New Delhi, Delhi, India
Budapest, Budapest, Hungary

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 Honolulu, Knapp, Monessen, Sarasota and more.

Today is:

Today is Wednesday, October 5, the 278th day of 2011.

There are 87 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are:

Balloons Around The World Day.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Non Sequitur

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Wondrous Wednesday

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Crabby Road

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And I Quote

Poll: 72% of Afghan women think their lives are better now after the US invasion

As foreign troops prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan, efforts are being made to reach some sort of accommodation with the Taliban. According to a new survey of Afghan women by Action Aid, they fear it is their rights that are about to be bargained away.
There are surprises in the survey results. While it's unsurprising that women fear the consequences of a return to a Taliban-style regime, the fact that 86% of them do so is eye-catching. The notion that intervention in Afghanistan has done nothing but make a bad situation worse is a commonplace one in the West, indeed one I leant towards myself. That 72% of Afghan women think their lives are better now than they were 10 years ago is, for me, an unexpected perspective.

ActionAid has also carried out a rare survey of 1,000 women in Afghanistan – one of the very few times that Afghan women have been asked their opinion on the
last 10 years of war and a possible Taliban return to power. It reveals that 72% of Afghan women believe their lives are better now than they were 10 years ago, while 37% think Afghanistan will become a worse place if international troops leave. A massive 86% are worried about a return to Taliban-style government,
with one in five citing their daughter’s education as the main concern.

You can see a short film about the survey report here. See also the new Amnesty UK campaign to ensure negotiations are not at the expense of women's rights (only works for UK citizens).

Scuba divers left behind

Tourists on Florida scuba dive left behind

When the two men surfaced, they found themselves alone in the shark-infested open ocean.

Coast Guard investigating

Also:

Woman arrested selling heroin from her front porch

After several tips from residents and business owners, Wilmington police officers arrested a woman they say intended to sell heroin.

Full Story

For Your Information

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Typical ...

His Holiness Saint Ronald Reagan said in 1985,

"It's not fair that a secretary has to pay a higher rate of taxes than her boss."

Why aren't the Democrats quoting Saint Reagan and proving the repugicans to be the liars they are?
Why not call it what it is - "The Reagan Rule?"

Sesame Street introduces poverty-stricken, hungry Muppet

Seriously Folks

A sign of the times:

A new poverty-stricken Muppet will highlight the issue of hunger struggles on an episode of "Sesame Street", the show said in a statement on Tuesday.

Pink-faced Muppet Lily, whose family deals with food insecurity, will join Big Bird, Elmo and other favorites on a one-hour prime-time special featuring country star Brad Paisley and his wife Kimberly Williams Paisley called "Growing Hope Against Hunger," to air Oct 9.

This is a good reminder that culture is deliberate. Whether it's creating prominent gay characters who have real romantic relationships (with actual kissing!) or a Muppet that highlights how many American families are starving, television show and film writers make conscious choices about what story lines to include. These things don't just happen on their own. So when these writers and producers make choices which will influence our national culture and create awareness and, hopefully, equality, they should be celebrated. Good job, "Sesame Street"!

Improving your resumé

Best ways to improve your resumé

Ask just these two types of people to critique what you have drafted.

The big goof job hunters make

Also:

Only 91,000 jobs added in September

Welcome to the new underwhelming normal.

That's more than expected, but far below what the economy needs to just break even in terms of the unemployment numbers.

Money fixes in 20 minutes

Take control of your money in 20 minutes

These quick fixes can cut your expenses and get rid of clutter at home, too.

Papers you should toss

Also:

China angry over U.S. bill

China warns U.S. of serious repercussions

A bill that would punish countries with artificially low currencies provokes a strong response.

Exchange rate battle

Also:

Citi ramps up checking fees

Citi ramps up checking account fees

Some customers will be charged $20 a month if their balances dip below $15,000.

One fee Citi won't charge

Also:

Did you know ...

#OccupyWallStreet protesters suing NYC.

Good for them. If the reports are true that the NYPD led the protesters down the wrong road only to arrest them for going down the wrong road, they should be sued.

Wall Street protesters arrested in a march across the Brooklyn Bridge sued New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly for allegedly violating their constitutional rights.

Five of the protesters, seeking to represent about 700 people arrested in the Oct. 1 march, filed a civil rights complaint yesterday in Manhattan federal court. They claimed officers from the New York City Police Department lured them onto the bridge’s roadway to trap and arrest them.

“After escorting and leading a group of demonstrators and others well out onto the Brooklyn Bridge roadway, the NYPD suddenly and without warning curtailed further forward movement, blocked the ability of persons to leave the bridge from the rear, and arrested hundreds of protesters in the absence of probable cause,” they said in the complaint.

And let's not forget just a few days ago when the NYPD pepper sprayed, in the face, a group of peaceful women protesters who weren't doing anything at all but standing there.

What Wall St. protesters want

What do Wall Street protesters want?

As the movement gains momentum, some wonder if it will turn into a liberal tea party.

Confusion about goals

Also:

Divorced from reality

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Amazing home conversions

Astonishing home conversions

Million-dollar Cinderella renovations turn sad buildings like this barn into stunning estates.

Before, after photos

Also:

Mimi and Eunice

Culinary DeLites

Easy ways to cut calories

How to cut 100 calories at every meal

Just having an open-faced sandwich can cut up to 90 calories from your daily intake.

Don't drink your fruit

Also:

Healthy Living

Simple ways to save 100 calories

Secrets about your weight

Things you never knew about your weight

Some experts believe sleep may be the cheapest and easiest obesity treatment there is.

Speed up your metabolism

Also:

The afternoon mood slump?

The afternoon mood slump? It's real

Man Learns the Klingon Language, Finds That It Helps Him Overcome Dyslexia

Jonathan Brown of Milton Keynes, UK, has struggled with dyslexia for many years. But he’s found that studying the Klingon language from Star Trek has been very helpful for coping with it:

He explained how he has always had difficulty with reading and also has what he describes as “name blindness” but while doing this work he realized that he could use a different part of his brain.
“Dyslexia is not something you get over, you live with it. It’s not necessarily a hindrance, you just learn different ways to pick things up.
“Working on the translation has helped me understand where I’ve been having problems all my life with languages, I realized I’d been trying to remember the words in the name part of my brain and because I can’t remember names, I can’t remember the words.
“With the Klingon language games used on the CD, I tended to put words into a different place and it went into my long term memory.

You can’t go wrong by choosing to study Klingon. At one point, just a couple decades ago, it was the fastest growing language in the world!

Full Story

Alzheimer's may be transmissible

If tests prove this to be true, it is a massive breakthrough.

In some cases, Alzheimer's disease may in fact be the result of an infection, and may be even be transmissible, a new study in mice suggests.

In the study, mice injected with human brain tissue from Alzheimer's patients developed Alzheimer's disease. The mice developed brain damage characteristic of Alzheimer's disease, and over time, the damage spread throughout their brains, the researchers said.

Mice injected with brain tissue from healthy humans showed no signs of the disease.

Ziggy

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Nazi cases reopened

Hundreds of Nazi cases reopened

In a race against time, Germany is reviewing dormant probes of former death camp guards.

Implications

Also:

Ten Best-Selling Books That Were Originally Rejected

Aspiring writers know how it is -those rejection slips just keep piling up. It can be discouraging. But that doesn’t necessarily mean your book is bad. Some of the biggest selling books ever were published only after a string of rejections. Even Anne Frank’s diary was rejected -sixteen times!

These days, Anne Frank has one of the best-known holocaust stories and the book has sold 30 million copies around the world. Surprisingly, the tale wasn’t too popular with publishers though, and was rejected sixteen times. One publisher even noted the story was barely worth reading because, “The girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the ‘curiosity’ level.”

Read about other bestselling books that overcame initial publisher’s rejection at Flavorwire.

Unlocking The Riddle Of Skeleton Key Necklaces

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Keys have always been endowed with a certain sort of magic. They have the power to reveal things that were unknown or obscured before. Even the word 'key' means a tool that opens physical, intellectual, or spiritual barriers. A key can give access to riches and treasure, or it might keep safe closely guarded secrets, as in the legend of Pandora's Box.

When a woman puts an antique key on a chain and wears it around her neck, close to her heart, it could mean any number of things, a mystery just begging to be unlocked. The precedent for jewelry as symbols goes back at least to Queen Victoria, who hardly ever wore jewelry that didn't have a emotional message of love or mourning. On the other hand, it could just be fashion.

Seasons change ...

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It won't be long ...

Webcam Pictures From Mount Everest

A new webcam installed on top of Kala Patthar, at the height of 5,600 meters (3,480 miles), will now allow anyone with a PC of high resolution to watch live images of the world's tallest peak Mount Everest. This is the first webcam installed at the vicinity. The image is updated every few minutes, and one can also see the movements of clouds around the mountain.

The camera has been installed by Italian and Nepalese technicians coordinated by Cabbage Giampietro. The Mount Everest webcam was installed under the 2011 Share Everest expedition to restore the world's highest weather station.

Eighteen Examples Of Amazing Long-Exposure Photography

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Streaks of light, trailing stars, smoothly swirling water, surreal color gradients and stretched wisps of cloud - all of these effects are possible using a long-duration shutter speed when taking a photograph.

Long exposures are created by placing the camera on a tripod and leaving the camera's shutter open for an extended period of time, which captures the stationary elements of the scene in sharp detail but blurs the elements that move.