The Daily Drift

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Carolina Naturally

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Today in History

2348 BC
 Biblical scholars have long asserted this to be the day of the Great Deluge, or Flood.
1863
Union ends the siege of Chattanooga with the Battle of Missionary Ridge.
1876
Colonel Ronald MacKenzie destroys Cheyenne Chief Dull Knife‘s village, in the Bighorn Mountains near the Red Fork of the Powder River, during the so-called Great Sioux War.
1901
Japanese Prince Ito arrives in Russia to seek concessions in Korea.
1914
German Field Marshal Friedrich von Hindenburg calls off the Lodz offensive 40 miles from Warsaw, Poland. The Russians lose 90,000 to the Germans’ 35,000 in two weeks of fighting.
1918
Chile and Peru sever relations.
1921
Hirohito becomes regent of Japan.
1923
Transatlantic broadcasting from England to America commences for the first time.
1930
An earthquake in Shizouka, Japan kills 187 people.
1939
Germany reports four British ships sunk in the North Sea, but London denies the claim.
1946
The U.S. Supreme Court grants the Oregon Indians land payment rights from the U.S. government.
1947
The Big Four meet to discuss the German and European economy.
1951
A truce line between U.N. troops and North Korea is mapped out at the peace talks in Panmunjom, Korea.
1955
The Interstate Commerce Commission bans segregation in interstate travel.
1963
The body of assassinated President John F. Kennedy is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
1964
Eleven nations give a total of $3 billion to rescue the value of the British currency.
1986
As Reagan announces the Justice Department’s findings concerning the Iran-Contra affair; secretary Fawn Hall smuggles important documents out of Lt. Col. Oliver North’s office.
1987
Typhoon Nina sticks the Philippines with 165 mph winds and a devastating storm surge and causes over 1,030 deaths.
1992
Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia votes to partition the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, beginning Jan. 1, 1993.
2008
Sri Lanka is hit by Cyclone Nisha, bringing the highest rainfall the area had seen in 9 decades; 15 people die, 90,000 are left homeless.

Alcohol Abuse in College Far More Prevalent Than Thought

Sobering Stats: Alcohol Abuse in College Far More Prevalent Than Thought

DNA influences selection of partners for educational achievement

A study co-led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) has found that people with genes for high educational achievement tend to marry, and have children with, people with similar DNA. Humans generally do not … Read more

Feathers and Colors Preserved for 130 Million Years

This stunning bird fossil was found in China in 2008. The species has been dubbed Eoconfuciusornis, which means “early Confucius bird.” At 130 million years old, it is the oldest bird we know of except for the proto-bird Archaeopteryx. All that is pretty amazing, even if you didn't know that its feathers were fossilized, too! But what color were those feathers when the bird was alive? To find out, scientists used a technique to analyze microscopic proteins that had never been used on fossils before.

Scientists studied Eoconfuciusornis beta-keratin buried deep within the animal’s fossilized feathers. They probed the keratin structures to find small, dark grains called melanosomes. These are the little specks within animal cells that give skin and other tissues its color. Although melanosomes had been discovered in fossilized creatures before, it was previously too difficult to tell if the dark granules belonged to the animal itself or ancient microorganisms preserved alongside it.

The work was pretty involved, but might open the door for finding out what color other ancient creatures were -even dinosaurs. Read about Eoconfuciusornis and its colored feathers at The Washington Post. -via reddit, where there's a discussion on how the bird became such a great fossil.   

Climate model predictions are telling a consistent story

Three independent methods of modelling climate change impact on yield display the same bleak tendency: When global temperature increases, wheat yield will decline. This is demonstrated in a study carried out by an international group … Read more

Rebuilding America's infrastructure

From an op-ed piece in the New York Times:

To understand what’s going on, it may be helpful to start with what we should be doing. The federal government can indeed borrow very cheaply; meanwhile, we really need to spend money on everything from sewage treatment to transit. The indicated course of action, then, is simple: borrow at those low, low rates, and use the funds raised to fix what needs fixing.

But that’s not what the Dumbass Trump team is proposing. Instead, it’s calling for huge tax credits: billions of dollars in checks written to private companies that invest in approved projects, which they would end up owning. For example, imagine a private consortium building a toll road for $1 billion. Under the Dumbass Trump plan, the consortium might borrow $800 million while putting up $200 million in equity — but it would get a tax credit of 82 percent of that sum, so that its actual outlays would only be $36 million. And any future revenue from tolls would go to the people who put up that $36 million...

How to protect your digital privacy in the age of Dumbass Trump

How to protect your digital privacy in the age of Dumbass Trump

Facebook bans retired Navy officer for criticizing ‘actual fucking Nazis’

Facebook bans retired Navy officer for criticizing ‘actual fucking Nazis’

Wright explained that Facebook had notified him that his account had been suspended for “violation of community standards.”

Injured Standing Rock activist's resolve remains strong after police projectile nearly blows off her arm

Injured Standing Rock activist's resolve remains strong after police projectile nearly blows off her arm

Crooked 7-11 manager caught threatening to ax employees unless they pay back their own wages

Crooked 7-11 manager caught threatening to ax employees unless they pay back their own wages

7-Eleven is coming under fire in Australia after one of its franchises was caught on tape asking for employees to give back a portion of their wages.

8-year-old hospitalized after beating by white bullies who told his sister ‘go back to the cotton farm’

8-year-old hospitalized after beating by white bullies who told his sister ‘go back to the cotton farm’

Jordan Jackson was defending his 4-year-old sister from a group of older children — all of whom were white, and one of whom was 13.

Florida woman opens fire on houseguests who overstayed their welcome

Florida woman opens fire on house-guests who overstayed their welcome

Alana Annette Savell was arrested Monday and charged with aggravated battery with a firearm.

Man unable to locate the bathroom urinated over cases of beer in walk-in cooler

Unable to locate the bathroom at a 7-Eleven, a Florida man opted instead to relieve himself in the store’s walk-in cooler, where six cases of beer were allegedly defiled.
According to police, Daniel Colon, 46, entered the Treasure Island convenience store at around 7:30pm on Saturday looking for a bathroom. When that search failed, Colon opened a door marked “Employees Only,” a criminal complaint alleges. He then entered what turned out to be the 7-Eleven’s walk-in cooler.
Colon then began urinating on “several cases of beer.” A store employee who had spotted Colon entering the cooler confronted him and told him to stop. Colon then left the store and drove away. Colon, officers reported, “urinated over 6 cases of Busch Light,” causing the store a loss of nearly $100.

Colon was subsequently arrested after his vehicle was pulled over by police searching for the 7-Eleven suspect. In addition to criminal mischief and burglary charges stemming from the cooler urination, Colon was also charged with drunk driving. After being read his rights, Colon reportedly told police he “could not find the bathroom so he entered the walk-in cooler.” Colon, a Tampa resident, is locked up in lieu of $3,250 bond.

Intoxicated woman caught driving with children's swing set attached to her vehicle

At around 3am on Saturday morning police from Springwood in Queensland, Australia, were called to Woodridge.Local residents had stopped the female driver of a vehicle whom they believed was driving whilst drunk. One of the clues that tipped them off was the children’s swing set wedged onto the roof of the vehicle.
The residents claimed that the driver allegedly lost control of her vehicle driving into the back yard of a house where she then ploughed straight through the children’s swing set lodging it securely to the vehicle's roof.
Police will allege the woman provided a breath alcohol reading of 0.188 per cent; almost four times over the legal limit. The 38-year-old female driver from Woodridge was charged with driving whilst under the influence of liquor and will appear in Beenleigh Magistrates Court on December 6.

Man arrested after beef stew dispute

Police say a man from Panton, Vermont, was arrested following a dispute over beef stew. At approximately 3:20pm on Monday members of the Vermont State Police responded to a family disturbance.. Upon arrival Troopers were met by Richard Marszalkowski and a woman who was later determined to be the victim.
It was determined through investigation that Marszalkowki and the female had an argument about beef stew. The victim told troopers that Marszalkowki had pushed her back and caused pain to her neck.
Marszalkowki was found to be severely intoxicated, he later submitted to a Preliminary Breath Test (PBT) at which point he blew a 0.227%. Marszalkowki was placed under arrest and charged with Domestic Assault.

Man admits meowing through Keira Knightley's letterbox

A man has pleaded guilty to stalking actress Keira Knightley by making meowing noises through her letterbox and bombarding her with cat-themed messages. Mark Revill, 49, from Hackney, east London, bombarded her with letters and shouted through her letterbox, Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court, was told.
Ms Knightley, 31, suffered “alarm and distress”, according to the charge. The incidents happened at the actress’s London home between August 1 and 22 October 2016. Prosecutor Simma Khan told Highbury Corner Magistrates: “He made miaowing noises through the letterbox. He drew in chalk on the street an arrow pointing to her front door. He sent her music about cats on a USB stick. It was bizarre behavior.”
The charge states: “The defendant pursued a course of conduct which amounted to the stalking of Keira Knightly and which knew or ought to have known amounted to the harassment of her in that attending her address on numerous occasions, making noises through her letterbox and sending letters and other communications.” The court heard that Revill, a music composer, had stood outside her house for an hour without making contact on at least one occasion.

His lawyer said he was a music composer and merely wanted to promote that by getting the celebrity to listen to it. Revill admitted to police that he was in love with her. The prosecution said: "After putting letters through the letterbox and receiving no response he goes to the letterbox and meows through it." One letter had a picture of three cats apparently winking, the court heard. The court heard the notes were handwritten with no stamps so were hand delivered. Revill was remanded in custody and will appear at Highbury Magistrates' Court for sentencing on December 1.

Police hunt for man dressed as gorilla who burst into apartment

Police in Rexburg, Idaho, are trying to find a man who dressed up as a gorilla and burst into a Brigham Young University student apartment on Friday night. Officers were called to Avonlea Apartments after the female occupants reported the incident. “They were sitting at home when the gorilla ran through the front door and into the other room,” Rexburg Police Capt. Randy Lewis said.
“He knocked over a few things before leaving the apartment.” Lewis said the students called the police because they were scared and investigators learned a similar incident happened at a men’s student apartment last week.
“We don’t care if it’s a prank or if he was just monkeying around. We’re taking this serious and the perpetrator could be charged with unlawful entry,” Lewis said. “You have a big ape tear into your front room out of the blue – you’d be scared too.”

"Take the head of a black crow and scoop out its brain..."

"Take the head of a black crow and scoop out its brain. In place of the brain, put some dirt taken from the spot where the woman whom you seek sits, and also a little detritus from the bath, along with seven grains of barley. Bury the crow’s head in the ground, in a moist place. Once the barley grows to the height of four fingers, take some of it and rub it on your hand, wipe it on your face and forearms, and then approach the woman without speaking to her. She will chase after you and will not be able to live without you."

From The Ultimate Ambition in the Arts of Erudition, a fourteenth-century encyclopedia by Shihab al-Din al-Nuwayri, an Egyptian scholar, via Harper's, where additional excerpts are available.

Animal Pictures