CAROLINA NATURALLY

Saturday, May 16, 2009

First time since 1924 - A filly wins Preakness

A filly wins Preakness—first time since 1924

In her first race against the boys, filly racehorse Rachel Alexandra beats Mine That Bird by a length.

$4,000 Xbox Shoes

All right, don't get the wrong idea. These so-called Xbox shoes are not affiliated in any way, shape, or form with Microsoft. And you'd think, for the price, the darn things would have a built-in remote or something. But noooooo.

Full Story

Octomom's Hospital Fined $250,000

Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles, the hospital that delivered the octuplets of Nadya Suleman (AKA Octomom), has been fined $250,000, but not for participating in the highly criticized fertility treatments that ended up with Suleman having 8 more babies for a total of 14. No, it was for workers who pried into her medical records.

Full Story

College president catches heat for Obama invite

The man at the center of the storm over the president's Notre Dame speech remains confident in his decision, friends say.

Obama invite

New Lincoln penny a hot item

One collector even hired people to help him snag rolls of the new coin.

New Lincoln penny

Did You Know ...

You know of course the Preakness Stakes are run today, but did you know it was also National Sea Monkey Day?

Vietnam Vet dies in Iraq

Army Maj. Steven Hutchison fought battles in the jungles of Vietnam. Then he fought an epic battle on the home front. And at age 60, he still wasn't done fighting for his country.

Maj. Steven Hutchison served 22 years in his first Army stint, then returned at age 57. He died Sunday.

The battle ended for Hutchison on Sunday. He died in Basra, Iraq, of wounds from a roadside bomb in Al Farr. He is the oldest U.S. service member to die in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Read the rest here.

Homegrown jobs that will stay put

These outsource-proof jobs pay as much as six figures and are expected to grow.

Homegrown jobs that will stay put

Also:

Saturday Jam

In today's Saturday Jam, we have:

Veteran Of The Psychic Wars

Blue Oyster Cult
Burnin' For You

Blue Oyster Cult
Joan Crawford

Blue Oyster Cult
Of course you can't have a Cult jam without:
Don't Fear The Reaper

Blue Oyster Cult
and
Godzilla

Blue Oyster Cult

President Obama's Weekly Address

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
Saturday, May 16, 2009

Good morning. Over the past few months, as we have put in place a plan to speed our economic recovery, I have spoken repeatedly of the need to lay a new foundation for lasting prosperity; a foundation that will support good jobs and rising incomes; a foundation for economic growth where we no longer rely on excessive debt and reckless risk – but instead on skilled workers and sound investments to lead the world in the industries of the 21st century.

Two pillars of this new foundation are clean energy and health care. And while there remains a great deal of difficult work ahead, I am heartened by what we have seen these past few days: a willingness of those with different points of view and disparate interests to come together around common goals – to embrace a shared sense of responsibility and make historic progress.

Chairman Henry Waxman and members of the Energy and Commerce Committee brought together stakeholders from all corners of the country – and every sector of our economy – to reach an historic agreement on comprehensive energy legislation. It’s another promising sign of progress, as longtime opponents are sitting together, at the same table, to help solve one of America’s most serious challenges.

For the first time, utility companies and corporate leaders are joining, not opposing, environmental advocates and labor leaders to create a new system of clean energy initiatives that will help unleash a new era of growth and prosperity.

It’s a plan that will finally reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil and cap the carbon pollution that threatens our health and our climate. Most important, it’s a plan that will trigger the creation of millions of new jobs for Americans, who will produce the wind turbines and solar panels and develop the alternative fuels to power the future. Because this we know: the nation that leads in 21st century clean energy is the nation that will lead the 21st century global economy. America can and must be that nation – and this agreement is a major step toward this goal.

But we know that our families, our economy, and our nation itself will not succeed in the 21st century if we continue to be held down by the weight of rapidly rising health care costs and a broken health care system. That’s why I met with representatives of insurance and drug companies, doctors and hospitals, and labor unions who are pledging to do their part to reduce health care costs. These are some of the groups who have been among the fiercest critics of past comprehensive health care reform plans. But today they too are recognizing that we must act. Our businesses will not be able to compete; our families will not be able to save or spend; our budgets will remain unsustainable unless we get health care costs under control.

These groups have pledged to do their part to reduce the annual health care spending growth rate by 1.5 percentage points. Coupled with comprehensive reform, their efforts could help to save our nation more than $2 trillion in the next ten years – and save hardworking families $2,500 each in the coming years.

This week, I also invited Speaker of House Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and other congressional leaders to the White House to discuss comprehensive health reform legislation. The House is working to pass a bill by the end of July – before they head out for their August recess. That’s the kind of urgency and determination we need to achieve comprehensive reform by the end of this year. And the reductions in spending the health care community has pledged will help make this reform possible.

I have always believed that it is better to talk than not to talk; that it is far more productive to reach over a divide than to shake your fist across it. This has been an alien notion in Washington for far too long, but we are seeing that the ways of Washington are beginning to change. For the calling of this moment is too loud and too urgent to ignore. Our success as a nation – the future of our children and grandchildren – depends upon our willingness to cast aside old arguments, overcome stubborn divisions, and march forward as one people and one nation.

This is how progress has always been made. This is how a new foundation will be built. We cannot assume that interests will always align, or that fragile partnerships will not fray. There will be setbacks. There will be difficult days. But we are off to a good start. And I am confident that we will – in the weeks, months, and years ahead – build on what we have already achieved and lay this foundation which will not only bring about prosperity for this generation, but for generations to come.

Thanks so much.

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Cebu, Cebu City, Philippines
Mendoza, Mendoza, Argentina
Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
Chatham, England, United Kingdom
Schoos, Schoos, Luxembourg
Manila, Manila, Philippines
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland
Thessalonki, Thessalonki, Greece
New Delhi, Delhi, India
Wolfsburg, Neidersachsen, Germany
Jinan, Shandong, China
Manchester, England, United Kingdom
Nepean, Ontario, Canada
Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Seoul, Seoul-T'ukpyolsi, Republic of Korea
Bristol, England, United Kingdom
Landerneau, Bretagne, France
Saint Catherines, Ontario, Canada
Vienna, Wien, Austria
Pune, Maharashtra, India
Capalba, Queensland, Australia

as well as Serbia and Montenegro, and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

Your engine is all revved up, but there's really no place for you to go today.
All of your projects are moving forward nicely, and the people in your life are doing fine -- there will be no dramas and no frantic phone calls from people begging for your sage advice.
So what should you do with all of your energy?
Spend it on yourself!
This is a great day to go off on your own and do whatever makes you feel connected to the world.
Take an afternoon nap.

All Right!

Friday, May 15, 2009

You Really Got Me

The Kinks

Drunken judge drowns in 4 inches of water after slipping into stream walking home from the pub

A drunk judge who fell into a stream and drowned after a night in a pub was more than two and a half times the drink-drive limit, an inquest heard.

Full Story

Laundry tricks that protect your clothes

If you even have clothes that is ...
Laundry tricks that protect your clothes

Avoid wardrobe malfunctions with these 10 helpful how-tos.

Laundry tricks

Also:

Boy can't be denied chemo, judge rules

Play Video

A 13-year-old Minnesota boy with cancer must be given conventional treatment over the objections of his parents.

Boy can't be denied chemo

Also:

Alternative medicine debate

Technical issues

Woo Hoo, we have our 'authority' back and it's even higher than before and our ranking is at it's highest to date.

Pigs root out wartime bomb

Army bomb disposal experts detonated a First World War bomb today - after it was unearthed by a herd of pigs.

Full Story

Ice cream maker flies in Italian tenor to sing to cows

Ice cream maker Frank Frederick has flown in an Italian opera tenor to sing to his herd of Friesian cows in the hope they will produce creamier milk.

Full Story

Telling it like it is ...

Wanda Sykes: Rush is the 20th hijacker; Let Olbermann waterboard Hannity

Science News

In Science News:

Winged submarine is Ferrari of the depths

The world’s first production “winged submersible” should prove a boon for research and movie-making – and for those that can afford it, says Peter Aldhous – thrills too

'Lone' longitude genius may have had help

While dismantling John Harrison's pioneering clock Jonathan Betts found evidence he did not work alone as is usually assumed. He also uncovered hidden features like this decorative bird deep inside the mechanism - click the gallery link in the main text (left) to see more. (Image: NMM)

The legend of John Harrison suggests he was a carpenter who single-handedly built marine clocks of unprecedented accuracy – but new evidence suggests he had assistance with the tricky bits

Molecule of life emerges from laboratory slime

Two essential elements of RNA have finally been made from scratch – under conditions similar to those that likely prevailed during the dawn of life

Climate change diagnosed as biggest global health threat

Doctors warn that global warming will worsen virtually every health problem we know of over the coming century

Space shuttle's robotic arm captures Hubble telescope

After a two-day approach to rendezvous with the Hubble Space Telescope, the space shuttle Atlantis has captured the probe and stowed it safely in its payload bay. Astronauts will begin the first of five full days of spacewalks on Thursday to refurbish the probe and extend its life until at least 2014 (Image: NASA)

After floating alone in space for years, Hubble is now ensconced in the shuttle Atlantis's payload bay – on Thursday, astronauts will begin a series of five spacewalks to fix the telescope

Lost robot crosses city by asking directions

A wheeled robot called ACE can find its way around a city without using GPS or even a map: it just asks pedestrians to give it directions

Swine flu vaccine won't be ready for next wave

The vaccine industry is waiting for a WHO decision on whether to keep making regular flu vaccine, or whether to switch to vaccines for the current swine flu outbreak

The science of voodoo: When mind attacks body

The placebo effect has an evil twin – the nocebo effect – which can make you think yourself ill, or even dead

Comet crystals created in stellar burps

An analysis of the dust surrounding the outburst of a young star suggests an explanation for how the crystals inside comets are formed

Will designer brains divide humanity?

We're on the brink of technological breakthroughs that could augment our mental powers beyond recognition – but what will this mean for the future of humanity?

The man who discovered greenhouse gases

People were debating the greenhouse effect 150 years ago – until Irish physicist John Tyndall showed conclusively that the effect is real

Experts urge caution in bringing Mars samples to Earth

If soil and rocks from Mars contain life, there is a small but non-zero chance that such life could be dangerous to terrestrial life (Illustration: Cary Bass/Wikimedia)

Since soil and rocks brought back from Mars might contain potentially dangerous life-forms, NASA should build a super-secure facility to house them, experts say

Cancer's one-way ticket to the brain

The discovery of a genetic "ticket" that grants cancer cells entry to the brain in mice could lead to drugs that would stop human cancers spreading in the same way

Nanoscale origami folds DNA into 'medicine cabinet'

Drugs could soon be delivered from minuscule lockable containers made of DNA thanks to an advance in "DNA origami".

Prairie dogs issue warnings in glorious technicolor

Not only do the rodents' alarm calls tell others about the type and size of approaching predators, but they also seem to warn of the color of an imminent threat

Mars rover may not escape sand trap for weeks

Engineers will try to recreate the terrain that Spirit is stuck in at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, where similar tests were performed in 2005 (above) to help extricate Opportunity from a sand trap (Image: NASA/JPL)

NASA's Spirit rover is stuck in the sand up to its hubcaps, and a quick escape does not look likely

Migrating blue whales rediscover 'forgotten' waters

Parts of the northern Pacific that once saw blue whales hunted out of existence seem once again to be on the migration route

Swiss find sweet way to test water purity

A common sweetener has provided a way to follow water from treatment plant out into the environment – with surprising results

Birds swell the ranks of critically endangered species

191 bird species have been added to the IUCN red list, the roster of the world's most threatened species – habitat destruction is the main reason.

Birds swell the ranks of critically endangered species

Ivory 'Venus' is first depiction of a woman

We have posted about this before, but here is a photo of the carving itself and not a photo of an enlarged photo of the carving.

With its outsize breasts and exaggerated genitalia, a statuette of a woman has pushed back the history of figurative art by 5000 years.

Ivory 'Venus' is first depiction of a woman

Habits job recruiters hate

Find out what recruiters say are the fastest ways to get on their bad sides.

Habits

Also:

And I Quote

The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

New swine flu outbreak closes NYC schools

A flare-up of the virus sends hundreds home sick and leaves one adult in critical condition.

New swine flu outbreak

Also: