And you can thank the repugicans for it.
The ranks of poor Americans are approaching levels not seen since the 1960s, experts say.
Also: 
Sunday, September 12, 2010
British MPs feared Murdoch's newspaper so never called CEO for investigation
This is stunning news about Rupert Murdoch's News of the World newspaper. British politicians failed to call the newspaper's CEO because they feared their lives would be turned upside down with more attacks. It really does make you wonder about the power of Murdoch's media empire in the UK as well as the US. The Guardian:
A cross-party committee of MPs abandoned plans to force the News International chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, to testify last year after they were warned that their private lives would be investigated, a former member alleged last night.
Adam Price, a former Plaid Cymru MP, told Channel 4 News that a group of committee members shied away from the "nuclear option" of issuing a warrant for Brooks to attend after a senior Tory warned that News International would "go for us".
Adrian Sanders, a Liberal Democrat member of the committee, said that the Tory chairman of the committee, John Whittingdale, had issued the warning. "The chairman himself had made some sort of allusion towards what could happen were we to go down this route. But there was no surprise in that because it was sort of, 'Well, yeh, we knew that from that beginning'."
The Price of Happiness
Seems to be $75,000.
Whoever said that money can’t buy happiness turned out to be flat wrong. Researchers have now proven that indeed money *can* buy happiness … up to a point.In the study, researchers tried to evaluate the effect of money in two ways: One was on how people think about their lives and the other was on the feelings they have as they experience life. Responses from more than 450,000 Americans, gathered in 2008 and 2009, were evaluated.
The study found that people’s evaluations of their lives improved steadily with annual income. But the quality of their everyday experiences — their feelings — did not improve above an income of $75,000 a year. As income decreased from $75,000, people reported decreasing happiness and increasing sadness, as well as stress. The study found that being divorced, being sick and other painful experiences have worse effects on a poor person than on a wealthier one.
"More money does not necessarily buy more happiness, but less money is associated with emotional pain," the authors wrote. "Perhaps $75,000 is a threshold beyond which further increases in income no longer improve individuals’ ability to do what matters most to their emotional well-being, such as spending time with people they like, avoiding pain and disease, and enjoying leisure."
Everything Your Parents Told You About Studying Is Wrong
Everything you’ve learned about how to study is wrong. Did you think that having a study room, sticking to a homework schedule and intensely focusing on a single thing are good study habits? Think again:In one classic 1978 experiment, psychologists found that college students who studied a list of 40 vocabulary words in two different rooms — one windowless and cluttered, the other modern, with a view on a courtyard — did far better on a test than students who studied the words twice, in the same room. Later studies have confirmed the finding, for a variety of topics. [...]
Varying the type of material studied in a single sitting — alternating, for example, among vocabulary, reading and speaking in a new language — seems to leave a deeper impression on the brain than does concentrating on just one skill at a time. Musicians have known this for years, and their practice sessions often include a mix of scales, musical pieces and rhythmic work. Many athletes, too, routinely mix their workouts with strength, speed and skill drills.
Why does your tummy growl?
Tummy growls are really just internal farts, according to Indiana Public Media's "A Moment of Science."
Basically, the involuntary muscle movements that push food through your digestive tract keep working even after most of that food has moved on down the line. Eventually, gas bubbles are all that's left to be squeezed, and you get a rumbling sound as they pop. It's part of how your intestine keeps itself cleansed—no expensive pills or powders required!
Basically, the involuntary muscle movements that push food through your digestive tract keep working even after most of that food has moved on down the line. Eventually, gas bubbles are all that's left to be squeezed, and you get a rumbling sound as they pop. It's part of how your intestine keeps itself cleansed—no expensive pills or powders required!
The same contractions that cause your stomach to growl also clean out the GI tract. To see how this cleaning movement works, picture a long hose made of a pliable material. If there were an object, say an egg, at one end of the hose, you could push it from that end to the other by squeezing all along the length of the hose. ... In order to push out bits of food particles left over from a meal, your gastrointestinal tract creates waves of contractions all along the length of the intestines at a rate of two or three per minute.
Bizarre Business Ideas That Made Millionaires
An affair website for married people, a dog poop-scooping business, goggles for dogs.
Here are ten bizarre business ideas that made their inventors millionaires.
Helpful Hints
Helpful Hints
Look for the code on the bottom of plastics to limit your exposure to two chemicals.
Also: Things They Won't Tell You
Things They Won't Tell You
The person who gives you the estimate may not be the one who does the job.
Also: Cars mechanics don't like
These automobiles are no friend to your local repair shop because they're just too reliable.
Also: Is the 3,000-mile oil change outdated?
Car experts say the old rule doesn't apply to models bought in the last seven or eight years.
Also: 
Ten US States Constitutionally Protect The Right To Hunt & Fish
Deerslayer book cover picture excerpt.
Image credit:Wikipedia
As one commenter on this trend states, seeking constitutional protection of the right to fish and hunt seems to be something of a 'tempest in a tea pot.' PETA celebrities have Deerslayer's leather stockings in a bundle, apparently. How else could you explain 10 US states amending their constitutions to protect hunting and fishing? (There is no National Fishing Rod Association equivalent to the NRA, by the way.)Maybe it's more than naked PETA reps and NRA paranoia that have got 'em scared. Recently, EPA turned down a petition to ban the use of all lead shot, even for target shooting. Globally, there have been attempts to ban lead fishing sinkers to protect waterfowl and birds of prey - some having met with success at the US state level, in Canada, and in the EU.
A Fish Tale
Frank Yarborough of Clover caught this 4.98-pound, 19.5-inch Pacu from Lake Wylie last week.
It is believed the be the largest ever caught from Lake Wylie.
On an overdue fishing trip with his brother last week, dropping line just off from a frequented restaurant dock made all the sense in the world to Frank Yarborough. What happened next, well, he’s still scratching his head.
“It’s definitely the strangest thing I ever caught in Lake Wylie,” Yarborough said of his almost five-pound, 20-inch pacu. “We had all kinds of people looking at it, taking pictures of it, Goggling it at the boat landing.”
On Wednesday Yarborough turned 40, yet in all those years even the lifelong Clover resident never once saw a fish with “teeth like a human” pulled from Lake Wylie. Now he pulls it out of his freezer — a non-native pacu that comes from the piranha family.
State biologists measured the pacu at 4.98 pounds and 19.5 inches – the largest ever from Lake Wylie.
“That’s the biggest one we’ve seen out of Lake Wylie,” said Wes Stewart, fisheries expert with South Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The fish was so large, in fact, that biologists told Yarborough and girlfriend Theresa Woods that they wanted to send off a sample of its brain tissue to figure out how old the fish was, and maybe even how it got that big.
“They have caught them before, but not this big,” Woods said. “They were kind of excited about it.”
Fishing Milestone
Steve Wozniak traveled the globe to catch more different kinds of fish than any angler in history.
Also: 
The Pentagon and Fireflies
Scientists hope the secrets of the bugs' light could one day save American soldiers.
Also: 
Oldest Roman Baths In Asia Minor
An archaeological team has discovered the oldest Roman baths in Asia Minor - underneath existing Roman baths.
Nature's Incredible Cover-Up: An Ancient Amazonian Civilization
- Was the thick, intimidating Amazon forest once home to an advanced civilization? A group of archaeologists turn to the vegetated landscape for answers.
Scientists discover thick layer of oil on floor of Gulf
It sounds like quite a lot of the leaked oil has found its way to the bottom and is not going anywhere. Not surprisingly, dead fish and shrimp are being found under the layer of oil.
NPR:
NPR:
The Research Vessel Oceanus sailed on Aug. 21 on a mission to figure out what happened to the more than 4 million barrels of oil that gushed into the water. Onboard, Samantha Joye, a professor in the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of Georgia, says she suddenly has a pretty good idea about where a lot of it ended up. It's showing up in samples of the seafloor, between the well site and the coast.
"I've collected literally hundreds of sediment cores from the Gulf of Mexico, including around this area. And I've never seen anything like this," she said in an interview via satellite phone from the boat.
Joye describes seeing layers of oily material — in some places more than 2 inches thick — covering the bottom of the seafloor.
"It's very fluffy and porous. And there are little tar balls in there you can see that look like microscopic cauliflower heads," she says.
Archaeologists Sound Alarm about Risk BP Drilling in Libya Could Pose to Ancient Sites
Some of Libya's most important coastal ruins could be irreparably harmed by an oil spill.
Photo by moscayan via Flickr.
With its rich ancient sites only recently opened up to visitors, Libya's slowly developing tourism industry may be in trouble before it really even gets going. According to archaeologists, 7th-century-BC cities and historic shipwrecks -- many of them still being surveyed -- could be at risk from BP's plans to sink an oil well off the country's coast before the end of the year.Abandoned Islands
Evil horseman from Lord of the Rings captured on camera
A couple were stunned when they took this photograph of a waterfall – and captured a chilling apparition of an evil horseman from the Lord of the Rings. Stephen and Sue Barringer, 55 and 51, were on a walking holiday in the Yorkshire Dales when they took a picture of a beautiful waterfall.
But when they later watched a slideshow of the images they were shocked to see a dark, cloaked figure staring out at them. The cascading water had formed the shape of a ghoulish man – who looked identical to one of the nine ringwraiths, or Nazgul, in the Lord of the Rings.
Mom-of-three Sue, from Ramsey, near Huntingdon, Cambs., said: ”We didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary when we were at the waterfall and we even sat there for a cup of coffee. But when we got home and saw the dark figure of a hooded man we were just astonished.
”There were no rocks there so we think the shape must have been made entirely from falling water. The figure just leaps out at you and it is very spooky. I’m sure it isn’t a ghost or anything like that, but it does seem very supernatural.”
But when they later watched a slideshow of the images they were shocked to see a dark, cloaked figure staring out at them. The cascading water had formed the shape of a ghoulish man – who looked identical to one of the nine ringwraiths, or Nazgul, in the Lord of the Rings.
Mom-of-three Sue, from Ramsey, near Huntingdon, Cambs., said: ”We didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary when we were at the waterfall and we even sat there for a cup of coffee. But when we got home and saw the dark figure of a hooded man we were just astonished.
”There were no rocks there so we think the shape must have been made entirely from falling water. The figure just leaps out at you and it is very spooky. I’m sure it isn’t a ghost or anything like that, but it does seem very supernatural.”
Saturday, September 11, 2010
The Daily Drift
The Daily Drift
Today's horoscope says:Just because you're extra skilled at making extra-excellent decisions at the moment doesn't mean you should be saddled with every decision there is to be made.
Luckily, you're also good at organizing groups and letting them handle things on their own with just a wee bit of direction.
Don't bite off more than you can possibly chew, and don't be afraid to delegate, whether it's in a work situation or a personal one.
Some of our readers today have been in:
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Cairo, Al Qahirah, Egypt
Tranberg, Arhus, Denmark
Izmir, Izmir, Turkey
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Brantford, Ontario, Canada
Flekkefjord, Vest-Agder, Norway
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Eindhoven, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
Bremen, Bremen, Germany
London, England, United Kingdom
Klang, Selangor, Malaysia
Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Coffs Harbor, New South Wales, Australia
Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Swindon, England, United Kingdom
as well as Belgium and in cities across the United States such as Silver Springs, Troy, Spring Grove, Chatanooga and more.
Today is:
Today is Saturday, September 11, the 254th day of 2010.
There are 111 days left in the year.
Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:
National Lace-making Day
Don't forget to visit our sister blog!
President Obama's Weekly Address
Remarks of President Barack Obama
As prepared for delivery
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Washington, DC
Today, we pause to remember a day that tested our country. On September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 lives were lost in the deadliest attack on American soil in our history. We will never forget the images of planes vanishing into buildings; of photos hung by the families of the missing. We will never forget the anger and sadness we felt. And while nine years have come and gone since that September morning, the passage of time will never diminish the pain and loss forever seared in the consciousness of our nation.As prepared for delivery
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Washington, DC
That is why, on this day, we pray with the families of those who died. We mourn with husbands and wives, children and parents, friends and loved ones. We think about the milestones that have passed over the course of nine years – births and christenings, weddings and graduations – all with an empty chair.
On this day, we also honor those who died so that others might live: the firefighters and first responders who climbed the stairs of two burning towers; the passengers who stormed a cockpit; and the men and women who have, in the years since, borne the uniform of this country and given their lives so that our children could grow up in a safer world. In acts of courage and decency, they defended a simple precept: I am my brother’s keeper; I am my sister’s keeper.
And on this day, we recall that at our darkest moment, we summoned a sense of unity and common purpose. We responded to the worst kind of depravity with the best of our humanity.
So, each year at this time, we renew our resolve against those who perpetrated this barbaric act of terror and who continue to plot against us – for we will never waver in defense of this nation. We renew our commitment to our troops and all who serve to protect this country, and to their families. But we also renew the true spirit of that day. Not the human capacity for evil, but the human capacity for good. Not the desire to destroy, but the impulse to save.
That is why we mark September 11th as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. For if there is a lesson to be drawn on this anniversary, it is this: we are one nation – one people – bound not only by grief, but by a set of common ideals. And that by giving back to our communities, by serving people in need, we reaffirm our ideals – in defiance of those who would do us grave harm. We prove that the sense of responsibility that we felt for one another was not a fleeting passion – but a lasting virtue.
This is a time of difficulty for our country. And it is often in such moments that some try to stoke bitterness – to divide us based on our differences, to blind us to what we have in common. But on this day, we are reminded that at our best, we do not give in to this temptation. We stand with one another. We fight alongside one another. We do not allow ourselves to be defined by fear, but by the hopes we have for our families, for our nation, and for a brighter future. So let us grieve for those we’ve lost, honor those who have sacrificed, and do our best to live up to the values we share – on this day, and every day that follows.
Thank you.
Allen Dale June, original Navajo Code Talker and code developer, dies at 91
Allen Dale June, one of the 29 original Navajo Code Talkers who encrypted American military communications during World War II using principles of indigenous language, died Wednesday night in Prescott, Arizona, at age 91.
The Code Talkers took part in every assault the Marines conducted in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945. They sent thousands of messages without error on Japanese troop movements, battlefield tactics and other communications critical to the war's ultimate outcome. Several hundred Navajos served as Code Talkers during the war, but a group of 29 that included June developed the code based on their native language. Their role in the war wasn't declassified until 1968.
Rupert Murdoch under fire in UK over phone hacking of politicians
And it couldn't be happening to a 'nicer' guy
British politicians are now also wondering, was illegal phone hacking done elsewhere within Murdoch's News Corp? Promoting someone involved in tapping phones makes you wonder what's going through the mind of Rupert Murdoch.
The Guardian:
British politicians are now also wondering, was illegal phone hacking done elsewhere within Murdoch's News Corp? Promoting someone involved in tapping phones makes you wonder what's going through the mind of Rupert Murdoch.
The Guardian:
Labor MPs used parliamentary privilege in the commons debate to criticize the chairman and CEO of News Corporation, which owns the newspaper publisher, and his senior executives, who are battling claims that the NoW endorsed the illegal hacking of mobile phones.
Tom Watson, a Labor member of the Commons culture select committee, placed Murdoch in the line of fire by accusing him of appointing Brooks as chief executive of News International knowing that she had admitted that illegal payments had been made to police.
The former minister cited evidence by Brooks to the culture committee in 2003 in which she admitted that the News of the World had paid police officers in the past for stories. This was condemned by the committee and by the Met as illegal.
"When Murdoch appointed Brooks he did so in that knowledge," Watson said of the ruling from the Commons committee. Les Hinton, then chair of News International, later told the committee that Brooks subsequently told him she had "not authorized payments to policemen"; he said her evidence was meant to suggest "there had been payments in the past".
San Bruno Neighborhood Flattened by Gas Explosion
A massive explosion leveled a neighborhood in San Bruno (a suburb close to San Francisco), California, yesterday night:After the initial blast, flames reached as high as 100 feet as the fire fueled itself on burning homes, leaving some in total ruins and reducing parked automobiles to burned out shells. At least 120 homes also suffered serious damage.
Witnesses heard the explosion miles away and said it shot a fireball more than 1,000 feet in the air, sending frightened residents fleeing for safety and rushing to get belongings out of burning homes.
"I thought a 747 had landed on us," Barringer told the Times. "It shook our station right to its foundation."
What could’ve caused such an explosion?
A ruptured 30-inch steel gas pipeline is suspected.
The human brain is shrinking
"Over the past 20,000 years, the average volume of the human male brain has decreased from 1,500 cubic centimeters to 1,350 cc, losing a chunk the size of a tennis ball. The female brain has shrunk by about the same proportion... "This happened in China, Europe, Africa - everywhere we look." If our brain keeps dwindling at that rate over the next 20,000 years, it will start to approach the size of that found in Homo erectus, a relative that lived half a million years ago..."
An excerpt from "The Incredible Shrinking Brain," by Kathleen McAuliffe, in the September 2010 issue of Discover Magazine.
An excerpt from "The Incredible Shrinking Brain," by Kathleen McAuliffe, in the September 2010 issue of Discover Magazine.
Paul McCartney's son debuts own album
The star's son, James, is just the latest of the Beatles' kids to launch a music career.
Also: One-of-a-kind homes
This "earthship" sells for $265,000 and has a fishpond, a fireplace, and features for off-the-grid living.
Also: World's most expensive book up for sale
A rare 3-foot-long tome that's the envy of every collector could fetch up to $9.2 million at auction.
Also: Rare vivid blue diamond up for sale
Four worst ways to buy a new car
Heading into the dealership without first setting up financing is a major mistake.
Also: Real Life Keystone Kop Pepper-Sprayed Self, Got Tased by Partner
A routine call turned out to be something straight out of Keystone Kops for two Cornwall policemen. It all started with a report of disturbance …Police constable Jason Mepham was responding to a disturbance call in Redruth last month when things took a turn for the slapstick.
The officer, confronted by Jason King, whipped out his pepper spray and doused the suspect. Then a second blast blew back into the cop’s eyes, temporarily blinding him, according to The Independent. A second officer grabbed King, but another perp at the scene punched Mepham in the face, dislocating his jaw.
The other officer released King and fired his Taser at the new assailant. One of the electrodes hit the perp, but the other struck Mepham. Mepham collapsed and King allegedly kicked him in the face — strangely relocating the cop’s jaw.
Woman pulls gun after volleyball match
Police said a woman believed to be a suburban San Antonio middle school parent pulled a gun on members of an opposing volleyball team after her school lost a match.
Americans support tax increases for those making over $250,000
No matter how many times Boehner and Faux News hammer away at the issue it won't change the fact that Americans are fine with Obama's tax plan.
It's good to see the team holding firm.
It's good to see the team holding firm.
A majority of Americans favor letting the tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration expire for the wealthy. While 37% support keeping the tax cuts for all Americans, 44% want them extended only for those making less than $250,000 and 15% think they should expire for all taxpayers.
What people forget about Reagan and taxes
Ronald Reagan may be the patron saint of lower taxes and smaller government.
The LARGEST TAX INCREASE in US history until the shrub's that is.
Disparities
Vernon joins a controversial list of California cities accused of extravagant payrolls.
Also: 
Culinary DeLites
Culinary DeLites
San Francisco's unique climate gives the city's signature bread its tangy bite.
Also: 
Sitting down for meals and eating from a real plate can help you feel satisfied.
Also: 
Try adding a nearly tasteless superfood to shakes, salads, or a bowl of cereal.
Also: The World's Hottest Chili Pepper
Fire Foods of Lincolnshire, UK, has unleashed the world's hottest chili pepper, a fearsome beast clocking 1,176,182 on the Scoville scale. The company has created this weapon of culinary destruction on the form of its Infinity Chili Sauce.
Helpful Hints
Helpful Hints
You probably don't need a washer that claims to stop odors or reduce vibration.
Also: False Waistlines
Some companies are knowingly selling jeans with waist sizes larger than the label describes.
Also: Italian Mudslide
Dramatic amateur video captures the destruction of a picturesque coastal town.
Also: Martian lake has water-ice
The crater with ice disc is on the Vastitas Borealis, a broad plain that covers much of Mars’s far northern latitudes. The crater is 35 km wide, with a maximum depth of about 2 km. The image was taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express.
Scientists believe the water-ice is present all year round because the temperature and pressure are not sufficient to allow it to change states and vaporize into the atmosphere. It is not frozen carbon dioxide, because this type of ice had already disappeared from the north polar cap by the time this image was taken.'
From 2005, so I must have missed it when it was first reported. I don't understand why this doesn't sublimate, like the frozen CO2 did. If the crater is 35 km wide, then the ice is about 12 km (7.5 miles) across. Fascinating.
Text and photo from the Flickr photostream of the European Space Agency. More information at the ESA website.
Agents seize 14 giant snails at airport
Leopard born without spots
An extremely rare Amur black leopard cub is on display at the Serengeti Park in Hodenhagen, Germany.
It weighs nearly 9 pounds and is 24 inches long. The cub was born on June 13 together with a twin sister.
Park keepers said the cub was being hand reared after being rejected by his spotted siblings.
Amur leopards are critically endangered with just over 200 in captivity worldwide and only around 30 left in the wild. Black Amur leopards are even rarer.
You can see video of the cub making friends with a rabbit here.
It weighs nearly 9 pounds and is 24 inches long. The cub was born on June 13 together with a twin sister.
Park keepers said the cub was being hand reared after being rejected by his spotted siblings.
Amur leopards are critically endangered with just over 200 in captivity worldwide and only around 30 left in the wild. Black Amur leopards are even rarer.
You can see video of the cub making friends with a rabbit here.
Ten Parasites That Turn Their Hosts Into Zombies
If you want to catch Mother Nature at her best (and if by best you mean bizarre or darned scary), then look no further than how parasites hijack the biology of their hosts.
Take, for instance, the pseudacteon:
Though related to the harmless fruit flies breeding in the world’s neglected fruit bowls, Pseudacteon flies have a far more sinister appetite. The female lays her egg in the body of a living ant, and the tiny maggot will eventually move into the ant’s head to devour its brain. This won’t kill the victim, but will cause the ant’s (technically dead) body to wander aimlessly for days on end, until the ant’s head simply drops off from its body. The maggot will use the severed head as a pupation chamber, transforming into a new fly and finding itself a mate.Gruesome, eh? Here are 9 more zombie parasites over at Top Tenz.
Walden Pond's mysterious new residents
Thousands of tiny creatures crop up in the iconic lake, puzzling scientists.
Also: One Third Of Freshwater Turtle Species Now Face Extinction
Photo via Pandiyan, Flickr
Conservation International has released a new report that spells out a bleak future for the world's freshwater turtles: A full 1/3 of the 280 known species currently face extinction. Evidently, a lucrative pet trade, hunting of turtles for food, and habitat loss are the key contributors to turtles' "catastrophic decline". The good news --what little there is, anyway -- is that the rapid decline can yet be turned around with some key action.Article continues: 1/3 of Freshwater Turtle Species Now Face Extinction
Five Important Fifties Events Nobody Noticed in the Fifties
Some of the most important events can slip past us because we don’t know how important they are until much later. You know about Sputnik, Elvis, and Rosa Parks, but did you know that The Pill was developed in the ’50s?You probably think that – along with Twister and concept albums – the oral contraceptive pill was one of the great inventions of the swinging sixties. In fact, it was a product of the more famously staid and conservative fifties. Developed by a team of biologists led by Gregory Pincus, it was first tested in Puerto Rico April 1956. The Food and Drug Administration did not approve the marketing of the pill until 1960, just in time for it to be a symbol of sixties freedom.Read about four other events that also turned out to be very newsworthy …much later.
Eight things you don't know about dreams
Your first dream each night lasts about 5 minutes; the final one can take an hour.
Also: Team Claims Record-breaking Pumpkin Launch in Utah
While I'd not call this a sport personally ... their ability to hurl a gourd over a mile is not too shabby.
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