The event is minor in comparison to last year's that shut down international air traffic.
Also: 
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Buying George
George Washington's things that is ...
George Washington's compass and an assortment of other personal items, including pieces of his coffin, have sold at auction for more than $167,000.
The items passed down through generations of Washington's family were among hundreds relating to the nation's first president offered for sale Saturday by Heritage Auctions in Dallas.
The top lot was the first president's compass, which fetched $59,750, and a 24-inch wooden ruler that was a precursor to the slide rule that brought nearly $42,000.
Several pieces of Washington's original coffin brought more than $12,000 total. His body was placed in a marble sarcophagus in 1837.
While items related to Washington aren't rare, experts say it is unusual to have pieces up for auction that had been kept in the family for so long.
George Washington's compass and an assortment of other personal items, including pieces of his coffin, have sold at auction for more than $167,000.
The items passed down through generations of Washington's family were among hundreds relating to the nation's first president offered for sale Saturday by Heritage Auctions in Dallas.
The top lot was the first president's compass, which fetched $59,750, and a 24-inch wooden ruler that was a precursor to the slide rule that brought nearly $42,000.
Several pieces of Washington's original coffin brought more than $12,000 total. His body was placed in a marble sarcophagus in 1837.
While items related to Washington aren't rare, experts say it is unusual to have pieces up for auction that had been kept in the family for so long.
Jane Austen's Unfinished Manuscript for Sale
The Watsons manuscript shows how Austen’s other manuscripts must have looked. It also shines an interesting light on how she worked. Austen took a piece of paper, cut it in two and then folded over each half to make eight-page booklets. Then she would write, small neat handwriting leaving little room for corrections – of which there are many. “You can really see the mind at work with all the corrections and revisions,” said Heaton.The manuscript is expected to bring between £200,000 and £300,000.
At one stage she crosses so much out that she starts a page again and pins it in. It seems, in Austen’s mind, her manuscript had to look like a book. “Writers often fall into two categories,” said Heaton. “The ones who fall into a moment of great inspiration and that’s it and then you have others who endlessly go back and write and tinker. Austen is clearly of the latter variety. It really is a wonderful, evocative document.”
The Watsons was written in 1804, not a hugely happy time for Austen professionally – she had one novel rejected and another bought by a publisher who failed to print it.
Surreal Eden Of The Jungle
Las Pozas
If you wander away from the town of Xilitla in Mexico and enter the tropical rain forest then you are likely to come across something unexpected but extraordinary. The jungle, at over 2,000 feet above sea level, retreats to uncover 80 astonishing acres of pools, buildings, statues and walkways. You have just discovered Las Pozas (The Pools in English).
The 200-foot-tall Ferris wheel now spinning
The tallest Ferris wheel in the eastern United States, a 200-foot-tall, $12 million wheel with a million LED lights and 42 air-conditioned gondolas, started spinning Friday in this beach resort on the South Carolina coast.
Upset win at the Preakness
Shackleford leads all the way and holds off a furious charge by Derby winner Animal Kingdom.
Also: Three albino baby raccoons found in Canadian house
A wildlife control company made a rare find on Thursday after they were called to a Scarborough home to remove a litter of raccoons - three of them albinos. Brad Gates, owner of Gates' Wildlife Control, said they had been called by Jay Zheng, who saw one of the albinos in his house.
"Mr Zheng and his family weren't sure what they had because of the white animal they saw in the garage," said Gates. His technician Scott Liddle believed they might be up against a skunk after hearing the family's description. Instead, they found three white raccoon kits and another with normal markings. The litter appeared to be six to eight weeks old and in good health, although the albinos were smaller than their 'normal' brother.
Gates said two albinos were found in the attic; their mother was found taking a "break" from the heat of the attic on the rooftop. Albino raccoons are uncommon - about one in 500,000, according to Gates' research. Three in one litter - that's extremely rare. "I think you take that (statistic) and it's exponential as to the odds of that happening," said Gates.
His company has only encountered two cases of albino raccoons in its 27-year history, and each time it was only one in the litter. Gates said they rescued the animals by hand and put them in a release box, which was later placed on the roof to be reunited with their mother. "She'll take one by one to another safe den that she has set up in the neighbourhood," said Gates.
Homeowner, Mr Zheng, also made his own video of the albino triplets.
"Mr Zheng and his family weren't sure what they had because of the white animal they saw in the garage," said Gates. His technician Scott Liddle believed they might be up against a skunk after hearing the family's description. Instead, they found three white raccoon kits and another with normal markings. The litter appeared to be six to eight weeks old and in good health, although the albinos were smaller than their 'normal' brother.
Gates said two albinos were found in the attic; their mother was found taking a "break" from the heat of the attic on the rooftop. Albino raccoons are uncommon - about one in 500,000, according to Gates' research. Three in one litter - that's extremely rare. "I think you take that (statistic) and it's exponential as to the odds of that happening," said Gates.
His company has only encountered two cases of albino raccoons in its 27-year history, and each time it was only one in the litter. Gates said they rescued the animals by hand and put them in a release box, which was later placed on the roof to be reunited with their mother. "She'll take one by one to another safe den that she has set up in the neighbourhood," said Gates.
Homeowner, Mr Zheng, also made his own video of the albino triplets.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
The Daily Drift
The Daily Drift
Today's horoscope says:A question that has been burning a hole in your mind will ignite a mental fire today -- it's time to get an answer.
So how should you go about getting your query addressed?
Skip the sweet talk and don't beat around the bush -- go right to the source and ask what you want to know, point blank.
This person will be momentarily shocked by your boldness, but will be secretly thrilled that you care.
It's flattering to be the source of gossip.
Some of our readers today have been in:
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Ankara, Ankara, Turkey
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Ankara, Ankara, Turkey
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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 Brownsville, San Antonio, Austin, El Paso and more.
and in cities across the United States such as Brownsville, San Antonio, Austin, El Paso and more.
Today is:
Today is Saturday, May 21, the 141st day of 2011.
There are 224 days left in the year.
Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are:
O Henry Pun Off Day
National Endangered Species Day
The Preakness Stakes
and
The End Of the World.
National Endangered Species Day
The Preakness Stakes
and
The End Of the World.
Don't forget to visit our sister blog!
President Obama's Weekly Address
Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Washington, DC
This week, I went to Memphis, Tennessee, where I spoke to the graduating class of Booker T. Washington High School. Graduations are always happy occasions. But this commencement was especially hopeful – because of just how much the kids at Booker T. Washington High School had overcome.As Prepared for Delivery
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Washington, DC
This is a school in the middle of a tough neighborhood in South Memphis. There’s a lot of crime. There’s a lot of poverty. And just a few years ago, only about half of the students at the school graduated. Just a handful went off to college each year.
But folks came together to change all that. Under the leadership of a dynamic principal and devoted teachers, they started special academies for ninth graders – because they found that that’s when a lot of kids were lost. They made it possible for students to take AP classes or vocational courses. Most importantly, they didn’t just change the curriculum; they created a culture that prizes hard work and discipline, and that shows every student that they matter.
Today, four out five students at the school earn a diploma. 70 percent continue their education, many the first in their families to go to college. So Booker T. Washington High School is no longer a story about what’s gone wrong in education. It’s a story about how we can set it right.
We need to encourage this kind of change all across America. We need to reward the reforms that are driven not by Washington, but by principals and teachers and parents. That’s how we’ll make progress in education – not from the top down, but from the bottom up. And that’s the guiding principle of the Race to the Top competition my administration started two years ago.
The idea is simple: if states show that they’re serious about reform, we’ll show them the money. And it’s already making a difference throughout the country. In Tennessee, where I met those students, they’ve launched an innovative residency program so that new teachers can be mentored by veteran educators. In Oregon, Michigan and elsewhere, grants are supporting the work of teachers who are lengthening the school day, offering more specialized classes, and making the changes necessary to improve struggling schools.
Our challenge now is to allow all fifty states to benefit from the success of Race to the Top. We need to promote reform that gets results while encouraging communities to figure out what’s best for their kids. That why it’s so important that Congress replace No Child Left Behind this year – so schools have that flexibility. Reform just can’t wait.
And if anyone doubts this, they ought to head to Booker T. Washington High. They ought to meet the inspiring young people who overcame so much, and worked so hard, to earn their diplomas – in a school that believed in their promise and gave them the opportunity to succeed. We need to give every child in America that chance. That’s why education reform matters.
Thanks for listening, and have a great weekend.
Obama awaited in ancestral home
Local resident Julia Hayes holds a US flag in her bedroom in Moneygall, Co Offaly, as Obama fever sweeps the village. President Barack Obama will set foot on his ancestral homeland and follow in the steps of some of his predecessors when he touches down in Ireland on Monday.
Comments, Comments, Comments, Comments and a Review
We've been reading your blog from the beginning and it has never failed to provoke thought and entertain us.
Gilles and Nicole in Paris, France
Happened on your blog a few months ago and put it on my daily reading list.
Mary in Portland, Oregon
I love this blog.
Stanley in Hobart, Tasmania
Keep standing for humanity, wish more would.
Susan and Lucia in Barcelona, Spain
Narrow minds beware this blog will destroy your little world!
A review from an unknown critic in cyberspace.
Gilles and Nicole in Paris, France
Happened on your blog a few months ago and put it on my daily reading list.
Mary in Portland, Oregon
I love this blog.
Stanley in Hobart, Tasmania
Keep standing for humanity, wish more would.
Susan and Lucia in Barcelona, Spain
Narrow minds beware this blog will destroy your little world!
A review from an unknown critic in cyberspace.
The end of the world is at hand
Top Doomsday Predictions Gone Bust
Time to break out the champagne and party hats because it's that time of year once again: doomsday.
Atheists Offer Pet Rescue for Judgment Day
Even those who haven't bought into the idea that the world will end Saturday are marking the occasion.
Also: 
CDC zombie warning spoof
The disease center says preparing for ghouls is no different than getting ready for other disasters.
Also: 
Lifeguards making $200K
Newport Beach, Calif., is facing a swell of anger after reports of the sky-high salaries.
Also: Salaries up for new grads
The average starting salary offer is on the rise for the first time in three years.
Also: 
Epic Fail
Massive Tea Party held in South Carolina
Two teabaggers show up and they were the atheist teabaggers - the rest were at home awaiting the 'rapture'.
(OK, so about 30 really showed up and there is no such creature as an atheist teabagger - but admit it, it's funny either way.)
What more can you say about teabaggers
The 16-year-old from Cherry Hill says several commenters have called her a "whore."
Her father, Wayne, says he's concerned for his daughter's safety.
Murdoch's phone hacking even larger than thought
Who else wonders if this happened in the US as well?
The Guardian:
The Guardian:
The Metropolitan police holds evidence that could prove hundreds of people had their phones hacked by the News of the World, Scotland Yard told the high court, a far greater number than had previously been believed.
Barristers for the Metropolitan police said notes seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator on the paper's books, showed he made a note of 149 mobile phone pin numbers and around 400 unique voicemail numbers. Both are used to access messages left on mobile phones.
Jason Beer QC, for the Metropolitan police, told a high court hearing the figures were: "a snap shot in time as of last week". Until Friday, the police had maintained Mulcaire kept a record of just 91 pin numbers.
Renovated Disney ride gets a TSA checkpoint
The Star Tours Star Wars simulator ride at Walt Disney World has re-opened after a long rehab. It's been updated with the latest technology and effects, and been rejigged to add that de rigeur element of all long-distance travel: a TSA checkpoint analog. Bruce Schneier calls it the "normalization of security" -- that is, making invasive security measures seem natural and normal.
The second room of the queue is now a security check area, similar to a TSA checkpoint. The two G-series droids are still there, G2-9T scanning luggage and G2-4T scanning passengers. For those attraction junkies, you'll remember that the G-series droids are so named because in the original Disneyland Park version of the ride, they were created by removing the "skins" from two of the goose animatronics from the soon-to-close America Sings attraction (Goose = "G" series). While we won't tell you why, you'll enjoy paying a lot of attention to what the scans of the luggage show is inside. When it's your turn to go through the passenger scan (a thermal body scan), you may be verbally accosted by a security droid. Also, keep an eye out in the queue for an earlier version of RX-24 ("Captain Rex") from the original Star Tours; he's labeled "defective" and has some familiar dialogue.
Snapshot reveals a black hole's jets
Anniversary of a nuclear moment
A remote island was the site of a huge leap in the nuclear arms race 55 years ago.
Also: 'On Stranger Tides'
Unlike previous films in the series, "On Stranger Tides" features real historical figures.
Also: 
Johnny Depp says he hopes fans will be puzzled by the little red 'X' on his character's face.
Also: Eight cool new tourist attractions
You'll need diving gear to visit the world's largest underwater museum in Mexico.
Also: 
California carjack suspect ran out of gas
Stoner arrested for second time on drug charges
Police arrested a Florida man on drug charges for the second time in less than four years.
Glenn H. Stoner, 56, of Clearwater was charged with cultivation of marijuana and operating a drug house, both felonies, and a misdemeanor charge of possession of paraphernalia. In 2006 was arrested on charges of possession and manufacture of marijuana.
Clearwater police executing a search warrant found 19 marijuana plants and various indoor growing equipment, including irrigation systems and fertilizers, in Stoner's bedroom.
Stoner said he smokes all of the marijuana himself and said none belongs to his roommate. He was taken to the Pinellas County Jail with bond set at $10,150.
A Pennsylvania woman will stand trial on charges she fed marijuana-laced margarine to a 12-year-old girl she was baby-sitting, as well as two other children at her home.
Suspect pocket dials 911: Police overhear drug deal
Glenn H. Stoner, 56, of Clearwater was charged with cultivation of marijuana and operating a drug house, both felonies, and a misdemeanor charge of possession of paraphernalia. In 2006 was arrested on charges of possession and manufacture of marijuana.
Clearwater police executing a search warrant found 19 marijuana plants and various indoor growing equipment, including irrigation systems and fertilizers, in Stoner's bedroom.
Stoner said he smokes all of the marijuana himself and said none belongs to his roommate. He was taken to the Pinellas County Jail with bond set at $10,150.
More Dope:
Kindergartner takes 18 bags of Heroin to school
Police and school officials in western Pennsylvania say a kindergarten student brought stamped bags of heroin to a Pittsburgh school and may have given some to other students.
Suspect pocket dials 911: Police overhear drug deal
It's the second such "pocket dialing leads to arrest" story in less than a month, and you have to admit, it makes one wonder a) what kind of cell phones these criminals are using, and b) why they don't use a belt holster.
Dumb Crooks
A woman who tried to sell a rare hunk of moon rock for $1.7 million was detained when her prospective customer turned out to be an undercover NASA investigator, officials said Friday.
A gang member who was linked to a 2004 murder by an elaborate tattoo on his chest that authorities say memorialized the crime scene was sentenced on Thursday to 65 years to life in prison.
A gang member who was linked to a 2004 murder by an elaborate tattoo on his chest that authorities say memorialized the crime scene was sentenced on Thursday to 65 years to life in prison.
Odds and Sods
Eleven people stormed into a house in a central Indian village and assaulted a woman whom they accused of witchcraft, blinding her and her husband by stabbing them in the eyes with scissors, police said on Saturday.
Dylan In A Convenience Store
One of many great photos at the Morrison Hotel Gallery.
The Morrison Hotel Gallery, which represents world renowned photographers, has grown to become the place to purchase fine art music photography. As you view some of the most inspiring and iconic images of music and musicians photographed over the last fifty-plus years, think about the people who existed on both sides of the lens. The photographers had no idea what they were creating or how historic the imagery would become. It is a one-second click of the shutter that creates a timeless moment in our lives.
Mom's perfect catch
A baseball fan snags a fly ball with one hand while holding onto her cute baby in the other.
Also: Mom's perfect catch makes her an internet star
Fabulous prefab houses
The latest out-of-the-box houses are surprisingly stylish, and some can be “unfolded” in a week.
Also: World's 'most useless' device
A crazy contraption that turns itself off as soon as you turn it on now goes bananas when you bug it.
Also: How Snake Oil Got a Bad Rap
A 2007 story in Scientific American explains that California neurophysiology researcher Richard Kunin made the connection between Chinese water snakes and omega-3 fatty acids in the 1980s.So how did “snake oil” come to mean a scam?
“Kunin visited San Francisco’s Chinatown to buy such snake oil and analyze it. According to his 1989 analysis published in the Western Journal of Medicine, Chinese water-snake oil contains 20 percent eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), one of the two types of omega-3 fatty acids most readily used by our bodies. Salmon, one of the most popular food sources of omega-3s, contains a maximum of 18 percent EPA, lower than that of snake oil.”
However, it wasn’t until several years after Kunin’s research that American scientists discovered that omega-3s are vital for human metabolism. Not only do they sooth inflammation in muscles and joints, but also, they can help “cognitive function and reduce blood pressure, cholesterol, and even depression.”
The rest of the story is at Collectors Weekly.
The Rainbow Eucalyptus
This tree is also grown for ornamental purposes, due to the showy multi-coloured streaks that cover the trunk. Patches of outer bark are shed annually at different times, showing the bright-green inner bark. This then darkens and matures to give blue, purple, orange and then maroon tones.Another half-dozen photos are assembled at Kuriositas.
Dachshund in Chain Mail
I do not know the origins of this picture, but the dog’s owner should be commended for providing much-needed protection from arrows and bladed weapons. She is ready to go to both the dogpark and the Ren fair.
Web's oddest animal couple
Fum and Gebra take their friendship to new heights as they play a game of midair tag.
Also: In India, Big Monkeys Are Employed As Bodyguards Against Hordes of Smaller Monkeys
A langur monkey.
Photo: Romana Klee under a Creative Commons license.
Every night, hordes of rhesus monkeys invade government buildings in New Dheli. They tear up offices and attack office workers. In 2007, a deputy mayor fell off a terrace to his death while being attacked by a group of the animals. Now government workers are fighting back, and they've brought in muscle to do their dirty work.Sea Turtle Haven on Turkey's Mediterranean Coast Threatened
Patara Beach. Photo: Jennifer Hattam
Mega-resort development has swallowed up much of Turkey's gorgeous Mediterranean coastline, but there are still some tucked-away spots for those who prefer peace and quiet to discos and umbrella drinks. One of these places is the village of Patara, home to the longest beach in Turkey, a key sea turtle nesting site, nearly 3,000 years of history, and -- if government officials have their way -- up to 750 brand-spanking-new holiday villas.
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