The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Relationships are on the verge of changing significantly.
Weak friendships will naturally fade into the sunset, and you should let them.
You need the time and energy they've been taking up out of your life.
Friendships and other relations with true potential will become more central to your life.
This is the time to merge, incorporate or otherwise join forces.
Feeling a little scared?
That's normal.
Don't let it prevent you from moving on something good, though.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Milan, Lombardia, Italy

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Coffs Harbor, New South Wales, Australia

As, Akershus, Norway

Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Scarborough, Ontario, Canada

Caracas, Distrito Federal, Venezuela

Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya

Paris, Ile-De-France, France

Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Budapest, Budapest, Hungary

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel

as well as in cities across the United States such as Ontario, Norwalk, Los Gatos, Seattle and more.

Today is:

Today is Sunday, September 5, the 248th day of 2010.

There are 117 days left in the year.

Today In History September 5

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

Be Late For Something Day 

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Bosnian woman claims to have saved lives of 'YouTube puppies'

Full story

A 75-year-old Bosnia woman, who lives in the same town as the alleged "YouTube puppy thrower," claims to have saved the puppies the young girl threw into a river.

America's most beautiful coastal views

America's most beautiful coastal views

At low tide, you can walk a mile into the ocean on Cape Cod's vast tidal flats.

See stunning Alaskan fjords 

Also: 

• World's oddest beaches
• More U.S. coastal views
• Best coastal drives

The Counselor

The new elementary school counselor was eager to help. One day during recess she noticed a girl standing by herself on one side of a playing field while the rest of the kids enjoyed a game of soccer at the other.

She approached and asked if the girl was all right. The girl said she was fine.

A little while later, however, the counselor noticed the girl was in the same spot, still by herself. Approaching again, she offered,
"Would you like me to be your friend?"

The girl hesitated, then said, "Okay," looking at the woman suspiciously.

Feeling she was making progress, the counselor then asked, "Why are you standing here all alone?"

The little girl heaved a sigh of great exasperation and said, "Because . . . I'm the goalie!"

Teenager Tries to Shoot Cell Phones into Prison Using Bow and Arrow

In the past, people in Brazil have tried to smuggle cell phones into prisons using pigeons and toy helicopters. Recently, a boy was caught outside of the walls of a Brazilian prison trying to shoot cell phones into the yard using a bow and arrow:

Police say a 17-year-old teen was detained after he shot arrows with cell phones attached over the walls of a prison in southern Brazil to inmates waiting on the other side.
Authorities say the boy was caught after one of the arrows he launched struck a police officer on the back. The officer was not seriously injured because the cell phone was tied to the tip of the arrow and softened the impact.
Police Lt. Mauricio Cravo told RBS TV that a local gang hired the teen, giving him a professional bow and training him how to use it.

Full Story

How to make up for your unhealthy habits

How to make up for your unhealthy habits

These changes can reverse years of bad posture, being overweight, and too much alcohol. 

Bad-relationship link 

Also: 

• Worst-for-you junk food
• 12 health myths exposed
• How to maintain vitality

Eugene Robinson: 'The spoiled-brat American electorate'

 Eugene Robinson at his thoughtful best:

In the punditry business, it's considered bad form to question the essential wisdom of the American people. But at this point, it's impossible to ignore the obvious: The American people are acting like a bunch of spoiled brats....

The nation demands the impossible: quick, painless solutions to long-term, structural problems. While they're running for office, politicians of both parties encourage this kind of magical thinking. When they get into office, they're forced to try to explain that things aren't quite so simple -- that restructuring our economy, renewing the nation's increasingly rickety infrastructure, reforming an unsustainable system of entitlements, redefining America's position in the world and all the other massive challenges that face the country are going to require years of effort. But the American people don't want to hear any of this. They want somebody to make it all better. Now.

Magical thinking with magical results — the amazing vanishing future.

Then there's this sweet music, and the right reason for it:

The richest Americans need to pay higher taxes -- not because they're bad people who deserve to be punished but because they earn a much bigger share of the nation's income and hold a bigger share of its overall wealth. If they don't pay more, there won't be enough revenue to maintain, much less improve, the kind of infrastructure that fosters economic growth. Think of what the interstate highway system has meant to this country. Now imagine trying to build it today.

Yeah, Right

How to get cheapskates to spend

How to get cheapskates to spend

Products that promise savings, but are "probably a complete waste of money," attract the frugal.  

Gadgets in demand 

Also: 

• See the deals of the day
• Psychology of pricing
• Consumer confidence

How frugal billionaires spend their money

How frugal billionaires spend their money

Carlos Slim Helú, the richest man in the world, has lived in the same house for 40 years.

Their cars and clothes 

Also: 

• More on Carlos Slim
• Billionaires' first jobs
• Six overpriced items

An American Style Democracy

Do we look racist - in a word, yes

That's Bullshit ... Sam Seder talks to those attending Beckapalooza.

German Bundesbank votes to fire racist board member

It's not quite final, but almost.

If Sarrazin was in the US, he'd already be on Faux News and preparing his speech for the next Teabagger rally.

The board of Germany's Bundesbank said on Thursday it had voted unanimously to seek the dismissal of board member Thilo Sarrazin, who has sparked uproar with his comments about Muslim immigrants and race.

Pulitzer-winning cartoonist Paul Conrad dies

Pulitzer-winning cartoonist Paul Conrad dies

The man whose biting political cartoons landed him on Richard Nixon's enemies list passes at 86.

His legacy 

Also: 

• More about Paul Conrad
• Examples of his work
• Comedian Schimmel dies

ELO front man killed by rogue hay bale

A former member of the band Electric Light Orchestra, was killed when a nearly 318kg bale of hay rolled down a hill, flew out of a field and smashed into his van as he drove by.

London's Daily Telegraph reported Mike Edwards, 62, died instantly in the freak accident Friday on a highway in Devon, England.

He was a founding member of ELO and played cello with the band from 1972-75.

Full Story

More

Unhear It

Do you have a song stuck in your head and you can't get it out no matter what you do. Unhear It can help. They just let you listen to a random song instead.

Using the latest techniques in reverse-auditory-melodic-unstickification technology, we've been able to allow our users to 'unhear' songs by hearing equally catchy songs. So all we're doing is making you forget your old song by replacing it with another one... sorry.

Ziggy

Things Organized Neatly

Things Organized Neatly is a photo site by Austin Radcliffe of things organized neatly.

Old Wives Tales that are Actually True

Old wives tales are often scoffed at but many have scientific evidence to show why you should listen to your mother. Take a look at some of the more surprising findings.

8 Old Wives Tales that are Actually True

Modern Book Sizes Are Based on Sheep

Most printed books come in certain standard sizes which have been used for hundreds of years. Even the dimensions of Kindles and other eReaders are derived from these norms of printing. And where did these standards come from? According to medieval scholar Carl Pyrdum, they’re based on the size of a sheep:

The question then becomes, I guess, why were medieval books the size they were? And the answer to that is simple: medieval books were the size they were because medieval sheep were the size they were. Remember, paper wasn’t the original medium for page-creation. Medieval books were constructed of parchment, which is a fancy word for sheep or goat skin (and primarily sheep skin, because there were a lot more of them around).

The whole sheepskin, flattened out and folded in half, is one common size. Fold it again, and it’s another size. All of these sizes and dimensions are still being used by printing houses in the 21st century. The Kindle, for example, is the size of a sheepskin folded over three times. Pyrdum provides further examples and concludes:

Next time you’re squinting at your mass-market copy of Dan Brown’s latest wishing the pages were just a smidge roomier, blame the medievals for not having bigger sheep.

Full Story