The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
You're always the person everyone comes to when they need advice, sympathy or a couple of dollars to pay the electric bill.
Does that mean it's the only type of relationship you're capable of having?
Hardly -- so stop with the attitude.
Besides, a long-distance lover could be making plans to tiptoe subtly back into your life, even as we speak.
If you're game, make the first move -- the call and the invitation.
Just be sure they pay for the ticket -- just this once.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Trollhattan, Vastra Gotaland, Sweden

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

London, England, United Kingdom

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Marrakesh, Marrakesh, Morocco

Sheffield, England, United Kingdom

Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Bilbao, Pais Vasco, Spain

as well as 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 Rochester, Lawrenceville, Seattle, Medford and more.

Today is:

Today is Tuesday, January 25, the 25th day of 2011.

There are 340 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are: 

A Room Of One's Own Day
and
National Speak Up and Succeed Day.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Random Photos

Easy ways to be a better person

10 easy ways to become a better person

Making a positive change in the world doesn't always require a tremendous amount of effort.  

Learn the 3 I's 

Also: 

• Find best life advice
• Cut down what you buy
• How touch helps health

Jesse Ventura sues over pat-downs

Ex-governor sues over airport pat-downs

Jesse Ventura says the TSA and DHS have humiliated him with "unreasonable intrusions."  

Why he's singled out 

Also: 

• Airlines win by flying less
• Taco Bell sued over 'beef'
• Ex-Marine sues U.S. govt.

Bad Cops

Police Officer Arrested For Allegedly Punching Girlfriend

A police officer in Wisconsin has been charged with assault after allegedly punching his girlfriend in the face near Cloquet, Minn., according to Carlton County Sheriff's Office.

Culinary DeLites

Seven unhealthiest sandwiches in America

The Cheesecake Factory's Grilled Shrimp & Bacon Club is equal to seven McDonald's burgers. 

More offenders 

Also: 

• Six bad 'free' foods
• Unhealthy coffee drinks  
• Five horrible hamburgers

Taco Bell's Tacos Not Beefy Enough

From the "Tell us something we didn't know" Department:

It will be known as the Great Taco Meat Law Suit of 2011: Alabama Law Firm Sues Taco Bell.

What's in a name? That's the question at the heart of a class action lawsuit Montgomery, Alabama law firm Beasley Allen filed targeting fast food giant Taco Bell. The lawsuit claims the company uses "false advertising" on its menu and in its advertisements.
"The complaint alleges that what Taco Bell calls "beef" doesn't meet the minimum requirements set by the USDA to be called "beef" or "seasoned ground beef" or anything of the kind.
"Rather than beef, these food items are actually made with a substance known as "taco meat filling," according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that Taco Bell should refer to its product as "taco meat filling" because it contains mostly "extenders" and other non-meat substances.
What are these substances? The document lists water, "Isolated Oat Product," wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent, autolyzed yeast extract, modified corn starch and sodium phosphate as well as beef and seasonings.

Well, at least the lettuce is actual lettuce.

Odds and Sods

Companies to display ads on bathroom mirrors

Companies are coming up with even more unique ways to pitch you their products. They're even hitting the restroom.

Pig poo a pollution problem?

Taiwan has been experimenting with a simple solution to the perennial problems of pollution, smell and excessive water use on pig farms: train the pigs to use a toilet.

Chicago Car Salesman Fired for Wearing Packers Tie

A car salesman in suburban Chicago has been fired for refusing to remove a Green Bay Packers tie that he wore to work the day after the Packers beat the Chicago Bears to advance to the Super Bowl.

Full Story

 

'Crop circle' in Indonesian rice paddy

Thousands of curious onlookers are flocking to central Indonesia to look at a "crop circle" in a rice field following rumors it was formed by a UFO.

Full Story

Scotland and England

The Dutch man accused of killing landscape architect Joanna Yeates will appear in court

The man accused of killing landscape architect Joanna Yeates is due to appear in court.

Full Story

 

An Earthquake recorded in west of Scotland

A small earthquake has hit the west of Scotland, the British Geological Survey said.

Full Story

The Venezuelan who 'knew too much'

By the time the White House designated him an international drug kingpin in May 2009, Walid Makled had risen comet-like from petty smuggler to port mogul and airline owner through the good graces of Venezuelan power brokers.

Full Story

Protests in Egypt against Mubarak

The protesters aren't your typical coalition, but they found enough common ground to organize a "day of revolution." After the success of the protests in Tunisia, people in the region are feeling more confident about protesting against despots.

Egypt's authoritarian government is bracing itself for one of the biggest opposition demonstrations in recent years tomorrow, as thousands of protesters prepare to take to the streets demanding political reform.

An unlikely alliance of youth activists, political Islamists, industrial workers and hardcore football fans have pledged to join a nationwide "day of revolution" on a national holiday to celebrate the achievements of the police force.

With public sentiment against state security forces at an unprecedented level following a series of high-profile police brutality cases and the torture of anti-government activists, protest organizers are hoping that a large number of Egyptians will be emboldened to attend rallies, marches and flash mobs across the country in a sustained effort to force concessions from an increasingly unpopular ruling elite.

Non Sequitur

Domestic Terrorism

While we here did not ... the media mostly ignores Domestic Terrorism bomb found @ MLK Day parade.

Since it involved a radio controlled bomb set to kill black people during a celebration it is apparently OK.

Texas repugican Governor Perry used stimulus money to cover 97% of state deficit

Typical repugican hypocrite.
As you might have guessed, Perry had complained about the stimulus being a waste of money.

Perry also likes to trumpet that his state balanced its budget in 2009, while keeping billions in its rainy day fund.

But he couldn't have done that without a lot of help from ... guess where? Washington.

Turns out Texas was the state that depended the most on those very stimulus funds to plug nearly 97% of its shortfall for fiscal 2010, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

House repugican wants to monitor what you are doing online

Wait, I thought the Teabaggers said it was the Democrats who were trampling on personal privacy, no? "Don't tread on me" ring a bell? Now that the election is over, it's back to the same old, same old repugicans.
Cnet:

A House panel chaired by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin is scheduled to hold a hearing tomorrow morning to discuss forcing Internet providers, and perhaps Web companies as well, to store records of their users' activities for later review by police.

One focus will be on reviving a dormant proposal for data retention that would require companies to store Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for two years, CNET has learned.

Tomorrow's data retention hearing is juxtaposed against the recent trend to protect Internet users' privacy by storing less data. Last month, the Federal Trade Commission called for "limited retention" of user data on privacy grounds, and in the last 24 hours, both Mozilla and Google have announced do-not-track technology.

Ziggy

Car gets frozen in place

Car frozen in place stuns neighbors

A New York man parks to watch football at a friend's but then can't leave after the game.

'That's what sank the Titanic' 

Also: 

• Bitter cold lashes NE
• Sprinkler's ice castles
• High-tech snow shovels

Ferrari's mini station wagon

Ferrari debuts peculiar mini station wagon

The FF looks normal enough from the front, but it is a hatchback that seats four.  

Impressive top speed claimed 

Also: 

• History of Ferrari
• Fastest autos in the U.S.
• Top safety picks for 2011

Awesome Pictures

In Matters Of Health

Sleeping next to pets could be harmful, study says

Sleeping alongside your pets can make you sick. It's rare, but it happens.
That's why good hygiene means keeping Fluffy and Spot next to the bed, not on it, two experts in animal-human disease transmission say in a forthcoming paper.