The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
A loose energy takes over today, slackening the tightened tendons in your neck and making you feel a lot more relaxed.
This is an appropriate day for sleeping in, slowing down and asking yourself, 'what's the rush?'
Everyone else may be on a tight schedule, but you know you've got plenty of wiggle room, so why not use it?
Take a long afternoon nap -- it will refresh you for the rest of the evening, and fill your mind with inspiring, amusing dreams.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
London, England, United Kingdom
Copenhagen, Kobehavn, Denmark
Gengenbach, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Perth, Western, Australia, Australia
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Klanf, Selangor, Malaysia
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Doha, Ad Dawhah, Qatar
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Santander, Cantabria, Spain
Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
Grenoble, Rhone-Alpes, France
Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Athens, Attiki, Greece

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 Kirkland, Tampa, Gowrie, Norwood and more.

Today is:

Today is Friday, April 1, the 92nd day of 2011.

There are 273 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are:

Poetry and the Creative Mind Day
Sorry Charlie Day
National Fun Day

and
April Fool's/All Fool's Day.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Welcome New Readers

Newest Flag Pirate Last Visited October 12, 1492
Well, what do you now we've been 'Pirated' for April Fool's Day!

April is ...

Confederate History Month

Grilled Cheese Month

International Guitar Month

International Twit Award Month

National Gardening Month

National Pecan Month

National Pet Month

National Poetry Month

Straw Hat Month

and

Testicular Cancer Awareness Month

So you can look forward to posts on these topics throughout the month.

April is Confederate History Month

April is Poetry Month

The Road Not Taken  

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

And I Quote

"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream."

~ Edgar Allan Poe

Non Sequitur

Web buzzes over April Fools

Web buzzes over April Fools' Day jokes

Internet searches offer a clue to what pranks will be most popular this year. 

Watch out for fishy text messages 

Also: 

• Funny fake science stories
• Colbert preps 'Friday' gag
• Odd rubber duck tale

Twelve historic April Fools' hoaxes

Beetles in apples? Spaghetti growing from trees? Here are a dozen of the biggest pranks ever played, from "War of the Worlds" to Googles TiSP.

Read More

"Spaghetti harvest" and "San Serriffe Islands"

The BBC pulled off a famous April Fools' Day hoax in 1957 with a documentary about the annual spaghetti harvest in Switzerland. Women were shown harvesting strands of spaghetti from trees and laying them in the sun to dry as the narrator explained that a mild winter and elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil had farmers hoping for a bumper crop. Many viewers called the BBC, wondering where they could purchase a spaghetti tree. "Place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best," was the network's stock response. 

No one takes April Fools' Day as seriously as the Brits. In 1977 The Guardian informed readers in a seven page special about the discovery of a group of islands, San Serriffe. Located in the Indian Ocean and shaped like a semi colon, Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse were ruled by General Pica from the capital Bodoni, the paper stated. Only a handful of readers noticed that all the words were in fact printer's terminology.

Two selections from a gallery of April Fools' jokes posted at Der Spiegel online.

Wizard of Id

Joke's on the Northeast with April Fools' snow

A no-joke April Fools' snowstorm descended upon parts of the Northeast early Friday, a cruel prank on a region that was finally enjoying a reprieve from its long, white winter.

Full Story

Breaking News: Walker resigns as gov - "Just no fun anymore"

The controversial Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, has announced that he has resigned his elected position effective immediately and cited that after 89 days in office that given the current political and economic situation in Wisconsin, that "the job is just no fun anymore." Apparently upset over Judge Maryann Sumi's ruling stating in no ...

Full story

Yemenis hold largest protest yet against leader

Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis packed a square in the capital and marched in villages and cities across the nation on Friday in what appeared to be the largest demonstrations in more than a month of demands the country's longtime ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh step down.

Full Story

More disciplined Libyan opposition force emerging

Something new has appeared at the Libyan front: a semblance of order among rebel forces.

Full Story

Libyans talk cease-fire

Rebels talk cease-fire as Gadhafi stumbles

Opposition forces lay out demands for Libya's leader even as they show off new weapons and equipment. 

Ultimate goal 

Also: 

• War the West didn't want
• U.S.: Rebels need training
• Attacks on Libyan woman
• Pentagon preps pullout
• Rebels strike oil deal
• Gadhafi's security abyss

Rebels talk cease-fire as aides quit Gadhafi

Showing improvement on the front lines, opposition forces lay out demands for Libya's leader.

Permission to protest 

The dark side of spring?

With birds chirping and temperatures warming , spring is finally in the air.

But for University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) environmental chemist Torsten Meyer, springtime has a dark side.

The dark side of spring? Pollution in our melting snow

Shut down or sleep?

What's best: Sleep or shut down?

Some people wonder if you can wear a computer out by turning it on and off a lot.  

Expert's simple advice 

Also: 

• Cool gadgets for spring
• When to splurge on gear
• Make your stuff last longer

Odds and Sods

No more saggy pants for Arkansas school children

Arkansas students who love their sagging pants should soon leave them at home. Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe signed a bill on Wednesday that bans students from wearing clothing that exposes "underwear, buttocks or the breast of a female." Arkansas educators have long complained about the drooping attire, such as young men wearing saggy jeans that ...

Dog rescued from floating house

A dog that survived in a house swept away to sea three weeks ago by the devastating Japan tsunami was saved on Friday by a coast guard rescue team flying over an island of debris.

Judge allows dead man's vote to stand in NY village election decided by 1 vote

The election was decided by one vote, and both sides agree that a dead man voted.

Teacher takes picture of student, then mocks her on Facebook

Teachers are supposed to help children, not mock them.

Thus comes the tale of a Chicago, IL student, who wore Jolly Rancher candies in her hair to school, only to have a teacher take a picture --- not because she thought the hairstyle was cute, but in order to post it to Facebook along with a mocking message.

Full Story