VARUNZ WORLD

Top 5 Waterfalls of the World

2011-07-04T19:45:00.008+05:30

Iguazu Falls
Its brink spans a distance of an incredible 2km in its average flow of 1.3 million liters per second. The falls actually consists of some 275 individual waterfalls and cascades. Catwalks make it easy to get closeup and intimate views and the rainforest surroundings make the scenery feel right for a natural attraction.

Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls is the largest singular waterfall in the world spanning a width of 1.7km, a height of 108m, and an average flow of 1 million liters per second! It's no wonder this 'smoke that thunders' is considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Niagara Falls
Easily the most famous waterfall in North America, this powerful waterfall also ranks as the biggest one by volume with a whopping average of about 750,000 gallons per second (2.8 million Liters per second)! In addition to its raw power, the falls is easily one of the easiest to access and view from all sorts of angles.

Plitvice Falls
When it comes to the overall waterfalling experience, it's hard to beat this world famous attraction. This one is really a network of countless waterfalls (some of which are impressive enough to stand out on their own). The waterfalls themselves segregate the many clear and colorful lakes that bring life to this lush and protected ecosystem.

Angel Falls
Plunging uninterrupted for 807m (with total drop of 979m) from a mystical tabletop mountain (tepuy) deep in a Venezuelan equatorial rainforest, it is widely acknowledged as the tallest permanent waterfall in the world. Its existence defies logic as its source is nothing but the soggy cloud forest on the plateau of the tepuy.

NASA Envisions Alien Worlds

2011-06-30T01:03:00.014+05:30

Out of the Dust, a Planet is Born
In this artist's conception, a possible newfound planet spins through a clearing, detected around the star CoKu Tau 4 by the Spitzer Space Telescope, in a nearby star's dusty, planet-forming disc. The possible planet is theorized to be at least as massive as Jupiter, and may have a similar appearance to what the giant planets in our own solar system looked like billions of years ago.

Hubble Spots Possible New Moons Around Pluto
The artist's concept above shows the Pluto system from the surface of one of the candidate moons. The other members of the Pluto system are just above the moon's surface. Pluto is the large disk at center, right. Charon, the system's only confirmed moon, is the smaller disk to the right of Pluto. The other candidate moon is the bright dot on Pluto's far left. Click image for full resolution.

Steaming Hot Planet
This artist's impression shows a gas-giant exoplanet transiting across the face of its star. Infrared analysis by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope of this type of system provided the breakthrough.The planet, HD 189733b, lies 63 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula. It was discovered in 2005 as it transited its parent star, dimming the star's light by some three percent.

Fantastic Four Galaxies with Planet
This artist's concept shows what the night sky might look like from a hypothetical planet around a star tossed out of an ongoing four-way collision between big galaxies (yellow blobs). NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope spotted this "quadruple merger" of galaxies within a larger cluster of galaxies located nearly 5 billion light-years away.Though the galaxies appear intact, gravitational disturbances have caused them to stretch and twist, flinging billions of stars into space, nearly three times as many stars as are in our Milky Way galaxy. The tossed stars are visible in the large plume emanating from the central, largest galaxy. If any of these stars have planets, their night skies would be filled with the monstrous merger, along with other galaxies in the cluster (smaller, bluish blobs).This cosmic smash-up is the largest known merger between galaxies of a similar size. While three of the galaxies are about the size of our Milky Way galaxy, the fourth (center of image) is three times as big. All four of the galaxies, as well as most other galaxies in the huge cluster, are blob-shaped ellipticals instead of spirals like the Milky Way.Ultimately, in about one hundred million years or so, the four galaxies will unite into one. About half of the stars kicked out during the merger will fall back and join the new galaxy, making it one of the biggest galaxies in the universe.

Exoplanet HR 8799b
This is an artistic illustration of the giant planet HR 8799b.The planet was first discovered in 2007 at the Gemini North observatory. It was identified in the NICMOS archival data in a follow-up search of NICMOS archival data to see if Hubble had also serendipitously imaged it.The planet is young and hot, at a temperature of 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. It is slightly larger than Jupiter and may be at least seven times more massive. Analysis of the NICMOS data suggests the planet has water vapor in its atmosphere and is only partially cloud covered. It is not known if the planet has rings or moons, but circumplanetary debris is common among the outer planets of our solar system.

Chemical Soups Around Cool Stars
This artist's conception shows a young, hypothetical planet around a cool star. A soupy mix of potentially life-forming chemicals can be seen pooling around the base of the jagged rocks. Observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope hint that planets around cool stars - the so-called M-dwarfs and brown dwarfs that are widespread throughout our galaxy - might possess a different mix of life-forming, or prebiotic, chemicals than our young Earth.

Huygens on Titan
In 2005 the robotic Huygens probe landed on Titan, Saturn's enigmatic moon, and sent back the first ever images from beneath Titan's thick cloud layers. This artist's impression is based on those images. In the foreground, sits the car-sized lander that sent back images for more than 90 minutes before running out of battery power. The parachute that slowed Huygen's re-entry is seen in the background, still attached to the lander. Smooth stones, possibly containing water-ice, are strewn about the landscape. Analyses of Huygen's images and data show that Titan's surface today has intriguing similarities to the surface of the early Earth.

Flaring Red Dwarf Star
This is an artist's concept of a red dwarf star undergoing a powerful eruption, called a stellar flare. A hypothetical planet is in the foreground. Flares are sudden eruptions of heated plasma that occur when the field lines of powerful magnetic fields in a star's atmosphere "reconnect," snapping like a rubber band and releasing vast amounts of energy equivalent to the power of 100 million atomic bombs exploding simultaneously.Studying the light from 215,000 older red dwarfs collected in observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers found 100 stellar flares popping off over the course of a week.

Super-Hot Planet with Unique Comet-Like Tail
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have confirmed the existence of a baked object that could be called a "cometary planet." The gas giant planet, named HD 209458b, is orbiting so close to its star that its heated atmosphere is escaping into space.Observations taken with Hubble's Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) suggest powerful stellar winds are sweeping the cast-off atmospheric material behind the scorched planet and shaping it into a comet-like tail.

This Planet Smells Funny
Giant planet GJ 436b in the constellation Leo is missing something--and that something is swamp gas. To the surprise of astronomers who have been studying the Neptune-sized planet using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, GJ 436b has very little methane--an ingredient common to many planets in our own solar system. This artist's concept shows the unusual, methane-free world partially eclipsed by its star.Models of planetary atmospheres indicate that any world with the common mix of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen, and a temperature up to 1,000 Kelvin (1,340 degrees Fahrenheit) should have a large amount of methane and a small amount of carbon monoxide. But at about 800 Kelvin (or 980 degrees Fahrenheit), GJ 436b it does not. The finding demonstrates the diversity of exoplanets and the need for further study.

An Imagined Canyon on Planet Kepler 10-B
The daytime temperature is expected to be more than 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than lava flows here on Earth, hot enough to melt iron! Many years ago, before Kepler launched, members of what became the Kepler team built a robotic telescope at Lick Observatory to learn to do transit photometry-- detecting drops in brightness of stars when planets pass in front of them. We called it the Vulcan Telescope, named after the hypothetical planet that scientists in the 1800's thought might exist between the Sun and Mercury. A planet that might explain the small deviations in Mercury's orbit that were later explained with Einsteins theory of general relativity.Vulcan is the god of fire in Roman mythology, a name befitting of a world so close to the Sun. The artists rendering of Kepler-10b is reminiscent of that hypothetical planet Vulcan. The Kepler team came full circle in its quest. We know that we've only begun to imagine the possibilities.

Imagined View from Planet Kepler 10-B
Kepler-10b orbits one of the 150,000 stars that the Kepler spacecraft is monitoring, a star that is very similar to our own Sun in temperature, mass and size, but older with an age of over 8 billion years, compared to the 4-and-1/2 billion years of our own Sun. It is one of the brighter stars that Kepler is monitoring and about 560 light years from our solar system, which means when the light from this star began its journey toward Earth, European navigators were crossing the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in search of new horizons. Today, we are still exploring and our crow's nest is a space telescope called Kepler. One day, the oceans we cross will be the galaxy itself, but for now, we imagine the worlds we discover by putting all that we have learned from our observations and analyses into the fingers of artists.Kepler-10b must be a scorched world, orbiting at a distance that is more than 20 times closer to its star than Mercury is to our own Sun, with a daytime temperature expected to be more than 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit.The Kepler team has determined that Kepler-10b is a rocky planet, with a surface you could stand on, a mass 4.6 times that of Earth, anda diameter 1.4 times that of Earth.

A Day Out In Munnar..

2011-06-08T01:46:00.018+05:30

Munnar, which means confluence of three rivers, was the summer resort of the erstwhile British rulers in the colonial days. In the late 19th century, A.H. Sharp planted the first tea bush and since then tea has been the main agricultural crop in the region. Today, the hills around Munnar are blanketed with best-in-class green tea bushes. With its sprawling tea plantations, pristine valleys and mountains and cool air, it’s no surprise that Munnar has been rated the second-best Asian travel destination for 2010.

If you are a true admirer of nature who has a passion for driving, Munnar is your dream destination and cruising along winding smooth roads across mist-sheeted lush green tea gardens is the finest experience you can ever have.

Around every corner is another stunning view. You do not need a map or a guide; all you need is a good pair of shoes and the curiosity to see what is around the next curve. You need not necessarily be a shutterbug; random clicks can get you incredible photographs.

On the way to Munnar, some 22 kms before reaching there, I stopped by Anayirankal dam, a vast expanse of water surrounded by green carpeted hills covered with tea gardens. The distant view of the reservoir follows you for another 15 kms and it’s an excellent location for photography.

The dude who poses here is Varayadu or Nilgiri Tahr, stocky goats with short, coarse fur and a bristly mane. Nilgiri Tahr is an endangered mountain ungulate listed in schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. Eravikulam National Park which has the highest density and largest surviving population of this species is situated hardly 14 kms from Munnar town. Know more about this endangered species

Does this picture suggest land’s end? It virtually is. This is Top Station, which is 41 kms uphill from Munnar. Located at the border of Kerala and Tamilnadu, this spot offers an ‘awebreathtakingsome’ panoramic view. Strolling down this pathway with steep abyss on both sides is adventurous, rather risky, but the view you get there is one of a kind.

At every other corner you will find women with baskets full of locally grown fruits and vegetables. Don’t forget to bargain and buy tender carrots, passion fruits and wild tomatoes, all farm fresh and delicious.

Anamudi is the highest peak in the Western Ghats situated at a height of 2,695 metres (8,842 feet) above mean sea level. It is located in the southern part of Eravikulam National Park, fifty kilometers from Munnar. It is also the ideal place for wildlife travelers and nature lovers. It literally means “Elephant forehead”.

13 kms away from Munnar, Mattupetty is famous for its highly specialised dairy farm, the Indo-Swiss project. More than 100 varieties of high yielding cattle are reared here. The Mattupetty Lake and Dam, just a short distance from the farm, is a gorgeous picnic spot. The sprawling Kundala tea plantations, Kundala Lake and the echo point are other attractions in the vicinity. A boat cruise on the lake is the best way to enjoy the leisure.

Bristling with wildlife and crystal clear streams, the enticing charm of Munnar is simply irresistible. The area has many attractions within a short distance of the town of Munnar, including the Sandalwood Forest of Marayoor and the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Eruption that shook Chile and Argentina..

2011-06-08T01:06:00.011+05:30

This handout picture released by the Chilean Air Force shows the cloud of ash billowing from Puyehue volcano near Osorno in southern Chile, 870 km south of Santiago, taken on June 5, 2011. Puyehue volcano erupted for the first time in half a century on June 4, 2011, prompting evacuations for 3,500 people as it sent a cloud of ash that reached Argentina. The National Service of Geology and Mining said the explosion that sparked the eruption also produced a column of gas 10 kilometers (six miles) high, hours after warning of strong seismic activity in the area.

A cloud of ash billowing from Puyehue volcano near Osorno in southern Chile, 870 km south of Santiago, on June 5, 2011. Puyehue volcano erupted for the first time in half a century on June 4, 2011, prompting evacuations for 3,500 people as it sent a cloud of ash that reached Argentina. The National Service of Geology and Mining said the explosion that sparked the eruption also produced a column of gas 10 kilometers (six miles) high, hours after warning of strong seismic activity in the area.

Lightning is seen amid a cloud of ash billowing from Puyehue volcano near Osorno in southern Chile, 870 km south of Santiago, on June 5, 2011. Puyehue volcano erupted for the first time in half a century on June 4, 2011, prompting evacuations for 3,500 people as it sent a cloud of ash that reached Argentina. The National Service of Geology and Mining said the explosion that sparked the eruption also produced a column of gas 10 kilometers (six miles) high, hours after warning of strong seismic activity in the area.

A column of smoke and volcanic lightning are seen over the Puyehue volcano, over 500 miles south of Santiago, Chile, Sunday June 5, 2011. Authorities have evacuated about 600 people in the nearby area. The volcano was calm on Sunday, one day after raining down ash and forcing thousands to flee, although the cloud of soot it had belched out still darkened skies as far away as Argentina.

A column of smoke and volcanic lightning are seen over the Puyehue volcano, over 500 miles south of Santiago, Chile, Sunday June 5, 2011. Authorities have evacuated about 600 people in the nearby area. The volcano was calm on Sunday, one day after raining down ash and forcing thousands to flee, although the cloud of soot it had belched out still darkened skies as far away as Argentina.

A blanket of volcanic ash covers a neighborhood in San Carlos de Bariloche, southern Argentina, Sunday, June 5, 2011. The Puyehue volcano, dormant for decades, erupted in south-central Chile on Saturday. The wind carried ash across the Andes to Argentina, dusting this tourist town which had to close its airport.

A car is completely covered in volcanic ash in San Carlos de Bariloche, southern Argentina, Sunday June 5, 2011. The Puyehue volcano, dormant for decades, erupted in south-central Chile on Saturday. The wind carried ash across the Andes to Argentina, dusting this tourist town which had to close its airport.

A man removes volcanic ash from his roof using water from a garden hose in San Carlos de Bariloche, southern Argentina, Sunday June 5, 2011. The Puyehue volcano, dormant for decades, erupted in south-central Chile on Saturday. The wind carried ash across the Andes to Argentina, dusting this tourist town which had to close its airport.

Induce Rains With Planes...

2010-09-13T12:55:00.003+05:30

In a new revelation, the US National Center for Atmospheric Research had said that under the right conditions, passenger jets, in particular during take-offs or landings, can ‘punch’ holes into clouds to induce rains or snowflakes, similar to the cloud-seeding effect.

The phenomenon was first noticed when Andy Heymsfield, a scientist at the US center, who was aboard a research plane when it accidentally punched a hole into a cloud, west of the Denver Airport in 2007. Later, based on the satellite images and radar readings, it was concluded that this flight had indeed induced odd-shaped snowflakes into the city. Subsequent experiments conducted also showed similar results. Take a look at some hole-punch clouds (for long it was assumed to be the work of aliens)

Heymsfield goes on to say that the ideal conditions for such as occurrence, include the cloud layer being at a subfreezing temperature (below -15 degree Celsius) and having an up-slope of winter winds. Such conditions are more common in the Pacific Northwest and Western Europe.

Before this disclosure, weather modification experiments have long existed, though the effectiveness of the cloud-seeding process remains a topic of debate.

What is cloud-seeding?
Cloud-seeding is a method of changing the amount of precipitation from clouds by typically dispersing silver dioxide, dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide), salts or other substances.

Has India ever tried to artificially induce rain?
Yes, we have. According to this HT report, Mumbai Corporation did attempt to artificially induce rain last year by sprinkling sodium iodide over the Tansa and Modak Sagar lakes, but it didn’t work then.

Which countries are into cloud-seeding?
Many countries are, in particular those from the Middle-East. The region, which rarely witnesses rainfall, have had their governments invest heavily into various cloud-seeding research programmes. As per The National report, the government programme in the UAE owns two planes carrying sensitive equipment that releases a mixture of salts such as potassium chloride, sodium chloride, and small amounts of magnesium. This ensures that the droplets became so heavy that they fall as rain.

Does this activity have an impact on the environment?
Well, in this story by ABC News, the New South Wales government in fact plans to increase cloud-seeding as results from such programmes over the last 6 years indicate snowfalls have increased by 14 per cent without adverse environmental impacts.

Is it also possible to prevent rain using the same method?
The Chinese, who are experts in the art of ‘weather modification’, had allegedly used a technique they had mastered to not induce but to dispel clouds during the Beijing Olympics in 2008. According to this report by the LA Times, the Chinese meteorologists had been practicing their ‘rain mitigation’ techniques since 2006.

Whether one may like it or not, the world’s artificially inducing rains – a phenomenon which many scientists believe could solve water problems and even negate the influence of the monsoons. The government here, might want to look at this more keenly.

Also, the next time someone mentions that you brought the rain along, you know what could have happened.

Iceland Volcano: Lightning Adds Flash to Ash... ..

2010-04-21T19:17:00.008+05:30

White-Hot Show at Iceland Volcano
A blast of white-hot lightning crackles over Iceland's EyjafjallajÃ¶kull volcano on Sunday. Clouds of volcanic ash from Eyjafjallajokull have snarled European air traffic for nearly a week.
National Geographic Your Shot submitter Peter Vancoillie took the photograph from about 18 miles (30 kilometers) away from the volcanic lightning storm, which not "unlike a regular old thunderstorm," said Martin Uman, a lightning expert at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

The same ingredients are present: water droplets, ice, and possibly hailâ€”all interacting with each other and with particles, in this case ash from the eruptions, to cause electrical charging, Uman said.

The volcanic-lightning pictures are 'really very sensational,' Uman said. 'Somebody ought to be up there with an HD movie cameraâ€”it's ready for the IMAX theater.'

Purple Bolts at Iceland Volcano
Italian photographer and scientist Marco Fulle flew at sunset on Sunday over Iceland's erupting Eyjafjallajokull volcano to capture this picture of purple lightning bolts streaking through the sky.
Much of the lightning generated by the Iceland volcano is better termed long sparks, said the University of Florida's Uman. Those may include a new type of lightning recently found over an Alaska volcano.
It's unknown how such sparks form, though one possibility is that electrically charged silica-an ingredient of magma-interacts with the atmosphere when it bursts out of Earth's crust, Steve McNutt of the Alaska Volcano Observatory said in February.

Fire, Ice, and Lightning
Fiery lava mixes with blue ash and golden lightning over the erupting Eyjafjallajokull volcano in an April 18, 2010, picture.
The Iceland volcano's lightning is probably creating distinct symphony of sounds, said the University of Florida's Uman. For instance, small sparks of about 30 feet (9 meters) to about 300 yards (91 meters) make sounds like rifle shots, while the miles-long bolts produce the deep, familiar rumbling we associate with thunderstorms, he explained.

Stormy Mix at Iceland Volcano
Pictured Sunday, lightning at the Eyjafjallajokull volcano branches off in many directions-an interesting phenomenon, according to the University of Florida's Uman.
Every bolt has a direction that it travels, Uman explained: A spark begins in electrically charged spot and then travels either up, down, or sideways until it reaches an oppositely charged area.

Lava and Lightning in Iceland
Spurts of lava mix with lightning over Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano on Sunday.
National Geographic Your Shot submitter Oli Haukur Myrdal captured the electrifying light show. All types of lightning, particularly volcanic lightning, are still largely mysteries to scientists, University of Florida's Uman said.
Since people can't easily get inside thunder and lightning storms, no one knows exactly how they form, he said. However, scientists can install instruments near volcanoes' vents to measure certain data, such as the lightning-detection devices that scientists are installing right now in Iceland, he said.

Flash and Ash at Volcano
Lightning pierces the erupting volcano's ash cloud in a National Geographic Your Shot photograph taken by Olivier Vandeginste on Sunday.
Inhaling the tiny pieces of glassy sand and dust in the cloud can cause irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, say experts who advise Europeans to stay indoors when the ash begins to fall. Finer particles can also penetrate deep into the lungs and cause breathing problems, particularly among those with respiratory issues like asthma or emphysema.
But if people could witness the volcanic lightning safely, it would be an incredible experience, Uman said.
'Everyone would want to see that,' Uman said. 'It's like going to see aurora borealis near the North Pole-it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience.'

Iceland Volcano Erupts, Under Ice This Time

Iceland Volcano Spews Giant Ash Clouds

Volcanic Ash Halts Much of N.Europe Air Travel..

2010-04-21T19:13:00.001+05:30

A huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano caused further air travel chaos across Europe on Friday on a scale not seen since the Sept. 11 attacks, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded.

About 17,000 flights were expected to be cancelled on Friday due to the dangers posed by clouds of volcanic ash from Iceland, aviation officials said, with airports in Britain, France, Germany, and across Europe closed until at least Saturday.

"I would think Europe was probably experiencing its greatest disruption to air travel since 9/11," said a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority, Britain's aviation regulator.

"In terms of closure of airspace, this is worse than after 9/11. The disruption is probably larger than anything we've probably seen."

Following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on Washington and New York, U.S. airspace was closed for three days and European airlines were forced to halt all transatlantic services.

Vulcanologists say the ash could cause problems to air traffic for up to 6 months if the eruption continues, but even if it is short-lived the financial impact on airlines could be significant.

The fallout hit airlines' shares on Friday with Lufthansa, British Airways, Air Berlin, Air France-KLM, Iberia and Ryanair down between 0.8 and 2.2 percent.

The International Air Transport Association said only days ago that airlines were just coming out of recession.

The volcano began erupting on Wednesday for the second time in a month from below the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, hurling a plume of ash 6 to 11 km (4 to 7 miles) into the atmosphere.

Volcanic ash contains tiny particles of glass and pulverised rock that can damage engines and airframes.

In 1982 a British Airways jumbo jet lost power in all its engines when it flew into an ash cloud over Indonesia, gliding towards the ground before it was able to restart its engines.

The incident prompted the aviation industry to rethink the way it prepared for ash clouds, resulting in international contingency plans which were activated on Thursday.

Of the 28,000 flights that usually travel through European airspace on an average day, European aviation control agency Eurocontrol said it expected only 11,000 to operate on Friday while only about a third of transatlantic flights were arriving.

Eurocontrol warned problems would continue for at least another 24 hours.

AIRSPACE CLOSED

Britain's air traffic control body said all English airspace would be closed until 2400 GMT on Friday although certain flights from Northern Ireland and Scottish airports were being allowed to take off until 1800 GMT.

"When the experts give us the all clear we'll get the operation back up and running," Paul Haskins, head of safety at National Air Traffic Service, told BBC radio.

"We're working with both the Civil Aviation Authority and the Met Office (weather officials) to understand what parameters would need to be in place before it is safe to allow aircraft to operate again."

There were no flights from London's Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, which handles some 180,000 passengers a day, while officials at Germany's Frankfurt airport, Europe's second busiest, said flights would be suspended from 0600 GMT.

Around 2,000 people slept overnight at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, a spokewoman said, adding they did not expect airspace in the Netherlands to reopen soon.

Eurocontrol said airspace was closed over Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, the north of France including all Paris airports, and at airports in northern Germany and parts of Poland. Northern Czech airspace was also closed.

Polish officials said if the disruption continued, it might force a delay in Sunday's funeral for President Lech Kaczynski and his wife who were killed in a plane crash last Saturday.

Airlines across Asia and the Middle East have also cancelled or delayed flights to most European destinations.

The air problems have proved a boon for rail companies. All 58 Eurostar trains between Britain and Europe were operating full, carrying some 46,500 passengers, and a spokeswoman said they would consider adding services if problems persisted.

The Association of British Insurers said volcanic eruptions were not always covered by travel insurance for cancellation and delay, but some airlines issued statements confirming they would refund fares or change flights.

The UK's Health Protection Agency said it expected a small amount of the volcanic plume with low levels of sulphur dioxide would reach ground level in Britain later on Friday.

"This is not expected to be a significant threat to public health," it said in a statement.

(Reporting by London, Dublin, Paris, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Amsterdam, Brussels, Geneva and Copenhagen newsrooms; Editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)

Air India May Lose 'National Career' Tag... ...

2010-03-24T16:32:00.002+05:30

The Union Cabinet is set to meet soon to decide if beleaguered state-owned carrier Air India should retain its 'national' character at all. It will also debate if strategic disinvestment is the best way forward for the airline, which is estimated to have accumulated Rs 7,200 crore in losses in 2009-10.

With most of Air India's woes emanating from its international operations - where it loses around Rs 3,000 crore a year on 30 routes - a group of ministers (GoM), chaired by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, has recommended that the airline stop flying to these routes.

"This will change the character of Air India," a government functionary said, adding this would turn Air India into a regional airline.

The civil aviation ministry is preparing a detailed note for the Cabinet on the carrier's financial health and turnaround measures recommended by the GoM. "Cutting down loss-making international routes will have serious implications. Basically, the government has to decide if Air India continues to fly abroad or within India alone," the source said.

At the same time, the Cabinet may also debate the issue of strategic disinvestment as a long-term viable option for the carrier.

"The government cannot pump money into the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (Nacil) forever," the government source said. But, it is likely that the Cabinet refers back some of these issues to the GoM for its detailed and considered opinion, the source added.

A major blow to Nacil's finances comes from prestigious but loss-making daily non-stop flights to New York from Delhi and Mumbai on the latest long-range fleet of Boeing, accounting for losses to the tune of Rs 750 crore a year.

The GoM, set up to monitor Air India's turnaround plan, was also to decide on the politically sensitive matter of wage cuts of Air India's 31,000 employees. But it has now left the decision for the Cabinet.

To avail government bailout, the carrier was asked to undertake cost-cutting measures that would help it save around Rs 2,000 crore by March 2010. Air India was able to cut costs to the tune of Rs 700-800 crore till December last year.

As part of its turnaround strategy, the carrier has shortlisted five candidates for the post of chief commercial. A newly formed interview panel will interview these candidates on March 27

The carrier recently received a shot in the arm with the government releasing Rs 400 crore as a first tranche towards equity infusion. Air India had asked for Rs 5,000 crore as equity infusion and a letter of comfort from the government to convert its high-cost debt into low-cost ones.

Galaxy with Key to Milky Way Creation Found... ...

2010-03-24T16:28:00.001+05:30

A team of scientists from the UK and the US has discovered a galaxy far away from us which is churning out stars 250 times faster than our Milky Way. The discovery of the galaxy, about 10 billion light years away from the earth, will help researchers understand how the Milky Way was formed.

Galaxy SMM J2135- 0102 has four distinct star- forming regions, each of which is 100 times brighter than Milky Way locations such as the Orion Nebula. The team which discovered the galaxy was led by scientists from the UK's Durham University.

It also included researchers from European Southern University and the Massachusetts based Harvard- Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics." The new galaxy is forming stars at about 250 suns per year. Our Milky Way is forming about two suns per year," lead scientist Mark Swinbank of Durham University said. Because of the time it takes light to reach the earth, the scientists observed the galaxy as it would have appeared 10 billion years ago - just three billion years after the Big Bang.

It was Milky Way- sized at the time. But today, 10 billion years later, it would have grown into a giant elliptical galaxy much more massive than the Milky Way." When we look at the stars in the Milky Way, we find that most are about 10 billion years old. So, to understand how the Milky Way was formed, we must look back to these times. In this study, we have done just that," Swinbank said. "The main result of our study is that we have located four individual star- forming regions.

Each of these regions is forming stars much more rapidly than we would expect, given their sizes. In essence, the regions are much more efficient at forming stars than we typically see in the local universe," he said. The findings indicate star formation was more vigorous in the early universe. The paper was published on Sunday in the science journal Nature.

A Peek at Next-Generation Agni-V... ...

2010-03-18T11:51:00.002+05:30

Shrouded in secrecy for its political implications, the first visual impressions of India's most ambitious nuclear delivery system, the Agni-5 ballistic missile, are out. Officials with the Agni programme in Hyderabad confirmed the pictures were an accurate depiction of the in- development weapon.

On February 10, Agni programme director Dr Avinash Chander had told Headlines Today, "The Agni-5 looks similar to the Agni-3, except that it is longer as a result of an additional propulsion stage."

Still at least a year away from its first test-firing-an official estimate says February 2011- the Agni-5 has already acquired a formidable global reputation. In October last year, in its first ever reference to an Indian weapon programme, China's state-owned People's Daily newspaper pointed out that "India's Agni-5 missile is highly road-mobile, and effectively puts Harbin, China's northernmost city within striking range."

The Agni-5 is being built to deliver a nuclear warhead out to ranges of 5,000-6,000/ km. Sources reveal that 60 per cent of the first Agni-5 missile system is complete, with work now focused on the weapon's crucial third stage. Scientists are currently tweaking the missile's payload structure, introducing extra heating and making alterations to the re- entry mechanism.

The missile will also be India's first to be propelled by a composite rocket motor as opposed to a metallic one. With the 3,500-km-range Agni-3 to enter service with India's Strategic Forces Command- which governs all nuclear weapons- this year, the Agni-5 will be put through a similar four-flight trial between 2011-2013.

Dinosaur Country....... ..

2010-03-09T12:13:00.003+05:30

India has turned out to be agold mine of clues - from an abundance of eggs to tell - tale dung - to the lives of dinos.
The discovery of an ancient dinosaur-eating snake species from a Gujarat village that made international headlines this past week was not a chance discovery. It was one more piece, a significant one at that, in the slowly unfolding jigsaw puzzle of India's fascinating fossil heritage.
Most Indians may not know that the geological history of Indian dinosaurs spans the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous ages - spanning from about 230 million to 65 million years ago. In fact, some of the first fossils that were recognised as those of dinosaurs were found in India way back in 1828. The fossils - discovered by a British army officer William Sleeman, who was better known for wiping out the 'thuggee' menace, in Jabalpur - were described by the Scottish missionary Stephen Hislop in scientific literature in 1859. The species was later named Titanosaurus indicus.
Since that discovery, scientists with the Geological Survey of India ( GSI) have found remains of dinosaurs belonging to different ages of the "era of reptiles" which is believed to have come to an end some 65 million years ago. In popular psyche, dinosaurs are invariably connected with the Jurassic period - the middle age of the geological times - scale - made famous in sci- fi movies.
But the Triassic period extended from 250 to 200 million years ago, followed by Jurassic, which spanned from 145 to 200 million years. It was followed by the Cretaceous period extending from 145 to 65 million years ago. This is supposed to have been the golden age of dinosaurs, which came to an end with a massive asteroid hitting the planet. Indian dinosaurs are believed to have been wiped out by the Deccan volcanic eruption.
Though fossils found in India belong to all three ages, most of them are from the late Cretaceous period. Over the years, GSI scientists have found bones, skeletons, well- preserved eggs, egg shell debris, dung and other fossil fragments in western and central India, and even in the south. Fossilised footprints, or trackways, of the gargantuan creatures have not been found in any dinosaur- bearing sediments in India.
The earliest discovery of dinosaurs eggs were made from the Lameta sediments in the Kheda district of Gujarat in 1981.
Scientists were exploring the region for fossils in the area near Balasinor village, which had limestone quarries operated by the cement company, ACC. "A big boulder fell apart when the mine was blasted. I noticed that it contained seveneight spherical pieces. It was almost as if some eggs had been kept in a basket," recalls Dhananjay M. Mohabey, senior paleontologist with the GSI. "We did not know how dinosaur eggs looked like. This was the first time we were seeing something like this."
This discovery led to a resurgence of dinosaurs research in India, leading to a spate of finds belonging to the Late Cretaceous period in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh in the past three decades. A sole occurrence of a single egg has been recorded from the Ariyalur area in Tamil Nadu - the only record of an Indian dinosaur egg from marine sediments.
As many as 10,000 dinosaur eggs have been found at different nesting sites in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Scientists believe that there could be up to 30,000 eggs at different locations. Most of these eggs belong to the titanosaurus. Eggs, nests and nesting sites provide an insight into the social and nesting behaviour of this class of dinosaurs.
These animals used to bury their eggs in soft sands near riverbanks and in a few rare nests, eggs have been found arranged in circular or linear patterns.
From dung found around Pisdura village near Nagpur, scientists have inferred what the herbivore dinosaurs used to eat. An analysis of this dung, in fact, revealed the remains of a grass family which turned out to be the oldest record of grasses found anywhere in the world.
"Evidence suggests that the environment during the Late Cretaceous period in India provided an ideal habitat for breeding and nesting of dinosaurs. But these reptiles were struggling to survive the initial onslaught caused by the Deccan volcanic eruption near the end of the Cretaceous period," explains Mohabey, who first found a complex set of fossils at Dholi Dungri village in Gujarat in 1987. It has now turned out to be that of an ancient snake along with fossils of crushed eggs and dino hatchlings. The Indian dinosaur eggs and plant- bearing dung are unique in the world for their diversity and abundance and offer promising material for future research on dinosaurs.
Most eggs found in India belong to the plant-eating sauropod dinosaurs, but the country was also home to carnivore dinosaurs as well. The most remarkable discovery of a carnivore is that of Rajasaurus narmadensis - a new species found at Rahioli village in the Narmada basin of Gujarat. The discovery represents the first skull ever assembled of a dinosaur of any kind in India.
Rajasaurus narmadensis - which means "regal dinosaur from the Narmada" - was a significant predator that was related to species on continental Africa, Madagascar and South America.
The discovery of this 65-millionyear-old was a joint effort of Suresh Srivastava of GSI, Ashok Sahni of Panjab University, Chandigarh, and Jeff Wilson of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor ( USA). The stocky, 30-foot dinosaur had an unusual head crest and would have pursued a diet that included the long-necked sauropoddinosaurs that roamed the Narmadaregion. F INDING A dinosaur fossil, reconstructing the evidence and then presenting the find to scientific community is a long, torturous process that could sometimes take decades. Geologists look for dinosaur fossils in different rock sediments which have already been mapped. Systematic excavation of such areas is undertaken and when fossils are found the location is carefully mapped before the fossils are labeled and removed from there.
The rocks are scanned to see presence of bones. Then the rock sediments are removed through mechanical and chemical processes.
This prepares the fossils for reconstruction, body part by body part such as skull, jaw, limbs, pelvis, and so on. Fossils of associated including plants, flowers and animals are also studied in detail.
Only after this long process can anyone claim to have found a dinosaur fossil. Many a times false announcements are made. GSI scientists, for instance, clarify that the egg fossils reported last year from Tamil Nadu didn't belong to dinosaurs. The science of paleontology isn't as exciting as they make it out to be in the sci- fi movies.

M.F. Hussain's Paintings... Judge Yourself...... ..

2010-03-09T11:23:00.020+05:30

If a person dresses like a Sikh Guru, thousands of Sikhs gather and destroy their establishments , threaten to kill him, announce a bounty on his head - Sikhs are not criticised for being communal and intolerant.

If a Danish journalist depicts the Prophet of the Muslims , Muslims all over the world rise in anger, there is violence, a booty on the head of the Journalist - Muslims are not criticised for being communal and intolerant.

If MF Hussain draws paintings depciting Hindu Gods and Goddesses positions (which relations are not borne out by ancient texts at all ) and Hindus merely protest , they are called communal, intolerant and taught lessons in secularism by one and all.

The problem apparently is not with Sikhs and Muslims, it is with us, the Hindus, because we are not violent, we accept whatever is dished out to us , we do not have the guts to say that this is wrong , we seek acceptance from outsiders rather than from our conscience. We worship the same Gods and Godesses but don't stand up for them when the time comes.

Be a judge of Hussain' s paintings below.

Goddess Durga ######### union with Tiger

Prophet ' s Daughter Fatima fully clothed

Goddess Lakshmi naked on Shree Ganesh ' s head

M.F. Hussain ' s Mother fully clothed
Naked Saraswati

Mother Teresa fully clothed

Naked Shri Parvati

Hussain ' s Daughter well clothed

Naked Draupadi

Well clothed Muslim Lady

Naked Lord Hanuman and Goddess Sita sitting on thigh of Ravana

Muslim poets Faiz, Galib are shown well-! clothed

Full Clad Muslim King and naked Hindu Brahmin. The above painting clearly indicates Hussain ' s tendency to paint any Hindu as naked and thus his hatred

Naked Bharatmata - Hussain has shown naked woman with names of states written on different parts of her body. He has used Ashok Chakra, Tri-colour in the painting. By doing this he has violated law & hurt National Pride of Indians. Both these things should be of grave concern to every Indian irrespective of his religion

Out of the four leaders M. Gandhi is decapitated and Hitler is naked. Hussain hates Hitler and has said in an interview 8 years ago that he has depicted Hitler naked to humiliate him and as he deserves it ! How come Hitler ' s nudity cause humiliation when in Hussain ' s own statement nudity in art depicts purity and is in fact an honour ! This shows Hussain ' s perversion and hypocrisy

Not Quite Up In the Air.. ...

2010-03-02T12:02:00.003+05:30

After people around the world reacted strongly to American low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines giving director Kevin Smith the boot because he was 'too fat to fly', it has now emerged that Air Canada Jazz deplaned a passenger earlier this month for being 'too smelly'. The flight was waiting for takeoff when some passengers complained about the odour. Efforts were made to isolate the man from other passengers, but flight officials eventually decided to ask him to get off the plane. The man in question apparently lost his stink overnight and was allowed to fly the next morning.

So are airlines correct in refusing passengers who in their view cause inconvenience to fellow travelers? Opinion seems to be divided. Some sympathise with the deplaned passengers. They feel they don't deserve to be humiliated in such a manner. After all, economy seats in most airlines are barely big enough to comfortably seat someone who weighs 60 kgs. So isn't it then the airlines' onus to provide decently sized seating options to all passengers? Echoing this one Facebook status message says that 'Airlines need to make seats that will fit at least 85% of the population.'

On the 'smelly' passenger matter, some netizens feel that if the person concerned had a medical issue, then the treatment meted out by airline staff was definitely too harsh. On the other hand, some believe that well-being of the group is always more important than that of an individual, and that if the passenger actually smelt that bad then the action taken by the authorities was correct.

What do you think? What should Airline policy be towards passengers like Smith or the Air Canada Jazz passenger?

Renault's New Concept Car Unveiled.. ..

2010-01-05T12:38:00.001+05:30

• Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday inaugurated the Twizy Z.E. Concept, a new electric car from the stables of Renault, which will be out on Indian roads by 2011.This blue and white coloured car is a two-seater car, which works on the green technology principle.

Welcoming Renault's new car with enthusiasm, Dikshit said that Delhi roads would be much better off with electric cars as this."They are developing this new technology; Renault is introducing this at the automobile exhibition.They are still developing it. It is very beautiful to look at and they are saying it will take them one or one and a half year more to come out, then we will give as many incentives as we can to such cars to run on Delhi roads which do not contribute to the pollution." said Dikshit.

The twizy is classified as a quadracycle and does not need to comply with the full panoply of safety regulations. Since the car does not have doors it minuses the need of an air conditioner. The twizy is a rear wheel drive and weighs 420kg.

It is powered by a 15kW engine that Renault claim produces 20PS of power. The electric motor has range of 100kmph with a top speed of 75kmph. The four wheeled scooter is due for production in late 2011.

The model of the Renault's Twizy Z.E. Concept will be displayed at the 10th edition of the Auto Expo

Sky Gazers in for Celestial Treat.. ..

2009-12-14T10:48:00.002+05:30

Sky gazers can look forward to an exhibition of celestial fireworks as the night sky will be lit up by Geminid meteor showers that are expected to peak Monday.
A rare celestial event, the Geminid meteor shower will be visible across most of India and people can see over 100 shooting stars every hour for the next couple of nights with the largest number early on Monday.
'People can watch out for the meteor showers from late Sunday to dawn on Monday morning. There will be fireballs in the sky,' said N. Rathnashree, director of the Nehru Planetarium here.
Explaining the method to observe the meteorites, Rathnashree said: 'Look up at the sky between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. and you could see beautiful fireworks in the sky as the new moon is providing ideally dark viewing conditions.
'You need a simple telescope to watch the meteor showers. People in the capital should move to the outskirts to have a clear look as the morning skies these days are covered with fog,' she said.
A meteor shower occurs when the earth passes through debris left behind by a passing comet or asteroid. In the present case, it's an asteroid named 3200 Phaethon.
As the earth moves around the sun, the debris gets pulled by the earth's gravitational force and falls with its long bright tails visible to the naked eye.
The celestial movement is called Geminid showers, as they will seem to emanate from the Gemini constellation.

Cause of Air France Crash May Remain Mystery - Sources.. ..

2009-12-14T10:43:00.002+05:30

French investigators are unlikely to establish the exact cause of a fatal Atlantic plane crash in a report this week but may recommend ways to help locate black boxes more easily, sources familiar with the incident said.
France's BEA accident investigation authority is due on Thursday to issue its final report into the Air France crash in which 228 people died.
Flight AF 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed into the Atlantic on June 1 after flying into stormy weather.
The 'black box' flight recorders remain missing and only small parts of the wreckage have been found of the Airbus A330.
"I don't expect much new concrete information on the cause of the crash," a source familiar with the investigation said.
A second source familiar with the incident concurred, saying the report would add little to an inconclusive preliminary report issued in July.
The new report's conclusions are currently being finalised, the sources added.
The BEA declined to comment.
The July report identified problems in handing responsibility for the aircraft between controllers but said it was too early to say what caused the plane to hit the ocean.
Speculation has focused on possible icing of the aircraft's speed sensors, which appeared to give inconsistent readings and may have disrupted other systems.
Safety authorities ordered checks on the sensors known as 'pitot probes' and restricted the use of the type installed on the plane, made by France's Thales.
But investigators are not expected to pin the blame on any one issue, one source close to the investigation said.
Instead, the BEA is expected to make at least three recommendations on general aircraft safety, this source said.
These include extending the life of locator beacons attached to the flight recorders to 90 days from 30 days.
Regulators could also be asked to consider ordering further beacons to be attached to important parts of the aircraft structure to assist in locating wreckage in the event of a crash. Such beacons would need to be active for 30 days.
Plane makers may also be asked to study the feasibility of installing monitoring systems that send information on basic parameters such as position, course and altitude back to an airline's maintenance base even when operations are normal.
The few clues available on the cause of the crash include fragments of error messages sent out by the aircraft.
The crash fuelled a debate in the aviation industry over whether more data should be streamed via satellite but the cost of communications has so far been deemed prohibitive.
Some safety officials are meanwhile calling for scientific research to be carried out into weather conditions at high altitudes in turbulent zones such as the equator.

Boeing says Dreamliner could Fly on Dec 15.. ..

2009-12-12T10:59:00.002+05:30

Boeing Co said on Thursday it has opened the flight-test window for its 787 Dreamliner starting Dec. 15, allaying concerns that the hotly anticipated aircraft -- already two years behind schedule -- will miss its latest target of taking to the skies before year end.
A test-flight date marks a huge step in the development of the revolutionary airplane, whose promise of increased fuel efficiency and comfort has attracted a record number of orders for a plane still in development.
"Following the successful completion of static testing to validate the side-of-body modification, we have been working through a number of key preflight tests," Boeing said in a letter late on Thursday. "With high-speed taxi testing scheduled in the coming days, we're on track for first flight soon thereafter."
The company said the date depends on "final internal reviews, taxi test, and receiving the final experimental ticket from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration."
In the last two years, Boeing has announced five embarrassing test-flight delays that resulted in delays to the delivery schedule as well.
The program suffered problems with suppliers, a 2008 labor strike and structural issues. In June, Boeing announced a test flight delay after it discovered a design flaw that required a side-of-body repair.
The flight from Paine Field to Boeing Field -- both in the Seattle area -- will take about three hours. The company has not disclosed who will be on hand to witness the event.
The Dreamliner concept is based on the use of composite materials, which make up 50 percent of the primary structure. The materials are much lighter than aluminum, which makes the skin of traditional commercial airplanes.
The lighter structure allows the plane to consume 20 percent less fuel than comparable aircraft. Fuel efficiency has great appeal to airlines, which have been battered in recent years by the volatile expense.
Additionally, composite materials do not fatigue and therefore require fewer maintenance checks, Boeing says. The company claims that a 787 costs 30 percent less to maintain than competing aircraft.
There are three versions of the plane with varying capacities and ranges in the Dreamliner family: the 787-8, 787-9, and the 787-3. The planes, which have been in development since the first part of the decade, have list prices between $105 million and $205.5 million.

Telangana Revives Demand for Bodo, Dimasa & Karbi States..

2009-12-12T10:56:00.002+05:30

With the Centre deciding to initiate the process for a separate Telengana, Bodos, Dimasas and Karbis have revived their long-standing demand for separate states carved out of Assam.
The demand for a separate Bodo state was raised in the Assam assembly by Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF), the coalition partner of the ruling Congress on Friday.
Transport Minister Chandan Brahma, who belongs to the BPF, told the house that the creation of a Bodo state was possible and the matter should be considered by the government.
''Our demand for a state was much older than that of Telangana ... If Telangana could be created, there is no reason why the Bodos cannot have their own state. We had accepted the Bodoland Territorial Council under the Sixth Schedule as the then NDA government at the Centre had said there was no policy for creation of another state,'' he said.
BPF president Hagram Mohilary said, ''We are happy for the people of Telangana and now that the Centre has approved the creation of Telangana state, a separate Bodoland state should also be created.''
The Nunisa faction of Dimasa Halam Daoga (DHD) and United Peoples' Democratic Solidarity said they would revive their demand for separate Dimasa and Karbi states respectively.

The Devil & the Duck ....

2009-11-30T16:05:00.014+05:30

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm.

He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods.He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target.Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner.As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck.

Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved! In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile; only to see his Sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, 'Sally, let's wash the dishes' But Sally said, 'Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.' Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?' So Johnny did the dishes. Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, 'I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.' Sally just smiled and said, 'well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help? She whispered again, 'Remember the duck?' So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's; he finally couldn't stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, 'Sweetheart, I know.. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.'

Thought for the day and every day thereafter: Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done... And the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.)...whatever it is...You need to know that: God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing.

He has seen your whole life.... He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness; He not only forgives you, but He forgets. It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved. Go ahead and make the difference in someone's life today. Share this with a friend and always remember: God is at the window! When Jesus died on the cross; he was thinking of you!

10,000 - Page Chargesheet, 270 Witnesses, a few Hiccups..

2009-11-26T15:44:00.003+05:30

Exactly a year after the Mumbai terror attack, the prosecution in the 26/11 trial is likely to complete evidence against the three arrested accused in the case Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab and two Indian co-accused Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed, charged with conspiring the attack along with 35 wanted Pakistani nationals on Pakistan soil.
Among the charges levelled against them include waging war against the nation, which attracts punishment of death.
The trial, presided over by Special Sessions Judge M L Tahaliyani, commenced in April inside the special court housed inside the Arthur Road prison. The court framed 86 charges against the three accused on May 6. Two days later, the first witness, Bhaskar Kadam, an officer with the D B Marg police station who was part of the team that captured Kasab, was examined.
However, before the trial could begin, there was a major issue who would defend Kasab as lawyers did not want to take up his case on account of 'morals' and political pressures. The court first appointed Anjali Waghmare as defence lawyer from the state legal aid panel, but Judge Tahaliyani sacked her on charges of professional misconduct.
Soon after, the court appointed private lawyer Abbas Kazmi, who had earlier represented the accused in the 1993 serial bomb blast case, to defend Kasab. The court also recommended higher legal fees to be paid to him by the state government and handed over the 10,000-page chargesheet to him. Immediately after taking charge, Kazmi prayed before the court that Kasab was a juvenile, and that his case should be transferred to the Juvenile Justice Board. In reply, the prosecution conducted several medical tests and examined witnesses to prove that Kasab was 21-year-old at the time of the attack.
As the prosecution examined evidence in the form of injured victims and relatives of deceased, Kasab on July 20 made a request to the court for making a detailed statement accepting all charges levelled against him. In a guilty plea given by Kasab over two days, he gave details about training in handling arms and ammunition and intelligence gathering given to him in Pakistan, and also about the directions given to him on executing the attack along with his nine deceased accomplices.
After due consideration, the court took Kasab's plea on record but carried on with the trial. Since then, the prosecution has examined 270 witnesses and is likely to rest its case against the accused today. It is also likely to submit evidence of around 300 formal witnesses in the form of affidavits.
The goof-upsThe evidence led by the prosecution might have made the case watertight, but several goof-ups did crop up while doing so Inspector Prakash Bhoite, who investigated the attack on the Taj Hotel, told the court that the police had found two bombs near the hotel during the attack and one contained a note which said "Ammar Askari". A translator used by the police translated it as "Yeh jang ki or ishara hai" or "This is a pointer to war". However, when the defense lawyer cross-examined the translator Mukhtar Pirzade, an insurance agent in Bhiwandi, it was placed on record that he could not read or write Arabic, and that a friend had translated the note for him.
No further probes were conducted by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch on the identity of Suresh Prasad, who had submitted a fake electricity bill to procure the mobile SIM card that was used by the terrorists in the Taj Hotel to communicate with their handlers in Pakistan.
Police Inspector Manikrao Patil of Colaba police station, who conducted the preliminary investigations at three attack sites (the Taj Hotel, Nariman House and Caf Leopold) and seized various articles handed over to him by the National Security Guards (NSG), failed to recall in the court the accurate details of the seizures made by him.
Patil was also the officer responsible for goof up during the seizure of articles by placing articles seized from the Taj Hotel in wrappers meant for Nariman House and vice versa. He cited work pressure after the attack as the reason behind the error.

TAJ HOTEL FOR ANOTHER 100 YEARS…

2009-11-26T15:15:00.010+05:30

Mumbai's iconic Taj Mahal Hotel may have borne the brunt of the 26/11 terror attack, but it's now going to be prepared to last another 100 years. As we take a look at the hotel's collateral damage during 26/11, here's more on the epic structure and the management's plans for its reconstruction...

Karambir Singh Kang, general manager of the Taj Mahal Palace Tower, Mumbai, who lost his wife and two children during 26/11 attacks last year, clearly feels a raw attachment to the iconic property. 'The hotel has never been shut since it opened in 1903; even during World War I, it was converted into a hospital,' emphasises 41-year-old Kang.

After the attacks, the hotel was forced to close completely, though they proudly reopened the Tower Wing within a month. Kang has been orchestrating the reformation of the hotel that suffered severe damages in last year's terrorist attacks and the hotel management has been putting up its best efforts for opening the Palace Wing as soon as possible. Its like 'turning adversity into opportunity by giving the grand old lady a makeover', says Kang.

The Palace Wing, expected to be ready in the next quarter, has employed five different contractors. 'These firms have worked with hotels such as The Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental,' Kang points out proudly. The new Palace Wing will have slightly fewer rooms, upgraded IT systems and ergonomic workspaces.

Interestingly, though the critical wiring and plumbing systems are also being changed; the same would not have been possible if the wing was operational. 'We are thus ensuring that the Taj is prepared for another 100 years,' Kang smiles.

In terms of business, the hotel's revenue had dipped considerably partly due to the attacks and partly due to the recession as the industry as a whole went through tough times. 'Corporate customers depend on the economy; when firms cut costs, they first cut on travel and stay,' Kang explains.

He, however, sees light at the end of the tunnel. He is optimistic as the last three months have seen a turnaround with occupancy rates over 75 per cent. 'We beat internal targets by 15-20 per cent. Our footfalls have increased. And once our contemporised restaurants open, we expect to especially attract customers under 40,' he says, referring to Wasabi, Golden Dragon and The Harbour Bar, which are expected to open before November 26.

When asked about motivating his staff as a leader, Kang compliments his team as any generous leader would do. 'During the attacks, everyone stayed at their posts contrary to the natural instinct to flee; that never happens in any other industry. No staff member has asked to be transferred to any other hotel,' Kang says. For those who had difficulty coping with the loss, counselling centres were set up after a few days, he adds.
Kang has been part of the Taj group for 19 years and is in his second stint at the group's flagship hotel, the first stint was in 2003 as director of sales & marketing and then he became general manager in 2007. Ask him if he is considering moving on to a different role, at all, and he says: 'I plan to stay with this hotel for as long as I can contribute to it.'

Grief & Grit as Indians remember 60 hours of Terror..

2009-11-26T15:09:00.002+05:30

New Delhi/Mumbai: Some moments are seared into the collective consciousness of the nation -- like 26/11. The utter helplessness came back to haunt on the first anniversary of India's most wounding terror strike, but with it was a sense of resolve as thousands prepared to gather in various cities to remember the dead and also hope for a terror-free tomorrow.
The trauma started on the night on Nov 26, 2008, when terrorists who came by boat from Pakistan sneaked into its commercial megalopolis to begin a 60-hour siege that ended only on the afternoon on Nov 28. At the end, 166 people were dead, nine of the 10 terrorists killed and India brought to its knees as horrified citizens watched masked gunmen take over a much loved city.
It was terror in a television age played out for the world to watch. Mumbaikar or not, Indian or not, the scenes of terrorists taking over luxury hotels, a crowded station, a buzzing cafe and of top police officials being killed brought the vulnerability home.
Millions fearfully watched their television sets for three nights and three days, till the last of the terrorists were decimated in the Jewish Chabad House. The fires burning from the dome of the Taj Hotel, survivors breaking through glass to make their escape, two-year-old Moshe being brought out by his nanny from Chabad House while his parents were massacred inside... the trauma lives to this day.
As stunned security agencies probed the hows and whys of the most daring non-military attack that penetrated into the country's most elite establishments, the government set itself a roadmap to secure India and found global backing in its war against terror.
In a statement on the eve of the anniversary of the Mumbai attacks, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday: 'The attacks in Mumbai last year were an outrage. No one who watched the events unfold on television will forget the way that those responsible sought to cause the greatest fear and suffering.
'Their misguided aim was to create terror and uncertainty in the region. The government and the people of India were neither cowed nor provoked by these atrocities but stood resolute.'
A year on, the fallout has been changes in the security mindset and the premium put on strengthening internal security. Basic protocols, strategies and tactics for an appropriate response have been listed.
Making the Multi-Agency Centre (MAC) - tasked with collecting intelligence in real time - fully operational has been perhaps the most tangible achievement.
'In the last 11 months, we have been able to bust 31 terror modules. Optimising
intelligence flow and coordination between different agencies has helped vastly,' said a senior security official who spoke about the valuable lessons imbibed.
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who Prime Minister Manmohan Singh put in charge of internal security after public outrage over the previous home minister Shivraj Patil's seeming ineptitude, has set for himself a blazing pace to put in place critical strategies and strengthen intelligence systems, admits the country's record has been mixed.
'... there are still critical deficiencies in budget allocations for the police, recruitment, training, procurement of equipment, introduction of technology, and personnel management.'
Pointing to obvious lapses when a police force equipped with old age .303 rifles took on terrorists armed with sophisticated weaponry, Manmohan Singh told police chiefs in September: 'We need a new-age policeman who is more professional, better-motivated, suitably empowered, well-trained, one who places greater emphasis on technology for investigation and other tasks.'
Terrorism expert Ajay Sahni believes more needs to be done at a war-footing.
'Petty offences, which are not taken seriously by security agencies, are often found interlinked to a major terror operation. Our intelligence system should be in place. Effective security systems are needed to counter terrorism,' Sahni told IANS.
Considering that Mumbai not just gripped the country's consciousness but also drew global attention, intelligence sharing with foreign countries has also received a major fillip.
It is because of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation assistance that security agencies have been able to probe the links of David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, currently in US detention, who are alleged part of the larger conspiracy behind 26/11.
Terrorism is a beast with an extraordinary ability to transform, and the war has still a long way to go.
But it will be fought with citizens vowing not to be cowed down.
'We have to move ahead in life,' said Priyanka Baliram Uke, a young manager in a private Mumbai company.
Fortified by his grief, 16-year-old Siddhant who lost his father Sushilkumar Sharma when terrorists stormed into the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in a blaze of bullets, is also determined to look ahead.
The family has set up the Shaheed Sushilkumar Sharma Foundation in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, in memory of the assistant chief ticketing inspector.
'We shall have commemorative prayer there Nov 26, organize a few children's events with the theme of peace and anti-terrorism, felicitate people who display bravery and courage in day-to-day life. We shall repeat a similar programme in Kalyan on Nov 29,' said Siddhant.
For long India has managed to absorb the shock and move ahead. The lessons this time are different -- it will no longer be business as usual.

The Making of India's Biggest Airport........ ..

2009-11-24T17:29:00.002+05:30

Away from some of the more visible projects in Delhi, one of the biggest construction efforts in the country is about four months away from completion. Over 20,000 workers are working round the clock everyday—among them 100 foreign nationals working in the planning and construction effort—to give wings to one of India's most ambitious projects: Delhi's new airport terminal, T3, that will cater to both international and domestic flights.
Work is on at a frantic pace to meet the March 2010 deadline. About 82 per cent work is over and its developers—the GMR group and Fraport (Frankfurt Airport)—are confident the airport will be ready in the next four months and ready to handle 27 million passengers a year.
With 78 aerobridges, of which 71 are already installed, the new terminal will be one of the few in the world to service all aircraft through aerobridges. Changi airport in Singapore has 64 aerobridges. The terminal building covers an area of about 5 million square feet—just the area of its roof accounts for 20 acres. While the developers have to get the terminal ready by March 2010, it may get operational only by July after all the certifications are in place.
With its scale and size, the new terminal is set to change the traveller's perception. For instance, the forecourt where vehicles line up to drop passengers, will have 10 lanes with dedicated lanes for buses and cabs.
Once inside the departure hall, there will be six check-in islands with 168 check-in counters. This will be an integrated terminal for both domestic and international flights, which will make it easier for transit passengers. However, the plan is to allow only those domestic airlines which fly international to start operations from here. This could put the low cost carriers at a slight disadvantage as they will be located at the recently operationalised Terminal 1D.
So, the check-in area will be common and then the terminal divides itself into two wings. Both sides have a boarding pier each which extends to 1.2 km from one end to the other with 48 boarding gates. Most of these have already been constructed. Given the long distances, some 90 travelators have been installed which includes the longest in Asia measuring 118 m.
Such is the magnitude of the exercise that the developers could not find a supplier who would meet their demand for granite. Ultimately, a vendor was located in Bahrain from where the granite needed for the flooring is being imported. The glass curtains that have to be fixed at a particular angle too had to be brought from China.
Already, delegations from the Beijing airport, Changi airport and Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, among others, have visited the construction site. What has come in for particular praise is the open space called the 'canyon' where a glass roof allows the entire arrival area to be lit up. Bridges, just above the arrival area, meant for departure passengers have glass corridors that permits arrival and departure passengers to see each other.
The one advantage of having boarding piers as wings of what is roughly like a large 'H' like structure means the duty-free shopping hall in the centre is not cluttered because of rush at boarding gates. Besides this, a multi-level car parking facility for 4,300 cars is well on course to be ready by next year.
Recently, Delhi overtook Mumbai as the city handling maximum air passengers with a figure slightly less than 24 million for 2008-09. This terminal will be able to handle 27 million next year and capacity would be enhanced to 34 million by 2012. This compares with some of the best—Changi handles 22 million passengers, Heathrow about 25 million and the new Beijing airport about 45 million. And going by the understanding reached with the government, it should reach 100 million by 2026—the last phase of this construction effort.
The developers claim this will be the sixth largest terminal in the world when it opens, but what is more important is that standards are already being rated. The Airport Council International, Geneva, is said to have been rating the under construction terminal every quarter. Its marking is 4.2 while the quality standard set by the government requires a minimum of 3.5.
While these cannot be made official until the end of the financial year, Delhi, apparently, has already climbed to the 24th position going by its scores. Judgment, however, will have to be reserved till it gets functional. Once the new terminal opens, the plan is to keep the current international terminal (T2) as a buffer, which can be used to step up capacity during special occasions like the Commonwealth Games—like Beijing airport has a buffer that was shut after the Olympics.

Govt. issues advisories to 8 coastal states and UTs over cyclone...

2009-11-12T17:17:00.002+05:30

New Delhi: The Government on Wednesday issued advisories to eight coastal States and Union Territories over cyclone Phyan and put the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) batallions in Gujarat and Maharashtra on alert.
The movement of a depression in the central Arabian sea region since early Tuesday morning has been watched very closely by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Assessing the impact of its movement, in consultation with the IMD, Ministry of Home Affairs has sent advisories to the concerned State Governments of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Union Territories of Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep, every few hours.
Eight such advisories had been sent till Wednesday evening.
"Following the movement of this cyclonic depression and the consequential heavy rainfall caused by it, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Bns. in Maharashtra and Gujarat have been put on the alert," said an MHA release.
"Simultaneously, to meet any emergent requirement of rescue and relief, the NDRF teams comprising about 400 trained personnel with boats and other equipments, have been pre-positioned in Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Another 200 have been kept in readiness for Mumbai. Ministry of Defence has also alerted the Air Force," the release added.
The cyclonic system has, however, moved north-eastwards due to which the IMD has withdrawn the warning from the States of Gujarat and Goa. The IMD has alerted Maharashtra on the possibility of heavy rainfall in Maharashtra region, the MHA release stated.
However, the Ministries of Home Affairs and Defence have kept themselves in readiness to assist in any rescue and relief operations, if required.

Asteroid almost smacked into Earth...

2009-11-12T16:28:00.003+05:30

London: Astronomers have revealed that the Earth had a narrow escape from a cataclysm on when an asteroid came within 8,700 miles of hitting the planet.
According to a report in The Courier-Mail, astronomers spotted the object only 15 hours before its closest approach to our planet.
Its orbit brought it 30 times nearer than the Moon, which is 463,000 kilometres (250,000 miles) away.
Although the asteroid passed within 14,484 kilometres (9,000 miles) of Earth, it measured just (7 metres) 23 ft across and wouldn't have dented the surface.
Even had it been on collision course with us, the 7 metre (23ft wide) asteroid, known as 2009 VA, is unlikely to have made much of an impact because it would probably have all but burnt up in the atmosphere.
It was picked up by the Catalina Sky Survey at the University of Arizona, then identified by the Minor Planet Centre in Cambridge, Massachusetts as a near Earth object and plotted by experts at NASA.
It was the third-closest approach on record for any asteroid that has failed to make it through our atmosphere.
Earlier, NASA scientists monitored a 30.5 metre (100ft) asteroid that passed 72,420 kilometres (45,000 miles) above our planet's surface on March 2.
An object of similar size hit Siberia in 1908, levelling 1931 kilometres (1,200 square miles) of forest.
By 2020, NASA aims to have detected most large asteroids and comets that approach the Earth.

Festive Season puts Spring Back In Sales of Cars & Scooters..

2009-11-05T20:39:00.003+05:30

Automobile manufacturers are certainly feeling the festive cheer with October aiding a sharp turnaround in sales and bringing, alongwith Diwali, a bright growth outlook for the full year. While market leader Maruti's car sales jumped 22 per cent, Hyundai topped sales in the segment with a 41 per cent increase. Tata Motors' sales rose 18 per cent.
"The festive period of the last two months generated strong sales and has given the Indian automobile industry some respite from the sluggish performance of the last few months. It looks that this period of strong sales would propel the industry to a positive double digit growth for the remainder of the year. This might be the turning point the industry has been waiting for," said Arvind Saxena, senior vice-president, Hyundai Motors India.
Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) surprised the market by growing 347 per cent selling 6,909 units this October over 1,546 units last October. While it does have a small base and sales had plunged during last year's lacklustre festive season, the New Honda City is becoming the car to beat in the sedan segment, accounting for 5,129 units of HSCI sales.
Segment leader Maruti Suzuki started the new quarter strongly with a 22 per cent growth thanks to sales of 71,383 units in October over 58,515 units sold during the same month last year. Hyundai, its nearest competitor, sold 28,301 units this October, growing 41.44 per cent over last October's 20,009 units. Despite having been overtaken by Hyundai, Tata Motors has shown consistent signs of a recovery. Where 17,014 units were sold in October last year, 28,310 units were sold in the same month this year, including 3,018 Tata Nanos, giving Tata Motors a 17.61 per cent growth increase.
General Motors registered sales of 7,413 units over the 6,465 units in October 2008. This gives the company a 14.66 per cent growth increase, which GM executives said could have been higher were it not for non-delivery of a number of orders "due to supply constraints of some of the parts". Fiat's new models continue to do well, selling 2,221 units this October. In 2008, before Fiat expanded its portfolio with the Linea and Grand Punto brands they sold 364 units, giving it a disproportionate 508.77 per cent growth. Sales of the Mahindra Logan also continued its consistent decline by 62.42 percent. In October 2008, 1,067 units were sold whereas 401 units were sold in that same month this year.
In the two-wheeler, segment for the first time in over a year, Bajaj appears to be making a comeback and Honda's sales haven't been quite as extraordinary as one has come to expect. Though they continue outsell their nearest rivals by over a lakh units, Honda only grew 0.48 per cent in what has been a very good start to the festive season for everyone else. The company sold 3,54,156 units in October against 3,52,449 units in 2008. Bajaj sold 2,49,974 units this October — a 51.06 per cent jump in sales.

Cloud Computing: The Power Of One..

2009-11-05T20:35:00.002+05:30

In their quest to find answers, experts have demonstrated that the future of medical discoveries, environmental challenges, energy deficit, all lie in collaborating through Cloud Computing.
With Cloud Computing, users have been able to access data, share expertise and high-end infrastructure from around the world, and vice-versa. The resources are shared through a public platform like the internet. Several companies like Amazon, IBM, Microsoft, etc have invested heavily as they reach out to users.
Cloud Computing companies have customers of three kinds -
• Infrastructure-as-a-service: Option of renting and utilizing computing power and storage capacity of vendor's quality.
• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS): Vendors license particular services to subscribers on-demand and once the contract expires, the services are disabled.
• Platform-as-a-Service: Here a developer is given the opportunity to utilize various web-tools to build and host applications.
The Cloud (other computers in the network) does have its pros and cons in this formative stage. Its advantages include,
• Better performance by PCs in the cloud network, as fewer processing will be loading in each individual PC, the rest on the Cloud.
• No more spending on computer upgrades, instead services of another high-power PC can be made use of.
• Lesser hardware and software required, so costs of maintenance are tremendously lowered.
• Permanence of data, as all information stays in the cloud, even if you experience a hard-disk crash.
• Sync with experts worldwide on multiple projects and avail optimum results through the Cloud.
• Work from any PC and on the move, with the availability of internet access.
Cloud Computing also has some drawbacks like,
• The over-dependence on the providers.
• The reliability of the vendors.
• Protection laws in different countries vary. For eg, according to EU data protection regulation, personal information cannot be transferred outside the European Economic Area.
• Threat of unauthorized access to confidential data.
• Requires internet throughout and near-impossible to work with dial-up connections.
The concept isn't entirely new and is evolving even today. In the recent past, several variations have been introduced through 'Grid' and 'Utility Computing'.
- Grid Computing is a virtual super-computer formed by a cluster of computers in concert, each performing complex tasks.
- Utility Computing is a format in which subscribers are charged based on their usage, similar to the way in electricity is charged.
As new developments take place with increasing frequency, your world is on the brink of transition.

Some Foreign Car Designs..

2009-10-31T02:23:00.015+05:30

Bentley Continental Flying Spur
The name Bentley conjures up images of fast and deluxe saloons rolling down a highway towards St Moritz or Monte Carlo. The Flying Spur is a four-door variant of the Bentley Continental GT coupe, and the Bentley Continental GTC convertible. New for 2009 is the Bentley Flying Spur Speed, a model that ups the output of the engine to 600 horsepower and 553 pound-feet, achieving 0-60 times of 4.5 seconds and a 200-mph top speed.

Rolls-Royce Phantom
Rolls-Royce is as synonymous with state-of-the-art luxury and safety features as it is with prestige. Phantom has a rare sense of scale and occasion that makes it a truly modern interpretation of a Rolls-Royce. The grille and Spirit of Ecstasy immediately mark out Phantom. The Phantom has a base price of $400,000. Just as Phantom's presence is quietly authoritative, the delivery of power from the direct-injection V12 engine is equally impressive.

Maserati Quattroporte
The new Maserati Quattroporte stands out from the crowd. It is a car that excels in terms of technology and craftsmanship. The Maserati Quattroporte means opulent interior of a super-luxury car coupled with the performance and beauty of an exotic sports car. The result is a car with a personality all its own. Maserati's flagship luxury performance sedan Quattroporte has been simplified to base and S trims in 2009. The base trim is powered by a 400 horsepower 4.2-liter V8 engine, while the S trim's 4.7-liter V8 puts out 425 horsepower.

Maybach 62S
The Maybach 62S gets the same massive 6.0-litre twin turbo V12 as 52S, which delivers a barely believable 612bhp at a very low 4800rpm. With this abundant power to rocket from 0-60mph in just over five seconds, the 2,855kg Maybach will zoom on to a top speed of 155mph. The rear compartment is still the most luxurious cabin ever to travel on the road. All this can be yours for a whopping $448,500.

Jaguar XF
Stepping away from the conventional Jaguar design, the XF is Jaguar's new four-door sports sedan with a fresh, modern look. The XF has it all - stylish looks, a spectacular cabin, amazing handling, an agile motorway ride and top refinement. Jaguar's 4.2 liter V8 is the XF's standard-fit powerplant, with 300 horsepower underfoot. This gargantuan of a car comes with a base price of $51,150.

Mercedes-Benz S550
A living room on wheels. That describes all about the stunning Mercedes-Benz S550. Resembling a long, sleek, low-slung limousine, the monster is over 17-feet long. Step into the car and an embarrassment of riches awaits you. No wonder the S550 is favorite of wealthy dads and heads of state alike. The 2009 Mercedes-Benz S550 bears a base price of $86,950.

BMW 750Li
BMW has always been legendary for comfort, luxury and unmatched performance. So, naturally the 2009 BMW 750Li, the flagship of BMW's starfleet, delivers exciting tech features on all fronts, helping justify its high price range of $84,200.00. The twin-turbo 4.4L DOHC V8 under the hood accelerates the 750Li to 100 kmph in just 5.5 seconds despite the avoirdupois.

Lincoln MKS
The MKS fills a giant chasm in Lincoln's lineup. The 2009 Lincoln MKS sports a distinctive styling and a new 275-horsepower, 3.7-liter V-6. The MKS' fine blend of clean lines, luxurious materials, and lighter trim colors inside plants it squarely in the Lexus idiom of luxury. Price ranges from $40,870 to $47,760.

Cadillac CTS
One of the best cars GM has built in years, the Cadillac CTS is competitive with the best entry-level luxury cars in the world. Compared to the original CTS, the second-generation 2008 Cadillac CTS sedan model is more refined and powerful. The uprated interior and lively powertrains have put the CTS into top-tier status for a luxury sport sedan. Price ranges from $36,730 to $51,820.

Audi A8
A modern classic, Audi A8 is the German marque's flagship model. The latest generation of A8 redefines all the cliches. The car is priced from $74,050 - $120,100. It may not be the most desirable luxury car in the world, but the Audi A8 takes Audi a big step closer to that goal.

Indian Oil Fire..

2009-10-30T12:40:00.003+05:30

Indian Oil fire: Deora says no option but to let fuel burn...
Fri, Oct 30 09:48 AM
Jaipur, Oct 30 (IANS) Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said there is no option but to let all the fuel burn at the Indian Oil Corp depot here where containers and tankers went up in flames Thursday evening and claimed over 10 lives and injuring over 150.
'This is unprecedented in India,' said Deora, who arrived early morning to take stock of the situation, even as experts were brought in both from the Mathura refinery of Indian Oil and the Bombay High oil wells, off the Mumbai shore.

'We will have to let all the fuel burn. Only then will experts be able to go anywhere near the site,' Deora told reporters here after a visit to the site with senior officials of the state-run company. 'We expect the fuel to burn out by evening.'

He said he will also order an inquiry into the matter but after due consultations with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. The extent of damage was also being ascertained, he added.

The oil minister said the cause of fire was being ascertained but some eyewitnesses said the fire broke out after gas leaked from one of the tanks, which also caused a loud explosion. The flames could be seen from a distance of over 15 km.

The company has 11 huge tanks and all of them were seen burning. Around 25 fire tenders were pressed into service.

'The incident occurred at around 7.15 p.m. and we immediately pressed ambulances and fire tenders into service,' a district administration official told IANS, adding. 'As a precautionary measure we have evacuated the nearby villages.'

The injured have been admitted to the government-run SMS Hospital and the nearby Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, he said.

'I work in a factory very near the area. As soon as the fire broke out, we rushed out of our factory. We also heard a couple of loud explosions,' Ramkumar, a worker in a small factory, said.

Amit Agarwal, a student of a private engineering college around 2 km away from the site, said the glass panes of his building were shattered due to the explosions.

Numismatics...

2009-10-30T12:01:00.004+05:30

Numismatics: Is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. While numismatists are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other payment media used to resolve debts and the exchange of goods. Lacking a structured monetary system, people in the past lived in a barter society and used locally-found items of inherent or implied value. A few people today still use bartering in absence of a monetary system. Early money used by people is referred to as "Odd and Curious", but the use of other goods in barter exchange is excluded, even where used as a circulating currency (e.g., cigarettes in prison). The Kyrgyz people used horses as the principal currency unit and gave small change in lambskins. The lambskins may be suitable for numismatic study, but the horse is not. Many objects have been used for centuries, such as cowry shells, precious metals and gems. Today, most transactions take place by a form of payment with either inherent, standardized or credit value. Numismatic value may be used to refer to the value in excess of the monetary value conferred by law. This is also known as the "collector's value" or "intrinsic value." For example, a collector may be willing to pay far more than 50 cents for a U.S. Half dollar coin, given their low circulation.

Economic and historical studies of money's use and development are an integral part of the numismatists' study of money's physical embodiment.

Contents
1 History of money
2 History of numismatics
2.1 Modern numismatics
2.2 Subfields
3 Numismatists
4 See also
5 Notes

History of Money
Main article: History of money
Money itself must be a scarce good. Many items have been used as money, from naturally scarce precious metals and cowry shells through cigarettes to entirely artificial money such as banknotes. Modern money (and most ancient money too) is essentially a token - an abstraction. Paper currency is perhaps the most common type of physical money today. However, goods such as gold or silver retain many of the essential properties of money.

History of Numismatics

A Roman denarius, a standardized silver coin.Coin Collecting may have existed in ancient times. Caesar Augustus gave "coins of every device, including old pieces of the kings and foreign money" as Saturnalia gifts.

Petrarch, who wrote in a letter that he was often approached by vinediggers with old coins asking him to buy or to identify the ruler, is credited as the first Renaissance collector. Petrarch presented a collection of Roman coins to Emperor Charles IV in 1355.

The first book on coins was De Asse et Partibus (1514) by Guillaume Budé. During the early Renaissance ancient coins were collected by European royalty and nobility. Collectors of coins were Pope Boniface VIII, Emperor Maximilian of the Holy Roman Empire, Louis XIV of France, Ferdinand I, Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg who started the Berlin coin cabinet and Henry IV of France to name a few. Numismatics is called the "Hobby of Kings", due to its most esteemed founders.

Professional societies organized in the 19th century. The Royal Numismatic Society was founded in 1836 and immediately began publishing the journal that became the Numismatic Chronicle. The American Numismatic Society was founded in 1858 and began publishing the American Journal of Numismatics in 1866.

In 1931 the British Academy launched the Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum publishing collections of Ancient Greek coinage. The first volume of Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles was published in 1958.

In the 20th century as well the coins were seen more as archaeological objects. After World War II in Germany a project, Fundmünzen der Antike (Coin finds of the Classical Period) was launched, to register every coin found within Germany. This idea found successors in many countries.

In the United States, the US mint established a coin Cabinet in 1838 when chief coiner Adam Eckfeldt donated his personal collection. William E. Du Bois’ Pledges of History... (1846) describes the cabinet.

C. Wyllys Betts' American colonial history illustrated by contemporary medals (1894) set the groundwork for the study of American historical medals.

Modern Numismatics
Modern numismatics is the study of the coins of the mid 17th to the 21st century, the period of machine struck coins. Their study serves more the need of collectors than historians and it is more often successfully pursued by amateur aficionados than by professional scholars. The focus of modern numismatics lies frequently in the research of production and use of money in historical contexts using mint or other records in order to determine the relative rarity of the coins they study. Varieties, mint-made errors, the results of progressive die wear, mintage figures and even the socio-political context of coin mintings are also matters of interest.

Subfields
Main articles: Exonumia, Notaphily, and Scripophily
Exonumia is the study of coin-like objects such as token coins and medals, and other items used in place of legal currency or for commemoration. This includes elongated coins, encased coins, souvenir medallions, tags, badges, counterstamped coins, wooden nickels, credit cards, and other similar items. It is related to numismatics proper (concerned with coins which have been legal tender), and many coin collectors are also exonumists.

Notaphily is the study of paper money or banknotes. It is believed that people have been collecting paper money for as long as it has been in use. However, people only started collecting paper money systematically in Germany in the 1920s, particularly the Serienscheine (Series notes) Notgeld. The turning point occurred in the 1970s, when notaphily was established as a separate area by collectors. At the same time, some developed countries such as the USA, Germany and France began publishing their respective national catalogues of paper money, which represented major points of reference literature.

Scripophily is the study and collection of stocks and Bonds. It is an interesting area of collecting due to both the inherent beauty of some historical documents as well as the interesting historical context of each document. Some stock certificates are excellent examples of engraving. Occasionally, an old stock document will be found that still has value as a stock in a successor company.

Numismatists
The term numismatist applies to collectors and coin dealers as well as scholars using coins as source or studying coins.

The first group chiefly derive pleasure from the simple ownership of monetary devices and studying these coins as private amateur scholars. In the classical field amateur collector studies have achieved quite remarkable progress in the field. Examples are Walter Breen, a well-known example of a noted numismatist who was not an avid collector, and King Farouk I of Egypt was an avid collector who had very little interest in numismatics. Harry Bass by comparison was a noted collector who was also a numismatist.

The second group are the coin dealers. Often called professional numismatists, they authenticate or grade coins for commercial purposes. The buying and selling of coin collections by numismatists who are professional dealers advances the study of money, and expert numismatists are consulted by historians, museum curators, and archaeologists.

The third category are scholar numismatists working in public collections, universities or as independent scholars acquiring knowledge about monetary devices, their systems, their economy and their historical context. Coins are especially relevant as source in the pre-modern period.

Extreme Billionaires...

2009-10-21T12:53:00.004+05:30

Nine days into his trip, the marketing master, who turned a gang of Quebec street performers into a live entertainment powerhouse and amassed a $2.5 billion fortune in the process, put on a two-hour Web show featuring him in space and celebrities Bono, Salma Hayek, Shakira and Al Gore on Earth. He returned to solid ground this week. (For more on Laliberté, see "Billionaire Acrobatics.")
Bored with the ordinary hobbies of everyday life, billionaires have embarked on adventures and extreme endeavors only a tycoon can afford. They craft million dollar boats for a single race, journey thousands of miles in hot air balloons to set world records and develop rockets to create their own space agencies.
To prepare for his space mission, Laliberté spent five months in Russia's Star City practicing simulations, learning Russian and undergoing intense cardiovascular training to get in space shape. He also studied how to read and work instruments on the shuttle and space station; although he had no official duties during the mission, he needed to be able to lend a hand to Russian cosmonauts in case of an emergency.
Virgin billionaire Richard Branson is creating his own private space agency. His nascent commercial orbital travel company, Virgin Galactic, will start carrying passengers out of Earth's atmosphere for $200,000 per ticket in 2011. Total flight time: 2.5 hours.
Branson has broken records on the sea and in the air. In 1986 his motorboat "Virgin Atlantic Challenger II" broke the speed record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean in three days, eight hours and 31 minutes. A year later he became the first person to cross the Atlantic in a hot air balloon. He was the first to balloon across the Pacific Ocean in 1991. He failed in his quest to be the first to circumnavigate the globe by balloon when Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones completed the journey in 1999.
Roger Penske got his adrenaline boosts from extreme sports before he earned his ten-figure-fortune. Prior to building his massive auto empire, Penske raced for a living. In the early 1960s, Penske competed on both the Formula One and NASCAR circuits, winning Sports Illustrated's Driver of the Year award in 1962.
He retired in 1965 to focus on building his Philadelphia Chevrolet dealership. Today Penske Corp. controls Penske Auto Group, plus trucking and logistics companies. The billionaire is still in the racing game; Penske Racing, with more than 300 wins, is one of most dominant teams in the history of auto racing.
Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison and Swiss biotech tycoon Ernesto Bertarelli are gearing up to race each other in sailing's prestigious America's Cup this winter. Already, the battle on land has gotten ugly. Two-time winner Bertarelli ignored Ellison's request for a rematch, instead picking an unknown Spanish club as his next challenger. Ellison sued for the right to race. The legal war lasted two years. In May, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled Ellison would get his shot on the water. The race will take place off the shores of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates in February.
Ellison supporters claimed Bertarelli attempted to skew the rules of the America's Cup to his own advantage, while Bertarelli's camp accused Ellison's team of spying on his race facilities. Bertarelli's racing team, Alinghi, posts cartoons on its Web site showing Ellison's boat sinking under the weight of legal texts and the tech titan trying to buy the America's Cup trophy over the Internet.
Ellison has spent more than $100 million on his quest to join the ranks of Ted Turner and William Koch--two other billionaire winners of the America's Cup. Cable mogul Turner won in 1977, while the Koch Industries heir and head of Oxbow captured sailing's biggest prize in 1992.

Steven Bertoni
Guy Laliberté has taken his act on the road. On Sept. 30, the billionaire founder of psychedelic entertainment group Cirque du Soleil blasted into space aboard a Russian rocket. Cost of the ride: $35 million.
His trip, organized through American exploration outfit Space Adventures, lasted 12 days, including a nine-day stay at the International Space Station. Laliberté used part of his time in orbit to promote his clean water charity One Drop, and the rest garnering international media attention, hamming it up in front of cameras wearing a red foam clown nose.

In Hyderabad, Traffic Starts following on India's Longest Flyover...

2009-10-21T12:49:00.002+05:30

Mon, Oct 19 09:47 AM
Hyderabad, Oct 19 (IANS) Access to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad, about 30 km from the city, is set to become smoother and faster with India's longest flyover being thrown open to traffic Monday.
The 11.633 km long PVNR Expressway, named after former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, connects the Mehdipatnam area in the city to the Hyderabad-Bangalore national highway (NH 7) en route to the international airport.
Built by Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) at a cost of Rs.4.39 billion, the 17.2-metre-wide four-lane elevated expressway starts at Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital at Mehdipatnam and lands at Aramghar Junction on NH 7 to join an underpass.
The airport-bound traffic will proceed further to get on to the trumpet interchange, providing faster access to the airport.
HMDA officials say the facility would cut the travel time to the airport by 30 to 40 minutes. Presently, it takes 45 minutes to one hour for a person to reach the airport from different points in the city.
The project, work on which was launched after the foundation stone was laid for the airport in 2005, has completed one-and-half year after the airport launched commercial operations.
The PVNR Expressway, which encompasses 327 spans, was delayed due to various reasons including financial constraints over the last one year.
It was last scheduled to be inaugurated on Oct 2 but was put off in view of the death of chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who had laid the foundation stone for the project.
Chief Minister K. Rosaiah will inaugurate the Expressway Monday evening, fulfilling the long felt need of air passengers.
In a move aimed at ensuring fast and smooth traffic on Expressway, the Hyderabad and Cyberabad police have prohibited entry of two-wheelers, three-wheelers, all types of goods vehicles and slow-moving vehicles.
Since the down and up ramps are yet to be completed, the motorists will have to be careful while getting on to the Expressway as they will not be able to get down before covering the entire distance. However, median gaps have been provided at three points as a temporary measure for emergency U-turns.
Officials said a speed of 100 km per hour was envisaged on the Expressway but for light motor vehicles the speed limit will be 60 kmph. According to HMDA chief engineer Vivek Deshmukh, sound barriers were being installed at five points to reduce traffic noise pollution in residential and hospital zones.
The project was also mired in a naming controversy. Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), the powerful Muslim political party in the city, and various other Muslim groups had opposed naming the Expressway after Narasimha Rao as they blame him for demolition of Babri Masjid at Ayodhya.
After the death of Rajasekhara Reddy in a helicopter crash Sep 2, these groups demanded that the project be named after the late chief minister. However, the state government ignored this demand.

Mathura Rail Mishap: 16 killed, many trapped...

2009-10-21T11:50:00.002+05:30

Wed, Oct 21 09:44 AM
At least 16 people were reportedly killed, over a dozen injured and several others believed to be trapped in a mangled carriage after two trains collided on Wednesday morning in Mathura city in Uttar Pradesh, officials said.
The accident occurred when the Goa Express rammed into the stationary Mewar Express from behind at an outer signal, some 55 km from Agra. About 50 people are believed to be still trapped in a mangled carriage of the Mewar Express.
Senior railway officials, including divisional railway manager (north central zone) R.M. Tripathi has reached the site to monitor rescue and relief operations.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh for the next of the kin of those killed in the train mishap near Mathura. The seriously injured passengers would receive Rs one lakh while those with minor injuries will get Rs 10,000, she said. She has also ordered a probe into the accident.
Several trains on the route have been diverted.
In Mathura, UP Agriculture Minister Laxminarain Choudhry also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh for the next of the kin of the deceased besides a job.

HAPPY DIWALI as we say " HAPPY KALI PUJA"... ..

2009-10-18T15:39:00.006+05:30

Diwali or Dipawali is the festival of light celebrated worldwide by the Indians irrespective of caste or creed. It is the celebration of the homecoming of Lord Rama after a 14-year exile in the forest and his victory over the Ravana. The festival is celebrated by lighting diyas and candles to drive away the darkness of evil. Firecrackers adorn the night sky along with merriment and divine worship of god Ganesha and goddess Laxmi for prosperity.
Diwali or Dipawali is the festival of light celebrated worldwide by the Indians irrespective of caste or creed. It is the celebration of the homecoming of Lord Rama after a 14-year exile in the forest and his victory over the Ravana.

OUR CELEBRATION OF KALI PUJA....

Goddess Kali is worshipped on this day and in the Eastern Part of India, Diwali is also known as Kali Puja. The goddess is depicted as standing on Lord Shiva’s chest with her tongue stuck out. She holds a severed head in one hand and an edge tool on the other hand a garland of skulls hang around her neck. People worship her for the destruction of evil. She is the darker side of Maa Durga, the embodiment of Shakti.
According to the legends, it is said the demon Raktaveeja received a boon that he will remain immortal and with each drop of his blood several other demons like him will be produced. As his brutal power started engulfing the whole universe goddess Durga took Kali avatar. She then killed the demon and started drinking Raktaveeja’s blood before it fell on the ground. The killing spree of Kali was so intense that even after killing the demons she continued her thirst for blood killing everything that came on her way. To stop her, Shiva threw himself on her feet which made goddess Kali to regain her conscious.

Since then, people celebrate Kali Puja with crackers, lamps, sacrifices and chanting hymns for her blessings.

FIVE DAYS OF DIWALI OR KALI PUJA... ..

The celebration of Diwali is not for one day but it lasts for five days and each day holds special significance.

• Dhanteras – the first day:

The 13th lunar day of Krishna pakshya is known as Dhanwantari Trayodashi also popularly known as Dhanteras. It is believed that on this day Dhanwantari came out of the ocean for the welfare of humankind with his magical ayurveda. On this day people also worship Yama – the god of Death and light a ‘Yama Diya’ for him.

• Choti Diwali – the second day:

This is also known as Narak Chaturdasi. It is the celebration of the death of Narakasur by Shri Krishna’s wife Satyabhama. People get an oil massage and take a bath and those who don’t it is believed that they to Hell.

• Bari Diwali or Laxmi Puja– the third day:

This is the main day of the celebration when people perform the Diwali puja (worshipping Laxmi and Ganesha). People clean their homes and decorate them with beautiful lights and rangoli. Later, at night they get together with their friends and families and burn fire crackers.

• Govardhan Puja– the fourth day:

As per the legends, it is believed that to save the villagers of Gokula from rain and thunder storm Lord Krishna, worshipped Govardhana Mountain on this day. Hence, the tradition continues.

• Bhai Dhooj– the fifth day:

This is the day when the sisters, pray for their brothers’ longer lives. According to the legends, on this day Yama (god of Death) went to his sister Yamuna and gave boon to all the sisters that if their brothers visit them on this day then, they will be freed from all their sins. Since then, the tradition exists. In Bengal, this day is known as ‘Bhai fota’. It is the last day of the celebration.

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize for 2009....

2009-10-10T07:13:00.004+05:30

Fri, Oct 9 03:40 PM
Oslo (Norway), Oct.9 (ANI): United States President Barack Obama has been surprisingly given the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 for his extraordinary efforts in strengthening international diplomacy and for taking landmark initiatives to create a nuclear-free world.

Announcing the award here, an official of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said that Obama was yet to be informed about the award, and would receive the award on December 10 this year.

He also said that Obama had beaten 205 other nominees for the prestigious award, which includes a gold medal, a Nobel diploma and 1.4 million dollars.

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 90 times to 120 Nobel Laureates between 1901 and 2009 - 97 times to individuals and 23 times to organizations.

Since International Committee of the Red Cross was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1917, 1944 and 1963, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and 1981, that means 97 individuals and 20 organizations have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize should be awarded "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."

Alfred Nobel's will stated that a committee of five people elected by the Norwegian Parliament should award the prize. Norway and Sweden were at that time still in union, and with Sweden responsible for all foreign policy. Nobel felt that the prize might be less subject to political corruption if awarded by Norway. The Peace Prize is presented annually in Oslo, in the presence of the king, on December 10 (the anniversary of Nobel's death), and is the only Nobel Prize not presented in Stockholm.

Barack Hussein Obama II born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first born in Hawaii. Obama previously served as the junior United States Senator from Illinois from January 2005 until he resigned after his election to the presidency in November 2008.

Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004.

Obama served three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, Obama ran for United States Senate in 2004. His victory in the March 2004 Democratic primary election for the United States Senator from Illinois brought him to national attention. His prime-time televised keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004 made him a rising star nationally in the Democratic Party. He comfortably won election to the U.S. Senate in November 2004.

He began his run for the presidency in February 2007. After a close campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries against Hillary Clinton, he won his party's nomination. In the 2008 general election, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009. On October 9, 2009 Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

EARLY LIFE & CAREER
Main article: Early life and career of Barack Obama
Barack Obama was born at Kapi'olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, to Stanley Ann Dunham, an American of mainly English descent from Wichita, Kansas, and Barack Obama, Sr., a Luo from Nyang’oma Kogelo, Nyanza Province, Kenya. Obama's parents met in 1960 in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, where his father was a foreign student on scholarship. The couple married on February 2, 1961, and Barack was born later that year. His parents separated when he was two years old and they divorced in 1964. Obama's father returned to Kenya and saw his son only once more before dying in an automobile accident in 1982.

After her divorce, Dunham married Indonesian student Lolo Soetoro, who was attending college in Hawaii. When Suharto, a military leader in Soetoro's home country, came to power in 1967, all Indonesian students studying abroad were recalled and the family moved to the island nation. From ages six to ten, Obama attended local schools in Jakarta, including Besuki Public School and St. Francis of Assisi School.

In 1971, he returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Armour Dunham, and attended Punahou School, a private college preparatory school, from the fifth grade until his graduation from high school in 1979.

Obama's mother returned to Hawaii in 1972 and remained there until 1977, when she relocated to Indonesia to work as an anthropological field worker. She finally returned to Hawaii in 1994 and lived there for one year before dying of ovarian cancer.

Right-to-left: Barack Obama and half-sister Maya Soetoro, with their mother Ann Dunham and grandfather Stanley Dunham, in Hawaii (early 1970s)Of his early childhood, Obama recalled, "That my father looked nothing like the people around me—that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk—barely registered in my mind." He described his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. Reflecting later on his formative years in Honolulu, Obama wrote: "The opportunity that Hawaii offered—to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect—became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear." Obama has also written and talked about using alcohol, marijuana and cocaine during his teenage years to "push questions of who I was out of my mind." At the 2008 Civil Forum on the Presidency in 2008, Obama identified his high-school drug use as his "greatest moral failure."

Following high school, he moved to Los Angeles in 1979 to attend Occidental College. After two years he transferred in 1981 to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations and graduated with a B.A. in 1983. He worked for a year at the Business International Corporation and then at the New York Public Interest Research Group.

After four years in New York City, Obama moved to Chicago, where he was hired as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Greater Roseland (Roseland, West Pullman and Riverdale) on Chicago's far South Side. He worked there as a community organizer from June 1985 to May 1988. During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from one to thirteen and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000. He helped set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens. Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute. In mid-1988, he traveled for the first time in Europe for three weeks and then for five weeks in Kenya, where he met many of his paternal relatives for the first time. He returned in August 2006 in a visit to his father's birthplace, a village near Kisumu in rural western Kenya.

Obama entered Harvard Law School in late 1988. He was selected as an editor of the Harvard Law Review at the end of his first year, and president of the journal in his second year. During his summers, he returned to Chicago, where he worked as a summer associate at the law firms of Sidley Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990. After graduating with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991, he returned to Chicago. Obama's election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review gained national media attention and led to a publishing contract and advance for a book about race relations, though it evolved into a personal memoir. The manuscript was published in mid-1995 as Dreams from My Father.

From April to October 1992, Obama directed Illinois's Project Vote, a voter registration drive with a staff of ten and 700 volunteers; it achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, and led to Crain's Chicago Business naming Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be.

For 12 years, Obama served as a professor of constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School; as a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996, and as a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004. In 1993 he joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a law firm of 12 attorneys that specialized in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development, where he was an associate for three years from 1993 to 1996, then of counsel from 1996 to 2004, with his law license becoming inactive in 2002.

Obama was a founding member of the board of directors of Public Allies in 1992, resigning before his wife, Michelle, became the founding executive director of Public Allies Chicago in early 1993. He served from 1994 to 2002 on the board of directors of the Woods Fund of Chicago, which in 1985 had been the first foundation to fund the Developing Communities Project, and also from 1994 to 2002 on the board of directors of the Joyce Foundation. Obama served on the board of directors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge from 1995 to 2002, as founding president and chairman of the board of directors from 1995 to 1999. He also served on the board of directors of the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and the Lugenia Burns Hope Center.

POLITICAL CAREER: 1996–2008
STATE LEGISLATOR: 1997–2004
Main article: Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama
Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996, succeeding State Senator Alice Palmer as Senator from Illinois's 13th District, which at that time spanned Chicago South Side neighborhoods from Hyde Park-Kenwood south to South Shore and west to Chicago Lawn. Once elected, Obama gained bipartisan support for legislation reforming ethics and health care laws. He sponsored a law increasing tax credits for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare. In 2001, as co-chairman of the bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Obama supported Republican Governor Ryan's payday loan regulations and predatory mortgage lending regulations aimed at averting home foreclosures.

Obama was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998, defeating Republican Yesse Yehudah in the general election, and was reelected again in 2002. In 2000, he lost a Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives to four-term incumbent Bobby Rush by a margin of two to one.

In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority. He sponsored and led unanimous, bipartisan passage of legislation to monitor racial profiling by requiring police to record the race of drivers they detained, and legislation making Illinois the first state to mandate videotaping of homicide interrogations. During his 2004 general election campaign for U.S. Senate, police representatives credited Obama for his active engagement with police organizations in enacting death penalty reforms. Obama resigned from the Illinois Senate in November 2004 following his election to the U.S. Senate.

Singer Manna Dey's Life history....

2009-10-10T06:23:00.009+05:30

Manna Dey: Indian playback singer, vocalist, musician
Real Name: Prabodh Chandra Dey
Date of Birth: May 1, 1919
Birth Place: Kolkata (Calcutta), India
Years Active: 1942- present
Father: Purna Chandra Dey (chartered accountant)
Mother: Mahamaya Dey
Uncle: Krishna Chandra Dey (singer/actor)
Wife: Sulochana Kumaran (married on December 18, 1953)
Children: 2 daughters- Suroma and Sumita

Manna Dey is renowned Indian playback singer and musician. He is one of the legendary figures in Indian music industry. He is one of the versatile singers who can sing any type of song from classical, romantic, patriotic, fast numbers to slow and soulful. The veteran singer has won many prestigious awards including Filmfare, Padmasree, Padmabhusan and even National Award as Best Playback Singer.

His real name is Prabodh Chandra Dey, who popularly known as Manna Dey. Manna Dey was born on May 1, 1919 in a Bengali family. Manna Day attracted towards music due to his uncle's influence on him. His paternal uncle Krishna Chandra Dey was a well-known singer and actor of New Theatres company. He was loved and pampered by his uncle. He took his first music lessons from uncle K. C. Dey.

Manna attended Indu Babur Pathshala, Scottish Church Collegiate School and Scottish Church College to do his schooling. He graduated from Vidyasagar College, Calcutta. After college he has two ways to choose between. Either take music or some other job for living. His father wanted him to become a Bachelor of Arts, to be a Barrister. But like other youngsters in Calcutta, he was under influence of his uncle and selected to go for music. In his initial days he was taught by uncle K. C. Dey. K.C. Dey introduced him to the nuances of thumri, qawwali, tappa, and bhajan. Later he took training from Ustad Aman Ali Khan and Ustad Abdul Rahman Khan.

Manna Dey moved to Mumbai along with uncle K. C. Dey, in 1942. Initially he worked as an assistant to K. C. Dey, then to S. D. Burman. After that he also worked as assistant to other music composer. Later he started working independently as a music director. While working as music director, he kept on learning the Hindustani classical music. He is one of the talented classical singers, while he can sing semi-classical filmy songs with ease.

In 1943, Manna Dey got his first break with the film 'Tamanna'. It was a duet song along with singer Suraiya, which was composed by K. C. Dey. The song became hit. He also gets attention with the song 'Upar Gagan Vishal' from film Mashal. Later his song from the Bengali and Marathi film Amar Bhupali proved him as a prominent singer. During early career he found problem with the Hindi language. But later he done a systematic study and get easy with the language.

Manna Dey is also known for his perfection. He is the only artiste who used to make notations before recording a song. Manna shared a great bond with music directors R. D. Burman and Shankar-Jaikishan. With R. D. Burman he gave the hit number 'Aao Twist Karein'.

Manna Dey Biography Critics agreed that Manna can sing any of Rafi, Kishore, Talat Mahmood and Mukesh's song. He is one of the versatile singers. Once the legendary singer Mohammad Rafi said that people listen to his songs, but he listen only to Manna Dey's songs. That defines the singer's greatness. But unfortunately he was used to sing for character actors and older stars except occasionally for Raj Kapoor. While the times other lead singers Rafi, Kishore and Talat Mahmood were singing for stars like Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor. Many commented that his voice lacks youthfulness. But he has the ability to make any song a hit song with his melodious voice. Manna sang many songs for the comedian Mehmood including the hit 'Ek Chatoor Nar Karke Singar' from Padosan.

Manna Dey teamed up with great singers like Bhimsen Joshi and belted out a legendary song known as "Ketaki Gulab Juhi". With Kishore Kumar he sang a completely different genre of songs like "Yeh Dosti" (Sholay) and "Ek Chatur Naar" (Padosan). Both these songs were immensely liked and appreciated by one and all. Manna Dey infused the melody of classical music in the frame of pop music. In the Bengali film industry, he worked with noted musicians like the legendary Hemant Kumar. He established himself in mainstream Bengali music after his legendary duet song with Lata Mangeshkar known as "Ke Prothom Kachhe Esechi". He is counted among the legends of playback singers. It is his versatility that made him a hit with classical as well as mainstream Hindi music.

This talented singer has sung thousands of songs in many different languages and has given stage performances throughout the world. A true entertainer, he never fails to mesmerize his audience and people who attend his concerts only crave for more. He has received awards like National Singer of India, Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan from the Government of India. After having spent more than 50 years in Bombay, he now lives in Bangalore and at the age of 86, still travels all over the world and gives stage performances. Manna Dey is a living legend and continues to inspire budding talents and musicians.

Some of his HIT Songs...

* Mud Mud Ke Na Dekh
* Na Mangun Sona Chandi
* Poocho Na Kaise Rein Bitaayi
* Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli Haaye
* Tujhe Suraj Kahoon Ya Chanda
* Pyar Hua Iqraar Hua
* Tu Pyar Ka Saagar Hai
* Aaoo Twist Karen
* Aye Mere Pyare Watan
* Laga Chunari Mein Daag
* Aye Meri Zohra Jabeen
* Chunri Sambhaal Gori Udi Chali Jaaye Re
* Ek Chatur Naar Karke Singaar
* Yari Hai Iman Mera Yaar Meri Jindagi

National Awards

* 2004 - from Govt. of Kerala
* 1971 - for film Mera Naam Joker (Hindi)
* 1970 - for film Nishipadma (Bengali)

Government Awards

* 2005 - Life Time Achievement Award - Govt. of Maharastra
* 2005 - Padma Bhushan Award - Govt. of India
* 2003 - Alauddin Khan Award - Govt. of West Bengal
* 1971 - Padmasree Award - Govt. of India

Other Awards

* 2005 - D.Lit Honour Burdwan University
* 2004 - D. Lit Honour Rabindra Bharati University
* 2002 - Special Jury Swaralaya Yesudas Award for outstanding performance in music
* 2001 - Anandalok Lifetime Award Anandabazar Group
* 1999 - Kamala Devi Roy Award Kamala Devi Group
* 1991 - Sangeet Swarnachurr Award Awarded by Shree Khetra Kala Prakashika, Puri
* 1990 - Shyamal Mitra Award Mithun Fans Association
* 1993 - P.C.Chandra Award P.C.Chandra Group & others
* 1988 - Michale Sahittyo Puraskar Awarded by Renaissance Sanskritik Parishad, Dacca
* 1985 - Lata Mangeskar Award Awarded by Govt. of Madhya Pradesh

Floods displace over 18 lakh people....

2009-10-06T16:28:00.002+05:30

Flood situation in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh continues to be grim with over 50 villages in Andhra Pradesh submerged in water following unprecedented flooding of the Krishna River in a century.

The death toll in the two states devastated by the unseasonal rains in northern Karnataka and floods downstream crossed the 200 mark.

Flood situation in India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh improved Monday as water levels receded substantially, state Chief Minister K Rosaiah said.

Rosaiah said the outflow of water in Tungabhadra, Sunkesula, Narayanpur and Jurala projects came down substantially. At 5 pm on Oct 5, the outflows were 1.18 lakh cusecs in Tungabhdara, where the highest in the last five days was 1.96 lakh cusecs.

In Sunkesula, the outflow was 0.75 lakh cusecs, where the highest in five days was 9.80 lakh cusecs. In Srisailam dam, present inflow and outflow were 5.38 lakh cusecs and 10 lakh cusecs.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi undertook an aerial survey of the ravaged areas in Bellary district and Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who accompanied her, said the state suffered an unprecedented damage exceeding Rs 20,000 crore. Torrential rains left a trail of death and destruction in 15 districts of Karnataka damaging over two lakh houses in 1,467 villages subsided since.

Over 4.53 lakh people have been sheltered in 13,330 relief camps. A 500 m-long bridge across Tungabhadra river, 32 km from Raichur, was washed away in flood waters, officials said.

Some more facts:

- The Krishna river experienced the heaviest flood since 1903, when it had 10.30 lakh cusecs of flood waters.

- About 18 lakh people in nearly 400 villages of Andhra Pradesh have been affected by the floods.

- Economictimes.com reported that Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have reported damages of a staggering Rs 32,000 crore following unprecedented floods.

- Estimates indicate that over 1.5 lakh hectares of farmland in northern Karnataka are lying submerged, and close to 1.12 lakh hectares are marooned in Kurnool, Guntur, Cuddapah and Mehboobnagar districts in AP.

- Commodity prices may see a steep hike. The crops worst affected are chilli, cotton, paddy, maize, groundnut, jowar besides pulses like tur.

Floods are an every-year phenomenon for India. Government seems to take a reactionary approach rather than a pro-active disaster management.

Is govt's 'only relief effort approach' to tackle calamities good enough? Have your say

Shots from Space....

2009-09-12T12:00:00.010+05:30

NASA scientists have unveiled the first images taken by a revamped Hubble telescope, providing even crisper pictures of distant stars and galaxies. In Photo: This 2009 handout image provided by NASA is a composite image from a number of telescopes, including NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, which shows a space blob in both optical and infrared light. The blob is the yellow mass of gas. Inside it is an adolescent galaxy in white. The red spots are galaxies seen in the infrared spectrum.

This undated handout image provided by NASA, released Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, taken by the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope, shows a celestial object that looks like a delicate butterfly.
This undated handout image provided by NASA, released Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, taken by the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope, shows Gravitational Lensing in Galaxy Cluster Abell 370.

This undated handout image provided by NASA, released Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, taken by the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope, shows the planet Jupiter.

This undated handout image provided by NASA, released Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, taken by the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope, shows Colorful Stars Galore Inside Globular Star Cluster Omega Centauri.

This undated handout image provided by NASA, released Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, taken by the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope, shows Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 6217.

This undated handout image provided by NASA, released Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, taken by the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope, shows a clash among members of a famous galaxy quintet revealing an assortment of stars across a wide color range, from young, blue stars to aging, red stars.

Discover Paris......

2009-09-10T04:42:00.014+05:30

PLANNING A TRIP 2 EUROPE? And feeling overwhelmed by the number of places you would like to visit? Ask a friend or call travel advisers or simply surf the net. From the plethora of places I'm sure the most common suggestion would be France. And why not?
France has always been on top of most travel lovers 'places to visit' list. It is among the most picturesque places in the world. France's colonial past is a major contributing factor in the presence of a richly diverse multicultural population. France produces more than 250 cheeses and some of the world's best-loved wines.
A dreamy honeymoon or romantic vacation, Paris is a popular destination. Here are few details that will help you plan your trip to Paris.
Best time to visit:

Paris during springtime is the best time to visit: The place is colourful and the mood of locals is always upbeat during the spring. You may want to do your booking in advance as the air fares do reach the peak during this time of the year. Visiting Paris during winter can be romantic as it is less crowded and you can have Paris' famed cafe terrace and most of the city for yourself.

Transportation: The public transportation is very well organized and it is easy to get around the city with the Metro or bus systems or boats. The most cost effective way to do this is to get a Paris Visit pass which will give you instant access to the Metro, RER train, and bus systems in Paris.
Now that you have figured out the best mode of transportation, its time to go on a tour of the city. Here are a few places that one must visit during your stay at Paris.

Eiffel Tower: One of the Seven Wonders of the World, Eiffel Tower is the symbol of Paris and likely the most recognizable landmark of the city. The tower was built by Gustave Eiffel for the World Exhibition of 1889. The tower is impressive. Hang around till sunset and get one of the most amazing view of the tower. Enjoy the sight of the glittering tower; you'll remember it for a very long time to come.

Notre Dame Cathedral: Victor Hugo's book, Hunch back of Hunchback of Notre Dame may come to your mind first. The book captures the essence of the cathedral. Notre Dame de Paris is among the first Gothic cathedrals to be built and is of the iconic examples of architecture in France. While taking a tour of the cathedral you might discover hidden rooms, cellars and discover many other fascinating secrets.

The Luxembourg Gardens: The Luxembourg Gardens is Parisâ€™s version of London's Hyde Park and NYC's Central Park. Here you can observe the real culture of day to day life of the people. The park is divided into sections: for little children (almost an amusement park with fun rides) and the other section is quite where you get to see college students. They love to hang around and study in this area.

Hotel de Ville: The heritage building which houses Parisâ€™s administration. The building overlooks a pedestrian square. You will also find an ice staking ring during season which is open to public. The square was once a site for public executions.

Musee du Louvre: Grand Louvre is one of the most visited museums in the world. The museum houses over 300,000 works of art, from near Eastern antiquities, Egyptian antiquities, Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities to 21st century painting and sculptures.

Romantic places to visit in Paris: Paris has always been a magnet for lovers. Walk into a sidewalk cafe terrace. These cafes not only make good resting spots but you can hold hands and get cosy with that special one and drown yourselves in the atmosphere of love.
Discover Paris on foot. Holding hands and walking the streets transports you to another time. The architecture is beautiful and breathtaking. The streets are lined with old trees, little bridges and stairways. Paris is spotted with beautiful parks and gardensâ€¦ sit under the trees on wooden benches along a stream. Don't forget to take a boat ride upstream and downstream.

Paris at night: Whether you want to hang out with the fashion crowd or experience a grittier night, the nightlife of Paris is sure to remain etched in your memory for a long time to come. Don't forget to visit the 'Moulin Rouge.

Shop for fashion in Paris: As we all know Paris is one of the fashion capitals of the world. From street shopping to swanky fashion boutiques, sexy underwear stores to bookshops on the Left Bank and bric-a-brac at the Marche aux Puces d'Aligre... Paris is a shopper's paradise. The best time to shop is during the summer and winter sale seasons.
This little guide should help you prepare enjoy Paris to the hilt. Although, is just as good as only a scratch on the surface of the real Paris. From shopping to restaurants, museums, gardens, boulevards, architecture and music, everywhere you go in Paris there it something new to offer.

Incredible Situation.....

2009-08-17T16:20:00.006+05:30

Mysterious lights

A huge new UFO mystery has started in England recently, after a string of sightings of bright orange lights in the night skies over East Anglia were spotted. The dazzling light shows have bewitched and intrigued eyewitnesses all over Norfolk and as far south as Ipswich, Suffolk. John Young, 43, of Sprowston, near Norwich, who was stunned when he woke up at about 3.30am and looked out of the window, grabbed his camera after spotting a strange shining light.

Like a star

“I glanced out of my bedroom window to see a bright light in the sky, much like a star except slightly larger in appearance and considerably brighter,” the Telegraph quoted Young as saying. “It didn’t move but when I played it back on my computer I was surprised to see the object was a perfect sphere with a hole in the middle. “You can even see it appears to rotate clockwise for maybe 20 seconds then anti-clockwise for the next and so forth.

Puzzled and curious

“I’m perplexed as to what I saw. Maybe there’s a simple explanation but I haven’t a clue what it was," he said. Young had spoken out after dozens of mysterious orange lights were spotted all over Norfolk, including Norwich, Dereham, Downham Market, Holkham and Caister. Andrew Goodchild, 42, a helicopter pilot, was baffled by an unidentified orange light he saw over Norwich just before 10pm on August 2.

Not a balloon

Goodchild, who has flown since 1991, said he initially thought it was a low-flying chopper but quickly realised the light was unusual. Malcolm Vicary, of Old Catton, Norwich, said he was also intrigued by the suspected UFO that night. “At first I thought it was a hot air balloon because of the orange glow. It suddenly changed direction for a short distance then resumed its original course. The orange glow then went out,” Vicary said.

Wasn't an aircraft

"It then started to descend quite fast in the direction of St Faith's, very close to Norwich airport. I'm sure it wasn't an aircraft because there were no navigation lights or sound," he added. Other witnesses to the bright light were Dennis Sayer, of Dereham and his wife. “Me and the wife spotted an orange light passing our house here in Dereham from the Windsor Park area at about 11.15 on Monday night," Sayer said.

Celebrating 62nd Independence Day......

2009-08-17T16:12:00.002+05:30

As 15th August 2009 approaches, Indians prepare to celebrate the country’s 62nd Independence Day. 62 years ago on 15h August 1947, the tri colour was unfurled and India got independence from years of colonial rule. The country’s first Prime Minister Pandit JawaharLal Nehru delivered the historic “Tryst with destiny” speech from the ramparts of Red Fort as thousands of Indians stayed glued to their radio sets to listen to their leader and be a part of the dreams envisioned by them.

It has been a journey during which India has marched along and today as a powerhouse of potential and prospect. Several milestones were achieved in this journey. The Green Revolution under Dr. M. S. Swaminathan saw India become self sufficient in food grains while the White Revolution pioneered by Verghese Kurien saw co-operative societies help the common man reap the benefits of a planned effort to increase the productivity in milk.
In sports, India conquered the World Cup of cricket in 1983 beating the mighty West Indians at Lords while it took giant strides in space technology by launching its satellite into space Aryabhatta in 1975. On the entertainment front, Hindi Cinema churned out many talented individuals as actors and movie directors. The industry owing to this legacy which has been passed over the years has turned out to be one of the most vibrant and one of its kind. Several movies became world renowned and actors like Raj Kapoor become favorites in many countries while directors like Satyajit Ray captured reality in the celluloid.
But the journey has had its share of dark moments. Be it the Godhra Riots in Ahmedabad, the gruesome Bombay blasts of 1993, the anti Sikh riots of 1984 or the recent series of bomb blasts, each one left some scare in the minds. It is saddening to see that the sacrifice of the millions of Indians to get freedom for the future generations is being taken for granted. Weeds of corruption found its way into various streams of Indian bureaucratic as well as the society post Independence and this has taken its toll in various aspects pertaining to the country’s growth. But the nation has shown a great deal of resilience and fought back after each blow to prove its critics wrong who felt that it might succumb to these forces.
The country has moved from pillar to post which can be reflected in the growth of the GDP which broke the Hindu growth rate of 3%-4% to catapult to 7%-8%. Several Indian companies have made a mark for themselves on the global platform such as TCS, Wipro, Infosys and others alike. Mergers and Acquisitions like Tata Corus, Arcelor Mittal and others have not only been eye-catching but have established India’s presence on the global platform.
But this is just the beginning of the journey. Goes a saying that “Conquering the peak is not as important as staying there“. The present generation and the ones to follow have to keep in mind the toil, sweat and blood of countless Indians and value each moment of freedom which we all enjoy today. Everything comes at a cost, and so does this freedom that we enjoy. But to preserve it and pass it on to the future, we need to act and be responsible for our acts.
We at WittySparks have collected some memorable movies, wallpapers (a couple of interesting wallpapers and photographs) and songs which would appear in the next post as a mark of salute to the millions of Indians who gave their life so that we could live in a free India!
Happy Independence Day – INDIA – Mera Bharat Mahaan…..

Solar Eclipse --- July 22nd

2009-08-17T16:04:00.003+05:30

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Sun and the Earth so that the Sun is fully or partially covered. This can only happen during a new moon, when the Sun and Moon are in conjunction as seen from the Earth. At least two and up to five solar eclipses can occur each year on Earth, with between zero and two of them being total eclipses.[1] Total solar eclipses are nevertheless rare at any location because during each eclipse totality exists only along a narrow corridor in the relatively tiny area of the Moon's umbra.

A total solar eclipse is a spectacular natural phenomenon and many people travel to remote locations to observe one. The 1999 total eclipse in Europe helped to increase public awareness of the phenomenon, as illustrated by the number of journeys made specifically to witness the 2005 annular eclipse and the 2006 total eclipse. The recent solar eclipse of January 26, 2009, was an annular eclipse (see below), while the solar eclipse of July 22, 2009 was a total solar eclipse.

In ancient times, and in some cultures today, solar eclipses have been attributed to supernatural causes. Total solar eclipses can be frightening for people who are unaware of their astronomical explanation, as the Sun seems to disappear in the middle of the day and the sky darkens in a matter of minutes.

Types

Annular eclipse: There are four types of solar eclipses:

1> A total eclipse occurs when the Sun is completely obscured by the Moon. The intensely bright disk of the Sun is replaced by the dark silhouette of the Moon, and the much fainter corona is visible. During any one eclipse, totality is visible only from at most a narrow track on the surface of the Earth.

2> An annular eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are exactly in line, but the apparent size of the Moon is smaller than that of the Sun. Hence the Sun appears as a very bright ring, or annulus, surrounding the outline of the Moon.

3> A hybrid eclipse (also called annular/total eclipse) transitions between a total and annular eclipse. At some points on the surface of the Earth it is visible as a total eclipse, whereas at others it is annular. Hybrid eclipses are comparatively rare.

4> A partial eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are not exactly in line and the Moon only partially obscures the Sun. This phenomenon can usually be seen from a large part of the Earth outside of the track of an annular or total eclipse. However, some eclipses can only be seen as a partial eclipse, because the umbra never intersects the Earth's surface, passing above or below the Earth's polar regions.
The match between the apparent sizes of the Sun and Moon during a total eclipse is considered coincidental. The Sun's distance from the Earth is about 400 times the Moon's distance, and the Sun's diameter is about 400 times the Moon's diameter. Because these ratios are approximately the same, the sizes of the Sun and the Moon as seen from Earth appear to be approximately the same: about 0.5 degree of arc in angular measure.
The Moon's orbit around the Earth is an ellipse, as is the Earth's orbit around the Sun; the apparent sizes of the Sun and Moon therefore vary. The magnitude of an eclipse is the ratio of the apparent size of the Moon to the apparent size of the Sun during an eclipse. An eclipse when the Moon is near its closest distance from the Earth (i.e., near its perigee) can be a total eclipse because the Moon will appear to be large enough to cover completely the Sun's bright disk, or photosphere; a total eclipse has a magnitude greater than 1. Conversely, an eclipse when the Moon is near its farthest distance from the Earth (i.e., near its apogee) can only be an annular eclipse because the Moon will appear to be slightly smaller than the Sun; the magnitude of an annular eclipse is less than 1. Slightly more solar eclipses are annular than total because, on average, the Moon lies too far from Earth to cover the Sun completely. A hybrid eclipse occurs when the magnitude of an eclipse transitions during the event from smaller than one to larger than one—or vice versa—so the eclipse appears to be total at some locations on Earth and annular at other locations.

The Earth's orbit around the Sun is also elliptical, so the Earth's distance from the Sun varies throughout the year. This also affects the apparent sizes of the Sun and Moon, but not so much as the Moon's varying distance from the Earth. When the Earth approaches its farthest distance from the Sun (the aphelion) in July, this tends to favor a total eclipse. As the Earth approaches its closest distance from the Sun (the perihelion) in January, this tends to favor an annular eclipse.

Terminology
Central eclipse is often used as a generic term for a total, annular, or hybrid eclipse. This is, however, not completely correct: the definition of a central eclipse is an eclipse during which the central line of the umbra touches the Earth's surface. It is possible, though extremely rare, that part of the umbra intersects with Earth (thus creating an annular or total eclipse), but not its central line. This is then called a non-central total or annular eclipse. The next non-central solar eclipse will be on April 29, 2014. This will be an annular eclipse. The next non-central total solar eclipse will be on April 9, 2043.

The phases observed during a total eclipse are called:

1> First Contact - when the moons shadow first becomes visible on the solar disk. Some also name individual phases between First and Second Contact e.g. Pac-Man phase.
2> Second Contact - starting with Baily's Beads {cause by light shining through valleys on the moon's surface} and the Diamond Ring. Almost the entire disk is covered.

3> Totality - with the shadow of the moon obscuring the entire disk of the sun and only the corona visible

4> Third Contact - when the first bright light becomes visible and the shadow is moving away from the sun. Again a Diamond Ring may be observed.

Predictions
Geometry
The diagram to the right shows the alignment of the Sun, Moon and Earth during a solar eclipse. The dark gray region below the Moon is the umbra, where the Sun is completely obscured by the Moon. The small area where the umbra touches the Earth's surface is where a total eclipse can be seen. The larger light gray area is the penumbra, in which only a partial eclipse can be seen.

The Moon's orbit around the Earth is inclined at an angle of just over 5 degrees to the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun (the ecliptic). Because of this, at the time of a new moon, the Moon will usually pass above or below the Sun. A solar eclipse can occur only when the new moon occurs close to one of the points (known as nodes) where the Moon's orbit crosses the ecliptic.

As noted above, the Moon's orbit is also elliptical. The Moon's distance from the Earth can vary by about 6% from its average value. Therefore, the Moon's apparent size varies with its distance from the Earth, and it is this effect that leads to the difference between total and annular eclipses. The distance of the Earth from the Sun also varies during the year, but this is a smaller effect. On average, the Moon appears to be slightly smaller than the Sun, so the majority (about 60%) of central eclipses are annular. It is only when the Moon is closer to the Earth than average (near its perigee) that a total eclipse occurs.

The Moon orbits the Earth in approximately 27.3 days, relative to a fixed frame of reference. This is known as the sidereal month. However, during one sidereal month, the Earth has revolved part way around the Sun, making the average time between one new moon and the next longer than the sidereal month: it is approximately 29.5 days. This is known as the synodic month, and corresponds to what is commonly called the lunar month.

The Moon crosses from south to north of the ecliptic at its ascending node, and vice versa at its descending node. However, the nodes of the Moon's orbit are gradually moving in a retrograde motion, due to the action of the Sun's gravity on the Moon's motion, and they make a complete circuit every 18.6 years. This means that the time between each passage of the Moon through the ascending node is slightly shorter than the sidereal month. This period is called the draconic month.

Finally, the Moon's perigee is moving forwards in its orbit, and makes a complete circuit in about 9 years. The time between one perigee and the next is known as the anomalistic month.

The Moon's orbit intersects with the ecliptic at the two nodes that are 180 degrees apart. Therefore, the new moon occurs close to the nodes at two periods of the year approximately six months apart, and there will always be at least one solar eclipse during these periods. Sometimes the new moon occurs close enough to a node during two consecutive months. This means that in any given year, there will always be at least two solar eclipses, and there can be as many as five. However, some are visible only as partial eclipses, because the umbra passes above Earth's north or south pole, and others are central only in remote regions of the Arctic or Antarctic.

Path
During a central eclipse, the Moon's umbra (or antumbra, in the case of an annular eclipse) moves rapidly from west to east across the Earth. The Earth is also rotating from west to east, but the umbra always moves faster than any given point on the Earth's surface, so it almost always appears to move in a roughly west-east direction across a map of the Earth (there are some rare exceptions to this which can occur during an eclipse of the midnight sun in Arctic or Antarctic regions).

The width of the track of a central eclipse varies according to the relative apparent diameters of the Sun and Moon. In the most favourable circumstances, when a total eclipse occurs very close to perigee, the track can be over 250 km wide and the duration of totality may be over 7 minutes. Outside of the central track, a partial eclipse can usually be seen over a much larger area of the Earth.

How Steam Engine Works???

2009-05-19T06:26:00.014+05:30

This means that a charge of steam works only once in the cylinder. It is then exhausted directly into the atmosphere or into a condenser, but remaining heat can be utilized if needed to heat a living space, or to provide warm feedwater for the boiler.
In most reciprocating piston engines the steam reverses its direction of flow at each stroke (counterflow), entering and exhausting from the cylinder by the same port. The complete engine cycle occupies one rotation of the crank and two piston strokes; the cycle also comprises four events — admission, expansion, exhaust, compression. These events are controlled by valves often working inside a steam chest adjacent to the cylinder; the valves distribute the steam by opening and closing steam ports communicating with the cylinder end(s) and are driven by valve gear, of which there are many types. The simplest valve gears give events of fixed length during the engine cycle and often make the engine rotate in only one direction. Most however have a reversing mechanism which additionally can provide means for saving steam as speed and momentum are gained by gradually "shortening the cutoff" or rather, shortening the admission event; this in turn proportionately lengthens the expansion period. However, as one and the same valve usually controls both steam flows, a short cutoff at admission adversely affects the exhaust and compression periods which should ideally always be kept fairly constant; if the exhaust event is too brief, the totality of the exhaust steam cannot evacuate the cylinder, choking it and giving excessive compression ("kick back").

In the 1840s and 50s there were attempts to overcome this problem by means of various patent valve gears with separate variable cutoff valves riding on the back of the main slide valve; the latter usually had fixed or limited cutoff. The combined setup gave a fair approximation of the ideal events, at the expense of increased friction and wear, and the mechanism tended to be complicated. The usual compromise solution has been to provide lap by lengthening rubbing surfaces of the valve in such a way as to overlap the port on the admission side, with the effect that the exhaust side remains open for a longer period after cut-off on the admission side has occurred. This expedient has since been generally considered satisfactory for most purposes and makes possible the use of the simpler Stephenson, Joy and Walschaerts motions. Corliss, and later, poppet valve gears had separate admission and exhaust valves driven by trip mechanisms or cams profiled so as to give ideal events; most of these gears never succeeded outside of the stationary marketplace due to various other issues including leakage and more delicate mechanisms.[10][11]

Compression
Before the exhaust phase is quite complete, the exhaust side of the valve closes, shutting a portion of the exhaust steam inside the cylinder. This determines the compression phase where a cushion of steam is formed against which the piston does work whilst its velocity is rapidly decreasing; it moreover obviates the pressure and temperature shock, which would otherwise be caused by the sudden admission of the high pressure steam at the beginning of the following cycle.

Lead
The above effects are further enhanced by providing lead: as was later discovered with the internal combustion engine, it has been found advantageous since the late 1830s to advance the admission phase, giving the valve lead so that admission occurs a little before the end of the exhaust stroke in order to fill the clearance volume comprising the ports and the cylinder ends (not part of the piston-swept volume) before the steam begins to exert effort on the piston. [12]

COMPOUNDING ENGINES

Main article: Compound engine
As steam expands in a high pressure engine its temperature drops; because no heat is released from the system, this is known as adiabatic expansion and results in steam entering the cylinder at high temperature and leaving at low temperature. This causes a cycle of heating and cooling of the cylinder with every stroke which is a source of inefficiency.

A method to lessen the magnitude of this heating and cooling was invented in 1804 by British engineer Arthur Woolf, who patented his Woolf high pressure compound engine in 1805. In the compound engine, high pressure steam from the boiler expands in a high pressure (HP) cylinder and then enters one or more subsequent lower pressure (LP) cylinders. The complete expansion of the steam now occurs across multiple cylinders and as less expansion now occurs in each cylinder so less heat is lost by the steam in each. This reduces the magnitude of cylinder heating and cooling, increasing the efficiency of the engine. To derive equal work from lower pressure steam requires a larger cylinder volume as this steam occupies a greater volume. Therefore the bore, and often the stroke, are increased in low pressure cylinders resulting in larger cylinders.

Double expansion (usually known as compound) engines expanded the steam in two stages. The pairs may be duplicated or the work of the large LP cylinder can be split with one HP cylinder exhausting into one or the other, giving a 3-cylinder layout where cylinder and piston diameter are about the same making the reciprocating masses easier to balance.

Two-cylinder compounds can be arranged as:

Cross compounds - The cylinders are side by side.
Tandem compounds - The cylinders are end to end, driving a common connecting rod
Angle compounds - The cylinders are arranged in a vee (usually at a 90° angle) and drive a common crank.
With two-cylinder compounds used in railway work, the pistons are connected to the cranks as with a two-cylinder simple at 90° out of phase with each other (quartered). When the double expansion group is duplicated, producing a 4-cylinder compound, the individual pistons within the group are usually balanced at 180°, the groups being set at 90° to each other. In one case (the first type of Vauclain compound), the pistons worked in the same phase driving a common crosshead and crank, again set at 90° as for a two-cylinder engine. With the 3-cylinder compound arrangement, the LP cranks were either set at 90° with the HP one at 135° to the other two, or in some cases all three cranks were set at 120°.

The adoption of compounding was common for industrial units, for road engines and almost universal for marine engines after 1880; it was not universally popular in railway locomotives where it was often perceived as complicated. This is partly due to the harsh railway operating environment and limited space afforded by the loading gauge (particularly in Britain, where compounding was never common and not employed after 1930). However although never in the majority it was popular in many other countries.[10]

MULTIPLE EXPANSION ENGINES

It is a logical extension of the compound engine (described above) to split the expansion into yet more stages to increase efficiency. The result is the multiple expansion engine. Such engines use either three or four expansion stages and are known as triple and quadruple expansion engines respectively. These engines use a series of double-acting cylinders of progressively increasing diameter and/or stroke and hence volume. These cylinders are designed to divide the work into three or four, as appropriate, equal portions for each expansion stage. As with the double expansion engine, where space is at a premium, two smaller cylinders of a large sum volume may be used for the low pressure stage. Multiple expansion engines typically had the cylinders arranged inline, but various other formations were used. In the late 19th century, the Yarrow-Schlick-Tweedy balancing 'system' was used on some marine triple expansion engines. Y-S-T engines divided the low pressure expansion stages between two cylinders, one at each end of the engine. This allowed the crankshaft to be better balanced, resulting in a smoother, faster-responding engine which ran with less vibration. This made the 4-cylinder triple-expansion engine popular with large passenger liners (such as the Olympic class), but was ultimately replaced by the virtually vibration-free turbine (see below).

The image to the right shows an animation of a triple expansion engine. The steam travels through the engine from left to right. The valve chest for each of the cylinders is to the left of the corresponding cylinder.

The development of this type of engine was important for its use in steamships as by exhausting to a condenser the water can be reclaimed to feed the boiler, which is unable to use seawater. Land-based steam engines could exhaust much of their steam, as feed water was usually readily available. Prior to and during World War II, the expansion engine dominated marine applications where high vessel speed was not essential. It was however superseded by the British invention steam turbine where speed was required, for instance in warships, such as the dreadnought battleships, and ocean liners. HMS Dreadnought of 1905 was the first major warship to replace the proven technology of the reciprocating engine with the then-novel steam turbine.

UNIFLOW (UNAFLOW) ENGINE

This is intended to remedy the difficulties arising from the usual counterflow cycle mentioned above which means that at each stroke the port and the cylinder walls will be cooled by the passing exhaust steam, whilst the hotter incoming admission steam will waste some of its energy in restoring working temperature. The aim of the uniflow is to remedy this defect by providing an additional port uncovered by the piston at the end of each stroke making the steam flow only in one direction. By this means, thermal efficiency is improved by having a steady temperature gradient along the cylinder bore. The simple-expansion uniflow engine is reported to give efficiency equivalent to that of classic compound systems with the added advantage of superior part-load performance. It is also readily adaptable to high-speed uses and was a common way to drive electricity generators towards the end of the 19th century before the coming of the steam turbine.

The inlet valves may be driven by a double cam system whose phasing and duration is controllable; this allows adjustments for high torque and power when needed with more restrained use of steam and greater expansion for economical cruising.

Uniflow engines have been produced in single-acting, double-acting, simple, and compound versions. Skinner 4-crank 8-cylinder single-acting tandem compound [1] engines power two Great Lakes ships still trading today (2007). These are the Saint Marys Challenger,[2] that in 2005 completed 100 years of continuous operation as a powered carrier (the Skinner engine was fitted in 1950) and the car ferry, SS Badger.[3]

In the early 1950s the Ultimax engine, a 2-crank 4-cylinder arrangement similar to Skinner’s, was developed by Abner Doble for the Paxton car project with tandem opposed single-acting cylinders giving effective double-action. [4]

Small uniflow steam engines have been made as conversions of two-stroke internal combustion engines, by feeding the cylinder with steam via a "bash valve" in the spark plug hole which is knocked open by the piston reaching the top of its stroke.[13]
TURBINE ENGINES

Main article: Steam turbine
A steam turbine consists of an alternating series of one or more rotating discs mounted on a drive shaft, rotors, and static discs fixed to the turbine casing, stators. The rotors have a propeller-like arrangement of blades at the outer edge. Steam acts upon these blades, producing rotary motion. The stator consists of a similar, but fixed, series of blades that serve to redirect the steam flow onto the next rotor stage. A steam turbine often exhausts into a surface condenser that provides a vacuum. The stages of a steam turbine are typically arranged to extract the maximum potential work from a specific velocity and pressure of steam, giving rise to a series of variably sized high and low pressure stages. Turbines are only effective if they rotate at very high speed, therefore they are usually connected to reduction gearing to drive another mechanism, such as a ship's propeller, at a lower speed. This gearbox can be mechanical but today it is more common to use an alternator/generator set to produce electricity that later is used to drive an electric motor. A turbine rotor is also capable of providing power when rotating in one direction only. Therefore a reversing stage or gearbox is usually required where power is required in the opposite direction.

Steam turbines provide direct rotational force and therefore do not require a linkage mechanism to convert reciprocating to rotary motion. Thus, they produce smoother rotational forces on the output shaft. This contributes to a lower maintenance requirement and less wear on the machinery they power than a comparable reciprocating engine.
The Turbinia - the first steam turbine-powered shipThe main use for steam turbines is in electricity generation (about 80% of the world's electric production is by use of steam turbines)[citation needed] and to a lesser extent as marine prime movers. In the former, the high speed of rotation is an advantage, and in both cases the relative bulk is not a disadvantage; in the latter (pioneered on the Turbinia), the light weight, high efficiency and high power are highly desirable.
Virtually all nuclear power plants and some nuclear submarines, generate electricity by heating water to provide steam that drives a turbine connected to an electrical generator for main propulsion. A limited number of steam turbine railroad locomotives were manufactured. Some non-condensing direct-drive locomotives did meet with some success for long haul freight operations in Sweden and for express passenger work in Britain, but were not repeated. Elsewhere, notably in the U.S.A., more advanced designs with electric transmission were built experimentally, but not reproduced. It was found that steam turbines were not ideally suited to the railroad environment and these locomotives failed to oust the classic reciprocating steam unit in the way that modern diesel and electric traction has done.

ROTARY STEAM ENGINES
It is possible to use a mechanism based on a pistonless rotary engine such as the Wankel engine in place of the cylinders and valve gear of a conventional reciprocating steam engine. Many such engines have been designed, from the time of James Watt to the present day, but relatively few were actually built and even fewer went into quantity production; see link at bottom of article for more details. The major problem is the difficulty of sealing the rotors to make them steam-tight in the face of wear and thermal expansion; the resulting leakage made them very inefficient. Lack of expansive working, or any means of control of the cutoff is also a serious problem with many such designs. By the 1840s it was clear that the concept had inherent problems and rotary engines were treated with some derision in the technical press. However, the arrival of electricity on the scene, and the obvious advantages of driving a dynamo directly from a high-speed engine, led to something of a revival in interest in the 1880s and 1890s, and a few designs had some limited success.

Of the few designs that were manufactured in quantity, those of the Hult Brothers Rotary Steam Engine Company of Stockholm, Sweden, and the spherical engine of Beauchamp Tower are notable. Tower's engines were used by the Great Eastern Railway to drive lighting dynamos on their locomotives, and by the Admiralty for driving dynamos on board the ships of the Royal Navy. They were eventually replaced in these niche applications by steam turbines

JET TYPE

Invented by Australian engineer Alan Burns and developed in Britain by engineers at Pursuit Dynamics, this underwater jet engine uses high pressure steam to draw in water through an intake at the front and expel it at high speed through the rear. When steam condenses in water, a shock wave is created and is focused by the chamber to blast water out of the back. To improve the engine's efficiency, the engine draws in air through a vent ahead of the steam jet, which creates air bubbles and changes the way the steam mixes with the water.

Unlike in conventional steam engines, there are no moving parts to wear out, and the exhaust water is only several degrees warmer in tests. The engine can also serve as pump and mixer. This type of system is referred to as 'PDX Technology' by Pursuit Dynamics and has been applied to food technology problems.[14]

ROCKET TYPE
The aeolipile represents the use of steam by the rocket-reaction principle, although not for direct propulsion.

In more modern times there has been limited use of steam for rocketry—particularly for rocket cars. The technique is simple in concept, simply fill a pressure vessel with hot water at high pressure, and open a valve leading to a suitable nozzle. The drop in pressure immediately boils some of the water and the steam leaves through a nozzle, giving a significant propulsive force.

It might be expected that water in the pressure vessel should be at high pressure; but in practice the pressure vessel has considerable mass, which reduces the acceleration of the vehicle. Therefore a much lower pressure is used, which permits a lighter pressure vessel, which in turn gives the highest final speed.

There are even speculative plans for interplanetary use. Although steam rockets are relatively inefficient in their use of propellant, this very well may not matter as the solar system is believed to have extremely large stores of water ice which can be used as propellant. Extracting this water and using it in interplanetary rockets requires several orders of magnitude less equipment than breaking it down to hydrogen and oxygen for conventional rocketry.[15]

COLD SINK
As with all heat engines, a considerable quantity of waste heat is produced at relatively low temperature. This must be disposed of.

The simplest cold sink is simply to vent the steam to the environment. This is often used on Steam locomotives, but is typically very inefficient. Steam locomotive condensing apparatus can be employed to improve efficiency.

Alternatively, sometimes the 'waste heat' is useful in and of itself, and in those cases very high overall efficiency can be obtained; for example combined heat and power (CHP) uses the waste heat/steam for district heating. This is highly efficient.

Where CHP is not being used steam turbines in power stations virtually all use surface condensers as a cold sink for their cycles. The condensers are cooled by water flow from oceans, rivers, lakes, and often by cooling towers which evaporate water to provide cooling energy removal. The resulting condensed hot water output from the condenser is then put back into the boiler via a pump.

MONITORING EQUIPMENT
For safety reasons nearly all steam engines are equipped with mechanisms to monitor the boiler, such as a pressure gauge and a sight glass to monitor the water level.

ADVANTAGES

The strength of the steam engine for modern purposes is in its ability to convert heat from almost any source into mechanical work, unlike the internal combustion engine.

Similar advantages are found in a different type of external combustion engine, the Stirling engine, which can offer efficient power (with advanced regenerators and large radiators) at the cost of a much lower power-to-size/weight ratio than even modern steam engines with compact boilers[citation needed]. These Stirling engines are not commercially produced, although the concepts are promising.

Steam locomotives are especially advantageous at high elevations as they are not adversely affected by the lower atmospheric pressure. This was inadvertently discovered when steam locomotives operated at high altitudes in the mountains of South America were replaced by diesel-electric units of equivalent sea level power. These were quickly replaced by much more powerful locomotives capable of producing sufficient power at high altitude.

For road vehicles, steam propulsion has the advantage of having high torque from stationary, removing the need for a clutch and transmission, though start-up time and sufficiently compact packaging remain a problem.

In Switzerland (Brienz Rothhorn) and Austria (Schafberg Bahn) new rack steam locomotives have proved very successful. They were designed based on a 1930s design of Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (SLM) but with all of today's possible improvements like roller bearings, heat insulation, light-oil firing, improved inner streamlining, one-man-driving and so on. These resulted in 60 percent lower fuel consumption per passenger[citation needed] and massively reduced costs for maintenance and handling[citation needed]. Economics now are similar or better than with most advanced diesel or electric systems. Also a steam train with similar speed and capacity is 50 percent lighter than an electric or diesel train[citation needed], thus, especially on rack railways, significantly reducing wear and tear on the track. Also, a new steam engine for a paddle steam ship on Lake Geneva, the Montreux, was designed and built, being the world's first full-size ship steam engine with an electronic remote control[5]. The steam group of SLM in 2000 created a wholly owned company called DLM to design modern steam engines and steam locomotives.

SAFETY
Steam engines possess boilers and other components that are pressure vessels that contain a great deal of potential energy. Steam explosions can and have caused great loss of life in the past. While variations in standards may exist in different countries, stringent legal, testing, training, care with manufacture, operation and certification is applied to try to minimise or prevent such occurrences.

Failure modes include:

overpressurisation of the boiler
insufficient water in the boiler causing overheating and vessel failure
pressure vessel failure of the boiler due to inadequate construction or maintenance.
escape of steam from pipework/boiler causing scalding
Steam engines frequently possess two independent mechanisms for ensuring that the pressure in the boiler does not go too high; one may be adjusted by the user, the second is typically designed as an ultimate fail-safe.

Lead plugs may be present so that if the water level drops, the lead melts and the steam escapes, depressurizing the boiler. This prevents the boiler overheating to the point of catastrophic structural failure.

EFFICIENCY
Main article: Thermal efficiency
The efficiency of an engine can be calculated by dividing the energy output of mechanical work that the engine produces by the energy input to the engine by the burning fuel.

No heat engine can be more efficient than the Carnot cycle, in which heat is moved from a high temperature reservoir to one at a low temperature, and the efficiency depends on the temperature difference. For the greatest efficiency, steam engines should be operated at the highest steam temperature possible (superheated steam), and release the waste heat at the lowest temperature possible.

In practice, a steam engine exhausting the steam to atmosphere will typically have an efficiency (including the boiler) in the range of 1% to 10%, but with the addition of a condenser and multiple expansion, it may be greatly improved to 25% or better.

A power station with steam reheat, economizer etc. will achieve about 20-40% thermal efficiency. It is also possible to capture the waste heat using cogeneration in which the waste heat is used for heating a lower boiling point working fluid or as a heat source for district heating via saturated low pressure steam. By this means it is possible to use as much as 85-90% of the input energy.

MODERN APPLICATIONS
Main article: Advanced steam technology
Although the reciprocating steam engine is no longer in widespread commercial use, various companies are exploring or exploiting the potential of the engine as an alternative to internal combustion engines.

The company Energiprojekt AB in Sweden has made progress in using modern materials for harnessing the power of steam. The efficiency of Energiprojekt's steam engine reaches some 27-30% on high-pressure engines. It is a single-step, 5-cylinder engine (no compound) with superheated steam and consumes approx. 4 kg of steam per kWh. [16]

NOTES
E.C.E.: An external combustion engine has heat supplied to the working fluid of the power cycle by an external source. The external combustion engine allows the burning of virtually any fuel as the heat source for the engine. This explains the success of this engine, because less expensive and/or more renewable or sustainable fuel or heat sources can be used, because the working fluid remains separated from the fuel, and therefore cleaner, which results in less maintenance and longer engine life.

This is contrasted to the generally more familiar form of heat engine (known as an internal combustion engine) in which the working fluid of the power cycle is the gaseous products of the combustion process, and the heat is added to the cycle by combustion of fuel internal to the machine. Typical gasoline/petrol and diesel engines are internal combustion engines. (see: Otto cycle')

Many, but not all steam engines are to be classed among external combustion engines; however steam-cycle nuclear power plants are exceptions, for example.

^ Patents: Harold Holcroft in his 7859 25 patent dated November 1909: Improvements in or relating to valve gears for engines worked by fluid pressure[Holcroft steamindex], as does Arturo Caprotti:170,877 Improvements in valve gears for elastic-fluid engines. Published: 4 November 1921. Application number: 12341/1920. Applied: 4 May 1920; 13261/1907. Improvements in steam turbines and other multiple expansion elastic fluid prime movers. Applied 7 June 1907 (in Italy 7 June 1906). Published 7 August 1908.

Steam Engine History...

2009-05-19T04:50:00.008+05:30

A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.[1]

Steam engines (heat engines using boiling water to produce mechanical motion) have a long history, going back at least 2000 years. Early devices were not practical power producers, but more advanced designs producing usable power have become a major source of mechanical power over the last 300 years, enabling the industrial revolution, beginning with applications for mine water removal using vacuum engines. Subsequent developments using pressurized steam and conversion to rotary motion enabled the powering of a wide range of manufacturing machinery anywhere water and coal or wood fuel could be obtained, previously restricted only to locations where water wheels or windmills could be used. Significantly, this power source would later be applied to prime movers, mobile devices such as steam tractors and railway locomotives. Modern steam turbines generate about half of the electric power in the world using a variety of heat sources.

Steam engines are typically external combustion engines,[2]E.C.E.[›] although other external sources of heat such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be used. The heat cycle is known as the Rankine cycle.

In general usage, the term 'steam engine' can refer to integrated steam plants such as railway steam locomotives and portable engines, or may refer to the machinery alone, as in the beam engine and stationary steam engine. Specialized devices such as steam hammers and steam pile drivers are dependent on steam supplied from a separate boiler.

Contents [hide]

1 Applications
1.1 Stationary applications
1.2 Transport applications
2 History
3 Basic operation of a simple reciprocating steam engine
4 Components of steam engines
4.1 Heat source
4.2 Boilers
4.2.1 Still engine
4.3 Motor units
4.3.1 Simple expansion
4.3.2 Compounding engines
4.3.3 Multiple expansion engines
4.3.4 Uniflow (or unaflow) engine
4.3.5 Turbine engines
4.3.6 Rotary steam engines
4.3.7 Jet type
4.3.8 Rocket type
4.4 Cold sink
4.5 Monitoring equipment
5 Advantages
6 Safety
7 Efficiency
8 Modern applications
9 See also
9.1 Steam museums
10 Notes
11 References
12 External links

Applications
Since the early 18th century steam power has been set to a variety of practical uses. At first it was applied to reciprocating pumps, but from the 1780s rotative engines (i.e. those converting reciprocating motion into rotary motion) began to appear, driving factory machinery. At the turn of the 19th century, steam-powered transport on both sea and land began to make its appearance becoming ever more dominant as the century progressed.

Steam engines can be said to have been the moving force behind the Industrial Revolution and saw widespread commercial use driving machinery in factories and mills, powering pumping stations and transport appliances such as railway locomotives, ships and road vehicles. Their use in agriculture led to an increase in the land available for cultivation.

Very low power engines are used to power models and speciality applications such as the steam clock.

The presence of several phases between heat source and power delivery has meant that it has always been difficult to obtain a power-to-weight ratio anywhere near that obtainable from internal combustion engines; notably this has made steam aircraft extremely rare. Similar considerations have meant that for small and medium-scale applications steam has been largely superseded by internal combustion engines or electric motors, which has given the steam engine an out-dated image. However it is important to remember that the power supplied to the electric grid is predominantly generated using steam turbine plant, so that indirectly the world's industry is still dependent on steam power. Recent concerns about fuel sources and pollution have incited a renewed interest in steam both as a component of cogeneration processes and as a prime mover. This is becoming known as the Advanced Steam movement.

Steam engines can be classified by their application:

[edit] Stationary applications
Stationary steam engines can be classified into two main types:

Winding engines, rolling mill engines, steam donkeys, marine engines, and similar applications which need to frequently stop and reverse.
Engines providing power, which rarely stop and do not need to reverse. These include engines used in thermal power stations and those that were used in pumping stations, mills, factories and to power cable railways and cable tramways before the widespread use of electric power.
The steam donkey is technically a stationary engine but is mounted on skids to be semi-portable. It is designed for logging use and can drag itself to a new location. Having secured the winch cable to a sturdy tree at the desired destination, the machine will move towards the anchor point as the cable is winched in.

A portable engine is a stationary engine mounted on wheels so that it may be towed to a work-site by horses or a traction engine, rather than being fixed in a single location.

[edit] Transport applications
Steam engines have been used to power a wide array of transport appliances:

Marine: Steamboat, Steamship
Rail: Steam locomotive, Fireless locomotive
Agriculture: Traction engine, Steam tractor
Road: Steam wagon, Steam bus, Steam tricycle, Steam car
Construction: Steam roller, Steam shovel
Military: Steam tank (tracked), Steam tank (wheeled)
Space: Steam rocket
In many mobile applications internal combustion engines are more frequently used due to their higher power-to-weight ratio, steam engines are used when higher efficiency is needed and weight is less of an issue.

HISTORY
Main article: History of the steam engine

AeolipileThe history of the steam engine stretches back as far as the first century AD; the first recorded rudimentary steam engine being the aeolipile described by Hero of Alexandria.[3] In the following centuries, the few engines known about were essentially experimental devices used by inventors to demonstrate the properties of steam, such as the rudimentary steam turbine device described by Taqi al-Din[4] in 1551 and Giovanni Branca[5] in 1629.

The first practical steam-powered 'engine' was a water pump, developed in 1698 by Thomas Savery. It proved only to have a limited lift height and was prone to boiler explosions, but it still received some use for mines and pumping stations.

The first commercially successful engine did not appear until 1712. Incorporating technologies discovered by Savery and Denis Papin, the atmospheric engine, invented by Thomas Newcomen, paved the way for the Industrial Revolution. Newcomen's engine was relatively inefficient, and in most cases was only used for pumping water. It was mainly employed for draining mine workings at depths hitherto impossible, but also for providing a reusable water supply for driving waterwheels at factories sited away from a suitable 'head'.

The next major step occurred when James Watt developed an improved version of Newcomen's engine. Watt's engine used 75% less coal than Newcomen's, and was hence much cheaper to run. Watt proceeded to develop his engine further, modifying it to provide a rotary motion suitable for driving factory machinery. This enabled factories to be sited away from rivers, and further accelerated the pace of the Industrial Revolution.

Newcomen's and Watt's early engines were "atmospheric", meaning that they were powered by the vacuum generated by condensing steam instead of the pressure of expanding steam. Cylinders had to be large, as the only usable force acting on them was atmospheric pressure. Steam was only used to compensate for the atmosphere allowing the piston to move back to its starting position. Even if pressured steam had been available, it could not do any work (push) against the chain connecting the piston to the beam.

Around 1800, Richard Trevithick introduced engines using high-pressure steam. These were much more powerful than previous engines and could be made small enough for transport applications. Thereafter, technological developments and improvements in manufacturing techniques (partly brought about by the adoption of the steam engine as a power source) resulted in the design of more efficient engines that could be smaller, faster, or more powerful, depending on the intended application.

Steam engines remained the dominant source of power well into the 20th century, when advances in the design of electric motors and internal combustion engines gradually resulted in the vast majority of reciprocating steam engines being replaced in commercial usage, and the ascendancy of steam turbines in power generation.

See also
The history of steam engine development is a vast subject. The following articles cover aspects of steam engine development in greater detail:

Timeline of steam power – overview
History of the steam engine – general history, concentrating on reciprocating engines
Steam turbine – the parallel development of turbine-type engines
Steam power during the Industrial Revolution
History of steam road vehicles

Im A DIE HARD OF AKASHDEEP.....

2009-05-17T12:04:00.005+05:30

Ansh aka Akashdeep will star in a fresh Star Plus soap to be produced by Balaji Telefilms. Although the long tressed actor has been switching channels rapidly ever since he got killed at Tulsi's hands in Kyunki... six months, he appears to be quite happy with his decision.

He hasn't moved out of the Balaji fold though, he maintains. His track in Sony's Kkusum may not be going great guns, and for now, he may seem firmly entrenched in Ketan Mehta's Time Bomb, but Ekta's production house is still dear to Akash.
"I don't like playing negative characters," declares the guy whose positive roles always seem to take on negative overtones as the script moves ahead. "But I love to be compared to Amrish Puri or Amjad Khan," he grins his wicked smile.

"I always thought 'Gabbar' was Amjad Khan's real name, I never knew his real name till a very long time. That's the kind of effect a character should have on the audience. I see kids on the street calling out to me as 'Ansh.' This role is different from the one that I have done for Kyunki….as it was a mean character which was crafted, there was a motive but no justification. In

Time Bomb there are no emotions, but Ussman, my character, has a mission which he needs to accomplish by hook or by crook.

Akashdeep today seems a contented actor, yet itching to take on that experimental role that will allow him to explore his histrionic skills further.
Says he,"I feel proud when people say we love to hate you." Way to go, Akash!

My Dreams Come True...

2009-05-15T18:36:00.002+05:30

WHEN YOU CRUISE WITH STAR CRUISES, YOUR HOLIDAY IS IN SAFE HANDS...

Our mission is to ensure that your cruising experience is as enjoyable as it is safe.

NAVIGATIONAL CONTROL SYSTEMS THAT MEET INTERNATIONAL MARITIME STANDARDS.

As the world’s third largest cruise line and also one with the youngest and most modern fleets, Star Cruises prescribes to the International Safety Management Code (ISM). Our Scandinavian Captains and officers are experienced and skilful masters in their field, while our crew constantly undergoes training to help upkeep the shipboard safety practices. Star Cruises is the only cruise operator to have a Cruise Simulator Centre that refines best practices in port entry procedures, emergency situations and bridge resource management.
RAPID RESPONSE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT EQUIPMENT.
We have illuminated fire exits for each room and exit signages along every passage. We have a centrally monitored smoke detection and alarm system and a public announcement system connected to each room and deck. We also have a evacuation map in each cabin, showing all the exit routes and the nearest lifeboat station. Star Cruises vessels are prepared for any emergencies including helicopter evacuation, and isolation/quarantine facilities in times of need.
SOPHISTICATED FIRE CONTROL SYSTEMS.
Every Star Cruises’ vessel has an advanced fire control system like the hi-fog which release a mist of water droplets at high pressure. In addition ships like the SuperStar Libra also have 320 fire extinguishers and nearly 270 hydrants spread all across the ship on every deck. Our fire extinguishers are checked monthly and we conduct a comprehensive fire drill involving our trained fire fighting team every week.
EXEMPLARY SERVICE AND ATTENTION IN CASE OF ANY MEDICAL EMERGENCY.

Seasickness medication is available free of cost at the reception and our medical centre. We have a doctor on call 24 hours and a trained medical team to assist him. All our activity centres undergo careful scrutiny so that mishaps can be preempted and prevented. However in case of a medical emergency we have an ICU, a laboratory, an X-ray room and medication for cardiac and gastric ailments.

SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY.

Most mobile networks are beyond reach when the ship is in international waters. Hence passengers who wish to communicate via phone have the option to use the ships’ satellite phone for a nominal fee. However during an emergency, guests can use our satellite communications facilities free of charge.
EVERY SHIP HAS ITS OWN ONBOARD SECURITY TEAM.
Since security is also an integral part of Star Cruises’ operations, security personnel have been posted on strategic parts of the ship to ensure complete safety. These security personnel comprise of mainly ex-military personnel of the Nepalese Gurkhas. We maintain a high level of security, ranging from 24 hour patrols onboard to the screening of embarking passengers and goods being brought onboard with equipment like scanning machines and metal detectors. The ship security and safety teams constantly work hand in hand in overseeing procedures like the embarkation and disembarkation of passengers as part of the overall operation of the ships.
24 HOURS OF FRESH WATER AND FRESH AIR.
To make your trip truly memorable and to ensure that there is limitless supply of fresh portable water, Star Cruises has its own state-of-the-art desalinization plant on every ship, that can produce upto 1,800,000 litres of water each day. This is the water that is supplied to the rooms, to the swimming pool and Jacuzzi, etc. We also stock approximately 60,000 litres of bottled mineral water on an average per ship, for consumption every 24 hours. Our air-conditioning system operates on a 100% intake of fresh air instead of recycled air; this ensures fresh air is available all over the ship & open decks.
DELICIOUS & WHOLESOME CUISINE.

With a huge number of passengers holidaying with Star Cruises, the food we serve is of paramount importance. Not only are our chefs trained to provide our patrons with delicious Indian and international cuisines, they are trained to cook them keeping in mind world class cruise safety and hygiene. Our team of approximately 245 chefs and service staff on an average per ship, cater to our F & B outlets. All cooking is done on electric ovens and hot plates so as to ensure there is absolutely no possibility of a fire hazard. Moreover vegetarian meals are cooked in a separate kitchen, keeping in mind the sentiments of some of our guests.

HIGH PASSENGER INVOLVEMENT.
At Star Cruises, we have been fortunate to have some of the most co-operative and vigilant passengers onboard. However accidents can happen anytime and, without the support of the guests, rescue or accident control systems would be less effective. We have taken every precaution to provide adequate safety measures in case of any mishap. Hence we appeal to all passengers onboard to pay complete attention to our safety demonstrations and participate in our drills.

FASTEST AND MOST EXTENSIVE WATER RESCUE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS.

One of the first things you do when you get onboard any Star Cruises’ ship, is participate in the lifeboat drill for passengers that includes training on how to wear a life jacket. Our life jackets are approved by SOLAS and USCG, the globally recognized standards. On the SuperStar Libra even though the maximum passengers and crew allowed onboard are 2724, we have approximately 4300 life jackets. These life jackets are located in every cabin and at all assembly and abandon ship stations. Our life rafts and lifeboats can rescue 3405 passengers.

U.S.AIR Force Giant, C-5 Galaxy..

2009-04-30T06:36:00.004+05:30

Mission
The gigantic C-5 Galaxy, with its tremendous payload capability, provides the Air Mobility Command airlift in support of United States national defense. The C-5 can carry fully equipped combat-ready military units to any point in the world on short notice and then provide field support required to help sustain the fighting force.

Features
The C-5 is one of the largest aircraft in the world and the largest airlifter in the Air Force inventory. The C-5 can carry more than any other airlifter. It has the ability to carry 36 standard pallets and up to 81 troops simultaneously. The Galaxy also carries all of the Army's air-transportable combat equipment, including such bulky items as its 74-ton mobile scissors bridge from the United States to any theater of combat on the globe. It can also carry outsize and oversize cargo intercontinental ranges and can take off or land in relatively short distances. Ground crews are able to load and off-load the C-5 simultaneously at the front and rear cargo openings, reducing cargo transfer times. Other features of the C-5 are:
• Able to operate on runways 6,000 feet long (1,829 meters)
• Five landing gear totaling 28 wheels to distribute the weight.
• Nose and aft doors that open the full width and height of the cargo compartment to permit faster and easier loading.
• A "kneeling" landing gear system that permits lowering of the parked aircraft so the cargo floor is at truck-bed height or to facilitate vehicle loading and unloading.
• Full width drive-on ramps at each end for loading double rows of vehicles.
• A system that records and analyzes information and detects malfunctions in more than 800 test points.
The C-5 has the distinctive high T-tail, 25-degree wing sweep, and four TF39 turbofan engines mounted on pylons beneath the wings. These engines are rated at 43,000 pounds of thrust each, and weigh 7,900 pounds (3,555 kilograms) each. They have an air intake diameter of more than 8.5 feet (2.6 meters). Each engine pod is nearly 27 feet long (8.2 meters).

The Galaxy has 12 internal wing tanks with a total capacity of 51,150 gallons (194,370 liters) of fuel -- enough to fill 6 1/2 regular size railroad tank cars. A full fuel load weighs 332,500 pounds (150,820 kilograms). A C-5 with a cargo load of 270,000 pounds (122,472 kilograms) can fly 2,150 nautical miles, offload, and fly to a second base 500 nautical miles away from the original destination -- all without aerial refueling. With aerial refueling, the aircraft's range is limited only by crew endurance.

Background
Lockheed-Georgia Co. delivered the first operational Galaxy to the 437th Airlift Wing, Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., in June l970. C-5s are operated by active-duty, Reserve, and Air National Guard crews. They are currently stationed at Dover AFB, Del.; Travis AFB, Calif.; Lackland AFB, Texas; Stewart Air National Guard Base, N.Y.; Martinsburg ANGB, W.V.; Memphis ANGB, Tenn.; Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio and Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass.

In March 1989, the last of 50 C-5B aircraft was added to the 76 C-5As in the Air Force's airlift force structure. The C-5B includes all C-5A improvements as well as more than 100 additional system modifications to improve reliability and maintainability.

Based on a study showing 80 percent of the C-5 airframe service life remaining, AMC began an aggressive program to modernize the C-5. The C-5 Avionics Modernization Program began in 1998 and includes upgrading avionics to Communications, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management compliance, improving navigation, communication, and safety equipment, and installing a new autopilot system.

Another part of the modernization plan is a comprehensive Re-engining and Reliability Program, which includes new CF-6 engines, pylons and auxiliary power units, with upgrades to aircraft skin and frame, flight controls, landing gear and the pressurization system. This modernization program will enhance aircraft reliability and maintainability, maintain structural and system integrity, reduce cost of ownership and increase operational capability well into the 21st century.

General Characteristics
Primary Function: Outsize cargo transport
Prime Contractor: Lockheed-Georgia Co.
Power Plant: Four General Electric TF-39 engines
Thrust: 43,000 pounds, each engine
Wingspan: 222.9 feet (67.89 meters)
Length: 247.1 feet (75.3 meters)
Height: 65.1 feet (19.84 meters)
Cargo Compartment: height , 13.5 feet (4.11 meters); width, 19 feet (5.79 meters); length, 143 feet, 9 in (43.8 meters)
Pallet Positions: 36
Maximum Cargo: 270,000 pounds (122,472 kilograms)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 769,000 pounds (348,818 kilograms) (peacetime), 840,000 pounds (381,024 kilograms) (wartime)
Speed: 518 mph (.77 Mach)
Range: 6,320 nautical miles without air refueling; unlimited with in-flight refueling
Crew: 7 (pilot, co-pilot, two flight engineers and three loadmasters)
Unit Cost: C-5A - $152.8 million (fiscal 1998 constant dollars) C-5B - $179 million (fiscal 1998 constant dollars)
Deployed: C-5A - 1969, C-5B - 1980
Inventory: Total force, 111

Point of Contact
Air Mobility Command, Public Affairs Office; 503 Ward Drive Ste 214, Scott AFB, Ill., 62225-5335, DSN 779-7821 or commercial 618-229-7821.

Megastructures Future Trains...

2009-04-30T05:50:00.004+05:30

BIRTH & DEATH OF THE UNIVERSE.....

2009-04-30T04:19:00.003+05:30

The Birth and Death of the Universe

About 10 years before the expanding universe was discovered, Albert Einstein provided the theoretical basis for Cosmology with his General Theory of Relativity or "GR". According to GR, Space and Time cannot be separated from each other and the two need to be thought of as intricately linked into a single Space-Time. Even more surprising, Space-Time is not merely the stage on which the drama of physics occurs, it is an actor in that drama. There is a "fabric" of Space-Time that can be bent and stretched. Einstein found that this stretching of Space-Time was related to gravity. Matter and energy gave Space-Time their shape and that shape determined how matter and energy would move. Einstein's theory also allowed physicists and astronomers to create mathematical models of the Universe as a whole including the shape of the entirety of Space-Time. Because GR and the cosmological models it spawned deal with all the Space and Time possible for the Universe, it is a mistake to think of the Big Bang as happening at some point IN space and time. The Big Bang was the expansion of all Space and Time itself. It's a very strange and wonderful idea. With GR, physicists had equations that could describe how the Universe emerged from nearly infinite compression to expand into what we see and live in today. The initial "explosion" came to be called the Big Bang. These equations could describe the evolution of the Universe from the Big Bang all the way into the far future. What will be the fate of the Universe? Will it go on expanding forever? Will the gravitational attraction of all the matter (and energy) in the Universe eventually slow the Universe’s expansion down so much that it will stop expanding and re-collapse in a "Big Crunch"? The answers to these questions depend on the amount of matter (and energy) the Universe contains. Cosmologists express this quantity in terms of the "density parameter" (called Omega). The density parameter is the ratio of two numbers: the actual density of matter and energy in the Universe right now, and the so called critical density of matter and energy where the Universe’s expansion and deceleration are just balanced. Low values of the density parameter (Omega < 1) mean there is not enough matter and energy to slow the Universe down. High values of the density parameter (Omega > 1) mean the gravitational pull of all the matter and energy in Universe will make it re-collapse. A Universe with Omega = 1 will stop expanding but only when time goes to infinity! All this tells us there are many kinds of Universes possible depending on the density of matter and energy (Omega) and the rate of expansion (the Hubble Constant H0). With this cosmology interactive you can see how changing these quantities changes the fate of the Universe.

BIRTH OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR AT STRATFORD-UPON-AVON-- London

2009-04-15T16:04:00.005+05:30

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford in 1564, was brought up and educated there and married a woman from the nearby hamlet of Shottery. Later he bought property in and around the town, including one of the largest houses, New Place. Following his death there, in 1616, he was buried in the parish church. Throughout his life, then, he remained in close touch with his native town, even though, at the height of his career, much of his time was spent in London. The Stratford he knew was certainly very different from today's - in size, smell, noise and general atmosphere. But in one respect it was the same, for Stratford, by the standards of the time, was busy, just as it is now, an essential feature of any successful town.

At the same time, it was a period of great change. The townscape was transformed during his lifetime as a result of three disastrous fires; there were near-famine conditions at the end of the century, reducing a third of the population to poverty; plague and other devastating epidemics were a constant threat; and religious differences could flare into physical violence.

Population

The population of Shakespeare's Stratford can only be roughly estimated, but in 1600 was certainly no more than 2,500 and was probably less. It was, however, growing around this time - from a figure perhaps as low as 1,600 in 1550 - due mainly to a drift from the countryside to the town, with all the problems this brought. Today some settlements with populations of over 2,000 still pass as villages. In 1600, such a population was evidence of an important market town.
http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/content/view/13/13/
Street plan of Stratford-upon-Avon in Shakespeare's time

Layout

The shape of the Elizabethan town was, and still is, based on a grid pattern of streets laid out when Stratford was founded around 1200. The focal point was the present-day Wood Street/Bridge Street axis, along the line of the main road through the town. Much of this had originally been left as open space as a site for the town's market, but by Shakespeare's time, large sections had been filled in, including a row of buildings up the centre of Bridge Street. At the west end of Wood Street, then near the edge of the town, was another open space, which still survives, where the cattle market was held. Branching off from Bridge Street to the north west was a busy thoroughfare, Henley Street, where Shakespeare's father, John, set himself up as a glovemaker in the 1550s (in the house now preserved as Shakespeare's Birthplace), again on an important route out of town. High Street, to the south of the main road, was a main shopping area. Beyond that, in Sheep Street and Chapel Street, the atmosphere was quieter, and minor streets, like Ely Street, Scholars Lane and Waterside, were, for the most part, either undeveloped or lined with barns. Beyond that again were orchards and paddocks and then the open countryside.
The parish church of Holy Trinity stood (and still stands) somewhat apart from the town, marking the site of the original village. This had been left undisturbed when the new town had been laid out alongside it, but by Shakespeare's day had dwindled to a few large houses occupied by the town's leading gentry. The church itself had been rebuilt and added to over the years, reaching its full extent only fifty years or so before Shakespeare was born.

Fairs and Markets

In Shakespeare's time, the state of the roads meant that travel at more than walking pace, even for those fortunate to own a horse and cart, was rarely possible. Most country dwellers wishing to exchange their farm produce for items they could not make for themselves depended almost entirely on towns within a radius of five miles or so. As a result, places like Stratford, with populations which we would now regard as very small, had fairs and a weekly market and a whole range of shops and small businesses. Some dealt in food but there were also tailors, shoemakers, glovemakers (including Shakespeare's father), wheelwrights, carpenters, blacksmiths, tinsmiths and many more. Others, like vintners, mercers and drapers, dealt in goods brought into the town from more distant parts. On Thursday, market day, the town would have been exceptionally busy, with the main streets thronged with buyers and sellers. Some of the streets were named after the particular market held in them, Sheep Street, for example, and Rother Street (after the Old English word for cattle), or Corn Street (now Chapel Street) and Swine Street (now Ely Street). Shakespeare's grandfathers, Richard Shakespeare and Robert Arden, from the nearby villages of Snitterfield and Wilmcote, would have been typical of the many country-dwellers making their way to Stratford on market day.

Stratford was particularly well-placed to serve as a market centre, at an important crossing of the River Avon where several routes converged. The Avon also marked a division between contrasting regions, the open Feldon to the south, largely given over to the growing of crops, and the more wooded area, the Arden, to the north, where cattle farming was more common. Stratford's market was thus an obvious place for the exchange of the different types of produce from these two regions. In the 1490s, a wealthy Stratford townsman, Hugh Clopton, had made sure the routes to the south remained passable throughout the year by paying for the construction of the fine stone bridge that still spans the river.
Industry as we know it did not exist, but Stratford was famous for its malting - the roasting and grinding of grain, usually barley, for use in brewing. This was best carried out as near as possible to where the crops grew, as untreated grain was bulky and expensive to transport. The cereal-growing areas to the south of Stratford were particularly productive, hence the growth of the industry in the town: in one contemporary document Stratford is cited as 'one of the chieffest towns in England for malt-making'.
http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/content/view/13/13/&
Grammar School and Guild Chapel, 1864. Engraved view by Rock & Co., London.

Town Government

In 1553, Stratford was granted a Charter of Incorporation. This created a form of town council (the Corporation), made up of fourteen aldermen and fourteen chief burgesses, headed by a High Bailiff. They were given various properties in the town formerly belonging to the Guild of the Holy Cross. This was a medieval religious foundation which, until its abolition at the time of the Reformation, had also provided a school for the sons of its members and almshouses for the sick and infirm. These responsibilities passed, with the Guild property, to the new Corporation, together with the duties of paying the vicar's salary and maintaining the bridge. In this way the Corporation came to administer the grammar school, still standing in Church Street, where Shakespeare is believed to have received his education. The Corporation also made bye-laws to control the markets within the town and to prevent nuisances, with powers to fine people who broke them. The Corporation was not elected: the first aldermen were named in the charter, and they were given the job of nominating the chief burgesses. New members were chosen in the same way whenever vacancies occurred. Its membership came quickly to be made up of the principal tradesmen in the town, including Shakespeare's father, who was nominated to join the Corporation in 1557, rising to serve as High Bailiff in the year 1568/9.

The Church

http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/content/view/13/13/The Corporation was not the only body laying down rules and regulations about how the townspeople should behave. There was also an entirely separate church court, under the bishop, which investigated matters which today we should find surprising; not only, for example, failure to attend church, and the maintenance of the church fabric, but sorcery, libel, drunkenness, sexual offences, the licensing of physicians, surgeons and schoolmasters, and the making of wills. In Stratford, this was of particular significance: for two out of every three years, it was, by ancient right, the vicar of Stratford, not the bishop and his officials, who presided over this court.
This was also a time of religious upheaval. The English Reformation may have begun simply with the idea of securing independence from Rome, but it unleashed a flood of new ideas; and by the end of the century, Stratford, like all other communities, was beset by religious division. At one extreme were those who clung to the old Catholic faith and who were fined for it (including, it is believed, Shakespeare's father). They were also accused of treason whenever a national conspiracy was uncovered. At the other extreme were the Puritan reformers who wished to do away with bishops altogether and who saw the church courts as a means of carrying the Reformation into every aspect of people's lives, especially their sexual and social behaviour. But many others preferred to avoid taking up these conflicting positions. It is true that, in order to make its Protestant position clear, the Corporation ordered the defacement of the wall paintings in the Guild Chapel in 1564. Moreover, in 1602 and 1612, it passed bye-laws to restrict the activities of travelling players, and in 1605, much anti-Catholic fervour erupted when it was discovered that one of the Gunpowder Plotters had been living at nearby Clopton House. On the other hand, the demands of Puritan extremists, who sought to use the law to regulate private morals, eventually proved too much for the Corporation, leading, in the 1620s and '30s, to a serious quarrel with the vicar.
http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/content/view/13/13/Roxburghe Ballads (Hertford, 1880),III, 336" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #cccccc 1px solid" height=82 alt="Roxburghe Ballads" src="gallery2/d/1465-2/roxburgheballads.jpg" width=150 border=0
From Roxburghe Ballads (Hertford, 1880),III, 336

Epidemics

Elizabethans were well aware of the need for personal cleanliness but concentrations of people in towns presented problems. Water supplies, mainly wells and streams, could become contaminated, and the lack of a proper system to remove human and animal waste was a particularly acute problem at a time when livestock markets were held in the street and cattle slaughtered on the spot. The Corporation did what it could to tackle these problems: 'muckhills' were set up in locations where they were least likely to cause offence, and fines imposed on those who failed to use them: indeed, Shakespeare's father was one of these, fined in 1552 for making a muckheap near his house in Henley Street instead of using the authorised one at the out-of-town end of the street. Butchers were ordered not to throw their 'garbages' out into the street, but to carry them out of the town to 'some convenient place', and pigs left by their owners to roam the streets were impounded. Nevertheless, outbreaks of disease were common, with particularly serious results for children. In the 1560s, the decade when Shakespeare was born, only one in three children was likely to survive into adulthood. Shakespeare's own son, Hamnet, died at the age of eleven. Adults were also at risk from epidemics. The year 1558 was one of high mortality, with influenza apparently the cause. Far more devastating was an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1564, the year of Shakespeare's birth, which carried away around 15 per cent of the population, including entire households. An epidemic of a different type struck in 1597, second only in severity to that in the plague year. Its precise nature is unknown but it was linked to the disastrous weather conditions of the period 1594-97, when heavy summer rains destroyed the harvests, leaving the poor malnourished and prone to infectious disease.
This shortage of food in the 1590s led to serious riots in many large towns and protests in smaller ones, including Stratford. One measure the authorities took was to try to restrict the activities of the maltsters who were thought to be wasting what little grain there was in the production of beer rather than bread. Others were simply accused of hoarding grain and malt in an attempt to profit out of steeply-rising prices. In Stratford, this resulted in the 'Noate of corn and malt' of 1597 featuring Shakespeare's name (he was now the owner of New Place in Chapel Street) and those of some seventy-four other leading townsmen, some of whom were clearly in possession of more grain than they needed merely to feed their families.

Fires

Serious fires in 1594 and 1595 made this bad situation worse. At a time when fire-fighting equipment was virtually non-existent and buildings constructed of timber and thatch, town fires were a constant hazard. However, to suffer two in successive years, destroying at least 120 houses (perhaps as much as a quarter of the housing stock), at a time when the town was already experiencing general hardship, was particularly serious. The outbreak was blamed on shoddy backland development which had grown up to house the migrant poor who had drifted in. In petitions to the government, the Corporation talked of 700 paupers in the town, at least a third of the population. This is reflected in the soaring death rate in 1596 and 1597, and in the regulations, harsh to us but then commonplace in times of hardship, brought in by the Corporation in an effort to deal with the problem of the poor.

http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/content/view/13/13/The Woefull and Lamentable Wast and Spoile Done by a Suddaine Fire in St Edmonds-bury..., 1608" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #cccccc 1px solid" height=125 alt="From The Woefull and Lamentable Wast and Spoile Done by a Suddaine Fire in St Edmonds-bury..., 1608" src="gallery2/d/93-2/fires.gif" width=150 border=0
From The Woefull and Lamentable Wast and Spoile Done by a Suddaine Fire in St Edmonds-bury..., 1608
Vagrants were denied entry to the town, and newcomers driven out. Townspeople sheltering 'strangers and inmates' were fined and 'tippling houses' more closely regulated. The situation did not really improve for the rest of Shakespeare's lifetime: there was another serious epidemic in 1608, probably smallpox, a fire in 1614, and in 1616, the year of Shakespeare's death, a further outbreak of disease, probably typhus, the 'new fever' which Shakespeare's son-in-law, Dr John Hall, noted in his casebook the following year. On the other hand, there is no evidence that the town went into serious economic decline.
Many of Stratford's fine timber-framed buildings, including the richly-decorated Harvard House in High Street, date from immediately after the fires of 1594/95, telling evidence of the wealth of the town's leading tradesmen.

In Conclusion

Some accounts of Shakespeare's Stratford have been distorted by sentimental notions of a vanishing 'Merry England'. The problem with a more realistic approach is that we may just see conditions as primitive. Compared with today, of course, things were very different but they changed little over the next 250 years, until a rapidly rising population, by the middle of the nineteenth century, meant that more radical measures at last had to be taken to ensure clean water and to prevent devastating epidemics. Even then there were complaints about the cost, just as there are today whenever new civic schemes are proposed. In Stratford, as elsewhere, there has rarely been agreement over the exact point at which the consequences of doing nothing outweigh the cost of improvements; and such improvements have rarely been willingly undertaken unless the commercial well-being of the town has been under serious threat.
Further information about Stratford-upon-Avon in Shakespeare's time may be found in the following books and articles:
Bearman, Robert, ed., The History of an English Borough, Stratford-upon-Avon 1196-1996 (Stroud: Sutton for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, 1997)
Brinkworth, E.C., Shakespeare and the Bawdy Court of Stratford (Chichester: Phillimore, 1972)
Jones, Jeanne, Family Life in Shakespeare's England: Stratford-upon-Avon 1570-1630 (Stroud: Sutton for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, 1996)
Martin, J.M., 'A Warwickshire Market Town in Adversity: Stratford-upon-Avon in the 16th and 17th Centuries', Midland History, 7 (1982), 26-41
Porter, Stephen, 'Fires in Stratford-upon-Avon in the 16th and 17th Centuries', Warwickshire History, 3 (1976), 97-106
Savage, Richard, ed., The Registers of Stratford-upon-Avon: Baptisms 1558-1652; Burials 1558- 1652/3; Marriages 1558-1812, 3 vols (London: Parish Register Society, 1897-1905)
Stratford-upon-Avon Corporation, Minutes and Accounts of the Corporation of Stratford-upon- Avon, 1553-1598, 5 vols (Oxford: Dugdale Society, 1921-9; Hertford: Dugdale Society, 1990)

MY COLLECTION OF ENGLISH VIDEOS...

2009-04-05T02:59:00.012+05:30

SHAPE OF MY HEART--BACKSTREET BOYS

PLEASE FORGIVE ME--BRIAN ADAMS

ADDICTED--ENRIQUE IGLESIAS

MAMMA IM COMING HOME--OZZY OSBOURNE

STUCK IN MY HEART--C21

CANDLE IN THE WIND--ELTON JOHN

HERE I AM--BRIAN ADAMS

TRUELY MADLY DEEPLY--SAVAGE GARDEN

LAST CHRISTMAS--SAVAGE GARDEN

MY HEART WILL GO ON--CELION DION

Some Pictures Related 2 My Career...

2009-04-05T02:50:00.011+05:30

THE BRITISH AIRWAYS..

2009-04-04T17:24:00.004+05:30

British Airways Boeing 747 G-BDXH seen in May 1980, some two years before aquiring the moniker "The Flying Ashtray"

British Airways Flight 9, sometimes referred to as the Jakarta incident was a scheduled British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Auckland, with stops in Mumbai, Chennai, Kuala Lumpur, Perth, and Melbourne.

On 24 June 1982, the route was flown by City of Edinburgh, a 747-236B registered G-BDXH. The aircraft flew into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung, resulting in the failure of all four engines, although the reason for the failure was not then apparent to the crew or ground control. The aircraft was diverted to Jakarta in the hope that enough engines could be restarted to allow it to land there. The aircraft was able to glide far enough to exit the ash cloud, and all engines were restarted (although one failed again soon after), allowing the aircraft to land safely.

The first sign of anything amiss occurred shortly after 13:40 GMT (20:40 Jakarta time) above the Indian Ocean, south of Java, when Senior First Officer Roger Greaves and Senior Engineer Officer Barry Townley-Freeman noticed an effect on the windscreen similar to St. Elmo's fire, as if it were being hit by tracer bullets. The phenomenon persisted after Captain Eric Moody, who had left the cockpit to use the lavatory, returned. Despite seeing nothing on the weather radar, they switched on engine anti-ice and the passenger seat belt signs as a precaution.

In the passenger cabin, smoke started gathering in the air. At first it was assumed to be cigarette smoke (smoking was still permitted on flights in 1982), but as it grew thicker, alarm spread. Those looking out windows also noticed that the engines were unusually bright, as if they each had a headlight in them, shining forward through the fan blades and producing a stroboscopic effect.

At approximately 13:42 GMT (20:42 Jakarta time), engine four surged and then flamed out. The first officer and flight engineer immediately performed the engine shutdown drill, shutting off fuel and arming fire extinguishers as the Captain added some rudder to counter the uneven thrust. The passengers also spotted long yellow glows coming out of the remaining engines. Less than a minute after the first engine failed, engine two surged and flamed out. Before the flight crew could begin the engine failure drills, engines one and three shut down almost simultaneously. The flight engineer exclaimed, "I don't believe it – all four engines have failed!"

The 747 had now become a glider. A 747 can glide 15 kilometres for every kilometre it loses in height. Captain Moody calculated that, from its flight level of about 11,280 metres (37,000 ft), Flight 9 would be able to glide for 23 minutes and cover 261 kilometres (141 nm). At 13:44 GMT (20:44 Jakarta time), Moody told First Officer Greaves to declare an emergency to the local air traffic control authority, stating that all four engines had shut down, but Jakarta Area Control misunderstood the message, believing that only engine number four had shut down. It was only after a Garuda Indonesia flight relayed that the message got through.

The loss of power was immediately obvious to the passengers, and they reacted to it in many different ways. Some became resigned, while others wrote notes to their loved ones, such as Charles Capewell's "Ma. In trouble. Plane going down. Will do best for boys. We love you. Sorry. Pa XXX" scrawled on the cover of his ticket wallet. Some passengers cried out that they were going to die, and still others attempted to calm down the more panicky ones.

On the flight deck the crew attempted to contact Jakarta for radar assistance, but could not be seen by Jakarta, despite their transponder being set to 7700, the international "general emergency" code. Due to the high Indonesian mountains, an altitude of at least 11,500 ft was required to cross the coast safely. Captain Moody decided that, if the aircraft was unable to maintain altitude by the time they reached 12,000 ft, he would turn back out to sea and attempt to ditch. The crew began the engine restart drills, despite being well above the recommended maximum engine in-flight start envelope altitude of 28,000 ft, but they were unsuccessful.

Despite the lack of time, Captain Moody made an announcement that has been described as "a masterpiece of understatement"

“ Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress. ”

At 13,500 ft, the flight crew attempted one last engine restart procedure before turning for the ocean and the risky prospect of a ditching. Although there were guidelines, no one had ever tried it in a 747 – nor have they since. Number four engine started, and at 13:56 GMT (20:56 Jakarta time), Captain Moody used its power to reduce the rate of descent. Shortly thereafter, engine three restarted, followed shortly by engines one and two. The engines were able to restart because one generator was still operating, thus allowing ignition of the engines. The crew were amazed at their change of fortune, and requested an increase in altitude to 15,000 feet to clear the high mountains.

As the aircraft approached its target altitude, the tracer effect on the windscreen returned. Captain Moody throttled back, but it was too late: number two engine surged again, and had to be shut down. The crew immediately descended to 12,000 ft.

At last Flight 9 approached Jakarta. Despite reports of good visibility, the crew found it difficult to see anything through the windscreen, and had to make the approach almost entirely on instruments, despite the glideslope of the ILS being inoperative. It was, in the words of Captain Moody, "a bit like negotiating one's way up a badger's arse". Although the runway lights could be made out through a small strip of the windscreen, the landing lights seemed to be inoperable. After landing, the flight crew then found it impossible to taxi, as glare from apron floodlights made the windscreen opaque, and City of Edinburgh had to wait for a tug to tow her in.

It was found that City of Edinburgh's problems had been caused by flying through a cloud of volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Galunggung. Because the ash cloud was dry, it did not show up on the weather radar, which is designed to pick up the drops of moisture that form clouds. The cloud sandblasted the windscreen and landing light covers, as well as clogging the engines. Engines one, two and three were replaced at Jakarta, as well as the windscreen, and the fuel tanks were cleared of the ash that had entered them through the pressurisation ducts, contaminating the fuel and requiring that it be disposed of. After being ferried back to London, engine number four was replaced and major work was undertaken to return the aircraft to service, where some crews nicknamed it "the flying ashtray". G-BDXH also entered the Guinness Book of Records as the longest glide in a non-purpose-built aircraft, until it was replaced by the Air Transat Flight 236 incident.

Although the airspace around Mount Galunggung was closed temporarily after the accident, it was re-opened days later. It was only after a Singapore Airlines 747 was forced to shut down three of its engines while flying through the same area nineteen days later, that Indonesian authorities closed the airspace permanently and re-routed airways to avoid the area, and a watch was set up to monitor clouds of ash.

The crew received various awards, including Her Majesty The Queen's Commendations for Valuable Service in the Air and medals from the British Air Line Pilots Association. Following the incident, the crew and passengers formed the Galunggung Gliding Club as a means to keep in contact.

One of the passengers, Betty Tootell, wrote a book about the incident, All Four Engines Have Failed. She managed to trace some 200 of the 247 passengers on the flight, and went on to marry a fellow survivor, James Ferguson, who had been seated in the row in front of her. She notes: "The 28th December 2006 marks the start of our 14th year of honeymoon, and on the 24th June 2007 many passengers and crew will no doubt gather to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our mid-air adventure."

Today, British Airways operates Flight 9 from London Heathrow to Bangkok and Sydney. City of Edinburgh, later renamed City of Elgin, continued to fly for British Airways, before being sold to European Aviation Air Charter. The last known location of the plane (by this time partially dismantled) was at Bournemouth International Airport in early 2007.

STAR CRUISES LIFE HISTORY....

2009-03-31T03:56:00.007+05:30

Star Cruises is the biggest Asian based cruise line and one of the fastest-growing in the world. Starting with two cruise ships in 1993, the company owns ten ships at the moment. The Star fleet consist of three distinct brands: Star, SuperStar and MegaStar. The cruise line has bought many cruise ships from other cruise lines (the former Sun Viking from Royal Caribbean, the former Golden Princess from Princess Cruises and even the former Baltic ferries Athena and Kalypso. Star Cruises has also purchased the luxury cruise ship Europa from Germany's Hapag-Lloyd with plans to convert it to the most luxurious ship cruising in Asian waters. Star Cruises, the third largest cruise line in the world is a global cruise brand presently operating a combined fleet of 20 cruise ships with over 26,000 lower berths, with cruises to destinations and islands in Asia-Pacific, North and South America, Hawaii, Caribbean, Alaska, Europe, Mediterranean, Bermuda and the Antarctica under the Star Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Orient Lines & Cruise Ferries brands. The Pride of America - the first of the two Project America cruise ships - is presently under completion at the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Germany. The 81,000-grt and 2,100 lower berth cruise ship is expected to commence Hawaii inter-island cruising next year with a "Best of America" theme. The second Project America cruise ship, which is currently sailing as Norwegian Sky will be renamed Pride of Aloha and will reflect a strong Hawaiian theme which will be accomplished after a refurbishment in September 2004. Both cruise ships will sail under NCL's new US-flag brand - NCL America (sm). Star Cruises is represented in more than 20 locations worldwide with offices in Australia, New Zealand, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Norway, Philippines, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Star Cruises development highlights:
- 1993, introducing leisure cruising in Asia;
- 1994, developing the fly-cruise concept for short break-style vacations;
- 1997, winning the first of 6 consecutive annual awards for Best Cruise Operator in Asia-Pacific by TTG Asia from 1997 to 2002;
- 1998, maximising the Freestyle Cruising potential in Asia and, through NCL, to the US and Pacific in 2001;
- 1998 established, with FORCE Technology - DMI (formerly Danish Maritime Institute), a joint venture to operate a world-class ship simulator in Port Klang, Malaysia;
- 1999, opening up Vietnam and China to the international cruising community;
- 2000, acquiring Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) to become the world's first truly global cruise line and its third-largest.
Star Cruises, the third largest cruise operator in the world is a global cruise brand with a combined fleet of 22 ships in service and due to be delivered with about 35,000 lower berths, cruising to destinations and islands in Asia-Pacific, North and South America, Hawaii, Caribbean, Alaska, Europe, Mediterranean, Bermuda and the Antarctica under the Star Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, NCL America, Orient Lines and Cruise Ferries brands.The cruise ships operating under the Star Cruises' brand in Asia-Pacific are SuperStar Virgo, SuperStar Gemini, SuperStar Libra, Star Pisces, MegaStar Aries and MegaStar Taurus. The NCL group has a fleet of sixteen cruise ships in service and due to be delivered under three brands: Norwegian Cruise Line, NCL America and Orient Lines.
The NCL fleet includes the Norwegian Dream, Norwegian Majesty, Norwegian Wind, Norwegian Sun, Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Star, Norwegian Crown, Norwegian Spirit and Norwegian Jewel . Two newbuilds, yet unnamed, are due to be delivered by 2007.
NCL America currently operates the Pride of Aloha and Pride of America, which will subsequently be joined by the Pride of Hawaii in April 2006. Orient Lines is an award-winning single ship line with the Marco Polo offering niche destination-focused cruises.
Both NCL and Orient Lines market primarily in North America but also extensively in the UK , Europe , South America and Asia whilst NCL America offers inter island cruises in Hawaii.
The Cruise Ferries brand, which was launched in 2001 presently, comprises the m.v. Wasa Queen.
On the employment side, it is a very good idea to try to secure a job position with this fast growing cruise line. They are offering salaries, which are sometimes higher than mainstream U.S. based cruise lines, working conditions are great and for many people the idea of working in the Orient and the Far East will be quite appealing.
FLEET AND ITINERARIES:

Superstar Libra: Panama registered, built 1999, 42.000 gross tons, 1.480 passengers, 700 crew members.
Itineraries: Arabian Sea, India (out of Mumbai).

Superstar Virgo: Panama registered, built 1999, 77.000 gross tons, 2.800 passengers, 1.300 crew members.
Itineraries: Singapore/Malaysia/Thailand (out of Singapore).

Superstar Gemini: Panama registered, renovated 1995,
19.000 gross tons, 1000 passengers, 300 crew members.
Itineraries: Singapore/Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong (out of Singapore).

Star Pisces: Bahamas registered, built 1990, renovated 1994,
40.000 gross tons, 2.200 passengers, 740 crew members.
Itineraries: Hong Kong/China (out of Hong Kong).

Mega Star Taurus: Bahamas registered, built 1991, renovated 1996,
3.300 gross tons, 72 passengers, 28 crew members.
Itineraries: Southeast Asia.

Mega Star Aries: Bahamas registered, built 1991, renovated 1996,
3.300 gross tons, 72 passengers, 28 crew members.
Itineraries: Southeast Asia.

In the World of Shipping Industry...

2009-03-31T03:40:00.009+05:30

SUPERSTAR LIBRA – THE COMPLETE HOLIDAY DESTINATION
Over the last few years, increasingly not just business families but regular Indians are looking at cruises for their holidays. A decade ago, TCI introduced cruising to Indians when it started promoting various cruise vessels. Last year alone over a hundred thousand Indians went cruising. Spurred by the increasing demand of cruising amongst Indians, the SuperStar Libra sails in for another reason of exciting holiday to Mumbai. SuperStar Libra is a part of Asia’s largest cruise operator – Star Cruises, a pioneer in world-class free style cruising.
The SuperStar Libra offers more than just a cruise – a refuge from busy city life, a place to reawaken lost spirits and just a place to have a good time. With every deck packed with endless fun, entertainment and activities, the SuperStar Libra never seems to have a dull moment.
A floating resort, the SuperStar Libra is an easy holiday option to explore exotic destinations while getting drenched with the facilities and amenities offered by the world-class luxury liner. Free style cruising combines the excitement of travels with the flexibility and relaxed lifestyle of a fine resort. In short, it is a perfect vacation. The ship is designed to meet the changing needs of today’s passengers challenging the conventional model of cruising by providing a more relaxed resort style cruising complete with flexibility and non-intrusive services of the highest standards.
DELUXE ACCOMMODATION

SuperStar Libra offers a range of suites and staterooms to suit all tastes and budgets. The cabins are tastefully furnished with a range of services and amenities. Whichever you choose, you are assured of a deluxe, well appointed retreat.
THE FINEST DINING

Treat yourself to fine cuisine. You’ll love dining onboard at your excellent Indian and international restaurants that serve expertly prepared cuisine. The ship hosts a variety of restaurants and bars on board and has been well adapted to gratify the eating requirements of the Indian palate. SuperStar Libra hosts The Saffron which is one of the only restaurants on any cruise liner to serve Indian vegetarian and Jain Food. The Indian vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisine are also served buffet style at The Taj by the Bay. Other delightful retreats for the taste buds include: Four Seasons Restaurant – the Continental Dining Restaurant, BlueLagoon-the 24-hour Refreshments and Snacks Outlet, Two Trees Restaurant – the Steak House, Coconut Willy’s – the Poolside Bar, Pool – Bar the Drinks and Cocktails Bar, and Lickety Splits – the Ice-Cream Bar.
REJUVENATING RECREATION

Star Cruises has a variety of fitness programmes to meet your needs, from extensive cardiovascular workouts aerobics to aqua sports, to help you maintain your fitness while on board. There is even a golf driving range to help you with your swing.
If you are not that athletic, Star Cruises’ pampering spa facilities offer a range of services from relaxing messages to facial treatments that will ensure you return to shore fully invigorated. Or simply soak in the sparkling swimming pool and Jacuzzi or enjoy the gentle breeze in the comfort of a deck chair.
WORLD-CLASS ENTERTAINMENT
Great entertainment awaits the vacationers at SuperStar Libra’s world-class lounges. The Bollywood (Open-style Karaoke Lounge), Boomer’s (Discotheque), Galaxy of the Stars (Cocktails and Pre-dinner Lounge) and Stardust Lounge (Show Lounge) ensure an unforgettable experience. SuperStar Libra offers an array of entertainment facilities and activities for all age groups like onboard shopping at Ports O’Call for the shoppers, Hair Dressing and Beauty Salon services for the beauty – conscious, and Playroom and Video Games Parlour for the children. The entertainment has been designed to give the ship an international flavor, which makes it a complete experience.
EXOTIC DESTINATIONS
KADMAT ISLAND, LAKSHADWEEP

Lakshadweep, practically unexplored segment, is an extension to the heavens on earth with the sun kissed beaches, lined by an unbroken line of creamy sand and crystal clear waters. The tranquility of the surrounding is predominant for miles at stretch, disturbed only by the waves crashing on the shores and quixotic moves of dolphins. Lakshadweep, the world’s most spectacular and remote island, located 220-440 kms of the Malabar Coast, serves as an ideal destination for holiday makers looking for a quiet, relaxing and indeed romantic time.
GOA

Goa – mention the name and a flood of sensual delights rush through the mind’s eye. Endless beaches with white sand, fringed with coconut palms. Shacks along the ocean edge that serve mouthwatering sea food delicacies along with the ubiquitous drink. Goa, a unique blend of western mores and Indian tradition, is a perfect place for party animals as celebration and festivity is at the heart of living here.

ALL INCLUSIVE PACKAGE
All-inclusive packages from SuperStar Libra offers not only the stay onboard but also 4 meals per day in a variety of restaurants including Indian vegetarian and Jain food. It also includes access to swimming pool, gymnasium, Jacuzzi, sports deck etc. World-Class entertainment shows and other fun frolics also included in the package.
SuperStar Libra is a 42000 gross tonnage ship with a length of 216m/713ft. and with of 28m/93ft. with a maximum cruising speed of 22 knots. It has a passenger capacity of 1,480 (based on lower berth) and consists of 740 cabins.
STAR CRUISES – A VISION FULFILLED
Star Cruises was incorporated in September 1993, representing a bold initiative to tap Asia-Pacific’s potential as an international cruise destination. Within 12 years of its inception, it has achieved global recognitions with a combined fleet of 22 ships in service and become the undisputed leader in Asia.
Today, Star Cruises epitomizes the fulfilment of regional aspirations to establish the cruise industry in the Asia – Pacific region, bringing increased tourism traffic into the countries around Asia-Pacific. Asian holidaymakers now see cruising as an exciting and value-for-money vacation. Simultaneously, it also started the influx of travelers from North America, Europe and Australia, who joined Star Cruises holidays for a glimpse of the various sights and sounds of Asia-Pacific. In just over a decade since its inception, Star Cruises has become the world’s third largest cruise operator and has won several coveted awards. Now with SuperStar Libra, it’s become the pioneer in cruising industry in India.

About My Career.......

2009-03-25T02:39:00.019+05:30

heyyyy... my ambitious is travelling freely throughout the world & i want 2 tell u all that my career is much interesting than others...

WHERE I WANT MY LIFE TO BE... In the Aviation Industry..... About my Life in an Airlines Group: This is dream that i want to become a successful Flight Steward in any of the airlines such as INDIAN AIRLINES,JET AIRWAYS,
KINGFISHER AIRLINES & many more.... My wish is to join in here long after my first visit in an aircraft.. It's a huge experience for me, flying on the sky, clouds are moving around & there's also Sun's rays is entering in an aircraft... I feel myself that I'm sitting at the middle of the sky chatting wid my friends as i normally do at home.. but flying on the sky is very interesting & enjoyful that people visit again & again 2 gain their experiences on air but one thing I must say that those people who loves 2 live in the sky must they work hard to achieve their goal.. & after that when they all settled for their future they come & lived happily on land without facing any difficulties.. So, I must say that those people who likes 2 join here at Aviation Academy may read the message that is stated below & you may find that how people enjoy their lives.... SO, ITS MY WORDS THAT I SPEAK GIVING MY FULL KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCES ABOUT FLYING AT SKY....

SHORT BRIEF WHY PEOPLE JOIN AVIATION INDUSTRY
With extensive globalization the Aviation sector has opened its arms to all sections of people. The rapid growth in the industry with the coming of new airlines like Kingfisher, Jet, Alliance AIr, Go Air, Indigo has led to extensive growth in the job sector.

Since more people now travel by air, there is a huge requirement of trained Cabin Crew and ground personnel.

It is a highly glamorous profession with high salary package.

Keeping in mind the demands and standards of aviation sectors & they began its pioneering journey of excellence with the sole aim of providing the youth of today's with meaningful and practical vocational training in the key sectors.

These airlines promises to leave no stone unturned for its student. Every part of training is taken care by the best in the Industry.

Introduction...

2008-04-02T16:58:00.006+05:30

There are times when I stand in between some of the place & i start thinking my future plans but i dnt understand as i think on my way i can't get in touch to my point so i thought finally & make a decision that i have 2 cross my hands at the back & stareing at the sky 2 see if GOD can give me some 2 make my dreams come true & to fulfill all those things which i need in my career... and by the end of that day i found myself that 2 achive something i have to follow the right path that GOD shows me..... this is the most valuable point that i receive till now & till end.. it is meaningful in my life... So, dn't follow my way choose ur own path & make the right decision, then u see that ur life becomes much easier than before.. dnt think start doing & then see how life is much easier 2 u.. I also assume that it happens to all of us, does it happen to everyone??