Millau Bridge
Construction of the Millau Bridge in France
"The Millau bridge over the River Tarn in the Massif Central mountains is more than 300m (984ft) high - taller even than the Eiffel Tower. With its concrete and steel pillars soaring high above the morning fog in the Tarn Valley, the construction makes a spectacular sight."
A complicated system of hydraulic rams was used to slide the vast bridge deck into place. It was provided by Enerpac Hydraulic Systems - the company which also "lifted" Golden Gate Bridge off its foundation for better cushioning against earthquakes. Here is a diagram of pushing the bridge's deck:
"The deck was pushed in two sections from both sides of the valley. Each push cycle lasted 4 minutes and moved the deck section 600mm a time."
From both sides of the valley the metal sections of the bridge are assembled, lifted slightly and then in an elaborate manoeuvre pushed into place on each of the seven supporting pillars. The architect, Norman Foster, said the bridge was designed to have the "delicacy of a butterfly"
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS WATCH
http://www.darkroastedblend.com
Saturday, 28 July 2007
TALLEST BRIDGE-MILLAU FROM FRANCE
Thursday, 26 July 2007
*** FRIENDS DONT LET FRIENDS GET OBESE ***
This may be literally true, according to Harvard researchers who suggested in the July 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine that obesity, or the trend to thinness, is socially contagious, "spreading" through social ties.
"This reinforces the idea that because people are interconnected, their health is interconnected," said study author Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis, a professor at Harvard University. "It takes seriously the embedded-ness of people within social networks and gives new meaning to the concept of public health."
While this may cause people to look differently at their friends and acquaintances (both overweight and thin), the real value of the research is in pointing to new ways to combat the growing epidemic of overweight and obesity, experts said.
"Trying to address the problem on an individual level has been so hard, and it may be because we're not addressing the network, which could be family, neighborhood, community, school," said Dr. Julio Licinio, chairman of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "This is a fascinating way to look at the problem, and it may be a very good reason why treatments have been so difficult, because we're only addressing one member of the network."
"It brings up another component of our environment that influences obesity," added Dr. Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "This would need to be proven, but it suggests that, to be effective in treating obesity, we have to not just treat the person who's obese but also the social network."
The study is likely to become a classic, experts stated.
The issue is of no small concern, since obesity has become a major public health problem in the United States and other Western nations. According to background information in the article, two-thirds of American adults are now overweight, while the prevalence of obesity has increased from 23 percent to 31 percent.
A variety of explanations have been put forth on the epidemic, including less exercising and more eating. But because the epidemic is so widespread and affects all socioeconomic groups, there are likely several social and environmental explanations for the phenomenon, experts said.
The authors speculated that the ubiquity of social networks, and the natural inclination of people to be influenced by the appearance and behaviors of those around them, suggest that weight gain in one person might encourage weight gain in others. Having social contacts of a certain bodily size may also cause you to adopt certain behaviors, or other people's behaviors may even stimulate certain parts of the brain, such as those related to eating food.
To investigate this theory, the authors of this study evaluated more than 12,000 socially interconnected people in New England who had participated in the Framingham Heart Study, a landmark initiative aimed at unearthing the causes of cardiovascular disease. As part of that study, the individuals had undergone repeated measurements including body mass index (BMI) over more than three decades. At the beginning of the study, participants had been asked to identify their friends for follow-up purposes.
The researchers found that thin and fat people tended to be clustered together, with the clusters extended to three degrees of separation. In other words, you're obese and so is you friend's friend's friend, or your friend's spouse's sister.
In addition, a person's odds of becoming obese increased by 57 percent if he or she had a friend who became obese over a certain time interval. If the two people were mutual friends, the odds increased to 171 percent.
And if one adult sibling became obese, the chances that the other sibling would also become obese increased by 40 percent.
Marriage mattered, too -- if a spouse became obese, the other spouse had a 37 percent increased likelihood of following suit.
Social networks were more important than geographic location, the study found. In other words, who you tend to hang out with is more influential, weight-wise, than who your next door neighbor is.
People of the same gender had a greater influence on each other than people of the opposite gender, the team found.
Finally, the researchers found that the trend among Americans to quit smoking did not account for the spread of obesity within a given network.
According to the study authors, there's much more involved in the phenomenon than just similarities in lifestyle and environment, as evidenced by the fact that social networks are more important than geography. Two likely explanations are the spread of behaviors and the spread of social norms, with evidence pointing more to the latter.
"To a point, it reminds me of peer pressure -- we want to fit into this particular group," said Dr. Juan Castro, director of the Texas A&M Health Science Center Coastal Bend Health Education Center in Corpus Christi.
Christakis agreed. When overweight or obesity becomes normal in a given social circle, people may be more likely to become obese themselves. In other words, he said, "I see you gaining weight, so it's OK for me to gain weight."
That finding may support efforts to provide nutrition education in the workplace, where many people find their friends, Castro said. There is also value in targeting interventions at the person in a family in charge of food buying and preparation, he added.
SO ARE YOU FIT?
CHECK YOURS.,
HAVE A FIT BODY..,
HAVE A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT...,
HAVE A HEALTHY WORLD....,
HAVE A NICE EXERCISE FROM TODAY ONWARDS.....OK...BYE
(ON OCCASION OF POST HEALTH DAY ON 25YH JULY)
FOR MORE SEE http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_52665.html
AND ALSO SEE 8.HEALTH GUIDE ON SIDE BAR
WHO ARE TERRORISTS ?
FAKE DRUGS
No matter where you live - especially if it's in a developing country - beware of unscrupulous traders in fake drugs. When it comes to making a fast fortune, anyone is fair game, even the sick or the dying. We can also go one step further. If you're not dying already, these purveyors of malicious indifference would not hesitate in the least to provide you with the means of getting there. Children are no exception. Especially those afflicted with malaria in Africa where fake chloroquine may not just contain harmless ingredients but has actually been manufactured with aspirin in the formulation.
Giving aspirin to young children with life threatening malaria is like lighting a cigarette near a tankful of gasoline. The result can be disastrous because the aspirin might help bring on dangerous acidosis, and is also considered to be completely "verboten" because of its tendency to cause Reye's syndrome in children.
Writing in the April 6, 2002 issue of BMJ Newton, White, and Rozendaal provided some startling revelations about the subject in their editorial, aptly titled "Murder by fake drugs: Time for international action." This is scary enough but some of their illustrations of what is actually going on around the world are literally "hair raising." Malaria seems to be one of the major targets. When a survey was done of 133 vendors in Cambodia of mefloquine tablets for malaria back in 1999 the amazing figure of 60% of them were found to be providing fake medication. Many simply sold pills with nothing of value in them at all. Some at least gave pills, which had mefloquine in them, but the pills came from stocks that were supposed to have been destroyed.
The rest put sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine in their tablets instead of mefloquine because it's a good deal cheaper. However, it also doesn't work. The result is that people are failing to be helped, many are dying, and physicians are deluded into thinking that drug resistance is developing. Similarly, in mainland South East Asia, a survey of five countries found that 38% of tablets that were supposed to be the new antimalarial artusenate were actually fakes. Counterfeiters love drugs like this one because it's expensive, acts quickly, and is in great demand, so they go to a lot of trouble to prepare virtually exact copies of the package designs, even the holograms on them.
In the Philippines the World Health Organization reports, via a quote from Wondemagegnehu, that 8% of drugs that are bought are fakes, according to a survey of pharmacies. All in all, the WHO estimates that about 10% of all worldwide pharmaceuticals are actually fakes, and even worse, very little is being done about it. In the United States recently the spread of these malicious practices became apparent when it was reported that a drug dispenser was diluting anticancer medicines. Prior to that the appearance of fake drugs for cancer in the United States led to local action by the pharmaceutical industry in 2001. But most developing companies are unable to follow through due to lack of resources. Fortunately, a major effort may be in the works as the WHO and Reconnaissance International try to organize a united front against these practices. Also, various techniques for making drugs and their packaging harder to imitate, development of simple assays, policing and legal actions, education of the public, lowering the price of those drugs being copied, etc. are starting to make inroads into the trade, but we are a long way off from achieving success.
Until these horrible purveyors of misery and death can be stopped and brought to justice your best weapon for protecting your own families and yourselves is awareness. That's why this editorial in BMJ is so important and why I chose to review it for you. Now it's up to you to be wary. Never purchase your medications from anywhere but reliable sources, always be suspicious if a medication fails to do what it is supposed to do, be sure that the packaging is proper and intact when purchased, and report any of your suspicions or findings to your physician and the proper authorities.
| Whom can you trust when you're feeling low? You must never give in to a whim or a vibe, |
FOR MORE DETAILS SEE 16. FAMILY TIPS (SIDE BARS)
http://www.familiesonlinemagazine.com/Tuesday, 24 July 2007
JOKES FOR THE DAY
Prostitute Parrots
A lady approaches her priest and says, "Father, I have a problem. I have two female talking parrots, but they only know how to say one thing."
"What do they say?" the priest inquires.
"They only know how to say, 'Hi, we're prostitutes. Want to have some fun?'"
"That's terrible," the priest exclaims, "but I have a solution to your problem. Bring your two female parrots over to my house, and I will put them with my two male talking parrots whom I taught to pray and read the spiritual articles and lessons . My parrots will teach your parrots to stop saying that terrible phrase, and your female parrots will learn to praise and worship."
"Thank you!" the woman responds.
The next day, the woman brings her female parrots to the priest's house. His two male parrots are holding rosary beads and praying in their cage. The lady puts her two female parrots in with the male parrots, and the female parrots say, "Hi, we're prostitutes, want to have some fun?"
One male parrot looks at the other male parrot and exclaims, "Put the beads away. Our prayers have been answered!"
Genie
A couple was golfing one day on a very, very exclusive golf course lined with million-dollar houses.
On the third tee, the husband said, "Honey, be very careful when you drive the ball. Don't knock out any windows. It'll cost us a fortune to fix."
The wife teed up and shanked it right through the window of the biggest house on the course.
The husband cringed and said, "I told you to watch out for the houses. All right, let's go up there, apologize, and see how much this is going to cost."
They walked up and knocked on the door. A voice said, "Come on in. They opened the door and saw glass all over the floor and a broken bottle lying on its side in the foyer.
A man on the couch said, "Are you the people who broke my window?"
"Uh, yeah. Sorry about that," the husband replied.
"No, actually, I want to thank you. I'm a genie who was trapped for a thousand years inside that bottle. You've released me. I'm allowed to grant three wishes -- I'll give you each one wish, and I'll keep the last one for myself."
"Okay, great!" the husband said. "I want a million dollars a year for the rest of my life."
"No problem -- it's the least I could do. And you, what do you want?" the genie said, looking at the wife.
"I want a house in every country of the world," she said.
"Consider it done," the genie replied.
"And what's your wish, genie?", the husband said.
"Well, since I've been trapped in that bottle, I haven't had sex with a woman in a thousand years. My wish is to sleep with your wife."
The husband looked at the wife and said, "Well, we did get a lot of money and all those houses, honey. I guess I don't care."
The genie took the wife upstairs and ravished her for two hours.
After it was over, the genie rolled over, looked at the wife, and said, "How old is your husband, anyway?"
"Thirty-five," she replied.
"And he still believes in genies? ... That's amazing."
Sunday, 22 July 2007
KOHINOOR--THE MOUNTAIN OF LIGHT
Origins and early history
The origins of the diamond are unclear. Many early stories of great diamonds in southern India exist, but it is hard to establish which one was the Koh-i-noor, if any.
According to some sources, the Koh-i-noor was originally found more than 5000 years ago, and is mentioned in ancient Sanskrit writings under the name Syamantaka. Hindus believe that Krishna himself obtained the diamond from Jambavantha, whose daughter Jambavati later married Krishna. The legend says that the diamond was stolen from Krishna as he lay sleeping. Another source claims that the diamond was discovered in a river bed in 3200 BCE.
Historical evidence suggests that the Kohinoor originated in Golconda kingdom, in Hyderabad state of Andhra Pradesh, one of the world's earliest diamond producing regions. South Indian folklore is definite in claiming a local origin for the stone. It is certain that the stone was mined in India, as until the 19th century India was the only place in the world where diamonds were known. It is likely that the diamond was mined in the Kollur mines in the present day Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.
The Khilji dynasty at Delhi ended in 1320 C.E and Ghiyas ud din Tughluq Shah I ascended the Delhi throne. Tughlaq sent his son Ulugh Khan in 1323 C.E to defeat the Kakatiya king Prataparudra. Ulugh Khan’s raid was repulsed but he returned in a month with a larger and determined army. The unprepared army of Warangal was defeated. The loot, plunder and destruction of Warangal continued for months. Loads of gold, diamonds, pearls and ivory were carried away to Delhi on elephants and camels. The Koh-i-noor diamond was part of the bounty. From then onwards, the stone passed through the hands of successive rulers of the Delhi sultanate, finally passing to Babur, the first Mughal emperor, in 1526.
The first confirmed note historically mentioning the Kohinoor by an identifiable name dates from 1526. Babur mentions in his memoirs, the Baburnama, that the stone had belonged to an un-named Rajah of Malwa in 1294. Babur held the stone's value to be such as to feed the whole world for two days. The Baburnama recounts how this Rajah of Malwa was compelled to yield his prized possession to Ala ud din Khilji; it was then owned by a succession of dynasties that ruled the Delhi sultanate, finally coming into the possession of Babur himself in 1526, following his victory over the last ruler of that kingdom. However, the Baburnama was written c.1526-30; Babur's source for this information is unknown, and he may have been recounting the hearsay of his day. He did not at that time call the stone by its present name, but despite some debate about the identity of 'Babur's Diamond' it seems likely that it was the stone which later became known as Kohinoor
There was a period when Indian diamonds were very famous the world over. These included the Koh-i-noor, Orlov, the Great Moghul, Darya-i-noor, Indore pears, Shah and Arcots. These were all part of the treasure houses of the great emperors of India. Today, they are all in the hands of outsiders.
The legendary Koh-i-noor has been in the eye of the storm ever since it left the hands of its original owners - a diamond which was never bought or sold, but changed many hands. Koh-i-noor has left a trail that speaks of greed, power, murder, mayhem and unhappiness.
According to all references, Koh-i-noor was never that great to look at in its early days. It was just another diamond that was dull, non-sparkling and a little yellow in appearance.
Many legends say that the Koh-i-noor was mined in India, and at least 4,000 years old. It received a mention in the 1300s, when it was named in the Baburnama. One account states that Babur got his hands on the diamond in Gujarat; another says he got it in the Deccan. But when Babur came to Agra in May 1526, the ruler Vikramaditya most likely gave him the great diamond. There is also evidence that his son Humayun carried a large diamond that his father had handed back to him at Agra and was known as Babur’s diamond for the next 200 years.
BABUR
There are still so many unresolved questions surrounding the precious stone. Many believe that the Koh-i-noor was also the Great Mogul and that Babur's diamond was separate; others say the Koh-i-noor and Babur’s diamond were one and same, while the rest identified it with both Babur's diamond and the Great Mogul. Information gathered over the years shows that in fact, three diamonds existed: - the Great Mogul – was the Orlov, weighing 189.62 metric carats, in Kremlin; and Babur's diamond – was the Darya-i-noor, weight 175 gm and 195 metric carats, the Iranian Crown Jewels; and the Koh-i-noor re-cut, Crown Jewels, England.
NADIR SHAH
When the peacock throne was handed over to Nadir Shah, the hiding place of this diamond was given away. A member of Mohammad Shah’s harem gave away the hiding place of Koh-i-noor. It is said that the Shah kept it hidden in his turban. So, Nadir Shah devised a plan - he ordered a grand feast to coincide with the restoration of Mohammed Shah to his throne. During the feast Nadir Shah suddenly proposed an exchange of turbans, a sign of brotherly ties and eternal friendship. Mohammed Shah was hardly likely to resist. After the exchange, Nadir Shah entered his private apartment only at night, where he unfolded the turban and found the diamond concealed within. When he set his eyes on it, he exclaimed "Koh-i-noor", meaning "Mountain of Light".
The next sixty years of its history are the most violent and bloodstained. The final owner was Maharaja Duleep Singh, son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh,
RANGITH SINGH
in the backdrop of the two Sikh Wars leading to the annexation of the Punjab by the British. The hoisting of British flag was on March 29th, 1849 Lahore where Punjab was formally proclaimed a part of the British Empire in India. One of the terms of the Treaty of Lahore was:- "The gem called the Koh-i-noor which was taken from Shah Shuja-ul-Mulk by Maharajah Ranjit Singh shall be surrendered by the Maharajah of Lahore to the Queen of England."
Dr Sir John Login was entrusted with two charges: to take the Koh-i-noor out of the Toshakhana (the jewel house), and also the guardsmanship of the young Duleep Singh. It was formally handed over to the Punjab government of Sir Henry Lawrence (1806-1857), his younger brother John Lawrence (afterwards Lord Lawrence, the man who in February of 1859 would break ground on the future Lahore railroad station), and C.C. Mausel.
The Koh-i-noor sailed from Bombay in H.M.S. Medea. It was put in an iron box and kept in a dispatch box and deposited in the Government Treasury. For security reasons, this piece of news was suppressed, even among officers of the Treasury - and withheld from Commander Lockyer, the ship's captain. HMS Medea's voyage turned out to be a perilous one - cholera broke out on board in Mauritius and the local people demanded its departure. They asked their governor to open fire and destroy the vessel if it did not respond. After leaving Mauritius, a severe gale hit the vessel that lasted for about twelve hours. They reached Plymouth, England, where the passengers and the mail were unloaded, but not the Koh-i-noor, which was forwarded to Portsmouth.
From there, the two officers took the diamond to the East India House, handing it over to the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the company.
The stone
Prince Albert (Prince Consort) and Sebastian Garrard stated that the Koh-i-noor was badly cut, it is rose-not-brilliant-cut. It was decided to seek the advice of practical and experienced diamond cutters. A small steam engine was set up at Garrard's shop, while two gentlemen, Messrs Coster, Mr. Voorzanger and Mr. Fedder, travelled to London to undertake the re-cutting of the diamond. The Koh-i-noor was embedded in lead, two weeks later, after examining the stone. Mitchell thought that it had lost nearly all its yellow colour and become much whiter. The re-cutting took 38 days and cost £8000 ($40,000). The final result was an oval brilliant diamond weighing 108.93 metric carats, which meant a loss of weight of just under 43 per cent. Its was now in stellar brilliant-cut, possessing the regular 33 facets, including the table, while the pavilion has eight more facets than the regular 25 bringing the total number of facets to 66.
In 1853, it was mounted on a magnificent tiara for the Queen, which contained more than two thousand diamonds. Five years later, Queen Victoria ordered a new regal circlet for the diamond. In 1911, Garrards made a new crown that Queen Mary wore for the coronation - it contained diamonds, among them the Koh-i-noor. In 1937, this was transferred to the crown made for Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, based on Queen Victoria's regal circlet and is set in a Maltese Cross at the front of the crown.
The controversy
The 20th century saw a war of words over Koh-i-noor and its rightful ownership. In 1947, the government of India asked for the return of the diamond. Also, the Congress Ministry which ruled Orissa staked claim to the stone, saying it belonged to the Lord Jagannath. Ranjit Singh's treasurer mentioned that it was the property of their estate. Pakistan's claim to the diamond was disputed by India. Shortly thereafter, a major newspaper in Teheran stated that the gem should to be returned to Iran.
Sir Olaf has pointed out that the Koh-i-noor had been in Mogul possession in Delhi for 213 years, in Afghan possession in Kandahar and Kabul for 66 years and in British possession for 127 years. Historically, it maybe difficult to pass judgement on the validity of the various claims, but on the other hand, from a gemological aspect, as a paper report said, the Indian claim is the most valid because it was in that country that it was mined.
The legend
Legend goes that Sun God gave this gem to his disciple Satrajit, but his younger brother Persain snatched it from him. A lion in the forest killed Persain and Jamavant took this gem from the body of Persain and delivered it to Lord Krishna, who restored it to Satrajit. Later, this jewel again came back into the hands of Lord Krishna as dowry when Satrajit gave the hand of his daughter Satyabhama in marriage to him. Lord Krishna gave it back to the Sun God .The Koh-i-noor came into the hands of numerous rulers till it was possessed by Porus, the king of Punjab, who retained the diamond after a peace treaty in 325 BC when Alexander left India.
Chandragupta Maurya (325-297 B.C.) became the next possessor and passed it on to his grandson Ashoka who ruled from 273-233 B.C. Later it slipped into the hands of Raja Samprati of Ujjain (Ashoka’s grandson). This jewel remained in the custody of Ujjain and the Parmar dynasty of Malwa. When Ala-ud-din Khilji (1296-1316A.D.) defeated Rai Ladhar Deo, the ruler of Malwa in 1306 AD, he acquired the diamond. From this stage up to the time of Mughal Emperor Babur, the history of this precious stone is lost once more. Koh-i-noor comes to light again in year 1526.
HUMAYUN
Humayun is said to have given the stone to the Shah of Persia for giving him refuge after he lost to Sher Shah. From 1544 to 1547, the Koh-i-noor remained in the possession of Shah Tehmasp of Iran. The Shah sent the Koh-i-noor along with other precious gifts to Burhan Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar (Deccan) for the rulers of the Deccan - Ahmednagar, Golkunda and Bijapur regarded the King of Persia as their religious head. This stone remained in the possession of the Nizam Shahi dynasty of Ahmednagar and the Qutb Shah dynasty of Golkunda in the Deccan for a period of 109 years. How it came back to the Mughals is another gap in history.
After Aurangzeb, this diamond remained consigned into the coffers of the Mughal treasury from 1707 to 1739 A.D. Muhammad Shah Rangila (1719-1748) used to carry this wonder diamond with him in his turban. Nadir Shah got hold of Koh-i-noor when he ransacked Delhi in the 1700s and it went to his successors, landing in the hands of the Afghan ruler Shah Shuja who handed it to Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1813.
The Koh-i-Noor left the shores of India on April 6, 1850, and on reaching London on July 2, 1850, it was handed over to the Board of Directors of the East India Company. Sir J.W. Logg, the Deputy Chairman of the East India Company, presented it to Queen Victoria.
ELIZEBETH I
The queen recorded in her journal: "The jewels are truly magnificent. They had also belonged to Ranjit Singh and had been found in the treasury of Lahore.... I am very happy that the British Crown will possess these jewels for I shall certainly make them Crown Jewels".
KOHINOOR IN THE CROWN
Many still await the many treasures which were “stolen” by the British Raj, and no one knows how long the wait will be.
But today, if you happen to visit London, please make a stopover at Tower of London and look at the Crown Jewels for the Queen and the Koh-i-noor placed in her crown up front inside a Maltese cross.
LINKS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koh-i-Noor
http://www.santabanta.com/newsmaker.asp?select=263&catname=Interesting%20Read
http://www.internationalreporter.com/news/read.php?id=591
