October 26, 2006, 4:47 AM CT

World's Most Intense Thunderstorms

A summer thunderstorm often provides much-needed rainfall and heat wave relief, but others bring large hail, destructive winds, and tornadoes. Now with the help of NASA satellite data, researchers are gaining insight into the distribution of such storms around much of the world.

By using data from the NASA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite, scientists identified the regions on Earth that experience the most intense thunderstorms. Their study was reported in the August 2006 issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. The strongest storms were found to occur east of the Andes Mountains in Argentina, where warm, humid air often collides with cooler, drier air, similar to storms that form east of the Rockies in the United States. Surprisingly, some semi-arid regions have powerful storms, including the southern fringes of the Sahara, northern Australia, and parts of the Indian subcontinent. In contrast, rainy areas such as western Amazonia and Southeast Asia experience frequent storms, but relatively few are severe. Northern Pakistan, Bangladesh, and parts of Central Africa also experience intense thunderstorms.

"TRMM has given us the ability to extend local knowledge about storms to a near-global reach," said lead author Edward Zipser, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. "In addition to containing the only precipitation radar in space, TRMM's other instruments provide a powerful overlap of data that is extremely useful for studying storms".........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source

October 25, 2006, 5:04 AM CT

The Space Tourism Industry Can Really Make Money

So far, only one craft has flown in space, sending test pilots to the final frontier at an expense of $25 million-plus to win the $10 million Ansari X Prize. Market right now doesn't show the prospects that were expected by the investors in the space tourism industry.

But this doesn't mean that people in the real world don't have any respect for this industry. Space Tourism is not aimed at "space geeks" only. This seems the way it is because people in the real world can't afford the million dollars ride into the space and it looks like they are less bothered about what is going on in the space tourism industry.

Every body around the world would like to see the futuristic industry to succeed in the splendid mission they are trying to achieve. The market will sooner prove that investors can really make money on space tourism. There are no doubt high risks in investing millions or billions of dollars. But all of this is going to come out in its totality in two to four years.

Via:msnbc........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source

October 22, 2006, 9:31 PM CT

2006 Gumpert Apollo

It seldom happens that you drive a performance based car which gives you a soothing experience. this is the kind of balance all super car manufacturers try to strike , which is a tough ask in it self. Apollo has done it with flawless precision by developing a super car that not only flies but soothes.

The 2006 Gumpert Apollo is the new Sports car from Apollo that produces 650 horsepower with a Topspeed of 360 km/h. This car does 0 to 100 km in just 3 seconds. It has a bi-turbo engine that weighs only 195 kg thus perfectly complimenting this light weighted car.

The aerodynamics of this super sports car are just about perfect with the dimensions in the order l x w x h being 4.46 x 2 x 1.24 in meters. The taut yet flexible suspension of this car offers the driver an extraordinary high level of comfort despite being a total speed wagon.

As always, low weight is the top priority for cars of this segment and Apollo does not disappoint us. It has used carbon-fiber extensively for the interiors.

This car reminds me of the TS07 from Technical Studio, The color scheme is exactly the same.Image : Clabedan


Courtsey : Autopark........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source

October 11, 2006, 9:06 PM CT

Seek adventure

Is this water shallow or are we tall?

ORCAS - West Coast.

British Columbia, Canada.

SEEK ADVENTURE!

MARVEL THE WILDLIFE!

EXPERIENCE YOUR PLANET!........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source

September 27, 2006, 8:27 PM CT

Airbags, Antilock Brakes Do Not Reduce Accidents

Researchers have determined that airbags and antilock braking systems do not reduce the likelihood of accidents or injuries because they may encourage more aggressive driving, thwarting the potential benefits of such safety features.

The behavior responsible for this seeming paradox is called the offset hypotheses, which predicts that consumers adapt to innovations meant to improve safety by becoming less vigilant about safety, said Fred Mannering, a professor of civil engineering at Purdue University.

"When antilock brakes were first introduced, insurance companies noticed that the accident rates for those cars increased," he said. "We decided to see whether the offset hypothesis could explain this phenomenon".

The researchers analyzed motor vehicle data from the state of Washington over a five-year period beginning in 1992.

"We used that time period because that's when airbags started getting introduced very rapidly, and we wanted to track the same drivers over that time frame to see whether the new safety features reduced their accident and injury rate," Mannering said. "Our findings suggest that the offset hypothesis is occurring and that it is sufficient to counter the modest technological benefits of airbags and antilock brakes".

A research paper detailing the study's findings was published earlier this year in the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty. The paper was authored by Clifford Winston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; Vikram Maheshri, a doctoral student at the University of California, Berkeley; and Mannering.........

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September 26, 2006, 9:03 PM CT

Ideas For Lauren's Polo

Last semester, four MIT Sloan students found a way to bring some of Polo Ralph Lauren's a number of Internet shoppers back to the high-end designer's retail store: They devised an interactive kiosk that remembers consumers and addresses them personally.

"It is a new kind of customer experience," said Petra Gospodnetic, a Sloan student and one of four M.B.A. candidates who worked for Ralph Lauren during their spring semester as part of MarketLab, a program run by the Sloan Marketing Club.

MarketLab students work in teams on marketing-related consulting projects for partner companies. The students gain experience and sponsorship money or academic credit.

This was the first year that Polo Ralph Lauren (PRL) retailers, a luxury line of clothing, fragrance and more, signed on to be part of the MarketLab. Jeffrey Steinberg (M.B.A. 1991) is the vice president of database marketing and the chief privacy officer for the label.

"It is great that Sloan alumni come back to work with Sloan students. It was a very encouraging environment," said Daya Fields, another member of the PRL team. "It says a lot about the Sloan program".

The team of four, which also included Sloan students Marshall Einhorn and Priya Gandhi, was tasked with finding a way to use interactive kiosk-stations featuring touch screens and computer technology to draw more customers to the store.........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source

September 25, 2006, 6:36 PM CT

Galapagos Islands

The following section gives you parameters based on allowed activities for visitors to the Galapagos Islands.

Tourism:.

The Galapagos is one of the few sites in the world where tourism is orientated distinctly around the nature, constituting a educational activity.

Tourism in the Galapagos was started in 1969 with the arrival of the first tourist boat the "Lina A", and today it is the principal force of the economy of the region and responsible for the principal changes in structure of the insular space.

The areas of the National Park that are established for public use are found clearly marked and distributed in almost all of the main islands of the archipelago. There are 54 land sites to visit and 62 marine sites. Most of the sites are accessed by sea and for this tourism has principally developed to be carried out in organized groups, with an authorized guide, that arrive at visitor sites on board tourist boats. Furthermore there exists sites in the four populated islands (Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Isabela and Floreana), with land access, where it is permitted to visit without a guide.

Visitors to the PNG (Galapagos National Park) require the presence of one or more guides, the same that help the PNG in the work of control and vigilance of the visitor sites, a job of great importance considering the size and dispersion of the archipelago and the high cost of management.........

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September 21, 2006, 4:26 AM CT

Jetstar Rival May Get To Europe First

JETSTAR is poised to become the first low-cost arilline to Europe from Australia.

JETSTAR could be pipped at the post in becoming the first long-haul low-cost airline to fly from Australia to Europe: the budget carrier Viva Macau is looking to enter the route as soon as late next year.

Viva Macau says it plans to launch four-weekly charter flights to Sydney in the first half of 2007 before moving to a scheduled daily service if the market performs as expected.

The airline, which took delivery of its first Boeing 767 last month, is also looking to fly to Melbourne.........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source

September 19, 2006, 7:55 PM CT

Glimpses of Heaven

Evergreen forests, thick bamboo shoots, the undisturbed flow of water between boulders and the occasional call of a tiger interrupted by the ever-chattering monkeys. Welcome to the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary on the fringes of the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border along the Western Ghats.

The journey to Thekkady, the town bordering the sanctuary will take you through quaint little hill towns and softly contoured hill slopes surrounded by plantations of tea, coffee and spices like cardamom and pepper. These winding roads uphill are very often surrounded by thick mist. But once they give way to sunlight, nature at its pristine best comes into view.

A weekend at Thekkady is perhaps the best way to escape the busy schedule of city life. Though the town is overflowing with hotels and inns, the Cardamom County stands out as among the best. If you want to enjoy a quite holiday close to nature, look no further.

By Naveen Nair.........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source

September 19, 2006, 7:50 PM CT

Waterfalls, Jungle and Polish Wetsuits

In this day and age, how does anyone stay married long enough to celebrate a 25 year anniversary? Love, acceptance, negotiation, compromise, laughter, commitment, fun, surprise, honesty and mission are the first words that come to mind. The descriptors and cliches can't in any way do justice to the fact that I just wouldn't have wanted to attack life without her. We both stumbled into adulthood but our pairing created a formidable partnership.

It is the type of relationship where both of us have had to catch up with the other as we continue to grow (no doubt, I've done more of the catching). We are very aware of the diversity in the strengths we each bring to our relationship and make every attempt to use them wisely. The word for that is compliment. It has a number of definitions and they all apply.

By Ed Abell.........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source