Hot 4 stories

The Dark Knight Drives a Smart Car

2009-11-02T19:35:00.000-08:00

The Smart ForTwo vehicle has got a great remake by George Barris, the maker of the original 1960’s Batmobile version. It has the shine, the coolness and definite appeal you would expect from Batman’s car

Coolest Google Earth Finds

2009-11-01T19:46:00.000-08:00

Banaue Rice Terraces

The Banaue Rice Terraces are 2000-year old terraces that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines by ancestors of the indigenous people.
Lion

Lion, at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo located at Whipsnade, near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England.

US Navy

This is a US Navy building in Coronado, Ca. that was unintentionally built in the shape of a swastika. Now, because of a public uproar, the Navy will be spending $600,000 to alter the shape of the building.

Firefox

In the early days of Firefox, a few devoted fans wanted to generate more PR for their beloved site and so gathered a team of people in Amity, Oregon, to recreate the Firefox logo in a field; their very own fox crop.

Santa

Last year, one of the Google Earth Community members called 'ear1grey' posted an amazing discovery. He found a huge picture (36 miles tall) of Santa.

Giant Ipod Shuffle

Coca Cola

The corporate logos and trademarks big enough to be seen from space.

Oprah Winfrey

As if Oprah Winfrey's celebrity weren't already big enough, an Arizona farmer built a 10-acre homage to the talk show host

Maps Alphabet

Rhett Dashwood, a graphic designer from Australia, created the first Maps alphabet, featuring all 26 letters, using satellite images of natural features and buildings

Fingerprint

This fingerprint can be found in Hove Park, near Brighton and Hove in the UK. It measures 38 metres around

Heart-Shaped Island

This heart-shaped island in the Adriatic became a hit on Google Earth for Valentine's Day. The uninhabited island is only 130,000 square yards and is called Galesnjak.

Giant Man-Shaped

This giant man-shaped lake (-21.805149,-49.089977) is located near Bauru, Brazil

Badlands Guardian

Dubbed the "Badlands Guardian" by locals, this geological marvel (Google Earth coordinates 50.010083,-110.113006) in Alberta, Canada, bears an uncanny resemblance to a human head wearing a full Native American headdress--and earphones, to boot.

Largest cruise ship squeezes under Danish bridge

2009-11-01T19:26:00.000-08:00

The world's largest cruise ship cleared a crucial obstacle Sunday, lowering its smokestacks to squeeze under a bridge in Denmark.

Giant rubber Band ball

2009-11-01T19:14:00.000-08:00

LAUDERHILL, Fla. – Look, over there. Under that blue tarp in a suburban driveway. That thing that's the size of a Smart car?

It's Joel Waul's rubber band ball.

Waul has spent the last six years carefully wrapping and linking and stretching rubber bands of various sizes into the ball shape. The Guinness Book of World Records declared it the world's largest rubber band ball in 2008.

On Thursday, Waul said goodbye to his creation. A team from Ripley's Believe it or Not came to his house with a crane and hauled the 6-foot, 7-inch tall, 9,032-pound behemoth away on a large, flatbed truck.

"It's a little bit sad to see it go, but it's going to be appreciated by thousands and hopefully millions of people in Ripley's museum to see and wonder, 'What was this guy thinking?' " Waul said.

The ball will eventually be displayed in a far-off museum yet to be determined, so folks can marvel at Waul's obsession.

Waul got the idea six years ago, when he saw a Ripley's television special that showed the then-largest rubber band ball being dropped into the desert from an airplane.

"I just thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen," said Waul, a 28-year-old who works nights restocking a Gap clothing store.

The idea of setting a world record always appealed to Waul; he recalls that as a 7-year-old in Jamaica he pored over his father's Guinness Book of World Records.

Creating a ball was easy. He got a few hair bands together. Then some larger bands. The ball grew to the size of a boulder, and his family took notice.

"When it started getting bigger, they knew I was pretty serious," he said.

The ball eventually got its own Web site. It got too big — and smelly — to keep in the house, so he rolled it outside.

There have been a few casualties: at 400 pounds, it rolled over his hand and sprained it. It busted his big toe. Rubber bands breaking ripped two pairs of cargo pants and broke three pairs of sunglasses.

Eventually, he wrote to companies that manufacture giant rubber bands for physical therapy, and they sent him free shipments.

The ball grew and grew. Neighborhood kids climbed on top of it. Dogs sniffed it.

"That's his masterpiece," said his neighbor, 25-year-old Andre Gregg. "I'm just amazed at how he did it."

Waul and the ball have several followers on their MySpace page, but no one's been mesmerized by the creation more than Edward Meyer, vice president of exhibits and archives at the Orlando-based Ripley's.

"We already have the largest string and barbed wire balls," Meyer said. "This is now my holy trinity, I guess."

Meyer won't say how much Ripley's paid for the ball, which, at 25 feet in circumference, he estimates to be twice as large as the previous record holder.

People like Waul "don't do it for money," Meyer said. "They don't really get rich. They decide they want to do something, and they get possessed. It's very much Andy Warhol, 15 minutes of fame. It is the desire to be the best at something."

Now that Waul has set the rubber bands record, he's focused on the next challenge.

"Human torch," he says, grinning.

Giant Doll

2009-08-03T22:16:00.000-07:00

Giant doll

Original Post: woothoot

Most Expensive Cell Phones in the World

2009-08-01T03:31:00.000-07:00

1. GoldVish ‘Le Million’ Piece Unique

$1.3 million

The Geneva-based luxury communications company’s expensive mobile phone was designed by Emmanuel Gueit as an addition to the Illusion Collection. The phone is made of 18k white gold and set with 20 carats of VVS1 (only microscopically flawed) diamonds. The phone also features Bluetooth, 2 GB of storage, FM radio, a digital camera and MP3 playback.

2. The Diamond Crypto Smartphone

$1.3 million

One candidate for world’s most expensive cell phone is the Diamond Crypto Smartphone, created by luxury accessory producer Peter Aloisson of Moscow-based JSC Ancort. Its price stems from the platinum body, the cover adorned with 50 diamonds—including eight which are rare blue diamonds. Additionally, the Ancort logo and the navigation key are made of 18k rose gold.

Built on the Windows CE, this most expensive cell also features a high-resolution color TFT display and a 256 bit cryptographic algorithm. This expensive mobile phone is capable of SMS, MMS, E-mail, Internet, WAP, JAVA support and also has a media player.

3. Vertu Signature Cobra$310,000

This gaudy phone is so exclusive that only eight will ever be made. Designed by French jeweler Boucheron, the Signature Cobra is made with two diamonds, two emeralds and 439 rubies. For buyers who are only filthy rich, rather than obscenely rich, twenty-six of the less flashy (read: no rubies) Signature Python phones will be available for a mere $115,000. Both phones will feature the real draw.

4. Sony Ericsson Black Diamond

$300,000

The price of this phones comes from actual state of the art technology instead of a bunch of shiny rocks—but that doesn’t mean it lacks visual appeal. OLED technology underneath the polycarbonate skin that covers the phones entire face gives the 4 megapixel screen a borderless look. The mirror finish gives the phone a sleek, futuristic look.

5. Nokia 8800 Arte with pink diamonds

$134,000

Designed by Peter Aloisson, this solid 18k white gold phone features over 680 pink and white brilliant cut diamonds totaling over 21.5 carats. Some of the phone’s features are a 3.15 MP camera with autofocus and video, a music player, Bluetooth and voice memo.

Original Post: most-expensive

Largest Fountain

2009-07-30T21:56:00.001-07:00

Emaar water spectacle
in Dubai

Emaar Properties said on Monday it plans to build one of the largest fountains in the world as the centrepiece of its Downtown Burj Dubai project. Arabian Business reveals what the real estate giant has in store

The fountains, which has yet to be named, will be capable of shooting water over 150 metres into the air - the height of a 50-storey building - and stretch over 275 metres - the length of two football fields

The $218 million project will be 25 percent larger than the iconic fountains at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas

Like the Fountains of Bellagio, Emaar's fountains will include an integral light and sound show and is expected to become one of Dubai's major tourist attractions, drawing over 10 million visitors per year.

The fountains will shoot 22,000 gallons of water in the air at any given moment and feature over 6,600 lights and 50 colour projectors.

The fountains have yet to be named and a cash prize of $27,225 has been assigned to the winner of a competition to name the water feature

The structure is scheduled to be operational by 2009

Original Post: www.funonthenet.in

Smallest teenager

2009-07-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

The teenager, who is the world’s smallest girl according to the Indian Book of Records, has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia. Now fully grown, she weighs just 11 lb.

Far from being unhappy about her tiny size, Jyoti says that she enjoys the celebrity status her height has brought her. "I am proud of being small. I love the attention I get," she told the Sunday Mirror.

"I’m just the same as other people. I eat like you, dream like you. I don’t feel any different." Jyoti attends her local high school, in Nagpur, India, where she studies alongside classmates of her own age, though she sits at a specially made miniature desk.

Her mother, Ranjana, 45, explained that her daughter’s condition was not apparent until some time after her birth. "When Joyti was born she seemed quite normal. We came to know about her disorder when she was five," she said. "Jyoti is small, yet cute, and we love her very much."

Like any other teenager, she loves listening to pop music and watching DVDs and even hopes to become a Bollywood actress. She has recently recorded an album with her favourite Indian pop star, Mika Singh.

World Largest Swimming Pool

2009-07-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

According to Guinness World Records, the man-made "lagoon" at the San Alfonso del Mar resort at Algarrobo, Chile is the largest swimming pool in the world.The coast-hugging pool is all man-made with a bit of patented technology that uses water from the nearby Pacific Ocean to fill it.

Original Post: www.justsharethis.com

Green Building

2009-07-29T00:06:00.001-07:00

Green Roof at the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Toilet Paper Face Sculpure

2009-07-28T23:28:00.000-07:00

Original Post: www.juniorleplieur.com

Space Photographs in the Universe

2009-07-28T00:50:00.000-07:00

The Sombrero Galaxy

28 million light years from Earth - was voted best picture taken by the Hubble telescope. The dimensions of the galaxy, officially called M104, are as spectacular as its appearance. It has 800 billion suns and is 50,000 light years across.

The Ant Nebula

A cloud of dust and gas whose technical name is Mz3, resembles an ant when observed using ground-based telescopes. The nebula lies within our galaxy between 3,000 and 6,000 light years from Earth.

The Eskimo Nebula

NGC 2392, because it looks like a face surrounded by a furry hood. The hood is, in fact, a ring of comet-shaped objects flying away from a dying star. Eskimo is 5,000 light years from Earth.

The Cat's Eye Nebula

Which looks like the eye of disembodied sorcerer Sauron from Lo rd of the Rings.

The Hourglass Nebula

8,000 light years away, has a pinched-in-the-middle look because the winds that shape it are weaker at the centre.

The Cone Nebula

The part pictured here is 2.5 light years in length (the equivalent of 23 million return trips to the Moon).

The Perfect Storm

A small region in the Swan Nebula, 5,500 light years away, described as 'a bubbly ocean of hydrogen and small amounts of oxygen, sulphur and other elements'.

The Starry Night

So named because it reminded astronomers of the Van Gogh painting. It is a halo of light ar ound a star in the Milky Way

The glowering eyes

From 114 million light years away are the swirling cores of two merging galaxies called NGC 2207 and IC 2163 in the distant Canis Major constellation

The Trifid Nebula

A 'stellar nursery', 9,000 light years from here, it is where new stars are being born.

Original Post: www.dailymail.co.uk

School Girl

2009-07-28T00:46:00.001-07:00

Big School Girl. Go Girl don't be shy.

Original Post: http://funnypicture123.com

WORLD’S LARGEST CELL PHONE

2009-07-27T09:26:00.000-07:00

Cricket and Samsung Telecommunications of America (Samsung Mobile) are displaying the world’s largest working cell phone today in Pioneer Court in downtown Chicago. The largest working cell phone in the world is a working replica of a Samsung Messenger phone.

The biggest wireless handset is approximately 15 feet long, 13 feet high and 3 feet deep. Cricket invited Chicagoans to visit Pioneer Court and make unlimited free phone calls and text messages on the life-size Samsung Messager through March 15. A Guinness World Records representative will be on hand to certify the record-breaking phone for the record.

Original Post: www.justsharethis.com

Top 10 Richest Person In The World 2009

2009-07-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

Rank: 1 Net Worth: $40.0 bil, Fortune: self made

William Gates III

Software visionary regains title as the world’s richest man despite losing $18 billion in the past 12 months. Stepped down from day-to-day duties at Microsoft last summer to devote his talents and riches to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Organization’s assets were $30 billion in January; annual letter lauds endowment manager Michael Larson for limiting last year’s losses to 20%. Gates decided to increase donations in 2009 to $3.8 billion, up 15% from 2008. Dedicated to fighting hunger in developing countries, improving education in America’s high schools and developing vaccines against malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS. Appointed Microsoft Office veteran Jeffrey Raikes chief exec of Gates Foundation in September. Gates remains Microsoft chairman. Sells shares each quarter, redeploys proceeds via investment vehicle Cascade; more than half of fortune invested outside Microsoft. Stock down 45% in past 12 months. "Creative capitalist" wants companies to match profit making with doing good.

Rank: 2 Net Worth: $37.0 bil, Fortune: self made

Warren Buffett

Last year America’s most beloved investor was the world’s richest man . This year he has to settle for second place after losing $25 billion in 12 months. Shares of Berkshire Hathaway down 45% since last March. Injected billions of dollars into Goldman Sachs, GE in exchange for preferred stock last fall; propped up insurance firm Swiss Re in February with $2.6 billion infusion. Admits he made some "dumb" investment mistakes in 2008. Upbeat about America’s future: "Our economic system has worked extraordinarily well over time. It has unleashed human potential as no other system has, and it will continue to do so." Scoffs at Wall Street’s over-reliance on "history-based" models: "If merely looking up past financial data would tell you what the future holds, the Forbes 400 would consist of librarians." Son of Nebraska politician delivered newspapers as a boy. Filed first tax return at age 13, claiming $35 deduction for bicycle. Studied under value investing guru Benjamin Graham at Columbia. Took over textile firm Berkshire Hathaway 1965. Today holding company invested in insurance (Geico, General Re), jewelry (Borsheim’s), utilities (MidAmerican Energy), food (Dairy Queen, See’s Candies). Also has noncontrolling stakes in Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo.

Rank: 3 Net Worth: $35.0 bil, Fortune: self made

Carlos Slim Helu & family

Economic downturn and plunging peso shaved $25 billion from the fortune of Latin America’s richest man. Global recession testing his ability to live up to the principles he sets for his employees: "Maintain austerity in times of fat cows." Son of a Lebanese immigrant bought fixed line operator Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) in 1990; now controls 90% of Mexico’s telephone landlines. Would be a billionaire based on his dividends alone. Biggest holding: $16 billion stake in America Movil, Latin America’s largest mobile phone company with 173 million customers. America Movil and Telmex reportedly planning to jointly invest $4 billion to bolster telecom infrastructure in Latin America. Buying up cheap media, energy and retail assets. Last year took stakes in New York Times Co., former billionaire Anthony O’Reilly’s Independent News & Media and Bronco Drilling; also increased position in Saks. Baseball statistics aficionado, art collector

Rank: 4 Net Worth: $22.5 bil, Fortune: self made

Lawrence Ellison

Database titan continues to engulf the competition; Oracle has racked up 49 acquisitions in the past 4 years. Bought BEA Systems for $8.5 billion last year. Still sitting on $7 billion in cash. Revenues up 11% to $10.9 billion in the six months ended November 30; profits also up 11% to $2.4 billion. Stock down 25% in past 12 months. Invested $125 million in Web software outfit Netsuite; took public in 2007, stock has fallen 80% since. His shares still worth $300 million. Chicago native studied physics at U. of Chicago, didn’t graduate. Started Oracle in 1977. Public 1986, a day before Microsoft. Owns 453-foot Rising Sun; built a smaller leisure boat because superyacht is hard to park. Squabbling in court with Swiss boating billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli over terms of next America’s Cup. Recently unveiled hulking 90-foot trimaran he intends to use to win it.

Rank: 5 Net Worth: $22.0 bil, Fortune: self made

Ingvar Kamprad & family

Peddled matches, fish, pens, Christmas cards and other items by bicycle as a teenager. Started selling furniture in 1947. Opened first Ikea store 50 years ago; stores’s name is a combination of initials of his first and last name, his family farm and the nearest village. Retired in 1986; company’s "senior adviser" still reportedly works tirelessly on his brand. Discount retailer now sells 9,500 items in 36 countries; prints catalog in 27 languages. Revenues up 7% to $27.4 billion in fiscal year 2008. Opened tenth store in China this February; planning to open first in Dominican Republic later this year. Three sons all work at the company. Thrifty entrepreneur flies economy class, frequents cheap restaurants and furnishes his home mostly with Ikea products.

Rank: 6 Net Worth: $21.5 bil, Fortune:self made

Karl Albrecht

Source:Aldi , Age:89, Country Of Citizenship:Germany,Residence:Mulheim an der Ruhr
Industry:Retail.

Germany’s richest person owns discount supermarket giant Aldi Sud. Retailer faring well amid economic downturn; analysts expect its 2008 sales to be up 9.4% to $33.7 billion. Sales in the U.S. up estimated 20% last year to $7 billion. Plans to open 75 U.S. stores in 2009, including first in New York City. With younger brother, Theo, transformed their mother’s corner grocery store into Aldi after World War II. Brothers split ownership in 1961; Karl took the stores in southern Germany, plus the rights to the brand in the U.K., Australia and the U.S. Theo got northern Germany and the rest of Europe. Retired from daily operations. Fiercely private: little known about him other than that he apparently raises orchids and plays golf.

Rank: 7 Net Worth: $19.5 bil, Fortune: inherited and growing

Mukesh Ambani

Oversees Reliance Industries, India’s most valuable company by market cap despite stock falling 40% in past year. Merging his Reliance Petroleum with flagship Reliance Industries. As part of deal, will exercise right to buy back Chevron’s 5% stake in Reliance Petroleum at $1.20 per share—the same price at which he sold it 3 years ago. Today the stock trades for $1.80 a share. Increased stake in Reliance Industries in October; paid $3.4 billion to convert 120 million preferential warrants into shares. Reliance Petroleum refinery on India’s western coast began operating in December despite falling global demand and declining margins. Late father Dhirubhai founded Reliance and built it into a massive conglomerate. After he died Mukesh and his brother, Anil, ran the family business together for a brief time. But siblings feuded over control; mother eventually brokered split of assets. Brothers may be looking to bury hatchet; played joint hosts at mother’s recent 75th-birthday bash. Has yet to move into his 27-story home that he’s building at a reported cost of $1 billion. Ardent fan of Bollywood films. Wife, Nita, oversees school named after his father.

Rank: 8 Net Worth: $19.3 bil, Fortune: inherited and growing

Lakshmi Mittal

Indian immigrant heads world’s largest steel company; ArcelorMittal was formed via hostile takeover 3 years ago. Stock in company makes up bulk of his fortune; shares at a 4-year low with steel prices down 75% since last summer. Company forced to pay heavy fines after a French antitrust investigation found 10 companies guilty of price-fixing in European steel markets. Arcelor posted $2.6 billion loss in most recent quarter; announced plans to slow acquisitions, cut capital expenditures, pay down debt. Started in family steel business in the 1970s, branched out on his own in 1994. Initially bought up steel mills on the cheap in Eastern Europe. Company bought 19.9% stake in Australia’s Macarthur Coal last year. Also owns pieces of Mumbai’s Indiabulls Group, London’s RAB Capital; owns stake in, sits on board of Goldman Sachs. Holds substantial cash; owns 12-bedroom mansion in London’s posh Kensington neighborhood.

Rank: 9 Net Worth:Net Worth:$18.8 bil, Fortune:self made

Theo Albrecht Source:Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Age:87, Country Of Citizenship:Germany
Residence:Foehr, Industry:Retail

Runs discount supermarket group Aldi Nord; firm holding up amid economic downturn. Sales expected to hit $31 billion in 2008. After World War II he and older brother Karl transformed their mother’s corner grocery into Aldi. Brothers split ownership in 1961; Karl took the stores in southern Germany, plus the rights to the brand in the U.K., Australia and the U.S. Theo got the northern Germany stores and the rest of Europe. Unable to operate Aldi stores in U.S., Theo developed discount food store Trader Joe’s; now has more than 320 U.S. stores. Also owns stake in Supervalu. Became a recluse after being kidnapped for 17 days in 1971; said to collect old typewriters; loves golf.

Rank: 10, Net Worth: $18.3 bil ,Fortune: self made

Amancio Ortega

Railway worker’s son started as a gofer in a shirt store. With then-wife Rosalia Mera, also now a billionaire, started making dressing gowns and lingerie in their living room. Business became one of world’s most successful apparel manufacturers. Today Inditex has more than 4,000 stores in 71 countries. Sales: $12.3 billion. Ortega is chairman. Company exported its cheap chic Zara stores to 4 new markets last year: Ukraine, South Korea, Montenegro and Honduras. Stock up 1% in past 12 months, but fortune down because of weak euro. Also has personal investments in gas, tourism, banks and real estate. Owns properties in Madrid, Paris, London, Lisbon, plus a luxury hotel and apartment complex in Miami, a horse-jumping circuit, and an interest in a soccer league. Shuns neckties and fanfare. Daughter Marta works for Inditex; recent speculation suggests she is being groomed to eventually replace her father.

Original Post: www.justsharethis.com

Top 10 Largest and Rarest Diamonds

2009-07-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

1. The Blue Heart

The Blue Heart diamond is 30.82 carats. The gem was cut into its distinctive shape in 1909-1910 and was bought by Cartier shortly thereafter. Since then it has bounced around from a wealthy Argentinian woman, Van Cleef and Arpels, a European family, Harry Winston, Marjorie Merriweather Post, and, finally, the Smithsonian, where The Blue Heart has resided since 1964. And although it may look like it inspired the fictional Heart of the Ocean from the 1997 Leonardo DiCaprio epic, it didn’t – the Heart of the Ocean was actually based on the infamous Hope Diamond.

2. The Centenary Diamond

On March 1, 1988, De Beers was having a big bash to celebrate their 100 years in business. Chairman Julian Oglivie capped off his speech with a little tidbit that stunned the crowd – De Beers’ Premier Mine had recently uncovered a diamond that was perfect in color and weighed 599 carats. It had been found nearly two years before; the company kept it quiet for the sole purpose of flaunting it at their 100th anniversary.

3. The Cullinan Diamond

At an insane 3,106.75 carats the Cullinan is the largest diamond ever found. It was split into nine big chunks, 96 small ones and 9.5 carats of unpolished pieces. They’re all part of the Crown Jewels or belong in the private collection of the royal family:
Cullinan I, AKA the Star of Africa, is 530.20 carats and resides in the Sovereign’s Royal Sceptre.
Cullinan II, AKA the Lesser Star of Africa, is a bit smaller at 317.40 carats and is mounted in the Imperial State Crown.
Cullinan III is a 94.40-carat pear-shaped diamond that can be mounted in Queen Mary’s Crown or worn with the Cullinan IV as part of a pendant. Versatility is so important, don’t you agree?
Cullinan IV, 63.60 carats, can either be part of the pendant or set in Queen Mary’s Crown as well.
Cullinan V is a measly 18.80-carat triangular-pear cut diamond and can either be in a brooch or mounted in the circlet of Queen Mary’s Crown. The Koh-i-Noor diamond used to be set in that spot, but when it was later moved to another crown, the Cullinan V took its place.
Cullinan VI is sometimes worn by Queen Elizabeth II as part of an emerald and diamond necklace. I suppose at 11.50 carats, it’s less ostentatious than some of the others.
Cullinan VII and Cullinan VIII have been combined into an all-diamond brooch.
Finally, the Cullinan IX, coming in at 4.39 carats, is worn by Queen Elizabeth as a ring.

4. The Golden Eye Diamond

The world’s largest flawless Canary Yellow diamond. Its original uncut 124.5-carat state.
This particular type of diamond – a fancy intense yellow – accounts for less than 0.1 percent of all natural diamonds, so you can imagine how rare one this size is. The gem was cut to a still-huge 43.51 carats and somehow became entangled in a drug dealing and money laundering ring in Ohio, which was busted in 2006. As a result, the unusual jewel became property of the U.S. government. Just as of May 11, 2009, it was declared that the Golden Eye diamond belonged to the government, and in turn, the government announced that it would be auctioning the diamond off. So if you’re looking for a rare yellow diamond in the neighborhood of $15-$20 million.

5. The Koh-i-noor

The Koh-i-noor is more than 5,000 years old.For hundreds of years it was in the possession of various Indian Emperors and was even installed into the Peacock Throne of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.But in 1851, it was decided that the bauble would be presented to Queen Victoria, who immediately put it on display at the Crystal Palace Exhibition. After it was cut down by about 80 carats to its current 108.93 size, the diamond was moved to the Queen consort’s crown (used by both Queen Alexandra of Denmark and Queen Mary of Teck) and finally to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother’s crown in 1936. It remained there until her death in 2002 and was set in the Imperial State Crown afterward.

6. Spirit of de Grisogono

The largest cut black diamond in the world is also the world’s fifth-largest diamond of any kind, weighing in at 312.24 carats. It was 587 carats before it was cut. The Spirit of de Grisogono is set in a ring that contains 702 white diamonds and is thought to have been sold to a private collector.

7. The Earth Star

When this huge sparkler was found at a South African De Beers mine in 1967, it was a whopping 248.9 carats. As you can imagine, it caused quite the stir in the industry, and not just because of its massive size. It was actually the color everyone was talking about: The Earth Star was brown. The Baum gold Bros. jewelers bought the enormous jewel and cut it into a pear shape that ended up weighing 111.59 carats, which was the largest brown diamond in the world at the time (it’s still the third largest brown diamond… we’ll get to the largest in a minute). It was Baum gold that gave the diamond its name. For more than 15 years, the Earth Star traveled the world in various exhibitions, but it was bought by a private citizen in 1983 for the staggering sum of $900,000.

8. The Golden Jubilee

It’s the largest faceted diamond in the world. But when it was first discovered in 1985, people in the industry refered to the 755.5 uncut rock as “The Unnamed Brown” and “The Ugly Duckling.” Since it was kind of homely, De Beers decided to let jewel cutter Gabriel Tolkow sky try an experimental method of cutting using some untested tools. They figured if he messed it up, it was no great loss – the thing was going to be unmarketable anyway. Under Tolkow sky’s hands, though, the Ugly Duckling turned into an amazing yellow-brown diamond of epic proportions. It was presented to the King of Thailand for his Golden Jubilee in 1997, which is when it finally received an appropriate name. It’s still a part of the Crown Jewels of Thailand today.

9. The Ocean Dream Diamond

The Ocean Dream may be small – a mere 5.51 carats – but it’s the only diamond in the world of its kind. No other diamond is known to naturally possess a blue-green hue like this one. The color is thought to have come from being exposed to natural radiation in Central Africa for thousands of years. It’s currently owned by the Cora Diamond Corporation, but you might have seen it at the Smithsonian as part of “The Splendor of Diamonds” exhibit a few years back.

10. The Hope Diamond

This 45.52 fancy deep blue diamond is gorgeous, to be sure, but also deadly – at least according to some. The Hope’s story starts with the Tavernier Blue, a crudely cut triangular stone of about 115 carats that was sold to King Louis XIV in 1669. Several years later, Louis had the stone cut down to about 67 carats and had it suspended on a gold ribbon so he could wear it on formal occasions. He renamed the new cut the “French Blue.” In the mid 1700s, Louis XV had the gem set into a pendant and it was much speculated that Marie Antoinette wore it; the curse is the reason she was beheaded. Not so, say most historians: there’s no evidence that it ever adorned the doomed Queen. The French Blue mysteriously disappeared in a jewel heist in 1792 and never turned up again. However, the Hope Diamond suddenly arrived on the scene just as the statute of limitations on the jewel heist was running out 20 years later. It happened to be the exact same color as the missing French Blue, although it had been cut differently and was decidedly smaller. The Hope had several British owners throughout the 1800s, although, surprisingly, it never came into the hands of the Royal Family. By 1910, famed jeweler Pierre Cartier had acquired the blue beauty and sold it to American socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean. She wasn’t interested until he reset the old stone in a modern setting and told her tales of the curse. She wore the stone for 37 years (and often let her dog wear it around the house as well) and left it to her grandchildren upon her death in 1947. However, she was quite in debt, and her trustees ended up selling it in order to pay of some of the money she owed.

Original Post: www.justsharethis.com

Storm on the horizon

2009-07-25T04:54:00.000-07:00

Lghtning strikes beyond the Flagler Pier, in Flagler Beach, Fla., as a storm rolls south on July 18.

Original Post: www.msnbc.msn.com

More than a pretty face

2009-07-25T04:51:00.000-07:00

Qin Kai of China competes in the men's 1m springboard diving final at the World Championships in Rome on Friday.

Original Post: nbcsports.msnbc.com

Truck Full Of Trucks

2009-07-23T22:15:00.000-07:00

a full force truck in the world.

Original Post: www.funnypicture123.com

Analyst: Undersea cable can boost connections

2009-07-23T19:58:00.000-07:00

The SEACOM cable being promoted as a computer lifeline for Africa will contribute to social upliftment but not immediately, a telecommunications analyst says.

James Hodge, who specializes in competition and regulation, says initially SEACOM will predominantly benefit those already connected.

Hodge said it will not initially change the lives of those poor people, sitting in the rural areas without lights or electricity.

He added that because of the competitive climate surrounding SEACOM, it will lead to cheaper connectivity, making the Internet more affordable for more people.

And that will contribute to social upliftment in the long-term, Hodge says.

SEACOM plans to provide African customers with access to inexpensive bandwidth via 15,000 kilometers of undersea fiber-optic cables.

SEACOM is the first cable supplying east Africa, which until now has been reliant on satellite connections.

Hodge pointed out people in South Africa have already benefited.

Service providers have reacted to the imminent arrival of the SEACOM cable by adjusting their prices, and more cuts are seen, as the local providers respond to the increased competition, he said.

SEACOM is owned by a lot of divergent companies, all competing amongst each other.

Strong competition within the cable itself should drive prices down and avoid any price collusion among the various providers, Hodge said.

He added that would please the cynical South African consumer and help liberalize South Africa's communications industry, long seen as lagging behind everyone else in connectivity due to lack of competition.

Korean Bathroom Sign

2009-07-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

Original Post: www.funnypicture123.com

Amazing Tombstone

2009-07-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

Have you missed a lost love one? Some have built great and expensive tombstone and memorabilia of their relatives but this one is different that almost pops out not only along with the tombstones that are inline but also amongst all that you may see anywhere else in the world.

Original Post: www.funnypicture123.com

An Extremely Exclusive Restaurant

2009-07-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

On Air Restaurant

Original Post: www.funnypicture123.com

Toilet Audience

2009-07-21T19:53:00.001-07:00

Original Post: www.funnypicture123.com

Picnic Garden

2009-07-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

Original Post: www.funnypicture123.com

Darkness envelops Asia during total eclipse

2009-07-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

Darkness fell across parts of China and India on Wednesday morning as a total solar eclipse passed across the world's most populous countries, bringing throngs of people outside to watch the phenomenon.

Total eclipses occur about twice a year as the moon passes between the Earth and the sun on the same plane as Earth's orbit. Wednesday's event will be the longest of the 21st century, with astronomers predicting it will last more than six minutes.

Wednesday's event will be the longest of the 21st century, with astronomers predicting it will last more than six minutes.

Original Post: www.cnn.com

3D Paintings on the Street

2009-07-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

An amazing artist has been doing 3d art paintings on the street and wowing audiences as they walked on by. Be amazed by the pictures below.

Narrow Apartment Building

2009-07-20T02:44:00.000-07:00

Original Post: funnypicture123.com

CRAZY MINE

2009-07-20T02:15:00.000-07:00

Lightining Speed Painting of Megan Fox

2009-07-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

Watch This Video and prepare to witness a painting of megan fox in minutes using only GIMP, Simply stunning!

Painting by Hand is Old School, How about nose for a Change?

2009-07-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

We're done with crayons, and with pencils, now we head to paint, well not exactly the same as my previous post, however this man is really using alot of paint well... using his nose, just watch.

Now that's something you don't see everyday, The artist was a man from Hyderabad, India. Come back more often too see more amazing stories! ^_^

Stunning Ocean Waves Photography

2009-07-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

The images that you are about to see are just simply breath-taking, just look at how close Clark Little has gotten to capture these amazing waves.

For more information about Clark and his photos visit him at his website ClarkLittlePhotography.com

Stunning Pencil Art by Jennifer Maestre

2009-07-16T08:55:00.000-07:00

We've seen the crayons, now let's take a look at pencils and see, how else can somebody turns pencils into works of art. I present to you the works of Jennifer Maestre a pencil artist extraordinaire.

You can find our more information about Jennifer and view more of her work at her website: Jennifer Maestre

Amazing Basketball Shots

2009-07-15T13:08:00.000-07:00

Witness these videos and see for yourself how these got unto one world's amazing shot of all time, check back often to see more amazing stuff here at hot4stories.

Crayons Sculpting by Pete Gold Dust

2009-07-13T17:56:00.000-07:00

What can you do with crayons these days other than the usual...coloring? A sculpture artist, Pete Goldlust, has done some magnificent carved crayon pieces along with his sculpture and installation artwork. Check out his site for more pieces.

Mega Tsunami - Alaskan Super Wave - Amazing Survival

2009-07-12T00:28:00.000-07:00

Two survivors of a Mega Tsunami tell their stories of the day the 1/2km high wave hit Lituya Bay.

Latte Art - making art out of latte coffee

2009-07-12T00:13:00.000-07:00

source: thatsweird.net

FUNNY TOILETS

2009-07-11T23:54:00.000-07:00

Some of these toilets are absolutely hilarious.

They are enough to make you wet yourself laughing.

Bet you thought going to do the business was just another unpleasant chore people just had to get on with.

When you gotta go, you gotta go, as they say. But some people, like the owners of these funny toilets, like to do with style, with imagination, with a flourish.

Don't these zany toilets make the dready job of relieving yourself a whole lotta extra fun!

source: thatsweird.net

From A for acai to Z for zip line: New words in US lexicon

2009-07-11T23:23:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON (AFP) - – More than 100 new words, from acai to zip line via carbon footprint and waterboarding, have entered the mainstream in the United States after being added to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary.

As every year, the new words paint a sociological picture of trends and events that are influencing Americans.

Health and medicine, technology, and words related to food and eating are well represented. The three rubrics have been the richest picking grounds for new words in the last decade.

This year, health-nuts could claim that becoming a "locavore" -- someone who eats locally grown foods -- has helped them kick the need for "naproxen" -- a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID -- while giving them "cardioprotective" benefits, or protecting the heart.

And all that without ever having to leave the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

Those who spend long hours online could compare notes on the latest "webisode" -- a television show aired on the Internet -- that they caught on a popular "vlog," which sounds like it could be a Romanian website but is, in fact, a blog that includes videos.

Another source of new words, according to Merriam-Webster, is "government activities," under which the popular lexicon lists "waterboarding," the infamous interrogation method that simulates drowning.

Merriam-Webster dates waterboarding to 2004, one year into the US-led war in Iraq.

A word wins its place in Merriam-Webster's dictionary by passing a "carefully edited prose" test.

That means it has to appear frequently in print without parentheses, italics, quote marks or any kind of explanation, which indicates that editors and writers assume their readers know and understand the word.

Perhaps there is a tie to the Iraq war and the broader troubles in the Middle East, which have together generated heavy coverage in US newspapers and magazines, for the presence of several words of Arabic origin on the dictionary's newbie list.

"Haram," for instance, means forbidden under Islamic law, while "shawarma" is a popular Middle Eastern sandwich, usually made with lamb or chicken and vegetables in pita bread. Both are from Arabic and both are among Merriam-Webster's newly added words.

The slumping US economy has made its contribution to the list with "staycation," where people stay close to home for their summer or other holidays.

"Carbon footprint" and "green collar" show the importance of environmental issues in the minds of Americans.

And "acai" and "goji" -- both berries, the former from Central and South America and the latter from Asia -- illustrate how the world of foodies is still shrinking, bringing new and exotic culinary experiences to US tastebuds.

A "zip line," incidentally, is neither new-fangled, environmental, foodie or related to the US government.

But zip lines feature often on US television adventure and reality shows, and the word -- which means "a cable suspended above an incline with a pulley and harness for a rider" -- could be used as a metaphor for the US economy.

source: yahoo.com

What if the wikipedia was printed?

2009-07-11T00:50:00.000-07:00

2,559 of Wikipedia’s best articles are ‘featured articles’.
It’s these that Rob Matthews decided to press ‘ctrl + p’ on and print out (probably at work). The result is this weighty tome of some 5000 pages.

I believe his piece was to convey that it is only through computers that this amount of information becomes palatable, searchable and essentially useful.

The sheer volume of information stored on Wikipedia is massive. A text based archive of the English version takes up 2.5GB and if you include images, that number jumps to over 78GB.

If you were to print out the whole thing (not just the featured articles), this is what it would look like based on volumes 25cm high and 5cm thick (some 400 leaves), each page having two columns, each columns having 80 rows, and each row having 50 characters.

source: spreadingjam

The Making of Evian Skating Baby Commercial Video

2009-07-10T10:30:00.000-07:00

witness how the viral video commercial advertisement's "the making of" video.

Evian Skating and Dancing Babies

2009-07-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

let's observe the effect of evian on your body. naturally pure and mineral-balanced water supports your body's youth.

Hey, how about getting some babies to roller-skate to the remixed sound of The Sugar Hill Gang's Rapper's Delight?

If you think about it, it's a question that should have been asked many moons ago but has only just been posited by BETC Euro RSCG Paris. They, along with Michael Gracey of Partizan and the whiz-kids at MPC have not only answered that question in the positive but they've done so in style. Most people like babies, a good amount of people like roller-skating and surely everyone loves Rapper's Delight; it's a win-win situation.

Obviously the design, execution and post production of the 60 second spot could prove a little tricky but luckily the aforementioned triumvirate like a challenge and the result of that challenge is Rollerbabies, Evian's new multi-national commercial. The first time we saw the Evian babies was back in 1998 when BETC created the original Waterbabies spot which was recently voted by the French public as their favourite ad ever. This time they're back and they've brought their Bauers.

Rémi Babinet, chairman and worldwide creative director of BETC Euro RSCG says that this new spot was Evian's way of approaching the different impressions that the brand has cultivated in different regions. "Evian is a brand comprising of two very different images," he explains. A stylish, cutting-edge, fashionable image as perceived in the States, and a very maternal image of water that you give to babies, particularly felt in France. The idea for the campaign came from here. To create a campaign that is both extremely cutting edge and extremely popular, with the baby at the centre of it all."

Also at the centre of it all was Michael Gracey, the Partizan director recently lauded for his work on the T-Mobile campaign. He was eager to get involved from the outset and worked hard to make sure that happened. "This was a chance to work with some brilliant creatives out of Paris," Gracey says, "and roller-skating, dancing babies was a concept that made me smile from the first time I heard it."

Involved in the project for around five months - "though I'm not sure, it feels like a long time" - Gracey knew that the main challenge would be making the small-scale stars look and feel real. "We fought this the entire time," he explains, "because it isn't a matter of just copying a dancer because you have to say, if a baby was doing this step what would he do? But then it has to also be balanced with the fact that it's about how active you can be with Evian and so what [the babies] were doing had to be impressive, so we had to push it well past what a baby is really capable of. It was a constant juggle between the personality of the babies and the excitement of the action, but I feel what we ended up with is both."

Fabrice Brovelli, general director and head of TV production at BETC, says that despite the temptation to use a 'star' director, Gracey was the perfect choice. "We actually had the world's top five [directors] that wanted to be in on this project," says Brovelli, "and then there was this outsider, Michael Gracey. When we started working on the project he was a lot less famous because the T-Mobile ads weren't out yet but we were aware of his work as an art director on projects like Moulin Rouge. All his films were pretty well choreographed. He really thought about what it would be like to be in a baby's skin, worked out what the weight of a baby's head would be, how they would dance, how they would roller-skate. He was the one who got the most involved."

The project involved shooting in Prague, Paris, Brussels and Australia and with a total of 134 babies used it was an epic spot and it's entirely possible that for once, the tantrums in front of the camera outweighed those going on behind it. Gracey is also quick to point out the debt of gratitude due to MPC who created all the visual effects (and which you can read more about in issue 116 of shots). "You have to have a lot of faith in the post production company you are working with," he states. "Ultimately they define the success of the spot."

Before the release of this spot the agency put two teaser trailers on YouTube to build anticipation, Baby Break Dance and Baby Moonwalk. The Rollerbabies spot will be aired on television from 5th July.

source: shots.net

Tags: evian roller skating babies, skating babies funny evian commercial, evian babies on skates commercial video,

The Art of Cropping

2009-07-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

photo credits: funpic.hu

A Camera as thin as your hair

2009-07-08T10:38:00.000-07:00

photo credits: cnet news

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a fabric made of a mesh of light-sensitive fibers that collectively act like a rudimentary camera. The fibers, which each can detect two frequencies of light, produced signals that when amplified and processed by a computer reproduced an image of a smiley face near the mesh.

Read the rest of the story here

Yes Mam! I'm Listening

2009-07-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

image credits: funpic.hu

Before and After Marriage

2009-07-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

Before Marriage - - -

He: Yes. At last. It was so hard to wait.

She: Do you want me to leave?

He: NO! Don't even think about it.

She: Do you love me?

He: Of course! Over and over!

She: Have you ever cheated on me?

He: NO! Why are you even asking?

She: Will you kiss me?

He: Every chance I get!

She: Will you hit me?

He: Are you crazy! I'm not that kind of person!

She: Can I trust you?

He: Yes.

She: Darling!

After marriage - - - simply read from bottom to top.

Burj Al Arab Hotel 7-Star Hotel in the world

2009-07-05T21:23:00.000-07:00

The most beautiful and elegant Hotel in the World.

Burj Al Arab Hotel

Burj Al Arab_Royal Suite

Burj Al Arab_Royal Suite

Burj Al Arab_Royal Suite

Burj Al Arab_Night

Burj Al Arab_Lobby

Burj Al Arab_Jacuzzi

Burj Al Arab_Falak Ballroom

Burj Al Arab_Exterior

Burj Al Arab_Atrium

Burj Al Arab_Al Mahara

Michael Jackson bulilit version

2009-07-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

Romasanta Boy as Little Michael Jackson version in the Philippines.

Convenient Office

2009-07-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

All in 1 Room

Cebu Prisoners Dance Club

2009-07-05T20:08:00.000-07:00

Michael Jacksong "Thriller"

Soulja Boy

Radio Gaga with Prisoners

Best Construction

2009-07-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

Can you bite your own nose?

2009-07-04T21:09:00.001-07:00

Fruits Gone Wild

2009-07-04T20:06:00.001-07:00

Artist's take on a different level using fruits as their medium, see how mundane things turn into crazy piece of art.

The Master of Origami Paper Folding

2009-07-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

Won Park, the Master of Origami [Art of Paper Folding] has stretched the boundaries of this art by creating pieces that may seem unimaginable to fold. Having mastered the craft gives us stunning and absolutely awe-inspiring masterpieces.

Turkey

Toilet Bowl

Stegosaurus

Star Wars - X Wing

Star Wars - Dart Vader and his Minions

Star Wars - Millenium Falcon

Star Wars - Enterprise

Star Wars - Bird of Prey

Stag Beetle

Spider

Shark

Scorpion

Two Praying Mantis

Koi

Jet Plane

Jacket

Hammerhead Shark

Euro Cockerel Rooster

Dolphin

Chinese Dragon

Camera

Butterfly

Battle Tank

Bat

Bear

THE RETAIL DNA TEST

2009-07-02T19:42:00.000-07:00

Before meeting with Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of a consumer gene-testing service called 23andMe, I know just three things about her: she's pregnant, she's married to Google's Sergey Brin, and she went to Yale. But after an hour chatting with her in the small office she shares with co-founder Linda Avey at 23andMe's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., I know some things no Internet search could reveal: coffee makes her giddy, she has a fondness for sequined shoes and fresh-baked bread, and her unborn son has a 50% chance of inheriting a high risk for Parkinson's disease.

Learning and sharing your genetic secrets are at the heart of 23andMe's controversial new service — a $399 saliva test that estimates your predisposition for more than 90 traits and conditions ranging from baldness to blindness. Although 23andMe isn't the only company selling DNA tests to the public, it does the best job of making them accessible and affordable. The 600,000 genetic markers that 23andMe identifies and interprets for each customer are "the digital manifestation of you," says Wojcicki (pronounced Wo-jis-key), 35, who majored in biology and was previously a health-care investor. "It's all this information beyond what you can see in the mirror."

We are at the beginning of a personal-genomics revolution that will transform not only how we take care of ourselves but also what we mean by personal information. In the past, only élite researchers had access to their genetic fingerprints, but now personal genotyping is available to anyone who orders the service online and mails in a spit sample. Not everything about how this information will be used is clear yet — 23andMe has stirred up debate about issues ranging from how meaningful the results are to how to prevent genetic discrimination — but the curtain has been pulled back, and it can never be closed again. And so for pioneering retail genomics, 23andMe's DNA-testing service is Time's 2008 Invention of the Year.

The 1997 film Gattaca depicted it as a futuristic nightmare, but human-genotyping has emerged instead as both a real business and a status symbol. Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein says he is backing 23andMe not for its cinematic possibilities but because "I think it is a good investment. This is strictly medical and business-like." Google has chipped in almost half the $8.9 million in funding raised by the firm, which counts Warren Buffett, Rupert Murdoch and Ivanka Trump among its clients.

Weinstein isn't saying what his test told him, but Wojcicki and her famous husband are perfectly willing to discuss their own genetic flaws. Most worrisome is a rare mutation that gives Brin an estimated 20% to 80% chance of getting Parkinson's disease. There's a 50% chance that the couple's child, due later this year, will inherit that same gene. "I don't find this embarrassing in any way," says Brin, who blogged about it in September. "I felt it was a lot of work and impractical to keep it secret, and I think in 10 years it will be commonplace to learn about your genome."

And yet while Wojcicki and Brin aren't worried about genetic privacy, others are. In May, President George W. Bush signed a bill that makes it illegal for employers and insurers to discriminate on the basis of genetic information. California and New York tried to block the tests on the grounds that they were not properly licensed, but have so far been unsuccessful. Others worry about how sharing one's genetic data might affect close relatives who would prefer not to let a family history of schizophrenia or Lou Gehrig's disease become public. And what if a potential mate demands to see your genome before getting serious? Such hypotheticals are endless. And some researchers argue that the tests are flawed. "The uncertainty is too great," says Dr. Muin Khoury, director of the National Office of Public Health Genomics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who argues that it is wrong to charge people for access to such preliminary and incomplete data. Many diseases stem from several different genes and are triggered by environmental factors. Since less than a tenth of our 20,000 genes have been correlated with any condition, it's impossible to nail down exactly what component is genetic. "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," says Dr. Alan Guttmacher of the National Institutes of Health.

23andMe is unfazed by its detractors. "It's somewhat paternalistic to say people shouldn't get these tests because 'we don't want people to misunderstand or get upset,'" says board member Esther Dyson. There can be a psychological upside too: some people decide to lead healthier lifestyles. Brin is currently funding Parkinson's research. And not all customers' results are as troubling as his. Nate Guy, 19, of Warrenton, Va., was relieved that though his uncle had died of prostate cancer, his own risk for the disease was about average. He even posted a video about it on YouTube. And unflattering findings can have a silver lining. "Now I have an excuse for not remembering things, because my memory is probably genetically flawed," Guy says.

Wojcicki and Avey see themselves not just as businesswomen but also as social entrepreneurs. With their customers' consent, they plan to amass everyone's genetic footprint in a giant database that can be mined for clues to which mutations make us susceptible to specific diseases and which drugs people are more likely to respond to. "You're donating your genetic information," says Wojcicki. "We could make great discoveries if we just had more information. We all carry this information, and if we bring it together and democratize it, we could really change health care."

www.time.com

New Topographic Map in NASA

2009-07-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

NASA and Japan improved our world view this week, or at least our view of the world. This image using ASTER imagery shows the Himalayan glaciers in Bhutan.

The American space agency and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry have released a new digital topographic map of Earth that accurately portrays more of our planet than ever before.

The new map consists of 1.3 million images taken by NASA's Terra satellite that have been pieced together to form a unified picture of the planet. The images were taken by a Japanese imaging instrument called the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, or ASTER.

"This is the most complete, consistent global digital elevation data yet made available to the world," said Woody Turner, a program scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington.

The Map covers more than 99 percent of Earth's land mass from north of the Arctic Circle to south of the Antarctic Circle. During February 2000, space shuttle Endeavour mapped about 80 percent of the planet's surface.

"The ASTER data fill in many of the voids in the shuttle mission's data, such as in very steep terrains and in some deserts," said Michael Kobrick, a shuttle project scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, which manages the program. "NASA is working to combine" the new data with that from the shuttle and other sources "to produce an even better global topographic map."

Original Post: www.cnn.com

Kseniya Simonova - Requiem of sand

2009-07-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

Clearly you can really speak through art and by speaking using this medium, you may deliver a successful message to your audience.

Watch the video below entitled Requiem of Sand to clearly understand what I'm talking about:

Filipino prisoners Tribute Michael Jackson

2009-06-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

CEBU, Philippines -- Amid the tropical heat of a Philippine prison, convicted murderers, rapists and drug dealers on Saturday paid tribute to Michael Jackson with a reprise of their YouTube dance hit, "Thriller."

Inmates at the prison in Cebu perform their tribute to Michael Jackson Saturday.

A rendition of Jackson's 1980s smash hit by prisoners at the Cebu Detention and Rehabilitation Center in the central Philippines garnered more than 24 million views since 2007, when prison supervisor Byron Garcia first uploaded it to the video-sharing Web site.

The prison has since posted other dance videos, including performances to Van Halen's "Jump," Queen's "Radio Ga Ga," and Phil Oakey and Giorgio Moroder's "Together in Electric Dreams."

Jackson, known as the "King of Pop," died Thursday in Los Angeles, less than two weeks shy of the first in a series of comeback concerts in London, England.

When he heard the news, Garcia, himself a fan of the 50-year-old pop icon, organized a free tribute performance by inmates for local people in the prison courtyard.

Dancing was introduced at the prison in 2007, as a means of rehabilitating prisoners at a facility once notorious for its gang problem.

Every able-bodied prisoner must dance. If they refuse, they lose privileges, mostly conjugal visits. According to Garcia, the dancing occupies up to five hours a day. However he rejected claims he's abusing the prisoners' rights by forcing them to dance so many hours a day.

He said it gives them a renewed sense of worth and confidence, breaking them of their violent ways. He is convinced his prison is a model for prison authorities everywhere, an example of how to crack the plague of violent prison gangs.

"It brought back their self esteem. We have happy inmates now -- we don't want to go back to the old jail where we had mad, sad inmates," he said.

In searing temperatures, 1,400 men in bright orange tracksuits performed the 15-minute "Thriller" routine perfectly. They rehearsed for 10 hours the previous day, finally stopping at 3 a.m. to rest ahead of the show.

The superbly-choreographed moves, energy and obvious enthusiasm of the prisoners had the audience -- swelled by journalists from around the world -- captivated the audience. Several inmates even invited people from the crowd to dance with them.

"I never thought I would ever find myself dancing with a prisoner," one excited local said.

A local journalist even described the performance as Asia's best way of paying tribute to Jackson.

Garcia, who says the prison has witnessed no violence in three years, paid tribute to the performers. "I'm so proud of them," he said. "They got the dance exactly right."

Although it was "probably wishful thinking," he added that he had actually wanted Michael Jackson to come to Cebu to dance and play the role himself. "Now it's not going to happen," he said mournfully.

Convicted robber Mavin Cabido, 23, said: "I feel so sad as we idolize him really. The moonwalk is my favorite -- I like that."

Original Post: www.cnn.com

CAT with 4 EARS

2009-06-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

Meet Yoda, a household pet born with an extra pair of ears.

Chicago, Illinois, couple Valerie and Ted Rock took the cat in two years ago after they visited a local bar, where a group of drinkers were handing the animal around and making fun of him.

Since being adopted by the Rocks and after getting his picture posted on the Internet, the two-year-old feline has become an international media celebrity.

The Rocks have received calls from Good Morning America, Fox News and The Tyra Banks Show. The moggy's mugshot has graced the pages of the London Guardian and British tabloids.

Despite his strange appearance, Yoda - named after the pointy-eared Star Wars character is a perfectly normal and affectionate cat and a delight to have around.

His extra ears are thought to be the result of a genetic mutation.

But Yoda's owners are keeping a close watch on their much-loved pet. They are concerned he could be catnapped because he is so different.

Original Posted: thatsweird.net