The Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft capsule carrying International Space Station (ISS) crew members, Timothy Peake of Britain, Yuri Malenchenko of Russia and Timothy Kopra of the U.S., descends beneath a parachute near the town of Dzhezkazgan (Zhezkazgan), Kazakhstan, June 18, 2016. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov
Source….www.businessinsider.com
Natarajan
Kestrel Aviation Management Boeing 787-8 BBJ.
In July, China’s HNA Aviation Group will welcome a shiny new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to its fleet.
This plane is special because it is the first 787 Dreamliner to be built purely as a private jet.
HNA’s new Dreamliner is symbolic of a hot new trend in private and corporate aviation — long-range, mid-size, wide-body airliners.
“It’s an emerging market that didn’t really exist in the past,” Kestrel Aviation Management CEO Stephen Vella told Business Insider. Kestrel oversaw the design, engineering, and fabrication of HNA’s new Dreamliner which has an estimated total cost topping $300 million.
Airbus and Boeing have long offered versions of its airliners to private customers under their Airbus Corporate Jet and Boeing Business Jet programs. However, buyers of these airliner-based private jets have long gravitated to either four-engine, jumbo jets like the Boeing 747 or smaller, narrow-body jets such as the Airbus A320.
“The market is traditionally separated into two buckets,” Vella said. “The big Boeing 747s and Airbus A340s primarily catered to heads of state while the smaller Airbus A320 and Boeing 737s are popular corporate runabouts as well as secondary planes in government fleets.”
Boeing 787-8 BBJ interior.
Although twin-engine, mid-size, wide-body jets such as the Boeing 767 and the Airbus A330 have long been available, they never quite caught on with the private jet crowd.
However, in recently years, ultra high-end private jet customers have become increasingly interested in the new generation mid-size, wide-body planes such as the Dreamliner and Airbus A350.
According to Vella, several factors led to the shift.
First, leading business men and heads of state are generally pressed for time. As a result, they prefer be to able to fly anywhere they need to go non-stop. Until recently, this simply wasn’t possible in a twin-engined jet. The traditional thinking in the aviation dictates that there’s safety in the number of engines a plane has.
Regulating bodies such as the US Federal Aviation Administration have even placed limits on which ultra-long-range intercontinental routes twin-engine jets can fly. As a result, government and corporate clients looking for a plane which the range and capability to go anywhere in the world had to turn to four-engined jumbos.
However, with the incredible reliability of modern turbofan engines, the regulatory limitations on twin-engined jets have essentially been wiped out. Now, planes such as the A350 and the 787 can fly anywhere the owner requires, but in a slightly smaller and more affordable package. For instance, HNA’s new state-of-the-art composite Boeing has a range of 9,800 miles even when packed with passengers, luggage, and fuel. A similarly outfitted A350 ACJ will be able to delivery that type performance as well.
“You can fly between virtually any two points on the globe,” Vella said of the Dreamliner.
Secondly, the price of crude oil has fallen dramatically over the past two years. Even though cheaper fuel makes buying and operating a thirsty, four-engined, jumbo jet much more attractive, low crude prices have also cut dramatically into the income of Middle Eastern governments. Unfortunately for the 747 BBJ, they are also some of the plane’s biggest customers.
According to Vella, all major Middle Eastern governments such as Saudi Arabia, operate large royal fleets, many of which are jumbo jets, for elite members of the ruling family and officials to use.
Over the next decade or so, these fleets with need to be updated. Vella, whose company has bought and sold more than $50 billion worth of commercial and private jets, believes the Middle Eastern clientele are ready to do some belt-tightening and downsize to smaller planes.
Finally, another factor that has benefited the Dreamliner-sized jet is the increasing public sensitivity towards political largess. Unlike the US, where the plane that operates as Air Force One is held in high esteem and seen as a symbol of national power, the public in many countries view a large presidential aircraft as a sign of political over indulgence.
According to Vella, this is a particularly sensitive issue in Europe. However, a smaller aircraft with the performance capabilities of a jumbo, but in a less attention-getting package is a reasonable alternative.
“The mid-size jets have less ramp presence,” Vella said. “They offer the owner much more discretion.”
After all, it’s hard to arrive discretely in a jumbo jet no matter where you go. Even at the world’s busiest international airports, an aircraft the size of a 747 or Airbus A380 is conspicuous.
But all of this requires some perspective. Even the “smaller” 787 BBJ is still an absolutely massive aircraft. At 186 ft. long, even Donald Trump’s converted Boeing 757 is dwarfed by the new Dreamliner. And with 2,400 sq. ft. of living space, it offers the same amount of room as an average American suburban home.
According to the long-time aviation executive, over the next 15-20 years, demand from just the Middle East for Boeing 787-sized private jets will top 30 aircraft. That may not sound like many planes, but at more than $300 million a pop, that’s about $10 billion in business from just a handful of customers.
In fact, Vella believes demand from East Asia will be just as intense over that period of time.
“Because of the high number of long distance and (trans-oceanic) flights the customers make, these are the perfect planes for Asia,” Vella added.
Whether the market for these mid-size, twin-engine wide-body private jets actually skyrockets remain to be seen. But with the unprecedented level of advanced technology, luxury, and performance it can offer, they are an undeniably attractive option for the right buyer.
Source…..BENJAMIN ZHANG in http://www.businessinsider.com.au
Natarajan
Brick buildings, the drainage system excavated in Keezhadi village are on par with those found in Harappa, reports A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com
IMAGE: A water tank with feeder channels discovered during excavation at Keezhadi village in Sivaganga district, Tamil Nadu. All photographs: A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com
A major excavation by the Archaeological Survey of India of a Sangam era settlement is making big news with its amazing discoveries.
About 12 km from Madurai on the highway to Rameswaram, a large coconut field on the banks of the Vaigai river in Keezhadi village of Sivaganga district is being excavated, where Roman artefacts and vessels with writings in the Brahmi script have been discovered.
Brahmi is the earliest script which the Tamils used during the Sangam period, which roughly extended from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD. There were three dynasties during this period: The Cheras, the Cholas and the Pandyas who traded with the Romans. After the 6th century AD, the Grantha script replaced Brahmi.
In the 13th century AD, this area was called Kuntidevi Chaturdevi Mangalam and there are no records from before that period. This area is spread over about 80 acres and covers a radius of about 3.5 km.
Since the ASI, to seek permission for the excavation, had to give the owners of the land a written assurance that they will get it back in the same condition, ASI staff refill the digs after photographing and collecting the artefacts.
The first survey in the area commenced in 2013, the excavation was conducted in 2015 and again in 2016. The ASI plans another excavation next year, but that has to be sanctioned by the Survey’s headquarters in New Delhi. Students from Chennai University and the Krishna Arts College helped the ASI in the current round of digs.
In the present phase of excavation — apart from the Roman artefacts and vessels with Brahmi text — relics confirming the presence of handicrafts like weaving, ship-building, metal working, carpentry, rope-making, ornament-making, making of ivory products, tanning etc during the Sangam period have been found.
Nails and other iron and ivory products have been found, which confirm the presence of this town during the Sangam period. Structures built with bricks and mortar have also been unearthed.
A team of ASI experts — including Superintendent K Amarnath Ramakrishna, Assistant Archaeologists Rajesh and Veeraraghavan — is involved in the excavation work, which began on January 18 and is likely to continue till September.
The ASI officials say the settlement was more than 2,000 years old, and dates to the Sangam era.
So far, about 3,000 ancient artefacts, including a signet made of clay with an ornamental design, have been excavated.
According to the ASI officials, the ancient settlement had an underground drainage system which was on par with the Harappan system. The sewage drains had been laid with baked clay pipelines, which are still visible.
The drainage system is similar to the one that was found in Harappa, the ASI officials said.
Apart from signets, arrows, weapons made of iron and copper, rare ornaments have been found, ASI Superintendent Ramakrishna said.
“It is very rare to find the constructions intact. The findings threw more light on the Sangakaala (Sangam era) Tamil civilisation,” he added.
This town was a residential area, Assistant Archaeologist Rajesh said, and they have discovered brick buildings in it, which were very rare during that time.
The ASI team surveyed the banks of the Vaigai in 2013-2014, checked out 293 sites for excavation, and chose the present site.
As many as 43 excavations were conducted last year and 1,800 artefacts found. This year, 53 excavations have been conducted and 3,000 items discovered and preserved.
Among the artefacts were semi-precious stones, glass, shells, burnt bricks, tusk, and iron. Products used by people in their day-to-day lives were recovered.
There were plenty of small water tanks made of bricks and mud. The water tanks were fed through well-laid channels, which are still present. Though most of the place looks residential, some business centres were also found.
They have found roof tiles and nails which suggest that the buildings were storied. Vessels with names written in the Brahmi script have been found, names like ‘Sattan, Thisan, Chandan, Inavadan, Muyan’ and ‘Udhiran’.
“The date we are looking at is between the 3rd century BC and the 3rd century AD, which was the Sangam period. Carbon dating is still to be done,” Rajesh said.
This is the second phase of the ASI excavation and the team has sought permission for another one.
“There has been no important excavation in south Tamil Nadu, so we want to do this extensively,” Ramakrishna said. “The history of this area has not been properly understood. In the third phase, we will learn more.”
A Ganesh Nadar / Rediff.com
Source…www.rediff.com
Natarajan
The Indian Railways is India’s lifeline. Every day millions of passengers avail its facilities.
It has become such an integral part of our lives that we cannot imagine a life without it. The Indian railways were nationalized way back in the year 1951. But today, we are not going to talk about the Indian railways but we are going to talk about of its long forgotten relative ‘The Shakuntala Railways’. I am sure that for most of you this sounds a bit alien. Hearing the name you might think of it as a name of some train or maybe a little-known rail zone.
But Shakuntala is neither one of them. In fact, it is an independent railway which does not come under the Indian Railways. So, technically the Indian Railways does not enjoy a monopoly. When Nationalization happened in 1951, Strangely this line was left alone. Interestingly till date, nobody knows the exact reason why this line was never de-privatised.
It was formed during the British Raj. During those times, most of the rail lines were operated by individual firms. The location of the track was quite strategical as this route was used to transport cotton from Vidharba. This cotton then made its way to Manchester.
Soon, not only cotton but the line was used even to ferry passengers. The GIPR used CPRC’s lines to run its trains and paid a compensation or rent to the company. The deal continued even after GIPR was replaced by the Central Railways. To this day, the Central Railways pays the British firm a compensation for using its lines. Interestingly, in recent times, the Indian Railways has not paid the decided rent instead has been adjusting it from the cost of repairs and maintenance.
The rail line itself is quite unique as the unlike most of the rail lines that are broad gauge lines, Shankuntala railways still use narrow gauge lines. The British company still gets more than 1 crore rupees from the Indian Railways for running a train on its tracks called the Shakuntala Express.
The train runs through the beautiful cotton growing areas of Achalpur, which falls under Amravati division. If you are ever lucky enough to board this train then this train journey is sure to take you back to the 19th century. Everything about it is old school. It seems that when modernisation happened everywhere it forgot about poor Shakuntala.
It covers a journey of almost 190Km in about 4 hours. For these people, it is the cheapest means of transport and they can’t imagine their lives without it. The train runs through a narrow gauge which itself gives it a very toy- train kind of feeling.
Most of the official works are also done manually. In times when our trains run on electric engines , Shakuntala Express still uses an old steam engine. Another interesting thing that you would find when you board this train is that all the existing rail signals are still from the British era with the words ‘made in Liverpool’inscribed on it.
This journey literally takes you on a trip down the memory lane.
Source….Abir Gupta in http://www.storypick.com
Natarajan
The Ancient Aqueducts of Nazca Desert | Amusing Planet
pl click the above link and read
Source…..www.amusingplanet.com
Natarajan
Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the old woman that she should bring her own shopping bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment.
The woman apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days.”
The cashier responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations.”
She was right — our generation didn’t have the green thing in its day.
Back then, we returned milk bottles, pop bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so they could use the same bottles over and over. Yes, they really were recycling.
We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen; and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.
But, we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.
We walked up the stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every shop and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.
But, she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day.
Back then, we washed the baby’s nappies because we didn’t have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an ‘energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts;’ wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.
Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And, the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the county of Yorkshire .
In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us.
When we packaged a fragile item to send in the post, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power.
We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.
But, she’s right. We didn’t have the green thing back then.
We drank water from a fountain or a tap when we were thirsty instead of demanding a plastic bottle flown in from another country.
We accepted that a lot of food was seasonal and didn’t expect that to be bucked by flying it thousands of air miles around the world.
We actually cooked food that didn’t come out of a packet, tin or plastic wrap and we could even wash our own vegetables and chop our own salad.
But, we didn’t have the green thing back then.
Back then, people took the tram or a bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mothers into a 24-hour taxi service.
We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances.
And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.
As is the common practice even today, the chauffeur of a car is expected to open the door of the car when the owner gets down. One day, in Mahabharatha, after war, when the chariot returned and stood in front of his house, Arjuna insisted on Lord Krishna, his charioteer, getting down first and opening the door. Krishna disagreed and, in a strong language, admonished Arjuna, asking him to get down first and go inside. Not recognising the inner significance of Krishna’s words, Arjuna reluctantly accepted and no sooner did he go inside, Krishna jumped out of the chariot. The next moment, the entire chariot was in flames. When the surprised Pandavas asked why did the chariot get burnt, Krishna explained that all the powerful arms from the battle were subdued and kept under His feet; now when He left the chariot, they exploded. God always plans and takes care to protect His devotees from harm.
When Ecuador President General Eloy Alfaro took office in 1895, and announced that a new railway line would be built connecting the coastal city of Guayaquil with the capital, Quito, in the highlands, a fierce opposition arose starring both conservatives and liberals. Many people at that time thought the Andes could not be conquered by rail. Despite protests and discouragement, General Alfaro hired a couple of US contractors and tasked them to build the “most difficult railway in the world.” A partnership between the government and a North American firm was forged leading to the foundation of the Guayaquil and Quito Railway Company, and construction of the historic line began in 1899.
Photo credit: trenecuador.com
Building a railroad in the highlands was not an easy task. Frequent seismic activity, heavy rainfall, jaguars, poisonous snakes, malaria, dysentery, and yellow fever delayed progress. The most technically challenging part of this rail route, however, was a sheer rock face known as the Devil’s Nose, or Nariz del Diablo, that stood between Alausi and Sibambe. To ascend this 800 meter cliff, the engineers carved a series of steep switchbacks that allowed the train to climb at a gradient of 1-in-18 by alternately advancing and reversing up the tracks.
The railroad will rise with a grade of 3.5% along a narrow cornice cut by blasting the wall of the perpendicular rock of the Nose and will extend beyond the bifrucation of the railway. When the train goes beyond the bifrucation, a switchman will jump from the locomotive and raise the lever to change the track; then , the train will continue on its way up to the next narrow cornice, in reverse, until the next switchback. Then, the switchman will change the tracks again, and the train will continue on its way through the cornice, until crossing the Devil’s Nose.
It was said that the Devil’s Nose was damned by the Satan because he didn’t want a railway to be built there. And acts that goes against the Devil’s wishes are paid for in human lives. By the end of construction of the Nariz del Diablo portion of the track, more than 2,000 workers had died from disease, labor, or the climate. Among the casualties were workers brought from the English colonies in the Caribbean, mostly from Jamaica, hundreds of prisoners who were forced to work with promises of freedom, and Major John Harman, the chief engineer of the project himself.
Nevertheless, the completion and the first ascent of Nariz del Diablo in 1902 was one of the most incredible feat of railway engineering at that time.The line continued operating, with interruptions, until 1997 when landslides during El Nino devastated the tracks, effectively shutting down the entire line. Currently, only a 12-km stretch from Alausí to Sibambe is open that take tourists through gorgeous mountain scenery and a thrilling descent over Devil’s Nose
Sources: Wikipedia / Rough Guides / takhte-sarah.blogspot.in / railroadinthesky.com and www. amusingplanet.com
Natarajan
The word surrender has been misinterpreted and people promote idleness in the name of surrender. We think that our mind and body have been surrendered to the Lord. Your mind is not under your own control, how then can you hold it and give it to the Lord? You have no control over your own body too. So to say that you have surrendered your mind and body to the Lord is untrue. The flute is a very good example of an instrument close to the Lord and the one great quality in the flute is its complete surrender. There is nothing left in the flute, there are no residual desires. In fact, the inside of the flute is completely hollow. The flute has nine holes in it, and the flute of our body has nine holes too. That flute has been able to go close to the Lord because it is completely hollow. So also, if we can remove all the pulp of desires from our body, then there is no doubt that this flute of our body can also go close to the Lord.
At about 6.30 on the morning of May 28, 2016,, the sun rising over Mozambique projected some bright orange light through some layers of low cloud hanging in the Mutare Valley to produce a display of alternating light and dark sunrise stripes. One of these struck the summit of the nearby granite Kopje called Hospital Hill and then obliquely descended the slope facing me while narrowing and gradually fading away. The display lasted for just six minutes.
As a tripod was not immediately available, an impromptu series of hand-held camera images was taken using a Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ-60 in sunset scenery mode. Twenty of the most suitable for generating a time-lapse sequence were selected and adjusted in size to obtain good registration before being used to produce a time-lapse movie which loops five times.
A rare combination of light and shade, with Hospital Hill looking as I’ve never seen it before!
Source…….. Posted by Peter Lowenstein in www.earthsky.org
Natarajan
Take off with Natarajan 