leadership

Are You Ready For Space Travel !!!

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The next frontier of travel? If Richard Branson and others like him have their way, the answer is outer space. The Virgin Atlantic CEO marked a major milestone in space tourism last Monday with the first supersonic test flight of Virgin Galactic, a passenger spacecraft aiming to become the world’s first commercial “spaceline” by 2014.
But are travellers really interested in going to space?
According to a 2008 ABC News poll on the topic, although 65% of respondents believed that in the years ahead ordinary people will travel to outer space, the median price that they were willing to pay was just $2,000 – a far cry from the $200,000 ticket Virgin Galactic ticket.
However, in a 2006 survey by Spaceport Associates and Incredible Adventures, two US companies pioneering space tourism, if cost were not an issue nearly two-thirds of respondents would go on a “round-the-moon adventure”. More than 70% surveyed would spend two weeks or less on a suborbital tourism flight and 88% were interested in spacewalking.
“These trips are the beginning of what could be a lucrative 21st-century industry,” wrote Kevin Bonsor on science website howstuffworks.com, noting that several space tourism companies have begun building suborbital vehicles for commercial space travel. “These companies have invested millions, believing that space tourism industry is on the verge of taking off.”
Among them are Xcor Aerospace Inc, which hopes to join Virgin Galactic in the space tourism business. Private company SpaceX is developing its own rocket family, Falcon, capable of sending seven people to any space station. Space Adventures Ltd is working on a circumlunar mission to the moon (price per passenger is currently $100 million). Even commercial airliner Boeing is getting in on the venture, building a spacecraft to transport passengers to the International Space Station, a habitable satellite low in Earth’s orbit where scientists from around the world live, work and research.
As for Virgin Galactic’s commercial space tourism project, some 529 would-be space travellers (including such celebrities as American actor Ashton Kutcher) have already signed up for the two-hour, $200,000-a-seat experience.
But until those flights become financially attainable for more tourists, it’s unlikely that space travel will rival air travel.

space travel astronaut

According to a 2008 ABC News poll, 65% of respondents believed that in the years ahead ordinary people will travel to outer space. (Andrew Rich/Getty)

SOURCE:::bbc.com…passportblog

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Elephant Blasts Leopard With Jet of Water !!!!!

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This is the moment a leopard got too close to a herd of elephants – and got a soaking for its troubles.
The big cat tried its luck against the herd of 15 elephants by stalking the group and sipping from the same water hole.
But one of the herd spotted the leopard, decided it was being far too bold and squirted a stream of water in its direction to shoo it away.

The leopard had been stalking the herd of 15 elephants when one decided to give it a good hosing to scare it off

 

The leopard was spotted by Swiss photographer Mark Müller, in Etosha National Park in Namibia

The leopard had been stalking the herd of 15 elephants when one decided to give it a good hosing to scare it off

The moment was captured by Mark Müller, 46, at the Kalkeuwel water hole in Etosha National Park, Namibia, as he watched the elephants at play.

The Swiss photographer said: ‘They were splashing about, spraying water on their backs and being rather noisy.’

But other animals in the surroundings, including giraffes and zebras, clearly sensed danger and moved away.

‘Suddenly I discovered a leopard entering the open area around the waterhole,’ said Mr Müller.

The elephant loomed over the leopard as it stalked the herd

The elephant loomed over the leopard as it stalked the herd

The leopard tried its luck against the herd the Kalkeuwel waterhole but came away with a soaking

The leopard tried its luck against the herd the Kalkeuwel waterhole but came away with a soaking

‘The leopard calmly and without any signs of fear just walked between the elephants and some giraffes to the waterhole, crouched down and started to lap up water.

‘The elephants must first have been as surprised as me at the cat’s careless attitude, despite the proximity of the much larger elephants.’

The elephants began to encircle the leopard in an act of intimidation.

It began to walk away, but paused between some of the herd and a giraffe.

And that’s when one elephant decided to teach the smaller creature a lesson.

‘What I did not notice at the time was that one of the elephants must have sucked up a trunk full of water,’ Mr Müller said.

‘With a flash that elephant sprayed the water at the leopard, which stood no more than five metres away.’

The impromptu shower sent the leopard running for the bushes and left Mr Müller, who uses a Nikon F4 camera, reeling with his good fortune.

He said: ‘I do not think I breathed from the moment the leopard started walking between the elephants to the waterhole.

‘The shower was so unexpected and I was very lucky to have captured it – that sequence took maybe two seconds.

‘I knew immediately that I had witnessed something very special.

‘It is already elusive enough to observe leopards in the wild, but this was one-of-a-kind.


source::::HELEN LAWSON in mailonline…photograph by Mark Muller

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Message For The Day…Helping Hand From Siddhivinayak Temple , Mumbai , India.

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MUMBAI, April 27 2013 (DNA India): The Siddhivinayak Temple trust has decided to set up a state-of-the-art dialysis centre close to the Prabhadevi temple, where patients can have a dialysis done at just US$4.61 per cycle (compared to an average cost in the United States of $500/treatment). At present, patients have to shell out $22 to $28 for each cycle of dialysis. The temple has tied up with an NGO, Shri Veera Desai Jain Sangh, which runs a similar dialysis centre in Andheri, to get its 22-bed centre put together.The NGO, which has a budget of $553,000, will also appoint the health experts needed to run the centre. “We will charge patients the minimum fee. The rest of the expenses will be borne by the temple and us,” explains Chetan Vora, trustee of the NGO. The Sangh and the temple administration have signed a memorandum of understanding to have the centre up and running by July. Mangesh Shinde, CEO of the temple administration, says the decision was spurred by the realization to have a sub-centre within Mumbai for conducting dialysis procedures.

 

source::::Siddhivinayak Smiles On Dialysis Patients…Hindusim Today

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Seven Month Old Baby Learns to Water Ski !!!!

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He’s found his sea legs: Seven-month-old baby too young to walk learns to water ski
Seven-month-old Ryder Blair seems to be having a whale of a time
Filmed on the back of learner ski in Lake Dyer, Queensland
But he is being pulled along shoreline, rather than being attached to boat.

He may be too young to walk, but it seems he may have already found his sea legs.

Seven-month-old Ryder Blair seems to be having a whale of a time as he ‘learns to water ski’.

The smiling baby can be seen gripping on tightly to the learner ski in Lake Dyer, Queensland.
Holding on tightly , 7.5-month-old Ryder water skiing Lake Dyer in Queensland, Australia

Holding on tightly , 7.5-month-old Ryder water skiing Lake Dyer in Queensland, Australia

And he's off. The baby looks the picture of calm as he holds on to the learner ski

And he’s off. The baby looks the picture of calm as he holds on to the learner ski.

His mother Tamara runs alongside the ski in a wetsuit.

The little boy seems to have attracted a few female admirers as he takes to the waves like a natural

The little boy seems to have attracted a few female admirers as he takes to the waves like a natural surfer..

The budding adrenaline junkie looks the picture of cool as he speeds along, securely fastened to the frame

The budding adrenaline junkie looks the picture of cool as he speeds along, apparently securely fastened to the frame.

source::::news.com.au

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Breathtaking Images Captured By Canadian Astronaut From ISS !!!

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Morning has broken: Breathtaking image of the first light of dawn creeping over the horizon is captured by astronaut
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has wowed Twitter with his pictures taken from the International Space Station
His latest image is of dawn breaking over the south west of the United States last week.

A breathtaking image of the moon rising above the United states as dawn breaks have been posted on Twitter by an astronaut on the International Space Station.

The stunning shot, which bears striking resemblance to the beginning of the opening credits of a Universal film, was posted by Canadian Chris Hadfield who has gained a cult following on Twitter for his images of the Earth from space.

The image was shot over southwestern America and will be one of Hadfield’s last tweets from space after he announced that his return to earth will commence later this month.
One of Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield's latest pictures from the International Space Station shows a darkened south-eastern United States just before dawn, with the moon rising above
One of Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield’s latest pictures from the International Space Station shows a darkened south-eastern United States just before dawn, with the moon rising above

Some of the snapshots of Astronaut Chris Hadfield…..

Snapper: The stunning image of the Earth at dawn was the latest picture from space captured by Commander of the International Space Station Chris Hadfield

Beautiful: Chris Hadfield has posted dozens of pictures from space online since he arrived at the ISS in December including this taken over Africa

Seaside shot: Most of Commander Hadfield's pictures of the UK were taken at night, but this one shows the beautiful blue sea surrounding the coast of Bournemouth in Hampshire

Emerald Isle: The silhouettes of Ireland and Wales were captured in this beautiful picture taken from the ISS by Commander Hadfield

Green green grass: It may look tiny, but this expanse of UK land encompasses Exeter and Cornwall all the way to Land's End

Down under from up above: The astronaut tweeted this shot of what he described as the 'endless beaches of Australia', adding 'That's where I'd go for Australia Day!'

'In the lee of the rock - protecting an island of humanity in a sea of orange sand.' Some of the pictures look as if they are from a different planet

Unmistakable: The Thames can be clearly seen snaking its was through the giant urban sprawl of London in this picture

Unmistakable: The Thames can be clearly seen snaking its way  through the giant urban sprawl of London in this picture


Commander of the International Space Station, Chris has gained an army of followers on Facebook and Twitter with his daily updates from space which feature beautiful pictures and news on the progress of the various missions he and his colleagues carry out.

Hadfield has been taking the Twitterverse by storm from aboard the ISS, which orbits the Earth at 8km a second, since he arrived back on December 21.

The astronaut, who has also posted a variety of amusing videos showing what it is like to shave, vomit and brush your teeth in space, uses a long lens camera to capture the stunning detail of the Earth.

Among his favourite places to photograph is the Sahara in Africa and he explains that he waits until the sun is directly over the desert to get the best shot.

He says: ‘The beauty of space station, though, is if it’s not here this time, tomorrow it might be, or maybe a month from now.

‘There’s not a race to get a picture. You can be patient, like a hunter.’

He says that it’s not Instagram, it’s ‘Space-a-gram’ and that the key steps are: ‘Focus, frame, and fire’.

He added: ‘We orbit 400km above the earth, so if you want to get a good detailed picture of something you need a long lens. I have one velcroed to the wall.’

Chris uses a special setting on his camera to deal with the bright glare of light from the Earth against the pitch black backdrop of space.

He takes pictures in as high a resolution as possible, so his camera’s memory card gets full very quickly.

The first Canadian to walk in space, Commander Hadfield, 53, a former air force fighter pilot, has previously flown two Space Shuttle missions in 1995 and 2001.

Hadfield has amassed 226,000 fans on Facebook and 740,000 followers on Twitter.

He announced that his ‘fiery fall’ to earth will commence on May 13 after the arrival of a new Russian commander.

source::::mailonline

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Giant Rubber Duck In Hong Kong !!!!

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Ahem, excuse me Captain, but I think we’re being followed. This is the world’s largest rubber ducky, seen here floating around Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. Designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, its aim is to “spread joy around the world.” The duck has also been caught ducking off in Sydney, Australia; Auckland, New Zealand; and Osaka, Japan. Where it’ll be next is anyone’s guess, but Hofman says he just wants to make people smile. “The Rubber Duck knows no frontiers, it doesn’t discriminate people and doesn’t have a political connotation,” he wrote on his website. “The friendly, floating Rubber Duck has healing properties: it can relieve mondial tensions as well as define them. The rubber duck is soft, friendly and suitable for all ages!” [Daily Mail]

Rubber Duck in Hong Kong

Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman says “Rubber Duck” reminds grownups of their childhood.!!!!!

 

A visit from a giant, inflated “Rubber Duck” turned Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour into a bathtub on Thursday.

Thousands of Hong Kong citizens looked on as the 54-foot inflatable structure made its long-awaited entrance into the city’s harbor, CNN reports. The highly anticipated arrival came after two weeks of intense hype from local media outlets.

For Florentijn Hofman, the Dutch artist behind the beloved Rubber Duck, Hong Kong’s response to the floating art display was nothing short of overwhelming. The 36-year-old told CNN he was happy to be visiting Hong Kong, though his inflatable friend got there first.

“I’ve wanted to come for years — and my duck made it here before me!” Hofman said.

The yellow duck came to rest beside the harbor’s Ocean Terminal, with a brass band and thousands of camera shutters providing the soundtrack.

“Hong Kong has been changed forever,” Hofman said, as Rubber Duck became a temporary part of the city’s skyline.

The giant bath toy is quite the world traveler. Since beginning its international journey, Rubber Duck has made appearances in Osaka, Sydney, San Paolo and Amsterdam, CNN reports. It will remain in Hong Kong’s harbor until June 9, and then it heads to the United States.

Despite the duck’s youthful evocations, Hofman insists that his art project is for grownups, too.

“I see it as an adult thing. It makes you feel young again. It refers to your childhood when there was no stress or economic pressure, no worry about having to pay the rent,” Hofman told CNN.

While the duck has elicited laughs and delighted responses from onlookers, Hofman acknowledges that his project isn’t for everyone.

“If it makes you smile, then that’s OK, but maybe it makes you cry because of the urban environment. I make work not to give answers but to question things.”

The father of three initially conceived the art display in 2001, but he’s not done thinking about it just yet.

“It’s getting complex because I have so many thoughts about it and so many minutes of talking and thinking about it,” he told CNN.

Hofman urged everyone to formulate their own opinion on the free art display.

“Be amazed, be creative. Look at it with your eyes and absorb the energy of the work in this location,” he said.

When it finishes its stay in Hong Kong, Rubber Duck will be headed to the United States, but Hofman isn’t giving away the exact location.

“In the States, it will stay a secret until the last week.”

 source::::International Business times
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Statue of Liberty….An Inseparable Part of American identity !!!!

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The Story of the Statue of Liberty…
To the few who may not know this, the Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. The statue, a gift to the United States from the people of France, is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.

This statue has been an inseparable part of the American identity and a symbol of justice and freedom throughout the world

statue of liberty photo

 

statue of liberty photo

 

statue of liberty photo

 

statue of liberty photo

 

statue of liberty photo

 

statue of liberty photo

 

statue of liberty photo

 

statue of liberty photo

source::::babamailnet

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“Lisha.”….A Surrogate Mom !!!!

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Lisha with white tiger cubs

 

 

Lisha, a Labrador, is world famous for her mothering skills even though she’s never birthed any pups of her own. The dog, who lives at Oudtshoorn’s Cango Wildlife Ranch in South Africa, has played surrogate mom to more than 30 animals, including cheetah and tiger cubs, potbelly pigs, a porcupine, a pygmy hippo, a weasel and a barn owl.
Rob Hall, director of the wildlife refuge, says that Lisha domesticates the wild animals and serves as a bridge between them and humans. “They adjust more easily to her, and when they see that she trusts us, they are more at ease around us,” he said.
Hall and his wife, Nadine, said they noticed early on that regardless of the whether Lisha encountered a kitten or a baby hippo, she treated them all the same — like a child that needed a mother. “She would just walk up and lick the creature she was caring for. Although in the case of the porcupine that was more amusing,” Rob Hall told The Daily Mail.
source:::::stumbleupon.com
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