Pictures of Arrested Suicide Bomber in Pakistan, He is a teen.
July 12th, 2009 socalledengineer Posted in Amazing, Facts, General, Images, news No Comments »
Pictures of Arrested Suicide Bomber in Pakistan, He is a teen.
June 19th, 2009 socalledengineer Posted in Amazing, Facts, Images, news No Comments »
Vertical City – Dubai 2.4 KM Tall
May 1st, 2009 socalledengineer Posted in Funny, Top 10, news No Comments »
“It will be years –not in my time– before a woman will become Prime Minister.”
–Margaret Thatcher, October 26th, 1969.
She became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom only 10 years after saying that, holding her chair from 1979 to 1990. But she wasn’t all that wrong since she is the only woman to have held this post. Maybe she should have added the word “again.”
“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”
–Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
It may sound ridiculous now, but the prediction was actually true for about ten years after it was made. Almost every forecaster would settle for a ten year limit on the testing of their forecasts. Of course, by the 1980s and the advent of the PC, such a statement looked plain daft.
“That virus [HIV] is a pussycat.”
–Dr. Peter Duesberg, molecular-biology professor at U.C. Berkeley, 1988,
By 2006, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and the World Health Organization estimated that AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized on December 1, 1981.
“Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You’re crazy.”
–Associates of Edwin L. Drake refusing his suggestion to drill for oil in 1859.
Only one hundred fifty years passed by since the first attempt to dig out oil from the ground met such contempt, and now the whole world is trying to look for unimaginable places to satiate the thirst for money that is propelled and sustained on this black gold.
“A rocket will never be able to leave the Earth’s atmosphere.”
–New York Times, 1936.
10 years later, in 1946, the first American-built rocket to leave the earth’s atmosphere was launched from White Sands, attaining 50 miles of altitude.
“Reagan doesn’t have that presidential look.”
–United Artists Executive, rejecting Reagan as lead in 1964 film The Best Man
Before becoming the 40th President of the United States in 1981, Ronald Reagan pursued an acting career, but spent the majority of his Hollywood career in the “B film” division. In 1964 he was rejected for a part in a movie with presidential candidate theme due to “not having the presidential look”.
“The singer [Mick Jagger] will have to go; the BBC won’t like him.”
— First Rolling Stones manager Eric Easton to his partner after watching them perform.
We can only wonder what Sir Michael Philip “Mick” Jagger, Golden Globe, Grammy Award-winning English singer-songwriter, rock musician and occasional actor, has to say about it now.
“Rail travel at high speed is not possible because passengers, unable to breathe, would die of asphyxia.”
–Dr Dionysys Larder (1793-1859)
It may sound impossible to Dr Larder, professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy at the University College London back in the 1800, but in 1939 the first high speed train went from Milan to Florence at 165 km/h (102.5 mph). Thankfully no one died. Nowadays these trains go at 200 km/h (125 mph) and faster.
“Heavier-than- air flying machines are impossible.”
–Lord Kelvin, 1895.
This was said by Lord Kelvin (British mathematician and physicist, president of the British Royal Society) only eight years before brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright took their home-built flyer to the sandy dunes of Kitty Hawk, cranked up the engine, and took off into the history books.
“There will never be a bigger plane built.”
–A Boeing engineer, after the first flight of the 247, a twin engine plane that holds ten people.
What would this engineer say if he saw the current largest passenger plane on earth, the Airbus A380? The Airbus A380 has 50% more floor space than arch rival Boeing’s 747 Jumbo, with room for duty-free shops, restaurants and even a sauna, and can provide site for up to 853 people.
“Taking the best left-handed pitcher in baseball and converting him into a right fielder is one of the dumbest things I ever heard.”
– Tris Speaker, baseball hall of famer, talking about Babe Ruth, 1919.
Ruth has been named the greatest baseball player in history in various surveys and rankings, and his home run hitting prowess made him a larger than life figure in the “Roaring Twenties”. He became the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season (1927), a record which stood for 34 years until broken by Roger Maris in 1961. Ruth’s lifetime total of 714 home runs at his retirement in 1935 was a record for 39 years, until broken by Hank Aaron in 1974.
“Ours has been the first [expedition] , and doubtless to be the last, to visit this profitless locality.”
—- Lt. Joseph Ives, after visiting the Grand Canyon in 1861.
More than a century later, five million people annually visit this “profitless locality,” by car, foot, air, and on the Colorado River itself.
“If excessive smoking actually plays a role in the production of lung cancer, it seems to be a minor one.”
–W.C. Heuper, National Cancer Institute, 1954.
In 1964 the United States Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health began suggesting the relationship between smoking and cancer , which confirmed its suggestions 20 years later in the 1980s. Nowadays, it’s well known that long-term exposure to tobacco smoke is the most common causes of lung cancer .
“You better get secretarial work or get married.”
–Emmeline Snively, advising would-be model Marilyn Monroe in 1944.
In 1944, Marilyn Monroe was discovered by a photographer who encouraged her to apply to The Blue Book modeling agency. She was told by Snively, director of the Modelling Agency that she should became a secretary, besides they were looking for models with lighter hair. So Marilyn dyed her brunette hair to a golden blonde. She finally signed a contract with the agency. And of course, became Blue Book’s most successful model.
“Read my lips: No new taxes.”
–George Bush, 1988.
That pledge was the centerpiece of Bush’s acceptance address, written by speechwriter Peggy Noonan, for his party’s nomination at the 1988 Republican National Convention . It was a strong, decisive, bold statement, and you don’t need a history degree to see where this is going. As presidents sometimes must, Bush raised taxes. His words were used against him by then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton in a devastating attack ad during the 1992 presidential campaign.
April 28th, 2009 socalledengineer Posted in Amazing, Images, news No Comments »
At the start of the twentieth century, women across the world were fighting for the right to vote. In Britain it took a radical campaign led by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Christabel and Sylvia to achieve votes for women.
This image captures the moment in 1914 when Emmeline Pankhurst, who had chained herself to the railings of Buckingham Palace in protest, was arrested and literally carried away. Women were fully granted the right to vote in 1928.
In 1917 a revolution in Russia overthrew the Tsarist monarchy and brought Vladimir Lenin to power as leader of the world’s first communist government.
Pictured here is Tsar Nicholas II (far left) with his children. Growing unrest fuelled by strikes and demonstrations across Russia forced the Tsar to abdicate in 1917. In July 1918 he and all his family were murdered by the Communists. Rumours circulated that his youngest daughter Anastasia (pictured second from the right) survived the slaughter. Forensic evidence has since dismissed the veracity of these claims.

In 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serb nationalist in Sarajevo. The local conflict escalated into a world war that lasted 4 years and 3 months. More than 37 million men died in the land war. Civilian deaths amounted to over 10 million.
World War I was characterized by trench warfare. Here Allied troops attack the Hindenburg line—highly fortified German trenches—during the Battle of the Argonne in 1918. The battle caused the final breakdown of German resistance and helped bring about the armistice.

Following a decade marked by optimism, high employment and prosperity, the Wall Street Crash in 1929 caused a complete evaporation of confidence in banks and the stock market. Leading to widespread bankruptcies, destitution and unemployment, the crash was the trigger for the worldwide Great Depression during the 1930s.
In this image panicked bankers rush to withdraw their deposits in cash.
The holocaust was the worst genocide in history. It saw the organized and systematic extermination of nearly 6 million Jewish people by Nazi Germany before and during World War II. Anti-Jewish economic and nationalistic policies led to deportations, ghettos, massacres, and then to the starvation, torture and gassing of Jewish people in the concentration camps of central Europe.
On August 6, 1945 an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan during World War II. The blast virtually levelled more than ten sq km (four sq mi) of the city and killed more than 100,000 people, 66,000 of whom died instantly. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki killing a further 60,000 people. The US justification for using the atomic bomb was to end the war quickly, without the loss of American lives.
The devastation caused by the bomb had so great an impact on the world that historians draw a sharp distinction between the nuclear age and all previous periods.

Martin Luther King, Jr., emerged as a leader of the American civil rights movement. Throughout his career, he organized non-violent protests and delivered powerful speeches on the necessity of eradicating racial inequalities. In 1963 King led a peaceful march to the Lincoln Memorial, where he delivered his most famous speech which began:
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.”

In 1969 humankind achieved the long-sought goal of landing on the Moon. Neil Armstrong marked his first step on the surface of the Moon by saying the now iconic words “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. Joined by fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the two men spent more than two hours
walking on the lunar surface before re-boarding Apollo 11 (manned by Michael Collins) and returning safely to Earth.

In 1953 Watson and Crick published a paper revealing the double-helix structure of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). The implications of this discovery (the double-helix pointed to ways in which DNA could be reproduced and to ways in which DNA could encode information) were immense and remain a driving force behind science today.
This scan, showing the arrangement of specific polymorphisms within different DNA samples, allows experts to take a closer look at the genetic make-up of each individual. With the completion of the human genome sequence in 2003, geneticists hope to compile a map identifying and locating every gene in the human body, and to use it to catalogue the genetic differences between individuals in the population.

On September 11, 2001 over 2,800 people lost their lives when two hijacked aeroplanes flew into the side of the World Trade Center. While thousands descended the stairwells of the twin towers to safety, many firefighters were seen climbing up the stairs in a heroic attempt to rescue trapped office workers.
The attacks awakened the United States to its vulnerability to terrorist attacks and led to President Bush and his government launching a “war on terrorism”.
Courtesy: http://uk.encarta.msn.com/
April 23rd, 2009 socalledengineer Posted in General, news No Comments »
The Worlds First Dynamic Architecture
Rotating Skyscraper Has Wind Turbine Power
The Dynamic Architecture building, which will be constantly in motion changing its shape, will be able to generate electric energy for itself as well as for other buildings. Forty-eight wind turbines fitted between each rotating floors as well as the solar panels positioned on the roof of the building will produce energy from wind and the sunlight, with no risk of pollution. The total energy produced by this inbuilt ‘powerhouse’ every year will be worth approximately seven million dollars.

Each turbine can produce 0.3 megawatt of electricity, compared to 1-1.5 megawatt generated by a normal vertical turbine (windmill). Considering that Dubai gets 4,000 wind hours annually, the turbines incorporated into the building can generate 1,200,000 kilowatt-hour of energy.
As average annual power consumption of a family is estimated to be 24,000 kilowatt-hour, each turbine can supply energy for about 50 families. The Dynamic Architecture tower in Dubai will be having 200 apartments and hence four turbines can take care of their energy needs. The surplus clean energy produced by the remaining 44 turbines can light up the neighborhood of the building.

For an overview of the rotating skyscraper and a quick look at the dynamic architecture that underlies it, take a look at this video.
However, taking into consideration that the average wind speed in Dubai is of only 16 km/h the architects may need to double the number of turbines to light up the building to eight. Still there will be 40 free turbines, good enough to supply power for five skyscrapers of the same size.

The horizontal turbines of the Dynamic Architecture building are simply inserted between the floors, practically invisible. They neither need a pole nor a concrete foundation. In addition, they are at zero distance from the consumer, which makes maintenance easier.

The modern design of the building and the carbon fiber special shape of the wings take care of the acoustics issues. Producing that much electric energy without any implication on the aesthetic aspect of the building is a revolutionary step in tapping alternative energy sources. Furthermore, this energy will have a positive impact on the environment and economy.

April 20th, 2009 socalledengineer Posted in Amazing, Images, news No Comments »
Owner: Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum – UAE
This car is worth 5 million pounds… Bugatti Veyron in Dubai this is an awesome machine V16 engine 1000bhp with 9 radiators top speed 405km/hr. No one can beat this car in a drag race Probably the most expensive car in the world with the most expensive number plate in the UAE!!!
Here are some snaps of it parked at MALL OF THE EMIRATES
April 19th, 2009 socalledengineer Posted in news 1 Comment »
Members of one of Brazil’s uncontacted indigenous tribes have been photographed in a protected area of the Amazon jungle near Peru. All pictures: Brazil National Indian Foundation (Funai)
Funai officials said the aircraft passed over the site a number of times, and photographed “strong and healthy” warriors, women and children, six huts and a large planted area.
The first flight had an obvious impact on the tribe. By the time the plane returned, most of the women and children had fled and those who remained had painted their bodies.
These images are all from a later pass by the plane. The men, painted red, brandished weapons and fired off some arrows at the aircraft. The person in black may be a woman.
The government said the images would prove those who doubted the tribe’s existence wrong. The tribe, which has not yet been identified, is one of four different isolated groups in the region.
Funai says it does not make contact with the tribes and prevents invasions of their land, to ensure their total autonomy.
More than half the world’s 100 uncontacted tribes live in Brazil or Peru and campaigners say many face threats to their land from illegal logging.(BBC)
April 19th, 2009 socalledengineer Posted in Techonology, news No Comments »
This car is really different.
That’s not what is different about it.
That either.
…..and now for the ‘really different’ part: Here is what is different
No steering wheel, you drive it with a joystick. No pedals either.
Can you drive with a joystick? Your kids and grandkids probably can.
The influence of video games in our lives has really arrived, wouldn’t you say?
April 19th, 2009 socalledengineer Posted in Techonology, news No Comments »
The objective of developing a roadworthy vehicle that consumes just 1.0 litre of fuel per 100 kilometres could not be achieved through compromise. All existing technical solutions were examined, and in close cooperation with numerous suppliers, replaced by better, and principally lighter versions. The result is a vehicle that looks more like a sports car than a typical research vehicle.