Singing Ringing Tree

The Singing Ringing Tree
Atop a barren hilltop in Lancashire,
England, stands this most unusual
musical sculpture. Designed by
architects Mike Tonkin and Anna
Liu, the “tree” is comprised of a
series of pipes, cut and stacked in a
spiral fashion. When the wind is
blowing (and when isn't the wind
blowing in England?!) a
mesmerizing tone echoes through
the hillside, like a lost sound effect
from a Pink Floyd album

Puzzle 1503

All shapes are exactly same in size in the pic above and below, so where did this void come from????

Dubai 2014 firework display breaks world record: Guinness

DUBAI: Dubai shattered the world record for the largest ever pyrotechnic display on New Year’s Eve with a show involving more than half a million fireworks, Guinness World Records said Wednesday.

“Ten months in planning, over 500,000 fireworks were used during the  display which lasted around six minutes, with Guinness World Records  adjudicators on hand to confirm that a new record had been set,” the Guinness  website said.

The display spanned 94 kilometres (58.4 miles) of the Dubai coast, which  boasts an archipelago of man-made islands and Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest  tower, Guinness said.

Enough fireworks were launched in the first minute of the display to break  the previous record, set by Kuwait in 2011 with an hour-long show of 77,282  fireworks.

The main displays took place at Burj Khalifa and the luxurious Atlantis  hotel located in Palm Jumeirah, one of three palm-shaped islands.

US firm Fireworks by Grucci designed the display, Guinness said, using 100  computers and 200 technicians to synchronise the pyrotechnics at a reported  cost of around $6 million (4.3 million euros).

Dubai boasts the world’s tallest tower, its largest man-made island and one  of the world’s busiest airports. 

It set its latest record in May last year with Dubai, Princess Tower,  recorded by Guinness as the world’s tallest residential building.

Dubai has been vying to become a permanent fixture on the world map of New  Year celebrations, staging spectacular shows since the opening of the 828-metre  (2,716-foot) Burj Khalifa tower in 2010. AFP

Fireworks explode from the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower, in Dubai on January 1, 2014 to celebrate the new year. Dubai kicked off New Year with a dazzling bid for a new world record to cap those the Gulf city state already holds for its mammoth property developments. The glittering fireworks display that lasted around six minutes spanned over 100 kilometres (60 miles) of the Dubai coast, which boasts an archipelago of man-made islands and Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower. 

Huge Basket Headquarters

A basket company called Longaberger in Newark, US, looks like this!The Longaberger corporate headquarters on State Route 16 is a local landmark and a well-known example of novelty architecture, since it takes the shape of their biggest seller, the "Medium Market Basket". The seven story, 180,000 square foot building opened in 1997. The basket handles weigh almost 150 tons and can be heated during cold weather to prevent ice damage.

Most beautiful Piano House -China

The Piano House located in Huainan City, An Hui Province, China. It contains a transparent violin and a piano building. Inside the violin, there is staircase toward the piano house upstairs.
This building built for music lovers acts as a performance and practicing place to music students from the local college in Huainan City, east China. It also displays various city plans and development prospects in an effort to draw interest into the recently developed area.

The Piano House is in Huainan, Anhui province, China. It serves as the local urban planning exhibition hall for the developing region, and is a tourist attraction in its own right.

This architectural innovation makes a pretty cool house, but one with little privacy given the unique appeal. People just have to see this cool house and amazing architecture. There is an escalator inside the glass cello entrance that takes one up to the main part of the house – the piano itself. However, this is not a private house, so its public appeal is very much a purposeful attempt to draw attention. The building displays various city plans and development prospects in an effort to draw interest into the recently developed area.

Com-Bat-Solar powered spy bat

Check out this crazy gadget, a solar powered spy bat called the Com-Bat 

This crazy spy gadget is being developed by the US Army and the University Of Michigan College Of Engineering.

This 6″ robotic spy plane, also known as COM-BAT, uses a low-power miniaturized radar and a very sensitive navigation system to help it find its way through the dark – just like how a bat does. It’s small size translates to limited battery power, but its beauty lies in the fact that it scavenges energy from solar, wind, vibration and other sources to help keep its battery juiced up. Being able to run indefinitely (if all conditions are met) makes this a formidable tool to provide significant and sustained information that could help turn the tide of the battle in war.

The US Army have already provided the University Of Michigan College Of Engineering with a $10 million grant to get this crazy gadget off the ground.

Electree-Solar bonsai tree

French designer Vivien Muller is the man behind this incredible concept. The Electree is a solar bonsai tree which was inspired by the tree’s ability to photosynthesise form sun. The concept took three years to reach the point where it is now. It is a perfect combination of aesthetics, ecology and functionality.

This Electree consists of 27 amorphous silicon solar panels which captures sunlight more efficiently. The Electree has been divided into different modules which rotate freely to create various shapes with the bonsai tree.


The solar panels receive the solar energy , convert it and then store it in a 13,500 mAh battery in the base of the bonsai tree. The battery can be fully charged in less than 36 hours which then can be used to charge various portable devices like MP3 players, cell phones, tablets, etc. through USB connection. The Electree is designed to place indoors near windows to get most of the sunlight possible.



Some specifications of the Bonsai Electree are:

Solar Panels: 27 (96mm x 96mm) silicon solar panels
Electree Size: 40cm high
Battery Capacity: 13,500 mAh
Electrical Output: USB + AC plug

Gryphon Attack Glider

Formerly known as The ESG Gryphon Personal Flying Wing this has to be the ultimate in Spy Gear! It has a maximum glide speed of 135 mph and has a heads up display and even on board oxygen for those high altitude launches. This one can carry a payload of 100lbs of on board gear and has hard mount points for hooking up tactical bombs or missiles! With a glide range of 125 miles and a radar cross section of a seagull (or Stealth Bomber) you can glide into North Korea take out The Great Leader and like Ace Rimmer be back in time for a smoked kipper for breakfast. Only thing is you’ll need an extraction team as landing is achieved by separation from the wing which will activate your parachute.

•  It weighs only 30 pounds and can be fully weaponized for assault and rescue. It has a 6-foot jet-wing that is steered with handheld rotary controls connected to its rudder. And it can hide more than 100 pounds of combat gear in a built-in compartment.
• The Gryphon attack glider, designed to penetrate combat zones at 135 miles per hour, could revolutionize the art of parachuting. It has got to be at the top of James Bond’s Christmas list this year.
• A vision straight out of "Batman," the carbon-fiber stealth glider quadruples the speed of similar craft — and there are quite a few special forces soldiers who would like to jump out of a plane at 30,000 feet and give it a whirl.
• Its helmet has a heads-up display and provides on-board oxygen for the jump. To land, a soldier separates the wing from his pack and releases his parachute to slow his descent. The wing remains attached to the soldier by a cord and lands before him.
• You might wonder who would volunteer to test-pilot a glider traveling at such high speeds. At ISNR London, a security conference, I had the opportunity to meet Erich Jelitko, who not only conceived the ultimate boy toy but also enthusiastically test-pilots the glider.
• A former special forces operator and German army paratrooper instructor, Jelitko has made more than 50 jumps with the glider.
• He took me through a test flight of a simulation of Paris. He demonstrated the glider’s agility by flying through the legs of the Eiffel Tower — not an easy feat at high speed. Soldiers also can opt to train on other city simulations from New York to London.
• Currently, planes and pilots are put at risk because soldiers need to jump close to combat areas. Typical high altitude, high-opening, or HAHO, jumps from around 27,000 feet allow soldiers to travel only about 30 miles after exiting the aircraft.
• The Gryphon could increase that range fourfold, creating an attack corridor of nearly 125 miles. Unaffected by headwinds or crosswinds because of its favorable lift-to-drag ratio, the glider would allow elite units to reach targets with increased speed, precision and stealth.
• The Gryphon’s built-in oxygen supply system allows soldiers to jump from up to 30,000 feet. And with temperatures at that altitude sometimes reaching minus 64 degrees Fahrenheit, every second counts. Even in upwind conditions, the Gryphon could reduce HAHO jump duration to a third, from an average of 45 minutes to just 15, vastly reducing the risk of exposure to extreme cold.
• The Gryphon’s designers, SPELCO GbR, are even planning to affix a relatively cheap and small turbo jet, which is used for unmanned military drones. Harnessing that jet, the glider would allow soldiers to jump lower, maintain altitude and travel farther than is currently possible.
• With its stealth technology and high speed, the Gryphon will provide maximum surprise and safer entry into target areas. And with the Gryphon virtually invisible to ground and airborne radar, enemy forces would struggle even to detect it.
• The stealth and speed capabilities also could be handy for agile hostage rescue operations and rapid reaction to moving targets. SPELCO is developing an electronic system to automate some of the steering to make it easier to fly, more like an airplane. If it succeeds, the average bungee jumper — and not just elite forces with specialized training — can have a go, too.
• And those commercially available Gryphons could mean that friendly neighborhood Batmen might be just around the corner.

Erector Spykey – Kit spy Robot

Erector Spykee – Kit Robot

This DIY kit Robot has caterpillar type tracks and has a camera, Wi-Fi and an in-built microphone. Spykey even comes with its own software to enable it to be controlled from anywhere on the net. It has a functional webcam and a VOIP (Skype compatible) speaker phone. We only wish it would come in black or a Darth Vader model. 

While the Spykee set can be built into three different robot models and is compatible with other Erector sets, the most intriguing aspect of the $280 kit for me is the telepresence capability: Spykee serves as a fully functional webcam and VOIP speakerphone; it’s even Skype compatible. 

How Undersea Cables are Laid by Cable Ships?

Recently there was a disruption on the SEA-ME-WE 4 cable connecting SEACOM to London through the Mediterranean Sea.Due to this we had various questions asking us exactly how undersea cables are laid. This short video explains the process SEACOM took while laying the undersea cable.With the global explosion of world-wide telecommunication, the demand for underwater communication has become increasingly requisite. Underwater cables are laid from specially designed cable ships which can stock thousands of miles of coiled cable in their holds. The special amplifiers, spaced about 25 miles apart, within these undersea cables, are used usually to boost up the voltage of the signals carried in them in order to prevent the losses in the cable.
However, the cable ships must take necessary measures while laying out the fiber optic cables in the sea bed to ensure that they do not break and the amplifiers do not get damaged, and can work for many decades uninterruptedly. 

Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa , known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the tallest man-made structure in the world, at 829.8 m (2,722 ft).

Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010,and is part of the new 2 km²  development called Downtown Dubai at the 'First Interchange' along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business district.

In March 2009, Mohamed Ali Alabbar, chairman of the project's developer, Emaar Properties, said office space pricing at Burj Khalifa reached US$4,000 per sq ft (over US$43,000 per m²) and the Armani Residences, also in Burj Khalifa, sold for US$3,500 per sq ft (over US$37,500 per m²).He estimated the total cost for the project to be about US$1.5 billion.

The project's completion coincided with the global financial crisis of 2007–2012, and with vast overbuilding in the country; this led to high vacancies and foreclosures.With Dubai mired in debt from its huge ambitions, the government was forced to seek multibillion dollar bailouts from its oil-rich neighbor Abu Dhabi. Subsequently, in a surprise move at its opening ceremony, the tower was renamed Burj Khalifa, said to honor the UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his crucial support.

Records

• Tallest existing structure: 829.8 m (2,722 ft) (previously KVLY-TV mast – 628.8 m/2,063 ft)
• Tallest structure ever built: 829.8 m (2,722 ft) (previously Warsaw radio mast – 646.38 m/2,121 ft)
• Tallest freestanding structure: 829.8 m (2,722 ft) (previously CN Tower – 553.3 m/1,815 ft)
• Tallest skyscraper (to top of spire): 829.8 m (2,722 ft) (previously Taipei 101 – 509.2 m/1,671 ft)
• Tallest skyscraper to top of antenna: 829.8 m (2,722 ft) (previously the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower – 527 m/1,729 ft)
• Building with most floors: 163 (previously Willis (formerly Sears) Tower – 108)
• Building with world's highest occupied floor
• World's highest elevator installation (situated inside a rod at the very top of the building)
• World's longest travel distance elevators
• Highest vertical concrete pumping (for a building): 606 m (1,988 ft)
• First world's tallest structure to include residential space
• World's second highest outdoor observation deck: 124th floor at 452 m (1,483 ft) When it first opened, the observation deck was the highest outdoor observation deck in the World, but it has since been surpassed by Cloud Top 488 on top of Canton Tower.
• World's highest installation of an aluminium and glass façade: 512 m (1,680 ft)
• World's highest nightclub: 144th floor
• World's highest restaurant (At.mosphere): 122nd floor at 442 m (1,450 ft) (previously 360, at a height of 350 m/1,148 ft in CN Tower)
• World's highest New Year display of fireworks.
• World's second highest swimming pool: 76th floor (world's highest swimming pool is located on 118th floor of Ritz-Carlton Hotel at International Commerce Centre, Hong Kong).

  Facts
  Official Name	Burj Khalifa
  Former / Other Name	Burj Dubai
  Type	building
  Status	Completed
  Country	United Arab Emirates
  City	Dubai
  Proposed	2003
  Start of Construction	2004
  Completion	2010
  Global Ranking	#1 tallest in the World
  Regional Ranking	#1 tallest in Middle East
  National Ranking	#1 tallest in UAE
  City Ranking	#1 tallest in Dubai Figures Height: Architectural 828.0 meter / 2717 feet Height: Occupied 584.5 meter / 1918 feet Height: To Tip 829.8 meter / 2723 feet Height: Observatory 452.1 meter / 1483 feet Floors Above Ground 163 Floors Below Ground 1 # of Elevators 58 Top Elevator Speed 10 m/s Tower GFA 309,473 m² / 3,331,140 ft² # of Apartments 900 # of Hotel Rooms 304 # of Parking Spaces 2957

  The below image is the picture taken from Burj Khalifa..

List of tallest buildings and structures in the world

The world's tallest man-made structure is the 829.8 m (2,722 ft) tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai,United Arab Emirates. The building gained the official title of "Tallest Building in the World" at its opening on January 4, 2010.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, an organization that certifies buildings as the "World’s Tallest", recognizes a building only if at least fifty percent of its height is made up of floor plates containing habitable floor area. Structures that do not meet this criterion, such as the CN Tower, are defined as "towers".

There are dozens of radio and television broadcasting towers which measure over 600 metres (about 2,000 ft) in height, and only the tallest are recorded in publicly available information sources.

Category	Structure	Country	City	Height (metres)	Height (feet)	Year Built	Coordinates
Skyscraper	Burj Khalifa	United Arab Emirates	Dubai	829.8	2,722	2010	25°11′50.0″N55°16′26.6″E
Self supporting tower	Tokyo Sky Tree	Japan	Tokyo	634	2,080	2011	35°42′36.5″N139°48′39″E
Guyed Mast	KVLY-TV mast	United States	Blanchard	628.8	2,063	1963	47°20′31.85″N97°17′21.13″W
Clock building	Abraj Al Bait Towers	Saudi Arabia	Mecca	601	1,972	2011	21°25′08″N39°49′35″E
Mast radiator	Lualualei VLF transmitter	United States	Lualualei	458	1,503	1962	21°25′11.87″N158°08′53.67″W ; 21°25′13.38″N158°09′14.35″W
Twin towers	Petronas Twin Towers	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	452	1,482	1998	3°09′27.45″N101°42′40.7″E; 3°09′29.45″N101°42′43.4″E
Chimney	Ekibastuz GRES-2 Power Station	Kazakhstan	Ekibastusz	419.7	1,377	1987	52°1′26.3″N75°28′34.5″E
Radar	Dimona Radar Facility	Israel	Dimona	400	1,312	2008	30°58′6.93″N35°05′49.64″E ; 30°58′32.46″N35°05′55.25″E
Lattice tower	Kiev TV Tower	Ukraine	Kiev	385	1,263	1973	50°28′16.49″N30°27′11.97″E
Electricity pylon	Zhoushan Island Overhead Powerline Tie	China	Damao	370	1,214	2009	29°56′2.78″N122°2′10.12″E ; 29°54′41.39″N122°1′26.38″E
Partially guyed tower	Gerbrandy Tower	Netherlands	IJsselstein	366.8	1,203	1961	52°00′36.24″N05°03′12.87″E
Guyed tubular steel mast	TV Tower Vinnytsia	Ukraine	Vinnytsia	354	1,161	1961	49°14′30.04″N28°25′25.25″E
Bridge pillar	Millau Viaduct	France	Millau	342	1,122	2004	44°05′09.97″N03°01′17.94″E
Meteorological tower	Obninsk Meteorological tower	Russia	Obninsk	315	1034	1958	55°06′42″N36°35′34″E
Blaw-Knox Tower	Lakihegy Tower	Hungary	Szigetszentmiklós-Lakihegy	314	1,031	1933, 1968	47°22′23″N19°00′16″E
Dam	Nurek Dam	Tajikistan	Nurek	300	984	1980	38°22′17.09″N69°20′53.57″E
Concrete dam	Grande Dixence Dam	Switzerland	Val d'Hérens	285	935	1965	46°4′49.89″N7°24′13.13″E
Minaret	Hassan II Mosque	Morocco	Casablanca	210	689	1993	33°36′28.71″N7°37′58.16″W
Wind turbine	Two on lattice towers	Poland	Nowy Tomyśl	210	689	2012
Cooling tower	Niederaussem Power Station	Germany	Niederaussem	200	656	2003	50°59′45.91″N6°40′16.79″E
Monument	Gateway Arch	United States	St. Louis	192	630	1965	38°37′28.62″N90°11′5.87″W
Water tower	Main tower of Kuwait Towers	Kuwait	Kuwait City	187	614	1979	29°23′22.75″N48°00′11.57″E
Wooden structure	ATLAS-I at Kirtland Air Force Base	United States	Albuquerque	180	600	1980	35.029898°N 106.557574°W