The 7 wonders of Ultramodern Dubai

By 2010 –the year Dubai’s known oil reserves will most likely be tapped out–, prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum is expecting to attract 15 million tourists. Here’s how.

Burj Dubai: world’s tallest building

The Burj Dubai will be the world’s tallest building when it opens in 2009. The building is part of a 2 km2 (0.8 sq mi) development called ‘Downtown Dubai’ and is located at the “First Interchange” along Sheikh Zayed Road at Doha Street. The building was designed by Adrian Smith before he left Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM) of Chicago to start his own independent practice, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture in October 2006.[3] SOM continues to lead the architectural, structural engineering and mechanical engineering of theBurj Dubai. The total budget for the Burj Dubai project is about $4 billion US dollars and for the entire new ‘Downtown Dubai’, $20 billion US Dollars.

Its shape is inspired by the indigenous desert flowers that often appear as decorative patterns in Islamic architecture, but it also has an engineering purpose: The swirl shape ensures that the mass of the structure lessens as it reaches the top, making the structure steadier. A mixed-use building developed by Dubai’s Emaar Properties, theBurj Dubai will house shops, offices, residences, and entertainment venues.

Palm Islands: palm-shaped man-made island

The Palm Islands in Dubai are the three largest artificial islands in the world. They are being constructed by Nakheel Properties, a property developer in the United Arab Emirates, who hired the Dutch dredging and marine contractor Van Oord, one of the world’s specialists in land reclamation. The islands are The Palm Jumeirah, The Palm Jebel Ali and The Palm Deira. The Islands are located off the coast of TheUnited Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf and will add 520 km of beaches to the city of Dubai.

The first two islands will comprise approximately 100 million cubic meters of rock and sand. Palm Deira will be composed of approximately 1 billion cubic meters of rock and sand. All materials will be quarried in the UAE. Between the three islands there will be over 100 luxury hotels, exclusive residential beach side villas and apartments, marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities and health spas. The creation of The Palm Jumeirah began in June 2001. Shortly after, The Palm Jebel Ali was announced and reclamation work began. In 2004, The Palm Deira, which will be almost as large in size as Paris, was announced. Palm Jumeirah is currently open for development. Construction will be completed over the next 10-15 years.

Dubailand: world’s largest amusement park

Dubailand is to be the largest amusement park collection in the world. Twice the size of Disney World, it is expected to be a full featured city divided into six theme worlds:

• Attractions & Experience World 13 km² (5.2 mile²)
  • Universal Studios Dubai
  • Tiger Woods Dubai
  • Bawadi
  • Global Village
  • Kids City
  • Giants World
  • Water Parks
  • Aquadunya
  • Dubai Snowdome, an indoor ski resort.
• Retail and Entertainment World 4 km² (1.6 mile²)
  • Flea Market
  • World Trade Park
  • Auction World
  • Factory Outlets
• Sports and Outdoor World 19 km² (7.4 mile²)
  • Dubai Sports City
  • Emerat Sports World
  • Plantation Equestrian and Polo Club
  • Dubai Autodrome
  • Dubai Golf City

  

• Themed Leisure and Vacation World 29 km² (11.2 mile²)
  • Women’s World
  • Destination Dubai
  • Desert Kingdom
  • Andalusian Resort and Spa
• Eco-Tourism World 75 km² (28.9 mile²)
  • Al Sahra Desert Resort
  • Sand Dune Hotel
  • Al Kaheel
• Downtown 1.8 km² (0.7 mile²)
  • Mall of Arabia, which will be the world’s largest shopping mall
  • City Walk
  • The Great Dubai Wheel, which will be the world’s 2nd largest observation wheel after Shanghai Kiss
  • Virtual Game World

Hydropolis: world’s first underwater luxury resort

Hydropolis, the world’s first underwater luxury resort, brings new meaning to the “ocean-view room.” Situated 66 feet below the surface of the Persian Gulf, Hydropolis will feature 220 guest suites. Reinforced by concrete and steel, its Plexiglas walls and bubble-shaped dome ceilings offer sights of fish and other sea creatures. It’s scheduled to open in 2009.

The World Islands: man-made islands in the form of a world map

Ever wish the world was smaller? The World is a man-made archipelago of 300 islands in the shape of a world map. The World is being built primarily using sand dredged from the sea. Each island ranges from 23,000 m2 to 84,000 m2 (250,000–900,000 square feet or 5.7–21 acres) in size, with 50–100 m of water between each island. The development will cover an area of 9 km in length and 6 km in width, surrounded by an oval breakwater. The only means of transport between the islands will be by boat and helicopter. Prices for the islands will range from $15-45 million (USD). The average price for an island will be around $25 million (USD). Dredging started in 2004 and as of March of 2007 The World is around 90% complete. According to the National Geographic Channel (The Best of Megastructures) the overall price for the World is $14 Billion US Dollars.

Dubai Mall: largest mall in the world

The Dubai Mall claims to be the largest mall in the world when completed. It will cover a total area of more than 12 million ft², with 10 – 15 individual smaller malls built inside it, consisting of 9 million ft² of shopping retail space (comprising of a total of more than 1000 stores).

Featured attractions include the world’s largest gold souk; the 850,000 ft² Fashion Island; one of the world’s largest aquariums; an Olympic-sized ice skating rink; Oasis Fountain Waterfall; WaterFront Atrium; a view of the (soon to be completed) world’s tallest building,Burj Dubai . The mall has already won five awards. It won two awards at the Retail Future Project Awards at MAPIC, Cannes, in 2004, for Best Retail Development Scheme (Large), Best Use of Lighting in a Retail Environment. And the Dubai Mall brochure has won three awards at the Summit Creative Awards 2005, in Portland, Oregon; Gold award for Best Art Direction / Graphic Design, Silver award for Best 4-colour B2BBrochure , and Judges Special Recognition award. The mall is being built by a Joint Venture of Dutco Balfour Beatty and AGCCC for client Emaar Properties and was scheduled to be completed in 2006, claiming to be the size of 50 “international-sized football(soccer) pitches”. It is now expected to be completed in 2008.

Ski Dubai: largest indoor ski resorts in the world

Ski Dubai, which is already open, is claimed to be the largest indoor ski resorts in the world, with 22,500-square metres of indoor ski area. It is a part of the Mall of the Emirates, which is one of the largest malls in the world.

An extremely efficient insulation system is the key to maintain the temperature of -1 degrees Celsius during the day and -6 degrees during the night when the snow is produced.

source: www.oddee.com

TO ALL FOLKS WHO WERE BORN IN 1930’s, 1940’s, 1950’s, 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s!!

First, some of us survived being born to mothers who did not have an OB-Gyne and drank San Miguel Beer while they carried us. While pregnant, they took cold or cough medicine, a tea Linunod, balikutsa, Bukhayo and didn’t worry about diabetes.

Then after all that trauma, our baby cribs were made of hard wood covered with lead-based paints,ang uban kay duyan nga habol gihigtan ug pisi nga inigtabyog ug kusog ma pakong intawon ta sa bongbong. We had no soft cushy cribs that play music, no disposable diapers (lampin lang sa General Milling nga naa’y faded picture nga nag-salute) and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, no kneepads, wa pa gyu’y break ang bisikleta.

As children, we would ride in hot un-airconditioned buses with wooden seats (Bisaya Bus nga pultahan puros ang kilid, Corominas Bus nga senimana ang brake, trak ni Nitoy ug Ninoy), or cars with no airconditioning & no seat belts (karon kay Minibus na nga nindot kaayo ug sounds or Ceres Bus nga bugnaw ug aircon)

Riding on the back of a carabao on a breezy summer day was considered a treat. (karon; ang mga bata wa na kaila ug Kabaw)

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT bottled mineral water sa Nature Spring or Viva,or Absolute Mineral water (usahay gani, straight from the faucet or poso or Tabay!) We shared one soft drink bottle with four of our friends, and NO ONE actually died from this. Or contacted hepatitis.

We ate rice with star margarine, bahaw nga gibutangan ug asin ug mantika sa baboy, linong-ag saging ug ginamos, drank raw eggs straight from the shell,and drank sofdrinks with real sugar in it (dili diet coke or Pepsi Max), but we weren’t sick or overweight kay……

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, and get back when the streetlights came on. Syatong, Bato-Lata,Bagol, Dakop-Dakop, Tago-Tago, Ngita’g Kakak. No one was able to reach us all day ( wala pa’y uso ang cellphone) . And yes, we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our wooden trolleys (kadtong bearing ang ligid) or Karitong Kawayan nga karaang tsinilas ang giporma nga ligid and then ride down the street , wa ma’y gidungog nga naligsan atoh! After hitting the sidewalk or falling into a canal (sewage channel) a few times, we learned to solve the problem ourselves with our bare & dirty hands.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo’s, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 100 channels on cable, no DVD movies, no surround stereo, no IPOD’s, no cell phones, no computers, no Internet, no chat rooms, and no Facebooks. …….. …

WE HAD REAL FRIENDS and we went outside to actually talk and play with them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no stupid lawsuits from these accidents. The only rubbing we get is from our friends with the words..sakit bai ? pero kung kontra gani nimo ang imong kadula,,,,singgitan lang dayon ug..Maayora, Gabaan!

We played marbles (jolen) in the dirt, washed our hands just a little and ate Pan Bahug-bahug & Bagumbayan(recycled bread man diay to kay wa mahalin!) We were not afraid of getting germs in our stomachs.
>
We had to live with homemade toy guns (giporma nga kahoy,gihigtan ug garter ug lastiko) , saplong , tirador ug uban pa nga pwedeng magkasakitay. Pero lingaw gihapon kaayo ang
tanan.

We made up games with sticks ( syatong ), and cans ( Bato-Lata ) and although we were told they were dangerous, wa man gyud to’y actual nga nabuta bah, bukol lang nuon sa agtang naa.

We walked, rode bikes, or took tricycles to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or batoon ug gagmay nga bato ang bungbong, or just yelled for them to jump out the window!

Mini basketball teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t pass had to learn to deal with the disappointment. Wa pa nang mga childhood depression ug damaged self esteem ek-ek ra na. Ang maglagot,pildi. Ang mga Ginikanan naa ra sa daplin para motan-aw ra sa duwa sa mga bata, dili para manghilabot ug makig-away sa ubang parents.

That generation of ours has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, creative thinkers and successful professionals ever! They are the CEO’s, Engineers, Doctors and Military Generals of today.

The past 60 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had failure, success, and responsibility. We learned from our mistakes the hard way. You might want to share this with others who’ve had the luck to grow up as real kids. We were lucky indeed.

And if you like, forward it to your kids too, so they will know how brave their parents were.

It kind of makes you want to go out and climb a tree,doesn’t it?!

PS: This is not mine.  Share2 ra ko.. ^_^..

source: www.bisdakrevolution.com

Study Tips for Math at Home (para imo ni Bon ^_^)

Make photocopies of textbook problems.

Math books give you sample problems to solve, but they often don’t give you enough similar problems to help you understand a process. You can photocopy or scan a page with good samples and re-work the problems several times, perhaps once a day. By solving the same problems over and over, you’ll better understand the processes that you go through.

Buy used textbooks.
Sometimes we don’t understand a concept because the explanation is just plain bad or it’s not written in a way we can understand. It’s good to have an alternate text that gives alternate explanations and additional sample problems to work out. Many used book stores will have inexpensive texts.

Study actively.
Don’t just work out a problem. Draw pictures and diagrams of a process and make up stories to go along with them. If you are an auditory learner you may want to make brief recordings of yourself defining some terms or processes.

Auditory Learning Tips
Tactile Learning Tips
Visual Learning Tips

Read actively.

Use sticky note flags to mark important things in your chapter or things you need to ask about in class. If you have a sample problem that you’ve worked out and you’d like to have similar problems for additional practice, mark it with a flag and ask the teacher in class.

Read the end of your assigned chapter first. Take a look at the problems you’ll be solving to get a preview of your goals. This gives your brain a framework to work with.

Make flashcards for terms.

Flashcards are good for visual and tactile learners. They reinforce information as you see it and as you create it with your own hand.

Use college prep study guides.

If you can’t find an old textbook to use in addition to your class text, try using an SAT, ACT, or CLEP study guide. They often provide great explanations and sample problems. You can also find free online study guides for these tests.

Take breaks.

If you come across a problem that you don’t understand, read it over a few times and try—but then walk away from it and make a sandwich or do some other small task (not other homework). Your brain will continue to work on the problem subconsciously.

Study Tips for Math In Class

Review yesterday’s notes before class.

In the minutes before class starts, look over notes from yesterday. Determine if there are any sample problems or concepts you should ask about.

Record lectures.

If the teacher allows it, record your class. You will often find that you miss small steps in your notes or you don’t quite pick up on an explanation that the teacher gives. A class recording will pick up everything. Auditory learners will really benefit from listening.

Remember, just because your math class lasts 45 minutes, don’t think you’re going to end up with 45 minutes of lecture to listen to. You’ll find that the actual talking time is about 15 minutes.

Ask for extra sample problems.

Ask your teacher to solve sample problems. That’s a teacher’s job! Don’t let a topic go by if you don’t get it. Don’t be shy.

Draw anything the teacher draws.

If the teacher makes a drawing on the board, you should always copy it. Even if you don’t think it’s important at the time or you don’t understand it at the time. You will!

Study Tips for Math Tests

Review old tests.

Old tests are the best clues to future tests. They are good for establishing a strong foundation for the newer information, but the also provide insight as to how the teacher thinks.

Practice neatness.

How unfortunate would it be to miss a test question out of sloppiness? It’s important to make sure you can line up problems neatly so you don’t confuse yourself, and also to make sure you can tell your sevens from your ones.

Find a study partner.

You’ve heard it before, but it’s worth repeating. A study partner can test you and help you understand things you can’t get on your own.

Understand the process.

You sometimes hear that it doesn’t matter how you come up with the right answer, just as long as you get there. This is not always true. You should always strive to understand an equation or a process.

Is it logical?

As you work out a story problem, always give your answer the logic test. For example, if you are asked to find the speed of a car traveling between two distances, you are probably in trouble if your answer is 750 mph.

Apply the logic test as you study so you don’t repeat a faulty process during your test.

Weird Facts

1.Skepticisms is the longest word that alternates hands when typing!

2. In Bangladesh, kids as young as 15 can be jailed for cheating on their finals!

3. A company in Taiwan makes dinnerware out of wheat, so you can eat your plate!

4. Fortune cookies were actually invented in America, in 1918, by Charles Jung!

5. There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with: orange, purple, and month! Interesting tries from our readers: orange: door hinge, melange (French for mix)
purple: hurtle, durple?, turtle month: once, bunth?, hunch

6.Like fingerprints, everyone’s tongue print is different!

7.Eskimo ice cream is neither icy, or creamy!

8. Clinophobia is the fear of beds!

9. Pinocchio is Italian for “pine eye”!

10. The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is “uncopyrightable”!

11. There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos!

12. There is one slot machine in Las Vegas for every eight inhabitants!

13. Most lipstick contains fish scales!

14. On average, people fear spiders more than they do death.

15. Nose prints are used to identify dogs, just like humans use fingerprints!

16. Porcupines float in water!

17. Saturday mail delivery in Canada was eliminated by Canada Post on February 1, 1969!

18. In Tokyo, a bicycle is faster than a car for most trips of less than 50 minutes!

19. Your body is creating and killing 15 million red blood cells per second!

20. When glass breaks, the cracks move faster than 3,000 miles per hour. To photograph the event, a camera must shoot at a millionth of a second!

21. A Boeing 747 airliner holds 57,285 gallons of fuel!

22. A car uses 1.6 ounces of gas idling for one minute. Half an ounce is used to start the average automobile!

23. The electric chair was invented by a dentist!

What is Phobia?

A PHOBIA is an extreme fear or morbid dread on something.

Ordinary fear is not a phobia. Yes, fear alone does not distinguish a phobia. Both fear and avoidance must be evident.

The word Phobia is Greek, therefore any word that is connected to it should be Greek, however, this rule has been broken many times in the past especially within the medical profession. They have used a Latin word affixed to the Greek stem to form some phobia names. the language pundits frown on this but it has happened time and time again over the years and these words become accepted.

Three different Categories of Phobias:

1. Agoraphobia (with and without panic attacks)
=> Irrational anxiety about being in places from which escape might be difficult or embarrassing.

2. Social Phobia
=>Irrational anxiety elicited by exposure to certain types of social or performance situations, also leading to avoidance behavior.

3. Specific Phobia
=> Persistent and irrational fear in the presence of some specific stimulus which commonly elicits avoidance of that stimulus, i.e., withdrawal.

SUBTYPES:

* animal type – cued by animals or insects.
* natural environment type - cued by objects in the environment,
such as storms, heights, or water.
* blood-injection-jury type – cued by witnessing some invasive
medical procedure.
* situational type-cued by specific situation, such as public
transportation, tunnels, bridges, elevators, flying, driving, or
enclosed spaces.
* other type – cued by other stimuli than the above, such as
choking, vomiting, or contracting an illness.