Marines anywhere in the world in two hours or less
As any battlefield commander will tell you, getting troops to the fight can be as difficult as winning it. And for modern-day soldiers, the sites of conflict are so far-flung, and the political considerations of even flying over another country so complicated, that rapid entry has become nearly impossible. If a group of Marine Corps visionaries have their way, however, 30 years from now, Marines could touch down anywhere on the globe in less than two hours, without needing to negotiate passage through foreign airspace. The breathtaking efficiency of such a delivery system could change forever the way the U.S. does battle.
The proposal, part of the Corps’s push toward greater speed and flexibility, is called Small Unit Space Transport and Insertion, or Sustain. Using a suborbital transport—that is, a vehicle that flies into space to achieve high travel speeds but doesn’t actually enter orbit—the Corps will be able, in effect, to instantaneously deliver Marine squads anywhere on Earth. The effort is led by Roosevelt Lafontant, a former Marine lieutenant colonel now employed by the Schafer Corporation, a military-technology consulting firm working with the Marines. Insertion from space, Lafontant explains, makes it possible for the Marines—typically the first military branch called on for emergency missions—to avoid all the usual complications that can delay or end key missions. No waiting for permission from an allied nation, no dangerous rendezvous in the desert, no slow helicopter flights over mountainous terrain. Instead, Marines could someday have an unmatched element of surprise, allowing them to do everything from reinforce Special Forces to rescue hostages thousands of miles away.
“Sustain is simply an ability to move Marines very rapidly from one place to another,” says Marine colonel Jack Wassink, director of the Corps’s Space Integration Branch in Arlington, Virginia, where the program is based. “Space lends itself to that role.”
The program is quickly gaining traction. Congress has expressed interest, because of the obvious usefulness of the capability it promises. And the technologies necessary to make it happen, from hypersonic propulsion systems to new composite materials needed to make the vehicle lightweight yet strong, are in advanced development in military labs across the country. The Marines expect to fly a prototype in 15 years, most likely a two-stage system using a carrier aircraft that will launch a lander into orbit from high altitude. Production models could show up around 2030, a date that isn’t quite as far away as it seems. Consider that the F-22 Raptor fighter is now entering service after 22 years of development.
But the whole idea still rings of science fiction, and the question is whether its proponents can corral the various technologies together to make the project possible. “Sustain is not a pipe dream,” Lafontant says. “It just needs to gel.”
Labels: Marines, military, plane, space, travel
The ultimate self-adjusting office chair
Your mother was wrong: Sitting up straight is bad for you. Scottish radiologists confirmed in a study last year that a 130-degree angle of recline between torso and thighs reduces pressure on the discs in the lower back. This (and its sleek design) is why the ubiquitous Aeron chair was so ahead of its time in 1994. It deeply reclined by pivoting at the hips.
But designers find that the features of chairs like the Aeron are lost on most sitters. The array of levers and knobs—recline tension, lumbar support, seat-pan depth, forward tilt—are commonly ignored by users, who only think to change the chair’s height.
This neglect has manufacturers such as Herman Miller and Humanscale looking toward the next frontier: a self-adjusting chair. “We’re working on a chair that will listen to who’s sitting on it and adjust itself to their weight,” says Bill Dowell, director of research at Herman Miller, which makes the Aeron. Humanscale’s Freedom chair includes a counterbalance system that adjusts itself like scales to the sitter’s weight as he or she reclines, eliminating the need for recline controls.
Or perhaps the chair of the future isn’t one at all. Chairs contribute in part to the high rate of back pain, which, according to the National Institutes of Health, affects eight out of 10 Americans. “Our notion of a machine for sitting may not make sense in a globalized world,” says Herman Miller designer Cameron Campbell. Galen Cranz of the University of California at Berkeley points out in her book The Chair that the Indian practice of squatting and the Muslim practice of stretching five times a day to pray have great ergonomic benefits. Ten years from now, one worker may settle into a low recliner, another will kneel on a soft carpet, and they’ll talk across a pile of office cushions.—Peter Hall
Labels: chair, office, self+adjusting, technology
Condom too big for Indians
Сondoms designed to meet international size specifications are too big for many Indian men as their penises fall short of what manufacturers had anticipated, an Indian study has found.
The Indian Council of Medical Research, a leading state-run centre, said its initial findings from a two-year study showed 60 percent of men in the financial capital Mumbai had penises about 2.4 cm (one inch) shorter than those condoms catered for.
For a further 30 percent, the difference was at least 5 cm (two inches). A poor fit meant the prophylactics often didn't do the job they were bought for, and led to some tearing or slipping off during use.
"One of the reasons for a failure of up to 20 percent (of condoms) is the association of the size of the condom to the erect penis," the council's Dr. Chander Puri told Reuters, adding another reason was couples often put them on in a hurry.
Puri said many men in India, which has the world's highest HIV positive caseload, were too shy to ask for condoms.
"We need more vending machines for condoms of different sizes so people can pick a condom with confidence that is suited to their needs," he said.
The Times of India reported the ICMR survey had studied 1,400 men between 18-50 years of age in cities like Mumbai and New Delhi as well as in rural areas in a report. It entitled its story "Indian men don't measure up".
Labels: condom, Indian, penis, sex, size
AMAZING, water as fuel
World's Thinnest 64GB Solid State Drive
SimpleTech, Inc. (Nasdaq:STEC), announced that the company is now shipping 64GB solid state drives in the low profile version of the 2.5" hard disk drive form factor. SimpleTech will showcase the entire family of Zeus solid state drive (SSD) products at the West 2007 Exhibition, in booth 1337 at the San Diego Convention Center, January 31 -- February 2. The West 2007 Exhibition is the largest event on the U.S. West Coast for communications, electronics, intelligence, information systems, imaging, military weapon systems, and aviation, thus an ideal forum for such a high performance storage device.
To showcase the capabilities of the Zeus solid state drive product family, SimpleTech will host a live, interactive demonstration of the Zeus SSD in action. This demo will push the solid state drive well beyond the physical limitations of hard disk drives in simulations of harsh operating environments which require high reliability and high tolerance to shock, vibration, altitude, humidity and temperature. This simulation reflects the way advanced military and aerospace systems increasingly rely upon the storage of mission-critical data on high performance, high capacity, small form factor SSDs.
As the pace of solid state storage adoption continuously increases, so do the demands for unique SSD characteristics. Of significant interest to OEMs is the need to minimize SSD size while maximizing SSD storage capacity. In order to address this important OEM requirement, SimpleTech employs its proprietary IC Tower(r) stacking technology to achieve next-generation capacities. This advanced chip stacking technology is widely utilized across SimpleTech's DRAM and Flash products and delivers distinct advantages to customers wherein SimpleTech is able to deliver capacities that would otherwise be unattainable with the prevailing memory semiconductor devices. This 64GB Zeus drive uses widely available Single-Level Cell NAND devices which achieve a maximum of 2GB per device; the vertical stacking process enables multiples of that capacity per each placement on the SSD printed circuit board. Competitive 64GB solutions are nearly 3 times the physical size (at 22.5mm z-axis height) of the Zeus SSD, thus significantly more challenging for OEMs to incorporate.
"Through our nearly two decades of advanced memory and storage product development, we have implemented the vital organizational competencies required to address the most pressing technological challenges OEMs are facing. We uniquely combine capabilities in high performance flash controller development, chip stacking, manufacturing, and test," said Patrick Wilkison, vice president of marketing and business development. "It is through this powerful combination that we are able to provide the right mix of high reliability SSDs and memory solutions to meet the demands of OEM customers in a broad range of segments ranging from defense/aerospace to enterprise computing to networking equipment."
Reliability and Endurance
The Zeus SSD products combine the highest level of electrical and physical reliability. SimpleTech's patented Flash management algorithms ensure the consistency, accuracy and integrity of user data. All Zeus SSDs offer unlimited read cycles, 2 million write cycles, 10-year data retention, and are enclosed in an impact-resistant aluminum alloy case.
Security
SimpleTech Zeus SSDs incorporate cutting-edge security features that comply with the most rigorous security standards issued by the Department of Defense (DoD 5220.22-M), National Security Agency (NSA 130-2), Air Force (AFSSI 5020), Army (AR 380-19), and Navy (Navso 5239). The array of advanced data protection features includes RapidPurge(tm), MilPurge(tm) and Intelligent Destructive Purge.
RapidPurge(tm) (patent pending) is designed for applications that require emergency data erasure, where classified or otherwise valuable information stored in the flash media must be erased completely in a matter of a few seconds.
MilPurge(tm) (patent pending) erases the entire used data area based specifically on procedures defined by military standards.
Intelligent Destructive Purge(tm) (patented) removes the drive's data and then destroys the media, making the SSD unusable and data retrieval impossible. Additionally, the destruction is monitored and confirmed.
Labels: 64GB, SimpleTech, Solid+State+Drive, zeus
VGN-UX91 New Series
Specifications
Labels: Computer, Handheld, Series, Sony, VGN-UX91
Black Apple iMacs?
Rumor has it that Apple might be coming out with black 24″ (possibly 20″ too) iMacs starting next month. MacScoop has recently obtained this piece of information from an undisclosed source.
Looking at how the company has been putting out black versions of some of its products, such as iPods and MacBooks, it’s no wonder if this little rumor turns out to be real.
To much to dream for......
A figure that everyone dream of but what about the size?
Labels: big, giant, girl, sexy
Foundation of Faith
Labels: faith, girl, pray, religion
Eleven Faces
The cost of gold
Right - Left Conflict
Labels: Brain, colour, conflict, illusion, Left, Right, words
Rowan Atkinson as Indian Waiter
Better Known as Mr.Bean
About
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne)[1] is an English comedian, actor and writer best known for playing the title role in the British television comedy Mr. Bean and for his role as Edmund Blackadder in Blackadder.
Early life
Atkinson was born to Ella May and Eric Atkinson, Anglican farmers in the town of Consett, north-west of the city of Durham. His oldest brother is Rodney Atkinson, the outspoken eurosceptic economist who narrowly lost the United Kingdom Independence Party leadership election to Jeffrey Titford in 2000.[2][3]
He was educated at Durham Choristers School, followed by St Bees School, and studied electrical engineering at Newcastle University.[4] He continued with an MSc at Oxford (Queen's College), first achieving notice at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1976.[4] At Oxford, he also acted and performed early sketches for the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), the Oxford Revue and the Experimental Theatre Club (ETC), meeting writer Richard Curtis[4] and composer Howard Goodall, with whom he would continue to collaborate during his career.
Comedic style
Atkinson was a stutterer as a child, a condition which sometimes returns when he is in stressful situations. In particular, the letter "B" posed a problem for him. He managed to overcome this through over-articulation; however, this — somewhat ironically — evolved into one of his trademark comic devices (his pronunciation of "Bob" in Blackadder being a famous example). His other trademark is his Received Pronunciation (RP) British accent.
Atkinson's comedy style, which is rigorously planned and scripted — partly to ensure his stress and stutter is minimised — is often visually-based. It results in comedy as performance — like Charlie Chaplin — rather than as observation or discussion, as many of the routines of the time were. Atkinson's talent for visual comedy has seen him described as "the man with the rubber face".
Private life
Atkinson married Sunetra Sastry in 1990 in a quiet ceremony in the Russian Tea Room in New York City; Stephen Fry was best man. The couple live in a manor house in Oxfordshire, and have two children, Lily and Benjamin.
Filmography
Movie poster for Johnny English
Movie poster for Johnny English
* The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (1982), Himself / Various Roles
* Dead on Time (1983), Bernard Fripp
* Never Say Never Again (1983), Nigel Small-Fawcett
* The Appointments of Dennis Jennings (1989), Dr. Schooner
* The Tall Guy (1989), Ron Anderson
* The Witches (1990), Mr. Stringer
* Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993), Dexter Hayman
* Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Father Gerald
* The Lion King (1994), Zazu (voice)
* Bean (1997), Mr. Bean
* Maybe Baby (2000), Mr. James
* Rat Race (2001), Enrico Pollini
* Scooby-Doo (2002), Emile Mondavarious
* Johnny English (2003), Johnny English
* Love Actually (2003), Rufus
* Keeping Mum (2005), Reverend Walter Goodfellow
* Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007), Mr. Bean
Labels: Atkinson, Comedy, Humour, Indian, Mr.Bean, Rowan, Waiter
About Me
Hi my name is Alfie. I am an Indian, born in Nigeria. I belong to a Jewish Christian community which has its roots in Middle East (Iraq, Syria etc).
Why am I here? I don’t have an answer yet. Hope I will have it soon.
By the by, I have more to tell about me. I am working as a web programmer at Assumption University of Thailand. I have B.Sc. In Computer Engineering and M.Sc. In Computer and Engineering Management from the same university.
Why in Thailand?
My family is in Thailand.
Why Assumption University?
My parents are teaching here.
I have a passion for martial arts. I am currently training in Ju-Jitsu. I have never heard of this martial art before until I came to know the 'ABAC self defense club'. Its a Japanese martial art. I will write more about it later.
I am a very lazy guy. Seems like time is never enough. If I am asked to be compared to anyone in history, I will compare my self to Leonardo da Vinci. Surprised? I am not an artist but like Vinci I need time to do interesting works. I love to have a lot of time to relax and think.
I think I know why I am here right now. I want to write down my thoughts and feelings so that it won't disappear from my head. I will share my ideas with you guys. When I force my vague feelings and ideas to a paper or the computer screen it becomes more meaningful and clear. I have a very volatile memory, especially when it comes to memorizing sounds, names etc. I have a better graphic processor than a Audio processor.
More about me by my dirth date
Your date of conception was on or about 17 July 1981 which was a Friday.
You were born on a Friday
under the astrological sign Aries.
Your Life path number is 6.
Life Path Compatibility:
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 3, 6 & 9.
You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 4, 8, 11 & 22.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 5 & 7.
The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2445068.5.
The golden number for 1982 is 7.
The epact number for 1982 is 5.
The year 1982 was not a leap year.
Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 1/25/1982 and ending 2/12/1983.
You were born in the Chinese year of the Dog.
Your Native American Zodiac sign is Hawk; your plant is Dandelion.
You were born in the Egyptian month of Paony, the second month of the season of Shomu (Harvest).
Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 17 Nisan 5742.
Or if you were born after sundown then the date is 18 Nisan 5742.
The Mayan Calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.18.8.15.4 which is
12 baktun 18 katun 8 tun 15 uinal 4 kin
The Hijra (Islamic Calendar) date of your birth is Friday, 14 Jumadiyu'th-Thani 1402 (1402-6-14).
The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 11 April 1982.
The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 18 April 1982.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 24 February 1982.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 30 May 1982.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 6 June 1982.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Saturday, 18 September 1982.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Thursday, 8 April 1982.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 23 February 1982.
As of 3/8/2007 8:41:23 PM EST
You are 24 years old.
You are 299 months old.
You are 1,300 weeks old.
You are 9,099 days old.
You are 218,396 hours old.
You are 13,103,801 minutes old.
You are 786,228,083 seconds old.
Celebrities who share your birthday:
Jesse McCartney (1987) Keshia Knight Pulliam (1979) Rachel Stevens (1978)
Austin Peck (1971) Cynthia Nixon (1966) Paulina Porizkova (1965)
Dennis Quaid (1954) Michael Learned (1939) Avery Schreiber (1935)
Jean-Paul Belmondo (1933) Hugh Hefner (1926) Ward Bond (1903)
Paul Robeson (1898)
Top songs of 1982
I Love Rock `n' Roll by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
Ebony and Ivory by Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder Centerfold by J. Geils Band
Maneater by Daryl Hall & John Oates Jack & Diane by John Cougar
Don't You Want Me by Human League Up Where We Belong by Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes
Abracadabra by Steve Miller Band Hard to Say I'm Sorry by Chicago
Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 3.56125244618395 years old. (Life's just a big chewy bone for you!)
There are 32 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 25 candles.
Those 25 candles produce 25 BTUs,
or 6,300 calories of heat (that's only 6.3000 food Calories!) .
You can boil 2.86 US ounces of water with that many candles.
In 1982 there were approximately 3.6 million births in the US.
In 1982 the US population was approximately 226,545,805 people, 64.0 persons per square mile.
In 1982 in the US there were 2,495,000 marriages (10.8%) and 1,180,000 divorces (5.1%)
In 1982 in the US there were approximately 1,990,000 deaths (8.8 per 1000)
In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.
In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.
In 1982 the population of Australia was approximately 15,288,891.
In 1982 there were approximately 239,903 births in Australia.
In 1982 in Australia there were approximately 117,274 marriages and 44,088 divorces.
In 1982 in Australia there were approximately 114,771 deaths.
Your birthstone is Diamond
The Mystical properties of Diamond
Diamonds are said to increase personal clarity to help one see things clearly as well as be straight-forward and honest. Supposedly, the higher quality the diamond, the better it is supports these qualities.
Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)
Opal, Quartz, White Sapphire
Your birth tree is
Rowan, the Sensitivity
Full of charm, cheerful, gifted, without egoism, likes to draw attention, loves life, motion, unrest and even complications, is both dependent and independent, good taste, artistic, passionate, emotional, good company, does not forgive.
There are 292 days till Christmas 2007!
There are 305 days till Orthodox Christmas!
The moon's phase on the day you were
born was waning gibbous.
_______________________________________________
More About me by my name
alfie chacko punnoose
There are 19 letters in your name.
Those 19 letters total to 85
There are 9 vowels and 10 consonants in your name.
What your first name means:
English Male Diminutive of Alfred: Sage, wise. From the Old English Aelfraed, meaning elf counsel. Also from Ealdfrith or Alfrid, meaning old peace. Handsome.
Your number is: 4
The characteristics of #4 are: A foundation, order, service, struggle against limits, steady growth.
The expression or destiny for #4:
Order, service, and management are the cornerstones of the number 4 Expression. Your destiny is to express wonderful organization skills with your ever practical, down-to-earth approach. You are the kind of person who is always willing to work those long, hard hours to push a project through to completion. A patience with detail allows you to become expert in fields such as building, engineering, and all forms of craftsmanship. Your abilities to write and teach may lean toward the more technical and detailed. In the arts, music will likely be your choice. Artistic talents may also appear in such fields as horiculture and floral arrangement, as well. Many skilled physicians and especially surgeons have the 4 Expression.
The positive attitudes of the 4 Expression yield responsibility; you are one who no doubt, fulfills obligations, and is highly systematic and orderly. You are serious and sincere, honest and faithful. It is your role to help and you are required to do a good job at everything you undertake.
If there is too much 4 energies present in your makeup, you may express some of the negative attitudes of the number 4. The obligations that you face may tend to create frustration and feelings of limitation or restriction. You may sometimes find yourself nursing negative attitudes in this regard and these can keep you in a rather low mood. Avoid becoming too rigid, stubborn, dogmatic, and fixed in your opinions. You may have a tendency to develop and hold very strong likes and dislikes, and some of these may border on the classification of prejudice. The negative side of 4 often produces dominant and bossy individuals who use disciplinarian to an excess. These tendencies must be avoided. Finally, like nearly all with 4 Expression, you must keep your eye on the big picture and not get overly wrapped up in detail and routine.
Your Soul Urge number is: 6
A Soul Urge number of 6 means:
With a number 6 Soul Urge, you would like to be appreciated for your ability to handle responsibility. Your home and family are likely to be a strong focus for you, perhaps the strongest focus of your life. Friendship, love, and affection are high on your list of priorities for a happy life. You have a lot of diplomatic tendencies in your makeup, as you a able to rectify and balance situations with an innate skill. You like working with people rather than by yourself. It is extremely important for you to have harmony in your environment at all times.
The positive side of the 6 Soul Urge produces a huge capacity for responsibility; you are always there and ready to assume more than your share of the load. If you possess positive 6 Soul Urges and express them, you are known for your generosity, understanding and deep sympathetic attitude. Strong 6 energy is very giving of love, affection, and emotional support. You may have the inclination to teach or serve your community in other idealistic ways. You have natural abilities to help people. You are also likely to have artistic and creative leanings.
If you have an over-supply of 6 energy in your makeup, you may express some of the negative traits common to this number. With such a strong sympathetic attitude, it is easy to become too emotional. Sometimes the desires to render help can be over done, and it can become interfering and an attitude that is too protective, rather than helpful. The person with too much 6 energy often finds that people tend to take advantage of this very giving spirit. You may tend to repress your own needs so that you can cater to the demands from others. At times, there may be a tendency in this, for becoming over-loaded with such demands, and as a result become resentful.
Your Inner Dream number is: 7
An Inner Dream number of 7 means:
You dream of having the opportunity to read, study, and shut yourself off from worldly distractions. You can see yourself as a teacher, mystic, or ecclesiastic, spending your life in the pursuit of knowledge and learning.
Labels: alfie, aries, astrology, birthday, diamond, Ideas, Indian, ju-jitsu, Lazy, life path, share, Thoughts