Thursday, July 26, 2012
Kandovan An Iranian Tourist Village Carved in the Rocks
Kandovan is a tourist village located in Iran's East Azerbaijan province, between Tabriz and Osku. Its fame is due to its special cone-shaped houses which are carved inside rocks. Some of the houses are at least 700 years old and are still being inhabited. Kandovan also has scenic beauty. It's a popular resort with hotels and restaurants there to serve tourists. Its mineral water is also popular by visitors and is believed to be a cure for kidney disease.
The homes of the residents that live in the small village of Kandovan, Iran are very unique in its architectural design and structure. They dwell in caves that are made of naturally formed, compressed volcanic ash formations. Although living in a cave may not be considered as an ideal of comfortable housing, the cave dwellings of Kandovan have two to four stories with living areas and storage rooms. Porches, doors, windows, stairwells, and even shelves are carved into the rocks to create a natural, yet intricate and unique design. The insulation of the rocks allow the homes to stay warm in the winters and cool during the summers, which make these cave homes very energy efficient.
Tucked away in the remote northwest corner of Iran is the village of Kandovan that is not only famous for its scenic beauty, but also for the unique dwellings of its residents. Many of its homes have been made in caves located in cone-shaped, naturally formed compressed volcanic ash formations that make the landscape look like a gigantic termite colony. Current residents of Kandovan claim that their village is more than 700 years old. It was created when those fleeing the advancing Mongol army took to the caves to hide. The homes are known as "karan" in the local Turkic dialect, a word that roughly translates as the plural of beehive.
German Capital Berlin Restaurant Serves Stone Age Food
At first glance, Berlin's Sauvage restaurant looks much like many of the German capital's other trendy eateries.
But take a closer look at the chalkboard out front and you'll discover they are embarking on a culinary shake-up that takes its inspiration from the Stone Age.
Proudly announcing a 'Real Food Revolution - Paleolithic cuisine!', there is no cheese, bread or sugar available, only fare accessible to our hunter-gatherer ancestors more than two million years ago.
A new restaurant has recently opened up at Berlin. You won’t find cheese, bread or sugar here. Instead, guests at the Sauvage restaurant are served dishes made only of ingredients that would have been available to hunter-gatherer of the Paleolithic age, also known as the Stone Age.
Paleo kitchen – or for normal people – stone age food,cooked without sugar, grains and milk, is served in the Sauvage in Neukölln's Pflügerstraße. And it's not only for the lactose or gluten intolerants. The owners Boris and Rodrigo are self taught chefs and they do their job very well. The food needs a lot of time to prepare, don't come here if you're in a hurry. Boris and Rodrigo had the idea of opening this place when they started themselves to eat like Homo neanderthalensis, and it made them feel very good, so they went out to save others.
The three main courses, of which two are usually with fish and meat and one is vegetarian or vegan, change every week. Finding out that people in the stone age were actually gourmets comes as a bit of a surprise. That is, you can leave your scepticism at home.
On the menu for the week were a tasty vegetarian moussaka made of zucchini and mushroom, served with a apple-olive salad. The meat dish was a delicious beef stir fry with sesame and pepper served with almond-chapati and a carrot-lemon-coriander salad. The portions were plenty, and left no room for a dessert. (Good excuse to go back soon).
They only exception from the Paleo concept are the drinks. So no worries there is milk with your coffee if you like. Let's not overdo it.
The guests here are young, old, couples. And no, they don't wear animal furs. Also, the wooden clubs are usually left at home.
The menu includes salads with olives, capers and pine nuts; gluten-free bread with nut-based butter or olive tapenades; smoked salmon with herb dressing; and other various meat and fish dishes. Gluten- and sugar-free cakes, like a spicy pumpkin pie, are available for those Stone Age diners who refuse to forego desert. A focus on transparency is also important to the owners: Sauvage's guests know exactly what ingredients they are eating in every dish.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Ceramics of Horror by Jessica Harrison
While the tradition of decorative ceramic figurines is filled with beautiful and serene subject, UK ceramic artist Jessica Harrison takes a decidedly darker approach. Her eccentric and gothic tastes are revealed in her recent ceramic works that are both bizarre and awesome at the same time.
Devil's Pool: Swimming on the Edge of the Victoria Falls
Devil's Pool is a rocky depression on the edge of the Victoria Falls, located along the Zambezi River on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. During the dry season, Devil's Pool is shallow enough that people can safely swim right to the edge before the waterfall drops more than 300 feet. Because of a natural rock wall just below the surface, swimmers don't get swept down by the force of the falls. This is as close as you can get to the edge of the world’s largest waterfall.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Anara Tower in Dubai
Amazing Cool Tower - Anara Tower in Dubai
Anara Tower is the most cool and nice architecture on the world. Located in Dubai. The 125-story skyscraper is about 700 meters tall and vies for the tallest spot. The building will also host 300 residential apartments.
Anara Tower Apart from sky gardens after every 27 floors, the building will have offices, shops, a luxury hotel with 250 rooms, 300 residential apartments, and a place for exhibitions and auctions. The apartments, which are expected to be the most expensive in Dubai, will have luxuries like exclusive swimming pools, exclusive elevators and views of the beautiful coastline of Dubai. The glass structure on the top of the tower will be a restaurant, which will not only give the diners the pleasure to feast at about 600 meters, but diners here would also be able to enjoy the panoramic views of some of the most important avenues of Dubai. This tower will conform to LEED certification requirements of at least silver rating, by maximizing water and energy efficiency and will also include some form of renewable energy generators for its monstrous power needs. Construction of this mega-skyscraper is scheduled to commence in late 2009. The Dark Side: Delivering luxuries such as exclusive swimming pools and elevators for all the 300 apartments would definitely be eco disasters for a place such as Dubai. We don’t think that the skyscraper will be able to house renewable energy generators of the form that will be needed to run the elevators and pumps to provide water for all 300 swimming pools and elevators.
Anara Tower Apart from sky gardens after every 27 floors, the building will have offices, shops, a luxury hotel with 250 rooms, 300 residential apartments, and a place for exhibitions and auctions. The apartments, which are expected to be the most expensive in Dubai, will have luxuries like exclusive swimming pools, exclusive elevators and views of the beautiful coastline of Dubai. The glass structure on the top of the tower will be a restaurant, which will not only give the diners the pleasure to feast at about 600 meters, but diners here would also be able to enjoy the panoramic views of some of the most important avenues of Dubai. This tower will conform to LEED certification requirements of at least silver rating, by maximizing water and energy efficiency and will also include some form of renewable energy generators for its monstrous power needs. Construction of this mega-skyscraper is scheduled to commence in late 2009. The Dark Side: Delivering luxuries such as exclusive swimming pools and elevators for all the 300 apartments would definitely be eco disasters for a place such as Dubai. We don’t think that the skyscraper will be able to house renewable energy generators of the form that will be needed to run the elevators and pumps to provide water for all 300 swimming pools and elevators.
Anara tower of Dubai: an overview
Tameer group, which is one of the greatest professional builders and developers, is all set to complete the entire construction of Anara tower by the year 2009. They have planned to built it about 2150 feet high that would be 500 feet shorter than the renowned building of UAE i.e. Burj Khalifa. Never the less, its height is bit shorter than some other tallest buildings of UAE, but when it comes to the design of this amazing structure people will find in the list of world’s most spectacular and mind blowing towers they ever seen.
This building of the Anara tower is one of the most awaited projects of Dubai. A British firm named Atkins Design Studio especially designed this tower for Tameer. The project is going to contain over 300 world class apartments with superb luxury. The Anara tower will also house a luxuries hotel that will have 250 rooms with a large number of suites also, and each of them is armed with the high class facilities and services. There are several commercial chambers and places for offices, as well.
There is a propeller kind of structure on the top of this tower that distinguish Anara tower from the other high structures of Dubai. At the centre of this propeller, there is a well placed restaurant that serves an incredible view and delicious special-recipes of Dubai with other kinds of foods. This propeller kind of structure add a unique beauty to this entire tower and make it only one of its kind. The design of this skyscraper tower was planned to be 600 meters plus, and the location will be the famous street of Dubai- Sheik Zayad Road. It will stand somewhere among the world tallest buildings in their rankings.
Tameer the developer of Anara tower had planned to span this project over 5 million sq ft. The tower will also contain 100 plus storey, and a great combination of art and culture can be seen through this project. Anara tower will also house one, two and three bedroom elegantly luxury apartments with at least one extravagant penthouse. This penthouse is planned to be equipped with a private pool with a private elevator. If all these things go as per they planned, this is going to be the most valuable project in the entire Middle East.
The Anara tower will also host an art gallery that would be world class with boutique hotel of 250 rooms. It will comprise commercial space of 325000 square feet. Most of the space of the tower will have sea views, which will surely enhance its beauty. It is taken care of providing flexibility for the expansion of the building in the future by the director. The 4 bridges at the rear of the tower do this. Tower also features shopping centers for food and retail, two sports courts, and swimming pools for kids and family. Sky gardens in the tower will provide landscape views and will also help in meeting the resident’s need.
Watch the video of Anara Tower -Video
'ஆட்டிசம் அறிவோம்‘ Autism
ஏப்ரல் 02 - உலக ஆட்டிசம் விழிப்பு உணர்வு தினம்.
ஐ.நா. பொதுச் சபையில் நிறைவேற்றப்பட்ட தீர்மானத்தின்படி, உலகம் முழுவதும் ‘ஆட்டிசம்' குறித்த விழிப்பு உணர்வை ஏற்படுத்துவதற்காக அனுசரிக்கப்படும் தினம் இது.
ஆட்டிசம் குறித்து முழுமையாக அறிய, அண்மையில் ‘டாக்டர் விகடன்‘ இதழில் வெளிவந்த சிறப்புக் கட்டுரை இதோ...
'ஏன் என் குழந்தை மட்டும் கூப்பிட்டா, என்னைத் திரும்பிப் பார்க்கலை; என் கண்ணைப் பார்த்துப் பேசலை; மற்ற குழந்தைகளோட சேர்ந்து சகஜமா விளையாடலை; காரணமே இல்லாம அடிக்குது; கிள்ளுது; ஏன் இத்தனை முரட்டுத்தனமா நடக்குது?’ என்பன போன்ற கேள்விகள் ஒரு தாய்க்கு இருந்தால் அவரது குழந்தைக்கு ஆட்டிசம் பாதிப்பு இருக்கலாம் என்கிறது மருத்துவம்.
''ஆயிரத்தில் ஒரு குழந்தைதான் ஆட்டிசம் நோயால் பாதிக்கப்படுகிறது. ஆனால், எல்லோரும் பயப்படுவதுபோல் ஆட்டிசம் என்பது ஒரு மன நோய் அல்ல. இதை 'மூளை முடக்கு' என்கிறது மருத்துவம். இதற்கான சிகிச்சை முறையும் மிக எளிதானது!'' என்கிறார் குழந்தை நல மருத்துவர் ஜான் மில்லர்.
''மத்திய அரசு, மூளை வளர்ச்சி பாதிக்கப்பட்ட குழந்தைகளின் பட்டியலில்தான் இவர்களைச் சேர்த்திருக்கிறது. ஆனால், எம்.ஆர்.ஐ, சி.டி. ஸ்கேன், இ.சி.ஜி. எனப் பல்வேறு சோதனைகளில், ஆட்டிசம் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட குழந்தைகளின் மூளையைப் பரிசோதித்துப் பார்த்தபோது, இது மூளை பாதிப்பு அல்ல என்கிற உண்மை தெரியவந்தது. வயிற்றில் ஏற்படக்கூடிய மெட்டபாலிக் தொடர்பான பிரச்னைதான் ஆட்டிசம் பாதிப்பை ஏற்படுத்துகிறது.
ஆட்டிசம் நோயால் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட கலிஃபோர்னியாவைச் சேர்ந்த டெம்பிள் க்ரான்டைன் தன்னைப் பற்றிய சுயசரிதை எழுதும்போது, 'எங்களுக்கு நிறைய அறிவு இருக்கிறது. எங்களைச் சுற்றி என்ன நடக்கிறது என்பதை எங்களால் மிகச் சரியாக புரிந்துகொள்ள முடிகிறது. ஆனால், அதை உங்களுக்குப் புரியவைப்பதற்கான மொழிதான் எங்களுக்குத் தெரியவில்லை’ என்கிறார். இதுதான் நிதர்சனம்.
ஆட்டிசக் குழந்தைகளை உலகம் சம்பந்தப்பட்ட நடைமுறை விஷயங்களுக்குள் கொண்டுவருவதும் பேசவைப்பதும்தான் கடினமே தவிர, அவர்களுக்கு அறிவுத் திறன் அதிகம். காது, மூக்கு, வாய், தொண்டை என உடல் ரீதியாகவும் அவர்கள் ஆரோக்கியமாகவே இருக்கிறார்கள். பசி, தூக்கம், வலி என்று அத்தனை உணர்வுகளும் உணர்ச்சிகளும் அவர்களுக்கு உண்டு. ஆனாலும் அதை வெளிப்படுத்த வார்த்தைகள் மட்டும்தான் தெரியாது. பேச வேண்டும் என்கிற எண்ணத்தை அவர்களுக்குள் கொண்டுவந்துவிட்டால், ஆட்டிசம் பாதித்தக் குழந்தைகளை எளிதாக மீட்கலாம்.
பாதிக்கப்பட்ட குழந்தைகளுக்கு, சாப்பாடு, தூக்கம் என அன்றாடப் பழக்க வழக்கங்களை ஒழுங்குப்படுத்த பயிற்சி தரவேண்டும். கம்ப்யூட்டர், டி.வி, செல்போன், லேப்டாப் போன்ற எலெக்ட்ரானிக் சாதனங்களில் இருந்து வெளிவரும் கதிர்வீச்சுக்கள் ஆட்டிசம் பாதித்தக் குழந்தைகளுக்கு அதிகப் பாதிப்பை ஏற்படுத்தும். ஆனால், இதுபோன்ற எலெக்ட்ரானிக் பொருட்கள்மீதுதான் இந்தக் குழந்தைகளுக்கு ஈர்ப்பு அதிகமாக இருக்கும். எனவே கவனமாக இதைத் தவிர்க்க வேண்டும்.
ஆட்டிசம் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட குழந்தைகளோடு அன்போடு நாம் நெருங்கிப் பழகும்போதுதான் அவர்களும் சகஜமாக நம்மை நெருங்கி வருவார்கள். அதனால், பூங்கா, கடற்கரை, கோயில்... என அவர்களோடு நேரத்தை செலவிடுவது நல்லது.
நீச்சல், ஸ்கேட்டிங், சைக்கிள் ஓட்டுதல் போன்ற விளையாட்டுடன் கூடிய உடற்பயிற்சிகள் அவர்களது உடற்திறனை அதிகப்படுத்தும். தன்னுடைய வேலைகளைச் சுதந்திரமாகத் தானே செய்யக்கூடிய பயிற்சியையும் கொடுக்கும்!'' - நம்பிக்கையோடு சொல்லும் ஜான் மில்லர் தொடர்ந்து, ''அமெரிக்கா உலகிற்கு கொடுத்த மோசமான விஷயங்களில் இந்த ஆட்டிசமும் ஒன்று!
ஆட்டிசம் நோயால் அதிகம் பாதிக்கப்பட்டவர்கள் அமெரிக்கர்கள்தான். அமெரிக்கர்களின் உணவு முறையும், வாழ்க்கை முறையும்தான் இதற்குக் காரணம். ஒருவரை இன்னொருவர் எப்படித் தொட வேண்டும் என்பதற்குகூட எழுதப்படாத சட்டம் வகுத்திருக்கும் நாடு அது. குழந்தைகளை இடுப்பில்கூடத் தூக்க மாட்டார்கள். பெற்றோர்கள் குழந்தைகளுடன் செலவழிக்கும் நேரமும் குறைவு. இதன் விளைவு... அவர்களுக்குள் தொடு உணர்வு என்பதே குறைந்துவிட்டது. இந்த வாழ்க்கை முறையைத்தான் இப்போது நாமும் தத்தெடுத்திருக்கிறோம்'' என்கிறார்.
சுருக்கமாகச் சொன்னால், நமது பாரம்பரியத்தையும் கலாசாரத்தையும் முறையாகக் கடைப்பிடித்தாலே ஆட்டிசம் பாதிப்புகள் நம்மைத் தாக்காது!
FOUR WAYS TO SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE YOUR WEALTH
The constant struggle in life is to not only make enough to survive, but to continue to save and grow your wealth for the future. If you are looking for some safe, tried and true methods to build up your wealth read this!
Whole Hearted Way suggests…
I have been a big fan of these 7 steps to build wealth since I have been a Certified Financial Planner for over 26 years and have used them successfully with clients. You won’t find any get rich quick to make up your losses fast schemes here. You will find common sense, everyday action items that you can take to make a wealth building strategy for yourself and your family. Remember, it isn’t how much you earn but how much you keep. These steps will start with strong foundations which are steps 1 though step 3. Ignore these and you risk messing up the rest of your efforts. Like building a house, you need a strong financial foundation that will lay the groundwork for attracting and building wealth over a lifetime. Here are the 7 steps:
1. Get an estate plan. Okay you may be single with no family and you say you don’t need an estate plan. Not true. Make a holographic will and just give everything to your favorite charity. Do you have kids and an extended family? This is all the more reason to have a good estate plan. The basics would be a will, power of attorney for health care (or medical directive), and a power of attorney for financial care. Have a large estate? Then you can add things like a revocable living trust, charitable trusts, etc.
Don’t get an estate plan and then don’t be surprised when the ex-wife inherits everything because your spouse didn’t change the beneficiary designations or the will. I have seen it happen too many times.
2. Manage Your Cash Flow. I don’t care if it is just a checkbook. You need to know how much is coming in and how much is going out before you can save or even think about investing. Pretending you know or just ball parking numbers doesn’t work. You can add and subtract -so figure it out. Why? Because you can’t save, invest for your future, or try to reduce your taxes if you don’t know where your money is going. With all the great tools out there such as Mint, and Quicken, there is no excuse not to be tracking your cash flow.
3. Risk Management. This means that as you grow your net worth, you also manage the risks that can destroy it along the way. That means health, life, auto, home insurance and so on. Think you can’t afford it? Think again. What would happen if you got cancer and didn’t have health insurance? It wouldn’t be pretty when all that you have worked hard for is wiped out because you didn’t want to pay health insurance premiums.
Of course, we all can’t afford to insure against everything so you pick and choose your battles. This means managing your risks with a combination of self insuring (no insurance and high risk), or partial insuring (small amount of insurance and high deductible), or being fully insured (100% coverage by insurance). Pick a plan that is suited to you, what risk you are willing to take and what you can afford.
Now that you have the top 3 covered, it’s time for the fun stuff.
4. Financial Goals. That’s right you need a goal. Without one you are shooting in the dark and that is scary in these economic times. Remember that these goals are just a starting point. They aren’t set in stone. It could be to retire at 50 or to fund the kids’ college education or to make that trip around the world. Whatever it is, make sure it is SMART- specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Setting up goals like to quit work at 55 when you are 40 and only have $100,000 saved would not make the cut.
Get more information at Whole Hearted Way!
FIVE TRAITS THAT A MAJORITY OF CEO’S SHARE
Want to know what it takes to be CEO? The data is in, most CEOs all have these 5 traits in common. Find out what they all share here!
CNBC shares…
What makes these CEOs tick, and how did they climb the ladder to the top in the first place? We’ve pieced together a theoretical sketch of the perfect CEO from various studies.
Name
What’s in a name? For CEOs quite a bit, especially if they are named Peter or Deborah. Research by professional networking website LinkedIn found that those names are the top names for CEOs. Additional research also found that for those workers who one day dream of becoming a CEO, having a simple and easy to pronounce name made them more likely to be favored for a promotion.
“Typically hypocrisms, the shorter form of a given name, are used in intimate situations as a nickname or a term of endearment,” study researcher Frank Nuessel, a professor of classical and modern languages at the University of Louisville, said. “It’s possible that sales professionals in the United States and male CEOs around the world use these shortened versions of their name as a way to be more approachable and accessible to potential clients.”
Face
The shape of a person’s face can also affect how they are regarded at work. Research conducted by Elaine Wong and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee came to this conclusion by studying the faces of 55 CEOs from Fortune 500 companies. Their findings were that leaders with faces that were wider relative to their length led more successful companies than executives with longer faces. One example of the research being proved true was wide-faced Herb Kelleher, the successful CEO of Southwest Airlines[LUV 8.86 
], and long-faced Dick Fuld, who presided over the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers.
], and long-faced Dick Fuld, who presided over the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers.
“In our sample, the CEOs with the higher facial ratios actually achieved significantly greater firm financial performance than CEOs with the lower facial ratios,” Wong said.
Height
Height can be another big factor in a person’s success, research has found. In particular, a person’s height can help to improve both their income, by almost $1,000 a year, and their likelihood of getting a promotion. The magic height, research found, was six feet and above. In addition to earning more, taller people are seen as better leaders because of their size, the research found.
“Tall people tend to act like a leader from a very young age because other children relate to them like a slightly older peer,” said Arianne Cohen, author of “The Tall Book” (Bloomsbury USA, June 2009). “In the workplace, when you’re automatically acting as a leader, that’s really important when it comes time for promotion.”
Ego
A strong ego does not necessarily make a strong leader. Bosses should instead have a mild-mannered disposition because strong-willed bosses are just as likely to run a successful business as they are to run it into the ground. The one caveat to this research, published in the Journal of Management Studies, came when strong-willed bosses were met with a board that was equally strong-willed. This combination helped to check the power and ego of the CEO.
“A strong board provides a useful watchdog and a second set of valued opinions to the strategic direction of the company. This oversight by the board can help catch the deviant strategy that could lead to firm failure, before it is implemented by the CEO and the organization’s top management team,” the article said.
Personality
It turns out it really is lonely at the top, at least for CEOs. Research conducted by management consulting firm RHR International found that half of the 83 CEOs polled said that being CEO brought with it feelings of isolation that were a hindrance to their performance. The research also found that CEOs had different expectations for the job than the ones they encountered when they were promoted.
“This is not uncommon,” said Thomas Saporito, chairman and CEO at RHR International. “Stress, pressure and loneliness all combine to create a job unlike any other they have previously had.”
For that reason, anyone looking to be the boss better be able to deal with the isolation that the title brings with it.
Get the entire article at CNBC!
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