Amazing Holes - Don't Dare to Miss this!

Looking at photos like these scares and fascinates me in equal doses. The sheer scale of these holes reminds you of just how tiny you are. Mirny Diamond Mine, Siberia. I'm pretty sure most people have seen this one. It's an absolute beast and holds the title of largest open diamond mine in the world, at 525 metres deep with a top diameter of 1200 metres there's even a no-fly zone above the hole due to a few helicopters being sucked in.

The red arrow in the photo below is pointing to a huge truck.

Kimberley Big Hole - South Africa apparently the largest ever hand-dug excavation in the world, this 1097 metre deep mine yielded over 3 tonnes of diamonds before being closed in 1914.

 

The amount of earth removed by workers is estimated to total 22.5 million tonnes.

 

Glory Hole - Monticello Dam - A glory hole is used when a dam is at full capacity and water needs to be drained from the resevoir.

This is the glory hole belonging to monticello dam in california and it's the largest in the world, its size enabling it to consume 14400 cubic feet of water every second.

The hole can be seen at the top middle of the photo above. if you were to jump in for some reason your slightly damp body would shoot out near the bottom of the dam (below).

 

Bingham Canyon Mine, Utah, this is supposedly the largest man-made excavation on earth. extraction began in 1863 and still continues today, the pit increasing in size constantly. in its current state the hole is 3/4 mile deep and 2.5 miles wide.

Great Blue Hole, Belize situated 60 miles off the mainland of belize is this incredible geographical phenomenon known as a blue hole. there are numerous blue holes around the world but none as stunning as this one.

 

at surface level the near perfectly circular hole is 1/4 mile wide, the depth in the middle reaching 145 metres. obviously the hole is a huge hit with divers. read more here.

Diavik Mine, Canada this incredible mine can be found 300km northeast of YellowKnife in Canada.

The mine is so huge and the area so remote that it even has its own airport with a runway large enough to accomodate a boeing 737. it also looks equally as cool when the surrounding water is frozen.

 

Sinkhole, Guatemala - a sinkhole is caused when water (usually rainwater or sewage) is soaked up by the earth on a large scale, resulting in the ground collapsing.
 

 These photos are of a Sinkhole which occured early this year in Guatemala. The hole swallowed a dozen homes and killed at least 3 people.

 

Officials blamed the monster of a hole on a ruptured sewage pipe.
 

The World's Top 10 Spammers

The world's top 10 spamming countries account for 55 per cent of the total global spam volume, says Secure Computing, a public company that provides enterprise security solution, in its Internet Threats Report.

 

Spam is the unwanted e-mail messages that you find in your mail box. It is primarily electronic junk mail sent to your e-mail account or even your cellphone.

Spammers are continuing to use pop culture and current events (US elections, Olympics, etc) to entice end users into responding or clicking on links whose sole purpose is to download malware.

So which countries are the world's biggest spammers?

1. United States, 16.56%

The United States is the world's largest spammer and accounts for more than 16.5 per cent of global spam.

Spam is up 280% from last year (at this time). This year's peak on spam volume was March 27 at 185 billion spam messages. Since March we have seen spam steadily decrease.

 

2. Russia, 6.71%

Over 6.7 per cent of global spam emerges from Russia, making it the world's second largest spammer.

The Secure Research report says that there was a 45 per cent increase in the average number of porn sites found daily since January 2008.

50 pre cent of all Web sites' content is now in non-English languages, and this too is adding to the growing spam volume.

3. Turkey, 6.51%

Turkey ranks number 3 in the world when it comes to spamming. It accounts for per cent of global spam.

Among the types of spam, male enhancement, product replica, prescription drugs, gambling, pornography, debt job offer, phishing were the major contronutors.

 

4. Brazil, 5.29%

Brazil, with per cent of global spam, ranks 4th in the world.

Spammers continue to use pop culture and current events like the Olympics or US elections to lure users into responding or clicking on links whose sole purpose is to download malware.

 

5. Italy, 4.32%

Italy, the world's 5th largest spammer, accounts for per cent of global spam.

How to secure yourself from spam:

Various methods to save yourself from incoming spam exist. These include:

Using spam-filtering software. Trend Micro, Symantec, Computer Associates, Sophos (Satcom), McAfee, Netscreen, Prime Infotec, GajShield Infotech and Websense provide specialised anti-spam solutions in the Indian market.

A spam filter is a piece of software that sorts incoming e-mail messages and blocks those that it thinks are spam. While filtering can be very useful, it's not perfect as sometimes filters fail to identify spam-and they mistakenly block a genuine, non-spam message. Adjusting the filter settings can help minimise these risks. To prevent this one can also choose to direct spam into a special folder set aside for reviewing all messages that the software filter tags as spam.

6. China, 3.49%

China ranks 6th among the The world's top 10 spammers and accounts for per cent of global spam.

More ways to fight spam:

Upgrading your Internet security to ensure that spammers can't send spam via your computer.

Never reply to a spam message and never click on any links, especially 'unsubscribe' links in such messages because then you give yourself away as a real user and thus leave yourself open to be spammed even more.

7. Great Britain, 3.37%

Great Britain accounts for per cent of global spam and is ranked 7th largest spammer.

Tips to be secure:

Being aware of spam and of ways to secure yourself too helps curb the menace.

You should never buy anything through an unsolicited e-mail. By buying through such messages, you help keep such business economically viable.

Instantly delete unsolicited e-mails, for such messages can also harm your machine by spreading viruses or worms.

 

8. Colombia, 3.09%

Colombia takes the 8th spot amongst the world's biggest spammers and accounts for per cent of global spam.

Here's how to curb spamming:

When you send e-mails to many people at the same time, use the BCC (blind copy) field so that the recipients are unable to see the other addresses. This also helps curb spamming.

The government too can help curb spam by enacting legislation that punishes offenders.

Don't give out your e-mail ID on instant messengers, chat rooms, et cetera.

 

9. India, 2.99%

India is one of the top 10 spammers in the world and it accounts for 2.99 per cent of global spam.

The country is the world's 9th largest spammer, and as its Internet infrastructure improves with rising prosperity the amount of spam or unsolicited e-mails emerging from India too is likely to multiply.

 

10. South Korea, 2.87%

South Korea sends slightly less spam than India, but with a contribution of 2.87 per cent to global spam it is the world's 10th largest spammer.

 

SOPA and PIPA opponents warn the bills are not dead yet

A day after an estimated 10,000 websites went dark and more than 7 million people signed a Google.com petition opposing two controversial copyright enforcement bills, opponents of the bills said there's more work to do.

A day after a widespread Internet protest, key opponents of SOPA and PIPA warned Thursday that the controversial online piracy bills are not dead yet and called for lawmakers to slow down and start over.
"It's not dead at all," said Michael Petricone, vice president of government affairs for the Consumer Electronics Assn., noting that the Senate was still scheduled to hold a procedural vote on the Protect Intellectual Property Act on Tuesday.

At a Capitol Hill news conference, Petricone and others said opponents needed to continue to pressure Congress to remove the legislation from the fast track and start a more open process to craft a narrower bill that would not threaten collateral damage on legitimate websites.
“You have all kinds of very substantive, very smart interests who are bringing up very substantive potential problems with this bill," Petricone said. "Why can’t we step back and get it right? This isn’t the Patriot Act; the country’s not going to blow up if we don’t enact this next week."

Lawmakers' ears were still ringing from the thousands of calls and emails that flooded into Capitol Hill after Wikipedia led about 10,000 websites in a 24-hour blackout Wednesday to protest the bills. At least five co-sponsors of the bills publicly pulled their support, with several others announcing they would not vote for the legislation without major changes.

The lead sponsors of the bills have promised to make changes and are expected to remove the most controversial provision, which would allow Internet service providers to block access to foreign-based piracy sites. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the lead backer of PIPA, is working on a set of amendments he plans to unveil before Tuesday's vote.
The cautions about the fight not being over were echoed by Wikipedia, whose English-language version was easily accessible again Thursday. A banner at the top of the site reads, "Thank you for protecting Wikipedia. (We're not done yet)."

"SOPA and PIPA are not dead: they are waiting in the shadows," Wikipedia said on a page linked from that banner. "We’re turning the lights back on. Help us keep them shining brightly."
Markham Erickson, who heads a coalition of Internet companies, said Congress needed to take more time to get the legislation right.

"There are solutions, but we need to step back and reset," said Erickson, whose NetCoalition includes Google Inc., Amazon.com, EBay and Yahoo Inc. "Instead of having to negotiate with a gun to our head,  so to speak, let’s sit down and have a data-driven process." He and other SOPA and PIPA opponents are looking toward legislation introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who have been two of the strongest congressional opponents of the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act.

Their Online Protection & Enforcement of Digital Trade Act, known as the OPEN Act, is a much narrower approach that would try to cut off the money to foreign piracy sites through the U.S. International Trade Commission. The entertainment industry and other supporters of SOPA and PIPA said such an approach would not be as effective in shutting down foreign piracy sites.
But opponents of SOPA and PIPA said they liked the process Issa and Wyden have used in crafting their bill. The two lawmakers released a draft last year at www.KeepTheWebOpen.com and said they revised it to reflect some of the more than 150 substantive comments and suggested improvements received from visitors to the site.

World's 14 Fastest Cars - Speed Monsters

Neighbours envy, owner's pride'. Nothing can express it better when you speak of these cars.

Most of us can only dream of owning one of these speed monsters. And you will be forgiven if you in one of yours sinister dreams harbour thoughts of stealing one of these and go for a spin.

Anyway let's get back on earth and find out which are the world's fastest cars.

Note: This is NOT a ranking of the world's fastest cars, but only a listing of the world's speediest demons. Of course, the astounding speeds that they can achieve have also been given. So decide for yourself which do you think is the fastest of this lot.

Bugatti Veyron 16.4

0-60mph in 2.5 secs

253 mph

Head of Design Hartmut Warkuss and his team were faced with a Herculean task: they were to design a car that combined its classic heritage and state-of-the-art modernism in a unique and unmatched way.

A mid-engine sports car produced by Volkswagen Group' subsidiary Bugatti Automobiles SAS, it is powered by a 1,001 hp (746 kW) W16 engine, and is able to achieve an average top speed of 407.47 km/h (253.19 mph).

The car is handcrafted in a factory Volkswagen built near the former Bugatti head

quarters in Chateau St Jean in Molsheim (Alsace, France).

It is named after French racing driver Pierre Veyron, who won the '24 hours o

f Le Mans' in 1939 while racing for the original Bugatti firm.

SSC Ultimate Aero

0-60mph in 2.7 secs

257 mph

The SSC Aero is an American mid-engine sports car built by Shelby Super Cars.

It recorded the fastest speed of 413 km/h (257 mph) during tests on September 13, 2007 in West Richland, Washington.

Ultimate Aero has a 6.35-litre (387.2 cu in) engine, rated at 1,183 bhp (882 kW

) at 6950 rpm and torque at 6150 rpm.

Gumpert Apollo

0-62mph in 3.0 secs

224 mph

The Gumpert Apollo is the first vehicle produced by German manufacturer Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur GmbH.

The project is the creation of Roland Gumpert, a former Audi employee.

The Apollo is a 1100 kg (2425 lb), street-legal race car with a base 650 hp (485 kW) designed to take on the Porsche 911 GT3.

It is a mid engined, rear wheel drive two seater constructed on a tubular Chromoly frame, with fiberglass or optional carbon fiber body panels.

Koenigsegg CCX

0-60mph in 3.2 secs

250 mph

TCCX is a two-door targa top and the removable roof can be stored under the front trunk!

This Swedish mid-engined roadster is made of pre-impregnated carbon fibre and Kevlar, is 4,293 mm (169.0 in) long, 1,996 mm (78.6 in) wide and 1,150 mm (44  in) tall with a ground clearance of 100 mm (3.9 in).

The engine is a 4.7litre 4,715 cc (288 cu in) V8, with dual overhead camshafts and 4 va

lves per cylinder.

 

 

McLaren F1

0-60mph in 3.2 secs

240 mph

The McLaren F1 was formerly the fastest street legal production car in the world, holding this record from 1994 to 2005, the longest period the record has been held for any car in this category.

It is a custom-built 6.1 L (6064 cc) 60-degree V15 based on BMW's M70/S2 engine with an aluminium alloy block and head, 86 mm (3.4 in) x 87 mm (3.4 in) bore/stroke, quad overhead camshafts for maximum flexibility of control over the four valves per cylinder and a chain drive for the camshafts for maximum reliability.

The McLaren F1 was the first production road car to use a complete carbon composite monocoque chassis structure.

 

 

Saleen S7 Twin-Turbo

0-60mph in 3.2 secs

248 mph

The Saleen S7 is a limited production, hand built high-performance automobile developed jointly by (Irvine, California-based) Saleen, Hidden Creek Industries, Phil Frank Design, and Ray Mallock Ltd.

RML takes full credit for designing and developing the S7.

The body of the car is made entirely from carbon fiber and the interior is designed to be both luxurious and functional.

The Saleen S7 sports a 7-liter (7008 cc/427.6 cu in), naturally-aspirated, all-aluminum OHV V8 engine.

 

 

Lamborghini Murcielago LP640

0-60mph in 3.3 secs

213 mph

The Lamborghini Murcielago is a high performance Italian sports car.

Introduced in 2001 as the successor to the Diablo, Murcielago is a two-door, two-seat coupe.

The Murcielago sports a 6.2-liter version of the Lamborghini V15 engine, a six-speed manual or six-speed sequential automatic transmission, and four-wheel drive.

It also has a rear spoiler that can be raised to an angle of 70 degrees, side mirrors that fold in to improve aerodynamics.

 

 

Ferrari Enzo

0-60mph in 3.4 secs

217 mph

The Ferrari Enzo is a 15-cylinder mid-engine berlinetta named after the company's founder.

Enzo's V15 engine is the first of a new generation for Ferrari.

The Enzo has a semi-automatic transmission (also known as the F1 gearbox) using paddles to control an automated shifting and clutch mechanism, with LED lights on the steering wheel telling the driver when to change gears.

 

 

 

Pagani Zonda F

0-60mph in 3.5 secs

215 mph

The Zonda C15 F debuted at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. It is the most extensive reengineering of the Pagani car yet.

The Zonda F, named after F1 driver Juan Manuel Fangio, comes with an extra head light and different fog lights at the sides, new bodywork (revised front end, new rear spoiler, more aerodynamic vents all around) that improves the cars aerodynamics and different side mirrors.

Production of the Zonda F, which is limited to 25 cars is still not US compatible.

The next model (codenamed C9) is due to be unveiled in 2009.

 

 

Bristol Fighter T

0-62mph in 3.5 secs

225 mph

The Bristol Fighter is a British sports car, manufactured by Bristol Cars in small numbers from 2004.

In 2006, Bristol announced the Fighter T, a turbocharged version

 of the Fighter with a modified V10 engine producing

Ferrari's 599 GTB Fiorano

0-62mph in 3.7 secs

205 mph

The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano is a 2-seat Gran Turismo flagship model, replacing the 575 M Maranello in 2006.

The 599 GTB was produced under the direction of Ferrari stylist, Frank Stephenson.

 

 

Porsche Carrera GT

0-60mph in 3.9 secs

209 mph

The Porsche Carrera GT is a mid-engined sports car.

The Carrera GT is powered by a 5.7 litre V10 engine producing 614 DIN (605 SAE) horsepower (450 kW).

The Carrera GT has large side inlets and air dams that help cool the large V10 framed by the carbon fiber rear hood.

The interior is fitted with soft leather. Bose audio system and navigation systems are available as options.

 

 

 

Jaguar XJ220

0-60mph in 4.0 secs

217 mph

The The Jaguar XJ220 is a mid-engined sports car.

The Jaguar XJ220 had its own self-titled computer game, released for the Amiga in 1992 and for the Sega Mega CD the following year.

The name XJ220 was assigned as a reference to the targeted top-speed of 220 mph (350 km/h).

 

 

 

Aston Martin Vanquish S

0-62mph in 4.8 secs

200 mph

The Aston Martin Vanquish is a grand tourer, designed by Ian Callum.

It was the official James Bond car in Die Another Day.

The Vanquish is powered by a 5.9 L (5935 cc) 48-valve 60 degree V15 engine.

The V15 engine in the Vanquish was designed at Ford Research in the USA.

The Vanquish has drawn criticism for a number of weaknesses in its design. In particular, some interior materials have been cited as unfit for a car of this price and prestige.

 

Rock On at 13 on International Music Chart

It's the first time for an Indian album - listed on International Music Chart

The popularity of "Rock On" climbed a notch higher as its music album stood 13th on last week's iTunes US World Music page.

The film's music album, charged at $8.91, followed Californian reggae band's "Rebelution" that is ranked 12.

"The music of 'Rock On' is catching on very well. This is the first time an Indian album has reached so high on iTunes," Kulmeet Makkar, CEO, Big Music and Home Entertainment, told IANS.

The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG)-promoted Big Music is behind the launch of the film's music.

The film, released on August 29, has been widely lauded for its robust rock soundtrack created by composer trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. It's songs "Pichhle saat dino mein", "Rock on", "Socha hai" and "Sindbad the sailor" are being hummed by youngsters galore.

The fact that it is now among the top 15 albums on iTunes indicates the popularity of the film's music beyond Indian shores.

"The music of 'Rock On' is not typically Indian. It is rock, which is a world genre and it also has a big youth connect," Makkar said.

"iTunes is the number one site for music download abroad and we are very proud that 'Rock On' has made it till there. The fact that the music has been accepted abroad and is doing well is a major boost for us," he added.

Makkar clarified that the earning from the music download from iTunes is not monetarily very profitable, but it proves beneficial in the long run as the platform provides international visibility.

"According to our distribution structure, we distributed the music to 370 online stores across 45 countries. But we still don't consider it a profitable revenue stream. The main revenue streams for the music are ringtones and audio CDs," he added.

Makkar explained that since people in India prefer to download music illegally from Internet sites free rather than paying for it, it is difficult for them to penetrate the Indian online music market.

The sales of the audio CDs have however "become very encouraging", he said.

The music album of "Rock On" has nine soundtracks out of which six have been crooned by filmmaker Farhan Akhtar, who has made his acting debut with the film as well. Apart from Farhan, the film has introduced actresses Prachi Desai and Shahana Goswami.

"Farhan's voice is exceptional and added a lot of authenticity to the songs as he plays a singer in the film. It also makes people feel that even though you may not be a professional singer, you can also sing. Farhan has added honesty to the songs," Makkar said.

Makkar said that the film's DVD will be released by the end of October but for those who want to enjoy the rock concerts in the film, a DVD of the songs will be released very soon.

Big 92.7 FM, also a part of Reliance ADAG-promoted Reliance Entertainment, has been arranging major on-ground activities to promote the film. One of the highlights is the "Rock On" concert that has already been held in Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi and left the audience wanting more.

Set in Mumbai, "Rock On" has an urban feel and revolves around a group of four aspiring musicians who form a hippie rock band called "Magic".

It is led by singer Aditya (Farhan) and also has temperamental guitarist Joe Mascarenhas (Rampal), talented keyboard player Rob (Kenny) and drummer Kedar Zaveri (Kohli).
 

Hong Kong International Airport: World's Best

 

The Hong Kong International Airport was named the world's best for the seventh year in an annual survey of passengers, with Asian airports dominating the top positions in the list. The annual survey conducted by Skytrax, a U.K. based consultancy, judges airports on more than 40 categories, ranking them after collecting 8.2 million questionnaires completed by passengers over a 10 month period. The passengers judged 190 airports on factors like shopping, dining, staff courtesy, baggage delivery and wait-times at security, reports the Age.com.au. Hong Kong, with its reputation for efficiency and comfort, bested airports in Singapore and Seoul, South Korea, which ranked second and third respectively. Also in the top 10 were airports in Kansai, Japan, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Airports in Europe - Munich, Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark; Zurich, Switzerland; and Helsinki, Finland - took most of the remaining top spots. Cape Town, South Africa rounded out the list at No.10. Missing from the list were any airports in the United States.

Are You in Love? 11 Signs You LOVE Someone

ONE:

 You just scrolled up to check & are now silently laughing at yourself

TWO:

You were so busy thinking about that person, you didn't notice number seven was missing

THREE:

 While reading this, there was one person on your mind this whole time.

FOUR:

 You would do anything for them, just to see them.

FIVE:

You realize you're always smiling when you're looking at them.

SIX:

They're all you think about.

SEVEN:

When you look at them, you can't see the other people around you, you just see him/her.

    

 EIGHT:

You smile when you hear their voice.

NINE:

You feel shy whenever they're around.

TEN:

You walk really slow when you're with them.

ELEVEN:

When you're on the phone with them late at night and they hang up, you still miss them even when it was just two minutes ago.   

            

Mercedes Benz Built in White Gold

*Note: This is a re-post, requested by few of the visitors. I really thank all visitors and appreciate your valuable comments and feedback.

MERCEDES BENZ FULLY BUILT IN WHITE GOLD Body (Abu Dhabi registration).