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Sunday, September 27, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
7 Holes on Earth.......... Amazing
| 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. |
| 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 |
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| 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 14 400 cubic feet of water every second |
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| the hole can be seen at the top left 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 . |
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| 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. |
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| 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 |
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| 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. |
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Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Google's New York City headquarters
| Take visual tou of Google's New York City headquarters, complete with employee snack stations, gaming area with air hockey and pool table, and even--believe it or not--work spaces. |
| Welcome to Google: the reception area of Google's NYC offices |
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| Now i'm starving: the cafeteria at Google NYC. |
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| Snac-tion: The New York offices of Google have micro kitchens and snack stations throughout. |
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| More employee perks: writer Elizabeth Gilbert talks about her latest book to Google employees. |
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| One of Google NYC's office spaces |
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| Google employee relaxes in a massage chair in the gaming area |
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| Fun with whiteboards: this one features what the Google Engineer of the future would be like |
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| He's got game: an employee bounces an exercise ball around the halls of Google in NYC. |
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| Work spaces in the New York offices of Google |
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| How do I join up? Googlers in New York also get massages |
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Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Two Quick Choices - A Must Read
Two Quick Choices
What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch
line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have
made the same choice?
At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with
learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a
speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After
extolling the school and its
dedicated staff, he offered a question:
'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature
does, is done with perfection.
Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot
understand things as other children do.
Where is the natural order of things in my son?'
The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was
mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity
to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way
other people treat that child.'
Then he told the following story:
Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I
knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to
play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some
confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting
much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said,
'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the
ninth inning.'
Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put
on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in
my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but
was still behind by three.
In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the
right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously
ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to
ear as I waved to him from the stands.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.
Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was
on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to
win the game?
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all
but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat
properly, much less connect with the ball..
However, as Shay stepped up to the
plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting
winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to
lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.
The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.
The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground
ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over.
The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown
the ball to the first baseman.
Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's
head, out of reach of all team mates.
Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!
Run to first!'
Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.
He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'
Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and
struggling to make it to the base.
B y the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
the ball . the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance
to be the hero for his team.
He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but
he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw
the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.
Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
circled the bases toward home.
All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him
by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to
third!
Shay, run to third!'
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators,
were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'
Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero
who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team
'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his
face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and
humanity into this world'.
Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having
never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home
and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:
We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second
thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices,
people hesitate.
The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace,
but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our
schools and workplaces.
If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that
you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't
the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message Well, the
person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference.
We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help
realize the 'natural order of things.'
So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us
with a choice:
Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up
those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the
process?
A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's
least fortunate amongst them.
You now have two choices:
1. Delete
2. Forward
May your day, be a Shay Day.
What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch
line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have
made the same choice?
At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with
learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a
speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After
extolling the school and its
dedicated staff, he offered a question:
'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature
does, is done with perfection.
Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot
understand things as other children do.
Where is the natural order of things in my son?'
The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was
mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity
to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way
other people treat that child.'
Then he told the following story:
Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I
knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their
team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to
play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some
confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting
much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said,
'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the
ninth inning.'
Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put
on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in
my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but
was still behind by three.
In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the
right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously
ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to
ear as I waved to him from the stands.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.
Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was
on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to
win the game?
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all
but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat
properly, much less connect with the ball..
However, as Shay stepped up to the
plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting
winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to
lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.
The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.
The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground
ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over.
The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown
the ball to the first baseman.
Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's
head, out of reach of all team mates.
Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!
Run to first!'
Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.
He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'
Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and
struggling to make it to the base.
B y the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
the ball . the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance
to be the hero for his team.
He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but
he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw
the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.
Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him
circled the bases toward home.
All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him
by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to
third!
Shay, run to third!'
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators,
were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'
Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero
who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team
'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his
face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and
humanity into this world'.
Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having
never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home
and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:
We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second
thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices,
people hesitate.
The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace,
but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our
schools and workplaces.
If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that
you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't
the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message Well, the
person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference.
We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help
realize the 'natural order of things.'
So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us
with a choice:
Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up
those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the
process?
A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's
least fortunate amongst them.
You now have two choices:
1. Delete
2. Forward
May your day, be a Shay Day.
