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10 thác nước đẹp nhất thế giới

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 3 Mar 2011 06:07:00 -0800

1. Thác Iguazu

Thác Iguazu là thác nước của sông Iguazu nằm trên biên giới của bang Paraná của Brazil và tỉnh Misiones của Argentina. Thác này chia sông Iguazu thành 2 phần trên và dưới. Với bờ vực của nó kéo dài một cách lạ thường những 2 km, và lưu lượng trung bình 1.300.000 lít/giây, thác nước Iguazu đứng đầu danh sách này. Thác nước này thực ra bao gồm 275 thác nước nhỏ. Những lối đi hẹp làm khiến du khách dễ dàng ngắm nhìn cận cảnh quang cảnh và rừng mưa nhiệt đới xung quanh khiến cảnh quan này thật tuyệt vời.

2. Thác Victoria

Thác Victoria nằm ở miền nam châu Phi trên sông Zambezi giữa các quốc gia Zambia và Zimbabwe. Thác Victoria còn được gọi là Mosi-oa-Tunya, nghĩa là "đám khói ầm vang như sấm" trong ngôn ngữ của bộ lạc Kololo, đã từng hiện diện trong những năm 1800. David Livingstone, người châu Âu đầu tiên nhìn thấy thác này, đã đặt tên cho thác để vinh danh Nữ hoàng Victoria trong năm 1855. Ông vô cùng kinh ngạc đến nỗi đã mô tả thác nước là "các thiên thần chắc chắn phải ngắm nhìn mê mẩn quang cảnh tuyệt đẹp này từ phía trên cao khi họ đang bay". Đó là thác nước lớn nhất thế giới có chiều rộng tới 1,7 km, cao 108 m, và lưu lượng trung bình 1.000.000 lít/giây.

3. Thác Niagara

Thác Niagara là thác nước rộng lớn trên sông Niagara, nằm ngay trên đường biên giới quốc tế giữa bang Ontario của Canada và tiểu bang York của Hoa Kỳ. Thác Niagara đã được hình thành khi các sông băng rút đi vào cuối băng kỳ Wisconsin (thời kỳ băng hà cuối cùng), và nước từ Ngũ đại hồ mới được hình thành đã tạo ra một con đường thông qua thác Niagara dốc đứng trên đường chảy đến Đại Tây Dương. Mặc dù không quá cao, thác Niagara rất rộng. Hơn 168.000 m³ nước chảy qua đỉnh thác mỗi phút khi dòng chảy mạnh, và trung bình là 110.000 m³/phút. Đây là thác nước mạnh nhất ở Bắc Mỹ. Thác Niagara nổi tiếng cả vì vẻ đẹp của nó và vì là một nguồn thủy điện quý báu. Quản lý việc cân bằng giữa các mục đích sử dụng khác nhau: giải trí, thương mại và công nghiệp đã là một thách thức cho những người quản lý thác kể từ những năm 1800.

4. Thác Thiên thần (Angel)

Thác Thiên thần là thác nước cao nhất thế giới, với độ cao 1.054 m và một đoạn nước rơi tự do dài đến 807 m. Đó là thác nước cao nhất thế giới, nước rơi xuống trên đoạn đường gần 1 km (khoảng 979 m, trong đó 807 m nước rơi tự do không có vật cản) từ một ngọn núi được gọi là Auyantepuy (hoặc Auyantepui, có nghĩa là "núi của quỷ chúa" hay là "Núi quỷ"). Thác nước này quá cao, đến nỗi trước khi kịp rơi tới mặt đất, phần lớn nước đã bốc hơi hoặc biến thành sương và bị gió mang đi. Sự tồn tại của nó có vẻ giống như một nghịch lý, bởi vì nó nước của thác không phải là nước tuyết hoặc sông băng tan chảy, không phải từ những hồ nước, hoặc một hệ thống sông lớn nào cả. Thật vậy, nguồn nước phong phú của thác nước này thực tế tất cả đều là nước mưa từ những cơn mưa ở vùng xích đạo đổ vào cánh rừng đầy mây trên cao nguyên Auyantepui.
Thác Thiên thần còn được gọi là Salto Ángel, hoặc là Kerepakupai-Meru đối với người dân bản xứ. Cái tên bản địa này xuất phát từ thổ dân Pemón có nghĩa là "rơi từ nơi sâu nhất". Trớ trêu thay, cái tên “Thiên thần” nổi tiếng của thác nước không có liên quan gì với ý nghĩa rằng nước rơi từ trên trời xuống. Trong thực tế, tên của thác nước được đặt theo tên của phi công Jimmy Angel, người vào năm 1937 đã hạ cánh chiếc máy bay của ông ở trên cao nguyên Auyantepui gần thác nước, trong một nỗ lực để chứng tỏ sự tồn tại của thác nước này cho thế giới biết đến (và để tìm kiếm vàng). Do địa hình trên đỉnh núi sũng nước này, máy bay đã bị mắc kẹt, vì vậy ông, vợ ông, và hai người bạn đã không có lựa chọn nào ngoài việc leo xuống theo các vách đá thẳng đứng của thác nước (mất khoảng 11 ngày). Chỉ sau kỳ tích đó, thác nước mới được phần còn lại của thế giới biết đến, và cuối cùng thác nước đã mang tên ông. Chiếc máy bay của Jimmy Angel từ đó đã được di chuyển, phục hồi, và được trưng bày tại sân bay ở Ciudad Bolívar.

5. Thác Yosemite

Thác Yosemite là biểu tượng của sự hùng vĩ và vẻ đẹp của Vườn quốc gia Yosemite. Có đến 10 thác nước tuyệt đẹp trong Vườn quốc gia này, nhưng thác Yosemite là đẹp nhất và nổi tiếng nhất. Có độ cao 739 m, đó là một trong những thác nước cao nhất thế giới. Thác nước này chia làm 3 đoạn. Đoạn đầu có tên là Thác Cao (Upper Fall), cao khoảng 436 m. Đoạn thứ hai là dãy núi Thác Trung (Middle Cascades), có chiều cao khoảng 205 m. Đoạn cuối Thác Dưới (Lower Fall), có chiều cao khoảng 97 m.

6. Thác Kaieteur

Kaieteur là một thác nước có dung tích lớn trên sông Potaro ở trung tâm Guyana, khu vực Potaro-Siparuni. Thác Kaieteur là kỳ quan thắng cảnh lớn nhất Guyana. Sông Potaro được cho là đã tạo nên dốc đứng cao khoảng 221 m và rộng gần 100 m (mặc dù mùa mưa, các kích thước thường được trích dẫn là 226 m chiều cao và 113 m chiều rộng), vì thế thác này có kích thước thuộc loại lớn nhất thế giới. Trong thực tế, có những lời khẳng định rằng thác nước này là thác nước đơn cao nhất trên thế giới.

7. Thác Gullfoss

Thác Gullfoss (còn gọi là Thác Vàng ) là một thác nước nằm trong hẻm núi của con sông Hvítá ở phía tây nam Iceland. Thác Gullfoss là một trong những điểm du lịch nổi tiếng nhất Hoa Kỳ. Con sông rộng Hvítá chảy về phía nam. Khoảng 1 km trên thác nó rẽ ngoặt đột ngột sang bên trái và chảy xuống thành một "cầu thang" gồm 3 bậc thang cong rộng, và sau đó đột ngột đổ xuống hai đoạn (11 m và 21 m) vào một khe nứt sâu 32 m. Khe nứt này rộng khoảng 20 m, và dài 2,5 km, vuông góc với dòng chảy của sông. Lưu lượng trung bình chảy qua thác nước này là 140 m³/s trong mùa hè và 80 m³/s trong mùa đông. Dòng lũ cao nhất đo được có lưu lượng là 2.000 m³/s.

8. Thác Dettifoss

Dettifoss là một thác nước rất mạnh trên sông băng Jökulsá á Fjöllum ẩn mình trong hẻm núi Jökulsárgljúfur – được người ta gọi là Grand Canyon của Iceland. Với lưu lượng khoảng 500 m³/s khi dòng nước xiết, con quái vật cao 100 m rộng 44 m này rất có thể là thác nước mạnh mẽ nhất và lớn nhất châu Âu. Thác nước có màu trắng đục này được nuôi bằng nước băng tan của sông băng Vatnajökull rộng lớn. Du khách có thể đứng ở cả hai bờ của thác để ngắm cảnh.

9. Thác Sutherland

Thác Sutherland cao 580 mét này là ấn tượng nhất trong vô số thác nước trên Milford Track. Đó là thực sự về một cuộc hành quân nặng nhọc 45 phút theo đường mòn chính, nhưng không uổng công. Bạn có thể đi bộ đến tận gốc của thác nước này và cảm thấy sức mạnh của gió ào ạt thổi xuống, đem những đám sương mù dạt ra xung quanh gốc thác. Nó phát ra âm thanh rất lớn, giống như một chiếc máy bay.

10. Những thác dưới của sông Đá Vàng (Yellowstone River)

Những thác dưới cao khoảng 94 m, gần gấp đôi thác Niagara. Dung lượng nước không so được với thác Niagara bởi vì chiều rộng của sông Yellowstone trước khi nó đi qua các thác dưới là 22 m, trong khi Niagara là 800 m.

10 bí ẩn lớn nhất của vũ trụ

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 3 Mar 2011 06:00:00 -0800

Vũ trụ, trong tiềm thức của những cư dân Trái đất, in đậm dấu ấn của bầu trời đêm lung linh những vì sao và vằng vặc ánh trăng rằm. Nhưng không chỉ có vậy, vũ trụ bao la còn ẩn chứa rất nhiều điều kỳ diệu mà cũng vô cùng huyền bí. Dưới đây là nhóm 10 bí ẩn lớn nhất của vũ trụ theo bình chọn của trang askmen.com.
1.Tinh vân

hành phần cơ bản tạo nên tinh vân là những khối bụi, khí và plasma khổng lồ. Với chiều rộng có thể lên đến hàng năm ánh sáng, những “đám mây dơ dáy” này như những dải ngân hà trôi giạt trong vũ trụ, kéo theo những hành tinh và tinh cầu “con cháu” bám vào những góc cạnh đang nguội dần đi của chúng. Bằng kính viễn vọng loại lớn, người ta có thể quan sát được những tinh vân nằm rải rác trong vũ trụ. Hình dạng của chúng rất đa dạng: hình đầu ngựa, hình con cua hay hình trụ. Còn có “tinh vân tối” – được mệnh danh là “kẻ thô lỗ” – là đám mây khí trôi giạt vô định và có những chỗ dày đặc đến mức che khuất hoàn toàn ánh sáng ở phía sau chúng.
2.Sao băng

Khi những tinh cầu hết năng lượng, chúng không kết thúc theo kiểu lập loè sáng rồi tắt lịm; mà ngược lại, chúng tạo nên những vụ nổ cực lớn, làm bắn ra tầng tầng lớp lớp khí vào rất xa trong vũ trụ. Thật may mắn cho cư dân Trái đất chúng ta được chiêm ngưỡng hiện tượng kỳ thú này từ một khoảng cách rất an toàn.
Sau đó, những lớp khí này lại tập hợp lại, tạo nên những tinh cầu mới trong chu trình sinh tử kéo tới dài hàng tỷ năm. Khi đó, từ cách xa hàng tỷ dặm, các nhà thiên văn học của chúng ta sẽ chỉ cần làm một việc đơn giản là kiểm tra sự xuất hiện của một ngôi sao băng khác trong Hệ mặt trời ở Dải Ngân hà.
3. Vi sóng vũ trụ

Trong quá trình nghiên cứu vũ trụ, các nhà khoa học đã phát hiện ra cái gọi là vi sóng vũ trụ, nhưng không thể giải thích được sự tồn tại của hiện tượng này. Một giả thuyết cho rằng vi sóng vũ trụ là bức xạ còn sót lại từ một vụ nổ cực lớn dẫn đến sự hình thành vũ trụ, xảy ra từ rất lâu, được đặt tên là Big Bang (Vụ nổ Lớn). Như vậy, câu hỏi về vi sóng vũ trụ lại trở về câu hỏi về hiện tượng vốn được xem là cốt lõi sự hình thành của vũ trụ.
4. Năng lượng tối

Chỉ cách đây không lâu, giới khoa học mới phát hiện ra vũ trụ đang mở rộng. Nghiên cứu sâu hơn cho thấy tốc độ mở rộng của vụ trụ nhanh chậm theo từng thời kỳ. Lời giải thích duy nhất có thể cho hiện tượng này là một dạng năng lượng thần bí, vô hình mà người ta gọi là “năng lượng tối”. Theo các chuyên gia trong lĩnh vực này, có một từ trường không đều trải rộng trong vũ trụ, ở một số nơi, tốc độ mở rộng của từ trường này chậm hơn ở những nơi khác, dẫn đến hiện tượng vũ trụ mở rộng với tốc độ không giống nhau.
Mô hình vũ trụ đang mở rộng khiến một số người cho rằng “ngày tàn của vũ trụ” có thể đến nhanh hơn dự kiến. Người ta đặt tên cho nó là Big Freeze (Vụ đóng băng lớn), tức là nếu vũ trụ cứ tiếp tục mở rộng, mọi vật sẽ ngày càng tách xa nhau cho đến lúc trôi vào vô định.
5. Vật chất tối

Nảy ra ý tưởng thống kê vũ trụ, một số nhà khoa học trên thế giới đã bắt tay vào việc tính toán tổng trọng lượng của vũ trụ. Nhưng khi họ đã tập hợp đủ số liệu về trọng lượng của tất cả những gì có trong vũ trụ, kể cả Hành tinh Xanh của chúng ta, kết quả của phép cộng ấy lại không hề tăng lên. Sau đó, một nhà vật lý học thiên thể người Thuỵ Sĩ tên là Fritz Zwicky đưa ra giả thuyết rằng phần lớn vũ trụ được tạo thành bởi một loại chất bí ẩn không thể nhìn thấy hoặc đo đếm bằng những công nghệ mà con người đang sở hữu. Nhà khoa học này gọi chất bí ẩn đó là “vật chất tối”.
6. Neutrino

Bên trong những tinh cầu nóng, sức nóng và áp suất khiến tất cả các loại phân tử bay vòng quanh và va chạm vào nhau. Từ “bát súp tinh cầu” đó đã bắn ra thứ nhỏ nhất trong số những thứ đã được nhân loại biết đến – đó là neutrino. Thoát ra từ tinh cầu, neutrino phát tán khắp nơi trong vũ trụ. Với hàng tỷ tinh cầu có trong vũ trụ thì cũng có vô số neutrino đang bay lượn trong vũ trụ.
7. Chuẩn tinh

Chuẩn tinh là một trong những thứ mạnh nhất trong vũ trụ, bao gồm những hố đen khổng lồ nằm ở trung tâm của một số trong những thiên hà già nhất viền quanh vũ trụ. Rất nhiều thiên thể bị hút vào đó và vỡ thành những mảnh nhỏ li ti, giải phóng ra một lượng năng lượng khổng lồ. Khối năng lượng này dần dầnthâm nhập vào không gian và hàng tỷ năm sau được tìm thấy trên Trái đất như là sóng vô tuyến.
8. Tinh cầu neutron

Khi một tinh cầu chết đi, nó sẽ đổ ập vào phía trong, làm bắn ra các electron và proton. Ở khoảng cách quá nhỏ, các electron và proton lại hợp lại với nhau tạo thành các neutron. Quá trình đó có thể mô tả như việc nén một vật khổng lồ như Trái đất của chúng ta thành một quả bóng có đường kính chỉ khoảng 160 km. Có thể nói các tinh cầu neutron này là vật thể đậm đặc nhất trong vũ trụ.
9. Ẩn tinh

Không thể được nhìn thấy bằng mắt thường, ẩn tinh là “họ hàng” gần của tinh cầu neutron. Những tinh cầu chết này quay tròn với tốc độ ngoài sức tưởng tượng và phát ra lượng phóng xạ khổng lồ. Chúng có từ trường mạnh gấp một nghìn tỷ lần từ trường của Trái đất.
10. Hố đen

Hố đen không phải là “sản phẩm” của các tác giả viết truyện khoa học viễn tưởng. Đó là những tinh cầu già, đã nguội rất nhiều và dày đặc và thu nhỏ một cách đáng kinh ngạc đến mức mà lực hấp dẫn của chúng có thể hút bất cứ thứ gì xung quanh, kể cả ánh sáng. Theo một số nhà khoa học, tên gọi “hố đen” có thể chưa chính xác khi bất cứ tia sáng nào xuất hiện gần nó cũng bị hút vào. Họ đề xuất tên gọi khác “ôn hòa” hơn là “hố vô hình”.

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Health in Vietnam

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 2 Mar 2011 05:00:00 -0800

A health care specialist from the U.S. Army examines a patient in Bac Ninh Province.

The overall quality of health in Vietnam is regarded as good, as reflected by 2005 estimates of life expectancy (70.61 years) and infant mortality (25.95 per 1,000 live births). However, malnutrition is still common in the provinces, and the life expectancy and infant mortality rates are stagnating. In 2001 government spending on health care corresponded to just 0.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Government subsidies covered only about 20 percent of health care expenses, with the remaining 80 percent coming out of individuals’ own pockets.^[1]
In 1954 the government in the North established a public health system that reached down to the hamlet level. After reunification in 1976, this system was extended to the South. Beginning in the late 1980s, the quality of health care began to decline as a result of budgetary constraints, a shift of responsibility to the provinces, and the introduction of charges. Inadequate funding has led to delays in planned upgrades to water supply and sewage systems. As a result, almost half the population has no access to clean water, a deficiency that promotes such infectious diseases as malaria, dengue fever, typhoid, and cholera. Inadequate funding also has contributed to a shortage of nurses, midwives, and hospital beds. In 2000 Vietnam had only 250,000 hospital beds, or 14.8 beds per 10,000 people, a very low ratio among Asian nations, according to the World Bank.^[1]
Vietnam has made progress in combating malaria, for which the mortality rate declined sharply, to about 5 percent of the rate in the early 1990s, after the country introduced antimalarial drugs and treatment. However, tuberculosis (TB) cases are on the rise, with 57 deaths per day reported in May 2004. With an intensified vaccination program, better hygiene, and foreign assistance, Vietnam hopes to reduce sharply the number of TB cases and annual new TB infections.^[1]
As of September 2005, Vietnam had diagnosed 101,291 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases, of which 16,528 developed acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and 9,554 died. But the actual number of HIV-positive individuals is estimated to be much higher. An average of 40–50 new infections are reported every day in Vietnam. Vietnam hopes to contain the HIV infection rate at the current official rate of 0.35 percent, which is about average worldwide, by limiting the disease as much as possible to sex workers and intravenous drug users. However, if the current trend continues, the number of infected persons could reach 1 million by 2010. One of the impediments to containing HIV/AIDS is that the victims face discrimination and stigmatization that are more severe than almost anywhere else in the world, according to a United Nations official. In June 2004, the Bush Administration announced that Vietnam would be one of 15 nations to receive funding as part of a US$15 billion global AIDS plan.

Haiphong detective – The haunted Hotel

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 2 Mar 2011 04:57:00 -0800

Posted on Vietnamese Detective

Haiphong detective -
In the year 1860, the reputation of Doctor Wybrow as a London physician reached its highest point. It was reported on good authority that he was in receipt of one of the largest incomes derived from the practice of medicine in modern times.
One afternoon, towards the close of the London season, the Doctor had just taken his luncheon after a specially hard morning’s work in his consulting-room, and with a formidable list of visits to patients at their own houses to fill up the rest of his day– when the servant announced that a lady wished to speak to him.
‘Who is she?’ the Doctor asked. ‘A stranger?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘I see no strangers out of consulting-hours. Tell her what the hours are, and send her away.’
‘I have told her, sir.’
‘Well?’
‘And she won’t go.’
‘Won’t go?’ The Doctor smiled as he repeated the words. He was a humourist in his way; and there was an absurd side to the situation which rather amused him. ‘Has this obstinate lady given you her name?’ he inquired.
‘No, sir. She refused to give any name–she said she wouldn’t keep you five minutes, and the matter was too important to wait till to-morrow. There she is in the consulting-room; and how to get her out again is more than I know.’
Doctor Wybrow considered for a moment. His knowledge of women (professionally speaking) rested on the ripe experience of more than thirty years; he had met with them in all their varieties– especially the variety which knows nothing of the value of time, and never hesitates at sheltering itself behind the privileges of its sex. A glance at his watch informed him that he must soon begin his rounds among the patients who were waiting for him at their own houses. He decided forthwith on taking the only wise course that was open under the circumstances. In other words, he decided on taking to flight.
‘Is the carriage at the door?’ he asked.
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Very well. Open the house-door for me without making any noise, and leave the lady in undisturbed possession of the consulting-room. When she gets tired of waiting, you know what to tell her. If she asks when I am expected to return, say that I dine at my club, and spend the evening at the theatre. Now then, softly, Thomas! If your shoes creak, I am a lost man.’
He noiselessly led the way into the hall, followed by the servant on tip-toe.
Did the lady in the consulting-room suspect him? or did Thomas’s shoes creak, and was her sense of hearing unusually keen? Whatever the explanation may be, the event that actually happened was beyond all doubt. Exactly as Doctor Wybrow passed his consulting-room, the door opened–the lady appeared on the threshold– and laid her hand on his arm.
‘I entreat you, sir, not to go away without letting me speak to you first.’
The accent was foreign; the tone was low and firm. Her fingers closed gently, and yet resolutely, on the Doctor’s arm.
Neither her language nor her action had the slightest effect in inclining him to grant her request. The influence that instantly stopped him, on the way to his carriage, was the silent influence of her face. The startling contrast between the corpse-like pallor of her complexion and the overpowering life and light, the glittering metallic brightness in her large black eyes, held him literally spell-bound. She was dressed in dark colours, with perfect taste; she was of middle height, and (apparently) of middle age–say a year or two over thirty. Her lower features–the nose, mouth, and chin– possessed the fineness and delicacy of form which is oftener seen among women of foreign races than among women of English birth. She was unquestionably a handsome person–with the one serious drawback of her ghastly complexion, and with the less noticeable defect of a total want of tenderness in the expression of her eyes. Apart from his first emotion of surprise, the feeling she produced in the Doctor may be described as an overpowering feeling of professional curiosity. The case might prove to be something entirely new in his professional experience. ‘It looks like it,’ he thought; ‘and it’s worth waiting for.’

Vietnam investigator: Doubt deletion

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 2 Mar 2011 04:55:00 -0800

Posted on Vietnamese Detective
Four days ago, Viet-Detection and Trading co., Ltd (VDT) on Thai Ha street, majoring in seeking information, succeeded in a peculiar civil case.
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Those who go to a detective office all have infinite suspicions and worries. Then they will have all types of reactions to show their happiness, anger, love or hate when their doubts such as husbands/wives’ affairs, frauds in business contracts are detected to be true. Even in cases of spoilt, motorcycle-racing or abroad studying children, their parents need detectives’ intervention.
Four days ago, Viet-Detection and Trading co., Ltd (VDT) on Thai Ha street, majoring in seeking information, succeeded in a peculiar civil case.
On a sunny noon, Ms Huong, an over 40-year-old woman, went to the office of the company and asked for family advice breathlessly. Her husband is doctor Binh, a deputy director of a hospital. She realized that he had some extraordinary changes, which made her have a feeling of his affairs. Therefore, she had detectives to provide her evidences of suspicions.
The detective work was implemented right after the order. For the first days of following the doctor, detectives only observed that he was busy with his work of being on duty, operating of directing on-the-job trainees. However, 3 days later, he made a phone call to inform a night duty. At 11pm, he drove towards Ha Dong bridge, picked up a young girl and took her to have a night meal. Saying goodbye after the night date, she cried on his shoulder. Then he took her to her renting house with caressing and consoling manners.
At 2 am the next day, on one another night duty, he lied not to go home and continued picking the girl on Nguyen Trai street, Thanh Xuan district. After a night meal, they got into a rest house.
Detecting such exact information, a wife usually goes to the place where the girl lives to make a scene of jealousy. However, in stead of doing it, Ms Huong only asked her younger sister to meet and warn the girl about their affair relations. Eventually, the girl confessed that she was the last-year student of Hanoi Medical University sent to Binh’s hospital as an on-the-job trainee. She had intention to work there after graduation, so she seduced Binh in exchange for a position in the big hospital.
Sympathizing with the girl’s situation, together with her wide relations, Huong promised to find the girl another job and asked her not to get in touch with her husband any more.
Here is the case of a rich and powerful family with an 11^th-form son. The family was so rich that everyday the son stole 2-3 millions VND to go out with friends but his parents did not know. When they detected the truth, he started to be addicted to heroin. After 6 months working as his intimate friends along with the belief of the clients, detectives were asked to go to Singapore with the boy in order to care and urge him to study.
There was a case in which the son was too naughty and stubborn for detectives to make friends with. Knowing that he was interested in playing game, a detective pretended to be a gamer and played against him. Finally, the detective won. Admiring the gamer, the son called the detective “Master” and called himself “Disciple” in order to continue game-online competitions. Since then, he obeyed the detective’s instruction and observation.
This is the story of a couple who left their hometown for Ha Noi to establish their business from nothing. Thanks to their laboriousness and agility, they had owned a famous beer restaurant in Hanoi for 10 years. However, Mr. Hai realized that his wife had changed a lot for 10 years. Moreover, his daughter sometimes told him that she saw her mother going out with a younger man intimately. He did not believe his wife had an affair; however, his greater and greater suspicion led him to ask detectives to uncover facts.
Only after over 3 days of investigations, detectives proved the spouse’s infidelity exactly. Three days later, Hai got information that she had been cheating on him for nearly 10 years. Her affair partner, who seemed to have the same age as his last-born brother, was one of the trouble-makers at his restaurant 10 years ago. When the restaurant was just opened, a group of 5-6 youths often went there to drink beer, stirred up, owed and made troubles. Thanks to his wife’s arrangement, everything was ok. He could not think of her affair with the guy. However, after discovering the painful truth, what surprised him more was the fact that his wife changed all asserts to be under her name secretly. This led him suddenly to have nothing left.
In a case, a man named Quang, the officer of electricity department, was crying right after discovering his wife’s affairs. Being absorbed in his career, when he got a dignity, he was too old to get married. However, finally, he got married with a quite young woman. Since his wife was first pregnant, he asked a doctor as well as his close friend to take care of her at home.
For 2 years after giving birth, his wife had done the housework and cared him and their child carefully. Nevertheless, he suddenly had a feeling of her affairs because she did everything too carefully. He suspected and decided to hire detectives to observe her. On the first day, she still went to the market, cooked meals and went to work in a hurry. At noon, she saw a man at a café in front of her office. After a while, she went home. Keeping on surveillance for a week, detectives confirmed that she had an affair partner exactly. Although they did not see each other frequently, their love seemed to be quite deep. However, his wife’s lover was his close friend as well as the doctor who he paid a lot of money to care his wife during her pregnancy, which made him unbelievable.
For detectives, information investigations often end after 1 or 2 weeks. But in order to have exact information to supply their clients, they must have worked seriously and strictly. Detective companies will use proper methods to get information, which depends on the hobbies of the subjects that clients ask to conduct surveillance. In spire of the fact that detectives have not worked in all fields and are not criminal spies as well, they are versatile, agile and intelligent in situation-settlement, which are also basic qualities of detectives. They will be able to convert fixed things into changing things. Sometimes they are like free people wandering along streets more than at home, even many nights they must wander over night outside. Nevertheless, for them, detective work is risky but interesting.

Vietnamse Detective Vietnam Investigator – History of detective in vietnam: Ancestor of Vietnamse Detective

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 23:25:00 -0800

According to old documents, one of the 1^st detectives in Vietnam was Mr. Le Van Luong with his private detective office at 109A Pasteur, Old Saigon named “Lelion Lefort Agency” since 1962.
Mr Nguyen Huu Vinh, director of V- Protection & Investigation Co; Ltd, provided us a address and we went to Luong’s hometown in Kim Thuong hamlet, Kim Binh village, Kim Bang (Ha Nam).
It was the address of Mrs. Tam, teacher Chinh’s mother. A girl took us to a house with the flower-covered gate and said: “It’s Tam’s house”. An old woman opened the gate, taking us through a slope-opposite brick road to an unusual, quiet simple small house. On the right of outdated furniture with only a tea-set above was a mosquito net- lowered bed, which seemed to be so quiet that we felt compassion. The old woman slightly called towards the net: “Mum, we have guest”.
The net shook gently and a rawboned small great-grandmother tremblingly pulled it up. She looked at us with her dim eyes, trying to show her joyfulness. Going with me was the old journalist Thuan Giang, a friend of her child. He said: “This is Luong’s 1^st wife, Mrs. Le Thi Tam”.
Today is the anniversary of Luong’s death. On the altar was the posthumous picture of an over 70-year-old hale, hearty and imposing man. His square face, large mouth, high forehead and hoary hair showed his valiant and vicissitudes of life as he was young. Next to his altar was his honorary degree of Doctor issued by Los Angeles University. We lighted incense for him and listened to stories of his life.
Le Van Luong was born in 1913 in a family of Confucian tradition. At the age of 17, he got married with Mrs. Le Thi Tam, who lived in the same village but hamlet as him. She was at the same age as him and was the most beautiful in the region. Luong worked as a teacher and his wife tilled the field and weaved. Their life was as quiet as ramparts of bamboo in the autumn. However, ambition was always full in blood vessel of the young man.
After that, Luong left his hometown as well as his wife for Hanoi to study and got acquainted with a beautiful, aristocratic and well-studied girl Tuong Vi of noble blood. Her brother was just King Bao Dai. The two had a congenial companion so Luong took Tuong Vi to his hometown and celebrated their wedding against the family’s objection.
Living in Hanoi for a period of time, he worked as a teacher at Vinh Quoc Hoc high school and then Hue Quoc Hoc high school. In spite of adventurous and amorous blood, Luong never sank into music and women but always studied, researched and desired to stretch himself.
In Saigon, he got married to two other wives. The 4^th named Nhieu lived in Ky Dong so she was called “Tu Ky Dong” (4^th Ky Dong). At that time, he was proficient in 5 languages: English, French, Chinese, Japanese and Russian and had many degrees of Law, Economics and Kung fu.
He took the two children of the 1^st wife to Saigon to live together with him but he was arrested by France-close government because of ever teaching Japanese. Released from prison with a broken family, he did many jobs and succeeded the most in the job as a lawyer of his own law advisory office. He usually went to Hong Kong to study about detective work.
In 1962, he opened the most famous private detective office in Saigon and became one of those who seized much business and competition information of businessmen and politicians of quisling regime.
According to what Thuan Giang told, in Saigon the most magnificent building at N^o109A Pasteur resided by many households was then sold to a boss at the price of 300 gold taels. The boss destroyed it and rebuilt a much more splendid building and suspended a plate “Lelion Lefort Agency” and a line of Vietnamese “V?n phòng thám t? t?”.
Everyone often saw a tall imposing man in Mercedes SE 280 car, one of three most luxurious cars on Saigon then, go out of and into that building. Owners of the two other luxurious cars are the French leader of a construction company and President Nguyen Van Thieu.
Thuan Giang said that Luong ever told him about his dream of becoming a detective. When he was small, he admired “Detective Le Phong” (Tham tu Le Phong) by The Lu. Detective Le Phong idol was engraved into the mind of the richly enthusiastic, intelligent and errant guy and he made his dream come true when possible. The name of his office “Lelion Lefort Agency” meant “Le Luong – Le Phong Agency”.
His aspiration was known by little people; however, his eldest son of his eldest son opened a business store on Hoang Hoa Tham street, Hanoi, named “Le Phong” Store.
(According to Tram Anh – Tuoitre newspaper)

Female detective – a dangerous career in society

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 23:07:00 -0800

In the past, many women took part in and succeeded in dangerous works, especially in the war or in the context which forced them to take action. However, very few women worked as a bodyguard, detective, firefighter, policeman, etc.
Until the society accepted women’s equality to men, especially since late XX century, women have gradually participated in such a dangerous career. To some extent, their working ability is not less than men’s. What is more, they have strong points which men do not have.
Glamorous female detectives
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In late 2007, on his visit to France, Libya leader Muammar Gaddafi surprised everyone and press due to his glamorous female bodyguards. They all are beautiful bodyguards from a Islam country in Africa.

Having graduated from Military Academy of Libya and being trained strictly in a secret place, they are professional and skillful in using guns, driving, kung fu. They are always ready to sacrifice their life for President’s absolute safety. A female bodyguard team normally includes 10 people, always changing their position and also acting as receptionists, secretaries, servants.
In fact, nowadays, female bodyguards are not strange to everyone because of the increasing demand for bodyguards, particularly in developed countries. Many beautiful girls from countries are eager to work as bodyguards, detectives and policemen – special and dangerous careers.
For example, Russia has approximate 500 female bodyguards, accounting for 2% of the total number of nationwide bodyguards. Their salary ranges from 1,500 USD to 2,000 USD for 15 working days per month. The capital Moscow has a school specializing in training female bodyguards. Students here are well-bodied, intelligent, agile, absolutely healthy and aged from 21 to 37.
Normally, after strict psychological and physical tests, just 5 girls reach the standard to complete six – month training course. Female bodyguards here are trained perfectly like male ones. In many cases, they are believed to work more effectively than men.

THE SIGNAL-MAN (1)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:46:00 -0800

‘Halloa! Below there!’

When he heard a voice thus calling to him, he was standing at the door of his box, with a flag in his hand, furled round its short pole. One would have thought, considering the nature of the ground, that he could not have doubted from what quarter the voice came; but instead of looking up to where I stood on the top of the steep cutting nearly over his head, he turned himself about, and looked down the Line. There was something remarkable in his manner of doing so, though I could not have said for my life what. But I know it was remarkable enough to attract my notice, even though his figure was foreshortened and shadowed, down in the deep trench, and mine was high above him, so steeped in the glow of an angry sunset, that I had shaded my eyes with my hand before I saw him at all.

‘Halloa! Below!’

From looking down the Line, he turned himself about again, and, raising his eyes, saw my figure high above him.

‘Is there any path by which I can come down and speak to you?’

He looked up at me without replying, and I looked down at him without pressing him too soon with a repetition of my idle question. Just then there came a vague vibration in the earth and air, quickly changing into a violent pulsation, and an oncoming rush that caused me to start back, as though it had force to draw me down. When such vapour as rose to my height from this rapid train had passed me, and was skimming away over the landscape, I looked down again, and saw him refurling the flag he had shown while the train went by.

I repeated my inquiry. After a pause, during which he seemed to regard me with fixed attention, he motioned with his rolled-up flag towards a point on my level, some two or three hundred yards distant. I called down to him, ‘All right!’ and made for that point. There, by dint of looking closely about me, I found a rough zigzag descending path notched out, which I followed.

The cutting was extremely deep, and unusually precipitate. It was made through a clammy stone, that became oozier and wetter as I went down. For these reasons, I found the way long enough to give me time to recall a singular air of reluctance or compulsion with which he had pointed out the path.

When I came down low enough upon the zigzag descent to see him again, I saw that he was standing between the rails on the way by which the train had lately passed, in an attitude as if he were waiting for me to appear. He had his left hand at his chin, and that left elbow rested on his right hand, crossed over his breast. His attitude was one of such expectation and watchfulness that I stopped a moment, wondering at it.

I resumed my downward way, and stepping out upon the level of the railroad, and drawing nearer to him, saw that he was a dark sallow man, with a dark beard and rather heavy eyebrows. His post was in as solitary and dismal a place as ever I saw. On either side, a dripping-wet wall of jagged stone, excluding all view but a strip of sky; the perspective one way only a crooked prolongation of this great dungeon; the shorter perspective in the other direction terminating in a gloomy red light, and the gloomier entrance to a black tunnel, in whose massive architecture there was a barbarous, depressing, and forbidding air. So little sunlight ever found its way to this spot, that it had an earthy, deadly smell; and so much cold wind rushed through it, that it struck chill to me, as if I had left the natural world.

Before he stirred, I was near enough to him to have touched him. Not even then removing his eyes from mine, he stepped back one step, and lifted his hand.

This was a lonesome post to occupy (I said), and it had riveted my attention when I looked down from up yonder. A visitor was a rarity, I should suppose; not an unwelcome rarity, I hoped? In me, he merely saw a man who had been shut up within narrow limits all his life, and who, being at last set free, had a newly-awakened interest in these great works. To such purpose I spoke to him; but I am far from sure of the terms I used; for, besides that I am not happy in opening any conversation, there was something in the man that daunted me.

He directed a most curious look towards the red light near the tunnel’s mouth, and looked all about it, as if something were missing from it, and then looked it me.

That light was part of his charge? Was it not?

He answered in a low voice,—‘Don’t you know it is?’

The monstrous thought came into my mind, as I perused the fixed eyes and the saturnine face, that this was a spirit, not a man. I have speculated since, whether there may have been infection in his mind. 5

In my turn, I stepped back. But in making the action, I detected in his eyes some latent fear of me. This put the monstrous thought to flight.

‘You look at me,’ I said, forcing a smile, ‘as if you had a dread of me.’

‘I was doubtful,’ he returned, ‘whether I had seen you before.’

‘Where?’

He pointed to the red light he had looked at.

‘There?’ I said.

Intently watchful of me, he replied (but without sound), ‘Yes.’

‘My good fellow, what should I do there? However, be that as it may, I never was there, you may swear.’

‘I think I may,’ he rejoined. ‘Yes; I am sure I may.’

His manner cleared, like my own. He replied to my remarks with readiness, and in well-chosen words. Had he much to do there? Yes; that was to say, he had enough responsibility to bear; but exactness and watchfulness were what was required of him, and of actual work— manual labour—he had next to none. To change that signal, to trim those lights, and to turn this iron handle now and then, was all he had to do under that head. Regarding those many long and lonely hours of which I seemed to make so much, he could only say that the routine of his life had shaped itself into that form, and he had grown used to it. He had taught himself a language down here,—if only to know it by sight, and to have formed his own crude ideas of its pronunciation, could be called

learning it. He had also worked at fractions and decimals, and tried a little algebra; but he was, and had been as a boy, a poor hand at figures. Was it necessary for him when on duty always to remain in that channel of damp air, and could he never rise into the sunshine from between those high stone walls? Why, that depended upon times and circumstances. Under some conditions there would be less upon the Line than under others, and the same held good as to certain hours of the day and night. In bright weather, he did choose occasions for getting a little above these lower shadows; but, being at all times liable to be called by his electric bell, and at such times listening for it with redoubled anxiety, the relief was less than I would suppose.

He took me into his box, where there was a fire, a desk for an official book in which he had to make certain entries, a telegraphic instrument with its dial, face, and needles, and the little bell of which he had spoken. On my trusting that he would excuse the remark that he had been well educated, and (I hoped I might say without offence) perhaps educated above that station, he observed that instances of slight incongruity in such wise would rarely be found wanting among large bodies of men; that he had heard it was so in workhouses, in the police force, even in that last desperate resource, the army; and that he knew it was so, more or less, in any great railway staff. He had been, when young (if I could believe it, sitting in that hut,—he scarcely could), a student of natural philosophy, and had attended lectures; but he had run wild, misused his opportunities, gone down, and never risen again. He had no complaint to offer about that. He had made his bed, and he lay upon it. It was far too late to make another.

All that I have here condensed he said in a quiet manner, with his grave dark regards divided between me and the fire. He threw in the word, ‘Sir,’ from time to time, and especially when he referred to his youth,—as though to request me to understand that he claimed to be nothing but what I found him. He was several times interrupted by the little bell, and had to read off messages, and send replies. Once he had to stand without the door, and display a flag as a train passed, and make some verbal communication to the driver. In the discharge of his duties, I observed him to be remarkably exact and vigilant, breaking off his discourse at a syllable, and remaining silent until what he had to do was done.

In a word, I should have set this man down as one of the safest of men to be employed in that capacity, but for the circumstance that while he was speaking to me he twice broke off with a fallen colour, turned his face towards the little bell when it did NOT ring, opened the door of the hut (which was kept shut to exclude the unhealthy damp), and looked out towards the red light near the mouth of the tunnel. On both of those occasions, he came back to the fire with the inexplicable air upon him which I had remarked, without being able to define, when we were so far asunder.

Said I, when I rose to leave him, ‘You almost make me think that I have met with a contented man.’

(I am afraid I must acknowledge that I said it to lead him on.)

‘I believe I used to be so,’ he rejoined, in the low voice in which he had first spoken; ‘but I am troubled, sir, I am troubled.’

He would have recalled the words if he could. He had said them, however, and I took them up quickly.

‘With what? What is your trouble?’

‘It is very difficult to impart, sir. It is very, very difficult to speak of. If ever you make me another visit, I will try to tell you.’

‘But I expressly intend to make you another visit. Say, when shall it be?’

‘I go off early in the morning, and I shall be on again at ten to- morrow night, sir.’

‘I will come at eleven.’

He thanked me, and went out at the door with me. ‘I’ll show my white light, sir,’ he said, in his peculiar low voice, ‘till you have found the way up. When you have found it, don’t call out! And when you are at the top, don’t call out!’

His manner seemed to make the place strike colder to me, but I said no more than, ‘Very well.’

‘And when you come down to-morrow night, don’t call out! Let me ask you a parting question. What made you cry, ‘Halloa! Below there!’ to-night?’

‘Heaven knows,’ said I. ‘I cried something to that effect—‘

‘Not to that effect, sir. Those were the very words. I know them well.’

‘Admit those were the very words. I said them, no doubt, because I saw you below.’

‘For no other reason?’

‘What other reason could I possibly have?’

‘You had no feeling that they were conveyed to you in any supernatural way?’

‘No.’

He wished me good-night, and held up his light. I walked by the side of the down Line of rails (with a very disagreeable sensation of a train coming behind me) until I found the path. It was easier to mount than to descend, and I got back to my inn without any adventure.

Punctual to my appointment, I placed my foot on the first notch of the zigzag next night, as the distant clocks were striking eleven. He was waiting for me at the bottom, with his white light on. ‘I have not called out,’ I said, when we came close together; ‘may I speak now?’ ‘By all means, sir.’ ‘Good-night, then, and here’s my hand.’ ‘Good-night, sir, and here’s mine.’ With that we walked side by side to his box, entered it, closed the door, and sat down by the fire.

‘I have made up my mind, sir,’ he began, bending forward as soon as we were seated, and speaking in a tone but a little above a whisper, ‘that you shall not have to ask me twice what troubles me. I took you for some one else yesterday evening. That troubles me.’

‘That mistake?’

‘No. That some one else.’

‘Who is it?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Like me?’

‘I don’t know. I never saw the face. The left arm is across the face, and the right arm is waved,—violently waved. This way.’

I followed his action with my eyes, and it was the action of an arm gesticulating, with the utmost passion and vehemence, ‘For God’s sake, clear the way!’

THE SIGNAL-MAN(2)

THE SIGNAL-MAN(3_end)

THE SIGNAL-MAN(2)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:42:00 -0800

‘One moonlight night,’ said the man, ‘I was sitting here, when I heard a voice cry, ‘Halloa! Below there!’ I started up, looked from that door, and saw this Some one else standing by the red light near the tunnel, waving as I just now showed you. The voice seemed hoarse with shouting, and it cried, ‘Look out! Look out!’ And then attain, ‘Halloa! Below there! Look out!’ I caught up my lamp, turned it on red, and ran towards the figure, calling, ‘What’s wrong? What has happened? Where?’ It stood just outside the blackness of the tunnel. I advanced so close upon it that I wondered at its keeping the sleeve across its eyes. I ran right up at it, and had my hand stretched out to pull the sleeve away, when it was gone.’
‘Into the tunnel?’ said I.
‘No. I ran on into the tunnel, five hundred yards. I stopped, and held my lamp above my head, and saw the figures of the measured distance, and saw the wet stains stealing down the walls and trickling through the arch. I ran out again faster than I had run in (for I had a mortal abhorrence of the place upon me), and I looked all round the red light with my own red light, and I went up the iron ladder to the gallery atop of it, and I came down again, and ran back here. I telegraphed both ways, ‘An alarm has been given. Is anything wrong?’ The answer came back, both ways, ‘All well.’’
Resisting the slow touch of a frozen finger tracing out my spine, I showed him how that this figure must be a deception of his sense of sight; and how that figures, originating in disease of the delicate nerves that minister to the functions of the eye, were known to have often troubled patients, some of whom had become conscious of the nature of their affliction, and had even proved it by experiments upon themselves. ‘As to an imaginary cry,’ said I, ‘do but listen for a moment to the wind in this unnatural valley while we speak so low, and to the wild harp it makes of the telegraph wires.’
That was all very well, he returned, after we had sat listening for a while, and he ought to know something of the wind and the wires,— he who so often passed long winter nights there, alone and watching. But he would beg to remark that he had not finished.
I asked his pardon, and he slowly added these words, touching my arm, -
‘Within six hours after the Appearance, the memorable accident on this Line happened, and within ten hours the dead and wounded were brought along through the tunnel over the spot where the figure had stood.’
A disagreeable shudder crept over me, but I did my best against it. It was not to be denied, I rejoined, that this was a remarkable coincidence, calculated deeply to impress his mind. But it was unquestionable that remarkable coincidences did continually occur, and they must be taken into account in dealing with such a subject. Though to be sure I must admit, I added (for I thought I saw that he was going to bring the objection to bear upon me), men of common sense did not allow much for coincidences in making the ordinary calculations of life.
He again begged to remark that he had not finished.
I again begged his pardon for being betrayed into interruptions.
‘This,’ he said, again laying his hand upon my arm, and glancing over his shoulder with hollow eyes, ‘was just a year ago. Six or seven months passed, and I had recovered from the surprise and shock, when one morning, as the day was breaking, I, standing at the door, looked towards the red light, and saw the spectre again.’ He stopped, with a fixed look at me.
‘Did it cry out?’
‘No. It was silent.’
‘Did it wave its arm?’
‘No. It leaned against the shaft of the light, with both hands before the face. Like this.’
Once more I followed his action with my eyes. It was an action of mourning. I have seen such an attitude in stone figures on tombs.
‘Did you go up to it?’
‘I came in and sat down, partly to collect my thoughts, partly because it had turned me faint. When I went to the door again, daylight was above me, and the ghost was gone.’
‘But nothing followed? Nothing came of this?’
He touched me on the arm with his forefinger twice or thrice giving a ghastly nod each time:-
‘That very day, as a train came out of the tunnel, I noticed, at a carriage window on my side, what looked like a confusion of hands and heads, and something waved. I saw it just in time to signal the driver, Stop! He shut off, and put his brake on, but the train drifted past here a hundred and fifty yards or more. I ran after it, and, as I went along, heard terrible screams and cries. A beautiful young lady had died instantaneously in one of the compartments, and was brought in here, and laid down on this floor between us.’
Involuntarily I pushed my chair back, as I looked from the boards at which he pointed to himself.
‘True, sir. True. Precisely as it happened, so I tell it you.’
I could think of nothing to say, to any purpose, and my mouth was very dry. The wind and the wires took up the story with a long lamenting wail.
He resumed. ‘Now, sir, mark this, and judge how my mind is troubled. The spectre came back a week ago. Ever since, it has been there, now and again, by fits and starts.’
‘At the light?’
‘At the Danger-light.’
‘What does it seem to do?’
He repeated, if possible with increased passion and vehemence, that former gesticulation of, ‘For God’s sake, clear the way!’
Then he went on. ‘I have no peace or rest for it. It calls to me, for many minutes together, in an agonised manner, ‘Below there! Look out! Look out!’ It stands waving to me. It rings my little bell—‘
I caught at that. ‘Did it ring your bell yesterday evening when I was here, and you went to the door?’
‘Twice.’
‘Why, see,’ said I, ‘how your imagination misleads you. My eyes were on the bell, and my ears were open to the bell, and if I am a living man, it did NOT ring at those times. No, nor at any other time, except when it was rung in the natural course of physical things by the station communicating with you.’
THE SIGNAL-MAN(3_end)

THE SIGNAL-MAN(3_end)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:37:00 -0800

He shook his head. ‘I have never made a mistake as to that yet, sir. I have never confused the spectre’s ring with the man’s. The ghost’s ring is a strange vibration in the bell that it derives from nothing else, and I have not asserted that the bell stirs to the eye. I don’t wonder that you failed to hear it. But I heard it.’
‘And did the spectre seem to be there, when you looked out?’
‘It WAS there.‘‘
‘Both times?’
He repeated firmly: ‘Both times.’
‘Will you come to the door with me, and look for it now?’
He bit his under lip as though he were somewhat unwilling, but arose. I opened the door, and stood on the step, while he stood in the doorway. There was the Danger-light. There was the dismal mouth of the tunnel. There were the high, wet stone walls of the cutting. There were the stars above them.
‘Do you see it?’ I asked him, taking particular note of his face. His eyes were prominent and strained, but not very much more so, perhaps, than my own had been when I had directed them earnestly towards the same spot.
‘No,’ he answered. ‘It is not there.’
‘Agreed,’ said I.
We went in again, shut the door, and resumed our seats. I was thinking how best to improve this advantage, if it might be called one, when he took up the conversation in such a matter-of-course way, so assuming that there could be no serious question of fact between us, that I felt myself placed in the weakest of positions.
‘By this time you will fully understand, sir,’ he said, ‘that what troubles me so dreadfully is the question, What does the spectre mean?’
I was not sure, I told him, that I did fully understand.
‘What is its warning against?’ he said, ruminating, with his eyes on the fire, and only by times turning them on me. ‘What is the danger? Where is the danger? There is danger overhanging somewhere on the Line. Some dreadful calamity will happen. It is not to be doubted this third time, after what has gone before. But surely this is a cruel haunting of me. What can I do?’
He pulled out his handkerchief, and wiped the drops from his heated forehead.
‘If I telegraph Danger, on either side of me, or on both, I can give no reason for it,’ he went on, wiping the palms of his hands. ‘I should get into trouble, and do no good. They would think I was mad. This is the way it would work,—Message: ‘Danger! Take care!’ Answer: ‘What Danger? Where?’ Message: ‘Don’t know. But, for God’s sake, take care!’ They would displace me. What else could they do?’
His pain of mind was most pitiable to see. It was the mental torture of a conscientious man, oppressed beyond endurance by an unintelligible responsibility involving life.
‘When it first stood under the Danger-light,’ he went on, putting his dark hair back from his head, and drawing his hands outward across and across his temples in an extremity of feverish distress, ‘why not tell me where that accident was to happen,—if it must happen? Why not tell me how it could be averted,—if it could have been averted? When on its second coming it hid its face, why not tell me, instead, ‘She is going to die. Let them keep her at home’? If it came, on those two occasions, only to show me that its warnings were true, and so to prepare me for the third, why not warn me plainly now? And I, Lord help me! A mere poor signal-man on this solitary station! Why not go to somebody with credit to be believed, and power to act?’
When I saw him in this state, I saw that for the poor man’s sake, as well as for the public safety, what I had to do for the time was to compose his mind. Therefore, setting aside all question of reality or unreality between us, I represented to him that whoever thoroughly discharged his duty must do well, and that at least it was his comfort that he understood his duty, though he did not understand these confounding Appearances. In this effort I succeeded far better than in the attempt to reason him out of his conviction. He became calm; the occupations incidental to
his post as the night advanced began to make larger demands on his attention: and I left him at two in the morning. I had offered to stay through the night, but he would not hear of it.
That I more than once looked back at the red light as I ascended the pathway, that I did not like the red light, and that I should have slept but poorly if my bed had been under it, I see no reason to conceal. Nor did I like the two sequences of the accident and the dead girl. I see no reason to conceal that either.
But what ran most in my thoughts was the consideration how ought I to act, having become the recipient of this disclosure? I had proved the man to be intelligent, vigilant, painstaking, and exact; but how long might he remain so, in his state of mind? Though in a subordinate position, still he held a most important trust, and would I (for instance) like to stake my own life on the chances of his continuing to execute it with precision?
Unable to overcome a feeling that there would be something treacherous in my communicating what he had told me to his superiors in the Company, without first being plain with himself and proposing a middle course to him, I ultimately resolved to offer to accompany him (otherwise keeping his secret for the present) to the wisest
medical practitioner we could hear of in those parts, and to take his opinion. A change in his time of duty would come round next night, he had apprised me, and he would be off an hour or two after sunrise, and on again soon after sunset. I had appointed to return accordingly.
Next evening was a lovely evening, and I walked out early to enjoy it. The sun was not yet quite down when I traversed the field-path near the top of the deep cutting. I would extend my walk for an hour, I said to myself, half an hour on and half an hour back, and it would then be time to go to my signal-man’s box.
Before pursuing my stroll, I stepped to the brink, and mechanically looked down, from the point from which I had first seen him. I cannot describe the thrill that seized upon me, when, close at the mouth of the tunnel, I saw the appearance of a man, with his left sleeve across his eyes, passionately waving his right arm.
The nameless horror that oppressed me passed in a moment, for in a moment I saw that this appearance of a man was a man indeed, and that there was a little group of other men, standing at a short distance, to whom he seemed to be rehearsing the gesture he made. The Danger-light was not yet lighted. Against its shaft, a little low hut, entirely new to me, had been made of some
wooden supports and tarpaulin. It looked no bigger than a bed.
With an irresistible sense that something was wrong,—with a flashing self-reproachful fear that fatal mischief had come of my leaving the man there, and causing no one to be sent to overlook or correct what he did,—I descended the notched path with all the speed I could make.
‘What is the matter?’ I asked the men.
‘Signal-man killed this morning, sir.’
‘Not the man belonging to that box?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Not the man I know?’
‘You will recognise him, sir, if you knew him,’ said the man who spoke for the others, solemnly uncovering his own head, and raising an end of the tarpaulin, ‘for his face is quite composed.’
‘O, how did this happen, how did this happen?’ I asked, turning from one to another as the hut closed in again.
‘He was cut down by an engine, sir. No man in England knew his work better. But somehow he was not clear of the outer rail. It was just at broad day. He had struck the light, and had the lamp in his hand. As the engine came out of the tunnel, his back was towards her,
and she cut him down. That man drove her, and was showing how it happened. Show the gentleman, Tom.’
The man, who wore a rough dark dress, stepped back to his former place at the mouth of the tunnel.
‘Coming round the curve in the tunnel, sir,’ he said, ‘I saw him at the end, like as if I saw him down a perspective-glass. There was no time to check speed, and I knew him to be very careful. As he didn’t seem to take heed of the whistle, I shut it off when we were running down upon him, and called to him as loud as I could call.’
‘What did you say?’
‘I said, ‘Below there! Look out! Look out! For God’s sake, clear the way!’’
I started.
‘Ah! it was a dreadful time, sir. I never left off calling to him. I put this arm before my eyes not to see, and I waved this arm to the last; but it was no use.’
Without prolonging the narrative to dwell on any one of its curious circumstances more than on any other, I may, in closing it, point out the coincidence that the warning of the Engine-Driver included, not only the words which the unfortunate Signal-man had repeated to me as haunting him, but also the words which I myself—not he—had attached, and that only in my own mind, to the gesticulation he had imitated.

Technical college Writing – How you can Use Fonts Properly inside a Technical college Document

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:28:00 -0800

As being a technical college author, it’s best to be conscious of certain basics about fonts and some essential guidelines to observe inside your paperwork. Probably the most essential distinction about fonts is no matter if they’ve a “serif” or not. Which is why font households are split into two main categories: Serif and Non-Serif fonts.
A serif is really a small tail- or wedge-like appendage that extends outward from your end fo a letter or symbol. “Times Roman,” for instance, is really a well-known serif font and “Arial” is an equally well-known non-serif font.
Proposed Rules of font choice for technical college writers:

1) Choose your headlines from NON-SERIF fonts (like Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Tahoma, Futura, Optima) as well as your entire body text from SERIF fonts (like Roman, Times Roman, Times New Roman, Georgia, Bookman).
2) ITALIC is designed to attract focus to by itself by virtue of currently being challenging to study. Which is why, in a very block of readable text, it makes sense to emphasize a word or possibly a phrase by printing it in Italic. Nonetheless, some authors print total net or print pages in Italic! That defies the entire function with the Italic style. Every time you utilize Italic font, be conscious that you are generating your words more difficult to study. Consequently use it sparingly, like utilizing pepper though cooking.
3) Do not use more than two or possibly a Maximum of 3 typefaces inside your technical college paperwork. A profusion of typefaces results in confusion inside the reader’s thoughts. When it comes to fonts, significantly less is usually far more.
4) Do not assume that all computer systems have entry to each font you’ve. All computer systems, however, have a set of built-in “system fonts” that happen to be put in automatically by the working system. Probably the most well-known of these system fonts are Arial, Times Roman, and Courier. For those who use these 3 fonts it is possible to rest assured that your document will seem inside the obtaining end inside the similar fonts that you’ve got utilized on your machine.
If, however, you utilize a hard-to-get fancy font, the reader’s machine will substitute the “closest font available” to render your document readable. “Optima” for instance may perhaps be change with “Arial” and from time to time this kind of substitutions improve the way a page is composed, usually for your even worse.
Consequently, to become secure, follow the basic “system fonts” when creating a document that you just count on to become distributed and study on line.

How You Can Be Cheated By Web Hosting Companies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:21:00 -0800

It is very important to make sure that you don’t get cheated when choosing a web hosting company. The fact that there are just so many web hosting companies out there means that there are bound to be some which aren’t so great. If you want to know some of the ways that web hosting companies can cheat you then read on-

- They lie about providing 99.9% uptime. Most web hosts cannot provide anything like this amount of uptime but you will find that most of them will claim to be able to. You would be right to feel cheated if you find that your website is often down for hours at a time despite the web host claiming to be able to provide 99.9% uptime. This is one way that a lot of website owners feel cheated.

- If you have been attracted to the claim of unlimited bandwidth and storage you will want to read the small print in the terms of service. No web hosting company can offer unlimited anything; it is just something else they claim for marketing purposes. There is a point where the web hosting provider will tell you that you need to take your business to another company or that you will have to upgrade your package. The reason a web hosting company will offer you unlimited amounts of bandwidth or storage space is because they don’t think you will ever come close to needed a lot of these things.

- Some web hosting firms will have customer service prominently displayed on their home page; maybe with the picture of a cheerful looking woman with a telephone headset. But you will find that when you try to use the customer service team, it really isn’t there. You must be sure that the web hosting company has a good customer service.

Any person thinking about going into internet marketing will need to have internet hosting sorted out – pixelinternet is a good place to start. But the field of website hosting can be puzzling.

5 Reasons for Leaving the Pencil Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 23:14:00 -0800

In the past, I've learned some neat things in the PIE Conference, including how to fold oragami, the wonders of colored pencils and how to use notebooking (yet another chance to turn a noun into a verb) for student learning. This year, however, I left a day early. I boarded the train and headed back to my wife and daughter and realized that I will grow more as a teacher spending a day with a two year old than with a crowded lecture hall full of experts.

Here are my reasons:

1. Many presenters I've met are unapproachable. Yes, they give nice speeches, but I've been disappointed that some of the ones who claim to love all the social media tools are quick to shy away from using those tools for honest discussion and debate. "Hey, you should use a pen pal network. But don't try and send me messages. I'm much too important than that."

2. Many presenters are arrogant. I can't listen to you if you are automatically the expert. I can't listen to you if you won't ask questions. I can't listen to you if you are unable to share some of your difficulties. If you believe that your job is to change me as a teacher, I'll kindly ask you to eff off and I'll listen to someone else. News flash: just because you got yourself an Edison Projector and fancy new phonograph doesn't mean you are now the Pope of Paper.

3. Many presenters fail to grasp complexity, paradox and mystery. It has to be about "their" way and in doing so they engage in tribalism and provocation for the purpose of sounding different. It's like hanging out in a stuffy art house. Don't talk about why we need to move past the one-room school house unless you are able to recognize that the one-room school house had a few redeeming qualities (multi-age classrooms, for example)

4. Many presenters speak like addicts. Yes, paper is flat and smooth and ultra-portable. But save the addictive language for the opium dens. If I want to feel coked-up, I'll stop by the drug store for a soda.

5. Many of the New School folks won't admit that there are some great ideas from the past - whether the idea is ten or two thousand years old. That bothers me. Innovation for the sake of innovation is novelty and ultimately it will eventually lose their luster. Remember those Chester B. Arthur sideburns? Yep, your phonograph might just be headed that way.

This by no means makes up all of the Pencil Education community. I've found great people in plogs and on the pen pal networks. However, I've also ran into my fair share of prima donnas that convince me that the conference circuit can all too quickly become a cute, glossy version of show and tell. I don't mind show and tell, either. But I need to to show me reality and tell me more than simply what I need to do to "fix" my teaching career.

Kama Sutra or Kamasutra sex positions and sex poses by Kamashastra

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 05:22:00 -0800

Black and white

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 07:28:00 -0800

After my last couple of adventures with colour, here's me back with black and white...

An exploration of low sunlight on rock

As the sun dropped towards the horizon on my visit to Bantham beach, the fast-changing lighting conditions gave some great shot opportunities.

Yearning for More

In this one, I was exploring the interaction of the light with the rock face, searching for that magic moment when the light hits at just the right angle, and the rock lights up as if from within. It didn't quite happen with this one, but it's fairly close, I reckon. Must keep trying... ;-)

Blogspot

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 1 Feb 2011 11:01:00 -0800

About me

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 1 Feb 2011 10:24:00 -0800