Interesting Photos

Snagged and sharing - Clouds and Mountains

2010-02-25T21:34:00.000-08:00

Clouds and mountains - two majestic powers of earth and sky.

They seem to confront each other in dramatic fashion – like armies lined up to do battle – and what spectacle when they do.

In the photo below, a sea of clouds envelops the terrain around Mount Killimanjaro at sunrise, while Africa’s highest peak at 5,891 metres (19,330 ft) looks on, indomitable.

Meanwhile, in this view into the crater and ash cone of Mount Meru from the summit peak, an army of clouds encroaches around its lower reaches and looks ready to scale its sides.

Below, Piz Bernina is practically engulfed in clouds almost indistinguishable from snow covering the crags of what is the Eastern Alps’ highest peak at 4,049 metres (13,283 ft).

Looking down California’s Hopper Mountain at low hanging clouds, the mountains in the distance seem to just about have the upper hand over the blanket lying beneath.

This magnificent sunset scene from the rim of Mount Rinjani in Indonesia shows distant peaks again fortress-like in their defence against the clouds that would overwhelm them.

Here, an aerial panorama shows the truly epic scale of the struggle. A great swathe of cloud mass threatens to swallow up the Alps, while beyond the front lie more peaks – and yet more clouds!

This shot from a plateau of the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain at 2,962 metres (9,718 ft), shows the view towards the Wetterstein range, smothered by another range – of clouds – on top.

Finally, the science bit. Clouds are of course formed by condensation as water vapour forms into tiny droplets or ice crystals just a fraction of a millimetre wide. Small they may be, but when these crystals get together, crowding around one another in their billions, they become visible as clouds. Clouds appear white because they are able to reflect light; this halo-like lenticular cloud – a stationary cloud that forms at high altitudes – is a case in point.

One way clouds are formed is when they rise over mountains. Confronted by the sheer mass of landforms shaped by fates like the collisions of continental plates, there is only one way the wraiths of the skies can go and that’s up. So spare a thought for clouds: while they may seem to assail the peaks of mountains, they have little choice.

We leave you with a shot of a lenticular cloud over Nanda Devi, India’s seconds highest peak at 7,816 metres (25,643 ft).

A Brief History of the Computer.

2010-02-23T21:42:00.000-08:00

ENIAC, 1946

Regarded as the first general purpose electronic computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was initially commissioned for the use in World War II, but not completed until one year after the war had ended . Installed at the University of Pennsylvania, its 40 separate eight-foot-high racks and 18,000 tubes were intended to help calculate ballistic trajectories.

SAGE, 1954

A gigantic computerized air defense system, SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) was designed to help the Air Force track radar data in real time. Equipped with technical advances such as modems and graphical displays, the machine weighed 300 tons and occupied one floor of a concrete blockhouse.

NEAC 2203, 1960

Manufactured by the Nippon Electric Company (NEC), the drum-based machine was one of the earliest transistorized Japanese computers. It was used for business, scientific and engineering applications.

IBM System/360, 1964

Part of a family of interchangeable computers, the IBM System/360 mainframe was the first to cover a complete range of applications, from small to large, from commercial to scientific. Users were able to enlarge or shrink their setup without having to make headache-inducing software upgrades as well. Higher-end System/360 models had roles in NASA's Apollo missions as well as air traffic control systems.

CDC 6600, 1964

For a time the fastest machine in the world, Control Data Corporation' s 6600 machine was designed by noted computer architect Seymour Cray. It retained its speed crown until 1969, when Cray designed his next supercomputer.

DEC PDP-8, 1965

The first successful commercial minicomputer, the PDP-8, made by the Digital Equipment Corporation, sold more than 50,000 units upon its release, the most of any computer up to that time. Years before Apple and Gnu/Linux offered alternatives to the dominant IBM/Microsoft paradigms, DEC proposed its own vision, by encouraging users to educate themselves and take part in the evolution of the line.

Interface Message Processor, 1969

Conceived at the height of the Cold War, when the U.S. government sought a way to keep its network of computers alive in case certain nodes were destroyed in a nuclear attack or other hostile act, the IMP featured the first generation of gateways, which are today known as routers. As such, IMP performed a critical task in the development of the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), the world's first operational packet switching network, and the predecessor of the contemporary global Internet.

Kenbak-1, 1971

Often considered the world's first "personal computer" the Kenbak was touted as an easy-to-use educational tool, but it failed to sell more than several dozen units. Lacking a microprocessor, it had only 256 bytes of computing power and its only output was a series of blinking lights.

Cray-1, 1976

At the time of its release, the Cray-1, above, was the fastest computing machine at the world. Despite its price tag between $5 and $10 million it sold well. It is one of the many machines designed by Seymour Cray, a computer architect who devoted his life to the creation of so-called supercomputers, machines which prioritized processing capacity and speed of calculation.

Apple I, 1976

Initially conceived by Steve Wozniak (a.k.a. "Woz") as a build-it-yourself kit computer, Apple I was initially rejected by his bosses at Hewlett-Packard. Undeterred, he offered it to Silicon Valley's Homebrew Computer Club and, together with his friend Steve Jobs, managed to sell 50 pre-built models to The Byte Shop in Mountain View, California. The suggested retail price: $666. Though sales were low, the machine paved the way for the smash success of the Apple II.

IBM Personal Computer, 1981

Featuring an independent keyboard, printer and monitor, the slick, complete-looking package that was the IBM PC helped push personal computing out of the hobbyist's garage and into the corporate and consumer mainstream. Its immense commercial success made it the hallmark of personal computing for many years and led other manufacturers to produce similar desktop models.

Osborne 1 Portable Computer, 1981

The first commercial portable computer, the Osborne weighed 24 lbs. and cost less than $2,000. It gained popularity because of its low price and the extensive software library that came with it

Hewlett-Packard 150, 1983

Representing the first step in a technology widely available today, the HP 150 was the first commercially available computer with touch screen technology. The 9-inch computer screen was surrounded by infrared transmitters and receivers that detected the position of the user's finger.

Deep Blue, 1997

Begun at IBM in the late 80's, the Deep Blue project was an attempt at using parallel processing to solve a difficult problem namely, beating the best chess player in the world, Garry Kasparov. During a six-game match, which Kasparov ultimately lost, the confounded master attributed one move to "the hand of God."

iPhone, 2007

The handy little device introduced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs in 2007 not only brings together internet access, a regular cell phone, camera and media player, it supports a wide variety of third party applications, or apps, that supply everything from recipes to maps of the night sky, and wraps it all in a sleek, glossy exterior.

iPad, 2010

And now the tablet is finally here. It's called an iPad, and it's half an inch thick, weighs 1.5 pounds and features a 9.7 inch display. As Steve Jobs says in the presentation above, the device has a 10-hour battery life, so you'll be able to use all the 3rd-party apps, games, video and online newspapers you want. The Wi-Fi iPad begins at $499 while the 3G version begins at $629.

Photos from Bolivia

2010-02-17T01:55:00.000-08:00

The cloud-scraping plateau of the Andes is an otherworldly realm where flamingos lift off from a lagoon warmed by hot springs and colored carnelian by algae.

Moonlight bathes Incahuasi Island, an outcropping of cacti and fossilized algae in the Uyuni salt flat.

A great lake covered this area 16,000 years ago. When it dried up, it left a 4,000-square- mile basin of salt, the world's largest such deposit.

To find new grazing, vicuñas dash across a corner of the Uyuni salt flat.

Just three feet tall, these animals produce wool so soft it was reserved for Inca royalty.

Hunted almost to extinction, they're now protected and making a comeback.

Vehicles seem to float on a shimmering salt flat flooded by summer rains.

Winter's relentless sun vaporizes snow to create spiky forms called nieves penitentes near the top of Pomerape Volcano,

at 20,000 feet. Snow falls lightly at such extreme altitudes in the cold, dry climate along the Bolivia-Chile border.

Piles of salt, scraped by pickax from the deposit at Uyuni, await transport by truck to a nearby processing plant.

How much salt does this vast basin hold? Estimates range upward from ten billion tons—just one example of Bolivia's abundant mineral wealth,

which includes tin, silver, zinc, and natural gas.

Rare puna flamingos make Laguna Colorada their main nesting ground.

Also known as James's flamingos, the birds were thought extinct before a 1957 expedition discovered this colony, which now includes about 15,000 breeding pairs.

During winter, when the air temperature here at 14,000 feet above sea level sometimes plunges to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit,

birds flock to the openings of the hot springs that keep Laguna Colorada warm.

On the Altiplano, wind erodes rock into a modernist shape perched on a narrow base.

The shadow of Sajama—at 21,463 feet, Bolivia's highest peak—juts over the rugged Chilean coast.

Bolivia lost access to the sea in the late 19th-century War of the Pacific, which embittered relations between the two countries.

Domesticated llamas spread across a spring-fed pasture at the edge of the Uyuni salt flat.

Such creatures have provided communities in the Altiplano with food, wool, and sturdy backs to bear burdens since before the time of the Inca.

Out Of This World Coral Photography

2010-02-15T20:37:00.000-08:00

Amazing Paper Sculptures

2010-02-15T02:54:00.000-08:00

Today And Once ... Pics Of The Day

2010-02-11T03:44:00.001-08:00

Recycling Old Tires..What Beautiful Artwork

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Snow Chaos In Eastern US

2010-02-10T00:32:00.000-08:00

Colourful Events In Pictures

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Pupils from Boroughmuir High School come face to face with a Sumatran tiger during a visit to Scotland's Edinburgh Zoo.

A flock of spectacled teals soars over Geumgang Lake in Gunsan, South Korea.

A woman carries apples and cookies for sale on a street in downtown Port-au-Prince.

Anti-whaling ship Bob Barker, left, collides with Japanese harpoon ship Yushin Maru No. 3 in Antarctic waters

A monkey holds its baby as it rains in Nadani on the Jammu to Srinagar highway, India

Space shuttle Endeavour mission lifts off from its launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida

Ducklings stay close to the tail of their mother in the Pool of Reflection at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra

A haka is performed in Waitangi to celebrate New Zealand's National Day

New Orleans Saints quarterback Brees holds his son Baylen aloft after winning the Super Bowl in Miami

Horses compete on a frozen lake on the first weekend of the White Turf races in St Moritz, Switzerland

NU river and people

2010-02-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

Dressed in the traditional costume of the Naxi people, actress He Meizhen performs for a music video at the

Bai Shui limestone terraces—formed by deposits of calcium carbonate from flowing hot springs.

The Naxi religion holds that man and nature are kin, and that humans who take too much from nature risk the wrath of their nature brother in the form of floods,

epidemics, and other disasters.

One of the last remaining residents of Xiaoshaba village, near Liuku, stands sentry at his home.

The village was demolished to make way for one of the largest dams proposed for the Nu River, just north of Liuku.

Although China's government insists that dam construction has been halted, preparations are still under way.

Lush green brightens a gorge wall where warm, mineral-rich waters from hot springs tumble into the Nu River.

Deep valleys between high peaks host a dramatic range of habitats, creating bastions for rare species.

Pool cues, leather jackets, and cell phones:

Even young Buddhist monks from the venerable Ganden Sumtseling Monastery nearby indulge in Shangri-La's fresh temptations.

Installed by the local government as part of efforts to enhance Shangri-La's status as a tourism destination,

this giant Tibetan Buddhist prayer wheel has become a gathering place for visitors and the resident faithful alike.

It bears reliefs depicting all of China's 56 officially recognized ethnic groups,

and while it's possible for one strong and resolute person to set the 50-foot-high, 25-foot-diameter wheel

turning in the traditional clockwise direction, it's easier with a crowd.

A young Bai child rides on her grandmother' s back through crowds drawn to Shangri-La for the annual horse festival.

Officially sanctioned Tibetan traditions grow bigger in the city of Shangri-La. Music blares nightly from loudspeakers in Culture Square,

where locals gather for folk dancing. Rings of clockwise motion echo spinning prayer wheels.

In an annual ritual, a Lisu-minority shaman, called Nipa among his people in Fengdian village, drives ghosts from a home with flames and curses.

Li Wenzhong, about to be married in the village of Chinainai, listens to his future father-in-law,

who is saying that his daughter must be treated well as she moves on to a life with her new family.

Resting briefly in dense forest, Gong Qu Yi Xi walks the pilgrim path around Mount Kawagebo.

Necessities bundled on his back, the 15-year-old Tibetan sets off before dawn and stops only when night shrouds the mountains.

A determined pilgrim climbs through a thin-air tapestry of prayer flags up to a 14,721-foot pass between Yunnan and Tibet.

To circle Buddhism's sacred Mount Kawagebo, she will walk for nearly two weeks.

Leaving a weekly market, villagers slide themselves, baskets of food, and cartons of beer over the river on the cable and pulleys of a zip line.

Once across, they'll hike for several hours up the valley walls to home.

Muscling over the Nu River's rush on a steel cable, Nan Boyi hauls a cow to market.

The hard-earned sale brought this Lisu-minority villager about $150, two-thirds the average yearly income in rural Yunnan Province.

The Nu River flows southward through a narrow gorge.

Photographs of Life

2010-02-07T22:04:00.001-08:00

Bhutan

Novices at the Dechen Phodrang monastic school in Thimphu hear the dinner bell and come running.

More than 400 boys attend the academy, where a typical day of study stretches from 5 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Greenland

An iceberg reveals a glimpse of the southern Greenland town of Narsaq.

A nearby glacier births a steady supply of bergs that jostle off the settlement's shores year-round.

Solomon Islands

Like a pale brooch atop royal velvet, a brittle star—barely as big as a nickel— crawls across the arm of an 18-inch-wide blue sea star.

The smaller creature took just seconds to traverse the larger.

India

Children of the many snake charmers in the village of Padmakesharpur are no strangers to cobras.

Early encounters with defanged or devenomed snakes help the babies grow up fearless.

Norway

Bright beaks and feet signal the breeding season for Atlantic puffins on Hornøya Island. The birds' colors dull for winter.

Puffins in summer and winter coloration look so different they were once thought separate species.

Malaysia

Spikes at the center of the Rafflesia kerrii flower may help disperse its odor—the stench of rotting meat—throughout its jungle habitat,

attracting the carrion flies that pollinate the platter-size bloom.

Sudan

Women walk miles from their West Darfur refugee camp—and risk assault by roving militiamen—to gather wood and grass for fuel.

A full sack earns some 50 cents in their camp, home to about 15,000 people.

Natural Photographs

2010-02-07T21:56:00.001-08:00

Food - Respect It.

2010-02-02T01:33:00.000-08:00

Egypt

Stung by soaring food prices, angry Egyptians throng a kiosk selling government-subsidiz ed bread near the Great Pyramid at Giza.

Brazil

A mountain of soybeans rises in the hold of a cargo ship bound for China, where they will be crushed for cooking oil and animal feed.

India

Workers in India's fertile Punjab pull an overstuffed load of rice stalks to a farm where they will be used as animal feed.

Bangladesh

A woman sweeps a harvested rice field, gleaning leftover grains to feed her family.

Bangladesh

Steam rises from rice being processed at a small mill in Rangpur, in northern Bangladesh.

Ethiopia

The sorghum porridge at this refugee camp lacks the protein and fat needed for an Afari mother to produce enough milk to breast-feed her malnourished son.

Philippines

Continuing a 2,000-year-old tradition, women harvest rice by hand on the Banaue terraces in the Philippines.

Philippines

Skilled fingers separate good seed from bad at the International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños.

Philippines

Small portions of rice and boiled beef are all the dinner Marylyn Tolentino and her family of seven can afford in their village home near Manila.

Bangladesh

One of the world's billion people who survive on less than a dollar a day,

Mahabbat Ali Sheikh buys rice for his family at the Shaghata bazaar, in northern Bangladesh.

Amazing Photographs

2010-02-01T03:54:00.000-08:00

Various visions world images

2010-01-31T23:01:00.001-08:00

England

At London's Tooting Bec pool, four fancifully attired, color-coded women kick off the Cold Water Swimming Championships.

More than 300 bathers, ages 12 to 85, competed and promoted the thrill of the chill.

United States

Looking like a lemon torte on a plate of petals, a lotus blooms in a Maryland garden pool.

The chartreuse circle, three inches in diameter, is dotted with 23 seed holders and ringed by immature pollen sacs.

United Arab Emirates

In Dubai natural and man-made electricity illuminate the night.

As jagged needles of lightning darn an overcast sky, the sail-shaped, 1,053-foot-tall Burj al Arab hotel glows green on the edge of the Persian Gulf.

Iraq

Some 160 miles northeast of Baghdad, in a Sulaymaniyah music hall ravaged by war,

looting, and neglect, a violin-playing boy sounds a note of hope.

St. Maarten

Landing at Princess Juliana International Airport, a looming 747 thrills those on Mahó beach.

Spain

Sliding headlong through a tomato-juice torrent, a young man celebrates La Tomatina in Buñol on August 26, 2009.

The event is a one-hour food fight that last year used 275,000 pounds of tomatoes.

Portugal

Near the Azores, just below the sunlit Atlantic surface, sperm whales float in vertical repose.

Scientists think "drift dives" are a form of communal slumber. This species may sleep the least of any mammal.

Kosovo

In the village of Donje Ljubinje, local tradition calls for painting a bride's face to ward off bad luck.

After the ceremony, women from her new husband's family washed Rasima Biljibani's face clean.

Antarctica

Radiating charisma on a 23°F morning, a three-foot-tall emperor penguin strikes a pose on the pack ice of the Amundsen Sea.

The photographers were taking a month-long cruise aboard a Russian icebreaker.

United States

A kayaker plunges 70 feet into winter water at Washington State's Outlet Falls.

His January 2009 descent was one of only five tallied on the Klickitat River tributary, here swollen by floods and sallow from runoff.

Some More Interesting Random Photos

2010-01-28T03:24:00.001-08:00

Interesting Photos

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Photos from India

2010-01-26T23:47:00.001-08:00

Old America Images

2010-01-26T23:45:00.001-08:00

Man vs Lion

2010-01-20T01:28:00.001-08:00

You might find some pictures cruel!

Burj Khalifa (Burj Dubai) Inauguration Show Photos 2010

2010-01-04T21:54:00.000-08:00

Photo Source

The Devil's pool, Zimbabwe

2010-01-04T01:18:00.000-08:00

The Largest Underwater Museum, Caribbean, mexico

2010-01-01T21:39:00.001-08:00

First ever flying hotel

2009-12-31T21:01:00.001-08:00

This is HOW Amitabh Bachchan became AURO.

2009-12-30T22:57:00.001-08:00