All beings desire happiness always, happiness without a tinge of sorrow. At the same time everybody loves himself best. The cause for love is only happiness. So, that happiness must lie in one. Further that happiness is daily experienced by everyone in sleep, when there is no mind. To attain that natural happiness one must know oneself. For that, Self-Enquiry, 'Who am I?' is the chief means.
To a devotee who was praying that she should have more frequent visions of Siva: He said, “Surrender to Him and abide by His Will, whether He appears or disappears; await His pleasure. If you ask Him to do as you like it is not surrender but command to God. You cannot have Him obey you and yet think you have surrendered. He knows what is best and when and how to do it. His is the burden. You have no longer any cares. All your cares are His. Such is surrender. That is devotion.”
“Divinity is always available to everyone. But whether you make it a curse or a boon for yourself is left to what kind of nature you carry within yourself.” —Sadhguru
An Enlightened person cannot belong to any Religion. He belongs to Existence. :- " I cannot accept anything that is not my own experience. I have enquired without any investment. I do not want to be worshipped; hence, I am not dependent on you. I do not want to become a God to you; hence I am absolutely free to say what is the truth. Eighty percent of enlightened people have been either Christians or Hindus or Mohammedans or Buddhists. To me this is something of a fundamental contradiction. A man is enlightened and is still a Mohammedan? Then what is the difference between blind people and enlightened people? At least he should renounce Mohammedanism, Hinduism, Christianity. He should simply say, 'I am myself. I am not a sheep, and I don’t need any shepherd. I am a man of my own consciousness, and I have a light of my own. I don’t need THE BIBLE to guide me, or the VEDAS to be my vision. I have my own vision.' An enlightened person cannot belong to any religion. He belongs to existence. So you can cut off eighty percent of your enlightened people without any difficulty. Ten percent of enlightened people remain silent. You never come to know about them, for the simple reason that you cannot understand silence. And to be enlightened is one thing; to give it an expression is totally different. And unless the enlightened person starts expressing his vision, his experience, his realization, how are you going to know about him? Why do ten percent choose to remain silent? It is because to be articulate is a different quality, it does not come in the same parcel as enlightenment. You don’t expect an enlightened man to be a painter necessarily. You don’t expect him to be a poet necessarily. Why should you expect that he will be able to be articulate with words? And it is a very difficult job. Perhaps the hardest job in the world is to tell you about something you know nothing about. Even Gautam Buddha remained silent for seven days after his enlightenment, thinking, 'What is the point? First, I cannot say what I have seen; there are no words for it. Words are impotent and the experience is so immense, so vast.... 'Words are so small, they are for day-to-day use. They are not made by enlightened people, they are made by blind people living in darkness. Those words have connotations of ignorance. Now, to express light through those words is almost impossible.' 'Secondly', Buddha thought, 'even if I speak, manage somehow to deliver the message, who is going to listen?' People are interested in money, in power, in politics, in becoming bigger and bigger, higher and higher compared to others. Who is really interested in enlightenment? It is just an accident if you come across a man who is enlightened and get infected. The thing is contagious, and there is no way of preventing it – and no antidote. So Buddha said, 'Even if I speak, people are not going to listen. Perhaps they may hear, but hearing and listening are totally different things.' When I am speaking even buffaloes are hearing, donkeys are hearing, but they are not listening. Hearing is a simple thing; you have ears, that’s all, nothing else is needed. The buffalo will go on chewing the grass – and you will go on talking about enlightenment. And man is not much different; in fact he is worse, because the buffalo at least has no rush of thoughts in her mind. She is a simple being, just chewing grass, enjoying the morning sun, the cool air – tremendously happy. Have you seen any buffalo laughing? You must think that buffaloes don’t laugh because they are in tremendous misery. You are wrong. You laugh because you are in tremendous misery. You need the laughter just to keep you going. " ~ OSHO
Calatrava's beautiful and original communications tower was built for Telefónica in the heart of the 1992 Olympic site, to carry coverage of the Games. Aside from its distinctive structural form, the tower is innovative in enclosing the circular platform of microwave dishes, replacing the normal clutter with a serene white arc. As a result the 130 meter structure becomes a welcome feature in the Olympic park.
Imagery abounds. The overall form of the tower is based on a Calatrava sketch of a kneeling figure making an offering. The base on which the figure 'kneels' is covered in broken glazed tiles in recognition of Gaudi (though with more restrained colors). The orientation of the tower means that the shadow of the central needle on the circular platform acts as a (rather impractical) sundial.
The twirly tower meets the ground very delicately at
a pin-point, seeming to float in the air like a twisted paper clip. The base is covered with broken shards with GaudÃ's technique of mosaic. Majestic fountains stand before the stair procession to the tower.
Construction Details:
Architects: Santiago Calatrava / Study Architecture: Santiago Calatrava Tower Construction: - Use: Torre Telefonica telecommunications company.
Technical Data:
Overall height: 136 m. built: 1992 Mounting: It was built as symbolic piece with the rest of the Olympic ring, in Montjuïc. Beside the Collserola communications tower of Norman Foster, make the communications system of the city of Barcelona and its metropolitan area.
Tower Design:
Barcelone experienced an explosion of architecture and urban renewal on the occasion of the Olympic Games in 1992, and one such example is the telecommunications tower built Santiago Calatrava, Olympic ring in full for the event. This tower was commissioned by the national telecommunications company by then, Telefonica SA of Spain to give everyone coverage of the Olympic Games in Barcelona. Montjuïc tower - original-name popularly known as Torre Calatrava, presents an innovative and striking design with traditional telecommunication towers. Telefónica broke its traditional model, often a smaller replica of the famous Lollipop height of the capital Madrid to participate in the need that Spain had in 1992, to show everyone a modern and innovative country. Madrid (European cultural capital), Sevilla (Expo 92) and Barcelona (92 Olympics) were the perfect showcase to present to the world a country that had been able to leave a dictatorship into a democracy and capacity to modernize in a short period of time. A country able to meet the challenges of the future, able to organize two major international events at the same time and be attractive to tourists and investors. Regarding originality, apart from its distinctive structural form, the tower is innovative in including the circular platform dishes of data transmission (transmitters), replacing the traditional body of antennas by an arc with a striking layout. This set of elements make the structure of 130 meters to become more than a tower .. a nice sculpture in the Olympic ring. The shape of the tower is based on a Calatrava sketch of a figure of an athlete of ancient Greece, to kneel on when you pick up the medal, as the winner of an Olympic event. The base of the tower is covered in broken glazed tiles in recognition of Gaudi and his famous technique of "TrencadÃs". The orientation of the tower gets to become a giant sundial, marking the hours on the square in Europe.
Details of Structure:
It was not the only telecom tower in town for the 1992 Collserola Tower British Norman Foster was also raised in the other mountain city, Tibidabo. This second tower has a larger television, and radio coverage of telecommunications signals to the entire city of Barcelona and its metropolitan region function consists of more than 4.5 million inhabitants. coverage of 92 Olympics: Images of the Barcelona Olympics that saw much of the world's inhabitants were made possible by the intense audiovisual coverage of the event, which provided Telefónica modern means of transmission. ISDN was the basic telecommunications infrastructure used in 1992. The investment made by the company, only to meet the needs of the Games, was 92,000 million pesetas in four years. During the Games originated in Barcelona two million phone calls. At the end of the competition, Barcelona had built a telecommunications infrastructure up to the most advanced in Europe.
General Information
Structural Type:Vertical cantilever structure
Function / usage:Communications tower
Built:1989 - 1992
Status: in use
Geographic Information & Related Structures
Location:Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Europe
Without concrete the landscape of Britain would be unrecognizable. Concrete is one of the most important resources in construction today, it is the most widely used construction material in the world because of the unparalleled versatility that allows it to be used in the building of just about anything. With concrete we are able to construct awe inspiring sky scrapers, ground breaking bridges, magnificent dams, humble pavements and everything in between, but what is it that makes ever-sturdy concrete so flexible in the world of construction?
Durability And Longevity
Concrete buildings have the ability to withstand the ravages of nature and time. Concrete is a remarkable substance that is completely flexible when freshly mixed (from cement, water and aggregates), and once it hardens it becomes an incredibly strong and durable material. It is its initial malleability that causes it to be the perfect substance for the building of such an expansive array of structures.
The strength of concrete, which increases over time, is what gives it the fantastic ability to withstand future changes and adaptions to structures. Concrete upper floors are able to support walls, meaning the walls below are saved from being load bearing, so the layout of a building can evolve with changing spatial requirements, creating buildings are both flexible and last for a lifetime. The longevity of concrete cannot be overstated; concrete structures such as the Coliseum in Rome have been standing for thousands of years and are in no danger of disappearing.
Sustainable Construction
Concrete is the most abundantly used material in construction, in the developed world it is estimated that around 60% of the built environment is concrete based, and as we move further towards a greener future every day it has never been more important. Concrete has the ability to be used in the construction of more energy efficient buildings because of its unbeatable thermal mass; this means that less energy is wasted in an attempt to produce heat from unsustainable sources.
The entire construction industry is placing greater focus on the three pillars of sustainability, environmental/economic/social, and the manufacture and use of concrete in building is playing a vital part. The innovators of the industry are developing manufacturing and design strategies that utilize concrete’s thermal prowess, placing a greater emphases on recycling and using industry bi-products in manufacture, and creating buildings that can be easily altered if their needs change to negate the need for them to be demolished.
FOB AT BARAPULLA: COMMONWEALTH GAMES-2010, NEW DELHI
Utter Abundance
The European population spends an estimated 90% of their time within buildings, and these buildings each have their own specific purposes which require an abundance of concrete products. There are countless concrete products including cast in-situ, tilt-up, precast and masonry blocks as well as solid, cavity and composite walls that can aid in the construction of any kind of structure.
Obviously it’s imperative to choose the right concrete for your specific construction job. The abundance of concrete, as well as the constant innovation within the industry, means the importance of concrete will only gain momentum in years to come.
Dear Sadhguru. I have a doubt since I did my Inner Engineering. I have seen people who have done Inner Engineering, people who have done BSP, Samyama, Samyama Sadhana and people who are Brahmacharis. But how to become like you? And if possible, how to surpass you? .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Sadhguru - So, now you have seen and discarded many people – those Inner Engineering people, Bhava Spandana, Samyama, Brahmacharis – all discarded! I want you to go to the next Inner Engineering and volunteer, okay? How people are on the last day – first be like that for one whole month. Then go to Bhava Spandana. How people are at the closing of Bhava Spandana – be like that for one more month. Then try Samyama. By then, you will know what I am talking about, what transformation means. Transformation is not an ambition or even an aspiration. It is an evolution. If you do the right things, you will evolve. It is not because you aspire or have an ambition that you become something; you need to allow this being to grow. If this grows, it will evolve into a certain possibility.
If you are aspiring for transformation, whatever is the highest peak you have hit, you must stay there. Keep the necessary atmosphere within you so that you can live like that. Otherwise, you would have just gone to one fanciful program, done some crazy things, and then gone home and continued the same old rubbish – that is no good. If the highest peak you have known is the level you hit with your Bhava Spandana, see how to stay there for one whole month. And then aspire for the next one. If you go up and fall down and then aspire for the same thing, it means nothing. One step forward, one step backward – this person has no intention of going anywhere.
The fundamental principles of how to stay at that peak is what the program is about. Just bring it into your life, and then aspiring for the next thing and the next thing will become a reality. Otherwise, it is an empty dream. If you want to show serious intent that you really want to go somewhere, this is what you can do, step by step. For someone who is at zero, going on talking about a million is not going to work; you have to climb. source [...]
Just before the Kurukshetra war began, Krishna offered his entire army to Duryodhana. Sadhguru recounts this situation to illustrate that there is no black and white in life.
"Krishna saw that human beings are always a combination of everything. That is why you have to strive to establish dharma within yourself; otherwise, you will become adharma." ~ Sadhguru
Questioner: If Krishna came to establish dharma, why did he offer himself or his army to Duryodhana?
Sadhguru: The situation around the Kurukshetra war was such that no one could remain neutral. You had to choose one side. Being the chief of the Yadavas, Krishna also had to put his lot either with the Pandavas or the Kauravas. Personally, he did not want this war and would have preferred to remain neutral, but that was not possible. He had no hatred against Hastinapur. He did not just choose Duryodhana; Bhisma, Dronacharya, Kripacharya – many venerable leaders were on the other side. He was not against them, and they had huge respect for him too. Both with Duryodhana and with the Pandavas, there was a distant blood relationship. When a relative comes and asks your help, a “no” would be difficult according to the Kshatriya dharma.
There was Kshatra Tej, the dharma for the warrior class, and Brahma Tej for the spiritual class. Krishna tried to bring about some kind of alliance between the Kshatriyas and the Brahmins. These guidelines and rules were created for the society to function smoothly. They said, a Brahmin must sit and study the Vedas for a certain number of hours a day. If the same dharma was enforced on a Kshatriya, he may not be competent to do it, and if he did this, he would not be a good administrator and definitely not a good warrior. The same goes for all the other classes. That is why they established different types of dharmas for different categories of people who had different duties to perform in the society. But at some point, the Kshatriyas started thinking only in terms of what is good for them and their dharma without considering all the others and their dharmas, which disturbed the harmony in the society. Krishna and Vyasamuni strived to bring Kshatra Tej and Brahma Tej closer together so they could function as a cohesive force for the benefit of all.
Since according to the Kshatra Tej, when a relative comes and asks for something, you cannot say “no,” Krishna gave them the choice between himself and his army. From a military standpoint, an army is definitely the better choice. Duryodhana believed that taking the army was sensible, though he did not get the first choice and was perturbed about that. When given the choice, the Pandavas had said to Krishna, “Whether we live or die – if we live, we want to live with you. If we die, we want to die with you. Without you, what will we do?” And that is what made the difference for them.
Now, your question is, “If Krishna is standing for dharma, how can he put his armed might on the side of adharma?” He was not a moralistic person who made black-and-white judgments about anyone. He neither believed the Pandavas were absolutely pure beings, nor that the Kauravas were absolute evil. This was not the way he looked at life. He constantly maintained a good relationship with the Kauravas. Duryodhana’s wife Banumathi was a devotee of his. He did not see the Kauravas as out and out evil – he just saw that they were causing much evil at that time and he would have liked to put an end to that. This does not mean he held any kind of hatred or anger against them, nor did he judge them as evil. He saw that human beings are always a combination of everything. That is why you have to strive to establish dharma within yourself; otherwise, you will become adharma. Any human being is capable of becoming adharma any moment of his life. There is no insurance that you will never fall into adharma. You have to strive to be aware; you have to strive to be on the righteous path, or else you will easily slip off. This goes for every human being, until you attain to such a level of consciousness where you cannot fall anymore.
In many ways, Krishna tried to encourage Duryodhana to strive for dharma. Even at that point when he gave this choice between him and his army, he still tried to avoid the war. In a way, it was a very intelligent move to give the army to Duryodhana. That way, Duryodhana felt that “Krishna is on my side,” thinking the Pandavas were fools to take one person instead of a 100,000-man-strong army. This could have been something for Duryodhana to latch on to and bring peace, but it failed.
Become That
Questioner: Sadhguru, you have been talking about three aspects – one is Krishna’s playfulness, the second is inclusiveness, and the third is love and devotion. I have three questions in this context. First, how can one be playful without losing the intensity that the practices have ignited? Second, I increasingly tend to do the minimum for friends and family. I just want to be on my own. I’m not sure what is meant by including everyone. And third, I think the mind’s constant over-activeness or judgment hampers love and devotion. So how can these three aspects be applied in day-to-day life?
Sadhguru: They cannot be applied – they can be attained. They are not some kind of policies or tricks that you apply in your life. You have to become that. You have to become inclusion. You have to become love. This is not something that you can do or make use of. It is something that you surrender to. It is something that you allow to burn you up. You are no more important.
It is because you are still on the application level, since you want to use something, that we gave you practices. I wish we could abolish the practices in the program. They are beautiful; they are definitely sustaining forces for a human being, but people evaluating the program and being there with me in terms of a takeaway is stupid. That way, they will not get anywhere. Maybe their health will improve, but they will not know anything beyond that in their lives.
There is nothing to apply. There is no take away. Don’t try to be devout; don’t try to be loving; don’t try to be inclusive. You cannot do that. You have to become that. You cannot do love. Love is much, much bigger than you. You can become a part of it. There is no method to fall in love. When you don’t make yourself important anymore, love will happen. If you are too full of yourself, there is no possibility of love in your life. You may know relationships; you may know give-and-take, but you will not know how to burn. If you don’t know how to burn, you will have no light of your own. source [...]
Global demand for cement, the binder in concrete, is forecast to reach 4.7 billion tonnes in 2017, with sales expected to expand by more than +5% a year over the next four years, according to research company Freedonia.
While this represents a slight decline in pace from the 2007 to 2012 period, altogether, Freedonia's figures constitute a fairly robust outlook for this key construction material.
At the same time there is a drive among the concrete construction sector's equipment manufacturers to produce more versatile and efficient equipment, fuelled by the ever-present need for contractors to improve productivity.
New technology is playing a big role in the latest developments. Telematics systems that allow machines to be monitored remotely are spreading to every corner of the construction industry, for instance, often aiming to help to improve efficiency and performance of equipment.
Putzmeister has been focussing on computer-controlled interaction between man and machine for its truck-mounted concrete pumps. It has developed a new radio remote control for its 38-5 truck-mounted concrete pumps, the Ergonic 2.0.
Designed to conserve energy and reduce emissions, the device monitors the interaction between outriggers, boom movements and pump functions. The control unit is larger yet lighter than its predecessor, with a high-resolution colour screen, and boasts new safety features such as guaranteeing the boom can only be moved in a permitted working envelope.
Specific machine settings are transferred via a chip card and the radio remote control can be used for other Putzmeister truck-mounted concrete pumps simply by exchanging the chip.
Manufacturers in the falsework and formwork sector have also been working to develop equipment and techniques to improve efficiency and flexibility for contractors. Doka, for instance, has a range of modular formwork that can be tailored to the complex demands of the energy sector, where fast construction progress is important.
Doka offers specific systems for building tanks, silos and cooling towers as well as specific systems for dam construction. Its SK175 cooling-tower formwork, for example, is a fully mechanised, self-climbing system for pouring 1.5 m high sections that is said to produce precise forming within short cycling times.
Peri also tailored its working platforms to the needs of the energy sector with a contract to support construction of the 1,600 MW coal-fired Eemshaven power plant in Groningen, the Netherlands. Its Peri Up Rosett Flex modular scaffolding system provided safe access for welding and insulation work on the plant's two 35 m high, 64 m long filters for flue gas desulphurisation. Assembly of the modular scaffolding for the 35 m high working platform was carried out using a guardrail in advance, making rope protection unnecessary. In addition, the Peri scaffolding worked around the existing steel structure as well as those walkways already mounted.
AS quicksilver star dancer Shahid Kapoor descended on the stage, the music swelled and the fireworks went up in beautifully orchestrated bursts. It was time for Lights, Camera, Action, as it all came together for the Kamla Pasand 20th Annual Life OK Screen Awards.
The Screen song filled the air. “Dhak dhak dil dil, dil dil dhak dhak” perfectly encapsulated the mood of the evening: Indian hearts beat loudest for movies. And the Screen awards, the most respected in the industry, kickstarted the awards season to honour the best and brightest in Bollywood and in Marathi cinema, which continues to astonish with its startlingly original talent.
The year gone by was Indian cinema’s centenary year. In his opening remarks, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari, the chief guest, held out some awards of his own: single-window clearance for filmmaking, overhauling the archaic Cinematograph Act, nod for the Rs 600 crore National Film Heritage Mission, and the opening of The Museum Of Indian Cinema in Mumbai soon.
As anchor Shah Rukh Khan arrived, dapper in a sharp black suit, the temperature rose perceptibly. The audience was waiting for the superstar: he grinned, and we could see his dimple flash all the way across the MMRDA Grounds.
Yo Yo Honey Singh entertained with a rap medley, including his popular “Blue Eyes”, and the show was well and truly swinging. Next up was Sonu Sood, who did some dangerous stuff on a motorcycle, and then flung off his shirt — both stunts drew hoots and claps.
2013 has been a year of the most unusual confluence in Indian cinema. The big mainstream giants shook hands with the small, individual rookies, and got a couple of the best Indian films into theatres. The Rs 100 crore figure lost its jaw-dropping quality: Bollywood welcomed its first Rs 300 crore film with Dhoom 3. As it happens every year, the big tent-pole productions made a lot of money. But this year was not all standard procedure business. A handful of films, like The Ship Of Theseus and The Lunchbox, which redefined the meaning of “mainstream”, coasted on novelty andcreativity, and took Indian cinema to places it hadn’t been before.
The awards reflected the year that just got over. The Special Jury Award went to Anand Gandhi for his marvelously inventive debut The Ship Of Theseus. The film got another award, as Aida El-Kashef bagged the Most Promising Newcomer (female). Ritesh Batra got the Most Promising Debut Director for The Lunchbox, the film that may not have made it to the Oscars but continues to steal hearts across the globe. Other new faces in the list of awardees included the talented Swara Bhaskar (Best Supporting Actor Female — Raanjhana).
The writing awards usually tell you where the industry is going: the top awards in this segment were snaffled by the most arresting films. The Best Screenplay went to the trio of Hansal Mehta, Apurva Asrani and Sameer Gautam Singh (who also got Best Dialogue) for the most courageous film of 2013, Shahid. US-based Mohan Sikka, who wrote the short story Railway Aunty on which BA Pass was based, got Best Story.
Saurabh Shukla won the Best Supporting Actor (Male) for his role as the practical and pragmatic judge in Jolly LLB. And Swanand Kirkire took the Best Lyricist trophy for the melodious Manjha from Kai Po Che. The Best Ensemble Cast went to Club 60, whose leading man Farooque Shaikh died recently.
Ranveer Singh, whose rub-the-back-of-the-head move has become a dance floor craze, came on to do a jig and joust with the host. And then it was time for the big ones.
The Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Award went to Ronnie Screwvala, the man behind UTV, the studio which has been consistently doing some excellent work, producing and distributing both big and small cinema. The award was handed over, most appropriately, by the man who is now trying to get into the same space, producer-director Karan Johar.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Amitabh Bachchan. Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Shatrughan Sinha gave away the award. Sinha came up with an affectionate citation, calling Bachchan “hamaare nyaare pyaare Amitabh”. Bachchan accepted with characteristic humility.
The big winner of the evening was Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (Best Film), Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s biopic on the life of ace athlete Milkha Singh. The Best Child Actor went to Japtej Singh, who plays the young Milkha; the senior Milkha, essayed by Farhan Akhtar, took away the Best Actor (Jury) Award. We predict he will sweep all the awards this year. As will the Screen Best Actress, Deepika Padukone, who was nominated for two films, Chennai Express and Goliyon Ki Raasleela — Ram Leela, and won it for both: she got both the Jury and Popular Choice awards. And host Shah Rukh Khan switched to the other side for accepting his Best Actor (Popular Choice ) award for Chennai Express.
And with that, the starry evening drew to a close. Until next year, when we will meet again, same place, same time.
Adios..........
And the award goes to...
Best film
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Best director
Shoojit Sircar (Madras Cafe)
Best actor (male)
Farhan Akhtar (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag)
Best actor (female)
Deepika Padukone (Goliyon ki Raasleela — Ram-Leela, Chennai Express)
Ramnath goenka memorial award
Madras Cafe
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male): Saurabh Shukla (Jolly LLB)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female): Swara Bhaskar (Raanjhanaa)
Best Actor in a Comic Role (Male/ Female): Richa Chadda (Fukrey)
Best Actor in a Negative Role (Male):
Rishi Kapoor (D-Day)
Best Actor in a Negative Role (Female):
Shilpa Shukla (BA Pass)
Best Cinematography:
S Ravi Varman (Goliyon ki Raasleela Ram-Leela)
Best Background Score: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag)
Best Music:
Pritam Chakraborty (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani)
Best Singer (Male):
Arijit Singh (Tum Hi Ho — Aashiqui 2)
Best Singer (Female):
Shreya Ghosal (Sunn Raha Hain Na Tu — Aashiqui 2)
Best Lyrics:
Swanand Kirkire (Maanjha — Kai Po Che)
Most Promising Newcomer (Male):
Sushant Singh Rajput (Kai Po Che)
Most Promising Newcomer (Female): Aida El-Kashef (Ship of Theseus)
Islamabad has emerged as Pakistan's most expensive city while
Karachi is the cheapest. (Reuters)
Islamabad has emerged as Pakistan's most expensive city while Karachi is the cheapest, according to an official report.
The report of Inflation Monitor-December 2013, recently issued by the State Bank, Islamabad was on top of the list where the main inflation CPI (Consumer Price Index) was highest in December 2013.
Almost all major cities of Pakistan were included in the list of high inflation except Karachi. Karachi was included in the list of low inflation areas.
At the end of December (year-on-year basis), the main inflation for Islamabad was 15.5 per cent, food inflation 11.4 per cent and non-food was 18.7 per cent which was the highest compared all parts of the country. The main inflation for the country in December was 9.2 per cent, Dawn daily reported.
Being strongest political power after Islamabad, Larkana of Sindh province embraced second highest inflation of 13.9 per cent mainly led by food inflation of 14.3 per cent.
Provincial capitals like Peshawar and Quetta were also listed among the cities with high inflation of 13.2 per cent and 10.4 per cent and food inflation, 13.5 per cent and 12. 6 per cent, respectively.
Lahore has been listed among the low inflation cities as the CPI was 8 per cent led by food inflation of 9.5 per cent.
According to the analysis, just 1 per cent of near-Earth asteroids are rich
in these elements. (Reuters)
In some bad news for companies hoping to mine space-rocks for their valuable ores, a new study has claimed that only 10 near-Earth asteroids may be suitable for commercial-scale mining. Dr Martin Elvis, from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, US, has developed an equation to estimate the number of asteroids in the solar system that could be exploited in a cost-effective way.
Elvis evaluated the factors that would make an asteroid commercially viable to mine and what fraction of known space rocks met these requirements.
He emphasised there were large uncertainties in the values and called for more thorough surveys of what's out there, 'BBC News' reported.
Elvis assumed that mining operations would focus on iron-nickel asteroids (known as M-type), considered the most promising targets for finding so-called platinum-group metals. These include platinum, along with iridium, palladium etc.
These are rare in the Earth's crust because they dissolve in molten iron, instead being mainly concentrated in the planet's core.
However, according to the analysis, just 1 per cent of near-Earth asteroids are rich in these elements.
Suitable asteroids also need to be relatively easy to reach, further narrowing the pool by ruling out all but the nearest objects to Earth.
The operative parameter here is delta-v - the change in velocity needed to send mining equipment to the target and return with a larger mass of ore.
The paper suggests it wouldn't be worth mining asteroids smaller than about 100m because the total value of the ore they would produce wouldn't be enough to cover the costs of a space mission.
Elvis pointed out that the ore values in his analysis range from a low of USD 800m to a high of USD 8.8bn.
"Such a large range of values could greatly change the profitability of a venture, making more accurate assays necessary," he said.
Eric Anderson, co-founder of asteroid mining company Planetary Resources, said there were key errors in the study.
"Number one, the author points to an assumption of only wanting to go to M-type asteroids. Assuming we were only going after platinum-group metals, the most platinum-rich asteroids are the C-class ones," he told the BBC.
Fragments of these asteroids are known as carbonaceous chondrites when they fall to Earth.
Also, Planetary Resources' engineers were prepared to include objects that required a delta-v of 7km/s, a more ambitious limit than the 4.5km/s used in the study.
"I want to stress that my paper does not mean that there is no commercial future for asteroid mining. It does mean that gold mines are rare, which shouldn't be too surprising," Elvis said.
Twice destroyed and twice rebuilt, the Pantheon in Rome evolved into a domed building so famous that it inspired architects for 2,000 years.
What is the Pantheon in Rome?
Illustration of the Pantheon in Rome, During the Roman Empire
Today a Christian church, the Pantheon is the best preserved of all ancient Roman buildings and has been in near-continuous use since Hadrian’s reconstruction. From a distance the Pantheon is not as awe-inspiring as other ancient monuments — the dome appears low, not much higher than surrounding buildings. Inside, the Pantheon is among the most impressive in existence. Its inscription, M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIUM·FECIT, means: Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, consul for the third time, built this.
History of Pantheon in Rome
Model of the Pantheon in Rome, as it Appeared during the Roman Empire
The Pantheon in Rome was not built in a day. Twice destroyed and twice rebuilt, Rome's famous "Temple of All the Gods" began as a rectangular structure. Over the course of a century, this original Pantheon evolved into a domed building so famous that it inspired architects for the next 2,000 years.
Archeologists and historians debate which emperor and which architects designed Pantheon we see today. In 27 AD, Marcus Agrippa, the first emperor of the Roman Empire, commissioned a rectangular Pantheon building. Agrippa's Pantheon burnt down in 80 AD. All that remains is the front portico.
Nighttime view of the lighted Roman Pantheon from Piazza della Rotonda in Rome, Italy
Another Roman Emperor, Titus Flavius Domitianus, (or, simply Domitian) rebuilt the Pantheon, but it burned down in about 110 AD.
Then, in 126 AD, Emperor Hadrian completely restored the Pantheon in Rome. This Roman Pantheon survived many centuries and wars. The Pantheon remains the best-preserved building in Rome.
Architecture of the Pantheon
Diagram of the Pantheon in Rome, Showing the Interior Architecture
The identity of the architect behind the Pantheon is unknown, but most scholars attribute it to Apollodorus of Damascus. The parts of Hadrian’s Pantheon are a columned porch (8 massive granite Corinthian columns in front, two groups of four behind), an intermediate area of brick, and finally the monumental dome. The Pantheon’s dome is the largest surviving dome from antiquity; it was also the largest dome in the world until Brunelleschi’s dome on the Duomo of Florence was completed in 1436.
The Amazing Dome at the Roman Pantheon
The Ancient Romans were skilled at concrete construction. When they built the Pantheon around 125 A.D., the skilled builders of Rome applied advanced engineering to the Greek classical orders. They gave their Pantheon massive 25-foot thick walls to support a huge dome made of solid concrete. As the height of the dome rises, the concrete was mixed with lighter and lighter stone material; the top is largely pumice. With a diameter that measures 43.4 meters, the dome of the Roman Pantheon ranks as the world's largest dome made of unreinforced solid concrete.
The ceiling of the Pantheon dome has five symmetrical rows of 28 coffers (sunken panels) and a round oculus (opening) at the center. Sunlight streaming through the oculus illuminates the Pantheon rotunda. The coffered ceiling and oculus were not only decorative, but lessened the weight load of the roof.
The Pantheon and Roman Religion
Hadrian seems to have intended his rebuilt Pantheon to be a sort of ecumenical temple where people could worship any and all gods they wished, not just local Roman gods. This would have been keeping with Hadrian’s character — a widely travelled emperor, Hadrain admired Greek culture and respected other religions. During his reign an increasing number of Roman subjects either didn’t worship Roman gods or worshipped them under other names, so this move made good political sense, too.
Interior Space of the Pantheon:
The Pantheon has been called a “perfect” space because the diameter of the rotunda is equal to that of its height (43m, 142ft). The purpose of this space was to suggest geometrical perfection and symmetry in the context of a perfect universe. The interior space could fit perfectly either in a cube or in a sphere. The massive interior room is designed to symbolize the heavens; the oculus or Great Eye in the room is designed to symbolize the light- and life-giving sun.
Oculus of the Pantheon:
The central point of the Pantheon is far above visitors’ heads: the great eye, or oculus, in the room. It looks small, but it’s 27ft across and the source of all light in the building — symbolic of how the sun is the source of all light on earth. Rain that comes through collects in a drain in the center of the floor; the stone and moisture keep the interior cool through the summer. Every year, on June 21st, the rays of the sun at the summer equinox shines from the oculus through the front door.
Construction of the Pantheon:
How the dome has been able to bear its own weight has been a matter of great debate — if such a structure were built today with unreinforced concrete, it would quickly collapse. The Pantheon, though, has stood for centuries. No agreed-upon answers to this mystery exist, but speculation includes both an unknown formulation for the concrete as well as spending a lot of time tamping the wet concrete to eliminate air bubbles.
Changes in the Pantheon:
Some lament the architectural incoherence in the Pantheon. We see, for example, a Greek-style colonnade on the front with a Roman-style interior space. What we see, however, is not how the Pantheon was originally constructed. One of the most significant changes was the addition of two bell towers by Bernini. Called “asses’ ears” by Romans, they were removed in 1883. In a further act of vandalism, Pope Urban VIII had the bronze ceiling of the portico melted down for St. Peter’s portico.
Pantheon as a Christian Church:
One reason why the Pantheon has survived in such remarkable shape while other structures are gone may be the fact that Pope Boniface IVI consecrated it as a church dedicated to Mary and the Martyr Saints in 609. This is the official name which it continues to bear today and masses are still celebrated here. The Pantheon has also been used as a tomb: among those buried here are the painter Raphael, the first two kings, and first queen of Italy. Monarchists maintain a vigil at these latter tombs.
Influence of the Pantheon:
As one of the best surviving structures from ancient Rome, the influence of the Pantheon on modern architecture almost cannot be underestimated. Architects from all over Europe and America from the Renaissance through the 19th century studied it and incorporated what they learned into their own work. Echoes of the Pantheon can be found in numerous public structures: libraries, universities, Thomas Jefferson’s Rotunda, and more.
It’s also possible that the Pantheon has had an impact on Western religion: the Pantheon appears to be the first temple built with general public access in mind. Temples of the ancient world were generally limited only to specific priests; the public may have taken part in religious rituals in some fashion, but mostly as observers and outside the temple. The Pantheon, however, existed for all the people — a feature which is now standard for houses of worship in all religions of the West.
Hadrian on the Pantheon in Rome
Illustration of the Inside of the Pantheon in Rome, as a Christian Church
Hadrian wrote about the Pantheon he had reconstructed: “My intentions had been that this sanctuary of All Gods should reproduce the likeness of the terrestrial globe and of the stellar sphere...The cupola...revealed the sky through a great hole at the center, showing alternately dark and blue. This temple, both open and mysteriously enclosed, was conceived as a solar quadrant. The hours would make their round on that caissoned ceiling so carefully polished by Greek artisans; the disk of daylight would rest suspended there like a shield of gold; rain would form its clear pool on the pavement below, prayers would rise like smoke toward that void where we place the gods.” source[...]
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