Tuesday, March 1, 2011

RAY DIAGRAM OF CONCAVE MIRROR

Ray diagrams are useful tools for determining the location of an image as produced by a concave mirror. To determine the location of an image using a ray diagram, at least two sets of incident and reflected rays must be constructed for strategic positions on the object. The image of an object is the location where light rays from that object intersect upon reflecting from a mirror. By constructing at least two sets of incident and reflected rays, this image location can easily be found.
If the object is represented by an arrow, then it is common practice to pick the two extreme positions (the top and the bottom of the arrow) as starting points for the incident and reflected rays. Ray construction will result in the determination of the image locations for these two extreme positions on the object. The complete image is merely an arrow connecting these two image locations. This task is further simplified if the object is positioned as an arrow standing upon the principal axis of the mirror. If this is the case, then the image will be standing upon the principal axis of the mirror (and either inverted or upright).
Of all the rays which emanate from the top of the object arrow and are incident to the mirror, there are two rays whose behavior at the mirror surface can be easily predicted. These are the two incident rays which are used in the ray construction. One of the rays moves parallel to the principal axis and reflects through the focal point. The second ray passes through the focal point on the way to the mirror and reflects parallel to the principal axis. All concave and convex mirror ray diagrams can be constructed from knowledge of the behavior of these two rays.

In the animation above, a right-side-up object is located above the principal axis between the center of curvature (C) and the focal point (F). The ray diagram shows that the image of this object is located as an upside-down image positioned beyond the center of curvature (C). In fact, it can be generalized that anytime the object is located between C and F, the image will be located beyond the center of curvature as well. In such cases, the image will be inverted and larger in size than the object. Such images are called real images because they are formed by the actual convergence of reflected light rays at the image location. Real images are always formed on the same side of the mirror as the object.

Opium wars

In 1856 a second war broke out following an allegedly illegal Chinese search of a British-registered ship, the Arrow, in Guangzhou. British and French troops took Guangzhou and Tianjin and compelled the Chinese to accept the treaties of Tianjin (1858), to which France, Russia, and the United States were also party. China agreed to open 11 more ports, permit foreign legations in Beijing, sanction Christian missionary activity, and legalize the import of opium. China's subsequent attempt to block the entry of diplomats into Beijing as well as Britain's determination to enforce the new treaty terms led to a renewal of the war in 1859. This time the British and French occupied Beijing and burned the imperial summer palace (Yuan ming yuan). The Beijing conventions of 1860, by which China was forced to reaffirm the terms of the Treaty of Tianjin and make additional concessions, concluded the hostilities.

Facts about Dr A P J Abdul Kalam

Into what position was Dr. Kalam sworn in on 25 July, 2002?
    President of India. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was sworn in as the eleventh president of India. He is famous for his humility, sincerity, dediction and love for children.
What is the full form of the "APJ" in Dr. Kalam's name?
    Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen. Dr. Kalam is the son of a boat owner in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. He is a symbol of how in India, anybody can aspire even to the highest office.
With what honour has Dr. Kalam been decorated, the highest honour that an Indian citizen can receive?
    The Bharat Ratna. The Bharat Ratna was conferred on Dr. Kalam by K. R. Narayanan who was then President of India.
What is the name of Dr. Kalam's inspirational autobiography?
    Wings of Fire. 'Wings of Fire' is a truly inspirational book that shows how, through hard work and with God's grace, anything is possible in this world. I recommend this book to all, not only Indians, as a great read.
Dr. Kalam was the chief of India's Defence Research and Development Program.
    t. Dr. Kalam created Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Trishul and Nag, missiles that became household names in India and raised India to the level of a missile power of international reckoning.
Who was Dr. Kalam's mentor and guide?
    Dr. Vikram Sarabhai. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai was a great visionary and could be called the father of Indian missile technology. He aided Dr. Kalam, helped him, and gave him valuable advice on how to always reach for the stars.
Where was Dr. Kalam born?
    Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. Dr. Kalam was born in Rameswaram to poor parents. He studied hard and by pure hard work got a seat in one of India's best colleges and became the head of India's Rocket Development and Missile Development program.
What religion is Dr. Kalam a follower of?
    Islam. Dr. Kalam is a devout Muslim. His father's best friend, incidentally was a Hindu priest.
What is Dr. Kalam's dream for India called?
    Vision 2020. Vision 2020 sees India as a world leader in all fields and a prosperous, happy country without poverty.
A.P.J Abdul Kalam was awarded the Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and the Bharat Ratna.
t. A.P.J Abdul Kalam's life is an inspiration to all Indians and he can truly be called a 'Jewel of India' (Bharat Ratna).

Fun Fact

Walt Disney wanted to be sure that the business of the park would never intrude on the show. So he had built approximately 1.5 miles of Utilidors—the access tunnels beneath Magic Kingdom theme park.

House of Ex Telecom minister Mr Raja

 COULD SOMEONE TELL US WHAT IS DEMOCRACY EXACTLY MEAN
















Image removed by sender.
Image removed by sender.

How to maintain your laptop battery for more period of time

 At times it may so happen that your cell phone battery is running very low and is likely to go off at any moment, but you're expecting a very important call or need to make one. However, for some reason you are not carrying any battery chargers to recharge your battery and it has become suddenly vital that you do so.
Most people would agree that cell phone batteries seem to be on their last bar or in serious need of a charge at the most inopportune times. Most likely, charging phone batteries is not on your list of things to do before going to bed. Well, put your worries and panic aside, there are ways in which you can charge your cell phone without using the accompanying cell phone charger, which comes as part of the kit. You are about to learn how to charge a phone without a charger, and you'll never miss a call due to a dead battery again!

Step 1

Use your laptop battery. Use the USB cord which allows you to sync your cell phone with your computer and connect the phone to the laptop. Make sure to switch off the phone first. Once connected, the cell phone battery will charge itself by drawing power from the laptop battery. Simple, isn't it?

Step 2

Using USB cables. Somewhat similar to the previous step, find a spare or old USB cable which is no longer required and cut-off the point which is not used to connect to the computer (the end where you would connect a USB-compatible device). You are now going to convert this cable to act as a cell phone battery charger in conjunction with your laptop.

Step 3

Remove the casing. Using a pair of pliers or a sharp blade or knife, remove the plastic casing which covers the cable. Make sure to be careful not to damage the internal wires while cutting off the casing.

Step 4

Locating the wires. Once the casing is off, you will see that there are four wires in the cord. Separate the red and the black wires from the remaining two wires. From the open end of the red and black wires, remove the insulation material covering the actual wires, as in the previous step.

Step 5

Connect to the phone battery. Remove the phone battery from the cell phone case. Look for and locate the positive (+) and negative (-) indicators on the inside of the phone. Place the red wire at the (+) point and the black wire at the (-) point. Place the battery back into the phone, with the wires stuck in between the battery and the terminal points inside the phone.

Step 6

Connect to a computer. Plug the USB end of the cable to your computer and allow the battery to charge from the computer power as in step one. You can charge your cell phone battery until you feel that it has been charged enough to complete your work. Once you get back home, use the phone charger provided for this purpose and recharge your battery fully for further use.

To avoid situations where you phone battery runs low and you don't have the charger close at hand, make sure that you charge your phone on a daily basis. This way, you will not be stranded without a charged phone. Use the methods discussed above, in extreme emergencies only and not too frequently.

HP Bluestone tips and tricks

How to get started

Install Total-e-Server.
Install Maintainance Pack 5. NOTE: The Mp5 fix the problems with GreetingDemo and JSP-EJB Loan Calculator in the TrailMap. However, Mp5 caused other problems on my computer....i would recommend trying out the software without Mp5 to get a feeling for how the software is built up, and then install mp5.
Walk through the TrailMap to get a feeling for what Total-e-Server is.
Read the documentation, do the different examples they have got.
Start creating applications with Visual-XML, thats a way to connect XML-documents to the database and back. Modify the ULF so you can connect to the service in different way.

Visual XML

A good place to get info about visual XML is to search in the documentation for "Bluestone Visual XML Simple Tutorial". Walking through there you will create some basic applications.
Visual XML is having some annoying habits:
  • Once you processed "Publish XML from Database", you can not edit the project you created.
  • Once you processed "Process XML Wizard", you CAN load the project file again afterwards, BUT you can not edit the methods.
So, if you create a project and you realized "oh, blamey, the default value should really be 1 instead of 2", you cant simply load the project and change the 1 to a 2, instead you have to redo the whole procedure.
Before you run away and start fooling around with Visual XML and re-doing the projects loads of times because of small changes, there is one solution: Load the projectfile into a text-editor.
The projectfiles are located in v-xml/Workspaces/Generated/<ProjName>/<ProjName>.pjx

XSL with Visual XML

If your .xsl file is not applied to your output when you are running the applications you created in Vxml on the UBS, make sure that you have added "file_path" in your c:\TeS\config\apserver.txt.
"file_path" should point to the directory where you have jsp-files, html-files and xsl-files, for example:
     [/MyApp.class]
     program=/MyApp.class
     session_affinity=0
     type=1
     file_path=c:\TeS\config\xfiles
     host=localhost:20000
     

Problems with choosing Data Source in Data Publish Wizard (Visual XML)

If you can't open the examples that comes with bluestone, because the publishing wizard cant connect to the database, try this (probably depends on which version you have of MS Access):
  • Open the .mdb files in MS Access, it will ask if it should convert the file, click yes.
  • Then save the file with another name.
  • Close down Visual XML and MS Access.
  • rename the new file to the name the old file have (you have to rename the old file to something else first)
  • Then go to Control Panel and choose the ODBC thing, choose the "System-DNS" tab and mark the source you are interested in. Choose properties for that source and choose the correct .mdb file (it should be the same as before, but for some reason Win2k didn't want to work properly for me without this step)
  • Then start Visual XML and try publishing wizard again.

HTTP Listener in ULF

If you want to use a form on a webpage to pass information to the ULF, make sure the datafield you want to pass is named "SaDoc" (case-sensitive). If for example the data you want to pass along is in a textarea, the name of the textarea should be "SaDoc".
This detail is not mentioned in the documentation, so if the UBS complains with SaXmlApp: SaGetXmlDoc: Errors Parsing document!!, check that the formfield has got the proper name and you will save yourself from going nuts trying to find info about the problem in the documentation.

FTP Listener in ULF

The FTP-listener does not support passive ftp, make sure you have disabled passive ftp in your ftpprogram when accessing the ULF. Once again, that is not mentioned in the documentation.

Restrictions/Bugs/Problems with Bluestone

  • Total-e-Server 7.3 does not work with Windows 9x. There are some workarounds to get it to work, but they are not supported by HP.
  • The installationprogram will not work with JDK 1.4.0 beta. Symptoms: The installationprogram starts, the first screen with the increasing bar shows up normally. The second screen (promotional screen for ZeroG.com) appears and disappears as it should, but after that nothing happends. Solution: Install JDK1.3.x instead. Comment: It might have been an issue of variables that were not correctly set up when jdk1.4.0beta was installed.
  • The EJB examples GreetingDemo and JSP-EJB Loan Calculator from the TrailMap does not work, it has been tested with JDK 1.3.0/J2EE1.3 beta and JDK1.3.1/J2EE1.3beta2. These problems is fixed by installing Mp5

Error message received when running Simple Example (and purchase tutorial?) in Visual XML

 This message is received when I put up an email listener for Simple Example,
 What it means is simply that it complains that I try to insert the same entry twice in the table.
 
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-2"?>
 <Author>
 <AuthorID>172-32-1176</AuthorID>
 <LastName>White</LastName>
 <FirstName>Johnson</FirstName>
 <Phone>408 496-7223</Phone>
 <Address>10932 Bigge Rd.</Address>
 <City>Menlo Park</City>
 <State>CA</State>
 <Country>USA</Country>
 <ZIP>94025     </ZIP>
 </Author>
 <errors>
 <error type='0' major='0' minor='0' state='0' line='0'>
 TableDriver: SQLException in PreparedStatement.executeUpdate
 while processing index '0' of '1'!!</error>
 <error type='0' major='0' minor='0' state='0' line='0'>SQLException(s) thrown!!
 Error Code:0
 SQL State :S1000
 Message   :General error
 </error>
 </errors>
 

WWW link about Bluestone

Bluestone Webboard, discuss problems, give tips and comments about the software.

DELL Inspiron Duo tips and tricks

Hi!
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As you can see, I am typing this post on the Dell Inspiron Duo. I really enjoy my Duo as it best fills all holes that have been missing in a mobile tech experience.
A list of some things the Duo is good at:
  1. On-the-Go Office Editor (Word, Excel, Blogging, Presentations)
  2. Web Surfing (more like Gliding) Experience.
  3. Media Enjoyment (Music, Video etc.)
  4. The Intended Windows 7 Tablet Experience
The Cons
  1. Dell tried their own Tablet Experience and Failed.

How to tweak your Dell Duo
This is how the Dell Duo Looks and feels out of the box:
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  1. Windows 7 Input Panel is not configured to its optimum usability (almost intrusive really)
  2. I bought an HD Screen for a reason I want to use all of it (bar is too big)
  3. Scrolling is choppy and just bad.




1. Correcting the Windows Input Panel
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FOLLOW THESE STEPS:

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Place the Title Bar of the keyboard in the middle of the screen, then Drag the lower right corner down so that it stretches to the bottom of the screen.
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Dock the Input Keyboard to the Bottom of the Screen:
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Now the keyboard is easy to type on. Untitled6
Notice that the scrolling bars and windows automatically adjust to the keyboard. Very similar to what happens on the ipad when needing to type.
Additionally when you flip the screen, the keyboard automatically adjusts to profile and so does the windows.
Personally I like browsing the web in portrait, and heavier typing in landscape.
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Go to Tools and then to Options:
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Check to show the Input Icon in the Taskbar, and uncheck the intrusive tab version.
Remember to also check Apply
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Notice now, that the Input launcher is in the Taskbar.
Now launching the touch keyboard is as easy as a touch of your thumb!
Note: You can change the size of the button by “Unlocking the Taskbar”. Also, tapping the button a second time will also close the keyboard.

Top 10 sporting airline disasters

10
Alianza Lima Peru Football Team
1987
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The 1987 Alianza Lima air disaster took place on December 8, 1987, when a Peruvian Navy Fokker F27-400M, chartered by Peruvian football club Alianza Lima, plunged into the Pacific Ocean six miles short of its destination. On board the flight were a total of 44 players, managers, staff, cheerleaders and crewmembers, of which only the pilot survived the accident. The team was returning from a Peruvian league match when the aircrew thought they noticed a malfunctioning indicator on the control panel, which appeared to show the planes landing gear had not deployed. The pilot requested a flyby of the control tower so that spotters on the ground could confirm that the plane’s landing gear was down and locked. Upon receiving visual confirmation of safe configuration for landing, the plane went around for another attempt at a landing. The Fokker flew too low and plunged into the Pacific.
Following the crash, the Peruvian Navy shut itself off from the press, and did not release the results of its investigation, nor did it allow private investigations to take place. Allegations were made that the accident had been caused by the aircraft’s shoddy mechanical condition, and the Navy concealed the truth in order to save face. It was not until 2006 that the results of the official inquiry into the cause of the disaster came to light. The investigation cited the pilot’s lack of night flying experience, his misreading of the emergency procedures related to the landing gear issue, and the aircraft’s poor mechanical condition as contributing factors to the accident. The Peruvian Football Federation chose not to end the football season early, despite the loss of what amounted to the majority of Alianza’s team; the club played their last few matches with retired volunteers, players from its youth teams, and players loaned by a Chilean club. The accident was disastrous for Alianza, who lost their most promising squad in a decade.

9
US Amateur Boxing Team
1980
1-10
LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007 crashed near Warsaw, Poland, on March 14, 1980, due to mechanical failure as the crew aborted a landing and attempted to go-around. All 87 crew and passengers died. On board were many members of the 1980 US amateur boxing team, many of whom were contenders to qualify for the 1980 US Olympic Boxing Team (the US subsequently boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow). The team was going to Poland for boxing matches against Polish and Russian amateur boxers. Flight 007 departed New York City at 21:18, and after nine hours of an uneventful flight, it was approaching Warsaw Airport at 11:13 local time. During their final approach, about one minute before the landing, the crew reported that the landing gear indicator light was not operating, and that they would go-around and allow the flight engineer to check if it was caused by a burnt-out fuse or light bulb, or if there was actually some problem with the gears deploying.
Nine seconds after the last voice transmission the aircraft suddenly entered a steep dive. At 11:14:35, after 26 seconds of uncontrolled descent, the aircraft clipped a tree with its right wing and impacted the ice-covered moat of a 19th-century military fortress. At the last moment the pilot, using nothing but the plane’s ailerons, managed to avoid hitting a correctional facility for teenagers. On impact, the aircraft disintegrated; a large part of the main hull submerged in the moat. The moat had to be drained to allow the air crash investigation team to recover parts of the disintegrated plane. The body of the pilot was found lying on the street about sixty meters from the crash site; other bodies were scattered between the plane parts. According to the Polish government’s Special Disaster Commission, the crash was caused by defects in materials, faults in the manufacturing process of the jet engine’s shaft, and weaknesses in the design of its turbine.
Not on board the plane were other members of the US boxing team, including Johnny “Bump City” Bumphus who made the US Olympic team at 139 pounds. Bumphus would later go on to a successful professional boxing career and earn the title of WBA Light Welterweight Champion.

8
University of Evansville Basketball Team
1977
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On December 13,1977, a chartered DC-3 carrying the entire University of Evansville basketball team crashed in a field near the Evansville Regional Airport. Every member of the team and coaching staff on the plane was killed. One player was not able to attend the game and thus was not on the plane; however, soon afterward, he was killed in an automobile accident. The team was on its way to Nashville, Tennessee, for a game against Middle Tennessee University when it crashed in rain and fog about 90 seconds after take off from the Evansville Airport. Twenty-nine people died in the crash including fourteen members of the basketball team and its coach. Three people did survive the crash but died shortly thereafter. The NTSB determined the cause of the crash was improper weight balance and the failure of the crew to remove external safety locks.

7
Cal Poly Football Team
1960
03 Teamphoto Large
The Cal Poly football team plane crash occurred on October 29, 1960, when a twin-engine C-46 prop liner, carrying the California Polytechnic State University football team, crashed on takeoff at the Toledo Express Airport in Toledo, Ohio. The World War II vintage aircraft broke in two and caught fire on impact. Twenty-two of the forty-eight people on board were killed, including sixteen players. The follow up investigation concluded that the aircraft had been overloaded by 2,000 lbs above its maximum certificated gross takeoff weight and that there was a partial power loss in the left engine prior to the crash. Prior to takeoff the weather at the airport steadily deteriorated until by the time of the accident the visibility was zero. Because of this crash, the FAA published a notice prohibiting takeoff for commercial aircraft when the visibility is below 1/4 mile, or the runway visual range is below 2000 ft.
The pilot who made the decision to take off was flying on a license that had been revoked, but was allowed to fly pending an appeal. At the time of the crash, Bowling Green State had been the easternmost opposing school that the Cal Poly football team had ever traveled to. The university canceled the final three games of the 1960 season. Cal Poly alumnus and NFL Hall of Fame coach John Madden’s fear of flying is commonly attributed to the crash, although he has said it instead stems from claustrophobia. Madden, who played football for Cal Poly from 1957–58, and was coaching at the nearby Allan Hancock Junior College at the time of the crash, knew many passengers aboard the plane. As a result of the crash, Cal Poly did not play any road games outside California until 1969.

6
Wichita State Football Team
1970
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On Friday October 2, 1970, the Wichita State University football team was aboard a Martin 4-0-4 aircraft when it crashed into a mountain eight miles west of Silver Plume, Colorado. The airplane carried 36 passengers and a crew of four; 29 were killed at the scene and two later died of their injuries. It was one of two planes carrying the Wichita State University football team to Logan, Utah, for a game against Utah State University. The two aircraft were dubbed “Gold” and “Black”, after the team colors. “Gold”, the plane that would crash, carried the starting players, coaches and boosters, while “Black” transported the backup players and other support personnel. The pilot flying “Gold” had not been rated to flay a Martin 4-0-4. In addition, he planned to take a scenic route, which would depart the normal flight path going over the Rocky Mountains. The crew flying the other team aircraft, “Black”, would adhere to the original flight plan and take a more northerly route towards Wyoming after departing Denver, using a designated airway. This planned route allowed more time to gain altitude for the climb over the Rocky Mountains.
While the aircraft were being refueled and serviced in Denver, the pilot of the Gold Plane purchased a map to use to point out landmarks on the scenic route he planned for the final leg of the journey. After take-off in clear weather, the two planes took divergent paths away from Denver. Having departed the normal flight path, the overloaded Gold plane entered the mountains and became trapped in a box canyon and was unable to escape. At 1:14 p.m. the “Gold” aircraft struck trees on Mount Trelease, 1,600 feet below the summit, and crashed. The NTSB report stated a belief that many on board survived the initial impact, and a few survivors escaped the fuselage before it burst into flames, killing any others who had survived the crash.
The NTSB found the primary cause of the crash was “The intentional operation of the aircraft over a mountain valley route at an altitude from which the aircraft could neither climb over the obstructing terrain ahead, nor execute a successful course reversal. The game was canceled, and the Utah State football team held a memorial service at the stadium where the game was to be played and placed a wreath on the 50-yard line. The remaining Wichita team, with the NCAA allowing freshman players to fill out the squad, decided to continue the 1970 season. Wichita State ended varsity football after the 1986 season. Wichita State University built a memorial for those who had died from the crash called Memorial ’70. Every year on October 2, at 9 am, a wreath is placed at this memorial.
5
Torino A.C. Football Team
1949
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The Superga air disaster took place on Wednesday, 4 May, 1949, when a plane carrying almost the entire Torino A.C. football squad, popularly known as Il Grande Torino, crashed into the hill of Superga, near Turin, killing all 31 aboard, including 18 players, club officials, journalists accompanying the team and the plane’s crew. The Italian Airlines Fiat G212CP airplane carrying the team flew into a thunderstorm on the approach to Turin and encountered conditions of low cloud and poor visibility. They were forced to descend to be able to fly visually. While descending for Turin, the aircraft crashed against the base of the rear wall of the Basilica complex at the top of the hill of Superga. Italian authorities cited low cloud, poor radio aids and an error in navigation as factors contributing to the accident.
The emotional impact the crash made on Italian sports fans was profound, as it claimed the lives of the players of a legendary team which had won the last Serie A title before the league play was interrupted in 1944 by World War II and had then returned after the conflict to win four consecutive titles (1946–1949). At the time of the crash, Torino A.C. was leading Serie A with four games left to play in the season. The club carried on by fielding its youth team (Primavera) and in a sign of respect their opponents in each of these matches (Genoa, Palermo, Sampdoria, and Fiorentina) also fielded their youth sides. The disaster seriously weakened the Italian national team, which had included up to 10 Torino players. Torino itself would not claim another title until 1976. Of the entire squad only one player remained: Sauro Tomà missed the trip to Portugal due to injury.

4
Manchester United Football Team
1958
Munichaircrash
On 6 February, 1958, British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. On board the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the “Busby Babes”, along with a number of supporters and journalists. 23 of the 44 people on board the aircraft died in the crash. The team was returning from a European Cup match in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, against Red Star Belgrade, but had to make a stop in Munich for refueling, as a non-stop trip from Belgrade to Manchester was out of the aircraft’s range. After refueling, the pilots attempted to take off twice, but had to abandon both attempts due to problems with the port engine. Fearing that they would get too far behind schedule, the Captain rejected an overnight stay in Munich in favor of a third take-off attempt.
By the time of the third attempt, it had begun to snow, causing a layer of slush to build up at the end of the runway. When the aircraft hit the slush, it lost velocity, making take-off impossible. It ploughed through a fence past the end of the runway, before the port wing hit a nearby house and was torn off. Fearing that the aircraft might explode, the Captain tried to get the survivors as far away as possible. Despite the risk of explosion, goalkeeper Harry Gregg remained behind to pull survivors from the wreckage. An investigation by the West German airport authorities originally blamed the Captain for the crash, claiming that he had failed to de-ice the wings of the aircraft, despite statements to the contrary from eyewitnesses. It was later established that the crash had, in fact, been caused by the build-up of slush on the runway, which had resulted in the aircraft being unable to achieve take-off velocity.

3
United States Figure Skating Team
1961
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On February 15, 1961, Sabena Flight 548, a Boeing 707 bound from New York to Brussels Belgium, crashed during the approach for landing. All 72 on board were killed, as well as one person on the ground. Among the dead was the entire United States Figure Skating team, who were en route to the 1961 World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia. There was no indication of trouble on board the plane until it approached the Brussels airport. The pilot had to circle the airport while waiting for a small plane to clear the runway. Then, according to eyewitnesses, the plane began to climb and bank erratically and crashed suddenly in a field near the hamlet of Berg. The wreckage burst into flames. All aboard were killed instantly. A farmer working in the fields was killed by a piece of aluminum shrapnel, and another farmer had his leg amputated by flying debris from the plane.
The exact cause of the crash was never determined beyond reasonable doubt, but investigators suspected that the aircraft might have been brought down by a failure of the stabilizer adjusting mechanism. All 18 athletes of the 1961 U.S. figure skating team and 16 family members, coaches and officials died in the crash. The loss of the U.S. team was considered so catastrophic for the sport that the 1961 World Figure Skating Championships were cancelled. American President, John F. Kennedy, issued a statement of condolence from the White House. He was particularly shocked by the disaster. One of the skaters killed in the crash, Dudley Richards, was a personal friend of President Kennedy and his brother Ted Kennedy, from summers spent at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Because the casualties included many of the top American coaches as well as the athletes, the crash was a devastating blow to the U.S. Figure Skating program, which had enjoyed a position of dominance in the sport in the 1950s.

2
Zambian National Football Team
1993
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The Zambian national football team was flying on a military plane on its way to Senegal for a 1994 World Cup qualification match, when the plane crashed in the late evening of April 27, 1993. All 30 passengers and crew, including 18 players, as well as the national team coach and support staff, were lost in the accident. Two other members of the national team, who were playing in other countries and who had made other flight arrangements to attend the game, were not aboard and survived.
The flight from Zambia to Senegal required three refueling stops and at the first stop, in the Congo, engine problems were noted. Despite this, the flight continued and a few minutes after taking off from a second stop in Libreville, Gabon, one of the engines caught fire and failed. The pilot, who was tired from already having flown back from Mauritius earlier that day, then shut down the wrong engine, causing the plane to lose all power during the climb out of Libreville Airport. The plane fell from the sky and crashed into the water 500m offshore.
A new team was quickly assembled and faced up to the difficult task of having to complete Zambia’s World Cup qualifiers and then prepare for the upcoming African Nations Cup, which was only months away. The resurrected team defied the odds and reached the final against Nigeria, only to lose. In spite of the loss, the Zambian side returned home as national heroes. After the crash, Zambia fell into seven days of official mourning. The 18 players, coaches and crew members were buried there with official honors as tens of thousands of fans poured into the capital’s streets and grieved for what many said was one of Africa’s greatest teams. An official report into the plane crash blamed a mechanical fault in the left engine and the pilot inadvertently shutting off fuel to the functioning right engine by mistake because of a “poor indicator light bulb”.

1
Uruguayan Old Christians Club Rugby Team
1972
Accidente-1972-Tm
Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, also known as the Miracle in the Andes, was a chartered flight carrying 45 people, including a rugby team and their friends, family and associates that crashed in the Andes on October 13, 1972. The last of the 16 survivors were rescued on December 23, 1972. The story of the Andes Survivors is well known; popularized by the book “Alive” and the 1993 film of the same name. On Friday the 13th of October, 1972, a Uruguayan Air Force twin turboprop Fairchild FH-227D was flying over the Andes carrying members of the Old Christians Club rugby union team from Montevideo, Uruguay, to play a match in Santiago, Chile.
Due to bad weather and limitations of the airplane, the flight could not fly over the Andes Mountains and instead had to proceed through one of the “passes” through the mountains, to reach Chile. The pilots misjudged their position and, thinking they were at the pass, flew instead into a mountain, leading to a controlled flight into terrain. But the plane did not smash head long into the mountain. In a last ditch effort to gain altitude and clear the top of the mountain, the pilots clipped the peak at 4,200 meters (13,800 ft), neatly severing the right wing, which was thrown back with such force that it cut off the tail, leaving a gaping hole in the rear of the fuselage. The plane then clipped a second peak, which severed the left wing and left the plane as just a fuselage flying through the air. The fuselage hit the ground and slid down a steep mountain slope before finally coming to rest in a snow bank.
Of the 45 people on the plane, 12 died in the crash or shortly thereafter; another five had died by the next morning, and one more succumbed to injuries on the eighth day. The remaining 27 faced severe difficulties in surviving high in the freezing mountains. The survivors had little food and no source of heat in the harsh conditions, at over 3,600 meters (11,800 ft) altitude. Faced with starvation and radio news reports that the search for them had been abandoned, the survivors fed on the dead passengers who had been preserved in the snow. Rescuers did not learn of the survivors until 72 days after the crash, when passengers Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa, after a 12-day trek across the Andes, found a Chilean huaso, who gave them food and then alerted authorities about the existence of the other survivors. Only sixteen would survive. Their survival in the high mountains of the Andes and final rescue just before Christmas 1972 would become known as The Miracle in the Andes.

Bonus
Marshall University Football Team
1970
05 Survivors Large
The year 1970 was to prove a grim year for college football program travel. Southern Airways Flight 932 was a chartered commercial jet flight from Kinston, North Carolina, to Ceredo, West Virginia. At 7:35 pm on November 14, 1970, the aircraft crashed into a hill just short of the airport, killing all 75 people on board. The plane was carrying 37 members of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football squad, eight members of the coaching staff, 25 boosters, four flight crew members, and one employee of the charter company. The team was returning home after a 17–14 loss against the East Carolina Pirates. At the time, Marshall’s athletic teams rarely traveled by plane, with most away games within easy driving distance of the campus. The team had originally planned to cancel the flight, but changed plans and chartered the Southern Airways DC-9.
On the return flight to West Virginia the flight crew were informed to descend to 5,000 feet. The controllers had advised the crew that there was “rain, fog, smoke and a ragged ceiling” making landing more difficult but not impossible. The airliner was on its final approach when it collided with the tops of trees on a hillside 5,543 feet (1,690 m) west of runway 12. As a result of the impact, the plane burst into flames and created a swath of charred ground 95 feet (29 m) wide and 279 feet (85 m) long. According to the official NTSB report, the accident was “unsurvivable”. The aircraft had “dipped to the right, almost inverted and had crashed into a hollow ‘nose-first’”. The fire was very intense and the remains of six individuals that were discovered on the plane were never identified.
The National Transportation Safety Board investigation concluded that the crash was either the result of the crew misreading the airplane instrumentation, or a faulty altimeter. Many team boosters and prominent citizens were on the plane. Seventy children lost at least one parent in the crash, with 18 of them left orphaned. The crash of Flight 932 almost led to the discontinuation of the university’s football program. However, students and Thundering Herd football fans convinced the university President to reconsider and the school began rebuilding the program. They brought together a group of players who were on the junior varsity during the 1970 season, other students and athletes from other sports; many of these players had never attempted to play football before, and the team played on.
On November 12, 1972, the Memorial Fountain was dedicated at the campus entrance to the Memorial Student Center. Every year, on the anniversary of the crash, the fountain is shut off at the exact time of the crash, and not activated again until the following spring

How to get a good leadership qualities

A leader with vision has a clear, vivid picture of where to go, as well as a firm grasp on what success looks like and how to achieve it. But it’s not enough to have a vision; leaders must also share it and act upon it. Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric Co., said, "Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion."

A leader must be able to communicate his or her vision in terms that cause followers to buy into it. He or she must communicate clearly and passionately, as passion is contagious.

A good leader must have the discipline to work toward his or her vision single-mindedly, as well as to direct his or her actions and those of the team toward the goal. Action is the mark of a leader. A leader does not suffer “analysis paralysis” but is always doing something in pursuit of the vision, inspiring others to do the same.

Integrity is the integration of outward actions and inner values. A person of integrity is the same on the outside and on the inside. Such an individual can be trusted because he or she never veers from inner values, even when it might be expeditious to do so. A leader must have the trust of followers and therefore must display integrity.

Honest dealings, predictable reactions, well-controlled emotions, and an absence of tantrums and harsh outbursts are all signs of integrity. A leader who is centered in integrity will be more approachable by followers.

Dedication means spending whatever time or energy is necessary to accomplish the task at hand. A leader inspires dedication by example, doing whatever it takes to complete the next step toward the vision. By setting an excellent example, leaders can show followers that there are no nine-to-five jobs on the team, only opportunities to achieve something great.

Magnanimity means giving credit where it is due. A magnanimous leader ensures that credit for successes is spread as widely as possible throughout the company. Conversely, a good leader takes personal responsibility for failures. This sort of reverse magnanimity helps other people feel good about themselves and draws the team closer together. To spread the fame and take the blame is a hallmark of effective leadership.

Leaders with humility recognize that they are no better or worse than other members of the team. A humble leader is not self-effacing but rather tries to elevate everyone. Leaders with humility also understand that their status does not make them a god. Mahatma Gandhi is a role model for Indian leaders, and he pursued a “follower-centric” leadership role.

Openness means being able to listen to new ideas, even if they do not conform to the usual way of thinking. Good leaders are able to suspend judgment while listening to others’ ideas, as well as accept new ways of doing things that someone else thought of. Openness builds mutual respect and trust between leaders and followers, and it also keeps the team well supplied with new ideas that can further its vision.

Creativity is the ability to think differently, to get outside of the box that constrains solutions. Creativity gives leaders the ability to see things that others have not seen and thus lead followers in new directions. The most important question that a leader can ask is, “What if … ?” Possibly the worst thing a leader can say is, “I know this is a dumb question ... ”

Fairness means dealing with others consistently and justly. A leader must check all the facts and hear everyone out before passing judgment. He or she must avoid leaping to conclusions based on incomplete evidence. When people feel they that are being treated fairly, they reward a leader with loyalty and dedication.

Assertiveness is not the same as aggressiveness. Rather, it is the ability to clearly state what one expects so that there will be no misunderstandings. A leader must be assertive to get the desired results. Along with assertiveness comes the responsibility to clearly understand what followers expect from their leader.

Many leaders have difficulty striking the right amount of assertiveness, according to a study in the February 2007 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, published by the APA (American Psychological Association). It seems that being underassertive or overassertive may be the most common weakness among aspiring leaders.

A sense of humor is vital to relieve tension and boredom, as well as to defuse hostility. Effective leaders know how to use humor to energize followers. Humor is a form of power that provides some control over the work environment. And simply put, humor fosters good camaraderie.

Intrinsic traits such as intelligence, good looks, height and so on are not necessary to become a leader. Anyone can cultivate the proper leadership traits.

World's Largest Cruise Ship Pulls 360s with Joystick




GENESIS

Price Tag: $1.2 billion
Completion Date: 2009
Total Length: 1180 feet
Passengers: 6400
In the cruise ship industry, the battle for bragging rights has turned into a QE2-size slugfest. In 2003, Cunard stole the crown for world's largest cruise ship when it launched the 151,410-ton Queen Mary 2; three years later Royal Caribbean topped it with the 154,000-ton Freedom of the Seas. Now, Royal Caribbean is set to raise the stakes yet again with the 220,000-ton Genesis, slated to launch in 2009 from a shipyard in Turku, Finland. (A second Genesis will launch a year later.) Why is bigger better? "Having more real estate, we can provide more deck area," says Royal Caribbean's Harri Kulovaara. "That means more entertainment options and better amenities."
Make no mistake, Genesis will be no lumbering behemoth. The ship's three main propellers will swivel 360 degrees on independent bearings. All will be driven by electric motors powered by the ship's central bank of six diesel generators, and steered by an integrated navigation and control system. From the bridge, the captain will be able to move the ship in any direction — forward, backward, sideways — with the flick of a joystick. No tugboats required.

Sizing Up: Boats

Knock Nevis
Knock Nevis
Claim to fame Largest ship ever (now retired)
Length 1504 feet
Displacement 564,763 tons
Launched 1981
Capacity 4.1 million barrels


Emma Maersk
Emma Maersk
Claim to fame Longest ship (in service)
Length 1303 feet
Displacement 156,907 tons
Launched 2006
Capacity 11,000 shipping containers


USS Ronald Reagan
USS Ronald Reagan
Claim to fame Largest warship
Length 1092 feet
Displacement 98,235 tons
Launched 2003
Capacity 85 aircraft and a crew of over 6000