Towel Animals

Fantastic Future

The Tallest Tree

The General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park is the largest (by volume) tree in the world.

Computing the volume of a standing tree is the practical equivalent of calculating the volume of an irregular cone. For purposes of volume comparison, only the trunk of a giant sequoia is measured, including the restored volume of basal fire scars. Using these accepted standards and actual field measurements taken in 1975, the volume of the Sherman Tree was calculated to be slightly over 52.500 cubic feet (1486.6 meters).

	Feet	Meters
Height above Base	274.9	83.8
Circumference at Ground	102.6	31.1
Maximum Diameter at Base	36.5	11.1
Diameter 60' (18.3 m) above base	17.5	5.3
Diameter 180' (54.9 m) above base	14.0	4.3
Diameter of Largest Branch	6.8	2.1
Height of First Large Branch above the Base	130.0	39.6
Average Crown Spread	106.5	32.5

The Phoenix Police Department Bomb Squad

The Phoenix Police Department Bomb Squad was created in 1972. The impetus for its creation was a bombing that occurred in the Camelback Corridor in 1970. At the time, the Police Department did not have any bomb technicians, so investigators from the General Investigations Bureau responded to the scene. They immediately recognized that they couldn’t establish the corpus of the crime so they sought assistance from two Patrol officers who had prior explosive ordnance disposal training from the military. The two officers, Bob Horath and George LaBash, assisted the GIB detectives with the investigation and determined that pipe bombs containing black powder were used in this bombing. Approximately two months later, the officers were transferred to the General Investigations Bureau and worked bombing cases, bomb threats, burglary cases and related property crimes. In 1972, the Bomb Squad was officially created and increased to six detectives. The squad investigated bombings, bomb threats, and malicious mischief/criminal damage offenses.

The makeup of the squad has remained virtually the same for the past 30 years. The only exception occurred back in 1996, when the squad anticipated several retirements of senior technicians and the Police Department allowed the squad to be overfilled, pending these retirements. The overfilling was requested due to the delay in getting the new detectives certified through the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Hazardous Devices School . The FBI certifies all law enforcement bomb technicians in the United States and they have determined that it takes approximately three years for a new technician to become proficient in this highly specialized field. A selection process was conducted for new technicians and a list was created. Five new bomb technicians were transferred to the squad, drawing from various work units at the South Resource Bureau, and the technicians applied to HDS and began a training program with a senior bomb technician.

Currently the squad is staffed with eight detectives and a sergeant. The job responsibilities of the Bomb Squad detectives have changed significantly since the squad’s inception. The Bomb Squad investigates all bomb-related investigations; actual bombings, suspicious devices, bomb threats and performs the necessary render-safe procedure on any found device to make the scene safe. This responsibility includes providing safe storage for explosives that are held for evidence, found and safekeeping. Additionally, the squad provides technical support to special operations, such as assisting the Special Assignments Unit on a barricaded suspect incident or conducting a bomb search for dignitaries. The squad also conducts training on bomb threat procedures for various businesses in the City, in an effort to use proactive measures to reduce future calls for service.

Packing and sealing of diamonds for export

(1)The packing and sealing of diamonds for export in accordance with sections
20 and 21 of the Act shall be in the following manner—

(a)The diamonds shall be placed in a box, which box shall be wrapped in two coverings of linen-lined paper;

(b)In the presence of the Mining Commissioner or his designated representative,the inner cover shall be sealed with the seal of the exporter at two or more places and the address of the consignee shall be inscribed thereon; and

(c)The outer cover shall be tied over the box with tape and sealed in four places
with the seal of the exporter, the end of the tape to bear the seal or other identification of the Mining Commissioner, and shall bear thereon the address of the consignee, the signature of the Mining Commissioner or his designated representative and the date of the sealing.

(2) For the purposes of this regulation "diamonds" means a cut or an unpolished diamond.

Coins Gallery

The National Museum, New Delhi is delighted to announce the inauguration of Coins Gallery entitled "From Cowries to Credit Card" and launch of an Audio Tour of the National Museum on October 21, 2005. Shri Jaipal Reddy, Hon'ble Union Minister for I & B and Culture will inaugurate the Gallery and launch the Audio Tour.

National Museum, one of the leading Museums of India, has in its possession a very rich collection of coins ranging from c. 6th Century B.C. to modern period. Out of thousands of coins, certain rarest and choicest coins covering the length and breadth of the country have been selected and displayed in the Coins Gallery entitled "From Cowries to Credit Card" at the 1st floor of the Museum.

The process of second urbanization in terms of archaeological evidence, which started in c. 1000 BC, gave birth to a more sturdy and sound medium of transaction in the form of metallic currency known as coins. It replaced the age-old barter system, and other primitive practices under which commodities were exchanged to meet various needs. The story of birth, growth and development of metallic currency, the shape and weight bearing symbols and legends, is interwoven with the political, social and cultural history of India. The study of Indian coinage, therefore, provides a peep into the pages of history. It remains to this day the only authentic document in unfolding dark periods of our history and giving us the dynastic chronology of many tribes, clans and kingdoms - big and small.

The introduction of coinage is rightly considered to be a landmark in the history of human civilization. As a portable piece of antiquity and because of its intrinsic value, collection of coins has always been an instinctive habit all over the world. Issued in various metals as Gold, Silver, Copper, Billon, Lead, Potin etc., coins are the best indicators of economic prosperity, socio-political strength and stability. Bearing portraits, legends, symbols, and at times dates, coins provide complementary evidence for the study of religious beliefs, and development of art and chronology.

The representative coin collection of the Museum is displayed in 35 showcases in chronological order from the earliest till the modern period. Major techniques of minting coins have been shown through dioramas. Distribution of coinage is indicated in the maps, and historical background of the displayed coins has been described in brief bilingual write-ups. To facilitate the visitor, touch-screen, other supplementary material and aids have been provided.

An activity corner has also been set-up by installing a die-machine in the Gallery to educate the children. One can strike a metal blank (coin), bearing the logo of the Gallery on the obverse and the name of the Museum and Gallery on the reverse.

A total number of 1669 coins and 5 replicas of coins are on display in the showcases. At the end of the Gallery, a translite with currency notes and credit cards along with bricks made by the Reserve Bank of India, after destroying old currency notes, are exhibited.

The details of the Gallery are available in one CD, four sets of picture post-cards and book-markers at the Sales Counter.

The National Museum, is also launching an Audio Tour of the National Museum in five languages - Hindi, English, French, German and Japanese. It covers 55 stops of the Museums' great collection of artifacts. The visitors will carry small, lightweight digital ivtP-3 audio players. The visitor can go anywhere they want and see the exhibits in any sequence.

The Audio Tour is developed in association with Narrowcasters, India. A free map is also included with the Audio Tour.

Costly Things

Gold – The word gold, used by itself, means all gold or 24 karat (24K) gold. Because 24K gold is soft, it's usually mixed with other metals to increase its hardness and durability. But there's a big difference between 14K karat gold and gold-plated jewelry. A piece of 14K jewelry contains 14 parts of gold, mixed in throughout with 10 parts of base metal. Gold-plated describes jewelry with a layer of at least 10K gold bonded to a base metal. Gold plating eventually wears away; how quickly depends on how often the item is worn and how thick the plating is.

Watches – Consider more than the price tag when you shop for a watch. Ask if a warranty or guarantee is included, how long it lasts, and what parts and repair problems it covers. Ask how and where you can get the watch serviced and repaired under the warranty.

Gemstones – There’s a difference between laboratory-created gemstones and natural stones. Stones created in the lab are practically identical (visually, physically, and chemically) to stones mined from the earth. The big difference is in the cost: laboratory-created stones are less expensive than mined stones. Because they look just like natural stones, they must be identified as lab-created. Imitation stones, on the other hand, look like natural stones, but may be glass, plastic, or less costly stones. If you want a natural stone, ask if it has been treated. Gemstone treatments, such as heating, dyeing, or bleaching, can improve a stone's appearance or durability. Some treatments are permanent; some may create special care requirements. Treatments also may affect the stone's value.

Pearls – Ask whether pearls are natural, cultured, or imitation. Both natural and cultured pearls are made by oysters or other mollusks; imitation pearls are man-made. Naturally-occurring pearls are fairly rare and expensive, so most pearls you’ll see are cultured pearls — pearls made by mollusks with human intervention. An irritant introduced into the shell of the mollusk causes a pearl to grow. A pearl’s cost depends on the size, usually stated in millimeters, and the coating or "nacre", which gives natural and cultured pearls their luster. Imitation pearls are man-made with glass, plastic, or organic materials.

Diamonds – When you buy a diamond, consider four criteria: cut, color, clarity, and weight, which is usually stated as carats. Each factor affects the price. Color and clarity typically are "graded" on a scale. The most common scales are those established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). On the GIA scales, color is rated from D to Z, with D at the top, and clarity is rated from flawless to I3. Make sure you know how a particular scale and grade represent the color and clarity of the diamond you're considering. A diamond can be described as "flawless" only if it has no visible surface cracks or other imperfections when viewed under 10-power magnification by a skilled diamond grader.

Deal will create joint venture to mine elements essential for high-tech industry

The Vietnamese government says it will ensure a stable supply of rare earth minerals to Japan, which are needed for manufacturing high-tech products, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

The trading companies Toyota Tsusho Corp. and Sojitz Corp., and a Vietnamese government-run resource development company will launch a joint venture to start developing a major earth mineral site in Vietnam in the next fiscal year.

More than 90 percent of these rare minerals are imported from China. Japan hopes that obtaining Vietnam's cooperation will secure a more stable supply.

The two countries plan to develop the Dong Pao deposits, about 280 kilometers northwest of Hanoi.

The joint venture will begin commercial mining operations as early as 2011, supplying about 5,000 tons of the minerals, or about a quarter of Japan's annual consumption, for about 20 years.

Toyota Tsusho and Sojitz plan to acquire 49 percent of the deposit rights, but an Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry official said, "The majority of the unearthed minerals are highly likely to be exported to Japan."

Rare earth minerals, such as the elements lanthanum, cerium and neodymium, are indispensable in the manufacture of permanent magnets for products such as hybrid vehicle motors and computer hard disks. Demand for the minerals is expected to continue growing.

At a meeting held in mid-January in Ha Long, Vietnam, Vietnamese government officials informed Senior Vice Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takamori Yoshikawa that it would ensure that Japan received a stable supply of rare minerals.

The Japanese government plans to support the resources development project by having Japan Oil, Gas and Metal National Corporation conduct geological surveys of the planned area and have official development assistance used to build roads and bridges.

Industry and Minerals in Tamil Nadu

Major Industries in Tamil Nadu are cotton, heavy commercial vehicles, auto components, railway coaches, power pumps, leather tanning industries, cement, sugar, paper, automobiles and safety matches.

Knowledge based industries like I.T. and Biotechnology have become the thrust area in the industrial scene in Tamil Nadu. TIDEL, a software technology park, has been established in Tharamani, Chennai. Chennai has currently about 50,000 software professionals employed in 900 IT companies.

Global auto majors Hyundai Motors, Ford, Hindustan Motors and Mitsubishi have commenced production plants. Ashok Leyland and TAFE have set up expansion plants in Chennai.

Main mineral wealth of the state is granite, lignite and limestone. The state is an important exporter of tanned skin and leather goods, yarn, tea, coffee, spices, engineering goods, tobacco, handicrafts and black granite. Tamil Nadu contributes 60 per cent of the tannery industry in India. Chennai Refinery Limited has given rise to several petro-based units. Major chemical and fertilizer plants have been established at Cuddalore and Tuticorin.

Treat your trash and mail carefully

To thwart an identity thief who may pick through your trash or recycling bins to capture your personal information, always shred your charge receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance forms, physician statements, checks and bank statements, expired charge cards that you're discarding, and credit offers you get in the mail.

To opt out of receiving prescreened offers of credit in the mail, call: 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688). Note: You will be asked to provide your Social Security number which the consumer reporting companies need to match you with your file.

Deposit your outgoing mail containing personally identifying information in post office collection boxes or at your local post office, rather than in an unsecured mailbox. Promptly remove mail from your mailbox. If you're planning to be away from home and can't pick up your mail, contact the U.S. Postal Service at 1-800-275-8777 or online at www.usps.gov, to request a vacation hold. The Postal Service will hold your mail at your local post office until you can pick it up or are home to receive it.

Largest Snake

Sixty million years ago, the world's biggest snake slithered around northern South America. STRI staff scientist Carlos Jaramillo and Jonathan Bloch, from Florida Museum of Natural History, unearthed fossil remains of a new snake species named Titanoboa cerrejonensis in Cerrejón, Colombia, one of the world's largest open-pit mines.

John Head, lead author of the paper “Giant boid snake from the Paleocene Neotropics reveals hotter past equatorial temperatures” and colleagues including Jaramillo and Bloch, described the species in Nature (February 5) after the discovery of the remains of the super-sized snake and their prey, crocodiles and turtles, along with fossilized plant material from the oldest known rainforest in America, which flourished at the site 58-60 million years ago. The researchers used the ratio between vertebral size and the length of existing snakes to estimate that this boa-like snake that must have reached 13 meters (42 feet) in length and weighed more than a ton. Titanoboa is the largest snake ever known, and was the largest non-marine vertebrate from the epoch immediately following the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

Titanoboa's size indicates that it lived in an environment where the average yearly temperature was 30-34 degrees Celsius. This estimate coincides with paleoclimatic models predicting greenhouse conditions."This temperature estimate is much hotter than modern temperatures in tropical rainforests anywhere in the world. The fossil floras that the Smithsonian has been collecting in Cerrejón for many years indicate that the area was a tropical rainforest. That means that tropical rainforests could exist at temperatures 3-4 degrees Celsius hotter than modern tropical rainforests experience," said Jaramillo.

Current Cattle Population

The world cattle population is estimated to be about 995,838,000 head. India is the nation with the largest number of cattle, about 281,700,000 or 28.29% of the world cattle population, followed by Brazil: 187,087,000, 18.79%; China: 139,721,000, 14.03%; the United States: 96,669,000, 9.71%; EU-27: at 87,650,000, 8.80%; Argentina: 51,062,000, 5.13%; Australia: 29,202,000, 2.93%; South Africa: 14,187,000, 1.42%; Canada: 13,945,000, 1.40% and other countries: 49,756,000 5.00%. Africa has about 20,000,000 head of cattle, many of which are raised in traditional ways and serve partly as tokens of their owner's wealth.

Cattle today are the basis of a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide. The international trade in beef for 2000 was over $30 billion and represented only 23 percent of world beef production. (Clay 2004). The production of milk, which is also made into cheese, butter, yogurt, and other dairy products, is comparable in economic size to beef production and provides an important part of the food supply for many of the world's people. Cattle hides, used for leather to make shoes, couches and clothing, are another widespread product. Cattle remain broadly used as draft animals in many developing countries, such as India.