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Travel / Visit / Tour / Victoria Falls

« on: July 14, 2014, 09:23:00 PM »

 
Victoria Falls, or Mosi-oa-Tunya (Tokaleya Tonga: the Smoke that Thunders), is a waterfall in southern Africa on the Zambezi River at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is believed to have been the first European to view Victoria Falls on 16 November 1855 from what is now known as Livingstone Island, one of two land masses in the middle of the river, immediately upstream from the falls on the Zambian side. Livingstone named his discovery in honour of Queen Victoria, but the indigenous name, Mosi-oa-Tunya—"the smoke that thunders"—continues in common usage as well. The nearby national park in Zambia, for example, is named Mosi-oa-Tunya, whereas the national park and town on the Zimbabwean shore are both named Victoria Falls. The World Heritage List officially recognizes both names.
In 2013 the government of Zimbabwe declared its intention to officially rename the falls "Mosi-oa-Tunya", citing continuity with other renamings such as Harare (from Salisbury), and Zimbabwe (from Rhodesia).
 

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Power of Concentration / Anger management: 10 tips to tame your temper

« on: July 14, 2014, 08:24:12 PM »

Ready to get your anger under control? Start by considering these 10 anger management tips.
1. Think before you speak
In the heat of the moment, it's easy to say something you'll later regret. Take a few moments to collect your thoughts before saying anything — and allow others involved in the situation to do the same.
2. Once you're calm, express your anger
As soon as you're thinking clearly, express your frustration in an assertive but nonconfrontational way. State your concerns and needs clearly and directly, without hurting others or trying to control them.
3. Get some exercise
Physical activity can help reduce stress that can cause you to become angry. If you feel your anger escalating, go for a brisk walk or run, or spend some time doing other enjoyable physical activities.
4. Take a timeout
Timeouts aren't just for kids. Give yourself short breaks during times of the day that tend to be stressful. A few moments of quiet time might help you feel better prepared to handle what's ahead without getting irritated or angry.
5. Identify possible solutions
Instead of focusing on what made you mad, work on resolving the issue at hand. Does your child's messy room drive you crazy? Close the door. Is your partner late for dinner every night? Schedule meals later in the evening — or agree to eat on your own a few times a week. Remind yourself that anger won't fix anything and might only make it worse.
6. Stick with 'I' statements
To avoid criticizing or placing blame — which might only increase tension — use "I" statements to describe the problem. Be respectful and specific. For example, say, "I'm upset that you left the table without offering to help with the dishes," instead of, "You never do any housework."
7. Don't hold a grudge
Forgiveness is a powerful tool. If you allow anger and other negative feelings to crowd out positive feelings, you might find yourself swallowed up by your own bitterness or sense of injustice. But if you can forgive someone who angered you, you might both learn from the situation. It's unrealistic to expect everyone to behave exactly as you want at all times.
8. Use humor to release tension
Lightening up can help diffuse tension. Use humor to help you face what's making you angry and, possibly, any unrealistic expectations you have for how things should go. Avoid sarcasm, though — it can hurt feelings and make things worse.
9. Practice relaxation skills
When your temper flares, put relaxation skills to work. Practice deep-breathing exercises, imagine a relaxing scene, or repeat a calming word or phrase, such as, "Take it easy." You might also listen to music, write in a journal or do a few yoga poses — whatever it takes to encourage relaxation.
10. Know when to seek help
Learning to control anger is a challenge for everyone at times. Consider seeking help for anger issues if your anger seems out of control, causes you to do things you regret or hurts those arou

3

Football / Germany beat Argentina to win World Cup final with late Mario Götze goal

« on: July 14, 2014, 05:06:01 PM »

When the goal finally arrived, 112 minutes into a long, wearing night, there were members of Germany’s entourage who seemed intent on re-enacting the infamous end to the Ryder Cup at Brookline in 1999. Their victory run, en masse, took them all the way from the dugout to the opposite side of the pitch where André Schürrle had set up Mario Götze for the decisive moment.

Götze had taken down Schürrle’s cross on his chest with his first touch. His second was to arrow a left-foot volley into the net and that ensured Germany will always remember Rio de Janeiro with the same fondness as Bern in 1954, Munich in 1974 and Rome in 1990.

They are worthy champions, even if they could not play with the distinction that made their semi-final such a harrowing ordeal for Brazil, and it was a wonderful goal that ensured their name was engraved into the trophy for a fourth time. It is the culmination of a story that should be an inspiration to others, bringing together intelligent forward thinking and all those other established German qualities, and Götze is an apt match-winner as one of the new generation of players to come off the conveyor belt.

This team has been some time in the making but it still retains the old qualities that have formed the bedrock of the great German sides. Bastian Schweinsteiger epitomised everything in the centre of midfield. In extra time Schweinsteiger’s face was split open by Sergio Agüero’s stray arm. He was stitched up beside the pitch, his legs flicking with pain as the needle went in, yet he was quickly back to his feet, demanding the ball and organising his team-mates.

Joachim Löw’s players had to overcome the loss of Sami Khedira to a calf injury in the warm-up and his replacement, Christoph Kramer, being removed from the game after a clattering from Ezequiel Garay in the first half. At times they struggled for their usual momentum and Argentina’s anguish will not be made any easier by the knowledge that Gonzalo Higuaín and Lionel Messi both passed up opportunities to put in place what the people of Brazil have been calling the pesadolo – the nightmare – before extra time.

There was certainly plenty in the first hour to encourage the loud, boisterous Argentinian fans who had travelled across the border, turning the Sambadromo and Avenida Atlantica into temporary festival sites and going through those provocative songs about Maradona being better than Pelé. Yet there was also the sense that Alejandro Sabella’s players were beginning to tire as the game went into extra time. Their defending for the goal was the final confirmation.

Argentina had played with width and penetration earlier in the match and, even in defeat, they showed why Lothar Matthäus and Franz Beckenbauer were mistaken beforehand to talk about the victory effectively being a foregone conclusion. Beckenbauer had been emboldened enough to say it “can be only Germany” when the truth was that Sabella’s side, and the little fella in the No10 shirt, were far too talented to be underestimated in that way.

Unfortunately for Messi he will always remember this occasion for that chance two minutes into the second half when Higuaín’s pass dissected the German defence and the four-time Ballon d’Or winner had the ball at his feet and nobody but Neuer between him and the goal. Maybe Messi was trying to be too precise given the quality of the goalkeeper in his vision. His shot went a yard wide and, even in a career of his rich achievement, that miss may always torment him.

Higuaín might think similarly about the chance he squandered after Toni Kroos, of all people, sold Neuer short with a header in the 20th minute.

Higuaín, like Messi, had been free, bearing down on goal, only to suffer a loss of nerve. His shot was wild, maybe even slightly panicked, and even at that early stage it was tempting to wonder if that might be a decisive miss.

Higuaín could also reflect on a disallowed goal during those moments in the first half when Argentina seemed absolutely determined to show they were a better side than had been apparent in their semi-final against Holland. There was also a strong suspicion that they had identified Benedikt Höwedes, Germany’s left-back, as vulnerable and it had looked like a clever strategy in that part of the match. Again Javier Mascherano was outstanding, even if he was fortunate on at least two occasions that mistimed tackles did not result in a second yellow card.

Germany, while leaving something in reserve, came close to making the breakthrough just before the break when Höwedes charged through a congested penalty area and headed Thomas Müller’s corner against the post.

Müller was predominantly involved on the right of attack but there was a strange lack of creativity from Germany at times. Mesut Özil stayed too long on the edges of the game and Kroos was not at his most effective.

Instead, this was the night when their substitutes blended seamlessly into the occasion and, eventually, won the match. Schürrle quickly found the pace of the game after replacing Kramer and tested Sergio Romero, the Argentina goalkeeper, with a couple of chances of his own. His driving run for the goal came at a point of the match when it had started to drift towards a penalty shootout. Götze, whose arrival had probably ushered in the end of Miroslav Klose’s international career, supplied an elegant finish.

Höwedes had been fortunate not to be punished in the first half for a studs-up challenge on Pablo Zabaleta and Argentina were aggrieved after the break that Neuer got away with a challenge on Higuaín that had shades of Harald Schumacher in 1982, albeit with a clean punch of the ball but with a follow-up knee into his opponent’s jaw.

This, however, was not a final of recriminations but more a story of a plan that came together, in the best possible way, and culminating in Philipp Lahm raising that famous piece of gold to the skies.

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Solar / Solar system

« on: July 13, 2014, 04:22:27 PM »

The Solar System[a] comprises the Sun and the objects that orbit it, whether they orbit it directly or by orbiting other objects that orbit it directly. Of those objects that orbit the Sun directly, the largest eight are the planets[c] that form the planetary system around it, while the remainder are significantly smaller objects, such as dwarf planets and small Solar System bodies (SSSBs) such as comets and asteroids.[d]

The Solar System formed 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a giant molecular cloud. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun, with most of the remaining mass contained in Jupiter. The four smaller inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, also called the terrestrial planets, are primarily composed of rock and metal. The four outer planets, called the gas giants, are substantially more massive than the terrestrials. The two largest, Jupiter and Saturn, are composed mainly of hydrogen and helium; the two outermost planets, Uranus and Neptune, are composed largely of substances with relatively high melting points (compared with hydrogen and helium), called ices, such as water, ammonia and methane, and are often referred to separately as "ice giants". All planets have almost circular orbits that lie within a nearly flat disc called the ecliptic plane.

The Solar System also contains regions populated by smaller objects.[d] The asteroid belt, which lies between Mars and Jupiter, mostly contains objects composed, like the terrestrial planets, of rock and metal. Beyond Neptune's orbit lie the Kuiper belt and scattered disc, linked populations of trans-Neptunian objects composed mostly of ices. Within these populations are several dozen to more than ten thousand objects that may be large enough to have been rounded by their own gravity.[10] Such objects are referred to as dwarf planets. Identified dwarf planets include the asteroid Ceres and the trans-Neptunian objects Pluto and Eris.[d] In addition to these two regions, various other small-body populations, including comets, centaurs and interplanetary dust, freely travel between regions. Six of the planets, at least three of the dwarf planets, and many of the smaller bodies are orbited by natural satellites,[e] usually termed "moons" after Earth's Moon. Each of the outer planets is encircled by planetary rings of dust and other small objects.

The solar wind, a flow of plasma from the Sun, creates a bubble in the interstellar medium known as the heliosphere, which extends out to the edge of the scattered disc. The Oort cloud, which is believed to be the source for long-period comets, may also exist at a distance roughly a thousand times further than the heliosphere. The heliopause is the point at which pressure from the solar wind is equal to the opposing pressure of interstellar wind. The Solar System is located in the Orion Arm, 26,000 light years from the center of the Milky Way.

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Football / World Cup 2014 : 16 remarkable facets of top goalscorer Miroslav Klose’s stupend

« on: July 13, 2014, 04:15:22 PM »

Germany striker Miroslav Klose has overtaken Ronaldo as the top scorer in World Cup, but says the Brazilian is football's most complete player. Humble that he is, Klose’s feat of 16 goals, and counting, is no less impressive. Here’s a look at 16 facets of his achievement:   
 
1. His goals have come in four World Cups – 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014.
 
2. All his goals have come from a distance of 12 yards or closer. Critics often call him a ‘poacher’, one who happens to be at the right place at the right time.
 
3. A goal in the final against Argentina will swell his tally to 17, the same as the England team have managed in the last four World Cups.
 
4. He has scored the most goals from headers in a single edition of the World Cup — 5 in 2002. Seven of his 16 World Cup goals have come from headers.
 
5. He is the third player to score in four editions of the World Cup. The others to achieve this feat are Brazilian legend Pele and German star Uwe Seeler.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/popup/2014/7/3-pics-fifa.jpg
Klose celebrates after scoring his 16th World Cup goal (REUTERS photo)

6. He is Germany’s all-time record scorer, with 71 goals in 136 matches.
 
7. He is Germany’s second most capped player, only behind Lothar Matthäus.
 
8. He is a model European citizen. He was born in Poland and stayed in France till the age of 8. In an interview in 2008, he said that he did not wish to be known as either Polish or German, but as European. He and his wife speak to their twin sons in Polish at home.
 
9. His father Joseph played football for AJ Auxerre, while his mother Barbara was a member of the Polish national handball team.
 
10. Klose trained as a carpenter before moving to Kaiserslautern at the age of 20, where he played football part-time in the German lower league.
 
11. Polish coach Jerzy Engel went to see him at his club Kaiserslautem. He tried to convince Klose to play for Poland, an offer which Klose declined saying “I have a German passport, and if things are still running this way, I have a chance to play for Rudi Voeller."
 
12. This was Germany’s fourth consecutive semi-final appearance in World Cups and Klose is the only player to have been a part of all 4 squads.
 
13. He became the first Lazio player to score five Serie A goals in one match when they mauled Bologna 6-0 in 2013. The record still stands.
 
14. Klose was named the German footballer of the year in 2006, when he scored 25 goals in the Bundesliga and 5 in the World Cup.
 
15. Klose made a rare sporting gesture in September 2012 when Lazio played Napoli. He scored a ‘goal’ which came off his hand. He admitted to his foul, and the goal was discounted. Napoli won the game 3-0.
 
16. Here the last one, something that Argentina should beware of — Germany have never lost a game in which Klose has scored.