We collect all the info so that you can sitback and enjoy. :) You are one step away from endless fun! Just follow this blog on the various sites and have a better experience with all your bff's! your kindest regards, the team of experts. :)
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Top 10 Paradises on EaRtH‼♥ (MUST SEE!)
So yeah, i got this idea when i was going through my recent post about the 5 most dangerous cities. I thought, why not put up a post about the most beautiful sights on Earth. These places are not that uncommonly visited and are not overpopulated so you shouldn't have any problem booking tickets to them! :P Have fun!
HERE GOES:

And this is just No.10!
__________________________________________________________________________________
No.9 Fernando De Noronha, Brazil
As soon as you restrict access to a place, its allure increases. Such is the case with Fernando de Noronha, which sits pretty 200 miles off Brazil’s northeastern coast. Only 240 people are allowed on the archipelago at any one time.
__________________________________________________________________________________
HERE GOES:
No.10 Isla Vieques, Puerto Rico
We knew there was a reason why the U.S. Navy stayed so long in Puerto Rico. Just six miles off the coast is Isla Vieques, an untouched paradise on Earth with verdant forests, never-ending stretches of white sand and a backdrop of rolling hills that only Monet could have dreamed.
And this is just No.10!
__________________________________________________________________________________
As soon as you restrict access to a place, its allure increases. Such is the case with Fernando de Noronha, which sits pretty 200 miles off Brazil’s northeastern coast. Only 240 people are allowed on the archipelago at any one time.
__________________________________________________________________________________
No.8 Morzine, France
A chic alpine paradise on Earth, Morzine, nestled in the heart of the Portes du Soleil, is the perfect place to get back to nature. Stay in a low-key chalet-hotel like La Chaumiere and enjoy traditional mountain hospitality with modern-day comforts.
__________________________________________________________________________________
No.7 Thornybush Game Reserve, South Africa
Africa is arguably one of the most stunning continents on the planet, teeming with exotic animals not found elsewhere and characterized by thousands of miles of untouched wilderness. Check out Thornybush Game Reserve, located in the heart of the rolling Lowveld and adjacent to Kruger National Park.
__________________________________________________________________________________
No.6 Algonquin Park, Canada
Found in the center of Southern Ontario, just a three-hour drive from Toronto, Algonquin Park is a natural paradise on Earth with its wind-sculptured pines, craggy shorelines and rushing rivers. Aside from a few camping grounds, lodgings and park buildings, the park is completely free from the burden of human civilization.
__________________________________________________________________________________
No.5 Kiribati, Micronesia
The world’s most eastern point, Kiribati (formerly known as the Gilbert Islands) is an island nation found about 2,485 miles southwest of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. Straddling the equator, it comprises 33 islands (only 21 of which are inhabited), and is home to the world’s largest protected marine reserve.
__________________________________________________________________________________
No.4 Kauai, Hawaii
While the rest of Hawaii may have been overrun with soul-destroying developers, volcanic Kauai is so lightly developed that it has been dubbed The Garden Island -- and that’s not just brochure speak. Fortunately, the state of Hawaii has declared over half of Kauai as parkland, meaning that developers will never get their grubby little paws on it. :P
__________________________________________________________________________________
No.3 Patagonia, Chile
A little-known region of Chile, Patagonia is seriously underrated -- and thank god, otherwise it would probably be overrun with bucket-and-spaders. With beautiful forests, islands, fjords, and ice fields, coming to this paradise on Earth is like stumbling onto the edge of the world.
__________________________________________________________________________________
No.2 Cotswolds, England
If it’s good enough for the bevy of British celebrities who descend on this paradise on Earth every weekend, it’s certainly good enough for you. Located in the county of Gloucestershire, the Cotswolds feature swooping hills, acres of lush greenery, shimmering lakes, and winding roads.
__________________________________________________________________________________
No.1 Tristan Da Cunha
Officially the world’s remotest island, Tristan da Cunha rises out from the South Atlantic Ocean like a prehistoric volcano. Situated 1,242 miles from St. Helena and 1,739 miles from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, it really does cut a lonely but beautiful figure.
Monday, 31 January 2011
NASA marks 25th anniversary of Challenger accident
The chilly outdoor ceremony drew space agency managers, former astronauts, past and present launch directors, family and friends of the fallen crew — and schoolchildren who weren't yet born when the space shuttle carrying a high school teacher from Concord, N.H., erupted in the sky.
The accident on Jan. 28, 1986 — just 73 seconds into flight — killed all seven on board, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.
June Scobee Rodgers, the widow of Challenger's commander, Dick Scobee, urged the crowd to "boldly look to the future" not only inspace travel, but in space and science education. She was instrumental in establishing the Challenger Center for Space Science Education.
"The entire world knew how the Challenger crew died," she said. "We wanted the world to know how they lived and for what they were risking their lives."
Rodgers and NASA's space operations chief, Bill Gerstenmaier, placed a memorial wreath of red, white and blue-tinted carnations at the base of the Space Mirror Memorial. The 42-foot-tall gleaming mirrored slab of granite bears the names of all 24 astronauts killed in the line of duty over the years — 17 of those in U.S. spacecraft.
Dennis and Pat Cassidy of Franklin, N.H., blinked back tears as Rodgers spoke. Pat Cassidy recalled the joy she felt when McAuliffe was named as NASA's teacher in space — she screamed she was so excited. When Challenger was lost, she couldn't stop crying.
"Geez. You never expected it to happen. We never expect these kinds of things to happen, I guess," she said, clutching a red rose.
Her husband recalled after the initial shock, feeling so badly for McAuliffe's family, all present at the launch: her husband, two children and her parents. "All I could do was say a prayer for the family. And that's what they should do today, say a prayer for the families."
The Cassidys, wintering in Florida, made a point to be at the ceremony.
So did Peggy Shecket, who traveled from Cleveland. Her dear friend Judith Resnik was aboard Challenger that freezing morning. The two women, back in the mid-1980s, lived such different lives. Shecket was a suburban Ohio mom with two sons. Resnik had become the second American woman in space. But their bond was strong: Resnik invited Shecket to the launch, and she went.
A photo she took an instant before the shuttle exploded hangs on her family room wall.
"I miss her terribly," Shecket said. "At this age, in our 60s, we could have gone to ladies' weekends together. She probably would have had time that she didn't have 25 years ago because she was so busy."
Kathryn Serene drove four hours from Savannah, Ga., in the wee hours of Friday to attend the 9 a.m. ceremony. She brought a homemade basket bearing a paper model space shuttle, red, white and blue silk flowers, and a large red apple, which she left at the base of the memorial. She was in middle school when the accident occurred, and wanted to show her respects all these years later.
Erik Volk hadn't been born yet. Neither were his fellow fifth-graders from Espiritu Santo Catholic School in Safety Harbor, Fla., on the opposite coast. The 60 students were at an overnight space camp Thursday, and the chaperones rearranged the schedule once they learned of the ceremony.
"Remember the teacher? What I said about the teacher?" prompted his father, Joe Volk. "Yes. She was going to give classes from space," said the boy, holding a yellow rose.
Erik, 10, said he was there "to remember the lives that were lost."
The crew included commander Scobee; co-pilot Michael Smith; Ellison Onizuka, the first Asian-American in space; Resnik; Ronald McNair, the second African-American in space; McAuliffe; and Gregory Jarvis.
Erik waited patiently in a long line to place his long-stemmed rose in the white grated fence around the memorial. Each guest did the same following the ceremony, and the fence soon was adorned with flowers.
At the high school in Concord where McAuliffe taught, special assemblies were held Friday in her honor. Anniversary events also took place at Challenger Learning Centers across the country.
This silver anniversary comes as NASA is winding down the space shuttle program. The fleet will be retired after three more flights this year to the International Space Station.
Friday's speakers stressed that exploration will never be risk-free. The Challenger astronauts demonstrated that painful truth — so did the lost crew of Columbia. But they also showed "that we can learn from our mistakes and be better for them in the end," said Robert Cabana, a former shuttle commander who now is theKennedy Space Center director.
"They continue to urge us forward, to explore and to never quit just because it's hard," Cabana said. "They are a part of us forever, and we will not let them down"
Honda's quarterly profit falls on strong yen
Honda's October-December profit totaled 81.1 billion yen ($989 million), down from 134.6 billion yen the year before, it said Monday. Quarterly sales slipped nearly 6 percent to 2.11 trillion yen ($25.7 billion).
A strong yen hurt Tokyo-based Honda's overseas earnings and the end of green car incentives crimped vehicle sales in Japan, offsetting the perk from strong motorcycle sales in Asia.
Honda Motor Co. was upbeat about the full fiscal year through March 2011, raising its profit forecast to 530 billion yen ($6.5 billion) from its October forecast of 500 billion yen ($6.1 billion).
The revision was mostly from cost cuts and improved model offerings.
The maker of the Civic sedan, Odyssey minivan and Asimo robot lowered its full-year sales projection to 8.9 trillion yen ($108.5 billion) from 9 trillion yen ($109 billion), mainly because the yen is expected to remain strong.
But the lowered projection still leaves Honda ahead of the previous fiscal year when it posted 268 billion yen ($3.3 billion) profit on 8.58 trillion yen ($105 billion) sales.
Honda said vehicle sales fell in Japan, because of the end of government incentives for green models last year, but improved in North America. Honda's vehicle sales also fell in Europe.
Among Honda's green car offerings are the Insight and CR-Z hybrid models, which are popular but trail the world's top-selling hybrid, the Prius from Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp.
Honda sold 855,000 vehicles around the world in October through December, down 6.5 percent from 914,000 sold a year earlier. Japan sales slid to 118,000 from 177,000 while North American sales jumped to 364,000 from 344,000.
Honda said there were some signs of a gradual recovery in the key U.S. market but acknowledged lingering worries about tighter credit and high unemployment. It was more optimistic about China and India, where it hopes to expand not only in autos but also in motorcycles.
The surging yen remains a risk for all Japanese exporters, including Honda. It said the dollar traded at about 83 yen during the three months, down from 89 yen a year earlier.
The negatives from currency rates erased 45 billion yen ($549 million) from Honda's quarterly operating profit, it said.
Honda expects the dollar, now at about 82 yen, to trade at 80 yen in the January-March quarter.
For the first nine months of the fiscal year, Honda's profit soared to 489.5 billion yen ($5.97 billion), more than doubling from 196 billion yen the same period the previous fiscal year.
Nine-month sales gained about 7 percent to 6.72 trillion yen ($82 billion).
Toyota, the world's top automaker in annual vehicle sales, reports earnings Feb. 8. Nissan Motor Co., which outsold Honda globally last year to become Japan's No. 2 automaker, reports earnings Feb. 9.
Honda shares lost 1.4 percent to close at 3,475 yen ($42) in Tokyo.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)