Using iMovie to string my friend' s photos of the tibetan monks rehearing the buddhist ritual dance.
Saturday, 27 June 2009
Korzok Village, Tsomoriri
I just learnt how to stitch a panoramic picture using photomerge CS. So fun!
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
India, Manali - Leh
View Manali-Leh in a larger map
I'm back from India with beautiful memories of ice-capped mountains, winding rivers, heavenly lakes, simple nomads , bleating goats, rustic villages, majestic Tibetan monasteries and friendly lamas. Always learn so much after each trip. I'm inspired! Let the pictures tell the story.
Monday, 22 June 2009
More dams along Yellow River at risk of collapsing
20 June 2009, ST
Water gushing out from one of the reservoirs along the Yellow River during a recent silt-clearing operation. Each year, the river bed rises as mud and sand deposits build up in the many dams, slowing the water flow in the lower reaches. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
BEIJING: Several dams on tributaries of China's Yellow River are near collapse - shortly after they were built - highlighting risks that parts of China's hastily built infrastructure may not be safe.
At least five newly built dams in Huan county, in Gansu province in arid north-east China, are 'in very fragile condition', according to a report by the China Youth Daily.
One dam in Huan county, 80m long and 20m wide, developed a breach more than 10m wide last year, just two years after it was completed.
The report blamed improper construction and the embezzlement of funds.
'There are many construction problems,' the daily cited local villagers as saying, when asked why many dams collapsed just one or two years after being built.
An official at the county's water protection bureau, who refused to be named, told Agence France-Presse that the matter was being investigated by the government, but refused to provide more details.
A devastating earthquake in Sichuan province last year, which affected an area near a river clogged with dams, had turned the spotlight on the risks posed by China's thousands of dams.
Improper construction procedures, shoddy materials and diversion of funds by government departments have all been cited as factors contributing to fragile dams.
And as the flood season approaches in the next three months, dam safety will come under heavy pressure, Mr Chen Lei, Minister of Water Resources, was cited by China Daily as saying last month.
Inspections show many dams are not in good condition, Mr Chen added.
The problem can be potentially devastating along the Yellow River, where hundreds of dams dot its 5,464km meander through nine provinces across China.
The embankments are meant to curb the river's notorious soil erosion, especially along its middle and upper reaches. The average amount of mud and sand washed into the river every year reaches 1.6billion tonnes.
Mr Chen said 59 dams nationwide were breached between 1999 and 2008, 20 caused by quality defects and the rest by torrential rains,
And more than 40 per cent of reservoirs in China - or 37,000 - are in potential danger of overflowing.
Also, about 3,640 dams are currently being reinforced, and a further 7,600 are in need of immediate attention.
One of the worst dam accidents occurred in Henan province in 1975, when a collapse at one dam triggered a domino effect, causing about 26,000 people to drown. Over 100,000 more may have died in the subsequent famine and disease outbreaks.
REUTERS, CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Water gushing out from one of the reservoirs along the Yellow River during a recent silt-clearing operation. Each year, the river bed rises as mud and sand deposits build up in the many dams, slowing the water flow in the lower reaches. -- PHOTO: REUTERSBEIJING: Several dams on tributaries of China's Yellow River are near collapse - shortly after they were built - highlighting risks that parts of China's hastily built infrastructure may not be safe.
At least five newly built dams in Huan county, in Gansu province in arid north-east China, are 'in very fragile condition', according to a report by the China Youth Daily.
One dam in Huan county, 80m long and 20m wide, developed a breach more than 10m wide last year, just two years after it was completed.
The report blamed improper construction and the embezzlement of funds.
'There are many construction problems,' the daily cited local villagers as saying, when asked why many dams collapsed just one or two years after being built.
An official at the county's water protection bureau, who refused to be named, told Agence France-Presse that the matter was being investigated by the government, but refused to provide more details.
A devastating earthquake in Sichuan province last year, which affected an area near a river clogged with dams, had turned the spotlight on the risks posed by China's thousands of dams.
Improper construction procedures, shoddy materials and diversion of funds by government departments have all been cited as factors contributing to fragile dams.
And as the flood season approaches in the next three months, dam safety will come under heavy pressure, Mr Chen Lei, Minister of Water Resources, was cited by China Daily as saying last month.
Inspections show many dams are not in good condition, Mr Chen added.
The problem can be potentially devastating along the Yellow River, where hundreds of dams dot its 5,464km meander through nine provinces across China.
The embankments are meant to curb the river's notorious soil erosion, especially along its middle and upper reaches. The average amount of mud and sand washed into the river every year reaches 1.6billion tonnes.
Mr Chen said 59 dams nationwide were breached between 1999 and 2008, 20 caused by quality defects and the rest by torrential rains,
And more than 40 per cent of reservoirs in China - or 37,000 - are in potential danger of overflowing.
Also, about 3,640 dams are currently being reinforced, and a further 7,600 are in need of immediate attention.
One of the worst dam accidents occurred in Henan province in 1975, when a collapse at one dam triggered a domino effect, causing about 26,000 people to drown. Over 100,000 more may have died in the subsequent famine and disease outbreaks.
REUTERS, CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Singapore most liveable
LONDON: Singapore is among the four most liveable cities in Asia - after Osaka, Tokyo and Hong Kong - and ranks 54th worldwide, according to the latest assessment of 140 cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Canadian and Australian cities did well in the assessment, taking six of the top 10 spots in the rankings, which were based on ratings assigned to 30 factors across five broad categories - stability, health care, education, infrastructure, culture and environment.
US cities were well down the list. Pittsburgh, which ranked highest among US cities, was in 29th place. New York at No.56 was two notches below Singapore.Singapore, top among South-east Asian nations, scored 88.5, putting it ahead of Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, which came in 79th and 123rd, respectively.
The highest-ranked Asian cities in the list were Japan's Osaka (13th) and Tokyo (joint 19th with Frankfurt, Germany), Hong Kong (an equal 39th with Madrid, Spain), Singapore (54th) and Seoul, South Korea (58th). The lowest-ranked city in South-east Asia was Phnom Penh, Cambodia, which came in 128th.
Top-ranked Vancouver scored 98, benefiting from strong infrastructure, while Harare languished with just 37.5 'thanks to the unfolding crisis in Zimbabwe'.
A string of US cities filled the rankings from 30th to 50th position - Washington D.C. in 35th place, Los Angeles in 48th - followed by another smattering of European conurbations: London in 51st spot, Rome 52nd, while Athens was given Western Europe's lowest showing in 63rd spot.
Lower down the list came Moscow in 69th spot, Beijing in 76th, Johannesburg - which shared a joint 92nd spot with Brazil's Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo - and Bangkok in 100th place.
The bottom rankings were occupied by a swathe of Asian and African cities: Manila in 108th, New Delhi in joint 114th spot with Cairo, Mumbai in 120th, Nairobi in 122nd and Lusaka, Zambia in 126th.
Cities scoring below 50 which 'present daily challenges to living standards', the study noted, included Teheran, Iran, in 129th place; Karachi, Pakistan in 135th; and Lagos, Nigeria, in 136th.
Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, Algiers in Algeria, and Dhaka in Bangladesh rounded off the list at the bottom.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
I'll be away...
I'm retreating to the mountains and lakes, so no update till I'm back. Sec 4s and Sec 5s, study hard! Remember our target!
Sunday, 7 June 2009
Tables 1A and 1B for Question 13 (b)
These are the missing tables for the question on natural vegetation 13 (b). Thanks to Kieroy and Jorge for alerting me if not I didn't know I didn't print the tables for you. Here they are, no excuse for not doing work. ;-)
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