Courtesy of my Mystery MSN Friend.
P.S He showed me this video during March last year :P
P.S He showed me this video during March last year :P
Finally, after 24 years in Singapore.....
Minutes after departing La Guardia Airport, what the crew of US Airways Flight 1549 faced Thursday afternoon, at 3,200 feet over the central Bronx, was a really quick decision.
Probably feeling the plane shake after hitting the birds, and certainly feeling the loss of power in both engines and watching the dials show thrust slipping away, the crew looked ahead as the plane turned west, and caught a glimpse of a runway.
What is that small airport, one pilot asked a controller.
Teterboro, in New Jersey, the controller replied, and instructed the pilot to fly south along the Hudson River, then swing back to the north to land there.
Instead, the pilot told the controller that they would ditch the plane in the river. They then cleared the George Washington Bridge by about 900 feet, according to controllers, and at a point near the end of West 48th Street in Midtown Manhattan, the plane slid into the river’s smooth, gray waters.
In a few weeks, a close comparison of radar tapes and cockpit audiotapes will establish where the plane was when that clipped, urgent conversation took place, and other investigators will try to figure out why this one plane, flying through some of the world’s most congested airspace, was the only one to report a bird problem. The twin-engine plane is supposed to be able to fly on one engine.
Airliners are not meant to glide, although occasionally they have to. The pilot of this one, Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger III, is certified as a glider pilot, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.
Captain Sullenberger, known as Sully, flew the F-4 for the United States Air Force for seven years in the 1970s after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy. He joined USAir, as it was called at the time, in 1980 and became a “check airman,” training and evaluating new pilots or those changing to new aircraft or moving up to captain. He also was an accident investigator for the union, the Air Line Pilots Association.
Captain Sullenberger’s wife, Lorrie Sullenberger, a fitness expert in Danville, Calif., said she learned about the crash on Thursday afternoon when her husband called her. “I haven’t stopped shaking yet,” she said in a brief phone interview.
“Better to land at an airport where there’s actual crash-fire-rescue,” said the pilot, who requested anonymity because he did not have his airline’s permission to speak. But the pilot and other experts said the crew appeared to have done a good job.
Ditching can be tricky. The first step is to extend the slats and the flaps, the movable surfaces on the front and back edges of the wings that allow the plane to fly more slowly and to descend to just over the water’s surface.
Another step is to hit the “ditching button,” which seals the openings in the plane. One is the intake, where the engines grab air to pressurize and force it into the cabin, essential to high-altitude flight. Another is the valve at the back that lets air out.
“The whole point is to get the airplane slow, to minimize the damage and the forces on the airplane,” said John Cox, a safety consultant who flew the A320 for US Airways and USAir for six years. Mr. Cox said that he knew Captain Sullenberger and that he was “a seriously good aviator.”
While the plane slows, the crew has to be careful not to let it stall, which happens when the wind is flowing over the wings too slowly to generate enough lift. Mr. Cox said the plane would probably have touched down at 100 to 120 knots, roughly 115 to 140 miles per hour.
Ditching is different from landing a glider. Another safety expert, Arnie Reiner, who was a crash investigator for Pan American World Airways and later a pilot for the Delta Shuttle flights out of La Guardia, said the object was to keep the wings level and the nose up slightly, so the fuselage could plane on the water’s surface. Hit in a nose-down attitude, he said, and the plane could dig into the water, potentially damaging the fuselage heavily.
This one settled in with the nose high.
Source.I read the comments by few people with regards to the above article at some forum. Unsurprisingly, most of the people were commending Captain Sullenberger's quick thinking and great courage to ditch the plane in the river rather than to risk the lives of his passengers to land on the small airport (he might not be able to make it to the airport upon instructed to fly south before flying back north again).
Of course, to the untrained masses, what he did was right, based on hindsight that is. Perhaps to the trained professional, the risk of ditching in a river and gliding on it seems to be a bigger. Alternative history tells us that one cannot judge the performance in any given field by its results but the costs of the alternative. Yes, what if he failed in his quest to land on the river? Pilots trainees do not get the real life experience to practice this; the most they came across is just a simulator which is nothing but a simulator.
Notwithstanding, I still have to applaud Captain Sullenberger (and his crews), not for his courage but for his random chance upon luck (ok lah, with a bit of skills and experience).
Of course, to the untrained masses, what he did was right, based on hindsight that is. Perhaps to the trained professional, the risk of ditching in a river and gliding on it seems to be a bigger. Alternative history tells us that one cannot judge the performance in any given field by its results but the costs of the alternative. Yes, what if he failed in his quest to land on the river? Pilots trainees do not get the real life experience to practice this; the most they came across is just a simulator which is nothing but a simulator.
Notwithstanding, I still have to applaud Captain Sullenberger (and his crews), not for his courage but for his random chance upon luck (ok lah, with a bit of skills and experience).
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Yahoo Inc's new Chief Executive Carol Bartz will receive a compensation package of about $19 million in 2009, in addition to a bonus and stock options, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday.
Bartz's appointment, confirmed earlier this week, is seen as paving the way for the Internet company to make decisions on major issues, including a sale or search deal with Microsoft Corp (MSFT, Fortune 500).
Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) will pay Bartz an annual base salary of $1 million, as well as a $10 million equity-and-cash payment to make up for benefits that she will forfeit from her previous employer Autodesk Inc. (ADSK), according to its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
She will also receive an annual equity grant, which in 2009 will be around $8 million to be granted in February, it said.
Bartz will also receive stock options for 5 million Yahoo shares, with a strike price to be determined on Jan. 30. She is not allowed to exercise the options until the end of a four-year agreement, and they will only begin to vest when the share price is increased by 50% for a minimum of 20 consecutive trading days, the company said.
The new CEO also is eligible for a yearly bonus of around $2 million to as much as $4 million. The annual bonus will be determined by the board's compensation committee based on the company and Bartz's performance.
Under previous CEO and co-founder Jerry Yang, Yahoo rejected a $47.5 billion buyout offer from Microsoft nearly a year ago.
A store that sells new husbands has just opened in New York City, where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates:
You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights. The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!
So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads:
Floor 1 - These men Have Jobs.
She is intrigued, but continues to the second floor, where the sign
reads:
Floor 2 - These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.
'That's nice', she thinks, 'but I want more.'
So she continues upward. The third floor sign reads:
Floor 3 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good
Looking.
'Wow,' she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.
She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads:
Floor 4 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and
Help With Housework.
'Oh, mercy me!' she exclaims, 'I can hardly stand it!'
Still, she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads:
Floor 5 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Help
with Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak.
She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor, where the
sign
reads:
Floor 6 - You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on
this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible
to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.
ALSO:
PLEASE NOTE:
To avoid gender bias charges, the store's owner opened a New Wives store
just across the street.
The first floor has wives that love sex.
The second floor has wives that love sex and have money.
The third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors have never been visited.
You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights. The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!
So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads:
Floor 1 - These men Have Jobs.
She is intrigued, but continues to the second floor, where the sign
reads:
Floor 2 - These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.
'That's nice', she thinks, 'but I want more.'
So she continues upward. The third floor sign reads:
Floor 3 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good
Looking.
'Wow,' she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.
She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads:
Floor 4 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and
Help With Housework.
'Oh, mercy me!' she exclaims, 'I can hardly stand it!'
Still, she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads:
Floor 5 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Help
with Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak.
She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor, where the
sign
reads:
Floor 6 - You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on
this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible
to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.
ALSO:
PLEASE NOTE:
To avoid gender bias charges, the store's owner opened a New Wives store
just across the street.
The first floor has wives that love sex.
The second floor has wives that love sex and have money.
The third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors have never been visited.
After the successful inaugural Sundown Marathon held last year, HiVelocity once again came out with 2 new interesting run this year; the SubUrban Run and the Raw Dualthlon Run. The latter seems ideal to me and perhaps they have heard me after my complain here lol. Anyone interested?
Race Details
Come join us in the freshest race of the season! The Suburban Run @ North East is a fresh out-of-the-city running event set against the natural backdrop of the North East district.
What's special about this race is - the main category of 'Two-in-a-team'. Take part in the race with your best friend, your parent, your kid, your brother or sister or even your neighbour. You will start the race together and run the same distance. The fastest time wins!
Race Event Details
Date: Sunday, 15 March 2009
Time: 8am to 12pm
Venue: Sengkang East Drive
Race Map
Click here to see the map.
More Information.
More Information.
Time: 8am to 12pm
Venue: Sengkang East Drive
Race Map
Click here to see the map.
More Information.
| Date | Sunday, 26 April 2009 |
| Time | 7.00am – 1.00pm |
| Venue | Changi Coastal Road |
| Participant Nos. | 1,500 |
| INDIVIDUAL | ENTRY FEE |
| Run 10km - Bike 40km - Run 10km - Men - Women | $ 55 $ 55 |
| Run 5km - Bike 40km - Run 5km - Men - Women | $ 50 $ 50 |
| TEAM | ENTRY FEE |
| Run 10km - Bike 40km - Run 10km - Men - Women - Mixed | $ 100 $ 100 $ 100 |
| Run 5km - Bike 40km - Run 5km - Men - Women - Mixed | $ 100 $ 100 $ 100 |
More Information.
SINGAPORE: Shopping for new clothes or paying ERP charges will soon be made easier with the new EZ Link card, which can be used for retail and other payments.
Nicholas Lee, executive director, EZ Link, said: "Imagine the possibilities where you can develop schemes for cross-usage between public transport, ERP and parking. There can be incentives, discounts and rebates where you can cross between modes to give consumers some preference to use our product."
Examples of non-transit applications include using the card to pay at convenience stores and libraries.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it would carry out the EZ Link card replacement exercise in stages.
Adult EZ Link cards can be exchanged for new ones from Friday at all 62 SingPost branches, 42 TransitLink ticket offices and selected bus interchanges.
However, EZ Link cards with credit card top-up facility can only be exchanged from February 27, while GIRO-linked cards can be replaced from July 27 onwards.
Child, student and tertiary concession cards can be exchanged from February 16, while senior citizens can replace their concession cards from April.
Concession cards for non-MOE school students and National Servicemen can be traded in from July.
Commuters, who are allowed to exchange up to three cards at one time, have until September 30 to do so. They will get a refund of the remaining value in their old cards.
According to LTA, there are about 8 million EZ Link cards in circulation. And unlike the old card, the new EZ Link card will not have a travel deposit, giving commuters full use of the stored value of the card.
Source.
Read more about the FAQs from Ezlink site here.
Nicholas Lee, executive director, EZ Link, said: "Imagine the possibilities where you can develop schemes for cross-usage between public transport, ERP and parking. There can be incentives, discounts and rebates where you can cross between modes to give consumers some preference to use our product."
Examples of non-transit applications include using the card to pay at convenience stores and libraries.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it would carry out the EZ Link card replacement exercise in stages.
Adult EZ Link cards can be exchanged for new ones from Friday at all 62 SingPost branches, 42 TransitLink ticket offices and selected bus interchanges.
However, EZ Link cards with credit card top-up facility can only be exchanged from February 27, while GIRO-linked cards can be replaced from July 27 onwards.
Child, student and tertiary concession cards can be exchanged from February 16, while senior citizens can replace their concession cards from April.
Concession cards for non-MOE school students and National Servicemen can be traded in from July.
Commuters, who are allowed to exchange up to three cards at one time, have until September 30 to do so. They will get a refund of the remaining value in their old cards.
According to LTA, there are about 8 million EZ Link cards in circulation. And unlike the old card, the new EZ Link card will not have a travel deposit, giving commuters full use of the stored value of the card.
Source.
Read more about the FAQs from Ezlink site here.
NLB members must pay outstanding fines by April to continue borrowing books
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SINGAPORE: Pay up your library fines, or have your borrowing privileges revoked.
From April, National Library Board members with unpaid fines must settle the outstanding amount before they can continue to borrow library materials.
There are 750,000 library members who have unpaid fines and fees.
NLB will notify them through mailers from February 2.
NLB also announced that it will remove the 50-cent renewal fee per book to encourage library users to renew borrowed materials.
The current policy of allowing users to renew borrowed items only once remains unchanged.
Source.
Great news (at least for me)!
From April, National Library Board members with unpaid fines must settle the outstanding amount before they can continue to borrow library materials.
There are 750,000 library members who have unpaid fines and fees.
NLB will notify them through mailers from February 2.
NLB also announced that it will remove the 50-cent renewal fee per book to encourage library users to renew borrowed materials.
The current policy of allowing users to renew borrowed items only once remains unchanged.
Source.
Great news (at least for me)!
After googling few minutes for 2009 New Year greetings to no avail, I decided to make my unique customised greetings "card" for my supportive and loyal readers here at Diversifying Ruined simply because you guys are worth my effort and sweat put in for this creation.Exactly a year ago, something interesting happened at my blog. If you could recall, it proves something. You have good memory (duh). Well, if you couldn't, make use of the search function at the top right hand corner of my blog to find out or you can also click the archives. (Do it now before proceeding!)
Interesting isn't it? :>
Now, before you continue reading, perhaps you can just take a few minutes to enjoy this New Year song.
Don't like it? How about this? :)
Anyway, another year has passed and its time to do our resolutions. Well, Bella asked me my resolution for this upcoming year and I told her that ever since I entered UOL, my resolutions has been set for the next 3 years; hoping to graduate with a First Class and a CFA Level 1. I could not say whether I am on track for it since I have not yet finished my first semester/year. But I am still doing "ok", just keeping up with weekly revisions on the topics covered but not yet into turbo mode. As for CFA, I will be registering for the Level 1 examinations in Dec during early July perhaps, anyone joining me?
Of course other than studies aside, I have to leave some wardrobe space for other intangible things for resolution as well right? I would want to treat Bella better, cook nicer pasta for her, find more good and cheap food etc (Yeah all about food for her, thats why I dedicated a post for her weeks ago).
Then, for me Team FATA, hopefully we can make it a norm to have a match every Sunday without fail and maybe once a month at East Coast Futsal for enjoyment. To better bond them together, few of us have decided to arrange for a team chalet cum BBQ tomorrow. Hope it turns out well.
Next, IPPT window is opening soon, still deciding whether I should take it this year or next year before the window close (to take advantage of training once for 2 IPPTs, you know the strategy of taking 1 before your window close and 1 after your window open within a timespan of maybe 1 month). In this case, we would be effectly taking 2 IPPTs every 2 years instead of taking 1 IPPT every year (it makes a difference, in the training required that is).
Take care and prosper!
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