Winter storm at April end

Yes, it is April 29, 2010, and we still have winter in Calgary with ‘Winter Storm Warning’ is still in effect. Wasn't it supposed to be the warmest year for some time? When you go out, it seems, the reported ‘Wind Chill’ is a bit on the higher side. Some photos of the spring buds follow:

Fastest train in the world

The fastest commercial train in the world is now operational in China running at a maximum speed of 394 kilometers per hour (km/hr) in a trail run. The train link connects two cities, Guangzhou in South to Wuhan in central China, and will travel at an average speed of 350km/hr (217mph). The 1,068 km distance between the two cities can now be covered by the high-speed train in two hours and forty five minutes ? that is, a saving of about six hours of travel time. The high-speed train line uses technology developed in co-operation with firms such as Siemens, Bombardier and Alstom. The Guangzhou - Wuhan train line is a part of the government plan to build 42 high-speed train lines by 2012. In the biggest rail development program in the world, China government plans to build 34,000 km of new train tracks in addition to its existing 86,000 km railway lines. According to China's railways ministry, the average speed of the high-speed railways in other countries in the world is less than 300 km/hr; way less than the Guangzhou - Wuhan train line (in Japan it is 243 km/hr, in Germany 232 km/hr, and 277 km/hr in France). First high-speed railway network in China was unveiled at the time of Beijing Olympics in 2008 to connect the capital city Beijing with the port city of Tianjin. The train could travel at a speed of 250 km/hr.

Will Google Maps Navigation replace standalone GPS?

Newly announced Google Maps Navigation caused shares of satellite navigation device companies to fall substantially amidst fears of the death of standalone GPS. Is it really the death or the rumors of the death have been greatly exaggerated? In the Navigation Application, Google uses search engine to find addresses, Google Street View for photos of locations, and live traffic data in its turn-by-turn GPS software. The application is available in the new Droid phone. Let?s see some advantages and disadvantage of Google GPS attached to mobile phone. Advantages of Google Maps Nav.: It is a free service Comes with phone and doesn?t need an extra gadget, easy to carry and you are less likely to forget it at home. Real-time updating Linked to the HUGE Google search database Disadvantages: It is device specific ? only phone it supports now is Motorola Droid. More may be (are) coming but it will take time.  Multi-tasking ? using GPS and calling somebody would be difficult. It would certainly add concern to the traffic safety. Dedicated data connection is required ? there are many places where Google service might not be available. Mobile phones usually have smaller screen as compared to dedicated GPS. More the screen are better the details on the map. Mobile phones' smaller form factors usually don?t allow for extra battery (like iPhone). Constant use for long period of time might not be practical in some situations. Google will certainly add advertisement in future. Would like smaller screen and ads in it? GPS manufacturers knew it was coming. Sometime back, TomTom started offering its own mobile GPS application for iPhone for $100. But free application is lot more cheaper! It is to be seen if Apple will beg Google to make one for iPhone. Official video on Google Maps Navigation: Professionals would certainly go for standalone GPS but causal users like myself would certainly be happy with the new device and new application. Death is a harsh word; but it is sure that they wouldn?t sell like hot cakes anymore. GPS manufacturers need to step forward in innovating their products, cutting the prices, and offer better value to the customers. It sure is not a dead end!

Go Norway, UN index rates best life in the western Scandinavia

When it comes to the quality of life, Norway enjoys the world's highest ranking country according to a United Nations agency. The annual Human Development Index prepared by the UN Development Program found that the country with the worst quality of life is Niger with life expectancy of just over 50 years. The Index was prepared by taking life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and per capita gross domestic product in 182 countries. The second best in the list was Australia followed by Iceland. Canada ranked fourth (not bad!) and the United States was in 13th place. Trends in the index since 1980 showed an average improvement of 15 per cent in countries' scores. The greatest long-term improvements have been shown by China, Iran and Nepal, but progress has been concentrated in education and health rather than income, said the UN agency. (source)

Luxury of living rat-free

Last month a rat was found in Calgary. The poor little creature created huge outcry. Ill fated varmint probably came into its graveyard by hitching a ride on a recreational vehicle from Saskatchewan. ?A rat? What a big deal?? you might say. Yes, rats are everywhere and for many people, it is a luxury to live rat-free. But it is a big deal for the province after being rat-free for the last 50 years. Hey, how can a little thing challenge such a big status issue. Albertans pride themselves on being the only place on earth that is livable and is rat free. The only two other places that are rat-free are Arctic and Antarctica.  Rat control costs the provincial government about $500,000 a year but the effort is said to save tens of millions of dollars in potential crop damage, disease, food contamination and damaged buildings. (news source) If you love rats and keep rats as pet ? Alberta is not a place for you to live. Pet shop owners, herpetologists and other persons interested in keeping rats as pets are not allowed to do so in Alberta. Only hospitals, universities and other related institutes of education, authorized by the government are allowed to possess live rattus species of any kind. (source) Pied pipers: keep out, you have no jobs here in Alberta!

What is your National Flower – 9 (H)

Holland (The Netherlands) ? There is no official national flower of Holland. But Tulip (Tulipa) is often considered flower of national importance. Tulip bulbs are also used as substitute for onions in cooking. Honduras - Orchid (Brassavola digbiana)     During 1946-1969 rose used to be the National flower of Honduras but due to the fact that rose is not native to the country it was replaced by Orchid in 1969. Hong Kong - Orchid (Bauhinia Blakeana)       The five petal deep purple flower is native to Hong Kong and is featured on the National Flag too.   Hungary ? Don?t know for sure, but it might be tulip (Tulipa) as mentioned in some websites.

What is your National Flower – 8 (G)

Germany ? No national flower but oak leaf is considered a national symbol.


Greenland - Niviarsiaq
Greenland?s national flower Niviarsiaq means ?young woman?. This flower is commonly available in North America.
Guam? Puti Tai Nobiu, Great bougainvillea  (Bougainvillea spectabilis)
  Guatemala - White Nun Orchid (Lycaste skinneri alba)
Guyana - Water Lily  (Victoria regia)

What is your National flower – 7 (F)

France ? Iris   Finland - Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis) Beautiful flower!

What is you National Flower - 6 (E)

Egypt - Lotus (Nymphaea lotus)

England - Rose (Rosa) Beautiful red rose

Ecuador - White Nun Orchid

Estonia - Corn-flower or Bachelor's Button (Centaurea cyanus) adopted on June 23, 1988

Ethiopia - Calla Lily

What is your national flower 5 (D)

Denmark - Marguerite daisy (Argyranthemum frutescens)
  (from)
Marguerites daisy is a large, single, daisy-like flower. It blossoms in the the summer.

Dominican Republic - Mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni) tree?s blossom

What is your national flower - 4

This is the continuation of National flowers series that I started sometimes last year. I was too busy to continue posting remaining flowers. The countries are selected in alphabetical order and I have to continue after Canada. China  -  doesn't have an ?official? national flower but tree peony (mudan) is considered national favorite.   Chile   -  Copihue, Lapageria Rosea Colombia   -   Christmas orchid (Cattleya trianae) Costa Rica   -    Guaria Morada (purple orchid) Croatia   -  Iris Croatica (Hrvatska Perunika) Cuba  -   Butterfly Jasmine (Mariposa) Cyprus   -  Rose (Rosa) Czech Republic  -   Rose (Rosa) I will update this post later with photos of remaining flowers later.

What is your national flower - 3 - Canada

National Flowers of Canada

The Leaf of Maple is an official symbol of Canada. The maple leaf was first used as a Canadian symbol in early 18th century and till now is depicted on its current and previous flags, the penny, and on the coat of arms.

Each provinces however have their own floral emblems (I don't have knowledge about floral emblem of Nunavut). Floral emblems of Canadian provinces and territories are given below:

Alberta - Wild Rose

Wild rose was chosen the provincial flower of Alberta in 1930.



British Columbia - Pacific Dogwood

The Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) was adopted in 1956 as British Columbia's floral emblem. It is a native plant that grows wild in coastal areas of southern B.C. all the way to northern California. Its showy flowers also make it a highly prized ornamental but the species is protected by law and it is illegal to pick or remove it. The Pacific dogwood is a tree that grows six to eight metres high and flowers in April and May. In the autumn it is conspicuous for its cluster of bright red berries and brilliant foliage.




Manitoba - Prairie Crocus

The floral emblem of Manitoba and the state flower of South Dakota, Prairie Crocus, is also called Pasque Flower and Prairie Anemone.




New Brunswick - Purple Violet




Newfoundland/Labrador - Pitcher Plant

Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea). Queen Victoria, more than a hundred years ago, chose the Pitcher Plant to be engraved on a newly minted Newfoundland penny. In 1954, the Newfoundland Cabinet designated this unusual and interesting plant as the official flower of the province. It gets its nourishment from insects that get trapped and drown in a pool of water at the base of the tubular leaves. The flower is wine and green in colour and can be found on bogs and marshes in Newfoundland and Labrador.




Northwest Territories - Mountain Avens




Nova Scotia - Mayflower




Nunavut - None

Ontario - Trillium

Red Trillium



White Trillium



Prince Edward Island - Pink Lady's Slipper
Pink Lady's Slippers (Cypripedium acaule)

Québec - Blue Flag Iris




Saskatchewan - Western Red Lily

Lilium philadelphicum



Yukon - Fireweed

What is your National Flower - 2

The Bahamas

The national flower of The Bahamas is the Yellow Elder (Tecoma stans)
The flowers have an odd but pleasing fragrance and also provide nectar for bees. The Indians made bows from its wood, and in Mexico a beer was prepared from its roots; it has also been used for a variety of medicines. Also known as: Yellow Bells, Hardy Yellow Trumpet, Trumpet-flower, Yellow Elder.



Belize

The national flower of Belize is the Black Orchid (Prosthechea cochleata)




Bolivia

Bolivia gets two of everything, because the east and the west never get along. Bolivian national flowers are cantuta (Catua buxifolia) and patujú (Heliconia rostrata).

cantuta



patujú



Brazil

Tabebuia alba flower (Tecoma alba)




Bangladesh

The national flower and national emblem of Bangladesh is the shapla (Nymphaea nouchali)




Bhutan

Bhutan - Blue poppy (Meconopsis grandis)




Brunei

Brunei ? Simpor (Dillenia suffruticosa)




Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Lilium bosniacum




Bulgaria

Rose

What is your National Flower -Albania, Argentina, Australia, and Austria

I am going to post a series of posts about National flowers (floral emblem) of different countries starting with countries with first letter A.

The National Flower of Albania

The floral emblem of Albania is the red and black poppy. The poppy can be found everywhere in this Mediterranean country, and are recognized for their beauty, medicinal value, and seeds.

The National Flower of Argentina

Erythrina Cristina Galli was adopted as the National flower of Argentina on December 2, 1942. Erythrina is found naturally along water courses, in swamps and wetlands. Because of the red beauty of this flower it is also grown in urban settings such as parks and gardens. Basically the Erythrina is a South American tree, with carmine red flowers and a crooked trunk which locally is known as Ceibo, Sebo or Bucar.



The National Flower of Australia

Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) is Australia's national flower. The Golden Wattle blooms in spring, - beginning September - in Australia, with large fluffy, yellow, sweet smelling flower heads. Each Golden Wattle flower head is a bunch of many tiny flowers. Acacias are popularly called Wattle.



The National Flower of Austria

Edelweiss (Leontopodium Alpinum), the Nationnal flower of Austria, is one of the best-known European mountain flowers. Belonging to the sunflower family, these star-like flowers are short lived perennials. Apart from being Pictured on Austrian euro coins, the flower has been used traditionally in folk medicine as a remedy against abdominal and respiratory diseases. The flower is also called Floarea Reginei (Queen flower).



Could not find any official National Flowers of Afghanistan,

Calgary Tower: Photos and Video

We went to see Calgary Tower last weekend and I am posting some photos and videos of the tower. Thanks to the clouds, we were not lucky enough to see the mountain but the view of the city and the virtually 'stepping out into' space on glass floor at a height of 525 ft. was simply amazing. One of my friend took a video (posted below) of the view from the glass floor which is new addition (added in June 2005) to the old tower.


View from the glass floor on the tower (video posted below)

The tower officially opened on June 30th, 1968. The 191 m (627 ft)tower is considered one of the first Towers of its kind, offering the best view of the City of Calgary. At the time of construction, it was the tallest building in Canada, although it was surpassed that same year by the Toronto-Dominion Centre in Toronto, prior to opening. (Don't want to copy everything, you can visit wikipedia article on the tower for more information).

During 1988 Winter Olympic, the torch lighted on top of the tower made it the World's Largest Olympic Torch. This and other facts about the tower can be found in the Official Site of Calgary Tower.




Well, the tower is not the tallest building in Calgary. The tallest building in Calgary (in all Canada except Toronto) is Petro-Canada Centre Building which is 215m tall followed by Bankers Hall East and West (each 197m).


Petro-Canada Centre Building and other skycrapers as seen from the Calgary Tower

Soon, EnCana's 236m and 59 floors office tower will be the tallest building in Calgary for which the construction work has already started. Ongoing construction work can be seen in the following photo.


The consturction site of EnCana's office tower is seen behind Hyatt.
The google map screenshot below shows the site before the construction started. (They sacrificed a road for the construction)



Calgary Tower Peeking


Nice View of the Tower from southern side.
 

Mountain Goat Sighted in Jaspar National Park

Mountain Goats are amazing climbers and we were lucky to see them in real when we went on our tour to Jasper. It might be the frequent encounters and people feeding them, they seem a bit more friendly to human. I am posting the small clip I took of them blocking the traffic on the highway.

If you are interested to learn more about them you can visit Jasper Journal website. I was busy taking the following video clip so I borrowed the above photo from the journal website :-;.

Video: cute squirrel

I took this video sometime back. It is sort of cute how the little squirrel is eating flower.

Always hiring : nobody to paint

I was walking around the city and found this bench ad in a bad shape! The ad reads "always hiring" and it seems like they are yet to find the right person to repaint the ad.

Video: Bear Grazing

I posted an incredible wildlife video in the previous post. Those who took the video were lucky enough to witness one of the most rare encounter of wild animals.

I went digging for some videos I took during our visits to the wild. This is a short clip of bear grazing by the side of road. It was great to see the black bear in wild so close and I was very excited about it.

Don't blame me on being it a dull one. It is not taken in Africa and we were not scanning through jungle to take it. Last month, when we were just passing through a highway in Jaspar National Park, Alberta, we saw it gazing leisurely beside road and stopped to catch it in camera.

If you have such clips and photos please send them I will post them here for everybody to enjoy.