Fashion
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
History Of Horse
Asia
Although horses were domesticated at different times by people in different parts of the world, the oldest evidence of humans taming horses comes from Asia. Prehistoric horse cultures have been found in what is now the Southern Ukraine, Caucasus and Central Asia. These people were nomads, wandering the broad, grassy steppes, herding cattle, sheep or horses and hunting wild animals.
They practically lived on horseback, using the horse for food, mainly in the form of mare's milk, as well as transportation. Horses were so important that they were often buried with tribal chiefs in elaborate tombs below ground.
In the more developed civilisations of Persia, China and Japan, the horse was valuable military asset and carried messengers to all points of the kingdoms. Horses were celebrated in paintings, poetry, pottery and legend. Rustum, the Persian hero, rode his magic horse Rakish in battle and on adventures. Pottery horses of the T'ang Dynasty are supreme examples of Chinese art.
The horse made empires possible. Muslim warriors on horseback took control of lands from Persia to Spain in the 700's. Jengiz Khan and his mounted Mongol warriors conquered the largest empire in human history, from China to the shores of the eastern Mediterranean in the 12th Century. The horse enabled rulers to administer their far-flung territories by using couriers to send messages and instructions to local governors. The style of riding introduced into the Middle East by the warriors of the Prophet spread through Europe and eventually formed the basis for the style of riding now known as English saddle or hunt seat.
Africa
In northern Africa, Arab and Barb horses provided the mounts for the armies that created great kingdoms in Mali, Niger and Sudan. The ruler of Timbuktu was said to have had 3000 horseman in his troop and would purchase the best ones from each caravan that passed by. The sub-tropical and tropical climates of central and western Africa make it almost impossible to raise horses locally.
The presence of disease-carrying insects, especially the tsetse fly, and another factor limiting the ability of horses to survive in Africa. Horses were scarce for other reasons: Africans traditionally herded cattle, sheep and goats on foot, and the African soil was too poor for large-scale farming. All these factors combined to leave little need for horses in daily life. As a result, their use was limited to the military and to the ruling classes, who enjoyed using horses in elaborate displays of wealth, such as the durbar in northern Nigeria.
South of the jungle formed by the great Congo Basin, which divides Africa from East to West, the horse was unknown until Dutch and English settlers arrived. They used horses in the same way in Europe, for farming, herding and travel. The native Africans had no need for the horse in farming and herding, but they used horses occasionally for transportation. As a result, the horse did not play an important role in the economy or society of southern Africa, unlike elsewhere in the world.
Europe
Modern Europe has its origins in the kingdoms of the Middle Ages, which have their origins in the feudal system, which was made possible by the horse. More exactly, feudalism was made possible by the introduction of the stirrup into Europe in the 800's. The stirrup turned a man on horseback into a formidable fighting unit. The mounted knight in armour was the mainstay of the medieval army. The system of land ownership required to support the knight developed into a highly complex social organisation. The feudal kingdoms eventually evolved into the nations of Europe, as we know them today.
Stirrups helped not only the knight, but also the merchant, the traveller and the courier of the king. A rider with stirrups is much more secure than a rider without them and the result was to vastly increase the use of the horse for riding.
In addition to the stirrup, the shoulder collar, another imported piece of equipment, helped the horse to become important in European social and economic development. During the Roman Empire, long before the Middle Ages, horses were used in almost exclusively for war or sport. They did not usually pull ploughs or carts because the Roman harnesses were not efficient. The shoulder collar enabled the horses to pull ploughs and wagons. Stronger and faster than the ox, the horse became much more useful to the peasant and the merchant.
Until the invention of the internal combustion engine, the horse was Europe's most important source of energy. The word 'Horsepower' is still used today to measure engines.
North America
It is hard to imagine the history of North America without horses, yet horses had vanished from the Western Hemisphere many thousands of years before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492. Remains of ancient bones found in parts of the United States indicate that horses may have been hunted by humans, but by the time the Europeans began to explore the continent, the horse was gone. It was not even a memory among the native tribes.
The Spanish conquistadores brought horses back into North America in the early 1500's. Although vastly outnumbered, the Spanish were able to conquer the Aztec empire in Mexico as well as most what is now the western United States because the native populations had never seen horses and usually ran away in terror from their first sight of these strange animals.
Exploration and settlement of the vast North American continent would have been much more difficult, if not impossible, without horses. Although oxen pulled the pioneers' wagons west into the prairies, they are slower than horses and are not as useful. Without horses, for example, there would have been no Pony Express to deliver the mail, no cowboys to round up cattle and no stagecoaches to carry people from town to town. The horse pulled the farmer's plough, carried the cavalry soldier in battle and brought the doctor his patients.
The Western style of riding developed directly from the medieval Spanish saddles, and the cowboy's seat, with long stirrups and straight leg, is the same seat used by a knight in armour. The universal image of the West is the cowboy and his horse.
South America
The Spanish conquistadors brought horses to South America in the 1500's The native people had never before seen these large creatures and they were at first terrified at the sight of men on horseback. As a result, mounted soldiers were able to conquer the native empires and establish Spanish rule over much of the continent. Afterwards, horses continued to be imported by Spanish and Portuguese colonists for use in farming, ranching and transportation, just as they were used in Europe.
In South America today, horses remain valuable for ranching on the great cattle-raising estancias of Argentina and on the ranchos of Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Brazil. The gaucho on the his pony is a symbol of the pampa, the South American plain, just as the cowboy is a symbol of the open range in the western United States. On the pampas, the horses are not stabled or corralled but range free in herds called remudas, which are led by a dominant mare. The mare is trained to follow the gaucho on his rounds, and when the gaucho's horse tires, he simply selects a fresh mount from the remuda.
Along with the use of horses in herding, the European settlers brought their traditions of horse-based sports. Polo and racing remain popular today in many countries of South America. The South American breeds, developed from fine horses bred on the Iberian Peninsula since Roman times, are prized for their beauty and stamina.
Animal with three eyes
Tuatara heaven.
Tuataras survived because no predators invaded New Zealand. Terrestrial mammals failed to cross the Tasman Ocean, which separated New Zealand from Australia by opening about 90 million years ago. (See tectonics section). Tuataras are unusual reptiles, since they like cool weather. They do not survive well over 25 degrees centigrade but can live below 5 degrees, by hibernating in burrows. New Zealand climate was just right.
Then humans arrived and introduced kiore, dogs, ferrets, pigs and cats...
Tuatara now only lives on predator-free outlying islands, but can be seen on the mainland, in "protective custody." The best place to find them is at the Invercargill Museum where a small colony of live reptiles lives in a small bush setting, behind glass. The tuataras are reproducing, which is good evidence they are enjoying the Invercargill environment (although they get a bit of help from oxytocin injections).
Tuataras do not live in lovely forest like this any more.
The Maori rat (Kiore) made it impossible to live on the mainland.
This whole picture is a cheat - a captive Tuatara melded with a misty, Whirinaki Forest background.
Nature photographers are not supposed to do that - unless they are honest and let you know it happened.
So, this is how Tuatara would have looked, before humans messed up the mainland environment.
Two Species
Genetic testing has shown there are two species of tuatara: Sphenodon Punctatus and S. Guntheri.
There are also DNA subspecies, but lets not get involved with all that.
Burrows
Tuataras live separate from each other in well defended burrows. Sea-birds: petrels, prions and shearwaters, sometimes share tunnels with the reptiles. This is not safe for the birds, for wily Tuataras are partial to eggs and chickens in spring time.
Perhaps Tuatara tells the birds stories on rainy nights about him being their ancient ancestor and having every right to live with them.
Primitive reptile on the line to dinosaurs and birds.
| Tuatara's relatives were the beak headed reptiles (Rhinocephalia). These spread all around the world 200 million years ago, but died out 100 million years ago. Only Tuatara survived to become a "living fossil". Tuatara (Sphenodon) is often used by zoologists as an example of about as basic a reptile as they can find. "The diapsid reptile Sphenodon is the most unspecialised living amniote." The evolution of both reptiles and birds can be described starting from tuatara anatomy. This does NOT mean tuatara is the common precursor, just that comparative anatomical diagrams of reptiles and birds can start conveniently with this animal. The evolution diagrams showing a Sphenodon type of primitive reptile changing into a bird are the work of Svend Palm. Click on the picture to reach his fascinating web site dealing in considerable detail with evolution of reptiles and birds and the origin of flight. |  Svend Palm's diagrams converted to a changing GIF file. |
Teeth
| Tuataras emerge from burrows, often at night, to eat any animal they can: mostly insects such as wetas, also worms, slugs and millipedes. Tuataras are too lazy to chase their prey. They just sit and if anything small is silly enough to pass by, Tuatara suddenly snaps it up. They have a powerful bite and can hold on for long periods. Lower teeth fit into a groove between two rows of upper teeth. The teeth are actually made of bone and fastened to the outer surface of the jaw bone. Snakes' teeth are like this too (acrodont). Old tuataras are often edentulous and just eat with their jaw bones, like old people who have lost their false teeth. Loss of teeth is very serious for carnivores, like lions and is often a death sentence. Man-eating tigers in India have often lost teeth and cannot kill their faster, normal prey any more. When eating slugs, teeth are not essential and so old Tuataras get by very well.
| Tuatara: mouth
Tuatara in 3D: red/cyan anaglyph: |
Reproduction
The female buries up to 19 soft shell eggs in soil, but not often.
Life is slow in the cold blooded reptile world and egg laying occurs about once per 4 years.
Even laying in soft soil is a contested activity, for other females may dig up the eggs to lay their own. No interest is taken in the eggs, which are left to hatch by themselves just over a year later.Males are bigger than females and have bigger spines down their backs. "Tuatara" apparently means "old spiny back" in Maori. Males can mate every year. Females taking 4 years is a bit frustrating for them. So males fight vigorously over receptive females, and often show combat scars. The winning male inflates his throat and raises his spines while slowly circling the lady tuatara, lifting his body up and down in a comical fashion with each step. Eventually the girl nods to indicate she is impressed and he is acceptable for father of her eggs. The juveniles mature slowly over 9 years (in captivity) to 20 years (in the wild). Tuataras live for 60 to 100 years.
These ancient reptiles are like modern humans in life span and aggression
- but will humans last over one hundred million years?
Gender
The sex of Tuataras is decided by soil temperature around the eggs.
Warm soil causes males, cool soil leads to females.
Other reptiles show this peculiarity too (crocodiles, turtles).
Most other animals have gender decided by X and y chromosomes.
Third eye
Tuataras have three eyes, but the third eye is only tiny. It grows on top of the head, under the skin in adults, and has a retina with nerve connection to the pineal. The pineal gland, in the middle of the brain, produces melatonin; which influences sleep and hibernation. The amount of light falling on the third eye may trigger these biological cycles. There is a tiny extra hole in the skull for the third eye: called the parietal foramen (although it is in the middle). We will review the big temporal foramina shortly, since they are not eye sockets.
Some scientists say the third eye has no function at all.
Tuataras hibernate - or at least are dormant in their burrows in winter. On a warm winter day, they will come out to enjoy the sun. This seems more a function of temperature than of light (since they live underground). Maybe the third eye has little to do with hibernation after allUse of mouse in computer
Your computers mouse is a pointing device that is used in a windows operating system environment. It is a device designed to be held in a single hand and usually consists or two or more buttons, plus one or more wheels. When you move the mouse on its mat, it'll typically result in a cursor on your screen moving.
Your computer mouse is used primarily for clicking, dragging, copying and executing programs. With a combination of clicks and button pressing on your keyboard, your able to perform specific tasks such as selecting, dragging and dropping, rollover, page up & down and a whole host of other actions.
The original mouse was the mechanical ball; it has since been replaced with the latest optimal version. These newest additions are both lighter in weight when compared to the old mechanical ball mouse. They are also far more precise. These types of mouses can easily be picked up at any online computer store. Today, the wireless mouse is the most popular because of the most obvious advantages of easier handling, less clutter and competitive pricing.
The Different Types of Computer Mouses
There are a number of different mouse types such as the laser, wireless, ball and optical mouse. It is also possible to categorise these different mouses on the basis of their DPI resolution. Wireless mouses use Bluetooth, infrared or radio signals whereas the wired solutions use a USB or PS/2 connector.
Computer Mouse Accessories:
In order for you to use a mechanical mouse optimally, you'll need a mouse pad. However, the laser and optical mouses are capable of functioning without these pads
James Bond
James Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. The fictional British Secret Intelligence Service agent has also been used in the longest running and most financially successful English-language film franchise to date, starting in 1962 with Dr. No
After Fleming's death in 1964, subsequent James Bond novels were written by Kingsley Amis, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks and Jeffery Deaver. Moreover, Christopher Wood novelised two screenplays, Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond while other writers have authored unofficial versions of the character.
There have been 22 films in the EON Productions series to date, the most recent of which, Quantum of Solace, was released on 31 October 2008 (UK). In addition there has been an American television adaptation and two independent feature productions. Apart from movies and television, James Bond has also been adapted for many other media, including radio plays, comic strips and video games.
The EON Productions films are generally termed as "official", by fans of the series, originating with the purchase of the James Bond film rights by producer Harry Saltzman in the early 1960s.
Creation and inspiration
Commander Sir James Bond, (KCMG, RNVR) is an officer of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS; commonly known as MI6). He was created in January 1952 by British journalist Ian Fleming while on holiday at his Jamaican estate, Goldeneye. The hero was named after the American ornithologist James Bond, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guide book Birds of the West Indies. Fleming, a keen birdwatcher, had a copy of Bond's field guide at Goldeneye. Of the name, Fleming once said in a Reader's Digest interview, "I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, 'James Bond' was much better than something more interesting, like 'Peregrine Carruthers.' Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure — an anonymous, blunt instrument wielded by a government department."
Nevertheless, news sources speculated about real spies or other covert agents after whom James Bond might have been modelled or named, such as Sidney Reilly or William Stephenson, best-known by his wartime intelligence codename of Intrepid. Although they are similar to Bond, Fleming confirmed none as the source figure, nor did Ian Fleming Publications nor any of Fleming's biographers, such as John Pearson or Andrew Lycett. Historian Keith Jeffery speculates in his authorized history of MI6, that Bond may be modeled on Fleming's close friend, Bill "Biffy" Dunderdale, a MI6 agent whose sophisticated persona and penchant for pretty women and fast cars closely matches that of Bond.
James Bond's parents are Andrew Bond, from village of Glencoe (Argyll, Scotland), and Monique Delacroix, from Yverdon (Vaud, Switzerland). Their nationalities were established in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Fleming emphasised Bond's Scottish heritage in admiration of Sean Connery's cinematic portrayal, whereas Bond's mother is named after a Swiss fiancée of Fleming's. A planned, but unwritten, novel would have portrayed Bond's mother as a Scot. Ian Fleming was a member of a prominent Scottish banking family.[13] Although John Pearson's fictional biography of Bond gives him a birth date on 11 November (Armistice Day) 1920, the books themselves are inconsistent on the matter. In Casino Royale, he is said to have bought a car in 1933 and to have been an experienced gambler before World War II. Two books later, in Moonraker, he is said to be in his mid-thirties; the setting of this book can be no earlier than 1954 as it refers to the South Goodwin Lightship, which was lost in that year. There is a further reference to Bond's age in You Only Live Twice, when Tanaka tells him he was born in the Year of the Rat (1924/25 or 1912/13). The books were written over a 12-year period during which Bond's age, when mentioned, thus varies, but is usually around 40. In the novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Bond's family motto is found to be Orbis non sufficit ("The world is not enough"). The novel also states that the family that used this motto may not necessarily be the same Bond family from which James Bond came.
After completing the manuscript for Casino Royale, Fleming allowed his friend (and later editor) William Plomer to read it. Plomer liked it and submitted it to Jonathan Cape, who did not like it as much. Cape finally published it in 1953 on the recommendation of Fleming's older brother Peter, an established travel writer.
Most researchers agree that James Bond is a romanticised version of Ian Fleming, himself a jet-setting womaniser. Both Fleming and Bond attended the same schools, preferred the same foods (scrambled eggs and coffee), maintained the same habits (drinking, smoking, wearing short-sleeve shirts), shared the same notions of the perfect woman in looks and style, and had similar naval career paths (both rising to the rank of naval Commander). They also shared similar height, hairstyle, and eye colour. Some suggest that Bond's suave and sophisticated persona is based on that of a young Hoagy Carmichael. In Casino Royale, Vesper Lynd remarks, "Bond reminds me rather of Hoagy Carmichael, but there is something cold and ruthless." Likewise, in Moonraker, Special Branch Officer Gala Brand thinks that Bond is "certainly good-looking . . . Rather like Hoagy Carmichael in a way. That black hair falling down over the right eyebrow. Much the same bones. But there was something a bit cruel in the mouth, and the eyes were cold."
Fleming did admit to being partly inspired by a story recounted to him which took place during his service in the Naval Intelligence Division of the Admiralty. The incident is depicted in Casino Royale, when Ralph Izzard finds himself involved in a card game, playing poker against covert Nazi intelligence agents at a casino in Pernambuco, Brazil.
In February 1952, Ian Fleming began writing his first James Bond novel. At the time, Fleming was the foreign manager for Kemsley Newspapers, owners of The Daily Express in London. Upon accepting the job, Fleming asked for two months' yearly vacation in his contract—time spent writing in Jamaica. Between 1953 and his death in 1964, Fleming published twelve novels and one short-story collection (a second collection was published posthumously). Later, continuation novels were written by Kingsley Amis (as Robert Markham), John Gardner, Charlie Higson, and Raymond Benson, who was the first American author of James Bond. The Young Bond series of novels was begun in 2005, by Charlie Higson.
In July 2007, it was announced that Sebastian Faulks has been commissioned to write a new Bond novel to commemorate Fleming's 100th Birthday. The book — titled Devil May Care – was published on 27 May 2008.
The EON films
In the late 1950s, EON Productions guaranteed the film adaptation rights for every 007 novel except for Casino Royale (those rights were recovered in 1999). In 1962, the first adaptation Dr. No was made, which featured Sean Connery as 007. Connery starred in six more films after his initial portrayal (including 1983's Never Say Never Again, which was not part of the EON series). George Lazenby replaced Connery (for one film) before the latter's last EON film Diamonds Are Forever, after which the part was played by Roger Moore (for seven films), Timothy Dalton (for two films), Pierce Brosnan (for four films) and Daniel Craig (two films to 2008). As of 2008, there have been 22 films in the EON series. The 21st film, Casino Royale, with Daniel Craig as James Bond, premiered on 14 November 2006, with the film going on general release in Asia and the Middle East the following day. Notably, it is the first Bond film to have been released in China. The second James Bond film to feature Craig is Quantum of Solace, which gets its title from a short story of the same name by Ian Fleming (For Your Eyes Only, 1960), but shares no similarities with the plot.
In April 2010, EON Productions suspended development of Bond 23 indefinitely due to MGM's crippling debt and uncertain future. Prior to this suspension, Craig was expected to return to the franchise for a third time. On 11 January 2011, MGM sent out a press releasing announcing the 23rd Bond film, starring Daniel Craig, will be released on 9 November 2012. The press release reveals that "Sam Mendes [is] directing [the] screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan."
The film series has grossed over $4 billion (£2 billion) (nearly $11 billion when adjusted for inflation) worldwide, making it the highest grossing film series ever. The 22nd and newest movie in the series, Quantum of Solace, was released in the UK on 31 October 2008. As of 9 November 2008, global box office totals for Quantum of Solace were almost $161 million (£103 million), placing the Bond series ahead of the Harry Potter film series even when not adjusting for inflation
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