Albert Einstein

“Condemnation without investigation is the highest ignorance.” – Albert Einstein

So the other day I was watching some alternative international news sources: 1) due to frustrations with national mainstream media and 2) to stay a better informed individual through other’s eyes. In doing so, I came across an interview with the “We are Change” group on the Russia Today news channel.

These two individuals, Steve Crock and Saad Ali, who state their goals are not based on conspiracy theories but rather are interested in showing people the evidence available. They mention just a couple of their frustrations in the lack of logical conclusions of the events of September 11^th and the misuse of the Copenhagen climate summit via Al Gore to impose an unnecessary tax on citizens.

This [9/11 inquiry] stirred my inquisitive nature and so I decided to take a dip which turned into a dive into the murky depths of the events surrounding 9/11 and the inside job argument.

After spending hours the other night wadding through articles of alternative conclusions & debunkers, YouTube and Google videos and documentaries, I thought why not present some of these arguments, pose some critical questions and see if we can’t get a healthy conversation going. After all, a healthy bit of skepticism is always welcome at my door.

It’s also important to note that individuals from various professional sectors, including congressmen from all political fronts,  have been critical in the accuracy of these events. I’ve compiled a number of relevant videos throughout and documentaries at the end for your convenience. Check them out and make up your own conclusions.

Tower Collapse Explanations

The reason given as to why the towers fell was that the temperature was not hot enough to melt the steel support but enough to weaken (about 1000 degrees Fahrenheit) the supports, which through the pancake theory, allowed the rest of the building to collapse upon it. An attempt NOVA also tried to show was the one and only logical conclusion but left out the core columns in their diagrams.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology also stated that the fuel in the craft was mostly burned up upon impact or at least within 10 minutes.

If this is true, then was this enough fuel and time to accelerate the temperatures needed to critically impact the steel supports and if it was, was the breach on those levels enough to have the above levels force themselves down and all the way through the rest of the tower in a symmetrical fashion?

Time v Distance Graph of the Pancake Theory

Which hits the ground first?

Since then the pancake theory has been made irrelevant by many including Jim Hoffman, Weidlinger and Associates, Kevin Ryan and NIST itself which headed the investigation. Kevin Ryan of Underwriters Laboratory, which was hired by NIST to examine the steel, was fired after hearing that tests were unsuccessful.

“NIST reported this in its October 2004 update, in a table of results that clearly showed that the floors did not fail and that, therefore, pancaking was not possible.”

This video along with support of others including this MIT engineer shows how they debunked the pancake theory. If the joints gave out, then the trusses would pancake on each other leaving evidence of stacking and some vertical beams in the air. The speed in which the tower collapses would have been much, much slower but it fell in about 10 seconds which is near free fall speed.

In support of the heat explanation, Carol Ciemiengo, an infrared consultant, was near the towers with a FLIR infrared thermocam. Her thermograms and other paint tests done showed temperatures of 220 degrees Fahrenheit and 480 degrees Fahrenheit and were also given to the 9/11 Commission but were not included in the final report.

WTC Thermogram

Yet molten metal was also found at the site and verified by NASA thermal imaging. This molten metal remained hot weeks after the events. This requiring another factor to be explained and present among the debris— nanothermite.

Professor Steven Jones explains thermite and its presence at Ground Zero. He explains the traces of the compounds in the dust and if added with sulphur it becomes thermate which “can cut through steel like butter”. He also explains that it can serve two purposes as an incendiary and as an explosive and is only produced by defense contractors.

More recently in April of this year, Chemistry Professor Niels Harrit spoke in Denmark of his findings of thermite in the rubble and also how this material could not have been created in another way that day.

gulli.com: You say that there is iron oxide and aluminium and conclude that this means it’s Nano Thermite. Isn’t it normal in such a building that there is iron oxide and aluminium? Or could it happen that the substance Nano Thermite was produced as a result of the collapse?

Dr. Niels Harrit: No way. You don’t expect a box of matches to be formed in a fire.

This great video goes through some of the simple physics calculations why the shorter and lighter top could not have so easily and quickly gone through the rest of the tower.

Interesting Side Note:

WTC 1 suffered a 4 hour 700F fire in its base in 1975 and was not even remotely breached of its position. The towers fell in about 80 minutes respectively in 2001.

Furthermore, the design of the building was stated by the engineers that it was designed to withstand, 200mph winds, 100 year storms and impacts of multiple airliners; the biggest of the day was a 606. Accordingly, the core was hermetically sealed which would prevent the spread of fire to other levels.

The only other reason given would be that this was a controlled demolition. They compare other buildings such as the Windsor in Madrid which burned hotter (evident by the color and size of the flames and smoke) and longer yet structurally (different) remained standing in comparison to the superiorly engineered World Trade Center towers.

Richard Gage, 20 year architect, explains and provides rationale and evidence on a morning news show why this event looks much more like a controlled demolition with the presence of pyroclastic clouds of pulverized concrete.

This Italian TV news program shows why they believe it was a controlled demolition.

Demolition requires time, preparation and resources. Is there evidence of this? According to reports yes. Security was lowered weeks prior and the building residents experienced power outages , evacuation drills and maintenance crews.  Secondary explosions were also reported near the base of the towers.

Interesting Side Note:

The previous head of security at Securacom was also George W. Bush’s brother Marvin Bush.

Building 7

Building 7 amongst the initial rubble.

One of the main topics of inquiry was why building 7 wasn’t investigated or included in the 9/11 Commission Report and why it collapsed since it wasn’t hit by a plane. Allegedly, some fires got in from the outfall of the nearest tower which was 400 feet away and there was a structural compromise of one of the three steel cores. There was also damaged sustained from the closest tower collapsing.

In comparison, buildings 3, 4, 5 and 6 which were closer to the towers suffered greater damage but still stood erect. Molton metal was also found at the base of building 7 just like in the towers.

The owner of the buildings, Larry Silverstein, was also documented saying to “pull it” [the building]. Now some say this could have meant to “pull out” as in to pull the fireman out of the building but the timing doesn’t add up. The building was evacuated at 9:00 a.m., firefighters were already pulled out at 11:30 a.m. and the building fell 6 hours later.

Interesting Side Note:

Larry Silverstein also took out a new 99 year lease in 2001 which allowed him rights also to rebuild in case of destruction. He initially invested 15 million dollars into the lease and after fighting in court that the attacks constituted as two instances with two planes attacking, he won a total of 7 billion dollars in his settlement.

A slide from the Architects and Engineers for 911 Truth

Interesting Side Note:

The floors of the building housed the mayor’s emergency bunker, IRS Regional Council, US Secret Service, C.I.A., Department of Defense, American Express Bank International and other currency and exchange commissions, insurance companies and banks. Thousands of SEC case files on corporate fraud were lost.

Effectiveness of the 9/11 Commission

Volunteers from FEMA had to recover pieces (only a couple hundred) from the junk yard. A gross majority of the steel was sold for scrap and shipped off to China and India to be melted before the investigation was launched. In the event of such a major occurrence, why would all this evidence be sold of so quickly to be scrapped?

Fire Engineering magazine had stated the investigation was a “half-baked farce”.

Amount spent investigating WTC was $600,000 compared to Bill Clinton $40,000,000.

The 9/11 Commission Report spent 15 million dollars while a similar cost for Clinton’s alleged wrongdoings totaled 65 million dollars.

Many including the families of the victims have not been satisfied entirely with the investigation and still have unanswered questions.

Why did the investigation spend so little as compared to other disasters and even scandals? Why wasn’t building 7 included in the 9/11 Commission Report?

Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania

There was a huge scatter of debris over 3 to 6 miles in Pennsylvania. Is this typical of a crash like this? No large pieces or long trench was dug out like in the Lockerbie crash. There has also been speculation that the plane was shot down. Here is a video of Rumsfeld talking to troops and saying the plane was “shot down over Pennsylvania”.

Flight 77 and the Pentagon

The events around the Pentagon incident are also interesting. There were 86 cameras around but only 1 or 2 were given up for analysis and any surrounding surveillance was confiscated by the FBI on the day.

The alleged hijacker of the plane was also deemed incompetent by his former flight instructor who said he couldn’t even handle a small Cessna much less technically maneuver the extreme path the plane took towards the Pentagon.

This is one of a very few videos of a the explosion at the pentagon but not showing the alleged plane. The guy received rights to show the clip only after a court battle.

This video shows a fighter jet hitting a fortified wall very similar to the Pentagon’s.

Then this guy goes through one of the surveillance cameras frame by frame by slowing it down. It shows the object and explosion on the same frame which is kind of strange.

This article also states that the black box recovered from Flight 77 never reported the cockpit doors opening.

If the events are accurate to the 9/11 Commission Report then why not make all the videos public ala the Freedom of Information Act?

Hijackers

Some of the alleged terrorists were documented being frequenters of U.S. air force bases. Other Alleged hijackers were found to be alive in other parts of the world as stated in the documentary Zero.

Were the hijackers fundamentalists if Mohammed Atta was a heavy drinker and drug user according to his ex-girlfriend?

European parliament member and journalist Giulietto Chiesa says he was shown video in Washington how Bin Laden’s image can be easily and completely manipulated. The documentary also shows the questionable different appearances of Bin Laden in various videos.

In 1989, Al Qaeda, was a term, as stated by Robin Cook, invented by the C.I.A. to be designated for the database of the Mujahideen. The Arabic definition for Qaeda is base with maloomat meaning data. Ergo Al Qaeda (maloomat) is database.

So basically, Al-Qaeda is just a list of the Afghan war fighters of the 80’s who were funded and trained by the C.I.A. and then later hired by subcontractors (MPRI) of the Pentagon. 5 of the 7 involved in 9/11 were former fighters of MPRI in the Kosovo War according to the documentary Zero.

Other interesting notes

NORAD failed 4 times (with enough time to scramble jets) to stop the hijackers on September 11^th. NORAD, which has the world’s most state of the art detection system, prevented 67 prior hijacking attempts before 9/11. This radar system is alerted immediately if any unauthorized craft are (outside of military) in the area but the system prior to this was changed in which a confirmation from the Pentagon was required before jets could intercept the planes.

Condie Rice and Bush said they had no former idea that this could happen. There were ordered war games with hijacked planes and planes going in and out of radar on September 11^th. Three months before 9/11 an FBI informant gave warning of a terrorist act in 2001 involving airplanes.

This informative and comical video takes a look at those who benefitted from the collapse. It includes video of John Kerry admitting they used a controlled demolition on building 7. At 1:42 in the video Larry Silverstein says that they should “pull it” (demolish the building). At 2:54 it shows a jet hitting a nuclear containment wall and compares that with the depth the alleged airliner did on the Pentagon walls.

This individual has posted a 19 part series called WTC No Plane Theory. They compare various angles and views of the events of the day and compare what appear to be many incompatibilities and inconsistencies in reports, angles and sounds.

There a lot of interests also into the planes that hit the towers. Some videos propose they were not typical airliners and point out this unusual flash of light right before impact and after the plane makes contact seen on many angles.

A hijacker’s passport was found amongst the rubble of Ground Zero. Does this seem probable?

Also many workers became gravely sick after being exposed to the area and some have died from cancer. According to RT and others nearly 85% of the workers are suffering from lung disease and yet the government is offering no assistance.

Debunkers

There have been attempts at debunking some of these alleged 9/11 “myths” most notably by this article in Popular Mechanics magazine. But many of these provide weak criticisms and this piece has itself been subject of criticism by many including in this article, which displays the use of nepotism (the writer is the cousin of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security), how politicized the article is (foreword by John McCain), and their use of false arguments in their support while ignoring other important issues.

Conclusion

Does the rationale, videos, testimonies and documentaries point to this being an inside job? The U.S. government has fabricated claims before in order to get their agenda passed i.e. The Gulf of Tonkin, WMD’s in Iraq, Saddam and Bin Laden link, and during the Cuban Missile Crisis, there was a proposition of using a self-inflicted military act in order to justify military involvement.

In evaluating such claims, the term “correlation does not imply causation” should be taken into account. This “phrase used in science and statistics to emphasize that correlation between two variables does not automatically imply that one causes the other (though it does not remove the fact that correlation can still be a hint, whether powerful or otherwise).

Furthermore, as stated in the skepticism video initially, claims by either side of a story need to be analyzed including their possible motives and positions in order to prevent “conflicts of interest”. This alone can help shed light on why one side has a greater reason and end benefit or gain than another.

The problem with some claims like with the older “Loose Change” documentaries is that they miss some key points and misrepresent others. This allows debunkers take advantage of that by providing their own weak arguments and ignoring other empirical data from professional sources i.e. architects, engineers and professors. Even helpful information like Kevin Ryan’s whistle blowing and subsequent firing from Underwriters Laboratory can be attacked and misused by inaccurate portrayals i.e. he was working on the steel tests when in reality he was interested in the tests and brought them forward.

So take a look at some of these documentaries (some are better than others) as well and see if you develop any new insights into this matter.

Documentaries:

9/11 Blueprint for Truth – Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth

Zero – An Investigation into 9/11

MIT World: Ask all you like about 9/11, but just don’t ask why? – Lecture at MIT by Journalist Robert Fisk of The Independent (UK)

9/11 Let’s Get Empirical – Lecture by Professor David Ray Griffin

9/11 Coincidence Theory – A comprehensive and critical analysis by Spencer Morgan.

Fabled Enemies – Film focuses more on the intelligence network.

The Great Conspiracy – Hosted by Barrie Zwicker, journalist and media critic, the Canadian Michael Moore.

Loose Change (The Final Cut) – Mediocre documentary which has had a few revisions.

Ok, I know some of my predictions are being recycled but I think its a good to remind people of the important things to look out for within the new year, even for those who first read my blogs or notes on my facebook profile.

Unfortunately its all bad news for us, but at least you will be able to know whats will be happening ahead. Either they came true or not, well that either means the worse is over or the events has already being unfolded.

Just to remind you that I don’t have a crystal ball with me and these events are just speculative possibilities.

Anyway there’s always steps where you can be prepared for the worse.

For Australia:

The Swine flu may reemerges again. Inflation will being to emerge in both prices of goods and services due to the excess money supply being floated around, prices in oil and energy will be on the increase.

The recession came have true to our door steps for the first time in twenty years, so far the stimulus only delays the recession as the levels of debts remains a all time high. Many sectors such as retail and hospitality will be the hardest hit. Record numbers of loan defaults, mortgage defaults, unemployment will rise, more households and business headed for bankruptcy. Also the housing market and university sector will collapse.

Victoria’s state election is going to be a very tough battle between John Brumby and Ted Baileu as support for both parties will be fairly disappointed.

The Crime rate in Australia will be on the increase due to the real economic downturn starting to emerge financial hardship are becoming more common. Race hate related crime will be on the increase against those who have immigrant backgrounds, a fight for jobs, private processions and privileges.

Myki and those new trains are disappoint many Melbourne commuters for months ahead as the new operator Metro will be facing the same problems as Connex did.

The ANZ, Westpac among of the big four banks and many other small competitors may become insolvent due to record amounts of debt, systemic failure of their fractional reserve banking due to customers fleeing to safer banks such as the commonwealth bank or the Australian post office if the new CEO decides to turn the post office into a non fractional reserve bank.

Online savers accounts from foreign financial institution such as HSBC, ING direct, RBS, Ra boo bank, GE and Citi group will be under serve difficulties as the change of getting your money back is zero per cent.

The government depositary grantee will not be able to granteed for every dollar being lost for every customer, even despite the deposit is under $10,000.

Communication censorship will continue within Australia on TV, Radio, digital radio, Internet, Mobile content, Newspapers and etc.

For the world’s economy:

Well the point is anything can happen in any moment of time, so just be prepared for whats going to happens in rest the world. Stock markets will be in free fall, investors panicking and people are taking desperate measures to safeguard their losses or recouped losses.

According to the Trends Research institute founder Gerald Celente says”
Oil could possible surpasses its all time highs as the sacred sources of oil are in hostile regions like the middle east, a on going war between Saudi Arabia and Yemen fights against each other and oil refineries may be in the firing line.

A new terror attack in the United States due to the continuing conflict in Afghanistan and near by Pakistan.

A new war emerges as either Israel wages war against Iran or Pakistan becomes a new battleground against terrorism as these Islamic militants starts targeting important location around the nation, it might a civil war within Pakistan. Any events like this nature can happen in political dangerous areas, maybe a war within the region may not occur.

The US financial sectors are in a real meltdown due to bad debts being made in the past and massive government spending and regulation continues, as the complete collapse of the US economy continues. Major Financial or enterprise failures, as revenue falls companies will heading for Bankruptcy.

The US will suffer high inflation due to the Federal Reserve adding billions of money out thin air which is not backed by savings, gold or producing nothing and monetary crisis as the US currency is not longer the world reserve currency as many countries, investors and global citizens who holds US dollars will try to dump it as the currency loses value.

Many countries in the developing world and some in the western world such as Spain, Greece and Ukraine will face huge economic difficulties and its citizens standards of living will deteriorate.

The dumping of the Greenback where many central banks like the Bank of India, The bank of Japan and the Chinese central bank with huge holdings of US notes in their reserve will try to get rid of it, by replacing with other currencies or gold reserves from the IMF.

Major natural disasters that could hit advanced economies in the events such as floodings, Tsunamis and earthquakes.

The Audit of the Federal Reserve as Congressman Ron Paul still pressing ahead with his plans to expose the Fed’s wrong doings.

Obama gets ill, there were some rumors of health complications such as breathing difficulties since he is still smoking in secret.

It’s now Good Luck from me, as all of us will enter a more difficult year.

Cheers Khoa Huynh.

In 1999 Liam Howlett created the track Titan for the porn movie The Uranus Experiment. The movie features sex and ejaculation in free fall. To shoot the scene they used a Russian aircraft. Free fall is created by orbiting the earth.

White Collar promotional poster

The pilot episode of White Collar was most definitely slick and smart, as well as charming, as Matt Bormer will charm the pants off anyone he meets as his suave alter ego Neal Caffrey.

This show most definitely fits in the USA Network’s slew of shows, which include Burn Notice and Royal Pains. It has good pacing and interesting chemistry between Matt Bormer and Tim DeKay, something that isn’t easy to fake. They work well on the screen, there is no denying this.

Basically, Dekay’s Burke is a white collar specialist who put Bormer’s Caffrey away a few years ago. In order to reduce his sentence a bit further, after having escaped a super max jail, Caffrey offers to help Burke to catch the illusive Dutchman, a criminal that Burke has also been chasing for a few years. This setup kind of reminds me of Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can as well as The Sting with Redford and Newman.

What’s also interesting, is that the guys don’t just keep this professional. They also involve their personal lives. Burke needs help to make his hot wife Elizabeth, played by Tiffani Thiessen, happy while Caffrey is searching for his wife that just vanished. All in all, a great show with good actors. I recommend it.

Warning: spoilers ahead

* * * * *

The big revelation in this episode is that the man who is holding Kate prisoner is from the FBI. At least that’s what the Interpol agent told Neal. Well, I didn’t expect to find out who the man from the FBI was, but we do. It’s pretty surprising. I wonder what will happen next. Also, this gives the show a bit of a shelf life. Why? Well if Peter is the bad dude, then he can’t be in the FBI for long now, can he?

* * * * *

Burke and Neal go to their next case. The manager at a clothing store thinks that a necklace was stolen. This necklace has the world’s biggest pink diamond on it. It’s 42 carats. The store is filled with gorgeous models posing as mannequins. She shows them footage. The diamond was stored in their vault for 10 hours. The surveillance footage shows a masked man going toward the safe and covering the camera. The necklace that they have has a pink synthetic diamond.

Neal and a model have some chemistry. It annoys everyone.

They arrive back at the office and find OPR guys there. The Office of Professional Responsibility is like IA for the cops. Hughes wants to see Burke. Fowler is waiting for him. Fowler says that 6 hours of location data from Caffrey’s ankle bracelet is missing. He suspects Caffrey of being behind the theft.

Caffrey leads Burke to Twolane, a famous cat burglar. They don’t get anything.

Moz checked out the FBI people. He didn’t turn up anything. Fowler’s file from the OPR is sealed. The next day, Burke has to arrest Caffrey. They found Neal’s signature on the fake diamond necklace.

Neal says that he was framed. Moz is Neal’s lawyer. He arrives at the prison. It looks like this was part of Neal’s plan. Moz requests all of the files pertaining to Caffrey. The judge ordered the FBI to comply, as per discovery rules. Neal wants to buy a bakery near the judge’s chambers. Neal finds out that the OPR has been monitoring them by some bugs. While in the chamber to make a statement, Caffrey gets out by jumping out of the window onto the awning of his new bakery. He easily gets away. Neal calls Elizabeth. He calls the phone of one of her work associates. Neal shows up in Peter’s kitchen. Neal wants 1 minute to explain. He shows Peter the logs. There was a bug on his phone. Neal says that Fowler is dirty. Fowler is using Peter to get to Neal. Fowler places the signature on the necklace. Neal tells Peter that he’s trying to find Kate. Kate is being held by someone. Interpol told him that someone from the FBI is holding him. Neal thinks it’s Fowler. They need to investigate him. In order to do so, they need to clear Neal first.

Back at the office, the OPR is trying to follow Burke. Burke wants to meet Neal at the jewelry store. They find out how the thief got out. It leads them to an old Prohibition tunnel. The exit is covered by CCTV. It’s Twolane.

Burke arrests him. Fowler arrives huffing and puffing around. They’ve recovered the diamond necklace. Twolane says that he was hired.

The OPR guys leave. Caffrey was cleared. Caffrey is celebrating with Burke. Kate calls Caffrey at the FBI. She says that he’s close to him. She says that he can’t trust anyone.

He tells Moz. Moz tells him about a hotel room that Fowler has been using. It’s not for an op. Neal arrives there and finds a bunch of OPR agents. He doesn’t find Kate. They aren’t surveilling Neal, they are looking at Burke.

We see Burke sitting in a chair. He’s wearing the ring. Kate arrives. He says that they need to talk about Neal.

* * * * *

Relevant Posts and Links

• White Collar @ Wikipedia
• White Collar S01E01
• White Collar S01E02
• White Collar S01E03
• White Collar S01E04
• White Collar S01E05
• White Collar S01E06

Mi-a fost dor de Tunele. Cărţile din această serie au acel ceva care te face să rămâi cu ochii în carte cât mai mult posibil. Stilul cursiv, povestea plină de situaţii neaşteptate şi creaturi ciudate fac fiecare carte din seria TUNELE un succes. Te tot întrebi, oare la ce s-ar mai putea gândi autorii ăştia, când, în următoarea frază, eşti din nou uimit. Mulţi fani spun că În Cădere Liberă este cea mai bună carte din serie. Eu spun că se menţine la acelaşi nivel cu celelalte. Nu le prea poţi compara – fiecare are ceva… special. Totuşi, v-aş putea zice că e cu siguranţă cea mai complexă de până acum.

La fel ca în primele două volume, acţiunea se desfăşoară în două planuri. Unul descrie ce se întâmplă sub pământ, iar celălalt are în vedere personajele din Suprasol. Evident, accentul cade pe ceea ce se petrece sub pământ, iar acum pericolele pândesc la fiecare pas, deoarece locul în care personajele principale au ajuns este total necunoscut şi plin de surprize. Apar unele personaje noi, inedite. Cea pe care o veţi regăsi în partea a doua, Martha, este unul dintre personajele mele preferate (pe lângă Rebbeci), iar adevărata ei poveste va fi dezvăluită pe parcurs.

Veţi observa o neaşteptată schimbare în comportamentul unui personaj mai putin important în celelalte două volume şi sunt sigur că dacă până acum nu l-aţi prea apreciat, îl veţi îndrăgi. Vă veţi da seama singuri la ce mă refer. Cred că rolul acestei cărţi este definirea personajelor,  romanul aducând detalii în plus despre ele, iar unele ascund secrete la care nici nu v-aţi fi gândit. Mi-au plăcut şi ilustraţiile de la începutul fiecărei părţi, pentru că nu sunt genul de imagini pe care le regăseşti în cărţile pentru copii. Sunt genul de ilustraţii pe care le găseşti doar la Tunele. Iar coperta, formatul… slavă Domnului că e hardcover. Un plus pentru CORINT JUNIOR, mulţumim pentru că nu ne-aţi dezamăgit de data asta.

Mi s-a părut bizar că la pagina de copyright scrie că textul aparţine în totalitate lui Roderick. Totuşi, diferenţa nu e sesizabilă, doar dacă citeşti cu mare atenţie. Cred că Roderick Gordon e tipul inteligent, cel care planifică acţiunea cu fiecare detaliu, iar Brian Williams este cel care vine cu idei noi, inedite, tipul care mai inserează unele glume în text. Sper că la următoarele volume vor continua să scrie ambii pentru că aşa au ajuns consacraţi. Însă asta nu schimbă cu nimic faptul că Tunele 3 e o carte frumoasă. Cei de la Cotidianul au confirmat că textul a fost scris exclusiv de Gordon – aveţi şi detalii în legătură cu felul în care cei doi autori scriu -, într-un articol despre carte.

Nu vreau să dau nici cel mai mic detaliu cu privire la acţiune. Luaţi cartea şi citiţi, nu vreau să vă stric plăcerea. Dacă sunteţi un fan al seriei, nu prea văd posibilităţi ca acest volum să vă displacă. Eu unul, abia aştept CLOSER.

Titlul Românesc: Tunele 3. În cădere liberă
Titlul original: Free Fall
Autori: Roderick Gordon şi Brian Williams
Editura Românească: Corint Junior
Editura originală: The Chicken House
Traducător: Dan Doboş
Autor recenzie: Doru

దారి లో హూవర్ డ్యాం చూసుకొని లాస్ వేగాస్ వైపు బయలుదేరాం. హూవర్ డ్యాం వేగాస్ అంతటికి నీళ్ళు సప్లై చేస్తుంది. నెవడా ఎడారి లో బడాయి గా బాగానే కట్టాడు  అమెరికా వాడు, ఈ లాస్ వేగాస్ నీ, దాని గొంతు తడారి పోకుండా ఆ హూవర్ డ్యాం నీ.
లాస్ వేగాస్  లో  ట్రోపోస్పియర్ ఫ్రీ ఫాలూ, మూజికల్ ఫౌంటైన్సూ చూడటం అయ్యాక,కాసినో కి వెళ్ళాం.నేను ముందు కొన్ని డాలర్లు గెలిచాను.తరవాత దానికి రెండు రెట్లు పోవడం తో,  బ్రతుకు జీవుడా అనుకొంటూ కాసినో నుంచీ బయటపడ్డాను.బాలా మాత్రం ఒక్కసారే ఆడి డెబ్భై ఐదు డాలర్లు గెలుచుకొన్నాడు.నాకేమో డబ్బుల తో పాటు లాస్ వేగస్ అంటే ఇంటరెస్ట్ కూడా పోయింది.
ముందు దిసమొలల ప్రదర్శనలు చూద్దాం అనుకొన్నా గానీ, బాలా గాడు ఆమాటే ఎత్తలేదు. పెళ్ళి కాని వాడు వాడే కాం  గా ఉంటే,నేను బయట పడటం బాగోదని నేనూ  కాం  గా ఉండి పోయాను. ఇక ఒక క్యూబన్ రెస్టారెంట్ లో అరటి కాయ తో చేసిన పిజ్జా తిని పాసడీనా కి బయలుదేరాం బాలా నేనూ.
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నాకు అమెరికన్ ఫార్మాలిటీస్  అర్ధం కాలేదు. ప్రతి రోజూ ఆఫీస్ లో ఎంటర్ అయ్యేటప్పుడు, గేట్ దగ్గర ఉండే సెక్యూరిటీ గార్డ్ “హాయ్, హౌ ఆర్ యూ డూయింగ్ టుడే”,అనేవాడు. అలానే ఆఫీస్ నుండీ ఇంటికి వెళ్ళేటప్పుడు,”హౌ వజ్ యువర్ డే?” అనే వాడు. కానీ అతని ముఖం లో మాత్రం “నువ్వేం చేసినా నాకేంటి?” అనే ఒక యాంత్రికమైన భావం కనపడేది. అటువంటప్పుడు ఫార్మాలిటీ కోసం ఏదో ఒకటి అనడం ఎందుకు? నాకు ఈ విషయం అర్ధం కాలేదు.బహుశా ఈ ఫార్మాలిటీ కి మూలాలు అమెరికన్ ఇండస్ట్రియల్ కల్చర్ లో ఎక్కడో ఉండి ఉంటాయి. నాకు అర్ధం అవ్వక పోవటానికి మూలాలు మా వెంకటాపురం లో ఉండి ఉంటాయి.
అలానే మేముండే అపార్ట్మెంట్స్లో ఒక ఇండియన్ ఫ్యామిలీ ఉంది. ఎప్పుడైనా వాళ్ళు ఎదురు పడితే నాకు ప్రాణం లేచి వచ్చేది.నేను పలకరింపు గా నవ్వి, హలో చెప్పేవాడిని.  వాళ్ళిద్దరిలో భర్త మాత్రం నా హలో కి సమాధానం గా తన పెదాలను బిగించి,కిందికి వంకర తిప్పెవాడు.  “నేను పలకరిస్తుంటే వీడు నన్ను అవమానిస్తున్నాడేమిటబ్బా!” అని అనుమానం వచ్చేది నాకు. తరవాత బాలా చెప్పాడు,” అమెరికన్స్ ఫర్మల్ గ హలో అని అలా అక్నాలెడ్జ్ చేస్తారని”.  ఫార్మల్ గా అంటే “నువ్వెవరివో నాకనవసరం” అనా అర్ధం?
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మా సేల్స్ టీం వాళ్ళు ఇండియాలో మా టీం గురించి క్లయింట్ కి బాగానే బిల్డ్ అప్ ఇచ్చినట్లున్నాడు. క్లయింట్ ఎక్స్-పెక్టేషన్స్  ఎక్కడో ఆకాశం లో ఉన్నాయి, మా టీం ప్రతిభ మాత్రం పాతళం లో ఉంది. నాకు మేము ఇండియా లో చెయ్యబోయే ప్రాజెక్ట్ గురించి తలుచుకుంటే చెమటలు పడుతున్నాయి.
నాకు సరళ మీద బెంగ బిల్డ్ అప్ కా  సాగింది.ఫోన్ లూ చాట్ లూ నా బెంగ ని తీర్చటం మానేశాయి. ఆఫీస్ లో కూడా ఇల్లు గుర్తుకొస్తోంది. ఇండియా వెళ్ళటానికి రోజులు  లెక్కపెట్టసాగాను. క్యాం కోడర్, కొన్ని పెర్ఫ్యూంసూ షాపింగ్ చేశాను.  బాలా అయిర్పోర్ట్ కి వచ్చి సెండ్ ఆఫ్ చేశాడు.
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మద్రాస్ “యార్ పోర్ట్” కి సరళా వాళ్ళమ్మా వచ్చి నన్ను రిసీవ్ చేసుకున్నారు.  ప్రయాణం చాలా నీరసం గానూ,చికాకు గానూ జరిగింది.  ప్లేన్ లో ఎంత అలిసిపోయానంటే, ప్లేన్ లో ఉన్న అందమైన అమ్మాయిలను కన్నెత్తి కూడా చూడలేదు. మరి వాళ్ళు అందమైన అమ్మాయిలని ఎలా తెలిసింది అంటారా? అది వేరే విషయం..నేను చెప్పొచ్చేదేమంటే,” నేను అందమైన అమ్మాయిలను అప్రిషియేట్ చెయ్యని ఒక అరుదైన సందర్భాలలో అది ఒకటి..     ఇంటికొచ్చాక జెట్ లాగ్  ( జెట్ లీడ్ అనాలేమో?) తీరడానికి ఒక రెండు రోజులు పట్టింది. ఇంకో మూడు రోజులు ఆఫీస్ కి సెలవుపెట్టి సరళ మీద బెంగంతా తీరిపోయేలా ఇంట్లోనే ఉన్నాను.

ఒక తెలుగు సాఫ్ట్  వేర్ ఇంజినీర్ కథ – ఒకటవ భాగం

ఒక తెలుగు సాఫ్ట్  వేర్ ఇంజినీర్ కథ -రెండవ భాగం

ఒక తెలుగు సాఫ్ట్  వేర్ ఇంజినీర్ కథ -మూడవ భాగం

ఒక తెలుగు సాఫ్ట్  వేర్ ఇంజినీర్ కథ -నాలుగవ భాగం

ఒక తెలుగు సాఫ్ట్  వేర్ ఇంజినీర్ కథ -ఐదవ భాగం

ఒక తెలుగు సాఫ్ట్  వేర్ ఇంజినీర్ కథ -ఆరవ భాగం

ఒక తెలుగు సాఫ్ట్ వేర్ ఇంజినీర్ కథ – ఏడవ భాగం

ఒక తెలుగు సాఫ్ట్ వేర్ ఇంజినీర్ కథ – ఎనిమిదవ భాగం

ఒక తెలుగు సాఫ్ట్ వేర్ ఇంజినీర్ కథ-9

ఒక తెలుగు సాఫ్ట్ వేర్ ఇంజినీర్ కథ-10

ఒక తెలుగు సాఫ్ట్ వేర్ ఇంజినీర్ కథ-11

ఒక తెలుగు సాఫ్ట్ వేర్ ఇంజినీర్ కథ-12

ఒక తెలుగు సాఫ్ట్ వేర్ ఇంజినీర్ కథ-13

ఒక తెలుగు సాఫ్ట్ వేర్ ఇంజినీర్ కథ-14

ఒక తెలుగు సాఫ్ట్ వేర్ ఇంజినీర్ కథ-15

ఒక తెలుగు సాఫ్ట్ వేర్ ఇంజినీర్ కథ-16

ఇంకా ఉంది…

UPDATE: Câştigătorul este Mihai Stanciu.

Editura CORINT JUNIOR vă invită la un nou concurs. Premiul: TUNELE 3: ÎN CĂDERE LIBERĂ de Roderick Gordon şi Brian Williams.
Pentru a-l câştiga, trebuie să răspundeţi la întrebarea: care este numele volumului 4 din seria Tunele?

Răspunsurile vor fi trimise pe adresa: shaukismagicalshelf [at] yahoo [dot] com.
Perioada de desfăşurare: 23 noiembrie – 25 noiembrie.
Aflarea câştigătorilor: 25 noiembrie, ora 22.

Hoje é um dia muito especial para os fãs latino-americanos (exceto nós, brasileiros) da série Túneis. Afinal, hoje é lançada a versão traduzida do terceiro livro da série, Freefall, que em espanhol se chamará “Caída libre”. E amanhã será lançado “Caiguda lliure”, a versão em catalão (?) do livro.

Hoje o livro está chegando somente na Argentina e na Espanha, mas calcula-se que dentro de duas ou três semanas ele já estará sendo vendido por todos os outros países (mais uma vez, exceto o Brasil!)

Os fãs desses países estão recebendo o livro exatos 168 dias após o lançamento britânico.

Fonte: Território Túneles | Mundo Túneles

E se vocês pensavam que R$14,90 por “Túneis” no Submarino.com já era o cúmulo (eu paguei R$39,90 no meu ¬¬’), a Livraria Saraiva agora abaixou o preço para incríveis R$09,90 (sim, nove reais e noventa centavos!). Então, corra lá e compre antes que o preço volte ao normal, porque estas promoções geralmente acabam do nada.

Já tem o seu? Ah, compra pro amigo, pro professor (fim do ano tá aí, que tal aumentar suas notas comprando agradando o professor?), já guarda pra dar de Natal…

E pra quem entende inglês, a Saraiva também vende os livros importados da série:

• Tunnels (brochura) (versão americana): R$20,90 baratinho!
• Tunnels (encadernado) (versão americana): R$41,80
• Deeper (encadernado) (versão americana): R$44,10
• Freefall (versão americana): R$49,00

Por hoje é só!

Atualizado #1: O preço acaba de abaixar para R$09,90! Corram!

When asked my greatest fears, I would always answer failure and mediocrity. As of late, I am realizing the conflict between the two, and feeling their cyclical battle that motivates my words, actions, and life. Because in its fullest fruition, fear paralyzes me … and all I can ever be is mediocre, frozen in the land of the middle ground. I never give my heart to anything, not fully, because of that consistently nagging thought that I might trip and fall, flat on my face.

How do I conquor it, then? Perhaps it’s time to go a-cliff jumping … to throw myself into the abyss of the unknown and find that even if I fall, failure is not my final destination. Only the promise of greatness and beyond (though there may be delays and blunders along the way). So long mediocrity. May your only evidence of me be the dust that settles, as I freefall into uncharted tomorrows.

Deuteronomy 33:26-29

Underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:27

On August 27, 1960, US Air Force Captain Joseph Kittinger Jr. sat in a gondola suspended from a high altitude balloon. When the balloon reached 102,800 feet above the surface of the Earth (more than 19 miles), Kittinger jumped out. Four minutes and 36 seconds later his main parachute opened at 18,000 feet, but not before he had attained a velocity of 614 miles per hour! Kittinger carefully planned his record-setting descent.

In the spiritual realm, we’re more likely to find that life is filled with unexpected free falls. The loss of a loved one, a broken relationship, a terminated job, can make us feel as if we’re dropping into the unknown. For believers, there is a spiritual “parachute” —the loving arms of God.

Thousands of years ago, Moses wrote these words to the Israelites just before he died: “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). The words “everlasting arms” refer to the protection and preservation of God’s people. Despite the stressful circumstances they would surely face, they could rest in the assurance of God’s watchful care.

Do you feel as if you’re in a free fall? Take heart. God’s loving arms are there to catch you. —dennis fisher

O the sweet unfailing refuge of the everlasting arms; in their loving clasp enfolded nothing worries or alarms. —hennessay

With God behind you and His arms beneath you, you can face whatever lies ahead of you.

The bases for BeginnersFirst and foremost, you should find a real school of skydiving and reliable. Can be a good idea to ask a good reputation. This is a fairly easy task to do. The best places to begin research on them are local airports, internet and phone books. Because skydiving is one of the most expensive sport to learn, you must decide how you want to learn and then to check his pocket book.There are three methods of training: TandemStatic Free lineAccelerated Fall (AFF). All these methods have their advantages and disadvantages, but we'll have more on this one later.What little to do first? Safety and Heath tips.The first thing to do is to consider health and safety. Know the risks before they become involved. Skydiving is not chess, it will not be uncomfortable sitting on a concrete bench, moving pieces around a game board. You are about to exit a plane and in freefall, reaching speeds of up to 250 meters per second which is 110 mph! If you have a bad ticker, unregulated high blood pressure, or any number of other health problems, talk with an instructor and discuss the options in detail. Also keep in mind, even the best of the best in this sport sometimes hit the ground a bit 'more difficult then they mean. So, bad knees may also be a consideration. Do not be afraid or embarrassed to discuss these things with your instructor before making that leap first. It is always preferable to hit the ground safely then to plant yourself in it. Honestly though, with the proper preparation and instructions would be more likely to develop cataracts from reading this article then suffer a serious injury from skydiving. Listen to your instructors, know your plants, and not assume you can do something just because we have seen in a method movie.Training. Which training method to use? As I researched information, I discovered that there are three approved methods of training to become a licensed skydiver, jumping in tandem, static jump, and the Accelerated Free Fall (AFF). TandemThe tandem, airplane games, is the easiest and fastest way to get into the air. With the training ground, which last about 30 minutes, you then jump out of an airplane while bound to the chest of a professional Tandem Instructor. After three or four of these jumps and approved the completion of the first jump of the course (ground school), a student can then move to the next level.Tandem jump, however, does provide the opportunity for the adventurous spirit that can not possibly meet physical or competency requirements for the static line or accelerated free fall jump. Leveraging the ability of tandem instructor, it may still be able to experience the thrill of extreme skydiving.Static parachuting LineStatic line has been developed by the military as a safety measure for paratroopers. It is used for instant and reliable deployment of parachutes, airplane games, at a relatively low altitude, about 2000 -, airplane games, 3000 meters. Basically what happens is a specially designed rope is attached to the plane and your parachute. As you walk from the floor, the cable row once the parachute for you. No fuss – no muss. After about two of these jumps the student, airplane games, begins demonstrating mock-pulls of a dummy Ripcord. After about three of these jumps the student is ready for their first free fall.Accelerated Free FallThis is the way to, airplane games, go for the adrenalin junky out there. Why? You get to free fall from jump one! Obviously this method is a bit 'more expensive due to the fact that there will be two instructors jump with you, and even if they are in free fall, the instructors will maintain hands-on contact at any time during the free fall. After a few jumps like this, you will start to do it alone with a single instructor giving more advice and training. This method will take the class a license a little faster.When 'my first jump is completed? What to do after classAfter before completing 4 to 5 hours of ground training school and made 25 jumps, you are qualified for the license and can go up to the D license, requiring 500 jumps. But once you have the license, I really done? The answer to this question is no. As with any skill is not learned everything. There will always be that level of skill to work alongside. New equipment and techniques are being developed every day. So the only thing left to do now is to get started! Have fun and good jumping! Andrew Caxton is the webmaster and publisher of http://www.skydiving-parachuting-guide.com Andrew used to publish interesting articles and reviews on skydiving equipment powered parachutes. More information on skydiving and parachuting website online guide.

Parece que agora sim a gente põe o pé na estrada na longa jornada que ainda temos até chegar ao filme de Túneis! Frases feitas a parte, o Barry Cuhnningham, editor da série no Reino Unido, confirmou que o filme já tem um diretor, mas não disse quem. Confiram o trecho da entrevista onde ele fala sobre o filme e o lançamento de Free Fall nos EUA:

Antes de mais nada, vocês que leram Túneis (de Roderick Gordon e Brian Williams), e depois continuaram a seguir a série com Profundezas, ficarão felizes em ouvir que o terceiro livro, Free Fall (Queda Livre), vai ser publicado [nos EUA] em breve. É engraçado, mas se você olhar pra capa, parece quase dizer que o título é “Freefail”, com uma pedrona se fazendo de pingo do “I”, que não existe. Hm. [...] Os direitos do filme foram vendidos, o que já é meio velho. Mas novo é o fato de que o projeto já tem um diretor contratado. Mas Barry não diria nada mais que isso, então continuamos [a entrevista].

Fonte: TunnelsDeeper | Tradução: Armada Styx

Comentário pessoal: Espero que seja alguém de cacife, porque se for pra fazer igual a m3rd@ que a Catherine fez em Twilight, prefiro que fique sem filme. E me desculpem a falta de atualizações, eu estava sem internet #speedyhaters

Două cărţi mult-aşteptate vor ajunge la Corint Junior în toamna aceasta: TUNELE 3 – ÎN CĂDERE LIBERĂ de Roderick Gordon şi Brian Williams şi AVENTURILE LUI MIERCURI 2 – OUL TIGRULUI de Jon Berkeley!

Da, în stânga puteţi vedea coperta românească oficială a volumului 3 din seria de succes TUNELE, de Roderick Gordon şi Brian Williams.

Mie, personal, parcă îmi place mai mult a noastră. Poate pentru că aştept de atâta vreme sa o văd? O să fie şi mai frumos când o să o putem admira pe viu, mai ales dacă cei de la CORINT JUNIOR ne vor asculta rugămintea şi o vor tipări în format hardcover, la fel ca celelalte două cărţi apărute.

Data lansării a fost stabilită pentru 15 noiembrie, aşa că nu mai avem foarte mult de aşteptat.

După Tunele 2. În Adâncuri, este posibil ca aventura din Tunele să devină şi mai primejdioasă? Şi unde oare se va termina?

Will Burrows şi gasca sa n-au ajuns nici pe departe la sfârşit, ci sunt în cădere liberă printr-un por subteran. Simţind efectele gravitaţiei reduse, misterele întunecate ale adâncului li se dezvăluie şi ei descoperă un ciudat recif de ciuperci. Acesta nu doar că dă la iveală vestigii ale unei civilizaţii străvechi, ci le oferă şi indicii despre un tărâm pierdut de la capătul Pământului.

Cartea a doua din Aventurile lui Miercuri de Jon Berkeley continuă fantastica poveste, uneori plină de umor, a călătoriei lui Miles Miercuri, care, plecat în căutarea adevărului, trece prin numeroase aventuri stranii.

Când Circul Bolsillo poposeşte în Larde, orfanul Miles Miercuri şi prietena sa Micuţa se alătură minunatului spectacol.

Curând, se întâlnesc cu doctorul Tau-Tau, un misterios clarvăzător care, cândva, i-a cunoscut pe părinţii lui Miles şi care susţine că tatăl acestuia încă trăieşte. Împreună cu doctorul Tau-Tau, Miles pleacă în căutarea tatălui său, dar, spre marea lui surpriză, această aventură se transformă într-o călătorie ce are drept scop găsirea unei multrâvnite pietre fabuloase, plină de puteri, care conţine sufletul unui tigru, numită Oul Tigrului. Nimeni nu ştie unde se află acesta, iar Miles şi Micuţa trebuie să pună cap la cap indiciile pe care le au şi care, se pare, au o neaşteptată legătură cu părinţii băiatului. Este oare Oul Tigrului cheia secretelor din trecutul lui Miles?

Doru

With my skydive set, my jump-time reserved, my jump DVD and stills paid for in advance and dressed in my skydive gear consisting of my harness on my body and an altimeter on my left hand, my skydive was simply not to be.  Maybe it was a sign.  Maybe it was the wrong place, wrong time.  Maybe it was just bad luck, but my skydive was not destined to happen…for now.

Like something you see out of a Judd Apatow movie, time after time, after time, whenever I attempted the jump from Freefall Adventures, my jump was ultimately cancelled, leaving me with a dumfounded look on my face saying, “What the hell?”

Heres a timeline of when I was scheduled to jump, yet in the end most likely ended up sitting on the couch:  

• August 29. 11:00 A.M.:  Jump cancelled by Freefall Adventures due to rain in the forecast (my disappointment is born).
• September 3. 5:00 P.M.:  I was forced to reschedule my jump after having to have sutures removed (my disappointment is now festering).
• September 7.  3:00 P.M.:  After arriving at Freefall Adventures at 2:45 P.M. and literally sitting around for over three hours, watching two groups jump before mine, my girlfriend and I are told at 6:00 P.M. that our jump has to be rescheduled due to…clouds in the sky.  REALLY!  CLOUDS IN THE SKY!!  (my disappointment is now raging with anger beginning to grow).
• September 10. 10:00 A.M.:  After calling Freefall Adventures for half an hour, Abby is able to speak to a receptionist, while we are driving to Williamstown, only to find out that our jump would have to be cancelled due to an abundance of strong winds (my disappoint is not at its climax, my anger has subsided to an overall felling of disbelief and humility).

My initial feeling after my jumps didn’t take place was, “What the hell?”  How could I feel anything differently?  Everytime I tried to make my jump, my dream was squashed and put on hold for another date that would only, yet again, be delayed for another date sometime in the unforeseeable future.

Will I ever skydive?  I can only answer that question with a resounding YES!  When will I jump?  An answer to that question is more difficult to forecast.  My jump will happen.  And when it does, I will be sure to blog and post videos and stills about it.  I promise to make everyone a participant in my jump when the day FINALLY comes.

I’ve recently become obsessed with a new (to me) term.

Rogue planet.

A rogue planet is an object which has equivalent mass to a planet and is not gravitationally bound to any star, and that therefore moves through space as an independent object.

They travel aimlessly through an absolute vacuum…frozen worlds without days or years.

In just an hour I will mark the two year anniversary of my free fall. It’s strange because it seems like so much and so little has happened. My Dad called to tell me that my big brother was found dead on September 4^th 2007 and it still seems like I just got off the phone with Jamie and on the other hand, it seems like he’s been gone a million years and life has changed utterly and completely.

I used to have a star. I had gravity. The world had solid meaning and everything was relatable to it. I used to think that my life was a course that had been plotted but a seed of doubt was planted that night and it continues to grow. There are no forests or trees on a rogue planet so I don’t know how I could see them. No path because there are no damn woods.

If this seems excessive to you…it’s because it is. I am in absolute agreement with you. Enough is enough. Something has to go right. An orbit must be achieved. Rotation must begin again. The frustration of it is consuming me. I feel as powerless as you can feel and still know you are breathing.

I shouldn’t exaggerate. There have been moments when I have swung close to a friendly sun. I am near one now. I hope to stay there, even if it’s only for a while. Being a rogue planet is a tough and lonely business. I do not recommend it. Proper planets frown on your independent state. Planets who have never been rogue just don’t understand and you are viewed with extreme suspicion.

A word of advice? Stay in a nice circular orbit around your star, check its position on a regular basis. Know where you are.

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