Amazing Mega Machines

This is the largest Earth Mover in the world..... built by the German company, Krupp, and seen here crossing a federal highway in Germany en route to its destination (an open-pit coal mine). It is cheaper to move the thing like this, than to construct or reassemble onsite.

Specifications:
~ The mover stands 311 feet tall and 705 feet long.
~ It weighs over 45,500 tons
~Cost $100 million to build
~ Took 5 years to design and manufacture
~ 5 years to assemble.
~ Requires 5 people to operate it.
~The Bucket Wheel is over 70 feet in diameter with 20 buckets,
each of which can hold over 530 cubic feet of material.
~ A 6-foot man can stand up inside one of the buckets.
~ It moves on 12 crawlers (each is 12 feet wide, 8' high and 46 feet long). There are 8 crawlers in front and 4 in back. It has a maximum speed of 1 mile in 3 hours (1/3 mile/hour).
~ It can remove over 76,455 cubic meters each day.
(100,000 large dump trucks at 40yds. each)

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Mega Telescope
It's just like the pickup in your garage--only this truck's torque equals that of a half-dozen semi tractors. The axle assembly (top) is the size of an F-150.
"This isn't lab-coat science," says one of the crew moving giant radio telescopes around New Mexico's remote Plains of San Agustin high desert. "This is blue-collar science--we're outer space's plumbers." Here, at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large Array (VLA), astronomers look into the deepest parts of the universe using interconnected 82-ft-wide radio-telescope dishes. Arranged in a giant Y, the 27 dishes can be reconfigured using 72 different mounting pads along the lengths of the 13-mile-long legs. When it's time to reposition the array, the VLA's jeans-and-boots-wearing crews and two specially built movers swing into action as though they're switching lenses on a giant camera.

Built in the 1970s as the VLA itself was being constructed, the two movers--known as the High Plains Lifter and Jack of Diamonds--ride atop two parallel sets of standard-gauge railroad tracks. The diesel engines turn hydraulic pumps that send pressurized fluid to four-wheel "trucks" that in turn propel the ­movers. The 230-ton telescopes are bolted atop the backs of the movers. At each mounting pad, a set of tracks runs perpendicular to the Y's leg.
When a mover reaches that intersection, it stops and the crew goes to work ensuring it's perfectly positioned to change direction. Hydraulic pistons raise and turn the mover 90 degrees so that the crew can crawl underneath and align the truck to the tracks leading to the next mounting pad. Since the movers top out at about 3 mph, even a short trip takes hours; traveling the length of the Y can consume an entire day. While the mover's engine drones, the hydraulic system emits a low-grade hiss, and the steel wheels creak on the rails. But no matter how undignified the sound, the sight of a telescope moving through desert is simply, well, majestic.

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Mega Dump

In the world of mining trucks, there's an ongoing dispute about exactly which one is the largest. Many of these beasts are equipped with electro-­mechanical drivetrains, like a locomotive. But not this massive Cat. The 797B uses the same kind of direct mechanical drive as, say, a Chevy Silverado. So in terms of conventional powertrains, this is the largest. "It's just a big yellow truck," says Mark Richards, marketing supervisor for Caterpillar's large mining trucks division. A big yellow truck powered by a V24 diesel that generates 3370 hp and a mind-boggling 12,170 lb-ft of torque.

Driving the 797B is easy--once I get up the ladder that crosses in front of a radiator so massive it could double as a barbecue grill for the Jolly Green Giant. Inside the steel-fortified cockpit, I sit on a flat, squishy hydraulic seat facing a conventional steering wheel. My foot hits an accelerator pedal of normal proportions, and most of the instrumentation is familiar except for a digital readout that tells me how much tonnage is in the bed behind me. The engine's air starter screams until the immense V24 rumbles to life.

Put the seven-speed automatic into gear, and the truck initially lurches forward before lumbering off the line. It's then I realize that I'm almost 20 ft in the air, and what's behind me is three times bigger than any house I've ever lived in. The hydraulic steering has no feel, but it reacts quickly, and the 50 oil-cooled, 42-in. disc brakes could stop a runaway continental shelf. In fact, it's so confidence-inspiring that I'm tempted to become overconfident--not good when a mistake could mean picking the remains of my own Toyota Tundra out of the 797B's undercarriage. After thorough and thoughtful consideration, I think I'll keep my day job.

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Mega Boeng

The 110-ton TLD DBL-110 loader can handle 68 tons of cargo. The deck, which is one-third the length of a football field, can be elevated to a height of 33 ft.
Boeing's wide-body airliner assembly plant in Everett, Wash., is the largest building on Earth by volume--472,370,319 cu ft. Big things here are almost pedestrian. Even so, the 118-ft-long, 32-wheel TLD DBL-110 cargo loader stands out. Way out. "That's DBL," chief operator Chris Dailey says, "as in Darn Big Loader." Actually, darn big is an understatement: This is the largest aircraft loader, period. The DBL-110 is the ground link in the supply chain for production of Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner. The manufacturing of 787s is global, so the challenge was to orchestrate final assembly in Everett. Suppliers fly in parts on a fleet of three modified 747-400s called Dreamlifters. The DBL-110 is then used to offload wings, fuselage sections and tailpieces through the swing-away tails of the 747s. The DBL's cargo deck is identical to the deck of the 747--whatever fits inside the aircraft fits onto the loader. Its cab is stuffed with monitors, hydraulic deck controls and a laser sensor that aligns the loader with the plane. However, it's the operator who guides the loader up to the aircraft, not a computer. And the two vehicles never make contact. Freight moves from the plane's belly across an inch-wide gap and onto the loader's rails.
With 32 wheels, 16 axles and six programmable steering modes, the DBL-110 is, yes, fun to drive. We very carefully drove it along Everett's runway aprons, and it's surprisingly simple to operate--pick the right steering mode, and it's nearly capable of rotating around its own center axis. Pick another mode, and the loader crab-walks. "Here, let's put you in the air," Dailey says as he raises the loader to its full 33-ft-high extension. The engines are now 30 ft below me, but the unladen DBL-110 remains stable and steerable.
When you're hauling millions of dollars of parts along busy taxiways, it pays to be maneuverable.

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Mega Dozer

The LeTourneau's massive bucket is 24 ft wide­. So, in a schoolboy's fantasy, it could easily swallow two 1970s Cadillac Fleetwoods piled on top of one another and lift the sedans 45 ft in the air before dumping them

Asarco's open-pit Ray Mine in Arizona is so rich in copper that water sprayed on its dirt roads to keep down the dust instantly turns green as the ore oxidizes. If you stand at the bottom of the mine, which covers more than 50,000 acres, and look up at its high, tiered walls, you travel back in time to the top shelf, where the first cuts were made a generation ago by men with picks and shovels. Here at the bottom, though, the world's largest wheel loader--the LeTourneau L-2350--gulps 75 tons in a single bite.

The L-2350 is a 2300-hp monster: After tearing into the desert dirt a few hundred times, the steel teeth welded to the bottom edge of its bucket shine like silver. The machine's gaping maw is designed to dump rock and ore loosened by explosives into a seemingly endless line of huge trucks that haul it away for processing. Like most wheel loaders, the LeTourneau is articulated in the middle with massive hydraulic rams that pivot the huge hinge with 3400 psi. The Detroit diesel V16 is the size of a Ford F-350. At a governed 5 mph, the L-2350 burns through 1050 gal of fuel in 24 hours. This $7.6 million machine is so freakishly enormous that it was assembled on-site, and when its useful life is over, it will be scrapped on-site too. It will never have left the mine--from cradle to grave.

Only veteran operators are allowed to handle the L-2350, and Ruben Rosalez looks the part. Rosalez, who started out working in underground mines and whose burly build, graying ponytail and weathered work clothes would look perfect atop a Harley, jokingly says his greatest qualification for operating the L-2350 is his "depth perception." But seeing him drive the monster using two joysticks--the left one controls the machine's movements, the right controls the bucket--is to see professional expertise become a mechanical ballet.

My perch, a small jumpseat next to his chair, gives me a view of the 13-ft-tall, chain-wrapped tires from high above. "The chains aren't for traction," Rosalez says. "The tires just last longer this way." The whole machine is covered with the mine's dust--washing the L-2350 would itself probably yield a couple of pounds of copper. But we're here today to get that L-2350 a little dirtier. "The name of the game is to fill those trucks," Rosalez explains as he settles in and points to the line of dump trucks.

With that, the massive torque plunges the bucket's teeth forward, deep into the dirt. After scooping up the load, the LeTourneau rocks back on its haunches, all the while bouncing on squishy sidewalls like a coast guard cutter in constant 20-ft waves. And when Rosalez lines the bucket up to one of the trucks, it seems to exhale as it dumps the load. "I guess I'm used to the motion," Rosalez says, never losing his rhythm as he fills a truck in three scoops, then blows his horn to signal the next one over. "I don't even feel it. In fact, maybe I love it."

Badminton Court Size

 Badminton is a type of sport that uses a racket and is played in a designated area designed according to specifications set out for the game. The game can be played by two persons, called a singles; and two pairs of players, called a doubles.
A badminton court size differs depending on the number of players. A singles badminton court should measure approximately seventeen feet wide and forty-four feet long; while a doubles court should have general measurements of twenty feet wide and forty-four feet long.
There is also a specific dimension for the net. For a badminton court, the height of the net should be at least five feet high. 

Playing the Game

Other than having the use of the appropriate badminton court built according to the mandatory specifications, you will also need a badminton racket and a shuttlecock.
A shuttlecock is sometimes referred to a birdie or bird. There are two kinds of shuttlecocks that you can use. One is made with feathers and has a cork cap on the bottom and one is made from plastic with a rubber cap on the bottom.
The racket is usually made of wood, plastic or light metal. A tennis racket may not be substituted for a badminton racket and vice-versa.
The game is very easy to play as you need only to strike the shuttlecock once your opponent hits it. You should not let the birdie hit the ground at all costs, otherwise, your opponent will score.

Basic Rules

To start the game the players will toss a coin to determine who serves first. Sometimes, the racket will be spun to decide on who gets to serve first.
During a game, players are not allowed to touch the net with their respective rackets. The shuttlecock should not rest on the racket. It is also not allowed to be carried on your racket.
If your shuttlecock hits the net after you serve and it comes across to your opponent’s net, the game still continues. However, if the shuttlecock is still within your opponent’s side of the net, you may not reach across and hit the birdie back to your opponent. You have to wait for it to cross over your net before you can hit.
If a serve is lost, this is referred to as a side out. In a class game, the games are played up to fifteen points while in a match, the game is played best of two out of three.

Front-Wheel-Drive Oversteer

It is generally perceived that front-wheel-drive cars - that is, cars in which the front wheels do both, put power to the road and steer - are understeering wrecks that fly off the road if you go into a corner too quickly. This is generally true, but it is possible to eliminate understeer and actually oversteer to a certain degree. Oversteering fun is not just the domain of rear-wheel-drivers.

Oversteer is best practiced in an open area, and preferably on gravel so you can lose traction without much effort. You will not be able to hold a long, continuous sideways drift around a sweeping corner with a front-wheel-drive car like you can with a rear-wheel-drive vehicle, and you cannot use engine power on a high-horsepower car to start a "powerslide" since the power acts on the front wheels. But still, contrary to popular belief, oversteer is possible with a front-driver.

Video : Watch a Nissan Sentra attempt to catch a slide WMV format / 203kb / 6 sec.

One way to induce oversteer in your front-driver is to plow hard into a corner and then lift off the throttle in the middle of the corner. Lifting off the throttle will cause the weight of the car to "shift" to the front, thereby putting more weight over the front wheels and, ultimately, adding more grip to the front tires. However, if you are lucky, the rear tires will lose traction and start to slide outwards while you're turning. You are now oversteering. Some countersteer now has to be applied to keep control of the slide, that is, steer in the direction of the slide. Learning to precisely "catch" a slide will take a lot of practice, so it is better to play around in an empty gravel lot or a slippery track with large run-off areas. Start off at moderate corner entry speeds and then increase this speed as you become more confident. This technique is only possible with well-balanced front-drivers such as an Integra or an old Sentra SE-R. If your car can achieve oversteer in this way, you will generally be cornering faster. Practice with lower entry speeds, and gradually increase it as you get confident.

Video : Watch a FWD European Ford Puma oversteer around a curve WMV format / 158kb / 4 sec.

A brute-force way to induce a slide is to pull the handbrake (or press the e-brake) momentarily and yank the steering wheel in the direction of the corner, then countersteer. For example, to take a right-curving corner, you could plow into the corner in second gear and as soon as the corner starts, yank the steering wheel to the right and a split second later, pull the handbrake. The rear wheels will lock and suddenly lose traction. The car will quickly go it a sideways skid, at which point you quickly start countersteering. Now, before exiting the corner, release the handbrake. The front wheels of the car will just try to pull the car straight again and you'll have to steer exactly where you want to go. If you don't release the handbrake in time, you will spin. If done right, eventually you will center the wheel and straighten the car. Throughout the turn, keep the accelerator at a constant position, but you can apply a litle more throttle on the exit if you think you are spinning out. One hand should always be on the handbrake, with the button depressed, so you will have to turn with one hand. The sudden slide is a little hard to control on the first few tries and requires quick reflexes. And, as stated earlier, a continuous slide around the whole corner, like those done with rear-wheel-drive cars, is not possible with a front-driver. Pulling the handbrake to turn around a long radius corner will actually worsen your cornering time in most cases, so it is not a technique for road racing. But it can save you if speeding and understeering off a cliff is eminent.
Most cars on the road today are front-wheel-drive cars, from Acura to Volvo. The only rear-wheel-drive cars available nowadays are either impractical roadsters, exotic sports cars or overweight luxury cars. There are a number of well-balanced front-wheel-drive cars available that are actually easy to drive fast around corners. Examples include the RSX Type-S and legendary Integra Type-R from Acura, Celica GT-S from Toyota, SVT Focus from Ford, Sentra SE-R from Nissan, and the new Mini Cooper. Do note that not all front-wheel-drive cars are suitable for oversteering. Many cars, like the Infiniti G20 and Chevy Monte Carlo, are set up to understeer, sometimes aggressively so, because understeer is generally easier to control than oversteer for inexperienced motorists. The methods described here only serve as a general guide and will have to be adjusted according to the car you drive. There are other techniques too, such as left-foot braking and the pendulum drift, but these are harder and require their own space for discussion.
On a cautionary note, sliding a car not set up with substantial bracing might cause your car to fall apart! Practice on gravel, grass or in the rain, in an open area. Then adapt your car and your driving to handle the tarmac.
Modernracer.com © 2003

Budaya Minum Tapai

Masyarakat etnik di Sabah, khususnya Kadazandusun mempunyai sejarahnya tersendiri dari segi adat-istiadat, pantang-larang, pakaian tradisional, makanan dan sehinggalah meminum tapai. Amalan budaya turun temurun daripada nenek moyang ini menjadi ikutan sehingga sekarang. Walau bagaimanapun, budaya untuk memenggal kepala manusia sudah dihapuskan. Ini berikutan zaman sudah pun berubah dan pengembangan agama di kalangan masyarakat Kadazandusun menyedarkan mereka bahawa budaya `potong kepala’ adalah salah disisi undang-undang dan tidak boleh diamalkan lagi. Justeru itu, ramai masyarakat kadazandusun mengambil keputusan untuk menguburkan tengkorak-tengkorak yang selama ini diletakkan di atas pintu masuk rumah. Ada juga yang diambil oleh pihak Muzeum Sabah bagi tujuan tatapan genarasi muda sebagai satu bahan sejarah. Sabah sememangnya kaya dengan kepelbagaian etnik dan budaya. Tradisi minum tapai bukan sahaja menjadi kegemaran oleh suku kaum kadazandusun tetapi juga kaum Murut. Cara-cara membuat tapai hampir sama, tetapi dari segi adat istiadat mempunyai perbezaan yang ketara.

Kajian tugasan ini hanya memfokuskan budaya minum tapai di kalangan masyarakat kadazandusun di salah sebuah kampung dalam daerah Papar. Kampung yang di pilih ialah Kg. Langsat, Batu 6, Papar iaitu lebih kurang 9 kilometer dari Pekan Papar dan 49 kilometer dari Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu. Kampung yang dikaji ini, di diami oleh 98% masyarakat Kadazandusun dan 1% kaum Cina. Penduduk disini adalah penganut agama Roman Catholic, Buddha dan Islam. Penganut majoriti ialah penganut Catholic dengan 98 peratus. Budaya minum tapai masyarakat Kadazandusun di kampung ini tidak mengambarkan keseluruhan masyarakat Kadazandusun di daerah-daerah lain di Sabah. Ini kerana terdapat perbezaan budaya minum tapai dan cara-cara membuat tapai di daerah-daerah yang lain.

Budaya (culture) bermaksud cara hidup manusia. Ia merupakan satu proses perkembangan sahsiah, akal, semangat dan usaha manusia dalam sesuatu kelompok. Perkara ini dapat dilihat melalui etimologi perkataan "budaya" yang bermaksud " budi + daya "; yakni budi sebagai aspek dalaman manusia yang meliputi akal dan nilai, manakala daya sebagai aspek lahiriah manusia yang meliputi usaha dan hasilan. Maka pada kesimpulannya, budaya boleh difahamkan sebagai segala penghasilan masyarakat manusia dalam pelbagai bentuk sama ada yang dapat dilihat atau tidak. Konsep budaya merupakan satu konsep yang penting untuk membandingkan perbezaan antara suatu masyarakat dengan suatu masyarakat yang lain.

Kadazandusun merupakan nama kaum bumiputera asli yang terbesar di Sabah dan berasal daripada Indo-China. Kaum etnik ini menggunakan pelbagai bahasa dan dialek dengan pelbagai kebudayaan dan adat resam tradisional. Kumpulan etnik yang terbesar adalah suku kaum Dusun yang merupakan satu pertiga dari penduduk Sabah. Suku kaum Dusun yang tinggal di pantai barat seperti Penampang, Papar, Tuaran, Kiulu, Tamparuli, Tenghilan, Kota Belud dan juga di lembah bukit di Ranau, Tambunan, dan Keningau adalah petani tradisi yang menanam padi sawah dan huma

Menurut Persatuan Kebudayaan Kadazandusun Sabah (KDCA), Kadazandusun terdiri dari 40 etnik iaitu Bonggi, Lundayo, Sukang, Bundu, Makian, Sungei, Dumpas, Malapi, Tatana, Gana, Mangkaak, Tangara, Garo, Minokok, Tidong, Ida’an, Murut, Tindal, Kadayan, Nabai, Tobilung,
Kimaragang, Paitan, Tolinting, Kolobuan, Pingas, Tombonuo, Kuijau, Rumanau, Tuhawon
Lingkabau, Rungus, Tutung, Liwan, Sinobu, Bisaya, Lobu, Sinorupu, Lotud dan Sonsogon

Sumber : http://kdca.org.my/about/kadazandusun

THE LEGENDS

Until now, Kinabalu's name is still a mystery. The most popular view derives it from the Kadazan words, Aki Nabalu, meaning 'the revered place of the dead'. The local Kadazandusuns belief that their spirits dwell on the mountain top. Among the bare rocks of the summit grows a moss which early Kadazandusun guides said provided food for the spirits of their ancestor.
Many of the mountain's early explorers reported that their Kadazandusun guides performed religious ceremonies upon reaching the summit. Sir Hugh Low wrote that his guide carried an assortment of charms, pieces of wood, human teeth, and other paraphernalia weighing three kilograms (seven pounds) up to the summit. Whitehead recorded the slaughter of one white chicken.
These ceremonies were performed to appease the spirit of the mountain as well as the ancestral spirits who lived there. Nowadays, a ceremony is conducted annually by the Kinabalu Park's guides. Seven chicken and eggs, as well as cigars, betel nuts, sirih leaves, lime and rice are sacrificed, and later enjoyed by the guides.
Another theory about the mountain's name comes from the derivation of Kina meaning "China" and Balu, meaning "widow". A Kadazandusun legend tells the story of a Chinese prince ascending the mountain. He is seeking a huge pearl on the top which is guarded by a ferocious dragon. The prince succeeds in slaying the dragon and stealing the pearl. He then marries a Kadazan woman, but soon abandons her and returns to china. His wife, heartbroken, wanders to the mountain to mourn. There she was belief to turn into stone.

KADAZANDUSUN BELIEFS

An ancient mythology lies at the heart of Kadazandusun culture. A Kadazandusun creation myth tells how the supreme deities Kinohiringan and his wife Umunsumundu made the earth while Kinohiringan created the sky and the clouds. But the clouds were smaller than the earth and Kinohiringan was ashamed. To save his pride, Umunsumundu reshaped the earth, making it smaller, and thus created Mount Kinabalu, the mountain that we know today.
A Kadazandusun story tells of a giant king named Gayo Nakan ('big eater') who lived at the base of the mountain. His people tired of his enormous appetite and were had pressed to feed him. Hearing their complaints, the king told them to bury him alive at the top of the mountain. Bringing all their tools they laboured in vain, until the king uttered magic words and sank into the rock up to his shoulders. He then told his people that, due to their lack of patience, drought and famine would afflict them - but promised to help them in times of war. Fearful and penitent, the people made their first sacrificial offerings at the wishing pool below the summit that was Gayo Nakan's grave.

The Meaning of the Flag of Sabah

http://www.sabah.gov.my/pd.nbw/dcm/English/engdoc/flag.html