Biography

Biography (from the Greek words bios meaning "life", and graph in meaning "write") is a type of literature and further forms of media such as film, based on the written accounts of individual lives. While a biography may focus on a subject of fiction or non-fiction, the term is frequently in reference to non-fiction. Pat Shipman however, says "I think a good biographer has to write fiction some of the time to make apparent a significant event in someone's life." This is sometimes debated. As opposed to a profile or curriculum vitae, a biography develops a complex analysis of personality, highlighting different aspects of it and including intimate details of experiences. A biography is more than a list of distant facts like birth, education, work, relationships and death. It also delves into the emotions of experiencing such events.

Ancient Greeks developed the biographical tradition which we have inherited, although until the 5th century AD, when the word 'biographic' first appears, in Damascus' Life of Isodorus, biographical pieces were called simply "lives" ("bioi"). It is quite likely that the Greeks were drawing on a pre-existing eastern tradition; certainly Herodotus' Histories contains more exhaustive biographical information on Persian kings and subjects than on anyone else, implying he had a Persian source for it.

Groundwater

100 Groundwater is water flowing within aquifers below the water table. Within aquifers, the water flows through the pore spaces in unconsolidated sediments and the fractures of rocks. Groundwater is recharged from, and ultimately flows to, the surface naturally; natural discharge often occurs at springs and seeps and can form oases or swamps. Groundwater is also often withdrawn for agricultural, municipal and industrial use through man-made wells. The study of the giving out and movement of groundwater is hydrogeology.


Relative groundwater travel times, click to view full size Groundwater can be a long-term 'reservoir' of the natural water cycle, as opposed to short-term water reservoirs like the atmosphere and fresh surface water. The figure shows how deep groundwater can take a very long time to complete its natural cycle. Groundwater is naturally replenished by surface water from precipitation, streams, and rivers when this recharge reaches the water table. It is estimated that the volume of groundwater is fifty times that of surface freshwater; the icecaps and glaciers are the only larger reservoir of fresh water on earth.

Usable groundwater is contained in aquifers, which are subterranean areas of permeable material that channel the groundwater's flow. Aquifers can be confined or unconfined. If a confined aquifer follows a downward grade from a recharge zone, groundwater can become pressurized as it flows. This can create artesian wells that flow freely without the need of a pump. The top of the upper unconfined aquifer is called the water table or paretic surface, where water pressure is equal to atmospheric pressure.

Mobile phone

A mobile phone or cell phone is an electronic telecommunications device. Most current mobile phones connect in its place to the network using a wireless radio wave transmission technology. These mobile phones communicate via a cellular network of base stations, which is in turn connected to the conventional telephone network. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the car phone was the only mobile phone available.In addition to the standard voice function of a telephone, a mobile phone can support many additional services such as SMS for text messaging, packet switching for access to the Internet, and MMS for sending and receiving photos and video.Some of the world's largest mobile phone manufacturers include Alcatel, Audiovox, Fujitsu, Kyocera, LG, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Panasonic, Philips, Sagem, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Siemens, SK Teletech, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba.There are also specialist communication systems linked to, but distinct from mobile phones, such as satellite phones and Professional Mobile Radio. Mobile phones are also separate from cordless telephones, which generally operate only within a limited range of a specific base station.

Bonneville Dam

100 Bonneville Lock and Dam consists of a number of dam structures that together whole a span of the Columbia River between the US states of Oregon and Washington at River Mile 146.1. The dam is situated 40 miles east of Portland, Oregon, in what is now the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The main functions of Bonneville Lock and Dam are those of electrical power generation and river navigation. The dam was built and is managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Electrical power generated at Bonneville is spread by the Bonneville Power Administration. Bonneville Lock and Dam are named for Army Capt. Benjamin Bonneville, an early explorer endorsed with charting much of the Oregon Trail. The name is marked BAH-nee-vill.
History
The unusual structures: a lock and powerhouse constructed on the south side of Bradford Island and a spillway on the north side were built by the Army Corps of Engineers during the New Deal—started in 1933 and finished in 1937. Prior to this damming of the river, a set of locks that were opened in 1896 moved ships around Cascades Rapids, situated several miles upstream of Bonneville. Both the cascades and the old lock structure were submerged by Lake Bonneville, the tank that formed behind the dam. The original navigation lock at Bonneville was opened in 1938 and was, at that time, the biggest single-lift lock in the world.
Dimensions and statistics
Aerial view of spillway flanked by powerhouses, Bonneville Lock and Lake Bonneville beyond First Powerhouse – Constructed in 1933-37; 313 m long; 10 generators with an output capacity of 526,700 kW.
Spillway – Constructed 1933-37; 18 gates over a length of 442 m; maintains the reservoir usually 18 m above the river on the downstream side;
Second Powerhouse – Constructed 1974-81; 300.5 m long; 8 generators with a total generating capacity of 558,200 kW.
Bonneville Lock – Constructed in 1993 at a cost of $341 million; 26 m wide, 206 m long; transit time is approx. 30 minutes.
Lake Bonneville – 77 km long reservoir on the Columbia River created by Bonneville Dam; part of the Columbia-Snake Inland Waterway.

Goshawk

The Goshawk is a average large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers.

It is a extensive species throughout the moderate parts of the northern hemisphere. In North America it is named as the Northern Goshawk. It is mostly resident, but birds from colder regions of north Asia and Canada wander south for the winter.


Goshawk in flight this kind nests in trees, building a new nest each year. It hunts birds and mammals in woodland, relying on surprise as it flies from a perch or hedge-hops to cruel circle its prey unaware. Animals as large as hares and Pheasant are taken. Its call is a ferocious shriek. Many older goshawks refuse to attack hares, if it was previously acutely kicked by a hare which it tried to catch.


In Eurasia, the male is confusable with a female Sparrow hawk, but is larger, much bulkier and has comparatively longer wings. In spring, he has a stunning roller-coaster display, and this is the best time to see this enigmatic forest bird.