Skyscrapers and Hurricanes - Thinking Out Loud

In areas where hurricanes or super high-winds occur it seems we need to be a little more cognizant of the wind-flow modeling as each building is built or a master plan downtown renewal project is slated. This is a very serious issue. Many studies have been done in chicago "The Windy City" and other places because the air funnels between the buildings and due to Bernoulli's Principle that air speeds up to make thru, between the buildings which makes it even worse.

There were over 230 mph winds recorded in Guam during a tropical typhoon and at the time it was the highest ever. My parents were actually in a high-rise apartment complex when it happened and the building did fine, but flying debris is dangerous and if and when pieces fall off the building they really get going and cause more damage. The hurricanes in miami, remnants of Wilma caused severe damage downtown, but much was from the Tornadoes that accompany such storms.

The air flow modeling around cities is quite serious and must be studied, adding an additional building can change everything, there are CAD cam programs to study this airflow, they also use them indoors for airflow models in homes and businesses to cut down on energy requirements for let's say air-conditioning and such. These are extremely useful tools and sure beat building models for miniaturized wind tunnels.

One must also remember a hurricane, Typhoon or Cyclone (depends where you are) will travel a certain way (Counter-Clockwise) and in lower hemisphere opposite, depends the location, but either way the storm as it passed blows winds in all directions, as it moves past, you are hit from different angles of course. See the problem and why this is such a critical issue?

What about 28-foot storm surges? Can you imagine the damage that will be caused by something of this magnitude? That would be a CAT five (plus) on the Saffir Simpson, you are talking center storm pressures pretty low, this would be a "Rita" or "Wilma" plus at land fall and you say what happened cancun. Serious stuff. God help your beautiful hilton Hotel or Club Med setting, see ya. You are taking a Tsunami type event similar to what followed the Sumatra Quake.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml .

Let's face it 30 feet is 30 feet, if you fail to stop that water it will wipe out everything in its path that is not protected. In the future cities will be set up with ocean-wave energy generation, but can that infrastructure survive at catastrophic storm surge? After all, you do not want the wave to knock out your power leading to a worsened event, but I think the engineers can design a system that can go idle and withstand that type of storm surge using fluid dynamic strategies, computer modeling and allowing it to go neutral and the waves over until the storm passes.

If you want to protect your city from a hurricane, you must worry about the wind models and the storm surge modeling and perhaps you need a barriers out in the ocean to slow it down too. Reef system etc. and prevent erosion because if you have one storm that wipes out your barriers and get a second you are toast. See the issues - Let us think on this, it can be done!

L. Winslow is an Economic Advisor to the online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entrepreneur http://www.worldthinktank.net . Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.

The Mats Store

Is John Daly Good or Bad for Golf?

Ever since john Daly hit the major circuits he has been in the news for various reasons. Sometimes for the wrong reasons, based on his personal life.

Big john is in the unfortunate position that he is a high profile sporting giant. This means that his private life is privy to all and sundry. With all respect to the media, printed and otherwise, the bad, or should I say sad, side of his life gets a lot of attention. It is utter sensationalism, but that is what sells in the media business.

It seems like john is in the press more for negative reasons, than his skill on the golf courses of the world, which he has more than his fair share of.

He entertains crowds by hitting a golf ball crazy distances, even with his putter. Unlike tiger, the ultimate technician and strategist, john throws caution to the wind by ripping his driver enormous distances, where angels fear to tread. Then he proceeds by displaying unbelievable touch on and around the greens.

john is often seen during coverage to bend over, pick up his cigarette and to walk off into the sunset after his golf ball. not the image to expose youngsters to. But then, john has never claimed to be the ultimate role model.

The big man is known as the regular party animal, not adverse to consuming large quantities of brewed beverages in relatively short spaces of time. Smoking, drinking and a good measure of domestic uprisings is just a natural part of him.

When you are exposed to the masses the way sporting celebrities are, this type of behavior just does not make for our perception of sporting greats.

Then Big Bad john hits the fairways of the world, and guess what? We are still in awe of the man who, I believe, can win anything whenever he wants to.

I watched him during the recent USPGA Championship. No, I watched the crowds. They still love him. They still watch in amazement as he goes about his business the only way he knows. Nobody cares about the press and whatever goes wrong in his life. They just want to see john Daly do what john Daly does best and only john Daly can do!

Good or bad for golf? That is debatable. The fact remains he still pulls the crowds and wows them with his brand of golf. Long live john Daly - we need our own characters in golf and you are one of them!

love him or hate him, international golf will be a little duller without him.

Corrie Nel is a golf fanatic and former club captain. Submit your sport articles free:

http://www.sportatlas.com Please use ID 1536

Yoga Mat Tutorial Lollipop Cool Online Stuff

Finding The Best Water Purification Units For Your Home Can Be Difficult

water purification units may seem like gimmicks to some people. After all, Americans have unlimited access to treated H20, and people are not dying from cholera like they were a few centuries ago. But this does not mean that what you drink today is completely safe...quite the contrary!

Home water purification units remove many dangerous substances that do exist in our drinking supply today. chlorine is the number-one problem. used because it is a cheap sanitizer, chlorine has been linked to cancer and other serious health problems. Additionally, chlorine is not the most effective at what it does; pathogens manage to find their way into your glass, and you still can become sick from drinking "treated" water.

Home water filtration units also remove sediment, which can contain five different types of contaminants. Additionally, agricultural waste, lead, and pesticides regularly contaminate our drinking supply, all causing significant health problems. All of these substances need to be removed by water purification units.

However, drinking is not the only activity that can be jeopardized by unsafe H20. The human body absorbs twice as much chlorine through bathing than it does from drinking. Another health concern is this: when chlorinated H20 turns to vapor, it produces chlorine gas. Additionally, chlorine drys out hair and skin and can accelerate the aging process. Aside from Cl contaminants, sediment can clog up faucets and make toilets run. All of these reasons make home water purification units a wise investment.

filters exist in small, pitcher-style systems up to systems that attach directly to your water main and treat everything that flows in from that pipe.

Point of use (POU) home water filtration units attach to a faucet and provide treated H20 every time you turn that faucet on. Then there are whole house water purification units are that treat the entire house. The negative aspect of a large-scale system is that treated H20 could possibly pick up some contaminants as it moves through your pipes to your faucets.

While having several POUs means more maintenance and possibly more cost, the benefit of a POU system is that the H20 is used the second it leaves the POU instead of being stored in a tank, thus eliminating any risk of new contamination.

However, the more important consideration is not what size home water purification units you want to use in your home, but what type is best. Distillation and reverse osmosis home water filtration units are often used, but both types do not remove all contaminants from your drinking supply. Ceramic-based strainers work better at removing harmful substances, but all three types generally do not process H20 very quickly.

Carbon-based water purification units are the best at both removing unwanted chemicals and contaminants and processing H20 quickly enough to meet all your needs. However, a cheap, one-filter system is not enough; home water purification units that contain only one carbon strainer become clogged over time, and contaminants can easily slip into your drinking supply.

Multi-step home water filtration units with more than one strainer ensure that all pathogens and chemicals are prevented from ending up in your glass.

Because of the many dangerous elements your family can drink or bathe in, water purification units are a smart investment. Make sure your family stays healthy and vibrant by further treating the H20 that flows from your faucets.

Martin Spencer is a health researcher who has been studying water filtration for over 25 years. He is a regular contributor to Water Treatment Guide, a site dedicated to various methods of treating and purifying water. Learn about the best home water filtration units on our site.

Yoga And Pilates Cles In Pregnancy