No 1: The mosquito

Yes, the humble mosquito. What we Brits regard as an annoying pest is actually the most dangerous creature on the planet, thanks to its ability to spread disease with alarming efficiency. Best known for spreading deadly malaria, mossies also spread elephantiasis, yellow fever, dengue fever and West Nile virus, which was recently introduced to the US and is now prevalent in all states.

No 2: The venomous snake

Though there are more than 2,000 species of snake, 450 of which are venomous, only 250 are capable of killing a man. That's little consolation to the thousands who meet a nasty death due to snake bites each year - it's usually members of local populations who bear the brunt as they live and work where snakes inhabit and usually wear no protective gear.

No 3: The scorpion

Highly deadly and twice as ugly, the scorpion is a nasty critter that is probably responsible for more deaths per year than recorded, due to the isolated places they hang out and probable lack of access to antivenin. However, out of an estimated 1,500 species of scorpion worldwide, only around 25 are regarded dangerous.

No 4: Big cats

These big cats certainly mean business. With destruction of their natural habitat and a decline in prey species, particularly concerning the tiger and North American mountain lion or cougar, attacks on humans are increasing. The African lion is the biggest and most feared of big cats, but holidaymakers on safari are 100 per cent safe viewing from a vehicle, unless they decide to take a closer look and step down. Mountain lions are found in many national parks and are responsible for six attacks a year in the US and Canada.

No 5: The crocodile

Crocodiles are dreaded prehistoric creatures capable of wreaking a terrible punishment on puny human flesh. North American, Estuarine and Nile crocodiles are the most dangerous and probably kill more people yearly than figures show due to the isolated areas where attacks are likely to take place and distance from help. One meal will keep a crocodile sated for a good while, so they like to wait in the water for the perfect time to strike.

No 6: The elephant

Despite their friendly and approachable image thanks to zoo feeding times, these herbivores kill an alarming amount of people every year. Elephants are unpredictable creatures, and have been known to kill zookeepers who have been with them for as long as 15 years. It is recorded that even the tamest of elephants can attack without warning, though it is thought that most elephants do not realise the harm they do with almost no effort.

No 7: The hippopotamus

At first glance, these wallowing river-horses appear to be bulky, lazy beasts and not the fearsome predators you would expect to have a habit of mauling humans. However, with gaping mouths that can open four feet wide and swinging sledgehammer heads, as well as the fact that they can outrun us on land, these highly aggressive animals have plenty of scope for destruction and are considered one of the most dangerous of African animals.

No 8: Jellyfish

The sting-masters of the sea, Jellyfish are usually passive drifters who use their tentacles to dredge up small prey. However, anyone who becomes entangled with a jellyfish will experience degrees of pain from a nasty nip to excruciating pain, depending on the species. The box jellyfish is one of the most venomous marine creatures in the world; a sting can kill a man within minutes and most fatalities occur following a brush with a toxic jelly like this.

No 9: The shark

Sharks have a terrible reputation thanks to films such as Jaws and Deep Blue Sea, but it's one not entirely without cause. It seems that although great whites are often blamed for unprovoked attacks on humans, it is more likely to be down to those snappy bull sharks, who are very aggressive. Out of 360 species, only four are known killers: tiger, great white, oceanic whitetip and bull sharks. However, as we've seen with bears, although there are a high number of shark attacks, actual fatalities are fairly low.

No 10: The bear

Forget gentle Ben - when a bear rears on its hind legs you know you're in trouble. Although bears have a fearsome reputation, you are statistically more likely to survive a bear attack than to perish, but that's small consolation to those who are faced with a bristling bear. With five attacks in Canada in 2005 alone, it seems that they're on the increase due to human destruction of, and encroachment on, bears' natural habitat.

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The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is the most powerful, most expensive, and fastest street-legal production car in the world, with a proven top speed of over 400 km/h (407 km/h or 253 mph). It reached full production in September 2005. The car is built by Volkswagen AG subsidiary Bugatti Automobiles SAS and is sold under the legendary Bugatti marque. It is named after racing driver Pierre Veyron, who won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1939 while racing for the original Bugatti firm. The Veyron features a W16 engine—16 cylinders in 4 banks of 4 cylinders.
According to Volkswagen, the final production Veyron engine produces between 1020 and 1040 metric hp (1006 to 1026 SAE net hp), so the car will be advertised as producing "1001 horsepower" in both the US and European markets. This easily makes it the most powerful production road-car engine in history.



The Enzo Ferrari, sometimes referred to as the the Ferrari Enzo and also F60 is a 12-cylinder Ferrari supercar named after the company's founder, Enzo Ferrari. It was built in 2003 using Formula One technology, such as a carbon-fiber body, F1-style sequential shift transmission, and carbon-ceramic brake discs. Also used are technologies not allowed in F1 such as active aerodynamics. After a maximum downforce of 1709 pounds (775 kg) is reached at 186 mph (301 km/h) the rear spoiler is actuated by computer to maintain that downforce.



The Zonda C12 F debuted at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. It is the most extensive reengineering of the Pagani car yet, though it shares much with its predecessors including the 7.3 L V12. Power is increased to 602 PS (443 kW/594 hp) with a special clubsport model producing 650 PS (478 kW/641 hp). The company promises a 3.2 second sprint to 60 mph (97 km/h, a top speed over 374 km/h (225 mph) and it will be the queen in braking from 300 km/h to 0 (186 mph to 0). The Zonda F clubsport has a power to weight ratio of 521 bhp/ton (384 W/kg) . Compare, for example, the Enzo Ferrari which has a power to weight ratio of 483 bhp/ton (356 W/kg).



The Koenigsegg CCX is the latest supercar from Koenigsegg. CCX is an abbreviation for Competition Coupe X. The X commemorates the 10th anniversary of the completion and test drive of the first CC vehicle in 1996. The CCX is intended to be more suitable for the U.S. market and thus engineered to comply with US regulations. The CCX is powered by a Koenigsegg designed and assembled, all aluminium, 4700 cm³ DOHC 32-valve V8 based on the Ford Modular engine architecture enhanced with twin Rotrex centrifugal superchargers with response system, 1.2 bar boost pressure and an 8.2:1 compression ratio. The engine produces 806 hp (601 kW) and 678 lbf.ft (920 Nm) on 91 octane (U.S. rating) gasoline, 850 hp (634 kW) on 96 octane (Euro rating) gasoline and 900 hp (671 kW) on biofuel.



The Porsche Carrera GT is a supercar, manufactured by Porsche of Germany. The Carrera GT is powered by an all-new 5.7 litre V10 engine producing 612 SAE horsepower (450 kW). Porsche claims it will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62.5 mph) in 3.9 seconds and has a maximum speed of 330 km/h (206 mph), although road tests indicated that in actuality the car could accelerate from 0-60 in under 3.5 seconds and to 0-100 in 6.8 seconds and has a top speed of 335-340km/h (209-212.5mph).



The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is a sports car and supercar automobile co-developed by DaimlerChrysler and McLaren Cars. It is assembled at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England. Most people presume "SLR" to stand for "Sportlich, Leicht, Rennsport" (German for "Sport; Light; Racing"). The car's base price is £300,000 or $455,500. The SLR has a supercharged 5.5 (5439cc) litre dry sumped 90 degree V8. It produces 466.8 kW at 6500rpm (626 hp) and 780 N·m (575 ft·lbf) torque at 3250 - 5000 rpm.



The Maybach 57 and 62 were the first automobile models of the Maybach brand since the brand's revival by DaimlerChrysler. They are derived from the Mercedes-Benz Maybach concept car presented at the 1997 Tokyo Motorshow (which was based on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan). DaimlerChrysler attempted to buy the Rolls-Royce/Bentley marque when Vickers offered the company up for sale. When this attempt failed (they were outbid by BMW and Volkswagen respectively) they introduced the Maybach as a direct challenger in 2002. Both models are variants of the same ultra-luxurious automobile. The model numbers reflect the respective lengths of the automobiles in decimetres; the 57 is more likely to be owner-driven while the longer 62 is designed with a chauffeur in mind. The engine is a Mercedes-sourced 5.5-liter twin-turbo V12, generating 550 hp.



The Rolls-Royce Phantom is a luxury saloon automobile made by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, a BMW subsidiary. It was launched in 2003 and is the first Rolls-Royce model made under the ownership of BMW. It has a 6.8 L, 48-valve, V12 engine that produces 453 hp (338 kW) and 531 ft·lbf (720 N·m) of torque. The engine is derived from BMW's existing V12 powerplant. It is 1.63 m (63 in) tall, 1.99 m (74.8 in) wide, 5.83 m (228 in) long, and weighs 2485 kg (5478 lb). The body of the car is built on an aluminium spaceframe and the Phantom can accelerate to 60 mph (100 km/h) in 5.7 s.



The Lamborghini Murciélago is a GT and supercar automobile made by Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. and designed by Luc Donckerwolke. It was introduced in 2002 as the successor to the Diablo. The body style is a two door, two seat coupé. The LP640 version was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March of 2006. It features a 6.5 L engine, now producing 640 bhp, improving performance substantially. There were also a few minor external changes, primarily to the low air intakes.



The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish is a supercar manufactured by Aston Martin since 2001. It rose to fame after being featured as the official James Bond car in Die Another Day, the twentieth James Bond film. In the film, the Vanquish has the usual Bond film embellishments, including active camouflage which rendered the vehicle virtually invisible. The Vanquish is powered by a 5.9 L (5935 cc) 48-valve 60° V12 engine, which produces 343 kW (460 hp) and 542 N·m (400 ft·lbf) of torque. It is controlled by a fly-by-wire throttle and a 6 speed 'paddle shift' or semi-automatic transmission. A special V12 Vanquish S debuted at the 2004 Paris Auto Show with the power upped to 388 kW (520 hp) and 577 N·m (426 ft·lbf).

Source: Wikipedia

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Space Cube: "the mini computer"

smallest then apple size : 52 x52 x52

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Until that happens, here are the Top 10 earners (by guaranteed salary as opposed to base salary) in MLS 2008:

1. David Beckham, LA Galaxy, $6.5 million

2. Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Chicago Fire, $2.7 million

3. Marcelo Gallardo, DC United, $1.9 million

4. Juan Pablo Angel, New York Red Bulls, $1.6 million

5. Claudio Reyna, New York Red Bulls, $1.25 million

6. Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy, $900,000

7. Carlos Ruiz, LA Galaxy, $460,000

8. Christian Gomez, Colorado Rapids, $430,000

9. Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus Crew, $425,000

10. Duilio Davino, FC Dallas, $400,000

http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/mls/top-10-mls-salaries-in-2008.html

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they he is ...

1. Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics, forward): $24,751,934

2. Jermaine O’Neal (Toronto Raptors, forward/center): $21,372,000

3. Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks, guard): $21,372,000

4. Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers, guard): $21,262,500

5. Tracy McGrady (Houston Rockets, guard): $21,126,874

6. Stephon Marbury (New York Knicks, guard): $20,840,625 *

7. Allen Iverson (Denver Nuggets, guard): $20,840,625

8. Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs, forward/center): $20,598,704

9. Shaquille O’Neal (Phoenix Suns, center): $20,000,000 **

10. Steve Francis (Houston Rockets, guard): $18,364,480 ***

Notes:

* He is the sixth highest paid NBA players, but the Knicks put him on DNP list. I guess this proves again and again that, despite being highly paid, NBA players won’t guaranteed adequate playing time.

** Another source, InsideHoops.com, reports that Shaq receive $21,000,000. But who cares? It’s only a 5% difference :P

*** Another source, InsideHoops.com, reports that Steve is not even in their Top 20 list. I checked on NBA.com, he’s still in the Rockets roster - is he waived?

Image by Paul Keleher.

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10. Air France

Air France features seats that feel like they were ripped right out of your den. Sporting side-by-side recliners that fold out into flat beds, these beefed-up seats in the first-class cabin make sure that you and your eight fellow travelers feel right at home. Air France stepped up its first-class offering in response to the new airlines rolling off the assembly line. The cabin reflects the idea of a French work experience, which is to say it's comfortable and light on the actual work. Although Air France is really just retrofitting its first-class cabins on older airlines, it's good to see that passenger service, as opposed to cattle herding, is a priority over there
9. Virgin Atlantic

Richard Branson can't seem to do anything like a normal human being when it comes to the business world. He's a billionaire who knows how to get work done anywhere. This guy has been defining quality experience for quite some time and his international carrier, Virgin Atlantic, is no different. First, you won't find a "first class" here. Instead Virgin has branded the experience "upper class." Virgin boasts the widest seats and the widest and longest beds out of any classic first-class cabin. Like Air France, Virgin's fleet of 747s was designed in a different era, yet they're able to emphasize an upper-class experience from ticket purchase to flight time.
8. American Airlines

American Airlines has been pushing the envelope in productivity onboard an airline. Introducing what they call the "flagship suite," the emphasis is on prepping for that meeting in Taipei while in the air. Features like swivel seating that lets you meet face-to-face with coworkers, laptop power outlets at each seat and individual satellite phones you'll find everything you need to work right from your seat -- which also carries an unintended downside. When your company books you first class on one of American's 777s, you'll have little chance to sample the spa-like amenity kits.
7. Air India

Air India was an early adopter of the concept that travelers deserve a little privacy in their travel experience. First class on Air India consists of 12 "sleeperettes" designed to insulate one traveler from another, aiming at giving them a "personal jet" experience -- which is important in an economy where the likelihood of having access to a private jet is dwindling at a rate inverse to the chances you'll be flying commercial. Sure, it may be a step down from a private jet, but Air India doesn't see it that way. The airline gives you a flat bed, plush carpet and a proprietary "Personal Entertainment Appliance" to cover all of your television, movie and music needs.
6. Air Canada

The first-class seats on Air Canada feel quite a bit like a futuristic office cubicle, which in a way could doom us all. With a lie-flat bed, ergonomically designed seats and laptop power and data jacks, Air Canada has entered the list with a completely competent, plush and well-designed first-class experience. The in-flight entertainment is top-notch, with individual armrest screens, three days worth of on-demand video, individual DVD players, and premium news -- you'll never be out of the loop. Hopefully, office managers don't fly Air Canada too often. If their seats really are an omen of what's on the horizon, they may never let us leave the office.
5. All Nippon Airways

All Nippon Airways has taken your seat and wrapped it in high, curving walls. Flying then becomes almost a pod-like experience. Everything from your own personal monitor to your slide-out dinner table is contained within your own space. Personal space is something airlines have been shedding at every possible turn, so it's good to see that All Nippon is building that personal area back into its first-class section. Each pod has all the basics covered for work and play. All Nippon Airways makes sure you'll be able to make a call on your personal satellite phone while working on your laptop powered by your own outlet. And they make sure you can do so in complete privacy.
4. British Airways

The demi-cabin experience in British Airways' first-class section is billed as a "private sanctuary." For ad copy, the airline isn't far off. Privacy and insulation are paramount among BA's concerns for its passengers. With turndown service and full linens for the 6'6" bed, the sleeping experience is a treat. When you need to stay awake and prep for the meeting in the air, BA's got you covered there as well with power outlets and phones so you need never be out of touch if you feel that's important. British Airways may be fine for business, but the real treat is sitting down with a cocktail before bed and really getting into the luxury that is the sleeper demi-cabin.
3. Jet Airways

While British Airways may have a demi-cabin, Jet Airways went ahead and gave you a private bedroom complete with a sliding door. You don't get more private than that. In that bedroom you've got a 23-inch flat-screen TV, one luxurious seat for you and an additional small seat that doubles as an ottoman if you're a tall drink of water that really wants to stretch out. The ability to wall yourself off from the outside world, flight staff and all, is really the dream of every air traveler. With Jet Airways' cabin you can be as productive as you want to be or you can stew in your flight-induced anxiety within the privacy of your own bedroom.
2. Emirates Airways

You really have to hand it to the Emirates right now, they are taking outside-the-box thinking to an entirely new level. Want to travel to Dubai and see some of the outrageous architecture they're working on? Go ahead and do it in style on board Emirates first class, which has taken the revolutionary concept of a private bedroom in air travel and added that touch of ridiculous. In addition to the flat-screen TV and requisite bed, you'll find that you have your own coat closet, vanity desk and personal mini-bar. If that third gin and tonic has you a bit apprehensive about your flight, you can monitor the whole thing on your personal TV via the series of cameras mounted all over the plane. The level of luxury here is absolutely absurd.
1. Singapore Airways

Far and away the best experience possible in any first-class section anywhere in the world; Singapore Air doesn't just provide a private bedroom, it provides a private suite. It's not even really a suite, it's like a flying apartment. Every other offering on the list has a seat that turns into a rather comfortable bed. Singapore decided that was cheating and not quite kosher with the stress of international business. The airline will just give you a comfortable recliner and set it right next to a static bed designed by Jean-Jacques Coste, a renowned French yacht designer. You get a chair and a bed in the single cabins. If you happen to be traveling with someone, the option of a double bed is available. This is the absolute best experience you can have flying with any other passenger on board with you.

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