Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Tahoe brothers survive lightning strike.

Three Tahoe-area brothers were struck by lightning while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail near Skykomish, Washington.

Three Brothers
Austin, Dylan and Garrett Murtha set out June 28 to hike the entire PCT south from the Canadian border when they began to scramble down a granite face as storm clouds approached last week, said Greg Murtha, the boys' father.

"It was a 15- to 20-minute lightning storm," he told KCRA by phone. "Austin was thrown 15 feet by the force of the strike. He was unconscious for seven minutes. My oldest son revived him ... and they hiked out 60 miles to Skykomish and the cardiologist said he was lucky as hell he survived."

Videos sent to KCRA3 by the Murtha family show red scars on Austin's leg where the lightning shredded his shorts, his hat and his poncho. A portion of his cold-weather jacket appeared to have melted.

Scars on the leg
Austin
"(My hat) exploded off my head. I don't even know," said Austin in one of the videos.

The brothers did not let the incident deter them from their quest to hike the entire 2,650-mile north to south route. The trio continued their journey after seeing a doctor who performed an EKG on Austin.

"Austin picked up the trail name 'Tone' from other hikers, because he couldn't hear anything for three days due to the ringing in his ears," Greg Murtha said.

The trio is expected to pass through the Tahoe area around Labor Day with an expected completion of the entire journey by the end of October. They are carrying camera equipment document and create a virtual reality tour of the PCT for Greg Murtha's Xplorit company.

"I got struck by lightning. I'm alive. That's a good thing right?" said Austin Murtha.

How to survive a lightning strike.


- shared from internet resource.

Friday, July 6, 2018

Groundwater crisis by 2020

A recent NITI Aayog report on India’s water crisis, along with the performance of states in addressing the issue, presents a grim picture of the country’s hydrological scene.


Uttar Pradesh

The groundwater crisis in UP is progressively worsening, owing to unplanned urbanisation, unbridled boring, rampant exploitation of groundwater and surface water by government and private bodies, failure to replenish it through rainwater harvesting, lack of awareness among people, etc.

The state has a gross withdrawal of about 5.28 million hectares, among the highest in India.

Studies show about 660 blocks in UP are facing depleting water levels. Of those, 180 blocks in 45 districts have been clubbed as stressed (over-exploited/critical).

Lucknow, Kanpur, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Agra, Noida, and Varanasi have all been severely affected. Besides, contamination in high concentration of fluoride, iron, arsenic, chromium, manganese and salinity is another area of concern, the report stated.

“Groundwater is like a bank account. If you keep on withdrawing without refilling, it would get exhausted forever,” V K Joshi, former Geological Survey of India director, told Business Standard.

Records show, there were about 320 ponds in Lucknow in 1912, but most of them have disappeared.

Odisha

Despite having a network of rivers, just 32 per cent of the agricultural land in Odisha has access to irrigation.

According to a latest assessment, the state has net dynamic groundwater resources of 1.669 million cubic metres.

With a Water Index score of 42 (same as Kerala), Odisha, replete with water reserves, is positioned at the bottom among the five worst performers in water resource management.

In the NITI Aayog ranking, which has 2015-16 as the base year, Odisha has slipped four notches to 13 (among non-Himalayan states), the study has found.

Bihar

In June 2009, then Public Health Engineering Minister Ashwini Choubey, after returning from Singapore, had said, “I have conceived some plans for water management. We will soon formulate our water policy and seek cooperation from Singapore for this.”

He claimed that a team of water experts would soon visit Bihar and suggest a water policy.

Choubey went on to become a Union minister, but a water policy remained elusive for Bihar.

Of Bihar’s 38 districts, 13 are arsenic- and 11 are fluoride-affected. That apart, every summer, the southern districts of Gaya, Aurangabad, Kaimur, Nawada, Jamui, Bhagalpur, and Rohtas face acute drinking water crisis.

According to government records, more than 98 per cent of construction in Patna, including government buildings, did not follow rules. Independent surveys found that the groundwater table went down by 10 metres in several parts of Patna last year.

- shared from internet resources.

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Exit Lionel Messi, enter Kylian Mbappe.

Teenage French striker Kylian Mbappe has been setting the World Cup alight with his searing pace and goal-scoring prowess, marking him out as a NextGen superstar of the sport.

Kylian Mbappe
Back in his hometown of Bondy, on the gritty northeast outskirts of Paris, there is immense pride at his exploits, but not that much surprise -- they always knew he'd make it big.

His father, originally from Cameroon, and his mother, a handball player from Algeria, instilled in him a drive to give back to the community, which sits between two highways amid several decayed housing projects. In France the area is often referred to dismissively by its department number -- 93.

"The fact that he comes from the 93, which is often negatively portrayed by the media, just makes us even more proud." - Mickael Ichkhanian, the former groundskeeper at the Leo Lagrande stadium, where Mbappe made his debut.

- shared from internet resource.

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Tham Luang cave - Missing Soccer Team and Coach found

The members of the Wild Boars are a team both on and off the soccer field, traveling to competitions, cycling mountain roads and swimming in waterfalls together.


The cave (Tham Luang cave ) complex extends several miles and has wide chambers and narrow passageways with rocky outcrops and changes in elevation. The cave, cut into a mountainside near the border with Myanmar, can flood severely during the rainy season, which runs from June to October. Officials said that tourists trapped there by past floods have been rescued after the waters receded.



Muddy water rising to the ceiling of one of the chambers has prevented Thai navy SEAL divers from progressing farther into the cave to where they think the 12 schoolboys and their coach, who went missing Saturday, may be sheltering.


Prayer offerings are displayed as rescue workers continue the search for the young soccer team and coach. Relatives performed a morning ritual in which they called out for the missing. They played drums and gongs and two relatives held fishing nets as a symbolic way to fish out lost spirits from the cave.


[In Picture]Thai soldiers relay electric cable deep into the Tham Luang cave at the Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in Chiang Rai, Thailand, on June 26, 2018, during a rescue operation for a missing children's soccer team and their coach.



The team of 12 boys and the coach were located, all alive, on 2 July 2018, 10 pm local time. The group was discovered by British divers Richard Stanton and John Volanthen about 400 m (440 yds) from a chamber nicknamed Pattaya Beach. The elevated rock where the boys and their coach were found is about 4 km (2.5 mi) from the mouth of the cave.

- From internet resource.

Monday, June 25, 2018

One for seven - figure in cricket.

On January 30, 1993, Curtly Ambrose produced one of the best spells of fast bowling ever seen to pick up 7 for 1 off 32 deliveries.



Club team in England loses seven wickets for 1 run in 11 balls. Match played on 24 June, 2018.



Peterborough Town CC - 1st XI Vs High Wycombe CC - 1st XI

Fixture Details

     Match Type - Cup: ECB National Club Championship - Group 12 2018 Round 4

Toss - Peterborough Town CC - 1st XI won the toss and elected to bat

Ground - Peterborough Town Cricket Club



Highlights :

Kieron Jones 4 wickets in 4 balls, the last 7 High Wycombe wickets fell in 11 balls for 1 run

Result Summary

Result:    Peterborough Town CC - 1st XI - Won by 1 run
Peterborough Town CC - 1st XIHigh Wycombe CC - 1st XI
Score188 all out (39.3 overs) 'b' 't'187 all out (39.5 overs)

Peterborough Town CC - 1st XI

Batting

NameHow OutBowlerRuns4s6sBalls
1Chris Milnerct George Russellb  Aashir Zaib4100
2David Clarke*b  David Cranfield-Thompson22300
3Asim Buttct Eliot Callisb  George Lasseter36500
4Vansh Bajajb  David Cranfield-Thompson4000
5Alex Mitchellct Aashir Zaibb  Adam Dobb12100
6Kieran Juddct George Russellb  Adam Dobb1000
7Danyaal Malikct Andrew Higginsb  George Lasseter53500
8Matt Milnerct Eliot Callisb  Conner Haddow15000
9Mohammed Saifnot out8000
10Nadir Haiderct Conner Haddowb  Aashir Zaib2000
11Keiron Jonesct George Russellb  Aashir Zaib3000
Extras       b (5), lb (1), w (19), nb (3)28
Total188
Wicketsall out
Overs39.3
* = Captain, † = Wicket Keeper

Fall of Wickets

4-1 Chris Milner (David Clarke-0*); 72-2 Asim Butt (David Clarke-0*); 74-3 David Clarke(Vansh Bajaj-0*); 85-4 Vansh Bajaj (Alex Mitchell-0*); 95-5 Alex Mitchell (Kieran Judd-0*); 96-6 Kieran Judd (Danyaal Malik-0*); 165-7 Matt Milner (Danyaal Malik-0*); 176-8 Danyaal Malik (Mohammed Saif-0*); 183-9 Nadir Haider (Mohammed Saif-0*); 188-10 Keiron Jones (Mohammed Saif-0*);
* = not out batsman

Bowling

BowlerOversMaidensRunsWicketsWidesNo Balls
1Aashir Zaib7.3032300
2Conner Haddow8140100
3George Lasseter6042200
4Adam Dobb8026200
5David Cranfield-Thompson8128200
6Andrew Higgins2014000
Fielding Extras/Non-bowler wickets60
Total39.321881000

High Wycombe CC - 1st XI

Batting

NameHow OutBowlerRuns4s6sBalls
1Eliot Callislbwb  Mohammed Saif61700
2David Cranfield-Thompsonb  Vansh Bajaj0000
3William Hattonb  Matt Milner17200
4Nathan Hawkes*not out59800
5George Russellct Chris Milnerb  Keiron Jones21210
6Adam Dobbct Chris Milnerb  Keiron Jones0000
7Aashir Zaibct Chris Milnerb  Keiron Jones0000
8Andrew Higginslbwb  Keiron Jones0000
9Conner Haddowct Alex Mitchellb  Danyaal Malik0000
10George Lasseterlbwb  Danyaal Malik0000
11Ben Hogganb  Danyaal Malik0000
Extras       b (10), lb (5), w (13), nb (1)29
Total187
Wicketsall out
Overs39.5
* = Captain, † = Wicket Keeper

Fall of Wickets

1-1 David Cranfield-Thompson (Eliot Callis-0*); 40-2 William Hatton (Eliot Callis-0*); 138-3 Eliot Callis (Nathan Hawkes-0*); 186-4 George Russell (Nathan Hawkes-0*); 186-5 Adam Dobb (Nathan Hawkes-0*); 186-6 Aashir Zaib (Nathan Hawkes-0*); 186-7 Andrew Higgins(Nathan Hawkes-0*); 187-8 Conner Haddow (Nathan Hawkes-0*); 187-9 George Lasseter(Nathan Hawkes-0*); 187-10 Ben Hoggan (Nathan Hawkes-0*);
* = not out batsman

Bowling

BowlerOversMaidensRunsWicketsWidesNo Balls
1Vansh Bajaj8041100
2Keiron Jones6116400
3Mohammed Saif8038100
4Matt Milner8135100
5Nadir Haider8033000
6Danyaal Malik1.509300
Fielding Extras/Non-bowler wickets150
Total39.521871000

Match Officials

Umpires
ScorersB Howard, Pauline Hill