--Do you believe there are extraterrestrial beings out there?
A--It`s foolish to believe in things without evidence. The tabloids, which spot a UFO or an E.T. every day, are junk. But I can give you an argument for the plausibility of extraterrestrial life--lots of planets, lots of organic matter, lots of time for evolution. It seems inconceivable that in a galaxy of 400 billion stars, in a universe of hundreds of billions of galaxies, ours is the only inhabited planet. To say so seems so arrogant. Yet, if they`re there, how come we haven`t had evidence of them yet?
A--We`re in the very earliest stages of looking. We`re sending spacecraft towards other planets and using large radio telescopes to see if anyone is sending us a message.
Q--We`re all wrapped up in our own lives--we go to work, pay our bills, fall in love, have children, die--what difference does any of this make?
A--If everyone had that view, we`d still be living in small hunting groups in East Africa, which is where we all came from. It`s because we`re curious and because we`re good at thinking and building things that we`ve gotten where we are. Every human culture has asked, ''Are we alone?'' People long to be connected to the universe.
Q--Isn`t it more important that we spend our resources trying, say, to cure cancer than to contact beings on other planets?
A--It`s remarkable how little this costs. For example, the most sophisticated search for extraterrestrial life today is sponsored by the Planetary Society, which is funded by its dues-paying members. Steven Spielberg recently made a gift of $100,000. That barely buys ashtrays on a strategic bomber. If you want to consider wasting money, turn your attention to the world arms race, which spends $1 trillion every year to put us all in increasing peril.
Q--Are the scientist and the poet in you ever in conflict?
A--They`re perfectly compatible. When I look at a sunset, I`m able to appreciate its beauty. But I also understand the phenomena that cause it. The two kinds of insights reinforce each other.If you're of the arty type and are in London with a few hours to kill, I can think of no better place to go than the Tate Modern. Granted, not every piece there I would describe as "art", but overall the exhibitions are so interesting.
Admission is free for most exhibits and is a short walk from Southwark tube station (follow the orange lampposts!).KNX can help to implement LEED strategies with the aim of obtaining a high score in the process of certification, which means a more sustainable and more energy efficient building.
KNX can control large groups of lights, either directly or by integrating the DALI standard, which enables the regulation of LED and fluorescent lights. The control can limit the maximum power values, as well as grouping the lights in lighting scenes. It also enables the use of astronomical clocks and conventional clocks to programme the on and/ or off times. On the other hand, when the external lighting provided is insignificant, the shades or shutters may be lowered to avoid light radiating to the outside.
With KNX, measurements of humidity and temperature can be taken in order to monitor natural ventilation (opening and closing motorised windows strategically).
Thanks to KNX scenes can be programmed, providing flexibility in the rooms. With a scene, the atmosphere can be adapted to suit a particular activity. It also provides for modularity, such as offices with dividing systems.
Thanks to KNX heat exchange systems can be controlled; the air inside a building can be renewed without incurring extra HVAC expenditure. Air renewal can be integrated with other systems that optimise it, such as detection of open windows, cool air recovery on summer nights (free cooling), or humidity and CO2 level management among others.
We firmly believe in the efficient use of energy through applying standard control technologies such as KNX and especially its implementation in sustainable buildings certified as LEED.
We help manufacturers and KNX integrators to make their products and control solutions LEED strategies visible. And just as architects and developers to find ways to cope with LEED projects using KNX technology.
We work closely with the KNX providing publications and participating in events worldwide. We have direct contact with the whole group of companies that represent standard KNX control. Our professionals have done KNX projects with energy efficiency solutions and have worked in manufacturing companies.
We know the KNX standard control solutions and how to implement them in LEED projects. We connect businesses between both standards and give advice and training to carry out successful projects. We show the characteristics of each KNX product that makes them valuable in monitoring solutions to undertake LEED strategies.
"This book provides an interesting and innovative framework analysis between KNX standard and LEED certification. Active and passive actions that require efficiency in sustainable 21st century buildings, can be defined in LEED strategies and easily implemented using KNX standard technology, resulting in Intelligent Buildings which can already be glimpsed amongst us"IELTS Speaking Part 2 test gives you the opportunity to speak for longer on a topic. You will be given a task card on a particular topic. This will include key points that you should talk about. You will be also given one minute to prepare to talk about the topic on the task card. A pencil and paper will be provided for you to make notes. You will have to talk for 1-2 minutes, and then the examiner will ask you one or two questions on the same topic. Part 2 takes 3-4 minutes in total.
You can ask your study partner to listen while you speak about the task card topic to practice IELTS Speaking. You should talk for 1-2 minutes. Your study partner should then ask you one or two questions on the same topic using the rounding off questions. Record yourself if you can.
To be successful in Ielts Speaking part 2, you should learn the answer’s structure. This will help you answer part 2 questions fluently.
In this topic, you may get the question.
What is special about this place.
Past continuous and past simple.
Pros: Grounded, solid research; well-explained; practical and helpful; associated web site
Cons: In the effort to avoid association with certain bad practices makes apparent contradictions
Rating: 5 out of 5
First posted 1/27/2005
Review book provided courtesy of Simon & Schuster/The Free Press.
Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D., is a self-avowed pessimist. He’s also a world-renowned researcher into the field of positive psychology–the idea that we shouldn’t just be concentrating on making ourselves less unhappy, but also on making ourselves more happy.
Much research has shown that people have a set range of happiness, and they’re likely to stay within this set range throughout their lives, returning to it over and over again. This is a positive thing when faced with negative life circumstances–it means we’re likely to recover from them. But it also means that if our set range isn’t very high, we’re unlikely to progress much beyond this.
Seligman proposes a slightly different way of looking at this situation, however, do things to maximize your current position relative to that set range. In other words, you can set yourself up to experience the highest part of that range a much greater portion of the time.
In large part he believes you can do this by altering how you view your life (past, present and future), using psychological strategies to make your life more pleasant, and discovering and using to the fullest what he calls your “signature strengths.”
Solidly-researched
The research in this book is quite methodical and solid. Seligman systematically lays out the details of dozens of studies (at least!) and decades, if not centuries, of research by luminaries and students alike. He makes it easy to look at the numbers and see for yourself whether his arguments make sense or not. He also includes a very long chapter of endnotes in the appendices in case you’re looking for further directions to research in (there’s also a very well-detailed index to help you find things again after you’ve read the book and want to look things up).
Well-explained
I won’t lie to you, and there’s a great deal of research to mention and suggestions to convey.
In short, this is no “ten steps to happiness” fluffy self-help book; it’s a solid work of lasting merit. A couple of times I had to re-read paragraphs because there was a lot of information to digest, but I didn’t feel confused or lost. On those rare occasions when I started feeling a little uncertain as to where Dr. Seligman was going with something, I learned to sit back and wait–he inevitably drew to a conclusion that made sense and explained anything I was having trouble with.
Practical and helpful
This is an immensely practical and helpful book. It doesn’t just talk about happiness; it provides concrete strategies backed up by thorough research that can help you to improve your happiness and your satisfaction with your life. For example, in one study people took tests that measured joy, happiness, and life satisfaction. Then, for two weeks they kept a diary every night of things they were grateful for in their lives. At the end of those two weeks they took the test again, and their scores had shot up. The research Seligman shares shows that even