facts

Goslar

Quedlinburg

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The small 1,000 year old city of Goslar is a UNESCO World Heritage site as is the vast Rammelsberg silver mine, the source of the city’s great wealth. Silver was discovered here in 968 and although it’s no longer an active mine going down into its bowels is an fascinating tourist experience.

The medieval city seems miraculously preserved since the days when it was the treasure chest of the Holy Roman Empire (1039 to 1339).

The highest mountain in the Harz region is the Brocken, famous in Germany for where Goethe’s Faust was taken by the devil after selling his soul. It’s an eerie place, shrouded by mist for most of the year. There are several steam trains pulling vintage carriages and its possible to stand on the open air platforms that connect carriages for the full coal smoke experience. Rising to 3,690 feet the train gradually passes through deeper snow, with fairy tale smothered fir trees, until the top.  read more »

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21 Nov, 2017
Uber Paid Hackers $100,000 to Delete Stolen Data on 57 Million People, to Keep Massive Cyberattack Quiet
Hackers stole the personal data of 57 million customers and drivers from Uber Technologies Inc., a massive breach that the company concealed for more than a year. This week, the ride-hailing firm ousted its chief security officer and one of his deputies for their roles in keeping the hack under wraps, which included a $100,000 payment to the attackers.

Compromised data from the October 2016 attack included names, email addresses and phone numbers of 50 million Uber riders around the world, the company told Bloomberg on Tuesday. The personal information of about 7 million drivers was accessed as well, including some 600,000 U.S. driver’s license numbers. No Social Security numbers, credit card information, trip location details or other data were taken, Uber said.

21 Nov, 2017
Uber concealed massive hack that exposed data of 57m users and drivers
Firm paid hackers $100,000 to delete data and keep breach quiet
Uber concealed a massive global breach of the personal information of 57 million customers and drivers in October 2016, failing to notify the individuals and regulators, the company acknowledged on Tuesday.

Uber also confirmed it had paid the hackers responsible $100,000 to delete the data and keep the breach quiet, which was first reported by Bloomberg.

21 Nov 2017  read more »

November 20, 1947 - Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II) and Philip The Duke of Edinburgh on their wedding day in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace (AFP Photo/STR)

Photograph released by Buckingham Palace, taken this month - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh pose in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle, to mark their 70th Wedding Anniversary. (AFP Photo/Matt Holyoak)

July 11, 1947 - Princess Elizabeth (future Queen Elizabeth II) and Philip of Greece (future Duke of Edinburgh) posing on the day of their engagement in July 1947. (AFP Photo/STR)

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Prior to the wedding he told the Queen Mother he had "fallen in love completely and unreservedly" with her daughter.

Since described by Elizabeth as her "rock," Philip once remarked: "My job first, second and last, is never to let the Queen down."

20 Nov, 2017
Elizabeth II, Prince Philip mark 70th wedding anniversary
London (AFP) - Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip celebrate 70 years of marriage on Monday, becoming Britain's first reigning couple to mark a platinum wedding anniversary. The decades-spanning marriage of the Queen -- the nation's longest serving sovereign -- has outlasted those of all prior British monarchs.

The royal couple will not hold any public events but have invited family and friends to Windsor Castle for a private dinner on Monday evening, according to media reports.  read more »

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Greek Presidential guards, or Evzones, walk across the ancient archeological site at the Temple of Hera in Olympia on October 24, 2017 during the lighting ceremony of the Olympic flame ahead of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games in South Korea. The flame will tour Greece before being flown to the South Korean city of Incheon on Oct 31st for a torch relay that will culminate in the opening ceremony on Feb 9, 2018.
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Photo courtesy Getty Images and AFP

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The world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat got underway for the first time in three years as the USS Constitution got underway from the ship’s berth in Charlestown, Massachusetts, on Oct. 20, in commemoration of the ship’s launching 220 years ago and the U.S. Navy’s 242nd birthday.
At 11:40 a.m., Constitution performed a 21-gun salute which was returned by the Concord Battery and 101st Field Artillery near Fort Independence on Castle Island. Fort Independence is a state park that served as a defensive position for Boston Harbor from 1634 to 1962.

The ship also fired an additional 17 shots at 12:15 p.m. as she passed the U.S. Coast Guard Station, the former site of the Edmund Hartt shipyard where Constitution was built. Each round of this salute honored the 16 states that comprised America when Constitution launched in 1797 and one in honor of the ship.

“Getting Constitution back on the water has been my mission ever since I took command in 2015,” said Cmdr. Robert S. Gerosa, Jr., Constitution’s 74th commanding officer.

USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy, named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America.  read more »

Image courtesy CAL FIRE @CAL_FIRE

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18 Oct 2017 - First floating wind farm, built by offshore oil company, delivers electricity - Anchored, floating turbines allow offshore wind installations in deep waters.
The world’s first floating offshore wind farm began delivering electricity to the Scottish grid today.

The 30MW installation, situated 25km (15.5mi) from Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, will demonstrate that offshore wind energy can be harvested in deep waters, miles away from land, where installing giant turbines was once impractical or impossible. At peak capacity, the wind farm will produce enough electricity to power 20,000 Scottish homes.

The installation, called Hywind Scotland, is also interesting because it was built by Statoil, a Norwegian mega-corporation known for offshore oil drilling. Statoil has pursued offshore wind projects in recent years, using the company's experience building and managing infrastructure in difficult open sea conditions to its advantage.

Hywind Scotland began producing power in September, and today it starts delivering electricity to the Scottish grid.

The five 6MW turbines are the first commercial turbines to lack a firm attachment to the seafloor. The towers extend 176m (577ft) above the water and 78m (256ft) below it. Each tower is capable of pitching its blades to reduce unwanted motion and optimize power output depending on the wind direction and strength.  read more »