Monday, August 31, 2009

destination guide

8 HOURS
Oslo Destination Guide
Photo: Vigeland Sculpture Park, Oslo, Norway
Over 200 life-size sculptures populate the Vigeland Sculpture Park.
Photo by Travel Pix Collection/Jonarnoldimages.com

Norway's capital lures visitors with its new cultural treasures.

From the glossy new Nobel Peace Center to a developing riverfront, Oslo makes the most of its newfound wealth. But Norwegians also love the outdoors and are proud of the fact that only one third of the city is urbanized, the rest comprising forests, lakes, rivers, and the Oslo Fjord. In the September 2007 issue of National Geographic Traveler, Raphael Kadushin explores this northern powerhouse—one of the world's most expensive cities.

destination guide

8 HOURS
Oslo Destination Guide
Photo: Vigeland Sculpture Park, Oslo, Norway
Over 200 life-size sculptures populate the Vigeland Sculpture Park.
Photo by Travel Pix Collection/Jonarnoldimages.com

Norway's capital lures visitors with its new cultural treasures.

From the glossy new Nobel Peace Center to a developing riverfront, Oslo makes the most of its newfound wealth. But Norwegians also love the outdoors and are proud of the fact that only one third of the city is urbanized, the rest comprising forests, lakes, rivers, and the Oslo Fjord. In the September 2007 issue of National Geographic Traveler, Raphael Kadushin explores this northern powerhouse—one of the world's most expensive cities.

traveling

October 12, 2006:

Happy Trail Mix

Last week, IT received several samples of Barking Buffalo Trail Mix. We weren't enthused by the odd name or the appearance of the mix, but our first handful of the Wake-Up Mix changed our minds. Subsequent snacking (Emily's still munching on this stuff!) has made us believers. The company banks on its design-it-yourself feature (trendy with sneakers and cereal) and, from ordering to eating, it is its legitimate selling point. Their online order form is interactive and fun; you click on the ingredients (say, a barrel of peanuts) to fill up your virtual "bag." As you do this, a Nutrition Facts label changes with each new addition. Did the scoop of banana chips add too many carbs? Replace them with almonds and watch how your numbers drop!

A 12-ounce bag of mix ranges from $5 to $8, depending on your choice of ingredients. Note: Scharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate chunks and Semifreddi's biscotti bits can run up your tab at $1.59 for two ounces. Even so, the price of one bag is comparable to gourmet mixes you'd find at Whole Foods and you get to choose a custom name (say, Emily's Geo Fusion) to be printed on the label.


On Your Marks

We wouldn't blame you if you thought all National Geographic Traveler staffers do is eat, rent houses on craigslist and eat again. We would correct you, though. We do other things. Really. For instance, researcher Ingrid Ahlgren watches TV. In particular, she's been known to keep a regular date with CBS's world-touring reality series The Amazing Race. She writes:

"I was sad to see fellow Rhode Islanders, Duke and Lauren, eliminated recently on Amazing Race. (Who will I root for now? I really miss BJ and Tyler, the happy hippies from last season.) I perked up a little, though, after reading a press release about the Real Race, an adventure vacation in Australia that pits teams against each other in an Amazing Race-style contest. Here's an excerpt:

"'On the 7th of August, a group of experience-seekers began what would be the holiday of a lifetime. Traveling in teams of two, they didn't know where they would be going or what challenges they would face, and had no idea what to expect. These travelers were all competitors in the world's first Real Race—a fast-paced and exciting luxury adventure tour with a twist. Racing from destination to destination, the teams competed against each other in a series of challenges that would test their minds, bodies and spirits.'

"The release went on to mention that Real Race will be expanding its offerings to run a tour in New Zealand in early 2007. Activities will include canyon swinging, bungee jumping, skydiving, hang gliding, jet boating, rafting, and zorbing.

"The Real Race isn't the only travel company that's trying to cash in on the Emmy-winning show's popularity. Another Australian company, Bunnik Tours, is offering an Amazing Race-themed tour in which a maximum of 20 teams will compete in challenges in eight countries on four continents over the course of about a month. The winning team will be awarded a trip to Sri Lanka.

"Travelers to Whistler, British Columbia, can participate in a three-hour soft-adventure race based on the series. The $100 tour includes activities like kayaking and flying down a zip line. There is also a separate Amazing Race hotel package, from $1,000 per person, including a race between Whistler and Vancouver.

"These trips sound cool, but the idea of spending money on an imitation Amazing Race when you can try out for the real thing and perhaps win a million bucks seems silly to me."


From October 10, 2006:

IT's Gone

A week and a half ago IT tried out a new Japanese restaurant. You may remember that the last time we did this, we did so without the assistance of A9's handy dandy BlockView feature and as a result had a hard time finding our eatery. This time we knew better, and so headed to A9's Yellow Pages to take a look at the front entrance of Makoto before heading over there.

Or, at least, we tried to. When we typed in the habitual "yp.a9.com," we were informed that the A9 Yellow Pages, and therefore BlockView, were no more. This tragedy was confirmed the following Monday, in an AP article that claimed A9 was backing off of "photographic search technologies" because of competition from Microsoft and Google. We assume they were referring to Google Earth and Live Local, and while we love both of these tools, neither of them provides street-level visuals like BlockView did (though Live Local's "bird's eye view" function comes close, albeit with less coverage).

Our only solace in this tragedy is that our attempt to find the AP article's text online resulted in a new discovery. PagesJaunes, France's online Yellow Pages, has a BlockView equivalent featuring street-level photographs of cities in France and Spain. The photo site is all in French, but the navigation is pretty intuitive. To get a glimpse of this evening's brasserie or bodega before heading out, type in its address on the Photos de villes page or click on the map until you have zoomed in enough to pinpoint its location. The photo will then appear onscreen.

Maybe PagesJaunes would be willing to pick up where A9 left off and add the United States to its coverage zone? We'd be thrilled, though we suspect some others might not be.


The Accident-Prone Tourist

Emily King, assistant to Traveler's editor in chief, recently returned from a week abroad with a confession to make:

"I thought I was a smart traveler. As a staff member at a well-regarded travel magazine, I figured I'd absorbed the savvy sense I read and write about daily. But no. I was sent into the field—Germany, to be exact—and I floundered. Here are three mistakes I made, and the lessons I learned from them:

"Mistake 1: Subscribing to a faulty international calling service—The thought was there. Instead of paying my hotel $4.50 a minute for calls home, I would dial a toll-free number and get charged a reduced rate. I chose Accuglobe—for 17 cents a minute. I printed the instructions for outgoing calls from Germany and slipped them into my wallet. The instructions were incorrect, but after several tries I figured out the correct recipe (dial 1 before the area code, even though the instructions tell you not to). My first call went through—I let my parents know I'd arrived. On my second attempt (only hours later), I tried the same formula and received a busy signal. I tried again—for the remaining six days of my trip—and heard the same annoying 'line-is-busy' sound.

"Lesson 1: Buy phone cards once you get there—Extremely frustrated by day three, I noticed an Internet cafĂ© around the corner from the hotel advertising a variety of phone cards. I purchased a MOX card for five euros. The card promised 660 minutes of call time, but after connecting deductions and other indecipherable costs, I ended up getting six connected calls, totaling about 150 minutes of phone time. It was still well worth the cost of the card.

"Mistake 2: Losing my roommate's camera—I'd neglected to buy my own digital camera before leaving, so the day before my departure I asked my roommate if I could borrow hers. I took the fancy (read: expensive) thing with me and shot 150 photos in the first 24 hours. After taking shot 151—a close-up of Yves Klein's "Blue" in the Museum Ludwig—I set the camera in my purse, not low enough to hide it from view. Twenty minutes later, I reached for the thing and there was nothing there.

"Lesson 2: Even in safe-seeming cities like Cologne, pockets get picked—Be aware of this and hide your personal items accordingly. Having to tell a friend that you've lost a borrowed item is painful. Even worse? Paying the bill to replace it.

"Mistake 3: Ruining my $120, ceramic straightening iron—I knew I'd need an adapter for my hair appliance, but I didn't own one. I figured the luxury hotels I'd be staying in would have them on hand, and they did. I even knew about surge protectors—that the voltage was different in Europe and some appliances couldn't handle the increased jolt. But the adapter I borrowed from the front desk read 120 V just like my straightening iron. The numbers lined up, so I figured I wouldn't need a surge protector after all. I stupidly gave it a test-drive. Within minutes, I began to smell a sweet-burning aroma. I'd successfully ruined the second-most expensive item I had packed.

"Lesson 3: Surge protectors, not just adapters, are necessary for use on most American appliances. While some products in the UK are equipped for both voltages (the case of my previous hair straightener), most aren't. To be safe, assume they aren't. Either take a surge protector with you or chill out: no one really cares if your hair is frizzy in Deutschland."


E-mail your feedback and tips to InsideTraveler@ngs.org.

Bookmark IT! www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/extras/blog/blog.html

When in airports, Emily King, Traveler's assistant to the editor, enjoys smelling and ogling Cinnabons, then excercising willpower and walking away from them. Researcher Jessie Johnston takes pleasure in perusing the invariably excellent selection of watches for sale and in giving herself permission to buy trashy magazines.

animal

Sometimes it's the journey, sometimes it's the destination—and sometimes, it's both. National Geographic Traveler has scoured the globe for the most beautiful, interesting, and off-beat road trips.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Manual Transmission System

In 1927, Warner Gear introduced a four-speed manual gearbox. The extra gear made high-speed cruising more comfortable due to less noise and vibration, increased fuel economy, and reduced engine wear. Oddly, the H-shaped gear pattern was opposite to today's pattern.

The manual transmission was, by the 1930s, a fairly mature and reliable technology. But the opportunity to improve on its operation took automakers into different directions. An unusual clutch spring was used in the Buick Series 40 for 1939. The cone-shaped spring was claimed to exert a high-pressure on the clutch plates to prevent slipping, while at the same time give a light clutch pedal feel for extended stop-and-go driving. It was an effective, but short-lived solution, doomed by durability problems.

Chrysler took an even more radical approach, with the adoption of its "fluid drive." Although the vehicle had a clutch pedal, it operated two vaned plates that transmitted power through shearing action in low-viscosity mineral oil. The design allowed drivers to stop without using the clutch, even leaving the gear selector in high. Providing quick acceleration was also not needed. Chrysler touted the design as being easier to drive, quieter, smoother, less prone to stalling and safer. Yet fluid drive flopped.

Traditionally, the transmission was placed directly behind the engine. It delivered the engine power to a drive shaft that powers the rear axle, a metal shaft to which one or more wheels were attached.

The simplest manual transmission, used in some cars, especially the smaller ones, is the sliding-spur gear type with three or more forward speeds and reverse. The desired gear ratio is selected by manipulating a shift lever that slides a spur gear into the proper position to engage the various gears. Early devices of this type required considerable skill on the part of the operator to shift the gears smoothly and without clashing the teeth.

Ease of shifting was improved by the use of synchronizing clutches that caused the two portions of a positive clutch to turn in unison before the driving and driven gear teeth touched each other during engagement. The only difficulty remaining in the operation of the sliding-gear transmission was the need for simultaneously operating the accelerator pedal, the clutch pedal, and the gearshift lever. The automatic transmission was developed to eliminate this manipulation.

The simplest electronically controlled suspension systems merely maintain a level ride height, counteracting the tendency of the weight of passengers and luggage to lower the rear end. Systems with four-wheel height adjustment lower the automobile's ride height to reduce aerodynamic drag and improve fuel economy at highway speeds. In off-road vehicles, these systems can raise the vehicle to increase ground clearance over rough terrain.

Other systems are adjustable and allow the driver to switch manually between a soft-ride mode and a firm-handling mode. Some systems also offer intermediate choices. The most advanced systems automatically switch back and forth between soft and firm modes in milliseconds, depending on the condition of the road. These systems also work to keep ride height constant and to minimize roll. Consequently, the automobile has a better combination of ride and handling characteristics under various conditions than do cars with conventional suspension systems.

Electronically controlled suspension systems cost considerably more than conventional suspension systems. They are typically found only on relatively expensive luxury-class automobiles, high-performance sports cars, racing cars, and more expensive sport utility vehicles.

The latest innovation in the world of suspension systems is the active suspension. The system incorporates a microprocessor to vary the orifice size of the restrictor valve in a hydraulic suspension or shock absorber. This changes the effective spring rate. Control inputs may be vehicle speed, load, acceleration, lateral force, or a driver preference.

Fourth Step
  • Now that the flat tyre is in the air, remove the lug nuts and place them in the upturned hub cap, or someplace easy to reach later.
  • With all the lug nuts removed, pull the tyre off by pulling it toward you. It will be heavy, so be careful it doesn't fall on you.
  • Put the spare tyre on, positioning it so that the holes line up with the lug bolts.
  • Replace the lug nets and tighten them, turning the opposite way you did when you removed them. But don't tighten them all the way yet.
  • Lower the car with the jack so that the tyre is just touching the car but not supporting the car's weight. Now tighten the lugs the rest of the way so they are at least as tight as they were when you removed them. Then lower the jack even further and remove it.
  • Put the flat tyre, hubcap, jack and the lug wrench back in the trunk.
  • Don't forget to remove the wheel blocks.
  • Get your original tyre fixed as soon as you can. Your spare may be only good for short distances at low speeds.

Winter Car Care : Winter is a time when car troubles increase. So before the onset of this winter make sure your car is in a fit shape.

  • Make sure your battery and charging system are up to mark. Your mechanic should check the battery, charging system and belts.
  • Check the cooling system, making certain the antifreeze will protect your car to the winter temperatures you'll experience in your area. For most areas, you'll need a 50-50 mix of coolant to water.
  • Make sure your windshield wipers are in good shape. Winter wipers--with the rubber coverings.
  • Keep your gas tank close to full.
  • Once fog does arrive, take some extra time to make sure your car is clean and your visibility is good. Make sure every glass surface is clear and transparent.
  • First Step
    • When you're driving and feel the rumble of a flat tyre, slow down, turn on your hazard lights and try to park the caron level ground as quickly as possible.
    • Put the automatic transmission into park and put the emergency brake on. If you have a manual transmission, leave it in first gear and pull the emergency brake.
    • If you have to park on even a slight incline, try to find a heavy object to wedge up against the good tyres. This will help to keep the carfrom rolling when you have it jacked up.
    • Once you've parked, take out the lug wrench, jack and the spare tyre from the trunk. Make sure the spare tyre has enough air in it.
    Second Step
    • Remove the hubcap and loosen the lug nuts.
    • Pry off the hubcap with a screwdriver. Sometimes the lug wrench has a screwdriver at the end of it. If it does, use that. Some cars don't have hubcaps at all.
    • Now use the lug wrench to loosen the lug nuts, which are the hexagonal bolts under the hubcap. If the lug nut has an L on it, turn clockwise. If it has an R or doesn't have anything on it, turn counterclockwise. Try to loosen the nuts an equal amount.
    • Very important: Don't remove the lug nuts yet. Just loosen them.
    Third Step
    • Put the jack on the ground near the flat tyre, under the carframe. Make sure it is under something structural that can support the weight of the car.
    • Start pumping the jack, so that the top of it reaches the bottom of the car. When it does, keep going until the flat tyre lifts off the ground. If the carseems unstable, lower the car, reposition the jack and try again.
    • Very important: Never get under the car when it is jacked up.

    Brake at the right time : Slow down to a safe speed before you enter a turn. Hard braking in mid-corner can upset the car's balance.

    Protect your night vision : Don't stare at approaching headlights. If you're being blinded, focus on the right shoulder of the road.

    Be Alert To Signs Of Fatigue: If you start to feel tired when driving pull over in a safe area and let someone else drive. If you are alone, pull into a safe location such as a well-lit rest stop and take a short nap or get out of the car and walk around for a few minutes. Stop as often as necessary. When traveling on long trips, eat light. Large, heavy meals can make you drowsy.

    Maintain a Steady Speed: Go with the flow. Keep up with traffic if conditions permit. A wide disparity in speeds is dangerous.

    Be Safe: Avoid cars that drive in formation on the highway so you're not involved in someone else's accident.

    Keep track of traffic : Look far down the road and keep your eyes moving to spot any problems before you reach them. Check your mirrors frequently.

    Do not hog the right lane : That is a passing lane, not a "fast" lane. Keep right except when passing. Don't try to block speeders.

    Use the signal lights: -Signal lane changes as well as turns.

    Wait to turn right : When you're stopped in traffic, waiting to turn right, keep the wheels aimed straight ahead until the way is clear. If you wait with the wheels cut to the right, someone could hit you from behind and push you into incoming traffic.

    Car Maintainance

    vehicle Maintenance is the most important ingredient for a happy journey and a long life of your vehicle. A well maintained car would never desert you when you need it the most. more..

    Fasten your seat belts: Buckling up your safety belt may be the single most important step you can take to reduce your health risks. Make sure that everyone in your vehicle is strapped in, and that small children are secured in safety seats before you set off. It can save your life, and it's the law!

    Don't Mix Drinking and Driving: Alcohol is the major cause of fatal accidents caused by human error. Drunk driving results in hundreds of thousands of injuries including lifetime disability from brain damage, paralysis, blindness, or amputated or deformed limbs.

    Hot Cars: On a warm day, the temperature inside a car can shoot up in minutes - even if the windows are partially open.. Even if it is not so hot outside, the danger of overheating exists - especially if you have a dark-colored car. Don't leave pets or children unattended.

    Keep Your Eyes On The Road: Avoid taking your eyes off the road by eliminating any possible distractions ahead of time. Before setting out on a drive, be sure that important items are within easy reach, i.e. directions and maps, sunglasses, etc. Reduce to a minimum possibly dangerous diversion of your attention from the tasks of safe driving such as changing tapes or compact discs and always pull over to a safe place to use your cellular telephone.

    The Particulars

    The list of useful information relating to automobile in India is its maintenance and preventive care. Tips on maintaining essential automotive components like engine oil, air filter, belts, and lights are also given. Essential information on automobiles like the correct tyre pressure, shock absorbers, and water balance is also to be found.

    Auto mobile

    The useful information about automobile in India is that knowledge, which the vehicle owner must possess for a more fruitful and hassle free driving experience. The Indian automobile information guide includes a factual knowledge relating to the vehicle's engineering, its maintenance, and automobile insurance.

    Left Hand Drive

    Foreigners must note that the International Driver's License (IDL) is recognized for driving inside Indian territory. One useful information about automobile driving in India is that cars are driven on the left side of the road.