omega

Omega (majuscule;Greek) is the 24th and last letter of the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system, it has a value of 800. The word literally means “great O” (ō mega, mega meaning ‘great’), as opposed to Omicron, which means “little O” (o mikron, micron meaning “little”). This name is Byzantine; in Classical Greek, the letter was called ō (ὦ), whereas the Omicron was called ou (οὖ). The form of the lowercase letter derives from a double omicron, which came to be written open at the top, whereas the uppercase derives from an underlined omicron, which came to be open at the bottom.

Phonetically, the Ancient Greek is a long open-mido, equal to the vowel of English raw. In Modern Greek represents the same sound as omicron. The letter omega is transcribed ō or simply o.

Omega (the last letter of the Greek alphabet) is often used to denote the last, the end, or the ultimate limit of a set, in contrast to Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the New Testament book of Revelation, God is declared to be the “alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last”.

Omega was also adopted into the early Cyrillic alphabet. See Cyrillic omega. A Raetic variant is conjectured to be at the origin or parallel evolution of the Elder Futhark.

He met her at a party. She was so outstanding, many guys chasing after her, while he was so normal, nobody paid attention to him.

At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him, she was surprised but due to being polite, she promised. They sat in a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything, she felt uncomfortable, and she thought to herself, “Please, let me go home…”

Suddenly he asked the waiter, “Would you please give me some salt? I’d like to put it in my coffee.” Everybody stared at him, so strange! His face turned red but still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it. She asked him curiously, “Why you have this hobby?” He replied, “When I was a little boy, I lived near the sea, I liked playing in the sea, I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood, think of my hometown, I miss my hometown so much, I miss my parents who are still living there.” While saying that tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. That’s his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell out his homesickness, he must be a man who loves home, cares about home, has responsibility of home… Then she also started to speak, spoke about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family.

That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story. They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands; he had tolerance, was kind hearted, warm, careful. He was such a good person but she almost missed him! Thanks to his salty coffee! Then the story was just like every beautiful love story, the princess married to the prince, and then they were living the happy life… And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee, as she knew that’s the way he liked it.

After 40 years, he passed away, left her a letter which said, “My dearest, please forgive me, forgive my whole life’s lie. This was the only lie I said to you － the salty coffee. Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time, actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead. I never thought that could be the start of our communication! I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything… Now I’m dying, I’m afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth, I don’t like the salty coffee, what a strange bad taste… But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life! Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life. If I can live for the second time, still want to know you and have you for my whole life, even though I have to drink the salty coffee again.”

Her tears made the letter totally wet. Someday, someone asked her, “What’s the taste of salty coffee?” She replied, “It’s sweet.”

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An office and hotel complex in the United Arab Emirates set for completion by the end of 2010 was certified as the world’s farthest-leaning man-made tower, the magazine Arabian Business reported.

Capital Gate, owned and developed in the UAE capital by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC), was built to lean 18 degrees westwards – more than four times that of the Leaning Tower of Pisa – the firm said in a statement.

It earned the recognition by Guinness World Records after rigorous evaluation by the Awards committee began in January, when the exterior of the 525-foot (160-meter), 35-story tower was completed.

“Capital Gate is a landmark development for Abu Dhabi and with this recognition the tower takes its place among the world’s great buildings. It is a signature building which speaks to the foresight of the emirate,” ADNEC Chairman Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon al Nahyan said.

The building’s floor plates were stacked vertically up to the 12th story, after which they were staggered over each other by between nearly a foot (300 millimeters) to 55 inches, giving rise to its dramatic lean.

When completed, Capital Gate – designed by British-based international architecture firm RMJM – will house a five-star hotel and about 24,000 square yards (20,000 square meters) of premium office space.

South Africa’s vultures are being pushed into extinction by gamblers who believe smoking their dried brains will give them special powers, wildlife organizations have warned.

While British fans study the form book and the back pages, some South Africans believe the “muti” magic will help them predict football match results.

And they are hoping the World Cup will be a great opportunity for a big win.

Conservationists fear the birds, which are already facing global extinction, will be further threatened by the superstition.

Executive director of BirdLife South Africa, Mark Anderson, said: “Many vulture species across the world are in trouble.

“Our very own species in southern Africa is declining sharply for a number of reasons, including reduced food availability, deliberate poisoning and electrocution from electricity pylons.

“The harvesting of the bird’s heads by followers of muti magic is an additional threat these birds can’t endure.”

The RSPB’s Dr Chris Magin said: “One in every six of the world’s birds of prey are facing extinction and during the past two decades vultures have virtually vanished from West Africa, South Asia and other parts of the world.”

Steve McKean, from KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, studies the affect of vultures due to muti magic.

Within half a century, the Cape vulture could become extinct in some parts of South Africa because of this “so-called ‘traditional’ use” of the bird, he said.

“In the worst case, the Cape vulture could be suffering population collapse within 12 years,” he said.

There are 841 species of birds recorded in South Africa but 39 of these are considered threatened with global extinction.

Conservationists say most vultures killed for muti magic are poisoned with aldicarb, which is also lethal to humans.

Regular exercises turn out to be a good method to alleviate pressure and anxiety. Chen Xiaogen / for China Daily

While many new employees complain about the pressure at work and the amount of stress they are under, veteran office workers are urging them to keep a positive attitude and try to see beyond short-term hardships.

And, instead of complaining to friends or colleagues or bottling up the frustration, older office workers are calling on their younger peers to realize that no job is perfect and that each one will have its trade-offs.

“Young employees seem to complain about being under pressure but there is no point in that. There will be no response from employers after the complaints,” said Shirley Wang, 39, a white-collar worker who has been with foreign enterprises for almost two decades.

Wang said bosses at the foreign companies are also putting in long hours and working to tight deadlines.

“Bosses need to see results,” she said. “They don’t care how much pain you are going through so stop complaining about the pressure.”

Wang said she had been determined to work for a foreign firm when she graduated from the missile control department at a technological institute in Shaanxi province. The Shanghai native then worked her way up from a foreign-invested hotel in provincial capital, Xi’an, before moving to Beijing to fulfill her career goal two years later.

The veteran said she has experienced all the things younger workers complain about during her career. But she said the effort was worth it because she is happy now in her work.

Today, Wang is the chief membership consultant at the Beijing Hong Kong Jockey Club in the capital.

“Each work experience offers a learning opportunity for young people,” she said. “They should not let upsets in their jobs along the way sidetrack them from their dream.”

Vivien Xie, a partner in the Chinese office of a leading international human resources consulting firm, also called on young employees to stay grounded during times of global financial difficulties for foreign-invested enterprises.

“If you run into any uneasiness in your work at a company, stay open to advice and communicate with others, including your bosses,” she said.

Xie, who started working eight years ago for the company as an associate consultant at the most basic level, also suggested young employees be cautious about expressing negative feelings at work.

“Losing direction at work will affect every aspect of your job. You need to focus on the good things about your job and try not to be too concerned about money and job titles.”

Xie said young people are inclined to ignore their knowledge gaps and look for excuses for their failings instead of taking advice and fixing them.

“At least, young office workers need to show some commitment in their jobs. They need to take some challenges to test themselves to get over their learning curve or they will learn nothing in the end,” she added.

The women agreed that the domestic job market is an open one and said people are likely to change jobs very often, but they said it is crucial to find a direction for your career.

“Stability is an important part of a career,” said Xie. “You need to realize that a good platform with a well-known brand and a solid training system will help you overcome your negative feelings. If you work hard, you will make your own luck in the end.”

China’s State Council, or Cabinet, approved a program on Saturday to map out specific development strategies for different regions in a bid to boost economic development and, at the same time, ensure the protection of the environment.

According to a statement released after a regular meeting of the State Council, the country’s various regions should have their own development focus and priority according to their environmental features, natural resources, current development stage and development potential.

The Cabinet noted that detailed plans and policies should be made for these “development priority zones” in terms of population distribution, economic layout, land utilization and the level of urbanization.

“To map out and implement the plan, a new development concept must be set up in order to promote basic principles such as improving people’s living standard and the capacity for sustainable development,” said the statement.

Under the plan, the country’s regions are to be categorized into four types: optimized development; major development; restricted development; not for development.

The plan calls for regions of optimized development to speed up procedures for the transformation of their economic growth methods and boost their economic efficiencies by promoting independent innovation and participating in the global market competition.

Those regions targeted for major development are directed to quicken the process of urbanization and develop more hi-tech, low-cost industries for economic development.

The southwestern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, the northwestern Loess Plateau, the northeastern forest areas, the southern highland and major rivers and lakes are categorized as regions for restricted development.

These regions “affect the national ecological safety” and should focus on environmental protection and rehabilitation in order to build places where “humans and nature live in harmony,” noted the statement.H In addition, more than 1,300 national natural reserves, national forest parks, landscape sites and other key natural locations are to be designated as forbidden areas for economic development and should be placed under “compulsory protection,” the statement directed.

The program also specified the scale, goals, direction and principles for the development of different zones.

In addition, a draft law on protecting the country’ intangible cultural heritage was discussed and approved at the meeting. The law specifies the definition of intangible cultural heritage and set down the procedures for investigating and certifying an intangible cultural heritage item.

The meeting was presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.