Burj Khalifa Dubai

I found this really good SlideShare Presentation on the Burj Khalifa:

Burj Khalifa Dubai

More information than we got.....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1249848/Terrifying-Burj-Khalifa-lift-ordeal-Dubai-tourists-stuck-1-600ft-worlds-tallest-building.html

Burj Khalifa? - What's in a name (about $10Bn)

So Burj Dubai, as it has been known since construction started (and presumably before in the planning stages), has been re-named on it's opening day to Burj Khalifa (after the UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi). Call me a sceptic, but it is only 2 weeks since Abu Dhabi bailed out Dubai (again) to the tune of $10Bn - so was this a generous offer by Sheikh Mohammed (Dubai), or was it part of the deal?

I think if I was Mr Al Makhtoum I would be a little peeved that my pet project, which was my idea in the first place, was named after my richer uncle (not literally)...... oh and by the way he wasn't even at the opening!

Oh well ... whatever, I still think it looks cool.

Weekend in Dubai

We went to the golf in Dubai on Friday and spent a couple of hours watching Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy at the new “Earth” course designed by Greg Norman. The tickets were free so we didn’t feel like we had to be there all day which was nice. For Friday evening we had tickets to see UB40 in concert at the Irish Village, but Caz wasn’t feeling well, so I called up one of my work mates who gladly took the tickets.

We stayed overnight at the Crowne Plaza at Festival City. It was a really nice hotel, with a great room (free upgrade he he – that Priority Club Gold Card does come in handy sometimes! ). Below are a few pics showing the view from our room.

Saturday was a lovely lazy few hours by the pool and then a couple of hours at Ibn Battuta Mall – oh well, can’t have everything!

  

Meet me on the 124th floor!

I can't wait to go up and take a look! 160 floors with the observation tower on 124th. Now opening on Jan 4th.

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The Gulf s new pinnacle of innovation
Timothy Brooks tbrooks@thenational.ae
The National - News
11 Nov 2009

DUBAI It has been dubbed the “beacon of progress” and, when it opens in the New Year, Burj Dubai – the world’s tallest building – will demonstrate the dynamism of the Gulf. It will be officially opened on January 4, the fourth anniversary of Sheikh...read more...
Tech Tags: The National - News newspaper Page Three

Strange goings on in MbZC

As I was being a lazy arse last night and couldn't be bothered to cook, I phoned out for Pizza Hut delivery (if you didn't know you could do that this far out, ask me and I'll tell you how! - you can also get KFC!!). As I was paying the delivery man (which was around 8.15pm) I heard a massive rumble, the sort of sound you might imagine coming from a large building collapsing. The front door totally rattled as did the windows. About 10 minutes later the same thing happened again. Now I'm no expert, but I'm thinking earthquake. They are not that uncommon in the region, especially in Iran which had a few last year. I was in Dubai last December when there was one. In fact I was in the Barclay's building right next to the Burj Dubai - so I'm in the basement of a building next to the tallest building in the world and we are told there is going to be an earthquake! Fortunately, there were just minor rumblings in Dubai. Maybe it's me, because I also experienced an earthquake in Japan a few years ago - but I would trust their buildings to survive more than here! Anyway, back to Abu Dhabi. Weirdly, when you search the Internet for all the earthquake notification sites, there is no sign of one anywhere near the region. There was also nothing in the papers today. Caz put a thread on the Abu Dhabi Women's forum about it, there were about 20 other people in Abu Dhabi who also reported the exact same experience. Now, I'm not sure if some just have over active imaginations but some have suggested that the airport had reported higher than normal flight activity at the same and others report a lot of helicopters in the sky. So what could it be? Military explosions they don't want us to know about? Bomb testing (at night?). Or maybe a small localised earthquake not big enough to register..... any other thoughts???

Lightning in Dubai

Here are some great pictures of the lightning in Dubai last night. They were sent to me by a guy at work, so I'm not sure who to credit with the pics - but it wasn't me I'm sorry to say! Not sure I'd want to be in the tallest building (Burj Dubai) in the world during a storm! (click the pics for a bigger view)