Platinum

Platinum is a chemical element with symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, gray-white transition metal. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina, which is literally translated into "little silver".

Platinum is a member of the platinum group of elements and group 10 of the periodic table of elements. It has six naturally occurring isotopes. It is one of the rarer elements in Earth's crust with an average abundance of approximately 5 μg/kg. It occurs in some nickel and copper ores along with some native deposits, mostly in South Africa, which accounts for 80% of the world production. Because of its scarcity in Earth's crust, only a few hundred tonnes are produced annually, and given its important uses, it is highly valuable and is a major precious metal commodity.

Platinum is the least reactive metal. It has remarkable resistance to corrosion, even at high temperatures, and is therefore considered a noble metal. Consequently, platinum is often found chemically uncombined as native platinum. Because it occurs naturally in the alluvial sands of various rivers, it was first used by pre-Columbian South American natives to produce artifacts. It was referenced in European writings as early as 16th century, but it was not until Antonio de Ulloa published a report on a new metal of Colombian origin in 1748 that it became investigated by scientists.

Music recording sales certification

Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see List of music recording certifications).

Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories, which are named after precious materials.

The number of sales or shipments required for these awards depends upon the population of the territory in which the recording is released. Typically, they are awarded only to international releases and are awarded individually for each country in which the album is sold. Different sales levels, some perhaps 10 times lower than others, may exist for different music media (for example: videos versus albums, singles, or downloads).

History

The original gold record awards were presented to artists by their own record companies to publicize their sales achievements. The first of these was awarded by RCA Victor to Glenn Miller in February 1942, celebrating the sale of 1.2 million copies of "Chattanooga Choo Choo". Another example of a company award is the gold record awarded to Elvis Presley in 1956 for one million units sold of his single "Don't Be Cruel". The first gold record for an LP was awarded by RCA Victor to Harry Belafonte in 1957 for the album Calypso (1956), the first album to sell over 1,000,000 copies in RCA's reckoning.

Dubai (yacht)

Dubai is the name of a yacht currently owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of the Emirate of Dubai and the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates. This vessel is 162 metres (531 ft) long, is the third largest yacht in the world after Azzam and Eclipse. Including crew it can hold more than 115 Guests on it. Designed by Andrew Winch, with interior design by Platinum Yachts, it cost US$400 million. The construction was originally planned for Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei before 1996 as a joint project between Blohm + Voss and Lurssen shipyards. Progess stopped until 2001 when the hull was acquired by Platinum Yachts for Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Al Maktoum. The yacht, previously named Platinum, Panhandle and Golden Star, was then renamed Dubai.

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Daniel Ramos

Daniel "Chaka" Ramos (Born August 27, 1972) in Los Angeles, California was one of the most prolific graffiti taggers of the late 20th century. CHAKA tags were widespread, from Orange County on up to San Francisco.

Authorities in Los Angeles County and surrounding areas throughout the West Coast ascribed to Chaka between ten and fifty thousand unique incidents of him "tagging" the word "CHAKA" on various vertical surfaces of private and state property, using equipment ranging from permanent markers to spray paint and incurring up to half a million dollars in monetary damage. Chaka was eventually caught, tried, and convicted in 1991 on these charges. He was sentenced to three years probation and 1,560 hours of community service to be spent cleaning graffiti. Ramos was accused of tagging the interior of a civic-center elevator as he left a courtroom. He was arrested and charged again. In the music video for the song, "Smells like Teen Spirit," by Nirvana, Dave Grohl's drum kit has "CHAKA" written on it in white lettering, supposedly in tribute to Ramos.

List of recurring alien characters in Stargate SG-1

This is a list of recurring alien characters in the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1.

Abydonians

The Abydonians are the people whom Colonel O'Neill's team encounters on another planet in the Stargate film. They are the slaves of the alien Ra and are descendants from ancient Egyptians brought through the Stargate to mine the fictional mineral naqahdah. The film gives the location of their homeworld—named Abydos in SG-1's pilot episode "Children of the Gods"—as the Kaliem galaxy "on the far side of the known universe" (a vague reference to the constellation Caelum, perhaps) in the film; and as the closest planets to Earth in the Stargate network in "Children of the Gods". In the film, O'Neill and Daniel Jackson inspire the Abydonians and their leader, Kasuf, to rise up against Ra. The military personnel return to Earth, while Daniel falls in love with Kasuf's daughter Sha're and remains behind. In "Children of the Gods", set a year after the film, the Goa'uld Apophis attacks Abydos, abducting Sha're and her brother Skaara to serve as hosts for his queen Amonet and son Klorel. In season 6's "Full Circle", the Goa'uld Anubis destroys Abydos, but Oma Desala helps its entire population Ascend.

Chaka (album)

Chaka is the debut solo album by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan, released on the Warner Bros. Records label in 1978.

Overview

Two singles were released from Chaka, the first being her anthemic solo debut "I'm Every Woman", one of Khan's signature tunes alongside "Ain't Nobody" (1983) and "I Feel For You" (1984). The song has over the past three decades been re-released, remixed and covered a number of times, most notably by Whitney Houston in 1992 for the soundtrack album The Bodyguard, then featuring guest vocals by Khan herself and topping Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. A remix of Khan's original recording was also a Top Ten hit in the U.K. in 1989. The remix was included on the compilation Life is a Dance - The Remix Project, the title track of which was the second single release from the Chaka album in early 1979 (US R&B #40). The album also features the ballad "Roll Me Through the Rushes", never commercially released as a single but still receiving considerable airplay in 1979, as well as Khan's cover version of Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made To Love Her", re-titled "I Was Made to Love Him".