World Cup 2014

June 12 can’t come soon with the kick-off between US and Ghana. To help you get ready for the big day, here are a few facts and figures that will help you blend in with the crowd.

1. Brazil will host World Cup 2014 that will involve 32 nations from 5 continents
2. The only newbie to the tournament is Bosnia-Herzegovina
3. the mascot for the tournament is an armadillo named Fuleco
4. Netherlands is the best team to never have won the World Cup after losing thrice in the final
5. 3.2 billion people watched the last World Cup (that’s almost half the world population)
6. The World Cup will take place in 12 Brazilian cities
7. The official ball of the tournament is called Brazuca
8. The official slogan of the tournament is “All in One Rhythm”
9. Brazil is hosting the  World Cup for the second time; first was in 1950
10. First phase tickets allotted to general public were sold out in 11.1 seconds

 

Mobile Firefox for $25

Image; Tehcnomag

Mozilla has plans to introduce a cheap low – end smartphone for $25. By partnering with Chinese company Spreadtrum Communications, this phone might debut and become a hit in cost-sensitive markets like South-east Asia where consumers tend to buy phones according to price rather than functionality.

While the phone will have basic functions like calling, voice-mail and ability to take pictures, it will have limited accessibility to high-end apps like Facebook and Instagram.

Analysts claim that this phone wont be a strong contender against the iPhone and Samsung since it is not technically a smartphone.

Watching movies in a minute

Watching movies sometimes can be hectic and sitting through one for 2 hours could be a torture. Fortunately 1A4 Studio has you covered. They’ve created a 60-second animation of famous movies. The funny part is slowing them down to hear the parody lines the characters say. Here are a couple of them:

 

 

 

 

 

“Morph”ing airplane seats

Everyone hates airplane seats. Even the seats in the business class have started to shrink to accommodate two seats in each aisle. The most uncomfortable situation could be nestled in a middle seat along-side two arm-rest dictators who  has decided that you don’t get to be comfortable for the 8-hour journey.

Jeremy White from Seymourpowell has developed a new concept where the seat size could be added or reduced as per the space needed by the user.

“Morph replaces the individual foam pads commonly used as airplane seat cushions with a single sheet of fabric stretched over an adjustable framework and brings the ergonomic, high-tension style of the Aeron Chair to air travel. In a standard three-seat module, the two inner armrests can be adjusted by the flight crew to make larger or smaller seats. If an adult is traveling with two children, the space could be reapportioned to give mom more space by shrinking the children’s seats slightly. In the unusual event of an undersold flight, airlines could offer a poor man’s upgrade by creating two larger seats.”

I hope this is commercially available soon because at times domestic flights end up  partially empty and there is nothing a person can do about his small seat if the arm-rest is jammed and refuses to go back up. With this new design, we could completely re-engineer the comfort and convenience of air-travel.

UPS Trolled by DHL

DHL managed to get their competitors to market their brand – every major corporation’s dream!

DHL covered a couple of packages with temperature controlled ink that turned the outer cover completely black when temperatures fall below zero inside the storage room. And when exposed to normal weather conditions, the package restored its natural colour. The UPS guys picked up a ‘black’ box and drove it down to an address that was really hard to find.

The result – they roll the package down alleys, streets and blocks advertising ‘DHL is Faster’ until either they realize what’s going on or finally manage to find the address.

Here is the actual footage:

 

R-Rated movies into Comics

Pixar artist Josh Cooley turned all the legendary scenes from R-rated movies into illustrations. Finally, a fun way to read to kids at night without the profanity and with funny sketches. You can buy these illustrations in various poster sizes over here

Check out some of my favourite ones:

You can find the complete work on Josh Cooley’s Blog

When FC Barcelona’s Official Twitter Account Got Hacked

Earlier today FC Barcelona’s official twitter page got hacked. The tweets called out to Real Madrid and asked the club to stop their partnership with Qatar Airways for their “money is full of blood and kill”. The tweets have been claimed by the Syrian Electronic Army by using the hashtag #SEA.

Not sure if these tweets also mention their next victim, Real Madrid.

Starting Your Tuesday Right

Tuesday is a dull day for many since it’s too far from the weekend, meetings, deadlines , more work-no play, blah!

For me Tuesday is the window to catch a vacation. Time to search for cheap airline tickets on aggregate websites like Kayak, Expedia, Priceline, etc. Tickets are relatively cheaper (cheaper by > $100) on Tuesdays and may even drop lower on Tuesday night post 11PM. Tuesday actually keeps me going and makes me look forward to my next vacation.

I had actually posted on another website some tips and tricks before setting out for the holidays. (Link)

Here is a little something to push you along the same track:

Russian Skywalkers

Popular builderers like George Willig and Alain Robert would probably have chuckled at this video. Russian climbers, Vadim Makhorov and Vitaly Raskalov, scaled the unfinished Shanghai tower in China. The five-minute video below briefly takes their audience through the adventure from the start till the very end. And I must say, the photographs these lads took are superb!

The Shanghai tower has been under construction since 2008 and is expected to open to tenants next year. Shanghai will take the second place as the tallest tower after Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Courtesy: dedmaxopka-livejournal

These are the same guys who scaled the Egyptian pyramid last year and later apologized for disrespecting the ancient monuments.

Image: dedmaxopka-livejournal

 

Junk Food Facts

I don’t know who came up the terminology “Junk Food” but it precisely describes what fast-food is made up of. Huffington Post published an article that shows a comparison between advertised burgers, fries, pizzas and tacos and what these foods look like before cooked.

We all know how mouth-watering good those fast-food ads are but are they really that good in reality? Here are some examples to us decide.

Advertised Taco Bell

What the actual meat looks likes before being cooked.

And a Yummy McRib from McDonald’s?

But is it all that meets the eye?

What the packaged meat looks like?

I don’t prefer fast food every day or every week. I have a burger once in a blue moon and I don’t crave for it. There is nothing good in junk food – nutritional or taste-wise. For franchises, selling food is their business. They are not really concerned about the quality/quantity of their products as long as they ‘look’ relishing. Consumers need to be smart about their choices and hopefully a lack of demand will help these food-chains to step up their menu for a healthier approach.