Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G cheapest price in India - Rs 7999/- on Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal

Redmi 4G Note at Rs 7999/- with additional 10% discount for Standard Chartered at SnapDeal

Xiaomi's Redmi Note 4G was always an excellent budget price phone with very good features. Good news, from today, Xiaomi has reduced the price of this phone from Rs 9,999/- to Rs 7,999/-

Ypu could also have a look at the comparison of Xiaomi Mi4i, Moto G2, and Zenfone 2.

This is applicable over Amazon , Flipkart and Snapdeal.

No need to try your luck at a flash sale like earlier - this is open to all.
And it is eligible for Cash on Delivery.

• Don't forget the extra Rs100/- discount on any purchase(not just Redmi) from a new amazon account.
• And the 10% extra cashback on SnapDeal using Standard Chartered cards.

NASA reports a Bright Sky Event Over Southeastern United States – June 29

Published on 29 Jun 2015

There was a bright event seen across several Southeast states last night at 12:29:30 AM CDT (1:29:30 EDT). Based on the data we currently have, this object was not a meteor or fireball.

A NASA camera I believe caught a glowing object travelling over the southeastern US States. NASA have said that they have ruled out that it was a meteor of any sort but more than likely to be a part of space debris. 

There was a bright event seen across several Southeast states last night at 12:29:30 AM CDT (1:29:30 EDT). Based on the data we currently have, this object was not a meteor or fireball. Tracked by 5 NASA cameras in the SE, it is moving at roughly 14,500 miles per hour, which is too slow to be a meteor. As you can see in the video, it has also broken into multiple pieces, which, combined with the slow speed, indicates a possible reentry of space debris. There are over 120 eyewitness accounts on the American Meteor Society website (www.amsmeteors.org) 

In the Unlikely event that Maggie from XKCD, otherwise known as Margaret the Destroyer, is coming for you

Otherwise known as Margaret the Destroyer, I will bring pain to the the Great One. Then again, maybe I won't

Randall Munroe(former NASA roboticist) posted yet another weird XKCD comic today which doesn't make much sense unless you get the references he's trying to make.

He's using titles of books by Judy Blume (born Judith Sussman on February 12, 1938), an American writer of teenage/kids books.

Some of Judy's books were :

• Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
• Then Again, Maybe I Won't
• Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great
• The Pain and the Great One 

These were the books he referenced in the webcomic.

Apparently, Judy Blume is ready with her first adult book called, "In the unlikely event"

Judy Blume's first book was The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo, in 1969

The Guardian gives a glowing review to "In the unlikely Event"

NASA explains why time will stop for one second on June 30th, 2015 - the leap second

The day will officially be a bit longer than usual on Tuesday, June 30, 2015, because an extra second, or “leap” second, will be added.

“Earth’s rotation is gradually slowing down a bit, so leap seconds are a way to account for that,” said Daniel MacMillan of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

VLBI, or Very Long Baseline Interferometry, is a technique that uses multiple radio telescopes to very precisely measure the Earth's orientation. It was originally invented back in the 1960s to take better pictures of quasars, but scientists soon found out that if you threw the process in reverse, you could measure how the ground beneath the telescopes moves around, how long days really are, and how the Earth wobbles on its axis as it revolves around the sun! Learn more about VLBI here!

For more information about NASA's Space Geodesy Project, visit http://space-geodesy.nasa.gov !

This video is presented in both stereoscopic 3D and standard 2D versions.

This video is public domain and can be downloaded at: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?10964


How will the leap second affect computers? 

Unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon explode 2 minutes after launch

NASA video of the SpaceX Falcon9 Launch vehicle failure of June 28, 2015

SpaceX's latest unmanned launch of its Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule ended tragically as a launch vehicle failure at 2minutes ans 19 seconds into launch.

Live streaming video of the launch was available and appears to have been something wrong with the second stage which explodes in a cloud of oxygen and rocket fuel. This causes the Dragon capsule to fall and the first stage to also explode in a chain reaction.

The mission was to resupply the International Space Station. This was the first failure of a Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle. There was no loss of life.

http://www.spacex.com/news/2015/06/28/crs-7-launch-update

"Following a nominal liftoff, Falcon 9 experienced a problem shortly before first stage shutdown, resulting in loss of mission. Preliminary analysis suggests the vehicle experienced an overpressure event in the upper stage liquid oxygen tank approximately 139 seconds into flight. Telemetry indicates first stage flight was nominal and that Dragon remained healthy for some period of time following separation."

How will it affect the supplies of astronauts on the ISS now ?

The previous unmanned resupply mission to the International Space Station by a Russian Progress spaceship had also resulted in failure, but NASA assured that the International Space Station had enough supplies to last with full rations till reserve levels upto July 24 and with reserves lasting till September 5th. Russian flight controllers had last month given up attempting to salvage a Progress cargo ship loaded with 3 tons of supplies and equipment intended for the International Space Station.

Even with this resupply failure, there are eight more resupply mission scheduled this year, including several this summer, “so there are plenty of ways to ensure the station continues to be well-supplied

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, has posted a note on the company's Twitter channel: "Falcon 9 experienced a problem shortly before first stage shutdown. Will provide more info as soon as we review the data."

How to make a 360 degree (look all around) youtube video with a single camera ?

Youtube released a feature for 360 degree videos in March this year and slowly a few good videos have been uploaded in 360 degree views. These typically are made with a multi-camera setup like the ones listed by youtube itself.  Bublcam, Giroptic’s 360cam, IC Real Tech’s Allie, Kodak’s SP360 and RICOH THETA are 360-degree video cameras compatible with YouTube.

Of course, 360 degree videos have been tried out by a few people for maybe around five years, with a certain HackADay reader in 2010(5 years ago) sending in a homemade hack to make a 360 degree video using a single camera and a mirrored hemisphere(from a lightbulb).
These videos have only horizontal panning, means, you can go side to side in all 360 degrees, but not up and down.

But that's ok for a dirt cheap option to make 360 degree videos.

Google had initially made 360 degree (or Spherical) videos playable only on Youtube andoid app and Chrome browser. But now, they have announced support for iOS 8 and above too.

How to make a 360 degree video with a single camera ?

Using a hemispherical mirror.

By using a hemispherical mirrored surface like a mirrored lightbulb, you can capture a doughnut video(or photo) as shown here.

Watch these full 360 degree all around you videos on your mobile or computer

360° movie from the cockpit of a Swiss Air Force F-5 jet with the team "Patrouille Suisse" flying over the Swiss Alps. Pilot is sitting in the front seat of the plane

Update : learn how to make these 360 degree videos yourself !

• When playing the video on an android phone or tablet, just move the phone around you to see in different perspectives. It uses the accelerometers of your mobile to show you what is happening where.
• On a computer(on Chrome), just click and drag on the video to change the orientation and see in different directions.

You will have to watch each video a few times to get all the action happening everywhere.

AVICII LYRICS
"Waiting For Love"
(with Martin Garrix & John Legend)

Where there's a will, there's a way, kinda beautiful
And every night has its day, so magical
And if there's love in this life, there's no obstacle
That can't be defeated

For every tyrant a tear for the vulnerable
In every lost soul the bones of a miracle
For every dreamer a dream we're unstoppable
With something to believe in

Monday left me broken
Tuesday I was through with hoping
Wednesday my empty arms were open
Thursday waiting for love, waiting for love
Thank the stars it's Friday
I'm burning like a fire gone wild on Saturday
Guess I won't be coming to church on Sunday
I'll be waiting for love, waiting for love
To come around

We are one of a kind irreplaceable
How did I get so blind and so cynical
If there's love in this life we're unstoppable
No we can't be defeated

Monday left me broken
Tuesday I was through with hoping
Wednesday my empty arms were open
Thursday waiting for love, waiting for love
Thank the stars it's Friday
I'm burning like a fire gone wild on Saturday
Guess I won't be coming to church on Sunday
I'll be waiting for love, waiting for love
To come around

Game of Thrones Spoiler - Jon Snow Final scene funny extended cut and theories

Why did Jon Snow wait in line at the Apple Store ?

For The Watch !

Jon Snow knows nothing

Ygritte says "You know nothing, Jon Snow" a whopping 19 times in the books.

Tin Man Syndrome - RadioPaedia X-ray and CT scan of Ectopia cordis interna : Age of Tin Man

There was a chest extra doing the rounds that showed no visible heart shadow. Here it is :

AP Chest Radiograph of Tin Man Syndrome

It was posted by Radiopaedia, the radiologist community website in April 2015. They even had lateral view X-ray and also had a CT scan of the abdomen to show that the heart was actually located in the abdomen.

Best Dragons, Dragon Movies and Dragons in Games

79 Interesting bits of Trivia About Spain

Many different groups of people have settled in Spain throughout history, including Iberians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Visigoths, Celts, Basques, and the Moors (Muslims who came from North Africa).f The quill pen is thought to have originated in Spain about 1,400 years ago.f The most enduring contribution of Spain to the world is its language, which was imported to the Americas with the expansion of the Spanish Empire in the 16th century. Now, more than 400 million people speak Spanish in 22 countries, including 35 million who speak it in the United States.a Since the Pyrenees Mountains were such a significant barrier in the north, and Spain is just 9 miles from Morocco in the south, Spain shares much of its early history with Africa.c The official name of Spain is the Kingdom of Spain.f The Iberian Peninsula was one of several refuges during the last ice age, so it was largely from Spain that northern Europe was repopulated after the ice age ended.c Famous Spaniards include Seneca, Hadrian, Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz, Salvador Dalí, El Greco, Pablo Picasso, Francisco de Goya, Jose Carreras, and Plácido Domingo.a Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (1499-1543) discovered California.fIn 2006, 58 million tourists visited Spain and its islands. Foreign tourists spent $51 billion in 2006. Spain is the second most visited country in the world after France.a In 1603, Spanish sailor Gabriel de Castilla (1577-1620) became the first man ever to see Antarctica.f Spanish sailor Juan Sebastián Elcano (1476-1526) was the first man to circumnavigate the world.f Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa (1475-1519) was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean.f The first novel, Tirant lo Blanc (1490), was written by Spanish author Joanot Martorell (1413-1468). Translated as Tirant the White, it played an important role in the development of the Western novel.f The Phoenicians who entered Spain in the 8th century B.C. called the peninsulaSpan or “the hidden land.”e The official language of Spain is Castilian Spanish (74%), though Catalan (17%) Galician (7%), and Basque (2%) are also spoken.a Tomás de Torquemada (1420-1498) was the first Grand Inquisitor in the Spanish Inquisition. His name has been associated with the Inquisition’s horror, fanaticism, and bigotry. Ironically, he was a descendent of a converso, or someone who had converted to Christianly from Judaism or Islam. In 1832, his tomb was raided and his bones were stolen and burned.f During the last ice age, most of Europe was covered in glaciers, but most of Spain was far enough south to escape the ice. Consequently, plants that were wiped out across Europe survived in Spain. Europe as a whole has 9,000 plant species; there are over 8,000 plant species in Spain alone, with 2,000 of them being unique to the country.c Spanish inventor Manuel Jalón Corominas (1925-2011) invented the mop in 1956.f Spanish sailor and engineer Isaac Peral (1851-1895) designed the first fully operative military submarine.f Spanish surgeon and scientist Miguel Servet (1511-1553) was the first European to describe pulmonary circulation.f

Lyrics for Venga Boys - "We're Going To Ibiza" . Its an Island, in the Mediterranean Sea and part of Spain.

"We're Going To Ibiza"

Hello Party People!

This Is Captain Kim Speaking 

Welcome Aboard Venga Airways 

After Take Off Will Pump Up The Soundsystem 

Cause We're Going To Ibiza!

I Don't Wanna Be A Busdriver 

All My Life 

I'm Gonna Pack My Bags And Leave This Town 

Grab A Flight 

Fly Away On Venga Airways 

Fly Me High 

Ibiza Sky 

I Look Up At The Sky 

And I See The Clouds 

I Looked Down At The Ground 

And I See The Rainbow Down The Drain 

Fly Away On Venga Airways 

Fly Me High 

Ibiza Sky 

Whoah! We're Going To Ibiza 

Whoah! Back To The Island 

Whoah! We're Going To Ibiza 

Whoah! We're Gonna Have A Party 

Whoah! In The Mediterranean Sea 

Ioh Ioh, Oh We Oh

Ioh Ioh, Oh We Oh 

Ioh Ioh, Oh We Oh 

Ioh Ioh, Oh We Oh 

Far Away From This Big Town 

And The Rain 

It's Really Very Nice To Be 

Home Again 

Fly Away On Venga Airways 

Fly Me High, Ibiza Sky 

Whoah! We're Going To Ibiza 

Whoah! Back To The Island 

Whoah! We're Going To Ibiza 

Whoah! We're Gonna Have A Party 

Whoah! In The Mediterranean Sea 

Ioh Ioh, Oh We Oh 

Ioh Ioh, Oh We Oh 

Ioh Ioh, Oh We Oh 

Ioh Ioh, Oh We Oh 

Thank You For Flying Venga Airways 

We Are Now Approaching Ibiza Airport 

As You Can See The Sky Is Blue 

And The Beach Is Waiting For You 

Whoah! We're Going to Ibiza 

Whoah! Back To The Island 

Whoah! We're Going To Ibiza 

Whoah! We're Gonna Have A Party 

Whoah! In The Mediterranean Sea 

Whoah! We're Going To Ibiza 

Whoah! Back To The Island 

Whoah! We're Going To Ibiza 

Whoah! We're Gonna Have A Party 

Whoah! In The Mediterranean Sea

What is the difference between Dragons, Wyverns, Drakes, Wyrms and Jabberwocky ?

The differentiation between a dragon and a wyvern in Western mythology is that a dragon has six limbs (four legs and two wings) whereas a wyvern has four (the "front legs" are also the wings).

Types of Dragons vs Wyverns

Dragons in Skyrim are actually Wyverns, meaning that the dragonborn is actually a Wyvern born, and that the dragon language is Wyvern language, also the Wyvernborn cant absorb dragon souls, only Wyvern souls, and that the blades are not dragon hunters, but Wyvern hunters, also, Akatosh, the god of time, Its not a Dragon but a Wyvern, and that Olaf One-Eye    didnt captured a Dragon in Dragonsreach, but a Wyvern, and that the dragon bone armor its actually Wyvern Bone Armor, and that dragons have never existed in Tamriel, only Wyverns.
Bethesda, the creators of Skyrim, said that making a a six-limbed dragon would be too hard and they would only waste time trying. So instead of the coding complexity of two extra limbs, they used Wyverns.

Here is a Dragon plush toy of HookFang from How to train Your Dragon !


Smaug from the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit series is also a confused Dragon/Wyvern.
One particular Tolkienist had investigated the movie scenes from the Hobbit movies - "An Unexpected Journey" and "The Desolation of Smaug" and presented their analysis as follows :

My suspicions first arose when the second trailer of ‘The Desolation of Smaug’ was released in October, noticing that the last shot of Smaug throwing fire to the screen had no forelegs – unlike what we had clearly seen in the prologue to ‘An Unexpected Journey’.

Wyverns are (or were) described in Medieval literature as being these serpent-like creatures with wings, often having spiked tails and mainly used in heraldic emblems

Here's a bunch of dragon movies that you should watch !

http://johndasfundas.blogspot.com/2015/06/best-dragons-dragon-movies-and-dragons.html

What about the creatures in Game of Thrones ?

What about the Nightfury called in How to train your dragon ?

And Saphira from Eragon ?

Draco from Dragonheart ?

Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion from Game of Thrones ?

How about Dungeons and Dragons ?

And the Chinese dragons ?

Oriental (or Eastern) dragon. Depicted as a long, snake-like creature with four claws (or five for the imperial dragon), it has long been a potent symbol of auspicious power in Chinese folklore and art. This type of dragon, however, is sometimes depicted as a creature constructed of many animal parts. It might have the fins of some fish, or the horns of a stag.

Indian Dragon ?

A serpentine dragon common to all cultures influenced by Hinduism. They are often hooded like a cobra and may have several heads depending on their rank. They usually have no arms or legs but those with limbs resemble the Chinese dragon. Other dragons are the Vrtra the serpent dragon who is defeated by Indra the thunder god and king of heaven, and the other evil serpent in Vedic lore, Ahi (cognate with the Zoroastrian Azi Dahaka). Another dragon who appears in the Indian mythology is- the Kaliya nag, which was defeated by lord Krishna. It is said that Krishna did not kill the snake and left it. The Kaliya Nag is said to have more than 1000 fangs.

Japanese Dragon ?

Similar to Chinese dragons, with three claws instead of four. They are usually benevolent, associated with water, and may grant wishes.

Wyvern	Wyverns are common in medieval heraldry. Their usual blazon is statant. Wyverns are normally shown as dragons with two legs and two wings.
The worm hill dragon	700 AD the Anglo-Saxons settled and called it "Wruenele" this translates as "Wruen" worm, reptile or dragon and "ele" hill. According to local folklore the hill at Knotlow (Derbyshire) was the lair of a dragon and the terraces around it were made by the coils of its tail. Knotlow is an ancient volcanic vent and this may explain the myth.
The Bignor hill dragon	There is a brief mention of a Dragon on Bignor Hill south of the village of Bignor near the famous Roman Villa, apparently "A Large dragon had its den on Bignor Hill, and marks of its folds were to be seen on the hill". Similar legends have been told of ridges around other hills, such as at Wormhill in Derbyshire.
The Lambton Worm	The legend says that it curled around Worm Hill near Fatfield in northeast England, would eat livestock and children, and was killed during the time of the Crusades by a Sir John Lambton.

Is Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky a dragon or wyvern or similar creature ? 

"Stanza of Anglo-Saxon Poetry"
Twas bryllyg, and ye slythy toves
Did gyre and gymble in ye wabe:
All mimsy were ye borogoves;
And ye mome raths outgrabe.

How about Pterodactyls ? They are closer to Wyverns than dragons.

Bats ? Closer to Wyverns

Loch Ness Monster ?

Charizard ?

Dragonball Z ? eh


Do you want a Dragon Sock Puppet ? Available in Amazon India online !

How to make homemade Nutella chocolate breadspread - and other Nutella recipes

Nutella is a brand of chocolate breadspread which is very tasty and similar to other chocolate breadspreads like Chocomate.

Stop eating Nutella and save the forests, urges French ecology minister

Ségolène Royal says Nutella is made using palm oil, which is contributing to deforestation, and urged Ferrero to make the spread with ‘other ingredients’

Today, you can learn how to make Nutella chocolate spread yourself at home.

  The steps are shown in the quick video above.

If you want written instructions, here they are :

Ingredients

• 2.5 oz (about 2/3 cups) roasted unsalted hazelnuts
• 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 3 oz (about 1/2 cup) unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp honey, agave nectar, or other liquid sweetener
• a food processor

In SI units,

• For 100g of roasted hazelnuts, 
• use 30g of dark chocolate (70% cocoa) 
• 30g of milk chocolate (35% cocoa), 
• 50g of powdered sugar and 
• 10g of cocoa powder

The first step is to toast the hazelnuts. If you use the roasted unsalted hazelnuts from Oh Nuts, they technically don’t need to be toasted, but I think toasting nuts, even pre-roasted ones, adds a depth of flavor that’s important to the finished product.

So place your nuts in a preheated 350 degree oven, and toast them until they’re brown and fragrant, about 10-12 minutes. Be sure to stir them every 3-4 minutes to keep them from burning. Once they’re toasted, set them aside until they’re no longer hot.

The food processor is going to do most of the work in this recipe, so prepare yourself for a lot of food processor pictures. Start by adding the cooled, toasted hazelnuts to the processor bowl.

Linda Watson's murder mystery closer to an ending

Firefighter arrested 15 years after his ex-wife, her mother and innocent neighbor were 'murdered during bitter custody dispute'

• Pima County Sheriffs say David Watson, 46, killed his ex Linda Watson while they fought over custody of their daughter in 2000
• Three years later, police say Watson murdered his ex mother-in-law in a drive-by shooting at the very home where Linda Watson first vanished
• Marilyn Cox had been fighting for visitation rights over her granddaughter - she was gunned down alongside her neighbor Renee Farnsworth in 2003

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3056239/Ex-husband-arrested-15-years-woman-mother-innocent-neighbor-murdered-bitter-custody-dispute.html#ixzz3e6e70Axu


There was also an earlier news article

Feb 20, 2014
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Three murders, three years apart, but deputies have no doubt they're linked. Linda Watson disappeared in 2000. Her mother Marilyn Cox and neighbor Renee Farnsworth killed in 2003. The question still lingering more than a decade later is by who?
Inside the holy walls at Victory Church, it's the last place anyone saw Linda Watson alive. Watson drove home just a few blocks away. She was there, when she vanished.
...
If you have any information about this case that can help detectives, call 88-crime. You can also reach out to the Pima County Sheriff Department's Cold Case Unit at (520)351-6849.

Now, there was a story posted on tumblr which may or may not be true (and is definitely unrelated :

So this is a box I found that was hidden in a mall for presumably ~6 months by now. Aside from the latch, there were rubber bands keeping the box shut. Inside the box is a bundle of tightly-folded pieces of paper. It is a story/recollection written by a 19-year-old girl who has apparently killed a random person just because she was wondering what it would be like. According to the paper, she wrote this just a few hours after the murder and that I am the first person to read it.
So yeah, I doubt I’ll be able to sleep tonight.
Anyway, I typed up the entire story because I seriously need to share this. Here it is. 

Probably fake.

But if its not, we are looking for a Linda Watson with a birth date of December 11th, 1980.
That makes her 34 years old in December 2014.

If its real, the person who posted  it would have taken it to the police. Or atleast given the place where it was found. Besides, the story is posted on a specially made tumbler page with nothing else on it.

Van Halen and the "No brown M & Ms" clause - read the fine print of any contract (Terms and Conditions apply)

The rock band Van Halen had a clause in their concert rider stipulating that there should be kept in their dressing room a bowl of M and Ms with no brown M and M's.

For those who don't know what M and M's are, they are small chocolate candies coated in a layer of coloured sugar. The name stood for “Mars & Murrie” the co-creators of the candy.

The clause, their singer David Lee Roth later explained, was to make sure that the concert arrangements were being followed to precision, especially since they had specific requirement s for the light and sound and safety requirements. They had previously been an incident where they had electrocution and damage to their equipment due to incorrect specifications and safety procedures.

If the bowl of M&Ms was present, then the band members could safely assume the other, legitimate, items in the technical rider were being fulfilled to their satisfaction. Conversely, if the bowl was missing, or brown M&M's were present, then the band members would be within their rights to have the venue inspect the work, ask it be redone, etc

Oh My Darling Clementine - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Lacuna Incorporated does memory wipes

Jim Carrey as Joel Barish and Kate Winslet as Clementine Kruczynski star in this sci-fi rom-com featuring a time when memories can be wiped to forget a failed love affair.

Lacuna Incorporated is the company that tries out their nascent sci-fi technology on their estranged lovers who fall in love at first sight. They have a falling apart and then erase their memories together only to meet again - love at first sight all over again.

For first time watchers, know that the timeline may be difficult to follow, so watch Clementine's hair color - that helps a bit.

Bonus : Lyrics to "Oh My Darling Clementine"

Near a cavern, across from a canyon,
Excavating for a mine,
Lived a miner, forty-niner
And his daughter Clementine

Oh my Darling, Oh my Darling,
Oh my Darling Clementine.
You are lost and gone forever,
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.

Dangerous animals of australia - part two. Crocodiles with freaking lasers

Previously, I had listed some dangerous animals of Australia and reiterated that Australia is full of exotic and dangerous animals.

Here is a BBC documentary remixed by Youtuber(Blackhawk) and redditor (PapercutUnderNail) to show some more dangerous Australian animals.

Though there are no sharks with head mounted lasers in real life yet, in Australia, you get very close to that.

Lithium ion vs Lithium Polymer mobile batteries - Can they explode or spontaneously combust like this ?

Are mobile batteries safe ? Can they spontaneously combust ?
Looks like batteries can explode into a fireball if provoked !

The above GIF / HTML5 video shows a Lithium Polymer battery being punctured with a knife. The release of the battery's chemicals results in an exothermic reaction that causes a chain reaction that enlarges the hole and quickly results in a fireball and flame shooting out of the damaged battery.

This works on both Lithium Polymer as well as the more common Lithium ion batteries too.

Lithium Polymer mobile batteries swell and explode

Be careful with your mobile phone batteries. Watch out for battery damage and keep them safe when charging.

Don't use swollen batteries like this. They are like ticking time bombs which may explode any minute.

What is the difference between Lithium ion and Lithium Polymer batteries ?

Unlike the Lithium-Ion battery which is usually made up of cylindrical type cells inside of the battery casing; the Li-Po battery cells are small laminated sheets that come in a foil type pouch (similar to a food package). Although the charging and discharging characteristics resemble the Lithium-Ion type batteries, a Li-Po battery should be closely monitored during the charging process. During a charge the foil package may swell due to gas build up – if overcharging occurs this will damage the battery and possibly the device.

Of course there are always dangers with any type of battery. Use common sense when handling batteries. Here are some safeguards to prevent injury or damage to your personal property when using or charging a Li-Po Battery:

How to make giant soap bubbles at home

Make giant bubbles at home

For a kid, its always fun to play with soap bubbles. You could have a lot of fun with bubbles and they make for excellent props in photographs.

But what if you could make bigger and longer lasting bubbles at home. You can, with just a few ingredients.

You'll need

• Liquid Soap
• Guar Gum (secret ingredient)
• Baking Powder (optional)
• thread and rods to make a flexible bubble wand

That's all folks. Simple as that

Zookepers recreate Jurassic Zookeeper meme - Jurassic World scene with Chriss Pratt and raptors

Jurassic World : the new sequel of the Jurassic Park and The Lost World movie series had a spectacular opening this month and kept up to people's expectations.

One iconic scene which came out in the trailer was actor Chris Pratt "taming" three raptors holding out his arms.

Zookeepers and pet owners around the world loved that scene and have recreated it with whatever animals they could get hold of, from chickens to tigers to rhinos to dolphins to quokas.

Samsung Safety Truck has a TV on the back to see what's ahead of it

Leo Burnett from Beunos Aires  had a wonderful idea for Samsung Argentina to reduce the number of road accidents caused during overtaking their trucks.

When there are roads without medians (one-lane highways), the traffic from both sides has to be careful not to get into a head on collision especially when overtaking.

This problem is more so when the view ahead is obstructed by a huge truck. And the length of the truck makes matters even worse, as covering the entire length of the truck before the oncoming traffic reaches you is critical.

Watch the video to see how Samsung Trucks in Argentina show "Next is What ?" to save lives, not just change lives.

Matt Damon plays Mark Watney in "The Martian" movie based on the book by Andy Weir

Humans will go to Mars. No doubt about it. Stephen Hawking and other scientists want us to go, they say it's the only way to ensure the survival of the human race(or atleast increase the odds of survival). The only questions that remain are : when, and who will be first.

The map of the area where Mark Watney was stranded

Andy Weiner's science fiction novel may as well be a future true story as there is nothing fictional about the science in it. Read the book before watching the movie.
Buy The Martian from Amazon here.

Or, you could just watch the movie first if you follow the logic that the book is ALWAYS better than the movie. Then, you can read the book after the movie and get a more immersive story.

Astronaut Mark Watney is on Mars, on the first human mission there. But due to a storm, they have to evacuate, but Mark does not make it back on time, and the crew see his transmitted vitals showing he's dead. So, they leave to escape the Martian weather.

But Mark is alive and nobody knows that. Leaving him stranded on Mars. Thus, with nobody looking for him, he decides to go the MacGyver way and survive atleast long enough to send a call for help.


Update : Interview of And Weir by Adam savage of Mythbusters

The book was a New York Times bestseller and like all successful books, Hollywood decided its time to make it a movie. Matt Damon plays the lead character 'Mark Watney'. Watch the trailer here :

Are Airtel and Vodafone India 3G dongles injecting Javascript and iFRAMEs into your web browsing ?

Is Airtel hacking you ?

In what is essentially a Man-in-the-Middle type of "hacking" attack, 3G dongle users of Airtel and Vodafone in India(Update: other countries have also reported similar issues it seems) are being given modified webpages injected with a hidden Javascript code.

Airtel was previously in the new in India for trying to bypass NetNeutrality but backtracked after public opinion. This, however, did not prevent them from increasing the costs of mobile internet packs in India.

A few days back, Thejesh GN, or Thej as he likes to be called, discovered a suspicious javascript when he was browsing his own website Thej.in Since it was his own site, he was sure that he did not put it there. What was happening was that when the website was being delivered to his computer over his Airtel 3G Dongle, an extra line was added(which is one method how China hacked Google account of their citizens).

This line loaded an external javascript file from an IP address :

http://223.224.131.144/scripts/Anchor.js

Update : Vodafone uses the similar  http://1.2.3.4/bmi-int-js/bmi.js

The javascipt file is unreachable right now. Maybe they allow only Airtel(or Vodafone) 3G IPs to access it Or maybe they removed the file.

Anyway, Thejesh raised his suspicions and posted this very publicly available code to GitHub and tried to see what it does.And then, some company called Flash Networks suddenly asked GitHub to take down the code under DMCA "copyright" law.

Apple's Swift programming language goes open source to Counter Google's Go

Apple and Google both had released their own, modern, great programming languages.

• Apple's Swift and 
• Google's Go

Apple makes Swift Open Source - Counters Google's Go

Both are great programming languages and both companies used them in a lot of their internal software. Apple may even replace C on Xcode with Swift slowly but surely. (Knowing Apple, it might even be Swiftly and Surely).

Today, Apple announced that they are making Swift open source. This will catapult Swift up to counter Go from Google.

Apple going open source on Swift was speculated for a long time as there were features that Apple had "borrowed". So, they should ideally give back to the open source community.

Here are a few arguments that were made earlier regarding this issue :

• Why Apple should open-source Swift: Open source fuels innovation
• Why Apple won't open-source Swift: Innovation isn't what Apple really wants
• Why Apple should open-source Swift: The future labor pool is coming of age on open source
• Why Apple won't open-source Swift: Markets define what programmers code
• Why Apple should open-source Swift: With open source, "every bug is shallow"
• Why Apple won't open-source Swift: Walled gardens have advantages
• Why Apple should open-source Swift: Openness means proliferation and new markets
• Why Apple won't open-source Swift: Sharing leads to fragmentation
• Why Apple should open-source Swift: Open source ensures a robust tools ecosystem
• Why Apple won't open-source Swift: Openness is a win for Android
• Why Apple should open-source Swift: Apple owes it to open source
• Why Apple won't open-source Swift: Apple doesn't owe open source anything
• Why Apple should open-source Swift: Swift can be cloned
• Why Apple won't open-source Swift: Who wants a clone?

Finally, looks like open source won.

Get Apple Music free for 3 months, later $9.99 per month, also on Windows and Android

Apple today made a major announcement today at WWDC 2015. Apple Music is released and it IS AWESOME ! Apple had recently bought Beats Audio and integrated it into iTunes. Now the entire iTunes stores is fully integrated with Beats Music and streams to all your iDevices.

Apple Music free for three months

And what's more - Apple Music is completely free for the first three months. If you want to continue, it will just be $9.99 per month - not bad.



AND, one more thing. Apple Music is coming to Windows and Android too !


iOS ecosystem users can use the $15 family plan of Apple Music too. Not sure if Android and Windows users will get that (requires iCloud), but they will definitely get the $9.99 plan and the free three months plans. Cool, right ?

And some music recommendations will be made by real people listening to the music, not just by software algorithms like Spotify and other radiochannels.

What is Apple Music Connect ?

Apple Music gives artists a single place to connect with fans. Artists can post their latest tracks, behind-the-scenes photos, in-progress lyrics, or a new remix. Just like a Facebook or Myspace(remember that) page.

iPad gets multiwindow multitasking - update from WWDC 2015

Apple has finally brought multiwindowed multitasking to the iPad (like what the Android tablets had with the latest update - P.S. Android users could enable it even before the latest update).

It looks awesome and perfect for combining work and play.

They introduced three methods of multiwindow

• SplitView :- Opens two apps in split screen, either in a 50/50 or 70/30 split. You can scroll both apps simultaneously.
• SlideOver :- lets you swipe another app in from the side
• Picture-in-Picture :- opens a little viewer in the corner to put an app inside

SlideOver and Picture-in-Picture will be available on the iPad Air and up, Mini 2 and up. Split View is only for the iPad Air 2.