watch Olympics 2012 sporting events - LEGO style! ;)

don't miss these amazing stop-motion videos of the Olympics 2012 events by designer Fabian Moritz... love them all! :) commissioned by The Guardian.

"animated reconstructions of the best moments of the global sport event taking place in the UK from 27 july to 12 august 2012."

women's gymnastics final

men's swimming 200 individual medley final

they even included a funny bit about Michael Phelps' 12,000 calorie diet! lol!

Usain Bolt wins gold in 100m run final

click here for the complete series (more videos).

hey, i can 'see' you from here! :)

i have been so occupied with work and all, just haven't had the time to sit down and update my blog in the past month or so. what started out as a bid to show a friend that i can keep at this for more than three months, has over the years, taken on a life of its own and became a personal little outlet to vent, to share my little mundane snippets, excitements and stories with people near or far, friends and strangers alike.

i was just checking around and scanning my site for any new features, and noticed that my ClustrMap (yes, that small little rectangular map on the right navigation bar, right under the 'visitors around the world' subheader) is now spotting some yellow dots too.

technology and its features just keep improving and getting better and more advanced each day. see, now as you are reading this on your computer screen (or perhaps your smart phone), i can spot you right there on my ClustrMap - in real-time... that tiny little yellow dot, yes! that's you! :)

there's even a small table recording the date, location and estimated time of the recent visitors to my site... so cool, erh? :)

has anyone used Skype via CallByText on your iPhone?

i was just surfing around for some information on Skype and stumbled upon this site called CallByText. it claims to allow you to make phonecalls via your Skype account even when you are not connected to the internet. sounds too cool, isn't it?

but has anyone actually tried and tested this?
does it really work?

here's how it supposedly works:

 

it's free, it offer good savings, and there's even have a free app for iphone users, what's there not to like about it? so i tried downloading the app onto my phone, and went on to register myself for a free account. i got all the way through to the email verification part, and then i stopped and decided to just drop the whole idea.

so you see, this site that claims to be "not affiliated with Apple Inc. nor with Skype" actually asked for my Skype login and password as part of the registration process? oh no no no! that is one big security compromise! as attractive the thought of being able to access Skype calls without internet connection is, i just don't agree to the idea of providing my Skype login access to an unauthorised third-party.

not even the fact that CallByText was listed on CNET download.com, and its mediocre presence on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter could convince me to do otherwise. on the contrary, after giving it some thought, the realisation that this service has been around since october 2010, yet hasn't quite taken off or garnered warm response or reviews... made me all the more skeptical of it.

don't get me wrong, i so look forward to the day when i can make Skype or some form of  VoIP calls without relying on my data plan or WiFi access - that would be too good to be true. but for now, without positive reviews and affirmation from the general target audience out there, i shall not risk it... and will just continue to pay for my international calls or enjoy my Skype-to-Skype free calls via the internet / data plan :)

probably the most effective alarm clock you'll find...

my brother used to set 3 alarm clocks around his bed, simply because he had the tendency to oversleep for school. i remember back in those days whenever i'm on leave and wanted to enjoy the luxury of sleeping in later, i would be super duper annoyed by his non-stop, repetitive shrills of alarms going on and on and on, one after another.... (and after 10 minutes of so, you would still find him sleeping like a log! *argh*)

so, for those of you who have difficulty waking up to the alarm clock too, i think this might just be for you! :)

(source: Mashable - Money-Shredding Alarm Clock is Completely Unforgiving)

as crazy as this may seem, i am actually convinced that this idea will work for most people! (especially if you insert a high denomination into the shredder... ouch!) :P brilliant!

but while you don't mind wasting an occasional $100 or so in exchange for a few extra minutes of sleep, bear in mind that it is actually a criminal offence to shred or destroy currency! haha!

an epic marriage proposal - 13 million hits on YouTube!

although i wouldn't exactly consider it the 'greatest marriage proposal ever'.. it is indeed a special and sweet one, made me tear up a little at the beginning when the girl realised what was happening...

i applaud the guy's creativity and courage (it must take some level of certainty and confidence for a guy to pull off such a 'involve everyone' kind of proposal, doesn't it?) :)

(courtesy of MattandGinny on youtube)

first posted on 16 May, this youtube clip has already garnered over 13 million views, and still counting! whoa... incredible! they're like some mini celebrities now. if you're keen on 'stalking' them further, you can follow their very own website at www.MattandGinny.com

thanks to davis for sharing this on FB.

the Internet acronyms test - what is your score?

how well do you know your Internet acronyms? :)

in this day and age where anything most things quick, easy, shortcut are associated with better efficiency, we find ourselves bombarded with an ever-growing list of acronyms everywhere we go. ok, i'm not referring to the almost gibberish text-message-style abbreviations or slangs such as 'dunno', 'i luv u', 'wer r u', 'nmd abt tat ger who bot ur reserved makeup, more stks wil cum in tml', 'wat wer u tinking', 'i tot i saw u der'... *shudder* or the informal chat style short forms such as LOL, ROFLMAO, BRB, IDK, IIRC, IMHO, TMI...

what i'm talking about here are the common, universally recognised Internet (or tech) acronyms that we use so often in our daily lives that we wouldn't even stop to think twice about. so short, so quick, used so easily, that we probably didn't even realise that we didn't know what they stand for in the first place.

so, let's try this quick little test.. see how well you fare (without cheating) ;)

ps: this list is by no means exhaustive, i'm just listing those at the top of my mind. please feel free to add on in the comments too.

1. WWW
2. URL
3. HTML
4. HTTP
5. FTP
   
6. RSS
7. DOS
   
8. SMS
9. MMS
   
10. PDF
11. MP3
    
12. JPEG
    
13. GIF
14. EPS
15. SEO
16. CSS
    
17. API
18. CMYK
19. RGB
    
20. ATM
21. bonus: IBM
    - yup, the company that recently messed up DBS ATMs islandwide

(scroll to the end of this post for the answers)

inspirations and resources:

• (Hubspot) Glossary: 24 SEO Terms Marketers Should Know
  
• (About.com) Internet for Beginners: Glossary of Internet Abbreviations
• (About.com) Web Design/HTML
• Abbreviations.com
  

(scroll further down for the answers)








answers:
(1) world wide web (2) uniform resource locator (3) hypertext markup language (4) hypertext transfer/transport protocol (5) file transfer protocol (6) really simple syndication (7) disk operating system (8) short message service (9) multimedia messaging service (10) portable document format (11) moving picture experts group-1 (MPEG-1) audio layer 3 (12) joint photographic experts group (13) graphics interchange format (14) encapsulated postscript (15) search engine optimisation (16) cascading style sheets (17) application programming interface (18) cyan, magenta, yellow, key black (19) red, green, blue (20) automated teller machine (21) international business machines

would you smile for an ice-cream? ;)

i would! :)

check out this really cool smile-activated vending machine - Share Happy Ice-Cream Machine, commissioned by Unilever.

(courtesy of LionsDailyNews2010 on youtube)

it's a very cute idea, though i doubt it'll continue to give our free ice-cream forever...
i certainly wouldn't mind smiling for a free cone or creamy scoop on a hot summer afternoon, though i'm not so sure about the uploading to Facebook part, but i guess it'll be quite funny seeing photos of grown-up men and women trying to smile as big as possible to pass the detector. lol.. cute.

also check out: Coca-Cola Happiness Machine (both developed by SapientNitro)

how cool can candles get? :)

sometimes, i just take my hat off to creators like this..
this took 2 weeks to create, so much patience. *smile*.

(brusspup on youtube)

i'd previously also posted another cool creation by the same guy, check it out.

the Yoshimoto cube

i have no idea what is the purpose of this Yoshimoto cube.. but it sure has mega wow factor.
it may look ordinary at first glance, but wait till you watch the short youtube clip below..

whoa.. impressive :)
geeky too.. lol.

and i kinda lost him when he mentioned the engineering technical term for this.. "the transformation of two stellated rhombic.... " :P

(Stedwick on youtube)

btw, if you have a lot of extra time on hand this weekend (coupled with incredulous patience), you might want to try create a DIY version yourself ;)

source: make: online

the most brutal bike you'll ever see...

i think this could be a prototype for the latest workout machine of the year.. lol.
just look at how much effort this guy had to put in just to pedal the bike.. hehe.

touted as "the most brutal bike" and "the bike to destroy all bikes".. yea, right. lol.
you gotta see it for yourself. so funny :)

(wautur on youtube)

have you played the Google pacman game? :)

thanks to a friend's SMS notification, i logged on to Google homepage just few minutes ago, and played the Google pacman before typing this. i'm not a good gamer, my pacman 'died' 2 times before i finally managed to dodge all the monsters and eat up all the pac-dots to complete the course. final score 3750 :P

so why is there the Google pacman game today?

"Google celebrates Pacman’s 30th birthday (anniversary)

The reason for the Google Pacman logo is that Google is celebrating Pacman’s 30th anniversary." (more on social media SEO)

happy birthday, pacman!

today's Day 2 of the Google pacman and it will be here only for 48 hours (ie. it'll be gone after Saturday), so hurry to Google homepage and have a go at it before it's too late! :) btw, there's a hidden Player 2 Ms. Pacman in the game too.. use your WASD keys, go figure out ;)

check out other recent interesting google logos too:
- sesame street 40th anniversary (7 days)
- winter olympics 2010 (16 days)

ps: if you didn't read this post in time and missed the Google pacman, stress not. you can still play the free online version - pac-match party - on pacman.com.

what time is it?

check out these funky watches... can you tell the time on them? ;)
the Kisai Broke USB charging LED watch from Tokyoflash Japan @ USD168.15 each.

what's so cool:
- the watch is USB rechargeable
- bulit-in character enhancing light up function allows user to set the display to animate once every 15 minutes between 18:00 and 24:00 (can be turned off to conserve energy)
- funky looking
- no one else but YOU can read your own watch! *lol*

still can't figure it out? *wink*
find out the answers here... or scroll down to the explanation below.
ie. the time should read 9:30 (left) and 1:24 (right) in the two images above :)

wanna be a bomb defuser?

this is quite cool... a danger bomb alarm clock! lol.

i think it'll be pretty fun to wake up and, in the half-awake state, try to defuse the bomb (alarm) before it goes off. well, at least it'll be fun for the first few days, probably quite annoying after that :P

this would certainly help those who keep hitting on the "snooze" button in the morning, because you can only defuse the "bomb" by disconnecting the correct wire (indicated by the coloured light). you have 70 seconds before it goes *B-O-M-Bbbb...*
fun erh? ;)

USD34.99 from thinkgeek.com.

i want to make my own snowman too!

who says we can't make our own snowman right here in Singapore's 30 degree celsius weather? it's all now made possible at your very desk, thanks to the geeky folks at ThinkGeek.com ;)

this is sooooo cute! i want one too!
get your hands on this make your own snowman world kit at only USD9.99 and start building your own Frosty and friends!

ho ho ho... looking forward to Christmas already! :)