October 19, 2015

Top News Stories –

Nasa predicts near-miss with asteroid on Halloween –
An asteroid is due to pass by Earth on Halloween and miss us by a whisker, according to Nasa. Well, if whiskers were 499,000km long, at any rate. The asteroid was spotted by Nasa a fortnight ago and is set to fly past the Earth on Halloween at over 78,000mph. It will cross by Earth at the closest it’s been since 2006. The space agency explained why they spotted it at such short notice, despite constantly monitoring the size. They said: “The asteroid is on an extremely eccentric and a high inclination orbit.” We won’t be able to see the asteroid with the naked eye, but anyone with access to a telescope will be able to see it as it passes by. “This is the closest approach by a known object this large until 1999 AN10 approaches within 1 lunar distance in August 2027,” said Nasa. [Daily Telegraph]

Q Awards 2015: Foals beat Ed Sheeran and Blur to win Best Act In the World Today –
The Oxford band Foals confirmed their elevation to music’s biggest stages after being voted Best Act In the World Today at the Q magazine awards. Foals, who combine indie rock with electronic beats and African-inspired rhythms, beat Blur, Noel Gallagher and Ed Sheeran to the award, previously won by the likes of Radiohead and Coldplay. Ed Sheeran beat Kanye West, Taylor Swift and Sam Smith to the Solo Artist award, capping a year in which the strummer sold out three nights at Wembley Stadium, performing with just his guitar and a loops pedal. However Sheeran lost out to the Brighton drums and bass rock duo Royal Blood for the Best Live Act prize. [The Independent] See List of the Day
The-FoalsThe Foals

Hundreds Of Apps Banned From App Store For Accessing Users’ Personal Information –
Hundreds of iOS applications have been pulled out of the App Store, following a report from analytics service SourceDNA, which uncovered a group of applications that were extracting users’ personally identifiable information, including email addresses associated with their Apple IDs, devices and peripheral serial numbers, as well as a list of apps installed on their phone. The applications in question had been using an SDK from a Chinese advertising company called Youmi which was accessing this information by way of private APIs, the report found. Nearly all of the developers were located in China so, for now, this appears to be an isolated incident. However, the larger concern here has to do with how long this activity had been taking place – and what that means in terms of Apple’s App Store review process, given that it hadn’t caught this suspect activity until being alerted to it by a third party. [Tech Crunch]

Video of the Day –

DRIVING from Nate Theis on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

The Q Awards 2015 Winners

Q Best New Act 

James Bay

Best Track 

The Libertines – Gunga Din (Winner)

Q Best Album

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Chasing Yesterday 

Q Best Video

Florence + The Machine – Ship To Wreck

Q Hero

Mark Ronson

Q Best Live Act 

Royal Blood

Q Classic Album

Soul II Soul – Club Classics Vol. One

Q Best Solo Artist 

Ed Sheeran

Q Innovation in Sound 

Gary Numan

Q Best Act In The World 

Foals

Gibson Les Paul Award

Tony Iommi

Q Outstanding Contribution to Music

New Order

Q Classic Single

Queen ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ 

Q Icon

Duran Duran

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5 #MeGustaMuchoQue #MakeLifeBetterInAWord Jamie Oliver
6 #DemiNoBrasil #MyResumeDoesntMention #lufc
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October 20, 2015

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‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Crushes Presale Ticket Records –
Fan demand led to crash of multiple websites like Fandango and MovieTickets.com. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” broke the record for the highest number of first-day presale tickets for Fandango, AMC and IMAX. According to Fandango, the site has sold eight times as many tickets as it did on the first day for the previous record holder, “The Hunger Games” in 2012 — and that’s even before the 24-hour mark was reached. “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” in 2010 slipped to third place in first-day advance sales. Traffic on Fandango surged to seven times the site’s typical peak levels, a site spokesperson reported. Similarly, MovieTickets.com reported that the online ticketer saw traffic “three times higher than the highest peak in the company’s 15 plus year history.” Comparably, the advance ticket sales for “The Force Awakens” are already four times greater than advance tickets sold for “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.” [The Wrap] See Video of the Day

Fed-up cafe bans money from underwear –
In this tough economic climate, small business owners need every dollar they can get their hands on. Unless said dollar comes from a customer’s undies, apparently. Staff at a Carnarvon cafe were so fed up with patrons paying with money retrieved from undergarments they put the attached sign at the cash register for a six-week period. Fascine Coffee Lounge owner Robin Weeks said the straw that broke the camel’s back was a man who tried to pay his bill with money from his jocks. “My son thought people shouldn’t put money there and he shouldn’t have to touch it,” Weeks said. “We had four or five people that did it. A lot of women think their bra is the best place for their money because they don’t have pockets.” Weeks said while most people approved of the sign, there were some who refused to change their ways. [Western Australian]
Australian cafe signFascine Coffee Lounge sign

Video of the Day –

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer (Official)

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5 Drake #TacoTuesdayAlternatives Sajid Javid
6 Star Wars Ryan Kelly #charitytuesday
7 #الهلال_الاهلي #PerfectMusicVideo Canada
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  • Lamar Odom, who had been hospitalized in grave condition after ingesting, in a binge, herbal Viagra, alcohol, and other substances in a 3-day, $75,000 stay at a legal brothel in Nevada, comes out of his coma, improves, and is able to have conversations, though he is still on dialysis to deal with the renal damage he suffered. He is released from intensive care and Sunrise Hospital, to a hospital closer to his Los Angeles home. (MSN via Sporting News)

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October 21, 2015

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BACK TO THE FUTURE DAY –
This is the day that Marty McFly and Doc traveled to in the movie Back to the Future II.
Back_to_the_Future_Part_II_poster© Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Nike Sending First ‘Back to the Future’ Self-Tying Shoes to Michael J. Fox –
Nike says that the future is here. The first person to receive a pair of the company’s “Back to the Future” self-lacing shoes is the franchise’s star Michael J. Fox, according to a Nike designer. Nike shoe designer Tinker Hatfield sent Fox a letter today that stated, “As the first, most celebrated wearer” of the Nike Mag shoes, “we wanted you to be the first to receive a living pair,” according to a tweet from the actor. Earlier today, a spokesman for Nike would only say that a pair of the self-lacing Nike Mag shoes worn by Marty McFly in the 1989 film “Back to the Future II” is in New York City today — but declined to comment further. [ABC News] The Michael J Fox organisation (that raises money for Parkinson’s Disease charities) tweeted a picture of the actor wearing the sneakers.
Michael J Fox TweetMichael J Fox Tweet

Toyota celebrates ‘Back to the Future Day’ by building Marty McFly’s dream truck –
Toyota has recreated Marty McFly’s dream truck, just in the nick of time for ‘Back to the Future Day’ on October 21, 2015. The black 2016 Toyota Tacoma pick-up is a copy of the one Marty lusted after in the original film – and spoiler alert, things turned out so that his dream machine eventually made it into the McFly family garage. In total, Toyota has built three of these ‘Back to the Future’ Tacoma pick-up trucks events around the U.S. “The suspension has been beefed up and the truck rides on a special set of Toyota Racing Development [TRD] wheels and tires,” said Proffitt. The truck itself was in a plastic cocoon, looking all the world like a 1:1 scale Hot Wheels car. Note to BTTF fans looking for awesome swag: Toyota is handing out models of the this special-edition Tacoma throughout today in Times Square. [NY Daily News] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

Fueled by the Future | Back to the Future | Presented by Toyota Mirai

List of the Day –

Back to the Future 2 credits

Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Produced by
Screenplay by Bob Gale
Story by
  • Robert Zemeckis
  • Bob Gale
Starring
Music by Alan Silvestri
Cinematography Dean Cundey
Edited by
Production
company
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
  • November 22, 1989
Running time
108 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $40 million (shared withPart III)
Box office $332 million

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1 #BackToTheFuture #BackToTheFuture #PerfectMusicVideo
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5 #MasterChefBR #TwitterFlight Michael Meacher
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October 22, 2015

Top News Stories –

Wentworth golf club asks for six-figure membership fee –
One of the UK’s most exclusive golf clubs is to start charging £125,000 to new joiners. Wentworth, which was bought by the Beijing-based Reignwood Group in September 2014, has told existing members they must stump up £100,000. Annual fees on top of that are to rise from £8,000 to £16,000. James Wyatt said he and other members faced having to pay “an enormous amount”. The Surrey golf club said membership pricing “is a private club matter”. [BBC]

Working Enigma machine fetches world record price at New York auction –
An extremely rare and fully operational Nazi Enigma machine from Second World War has sold for $365,000 in New York, setting a new record at auction, Bonhams said on Thursday. The M4 machine, which was built between 1943 and 1945, is one of around 150 to have survived from an estimated 1,500 that were built as Nazi Germany fought to fend off the Allies. A spokeswoman for Bonhams said the $365,000 (£237,000) sale price set a new world record for an Enigma machine sold at auction. The purchaser at Wednesday’s sale was identified only as a private collector. [Daily Telegraph]

Rudely-named south-east London coffee shop ordered to remove its sign –
A crudely-named coffee shop in south-east London has been ordered by its landlord to remove the “offensive” sign bearing its name. Fuckoffee tweeted a picture of a letter it received from the landlord’s lawyers:
Fuckoffee tweet
The letter read: “We are instructed that you have either erected or allowed your sub-tenant to erect an offensive sign on the exterior of the buliding… without the permission or authority from our client to do so and this constitutes a trespass.” According to the letter, the Bermondsey Street coffeeshop could face legal proceedings or the forfeiture of its lease if it does not remove the sign. It will also have to cover the costs of the legal steps taken so far. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

One Direction – Perfect

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1 johan cruyff #benghazicommittee #evel
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October 23, 2015

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Cats are terrified of cucumbers and no one knows exactly why –
People on the internet have been playing a charming joke on/causing uncalled-for distress to their cats by placing cucumbers behind them while they eat. It has to be specifically a cucumber. Pet owners have been trying it out for themselves and filming the responses. In order for the trick to work, you apparently have to place a cucumber quietly behind a cat while it is eating. When the cat turns around and notices the cucumber, you get quite an interesting response. They don’t see it first, but when they do, look out. The trend has reached reddit, and there is a dedicated thread called ‘cucumbers scaring cats’. [Daily Telegraph] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

Cat gets scared by a sneaky cucumber

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October 24, 2015

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Hurricane Patricia hits, spares Mexico of major damage so far –
Hurricane Patricia, the record-breaking category 5 hurricane, rumbled across western Mexico early on Saturday, uprooting trees and triggering some landslides but causing less damage than feared for such a massive storm, officials said. Authorities relocated coastal residents, evacuated tourists from beach hotels and closed sea ports, airports and schools in several states before Patricia made landfall in Jalisco state as a huge category five hurricane. Patricia had grown into the strongest hurricane ever recorded hours before reaching the coast, raising fears that it would bring death and destruction across the country. [Daily Telegraph] Astronaut Scott Kelly tweeted this picture of the storm from the Space Station
Scott Kelly image Hurricane Patricia from Space Station

Lenin statue given Darth Vader makeover –
A statue of Vladimir Lenin in the Ukrainian city of Odessa has been given a sci-fi twist – by being transformed into Darth Vader. The statue, in the grounds of a factory in the Black Sea port city, had been earmarked for removal under the country’s “de-communisation” law. But instead, it now wears the instantly recognisable shiny black helmet and mask of the Star Wars villain, the local Dumskaya news website reports. “Everything flows and nothing abides,” says warehouse manager Semyon Horbunov, taking inspiration from the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. “New heroes replace old ones, and this is how the world goes round.” But while the monument is Darth Vader on the outside, deep down it’s still Lenin. “The bronze Lenin was left inside, so that the grateful or not-so-grateful descendants could exhume him, if needed,” sculptor Alexander Milov is quoted is saying by Ukraine Today. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Humans In 1000 Years – ASAP Science

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October 25, 2015

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Lewis Hamilton wins his third F1 World Championship –
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won a thrilling United States Grand Prix to seal his third World Championship. Hamilton pressured team-mate Nico Rosberg into a mistake during a frantic last 10 laps after a safety car and swept by to take his 10th win of 2015. It was an exciting climax to a race of fluctuating fortunes, lead changes and superb racing in changing conditions. Hamilton becomes only the second British driver after Sir Jackie Stewart to win three Formula 1 drivers’ titles. [BBC] See List of the Day
Lewis_Hamilton_2014Lewis Hamilton

Moto GP: Valentino Rossi penalised for kicking Marc Marquez –
MotoGP championship leader Valentino Rossi will start the final race of the season from the back of the grid after kicking Marc Marquez off his bike during the Malaysian Grand Prix.Rossi finished third but was given three penalty points following a post-race investigation. He later accused Marquez of “making me lose the championship”. Honda’s Dani Pedrosa won the race, with Jorge Lorenzo second. The final race takes place in Spain on 8 November. Rossi now leads Lorenzo by just seven points in the championship. [BBC]
Valentino_RossiValentino Rossi

Video of the Day –

Confusion as Turkey clocks defy time-change delay –
Confused Turks are asking “what’s the time?” after automatic clocks defied a government decision to defer a seasonal hour’s change in the time. Along with other countries, Turkey had been due to “fall back” an hour on Saturday at the end of summertime daylight saving. The Turkish government however decided to postpone the change until after upcoming polls. But some clocks have changed the time regardless – causing bewilderment.
The hashtag #saatkac – or “what’s the time?” – is now trending in Turkey as Twitter users express confusion. [BBC]

Our Fractal Brains from Julius Horsthuis on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Formula One Grand Prix Winners
Rank Country Driver Wins Seasons active First win Last win
1  Germany Michael Schumacher 91 19912006
20102012
1992 Belgian Grand Prix 2006 Chinese Grand Prix
2  France Alain Prost 51 19801991
1993
1981 French Grand Prix 1993 German Grand Prix
3  United Kingdom Lewis Hamiltondagger 43 2007 2007 Canadian Grand Prix 2015 United States Grand Prix
4  Germany Sebastian Vetteldagger 42 2007 2008 Italian Grand Prix 2015 Singapore Grand Prix
5  Brazil Ayrton Senna 41 19841994 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix 1993 Australian Grand Prix
6  Spain Fernando Alonsodagger 32 2001
2003
2003 Hungarian Grand Prix 2013 Spanish Grand Prix
7  United Kingdom Nigel Mansell 31 19801992
19941995
1985 European Grand Prix 1994 Australian Grand Prix
8  United Kingdom Jackie Stewart 27 19651973 1965 Italian Grand Prix 1973 German Grand Prix
9  United Kingdom Jim Clark 25 19601968 1962 Belgian Grand Prix 1968 South African Grand Prix
9  Austria Niki Lauda 25 19711979
19821985
1974 Spanish Grand Prix 1985 Dutch Grand Prix
11  Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio 24 19501951
19531958
1950 Monaco Grand Prix 1957 German Grand Prix
12  Brazil Nelson Piquet 23 19781991 1980 United States Grand Prix West 1991 Canadian Grand Prix
13  United Kingdom Damon Hill 22 19921999 1993 Hungarian Grand Prix 1998 Belgian Grand Prix
14  Finland Mika Häkkinen 20 19912001 1997 European Grand Prix 2001 United States Grand Prix
14  Finland Kimi Räikkönendagger 20 20012009
2012
2003 Malaysian Grand Prix 2013 Australian Grand Prix
16  United Kingdom Stirling Moss 16 19501962 1955 British Grand Prix 1961 German Grand Prix
17  United Kingdom Jenson Buttondagger 15 2000 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
18  Australia Jack Brabham 14 19551970 1959 Monaco Grand Prix 1970 South African Grand Prix
18  United Kingdom Graham Hill 14 19581975 1962 Dutch Grand Prix 1969 Monaco Grand Prix
18  Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 14 19701980 1970 United States Grand Prix 1975 British Grand Prix
21  Italy Alberto Ascari 13 19501955 1951 German Grand Prix 1953 Swiss Grand Prix
21  United Kingdom David Coulthard 13 19942008 1995 Portuguese Grand Prix 2003 Australian Grand Prix
23  United States Mario Andretti 12 19681972
19741982
1971 South African Grand Prix 1978 Dutch Grand Prix
23  Argentina Carlos Reutemann 12 19721982 1974 South African Grand Prix 1981 Belgian Grand Prix
23  Australia Alan Jones 12 19751981
1983
19851986
1977 Austrian Grand Prix 1981 Caesars Palace Grand Prix
26  Canada Jacques Villeneuve 11 19962006 1996 European Grand Prix 1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix
26  Brazil Rubens Barrichello 11 19932011 2000 German Grand Prix 2009 Italian Grand Prix
26  Brazil Felipe Massadagger 11 2002
2004
2006 Turkish Grand Prix 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix
26  Germany Nico Rosbergdagger 11 2006 2012 Chinese Grand Prix 2015 Austrian Grand Prix
30  Sweden Ronnie Peterson 10 19701978 1973 French Grand Prix 1978 Austrian Grand Prix
30  South Africa Jody Scheckter 10 19721980 1974 Swedish Grand Prix 1979 Italian Grand Prix
30  United Kingdom James Hunt 10 19731979 1975 Dutch Grand Prix 1977 Japanese Grand Prix
30  Austria Gerhard Berger 10 19841997 1986 Mexican Grand Prix 1997 German Grand Prix

List from Wikipedia

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