2011-5
7

Keep Coffee Hotter for Longer

Category: Interesting Finds | No Comments

Sometimes it is amazing to see how a simple idea can make such a difference.

If you drink hot beverages you will know that first they are too hot, then just when you think it is the perfect temperature you realise you waited to too long and now it is cold..

Two neighbors – Dave & Dave –  created these cool “coffee beans” called Coffee Joulies …

Coffee Joulies work with your coffee to achieve two goals. First, they absorb extra thermal energy in your coffee when it’s served too hot, cooling it down to a drinkable temperature three times faster than normal. Next, they release that stored energy back into your coffee keeping it in the right temperature range twice as long.

This amazing feat of thermodynamics happens thanks to a special non-toxic material sealed within the polished stainless steel shell. This material is designed to melt at 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and absorbs a lot of energy as it melts. This is how Joulies cool your coffee down three times faster than normal. Once it reaches this temperature, the special material begins to solidify again, releasing the energy it stored when it melted. This is how Joulies keep your coffee warm twice as long.

How do I use Coffee Joulies?

Pop a few Joulies into your coffee as soon as it’s poured. The hotter the coffee, the more energy Joulies can absorb, and the longer they can keep your coffee the right temperature.

Are Coffee Joulies really safe to put in my coffee?

Yes! Joulies are perfectly safe when used properly, and in fact make drinking coffee safer than usual by reducing the risk of burning your mouth. They sink in your coffee to keep them away from your lips, they won’t ever be hotter than 140°F when used properly (meaning they’ll never burn you), and all the materials used in their construction are food-grade.

How many should I put in my coffee?

Each Joulie is made to work with 5 ounces of volume, so put one in your double espresso, two in your mug, three in your tall coffee, four in your travel thermos, and five in your venti.

What are Coffee Joulies made of?

Joulies are made of the hightest grade stainless steel used in silverware production, ensuring that they are completely safe, will last forever, and will keep their polished finish for a long time.

What’s inside of Coffee Joulies?

Joulies are filled with a proprietary substance called a “Phase Change Material” (PCM) that melts at 140°F and is 100% edible food-grade magic.

How long will my Coffee Joulies last?

Coffee Joulies are made using the same materials and a very similar process as table knives, and will last a lifetime.

Although not yet in production, the Dave’s posted the information on a website called Kickstarter (a place where you can request public funding to start up business ideas) and even though they only needed $9600 funding they were pledged $306944!

No doubt soon we will see this on the market, until then keep sipping that coffee till it is the right temperature…

(Source: KickStarter.com and Joulies.com)

2011-5
6

FollowUp: Eish! Amazon Kindle Store Pricing Con?

Category: Eish! | 1 Comment

From the Eish! DepartmentOn Sunday 1st May, I did a post about the pricing of an ebook in the Amazon Kindle Store.

To recap, it seems that the Amazon Kindle store sets the prices of good dependent on your geographic location.  If you in the USA you may get the ebook for free, the same ebook is $2.00 in South Africa, while the folks in Europe will have to pay $15,00+ to have the privilege to read it.

Anyway as promised, here is an update on the whole story, 4 emails later…

This was the second response from Amazon about my query on why the prices are different dependent on geographic location, first one was pretty much the same:

Hello,

I’ve read our previous e-mail with you, and I’m sorry all of your concerns weren’t addressed in previous correspondence.

After researching, I have confirmed that “Let’s Go Europe 2011: The Student Travel Guide” is offered with price listing of $0.00 in United States but $2.00 in Africa.

Unfortunately, Publishers grant eBook rights on a country by country basis, as a result availability and pricing of titles in the Kindle Store can vary by your home country or region.

I completely understand your disappointment in this regard but we are actively working with publishers to get the rights to all titles for every country and adding more selection every day.

Whenever you purchase a Kindle book, we display your home country or region at the top of the Kindle Store on Amazon.com so you know you are browsing content and prices specific to your country or region.

When shopping on your Kindle, it automatically picks up the home country or region from your account information and displays only content eligible for purchase and delivery in your home country.

If you simply wish to browse titles in the Kindle Store on Amazon.com to see the selection available by country or region, log out of your Amazon.com account by clicking the “(Not Your Name)” link at the top of the page.

You can update your home country or region on the Manage Your Kindle Page (www.amazon.com/manageyourkindle). Scroll down to the “Your country” section and select the “Edit” option. You’ll also find helpful information on our Using Kindle If You Live Outside the United States Help page (www.amazon.com/kindleinternationalsupport).

Customer feedback like yours helps us continue to improve the service we provide, and we’re glad you took time to write to us. Rest assured that the Kindle Team will carefully review your comments.

To help you, I’ve requested a refund of $2.00 for “Let’s Go Europe 2011.” If the item is still on your Kindle (or a Kindle-compatible device), please delete that copy. After the refund is issued, you will no longer be able to access this item.

Refunds are issued to the payment method used to make the original purchase and usually complete within two to three business days.

Again, I’m sorry. Thanks for using Kindle.

Thank you for your recent inquiry. Did I solve your problem?

If yes, please click here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/survey?p=A3P755FTOW&k=hy

If no, please click here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/survey?p=A3P755FTOW&k=hn

Best regards,

Janice V.
Amazon.com
Your feedback is helping us build Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company.
http://www.amazon.com/your-account

I was still not comfortable with the reply on the reason why books prices are different and highlighted again that the book ironically was more expensive in Europe than anywhere else.  This was the last correspondence:

Hello,

I’ve reviewed our previous correspondence and your account. I understand you’re concerned about the pricing difference for Kindle books in different locations.

Please be informed that we do not charge you for wireless delivery of Kindle books. Your wireless Whispernet connection is free and included with your Kindle purchase. There’s no wireless set-up, no confusing service plans, no contracts or commitments, and no monthly wireless bills.

Fees apply if you receive regularly scheduled issues of your newspaper, magazine, and blog subscriptions wirelessly if you’re a U.S. customer traveling outside the United States. There is no fee for receiving books or single issues of periodicals wirelessly. Browsing the Kindle Store and using Kindle’s web browser are also free.

It is the publisher or the author who owns that content decides the price on a Kindle book. Also, Pricing of titles from the Kindle Store varies by your country or region due to differences in digital list prices, local market segment prices, and tax rates.

Because of these circumstances, I’ve issued a promotion of $10.00 to your Amazon.com account to be used on a future purchase of Kindle content. These promotional funds can only be used on Kindle books sold by Amazon.com and cannot be applied to Kindle books sold directly by the publisher. Please accept it as a goodwill gesture and an apology for any inconvenience.

I hope this helps. Thanks for using Kindle.

Thank you for your recent inquiry. Did I solve your problem?

If yes, please click here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/survey?p=AWE3XFD&k=hy

If no, please click here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/survey?p=AWE3XFD&k=hn

Best regards,

Bittu G.
Amazon.com
Your feedback is helping us build Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company.
http://www.amazon.com/your-account

Am I happy that I got a refund?  Yes even though it is just $2.00 it is the principle of it.

Am I happy that they gave me a $10.00 credit on the Kindle Store? No as it feels like “shut up” money and I was not expecting it nor do I think I will be using it anytime soon.

Am I happy with the reasons they gave about the different pricing?  No not really, and although I may no understand completely how their business works, I still feel that if you are selling goods on the internet you should charge $X.XX per item regardless of geographic location, and then if you want to make some “fat” on the sale do so on the delivery of the item.

Alternatively average out the cost among all the regions and charge that. In which case this ebook would have cost: $3.58  regardless of where you stay.

Lets say I really hope that Amazon changes their pricing policy as I am sure there are other people out their that feel the same way that I do and will eventually stop purchasing from them because of it.

2011-5
5

Banana’s Will Never Look The Same

Category: Interesting Finds | 1 Comment

After looking at this post I guarantee that you will never look at banana’s in the same way.

Japanese artist y_yamaden has managed to make sculptures out of ripe banana’s…now this is talent!

 

 

See I told you that you will never look at a banana in the same way again…

(Via: LaughingSquid)

2011-5
4

Lighterside: PSN Hack

Category: LighterSide, Playstation | No Comments

In case you are wondering what this is about…check out the story about the PlayStation Network (PSN) hack…

Top PSN Downloads in the Playstation Store…

(Source: NeoGaf)

2011-5
3

11 in 1 Survival Tool Card

Category: Interesting Finds | 9 Comments

Sometimes you can come across something that is cheap, but you decide not to buy it because you “may never need to use it”.   Chances are shortly after that you will need that item and then kick yourself not for getting it in the first place.  Today post is about one of them.

I saw gadget this while browsing Lightake and I ended up buying one for each of my staff and a few spare to give out to folks as gifts.

I introduce to you the 11 in 1 Survival Tool – that fits in your wallet!

Here is the list of the tools:

  1. Can Opener
  2. Knife Edge
  3. Flat Screwdriver
  4. Ruler
  5. Bottle Cap Opener
  6. 4 Position Wrench
  7. Butterfly Screw Wrench
  8. Saw Blade
  9. Direction Ancillary Indication – Water Compass*
  10. 2 Position Wrench
  11. Keychain Hole

* While it may seem implausible, you can actually create a compass by rubbing wire,paperclip or a pin through  your hair, despite the fact that your hair is not magnetic and the normal magnetizing procedure involves rubbing metal against a magnet. To use you need to place the tool on a flat surface on the plastic sleeve that it comes with. Place a couple drops of water in the Orientation Direction Indicator to make level with the surface of the tool. Place the magnetized hair-rubbed wire slowly on the water or on a small leaf if it won’t float on the waters surface tension. It should slowly align North/South.

Seriously, how cool is that!  This thing is slightly smaller than a credit card ad will fit into your wallet or purse.  The best is that it is dirt cheap!

Get 2x 11-in-1 Survival Tool‘s with FREE shipping for $2.49.

Order yours here from Lightake.com or DealExtreme.

You know you want one…  🙂

2011-5
2

Monday Mix – Inspiring Graduation Speeches

Category: Movies and TV | No Comments

Taking another page from the “Personal Excellence Blog” – see last weeks Monday Mix – Inspirational Adverts – here is another post they had a while back.

To quote the site:

Commencement speeches have become outlets for sharing some of the most important life lessons ever. After listening to Steve Jobs’ Stanford commencement speech, I was inspired to round up the best graduation speeches of all time, so all of you can enjoy the rich insights of the speakers.

I plunged in, weeded through a good number of different graduation speeches from different times, and eventually picked these as the top 10. You’ll probably recognize most of the speakers, who are prominent people in their fields – people like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Oprah, Ellen, Randy Pausch, JK Rowling, and so on. I think the schools couldn’t have picked better speakers than them, because the most important inspiration anyone can ever get is someone who his living by example. I’ve picked these 10 speeches because they share important wisdom that are applicable to anyone in any time, beyond just graduating students.

The 10 speeches are not ranked in any order. I have included videos and transcripts where available. I’ve included my thoughts with each speech. My personal favorites are the ones by Steve Jobs, Arnold, Randy Pausch and Ellen Degeneres. Enjoy – I surely did.

1. Steve Jobs, Stanford University, 2005

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc]

Steve shares his life lessons via 3 stories in his life. His birth, when he got fired from Apple, and when he found out about his cancer. These 3 stories were extremely inspiring – most people knew Steve as the hot-tempered yet charismatic CEO who heads Apple, but who would have known that his birth parents gave him up for adoption? That he quit college because his college fees were sucking up his parents’ savings? That he was once fired from the very company he founded? And that he diagnosed in cancer in 2004, and by a stroke of fate, survived it?

Steve reminds us that in life, there is really nothing we have to lose, because we were born with nothing to begin with … Eventually one day, all of us will die. Everything that we’ve come to see as important, will lose significance on that day. What would you wish you could have done then? How would you rather have lived your life? Take that and start living true to that today. Don’t live your life in regret, because life is not meant to be lived in regret. It’s meant to be live in passion, with love, with fire, conviction, and purpose. Don’t ever settle for what you don’t want; keep fighting for what you believe in.

2. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emory University, 2010

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/lR_9uj5maUs]

Arnold is an international movie star (Conan, Terminator, Commando) and the 38th Governor of California. I found his speech very inspiring – he’s living proof of how one can overcome all odds to achieve one’s dreams, as long as you set your heart and mind to it. Arnie shared how important it is to not be afraid of failure. He shared his personal stories of how he overcame resistances from everyone and achieved his dreams, one after another, by first having that crystal clear vision of what he wanted, then going all out to achieve them. Truly, there’s no such thing as “can’t be done”. If you really want to achieve your dreams, they will be yours for the taking.

3. Randy Pausch, Carnegie Mellon University, 2008

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/RcYv5x6gZTA]

Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon. He was best known for The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, and also co-author of the book with the same name, which became a New York Times best-seller. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was told in Aug 2007 that he only had 3-6 months to live. When he gave this speech at Carnegie Mellon, it was the 9th month. He later passed away 2 months after that.

Even though Randy’s speech was the shortest of the commencement speeches in this list (less than 6 minutes), it is in no way any less impactful. Randy’s reminder to all of us is the importance of living true to our dreams and pursuing them. That life isn’t about how long we live, but about how we live. His passion in living, teaching, and his relationship with his wife really shows through in his speech.

There are other great speeches on the site – go check it out here.

Here’s to an inspiring week.

(Source: Personal Excellence Blog)