Tag Archive for: How To Kill An Hour

Bring Your Banger Up to Date in Five Steps

While many covet brand new cars, there are plenty of reasons you’d go for an older model. Sure, there might be more miles on the clock, and more wear technically means they’re less reliable, but if you have a particular type of car you love then it might be the older version you’re after. Even old bangers can be brought up to date with a little care and some new features added, here are some of the ways you can go about it.

 

Sound system

Newer cars almost always have great tech and sound systems built in, meaning a vehicle lacking these features will be a huge giveaway of its age. But you don’t need to settle with an out of date stereo as there are so many third party models on the market that can be installed into your existing console without too much hassle. Apple Carplay and Android Auto stereos are some of the best on the market. You can also find models with built in dash cams, reversing cameras and navigation too.

 

Plates

You can spend time and effort modernising your car inside and out, but one thing that’s always going to to give away its age is the number on the plates. Not only are private plates a great way to personalise your vehicle but disguise the age of it too. Companies like www.theprivateplateco.co.uk offer this.

 

Paint

Unless the car you’ve purchased has been looked after extremely well, chances are there will be some level of damage or wear to the paintwork in the form of minor rust, scuffs or scratches. A full respray can be really expensive, and often isn’t worth the investment unless the car is rare or something you plan on keeping forever. If only one or two panels are damaged you could look into having them repaired separately. In other cases, you might be able to correct damage such as fine scratches and swirl marks which are a result of improper washing using polishes and compounds. This can take years off the look of the paint. Ceramic paint coating is gaining in popularity, this hard coating is more durable than wax and protects it from scratches, dirt and chemical contamination. A proper ceramic coating will need to be done by a professional, but there are some products out there you can apply yourself if you have the time and patience.

 

Wheels

Updating the wheels can really change the look of a car. If yours don’t suit the modern style you’re aiming for, consider replacing them. If they’re fine as they are but are just in need of some TLC, have them refurbished. Lots of companies offer this, if you want to change the colour of them this can be achieved with powder coating.

 

Security

Keyless entry might seem like a new feature, but it’s been used on some cars right back from the late nineties. But as convenient as it is, it opens up your car to thieves who can amplify the signal and access your car. Security features like a Faraday cage block the signal and increase security.

Red Bull World Championship 2019

Slovakia Wins Red Bull Escape Room World Championship in London

22 elite escape room teams flew in from around the world to take on the Red Bull Escape Room World Championship. The rooms were some of the world’s most challenging  never seen before escape rooms. It say a Slovakian team called Brainteaselava take the number 1 spot!

Brainteaselava and Croatian team TG 170 defeated 21 of the best teams from around the world in difficult qualifiers on the Friday before going head to head in ‘Omni’s Escape‘ which was deemed the world’s toughest escape room. The room was built specifically for he championship by escape room mastermind Dr Scott Nicholson and his team. Brainteaselava pipped TG 170 to the post by completing the room in 27mins and 16 seconds, 10minutes faster than their Croatian counterparts.

Red Bull World Championship

Teams from over 20 countries including UK, Australia, Germany, India, Estonia, USA and Brazil, all competed for the trophy. They qualified for the championship in unique qualifier events in their respective countries last year. The Semi Final saw teams undertake three custom built 10min challenges. These challenges were designed to determine who were the two fastest teams. These two teams would then go on to the final ‘Omni’s Escape’. Which was designed to take a look at players problem solving skills: creativity, logic, visual thinking, musicality, memory and strategy.

“It’s amazing. We haven’t been world champions yet so it’s a great feeling. It was really exciting across the whole two days, we didn’t know what to expect….We weren’t sure how well we did and the other team was really strong, but in the end it turns out we were faster, and the fastest!” Emil Haas from Brainteaselava.

“We are pretty satisfied with the results. We came up short but it doesn’t matter, we had a lot of fun and they deserved it, they were a better team than us for sure” Dominik Erbeznik from TG 170.

“With the World Finals this year we tackled an ethical question, does AI have rights? Omni is an AI agent that wants to leave White Hat Laboratories and we hope that players will think about this when they order their devices around! We also worked very hard this year to reduce the cultural bias around the escape room so that everyone had a chance to win.” Dr Scott Nicholson. 

Red Bull World Championship Timings

Red Bull Escape Room World Championship Finals Times:

  • 1- Slovakia – 27:16:85
  • 2- Croatia – 38:06:25

Red Bull Escape Room World Championship Semi-Finals Times:

  • 1- Croatia – 21:57:23
  • 2- Slovakia – 23:26:19
  • 3- Belgium – 23:34:91
  • 4- UK – 23:42:63
  • 5- Estonia – 23:42:98
  • 6- Greece – 24:09:61
  • 7- Latvia – 24:25:85
  • 8- France – 24:44:23
  • 9- USA – 25:06:98
  • 10- Wildcard – 25:44:74
  • 11- Brazil – 25:51:62
  • 12- Switzerland – 26:08:06
  • 13- Germany – 26:34: 20
  • 14- Portugal – 26:36:07
  • 15- Ukraine – 27:31:26
  • 16- Lithuania – 27:43:93
  • 17- Slovenia – 27:58:80
  • 18- Austria – 28:03:13
  • 19- Turkey – 28:04:05
  • 20- India – 28:32:08
  • 21- Australia – 20:08:41
  • 22- Russia – 29:38:93

More about Omni’s Escape here!

Follow the Red Bull Escape Room World Championship: Facebook, Twitter, Official Website

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Phase Wireless DJ Controller

Phase is a brand new wireless DJ Controller, the first of it’s kind. Allowing you to control tracks from DJ software. Without needing turntable needles of timecode control vinyl. Two audio remotes capture the turntable rotation information. Then it will wirelessly transmit the information to a receiver. The receiver will then process the information and send it to your DVS setup.

It’s very easy to use and offers unprecedented communication, quality and reactivity. It will not be affected by external disruptions that affect common DJ equipment.

Technologically Advanced

The Phase wireless DJ controller is more stable and accurate than any other digital system. Furthermore it offers an incredible level of reliability of DJ’s. As it is incredibly intelligent. Rotations are detected and records even the smallest of rotations. That information is then instantly sent to the software offering real time audio control with pinpoint accuracy. Consequently guaranteeing seamless signal quality in any situation.

The patented technology of Phase Wireless DJ Controller is unaffected by external perturbations, such as rumble, defective turntables or any other common DJ equipment issue.

Precision

Phase gives you the sensation of mixing on standard audio records without giving up the comfort of a digital controller. Perform on a digital controller as you would on standard audio records. It works easily and smoothly with any DVS DJ setup thanks to 2 stereo RCA outputs. Software that’s compatible is Serato DJ Pro (& lite), Virtual DJ, Traktor and Rekordbox.

Ease of Use

Phase has immense charge. One single charge gives you up to 10hrs of mixing per Remote. The Phase is also built to last allowing it to resist daily usage and hazards that it may encounter. Phase comes with 2 extra remotes too, allowing you to charge two and use two. Allowing you to not stop DJ’ing.

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Amazon workers allegedly have a chat room about ‘amusing’ recordings?!

Bloomberg have a report out that highlighted the human labour that goes into manufacturing and improving the Amazon Echo. Amazon have contractors and full time employees working on the Amazon Echo. They’re all over the globe and tasked with reviewing and transcribing clips. Clips that are of conversations between users and Alexa. According to the report from Bloomberg, humans are said to annotate interactions to help identify phrases. Phrases such as “Taylor Swift” that might otherwise be meaningless to the software.

“We only annotate an extremely small sample of Alexa voice recordings in order improve the customer experience. For example, this information helps us train our speech recognition and natural language understanding systems, so Alexa can better understand your requests, and ensure the service works well for everyone.

Employees do not have direct access to information that can identify the person or account as part of this workflow. All information is treated with high confidentiality and we use multi-factor authentication to restrict access, service encryption and audits of our control environment to protect it,”an Amazon spokesman told Bloomberg.

Amazon Echo Chat Room

According Bloomberg, as a result of collating all this data, Amazon workers have a chat room. This chat room is intended for asking for help if they can’t make out a word or phrase. However, allegedly, they also share “amusing” recordings. Furthermore, an Amazon worker, told Bloomberg that each member of the team will listen to as much as 100 clips a day. Clips that Alexa has mistaken or unintentionally activated. Bloomberg have reported that one of these workers will review as many as 1,000 clips in a day! (A full 9hr working day shift)

In cases where the Alexa has tripped unintentionally, there has also been some serious recordings. According to the report, two workers who have spoken to Bloomberg. Who believe they heard a sexual assault taking place. Furthermore another two workers told Bloomberg that they were given guidance not to intervene. As Amazon didn’t consider it the company’s place to intervene in cases like these.

Full report with Bloomberg here

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best pool gadget

Best Pool Gadget?!

Summer’s going to be right here in the UK eventually which means lots of BBQ’s and using swimming pools! However, we think we have found the best pool gadget! A motorised inflatable pool lounger, thats MOTORISED!!

The Splash Runner Motorized Inflatable Swimming Pool Lounger by Poolcandy is a pool lounger that you’re able to move about on by pressing a simple button. This genius invention has two motors on the bottom of it. Therefore allowing it to glide across the swimming pool. The lounger even has joysticks on each side of it. This lounger, the best pool gadget ever, is available for $199.99 and is deemed “the most feature-rich pool lounger ever made” by its official website.

The technical parts now and the motor runs off simple 12D Batteries and can hold people up to 300lbs. Aswell as having joysticks the best pool gadget has a cupholder on it. So you can glide around in the pool without even having to hold your drink. Being able to move around means you can easily get a top up too without having to move a muscle.

Unfortunately the sunlounger is only available to buy in the US. However, if you’re in the US you can buy one by clicking here!

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sunset straight road - how to kill an hour

What Gadgets Make Your Car Journey Comfortable?

When you’ve got a long journey to go on, and you’ve got only your car to rely on as you go, then you’re going to need to outfit it with plenty of gadgets to keep you happy and comfortable. Sure, you can stop off at service stations whenever you get the chance to, but there’s still going to be hours in between!

 

Let’s make sure you’ve got just the right tech on your hands to make sure any future road trips or simple long haul work journeys are going to be a lot more fun and cozy. Here’s a few recommendations for you to consider.

 

sunset straight road - how to kill an hour

 

Grab a Dash Cam

 

Dash cams have a variety of purposes, and anyone who is anyone will have one in their car. So whether you’ve got useful something more affordable from the Hilton Car Supermarket, or you’ve just made a deal to drive the new electric mini, it’d be useful for you to have a dash cam on board.

 

They can be used to record first hand footage of a car accident, which can both help you in court and with your insurance company. You’ll also have an upper hand over anyone who’s acting dangerously on the road – it’ll be much easier to report someone speeding in the rain on the motorway if you’ve got footage of them doing so. All in all, it’ll make your long journey safer, and that is the number one thing to put a driver’s mind at rest.

 

A Versatile GPS

If you’ve got a SatNav in the car, good on you. It’ll make the drive you’re on a lot smoother, and quite a bit faster, and you’re never going to have to pull over to break the map out. If you’re someone who travels a lot for work, this can be a Godsend in making a meeting on time!

 

But your GPS needs to be versatile, in the modern day and age. It needs to be updated with all the new roads, and traffic information as it happens, and that means it’s going to need an internet signal as well. Which is why it’d be better to turn your phone into your onboard GPS, and then add on another gadget to give you a bigger display to work off of, and to keep you totally hands free. Something like a HUDWAY Glass allows you to watch the virtual road, as well as control the music you’re listening to and recieve your texts as normal, all at the same time.

 

Something to Monitor Your Tires

 

A quick little recommendation to finish off – have a piece of kit in your cockpit that’ll keep track of everything your tires are going through. Take a look through a few tests of the top kits on the market currently – it’ll stop punctured tires from being a surprise, and tell you when you next need to stop to top up the pressure.

 

So, how many of these gadgets do you have onboard? You’ll need them!

What To Buy For The Car Lover In Your Life

Shopping for the car lover in your life is usually pretty easy; there are so many things car related you can buy them. But what about those who already have everything? Here are a few ideas you might not have thought of.

 

LEGO Technic Bugatti Chiron Car Building Kit

The Bugatti Chiron car building kit by Lego Technic is probably one of the coolest gifts to give an automotive enthusiast in your life. Created thanks to a close collaboration between LEGO and Bugatti, the 1:8 scale car is made from 3,599 parts, a unique serial number, and elaborate detailing throughout. LEGO’s instructions for the kit mirror the assembly process of a Bugatti Chiron and, just like the real Chiron, the LEGO version comes with its own high-speed key!

 

Ultimate Exotic Car Racing Experience in Las Vegas

This one’s a little bigger and a little more expensive, but if you have plans to go to Vegas anyway, then this Cloud 9 Living experience could be a thrill of a lifetime for the car enthusiast in your life. With the base package, drivers get the choice of five supercars that they’ll be able to drive for five full laps around the Las Vegas Speedway’s road course.

 

A Used Car

Car lovers can never have enough cars right? So, you could always get them a used one to add to their collection, a car to do-up, a nice project to keep them busy. Check out The California Group for some inspiration to see what’s out there.

 

Garmin Speak Plus with Amazon Alexa and Dash Cam

The Garmin Speak Plus is super compact and has been designed to provide turn-by-turn directions with a clear, unobstructed view while driving. It also features Alexa integration, which means the driver never has to get their phone out to get the navigation, to change the music or to use the phone. As well as that, the windshield-mounted device has a built-in camera for added safety like forward collision and lane departure warnings.

 

Custom Leather Keychain

Most car enthusiasts love a bit of customization and that even includes minor details like keychains. These custom leather keychains can be personalized just for them either on the one side or both.

 

Hot Wheels Augmoto Augmented Reality Racing Track Set

This Hot Wheels track is like something from the future. You get to control the track through your smart device using augmented reality. The Hot Wheels Augmoto Track brings the action to life with explosions, fireworks, cheering crowds, and more.

 

Swipe Delete Facts

Swipe Delete Facts

Houseology’s Swipe Delete has been out for a little while and we are all loving it! However, there is now an incredible music video to go along with it as well. We think that this is a wonderful piece of work from both our own Funk Butcher and Swiss from So Solid Crew. While the video is a bit of fun and they’re all dressed up to portray an older generation. The song quite rightly begs the question. Are we addicted to social media?

What is Swipe Delete?

It’s brand new dance track from Funk Butcher and Swiss that is blowing up on the socials! Not only that it has got a lot of mainstream love! Including BBC Radio 1’s DJ Target playing the dance track on his show recently.  Furthermore to that, Kiss Fm DJ Majestic has given some love to Funk and Swiss’s Swipe Delete stating that he feels as though it will be a HUGE Summer anthem.

Selfie Facts

Now the Swipe Delete guys have blessed us with some rather surprising facts.  However, unsurprisingly they are all based around social media and selfies! There are a couple here that absolutely shocked us.

Without peaking at the video above,  just how many selfies do YOU think are uploaded to Instagram each day?

Check out the fun facts and let us know what you think of them on our socials! Hit us up on all major platforms, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter @howtokillanhour

Follow Funk Butcher: Twitter / Facebook / Instagram

Follow Swiss: Twitter  / Instagram

Listen to Swipe Delete in full here: Apple Music / Spotify

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#NewPhoneWhoDis

#NewPhoneWhoDis

Our very own Dev and Marcus Bronzy are a part of a brand new show from O2 called #NewPhoneWhoDis. Testing out all the latest and greatest phones that the market has to offer.

As you know the guys love their gadgets and both of Marcus and Dev have been regulars on our podcast since it’s birth, so we’re very proud that they’ve both been chosen to front this amazing show!

In this debut episode of #NewPhoneWhoDis they’re checking out the Huawei P30 Pro. Now Huawei Phones are well known for their cameras, so how well does this instalment fair up?

Testing

How did the guys test the phone’s camera?

Well, like any normal phone user would do, they went around London and took as many different photos as they could. Portrait, normal, zoomed in, all in the name of tech! We have to mention that it is straight out of the box tech here. There wasn’t any adjustments made nor were there any lenses added to it.

Why are they so good?

Well, the Huwaei P30 Pro has four Leica cameras. Yes. That’s right. FOUR!

As it has aa 32MP front camera, plus 40MP, 16MP and 8MP cameras on the rear, with a Time of Flight sensor. Therefore we’d be surprised if your pictures didn’t look any better!

Also, one amazing feature that the guys were especially impressed with was this huge zoom functionality that the P30 Pro has. Not only the fact that it can zoom up to 10x. But the quality remains, even at 10x!

Storage and Battery

So you’re going to need massive storage to hold all these amazing photo’s right? Well the P30 Pro comes with 128gb’s of storage and the battery on it is 4200Ah’s. Giving you between a day and a half to 2 days on one single charge. Very very impressive!

More storage

The P30 Pro comes with up to 128GB storage, meaning more space for shooting and storing photos and video when you’re on the move.

As a result of these two amazing tech enthusiasts coming together and creating a great show. We think that this show is amazing and will only continue to grow, it was shot amazingly in vertical. The way it should be for a show based around phones and they did an amazing job looking at features what people like us want to know about. Yet, remaining entertaining and informational!

So, we cannot wait for what they have in store next!

In the mean time, check out the gallery below of these amazing shots!

(O2)

Want more tech talk? Therefore, why not listen to the guys chatting about this by clicking here! 

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Rage 2 Everything vs Me

Rage 2: Everything vs Me

Rage 2 is a crazy game and a lot of fun too! It’s set in a post-apocalyptic world, you’re in control of the character Walker. There’s Ugly mutants to deal with. Furthermore there’s the treacherous Wasteland Samurais. Plus there’s peaceful buffalo. However, these buffalo now may or may not whisper insults under their breath.

Therefore you got to keep your wits about you in Rage 2. As if it exists in Rage 2’s wide-open wasteland, there’s going to be a chance that it’s out to kill you.

Therefore it’s fair to say that in this crazy, frantic game, it’s “everything vs me”, check out the brand new trailer for this incredible game “Everything vs Me” in the video above!

Rage 2 is an open world, so be aware of the insane factions and lethal hazards, not forgetting the smug cliffs that await you. It’s chaotic out there!

RAGE 2 launches on May 14, 2019 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. It’s a first person open world shooter from Avalanche Studios, ID Software and Bethesda Softworks. You can literally go anywhere, shoot anything and explode anything. It looks like serious serious fun! Preorder it here!

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