The game “Hide-And-Go-Seek” has been entertaining both adults and kids for centuries. But mastering the concept of the game takes some kids longer than others.

From the funny and cute to completely ridiculous, here are some of our favorite Hide And Seek fails. Enjoy!

01) Basketball Net

This picture makes me laugh every time. Just look how serious his face is.

Via shechive files

02) Bathroom Cabinet

Via e-radio

03) Floor Mat

Via imgur

04) Kitchen Cabinet

So close. Just shut the door or take off the white socks.

Via imgur

05) Tupperware Box

At least this kids’ feet were thinking out of the box.

Via imgur

06) Curtain

Via imgur

07) Closet

A closet is always a good choice… if you close the door.

Via Sad and Useless

08) Curtains

Looks like someone stole an already bad hiding spot.

Via imgur

09) Stuffed Crocodile

When was the last time you saw a stuffed crocodile climbing up a wall?

Via They Call Me Mummy

10) Lamp Shade

At least the light was off.

Via imgur

11) Blinds

Via imgur

12) Blanket

Next time lay down.

Via The Chive

13) Office Chair

Via They Call Me Mummy

14) Tree

Via Bored Panda

15) Couch Cushion

The telltale chubby feet giving away the perfect hiding spot.

Via imgur

Do you have a better image of a hide and seek fail that we missed? If so, then please share it in the comments below.

This t-shirt is sure to make all grunge music fans laugh/cringe. It shows an image of the 90’s tween band Hanson with Nirvana‘s logo.

At first glance, the mix up looks like a mistake. Both Nirvana and Hanson had their big breaks in the early 1990’s, featured only 3 main members (Nirvana: Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl; Hanson: Isaac Hanson, Taylor Hanson and Zac Hanson), dressed slightly similar and all had long hair.

Rare Nirvana t-shirt found in Thailand.

The photo was posted online by PhilipGreenbriar when his father saw the shirt for sale in Bangkok. But if you look closely at the photo, you’ll see another bootleg shirt for The Smiths that shows Will Smith and family and not the popular 80’s English alternative rock band.

Can a bolt of ‘mixed-up music t-shirt lightning’ really strike twice? Seemed too obvious and a few Internet searches revealed the truth.

I’m still waiting for the “Smells Like MMMbop” mashup t-shirt.

Via PhilipGreenbriar

If you take a look at the top 10 Twitter users today on Twitaholic (formerly Twitterholic), you’ll see basically just a battle between pop music stars — Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, etc. But back in 2008, 7 years ago, it was a much different story. The top 10 was an impressive collection of influencers, podcasters, news sites and government run accounts that included Barack Obama, Kevin Rose (Diggnation), Leo Laporte, Alex Albrecht (Diggnation), NASA‘s Mars Phoenix Rover, Jason Calacanis, Robert Scoble, CNN Breaking News, Veronica Belmont, and John C. Dvorak. And to make the top 10 list, you only needed 17,000 followers or more.

Here are screenshots of the top 10 Twitter users on September 2, 2008…

Top Twitter Accounts (Sept 2008)

…and today, September 2, 2015.

Top Twitter Accounts (Sept 2015)

As you’ll see, US President Barack Obama is the only Twitter user still in the top 10 list from 7-years ago. Is it a good thing or a bad thing that Twitter went from being dominated by tech personalities and news resources to mostly pop music stars? Essentially just a popularity contest. What do you think? Please tell us in the comments below or tweet us @methodshop.

There’s a free Star Wars download on the Internet that everyone’s talking about and it has nothing to do with Yoda, Darth Vader, or popular film franchise.

Alt-rock/alt-country band, Wilco, shocked the Internet when they released an unannounced new album last night called Star Wars. What’s even more shocking (besides the creepy cat on the cover) is the album is free.

You can download the 11-track album right now for from wilcoworld.net just by signing up for their mailing list.

The Chicago-based band joins the list of only a few major artists, including NIN and Radiohead, that have delighted their fans with free album downloads.

Star Wars will be a welcome surprise to Wilco fans anxious to hear some new material. Their last studio album, The Whole Love, was released back in 2011.

Have you you listened to Star Wars yet? What did you think? Please tell us in the comments.

Much to the dismay of Warner Bros. Pictures, the official movie trailer of David Ayer‘s SUICIDE SQUAD is out. The studio hadn’t planned on promoting the film just yet. It’s not slated for theatrical release until August 5, 2016. But the the trailer, which was shown at Comic-Con this week, was stolen and distributed on the Internet.

The film is about a group of villains who are teamed up and convinced to fight for the good guys. Suicide Squad and DC Comics‘ upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Amy Adams) borrow from Marvel‘s extremely successful “Marvel Universe” strategy where all the stories are interconnected and fans are sucked into watching multiple films.

Suicide Squad stars Will Smith, Common, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, and Scott Eastwood and  contains an early glimpse of Jared Leto as the Joker.

Warner Bros. Pictures may not be happy about the early trailer release, but the fans sure are. The Internet exploded with news about the trailer. Sue Kroll, President Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures released this statement after the studio was unable to stop the trailer from spreading online:

Warner Bros. Pictures and our anti-piracy team have worked tirelessly over the last 48 hours to contain the Suicide Squad footage that was pirated from Hall H on Saturday.

We have been unable to achieve that goal.

Today we will release the same footage that has been illegally circulating on the web, in the form it was created and high quality with which it was intended to be enjoyed.

We regret this decision as it was our intention to keep the footage as a unique experience for the Comic Con crowd, but we cannot continue to allow the film to be represented by the poor quality of the pirated footage stolen from our presentation.

This might be the most successful “mistake” of Sue Kroll‘s career.

A road rage incident interrupted a Toronto police officer being interviewed by a CBC News reporter this week. Unlike in other counties, where road rage often leads to violence, this incident consisted of lots of strong words and aggressive finger pointing.

The two men involved in the incident got back in their cars after the Toronto police officer told them to “go home” and “grow up.” Way to set the global example Canada!

Via CBC News

This YouTube clip is sure to give beach-goers around the world chills.

It’s shows five sharks in a Sperm Whale carcass feeding frenzy off the coast of Coffs Harbour, New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The HD footage was shot by Australian diver Brett Vercoe and his wife. The carcass later washed on shore at Coffs Harbour.

According to local news reports, the five sharks, three white pointers and two tiger sharks, were all four-meters or longer.

This shocking footage will have beach goes on edge in both Australia and the United States. Both countries have been plagued with shark attacks the past few months.

Have you seen any sharks yet this summer? Tell us in the comments below.

Via Brett Vercoe

If you stopped using Foursquare last year when it spun off most of its popular features, to a second app called Swarm, you weren’t alone. But it looks like Mayorships, Foursquare’s signature feature, are now back.

De-Gamifying Foursquare

Last year, in a strange move, Foursquare Labs killed all of the gamification aspects that compelled people to regularly use the app to “check-in”. Things like badges and “mayorships” were all gone and check-ins were moved to a separate app called Swarm. The trimmed down Foursquare just became a location “discovery” app similar to Yelp. Yuck. The fun of Foursquare, the heart of the app, the core of the entire platform was… dead.

Everyone Hates Swarm

Not only did Foursquare Labs, creators of Foursquare and Swarm, kill all of the gamification features that made the app so popular, like Mayorships, but the two app experience was incredibility annoying. It was enough to make you want to throw your phone out a window.

The changes were not popular with longtime users and resulted in droves of Foursquare’s 45M users abandoning the platform. Myself included.

People stopped checking-in everywhere they went, multiple times a day. And less check-ins meant less app screen exposure to sponsored messaging, advertising and more importantly, less opportunities to generate revenue. It’s hard to run a business without money.

Foursquare hasn’t officially announced user numbers since 2013, but a quick look at AppAnnie’s ranking data for Swarm’s iOS app speaks for itself. Foursquare and Swarm split in July 2014. In the 12-months since then, the app went from one of the top apps in the iOS store to barely a blip in the top 1,500.

The Return of Gamification Features

What a difference a year makes. Foursquare Labs is finally bringing Mayorships back and making check-ins count again. Unfortunately badges are still missing, but more “stickers,” which users can optionally be add to check-ins, photos and messages, will be added to the platform.

Can Foursquare Labs Recover?

Will Mayorships and stickers be enough to win back users that checked out after the Swarm/Foursquare split? As a Dodgeball user (Foursquare’s predecessor also created by Dennis Crowley), I’m definitely happy to see the gamification come back to the platform. But the two app experience and the fact that most of my friends stopped using the service after the split, is still keeping me away. Why should I check-in if no one I know sees it? For me, the return of Mayorships may be too little, too late.

Kevin Rose made a disastrous decision when he re-launched Digg in the summer of 2010 and alienated its core user base. Digg went from being one of the top sites on the Internet with a valuation of $164M, to only $500k. Foursquare Labs made the same mistake alienating its core users with Swarm. Can they recover? Time will tell.

What about you? Are you/were you a Foursquare user? What do you think about Swam? Have you checked out?

The controller for Nintendo‘s beloved NES game console was surprisingly simple compared to today’s standards. It consisted of only 4 buttons (A, B, Start, Select) and a directional pad. But as you can see from this video by Dave Nunez on YouTube, it was shockingly complex in its design. In the video, he examines how the controller’s CD4021 chip worked and the creative ways it was designed to communicate with the console.

Via Dave Nunez

Texting on your phone and doing (almost) anything can be dangerous. Texting and driving is obviously a no-no. But texting and walking can be equally as dangerous.

This week a Chinese teenager in Mianyang, China, fell into a sewer while texting on her smartphone and walking. As you can see in the photo, her entire leg was caught in a street drain.

The teen was extremely embarrassed and tried to hide her face from bystanders who were both trying to help as well as taking photos of her. She was eventually freed by the fire department about 45 minutes later.

This Chinese teenager isn’t alone. People are constantly hurting themselves or getting into accidents while texting. Just a few years ago, a teenager infamously fell into an open manhole in New York City while texting and let’s not forget about the guy who walked into a bear on live TV while texting.

Have you ever done something stupid or hurt yourself while texting or using your phone? Please make a confession in the comments below.

Photos via Jun Niu

Oh no. It looks like the apocalyptic prediction of machines ruling the world from the Terminator movies is coming true. YouTube user SethBling wrote a program called MarI/O, that taught itself to play the Nintendo game “Super Mario World” through the power of “neuroevolution.” Not only was the program able to play the game, but it beat it. If you’re curious, you can download the source code here: http://pastebin.com/ZZmSNaHX

Does this mean that Skynet, the self-aware computer network from Terminator, is probably only a few years away from reality? Or am I over reacting? Please try to calm me down in the comments.

Feeling like your blog posts aren’t getting the attention that they deserve? Here are some simple and free ways to amplify your blog content.

01) Re-Post on LinkedIn Pulse

LinkedIn allows individuals, not companies, to publish guest posts with an image. You can repurpose your most popular blog posts and share them on LinkedIn. Here’s the link where you can compose a LinkedIn Pulse post.

Here’s an example: I wrote a blog post titled 8 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Snapchat for MethodShop. I then repurposed the post and published it on LinkedIn Pulse here.

Sharing your blog posts on LinkedIn will promote content to your existing professional connections and groups without “spamming” them with emails or repeated requests begging them to Like, tweet or share something.

Just be selective with what your share on LinkedIn. Remember, LinkedIn is a “professional social media network.” Do post about professional topics like shocking Pinterest stats, ways to convince your boss to let you telecommute or how to cut costs with your startup. Do NOT posts about bathroom bacon or Japanese sex dolls.

02) Guest Post on Another Blog

Many websites including Huffington Post, MOZ and Copyblogger all accept guest posts. However, unlike LinkedIn Pulse, your guest posts will probably have to be 100% original. Meaning you can’t just repurpose your blog post. This will differ from site to site so make sure you carefully read through each site’s guest post guidelines. To give you an example of what most sites are looking for, here’s a link to MOZ’s guest post guidelines.

So how does writing another blog post for a different website help you promote the blog post your are currently trying to amplify? Here’s a couple ideas: 1) write a follow up blog post to your original article, or 2) write a guest blog posts that mentions and links to several of your other posts. It’s a little more work, but the SEO value and exposure for both you and your site can be incredible.

03) Twitter @Mentions, #Hashtags & /Slashtags

After you publish your blog post, you will obviously want to promote it using your social media accounts. But will anyone see it? One way to increase your chances is to optimize your social media messages with account mentions and hashtags.

Most social media sites like Google+, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook support hashtags. So research relevant hashtags for your messages using sites like TweetReach and Iconosquare and include them in your messaging.

You should also include an “at mention” in your tweets when relevant using the /cc or /via Slashtags. For example, in the tweet below I mention the Twitter account @obrien giving the author credit for their article and /cc mention @WayneScholes, someone who is passionate about streaming music royalties. Both @obrien and @WayneScholes retweeted my tweet. Mentioning accounts in your messaging will help increase the chance that your message gets seen. But don’t get spammy and start randomly mentioning everyone. Be personal, relevant, select and thoughtful. Otherwise you’re just a hated spammer.

.@Apple @Spotify and the futile #economics of music #streaming http://t.co/i4JUqM7cPi /via @obrien /cc @WayneScholes http://t.co/RuX7ESYWYr

— jon accarrino (@accarrino) June 4, 2015

04) Social Media Optimized Email Signature

One of the best ways to get the people that you engage with everyday to follow you on social, is just to create a custom email signature with links to your social accounts. Unless you tell them, your friends and clients may not even know that you are active on social media. Emailing everyone in your address book and begging them to follow you, will feel spammy and pathetic. A subtle hint in your email signature will accomplish the same thing with class.  

05) Joining Relevant Conversations

There are daily tweets that will mention relevant hashtags for your blog post. Engaging in these conversations on a regular basis will help promote your brand, raise awareness of your expertise and encourage the right people to follow you. For example, I wanted to engage people talking about Google’s algorithm update that downgraded non-mobile friendly websites. The Internet community called the update “Mobilegeddon.” So I researched the hashtag #Mobilegeddon and the phrase “#Mobilegeddon retail”  on Twitter to find relevant conversations and accounts to engage with. As you begin engaging, you can then start injecting ideas and links from your blog where it makes sense in the conversation.  

@pdpost now @jcpenney just needs a good #MobileLocator to take their #mobilegeddon survival to the next level https://t.co/P7CzjFDxky — jon accarrino (@accarrino) May 11, 2015

There you have it. Some simple and free ways to boost your blog posts. The next step would be to start using paid boosting or advertising. Try free for now.

Photo via Pixabay

Need to find your UDID? This tutorial will walk you through the process in under 2 mins.

Every iOS device made by Apple, including the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, has a unique identifier code. These UDID’s (Unique Device ID) are a 40-digit sequence of characters that can be used to do things like blacklist stolen devices. But the most common reason for people to find their UDID is to share it with developers to help beta test iOS apps.

There are several iOS apps and websites that will help you find your UDID, but many of them are spammy, don’t work or are malicious. Be careful about any 3rd party site or app that tries to install operating system level profiles on your iOS device or ask for personal information. This tutorial will show you how to find your UDID using only iTunes. And the best part… this tutorial features a Unicorn! Or should we just call him the UDIDcorn. Let’s do this.

Requirements:

• Mac or PC computer
• iTunes
• Charging cable for your device
• 2 mins of time
• A natural curiosity on why there’s a “Unicorn” in this tutorial

01) Connect Your Device to Your Computer

Using the USB cable that came with your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, plug your device into your computer.

 02) Open iTunes

On your Mac or PC, open the iTunes application. Not iTunes on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. You must use a computer. If you do not have one, then you can’t proceed. You will find the iTunes app in your Applications folder (Mac) or under the Start menu (Windows).

03) Select Your Device in iTunes

Click the name of your device on the left side of your iTunes screen. Then make sure that you’re on the “Summary” tab.

04) Click on Your Serial Number

In the Summary tab for your iOS device, iTunes will display several informational items about your phone including your capacity and phone number. Click on the text that says Serial Number. It should change to say Identifier (UDID).

05) Copy Your UDID Number

Right-click (or Control-click) on your UDID number and select Copy. Your UDID is now copied on to your clipboard. Just paste it into an email or save it for later use.

Congratulations! You found your UDID. Just be careful with who your share it with. A creative hacker could use your UDID number against you. So in other words, please don’t tweet it or share it publicly. The UDID, serial number and phone numbers used in this tutorial were all replaced. Thank you for reading. If you found this tutorial helpful, please consider donating a dollar to our Beer Fund.

It’s hard to believe but 35 years ago today (May 21, 1980), Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was released in theaters. Although the film opened to mixed reviews by critics, it was the highest-grossing film of 1980 and has earned more than $538 million dollars in the last 35-years. It’s currently the 12th-highest-grossing film in North America. Its predecessor, Star Wars, is #2.

Here’s the original theatrical trailer for The Empire Strikes Back which debuted in the fall of 1979. Star Wars fans might recognize some footage in the trailer that was cut from the final film, including a kiss between Luke and Leia (incest alert!) and C-3PO removing a warning sticker from a door in the Rebel base on Hoth. Also, you might recognize the trailer’s voiceover talent… Harrison Ford!

The Apple Watch has been on the market for almost a full month now. So what do consumers think of it so far? According to a new study by CrowdFlower, they aren’t very impressed.

The most telling statistic from the “CrowdFlower Apple Watch Social Data Study” is that only 55% of Apple Watch consumers love their new watch. That’s a failing grade. And to add insult to injury, Apple Watch users aren’t holding back when it comes to sharing their reactions online. The study claims that 45% of Apple Users users have tweeted a less-than-positive response.

CrowdFlower, a data analysis platform, collected and studied over 30,000 tweets from Twitter about the Apple Watch since its launch on April 24. Here are some of the most notable findings from the study.

Gender:

• 64% of women expressed positive feelings about the Apple Watch on Twitter.
• Men are less excited about the Apple Watch, giving it a 53% overall approval rating.
• Sentiment about the watch has slumped since its official announcement. Prior to the launch, 74% of women and over 56% of men were excited and intended to purchase an Apple Watch.
• Love it or hate it, men don’t hold back their thoughts about the Apple Watch. 70% of all Apple Watch related tweets came from men.

Favorite Features

• The most-loved feature is the variety of apps.
• Apps were mentioned 56% of the time when discussing the Apple Watch’s positive features.
• The most popular app category is “health and fitness.” Users felt that the apps were very useful and accurate and tweeted positive messages about these apps.

Negative Reactions

• Negative tweets about the Apple Watch’s features most often mentioned app bugs (22% of the time), technical performance (15%) and overall design (14%).

California Users

• Apple Watch users in Apple’s home state, California, tweeted about the Watch more than any other state.
• California users also shared the most positive messages on Twitter compared to other states.
• 59% of Apple Watch owners in California tweeted positive messages about the gadget.

So what does this mean for Apple? First of all, give a round of applause for your marketing team. They did a fantastic job. But sadly, the data seems to tell us that the less people knew about the Apple Watch, the more they liked it.

Have something to add to this post? Please tell us in the comments below.

Instructions: Build some of the most intriguing structures throughout history! Swap adjacent runes to make sets of three. The runes will disappear and new runes will fall from above. Match 4 runes – get an Ice Ball. Match 5 runes – get a Fireball. Swap bonuses with adjacent runes to activate. By activating several Ice and Fire Balls you get the Dice Bonus. Delete several random runes by swapping the bonus with an adjacent rune. It it takes you too long to match and supply block to the workers, they will go on strike and eventually leave the site.

How to Win: When you clear all blocks on the board the Key Stone will appear. You can move it down the board by making matches underneath. Move the Key Stone to the Keyhole by matching runes underneath. When this is done, you win a level. The Key Stone can only move along the shaded path surrounded by borders. Wherever the Key Stone faces a turn on its way, use the rotation arrows to rotate the board 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise.

I usually attend 2-3 conferences a year in Las Vegas for work. And the sci-fi/fantasy geek in me means that I usually spend some serious time playing various themed casino games including Lord of the Rings, Alien, Battlestar Galactica and of course Marvel and/or DC Comics. But in October 2013, Disney, the owners of Marvel, announced that they would begin phasing out all Star Wars and Marvel themes slot machines in the United States. Why? Gambling conflicts with Disney’s family friendly policies. It makes sense, but it’s definitely disappointing.

However Marvel comic books fans who enjoy playing casino games with their favorite superheroes shouldn’t give up just yet. Although you won’t find a Marvel themed slot machine inside a US casino anymore, the online games are still available through a subsidiary called Marvel Jackpot.

Here are some of the most popular Marvel themed casino games that you can still play online (for now) and my review of them.

01) Marvel Roulette

Marvel Roulette is similar to American Roulette where there’s an extra double zero space. Except in this game, the extra space is called Marvel Bonus. If your roulette ball lands on the Marvel Bonus space, you are taken to a special slot machine round. I played for a couple hours and won $700+, but sadly never got to witness the Marvel Bonus round. Great game. Great graphics. I’ll definitely be back to play this one.

02) Blade

Blood, bullets and sexy vampire girls. That’s basically the concept behind the Blade slot machine game. There’s an “Auto Start” button that will spin for you automatically. Just pick how many Lines you want to bet. There’s a confusing 20 possible lines to bet on. I just did each line for $0.10 each ($10 is the max) and usually won something every few spins. I love both the Blade movies and Marvel comic books, but Blade wasn’t lucky for me. I lost $600 in about 5 minutes with a high bet running on Auto Play. The graphics aren’t that great either. Casino.com obviously isn’t in love with Blade either. They don’t even have a link to it from the main slots page. I had to hunt for it to find it.

03) Daredevil

Besides being a disappointing 2003 movie starring Ben Affleck, Daredevil is also a slot machine game. While we wait for Disney to give this character a decent film franchise, I took the Daredevil slots game for a 5 minute run. After winning a few $500+ spins, I took my money to the next Marvel game. Decent graphics based on the comic book. No Affleck.

04) Iron Man

Instead of using generic artwork inspired by the comic books, like the Blade and Daredevil slots, Iron Man 2 features imagery from the popular film including Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson. Noticeably absent are Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle. Not sure why. Great game. Made $250 on my 2nd spin.

05) Ghost Rider

Love the comic books. Hate the movies. I know in real life, actor Nicolas Cage is a huge Ghost Rider fan. He even has Ghost Rider tattoos. But his over-the-top acting style just didn’t do the Ghost Rider films justice. But the Ghost Rider casino game begins with the animated Marvel Studios logo and then segues into a 3D animated game trailer. Big production value compared to the other Marvel gambling games. Max bet is $1,000. Lowest is $0.20. Despite the production value, Ghost Rider was unlucky for me. I did “Auto Play” with $100 spins and went from $1,000 to $50 in 5 minutes. A $850 spin kept me alive longer than some of my other attempts. I blame Nicolas Cage’s bad acting skills for giving me bad luck.

06) Captain America: The First Avenger

The Captain America: The First Avenger slots game features a mix of both movie and comic book imagery. But honestly, I wasn’t a fan of the graphics. The silver text on a tan background just looked washed out. After 15 minutes of $20 spins, I was down and annoyed with the graphics. Time to move on.

07) X-Men: Scratch

OK, enough with the slots! Let’s mix things up. The X-Men: Scratch game is a cross between a scratch-off lottery ticket and a “match” card game. If a pair of cards are both Heroes or Villains from X-Men, then you win half. A perfect match wins big. Different characters are worth more/less. The max bet is $100 a pair and $600 per round and the max payout is $37,000. Although I felt like I was playing a kids card game at one point, I enjoyed X-Men: Scratch. Only issue was the cartoon image of Charles Xavier, looked more like Moby than Patrick Stewart.

08) Spider Man: Attack of the Green Goblin

The graphics closely resemble the 1980’s Spider Man cartoon – a childhood favorite of mine. The bonus screen is clever. There are 5 different possibilities based on a stack of comic books: The Ultimate Fight, City Chase, Radioactive freebies, Rivaling freebies, and Hot Zone freebies. I really liked Spider Man: Attack of the Green Goblin.

09) The Avengers

The Avengers slots game is one of the newest Marvel Jackpot games and it shows. The animated opening trailer is video game quality. Game imagery is based on the movie. I set a low bet and put the game on Auto Play until I scored a feature. The feature screen is a match game that earns you multipliers that help you during game play.

10) The Incredible Hulk

Will my attempt to win big playing the Hulk have me smashing through payout records or hiding in a dark corner in the fetal position like Dr. Bruce Banner? With 5 reels and 50 pay lines, this is one of the Marvel Jackpot games with the most opportunities to win jackpots.

Apparently the Hulk is my good luck charm. I earned a Smash Bonus after a few spins and had an opportunity to smash some Police cars and helicopters. Each car has a hidden cash value only revealed after you smash it and you get to smash 3 out of 5. I won $500, $200 and $100 after smashing my 3 cars. On the next screen, you get to smash 1 out of 3 helicopters. Each helicopter has a multiplier. I got a x3 multiplier making my total win $2,400. Thanks Hulk!

That’s it. 10 Marvel casino games, some better than others, but all lots of fun. If you look closely at the copyright dates on the different splash screens, you’ll see that the games get better and better each year. Hopefully a Guardians of the Galaxy game is next. But currently, Iron Man, Hulk and Marvel Roulette are my favorites. What about you? Let me know in the comments.

This guy has figured out how to use the exact amount of compressed air to make a screw driver levitate in mid-air. Is it science or magic? Maybe a bit of both?

Via NightHawkInLight

Mobility makes sense for modern businesses. Rather than limit themselves to traditional computing, companies of all sizes see value in offering mobile services. Whether it’s banking on the go or scheduling a doctor’s appointment through an app, today’s consumer loves convenience. Companies respond to the demand by offering better ways to perform services, sell goods, and communicate to customers.

The average worker feels the same way about mobility. Technological advances in the past decade revolutionized the way employees do their jobs. No longer required to be present to ‘be present,’ workers from all over the globe telecommute. Video conferencing plays a large role in how employees communicate with their employers. More importantly, it saves them time and money.

01) Commuting is Expensive

Reuters reported on Census Bureau data in 2014. In an article about the true cost of commuting, the website stated, “10.8 million Americans travel more than an hour each way to work. And 600,000 endure “megacommutes” of at least 90 minutes and 50 miles each way, according to the Census Bureau.” Reuters went on to say that “we often tend to dismiss commuting costs, as the necessary price of having a job. After all, especially in a difficult economic era, not everyone has the luxury of finding gainful employment within a short walk or bike ride from their home.”

The costs involved with commuting to the workplace add up. Factor in the price of owning, maintaining, and parking a vehicle, lunch, clothing, and ongoing training. Employees wanting to keep a position with a company go to great lengths to protect their jobs. The costs involved with telecommuting, however, are minimal. With no drive to make, employees attend meetings from the comfort of their own living rooms or home offices.

02) Modern Video Conferencing Technology Is More Productive

Video conferencing through professional providers, such as Blue Jeans, require no additional hardware or software. Employees use the device they’re most familiar with (smart phone, tablet or computer) to access meetings. More importantly, they’re able to update their schedule via Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar. In-meeting controls make it possible for attendees to view and share content, see the people they’re speaking to, and change layouts.

Some companies that use Blue Jeans include Pandora, SquareSpace, BuzzFeed, National Geographic, and Facebook. Colleges and universities such as Princeton, Wharton University of Pennsylvania, and Berkley also find video conferencing services ideal, and telecommuting becomes effortless with a good platform and lots of video features to enhance the experience.

03) Telecommuting Helps Retain Employees

Employers also save money by allowing employees to telecommute. Inc. reports that “Video conferencing is highly valuable for retaining employees who have relocated due to work or who must work from home a day or two a week. It saves on costs related to recruiting, retaining and even office space, which is always at a premium. Over the long term, this technology helps keep legacy employees who know your company the best.” So ultimately, video conferencing allows companies to retain exceptional employees, reduce operating costs, work out of a smaller workspace, and maintain a close connection to workers in other locations. Start-ups, specifically, benefit from hosting video meetings.

04) Recorded Video Serves as Valuable Training Tools for Telecommuters

Recording meetings for future reference is one thing that makes video conferencing worth the investment. Rather than rely on tradition note taking, employees review footage and gain the information they seek. Consequently, if a man or woman isn’t able to attend a meeting due to schedule conflicts or illness, accessing recorded footage is possible. New employees also find value in previously recorded meetings and training videos.

Meetings are secure and supported by customer service representatives. There’s no need for a member of the IT department to standby. Without the need to focus on running hardware or software to conduct a meeting, companies channel their energy into the subject matter being covered at the meeting and whether or not, employees understand what is being taught to them or asked of them.

05) Video Conferencing Encourages Work-Life Balance

Hosting online meetings and conferences benefits employees in other ways besides saving time and money. Traveling back and forth to an office daily takes its toll on employees physically and mentally. Video conferencing eliminates the need for unnecessary travel and prevents workers from driving in bad weather.  Employees traveling long distances don’t have to deal with canceled flights, overbooked hotels or car reservations.

Thanks to service providers like Blue Jeans, more employees telecommute than ever before. Employers use video conferencing to close the geographic gap between employees. By hosting virtual meetings, companies give telecommuters the opportunity to be a part of the workplace without adding time-constraints, and cost. This gives employees peace of mind by allowing them to skirt travel expenses particularly if they reside in another city, state or country.

Photo via Steve Wilson on Flickr

When you think of books that changed the course of history, what comes to mind? The Bible and the Quran, of course. The Art of War? Machiavelli’s The Prince? Maybe The Jungle?

Chances are a book titled Host,a thriller by Peter James, wasn’t on your list. But what made Host so special wasn’t necessarily the words on the page: it was the fact that the words weren’t the page at all. Host was published in 1993… on two 1.44 MB floppy disks. It was the first e-book.

We’ve been flirting with digital books for decades, but the format wouldn’t really take root until 2011, with the release of the first Kindle from Amazon. Since then, e-books have exploded, and the growing popularity of tablets and smartphones have made them all the more accessible: these days, most everyone has the ability to carry around a small personal library in their hip pocket.

Most every tablet and smartphone comes pre-loaded with an e-reading app of some kind, but just because it’s already downloaded doesn’t mean you’re stuck with it. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of apps on the market these days, so it’s easy to find an app that has exactly what you’re looking for when you settle in to do some reading.

Less than 4 years after the release of the first e-reader, there are so many free reading apps on the market it can be hard to know where to begin when choosing a favorite.

Let’s break down the qualities and features that some of the best reading apps on the market have to offer.

Features to Look For in an E-Reader App

While the job we ask a reading app to do seems pretty simple (put words in front of eyes), there’s quite a bit of variation on the market. Keep in mind, more features doesn’t necessarily make an app better: in fact, low-quality programs may try to generate a long list of mostly useless features to look a little more impressive.  Here’s a few important qualities to look out for when browsing for a new book app.

1. Adjustable font size: Basic, but still important. It’s always nice to have an app that lets you tailor the layout to the needs of your eyeballs: adjustable font, size, and line spacing are all nice qualities to have.
2. Bookmarking and highlighting: Especially useful for students using electronic textbooks, but highlighting tools are a fun addition for those of us who cringe at the idea of writing in a paper and ink book.
3. Adjustable layout. Look for an app with a flexible layout, or “skin,” that you can easily tailor to suit your surroundings, your eyes, and your screen. Adjustable background and font colors can be a lifesaver if you’re prone to eye strain and planning to spend long hours reading from a screen.
4. Import options. Another option that’s useful for students or professionals on the go: the ability to import other files, in formats like pdf or EPUB. Support for other files types, combined with highlighting and annotating, makes e-reading apps great for commenting on class assignments or work documents being passed between team members.
5. Simplicity and streamlining. There’s one complaint that has dogged e-books since the days of Host: they just don’t feel like books. Many apps have put significant effort into making their e-readers feel “bookish” with a layout that mimics the page in a printed book.  Of course, in the world of interfaces there’s a fine line between “attractively streamlined” and “really annoying to use.”  It might take a bit of experimentation to find an app with that nice book-page feel and an interface that’s still easy to get around in.
6. Having a “Bookish” Feel: There is no one reader app that’s right for everyone, but if what you want is a streamlined design, easy to use and easy to customize, NOOK is quite a contender for the title of best e-book reader app. The Nook app has a clean, simple default design that feels very ‘bookish,’ with some added features that take advantage of the electronic format, like being able to jump to any page (something you can’t do in a paper and ink book!) It takes advantage of digital delivery for some extra shortcuts without overloading your screen with distracting doodads, which means that reading on the Nook app still feels very much like reading a book: exactly what an e-book reader should be. The NOOK app just might be the best e-book reader app currently on the market.

Don’t Feel Stuck with the Default

In the age of the app store, almost anything with a screen can be an e-reader: in fact, reading apps are so popular these days that, according to C-Net, they’re beginning to cut into the sales of dedicated e-readers. Just because your iPhone or iPad comes with the iBooks app pre-installed doesn’t mean you’re stuck with it. Search app stores for other e-reader options like NOOK.

We’ve all forgotten something at a friend’s house or somewhere like a restaurant or taxi cab before. For example, I forget my credit card at a bar last week. Getting your items back can be a hassle. That’s where the Utah based startup called PigeonShip comes in. The concept behind PigeonShip is simple: crowdsourced shipping or friendshipping. It’s basically a cross between Uber and FedEx. You post an item on PigeonShip and someone (a “Pigeon” courier) picks the item up and delivers it for you.

The founder of PigeonShip, Jared Overton, first announced the service in the fall of 2011 and it existed as a web-only based service. But big things are in the works for PigeonShip. In just the past few months he’s gotten additional funding, made several strategic partnerships and is launching new mobile apps for Android and iOS this summer. We had the opportunity to interview Mr. Overton about how he came up with the concept for PigeonShip and what’s next for the company.

How did you come up with the idea for PigeonShip?

Because it’s a market that needed to be created.  With all the advancements in technology, little progress has been made in the delivery service industry.  I believe good ideas stem from filling in the blank:  Wouldn’t it be nice if  __________.   PigeonShip fills the blanks. Wouldn’t it be nice if (someone could pick it up).  Wouldn’t it be nice if (I could make money off the extra space in my car). Wouldn’t it be nice if (I could get this picked up and delivered on the weekend). Wouldn’t it be nice if (I could buy something off classifieds without picking it up).

I founded the company in 2011, with transportation of items being phase 1, and transportation of people being phase 2, yes, before Uber was Uber.  Since Uber leapfrogged my phase 1 idea and jumped to my phase 2 idea, I decided to make phase 1 a hit.

You beta launched PigeonShip in Utah. What’s next? National? International?

Yes. The PigeonShip model was built to scale exponentially. PigeonShip will spread across all local markets through the country and world. But first… Utah.

Why did you decide to launch the company in Utah?

Other than it being my home state, Utah offers a unique testing ground for an idea like PigeonShip. Utah is also slowly turning into Silicon Valley‘s biggest competitor. The region has been nicknamed Silicon Slopes because of all of the ski resorts surrounding the Salt Lake City area. As a result, the entire region is full of revolutionary startups and talented software engineers. Also the current interstate system provides a good pick up and drop off delivery channels. And my local connections have helped secure some key partnerships with big regional companies like Red Hanger Cleaners and KSL classifieds.

What are some of the strangest things shipped so far using PigeonShip?

The weirdest items PigeonShipped so far include gun safes and vintage vehicles, but probably the funniest is a man returning all his girlfriends belongings due to a ‘mishap’. PigeonShip is a great way to return something, especially when you don’t want to see the receiver.

What can your ‘Pigeons’ expect in revenue from shipping items? Should people consider being a Pigeon before picking up a pizza or newspaper delivery job?

PigeonShip doesn’t limit money that can be earned. However, the ‘income generating’ model of PigeonShip was not created to make someone rich, it was rather created to supplement hard working peoples incomes that commute back and forth.  It wasn’t necessarily created so somebody could drive around all day and deliver items.  This would simply be UPS.  It takes very little effort to earn income.  If you are responsible and good with people, you will earn money.

Are there restrictions on what can and cannot be PigeonShipped?

Yes. You can PigeonShip just about anything except illegal items and typical items you couldn’t take on a plane.  Guns, drugs, gasoline, etc.  All of these item restrictions are found under the Help tab on PigeonShip.com.

Special thanks to Jared Overton for taking the time to answer our interview questions. PigeonShip is a great concept. It’s one of those ideas that we all wish we had thought of first. We look forward to hearing more about PigeonShip in the near future. You can learn more about friendshipping on PigeonShip.com and keep an eye out for their new mobile apps later this summer.

Microsoft Outlook is one of the most popular business email applications of all time. But like any Microsoft product, the features, preferences and user interface aren’t intuitive or user friendly. Case in point, I recently spent hours trying to figure out how to remove double-spaces in Microsoft Outlook from an email signature that I created in Microsoft Word. Even though the Word document was single-spaced, the signature still displayed as double-spaced in Microsoft Outlook. So annoying. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out the solution and I’m happy to share it below.

If you already have a signature that you are trying to remove the double-spaces from, then skip to the end of this tutorial. Otherwise, here’s how to take an email signature template from Microsoft Word, add it to Microsoft Outlook and remove the double-spaces in a few easy steps.

01) Open your email signature template

If you created your email signature in a word processing application like Microsoft Word, then open the document, Select All and Copy it to your clipboard. If you’re creating a new signature from scratch or modifying an existing one, then skip ahead.

02) Launch Microsoft Outlook

If you have Outlook installed on your computer, then you’ll find it under the Start menu (PC) or in your Applications folder (Mac). Launch the app. If you don’t have Microsoft Outlook, then I’m not sure why you are reading this tutorial.

03) Create a new email message

Create a new blank email message in Outlook.

• File > New > Email message

04) Access the signatures screen

Now let’s view the signatures screen…

• Click on the “Signatures” button in the toolbar
• Select “Edit Signatures” (Mac) or “Signatures” (PC)

05) Create a new signature

… and make a new one.

• Click on the “+” icon to create a new signature.

06) Paste your copied signature into Outlook.

Put your mouse cursor in the signature box and paste your signature.

07) Customize the signature with your information.

Make any last minute correction or edits. You can also come back and edit this again later.

08) Remove the Double Spacing

Now let’s remove the double line spacing from your signature. All we need to do is manually add single line spaces by using control+return (PC) or shift+return (Mac) after each line break. Basically we just need to replace your “returns” with “return + control” or “return + shift”.

Put your text cursor at the beginning of the second line of your email signature and press delete. Then, press the return key while holding the Control or Shift keys.

09) Test your new signature

Close the signature options window. Compose a new test email and make sure your new signature is being displayed properly.

10) Crack Open a Beer

That should do it. A somewhat overly complicated fix to a relatively simple problem. Welcome to the world of Microsoft. Go grab yourself a beer (and us one too)! Happy emailing!

What mobile operating system do you use? Does it matter that much to you? Would you ever put your life at risk to fight for iOS, Android, Windows Mobile or Blackberry? Gizmodo posted an article last week about two roommates in Tulsa, Oklahoma that got into a knife fight over which OS was better Apple or Android. The fanboy roommates, Jiro Mendez and Elias Ecevo, used broken beer bottles to stab each other.

Gizmodo used one of our Flickr photos as the featured image in their story. If only we’d known, we would have spent more than a few minutes making it better. Thanks for the mention @knibbs!

Did you ever wonder how toothpaste manufacturers were able to add stripes inside the tube? GE Healthcare‘s Instagram account cleverly used 3D medical imaging technology to solve the age old mystery.

Mystery solved: this is how stripes are dispersed inside a toothpaste tube #seeinsideit #GEHealthcare #MedicalImaging #CTScan #Toothpaste #Radiology #healthcare

A video posted by GE Healthcare (@gehealthcare) on Feb 24, 2015 at 6:16am PST

Via @GEHealthcare

We’ve seen some epic fandom of Nintendo‘s classic 1985 video game Super Mario Bros including marching band tributes. But learning the entire musical score + the sound effects on violin takes things to a whole new level. He recorded himself playing the game on video and then practiced his violin composition to sync up perfectly with the game.

Bonus points for the professional outfit. As soon as I saw the white suit I knew that this was going to be a concert quality performance.

The guys from the Slow Mo Guys on YouTube were able to destroy a CD by rotating it at extreme speed. They used a dismantled vacuum motor to get the CD to rotate at such an extreme speed and recorded it in extreme slow motion — 28,500fps or 1140x slower than real-time. You can see the CD start to warble before losing the ability to stay together and then completely explode. Does that count as “warp speed”?

Via Slow Mo Guys

If you’re still smoking cigarettes, then slap yourself in the face right now. It makes me sad to see clusters of smokers outside the college down the street from the office. Yes, nicotine is a drug and a hard addiction to quit, but the advancements that have taken place the last few years with smokeless options make a ton of sense for your health. Even the American Heart Association says that vaping is safer than smoking.

Here here 5 things that both newbies and vaping veterans need to consider before buying a vaporizer.

1. Why Do You Want One?

Your reason for getting started has everything to do with what kind of vaporizer you will get. Are you just trying to quit smoking normal cigarettes? Then an ecig is what you’re after: a quick easy puff and a hit of nicotine. If hanging out with your friends and vaping socially surrounded by a thick, mysterious cloud of vapor for hours is your thing, then a e-hookah is what you’ll want.

2. What’s Your Style?

One of the most enjoyable aspects of vaping is choosing from the infinite number of designs, colors, and styles. Also, do you want to vape on the go with a portable option, or in the comfort of your home with a desktop version? Buying a vaporizer can be a fashion statement that either accessorizes your look or your home decor.

3. What are You Vaping?

Flavor Flavor Flavors! Unlike with cigarettes, where flavors were just gross, vaping has opened up a whole new world of taste. There are simple classics like Menthol, to crazy flavors like Goblin Goo. Which do you want?

4. How Advanced Are You?

If you’re fairly new to vaping, you might want to try a starter kit. They will usually come with everything you’ll need. The Elite 1.0 Vaporizer Starter Kit is one of the better options.

Of course, if you’re more of an advanced user, there are plenty of models out there that allow you to make many modifications to them. There are disposable vaporizers on the market that start around $10, to intricate contraptions that will run you in the hundreds, and everything in between. Starter kits will be around $20-$30.

5. Where are You Vaping?

If you usually smoke while driving then you’ll want to get some accessories to help keep your hands on the wheel and your new vaporizer secure and in the right place. A car mount is probably a good idea.

If you usually kept a pack of cigarettes in you front shirt pocket, then you may want to switch to a neck sling. Vaporizers are usually too bulky to put in your pocket. A neck sling will keep your hands free and you vaporizer secure. There are also wallets and phone cases with ecig holders to choose from.

So there’s much more to consider about vaporizers than you thought. That’s ok. It’s part of the fun of the experience! Go my friend, and pick the one right for you.

Photos via TBECR & Newhere

This Land Rover owner is perhaps the most distracted and dangerous person on the road. He was caught on a GoPro camera by the Aberdeen Cycle Cam using his mobile phone while wearing headphones and working on a laptop… while driving. If you live in Aberdeen City & Shire in eastern Scotland, then you might want to be extra careful when driving near black Land Rovers.

Unfortunately, it’s only a matter of time until this guy hurts or kills someone. Hopefully Apple and Google get their self-driving cars on the road soon.

Via Aberdeen Cycle Cam

One of the best scenes in the 1999 film, The Matrix, is the lobby scene where Neo and Trinity take down an entire SWAT team while trying to rescue Morpheus and barely leave the building standing. The video below is that famous lobby scene… but recreated with peanuts.

And the original lobby scene from The Matrix:

Obviously a lot of effort went into making this video, so we wanted to make sure to mention the directors and editors Matt Jones & Phil Haney.

Via Twaggies