hiddendecoy - my brain, web version

FIFA will NOT add extra referees to the World Cup

2009-12-02T15:46:00.004-05:00

FIFA has decided it will not add extra referees to monitor possible controversial goals as in the case of France and Ireland's qualifying match. This is definitely a step in the wrong direction for FIFA who rightfully is taking a lot of flak for how that match ended. They need to ensure the integrity of the game is preserved by ensuring that cheating during the game doesn't occur.

The next ruling they'll have to decide on is the use of instant replay. I feel they have to have this as an available option for referees to use in case of a critical call in a game. It may be limited to only cases of deciding if a play was a goal or not, but some is better than none at all. If FIFA decides that they don't want to add instant replay, I feel that they would effectively be ignoring that three referees cannot cover every inch of field and events such as Henry's handball. I think the comparison is justified that all major sporting events have adopted some level of instant replay to help the officials review close and controversial calls. I hope FIFA does the right thing and goes in favor of that decision to use it.

World Cup 2010 - Pot 2, 3 and 4 - Team Analysis

2009-12-02T14:54:00.011-05:00

I haven't found much information on a lot of the teams in these groups, but ESPN has an article which can be found here that goes into a little more detail than I could.

I'll add a few points in addition to what they said about a few teams.

Netherlands: The Dutch were the only team to win every one of their qualifying games despite losing Edwin van der Sar in goal. They showed they can dominate the group stages in EURO 2008, but not much has been seen from them after that. One of their big playmakers Robin van Persie will be coming back from surgery just before the start of the World Cup. I don't think that will hold them back with the depth of their roster. All that aside, they should be a very strong team to go up against.

Portugal: A well rounded team headed by the ever dangerous Ronaldo. He needs to be healthy by June in order for this team to be a big threat.

Ivory Coast: This team has some of most prolific African players today in Didier Drogba and the Toure brothers. If there's one African team I see making a move, it's this one. A lot of people have been questioning whether any African team will make an impact on this World Cup and I have a feeling one of them might.

Pot 4 consists of Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, United States, Mexico, and Honduras. I call this the "feel good" pot where I think if one of these teams starts to get on a roll, they could be in for a deep run past the group stages.

World Cup 2010 - Team Analysis - Pot 1

2009-12-02T11:02:00.017-05:00

South Africa: The host nation gets the automatic bid into the World Cup. They did better than most expected in the Confederations Cup. They'll get a big boost from the home crowd so they will look to ride that wave to a few wins.

Brazil: As I mentioned in the previous post, Brazil should be the favorite to win in the World Cup. They're a solid team on all fronts and it'll take a perfect performance from their competition to take them down.

Spain: They broke their long standing image of an underachieving team by winning EURO 2008 and they've put up an impressive qualifying performance being the only team to win every one of their qualifying games. They're a hot team with a prolific goal scorer in David Villa and a very solid midfield. I see them continuing their dominance into the group stages.

Italy: The defending world champions are back with a seed, but this isn't the same team as we saw in 2006. It has definitely aged and has the highest average age of a team in the World Cup at 27 years and four months. They've added some youth since the last World Cup in Giuseppe Rossi who made a splash in EURO 2008. They should fare well in the group stage, but in the later stages they could run into trouble with younger and quicker teams.

Germany: After a heartbreaking finish during that epic semi-final match last World Cup, Germany has proven they can be a contender on the world stage. Now they'll have to prove it without the home crowd. They have almost the same cast of players from four years ago, but without the veteran goalkeeper.

Argentina: With the infamous Diego Maradona at the helm they have an experienced World Cup coach to help them out. On the other side, they barely qualified with a win in their last game. It'll be up to Lionel Messi to lead the team through the World Cup (I can't believe he's only 21 years old).

England: I'm always curious to see how England will do in the World Cup. They always boast great talent that play in the Premier League, but have yet to make a deep run in a tournament. As long as they play as a cohesive team, I see no reason why they can't make that late run.

France: They got a helping hand to qualify for the World Cup. Their top player behind Thierry Henry, Franck Ribéry, has been struggling with a knee injury and has missed playing time in qualifications, but should be fine by this summer. I'm going to be looking at him to be facilitating the big plays for France and if he struggles, I think France will too.

Tomorrow I'll break down Pot 2 teams.

World Cup 2010 Draw - Group Selections

2009-12-02T00:07:00.011-05:00

The stage for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa is about to be set this Friday, December 4th at noon Eastern Time. For those unfamiliar with how the groups are decided, FIFA separates all of the qualifiers into 4 "pots" based on the confederation they belong to. From there they are drawn into the groups that will play each other in the world cup.

The first pot consists of the qualifying teams based on FIFA rankings with performances in the past two finals tournaments to create a group of eight seeds plus the host of the tournament. These teams are: South Africa (the host), Brazil, Spain, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England, and France.
The second pot includes the rest of the qualifying teams from the UEFA confederation (European teams) which include: Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Switzerland, Greece, Serbia, Denmark, and Slovakia.
The third pot combines the CAF (African teams) and the CONMEBOL (South American teams) which includes: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay.
Lastly, the fourth pot combines the confederations of AFC (Oceania and Asian teams) with the CONCACAF (North and Central American teams) which have: Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, United States, Mexico, and Honduras.

For the World Cup there are 8 groups (Groups A-H). These groups will consist of one randomly selected team from each of the pots. With all that said, it'll be exciting enough to see how the draw turns out and which of the groups will be deemed the "group of death" (the group with the most talented teams).

I'll break down the teams further in my next post.

I'm extremely excited to see how the draw turns out and even more excited to see some world class soccer being played this summer.

The Best Soccer Goal Celebration

2009-11-06T15:39:00.005-05:00

I've seen goal celebrations of every variation, but I've never seen one this creative. It's by Matthew Russell of Castleton Gabriels from Rochdale. They are now called Rochdale Town as of this season.

John Wilkes Booth was a Spy

2009-10-13T13:15:00.006-04:00

My Top 10 Workout Songs

2009-08-11T00:25:00.007-04:00

Not in any particular order. Share yours if you please.

Team Fortress 2 Meets Left4Dead

2009-06-27T15:16:00.010-04:00

What would happen if Team Fortress 2 and Left4Dead met? Here's what I think it would look like (click the image for larger version).

A Scout being taken apart by a Hunter.

A Heavy takes on a horde, but may have met his match with a Tank approaching.

The Smoker wins the long range class battle over the Sniper.

A sentry versus an incoming horde.

I know there's clearly better Photoshoppers out there so if you made your own, post them in the comments or email them to hiddendecoy at yahoo dot com and I'll compile and post them all.

Iranian Elections and Protests

2009-06-15T01:11:00.005-04:00

It's unbelievable to follow what's happening in Iran between the images and video footage that have been coming out. I've been following it mostly here.

The shear numbers that have been out to protest have been incredible. Hopefully the violence stays to a minimum, but according to the information coming out of Iran, it only seems to escalating. Moussavi is said to make a speech 4PM Iranian time to address the opposition to Ahmadinejad. That will definitely be a speech to decide the direction of where the protests will turn.

Just take a look at the videos in that blog and you'll see bits of what's happening mostly in the capital and said similar protests in cities around the country.

This very well could be a turning point for Iran if there's enough show from the people to believe that the country does not believe the elections were valid. All I can hope is that the people of Iran get the freedom and privileges they deserve.

(Image from GETTY)

Photo Week - Lake Tahoe

2009-06-11T22:36:00.005-04:00

In typical fashion I post whenever I remember, but here's the continuation of photo week. After a week on spring break in Lake Tahoe and its absolutely beautiful scenery, these are my two favorite pictures I took. The one above is while traveling the road around the lake and the one below is up close along the beach, which is no easy task getting that far down.

Another Great WebComic

2009-06-07T23:33:00.005-04:00

Along with xkcd I've found a new comic that's been really funny in a strange way in some cases. AmazingSuperPowers has had quite a few good ones over their 163 comics. Here's a few that I found really funny.

1st Person Shooter

Homebrew

Where Is He?

TechCrunch Tablet - CrunchPad

2009-06-03T20:55:00.010-04:00

For a little over the last two months, TechCrunch has been slowing releasing details of their prototype for a tablet and while the initially visuals looked great, it remained to be seen if they could actually make it. Already there's photos leaked and now posted by TechCrunch of the newest release and it looks amazing (shown above).

Through their videos they released more specifications and it sounds to me like they have the hardware to support a great product. A bit later they added the updated prototype images.

It's a 12" screen with an Intel Atom processor and from the earlier prototype, 4GB of flash memory for its storage. It remains to be seen how much of that space is taken up by the operating system (Ubuntu Linux), browser (Firefox) and what else it may have on board. Hopefully it'll become equipped for adding more flash memory (SD/SDHC) which could be used for the device doubling as a multimedia platform (music and videos).

In addition, it has a camera which can be seen in the initial picture on the right side as well as a accelerometer to switch views from landscape to vertical viewing. If you hadn't noticed, there's no keyboard and in the demo, shows the virtual keyboard that it uses.

Off the bat, the immediate concern is if that 12" LCD touch screen can last a reasonable amount of time on battery life especially in something that thin. The Asus Eee's 10" inch screen lasts 9.5 hours so it's possible, but that computer isn't even close to being that thin with the monitor included. In the initial demo, it said it had been running for a few hours, but hadn't been tested to its limit.

The pad ran smoothly Hulu and YouTube streams so it looks like those components are in place and done well. It is purely running off of a wi-fi card which is nice and all, but keeping in mind the Amazon Kindle has a Sprint network card which allows it to have much better connectivity than having to find a free open hotspot when on the go. That feature could be a Kindle killer if it ends up being in there.

Lastly comes the price point. TechCrunch initially stated that they wanted to get the price to $200, but would most likely end up being priced closer to $300. Comparing that to what is currently on the market with the Kindle priced at $300 (6" black and white display) and the current netbooks that are out there, the most popular being the Asus Eee at between $300 and $400 (10" display).

Now there's more to compare than just the display size especially when there are other features each one has that the others don't.

Asus Eee addition features: 160GB HD, bluetooth, full keyboard
Amazon Kindle: Sprint card with free internet access to Wikipedia, electric paper display

So depending on your style, it can vary what you want, but overall (so far) the size and portability of the CrunchPad seems very favorable over those two. I'm a big fan of Amazon's network card in the Kindle and that could very well be a factor for me to buy the CrunchPad.

With the rumors of Apple getting into the netbook market (and already having the iPhone tap a bit of that market) and how Asus Eee's selling very well, it's definitely a clear sign that the computer market is moving to the netbook arena and look out to see more of these pop up.

Here's the images of the latest prototype.

Personally, I'm really looking forward to seeing the CrunchPad in action and if the price does stay under $300, I'm all ears.

Photo Week - Emergency Exit

2009-06-03T18:30:00.007-04:00

I've had some spare time on my hands and went through all of the pictures I've taken to post a few of my favorite.

This is one of the strangest things I've seen (click the image to see the original larger version). It's on the back of the old Purdue heating and power plant. I've wanted to search around that building just to see the lead up to that door. Hopefully some Purdue employee has a sense of humor and has Emergency Exit written on it. I can't imagine why it's there, but I'm glad it is.

Diploma Terms and Conditions

2009-05-20T10:46:00.006-04:00

I recently graduated and took my diploma and didn't think much of it at face value and was happy to move on. I took a second look at my diploma and I happened to notice some small print at the bottom that I didn't see before. I pulled the paper out from the casing and flipped it over to read this:

Is there a return policy on this?

Fortune.com 'Technology' Section Should Change Its Name To Apple Fan Club

2009-05-19T12:23:00.027-04:00

At first I thought it was merely a coincidence that Fortune's Technology section's Editor's picks were all Apple articles. I've read articles from this section for a few months and even closer noticed this trend over the last few weeks and rarely does an article unrelated to Apply appear there. I'm beginning to wonder if Philip Elmer-DeWitt is the Editor. Now this is nothing against articles about Apple nor against Philip Elmer-DeWitt. If that's his area of expertise or a particle fan of Apple related news, that's fine. I don't see how every article of his can be the Editor's Choice. Clearly this is a problem with Fortune where either they don't have good columnists writing about anything else or the editor being biased towards those articles. I go to this section for Technology news, not purely Apple news. Some people may say I'm against Apple. I enjoy good articles that have been written about Apple. A lot of those articles that are written by Philip Elmer-DeWitt are interesting and well done, but the point is, I'm interested in all technology. Fortune's variety is lacking terribly from the overall classification of 'Technology' news. Hopefully they're somehow reading this and understanding my point of view.

New Olympic Event - 2000 Stair Climb

2009-05-09T13:58:00.007-04:00

Everyone has gone through the pains of walking up a flight of stairs and at one point thinking, this is an excruciating workout! I've had this idea for years that there has to be an Olympic event for climbing 2000 stairs. Only recently I have I done any research to find there's quite the underground stair racing going on at some of the largest buildings in the world. There's even a site that records the quickest climbs of each building http://www.stairclimbingsport.com and shares my enthusiasm for this being an Olympic sport. The Sears tower is 2,109 steps which is crazy to see people complete that in under 15 minutes. When looking at the actual distance traveled vertically, it's an average of 7 inches high for each stair times 2109 steps, then divide by 12 to get 1230.25 feet. With 5280 feet in a mile, that comes up to about traveling a quarter mile straight up. Considering synchronized swimming and trampoline are Olympic sports, I think this idea has a sure shot to be a legitimate event. If you need more endorsement of it, just ask Rocky.

The More You Know

2009-05-01T20:27:00.012-04:00

After 4 years of being an electrical engineering student, you would think I'd know these math tricks, but shockingly I only knew 2 of them.

1. The 11 Times Trick

We all know the trick when multiplying by ten - add 0 to the end of the number, but did you know there is an equally easy trick for multiplying a two digit number by 11? This is it:

Take the original number and imagine a space between the two digits (in this example we will use 52:

5_2

Now add the two numbers together and put them in the middle:

5_(5+2)_2

That is it - you have the answer: 572.

If the numbers in the middle add up to a 2 digit number, just insert the second number and add 1 to the first:

9_(9+9)_9

(9+1)_8_9

10_8_9

1089 - It works every time.

2. Quick Square

If you need to square a 2 digit number ending in 5, you can do so very easily with this trick. Mulitply the first digit by itself + 1, and put 25 on the end. That is all!

252 = (2x(2+1)) & 25

2 x 3 = 6

625

3. Multiply by 5

Most people memorize the 5 times tables very easily, but when you get in to larger numbers it gets more complex - or does it? This trick is super easy.

Take any number, then divide it by 2 (in other words, halve the number). If the result is whole, add a 0 at the end. If it is not, ignore the remainder and add a 5 at the end. It works everytime:

2682 x 5 = (2682 / 2) & 5 or 0

2682 / 2 = 1341 (whole number so add 0)

13410

Let’s try another:

5887 x 5

2943.5 (fractional number (ignore remainder, add 5)

29435

22189271

4. Multiply by 9

This one is simple - to multiple any number between 1 and 9 by 9 hold both hands in front of your face - drop the finger that corresponds to the number you are multiplying (for example 9×3 - drop your third finger) - count the fingers before the dropped finger (in the case of 9×3 it is 2) then count the numbers after (in this case 7) - the answer is 27.

5. Multiply by 4

This is a very simple trick which may appear obvious to some, but to others it is not. The trick is to simply multiply by two, then multiply by two again:

58 x 4 = (58 x 2) + (58 x 2) = (116) + (116) = 232

6. Calculate a Tip

If you need to leave a 15% tip, here is the easy way to do it. Work out 10% (divide the number by 10) - then add that number to half its value and you have your answer:

15% of $25 = (10% of 25) + ((10% of 25) / 2)

$2.50 + $1.25 = $3.75

7. Tough Multiplication

If you have a large number to multiply and one of the numbers is even, you can easily subdivide to get to the answer:

32 x 125, is the same as:
16 x 250 is the same as:
8 x 500 is the same as:
4 x 1000 = 4,000

1000-Abacus

8. Dividing by 5

Dividing a large number by five is actually very simple. All you do is multiply by 2 and move the decimal point:

195 / 5

Step1: 195 * 2 = 390
Step2: Move the decimal: 39.0 or just 39

2978 / 5

step 1: 2978 * 2 = 5956
Step2: 595.6

9. Subtracting from 1,000

To subtract a large number from 1,000 you can use this basic rule: subtract all but the last number from 9, then subtract the last number from 10:

1000
-648

step1: subtract 6 from 9 = 3
step2: subtract 4 from 9 = 5
step3: subtract 8 from 10 = 2

answer: 352

10. Assorted Multiplication Rules

Multiply by 5: Multiply by 10 and divide by 2.
Multiply by 6: Sometimes multiplying by 3 and then 2 is easy.
Multiply by 9: Multiply by 10 and subtract the original number.
Multiply by 12: Multiply by 10 and add twice the original number.
Multiply by 13: Multiply by 3 and add 10 times original number.
Multiply by 14: Multiply by 7 and then multiply by 2
Multiply by 15: Multiply by 10 and add 5 times the original number, as above.
Multiply by 16: You can double four times, if you want to. Or you can multiply by 8 and then by 2.
Multiply by 17: Multiply by 7 and add 10 times original number.
Multiply by 18: Multiply by 20 and subtract twice the original number (which is obvious from the first step).
Multiply by 19: Multiply by 20 and subtract the original number.
Multiply by 24: Multiply by 8 and then multiply by 3.
Multiply by 27: Multiply by 30 and subtract 3 times the original number (which is obvious from the first step).
Multiply by 45: Multiply by 50 and subtract 5 times the original number (which is obvious from the first step).
Multiply by 90: Multiply by 9 (as above) and put a zero on the right.
Multiply by 98: Multiply by 100 and subtract twice the original number.
Multiply by 99: Multiply by 100 and subtract the original number.

Bonus: Percentages

Yanni in comment 23 gave an excellent tip for working out percentages, so I have taken the liberty of duplicating it here:

Find 7 % of 300. Sound Difficult?

Percents: First of all you need to understand the word “Percent.” The first part is PER , as in 10 tricks per listverse page. PER = FOR EACH. The second part of the word is CENT, as in 100. Like Century = 100 years. 100 CENTS in 1 dollar… etc. Ok… so PERCENT = For Each 100.

So, it follows that 7 PERCENT of 100, is 7. (7 for each hundred, of only 1 hundred).
8 % of 100 = 8. 35.73% of 100 = 35.73
But how is that useful??

Back to the 7% of 300 question. 7% of the first hundred is 7. 7% of 2nd hundred is also 7, and yep, 7% of the 3rd hundred is also 7. So 7+7+7 = 21.

If 8 % of 100 is 8, it follows that 8% of 50 is half of 8 , or 4.

Break down every number that’s asked into questions of 100, if the number is less then 100, then move the decimal point accordingly.

EXAMPLES:
8%200 = ? 8 + 8 = 16.
8%250 = ? 8 + 8 + 4 = 20.
8%25 = 2.0 (Moving the decimal back).
15%300 = 15+15+15 =45.
15%350 = 15+15+15+7.5 = 52.5

Also it’s usefull to know that you can always flip percents, like 3% of 100 is the same as 100% of 3.

35% of 8 is the same as 8% of 35.

I found this on http://listverse.com/science/10-easy-arithmetic-tricks/

If you're anything like me, you'll get lost for hours on that site checking all of the other lists they have.

Charting the Decline of the Modern American

2009-04-19T17:05:00.001-04:00

My roommate and I have been watching this trend for some time and felt it was necessary to chart the transgression of one VH1 show to the next. If I had only known how easy it was to create a TV show and then clone it 20 times. By the way, Trophy Wife sounds like it's going to be a winner.