Snippets: 8 April 2013

Escape from North Korea, crossing in the EPL, how potato chips are made

Snippets: 8 April 2013
Snippets: 8 April 2013

Defecting from North Korea is increasingly common and here is an account on how one person did it twice. The English Premier League has been known for good crosses made popular by Beckham. See how each team fares on the crossing charts. Potato chips are awesome. What is more awesome is watching the process in which they are made. The western sphere of influence is understandably strong in pushing economic and political ideals, but are all of them valid? Lastly, learn how to use an audio equalizer the way pros do it.

 

#1: Escape from North Korea

The spotlight remains on the Korean peninsular with more and more people interested in the regime. Here is an account by Hyeonseo Lee who had to make two escape attempts – one for herself and one for her family. She details the events on this TED talk and it is an absolutely riveting story. [via TED]

 

#2: Crossing in the Premier League

Watching Arsenal has made me believe that the Gunners are one of the worst teams when it comes to both dealing with and providing crosses. Apparently, it is close to the truth. Arsenal is the second worst team in the league in terms of crossing success. Out of every 10 crosses, only 1 or 2 actually reach our players. Find out how other teams stand and who are the best (and worst) English crossers. [via Daily Mail]

 

#3: How Potato Chips are Made

I love potato chips. Potato chips are items that go with nearly every kind of food possible. You can have chips as side dishes in all three major meals or simply as snacks. In the past, manufacturing potato chips required plenty of manual labor. Expectedly, this is automated now. You probably have in your mind a giant cutting and sorting machine but this manufacturer has the entire process automated. Cameras and jet blowers are in the mix. Chip lovers will enjoy this. [via Tested]

 

#4: Wanted: Arab Tom Friedmans

There are many economic and political models in the world. Unsurprisingly, most of them are driven by western scholars that vigorously promote a free market and democracy. But how well suited are such policies for other regions? This editorial questions New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman on pushing his world view of the Middle East. [via Aljazeera]

 

#5: Equalize Sound Levels Down for Better Quality

Equalizers are a godsend especially if you have a low quality sound system. You can dramatically make your hardware sound better by turning certain frequencies up. But wait, that’s the wrong way of doing it.  You should turn frequencies that you don’t like down instead of frequencies that you like up. This is one way of tuning audio to perfection while ensuring no distortion. [via Lifehacker]