Pop Culture

don’t end up turning in yours… With the rising cost of living today, you’d be forgiven for thinking that when you were no longer living, you could save yourself money. According to Sun Life, funeral costs have risen 70% since 2004, which means that index-linked funeral plans- even where they use the higher RPI measure of inflation- just can’t keep up with the cost of popping your clogs. Now Which! have formalised their beef with peddlers of funeral savings plans because, when it comes to it, they might not actually pay for your funeral, which seems contrary to their stated aim.  Funeral plans are also not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA- the new FSA), which means that grieving relatives who are left high and dry have nowhere to turn as there are no specific rules governing suitability or performance of these plans. Which!! analysed a range of funeral plans from the key providers and found: ·  Although all the plans guarantee to cover the funeral director’s costs in full, many funeral plans, particularly for a burial, do not fully cover other important costs like the doctors’ fees, and fees for church, minister, organists, choir, grave digging and burial plots. ·  Most funeral plans make no contribution towards optional items such as the venue or catering for a wake, family flowers or a memorial. ·  Only the Co-operative and Family Funerals Trust offer to guarantee burial costs, but neither include the burial plot, one of the priciest aspects of a funeral which costs on average £725, but potentially more. ·  Funeral plans can be a better option if you are planning to be cremated as Dignity, Age UK, the Co-operative and Family Funerals Trust all guarantee to cover the core costs of a cremation. ·  A funeral plan from Dignity and Age UK sold in 1998 would have left relatives with an average shortfall of £1,200 in 2012 if a burial had been chosen. The only person at Which!!! Who has the power of speech, Richard Lloyd, said: “People should make sure they are fully aware of any exclusions that apply before investing money in a funeral plan, to ensure your loved ones are not left with an unexpected hefty bill. “We also want to see funeral plans fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to make sure people get what they paid for.” Still, having something put aside to give you a good send off has to be better than nothing at all- so long as the plan coughs up when you croak it it has to be a good thing., not a grave error. And in any case, you won’t care, because you’ll be dead.

What's more summery than watermelon? Watermelon Oreos, of course! Unlike some of the other odd Oreo flavors, Dinosaur Dracula says these ones are actually pretty good, though they taste more like watermelon Bubblicious than the actual fruit. Some people would say that's even better though.Link Via The Consumerist

Sahily's right eyelid looks just like the poster for Star Trek Into Darkness. Impressive! I can't wait for the sequel.Link -via When Geeks Wed

Every once in awhile a new brand comes along that has it all going on. Impressive product design, packaging, branding, even a well designed website with functioning e-commerce, good photographs and plenty of useful information. That's the case with TYLT, a California wireless accessory design and development company that has combined innovation with style. Current product offerings include power products, audio products and protective cases. above: examples of the package design for TYLT by NewDealDesign Established in 2011, TYLT focuses on the world of mobile devices, providing you with about 20 convenient products for your mobile phones and tablets. Like many of you, I'd never heard of TYLT until they sent me three of their hip products to review with the understanding that if I did not deem them worthy, they would not be featured on this blog. No money was paid to me in exchange for a review, and believe me, none was necessary. A big thank you to TYLT for the awesome products shown and reviewed later in this post. above: TYLT's home page When the POWERPLANT portable battery pack, the YCHARGE, a dual USB Car Charger and TUNZ, a rechargeable bluetooth speaker arrived at my doorstep - one look and I knew they were gonna be blog-worthy. Once I got past the beautiful packaging created by NewDealDesign LLC, and tried out the products, my enthusiasm only increased. I'm not alone, TYLT already boasts 3 CES Innovations Award winners at CES 2013 including: the Y-CHARGE Car Charger, the BAND Car Charger and the BAND Travel Charger. And reputable tech blogs such as Engadget, Slash Gear, CNET Asia and Tech Crunch have all lauded various products from TYLT. The POWERPLANT: Small, portable, lightweight (just over 5 ounces) and stylish, this is a 5,200 mAh battery back-up charger that has the capacity to fully charge your smartphone twice. And with multiple ports (Universal USB and either Apple Lightning, Apple 30-Pin, and Micro USB versions available) it can charge more than one device simultaneously. It packs the power it claims to and works with all Apple mobile products and Android mobile products. The appearance and functionality pf the TYLT Powerplant do not disappoint. Tylt Powerplant video: Prices $69.99- $89.99, buy it here The Y-CHARGE (2.1 AMP): This little lightweight device is intelligently designed to charge two smartphones at once (or one tablet) in your car. The split Y-shape that places the USB ports on each side so that the driver and passenger can each easily plug in their mobile phones to charge them simultaneously. The silicone covered device weighs less than an ounce and comes in the four colors (bright apple green, bright red, bright blue or black) that appear on several of TYLT's products. The YCHARGE is also available in a 4.2 version and with a two foot Syncable. TYLT Y-CHARGE video: Price $24.99 Buy it here The TUNZ Rechargeable Bluetooth Speaker: A nice looking compact wireless Bluetooth speaker equipped with two x 3-watt drivers and a passive radiator for exceptional bass, TUNZ has a built in noise cancelling microphone making it perfect for phone calls as well as music. The 2800 mAh battery takes about 6-7 hours to charge and can chat or play music (with the volume at 50%) for 20 hours -that's 10 hours more than the Jawbone Jambox. The design allows you to seamlessly switch from music to hands-free calling and the touch-free controls for Volume, Play, Pause, Answer & End Calls are very convenient. The speaker comes with three different colored (black, blue and red) vibration-cancelling silicone bands that also function as an attractive stand. And with a 1Amp output Universal USB charging port you can use it to charge other external devices. The sound is impressive, delivering volumes up to 80dB. It's also NFC Enabled - includes Tagstand NFC launcher App for Android. TUNZ is priced less than the MSRP for the comparable

Back to Reality by ntesignThe way I see it, if you're gonna mash up pop culture references on a T-shirt, why not do it with some style? What you have to do is start at the absolute basic, like ntesign did with this Back to Reality T-shirt over at the NeatoShop.Check out ntesign's Facebook page (give 'im a like, wontcha?), then head on over to his NeatoShop page for more neat designs: LinkThe Ring BearerRetro ParkKobayashi CupsThe God Particle View more designs by ntesign | More Funny T-shirts - Thank you in advance for your business! Your purchase helps support indie artists as well as this blog.Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop, earn generous royalties, and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

You know how annoying it can be sometimes trying to buy a gift for your always hot-under-the-collar hard working dad or boss who loves their gadgets? Well the perfect gift just made it out of Japan’s Thanko. These guys specialise … . Continue Reading Chill out your hot-headed dad with Thanko’s USB Necktie Cooler 3Section: Other StuffTags: Tie, Usb