Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 111)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, we meet the very interesting Lloyd "Lindybeige", so named because he's terribly fond of beige and the Lindy Hop. Beyond this he spends an awful lot of time thinking about things and also doing things. I don't always agree with the thoughts he thinks, but most are pretty interesting. Here are some of the things he's thought about:

• First, he has some thoughts about cloaks. Largely that they're terribly useful and possibly there is some reason that people used them for the most of human history.
• Next, he thinks about leg hold traps and how it's fairly likely that historians keep holding them upside down. I don't have any expertise to assess his theory, but I do have to say that it looks to me like Occam's Razor applies well here, what's the simplest way to use the object that doesn't require us to make up anything else to make it work.
• Finally, Lloyd thinks about quick draw bazookas ... or what people actually did with two-handed swords, when they actually used them.

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 110)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, we talk technology and learning, spiders and raindrops.

• First, on SciShow Talk Show, Hank Green talks to Professor Rick Hughes about education and technology. I particularly like the concept of the "Comfortable Consumer vs Competent Creator". I think it's difficult for students in Computer Science to distinguish between the things that are part of the underlying mathematics and logic of computation and the things that are part of the computational structure's people have created. It's also difficult then for students to know when they need to create new things for themselves and when they should use the tools that already exist.
• Next Simon's Cat encounters a spider, and comes out quite a bit better than Simon ... or the spider.
• Finally, Nataly Dawn does a beautiful cover of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head." I think the cover is beautiful, but as a Calgarian, I'm a little confused by the song. Usually raindrops are hurled at my face by powerful wind or are snow. Still, this one makes me happy to listen (and makes me think of lemonade). 

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 109)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, we sing our victory, answer questions and then absolutely nothing creepy happens at all.

• First, let's celebrate our victories with Mr. Smooth McGroove singing the victory fanfare from Final Fantasy VII.
• Next, remember when John Green made a movie? No, not that movie. No, not that one either (I'm not even sure that one's real). Yeah, that's the one. Anyway, here he answers questions about it.
• Finally, Scott Tumilty talks about some good Halloween video games on Geek and Sundry Vlogs. Nothing to worry about here ... no ... not at all ...

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 108)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, we face life and death, obsession and the limited resources of language.

• First, we have Brentalfloss's Zidane to Vivi original song. I was going to say that I don't remember liking the music to Final Fantasy IX so much, but then I realized that (I'm pretty sure) this is 100% original Brentalfloss composition. Yay 100% Brentalfloss composition.
• Next, Kevin Gisi talks about his obsessions and then invents a British person to read the news... 
• Finally, Gunarolla was asked to sing a song without repeating words, which he could do without any detectable problem at all...