Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 106)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, we get excited about Mars, Star Wars and the Internet!

• First, on Sci Show, Hank Green gets excited about finding water in the soil of Mars. It's funny then that as I'm posting this, we just discovered that there are flows of liquid water across the surface of Mars. (So you can watch Hank get excited about water on mars again in about 75 more favourites posts. 
• Next the people at Sincerely Truman, lay down some rules for Mr. Abrams on what's essential to make Star Wars good. I think the rules are pretty good ones, and I'm cautiously optimistic that the new movies will follow these. 
• Finally, Lauren Fairweather reminds us that the Internet can be really awesome.

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 105)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, we find out how the world works and then choose to ignore it anyway.

• First Henry from MinutePhysics and Derek from Veritasium team up to explain what's really going on with magnets. 
• And then, Mr. Smooth McGroove defies all laws of physics to bring us the sounds of Sonic speeding across a glacier.

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 104)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, fight bugs and we look at how to come together, both online and offline.

• First, in a follow up to a video his about what to do with YouTube, Kevin Gisi, takes a more serious look at what the options are to replace YouTube. He may not have had what he needed in pocket, but I am glad (as I said last time) that Subbable and Patreon came to exist and while they haven't solved all of the problems I think it's better for creators and fans today than it was back then.
• Next, Adam Savage shows off his favourite video game and discovers that as soon as anyone films you playing a game your skill immediately drops off by about 90%.
• Finally, The City of Calgary, put together a video to thank all of the volunteers and the city that came out to help put peoples homes and the city back together after the flood here in 2013.  Not going to lie, I may have cried into my coffee cup rewatching this one.

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 103)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, we have to move, have to run and have to sing!

• First, on Periodic Videos we watch as Prof. Poliakoff prepares to leave one of the labs his group has used for a very long time. As a person who gets very attached to places and things I understand his feelings. Even when it's the right thing to do sometimes moving on is hard.
• Next,  let Mr. Smooth McGroove pick up your spirits as he races to eat everything he can see.
• Finally,  because doing largely unrelated projects when you should be working on your thesis, is totally foreign to me *cough cough*, I'd like to present AcapellaScience singing about String Theory to the tune of Bohemian Rhapsody. 

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 102)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, we go to a dark place, a duck place and a community place.

• First, Mr. Smooth McGroove takes us to the dark world. It's a dark place and menacing.
• Next, Kevin Gisi, tells the old programmer's parable about the rubber duck. Rubber duck debugging is important and I think he make a good point that it's worth employing in other parts of life.
• Finally, Kevin talks about how the "YouTube Community" needs to think about YouTube, not itself a community, but simply as a platform. Hank Green's Subbable approached this although didn't quite get the traction I think it deserved. I still think this is a problem on the Internet, too many people are relying on companies to form their communities rather than taking that control themselves.

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 101)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, we say the words that we know, stompa our feet and play crazy songs at all hours of the night.

• First, John Green, illustrates the United State's inability to understand hats. I'd say more, but I need to go get the car out of the parkade.
• Next, it's time to get up and Stompa Your Feet along with Serena Ryder.
• Finally, Hank Green and friends prove that 3AM is definitely the best time of day to play Louie Louie. 

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 100)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, we invent colour, eat cereal and follow the whims of Nerdfighteria.

• First, Mr. Smooth McGroove brings vibrancy and colour to a black and white (yellow?) world, singing the Muda Kingdom Theme from Super Mario Land.
• Next, Mr. Charlie McDonnell talk about whether or not it's worth it to spend ten minutes of your life watching him eat cereal. Well that and the worth of how we spend our time doing anything.
• Finally, Mr. Hank Green, does... things...

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 99)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, we find out what the Ze Frank do, get reflective on sea and fire and then do our very best not to drop our punch cards.

• First, the question comes up from time to time: What is the Ze Frank? Fortunetly there is a video from the Super Carlin Brothers that answers.
• Next, CalebElijah continues through Xenogears, now playing Bonds of Sea and Fire.
• Finally, from Computerphile, Professor Brailsford talks about the exciting days of programming on punch cards.

August 2015 Project Update Post

Once again I've been slow getting things done, although I did at least manage to take a vacation and am now involved in "serious business" redeveloping a course for my department. That's taken up quite a bit of time from everything in the last little while. So taking that into account it's time to reset the project goals and see where things stand. Mostly right now, I'm trying to keep my energy up and get excited and make things.

• Project 5 - SNES Coasters
• I still haven't put the backing on on the new, larger, test coaster. Once I get that done then it's just a matter of testing it out and seeing how it compares to the older ones. Getting the backing on will be a little effort but once that's done it's just a matter of using the thing for a while. Hopefully I'll be able to post a full update on October 2, 2015.
• Project 12 - Chrono Trigger Sprites
• I've done most of the planning for my next sprite. I need to check I have enough beads, and then it's just a matter of putting those beads together. Hopefully will be done the next phase on September 18, 2015.
• Project 14 - Sketch Fiction
• I haven't written much in the past couple of months. I'm going to try to push myself to write a little each day which should make it easy to push through 5 more quick sketches. Hopefully I'll have all five up by, October 30, 2015.