Non-Music YouTube Videos

We all could use improved skill at recognizing these…

Also serves as a fairly extreme example of the “no wasted time” sort of approach to YT informational videos. I’d have enjoyed seeing her take the odd breath. But - nice job!

Seems like we’re seeing more of this as a reaction to the folks who have fancy intros, tell us up front all about what they are going to talk about (even though the title of the clip got us there in the first place), say “let’s get right to it” and then say, “but first…let me try and sell you something”, followed by “so, without further ado”…typically followed by yet more ado. This is because the algorithms favor the holding of eyeballs for longer periods. As do your advertisers.

Apologies for another non-music YT video, but this is a fabulous animation. This maps object orbiting the center of our galaxy, which is now known to have a hefty black hole.

Contrary to many animations of its ilk, which can be moving at utterly unimaginable speed over incomprehensible distances, this one I can ALMOST get my head around. Time is about 2 years per second, and note the distance scale lower right - 10 light days. Like I said - almost :thinking:

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Who threw the lit cigarette out the window?
Chas

For sure. For anybody living in this neighborhood, things are not going well. Puts things in perspective, so to speak. We COULD be plummeting into a black hole… :man_shrugging:t2:

For a fully comprehensible-ish view, frame this up (zoom in) so you see primarily the sun and the Earth. Tap on the sun and hit play. Then watch and wait for 8 minutes while light, at 186,000mps/300 kiloklicks ps, traverses the 93 million miles/150m km to Earth. I still haven’t watched it all the way through. It takes too long! :stuck_out_tongue:

As accustomed as we are to thinking light is like, rully, rully fast - and the sun is, well, Right There (points up at it) - I found this an enlightening view. And I’ve been aware the sun was 8 light minutes away most of my life, as I had a radio astronomer for a Freshman Comp teacher.

I too, enjoy the mind bending aspects of space-time, Einstein theories, quantum theory and all that “stuff”…I’m a kid of the Apollo era and I find this moment in time to be on par with the early Russian and US space exploits.
That being said, have you ever read Brian Greene’s “The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality” ? Truly fascinating, relatively accessible [no pun intended], and a great choice for brain calisthenics.

I’ve really enjoyed Brian Greene’s books the latest was not as good as the previous works.

String Theory doesn’t seem to be holding up all that well. My son and I watched his shows about it on PBS around 15 years ago. He then got in trouble in elementary school when the teacher asked what the smallest things were. Others said “atoms”, but he apparently insisted on “strings”. Actually had to go in and explain to them that he wasn’t trying to be difficult, and that there was (theoretically) such a thing. It was always the younger teachers, fresh out of college who thought they knew everything.

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One of the best lectures I’ve heard recently about statistics, expertise, and bias. I absolutely recommend it.

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A very good lecture.
Chas

OK, so my son is in Paris with his girlfriend, it’s his birthday, you’re in the middle of nowhere with no signal and want to send him something. The only people I could find for miles were four Chinese people, who told me they worked in the embassy in Washington, but given the range of cameras I suspect they may have been in intelligence. Anyway, they were cooperative, eventually I got a connection and the rest is history. It certainly qualifies as non-music.

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Looking forward to this Net flick, “Mank”.

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A little perspective. This guy has a great channel and if you’re into history at all it’s worth checking out. I am interested in WW1 especially so this ties in to what I like watching

Agree.
I’ve watched many of his videos. I’m always impressed by the facts and historical context he employs.

While we’re talking about history…let’s talk about food and history.
…sort of like Jeff Spicole …: “Learning about Cuba, and having some food.”"
This guy’s videos, started as a result of quarantine in early March, are quite fascinating and entertaining.

Back in the late 80’s, there was a restaurant in NY’s East Village called “Cave Canem” whose menu was derived from the collected recipes of Apicius - from back in Roman times. It did quite well until it didn’t, as is the fate of all restaurants. This channel covers an interesting variety of ancient dishes and ingredients.

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10 minutes of fun distraction if you haven’t seen it:

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Pretty long winded. The brass ring is to be found at 4:27…

Weed, the whole point was to NOT cut to the chase, and have a politics-free 10 (*) minutes :joy: There was more to it than just the vinyl part.


This software Fascism ignites my ire to the degree that I’m organizing a local Friday Night Molitov-cocktail-throwing party at PS Audio. Literally - AT PS Audio. Though maybe against a big concrete wall in the back in the parking lot, then we’ll grill weenies over the flames and drink cocktails.

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It just wasn’t interestin’, IMHO. I guess it was more a truth in advertising thang. No weed here, just wee-dee-wop ; like a trumpet.