As an aspiring electronics geek, I am still collecting cool tools and techniques for my projects. While working on a weekend project, I stumbled upon a treasure trove containing meticulous (almost obsessively complete) advice regarding soldering and circuit board design. These videos were the perfect addition to my education, and even though I already had halfway-decent soldering technique, I have definitely improved as a result of the videos. It even inspired me to get some new tools, like a needle-tipped soldering iron and desoldering wick.
So, unless you’ve been formally trained in an EE course, I really recommend the Tangent Tutorials series of videos. Excellent work, Tangent!
TT #1: Basic Soldering Equipment – My advice on the basic equipment necessary for DIY electronics work. 27 minutes.
TT #2: Basic Soldering Techniques – How to solder thru-hole components, plus basic advice for all sorts of soldering. 9 minutes.
TT #3: Surface Mount Soldering Techniques – How to solder surface-mount components using only basic DIYer equipment. Covers SO-8 chips and 2-lead parts in 1206 and larger size packages. 14 minutes.
A video from the reunion show at Hampton Coliseum. This one is of First Tube in its entirety. What an amazing show. Unbelievable setlist from a well practiced band. For all of you who were not there, this is a taste of what went down inside the mothership on 03/06/09. More videos to follow.
It’s time for the annual RTFA Hilarious Animal Roundup. There isn’t any better way to confront the new year than by comparing ourselves to lesser creatures. I’ve gathered that quite a few people are happy to close the book on 2008, but things aren’t so bad! …just imagine yourself standing next to the animals in the following videos, or better yet, imagine that you are the animals. I think you’ll eventually agree that 2008 was just fine, and that 2009 will be even better.
Without further ado, here is the RTFA Hilarious Animal Roundup. You have been granted 8 opportunities to LOL, so enjoy!
1. Goat licking electric fence
I don’t speak “goat” but there are two things going on in this video. First, the goat makes some sort of noise each and every time he licks the fence, which to me indicates some sort of protest. Second, though, the goat keeps going back for more, and is actually licking his lips! What, then, do the sounds mean? Protest or delight?
2. Long-crowing roosters
Cock-a-doodle-dooooooooooooooo…oooo…0000!!!1 I’ve read on the Internets about people who would kill their neighbor’s chicken if it did this, but I can’t think of anything else at the moment except LOL. How does a chicken incite someone to commit murder? HAHAHAHA! That’s what I’m thinking, you see, instead of murderous thoughts. These roosters look pretty happy, and I promise you it’s not intentional. In fact, they probably think they’re totally sexy to the chicken ladies, on the basis of how long they can crow. Can you blame them for trying?
3. Exploding Whale
…and what would a hilarious animal lineup be without the Exploding Whale? This video is a classic, but the surprise star animal isn’t the whale – it’s the humans. When a beached whale dies on the shore, it poses a nearly unsolvable riddle to the people who must deal with it. The only reasonable solution? Dynamite.
My favorite quote: “well, I’m confident that it will work.” I particularly like the appeal to the crabs and birds for assistance with the cleanup job, because those animals can doubtless be counted on for their scavenger qualities. …but can you actually imagine the scene, when it is overrun with crabs? I would love to see some video of that. Another choice quote: “here come the pieces.” Pieces, indeed. I now know the sound of “raining whale.”
4. cow touching an electric fence
Again, the star is actually the human who is recording the video. Is this a little abstract? I think not. There is great joy to be had by deconstructing all visual media, from still photographs to youtube videos. We must always consider what the photographer is trying to communicate with their artwork. In this case, I appreciate the slight, muffled chuckling from the videographer, and I am not ashamed to be amused by another human’s amusement.
5. Fainting Goats
Fainting goats are a real breed of goat. It’s a genetic condition where their muscles tense up when they are startled, or according to the video, when they are excited about being fed. Watch for the moment when the entire herd faints after being scared by an umbrella. I do appreciate the information from the very knowledgeable goat breeder, who seems to have a very humane affection for her goats. All the same, this is one of the least adaptive adaptations I have ever seen in an animal that could be nothing but perennial predator-bait.
6. Chicken Police stop rabbit fight
You can never trust those unruly rabbits to fight nice without destroying the yard. Fortunately, the chicken police are on the beat. The showdown is tense – very tense. The chickens are deadly serious about their pacifism. And next time you punk rabbits want to fight, don’t do it on the chickens’ watch.
7. Ninja Cat
Finally, the famous ninja cat that doesn’t move; it mysteriously teleports closer and closer until it attacks. This wouldn’t really be a hilarious Internet video lineup without at least one cat, and out of the universe of cats, there are a lot of choices. I suppose the reason this video rose to the top is the way the cat slightly tilts its head, as if it were curious/innocent about its teleportation abilities. The emotional dis-congruence between its expression and actions is pure comic gold.
Video of happy man vigorously swinging baby around room guy swinging baby baby swing swing baby
This video has been on the Internets for a while now, but it’s just so insane that I had to finally post it. Er, no – the reason I had to post it comes from this article:
A Queensland man has been charged for re-publishing on a video-sharing site a viral video of a man swinging a baby around like a rag doll.
The controversial three-minute video had already been published widely across the internet and shown on American TV news shows. The clip can still be found online today.
Chris Illingworth, 60, a father of four from Maroochydore, thought he would share it with fellow users of Liveleak, a site similar to YouTube but focused on news and current events. In two years, he has uploaded hundreds of videos to Liveleak.
His home was raided on Sunday, November 30, by Queensland Police from Task Force Argos, which specialises in combating child pornography and child groomers.
He was charged with using the internet to access and publish child-abuse material and is scheduled to appear in court in Maroochydore on December 18.
Basically, this video has nearly been eradicated from the Internet. That’s right – almost no video sites still provide it, and it is somewhat disturbing that any content could be effectively filtered from the world. I think it’s critical to be able to watch this video, if only because it is creating such a stir.
And PEOPLE, this video isn’t obvious abuse. If the kid were crying, it would be obvious. Instead, the kid is laughing. Therefore, it’s ambiguous. Since it’s ambiguous, it’s ripe for discussion. Censoring the video from the world gets in the way of discussion.
UPDATE 2008-12-08: Lest there be any confusion, I’m not the one who uploaded this video. I don’t know who did, but let’s NOT go on a witch hunt for that person/robot…
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