With all the devastating news about Hurricane Matthew, maybe I should stick to something light today. There’s a You Tube video out there from Australia. These videos show snakes in a pool! Snakes in a pool!
In Queensland, Australia, a lady named Fiona Sheen showed off her swimming pool. But not for a party or TV show. There are two male pythons fighting in her pool. They fight for the affections of a female snake that’s nearby. The pythons goal isn’t to kill each other, like they do in some animal kingdoms. However, the fight is a test of strength. The one with the most strength mates with the female snake.
This wasn’t a one time, or one day occurrence. This backyard snake fight went on for well over a week. Sheen has 13 You Tube videos to cover it. In one video, Sheen sounds a little annoyed when she says, “Not again.” But she’s never fearful. There’s never a since that she’s in danger. I find that odd because the python is one of the most dangerous breeds of snake in the world. In fact, on one video, Sheen jokes, “Is the pool heated?” It’s almost like she’s now entertaining the snakes as guest. Since September 27, some of these videos have over 71,000 views.
That’s the beauty, and sometimes ugliness, of You Tube. Not only does it showcase human behavior, but animal behavior too. Fiona Sheen’s videos show human and animals aren’t that far apart geographically. They’re not far apart culturally, either. How many times have we argued over the same woman, or the same guy? How many times have we as humans competed over a potential date? Have you and someone else had a crush on the same person? That’s what’s happening between these two snakes in a pool. There’s a link of these snake fights in this article (second paragraph). Who do you think will win?
We all know the iPhone 7 is the first smartphone without a headphone jack. One You Tube vlogger literally drills a hole to create a homemade jack. He then plays music on it like it was nothing. Don’t you do that. Drilling holes in your phone will cause permanent damage. Don’t know what trick photography he used, but commons sense should tell you not to drill holes in any smartphone. There was the scratch and bend test. This phone’s scratch level is 6. That means it’s durable enough, but it’s good to get some screen protection.
The abuse intensifies. A man threw his phone out of flying helicopter. It still worked! The screen was only moderately damaged, but the phone still worked! One shot his iPhone 7 with a .50 caliber rifle. The slow motion is really cool. The battery started smoking as soon as the bullet forced it to the ground. Another vlogger put the iPhone 7 through some water tests, since it’s supposed to be water resistant. He threw the phone in water a meter deep for 30 minutes. But wait…there’s more. He jumps in a lake with the iPhone 7. The phone still works.
This should go without saying: Don’t try these things at home! Remember, you paid $650 for this phone. That’s an investment you don’t want to throw away. But I am awed at how much this phone can take. This phone survived a helicopter drop and a jump in the lake. It had better. Look at how much it costs. But use some common sense too. Do you really think even the mighty iPhone 7 will survive getting shot? I admit, it’s cool to watch, but no phone will survive a rifle blast. Do you think the Apple iPhone 7 survives torture tests?
India is one of the fastest growing tech markets in the world today. Google, the world’s biggest tech company, prepares to better serve India’s population. Google India has already reduced high-speed data. Google’s VP of Chrome,?Rahul Ro-Chowdhury, wants to do so much more. Google India shows off expansion.
Ro-Chowdhury wants to conserve data by offering apps and features, particularly on Chrome for Android users. Such features and apps include offline Google maps and You Tube Go. You Tube Go gives users better control of video downloads. It requires very little data, Google India’s long term goal. You Tube Go helps India’s ?make the Internet more accessible. Recently, Google offered free WiFi in train stations. It’s working. Over 1.5 million people used it in 19 train stations. As of now, Google has free WiFi in 33 train stations. This program is called Google Station. They hope to expand free WiFi to other public facilities: cafes, restaurants, malls, football (soccer) stadiums.
The expansion addresses the language barrier. In India, 12 of Google Translate’s supported languages are Indic. But Google’s AI language translation can only communicate in English. While English is an important language in India, less than 20% of the population can speak it or understand it. Furthermore, there are 22 official languages in India. The most spoken on these is Hindi. But by the end of 2016, Hindi support will be available.
Why am I talking about India? It’s the second highest populated country in the world. It’s becoming a technical powerhouse. If the global tech world is going to get stronger, they need India. Some say in the next couple of decades, India will surpass China in population growth. No wonder why they want to conserve high-speed data. If too many people use high-speed data in a nation this densely populated, the Web will probably shut down. Free WiFi in India is highly needed. Many in India still struggle financially. This service would ease a lot of burden. Do you think India’s expansion is even worth Americans’ time?
First came the smartphone. Then came the smartwatch. Then came the virtual reality craze. What will they think of next? A Canadian technology company called Thalmic Labs already thought of something. And they’re getting plenty of support. This revolutionary wearable technology gets millions in venture capital.
Thalmic Labs’ has a technology piece called the Myo. You wear the Myo on your arm. This armband uses electricity generated by your arm muscles. With this, you can control devices like computers, smartphones and drones. In one You Tube video, Myo users do other normal things with the armband, like teach a class and play video games. You can buy a Myo wristband for around $149. ?Thalmic Labs announced they received over $120 million in funds.
These funds come from big tech names and banking names. Intel, Amazon and Fidelity have contributed a combined $120 million. Amazon invests millions in voice control technology. Maybe their generous contribution to Thalmic Labs will persuade them to assist Amazon in that cause. ?Intel leads the tech world in microchip technology. They’re obsessed with taking wearable technology to the next level. Do they think Thalmic Labs can aid their cause? In fact, Intel’s New Technology Group Senior VP Josh Walden praises Thalmic Labs for their technology breakthroughs.
Thalmic Labs started in Waterloo/Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Their main headquarters are still there. They also have offices in San Francisco and Waterloo, Iowa. They employee a combined 100 people, approximately. But I notice none of these companies say anything about Myo. They say nothing about investing in the making, promotion, or selling of Myo. And Myo could be Thalmic Lab’s top selling product. It could make them so many millions they won’t even need venture contributions anymore. But that’s not where the focus is. It should be, but it isn’t. The focus seems to be using Thalmic Labs to promote these mega companies’ own agenda, like RFID technology and/or voice control. ?If I were Thalmic, I’d take the money with glee and thanks, but I’d advise them to help me with Myo. Help me make, promote, and sell this revolutionary product. What would you do?
Guess where the majority of American adults get most of their news from? You guessed, it, social media sites.
According to the Pew Research Center, 62% of Americans get news on social media. That’s up from 49% back in 2012. In fact, one out of five say they often get their news from social media. Reddit and Facebook lead the charge. Nearly 70% of Reddit users say they get their news there, while 66% of Facebook users get their news there. Twitter came in third with 59%. The surprising statistic is You Tube. Of all You Tube subscribers, only 21% say they get their news there. That’s surprising to me because there are many, many alternative news sites and sources on You Tube. There’s quite a bit of overlap here as well. More than a fourth of Americans get their news from two social media sites. And 10% say they get their news from three or more social media outlets. Adults age 30-49 are the most likely to use social media for news, while those over 65 are less likely.
This is why Facebook needs to be careful with us and we need to be careful with Facebook. Facebook needs to do a better job letting news from all political sides get a fair shot at being broadcast. And we need to do a better job discerning what’s real and what’s not. There have been many, many hoaxes over the years, from joke news to celebrity death hoaxes. Yes, there’s more social media than there was four years ago, so it’s easier to use this as a credible news source. But I think people are sick and tired of mainstream media. Did you know over 90% of all mainstream media is owned by six or five corporations? Social media allows people to see real news from other people’s perspective. Personally, I’m a fan of You Tube alternative news sites. Maybe that’s why I’m surprised You Tube doesn’t rank higher here. What is your favorite social media sites to get news?
This one has to do with a swimming pool and dry ice. Dry ice is usually used for food storage and preservation, fighting mosquitoes, removing floor tile, even make your own root beer. Famous You Tube video producer Crazy Russian Hacker conducted an experiment. He put 30 pounds of dry ice in a cooler. With gloves on, he crushed the dry ice. After almost dropping and spilling it, he dumps it in his backyard swimming pool. The pool bubbles up like a jacuzzi and there is a foggy mist covering the pool. Crazy Russian Hacker himself describes it as, “It looks like a volcano underwater.” He admits it was a windy day, and that might have added to the effect. In scientific terms, when dry ice hits the water, the water turned the solid into a gas. I would have love to seen him at least put his foot in the water, but that didn’t happen. Crazy Russian Hacker is known for his unconventional experiments, from food hacks to science discoveries. The man even offers tips to survive a zombie apocalypse.
And this one was a huge hit. As of this writing, Crazy Russian Hacker’s dry ice pool experiment has nearly seven million views in four days! That’s even more views than Candace Payne has. Then again, Crazy Russian Hacker has nearly 7.4 million subscribers. And dry ice experiments have been done on You Tube before, but never got this many hits or publicity. Plus, I learned other things, both from his channel and about dry ice. I had no idea dry ice could be used for so many issues. What are your favorite You Tube channels to learn from?
