ROLEY

Tag: YouTube

  • Monday, July 22nd, 2024

    Anything important?

    I’ve been off celebrating the wife’s birthday and our 30th anniversary, so I didn’t get in until very late on Sunday night. When we’re in the car driving for long distances (OK, you may not consider DC a long distance but I do), I generally listen to podcasts, the very fine New Wave Essentials Playlist on Apple Music, or some kind of synthwave radio station on Apple or YouTube. It wasn’t until very late that I heard the news that Joe Biden decided to step away from re-election.

    I mean, hate on the synthwave all you want, but I haven’t heard wall to wall coverage saying the same thing for 48 hours. I’ve heard Moog synthesizers saying the same thing for 24. One of those is decidedly better.

    A note about the 2023 Buick Envision, which we rented instead of me driving Jonathan Livingston SUV. Great car, though it should be said I have a VERY soft space for GM, Pontiac and Buick especially. That said, Not enough space in the back for travel, especially if there’s more than two. This is not a family vehicle. We did the grocery shopping before we left, and we were JUST able to get the weekly haul back there. The only other thing I did not like about the car was the center armrest compartment. It was split in half longways, like a split top hot-dog bun, and opened that way, so the door was still ‘in the way’. Loved everything else about this SUV. One improvement I’d make is to make the compartment underneath the climate control—where the USB and Power ports are—I’d make the bottom plate a MagSafe charger. That way, I could use CarPlay and keep the phone out of sight and mind. I should note that this was my first experience using CarPlay, and my next car must have it.

    On a related note, as I returned the Envision, there was a late model blue Dodge Challenger outside. Had I known I could have rented one of those, I’d…well, I’d probably be in a Fairfax County Jail but I would have had a shit load of fun before I got arrested.

    Coming Attractions

    One other thing that’s happening this week is my hatching day, and while I rarely care too much about it or even draw attention to it, I’ve been giving some thought about the next year of my life and what I want to accomplish. Not to put too fine a point on it, but I’d like to be a bit more regular with posting here, so I will try. The next year will be based on the word “Return”. Return to writing, return to photography/videography, return to podcasting, return to content creation.

    The other thing that I have returned to is a focus on my own mental well being. I engage in way too much drama even when I’m trying to avoid it. So, we’re going to work on cutting that out. The past few months have seen a change in my…I don’t know. The core of me is different, and way more cutthroat when it comes to dealing with things and people. The good thing is that I can let a lot more just roll by me if it’s not ‘important’. It’s a matter of picking what things I want to spend my energy on. It’s also a realization that some of the things I still spend energy on is not important or not healthy and needs to stop. So, that’s another project.

    Finally, the next year is going to be spent on my physical living spaces. The house, my studio, and this carcass. I haven’t done anything to improve any of the above in four years, and I’m fed up with all of it. That’s a valid use of my time and energy, and will receive a huge focus over the next year. We’ll see how well I deal with that.

  • Tuesday, October 10th, 2023

    Follow up from yesterday: The main problem I was having trying to fix that YT broken link is that it assumed that any YT link was for a video, and tried to treat it like an embed. I initially tried to fix it by trying another theme that was *close* to the same thing as this one, but the sidebar was fugly, and not customizable, not even through tweaking the CSS for some reason. Additionally, this theme tried to add a 2nd sidebar menu, and would not let me get rid of the one that you see. So, there was no way to have that YouTube link in the menu and have it act differently.

    Then, I got a rare good night’s sleep and came up with a different idea. What if I create a new page for all the social links, and have all the links open to a new tab. That should work, right? So I created the Social Page you see in the sidebar and put all the places you can connect with me there.

    It was then I found out that the problem wasn’t just in the sidebar, it’s any YouTube link placed anywhere.

    Sometimes I swear these things are too smart for their own good.

  • Monday, October 9th, 2023

    Here’s a reminder that functional doesn’t necessarily mean correct. I had a link in the sidebar for YouTube that you’ll notice is no longer there. Turns out that when you click the link, it treats it as if it is a video, and tries to bring up that video in a lightbox. When you create a sidebar menu from WordPress Pages, it’s doing what it’s supposed to. Hat tip to the guy who told me the link was broken.

    To fix this, I need to get more under the hood than I have in years. You may remember that this used to be a Squarespace site. If I can keep this exact look, it might be again. WordPress themes are so damn clunky sometimes. I tell you, there’s more on the backend of this theme than I think is necessary for how minimal I want it to look.

    Time to make it correct.

  • When I-95 Isn’t a Route, It’s Content

    I swear, there are some days when I happen upon something so weird out here on Beyonce’s Internet that it beggars belief, but then I have to remember that it is the Internet we’re talking about.

    On my bucket list are items like driving to Key West, Route 66, and the Pacific Coast Highway. On a lark, I decided to see if anyone on YouTube had ever recorded it, and not only had they but there’s a whole genre on YouTube of POV driving. To my amazement, this stuff gets massive subscribers and views. After thinking about it, I suppose it might be a kind of white noise or something someone puts on while doing something else. I find it fascinating, so I decided to make a few videos and see how they performed on my channel. To my surprise, they are the most popular videos I’ve made.

    I’m not sure if I should be grateful for the new subscribers and likes, or bitter that my podcast performs so poorly by comparison.

    Of course, I plan to continue making my podcast. However, this driving content works for me on a few levels. First, it’s bringing people to my YouTube channel. Secondly, I am one of those freaks who likes driving long distances for the view and the quiet so I get some therapy out of it. But most importantly it’s a kind of content I’ve found that I love and that I can do. I can start here in my hometown and grow outward to a regional thing. I’ve already made videos of driving the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, Ocean Highway in Ocean City MD, driving to Williamsburg, Shore Drive, and Atlantic Avenue here in Virginia Beach. Shortly, I plan to drive from Nags Head to Hatteras and make the circle from Virginia Beach to Elizabeth City, taking the Currituck Ferry. At some point, I wish to take the Cape May-Lewes Ferry and drive to Atlantic City.

    I’ve also decided that some longer journeys will require train or plane journeys and a rental car back, like trips to DC and Maine. These are in the more distant future because that will require a budget. It was suggested that I push the Patreon for stuff like this, but I don’t know if I want to do that. Right now, this is just for fun.

    I’d like to increase my subscribers and views on the YouTube channel to join the Partner Program, that much is certain. That takes 500 subscribers and 3000 watch hours in the last 12 months. I’m a long way off, but it’s not a sprint. Even if I don’t make it work in the next year, I’m happy for whatever I get.

  • Friday, July 28th, 2023

    Never underestimate the odds of two–or even three–separate appliances in your home going Tango Uniform simultaneously.

    The corollary to that is never to underestimate the ability to find someone who has had at least one occurrence of those appliance issues to have posted a fix for your problem on YouTube.

  • Wednesday, March 1st, 2023

    • I’ve lived here in Virginia Beach for decades.  It’s as much my home as anywhere else I’ve lived.   I love this place, but there are some uncomfortable truths about living here that some of you in other places may not know, or you might be aware of one or two things. First, this town is Red.  Very Red.  You can’t be AOC and run for office here.  Elaine Luria voted for Scott Taylor in the election before she ran against him.  Also, they tend to get their way a lot.  We had a referendum about whether or not to extend a light rail system from Norfolk into Virginia Beach.  That referendum passed.  Until the City Treasurer decided he wanted a do over because he didn’t get his way.  The second referendum failed, and now there’s no light rail in Virginia Beach.   Second, If you’re not a fan of the military, this is not the place you want to live.  I would argue that we have the highest concentration of military personnel here than anywhere in the world.  Politics is going to cater to the military here in one form or another.  Third, because of the number of military folks here, folks from the Government like to come here to use our fair city as a backdrop.  I’m pretty sure that every President since Bill Clinton has come here for something, and I’d bet that Reagan and Daddy Bush has been here as well when they were in office.  Every one of them would have traveled by motorcade from the plane to wherever they were going, and each time they have had to close down at least one of the major arteries here.   But you would think from reading Virginia Beach as a trending topic on Twitter yesterday that this has never happened before, and I’m here to tell you that memories are conveniently short.  At the very least, they’re color coded.
      • One Twitter troll who identified as MAGA on his bio responded to my take on this by saying “He’s not a president”.  I’d like to be clear on this:  I did not like Donald Trump.  Didn’t care for Hillary either, but I held my nose and voted for her because I did not feel like opening the Seventh Seal of the Apocalypse.  As much as I hate the fact that Trump won, here’s the deal: He won.  As did Obama, W, Clinton, HW, Reagan, and so on.  Trump was elected President.  Anyone with a shred of fairness and logic about them has to acknowledge that.   See, there’s an objective reality and then there’s the cultish delusion that the MAGA folk have fever-dreamed their way into, and you can wish really hard that it isn’t so, but Biden won the election, just like every other President that’s been elected.  Just because you don’t like the guy doesn’t mean shit.  Flip it around and tell me what the MAGA folk would say if I said “Trump isn’t MY President!”  They’d say something along the lines of “Facts don’t care about your feelings, soy boy.”   I promise you, the sentiment is mutual.  I just happen to acknowledge reality, snowflake. There are two years left on the clock, minimum.  If you want to get rid of Biden, the answer is simple:  Run someone better.  I don’t think that will be Trump, though.  I suspect he will be otherwise engaged or barred from running.
      • Finally, all the clearly Republican folks on Twitter bitching about the traffic today…if only there was alternate transportation, like, say, light rail…
    • Someone on my team made a bot to perform a function, and decided to name it Hubert. Amazingly, I found a GIF in Teams of Hubert Humphrey.  I was shocked.  I mentioned that I’ve had Humphrey on the brain lately because I’ve been watching the CBS coverage of the 1968 DNC from Chicago.   My boss implored me to get a life or two.  I hadn’t thought of an interest like that as being all that indicative of needing to get a life, but I suppose it isn’t a common interest?  I like watching news coverage of historical events.  I’m trying to curate a few playlists on my YouTube Page of those things, so jump over there and check it out as I grow it.
    • Another thing to file under Memories are short:  MTG got the vapors when someone decided to get all up in her grill at a restaraunt: “I was attacked in a restaurant tonight by an insane women and screamed at by her adult son. They had no respect for the restaurant or the staff or the other people dining or people like me who simply have different political views. They are self righteous, insane, and completely out of control. I was sitting at my table, working with my staff, and never even noticed these people until they turned into demons. People used to respect others even if they had different views. But not anymore. Our country is gone.”  This woman has harassed David Hogg, AOC, and at the very least hung up a transphobic sign on her door directly across from a Rep with a Transgender child.  You’ve shown who you are, and you’d think when someone gives you a little of that same medicine, a person capable of self-reflection might pause and reconsider some things.  I’m guessing you’re not that person, Marjorie.   It’s ok.  I used to be the same way, and it’s easy to let that all-ego no heart or brains trick you into thinking that you did nothing wrong and that you’re being picked on.  You’re not being picked on. You’re getting exactly what you deserve.  One thing I learned the hard way is that if you don’t take the time to reflect and change your heart and mind, is that when karma comes along and does that for you it’s not a pleasant experience.  Not at all.
    • Semi-serious question for the White House Press Office:  What is stopping you from yanking FOX News’ credentials?  After yesterday’s revelations, they clearly don’t deserve them.  Seriously, square up and yank those passes, be ready with the receipts, and don’t cave in.  Not the same level, but when Gizmodo ‘found’ the iPhone 4 at a bar and leaked it, Steve Jobs barred them from Apple Events for years.  I always used to tell people on Beach Mac that you could go to all the other tech sites to get the news, or you could go to Gizmodo to get what someone else told them about the news.  Let Fox be the new Gizmodo.   Let ’em be in exile for the rest of the time Biden’s in office, or Harris for that matter if she comes after.  Sure enough a Republican will restore their access. But let them cry about how long that will be.  I think that would be perfect.
    • Remember, this is a Patreon Podcast, as are all the poddlements from Tuesday through Friday.  Go to my Patreon to subscribe, and thanks.