YouTube Channel Trailer

I don’t give a lot of attention to my YouTube channel. It’s just the place I park my videos so I can share them here on Google+ and on smays.com. But they provide a nice set of tools for managing your content and tips for how to create a good “experience” for people who find their way to my channel. For example, they recommend a brief (no more than a minute) trailer to give the visitor some idea of what the channel is about. It’s been a couple of years since I updated mine. This one has nothing to do with the video on my channel. I needed to fill that spot on page so I decided to put something together as quickly as possible.

I quickly scanned through 5,000+ photos, picking eight or ten almost at random. Then added some music that seemed to fit the images and my current mood. And it’s done. I almost added some quotes from favorite authors but decided that wouldn’t add anything.

Drone video of New York City

The three days I spent in NYC last May were great. (One day with an experienced native-NY’er guide.) But the video below shows a NY I didn’t see. Couldn’t see. But one day will.

What would I be willing to pay for a real-time virtual drone tour of NY (or Paris or Rome or Tokyo)? I thinking high-quality goggles with nat sound (drone motors someone filtered out) or real-time voice-over by pilot/guide. Or just music bkg if I choose.

[Stipulation: There is no substitute for being there. “Real” experiences are superior to “virtual” experience. For now.]

Be Right Back (Black Mirror)


An online service that creates a virtual presence for a departed loved one, based on all the photos, videos, Facebook posts, Tweets, etc etc. I’m sure I’ve posted on that several times over the years, eagerly anticipating some digital immortality. Once again, Charlie Brooker has changed my mind with the Be Right Back episode of Black Mirror. If you’ve recently lost someone close, you might want to skip this one (or wait a bit)