Here’s a new video for my playlist entitled “Thoughts on Current Affairs“. It’s an admittedly dim view of the world, perhaps for the right reasons. I offer clarifications on extra-terrestrials (spoiler alert, I think they’re bullshit), on where we are and where we might be headed. The take-away message here is that none of us really knows what’s going on and those who say they do are selling something. The more I learn, the less I know. As I’ve said in previous videos, we should all become more cynical and keep our bullshit meters on high alert.
Tag Archives: news
Sophie’s here!
Exactly one week ago at this very hour, our daughter Sophie was born into this great big world of ours. We’re so thrilled to have her. She’s a joy to behold and a joy to be with: peaceful and lovely, an enchanting little angel. We were a couple before and now we’re a family. And I’m a daddy, which is a notion that still floors me.
The best part is that Ligia and I both wanted a daughter. To make it even more interesting, we kept the gender a secret from ourselves till the very climactic end, when the midwife set the freshly born Sophie on Ligia’s chest and we learned that our wish had been granted.
A folding, fully electric city car
Hiriko is the name of this new foldable ultra-compact car, which is great for cramped city driving (and parking). It can turn sideways and fold upwards, reducing its wheelbase and allowing it to squeeze into spots where normal cars just can’t go. And it’s also 100% electric. From the videos (posted below) I can see a solar panel on the roof, meaning it’ll be able to charge at least partially while you’re on the go. Other details are hard to come by on their website (can’t find the specs), but I do know that it’ll go on sale next year for 12,700 Euro.
Via MediaFax
YouTube and WordPress update oEmbed player to include CC button
This is big news for those of us providing captions or subtitles for the videos published on YouTube. I noticed today that the oEmbed video player for YouTube videos, the one used for all WordPress blogs, has been updated to include the CC button. It didn’t have it the last time I checked, which was yesterday. My site subscribers would always ask me where the CC button was, and how to see the subtitles, and I had to tell them to go see the video directly on YouTube if they wanted subtitles, which was a bit of a chore, and it certainly didn’t make things obvious and easy for folks who were using that feature for the first time.
Well, I’m glad to announce that from now on, you’ll be able to turn video subtitles on or off right here, on my website, and for those videos of mine where I’m providing two separate subtitles tracks, you’ll be able to switch between them as well.
I can’t tell you enough how pleased I am about this. For someone like me, who produces video shows for international audiences, YouTube’s CC feature is key, and the ability to control subtitles from within the oEmbed player used on my websites is key as well. So I’d like to thank both WordPress and YouTube for updating the video player and for making my life easier!
Romania Through Their Eyes featured on TVR International (again)
My show, Romania Through Their Eyes, was featured a second time on TVR International this past weekend, on a news program hosted by Horia Grusca, called “Romania in Vazul Lumii” (March 19th, 2011 edition). You can watch the archived show online. The segment where my show is presented starts at minute 13:14 and ends at minute 22:23.
If you haven’t yet seen the first two episodes in full length, you may do so as well, on my YouTube channel, in HD, with English or Romanian subtitles (click on the CC button to select your language).
A friendly reminder that I created a Facebook page for the show, so head on over and give it a Like if you want to be kept up to date with what’s going on.
Many thanks to Mr. Horia Grusca!
Raoul Pop 