Random videos

[Leo Enticknap]

Kitties!

Newly arrived at a zoo near me...

One of them even slow blinks at the camera operator, suggesting that they're pretty much domesticated and not likely to last long in the wild. Glad they're safe.

[Frank Cox]

Inside Canada's first dementia village

[Frank Cox]

the most moving piano piece you will ever hear

[Randy Stankey]

Knowing that a grand piano weights in about half a metric ton, that's a pretty daring operation...

Nah, the guy just wanted to play an upright piano!

Just hope he didn't damage the piano too badly. A basic black Steinway-D will cost at least $125K to replace, these days. Apparently, from what I was able to translate from the comments page, this was supposed to be some kind of historic piano. The damage is probably repairable but it won't be cheap!

I find that organ lift a bit odd, too. Every motorized lift, hoist or similar stage equipment that I've ever used required the operator to keep the control button depressed. Some of them even had a second button for a deadman switch.

I think it's dangerous to have a lift like that which can't be stopped at a moment's notice and reversed if necessary. Even in a concert hall, as opposed to a legitimate stage, it would be easy for a person to get a hand or foot stuck in the mechanism, accidentally. Some of the concerts I worked, a lot of people walked around with their heads in the clouds, not paying attention to things going on around them. (Hey, they are musicians, they've got other things to think about.)

Regardless, when you're working on a stage, operating any kind of equipment, motorized or otherwise, it's the operator's duty to always look to be sure the area is safe before pressing any button, pulling any lever or hauling on any rope!

[Frank Cox]

The Eagles - Hotel California - Reimagined on the Traditional Chinese Guzheng

[Marcel Birgelen]

Yeah, there are quite some oddities concerning the raising-table's control interface. The least of the security features you could expect, which is also the most low-tech of them all, is that you need to keep pressing the button to keep the thing moving.

[Leo Enticknap]

The organ console likely weighs about the same. Presumably the piano was positioned where it was because that is the acoustic sweet spot on the stage. But unless there were architectural restraints (e.g. limitations on where conduits for control cables can be run) it was a blunder to put the retractable console in the same place. Organists are very used to not being able to hear themselves play as the audience would, due to delays, the swell or choir ranks being enclosed, but the great not, etc. etc.; so having the console on the side of the stage should not have been problematic. You would have thought that a venue with a retractable console on the stage like that would either have a cast iron rule that nothing goes on top of it, or a rigid protocol for when it does (e.g. two switches must be operated to raise it, both far enough apart that two people are needed, with both verifying that top of the retracted console is clear before proceeding).

[Marcel Birgelen]

Knowing that a grand piano weights in about half a metric ton, that's a pretty daring operation... you don't want to get stuck between a floor and a grand piano...

[Frank Cox]

[Leo Enticknap]

Dog interrupts live weather report in Moscow borrowing journalist's microphone

Cat vs. Fox:

[Randy Stankey]

They need to make one with Oscar the Grouch's voice, singing, "I love trash!"

[Frank Cox]

The Swedish city of Malmö is taking dirty talk to a whole new level in its latest effort to clean up the streets.

By installing talking garbage cans that dish out racy audio messages after being fed trash, authorities are hoping for an increase in rubbish being deposited.

Pedestrians that drop trash into one of two bins on the city's Davidshallsbron bridge are rewarded with extremely positive feedback from a sultry female voice, who offers a range of responses.

It says "Come back quickly and do that again", "hmmm, thank you", "ooooh, yeah, right there", and "aaaah, that was crazy good", and "hmmmm, more", and then back to "Come back quickly and do that again".

[Frank Cox]

After 140 years, this old technology still keeps trains safe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzAfich6mow

[Frank Cox]

A very interesting look at the limits of human perception.

https://youtu.be/nUHEPmg0sPo

[Frank Cox]

This short claymation film was made by a 12 year old girl from Fort Qu'Appelle, a town not too far from here.

Her dad did the music.

https://youtu.be/HekpOfWixaQ

She said it took her about 17 hours to create the animation.

Here she is working on her next video:

emora-baggett-12-fort-qu-appelle-claymation.jpg