A rare RESCUED Bell System van

 

[VIDEO] I wanted to share this with you all yesterday and just didn't get the chance to. This video led me to the film of Saul Bass' pitch for a Bell System brand redesign.

It seems like Shervin of Shervin's Garage YouTube channel is really trying to sell this old Bell System utility van. He couldn't get it to work but did get some restoration done revealing it's original livery. Revealing some aspects of Bass' redesign for Bell System vehicles.

I really like how he used vintage music and even tried to do a version of a 1970s Bell System film. I wonder how he did that.

All in all it got me curious about the Bell System, by the time I came a long the Bell System had been broken up. Pacific Northwest Bell was one of them and here in Chicago our local Bell System affiliate was Illinois Bell. Illinois Bell was in turn owned by Ameritech which merged with Southwestern Bell or SBC which later merged with AT&T...

In 1984, the Bell System had been broken up. AT&T was still the predominant long distance carrier and the smaller companies that made up the Bell System had become independent. Bell was a monopoly and had to be broken up in favor of competition. The funny part is even as there was supposed to be competition, Shervin can only name as telecommunications competitors Verizon and AT&T and he says "there goes breaking up the monopoly".

Oh and Verizon and AT&T are descended from the many of these broken up Bell System companies. Wouldn't it be something if they merged?

CBS archives: Apple releases first iPhone

 

[VIDEO] I'm sorry I missed out on the original iPhone which was released in 2007. Then again at the time it was a little pricey for me and it was difficult to conceive of a phone that could send & receieve emails, text messages, use Google Maps, watch videos, resize photos, etc.

As for the photo thing, well I carried around the original Motorola Razr which was a camera phone. I liked taking pictures with it although the picture quality wasn't that great. It did receive text messages although what I needed it for was as a phone to make and receive phone calls.

What I see today is that the iPhone didn't have the cool factor it once did. The iPhone was the coolest thing in 2007, and perhaps most innovative. As happens overtime is that the competitors catch up. 

Have you see the recent comments of Google Pixel vs iPhone. It's almost as if they're buddies and yet the Google Pixel is the hero in most of them. The Pixel charged up the iPhone when it was low on battery. The Pixel seems better equipped to deal with hackers.

Another commercial from Samsung a few years ago seemed to knock Apple's dongels, especially once the iPhone eliminated the headphone jack which was after iPhone 7. There's an adapter (dongel) where you use the lightning port to connect your headphone to the phone.

This 2007 story from CBS is a fascinating look back.

New requirements to monetize your YouTube channel

Probably since about 2018 I wanted to figure out how to make money with YouTube. I see this post from YouTube's blog with regards to having lower monetization requirements.

That being said you still need at least 1,000 subs with 4,000 public watch hours during the course of a year to be able to make money off of ads. Now the requirements are 500 subscribers with 3,000 public watch hours in order to access some other means to make money.

Now an aspiring YouTuber can get super chats - which I see commonly given out when a YouTuber goes live. You can get a "tip" what they might call a super thanks. You can make money by offering memberships which might indicate a loyal following in that case. And then an easier ability to sell and promote your own products through YouTube.

Hmmm, the idea of selling Shedd Badger City t-shirts would be such a great idea now that I think about it. For all the alumni of Bennett-Shedd School and of course that would just be a start.

So anyway I've often written about doing YouTube videos for that channel. And in that vein I would like to inform as much as I would like to entertain. And one potential idea is to find places to visit and share them with you all.

With that said, my only issue right now is finding a niche that attracts an audience. This way I could reach at least 500 subs and then reach 1,000 subs and hopefully get that play button at 100K subs.

At least I got to 100 subs on my recently renamed channel Levois Meets World. If I share any travel content I plan to do most of that there. Still trying to figure out a plan for the other channel you see here which is Sixth Ward Chicago which I do hope to get to 500 subs also.

One of more recent videos from last year got over 1000 views which was shots inside a now demolished shopping mall Evergreen Plaza on 95th & Western on my old iPhone 4S. Not my best video, but you know I finally shared something that I had footage of years ago. It also got a lot of engagement. [VIDEO]

Finally, it seems another thing one needs to do if they're serious about this making money on YouTube is that they have to figure out the algorithm. That is using the algorithm to put your content to those who are looking for videos in a particular niche. The above video I saw it gained the traction it did in a short time and for my videos it did pretty good. Though most look to go viral and get millions of views.

So again I need work on being able to make money on YouTube and of course there are other sites where it's possible to make some money. I'd say looking for a new stream of income using some form of social media, continue to look for a site that works for you.

Good luck and don't forget to subscribe to me

MKBHD: Apple's Forbidden Words

[VIDEO] Those of you who are interested in business, watch this. For example instead of using Virtual Reality, Apple Inc has instead branded it Vision as augmented reality. They avoid certain terms such as AI aka Artificial Intelligences and give is a brand name. Give something a unique term and make it difficult for others to compare it to something. Pretty cool conclusion Marquez Brownlee has come to.

MKBHD: Best back to school tech 2022

 

[VIDEO] These are the tools Marques Brownlee recommends when you hit the campus in the coming school year. Particularly if you're in college, I would wonder what he would recommend for high school students.

And something from the comments I want to share with you which is important:

Guys, a quick note that you do NOT need all the high-end tech in order to do well at college. If you can (and you should), save as much money as you can while at college, pay your tuition in full and student loans as soon as possible instead of spending on liabilities like gadgets. Get the bare minimum you need and only spend money on products you know you are going to be using for 4-6 years (such as laptop). Don't overspend on phone, headphones, lamps, tablets, etc.

Follow this advice, all of these wonderful items are great. And not to be the negative type, if you live in a college dorm you risk the possibility of being robbed. When I was still on a college campus I've heard a handful of stories on this. Regardless if you want to give Bro. Brownless a small commission for buying these devices give some of these devices go right ahead. Hopefully they will be useful to you in your studies. :)  

Detailed tour through the Space Shuttle Orbiter

 

[VIDEO] The space shuttle program ended in 2011 and once upon a time I did dream of taking a spaceflight aboard this vessel. It was a radical change from the Apollo program where basically you were in a capsule and you splashed down in an ocean upon re-entry.

With the space shuttle when you re-entered the atmosphere you glide back onto the planet. The shuttle was designed to be reusuable unlike an Apollo capsule where once it re-entered the atmosphere it wasn't possible to reuse and that's due to heatshield technology on space craft.

These days you can take a tour of the Space Shuttle at the Smithsonian as Paul Stewart does in this video.

MKBHD: NEW Mac Studio & Apple Event Reactions!

 

[VIDEO] Been quite a while since we've heard from Marques Brownlee. Apple did a March event launching a refreshed iPhone SE, a new color for the iPhone 13, a new iPad Air, and a Mac Studio for those of you who are looking for a machine if you're a content creator for example.

I'd be interested in the Mac Studio although I'm hardly a content creator it's also pricey but then that's Apple for you. I'd be into the iPhone SE though it's still a budget smartphone for those of you not looking to break the bank, however, I suppose I'm old school and still want the home button. The main thing about the SE is that it has all the bells and whistles of a newer iPhone just remains in the body of an iPhone 8.

Anyway did anyone out there watch this event? Is there a product that was unveiled on Tuesday that you're excited about? If you don't own an Apple product anything  you see here makes you want to consider a purchase?

Daily Dose of Internet

 

[VIDEO] In this edition we start off with an artist who has an antenna installed to their head in order to see color. He only allows close friends to transmit to send messages primarily through wi-fi or satellite although transmissions has been hacked before. Woah, life can really be stranger than fiction.

That amongst other things that I hope not only you learn something new, but also entertains you. :) 

J.J. McCullough: Our failed attempts to teach aliens about the earth

 

[VIDEO] Late last year I shared a video about the Voyager project that sent two space probes out of the solar system with a virtually indestructible phonograph record which is a bit of an archive of humanity as recorded for that time. A number of pictures of our planet and various pictures of people and various pictures of life on our planet in addition to the various sounds such as music our languages or even direct messages from some of planet's leaders were placed on those records.

Canadian YouTuber McCullough explores various attempts made my NASA to reach any potential extra-terrestrial species about our planet and the inhabitants. His final shot it was never about the aliens, this was about the human need to communicate about ourselves and perhaps even a hint of immortality.

WHo knows if the Voyager probes will ever be seen by alien life. Who knows if the message transmitted by the Arecibo observatory will ever be received by any alien species as it takes about 25,000 to reach the M-13/Messier 13 cluster.

How to develop photographs

 

[VIDEO] Happy news years to all.

This Saturday morning I'm sharing a rather creative process with you. If only in school whether through art class in elementary school or even in high school it would be cool to learn to take pictures and develop them. 

This video from Technology Connections shows you the process that might only be known to phototech employees at a store. For me when it was time to develop film from a camera I'd have to make a trip to either Osco or Walgreen's. What a strange world we live in where we have digital photography and even stranger with our mobile devices we have a camera with us at all times! 

So anyway I do hope you find this interesting to see how those who deal with film are able to develop their photographs. Even the concept of a dark room.

The Golden Record on the Voyager probes

 

[VIDEO] The Voyager program consisted of two probes who in the last decade have finally reached interstellar space. The probe Voyager 2 was launched on August 20, 1977 which was 16 days before Voyager 1 on September 5, 1977. Both probes contain a golden record which you see analyzed in the above video.

It's amazing what the team that created this time capsule of our planet and civilization. It's designed to last at least a billion years and contains data such as audio and 116 pictures. The audio are sounds of our world of human voices, animals, weather, and samples of human music. Also contains a message from then President Jimmy Carter - he was POTUS when these probes were launched from Earth in 1977. There is also a message from then United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim.

As one member of the team that created this golden record Jon Lomberg stated this project was about dreaming big. That they did and what they did with the technology they had at the time - unless you're into vinyl records you won't find those in many homes today. They used phonograph technology to hold this amount of data for any extraterrestrials (or aliens).

You can check out all the contents of this golden record here. You can also see details of how it was manufactured via NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Want to see what music they selected for this record here's a playlist at Spotify.

Marques Brownlee reviews EVERY iPhone ever produced

 

[VIDEO] Been a while since we've heard from our favorite tech reviewer and this comes on the heels of Apple's latest release of a new generation of iPhones. We're on generation 13 so far.

Regardless what an evolution we see here as far as technology and design. And we see how the iPhone was very much the nifty device it started off being when it was unveiled in 2007.

I'm a long way from saying that I was aware of this device back in 2007. Perhaps I was in my Windows machine mode and I thought the nifty device I had back then was a flip Motorola Razr phone. It was a very nice design with a camera to shoot video and photos. The original iPhone could shoot photos but hadn't evolved to shoot video.

If I thought anything about Apple (iPhones, iPods, or even Macs) I probably just thought more about cost as in can't afford it. Believe it or not I was still in school at the time. I also probably thought that I'd have to learn a different OS than Windows. Granted there weren't many mobile devices utilizing a Windows OS.

Anyway were there people at school using iPhones don't remember. I'm sure some did at the time but to be honest I hardly paid much attention. Just sorry that I wasn't there for the evolution starting with the metal and plastic two-tone design they started off with. And just from Steve Jobs' presentation of this device it surely was something special and different.

A breakthrough internet communication, a phone, an iPod all in one. And it has evolved to a device that one could shoot a movie with. A device you can use for GPS. Well it's capabilities have drastically expanded and while one could criticize their many designs, generally nice looking devices also.

Hmmm, I wouldn't mind collecting these myself.

BTW, I've evolved to using Apple devices from iPhone and beyond today. It turns out learning a new OS, especially if it's not too difficult to learn is a piece of cake.

Mustard: What Happened To The Antarctic Snow Cruiser?

 

[VIDEO] Before switching to Mr. Beat this morning I saw this latest video by Mustard which seems to cover a lot of videos discussing transportation projects such as trains, airplanes or even vehicles such as this Antarctic Snow Cruiser. That vehicle was constructed in Chicago by the Armour Institute of Technology (if you don't know that institution is now known as Illinois Institute of Technology).

Regardless as Mustard stated this does look like something out of a Jules Verne movie the design being perhaps very influenced by the then in fashion art deco/stream moderne styling. The unfortunate thing is that as the construction of this beast was rushed the cruiser itself had some issues involving speed and traction on the snow & ice that eventually it was abandoned.

According to this Wiki page we don't know about the current fate of this vehicle after 1958:

During Operation Highjump in late 1946, an expedition team found the vehicle and discovered it needed only air in the tires and some servicing to make it operational.

In 1958, an international expedition uncovered the snow cruiser at Little America III using a bulldozer. It was covered by 23 feet (7.0 m) of snow but a long bamboo pole marked its position. They were able to excavate to the bottom of the wheels and accurately measure the amount of snowfall since it was abandoned. Inside, the vehicle was exactly as the crew had left it, with papers, magazines, and cigarettes scattered all around.

Later expeditions reported no trace of the vehicle. Although there was some unsubstantiated speculation that the (traction-less) Snow Cruiser was taken by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the vehicle most likely is either at the bottom of the Southern Ocean or buried deep under snow and ice. Antarctic ice is in constant motion and the ice shelf is constantly moving out to sea. In 1963, a large chunk of the Ross Ice Shelf broke off and drifted away; the break occurred right through Little America. It is not known on which side of the ice shelf the Snow Cruiser was located.

I don't know how often during our geography lessons how much we were taught about Antarctica which is the only uninhabited continent on the planet owing to its position at the very bottom of Earth. The conditions there are inhospitable for people although as noted in the above video it's home to a number of natural resources such as minerals and fossil fuels (oil/petroleum). Quite a few nations have sent expeditions there and even laid a claim to the continent. 

I wish I.I.T. could rebuild this amazing vehicle the right way and perhaps get it rolling on Antarctica.

Getting to the moon via Daily Dose of Internet

 

[VIDEO] This video illustrates what it takes to send a spacecraft to land on the lunar surface. It seems fitting in the recent death of Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins. Apollo 11 was the July 1969 mission that allowed Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin to land on the moon.

It's very interesting how they use the forces of movement of the Earth and the Moon and then of course the propulsion of a rocket engine to help get the spacecraft to where it needs to go. To get that spacecraft onto the surface of Earth's nearest neighbor or if you want satellite.

Found this in the latest Daily Dose of Internet

How about another Daily Dose of Internet

 

[VIDEO] We see a cat realizing its owner is pregnant. We see a dog go ziplining. We see a police officer operating a speed radar. At the very end we see a compartment where a flight crew can rest on a long flight. I wonder what kind of plane that is.

I hope you learned something new with this video.

Brownlee on the latest Apple event

 

[VIDEO] Marques Brownlee is back to discuss the April 20th Apple event unveiling their newest and updated products from airtags to iMacs to iPad pros. Did you see the Apple event? Were there any products there that you're excited about.

Retro Tech is back with an episode on teleportation

 

[VIDEO] Sitting on this Saturday morning I see that Marques Brownlee has released another season of his YouTube original series Retro Tech. Just got through watching an episode on flying cars/hoverboard and what you see here is an episode on "teleporting".

And think about it, have you seen Star Trek? What you see on that program is teleportation. Basically converting matter into energy and teleporting it elsewhere to reconvert it into matter. That's basically what a "transporter" on the starship Enterprise does.

As a matter of fact, Brownlee has guests look under their chair and they see the focus of the episode. In this case a toy transporter which is actually merchandise from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Just like the episode on flying cars which went from the idea of an aerial personal vehicle to a hoverboard, this goes from actual teleporting to virtual reality. It's really interesting to discuss future technologies and concepts.

Daily Dose of Internet: Giant earthquake interrupts interview

 

[VIDEO] The earthquake video leads off this most recent Daily Dose of Internet. It brings to mind the 1989 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics, and earthquake interrupted the series after game three and it was about 10 days before the series resumed. I watched it live on TV when the series aired on ABC back then.

Other than that we get to look at a cat's tongue, take an elevator in France's Eiffel Tower, baby armadillo drinking milk, and the Star Trek fan in me likes the last clip an astronomer's image of the Int'l Space Station passing in front of the moon.

I hope you enjoy and learned something new.

Marques Brownlee: What's in my Tech Bag!

 

[VIDEO] I've been wanted to share this video since it was live. Brownlee is sharing the tech that's within his bag. And wait until the end as he announces a give away with this very bag he shares in this video. Probably worth it if you do want the tech in his bag.

An iPhone, an iPad pro, even a MacBook pro, or even a Canon camera. Just to name a few things I'd like to have in my hand but out of my budget unfortunately.

Brownlee: Apple iPhone 12 Lineup Reactions!

 

[VIDEO] Been a while since we've heard from Marques Brownlee. He talks about the new iPhone 12 lineup which was unveiled by Apple on Tuesday. I wish they had released the iPhone SE plus sadly we won't see it until next year, my preference is a home button.

One thing I do like about the iPhone 12 lineup is a return to the more boxy form factor. You might be missing it from the iPhone 4, 4S, 5, 5S and the original SE. Otherwise as far as functionality it still resembles the iPhone X, XS, XR, and 11. All touch screen with that notch!

I'll let you watch the video to find out all the tech involved in this device. And BTW, I want that shirt he's wearing....