How to listen to 80′s Hairband’s Music and other Internet Radio Stations 24 Hours a day – Part Three – At Home

In Part 2, we looked at how to play Internet Radio on a web browser, but at home you are more likely to have iTunes installed, which is a better way to listen in my opinion.

With iTunes open, look down the left hand side, and find the word “Radio”.

Bet you didn’t even know that was there did you! Give it a click, and behold the staggering amount of music you have access to that you didn’t even know was there!

Towards the bottom of the list you will find 80’s Flashback. Expand this category by clicking the triangle to the left, and way down the bottom you will find 181FM 80’s Hairband.

Give it a click, and it will start playing.

To avoid having to do the search each time, just grab the listing for “181FM 80’s Hairband” and drag it to the playlist area and drop it.

It will create a link to the station, so next time you want to listen, all you need to do is click the playlist, and it will start playing immediately. Cool Huh!

 

Download, Save and Keep ALL videos on a Youtube playlist!

From time to time most of us see something on Youtube that we would like to download and save.

In my case this week, I found a Youtube channel that has the video broadcast from every NHRA drag racing event of the 2012 season. As my wife and I flew from Australia to attend the Sonoma round of racing, it makes a really great souvenir for us to have the video broadcast. The problem is though, Each days racing is split into about 9 or 10 pieces, and it was a three day event. Thankfully though, KMan2100 has arranged the videos into playlists, so they can be viewed in order.

download-youtube-playlist

Now, you could download the videos one at a time using the method described in my post about Video Download Helper HERE, but that will take a LOT of time. If you want to download all of the videos in a playlist quickly and easily, you need to make a download list, then download them all!

To do this, you need to be using the Firefox web browser. Its free, it runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, and if you are not already using it, you should be. You can get it free HERE.

With Firefox open and running, select “Add-ons” from the “Tools” menu in your menu bar. The first Add-on you need is the one that takes all of the videos in the playlist and turns them into a series of links. It is called BYTubeD, Bulk Youtube Downloader. To get it, type “BYTubeD” into the search bar in the top right corner.

Click the “Install” button to the right of it when you see it in your “results” list. This will download and install it. When this is finished, go back to the search bar and type “Download Them All”. As before, click the “Install” button to the right to install it.

To make your new add-ons active you need to restart Firefox. To do this, simply click the text that says “Restart now”

Once you have clicked restart, you can close the Add-ons window, and any other windows that may have popped up.

And now the fun starts!

To get downloading, go to Youtube and find your channel, and click the playlist you want to download.

As you can see, there are 28 videos on this playlist. To download them all, open your “Tools” tab on your menu bar and select “BYTubeD”. It should be at the bottom. This will open a new window.

**BEWARE** – Not only does this window contain info for all the videos you want, it also contains the info for other playlists and videos that are on this page that you may not want as well! As highlighted below, you can see the Sonoma videos I want, but I am not interested in Phoenix or Gainsville etc etc…..

For the next step, you need to tell BYTubed which videos you DO want to keep. To do this, simply highlight them. To select multiple videos (Which is kinda the point of this article) hold down your control key, then click each one if your using Windows, or your command key and click if you’ve got a Mac. Once you have highlighted the videos you want to download, click the start button.

BYTubed will now chew through the playlist and open up a new web page with links to all your videos.

Now’s where the magic happens. To download them all, open “Download Them All” from your “Tools” menu in your menu bar.



All that is left to do now is to check mark (click the circles to the left of the names) the videos you want to keep, choose your download location (I usually download to my desktop) then click “Start” to watch those babies start loading down!


That’s all there is to it!

Download, Save and Keep videos from Youtube

download-helper-iconFrom time to time we all come across videos on Youtube that we really want to download and keep on our computers so we can watch at anytime, or to re-encode so we can watch and keep them on our phones or ipods and ipads to. A simple way to download videos is with Video Download Helper.

In order to use Video Download Helper you need to be using Firefox browser, so if you are not, you probably should be, and you can download it free HERE.

Now you have Firefox open and running, you need to get the free Video Download Helper Add On. To do this, select this “Add-ons” from the “Tools” menu in your menu bar. Once the Add-ons window opens type “Video Download Helper” in the search box in the top right corner.

video-download-helper-1

Video Download Helper should be the first result, so when you see it in the list, click the “Install” button to right of it. Once it has finished downloading and installing, you will need to restart Firefox to make it active. To do this, simply click the “Restart now” text.

Once Firefox restarts, you can close out of the Add-ons window and any other windows that have popped up, and you should now see a new icon in the top left.

This means you are all set to go! Now when you wake up at 2am and worry that Gangnam Style is going to be taken down and you will never see it again, you can open it up in Youtube, click the little black upside down triangle next to the colored logo (when its gray out it means there is nothing to download on the page – when its colored, there is a file it can retrieve for you) and select the quality of the file you want to download.

Once you have selected your preferred resolution and format, its just a matter of confirming with the “Save File” dialogue box, and your good to go!

Video Download Helper has a swag of other cool features as well, but we’ll cover those another time as I know you just CANT WAIT to go and run your new Gangnam Style video up on your home theater system!

Not sure what a pretty lady who can afford and appreciate a good cup of coffee has to do with horse riding though? Ahhh Who Cares……..Opp-Opp-Oppan Gangnam Style Baby!

How to Save your OS X Mavericks, Mountain Lion and Lion Install Program and make a Install/Boot DVD or USB key

OS-X-Mavericks-Header

UPDATE – **I HAVE TESTED THIS METHOD WITH OS X MAVERICKS AND IT WORKS GREAT!**

This tutorial was written using Mountain Lion as an example, but it works for Mavericks as well – just follow the same process

Just like OS X Lion, it is really important to save your OS X Mountain Lion and Mavericks “Install File” BEFORE you install it. Without it, you can not make an install disk, and it is deleted automatically once you install your new operating system.

Once you have purchased Mountain Lion or Mavericks, your purchase/price button will turn into a “downloading” button.

mountain lion download screenA short time after, your launchpad may spring open and show you the downloads progress.

mountain lion download progress screen in launchpadYou can leave it open and watch the progress if you want. Close it up when your finished watching, or when the file has completely downloaded.

**CRITICAL** – When the file has finished downloading, a window will pop up and ask you if you want to go ahead and install the new software. QUIT THE INSTALLER IMMEDIATELY! This can be done by clicking the file menu and selecting the “Quit” option.

mountain-lion-install-begin-now

Don’t worry, you are not going to loose the program you just bought, you are just telling your computer that you want to install later. Once you have closed out of the installer, open a new finder window, then open your “Applications” folder. Inside this folder you will see your OS X Mountain Lion or Mavericks Install File.

mountain lion installer in applications folderRight click and “Copy” the installer file, then “Paste” it onto your desktop.

save your mountain lion install fileOnce the file finishes copying to the desktop, you can go back into your applications folder and double click and run the installer, if you are ready to install your update.

If you want to make a bootable install DVD disk or a USB Key, the easiest way to do this is with Disk Maker X (Formerly called Lion Disk Maker).

LDM_GemGo to the Disk Maker X web site HERE and download the latest version of the program. Once downloaded, unzip and run the program.

TO MAKE A DVD DISK:

With Disk Maker X open, select Mountain Lion to make a Mountain Lion DVD, Or Mavericks to make a Mavericks Install DVD.

lion disk makerOnce you select your Operating System, the program will try to locate the install program automatically. It doesn’t matter if it uses the one in your Applications folder, or the one on your desktop. In my case, it found the one on my desktop.

lion disk maker location confirmThe next step is to tell Disk Maker X if you want to make a DVD or a USB key. Keep in mind, if you want to make a DVD you will need a 8.5gb Dual Layer DVD, and a Dual Layer DVD Burner, as the installer will not fit on a single layer 4.7gb DVD.

lion disk maker dvd or usbClick “Burn A DVD”. Disk Maker X will ask you to select your Burner.

choose dvd driveYou will now be prompted to insert a disk, and begin the burning process.

burn disc now

TO MAKE A USB KEY:

With Disk Maker X open, select Mountain Lion to make a Mountain Lion USB or Mavericks to make a Mavericks install USB key.

lion disk makerOnce you select your operating system, the program will try to locate the install program automatically. It doesn’t matter if it uses the one in your Applications folder, or the one on your desktop. In my case, it found the one on my desktop.

lion disk maker location confirmThe next step is to tell Disk Maker X if you want to make a DVD or a USB key. Keep in mind, if you want to make a USB Key you will need a 8gb thumb drive, due to the size of the installer. Click “Create a Boot Disk”.

lion disk maker dvd or usbNext, Disk Maker X will ask you about your Thumb Drive. In keeping with the recommendations of the makers of the program, we will select “8gb USB Thumb Drive”.

(My understanding is, that this option will completely erase the entire USB drive, and ALL existing data will be over-written. If you have a larger drive, which is divided up into partitions, and you do not want to erase the whole drive, use the “Another kind of disk” option. IF this is incorrect, or there is also another reason, please reply in comments.)

You will now be asked to confirm your drive selection, and its location.

usb selectOne last warning! Your thumb drive will now be erased COMPLETELY!

final warningDisk Maker X will now begin crunching files to make your USB Installer.

usb creation in progressDuring this process, particularly towards the end of the process, a lot of new windows and “Get Info” dialogues will pop up, and disappear. This is normal. This is just your computer acknowledging the creation and mounting of new drives and volumes.

Once it is all completed, you will hear Homer yelling “WooHoo!” and see your new USB drive ready to go!

Finished!

homer-woohoo

Convert 2D video to Anaglyph 3D using Adobe Premiere Pro

2d to 3d
This Post Is Beginner Friendly

httpvh://youtu.be/1xWwLmQEilM

I have been looking at sites and blogs lately that describe how to make a 3D Anaglyph (viewed using Red/Blue Glasses) picture from a 2D picture using the channel mixer in Adobe Photoshop, and I was wondering if this method could also be implemented in Adobe Premier Pro? After a little bit of testing, and finding a few video’s on Youtube about it, I decided to give it a try.

For this experiment, my donor file will be a AWESOME video I found on Youtube by z400hauls featuring Brandon Bernsteins 8000hp Nitro Methane Dragster warming up.

z400hauls brandon berstein video

This video is shot in 720p Hi Def, with great audio, and it does a great job conveying what it is like to be so close to one of these fire breathing monsters. Please check out z400hauls other videos too!

To begin, open Premiere Pro (If you don’t have it, you can download a fully functioning 30 day free trial from Adobe.com) and create a new project. As z400hauls source video is 720P at 30fps (Frames Per Second), I am going to stick with this for my 3D transformation settings.

premiere-pro-sequence-settingsOnce you have created the appropriate editing environment for your videos specs, import your source/donor video by selecting the file menu, dragging down to “Import” and selecting your file.

Once you have it in Premiere Pro, Drag it to the timeline.

premiere-pro-editing-windowThe next step is to create a second video track from the first, so we can make the left and right channels required to trick our brains into seeing 3D. To copy the video track only (because we don’t need two identical audio tracks) click the video in the timeline to highlight it (Notice the audio track will highlight as well), then right click it and select “Unlink”. This will unlink the video and audio tracks.

unlink-video-premiere-proNow you can click on the video track to highlight it only, and the audio track will stay unselected. When your video track only is highlighted, right click it and select “Copy”.

copy-video-track-premiere-proThe next step is a little tricky, so follow carefully. Premiere Pro is a bit like Photoshop, in that it uses Layers to build up the scene. If you were to select “Paste” from the edit window now, it will place the copied video on the same track as the original one, which doesn’t help us. We need to place the copied video onto a separate layer, or track, in order to achieve a stereoscopic effect. If you look closely, you will see that video track 1, and audio track 1 are highlighted, and are a different color from the other spare blank tracks that Premier Pro set up for us when we created the document.

highlighted-tracksThis means that these tracks are active and are the ones we are working on. As we want to put video onto video track 2, click the blank area in the video track 1 and audio track 1 attributes bar to deselect them, and then click the blank are next to where it says “Video 2” to Activate/Highlight this track.

activate-track-2Now that we have Video Track 2 selected, we are nearly ready to paste in the second video channel. Premiere Pro will place the video wherever the play head (red vertical line) is, so to make sure our two video tracks line up, press the “Go To In” button to make sure the play head is at the very beginning of the timeline.

go-to-in-point-buttonNow that the play head is at the beginning of the timeline, and Video Track 2 is selected, click edit from the menu bar, and select “Paste”. Now you have two video tracks! WOOHOO!!!

two video tracksNow comes the fun part! Our next task is to separate the color channels, and create the “Parallax” effect. This is what tricks our brains into thinking that what we are seeing is 3 Dimensional. As we are creating a Red/Blue Anaglyph 3D effect, we need to separate the red and blue colors in our 2 video tracks. At this point, we will define “Video 2” track as our left/red channel, and “Video 1” track as our right/blue channel. To separate our colors, we will be using the “Color Balance RGB” effect. Open “Video Effects” then “Image Control” and drag and drop the “Color Balance” effect icon onto Video 1 track, and then again onto Video 2 track.

drag-color-balanceFirst, lets do the left/red channel. Click the video in the “Video 2” track to highlight it, and in the “Effect Controls” window set the green and blue channels to Zero. This will leave only red.

separate-red-channelTo create the “Parallax Effect”, whilst in “Effect Control”, click the little triangle next to “Motion” to expand this option so we can tinker with its settings.

motion-expandedAs this videos dimensions are 1280px x 720px, you can see next to “Position” that the center point of the video is at 640px on the horizontal plane, and 360px vertical. To create the Parallax, we need to offset the left channel to the left of the screen slightly. To do this, simply adjust “640” to “638”. This will move our left channel 2 Pixels to the left of the screen.

Move Position to Create ParallaxWe are now finished with the left channel for the moment, so lets make it invisible, so we can get to work on the right channel. To make it invisible, simply click the “Eyeball” icon in the attributes field as shown below.

Toggle Track VisibilityYour video preview window should loose the red tinge, and be restored to normal. Next, Highlight the Video 1 track (Right/Blue) in the timeline, and set the red to zero in Color Balance, leaving blue and green at 100. Then, enhance the Parallax by moving the Right/Blue channel 2 Pixels to the right. Again, click the triangle next to “Motion” to expand and reveal the options, and set the horizontal plane to 642. If you have done everything right, your video preview will now look all Blue-Ish.

Right-channel-settingsIt is now time to bring the left and right channels together and create the Anaglyph. Go back to the Video 2 (red/left) track’s attributes area and make it visible again by clicking the eyeball icon. Your video preview will turn red again. If you click the eyeball repeatedly a few times you will see that not only does your video turn from red to blue, but it also moves position – Yes! That’s the Parallax Effect – You have made a 2D video 3D!

YAY YOU!!!!!

To finish up, we need to blend them together. This is where Premiere Pro borrows from Photoshop. Blending is what makes Photoshop so powerful. With your Left/Red channel visible (Eyeball Icon clicked so the video preview window has the red tinge), click the little triangle next to “Opacity” in the “Effect Control” panel. Click the drop down menu next to “Blend Mode” and select “Screen”.

set-blending-screenVOILA! ANAGLYPH VIDEO!

anaglyph-effect

Using these settings, the 3D effect is only mild. To really make a strong 3d Parallax Effect, you move the left and right frames further apart. Instead of 638 for the Red/Left channel, and 642 for the Blue/Right channel, try 636 for the left and 644 for the right, or 630 for the left and 650 for the right. Experiment with these numbers until it looks right for you.

But BE CAREFUL – Don’t push these numbers to far, because you can make the video really blurry.

To save and export the video, select file, export, media from the menu bar. I will be exporting it in exactly the same format as I imported it, but you can play with these settings if you want to export your video in a different format, or for another device.

export-mediaOnce you have exported your new Anaglyph 3D video file, All you need to do now is put on your Red/Blue 3D glasses, turn your volume up to 11, and enjoy this AWESOME video from z400hauls in 3D!

If you, or your friends pass out, or barf, try reducing the Parallax Effect by moving your Red/Left and Blue/Right fields closer together 🙂

How to pick up a Coin with a Forklift

20 Cent CoinA work colleague said today that he had more chance of picking up a coin with a forklift, than achieving his task (meaning that it is impossible to pick up a coin with a forklift). I had never heard this myth before, but it certainly does seem impossible to get the thick solid steel tines of a forklift under the coin, given they are usually and inch or more thick. But, with a little lateral thinking, I was actually able to prove him wrong! Here’s how I did it! (For my American friends, a 20 Cent coin is a little larger than a Quarter).

httpv://youtu.be/fAoD6QnzZFo

 Update

11 Aug 2011 – After some Googling and Youtubing, to my dismay, it turns out that I am not the first one to have solved this conundrum, but I can say in all honesty, with hand on heart, I truly did figure this one out for myself