It’s time for another “Best of YouTube” post! I haven’t done one of these in about 9 months but I do keep notes that whole time on the ones that I think might be worthy. These are the three that have bubbled to the top.
Donut Media started the list last time and this time we start with the heart and soul of Donut (Jeremiah and Zach) who left to start the Big Time channel. They have an amazing deep dive into what it takes to become a MotoGP racer. If you like F1, you might love MotoGP. The tech level and story lines are just as strong, but the racing is even closer and higher stakes. This video gives you a good idea of the incredible lifelong dedication that it takes to race at the highest level.
I love trying different craft beers and I recently logged my 1500th distinct beer on Untappd. The How to Make Everything channel has a long series of videos walking through history and learning how things were made. This video dives into four types of beer and why they are historically important. I feel like I know a lot about beer but there was still a lot of great content in this video.
It’s hard to communicate what it feels like to be a software engineer, especially in my role where I’m reviewing other people’s designs and providing feedback about what might go wrong or how a different solution might be better. People call it “thinking outside the box” but it’s more like starting with “why does the box have to exist?” Mark Rober published a video on his Crunch Labs channel that did a good job of communicating the feeling of being an engineer.
As an aside, the build box subscriptions from Mark Rober’s Crunch Labs are fantastic. We’ve tried some others but this is one that I’m happy to keep paying for. Not only are the builds very high quality and educational, but he makes a special video for each one that gives a ~10 minute science lesson related to the build.
Leaving the Nest
A few years ago, Elijah and I built a birdhouse. We looked up all the recommendations for the dimensions of a birdhouse that would work for birds in our area and then waited anxiously. Year after year no birds were using it. Initially we found that the inside was getting wet so we improved the design. Then we wondered if the location was not inviting so we attached it to the house under and overhang where no squirrel could ever reach. We even installed an extra security camera aimed at the box to see if maybe they were using it and we just couldn’t tell. Nothing.
Then finally this year we started seeing a couple chickadees making a lot of trips to/from the birdhouse! Later we heard lots of chirping from the babies. The parents made so many trips back and forth bringing them food. Then finally one day it was quiet.
I scanned the camera footage and I think I found video of all five(?) babies leaving the nest. The internet says 6-8 babies are more common so it’s possible that I missed a couple. I edited it down to about 5 minutes so if you want to check out the riveting footage, it’s there for you to enjoy:
It sounds like there is a small chance that a mating pair would attempt a second brood in one year so we’ll wait until later in the summer to clean out the birdhouse and see what we find.