YouTube

by

Livestream – Keeping the Service Live

In my last post, I talked about how we came to livestream our service (check that out here). It happened much sooner than I thought it would.

Livestream -Keeping the Service Live

I have a YouTube channel (check it out here), where I post drone videos. We didn’t want to spend a lot of money on live-streaming because we weren’t sure we’d need it for more than a few weeks. Since our goal was to keep it cheap, my free YouTube channel was the perfect solution for our streaming service and platform.

But having a streaming service was just the first step. 

I could easily film myself in front of my laptop with its built-in webcam, but there was no way we could stream a service that way. 

I did have an old video camera that I haven’t used much lately. In fact, since the iPhone started taking good pictures and videos, I haven’t used that camera at all.

Fortunately it had a HDMI video port on it. 

If right about now you are thinking that this is getting a little too technical, that is exactly what I was thinking to myself last Saturday morning. 

I started looking at how-to videos on my computer, and the morning quickly turned into the afternoon.

I learned a lot from all those videos. One thing I learned was that you can’t just plug your camera with a HDMI port into your computer and see the picture. You need something to transform the camera feed into something the computer can make visual.  

That reality had me drive downtown to a store to pick up a cam link – probably one of only two in the whole city. But I got it and it wasn’t too expensive.

I remember driving back home from the store and thinking, “What if this doesn’t work with my camera?” … because the 14-year-old kid, who told me about the cam link on his instructional video, said that it only worked with some cameras.

I was fully prepared that my 10-year-old camera – almost as old as the kid in the video – would not work with this miracle connector.

When I got home I found some free software on the internet that I installed on my computer to communicate with the camera feed. I plugged it all in and it was one of those “praise the Lord” moments. The picture from the camera was visible on my laptop. 

I was amazed and grateful.

It felt like those times when you didn’t study the night before a big test, and felt bad, nervous and pessimistic that you would even pass. And then, out of the blue, beyond any possibility, your teacher was sick and the test was postponed. 

That’s how I felt. It was great.

… Then it was back to the online tutorial videos to figure out how to connect this new software with my YouTube streaming. 

I must have watched one online instructional video about fifteen times in order to finally put all the steps together and be able to livestream on my YouTube channel. 

The next day, we did it for real and the results were great. Our first livestream went off without a glitch!  

… Now we have to repeat it this week.

Here’s the thing: When you have gathered together all the equipment for livestream, you still have to learn how to put it all together. When you place your faith in Christ, that is only the start. Next you have to begin the learning curve of being a disciple. Don’t stop at faith; keep growing in that faith.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you bought that you never took the time to learn how to properly use? Leave your comments and questions below.

by

When YouTube Strikes The Funny Bone

YouTube is a source for help and a source of humour … and sometimes one video can pull together both those elements.

Screen Shot 2016-07-19 at 12.00.57 AM

In my last post I wrote about how I was thinking of putting in some kind of watering system for our lawn. It’s been so dry that the only things that remain green are the weeds.

For research I turned to YouTube. It doesn’t matter what you are working on, or thinking of doing, someone has already attempted it and has recorded it on video for the masses to see.

There is a world of practical information and tutorials out there made by well-meaning people. I say “well-meaning” because there is a vast array of quality when it comes to these videos.

There are those who try to show you what to do, or tell you what they are doing, all while they are also holding the camera. It’s like they are filming on the back of a moving horse.

Then there are those who are over instructive. They want to make sure they have not left anything to the viewers’ imagination or interpretation.

And there are some who can pull together an instructive video that really is helpful.

In my search for a video to show me possible methods of in-ground water sprinklers, I found one who took forever explaining things I and every 10 year old on the planet already knew.

But along the way a video caught my eye. It was two young guys showing how to make an in-ground system for under $20.

The video started with the equipment and tools you would need to do it. Then they demonstrated how you would install their system. This is where it got funny.

They had found a 50 foot garden hose on sale for $2.49, which would really help their price point.

They showed how to mark the path of where the hose would go and put a sprinkler head on one end. They attached the other end to the water source coming out of the house. They then dug up the ground along the path of the hose.

Before they actually buried the hose underground, they had one issue to take care of: they had bought a 50 foot hose but only needed about 20 feet of it for their project.

Now, you have to remember these young guys were about 12-14 year old kids. So instead of cutting the hose to the length they needed, they suggested you coil the excess hose and bury it.

That’s right, you heard me! This sprinkler head was going to be at the corner of a garden, so they coiled 30 feet of hose, dug a shallow grave for it in the garden, and covered it up.

It was my laugh for the day. I’m still chuckling a week later!

… Definitely informative and funny.

Here’s the thing: Don’t be all serious when you read the Bible. There are things in there that will make you smile, and even laugh if you let them. Sometime you might find yourself chuckling with God as you read about Gideon and his battle against the Midianites without weapons. Sometimes you might chuckle at how much you are like the characters in the Bible. God’s Word is both instructive and, yes, it can be funny too, in places.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you found to be a funny passage in the Bible? Leave your comments below.