So this evening I find myself in a hotel room in Waterloo, Canada - not far from Toronto.
I'm here for the BrainSTEM Unconference with some of the top science YouTubers, such as MinutePhysics, CGP Grey, Veritasium and Smarter Every Day.
More of the big names are joining us tomorrow - making my little projects seem quite small!
When we finish here, many of us will be travelling to Los Angeles for VidCon. Bit of a YouTube roadtrip, it seems.
I'll post more soon... In the meantime, here are some videos I've uploaded in the last week or so:
This video about why YouTube view counts freeze at 301 has created plenty of interest...
This film with Dr Meghan Gray was hastily made in response to a controversial marketing video put out by the EU...
Another computery Numberphile video - this one about the internet and IP addresses...
The new element Livermorium...
What is CERN? from Ed Copeland on Sixty Symbols...
Messier 37 - a Deep Sky Video
The strange tale of a spy telescope...
And a little bit of philosophy...
Greetings from Waterloo
It's Sweden v England
Well tonight everyone (in England) is talking about tonight's match up in football's European Championship.
It is the might of England (World Cup winners 46 years ago) against Sweden (World Cup runners-up 54 years ago).
At least they build good telescopes!
Here's the Nordic Optical Telescope and Isaac Newton Telescope, both on the island of La Palma.
From my Deep Sky Videos series.
An Astronomical Father's Day
With Sunday marking Father's Day (in many countries), I've taken a Deep Sky Videos approach this year.
Our main video features astronomers Mike Merrifield and Meghan Gray.
The questioning also turns to Mike and Meghan's own fathers and some curious personal tales.
Here's the main video:
And because it was all so fascinating, three lots of "extra footage" exploring the various tangents.
Here are my channels
It seemed like about time to write another update of all my projects and YouTube channels.
If any of them sound interesting, please do subscribe on Youtube (if you don't have a YouTube account, it is super easy to sign up and totally free).
They're listed in no particular order.
THE PERIODIC TABLE OF VIDEOS
Web: http://www.periodicvideos.com/YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/periodicvideos
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/periodicvideos
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/periodicvideos
Started with a video about every single element, this series has branched into other areas of chemistry. A collaboration with the University of Nottingham School of Chemistry, the most familiar face is that of Professor Martyn Poliakoff.
Example video:
SIXTY SYMBOLS
NUMBERPHILE
COMPUTERPHILE
DEEP SKY VIDEOS
TEST TUBE
BACKSTAGE SCIENCE
WORDS OF THE WORLD
BIBLEDEX
MY FAVOURITE SCIENTIST
FOODSKEY
PHILOSOPHYFILE
BRADYSTUFF
Some Football Stuff
Fans of football (or soccer, as some may say) may be aware the European Championships has begun.
Here are some football-related videos from my back catalogue (let me know if I have forgotten any!).
Steve Bennett designing a football computer game - here is a day in his life!
The physics of a football... (from Sixty Symbols)
The Professor famously analyses the World Cup trophy! (from Periodic Table of Videos)
Some football philosophy (from PhilosophyFile)
The shape of the ball... (from Numberphile)
A scientific penalty shoot-out (extra footage from the football physics film above).
Birthday probability... you'll never watch the game the same way again!? (from Numberphile)
More philosophy!
About the annoying vuvuzelas which appeared at the South Africa-hosted World Cup.
Today's Trio of Videos
I've uploaded three videos today - a mixed bag as usual.
First was this astronomy video (Deep Sky Videos) all about a supernova and the galaxy M101.
Then a quickie for Numberphile about Pythagorean Primes.
And lastly for Test Tube, this in-depth interview with James Clewett about the struggles of finishing a PhD.
For more from James, don't miss the video: Confessions of a Tetris Addict.
The Transit at Night
As I write (just after 1am) it's not possible to watch the much-hyped transit of Venus.That's because it is night here - my view of the Sun is being blocked by the planet I live on.
I know it's happening though because I'm seeing the live feeds and Twitter activity.
And just to double check, I fired up the planet app on my iPhone and pointed it at the floor. Here's what I saw:
The App is called The Night Sky.
There's a limited chance for me to see the transit at sunrise, but I'm pretty sure UK clouds won't permit that!
Oh, and here is the preview video we made for Sixty Symbols (which was tweeted by YouTube today!)
Martyn the Mole
The creativity (and quirkiness) of Periodic Table of Videos viewers continues to impress me.
This latest contribution comes from high school teacher Monica in Seattle, USA.
Monica told me her student, Melinda, made a "Molityn Moliakoff" mole for Mole Day.
"It is complete with hair, glasses, and a tie that represents the periodic table tie Martyn wears, " Monica explained.
I also hear the mole may be delivered to Professor Poliakoff himself in the near future!?