OddballGreg - 10 Humorously Strange YouTube Videos

This adorable still was taken from here. It's impossible to not feel happy when you see this fluffy critter.

Sometimes, I spend my days doing productive things like learning how to make games, or learning how to design websites, or learning how to write better blogposts. Other days I watch ridiculous video's on YouTube and wonder why I haven't gotten anything done?

So, naturally, I'd make a blog post about the things that made me not write a blog post. Makes sense right? (Of course it does.) So without further ado, here are 10 Humorously Strange YouTube videos that I think are worth mentioning for some reason.

1. "Pink Fluffy Unicorns Dancing On Rainbows" by FluffyMixer

This one should be obvious if you're a long time reader of the TCSA blog. Why? Because I have a massive Unicorn obsession for no apparent reason, and find this song extremely adorable. Few things are as effective at brightening my mood as this rather strange song is.

2. "[SFM] Off Limits" by an0nymooose

You ever have those moments of pure: "What the hell did I just witness?" This extremely strange video made with the Source Filmmaker left me in a state of open-mouthed stupor before cracking up into a laugh that clearly dictated just how strange this video is. As they say: "Boredom Kills."

3. "asdfmovie" by TomSka

Technically a series of video's rather than just one, the asdfmovie's have done several things, not the least made me question my sanity as well as that of my friends as we continue to quote these infernally odd skit's, years after we first saw them. If you like strange people, simply say "Hello Mine Turtle" to people when you meet them. If they reply "Hello" in a squeaky voice, they are probably fairly odd.

4. "Defuse On The Fly CS:GO [SAXXY 2014]" by Deviant Picture Films

This one makes the list for taking what seems like a completely serious setting and making it completely ridiculous without you realizing it. Counter Strike matches typically involve the terrorists placing the bomb at the site and defending it. The mental process that must have gone into: "What if we put the bomb... on a chicken?" is surely a wonder to behold.

5. "GUNMAN STYLE - (ASIAN WESTERN PARODY)" by Jervey Hou

Gunman Style? That doesn't sound similar to any hit YouTube song releases by South Korean pop stars from 2012 does it? If it does, I can't remember. Of course, Asian cowboys and blue eyed Ninja's brawling to a western themed parody of Gangnam Style is already funny, but when you have water pistol gunfights and dramatic self-sacrifice by fake-mustache wearing teddy bears, this get some what strange quickly.

6. "Dot Dot Dot (Official Video HD)" by Ricepirate

Perhaps only humorous if you've ever seen the Newgrounds comment section, this particular video was made due, from what I can gather at any rate, due to the maker laughing hysterically at the awful grammar of a strangely outraged gamer who seemed disgusted at the features of one of the game submissions. In any case, Ricepirate's delivery is sure to have you laughing as you question why on earth someone would bother getting so worked up over a free game.

7. "Neg's Urban Sports: Urban Sprinting" by Silmano

While technically not the property of Silmano, I'm pretty sure if someone had a problem with this video being on YouTube they'd have said something. (Which they haven't, since it's been on YouTube longer than I have.) Copyright aside, one probably questions just how bored you have to be to intentionally make mall-cops chase you in the name of Urban Sports. Or trying to smoke as quickly as possible before a bouncer chucks you out of the non-smoking establishment. Or just acting like a complete mong to make someone move away from somewhere. (Those are some of the other Urban Sports from "Neg") Either way, it's pretty funny to watch him try.

8. "Team Fortress 2: Heavy sing Baby(Feat. Scoutacris)" by Reznov's Channel

Hey, I heard some Canadian kid did a cover of this song. (Teehee) Jokes at Mister Beaver *cough* Bieber's expense aside, anyone familiar with the Team Fortress 2 characters will likely find this rendition of Baby strangely amusing.

9. "How To Use a Public Restroom" by Schmoyoho

Ever made a friend in a public restroom? Me neither, but apparently it happens... musically, with woman in the male restroom trying to access the Wi-Fi while the uncomfortable visitor sings about the bathroom's acoustics. Quite simply, this s*** is weird. It's also oddly funny in that: "No bloody way" sort of way.

10. "The Assumption Song - Oney Cartoons" by OneyNG

A song I remember from back when I was in Primary school, this song is a guaranteed corruption o' meter for your mind. Do you know what comes next? If so, then this song is probably going to be stuck in your head for a while as you giggle mischievously at just how hard the creator tried to make the innuendo's obvious. 

Of course, there are probably thousands more absolutely strange and funny videos on YouTube that you probably (hopefully?) think are worth mentioning. If so, do be sure to let us know down in the comments below, or via Facebook/Twitter. We here at TCSA love to hear your feedback. And of course, if you enjoy finding out about awesome stuff on the web and world then do please be sure to like the Official TCSA Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter using the associated buttons on the bar to the left to get all the latest posts as they're published. Also, do be sure to share posts you enjoyed with your friends as it helps us out a great deal. Regardless of what you do, I thank you for having taken the time to read this post; hope that you have/had an absolutely FANTASTIC day, and I will speak again soon.

Enjoy the videos my friends.

OddballGreg - Baking Circuitboards (Culinary Electronics)

Newest magical ability of TCSA: Shrinking people down to the size of motherboards. Please don't turn that fan on.

Computers break. A lot... Often... In a variety of ways. Anyone who's ever owned a computer can attest to that. So of course, it makes sense that some rather strange methods of repair have also sprung up over the years, such as sticking your R10000 board or card into a baking oven. (That sounds perfectly safe.)

Motherboards, Graphics cards, etc. These things all stop working eventually. (Frequently with me. *facedesk* Word of advice, warranty's are your friend.) Lucky for us, YouTube is a source of endless information, (and entertainment if you're bored.), and a great variety of people have come upon the idea of actually baking you card in an oven.

Baking your card? I must be joking you're probably thinking. Strangely enough, no. I will point out that this is a  temporary solution, and also a last ditch one. There's probably as much chance of breaking your card as there is of fixing it, so I suggest only doing this if whatever manner of electronics it is simply does not work no matter what else you've tried.

Warning out of the way, here's how it works: If you know anything about electronics, then you'll understand that circuitboards are nothing more than tracks of conductive material on a non conductive board, which links various electronic components together so that they can perform their various functions. Of course, to attach the various parts to the board, you need a metal that is highly conductive, but can melt at high enough temperature that you can attach things to the board, without melting when the computer is running. Usually substances like solder are used, though I'm not sure what they use most frequently these days. (And you thought cooking meth like Bryan Cranston was hardcore. I BAKE METAL! *Headbang*)

So why does sticking your motherboard or graphics card or whatever into the oven work? Quite simply, you're redoing all of those joins on the board, in the hopes that it fixes any micro-cracks in these joins and gives you a few extra months of use on your otherwise messed up board. 

Now I know what you're thinking. This can't possibly work, I mean, tutorials such as the one above sound well meaning and honest enough. But you're sticking a metal and plastic board into the OVEN. That's crazy. Well, yes, again, this is a last ditch effort to get your card to work again. But it's a good idea to remove anything that can melt like plastic ports or cables, and some tutorials detail covering various components in metal foil to protect them. However, I've actually done this with an old graphics card I got from my uncle, and managed to get it to function for another good 6 months after a rather brutal drop onto the ground. (I did have to replace a capacitor that was broken off and lost.)

Crazy as that is, some people have done similar, and then simply baked the card again when it stopped working and got further use from theirs. Though I would point out that your warranty is pretty much void from the moment you touch the card with a screwdriver, so I suggest cashing in the warranty above doing ANYTHING else. (If they replace it, typically the warranty gets renewed, so this is a fairly better thing to do.)

In any case, if you have any faulty electronics lying around that are helping nobody, and decide to give this trick a try, do keep in mind, that it doesn't always work, but maybe you can get your busted up old Xbox to work again thanks to it. It beats not trying anything though. If you're interested in giving it a try, go check out a few video's on YouTube like the one I linked earlier in this article to get the full details on how to do it.

If it helps you, or at least was worth the try, then do be sure to let us know how it went in the comments section below or via Facebook/Twitter. We here at TCSA love to hear your feedback. And don't forget to share this post with any computer minded friends of yours. I'm sure they'll appreciate the potentially handy information. Of course, if you would like to read more articles about handy tricks like this, then be sure to like the official TCSA Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter, using the associated buttons on the bar to the left, so that you can read the latest posts, as they go up. Regardless of what you do, I thank you for having taken the time to read this post; hope that you have/had an absolutely FANTASTIC day, and I will speak again soon.

Happy baking my friends.

Thoughtful Thursday - Perceptions (Did you not see what you saw?)

Hello and welcome to Thoughtful Thursday; the day of the week where I tell you about how your brain lies to you, or do I?

Image was taken from http://eyetricks.com/0101.htm. Wondering what the new logo at the top of the image is about? Make sure to read Saturday and Sundays posts to find out.

Have you ever seen something that wasn't there? Provided you weren't on any type of hallucinogen at the time, you were probably a victim of your brains incorrect perceptions. Yes. Brains can be wrong too, and they can be so in a multitude of ways for a variety of reasons. Let's talk about that.

If you have ever seen strange faces in bricks or thought that a tree was staring at you, your brain has essentially deceived itself due to the simple fact that it likes facts, rather than malleable concepts. A study of psychology known as Group Psychology is centered around the fact that your brain does not percieve the pieces of what you sense, but what you sense as a whole. You don't smell the individual spices in a stew, you smell a stew. (Or, in the famous case that led to the discovery of Group Psychology, 2 slides of a vertical line and a horizontal line changed at a high enough speed, will be perceived as the line rotating.) It should be noted, I may be wrong about the name of this brand of psychology.

My ever favourite science and fact channel on YouTube, Vsauce, frequently talks about interesting facts concerning perceptions all the time. For example, this video discusses the way that the brain can perceive occurrences incorrectly and make you believe that it just happened, thus leading to Deja Vu. Another video explains how, even at this very second, your computer, phone, or tablet screen is lying to your brain right now. The yellow you're seeing all over my blog right now, (That is, if you're reading this when the blog is still yellow.), is little more than your brain assuming that the light coming off of your screen is actually yellow.
Yet another video is devoted to illusions, and discusses everything from the brains natural wish to assert itself as controlling over it's situation and future, to the fact that your brain is rather stubborn, and will often refuse to admit that it's wrong; choosing to rather change your perceptions in accordance with what it thinks is happening.

The point of the fact is, your brain, is easy to lie to, and easy to confuse, simply because of the way it works. While you can consciously understand concepts and decide that you were previously incorrect due to the grouped effectiveness of your mind, your brain is very much just an electrical machine with a massive tangle of cables. The electricity only flows one way and if one of the cables stops working properly for some reason, the rest of the machine for better or worse, continues to function to the best of it's ability. It has no ability to reconsider previous assessments.

This is not entirely a bad thing, as the constant stream of data which your brain sifts through in near real-time ensures that you can function and react effectively at all times. What would happen if your eyes decided they wanted to review what they said earlier while you were driving? (I can't see the result being altogether pleasant.) However, the downside to this is that incorrect assessments are never corrected, which is part of what leads to Phobias.

Phobias are the brains excessive and irrational fear of all things related to a certain subject, often as result of a traumatic incident involving that subject... or not. Phobias are caused by what is perhaps colloquially known as the "reptillian brain" which is the basic brain stem and the effective center of your brain. This part of your brain is most typically responsible for the preservation of your life, and handles things such as breathing, metabolism to a degree and, important to this discussion, the flight, fight or freeze responses.

Image is from http://www.wisdompage.com/FlawsInMentality.html

The thing about the conscious mind is that it is somewhat slow. You have to think about things, and then make decisions about them. And even woman can't multitask all that much, if the stereotype is to be believed. So your senses are processed first by the reptilian brain before your main cortex which is responsible for sapient thought. This allows you to react without thinking and is pretty handy for rolling out of the way when a bear is about to give you a hug. (Or some other reasonably fatal situation needs to be escaped.)

The problem arises however, with how your reptilian brain decides what is something that needs to be reacted to. Patterns. As a child, the first time you saw fire, you probably wanted to play with it. This is because your reptilian brain did not yet know what kind of danger the fire could pose to you. Once you harmed yourself however, the reptilian brain understood that fire = pain and hurt, and thus any time you encountered fire from then on, you were probably far more weary even before you had consciously decided to be so. This is good. It keeps you alive. The problem comes in with trauma, either physical or emotional. It's widely believed that the cause of Phobias is a result of patterns related to a specific, traumatic incident, not leaving the reptilian brain once the need for quick reactions is over. This leads to continual terror as the brain continues to think it is in danger and looks for a way to preserve itself. 

Perhaps even worse, is that in the same way that thoughts and memories are linked through neural synapses, your reptilian brain begins to associate non-dangerous things to the Phobia in this state. So you can go from merely being afraid of spiders, to being scared of TV's because a picture of a spider on the TV triggered a terror attack. The next time you see a TV can make you scared of where you saw that TV... and so on and so forth. Brains are rather stupid sometimes.

So why is it then, that sometimes, we seem to see or feel things that aren't actually there? Or perhaps the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end, and you can feel someone's eyes on you? Well, to explain that, you need to understand that the human brain's first and foremost goal is self preservation. Anything it can do to give itself an edge in life, it does to the best of it's ability.

I mentioned earlier about how you might have seen a face on some bricks. (or toast.) This is one of the brains methods of self-preservation. Friend or foe, most creatures have a face. So it pays to notice them when you see them. In a similar situation, you will find that in classrooms or public places, it's fairly typical for you to notice when someone is watching you. This is again to help you know when you've attracted (un)wanted attention.

Interesting enough. Humans are the only creature with white eyes. At some point in our evolution, we decided that we no longer needed the camouflage of less seen eyes, instead favouring the social aspect of white eyes which helps people to know when you're looking at them.

In the end, those playing the game of survival of the fittest, and those with all the best weapons and advantages, move on to reproduce. So the next time time you think someone is watching you, listen to that "gut feeling". It might be more correct than you think, and all in thanks to your ancestors who used that sense to survive long enough to extend your bloodline down to you. If you found this article interesting, or would like to mention something I got wrong or missed out, be sure to let me know in the comments below or over Facebook and Twitter. Also, be sure to share this with any friends you think might find it interesting as well. Of course, if you would like to read more articles like this, be sure to follow me on Twitter and/or like my Facebook page so that you can get the latest articles, as I post them. Regardless of what you do, I thank you for taking the time to read this article; hope that you have/had an absolutely fantastic day, and I will speak again tomorrow.

Stay frosty friends.

Website Wednesday - Newgrounds (Flash Portal)

Hello and welcome to Website Wednesday; the day of the week where I tell you about some strange website that kept me sane when I felt bored, and then crack jokes about the strange things there.

Image take from http://www.newgrounds.com/. I sat here for 10 minutes trying to think of something funny to say here...  I got nothing...

You've had them. I've had them. Those days where simply nothing seems to be holding your interest, and it's likely that you are going to bash your face on your desk out of sheer frustration if that doesn't change quickly. Newgrounds is to the bored what alcohol is to the sad. Not actually good for you, but better than nothing.

Back in high school, (and probably before it), I had significant issues with boredom... Namely, things were boring as hell often, which led to a great deal of frustration in my days while I prayed for something to do. Thank goodness for the internet as they say, as I found Newgrounds, an online flash portal, (That's internet speak for a website that links you to other things.), filled with all manner of strange games and videos that make you question the sanity of the world. (Not that I cared, some of them are really fun! Teehee)

Founded in the year of my birth (1995) by Tom Fulp, Newgrounds is something of a social media hub which hosts user uploaded flash games and videos, music and art that other registered users can comment on and rate for the rest of the community. While hardly the best of all those things, it certainly is nice as a convergent place to find them. Some of the games are good and have kept me busy in my times of dire need; the videos are strange enough to even make me question humanity; the music is occasionally good and typically usable with the authors permission, which some have found handy for a variety of reasons and the art, like DeviantART, has some gems in it midst the slightly less shiny submissions.

All in all, Newgrounds is good for staving off boredom on the days that it strikes hard, even if your time spent on the site isn't precisely the most productive way you're likely to ever spend it. In any case, I have linked a few submissions from the site that I personally found fairly entertaining at one point or another. Be sure to check them out, and let me know what you think of them or any other good submissions you find in the comments or over Facebook or Twitter. Also, don't forget to share this article with any bored friends of yours, they might appreciate the opportunity to pass some hours unproductively. If you would like to read more articles like this one, be sure to like my Facebook page and/or follow me on Twitter to get the latest posts, as they're uploaded. Regardless of what you do, I thank you for taking the time to read this article; hope that you have/had an absolutely FANTASTIC day, and I will speak again tomorrow.

Later peepz. (That's how they talk on the internet right?)

• Reimagine :The Game:
• Glorious Morning
• Paragon X9: Chaoz Fantasy
• The Last Stand
• The Last Stand 2
• Breaking Bad Tribute
• Annika
• Starcraft Terran Medic
• Starcraft Terran Ghost
• Dad's Home

Thoughtful Thursday - One Red Paperclip (Bartering Of Note)

Hello and welcome to Thoughtful Thursday; the day of the week where I talk about an interesting story a friend told me about, and wonder at the kind of people that take part in such a scheme.

Apparently Blogger is having a blue day... I have no idea why it's tinging this image blue, or how to fix it... Image is of http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/

If you're wondering why the header image is blue... I must point out... That I have no idea. Ignoring that, today I'm going to talk about the tale of One Red Paperclip in which Kyle MacDonald bartered an actual Paperclip for various items until he got a house. How crazy is that?

In 2005, Kyle MacDonald had the idea to do something strange. He figured that he was going set up a blog online, which can be found here, with which he would trade a single, red paperclip with various people until he got "a house, an island, or a house on an island." (And I thought I had ridiculous idea's. Of course, if it sounds stupid, but works; It's not stupid.) Impossibly, people actually decided to go along with his mad scheme, and in the series of fourteen trade's, he eventually became the owner of a house in Kipling, Saskatchewan. (That's a place in Canada that I've never heard of. Good to know though.)

Listed below, in order, from the red paperclip to the house, are the items which he traded until he reached the house. I have even taken the time to link each one individually to his blog posts about each trade, simply because they are somewhat rather humorous. (Kyle MacDonald has quite the sense of humor, going as far to start a very false, very absurd petition against a TV Show presenter to force him to go with him to Yahk.)

1. The Red Paperclip
2. Fish-shaped pen.
3. A Hand-sculpted doorknob, which he nicknamed "Knob-T".
4. Coleman camp stove (with fuel).
5. A Honda generator.
6. (After having the generator temporarily confiscated by the New York City Fire Department),
   one "instant party": an empty keg, an IOU for filling the keg with the beer of the holder's choice, and a neon Budweiser sign.
7. Ski-doo snowmobile.
8. A two-person trip to Yahk, British Columbia
9. Traded the second spot on the Yahk trip for a cube van.
10. A recording contract with Metalworks.
11. A year's rent in Phoenix, Arizona.
12. One afternoon with Alice Cooper.
13. A KISS motorized snow globe.
14. A role in the film Donna on Demand.
15. A two-story farmhouse in Kipling, Saskatchewan. (And a honorary day long mayorship.)

What I quite like about this story, apart from Mr. MacDonald's keen sense of humor and mischief, is the idea that people are so willing to go along with such a seemingly crazy scheme that they found on the internet. Quite simply, the most paying that he did in this entire endeavor was for food and travelling to the various places for this trade. Otherwise his investment was nothing more than One Red Paperclip. People are weird, as I've noted many times on this blog.(Especially with cats though.) More humorous is his open admittance to the fact that he had no idea what he was doing most of the time, nor did he have any idea how he managed to create such a massive following for these trade's online, with over 10 million visitors to his blog. Still, trading things online is a strange enough concept on it's own.

On the other hand, considering a recent Kickstarter project by a gentleman by the name of Zack Danger Brown managed to make $55000 dollars in crowdfunding... to make POTATO SALAD. Maybe trading random things online isn't as weird as one would think... (I want some of that potato salad though.)

In any case, I hope that you find the story of One Red Paperclip as interesting to read as I did, or at least just have a laugh at this man's strange antics.If you do or don't, or even have a similar story you want to tell me about, be sure to let me know in the comments below. Better yet, if you've got some friends looking for a strange story to read, perhaps consider sharing this with them so they too can be amazed at what people will give away. And of course, if you would like to see me talk about more strange things like this, make sure to like my Facebook page and/or follow me on Twitter so that you can get these articles, as I post them. Regardless of what you do, I thank you for taking the time to read this article; hope that you have/had an absolutely FANTASTIC day, and I will speak again tomorrow.

Safe Travels Friends.

Madness Monday - Statistics (And The People That Believe Them)

Hello and welcome to Madness Monday; the day of the week where I talk about statistics, and why they're more useful to politicians than scientists.

Starting to think I need to find more interesting header images... Just maybe.

Do you have 1 breast and 1 testicle? If yes, then statistically, you're a very average person. Do you think you're normal? If you are, then statistically, you're the farthest thing from it. If you have ever thought that statistics were just a little screwy, then you will probably find this interesting.

Have you ever thought you were normal? If you did, the most average thing about that thought is the fact that so many people think it. Strangely enough, the more you think about it, the more you actually realize just how incorrect statistics are, and why they're more useful to politicians than scientists.

Let's talk about that. Michael Stevens from the popular YouTube Channel Vsauce, pointed out in his video Some Surprising Things that statistics are often not what they seem. As I pointed out at the beginning of this post, the average person would have 1 breast and 1 testicle. Since that is, as I'm sure you can understand, rather somewhat unusual, it provides credence to the idea that statistics can as easily used for unintended purposes.

A Statistical Fallacy is when logic and reason is incorrectly used with a set of statistics, as was the case with the aforementioned 1 breast, 1 testicle case. This can happen accidentally, or be intentional in order to convince. The fact that entire Wikipedia page devoted to the "Misuse of Statistics" is reason enough to believe that people like to have and abuse statistics for one simple reason: People believe them.

Think about this. At the beginning of this article, I told you a couple of things while using the word "statistically". While the statistics are those which were used in the aforementioned "Some Surprising Things" video, the desired effect was more psychological than informative. Most people, perhaps including you, will have taken what I said there at face value; and accepted that simply, because it's "Statistically" correct, then I'm right and you need not question those statements. 

Humans are, intrinsically, social creatures that seek acceptance. (Even hipsters like to be with other hipsters.) So when I say something was proven statistically, your immediate reaction is likely to be that of acceptance, simply because that would allow you to better relate to everyone else that supported the idea. (Isn't that absolutely maddening? You believe someone's lies because of the way they use their words. A politicians dream.) 

The result, is that statistics can have a few problems. They can be gathered incorrectly, they can be reasoned incorrectly, and they can be applied incorrectly. Any of which can be accidental or intentional. It's within the realm of reason for a study into the connection between cancer and tobacco use by a Cigar Company to be skewed in their favor; as is a referendum asking about a change in legislature, run by the party that supports said change. 

Effectively, few statistics, quoted or presented, can be deemed entirely trustworthy, for the simple fact that someone stood to benefit from the actual taking of the survey. You're more likely to support something with statistics in it's favor, so companies will often fund the studies of their own products to prey on this subconscious trend.

So, if you happen to like statistics, I might suggest taking a closer look at who made those statistics and why. Otherwise, you might believe someone when they tell you that "statistically", this is the best blog in the world. (Much as I wish that were true. Maybe one day.)

In any case, I hope that you have found something interesting or entertaining to think about here. If you have something to add that I forgot to mention, (That happens occasionally.), make sure to let me know in the comments below. Also, make sure to share this with any friends who think that statistics are always right. And of course, if you would like to read more interesting discussions like these, or simply want to read my writing, don't forget to tell me by liking my Facebook page or following me on Twitter and sending me a message. The necessary buttons to do so are on the sidebar to the right. Lastly, I thank you very much for taking the time to read this post, and hope that you have/had an absolutely FANTASTIC day; and I will see you on the morrow.

Farewell dear chaps.