Hey guys, I am back (again)! Been rather ill this year (as usual), also been busy with other stuff, so haven’t updated this site in a while. I had a terrible ear, nose and throat infection, I couldn’t speak and I was deaf in one ear!

First big news, I think I mentioned this in a previous post, but I am now on fibre internet courtesy of Brsk. I was on Virgin cable, but now I am on a 500 up/500 down connection with VERY low latency, this means I can upload a 40-minute / 4K video in just under 15 minutes now, my old connection was something like 25Mb up, it was painfully slow to upload videos. I also have the option to stream at full bitrate too if I ever want to return to attempt streaming, but for now I am happy just making YouTube videos.

The PC is going well, I cleaned out all the dust in preparation for summer using my Compu Cleaner electric air duster. Think it’s due another clean-out for the winter.

Apropos of absolutely nothing, here’s a photos of a Sunday dinner I had. My Mum makes the best dinners. Lots of gravy and lashings of mint sauce, yum. Chicken, mash, swede & carrot, roast potatoes, peas, sprouts and a Yorkshire pudding.

My Google Nexus 7 Android tablet is now preventing me watching YouTube, so it’s now essentially reached the end of its usefulness. I’ve had that tablet since 2014, and I’ve used it every day. I think for now my Samsung phone will be fine for watching videos, but I would like a new Android tablet one day.

I’m almost at 500 subs on my gaming channel, if you’re reading this, please subscribe! 500 is my current milestone, I then want to aim for 1000 subs! YouTube subs and views have been few and far between lately, although I’m not the only one noticing, I’ve read conflicting advice such as only posting one type of video (i.e WoW) can kill your channel in the algorithm, whereas I have read the exact opposite as in you should focus on one subject to keep your viewers watching!

This YouTube thing is just a hobby for me, my attitude is exactly the same as when I started - I don’t expect anyone to watch, but I am grateful for every viewer and subscriber I get.

I’ve made two videos so far for my electronics channel this year, the first is a quick one on how to build an Arduino on a breadboard using an ATMEGA328P chip:

The second is Mailbag Episode 2 where I go over what I’ve bought for my electronics projects and experiments:

I did get a comment saying the solder I got was probably rubbish and they’re probably right, I will see if I can get my hands on some decent lead-based solder from a UK supplier, but I think it might be difficult because of the EU’s RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) directive. I’m a remainer and supporter of the EU, but I think they’ve gone a bit far banning lead solder in electronics.

I’m possibly going to be recording definitely one, but possibly two more electronics videos this year. I need to do a video on powering a laser and making a little circuit board for it. I also want to record a look through some of my electronics books.

My big project I want to do a series on is for a WiFi, data-logging Geiger counter using the ESP-32 microcontroller. I recently bought my first ESP-32s, they are from Elegoo and they are the 30-pin variety.

I also bought a breakout board for the ESP-32s as the new boards don’t fit properly in a breadboard (unlike the ESP8266 which does!).

I also got a boom arm to experiment with making BigClive-style overhead videos, I originally had it clamped to my table, but after reviewing the test footage I realised it was just too shaky, so I bought a contraption which allows me to clamp my boom arm to my tripod, this results in much less shaky footage. The boom arm also comes with a ring light which as three different colour temperatures and adjustable brightness. I really need a proper workbench/desk, but I just don’t have the space for it.

I’ve also been thinking about starting a new website for my electronics projects and videos, I will keep you updated, I think I might register a domain for it and I will start crafting a site (using Jekyll, of course!). It will probably take months of work to get it up and looking nice.

Speaking of websites, I have been thinking about CEDUK (this site), I want to get rid of the bloat, that means first and foremost removing Google Analytics, I don’t make use of it and I don’t want trackers or other kinds of cookies on my site, I also want a minimal amount of JavaScript. I also need to fix the CSS and compress a lot of images, I want my site to load as quickly as possible on even a slow connection. The CSS is an absolute mess, the whole site needs redesigning from the ground up. I just need to find the time and motivation to do it.

I also need to fix the RSS feed for the website, images are not showing, I think I know a fix, I will have a look at fixing it, I don’t use RSS feeds, and I’m not entirely sure why people use them (to consolidate blogs into one place maybe?), but it’s a nice thing to have.

I’ve been playing with TinkerCad and FreeCAD recently, trying to make a model of my STS-5 GM tube, I also want to make models for components to use in KiCad and EasyEDA. I’ve found FreeCAD pretty difficult if I’m honest, so I think I will stick with TinkerCad for now.

Been playing a lot of WoW recently, I’ve been busy levelling my mage, paladin and rogue through The War Within. I’ve also started a ‘zonelocked’ gold farming character, I’ve managed to make 80,000 gold in 3 days, which is pretty good for me.

My WoW Paladin series is still going, I am currently in Blade’s Edge Mountains, nearly ready for Netherstorm. I think I will be stopping once we’ve finished Shadowlands… maybe. I’m not sure I want to go through Dragonflight and TWW again.

My good buddy, ChrisUpNorth AKA RtK AKA Fishmeister has his own YouTube channel, he has recently been levelling a warrior through Wrath of the Lich King in retail WoW, give his videos a watch and drop him a sub!

A streamer and YouTuber I follow, ButchX3 made a fantastic WoW video where he visits a place beginning with every letter in the alphabet in order! Give his video a watch, he’s a really entertaining guy and very talented at what he does:

My Blizzard/Battle.net authenticator I’ve had since Cataclysm is dying, as soon as I saw the low battery warning I disabled it on my account and added my phone as my authenticator. Once these things drain there’s no way to use them again, even if you can replace the battery, so if you get a low battery warning it’s time to detach it from your account and add your phone as your authenticator!

I temporarily Lost advanced features on my gaming YouTube account! I have no idea what happened, I have no community or copyright strikes. I had to upload my driving licence, to be fair to YouTube, it got processed very quickly and I now have advanced features back. I am a little worried I might lose my channels. If I do you know where to find me (here), I also have a links page for all my socials.

I’m hoping to start recording Feed The Beast Infinity Evolved Season 2 soon, again, I just need to find the time and be in the right frame of mind. I also worry that I’ve forgotten how to play FTB since it’s been so long. I think I will get back into the swing of things quickly. I’ve been working on my FTB installation, I’ve added some extra mods and I’ve added some Bibliocraft paintings so I can have flags and posters and such in the game. I want a ‘hall of heroes’ in my world where I can put statues of my favourite Minecraft YouTubers and streamers as well as people who comment and sub to my channel!

And finally, sad news, I recently found out that GixG17, Elder Scrolls YouTuber, died last year, his obituary is here. RIP Olivier! He was one of the many YouTubers who inspired me to try making videos.

That’s all for now, I will try and not leave it 10 months between posts next time, I promise! Check out this music video for The Naked & Famous’ song “I Kill Giants” - I love this song, bye for now!