Category: Family

UFO Failing

  • May 25, 2010

This is my most popular Youtube video:

Right now it has 15788 views, and yesterday I received an email from Youtube that the video is now eligible for advertising and payment. If I chose to create a special type of Google account, they would randomly place adverts before this particular video. Each advert viewed would earn me $$$, with the catch being they only pay out in $100 increments.

I didn’t get far enough to see exactly how much money would be earned per view, but I’m guessing it is in the tenths or even hundreds of a cent 🙂

Here’s some stats on the video itself, just because I love that Google provides them:
– 58% of viewers are female
– The two most popular demographics are 13-17 (36%) and 45-54 (23%)
– 60% of viewers find the video via Youtube’s “related videos” sidebar
– The three top countries by viewer (in order): Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore
– The three top countries by commenter (in order): USA (36%), Australia (19%), Chile (11%)
– The video spiked in popularity in January 2009, just over a year after it was added, but (inexplicably) is at its most popular right now
– The most common google search that leads to this video: “ufo catcher sydney”
– The most famous non-google referral: facebook.com (the video has been embedded in two, unknown-to-me, profiles)

I’m not signing up for Google sense, since I suspect the sun will burn out before the video receives enough views to pay out. But it’s nice to know people are watching.

It’s worth noting that the second in my ‘UFO Catcher Trilogy’ is earning views much faster than UFO Failing:

  • Posted in Family
  • Robert

Squirrel Gone To Heaven

  • May 23, 2010

Several months ago we hung a suet feeder in our backyard to give the birds a little something to snack on during the final weeks of winter.

It didn’t take long before the birds noticed, and started snacking:

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This didn’t bother us in the slighest because
a) We both love squirrels, and
b) You have to respect such drive and industriousness

But even though we were used to the wily ways of these furry little garden kings, imagine our surprise when one day we found the following scene:

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If you’re having trouble deciphering that image, it shows the suet feeder right up at the branch level. Something had apparently reeled it in using the chain until it wasn’t hanging, but simply available right at the branch. In other words something was apparently tired of going to the suet, and instead chose to bring the suet to himself.

I like to think this is the culprit:

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That photo was taken three days ago. It shows a big fat squirrel reclining in the sun, flying squirrel style, on the edge of our patio. I observed this while chatting on the phone with SFL, and was so amused/intrigued I had to snap a shot. It was such unusual squirrel behaviour I was a little concerned and tossed out a snack for him, which he immediately ran over to and ate. So he was just resting.

Sadly, yesterday we found the same squirrel dead in our yard.

He was in a similar position, just sitting on the grass. No sign of trauma, no sign of discomfort. He was a big guy, heavier than I ever thought a squirrel may be. And so soft. We both had a cry yesterday when we realized he was dead. Yeah, yeah ‘circle of life’ and all… but the fact he was in our backyard made him almost a pet.

So in tribute we went out and purchased two new squirrel feeders as a treat for the many other local squirrels. Here they both are:

feed1 feed2

Real corn and fake corn. One at the back of the yard, and one near the house. Both seem ‘squirrel proof’ in the sense that the squirrels should only be able to take the food, and not the entire device. But we shall see. Hopefully they will come soon and start eating, and hopefully we can once again have a squirrel we can think of as our very own 🙂