LINKS
This is a collection of links to things I like, including a few of my own. None of these links is monetized.
MY LINKS
This is my blog on local government in Alameda, California.
Here is my personal GitHub
https://github.com/cameronbateman
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My LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/public-profile/in/cameron-bateman-8061a41
YOUTUBERS
I probably spend more time these days watching YouTube than any other form of content. Here the ones I spend the most time on.
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Steve Wallis is an Alberta, Canada-based licensed gas-fitter who has parlayed his hobby of "boon-docking" into a successful channel. Some of what he does has been criticized as "recreational homelessness" but I really enjoy his enthusiasm for finding new ways to camp and do so within a very low budget. It's partly vicarious I suppose, since I can't do what he does.
https://www.youtube.com/user/thestevewallis
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Big Clive is a Scottish electrician / engineer who has spent decades specializing in lighting control and effects for the entertainment and live action rides businesses. He seems to have worked for everybody from Disney to the Scottish Royal Tattoo to his own business making custom ride controllers for amusement parks. His channel focuses largely on tearing down inexpensive electronics bought from eBay and dollar stores. You get to watch over his shoulder as he maps the physical components of the electronics and then with pen and paper reverse-engineers a basic schematic and explains how it works.
https://www.youtube.com/user/bigclivedotcom
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Minimalist is a channel created by married couple Jo and Michael who, in 2016 upped stakes and left Southern California to move to Britain where in 2017 they bought a canal narrow-boat. I didn't even know this was a thing until I saw it on YouTube. There is an entire cottage industry of so-called "liveaboards", many of whom live year round on their canal boats and vlog about it. Because Britain developed one of the first modern, industrialized economies before either steam or petrol engine, they have a massive sprawling network of canals that connect most of their major cities. When trains and roads supplanted horse-drawn boats, the canals fell into disuse until they were revived in the last forty years as recreational areas. This channel chronicles Jo and Michael's adventures as they attempt to drive their boat around the entire navigable canal system; a project that will probably take nearly five years to complete.