Hanselman's Newsletter of Wonderful Things: March 26th, 2021

🎵I'm almost there...🎶almost there...

Hi friends!
First things first! If there's any chance you found yourself on this newsletter by mistake, you can unsubscribe right now with my apologies. I do not collect emails for any purpose but this joyful newsletter and this is never intended to be spam. This newsletter is managed by Substack and you can unsubscribe quickly if needed.

As you are aware, 2020 kinda sucked. I did discover TikTok, went there as a creative outlet and have found endless creative 1 minute videos there and made a few hundred of my own.

NOTE: Some of these links go to Tweets or TikToks. If either hassles you to sign up, open the link in Incognito mode. You should be able to view all these links without signing up for a service. Also, if there’s an Amazon link, I’ve added my ref tag.

Here’s some wonderful things I’ve found recently, and a few classics I’ve been reminded of that given me renewed joy.

• Here’s Anika Noni Rose singing Almost There from The Princess and The Frog. If you haven’t been introduced to Anika’s wonderful talents, be sure to watch her in Jingle Jangle on Netflix and the joyful The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency on HBO Max.

• I always thought Glee was a lovely little show. It’s so sad that their stars have been fraught with tragedy. Here’s the Top 100 songs (covers) from Glee, on YouTube.

• I got to talk to my first billionaire recently, and as a multi-thousand-aire I found it very educational. I also asked him if should billionaire’s exist?

• A lot of folks are stressed out with good reason right now. I’ve found “time boxed panics” to be helpful.

• I recently backed the Crowbits Kickstarter. These are little LEGO-compatible coding toys for kids. It’s 80+ electronic blocks that include a kid-friendly graphical programming application. You can build tons of projects based on Arduino and micro:bit.

• Recently I spoke to a bunch of Student Ambassadors getting into tech about Mentorship vs Sponsorship. What must we do to welcome the next generation of creators and what are our responsibilities?

• Here’s some lovely TikToks I’ve shared with my friends recently:

  • Chris from Mr Beast recently found BabySmash.com and shared it in this 6 MILLION VIEW video. My site had tens of thousands of new visitors and I made $24. Really.

  • What would Star Wars sound like if it was a Western?

  • He’s an amazing filmmaking behind the scenes “all in one shot” that shows how practical effects and thoughtful camera work are more useful than CGI and editing.

  • This young man (for some reason) decided to film himself shaving “his beard..” and creativity ensued.

  • There is a wonderful cosplay community on TikTok and some of the costumes have to be seen to be believed.

  • This is what it’s like to order at Chipotle. It hurt to watch but it’s so true.

• Some folks have written a Nintendo Switch Emulator entirely in C# and the code is really amazing. The app is very functional as well.

• MyHeritage created an AI model that takes existing flat pictures of faces and makes ‘idle animations’ of them moving. It’s an unsettling but powerful effect, seeing iconic figures impossibly in motion. Here’s abolitionist Frederic Douglass.

• I got to talk to my first billionaire recently, and as a multi-thousand-aire I found it very educational. I also asked him *should billionaire’s exist?* Listen to the interview here. And as a reminder, I’m on Podcast Episode #781! I’d love it if you’d give a few a listen. I also added Searchable Transcripts as well!

• I say “Hey Friends” a lot, in real life, at talks, in videos. Someone asked “where is the hey friends MERCH?” Not only did I make T-shirts - and they are lovely, BY THE WAY - but all the proceeds go to Black Girls Code! And I’ll match it. We’ve raised over $6000 so far!

• Did you know the Microsoft Azure Cloud also has *Satellites as a Service*?!? This was one of my most favorite episodes where I learn about Azure Orbital!

• Do you need a giant button that you can press to Deploy Your App to Production? Of course you do and here’s the plans.

• Here’s a great Introduction to Python for Space Exploration! Learn Python and how code and data science plays a role in space!

• Want to play Microsoft Teams Conference Call BINGO?

• This 60 second video by Vick Krishna is widely considered one of the best educational pieces on how mRNA vaccines work!

• If you made it this far, stop and back up whatever you’re working on. Remember backups always succeed, it’s restores that fail.

• Jorge wrote a Twitter client…for Palm OS!

• The bizarre tale of the world's last lost tourist, who thought Maine was San Francisco

• I was recently introduced to this portable HDMI Upscaler called an mClassic. I use it for my retro game consoles and Nintendo Switch and have found it to be pretty fantastic! It makes my Xbox 360 look great on a 4k or 1440p monitor.

• I hope you’ve had a chance to watch WandaVision. It’s fantastic and Teyonah Parris is great as Monica Rambeau.

I hope this little newsletter provided you some value and a little distraction. I appreciate you.

Scott