Watching YouTube videos at higher resolutions

Yes, it's (finally) true, and you'll probably have noticed it if you watched this.

This week I was digging into this because of an article I read on Corriere della sera. There were rumors about Google desiring to launch a higher-definition version of his video-sharing technology, probably because Google is interested in launching a platform to distribute content such as HD movies for which the YouTube platform was clearly insufficient.

Until Google won't officially launch the enhanced version of YouTube (or whatever the name will be), you can see video stored in higher resolutions using a trick: just add the fmt parameter to the URL of the video you want to see and use one of these:

• fmt=18: with this parameter, the video resolution will be set to 480x270 pixel² and stereo audio
  
• fmt=22: with this parameter, the video resolution will be set to 1280x720, which is a pretty interesting resolution if you like watching full-screen videos

Please note that this parameter will have any effect only if Google is storing a higher definition version of the video you want to see, which will probably be true if the video is recent.

Look at the difference:

• Loreena McKennitt's The lady of shalott (standard YouTube resolution, 320x240 px²)
• Loreena McKennitt's The lady of shalott (480x270 px², stereo)

Enjoy!

Freezing for fun.

Once I thought spas were just a fashion, and they're proving to be a very resilient fashion. Spas, in my head, were just what thermal baths were during the Roman Empire, with additional luxury and entertainment. I was born in a zone which is very rich of volcanic thermal waters, so I was sort of accustomed to thinking about being covered with mud or waiting like a lobster in a tank of boiling water. When I was younger, I associated these customs with "old age". With time, I must confess that I started appreciating this kind of cares and 20 years later, I'm a spa fun, too.

This morning, when I was reading my newspaper, I saw this article (sorry, but it's italian). Maybe I'm no good at foreseeing fashions, but I'm curious to know if this will be as resilient as thermal baths are. Summarizing: Japaneses (who else?) are launching total body cryotherapy.

You just put on your bathing costume, you enter a room at -15 ºC, just "to break the ice"... After some seconds, you enter another one... at -60 ºC. Without stopping (to avoid literally freezing your blood), you enter the last chamber at -110 ºC and remain there 3.5 minutes.

Japaneses assure that when you go out you'll experience a state of euphoria. Good for the body, good for the soul. Euphoria... wouldn't it be some neuron gone nuts?