Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s that time of year again. You aren’t even out of Christmas credit card debt and you’re expected to fork out for something ‘romantic’. Why not try the cheaper route but get all the extra points for being thoughtful?

I’m not a fruit and chocolate kind of woman myself, but there is a big romantic stigma attached to chocolate dipped strawberries.

An alternative to choc-dipped strawberries on a plate is the always popular choc-strawberry bouquet. All you need are some fake roses. Chop the rose head off and stick the strawberry on there.

Voila. Happy Valentines Day.

Given this day and age of the internet, you’re probably familiar with what Groundhog Day is even if you’re not a Canmerican. However, if you’re not, this is the video for you.

Yeah… I think I’m going to go with a solid ‘I’m a jerk’ label and say that Groundhog Day is lame. Go ahead and have fun – any excuse to drink, right? – but it’s still lame.

And I used to be American.

I do hope all the people who acknowledge the day have a lot of fun and all that – fun in a top hat! – but it’s another one of those weird things I hope will pass quickly.

As adults we’re all used to seeing company logos and instantly attaching them to the brand we probably know and possibly love. But what goes through the mind of a 5-year-old child when it sees the same logos?

It’s interesting how the kid recognizes some but not others. His parents clearly frequent coffee shops as he recognizes those and connects them to coffee. And Disney, of course. Oh, and Apple!

This actually made me examine these logos in a way I hadn’t previously. I now realize what the likes of Pepsi, CBS, and Boeing were going for, whereas before I just took them for what they were.

I can’t help thinking there is something in this. If I were a new company I’d commission several different logos and then include children in the focus group helping to decide which to go for. Or is that too simplistic?

Not sure what all this ‘blackout’ SOPA/PIPA stuff is all about? This video helps explain.

Tell Congress not to censor the internet NOW! – fightforthefuture.org/pipa

Governments have been trying to figure out ways to control the internet for a long time; this is just one more big push in their efforts.

Like many people, I’m seeing this bill as the way for the government to make a push on a big snowball. This goes through and things will just get bigger and bigger.

The best and the worst things about humanity exist on the internet, but that is the best thing about it. Why let governments control it?

SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) are still working their way through Congress and the Internet needs to pull together to let politicians know they back these flawed bills without the support of the general public.

SOPA and PIPA are important bills that need fighting against. I’d love for everyone to educate themselves about SOPA and PIPA, but I know most won’t.

All you really need to know is: 1. These initiatives are using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. 2. They simply won’t work. 3. Most of what the entertainment industry spouts about piracy/file-sharing is pure conjecture.

This video seeks to point out some of the flaws in this one-sided explanation video of SOPA and PIPA from Viacom. And it does so exceptionally well.

Don’t be a fashion victim this winter. Wendy Nguyen offers 25 different ways to wear a scarf in this informative style video.

In Brady Bunch style windows we see Nguyen tying her scarves in 25 different ways, all in just four and a half minutes. Now that’s efficiency! The video features all kinds of scarves, from the square silk varieties to classic chunky knits.

As someone who’s fallen into a scarf rut I found this video really informative. It’s inspired me to forget about my tried and true “European Loop” and experiment with a few more scarf styles. Do you think the “Infinity” would suit me?

In this installment of The Chinese are Coming, Justin Rowlatt travels into Brazil and the United States on his journey to investigate the spread of Chinese influence around the planet.

“In Rio, local industries, including bikini factories, are threatened by cheap Chinese imports, and in the Amazon, Justin witnesses the phenomenal impact of the Chinese hunger for resources on the indigenous people and the environment.

“In the US, from California to the rust belt, Justin encounters the rising undercurrent of American fury over their own decline in the face of competition from China.”

This is a fascinating documentary that asks a lot of important questions. China looks to be well on its way…

For some of the people in the northern hemisphere, the time is right for a hot bowl of soup to warm you all the way to your cold toes.

Many of us in the southern hemisphere will just ignore you and put another ice cube in our lemonades.

I personally think just the idea of split pea soup is just gross, but what the masses call for… But I do love other soups – especially a creamy tomato soup. Yum-o.

On a side note just because it’s bothering me – does she have a wandering accent or what? Or am I just way too tired to be listening to UK accents?

Winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, with the least hours of sunlight within the 24 hour period. Which means it’s a rather depressing day.

This video explains the science behind the winter solstice, with the planet we all live on tilting the furthest away from the sun. At least in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere it’s six months later (or earlier).

Winter solstice is actually today (Dec. 22) although there seems to be some confusion over the date. It falls on a day between Dec. 21 and Dec. 23 each year, although it most often lands on Dec. 21.

Winter solstice is an important date in the calendar for many cultures and religions. It’s no coincidence that Christmas is celebrated just a couple of days later.

In Australia, we call that a mint slice.

Okay, so not exactly, but a mint slice made with brownie would be so, so awesome.

So you know how much I love food and ‘how to make this delicious thing’ recipe videos. Did you really think I would let you get away without at least one Christmas recipe video?

I thought not.

And why not brownies? They are delicious and, as you can see here, easy to make. I’d prefer to use my recipe, but it’s up to you. The mint may be more appropriate for a dense brownie rather than a cake-like one.

Easy math for an easy – but perfect – prime rib feast. Who wants ham when you can have riiiiiiibs.

As you may have guessed, I really like ribs. A lot. In barbeque sauce. Yum.

I would like to figure out how to do the math using kilos because all that weight conversion stuff is a bit annoying, but otherwise, this is a great recipe.

But man, holy gobs of butter, batman! That’s a large amount of butter. Sheesh.

Still, I bet that just makes them taste even more fantastic than the finished ribs look anyway.

Man, now I am so hungry. Someone get me some ribs!

It is easy to get depressed about the world when you see the news each night with so many bad things happening.

But we must remember to look at the world we are living in as wonderful and exciting times as well.

“In On The Brink we discuss the past, present and future of connectivity with a mix of people including David Rowan, chief editor of Wired UK; Caterina Fake, founder of Flickr; and Eric Wahlforss, the co-founder of Soundcloud.

Each of the interviewees discusses the emerging opportunities being enabled by technology as we enter the Networked Society.

Concepts such as borderless opportunities and creativity, new open business models, and today’s ‘dumb society’ are brought up and discussed.”

It’s often too easy to forget how fortunate we are to live on this planet. This video should act as a reminder of how beautiful the natural world is, if only we’d stop and soak it in once in a while.

I sincerely hope those of you resident outside the U.K. can watch this video, because it is a joy to behold.

If not then just imagine David Attenborough’s dulcet tones speaking the lyrics to What A Wonderful World while images of the natural world play out underneath in glorious HD. Have I painted a picture?

Attenborough’s shows on the BBC have always been fascinating, but the new breed, from Planet Earth onwards, are superior. Mainly thanks to high-definition, which suits the footage perfectly.

“Did you know you have functioning neurons in your intestines — about a hundred millions of them?

Food scientist Heribert Watzke tells us about the “hidden brain” in our gut and the surprising things it makes us feel.” -YT

I recently watched a Horizon video that featured how cooking transformed the path humanity took to developing the big brain.

I picked this video because I find the subject fascinating. I love that there is, essentially, a second brain in the gut.

These days we are so separated from what our body does, so it is great to learn more about the body and start to use that knowledge for our better health.

Protect our kids: Sign the petition http://www.preventioninstitute.org/notbuyingit

“Experts agree that junk food is a huge contributor to skyrocketing rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, and even strokes among adults–and increasingly, among children.

And food and beverage companies spend billions of dollars promoting unhealthy foods virtually everywhere kids go.

The Interagency Working Group on Foods Marketed to Children (IWG) has proposed reasonable nutrition guidelines to help provide a model for companies that market to kids.

Unfortunately, the food industry and media companies are working to get Congress to stop the IWG from finalizing these sensible recommendations.

“We’re Not Buying It,” exposes deceptive marketing to children, debunks industry claims, and highlights the latest research.

Get involved at www.preventioninstitute.org” -YT

I loved episode one of Ask a Mortician, so how could I not put up episode two?

I know I linked to it with the first video, but I wanted to actually post it up. I still love this series (despite the awful intro music).

I don’t think I am ready to go get a degree in funeral science (or whatever they call it), but I really like her approach to answering people’s questions.

And I love that people are asking questions! There are ones I’ve always wanted to know and some I never thought of.

The best of both worlds.

It’s not exactly Betty’s Turkey Pot Pie, but it’s a much shorter video for when you want a quick, easy to understand recipe.

As much as you eat on Thanksgiving, you always end up with leftovers from the day. In fact, some people say that is the best part of Thanksgiving!

Personally, I think it’s the pumpkin pie, but there aren’t always leftovers of that.

I decided to put up another Turkey Pot Pie recipe just because the one I posted a while back is a bit old and a bit long.

Trust How Cast to get in there with a quick video on how to do it.

Spice up your Thanksgiving pumpkin pie desert by making it a pumpkin cheesecake instead!

Yum. Excuse me while I drool all over my laptop.

One thing that I miss since moving to Australia is the good ol’ pumpkin pie. You can’t get pumpkin in a pan, so making one from scratch is a bit of a pain in the rear end.

I’ve done it, but roasting my own pumkins… Time consuming.

I am a huge cheesecake fan, so the combination of two of my favourite desserts? Two thumbs way up. Double yum.

This video is a bit long, but she really takes you through the steps and the why of the steps.

Bringing death back into our culture! A woman who is not only a mortician but has worked in a crematorium as well is here to answer all your deadly questions.

I found this video to be quite fascinating (as well as being well put together and fun).

Death is often a hard topic to handle, even when it comes to the things we actually know (as opposed to what we don’t know, like the afterlife).

And, because I just had to know, it turns out that she has made an episode two for her series that you can watch here.

Have you ever wondered what the Coriolis effect is? Let’s be honest, you probably haven’t. And neither had I before today. But actually it’s a fascinating subject.

This video shows what the Coriolis effect is by using a simple example of two people throwing a ball to each other while traveling on a roundabout. It’s about as easy a way of explaining it as there is.

If you try and read what the Coriolis effect is then you’ll probably be lost within seconds. It’s very hard to imagine what the hell is happening if it’s not shown to you visually rather than explained.

How many people will now rush out to see the Coriolis effect in action? I can only imagine there will be a lot of kids sitting in playgrounds tomorrow wondering what the hell those stupid adults are doing.