The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

While

I'd wager that most everyone has at least heard of Youtube.com, I wonder how many realize just how useful a tool it can be. Once known mainly as a means of promot­ing the latest viral frivolity, Youtube.com has morphed into a truly valuable resource.

Using Youtube.com for pretty much anything and everything seems to come naturally for the younger generation. My youngest recently prepared for his very first ski trip. When I relayed that a friend suggested he watch a few Youtube.com skiing tutorials, he replied, "I already did." It would never have occurred to me to use Youtube.com for pre-skiing lessons, but it was his first resource for information.

That said, I do use You­tube.com a great deal. When I was learning to knit and was too embarrassed to run across the street to my friend and tutor to have her show me how to cast on (yet again!), I bookmarked a Youtube.com video that I could pull up as often as necessary, with no need for embarrassment.

In the last month or so, I've used Youtube.com for a variety of reasons. When our Wii began proclaiming that it could no longer read game discs, Youtube.com provided me with instructions for MacGyvering together a lens cleaner from cardboard, a CD, and a band-aid, saving both time and money. Plus I felt pretty cool.

When my daughter dropped and shattered her powder foundation, a quick visit to Youtube.com yielded the cheap and easy solu­tion to repair it - rubbing alcohol! If that doesn't make sense just visit the site and search for "how to fix bro­ken makeup" and all will be made clear.

I use Youtube.com exten­sively in my homeschooling. In fact, I once paid for an expensive subscription to Discovery Streaming only to discover that we generally preferred the free Youtube. com videos.

We're currently studying the Civil War. In reading about John Brown, our text referenced the fact that his story was translated (loosely) into song. I pulled up "John Brown's Body" on Youtube.com for a quick listen before we moved on to the next subject. I don't recommend this, especially if you have boys in your household, un­less you're OK with listen­ing to, "John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the gravehellip;" sung loudly, over and over. And over. As they say, "Hindsight is 20/20".

I asked my boys (10 and 13) what they'd watched on Youtube.com this week and was told: video game tutori­als, how to tie knots, how to make geocaching containers, guitar lessons, survival ideas and tips on packing back­packs.

Youtube.com channels like HouseholdHacker are full of ingenious tricks. Did you know you can use a dry spaghetti noodle as a punk to light a candle in a deep vase? Their Quick and Simple Life Hacks series is full of similar tips.

Whether you're in search of a free workout video, want to know how to clip your dog, or need to fix your dishwasher, you can find the answer on Youtube.com. Ba­sically, if you want to learn a craft, hone a skill, educate yourself, solve a problem, or just have a laugh, Youtube.com is the place to go.