How to set custom thumbnails for your videos on Windows
A VIDEO THUMBNAIL is the small preview image that represents a video file, usually shown in File Explorer and most media players.
Custom thumbnails provide a more engaging preview that helps viewers recognize the video content at a glance. This makes it easier to browse, sort and find the video you're looking for when you have a large library.
With custom thumbnails, you have more control over how your video content is visually represented. You can choose a thumbnail that shows key elements, giving context for what the viewer can expect to see in the video. This helps set viewer expectations before they play the video.
With hundreds of video formats in use, setting custom thumbnails will not work for all of them. However, the steps outlined here will work for many common formats, MP4 and MKV among them.
Let's see how's done. Stay until the very end for bonus tips on how to choose the best thumbnails for your videos.
👇🏻 Here's what you'll need:
A desktop or portable computer (running Windows).
A 'Tag Editor' software.
While there are some good tag editing programs available, we're just going to use a very versatile and fully free audio player: AIMP. This player includes a powerful yet simple to understand tag editor.
Download AIMP. (Windows 32/64-bit) https://www.aimp.ru/?do=download&os=windows
Once installed, you can open the Tag Editor from the Program Files menu or directly right click on some files--> AIMP--> Edit Tags, from Windows File Explorer.
Either way you will be prompted with a simple window that allows you to set or modify the file Title, Artist, Genre, Year and many other tags (more appropriate for audio files), on top of which you'll spot easily the one we're interested: Album cover.
When clicking on the cover (or corresponding empty space) a simple dialog box for choosing the desired cover will pop. Use this for both audio and video files, just make sure 'Write to file' is checked. Hit Save when you're done.
That's it. Now your custom thumbnail will show on Windows Explorer, given your installed Video Player doesn't get in the way. I recommend using Media Player Classic as your default; it's clean, fast, and has huge codec integration.
As promised, here are some useful tips:
The image you choose should:
- Show a representative frame that conveys the video's topic.
- Have a high enough resolution (1-2 megapixels) to appear sharp.
- Avoid overly cluttered frames with too many elements.
Test the thumbnail at its actual size to ensure the main focus remains clear. Consider providing 2-3 alternative thumbnails in case you want to change it later.
Remember:
- Not all players support custom thumbnails.
- You may need different aspect ratios for different platforms.
That's all for now. If you found this useful please Like and Subscribe.
Around 3 years ago (2021), when this blog was doing well monetarily, I used to create new content every couple days. Then payments started to worn off and new rules suffocated the platform, until finally I (and many others) left. But as today, partly out of nostalgia for good times, partly because I recently discovered my old articles exceeded 10k views, I feel it's time to start a new cycle focused mainly on computer and cellphone tutorials (as before) and interesting historical information. To start fresh, the vast majority of older posts were deleted as they became obsolete, except for a select handful. Although both mentioned topics are far from related, I hope you enjoy reading the new content as much as I do writing it.
Protect your keys offline with zero expenses.
YOU DOWNLOADED A CRYPTO WALLET. Next, you're given some safe words (or 'seed phrase'); you're the sole owner of any funds deposited there, now and always. But in fact, many things can later go wrong.
It is crucial you start with the right foot by **protecting your keys** best you can, against theft, software failures, hardware failures, and any kind of eventualities.
Here I show you a simple method that will not require spending a penny.
🛠️ What you'll need:
A working internet connection.
Desktop or Portable Computer.
An old USB Flash Drive (of any capacity).
Step 1
Open your **Notepad** and write down your *seed phrase*. Now save the text file somewhere easily accessible.
Step 2
Find yourself a good QR generator. For this example we use https://www.the-qrcode-generator.com/ but it could be even better if you install one on your phone, and if you're feeling paranoic, disable the network while creating the QR.
Copy your *seed phrase* (words MUST be consecutive, separated by single space), and paste it under "Free Text"
Select an picture size that isn't very small, 400 × 400 px will do.
Save the image file (.PNG) near your text file. Name both files so that you'll easily recognize which funds they grant access to, for example "SafePal Wallet".
Step 3
You need **WinRAR** for the next step. If you don't have it installed, download the newest version in your own language from RarLab. https://www.rarlab.com/download.htm
If you're not familiar with this application here's a quick guide to get you started. https://openrarfile.net/quick_guide.html
Select both files in your computer –the text file and the generated QR– with your cursor and right click on any. Choose 'Add to File...'
From the dialog (above picture) check 'Delete Files after archiving', 'Add recovery record' and Set a password.
Choose an strong password that you won't forget. When setting your password also select: **Encode the file names**.
Leave the rest of the options by default and click "OK".
Now just copy your resulting compressed file to a Flash Drive you're not using. It doesn't matter which size, brand or speed your drive is, but is a good idea to have a couple of these for **extra offline copies.**
DONE!
Whenever you need your keys back, just plug in the USB, open the RAR file and copy the text in the text file, or scan the QR with your phone, depending on your needs.
`Hint` You can also print the QR in a piece of paper and put this sheet somewhere safe.
Hope you find it useful. Let us know how you guard your keys offline. Also don't forget to Like and Subscribe.
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3 unusual historical facts about fortune (in America).
HISTORY OVERFLOWS with curious anecdotes, some well known while others lie forgotten in dusty volumes. Flipping through age-worn pages, I came across some interesting stories connected to money and fortune –topics that naturally capture people's attention. As so often happens, history reveals its ironic twists and turns with valuable lessons to teach. Let's dive into three of this curious finds:
**1. The Seven Golden Cities**
In the early days of Mexico's colonial history, Aztecs spread word among the Spaniards of a golden kingdom located further north (approximately in modern New Mexico), known as the Seven Cities of Cíbola or Tzíbola, filled with treasure. Intrigued, Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza (1490-1552) ordered two consecutive expeditions to investigate. The first under the command of friar Marcos de Niza, and the second, divided into two columns, with Francisco Vázquez de Coronado traveling by land and Hernando de Alarcón by sea.
Neither group could find the fabolous Cíbola, yet the journeys yielded valuable discoveries: Coronado sighted the Colorado River and canyon while Alarcón determined California was a peninsula, not an island as presumed. Though searchers found no mythical golden city, they expanded geographical knowledge - highlighting how pursuits of wealth can paradoxically yield a totally different reward.
**2. Buying Manhattan**
The Lenape, Manhattan's original inhabitants, named Manhattan Island 'Manna-hata,' meaning “island of many hills.” To legitimize Dutch claims to New Amsterdam, Governor Peter Minuit formally purchased Manhattan from the Lenape on May 24, 1626.
Legend says Minuit paid just $24 worth of crystal beads, red rags and copper buttons. Yet in a letter written by dutch merchant Peter Schaghen to directors of the Dutch East India Company stated that Manhattan was purchased for "60 guilders worth of trade" –around $1,143 today.
While the specific payment amount remains unclear, either sum was an incredible bargain for the Dutch. Manhattan's strategic harbor, abundant resources and prime location would transform it into one of the world's greatest cities, a global economic hub worth billions.
**3. The Oak Island mystery**
This mystery involves a legendary buried treasure hidden somewhere on, or beneath, Oak Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. The treasure is rumored to have been hidden by Marie Stuart, the Knights Templar or pirates.
The earliest known mention of the Oak Island treasure was in 1795 when a teenager noticed a depression in the ground and what seemed to be blocks of wood arranged in a circle.
In 1799, the Onslow Company dug a 30-meter shaft but was defeated by the complicated underground defenses. They retrieved old tools and bits of wood from the pit.
The 'money pit' is a shaft believed to extend at least 30 meters deep, perhaps leading to treasure chambers below. Over the years, excavators have encountered numerous booby traps and obstacles, including layers of logs, flagstones, clay and putty intended to flood the shaft.
In 1865, the Shaftesbury and Mersey Companies tried again using more sophisticated equipment but also failed to reach the bottom. They unearthed a stone inscribed with mysterious symbols.
In the 1930s, the Strange-McNutt excavation found a stone tablet with stranger markings as well as oak timbers which radiocarbon dating indicated were 500 years old.
In the 1990s, an expedition led by the Oak Island Treasure Company, drilled to a depth of 238 meters but also found no significant treasure.
Despite centuries of failed attempts, the dream of unearthing a massive pirate horde or historic lost treasure continues to draw intrepid explorers to the Oak Island mystery. Many believe the answers lie just out of reach, below that elusive money pit.
**A Final Word**
The three stories above show how valuable discoveries often come wrapped in illusion and difficultly. Usually the rewards may differ from what we expect, but with perseverance, ingenuity and a long-term perspective, what initially seems impossible can be accomplished. As we sift through history's dusted pages in search of wealth and fortune, the greatest gains may ultimately lie in the insights we uncover along the way.
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Understanding Manipulation
*—The total victory of a manipulator is to make the individual feel and believe that the ideas arise from their own reasoning.*
THE HUMAN BEING shows a natural tendency to emulate. We actually feel a need to be socially accepted. Needless to say, without the power of emulation and mass media, industries like fashion for example would never be so profitable. This apply to politics, and basically any form of marketing/propaganda. When emulating what he sees in media such as television, social networks, magazines... the individual does not reason about the convenience of emulating, instead he justify his emulation.
*People do not tend to reason their future behaviors, but to justify their past ones.*
Knowing this important principle, manipulators will invite you as soon as possible to participate in their activities, campaigns, etc. leaving the most important job to your own brain: to justify your participation. This way you will believe that the reasoning is yours, when in reality your reasoning would have justified any action you had taken. This principle that we will call "self conclusion" is reinforced by social emulation.
Manipulation is all around you in every ad, in every campaign and in every line you read in the news. Good manipulators make effective use of exaggeration and ambiguity (such things as "we will do better" or "there will be less unemployment" if you think it just a bit are mere ambiguities), thus creating false emotional expectations that do not present **concrete and measurable goals**, but abstract aspirations.
*The mass of individuals is less intelligent than the individual, reasoning on its own.*
To make people more enthusiastic, the manipulator must gather, squeeze and confuse their listeners so that they become less and less individual and more mass. The closer the listeners are to each other, the less their ability to discern and the greater their receptivity to suggestion and emotional contagion.
Relying on extreme simplification as a resource, the listener easily finds someone to blame and has the feeling that a specific person or group is enough to solve the problem. Such persuasion techniques are permanently used to limit the intelligence and vision of the public, as it is much cheaper and easier to manipulate the individual whose intelligence has been limited (thank the mass media for being mostly dedicated to our idiotization).
The repressed desires of the mass are stimulated. They tell us about the money we can earn, the comforts, the couples we can get, while distracting our attention from what matters and deliberately hiding the facts from us; in this way they make people get closer to the beast than to the intelligent human being.
When your audience is overcrowded, their own self-righteous behaviors arise driving them away from reasoning. Manipulators know that if you feel part of a group and accepted by its members, it will be easier to adhere to their "cause."
The right thing to do should be **follow your principles even if society avoids you**, but most people have a real fear of social avoidance, which of course has a biological basis that goes back thousands of years in the past when belonging to a certain group was critical to survival.
By becoming part of "their group" a manipulator will know how to find or invent enemies or opponents, which only strengthens unity and a sense of belonging. This is very evident in politics for example, but even in sports it is widely seen: the fans who hate each other are the ones who spend the most money on tickets to matches and on shirts.
An idea placed in the minds of enough people will eventually rub off on others in the group. This is easily accomplished when panic-generating news is used, or when we are convinced that we are being unfairly deprived of some benefit that corresponds to us. **No matter the veracity of the idea** being spread (it may be a lie repeated a thousand times), psychic contagion occurs subconsciously anyway.
This simple blog entry can only scratch the surface of what manipulation is and how it works, but hopefully it gets you interested in reading more about the topic.
📒 Fifty Shades of Manipulation⬇️ https://drive.google.com/open?id=15CyWz3QzD3h2XnHEPRbfHwesJa88V2ni&usp=drive_copy
📒 The Politics of Social Media Manipulation⬇️ https://drive.google.com/open?id=1XfoLIqoZgT_xeq48b3P5het__UuHfBMm&usp=drive_copy
📒 Manipulation and Propaganda⬇️ https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jvG2iMkaDsFmcXl2uWWdYxitQ-Z3L0vt&usp=drive_copy
Guys (and girls) World Today is a great community with a lot of members and we are glad you keep posting here. Anyway we should dedicate the community to a single topic (for instance "world news", just an example) if we want this great group can make it into main page on Featured, where it belongs. Hope you all agree. Regards.
How to swap BTC Lightning to other cryptos with the lowest fees!
BITCOIN'S LIGHTNING NETWORK enables fast and cheap transactions, sidestepping the main Bitcoin blockchain.
LN transactions settle instantly for near-zero fees. However, you'll occasionally need to exchange Lightning Network Bitcoin (BTCLN) for 'on-chain Bitcoin' stored on the main blockchain. Or you may wish to convert BTCLN to another cryptocurrency.
This requires a 'channel close' transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain. While cheaper than a normal bitcoin transfer, it's still slower and more expensive than a direct LN payment.
Here's a simple and cheap method to swap, that doesn't require any advanced knowledge:
+ Head to http://fixedfloat.com/ and choose **Affiliate Program** from the menu. Register. https://fixedfloat.com/?ref=sym9g3ya
+ Now choose your trading pair (BTCLN and BCH in this example, but it will work for any other coins listed).
+ Input the amount you want to swap. In the context menu minimum/maximum allowed amounts are displayed.
+ Input the receiving address (the address where you want to receive your swapped coins).
`Hint` "Float rate" rate will go with the market, and it's cheaper. Leave it on.
+ Press "Exchange Now" and follow the assistant to the end of the process.
You can, in fact, send a different amount –intentionally or by mistake– from what you stated before, and the open order will adjust accordingly.
FixedFloat never store your funds; all swaps take place automatically, with completion times depending on blockchain traffic.
`Tip` Invite new users to sign up under your affiliate link and earn BTC for their trades.
`Notes`
[1] https://lightning.network/
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El Libro Egipcio de los Muertos—
[...] *He aquí que deslizo el cerrojo de la Puerta que se abre ante los misterios del Mundo Inferior. ¡Abrid la Vía a mi Alma hacia la morada de Osiris! ¡Que pueda acceder a ella con seguridad! ¡Que salga de ella en paz! ¡Que no sea repelida a la entrada e impulsada a retroceder! ¡Que le permitan entrar y salir a su voluntad y que la Palabra de la Potencia sea triunfadora! ¡Que sus mandatos sean cumplidos en la morada de Osiris! ¡Oh, Espíritus divinos, observad! Mi Alma marcha a vuestro lado. Ella os habla: está también purificada como vosotros, pues la balanza del Juicio se ha declarado a su favor.*
—Fragmento del Conjuro I Libro Egipcio de los Muertos.
DE TODOS LOS PUEBLOS de la antigüedad, ninguno ha manifestado por el misterio de la muerte un interés tan apasionado y exclusivo como el egipcio.
En las primeras épocas, el rito mortuorio (privilegio del faraón y de los altos funcionarios) establecía que al morir, el difunto se convertía en un Dios, alcanzando la inmortalidad en la Duat –el inframundo–, con todas sus prerrogativas. Pero, con el paso del tiempo, el resto de los mortales también pudo ser merecedor de alcanzar esta vida inmortal en el Más Allá, siempre que cumpliese unos rituales muy precisos.
Un repertorio de conjuros, encantamientos y súplicas eran grabados en las cámaras sepulcrales, en los sarcófagos y ataúdes, y más tarde inscritos en rollos de papiro, con el objetivo de asistir a los difuntos en su viaje. Toda persona ambicionaba poseer las «Palabras de Poder», las fórmulas para devenir un dios, para sobrevivir en la tumba.
Así nació «El Libro». Los egipcios pretendían que estaba inspirado por el propio Thoth, el dios de la sabiduría, la escritura, la música y los conjuros, y es este dios quien habla por la boca del difunto, quien revela la voluntad divina: *"¡Salve, oh Osiris, Toro del Amenti! ¡He aquí que Thoth, Príncipe de la Eternidad, habla por mi boca! [...] En tu Nombre, yo salgo al combate. Soy Thoth, que hace triunfar a Osiris frente a sus enemigos, cuando son pesadas las palabras en el gran Santuario de Heliópolis."*
La existencia del Libro de los muertos era ya conocida en la Edad Media, mucho antes de que su contenido pudiera ser entendido, y desde que fue descubierto en tumbas quedó claro que su temática era religiosa, lo que condujo a una errónea idea generalizada de que se trataba de un equivalente de la Biblia o el Corán. Fue Jean Francois Champollion quien en 1822, tras examinar algunos de los papiros del Libro de los muertos, lo identificó como un ritual funerario. En 1842 Karl Richard Lepsius, fundador de la ciencia de la egiptología, publicó la traducción de un manuscrito datado en la época Ptolemaica con el título de «Das Todtenbuch der Ägypter» («El Libro de la Muerte de los Egipcios»), acuñando así el nombre, que si bien no es el título original de estos textos, ha perdurado hasta nuestros días.
Las voces para salir a través de la luz (rw nw prt m hrw) es el nombre con el que los antiguos egipcios denominaban al texto funerario que hoy conocemos como “Libro de los Muertos”. Convencionalmente, también traducido por los egiptólogos como Libro de la Salida al Día o Libro de la emergencia a la luz, éste era parte de una tradición de textos funerarios iniciada por los más primitivos Textos de las Pirámides y Textos de los Sarcófagos, que se inscribían sobre muros de tumbas y en los ataúdes respectivamente (de ahí sus nombres), y no sobre papiros.
No existía un único y canónico Libro de los muertos. Los papiros supervivientes contienen una variada selección de textos religiosos y mágicos y difieren notablemente en sus ilustraciones. Algunas personas encargaban sus propias copias del libro, tal vez con una selección de los sortilegios que consideraban más importantes para su propia progresión en la otra vida. Podía tratarse de una elección más o menos extensa —algunos ejemplares conservados en rollos de papiro alcanzan los cuarenta metros— y era sin duda un producto caro, por el que se podía pagar un deben de plata, algo así como la mitad de la paga anual de un campesino.
Pero, para los egipcios, el valor de este texto era incalculable, ya que consistía en una serie de sortilegios mágicos destinados a ayudar a los difuntos a superar el juicio de Osiris, asistirlos en su viaje a través del inframundo, y alcanzar la campiña o marisma de Aaru, en la otra vida, el lugar paradisíaco donde reinaba Osiris, y morada también de Ra Hor-Ajti, Seth y otros dioses importantes. Tales fórmulas se inscribían en rollos de papiro y en las vendas de lino de las momias, las paredes de las tumbas, los sarcófagos y los elementos del ajuar funerario del difunto. Sin ellas, la persona fallecida podía sufrir una segunda muerte que significaría su total aniquilación.
El Libro de los muertos fue comúnmente escrito con jeroglíficos o escritura hierática [1] sobre rollos de papiro, y a menudo ilustrado con viñetas que representan al difunto y su viaje al más allá. Era el sacerdote quien recitaba las primeras fórmulas del Libro durante la ceremonia funeraria, cuando se trasladaba el sarcófago a la tumba. Una vez allí, se practicaban rituales para revitalizar los sentidos, entre los que se contaba el de la *Apertura de la boca* [2], por el que se abrían mágicamente los ojos, las orejas, la nariz y la boca del difunto, quien, una vez recuperados los sentidos, emprendía su viaje por el Más Allá.
¿Quieres conocer más sobre este fascinante tema? Sigue leyendo en... National Geographic e Historia y Vida. https://historia.nationalgeographic.com.es/a/libro-muertos-egipcios_6238 https://www.lavanguardia.com/historiayvida/historia-antigua/20191006/47796024203/libro-de-los-muertos-antiguo-egipto-rituales.html
`Notas`
[1] La escritura hierática, más sencilla y estilizada, se desarrolló en paralelo de la escritura jeroglífica (que no era la más adecuada para escribir con cálamo en papiros), permitiendo a los escribas del Antiguo Egipto escribir de forma rápida, simplificando los jeroglíficos. Fue, durante amplios periodos, la escritura utilizada en textos administrativos y religiosos.
[2] Los antiguos egipcios creían que para que el alma de una persona pudiera sobrevivir en la vida futura necesitaría comida y agua. El ritual, denominado por los egipcios uep-rá, implicaba la animación simbólica de una estatua o una momia del fallecido mediante la magia de la apertura de la boca y los ojos para que pudiera respirar, comer, ver y hablar.
</ Criptos gratis en Twitter? >
CRIPTOMONEDAS GRATIS por tu actividad en Twitter, pagadas a través de un robot. ¿Aún no has descubierto esta increíble opción? Aquí te dejo un tutorial con todo lo básico que debes saber para aprovecharla.
**🤖 Comencemos:**
1. Inicia Twitter y sigue a `@coinkit_`
Este robot está presente también en otras redes sociales como Telegram.
2. Envíale un mensaje privado al bot para iniciarlo.
3. Para seleccionar la moneda activa escribe `/changecoin` seguido de una de las siguientes opciones: **btc, doge, bnb, tzc, nxs, tube, pivx, ufo, qtum, dgb, ark**
Por ejemplo:
/changecoin btc
**🤖** Buscando **tweets MONETIZADOS:**
Usando la búsqueda de Twitter puedes teclear simplemente "coinkit mon" y se te mostrarán numerosos tweets monetizados.
⚠️ Algunos serán falsos, o inválidos. Quizás ha ocurrido un error op el autor ha usado el comando para atraer atención pero no dispone de suficiente saldo para pagar.
**🤖 ¿Cómo saber cuál funciona?**
@coinkit_ responde a cada tweet monetizado con un mensaje similar al siguiente:
Monetizing is set up for this Tweet! The next [...] users will each receive [...] satoshi from [...] for their retweet.
Si no encuentras este mensaje en los comentarios del tweet, no obtendrás ninguna recompensa por tu actividad.
🤖 **Cobrando** los tweets:
Primero, aprende a reconocer los comandos:
@coinkit_ mon 100 50 BTC
Esto significa 100 satoshis de Bitcoin para los primeros 50 usuarios en presionar retweet.
**⚠️** Asegúrate que la monetización **no haya acabado.** Si ves esta respuesta en los comentarios del tweet, ya acabó:
Monetization of this tweet has ended! [...] have received [...] satoshi from [...] in total!
En ocasiones, el autor del tweet te pedirá repetir un hashtag determinado:
@coinkit_ mon 100 500 BTC #Bitcoin
Esto significa que los primeros 500 usuarios en retweetear con el comentario **#Bitcoin** obtienen 100 satoshis cada uno.
Siempre busca la respuesta del bot en los comentarios del tweet. El bot confirmará el #hashtag que debes usar para obtener tu recompensa.
🤖 **Comprobando tus recompensas:**
Para ver una lista de las recompensas obtenidas **envía mensaje privado** al bot y presiona "rewards".
Para consultar todos tus balances, distintos de cero, escribe `/balances`
⚠️ Si tu cuenta de Twitter es nueva, cuenta con pocas publicaciones o muy pocos seguidores no podrás recibir pagos aún. Primero haz de crecer tu cuenta.
🤖 Retirando saldo:
Comprueba tu balance de la moneda activa con `/balance`
Si no es ésta la moneda que deseas retirar, cámbiala con `/changecoin`
Ahora envía el comando withdraw con la siguiente sintaxis:
/withdraw [dirección] [cantidad]
**¡LISTO!** Si tu saldo saldo es suficiente para cubrir las comisiones de retiro, la transferencia se confirmará en cuestión segundos.
Recuerda que los retiros de Bitcoin implican comisiones comúnmente altas, pero puedes *utilizar Lightening Network para retirar sin costo alguno.*
Espero que esta información te haya resultado útil. Si te gustó, no olvides dar Like y Suscribirte.
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@Monolith
