RatbagMedia Videoblogging

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My first stop motion animation.     The RatbagMedia Channel

This is what I do when I'm not doing HillFit. I use the same principles and try to follow the same physiological logic in order to be true to High Intensity interval Training approach. Obviously my form could do with some overhaul, but then practice rules, even for non-jocks like me, right?     The RatbagMedia Channel

I arranged for some video of our Thursday night soul line dance class. Maybe not the best shots to be had, but with a little bit of editing there is a germ of a story there. The group dancing  is the keenest of the  Artsteppers attendees. It is I out front. The venue makes shooting video difficult and that's unfortunate because video is a major 'sharing' medium for line dance. It's the way choreography gets around and travels the world. That's not the intention here  as you always need full body shots  with nothing cut off. So  the vid doesn't do the dancers justice. Maybe another time?      The RatbagMedia Channel

The annoying shake you get when filming with pocket digital video cameras can be greatly reduced by using a solder rod to hold the camera steady. A cheap and easy rig that 'folds' away when not in use. Solder 'rods' come  in various lengths and gauges so you get a choice, but the property that suits this  rig is that the rods are flexible while remaining stiff.With a hand on the base and one just below the camera, the tension is sufficient to offset  much of your body's tendency to shake while filming and it is that shake that gets transferred so easily to the video file when using these small light weight digital cameras. I attached the rod to an old mini flexi tripod with duct tape and screwed that into the camera mount. The whole rig sort of rolls up and folds when not in use. Works for me.      The RatbagMedia Channel  I just can't cram that much rod in my purse.  There are a few devices that do the same thing following the same principle of tension like the  ReadySteady. However, solder which is used for soldering metal to metal is flexible while retaining its stiffness so it rolls up and folds on itself.And lead free solder is, of course, minus the lead.I'm sure there may be other materials some which are plasticated. But solder is dirt cheap and is a standard hardware store item.I had previously used cords either supported under my foot or attached to my belt to create the tension while filming but they wave left and right and the vertical tension isn't always constant as it depended  on my pulling upwards.I'm thinking that because I can twist the rod to suit so that I anchor it to one side by bending it into a hook for my right hand I have much better lateral support than I would have with a sharply vertical stem which would tend to act like a pendulum.

Ewen Maddock Dam is one of many smaller dams on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. It is situated approximately 5 km (3.1 mi) south east of Mooloolah and 3 km (1.9 mi) from Landsborough. The lake is weedy and shallow, except in the northern parts close to the dam wall.South-eastern banks of the lake are heavily forested and protected within the Beerwah State Forest and a great walking, cycling and horse back riding tracks skirts the northern shoreline..      The RatbagMedia Channel

Now that the Summer heat and humidity has passed, the garden can get back to growing cellulose. After 18 months of laying down all the matter I can collect -- paper, grass, clippings, dead cane toads and poo -- I can now drive my fingers into a rich sandy loam and feel the moist biomass in every sod. It lives. I made life. Once upon a time it was sterile golden sand.Now I eat from this earth. They may say that your legacy is your kids, or fond memories or what's listed in the will...but I reckon if you can make soil happen you must be nature's own. " Here lies Dirty Dave. A keen soiler, devoted husband and father. " And fungal ecstasy...      The RatbagMedia Channel

'Tis easy to see how far I have to go before being in anyway a good dancer. This clip is a rather formal presentation of the steps for one, among many, Zydeco slides. I'll have to be more creative with the camera next time. Zydeco slides and shuffles are where it's at. Seemingly simple moves that demand an absolute engagement with the music and culture. You may start with the steps but technique isn't really the main game. It's all that inside out thing you see -- not something you can will on yourself or impose despite your discipline. But hey I gotta start somewhere, right? So I start with a coupla steps to the right.      The RatbagMedia Channel

Hillfit by Chris Highcock is the very simple to follow program that occupies the core of my exercising. Four routines done one after the other as slowly as I can manage while progressively increasing the difficulty and weight. Get the book and study the method. Highcock also offers a excellent essay summarizing the conditioning science behind his approach : www.hillfit.com      The RatbagMedia Channel

After the rain, the sun always comes up. I am dawn gobsmacked over and over again. Beachmere, March 2012      The RatbagMedia Channel

Beachmere: Heavy rains and rising river levels inundated the road out of town. We were cut off today. Water every where. In the sea, in the river, and in the sky. Local marsh frogs however were ecstatic.      The RatbagMedia Channel

Dead trees on the shore line. A common feature of South East Queensland's sand islands and protected shoreline near Mangrove and Malaleuca forests. Uprooted trees and drift wood litter the beaches. This is beach on the mainland at Beachmere. Dawn.      The RatbagMedia Channel

Click to Play play_blip_movie_3129289(); An experiment with some video self shot by my son.I was after texture and a bit of a soundscapeFormats available: Quicktime (.mov)

Soldier Crabs at low tide: Beachmere 2012. These crabs are the lifeblood of the tidal flats sustaining birdlife and stingrays. Download      The RatbagMedia Channel

A short meditation on the King Tides over Christmas.     The RatbagMedia Channel