Encounters with Rantwick, episode Twenty Two: Taxi Driving Trash

The video says it all...

I can't recall ever having a problem with a taxi cab on the road. I also know a few people who drive (or drove) cab and they are all good people, so if you came here expecting me to say mean things about taxi drivers, you came to the wrong place. Of course my title made it seem like that might be the deal. What can I say? I enjoy misleading and disappointing people. Please come again! 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Pretty Morning and Crazy Dog

As many of you are already aware, I have a helmet cam and I take video of most of my commutes. Over time I have developed a system for dealing with lots of mostly boring footage.

 

When processing video files it is easier if they aren't too big, so I stop and start the camera as I ride to avoid massive files. The thing is, I often couldn't remember if there was anything good on the cam when I hooked it up to the computer, and was stuck either deleting files because I couldn't remember or wasting precious time watching the clips from beginning to end.

 

What I do now is this: If I've ridden for a while with nothing interesting happening, I will reach up and block the lens with my hand for a few seconds before stopping the cam. If I have seen something I want to keep, I don't block the lens and sometimes I say something to describe what is on the clip. That way when I'm at home I just skip to the end of the clip to see whether I should delete it (blocked lens) or review it.

 

Believe it or not, all of the preceding stuff is only there to explain my comments at the very end of this unedited clip from this very morning. It was the first "cold" day in a while (-10 C) and I left early enough to stretch out my ride. It was a really great commute about 45 minutes long. The clip I'm posting here will give you a taste of how nice it was...

 

 

 

  

When I compare this kind of thing to driving to work, well, um, there is no comparison at all. If you drive a car every day, you gotta try this if you can. Really. 

Have Great Weekends, All!
 Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

I'm Back, and I'm Chesty

Yes, I was gone for that whole month in order to undergo Breast Enhancement. Rare for a dude, I know, but I'm not your average turnip, y'know?

OK, that was my lame attempt at an April Fool's joke. What follows is the post I really wrote for today... there's still a Chesty tie-in, so be cool.

Hey all, I'm back from my March Break. Sadly I am no more caught up with my real life than I was before I took it, but I suppose that was to be expected. I was also hoping to find new inspiration for stuff to write about, but that didn't really happen either. Ah well, no worries about that, because I can happily fill my blog pages with empty tedious ramblings until my muse returns... like talking about video cameras!

My cheap old camera broke real good, so I began looking for a weatherproof replacement. As will happen sometimes, shopping around just made me want more and better. Eventually I settled on the GoPro® HD HERO Naked, because I didn't really want the helmet version and this camera is the only one I found with a Chest Mount option, which they have dubbed the "Chesty".

My thinking was that when on the bike your chest may be one of the "quietest" places on your body in terms of motion or vibration. In addition, unlike a helmet cam, the video doesn't sweep side to side like crazy as I navigate city traffic with my head on a swivel. I have barely begun playing with the cam but I thought I would show some of the video from this morning's commute. I want your opinion on whether you like me chesty (which means my arms and hands and bars are in the shot) or would rather have the cam back on the bars where I would likely have to go back to using deshaker software to stabilize the image.

The video I'm posting today is just raw, no deshaker action or title pages or any of my usual stuff. Anyway here goes...

Those videos were shot with the cam set on 720p. It'll do 1080, but I don't see the point when 720 allows a wider viewing angle (170 degrees) and 60 fps in case I want to slow motion something.

I'm still figuring out how to work with the .mp4 files this camera creates... hopefully I will improve at making them a little easier to watch.

Please Opine. Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

PS - In hindsight I think I should have gotten the package that came with the helmet mount, the GoPro® HD Helmet HERO™ Camera instead of the "naked" even though I didn't think I wanted it... Check out GoPro.com for info on all the setups.

Getting Left

A post at DFW point-to-point inspired me to make a quick post of my own using some video of a nice smooth "getting left" I had yesterday. The more I do this, the smoother it gets. There are always jerks who must pass although you obviously need to get over, but that's no different than in your car. As I note in the video, I think I'm more likely to be allowed my lane change on the bike!

I'm a Lefty. I wonder if that helps somehow?

R A N T W I C K

Encounters with Rantwick, episode four: Oblivious Road Hogs

Some road users are just beyond description, but I will attempt to try. Have you ever crossed paths with someone who does notice you, but proceeds just as though they hadn't? In this case I even got to overhear the twisted reasoning behind their actions as they waved their hand and explained some ridiculously false rules of the road to their passenger. My camera didn't pick it up thanks to vibration and rattle noise, but I definitely did, so I have captioned the following video.

I like and miss the oblivious alternate reality occupied by little kids... those two were great.

Don't Ever Change, Cutie-Pies!

R A N T W I C K

Encounters with Rantwick, episode three: Super Heroes

In my regular travels to and fro, I encounter all of the regular people you might expect. This episode of Encounters with Rantwick deals with other, less common people; Super Heroes! Known only by their super hero names, these two are rarely seen this clearly because of their super speed. Check this out:

And I didn't even get to thank them!

Remember, E-speed kills! Until next time,

R A N T W I C K