Geeks in Gis

Archive for June, 2011

I’ve just been invited to take part in a campaign for a new service called Streamago – basically, it’s a streaming service provided by Tiscali.  It lets you run your own TV channel, without the need for any fancy software or a mega fast internet connection. All you need is a PC with a webcam and a standard broadband Internet connection. The Streamago broadcast console runs in your browser and makes it easy to create your own channel using video footage.  You can even add subtitles, just like a real TV channel.

The software is really easy to use, and it even runs on my netbook – although I’m rather reluctant to stream reports from the pub!  There is a mobile version, but it’s only for iPhones (well, iPhones and other apple products such as the iPod Touch and iPad 2), so I haven’t been able to try that out.  I’d love to see a version of the software for Android, though!

The community features are interesting – you can activate a dedicated chat to connect and reply to all comments of your followers in real time.  I think there’s a lot of potential for this for sporting groups – for example, the next Karate tournament could use it to stream the main bouts and competition rounds to people who aren’t able to attend.  The computer doing the streaming could be used to let competitors see notes of congratulations and encouragement.  Last year, I had to miss a Christmas party to go to a Karate tournament, and it would have been great to be able to share the tournament experience with the people at the party, and vice-versa.

I could imagine it being great for sharing other things too – school plays, holiday updates done “Wish you were here!” style, etc.

So far, there’s only a handful of channels, but people are doing some interesting things – there’s a channel dedicated to volleyball, another dedicated to football, and some people pointing their webcams at their computer and streaming the games they’re playing.  Music seems to be another popular choice, as well as the old webcam favourites of people showing off their offices!  The service is still in its infancy, and it will take a while before the community separates the channels into the “standard webcam” category and the “great TV” category, but it’s still interesting watching – actually, probably better than half the stuff on standard tv these days!

What would you put on your channel?  What sort of things would you enjoy watching the most?

Sponsored Post

Viral video by ebuzzing

Well, it’s Tuesday again! Last week was pretty hectic for me, and this week doesn’t look like it will be any different. We’re doing a lot of travel at the moment, so the week basically consists of trying to stay sane, squeeze in some training, and trying to avoid eating junk.

I’ve done well on the avoiding junk part – well, most of the time, but training is down to just once or twice a week. I’m hoping to make up for that by going to a seminar this weekend, though!

That said, it’s easy to stay motivated thanks to the blogosphere. When there’s hard working ladies out there like Sue C who are earning their black belt (congratulations!), it reminds me that I shouldn’t be making excuses.  There’s a website, videos, weights and a heavy bag in the house, so I can just shut up and train.

I’ve copied my current Kata to the phone, and I’m doing bodyweight exercises and kata practice while on the road.  I think it’s helping – I’ve almost got the order of Rohai down now (even if my moves aren’t pretty, or purposeful yet), so at least I’m getting something while I can’t attend class.

My advice to others

Do something. Even if you feel terrible, or don’t think you have the time, or just aren’t in the mood.  Do something. It might not be as much as you promised you would do, or as intense as you think it should be, but something is better than nothing.  Often, once you start on your something, you get the energy or motivation to do whatever it is you had originally planned.  If you end up just doing ten minutes instead of 30, at least that’s ten minutes more than you would have had if you sit around doing nothing.  It all adds up.

Earlier this year, I took part in Fitness Friday.  Sadly, that particular blog meme died out after a few months, but I recently learned of Fitness Tuesday – an established (46 weeks now, I think!) Fitness meme that follows a similar idea.

I know I’m late to the part, but I thought I’d hop in anyway!

I’m a weight class athlete, and I train for a couple of sports (Karate and BJJ, and Powerlifting).  The sports are mostly pretty compatible with each other, but it’s still tiring to keep up with the schedule – six formal training sessions a week, plus cardio when I can fit it in.

What did I do last week?

Last week, my Karate sessions were all cancelled because of the half term holiday.  This would normally drive me crazy, because I hate not training.  Fortunately, the time off proved useful this time around.  I’ve injured my elbow, so I got some enforced rest.  I couldn’t even do any heavy lifting, so my training consisted of light rolling in BJJ, and cardio just to keep me active.

My fitness tip

Keeping a log of your activity really helps.  Whether that’s joining a blog meme/carnival such as this one, or keeping a more formal training diary, it all helps.  If you aren’t tracking what you’re doing it’s easy to skip a session, then another, and another… until you suddenly find out you haven’t been training for weeks.  Writing it down keeps you honest!

I’ve been rather lax with my training and diet the past few weeks. It’s not that I don’t want to train, just that there are so many things that I can’t do because of little injuries.  My big weakness is that I’m an all or nothing person – so if my arm is bugging me, I lose motivation to even work my legs.  That’s stupid, I know, but it’s how I am.

I’ve decided to force myself out of that destructive pattern by signing up to a figure show advertised on Bodybuilding.com.  It’s just an informal competition, and it’s all done online, but I’m hoping that the thought of having to share progress photos with the world, and have them judged, will be enough to kick me into action.

The judging takes place in the first week of August.  That’s just before we go to Germany.  So, double the reason to train hard!

With the summer coming up, it’s not un-natural for people to want to get into great shape.  For many people, however, gym time (or, for that matter, gym membership) is a luxury they can’t afford.  But what about if there were a sport that everyone in the family could do?

I’ve written at-length about the subject of kids and karate – from the good – such as how it can help kids learn important lessons, to the more difficult issue of whether or not you should force a child to train.   Overall, though, I think that Karate is a great sport for the whole family.

There are lots of different styles of Karate – some focus on sparring, some on learning to perform forms known as “Kata”, and some focus on doing fancy tricks such as board breaking.  The specific style that I train is quite a sporty one – there’s sparring, and there’s lots of pad work, so you get to hit things too.

The class that I attend has a huge range of age-groups.  The kids learn co-ordination and balance, and get to spar under some gentle rules (they’re only allowed to tap each other, while the adults spar with full contact).  Discipline isn’t pushed as a benefit of our dojo, but it is a nice side effect – the kids that are disruptive, or that bully other kids in the dojo, get brought into line pretty quickly, and in the time I’ve been going there it’s been nice to watch the younger students as they learn and mature.

The younger kids don’t seem to like the pad work side of things, but the teenagers generally seem to love it.  The boys, especially, seem to love competing to see who can make the most impressive thunk with their roundhouse.

For adults, Karate is a good workout, and while you’re expected to learn a bit of everything, you can choose your own focus.   The organization I train with has the full spectrum of age groups – from junior school kids to retirees.    Personally, I love the combat side of things, so I compete in sparring tournaments, and also cross-train in other combat arts.  There are others who focus on the kata side of things, and even a few people who have learned Japanese, and who spend a lot of their time reading about the history of the art.

If you’re looking for a way to get in shape, and want something that you can get everyone involved with, then I think Karate is a great way to go.  It’s inexpensive compared to gym membership, it’s social, and it’s a lot of fun.  It’s also something that a young person can grow into, and could be the start of a lifelong healthy habit!

A friend sent me this interesting infographic.  I  haven’t checked all the citations (and I’m doubtful about a couple of the “facts” presented), but I’m re-posting it anyway because the general message is a good one.  Get out of your chair!

When I worked in a call center, I was constantly getting told off for standing up while on the phone, or standing up between calls.  I wish I’d had this graphic to use as ammunition back then.  Enforced sitting, when it isn’t required for safety reasons, seems crazy to me.

I’m self employed now, and I do some of my work from home, some from hotel rooms, and some from coffee shops and pubs.  When I’m working away from home, I like to do about 40 mins of work in one place, then walk across town and work for 40 mins somewhere else.  I’m not sure if that’s prolonging my life span – but I do know that my mind feels more alert when I break up my activity like that.  Any health benefits are a nice bonus!