Hot Dog Trick for Cookouts

Here's a trick that you can use at a cookout.

Volunteer to help and grab the job to open the packages of hot dogs.

Then, use a knife to make an X in the end of each hot dog like this:


Image: Hot Dog SIDE VIEW and END VIEW


Image: Hot Dog AFTER

When the hot dogs are cooked on the grill, the ends will pop open.

Hot Dog!, a photo by stevegarfield on Flickr.

Kids love them!

Adults too.

Update:
Chris Brogan pointed me to Grace Piper's link the the Chow: Spiral Cut Hot Dog!

I'll have to try that one. ;-)

New Follower Emails from Twitter Just Got Better

New Follower Emails from Twitter Just Got Better, a photo by stevegarfield on Flickr.

Steve Garfield, you have new followers on Twitter

Nice to see a full bio, which of my friends are following, following and followers counts, and a FOLLOW button.

Although I wish the FOLLOW button would work from inside email, instead of opening up a new browser window.

Jeff Cutler is a finalist in a Magic Hat Brewing contest

Jeff Cutler is a finalist in a Magic Hat Brewing Company contest.

He wrote a witty tweet.

Click the Retweet button, below (in the tweet), to help him win.

My thinking cap is a @magichat #UnderTheCap

— Jeff Cutler (@JeffCutler) June 22, 2012

More here: Communication Failures – Social Media isn’t the Culprit, Humans Are.

Printstagram: New Poster Instagram Photo Picker

Printstagram: New Poster Instagram Photo Picker, a photo by stevegarfield on Flickr.

Printstagram has a New Poster Instagram Photo Picker.

What are the up and down arrows for?

Update from SocialPS:

The up and down arrows are for increasing the quantity of photos. That doesn't really make sense for a poster though. Unless you want a poster with a bunch of duplicate images in random order. ;-)

Still no way to arrange the order yourself.

Drag and drop would be nice.

Steve Garfield Instagram Gallery on Instaprints.com

Steve Garfield Instagram Gallery on Instaprints.com, a photo by stevegarfield on Flickr.

Here's a new way to sell your Instagram prints online.

Instaprints [My Gallery].

What's cool its that you have these options to print: Acrylic, Canvas, Greeting Card, Framed Print, or Standard Print.

This makes it very easy to get a print made with lots of options.

Here's a detail page with my Instagram photo of a Daisy.

YouTube Emails me to say my Video Created with Their YouTube Stupeflix App may have content licensed by BFM Digital

YouTube Emails me to say my Video Created with Their YouTube Stupeflix App may have content licensed by BFM Digital, a photo by stevegarfield on Flickr.

My video:


I wish there was a way to respond to these emails to tell YouTube that I have the rights to use the music.

Stupeflix responds on twitter:

@stevegarfield True and we do pay licensing fees; however Youtube has no way to know that. Nothing to worry about.

— Stupeflix (@Stupeflix) June 22, 2012

See also my video, David Ortiz and Alison Lundy.

Whole Foods apt to pick old Herald site, JP history being written

Image: Whole Foods JP Shopping Bag

In today's Boston Globe there's a story about Whole Foods looking to open another store in Boston, Grocer apt to pick old Herald site, Jenn Abelson brings up the store's opening in JP and gets the story wrong. She writes::

Whole Foods opened a smaller store in Jamaica Plain last year, a move that divided the neighborhood and sparked opposition from some residents who worried that the company’s arrival would mean gentrification and the eventual displacement of low- and moderate-income families.

A DIVIDED NEIGHBORHOOD
The neighborhood was not divided. A small group of vocal people opposed the store.

Small group.

Very vocal.

It wasn't a civil war.

It was only a neighborhood divided in the eyes of the media, who always wants to write a story that has two sides to it.

In this case, the majority of the neighborhood was in favor of Whole Foods. It was the media who built it up to being a divided neighborhod.

GENTRIFICATION
This claim isn't true either. Whole Foods doesn't cause gentrification.

Opponents liked to throw the gentrification word around, but it's not accurate.

Sandra Story wrote about this in the Jamaica Plain Gazette, JP Observer: Has JP become gentrified?:

The white population seems to have been shifting between 50 and 53 percent over the past 10-15 years, with no major changes in racial/ethnic mix from the 2010 census count of the actual JP neighborhood at 53 percent white, 25 percent Latino, 13 percent black, 4 percent Asian and 2 percent multi or other.

I'm looking forward to reading an actual study about the effects of Whole Foods on JP.

One is being done.

Hub institute to study impact of Hi-Lo Foods closure, Whole Foods opening in Jamaica Plain

For me personally, Whole Foods in JP has been a big improvement. I can walk there to get fresh food. There haven't been any traffic problems. The sky hasn't fallen.

Plus, we're finally getting seating, so that it can become a true neighborhood gathering place. ;-)

I love it.

HootSuite email fail - no-reply and Hello FNAME

hootsuite email fail - no-reply and Hello FNAME, a photo by stevegarfield on Flickr.

Dear Hoostsuite,

I like you guys, and would have replied to your email, but you don't want to hear back from me, because your Reply-To address is no-reply@hootsuite.com

So here's the thing, you addressed your email as, "Hello *|FNAME|*".

I'd have someone look into this.

A test email would be a good idea. ;-)

Thanks!
--Steve

Ambient Intimacy with Instagram

Breaking: The Boston Licensing Board approved the Whole Foods application for seating.

Breaking: The Boston Licensing Board approved the Whole Foods Jamaica Plain application for seating.

Common Sense prevails!

Blockly Demo: Maze Hardcoded Solution

Blockly Demo: Maze Hardcoded Solution, a photo by stevegarfield on Flickr.

Maze Demo:
blockly-demo.appspot.com/blockly/demos/maze/index.html

The Verge: Google Blockly: an easy, visual way to learn to code

Sam Adams Brewhouse Tasting

homslive | Bambuser

homslive | Bambuser, a photo by stevegarfield on Flickr.

Live video stream from Homs:
bambuser.com/v/2735300

[Video] How Chris Brogan feeds the blog beast

Great interview with Chris Brogan. It's worth the time to listen.

[Video] New Scott Brown Ad: Husband

[Video] New Scott Brown Ad: Dad

[Video] Tony Awards 2012 - Neil Patrick Harris - Closing Recap Song

I loved the way this began and ended. The middle was great too.


Image: Courtesy CBS, All Rights Reserved.

Getting Personal On Vacation. Service Counts.

We were on vacation this past week and so many people had the chance to be personal with us.


Image: Chatham Dock

Victor at Chatham Bars Inn
Victor, at Chatham Bars Inn, was the nicest bartender I've met in a very long time. He was just filling in at the main bar. He usually works the beach bar. He was so engaging that we were sharing stories about my mom buying a condo. He was interested and friendly.



Since he was at a bar he was unfamiliar with, for menu questions we had that he didn't know the answer to, he asked someone else and got the answer.

We stayed longer than planned and had a great time.

After we checked out, we go an email asking us to fill out a comment card. I did and when they asked for anyone exceptional, I told them about Victor.

Jodi at Ventuno
Jodi, the bartender at Ventuno, on Nantucket, introduced herself to us and asked for our names. She then addressed us that way. She did this for everyone at the bar. It was like Cheers. She knew everyone's name.

People came in and she greeted them personally. People came in for a quick drink, shared a story, and left.


Image: Home made donuts and Ice cream at Ventuno

She was so nice. We remembered her name too.

I told her that she needed to go next door to the new Sea Dog Brewing Company that had just opened up 2 days ago to teach them how to be personal with customers.

Unknown Server at Sea Dog Brewery

Image: Sea Dog Brewery, Nantucket

The server we had at Sea Dog Brewery was an automaton. "Hello, what do you want to drink."

Nothing personal.

I told her I wanted a Brown Ale. She said that they didn't have Brown Ale.

I told her, "I think you do since I had one yesterday."

Se left and I saw her go to the bar, conference with others, point to the taps. She didn't come back for what felt like 10 minutes. Finally she came back and delivered the beer and left.

Not comment that yes indeed they had a Brown, or sorry for the wait.

Nothing.

The even sadder part is that we went back the next day, making it three days in a row, and she didn't remember us.

She would have if she took the time to engage us.

I tried a Porter and it was delivered with beer dripping all down the sides of the glass.


Image: Sloppy way to serve a Porter

Would be nice if it wasn't me that had to take a napkin to wipe down the sides of the glass.

Note:
The first time we went in the bartenders were great. They were friendly and funny, telling us that they had no Chardonnay because the truck didn't come in because of rough seas. ;-)

Personal Service
Nantucket and Cape Cod are built for vacationers and personal service that will being people back to have a pleasant time.

I'd go back to the Sea Dog Brewery, but would avoid that server. I don't even know her name.

I'll go back to Ventuno and seek out Jodi at the bar, and head over to Chatham Bars Inn and look for Victor at the Beach Bar.

Service counts.

Thanks to Chris Brogan, and his recent newsletter, for inspiring this post.

Seats! Seats! Seats! When do we want them? Now!

Seats! Seats! Seats! When do we want them? Now!, a photo by stevegarfield on Flickr.

Whole Foods Jamaica Plain Seeks Permission for Seating.

[Video] Bacon Jam, for a Better Burger

This is a great product video.