anything but ordinary

Check out geekgrrl!

I'm going to Gnomedex

I'm going to Gnomedex 5.0 in June with Adam Curry, Dave Winer and Eric Rice!

What's happening?

Find out on the new EVDB - The Events & Venues Database. [ Beta Test ]

Steve Garfield comments on Google Video going live

Google Video is Live - Commence Video Production Boom - Search Engine Journal:

Steve Garfield comments : We already go to Google to find everything else. Why not video too? For viewers, it’ll give the average internet user who is familiar with searching using the Google interface, a comfortable way to explore finding video on the web. For producers, it gives them a huge audience that could possible find their videos more easily.

This all depends on the use of keywords, transcripts, and descriptions. But since it looks like Google will be hosting these videos for free, it’s another great big step to make is easy for content providers to share their videos at no cost. The other interesting feature is being able to charge per view. I’ll be interested to see how that works.

Comcast Internet was down, hard

HELP - Comcast.net:

National

General Outage - Resolved at 4/14/2005 2:37:48 AM EDT
(Connection to the Internet is currently unavailable. Our technicians are aware of the situation and are working to resolve the issue. This outage was logged at : 4/13/2005 6:47:00 PM EDT.)

I was wondering what was going on with my Comcast internet connection last night and just found this status page.

Looks like it was down for over seven hours. Almost as bad as NStar electric.

Here's a link for the status for the 617 area code.

Check your own area by replacing '617' in the URL with your own area code.

Here's a speed test page for us in Boston/NYC to use:
http://bos.speakeasy.net/

I get 6084/683!

Comcast forum.

In Mac OS X, System Preferences, Internet, is this how you enter alternate DNS settings?

Connect your videos to viewers

Google Video (Beta) - Video Upload Program.
Whoa!

Internet TV is Open and Independent

Participatory Culture Foundation:

"Announcing a new platform for internet television and video. Anyone can broadcast full-screen video to thousands of people at virtually no cost, using BitTorrent technology. Viewers get intuitive, elegant software to subscribe to channels, watch video, and organize their video library. The project is non-profit, open source, and built on open standards"

Whoa!

enclosureCasting

Yahoo! Groups : podcasters Messages : Message 4618 of 4655:

Eric Rice: "Maybe we could all be nerdy to the nTH degree and say 'enclosureCasting', because that is SO hot."

Save the date.

Eric Rice defines podcasting and videoblogging.

AOL is Free

AOL is making a lot of their content free including TV's Top 5!

They've got what they consider the Top 5 clips from TV last night.

This kind of content I could get into.

Too bad the content will change tomorrow and the clip of Constantine from American Idol will be gone, no permalink either.

But if you click now, you can watch him sing Queen.

TurboTax Is Listening

Here's a novel idea, you can join the TurboTax Inner Circle, and they'll listen to your comments!

WALK! Los Angeles With Me

Lisa Salem is going to Walk LA:

At noon on Sunday 15th May I'm setting out of my house in Echo Park, LA and not returning until I've walked the whole of Los Angeles. I don't know how long I'll be gone for, it could be 10 days or 3 months, but I'm going to trek LA as if I were an explorer charting unchartered territory.

Watch her first video.

Walk LA With Me - Official Site.

I want to take you to birdtown

Birdtown [ QuickTime ]

Feedster: Feed of the Day

Feedster: Feed of the Day - Past winners.

Read what Chuck Olsen has to say

Blogumentary: NEW YORK TIMES vs. JOURNALISM 2.0

"Print media is dying and online news will have to support the whole journalistic enterprise - only nobody knows how, or what it should look like."

13 Pairs of Pants

Here's a short video I shot with my Canon S400 of my Mom packing her clothes, for her trip back up north from Florida.

Videoblogging US Politician John Tobin

Councillor Tobin Launches New Website:

Boston City Councillor John M. Tobin, Jr. today unveiled his new website, www.votejohntobin.com, and is believed to be the first elected official in the United States to use regular video weblog posts as a way to communicate with the public.

“The website and video blog posts give me a new way to speak directly with my constituents and anyone else in the world who chooses to log on,” said Councillor Tobin, who represents West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain. “This technology allows me to participate in an ongoing conversation about what my office is doing to address the important issues facing my district and the entire city.”

I've had fun working with Councillor Tobin and his staff to get this site up and running. Now they are taking the blogging ball and running with it!

Pina Colada Mix and Steve

Pina Colada Mix and Steve by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Found this Pina Colada Mix from 1970 in my mom's condo!

Free voip, video and IM

ineen.
Anyone tried this yet?

Can you have a video conference with 20 people?

Scale

Publix

Matzos

Keep out

Croci

Croci by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

The croci are here!

Learn Video Blogging Online

Gabe McIntyre teaches vlogging to film students at the Utrecht college of arts.

Now he teaches you how to videoblog online.

You'll learn:
1. What is Vlogging?
2. Editing Technique
3. Helpful Websites with helpful how-to's on how to set up vlogging and media aggregators.
4. Additional information including, how to set up blogger, how to add a photo still, free templates, videoblogging how-to's.
5. HTML Basics
6. Streaming & Downloading video on the internet

Note: You've got to click on his videos to make each page advance.

Go take a look at what his students have done this semester.

Join the dark side

M&M'S now have a dark side, check it out at the Chocolate MPire.

M&M'S did not pay me to blog this.
via [ eclecticism ]

Google To Host 'The Carol and Steve Show'

Internet Week > Google To Host Home-Video Uploads > April 4, 2005:

"Move over blogging -- here comes Internet-based home video, to a Google server near you.

While there's no formal announcement yet, Google co-founder Larry Page said Monday that the well-known search engine concern would soon let the general public upload self-produced videos to Google's servers, partly in an effort to learn more about how to more efficiently search and display information about video-based data."

Watch for The Carol and Steve Show, the Spring on Google.tv video.google.com.

Google seeks home-grown videos.

Ethan Zuckerman on Zimbabwe

A bad day for the Bennetts.

Flanimals by Ricky Gervais

Flanimals were first sighted by Ricky Gervais a long time ago. He drew some rough sketches and made notes about their behaviour, but these were left forgotten in a draw while Ricky went on the telly.

Until now.

John Tobin: New Video

I just posted a new video over at Boston City Councillor John Tobin's website.

He's addressing his supporters at a recent breakfast reception that was held at Doyle's Cafe.

That's Not Right: TurboTax 'Return Accepted' Email

Continuing my saga of the poor design of this year's TurboTax program, I just got an email informing me that a federal tax return, that I sent in electronically, has been accepted.

They don't address the email to me by name, so it would be pretty confusing if I'd send in more than one return already.

Here's what they say:

From: TurboTax.Electronic.Filing.Center@intuit.com
Subject: Federal Tax Return Accepted
Date: April 3, 2005 4:07:49 PM EDT
To: undisclosed-recipients: ;


Dear TurboTax Customer:

Congratulations! Your federal tax return has been accepted.

If you e-filed your state return, you will receive a separate e-mail about the status of that return

Follow these steps to complete the electronic filing process and print the paperwork you will need:

TurboTax desktop users:

1. Open your TurboTax program.

2. Go to the TurboTax Welcome Page and select Check E-File Status Now.

TurboTax for the Web users:

1. Log on to TurboTax with your member ID and password.

2. On the Welcome Back screen, select Complete My Return.

All users:

3. Confirm that your return was accepted.

4. Follow the instructions to print any follow-up paperwork required.

5. Print a copy of your return for your records.

Thank you for using TurboTax!

Please note: This e-mail was automatically generated. Please do not respond to this e-mail address; it is used only by our automated alert systems and is not monitored for responses.

This year I'm both a web AND desktop user since I used that free file program on the web for my mother-in-law.

Certainly they should be able to send me an email with my name in it that includes the version of TurbTax I used to file the return that they are talking about.

That's Hot

The Paris Hilton Podcast, promoting the House of Wax movie, starts on April 29th.
via [ Adam Curry ]

The Carol and Steve Show: Episode 15 - Easter 2005

This Easter Carol takes control of the camera and asks all the relatives if they watch the Carol and Steve Show. Some do and some don't.

It's funny to see them say they do, when obviously, they don't.


Watch the video over on my video blog.

It's yougurt

I just saw an ad for Dannon Light 'n Fit with Fiber.

No where in the ad does it say that it's yougurt.

Weird.

The Boston/Manitoba Connection

My friend Joe Lavin's got a piece in today's Boston Globe Magazine:

Two Thumbs Down
Watching movies together - 1,300 miles apart - we share laughs, if not popcorn.

The movies are lined up almost perfectly. Lara Croft is wreaking havoc on my television in Somerville. Simultaneously, she is wreaking havoc in Winnipeg, Manitoba. "Got it!" my girlfriend, Jody, says through the phone from Winnipeg. At last, the movies are synchronized. "Are you two racing VCRs again?" her daughter, Meaghan, asks. Indeed we are. Despite the distance between us, we are both watching Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – together, so to speak.

Kids in Bali

kids in bali by phitar, uploaded from flickr.

There are some great photos over on flickr.

Arboretum Buds

Arboretum Buds uploaded from flickr by stevegarfield.

Signs of Spring at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, MA.

You can't be him... He's a rock star.

Eric Rice : Official Site - New look.

Zoom Zoom Zoom ba Zoom

Click and zoom in on the Zoomquilt.
via [ Andrew from Rocketboom ]

Walk This Way

Aerosmith's Steven Tyler narrates a walking tour of Boston.

Put Fenway Park on your cell phone

Jivjiv | Steve Garfield Store - Fenway Park.

This is fun. I just put the Citgo Sign up on my Jivjiv store too.

Raddington Falls - Step by Step

Rick A. Diaz is making his own little world called Raddington Falls.

Rick says:

I'm looking for people to work with me on Raddington Falls, from working on the 'sets', photographing the sets/scenes, and touching them up in PhotoShop. I will also need assistants to lay out the comic in a desk top publishing program.

Also, anyone with ideas on turning an episode into a stop motion animation extravaganza are welcome to contact me too.

Lastly, I am accepting donated L-gos!

The Carol and Steve Show: Episode 14 - A Day in the Life of Steve

Yesterday I took my camera along on a trip into Boston for a planning meeting for an upcomming WiFi Summit. Since Carol already did an A Day in the Life espisode, I decided to do the same.

Watch the video: The Carol and Steve Show: Episode 14 - A Day in the Life of Steve

RSS Alert: Seinfeld on Oprah

Hey East coast readers, Jerry Seinfeld is on Oprah now!

My Mom's Blog has a new fan

Diva Marketing: Friday Fun: Diva Divine Modern Millie:

When was the last time you found a new blog and read every-single-post? (New blogs don't count.) Once, twice five times ever? I just read every-single-post on My Mom's Blog and like a good book, was disappointed that there were no more.

Yay mom!

Gives the word podsafe a whole new meaning

Fr. Roderick is starting up a podcast network for 'decent' broadcasts sponsored by advertisers such as Heineken Beer, Lays Potato Chips and Burger King, over at Catholic Insider, called Godshow.

Listen to the latest podcast from Fr. Roderick with breaking news about Pope John Paul II.

Not to be confused with my friend Paul Wagner's Godshow.
via [ Adam Curry ]

Let's Get Small

TinyApps.Org : OS X

Welcome to TinyApps.Org, a guide to very small software for your PC. Virtually all of the programs listed here are free of charge and for use under Windows (Palm and OS X pages also exist).

Imagewell is worth the trip over there.

This tiny application is going to save me 8,000 hours creating blog posts. It allows me to capture a portion of the screen, change the images size and shape, and upload to my .mac account. All in one application!

Thanks Imagewell!

Jimmy Fallon: True Bostonian

Bostonist: Jimmy Love:

Jimmy Fallon will be given a key to the city later today in a ceremony officiated by Menino and Governor Mitt Romney. After Fallon’s six year stint on Saturday Night Live and countless portrayals of characters hailing from the Bay State Jimmy Fallon will be given the honor he deserves.

Congratulations Jimmy!

Bryce and Jasmine Pilaf

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie:

The pair were seen sunbathing and frolicking about the pool, clearly enjoying each other’s company.

;-)

Like Totally Ringtones and Wallpaper

Peter Howe writes in Today's Boston Globe, A sound business - Arlington firm lets users sell ring tones on the Net:

Steve Garfield, a video editor and website developer from Jamaica Plain, is selling Boston skyline photographs and artsy, colorful images of stacked fruit through Jivjiv as 99-cent phone wallpapers. ''It's like a totally new outlet for me," Garfield said. ''It's a good way to promote my stuff.

''Up until now, how would any band make a ring tone? I don't know," said Garfield, a friend and business partner of Wachs. ''With Jivjiv, you just upload it, and you don't have to know anything about programming."

Steve Garfield's Jivjiv Store.

I like digital TV and video

Digital Television Blog - News and Reviews about digital television and digital video gadgetry.

I like tv technology

TV Snob.com - The weblog for exclusive news & reviews of tvs and tv technology. lcd tv, plasma, hdtv, dlp, portable tv, flat crt, psp, and portable video devices.

Boston at Dusk Photo Store

I was talking to my friend Joshua about his ringtone company, Jivjiv.

While we were talking, I told him that when I posted my photos on Jivjiv I might be able to get more photography customers.

So that lead me to open up a CafePress Store for a new photo I shot of Boston at Dusk.

Here's how the postcard page looks:
Boston at Dusk Postcards (Package of 8) > Steve Garfield's Boston Photography | CafePress.

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to sell photos online, and both Jivjiv and CafePress don't cost anyting to try it out, so we'll see how it goes.

Nikon Coolpix Made Music Video

The Sad Song by Fredo Viola.
via [ Chapman Logic ]

Boston CapeCod Harvard Cambridge

Flickr Related Tag Browser.

This list is a compilation of recent links to movie files.

Blogsnow is constantly scanning millions of weblogs for emerging topics.

blogsnow: clips

The Carol and Steve Show: Episode 13 - A Day in the Life of Carol

Carol takes the camera and goes solo on her commute into Boston.

She leaves Steve at home to work on some projects.


Watch it over on my video blog.

The Carol and Steve Show - A new episode every Monday.

The Steve Garfield Show - Podcast #3

In this show I talk about Adam Curry's Daily Source Code and today's blog posts: HBO's Deadwood, Blogger Comments and Radio David Byrne.

I'm still learning the best way to produce a podcast. For this show I used a wired hand held mic hooked up to my GL/2 which is connected to my PowerBook over Firewire.

I recorded the audio in FCP using the voice over tool, imported the audio into Soundtrack, edited the beginning silence out, exported that to an .aif file which I opened up in iTunes, then edited the ID3 tag information and converted the file to an mp3, which I then uploaded to audioblog.com.

Enjoy!

MP3 File

Long Live Brian Lewandowski

Brian Lewandowski is dead.

Michael Verdi suggests Deadwood

Michael Verdi videoblogs Deadwood.

I'm glad he shared that.

Watching his video was better than watching a TV ad for the show.

Coming from a trusted source like him, I'm now going to have to figure out how to catch up on 16 episodes of Deadwood.

I hope HBO is re-running them, since HBO ON DEMAND is a joke. If it was truly ON DEMAND, I could watch episodes 1-16 whenever I wanted to.

Deadwood 1-11 are no longer available on ON DEMAND and Deadwood 12 stops showing April 4th.

Blogger Comments Enabled

Hello Everybody,
Today, I've installed Blogger Comments.

Recently my comments code has been slowing down the page loading of the blog.

So, I'm trying out Blogger's code.

If you haven't posted a comment before and read this blog regularly, make a comment.

Say hi.

I'd like to hear from you!
Thanks,
--Steve

David Byrne Streams his favorite music

Radio DavidByrne.com

Spring Break

Bill Vaccaro took this photo entitled Spring Break. It's featured over at mooncruise* magazine.

Blogging 101 - Getting Started with WordPress

In this video, Ethan Zuckerman, a fellow of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society explains how to get started with the WordPress based Blogsome.com blogging software.

Put my photo on your cell phone

I just opened up Steve Garfield's Store on Jivjiv.

This online store allows me to sell my photos, for cell phones.

I've been beta-testing Jivjiv for a while now for my friend Joshua and now it's live!

If you are interested, you can set up your own store too:

Jivjiv Stores allow anyone with original music or graphics to publish their own material and sell it directly in the ringtone marketplace - perhaps the fastest growing market in the US.

How to open a Jivjiv store in under five minutes!

I wonder if selling photos on cell phones will be more profiable than selling my Sad Clown paint by numbers oil painting on a T-Shirt, over at CafePress?

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

FREE PHOTO

Try out Jivjiv and download my Trees Budding in Spring photo for free.

Video killed the radio star, yooh ahhh

This video is so good.

As I was watching it I told Carol that "videoblogs are better than TV."

Really.

It was so fun to see everybody that I watch on a regular basis, and I got a kick out of seeing myself in there twice.

Richard really did a nice job of picking some of the best moments in videoblogging, especially Amanda Congdon running the camera, and some special Ryan and Jay moments!

The Carol and Steve Show: Episode 12 - Skiing Lessons

Carol and Steve go skiing at Loon Mountain in New Hampshire and record a couple of lessons on how to ski.

Videoblogging Week is in full swing with video bloggers from around the world commiting to produce one video per day this week.

Blogs, Everyone?

Blogs, Everyone? Weblogs Are Here to Stay, but Where Are They Headed? - Knowledge@Wharton

While most agree that blogging will continue to be popular, its next steps are uncertain. Demopoulos suggests that blogging overexposure is on the horizon. 'Right now, blogging is trendy,' he says. 'I see that lasting a few years, but it will slow down.' Hunter contends that blogging is here to stay, as many sites start to incorporate blogging features, and some news sites become more blog-like. The blogosphere will also become known for topics other than technology and politics. Two things are certain: Blogging will remain disruptive to the traditional media, and new uses will surface. 'You are going to see blogging move to video and instant messaging,' says Werbach. 'It's just the beginning.'

I'm trendy!
via [ John Palfrey ]

Boston Blog Meetup Tonight

The Boston Blog Meetup is tonight, Monday, March 28, 2005 at 7:00 PM.

Where:
Christopher's
1920 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140
617-876-9180

I like the blue tights

Bryan Singer, director of the X-Men movies and the upcoming Superman Returns has a video blog.


Time Magazine - Dear Diary: Action!

'The Office' is a big hit in Scranton

Scranton Times Tribune - News - 03/25/2005 - With city as backdrop, 'The Office' is hilarious.

A lot of Adobe Photoshop Tutorials

Good-Tutorials.com - 6743 Adobe Photoshop Tutorials.

Freecast

Freecast - peer-to-peer streaming.

Freecast - blog.
via [ unmediated ]

The Steve Garfield Show - Podcast #2

The Steve Garfield Show
Podcast #2 [ 1 minute, 8 seconds ]
A discussion of my setup which includes a Sennheiser wireless microphone.

A review of the new Comcast remote control.



Update:
I just learned how to include an mp3 file with my podcast posts to the blog, so now you can get all my new podcasts on the blog feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/OffOnATangent

That's Not Right: Comcast Remote Control

My mother-in-law, who is 89 years old, just got the new Comcast remote controls for her new cable boxes.

As Kieran Chapman says, "the remote control is the worst I've ever used."

You think it's tough for you? Try showing an 89 year old how to turn the TV on and off by pressing the small little button that says "all on", that's positioned right next to a button that's three times as big and says ON DEMAND.

That button has 'ON' on it too.

Please!!!

Comcast needs to make a new control for old people that has an ON/OFF button on it, channel up/down, volume control and a number pad. That's it!

Old people don't need the other 365 buttons that you've randomly placed on the remote control.

Skiing at Loon

Clear Channel to put video online

Clear Channel overhauls Net strategy to tap online ad market

Clear Channel's new video programs, called 'Stripped', will feature top artists Rob Thomas, John Legend, Gavin DeGraw and Jesse McCartney in exclusive studio sessions that will be streamed online in CD quality sound and television quality video, the company said.

'Stripped,' fashioned along the lines of MTV's 'Unplugged' and AOL Music's 'Sessions' will be offered to Clear Channel's 200 stations across the country, which already streams its on-air broadcasts over the Internet.

Hey, there's an idea. ;-)

Google sources

Distinct sources from Google News Home Page in last 48 hours.
via [ Jeff Jarvis ]

Mass Most Wanted

Theft - Case No. 050128
February 19, 2005
Littleton : Nashoba Tubing Park

Case Details:
Victim parked their vehicle at the tubing park and thought they locked it with purse inside. They returned to the vehicle to find the passanger door unlocked. Later in the evenning went to use a credit card and discovered them missing.

ATM card was used twice in Littleton and credit cards were used at Office Max and Staples in Woburn. Pictures are from video obtained from Staples. Male and female suspect entered the store and purchased a laser printer a cartridges.

Any assistance with identifying the two suspects would be appreciated.

Tires: Buy online or local?

They've got some good deals on the internets, but local service is worth the extra cost.

After bringing my car in for service today and mentioning that one tire seemed to be loosing air, I found out that it had a nail in it, in a place that could not be repaired. Also, two other tires are very low on tread and have a couple of unsightly buldges.

So it's time for new tires.

I checked out my options both on line and locally.

Here's what I found:

ONLINE

The Dunlop SP Sport A2 Plus costs $53 online at The Tire Rack.

You've got to add $32.10 for shipping and then it's going to cost $130 to install, for a total of $374.10.

LOCAL
Compare that to dropping off the car at the Goodyear Auto Service Center on Boylston Street tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM, for a total cost of $400.

That's a difference of $25.90.

Descision made. New tires all around and drinks for everyone!

The Carol and Steve Show: Episode 11 - NYC Extra

Here's some additional video from our trip to NYC.

Transparent Screen

Transparent Screen - alexy uploaded from flickr by w00kie.

That's some really creative wallpaper for your desktop.
via [ Lost Remote ]

The ME Show

Jimmy Magahern of The Phoenix NewTimes writes, See me, hear me, feel me, fund me! Are vlogging and podcasting the ultimate slacker careers?

Boston video producer Steve Garfield, a Seinfeld look-alike whose inexplicably amusing clips about nothing -- one day he's shoveling snow, the next he's shopping for OJ and oatmeal cookies with his reluctant wife, Carol -- has attracted the attention of Time, BusinessWeek and Nightline.

Carol isn't reluctant, she only looks that way on TV vlog (video blog).

The Carol and Steve Show - 'Real' reality TV.

Look Up More

Improv Everywhere Mission: Look Up More