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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Ask @JimmyFallon is Back

Watch Ask Jimmy:


Ask Jimmy a Question: (Here's mine)
Ask Jimmy: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Hey guys, LNJF Blog Team is here to answer your questions! Got a question specifically for Jimmy? Put "Ask Jimmy" at the beginning of your question.

Ask your question to Jimmy Fallon here.

Take a look back at Jimmy's first time answering blog comments and video questions (12/08).

POLL: #Massachusetts U.S. #Senate Primary


Image via



POLL: #Massachusetts U.S. #Senate Primary. To VOTE in this POLL, REPLY to THIS tweet with: "#Markey, #Lynch, #Gomez, #Sullivan, #Winslow or #DontCare."

Or vote over here on the results page:

Public Results Page

Results:

Monday, April 29, 2013

#Massachusetts U.S. #Senate special election primary Twitter Poll

UPDATE:

Test #2. New Massachusetts U.S. Senate special election primary Twitter Poll Here 4/30/13.

I'm testing out poptip with a Massachusetts U.S. Senate special election primary Twitter Poll.

SET UP. DASHBOARD:
Dash | Poptip

Once you set up your poll, you tweet it out.

Here's my tweet:



At first I expected there to be a link to the next PUBLIC RESULTS PAGE, but there wasn't.

You vote by replying to the tweet.

Interesting.

BLANK PUBLIC RESULTS PAGE:
poptip.com_stevegarfield_the-massachusetts-us-senate-special-election-primaries-are-tuesday-who-will-you-vote-for-lynch-markey-gomez-sullivan-or-winslow

EMBEDED RESULTS:


Update:
As the @ REPLY votes come in, some tweets have to be manually moderated to count votes. I had to give the third tweet to Winslow. Not sure why I had to do this by hand. I've got a question in to poptip.

Moderating Votes: Dash | Poptip

Answers from poptip to some questions I had:

Q: Why isn't a link to my poll tweeted out.

A: We do not automatically tweet out the Poptip Results link for a few reasons:

- We do not ever post on behalf of our customers
- Many of our customers use Poptip for all social media posts, not just questions, as it is a very useful tool for analyzing all posts sent

Q: How long does it take for tweets to be added to the results page?

A: Poptip processes a tweet and visualizes it on your dashboard and results page within 15 milliseconds.

Q: Are the results tied to replying to the original tweet, or can I follow up with additional calls to action?

A: To do a follow-up call to action, share your results page and allow people to respond there. Or, you can promote the tweet, as many brands do -- This will extend the life of the tweet.

Direct replies to a new tweet (not your original Poptip tweet) will not count as votes toward your Poptip poll.

However, @mentions to your account that are not direct replies to any other tweets will count as votes toward your Poptip poll.

Replies follow Twitter's unique Tweet ID so that we can analyze results on a per-tweet basis.

Q: Why did I have to moderate the third tweet, (image above), to select Winslow manually?

A: When you specify a very long response option (i.e., Daniel B Winslow (R)), we only pick up that exact, word-for-word phrase. If you had only entered Winslow, we would pick up all instances of Winslow.

Update:

I closed that poll. Learned a few things by creating it. Should have had one word answers.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Boston Globe Cover Story: 102 Hours in Pursuit

The Boston Globe: 102 Hours in Pursuit

Amazing Boston Globe Cover Story: The Boston Globe: 102 Hours in Pursuit.

Not to take away from the fantastic reporting job that the Globe Staff did, but they still don't promote the multi-media content well in the print edition.

Here's what we see in the newspaper:
Dear @bostonglobe How about highlighting online video and graphics with a GRAPHIC?

"Visit bostonglobe.com for interactive graphics and a video."

You could do a better job of highlighting this.

Here's what a link to the interactive graphics and a video looks like online:
102 hours in pursuit of Marathon bombing suspects - Metro - The Boston Globe: Related

Here are the links:

Photos:
Photos

Graphics:
Graphics

Video:
Video

Maybe take a cue from the online designers and add a graphic to highlight this stuff for people reading the newspaper?

One more thing, please tweet out a link to your cover story earlier than 10:32 AM, that would help us find it online to retweet:

Donate to The One Fund - Boston | 2013

onefund

Donate to The One Fund - Boston | 2013
http://onefundboston.org

Donations to date: $26,746,607

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Bee

Arnold Arboretum 4/25/13

Thanks @SamsungMobileUS for the review unit.

Samsung Galaxy Camera EK-GC100 8GB White, Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean) 3G Unlocked HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 by Samsung from New Generation Products

Arnold Arboretum: Spring is Here in Boston



hotos taken with Samsung Galaxy Camera EK-GC100.

Thanks @SamsungMobileUS for the review unit.



Samsung Galaxy Camera EK-GC100 8GB White, Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean) 3G Unlocked HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 by Samsung from New Generation Products

Arnold Arboretum 4/25/13

Stocking Jamaica Pond 2013



Thanks @SamsungMobileUS for the review unit.


Samsung Galaxy Camera EK-GC100 8GB White, Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean) 3G Unlocked HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 by Samsung from New Generation Products

Stocking Jamaica Pond 2013

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Basic Woodworking at Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts



First day of school today!

Update:
Because of a registration problem, I am no longer in this class.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

BOPD: 2005 Stayin Alive InstruMentals



2005 Stayin Alive InstruMentals by BOPD is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License - CC BY.

The Book Of Mormon in Boston



The reviews of The Book Of Mormon Boston, on the Broadway in Boston Facebook page, pretty much nail it.

I agree with them.

Hard to hear.
Over the top in offensive material.
Juvenile.

Dancing and singing were well done.
Performers were top notch.

Both the lead actors, Mark Evans and Christopher John O’Neill, and supporting cast were great.

I enjoyed it, but heard myself saying, to myself, "did they have to go there?"

Then I heard myself saying, to myself, "did they have to go there, again?"

Then I heard myself again saying, to myself, "did they have to go there, again?"

Come on.

I like making fun of religion as much as the next guy, and those jokes worked, but using deviant sexual behavior as a joke was too much. I usually belong the school of comedy where anything goes, but in this case it didn't.

Here's where our seats were at The Boston Opera House:

Book of Mormon. Hello.

Nose bleed section.

I was thinking about my mom when I went to my seat. Are they serious. No handrails. Up on the Mezzanine, if you are afraid of heights, you will hate getting in and out of your seats.

The ceiling is interesting though.

Ceiling is very close to me.

At the end of the show, the lead performers asked us all to consider donating to Broadway Cares. Usually a good idea, but not this week.


Sounds like they did do that on earlier performances.



Also:

Dinner first at Salvatores Theater District was amazing. Great service.

Chicken Parm

Elsewhere:

Theater Review: 'Book of Mormon' entertains by pushing limits:
Audiences tend to come away from "Book of Mormon" feeling they’ve had an out-of-body musical experience or that they’ve been offended and let down. For the record, it’s possible to land somewhere in between. The show could probably serve as a kind of Rorschach test on where people stand in terms of pop culture.

It’s as if the creators asked themselves what three elements could we combine that people could never imagine together. They came up with Mormonism, a splashy, joyous Broadway musical, and the most troubled corner of Africa.

They also seemed to reason that if they kept things energetic and upbeat enough that they could get away with pushing the limits of offensiveness, and audiences would love it.


Read more: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x935163469/Theater-Review-Book-of-Mormon-entertains-by-pushing-limits#ixzz2RUwWMY5b


THEATER REVIEW: BOOK OF MORMON by JOYCE KULHAWIK:
THE BOOK OF MORMON is not the first show to send up musicals, but SPAMALOT and THE PRODUCERS are infinitely more clever, sophisticated, ebulliently imaginative– and FUNNY. My condolences to the cast who have to wallow in this muck — especially the charismatic and vocally gifted Samantha Marie Ware as a young beautiful Ugandan who sparkles in a number about “baptism” as sexual climax. And then there are the talented Mark Evans and Christopher John O’Neill who play a pair of Mormon Elders as mismatched as Abbott and Costello. Now they were funny.

As for THE BOOK OF MORMON– I’m throwing the book at this one.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Pointer Pointer

Pointer Pointer
Pointer Pointer, a photo by stevegarfield on Flickr.

Visit Pointer Pointer and you'll be shown a picture with someone pointing to the location of your cursor.

Would be nice if credit was given for the photos with links back to the photographers.

Who shot this one?

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Surveillance video of the 2 marathon bombing suspects released by the FBI

Boston stands as one adidas t-shirt



"Boston stands as one" t-shirt is available at adidas.com with 100% of the proceeds going to The One Fund Boston, Inc.

"Due to the overwhelmingly positive response we are currently sold out in many sizes. More stock is on the way. Please check back in a couple hours."

▶ Twitter #music is live

â–¶ Twitter #music is live
▶ Twitter #music is live, a photo by stevegarfield on Flickr.

Go here to listen: music.twitter.com/i/chart/popular



I might never click on 'Play Full Tracks."

Oh wait.

I just clicked it.

This comes up:
Play Full Tracks
Image: Play Full Tracks

Trying to get this to work.

This does not work with Spotify UNLIMITED, you need Spotify PREMIUM to listen to full tracks.

Finally, Twitter Music is available to all:
Twitter currently gathers its music from three sources: iTunes, Spotify, and Rdio. By default, users hear previews from iTunes when exploring music in the app, and Rdio and Spotify subscribers can log in to their accounts to listen to full tracks available through those services. Twitter noted that it will continue to explore and add other music services.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Regis College - New Media Class 4/18/13

I'm going to be talking to Jim Armstrong's New Media class at Regis College on Thursday.

The first time we met was when he was at FOX 25 and did a report on my video blogging plans for the 2004 DNC convention here in Boston.

Here's the report:



Here are some planned topics for the class:

1. Videoblogging - The Jimmy Fallon Story

Steve Garfield and Jimmy Fallon - First Video Blog Posts

Always a good one to start.

Our first video blog posts.  

Jimmy Fallon talks with Steve Garfield about his new show, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, at CES

CES  

Exclusive Interview: Jimmy Fallon (Full Version)

First Visit

  Get Seen: Book Cover - Front and Back

Book Quote

  Jimmy Fallon's "Late Night Superfan Supercut" w_ The Gregory Brothers - Show Clips - Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Thumbnail Famous

  Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Closing Credits: Jimmy Fallon runs into the audience and finds me. ;-)

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Closing Credits: Jimmy Fallon runs into the audience and finds me.

2. Getting Seen on CNN

How to use CNN iReport to get visibility and get on CNN.

#CNNiReport

Marathon Bombing

Boston Marathon bombings: Your stories: News & Videos about Boston Marathon bombings: Your stories - CNN iReport

"Boston Marathon bombings: Your stories: News & Videos about Boston Marathon bombings: Your stories - CNN iReport"  

iReports on CNN: Boston Marathon bombings: Your stories: News & Videos about Boston Marathon bombings: Your stories - CNN iReport

"iReports on CNN: Boston Marathon bombings"

VINE

Vine Video Reports from Boston #blizzard2013

  3. Today Show

The @todayshow Food Trucks at the Marriott #sxsw

Image: Today Show Food Trucks at SXSW

 How to form relationships via new social media outposts that are in their beginning stages.

 Also, how to be prepared for opportunity.

  Storify: The Today Show at #sxsw - Fun, Food, and Umbrellas

  The @TodayShow Comes to Boston #TODAYinBoston

  Today Show: Behind the Scenes at 30 Rock #SteveInToday

  4. Equipment

Steve Garfield's Ultimate List of Video Gear

Gear List: Cameras, Lights, Microphones, etc.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

2013 Cadillac ATS - Will Two Sets of Golf Clubs Fit in the Trunk?



Video recorded with Samsung Galaxy Camera EK-GC100.

Thanks @SamsungMobileUSA for the review unit.


Samsung Galaxy Camera EK-GC100 8GB White, Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean) 3G Unlocked HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 by Samsung from New Generation Products

2013 Cadillac ATS - Will Two Sets of Golf Clubs Fit in the Trunk?

GM Disclosure:

Review

GM provided me with a 2013 Cadillac ATS to test for a week. The car came with a full tank of gas and insurance coverage. I was not asked to write anything about the car in exchange for the opportunity and was not provided any other compensation of any kind. All opinions I express regarding the Cadillac ATS are my own. http://disclosur.es/9ROsJA

2013 Cadillac ATS - Will One Set of Golf Clubs Fit in the Trunk?



See also:
2013 Cadillac ATS - Will Two Sets of Golf Clubs Fit in the Trunk?

Video recorded with Samsung Galaxy Camera EK-GC100.

Thanks @SamsungMobileUS for the review unit.


Samsung Galaxy Camera EK-GC100 8GB White, Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean) 3G Unlocked HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 by Samsung from New Generation Products

Cadillac ATS - Will One Set of Golf Clubs Fit In The Trunk

GM Disclosure:

Review

GM provided me with a 2013 Cadillac ATS to test for a week. The car came with a full tank of gas and insurance coverage. I was not asked to write anything about the car in exchange for the opportunity and was not provided any other compensation of any kind. All opinions I express regarding the Cadillac ATS are my own. http://disclosur.es/9ROsJA

Saturday, April 13, 2013

PSY - GENTLEMAN M/V YouTube Video depicts a physically abusive dating relationship



PSY - GENTLEMAN M/V YouTube Video depicts a physically abusive dating relationship

Friday, April 12, 2013

Cadillac User Experience (CUE) infotainment system. Can we bring back knobs?

Can we bring back knobs?



I had fun with my week's test drive of the 2013 Cadillac ATS.

The Cadillac User Experience (CUE) infotainment system was the only drawback and Cadillac is making changes, to improve it.

Cadillac ATS

Here's what the Cadillac User Experience (CUE) infotainment system looks like:

Cadillac ATS CUE
Steering wheel and Dash

Cadillac ATS CUE
CUE controls

See? No knobs. Are the silver escarpments supposed to allow me to keep my eyes on the road?

Doesn't really work for me.

The Cadillac User Experience (CUE) infotainment system controls almost everything.

Let's take a look at a couple of examples.

NAVIGATION
Carol and Steve in the Car
Getting serious about the test drive.

When I was able to enter the address I wanted, the navigation worked well and had some nice features, like allowing the driver to change the perspective of the view, and even enable 3D viewing, although not the kind that requires 3D glasses.

I did have some trouble finding points of interest.


Video: Hey the radio turned on!

The tactile touch screen itself was sometimes sluggish and other times the computer brain behind it, thought it was smarter than me.

When trying to enter something with more than one word, New Balance, when I tried to press the SPACE BAR, it didn't seem to register, but after pressing it over and over, I noticed that [GO] was highlighted in GREEN, meaning that it was time for me to press go and stop typing.

Cadillac ATS CUE
Example of the [GO] button

When I did this, and a search list showed up with results we weren't looking for, my wife resorted to using Google on her Andriod phone to get the specific address in seconds.

Cadillac User Experience (CUE) infotainment system
Example of search result for 'New'

I tried this a second time and it did find New Balance. Not sure what was happening the first time.

I searched around and found out that some of these problems have been addressed.

Cadillac CUE Update Coming Soon:
Rounding out the updates is a mild reworking of the navigation functionality. While mapping data will remain the same, the system has been tweaked to display more street names, and the logic behind destination routing has been revamped.

Cadillac Working on Fix for Its Laggy, Unresponsive CUE Infotainment System:
Cadillac’s VP of marketing Don Butler says that consumer feedback to CUE has been “overwhelmingly positive,” but “some things, like responsiveness, we continue to work on.”

“We had to take that bold step, and as an innovator and as a leader, that’s always the risk we have to take,” says Butler. “You might move to a place that might be uncomfortable for a lot of users.”

That comfort level is something Cadillac is looking into, with Butler admitting that a hybrid approach – using both touchscreens and traditional knobs and dials – is in the cards for future vehicles.

“Is there supplementation for mechanical controls? Yes, that’s something you’ll be seeing in the future,” says Butler.
Nice.

RADIO
The radio is very nice and the sound system is brilliant. I loved cranking it up really really loud. I also discovered the joys of HD radio. I thought HD radio was a gimmick, but found some great HD stations in the Boston area.

I also had fun with Sirius XM.

Cadillac ATS CUE

Cadillac ATS CUE

NATURAL VOICE RECOGNITION
Using the voice recognition made controlling the radio easier.

Check the video:



The steering wheel also had volume controls on the left, and seek buttons to the right. The seek buttons were a little harder to get to with your hand on the steering wheel.

Cadillac ATS CUE
Steering wheel controls

It took me a week to find out how to use the fader control.

I knew the car was being picked up on it's last day of my test drive, so I was determined to figure out how to fade the radio from the fron to the back. Usually it's as easy as moving a knob. Not with the CUE system.

I resorted to looking it up in the manuals. Couldn't find out how to do it.

So I sat in the car, in the driveway, in the rain, stead fast in my quest to figure it out.

Finally, I happened across the solution.

You have to go to the TONE SETTINGS menu. Not intuitive.

Cadillac ATS CUE

Once in there, I could adjust the BALANCE and FADER.

Cadillac ATS CUE

THE CADILLAC ATS MADE DRIVING FUN
I was sad to see the car go.

Bottom line, the Cadillac ATS made driving fun again.

In my first video I said I wasn't a big fan of driving.

After a week with the ATS, I looked forward to taking it out for a ride.

So much fun.

Cadillac ATS

Photos and Videos taken with Samsung Galaxy Camera EK-GC100.

Thanks @SamsungMobileUS for the review unit.


Samsung Galaxy Camera EK-GC100 8GB White, Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean) 3G Unlocked HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 by Samsung from New Generation Products

GM Disclosure:

Review

GM provided me with a 2013 Cadillac ATS to test for a week. The car came with a full tank of gas and insurance coverage. I was not asked to write anything about the car in exchange for the opportunity and was not provided any other compensation of any kind. All opinions I express regarding the Cadillac ATS are my own. http://disclosur.es/9ROsJA