Category Archives: Uncategorized

New iPhone app test

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Greetings and salutations from the bathroom at work. Now apparently I can blog from anywhere. Posterous created this new app for bloggers on the go.

Hope this helps but I promise not to blog while driving to work. You can also add a picture as you blog.

This app could actually very useful.
Pretty cool. Happy Wednesday.

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Somebody handed me a chicken…

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Daddy Meal on the Fly #1
Somebody handed me a rotisserie chicken today that had been in fridge since Sunday. Never opened and refrigerated. I had planned on making my kids pasta but now I had a chicken. I knew I had no gravy at home so I hit the 7/11. They had no gravy, but had Chicken broth and cream of mushroom soup. I suspect the ladies just went aha but the guys are thinking what the F…

So I tore apart the chicken and cubed the breasts, I put the chicken broth and mushroom soup mix on slow boilI opened a can of sweet peas and I also cooked some rice in my rice cooker (but you can use stove top instead if you like.) Toss the cubed chicken and peas into the broth and mushroom concoction and slow cook for about a ½ hour. Bring to boil
then turn it down low so any unneeded water evaporates.

When Rice cooker is done with rice ( about the same ½ hour) spoon rice out and cover with Chicken, Mushroom and peas stuff. It’s ok to accept praise from your kids on this dish but you will feel guilty doing so I know I did.

It was really good and the 14 year old boy had thirds…

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I survived my first group exercise class.

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When you try and get in shape you measure your progress. You find a benchmark and you compare where you are and where you want to be. It makes little difference how far off in the vast outer reaches of space that might be, but you try and sometimes you do stupid stuff.
Taking a class with an instructor with negative body fat is stupid stuff.  Trying to burn fat and see out of ones glasses is also stupid stuff.  Its like I become my own hot house yoga thing. Well it’s hot damn it. 

Taking off the glasses was good but then I was blind and the girls around me kept stealing my hand weights. I started with 6 and ended with 2 which was a moral victory of sorts. It’s kind of like golf with my friend Phil. We start off with 4 balls and he ends up with 11.
My celebration however, is that I survived it, I may not have done all the exercises but I didn’t leave in the middle and I didn’t throw up either. Lisa maybe a negative bodyfat tazmanian she devil, but I survived it.  So what if it took me three hours to raise my arms to get
my fingers to move to write this blog post.

Baby steps. 

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It’s not personal it’s just business.

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There is big flap on the internet about Miley Cyrus aka Hannah Montana. It would not be a big deal to me except my 7 year old loves Miley and has me dial in the Disney Channel when in my car.  

Parent groups are up in arms over how sexual 17 year old Miley has gotten in her latest video. Hello Parents,  this is called the disney backlash. It happens when a music artist wants to evolve away from Disney and jump to top 40. It’s not personal it’s business. In fact this time Disney has been pushing Selena Gomez songs so the transition might not be that startling to some my daughters age.

People / parents  need to realize that kids grow up. Heck I have acknowledge this even if I have trouble with it. Sadly their heroes grow older also, just faster. The artists need to evolve as artists and go on to the next level. We will call it the Brittney zone. Miley needs to make the money while she can. 
This means it’s time to slut it up sadly. Its sad that society almost demands this.  It’s also sad that this trickles down to the next artist, then the next artist and so on.  They hit that darn Disney wall and cross over into the Britney zone.

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My podcamp 2010 experience, the magic of now.

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I really enjoyed this years version of Podcampboston, and It’s taken me a week to sort my feelings. It was a very good experience but it felt different. I think there is something different about hosting an un-conference in a building that is the pinnacle of convention in the Microsoft Nerd center. The Umass campus felt well like a campus, we went to learn and it felt scholarly if thats a word. It was my first podcamp then but it felt like we were going to camp. I also stayed in town last year so it almost felt like a vacation of sorts.
This year I hosted return of the Video suspects. A group I put together made up of friends, Boston Media makers and people I knew in the online video business. Our presentation last year was new way for us to share information about stuff we knew about in video. This years presentation went even better I thought. We also finished closer to on time before the walls literally came tumbling down.

When I signed up for a topic in July, my topic was too verbose for google docs and I was given 2 slots. I thank the organizers for this for the 2nd session went even better. “the visual suspects” turned to the audience for questions and we sourced topics, pictures and graphics live using google search, we were all working together and sharing on the fly and that was really cool, that was the magic I suppose of NOW ?
I am thankful again to Organizers Christopher Penn, and especially Michelle Wolverton for putting the event together again. You guys rock. Steve Sherlock should also be commended for being the smoothest as glass registration paul revere hat wearing dude ever.

If you wish to see a video of the visual suspects first presentation please see http://brilliantvideoproductions.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/the-return-of-the-visual-suspects-at-pcb5-4/)

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Taking back the body…

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A friend commented that I seem focused on fitness today on my facebook page. I am. I realized that in order to meet my grandkids some changes were in order. Good by Five guys hello veggies and hummus.

I recently joined a gym, after looking at a few places I joined focused on fitness on wethersfield road in Natick. The Owner is Andrew Provost and he’s been in athletics almost all his life. I figure if he can’t help me get back into less oblate shape then who can? His website is at http://www.focusedonfitness.com/ and he also has a fitness blog at http://focusedonfitnesswithandyprovost.blogspot.com/

I like the gym so far, and the people are all pretty friendly and always say hello. Andy also gives you a key so you can come in and workout whenever. He has given me tips and when I feel I am ready he will be assisting me with personal training. There are also group sessions and classes, but right now its about getting started again.

I am greatful I found this place, I once belonged to Golds gym but I am not really the muscle man type. I also went to another personal trainer but he seemed more interested in playing with fart machines then personal training.

Focused on fitness is a great fit for me. Now if I can just lose the 30 pounds I have set as my goal by next week…

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Do you know what your relationship is with your client?

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Sometimes in sales you think you know what the relationship is. You work hard and you hope to be rewarded for your efforts. Sometimes however all is not what it seems and if you don’t ask the right questions you can get fooled.  I was fooled recently.  I assumed. I hoped and thought that the client I was trying to work with would do the right thing. They didn’t and I was certain they wouldn’t but I was surprised nonetheless. I was hurt even.

I may have exacerbated the problem by venting.  Venting doesn’t help, it’s not professional and even if the relationship is solid it’s risky. You can look like a real dope. Fortunately I think the person understood where I was comming from, I hope she did.

I think however if it all happened again, I would do the same thing. Not that I have not learned from the experience, but I think I would be better at asking the right questions so none of the above happened in the first place.
Have you ever had a situation get to you even when you knew it was coming?

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Sales is hard enough, but when did free become unfashionable

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One thing I am learning in my new job is that doing sales these days is really hard. The economy dictates value. Even though we might have a great product and can do great things for our clients it all comes down to budget and value. How much value am I getting by using X over Y. Is it worth it? In an era of supposed transparency, people are still tight lipped about their relationships with other vendors and what their budget is or needs to be. Asking the right questions on the front end is the key of course. Communication is key or your just spinning your gears.

I enjoy talking with people, listening and offering help whenever I can. I consider my sales approach to be consultative. I ask questions, I and I make recommendations. If I can help in other ways I try also. Getting people to meet with you, is even harder these days for nobody has the time anymore.

I have been trying very hard to meet with a non profit.org to sponsor their event and nobody on their team will meet with me so we can discuss it. I am offering our services for free. Free isn’t good anymore apparently in some circles.
what do you think?

SB

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Ooops we forgot…

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I recently did a shoot for a large agency from the midwest for their respective Insurance Company client. The spokesman was local Sports hero Doug Flutie. After we did the shoot I tweeted about it. This sent shockwaves through the center of the advertising world. Did not most of us get the memo that transparency is in, and that buzz about doing good work is also fashionable?  The reverse has happened and now I have been ordered to sign off on a non disclosure and confidentiality agreement after the fact. Just from one tweet about the shoot.  I think its Mad men and women.

What do you think?

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TEDxBoston = WOW

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Ted was Wow. It was awe inspiring. It made me laugh, it made me sing, it made me cry. It was what I thought it would be and more then I ever thought possible. I am forever grateful for the gift I was given Yesterday. I am sure I will have lots more to write about TEDx for I am still processing.
My thanks to everyone who participated, organized, spoke and or performed at TEDxBoston, you inspired us all.
It was great seeing some good friends there, it was also nice meeting and getting to know some new ones as well. Happy Friday

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