Jack at TVP directed this video. The grandma actually headbutted the soccer ball!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
TVP Goes Green!
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| TVP's newly remodeled, 60-foot Greenscreen™ studio package including: high definition camera, digital sound, teleprompter, lighting, and professional operator, is now available at short notice, at a low hourly rate. Now, it's quicker and easier than ever to shoot. | |
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So get in touch, and we'll switch the lights on for you. In fact, call us from your car and we'll be ready to go by the time you arrive. | |
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| TVP | 8964 Kirby Drive Houston, Texas 77054 | 713-667-5000 | |
Friday, March 27, 2009
Re:Thinking A Better Way To Serve
Over the past 10 years, I have done many websites. During that time, we have all experienced the shift from having "webmasters" to comprehensive CMS that enable clients/users to update/create new web content on the fly. In fact, we at Webtoast Media have our own which is presently named the myWebtoast Dashboard. I have noticed as of late that the novelty of having full control of their websites has worn off for most of our clients. In fact, so much that we have clients that have not gone live with their site after 6, 7 even 10 months later. We realize that not everyone enjoys writing clever, creative things for hours upon hours. We also realize that not everyone posseses the necessary skils to create kickin' graphics. In the quest to keep on truckin' down the information superhighway, it seems we have lost some of the foundational focus that built our little company. This has us scratching our heads, thinking "What really is best for our clients?".
Our solution: Be all things to all men.
In the very near future, Webtoast Media will offering different "products" for present and future clients to choose from- one that specifically fits their web situation. For instance, let's say you already design cool sites but have no clue on how to program- we'll have a dashboard solution for you. We will also be able to affordably offer design services so if you need a new look for your existing website- no problem, we can do that for you. We are also sensitive to the current economic funk and are developing new methods to address that situation. In a nutshell, we have kinda come full circle to the "webmaster" times- but this time with a wealth of dynamic capabilities and backend solutions.
Webtoast Media is in the process of rethinking the way we do business. We started this company because we love being creative and people. We will never lose sight of what is most important to us- the relationships we have with our clients and friends. If you have any feedback or suggestions, I'd love to hear it.
Our solution: Be all things to all men.
In the very near future, Webtoast Media will offering different "products" for present and future clients to choose from- one that specifically fits their web situation. For instance, let's say you already design cool sites but have no clue on how to program- we'll have a dashboard solution for you. We will also be able to affordably offer design services so if you need a new look for your existing website- no problem, we can do that for you. We are also sensitive to the current economic funk and are developing new methods to address that situation. In a nutshell, we have kinda come full circle to the "webmaster" times- but this time with a wealth of dynamic capabilities and backend solutions.
Webtoast Media is in the process of rethinking the way we do business. We started this company because we love being creative and people. We will never lose sight of what is most important to us- the relationships we have with our clients and friends. If you have any feedback or suggestions, I'd love to hear it.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Before You Hit "SEND"
A few months back I received a very violent threat via text message towards my family and I, from a number I didn't recognize. Since I had recently gotten a new phone and hadn't saved many of the numbers from the old phone, my mind began scrambling through all the possibilities of who it could be. I recognized the Area code and prefix because they matched mine. I responded, asking the sender to identify themselves. No response. I tried calling the number but the voicemail hadn't been set up yet. Could this be a joke? I did some basic searching for the number on the internet and found the number registered in Witchita Falls, Tx, about 2 hrs away from where we used to live. I called several times and sent several more text messages, threatening to call the cops if they didn't identify themselves. Four hours later the number text me back and apologized profusely saying that they had accidentally dialed the wrong number. I imagine that person felt very stupid and careless for their mistake. In a way I'm glad they sent the message to me. In realizing their own stupidity, they will probably think twice before sending another message like that, not to mention, double check the number before they send anything again.
If you are ever the victim of any violent messages, if it isn't immediately life threatening, here's my recommendation of what you should do.
If it is a phone number,
the best thing to do is contact your phone carrier. tell them to ZAP THE CRAP out of the sender. Really, just ask for their account to be deleted immediately.
If it is an email or an im,
forward the email to abuse@whateveremailcarrieritwasfrom.com, and make sure to include the full header so that it can be traced. Dont edit the email in anyway. at the top of the email, describe the situation, and ask the email service to, again, ZAP THE CRAP out of the sender. Really, just ask for their account to be deleted immediately.
In this day and age, where the average persons sends more text messages in a day than they have hair on their head, its easy to be careless with our itching thumbs. No one wants the awkwardness of sending an "I love you" to and ex girlfriend instead of your wife, or sending an inappropriate message, meant as a joke, to an unknown person you thought was your friend. All I say is please pay attention next time you send an email or text message. One number or character out of place can bring you more harm than you ever wanted to deal with. Im going to stop now as you probably have received 17 texts in the time it took you to read this blog. Say something nice for me.
If you are ever the victim of any violent messages, if it isn't immediately life threatening, here's my recommendation of what you should do.
If it is a phone number,
the best thing to do is contact your phone carrier. tell them to ZAP THE CRAP out of the sender. Really, just ask for their account to be deleted immediately.
If it is an email or an im,
forward the email to abuse@whateveremailcarrieritwasfrom.com, and make sure to include the full header so that it can be traced. Dont edit the email in anyway. at the top of the email, describe the situation, and ask the email service to, again, ZAP THE CRAP out of the sender. Really, just ask for their account to be deleted immediately.
In this day and age, where the average persons sends more text messages in a day than they have hair on their head, its easy to be careless with our itching thumbs. No one wants the awkwardness of sending an "I love you" to and ex girlfriend instead of your wife, or sending an inappropriate message, meant as a joke, to an unknown person you thought was your friend. All I say is please pay attention next time you send an email or text message. One number or character out of place can bring you more harm than you ever wanted to deal with. Im going to stop now as you probably have received 17 texts in the time it took you to read this blog. Say something nice for me.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
What is What is Intellectual Property, really? pt. 2
I've been thinking a lot about the whole idea of intellectual property since I first released part 1 of this blog post. I was reminded that when anything is published that it immediately has full copyright. Which then reminded me about Creative Commons.
Creative Commons provides free tools that let authors, scientists, artists, and educators easily mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry. You can use CC to change your copyright terms from "All Rights Reserved" to "Some Rights Reserved." When I read "Some Rights Reserved" I perked up. That's it! That best articulates how I feel it should be. Many times a full "All Rights Reserved" is too restrictive.
In light of the recent news of Facebook's terms of service that trying to cling to their own intellectual property and that of their users. It seams to be a far cry of the Creative Commons.
Facebook and the limits of free speech
Facebook Thinks You're Stupid
Facebook backtracks on terms of use after protests
Facebook terms of service compared with MySpace, Flickr, Picasa, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter
Creative Commons makes it very easy to generate a license that clearly defines what you allow to be done with your work. Everyone deserved credit for the work that they've done. And no one wants to be left high and dry if someone else profits on their creation. The old school model was to horde everything to yourself. The new school model is to loosing your fist and allow others to build upon what you have done. This way everyone wins! It's about being more "friendly" or playing nice with others. That's the way I want to be.
Webtoast Media has recently decided to start giving some things away. We are doing it with a Creative Commons License. We feel that art is supposed to inspire others to inspire others. By letting go a little bit of our intellectual property we make an environment that can do just that and still keep us in business at the same time.
Creative Commons provides free tools that let authors, scientists, artists, and educators easily mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry. You can use CC to change your copyright terms from "All Rights Reserved" to "Some Rights Reserved." When I read "Some Rights Reserved" I perked up. That's it! That best articulates how I feel it should be. Many times a full "All Rights Reserved" is too restrictive.
In light of the recent news of Facebook's terms of service that trying to cling to their own intellectual property and that of their users. It seams to be a far cry of the Creative Commons.
Facebook and the limits of free speech
Facebook Thinks You're Stupid
Facebook backtracks on terms of use after protests
Facebook terms of service compared with MySpace, Flickr, Picasa, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter
Creative Commons makes it very easy to generate a license that clearly defines what you allow to be done with your work. Everyone deserved credit for the work that they've done. And no one wants to be left high and dry if someone else profits on their creation. The old school model was to horde everything to yourself. The new school model is to loosing your fist and allow others to build upon what you have done. This way everyone wins! It's about being more "friendly" or playing nice with others. That's the way I want to be.
Webtoast Media has recently decided to start giving some things away. We are doing it with a Creative Commons License. We feel that art is supposed to inspire others to inspire others. By letting go a little bit of our intellectual property we make an environment that can do just that and still keep us in business at the same time.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Eight O'Clock Coffee gets a new look
After my last post I was surfing around looking at Eight O'Clock Coffee stuff and found an article that said that Eight O'Clock Coffee is having a contest to choose their new packaging design. When you vote you are also entered into a sweepstakes for cool prizes, including two first-prize $500 Bed Bath & Beyond gift cards and FREE groceries for a year! 150 instant prizes in all. The site is coffeemakeover.com. I think that is pretty clever.
Eight O'Clock Coffee
Jeremiah likes to read Yahoo News. There was an article recently that said that Eight O'Clock Coffee beats Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and Folger's in Consumer Reports taste test. At first Freddy and I thought he was saying that coffee tastes better at 8am as apposed to any other time of day. It took us a while to catch on but we decided to give it a try.
So, Jeremiah picked up a 12oz bag of Eight O'Clock Coffee at HEB where it was only $3.77! One star for that. That is a great price, but let's see if our discerning taste buds will agree with the latest consumer reports. I brought my personal grinder from home and we brewed up a pot. Everyone in the office was very interested. Some have heard of Eight O'Clock coffee from the Yahoo news feed. Others knew of it for years. Turns our it's been around for 150 years! We where not alone in our ignorance however, there were plenty of people in the office that have never heard of such a brand.
The initial test was of course the aroma test. The three of us agreed (an uncommon occurrence) that it smelt very good. Another star goes to the under dog coffee.
Once brewed and poured we took our first sip. It was very smooth. Not at all bitter. It was delicious! We were pleasantly surprised. Could this be our new coffee brand of choice. Have we snobbishly passed up the lowest priced and best tasting coffee for an over priced trendy brand that burns their beans. Ashamedly, yes. But no longer. We at Webtoast Media now prefer to drink Eight O'Clock coffee. I guess I need to add two more stars to give it Four Stars. Or should it have five? Whatever is the best.
The ironic thing is that we don't usually get a cup until about 9am. Perhaps our next test will be to find the perfect hour to drink coffee. Nah.
So, Jeremiah picked up a 12oz bag of Eight O'Clock Coffee at HEB where it was only $3.77! One star for that. That is a great price, but let's see if our discerning taste buds will agree with the latest consumer reports. I brought my personal grinder from home and we brewed up a pot. Everyone in the office was very interested. Some have heard of Eight O'Clock coffee from the Yahoo news feed. Others knew of it for years. Turns our it's been around for 150 years! We where not alone in our ignorance however, there were plenty of people in the office that have never heard of such a brand.
The initial test was of course the aroma test. The three of us agreed (an uncommon occurrence) that it smelt very good. Another star goes to the under dog coffee.
Once brewed and poured we took our first sip. It was very smooth. Not at all bitter. It was delicious! We were pleasantly surprised. Could this be our new coffee brand of choice. Have we snobbishly passed up the lowest priced and best tasting coffee for an over priced trendy brand that burns their beans. Ashamedly, yes. But no longer. We at Webtoast Media now prefer to drink Eight O'Clock coffee. I guess I need to add two more stars to give it Four Stars. Or should it have five? Whatever is the best.
The ironic thing is that we don't usually get a cup until about 9am. Perhaps our next test will be to find the perfect hour to drink coffee. Nah.
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