Category: GMG Tech Talk

New York Times puts Gloucester’s big debate on the front page

Posted on by Vickie & Peter
from the New York Times story: “The harbor in Gloucester, Mass., part of the Northeastern fishery declared a disaster by the Commerce Department last fall.”
photo: Gretchen Ertl for The New York Times

The home page of today’s New York Times website features a story on Gloucester’s big debate about what to do with our waterfront (see story here).

Mayor Kirk is quoted a number of times promoting her vision of our port supporting both fishing and marine science, saying some of the $150 million Congress might appropriate should be used for “Programs that might attract those other uses that allow you to maintain a smaller fleet, and maintain an infrastructure for that fleet, and sit side by side.”

Everybody who’s seriously working on attracting marine science to Gloucester knows we need more than a port.  We also need a thriving cultural economy in order to attract the workers that power marine science.  Most of these workers are young, single PhDs who work very long hours and want to go out after work — and on weekends — for food, drink and music.  They want to feel surrounded by culture.  These people think they want to live in Cambridge.  What they may not know is that Gloucester has a burgeoning cultural economy.  Just look at all the live music available this weekend — and it’s supposed to be the dead of winter!

We’ve got momentum.  But in order to grow a sustainable economy for Gloucester’s long-term, we have to grow our cultural economy a lot more.  That’s where you come in.  Think of Gloucester FIRST when planning what to do at night and on weekends.  Not sure where to eat?  Check out this HUGE list of restaurants.  Check the live music schedule.  You’ll likely find music for every taste.  Want to enrich your life and the lives of your kids?  Check out this impressive list of galleries, studios, museums, theatres, etc.  Think you need to drive to the mall?  STOP!  Check this out and think again.

The secret to growing our cultural economy without losing our soul is to honor our past and embrace our future.  That’s precisely what Fred Bodin does.  His store honors our past by helping to keep the core of our history and culture alive.  And now, he’s taken to filming the future.  Here he is filming Jon Butcher with Dave Brown, Dave Mattacks and Wolf Ginandes at Jalapenos on Tuesday singing Sam Cooke’s classic Change is Gonna Come — how perfect it that!  Boston rock star Jon Butcher moved to Gloucester.  Let’s get out and support his decision, prove him right, boost our cultural economy and — most importantly — have a blast doing it!

Just to be safe, you might want to look up at about 2:25pm today, so you don’t get hit like the folks in Russia did earlier this morning

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

Scientists are still trying to figure out what happened here . . .

Watch the Asteroid 2012 DA14 LIVE as it passes by Earth today. NASA will broadcast LIVE Video of the asteroid beginning at 2pm (click here) when it passes closer to earth than the GPS satellite you use to find your way around Boston. They say nobody on Earth is in danger . . .

Passports Restaurant- You Guessed It, Now On Twitter

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Got a question about when the next wine dinner is happening? What their hours are going to be?  Request a special dish?

Tweet my boy Eric Lorden @PassportsGlo

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And check out the Passports Website here

New to twitter?  Intimidated?  Check out this twitter tutorial-

Robots set to invade Gloucester Harbor in June

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

I was at an events planning meeting with City of Gloucester officials yesterday (more on why I was there in another post coming soon) and so were some very interesting people from Olin College of Engineering, including their marketing person, Michelle Davis, who sent this news release along about Sailbot June 9-13, 2013.  Now this I want to see!

Robotic Sailboats Coming to Gloucester, Courtesy of Olin College

New One-Meter Class Added to 2013 Sailbot Regatta

Olin College of Engineering has partnered with the City of Gloucester to co-host the 7th International Robotic Sailing Regatta, known as Sailbot, on June 9-13, 2013, in Gloucester, Mass.

The global robotic sailing competition began in 2006 as a senior project at the University of British Columbia. The contest challenges student teams to design and build robotic sailboats capable of five on-water challenges which test the speed, maneuverability and navigational capabilities within the environmental variables. In addition, each team will present the innovative and dynamic methods used in the design and manufacturing process in detail.

In addition to a two-meter Class and an Open Class (for boats up to four meters), a one-meter category has also been added. High school teams are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the additional category. The deadline for teams to indicate an intention to compete in the regatta is February 15th, 2013. Interested parties can email sailbot2013@gmail.com, and they will then receive proper registration materials once they indicate their participation. Please visit the 2013 Sailbot website for additional details.

“We are very excited to be partnering with the City of Gloucester to bring this event to the Northeast,” said Drew Bennett, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Olin. “There is a rich history of maritime innovation in Gloucester and a desire to learn more about how the local community can leverage that experience to find solutions for our oceanographic landscape in the 21st century. Sailbot is the perfect opportunity to provide a fun, educational challenge for students interested in the future of our Oceans.”

Autonomous watercraft technologies hold the potential to further advancements in national security and marine biology. Currently, the military and private sectors utilize a hybrid mix of manually operated and autonomous watercraft, but the production of fully unmanned oceanic vehicles, such as Sailbots, is now on the brink of reality. The ability to use self-guided robotic watercraft for coastal surveillance missions as well as water pollution sourcing, oil spill recovery and tsunami warning eliminates the human risk typically associated with these tasks. Furthermore, the monitoring of marine animals will be greatly enhanced by this technology, allowing for passive observation of behaviors such as migration routes and pairing sites.

Despite being rookies to the regatta, Olin College took second place overall last June with their boat “Blackbody Radiation” and also received special commendation for their success in the navigational portion of the contest. The team’s success was also recognized by one of its sponsors, National Instruments; team representatives Jaime McCandless ‘11 and Jason Curtis ‘11, along with faculty members Drew Bennett and Dave Barrett, were selected to give a keynote presentation about Sailbot at National Instruments Week 2012 (NI Week).

Well Lookey Here- Sista Felicia Is On Twitter

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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Follow her and ask her cooking questions.  I bet she’d be happy to answer your questions.

here’s a twitter tutorial to help you get started. you can follow it along and press pause as you go-

5 Questions With @Joey_C’s Favorite Twitter Peeps- @KidNS

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

5 Questions With Bill O’Connor @KidNS

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What are your duties at your job and do you use twitter as a tool for your job?

Owner, publisher, graphic designer, technologist, photographer, and more!  Twitter is an integral part of how we deliver information. We do not really use it socially, i.e. messaging back and forth. It’s more about spreading the word for us. We keep a steady flow of tweets going throughout the week.

Why do you think you are follow worthy on Twitter?

· Our tweets are mostly readable and understandable.

· Our tweets deliver a valid piece of information that our readers can actually use.

· 95% of our tweets are not cluttered with chatter, and don’t add to it.

What types of tweets or twitter user drive you up a wall?

Tweeting is a hard skill for some people to learn, and a lot of people are trying to learn it, so the Twitterverse is full of chatter and tweets that really don’t mean or say anything at all. The reason you only have 140 characters is because it forces you to think it through before you make your point. Imagine that, you have to think before you type! Why would somebody tweet, ‘LOL’ or ‘ROFLMAO’? Does that even qualify as a tweet? It’s been done ad nauseum, contributes nothing to the conversation, and literally says nothing…  I suppose it’s a necessary evil for people who need to learn the platform, though.

Who are some of your favorite twitter users?

There are many, but here’s a few I can name off the top of my head:

· @Joey_C (of course!)

· @thetrustees

· @massaudubon

· @essexheritage

· @PBSkids

· @museumofscience

· @coastalbyway

· @DscvrGlstr

· @NASA

· @NatGeoKids

· @NOAA

Do you have a website you would like to promote?

Sure! North Shore Kid focuses on events, activities and places in and around the North Shore that nurture kids’ desire to learn by doing and create memorable family experiences.

Video- January 23, 2013 Timelapse From Captain Joe and Sons

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Timelapse, 16 Times Fast, Shot With Kodak Playsport zx3 and Kayalu nClamp

5 Questions With @Joey_C’s Favorite Twitter Peeps- @RyanPinkham

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Five Questions With Ryan Pinkham-

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What are your duties at your job and do you use twitter as a tool for your job?

1. I work as a content developer on the marketing team at Constant Contact. My main responsibility is developing educational content to help small businesses and nonprofits better market themselves online. 

For me, Twitter is more about building my own profile online. I use the site to share posts from our blog and to share other industry-related articles, news stories, or hot topics.

It’s also a valuable networking and communication tool that enables me to hear directly from business owners and other marketers with questions, feedback, and ideas of their own.

Why do you think you are follow worthy on Twitter?

If you’re interested in email marketing, social media marketing, and anything related to small businesses check me out. If there’s something going on around town that people are talking about, I also like to share my two cents.

Sometimes I tweet pictures of booze, food, and puppies. Sometimes at the same time, sometimes not.

What types of tweets or twitter user drive you up a wall?

Any sort of overly promotional stuff from businesses really puts me off. If you’re a restaurant I’ve decided to follow on Twitter, I don’t need you to keep asking me to visit your restaurant. Instead, tell me what’s on the menu, take pictures of people enjoying your food, share interested articles, maybe share a few tips from your kitchen. Make it interesting.

Oh, and autofeeds from Facebook. If you don’t want to be active on Twitter then don’t be on Twitter. Twitter isn’t going to make or break your business. In fact, most businesses probably don’t need to be there. But if you’re going to be there, be there, don’t just serve me stuff from your Facebook Page. I ain’t down with that.

Who are some of your favorite twitter users?

I think if you’re a business who wants to learn how to do it right, follow @Boloco. In fact, follow Boloco on every social network and do as they do. I also think the social media team at Constant Contact (@ConstantContact) does an amazing job at sharing content that small businesses can actually use to improve their businesses. I know, it sounds like a shameless plug but if you’re looking for that type of stuff, check ’em out.

Otherwise, I really use Twitter as a feed for the blogs, websites, news outlets I like. I’m kinda getting burnt out with all the personal sharing on social media. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, it’s just too much…

Do you have a website you would like to promote?

If you’re looking for small business marketing advice, check out blogs.constantcontact.com. If not, you can follow me on twitter @RyanPinkham or find me on Google+ (+RyanPinkham).

In This Day And Age…

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

I just don’t understand how freaking hard it is to install the equipment necessary to have wifi on all aircraft.

Wifi makes a flight go by what seems 3-4 times faster.

You know how airlines charge extra for checked luggage? In our case $25 more per bag on US Airways for a total of $50 for our one way flight. They should refund you for the total technological failure of not having wifi on all flights in the year 2013. The FAA should shut these goddamn airlines down that don’t have wifi. Fine the shit out of them. Ground these planes til they get their act together.

How is a media giant supposed to keep his finger on the bleeding edge of what is going on for his legions of loyal followers?

Listen, take a couple grease monkeys off safety check duty and get them up inside the cabin installing the necessary equipment to provide wifi. Cancel drink service for a couple weeks, use a lower grade toilet paper in the toilettes. Charge me up for the wifi, I don’t care. I’ll feel a whole lot better about paying for wifi rather than a checked bag, that’s fer shizzy.

Somebody get me a direct line to the CEO of US Air STAT, maybe I can explain to him or her just how important it is.

Bruce Tarr, Ann Margaret, forget about such pithy things like people losing their homes on Plum Island to major storms, let’s focus on much more critical agendas like making sure your boy Joey C has wifi on all his flights.

Thank you for your attention to this serious matter.

Next politician that tackles this matter automatically gets my endorsement. Fiscal cliff, fiscal schmiff, let’s solve the important matters first. Calls for an emergency meeting of the executive branch, no?

Give me wifi on all aircraft or give me death. Enough dickin’ around.

So I Hated Windows 8 So Much That I Just Ordered Up and Paid For Windows 7 Software To Install On My New Windows 8 Laptop

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

THAT’S HOW MUCH I HATED IT!

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I know of no man woman or child that went out of their way to defend Windows 7 to Apple fanboys like buddies Paul Morrison and Kim Smith than yours truly.

This guy’s idea of a work computer is not just a consumption device.  It’s a device used to edit and create content for CBS Boston’s Most Valuable Blog and North Shore Magazine’s Best Blog, www.goodmorninggloucester.com

As big of a dope as I am, when it comes to creating content I’d say my opinion on this matters.

Windows 8 is a HUGE STEP BACKWARDS if you are a creator.   If you are a person that only uses their computer to casually browse the internet then you probably wouldn’t have a problem with it.

In my opinion WINDOWS 8 SUCKS ASS.  They dumbed down the interface so the windows 8 PC will be universally synced through the cloud to windows tablets and windows phones.  While the Windows phone version might be great because it brings up the level of usability on a phone, by the same measure they dumbed the interface down on the desktop of the PC.

So disappointing.

I’m paying money to go back a generation of an operating system.  Congrats Microsoft, one of your biggest fans is disgusted.

Christmas Whimsy

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Christmas Fujifilm X-E1 Multiple Exposure -2 ©Kim Smith 2012

Several weeks ago I posted several experiments taken with the new Fujifilm X-E1 multiple exposure setting. I really like this feature although I received some flack from a photographer friend informing me that double exposures can be created in Photoshop. Of course I know that, I just like the immediacy of composing in the camera and in the moment and think the feeling that is achieved is reminiscent of the accidental effects created in film photography. These photos were all shot in very low light indoors and I am looking forward to playing more with this feature outdoors on a warm sunny spring day, with butterflies and other living creatures as muses, rather than imaginative Christmas fairies!

vintage christmas decoration

Christmas Fujifilm X-E1 -1 Multiple Exposure ©Kim Smith 2012

Christmas Fujifilm X-E1 Multiple Exposure -3 ©Kim Smith 2012

Christmas Fujifilm X-E1 Multiple Exposure -5 ©Kim Smith 2012Christmas Fujifilm X-E1 Multiple Exposure -4 ©Kim Smith 2012Christmas Fujifilm X-E1 Multiple Exposure ©Kim Smith 2012 copyFujifilm X-E1 Multiple Exposures 

Click photos to view images full size.

Someone you should be following on Twitter- @CapeAnnMuseum

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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https://twitter.com/CapeAnnMuseum

Cape Ann  Museum has started tweeting old photos from its archives.

I know people can’t get enough of the stuff here on GMG that The Infamous Fred Buck sends us so if you’d like to see more of that, then it’s time to follow @CapeAnnMuseum on twitter

Right now they have 177 followers, let’s see what the power of GMG can do within 24 hours to their twitter follower count shall we?

Follow them here- https://twitter.com/CapeAnnMuseum and check out a picture of a huge schooner stuck in the ice in Gloucester Harbor (their latest tweet)

PSA- In This Day of Cell Phone Cameras Try To Think Horizontal

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Straight out of the Ed Collard School of Video-

No joke in the past week I’ve received video footage from no less than 5 people who have  held their cell phones or regular cameras vertically while they take video.

I guess it’s because people are used to taking cell phone pictures vertically but to upload  video to something that is  watchable you need to think about keeping your camera horizontal.

This one was ok in that it’s viewable (and I appreciate people sending stuff in believe me I’m just trying to get folks to know how to do it a bit better), but would have been a whole lot better horizontally so when uploaded to YouTube you would have a full frame of video instead of the black bars on the sides.

Sent in by Michael Oppelt –

Can’t believe my luck when walking my dogs down on Davis Neck in Gloucester MA, my boys discovered a dolpin/porpoise? swimming in shallow water at a nearby inlet. Here’s a video I took with my Android phone taken close to sunset over the Ipswich Bay.

 

Niece Amanda Interviews Ed A Couple Weeks Ag0.  this one is taken with a regular camera held vertically.  My guess is that Amanda is thinking like a cell phone while taking the video-

An unnamed source submits this video of the lobster trap tree lighting

Multiple Exposure Fujifilm X-E1

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Fujifilm X-E1 Multiple Exposure ©KIm Smith 2012

To create a double exposure select the Multiple Exposure mode in the shooting menu. Take your first shot, and if acceptable, press ok. The first photo is now visible in both the viewfinder and the LCD monitor, which allows you to easily compose the finished photo. Take the second shot and press ok to exit. If you do not like the second shot, you have the option to retry. 

Fujifilm X-E1 Multiple Exposure -4 ©KIm Smith 2012

Multiple Exposure mode allows you to change focal length, degree of focus, and aperture between shots. I absolutely adore this feature and can think of a hundred thousand images. Creating double exposures is always possible post production although I prefer the ephemerality of composing in the moment.

Swans Niles Pond ©KIm Smith 2012

Over the past several months I have spent many mornings at Eastern Point trying to film the resident swans in their pre-dawn flight. My hope was to capture 20-30 seconds of swans silhouetted against the red rising sun. For the most part I have been  unsuccessful and have only managed a mere snippet or two. The swans eye me warily and then head to the far side of the pond. Yesterday morning I went to my usual observation point to experiment with the Fujifilm X-E1 multiple exposure shooting mode. Perhaps because I was so focused on my exposure experiment and wasn’t paying a lick of attention to them or perhaps because I did not have my tripod with me (I am convinced now more than ever after today that the swans think my tripod is a rifle), but for whatever reason, two decided to groom themselves within arms reach.

Swans Niles Pond-1 ©KIm Smith 2012

Just Moved The GMG Search Box To The Top Right Corner of The Blog

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Thanks to a suggestion from one of our FOB’s that the search box can be difficult to find I just moved it to the very top right hand column of our page.

For those of you who subscribe and get the email blast which is an aggregation of the days posts, you can get here by clicking the title of any post and it will bring you to the blog where you can go to the top right hand column and search for anything GMG related that you may have heard about if it’s not still on the front page.

 

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Click the List to See The Latest Joey C Local Retailer Happenings On Twitter

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

https://twitter.com/Joey_C/cape-ann-retailers

Is there a local retailer not on my list? tweet it to me @Joey_C

Below is just a snapshot, Twitter updates as the retailers who are on my list update their twitter feeds. So click on the list for the latest. If you are a local retailer, tweet your Ladies night deals and let the GMG and Joey Twitter List Know.

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Todays Twitter Highlights 12/4/12

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Alrighty Pinheads- Expose Yourself!

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Anyone else on Pinterest?

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I’ve been slowly adding to my Pinterest Boards.  It all seemed pretty redundant being on Pinterest while I’m already blogging, that was until I started doing searches for things that interest me.

My favorite board is the motivation board where I search for motivational pins and find stuff that really gets me fired up.

So who among you have Pinterest accounts?  What are some of your favorite boards of yours or boards you follow?

Share if you will some of your favs.

Here is my Pinterest account-

http://pinterest.com/gloucesterma/

Check it out for yourself and instead of just creating your own board use the search box and look for stuff that interests you.

Oh and BTW we have a Pin it Button below each post.  That will post what you like to one of your own boards.

Some of Today’s Twitter Highlights

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro