Go Larger Than Life: Easy access to a cool new medium

Finally got to spend some time this week with friend and fellow Philly-geek Kendall Schoenrock at the LTLprints. That's LTL as in Larger Than Life, on the web at LTLprints.com and on the map in Center City, Philadelphia.

Together with co-founder Carsten Petzold we reviewed the ways in which LTLprints is using Monetate, the post-click marketing platform for which I am evangelizing these days (loads more about that subject can be found here).

Even more exciting, I got to see what LTLprints is doing with large scale peel-and-stick printing. You've probably seen peel-and-stick prints advertised by Fathead on TV and by Wallhogs on the web. What LTLprints is doing is a little different and potentially much more creative.

Basically they are selling peel-and-stick printing by the square foot. You choose the size of your canvas and then you fill it with whatever you like. One huge rectangular photo, a lifesize cutout photo of your dog, or a bunch of big cutouts arranged to use every inch of the printing real estate. Your images are then printed out by LTLprints on this amazing material that can be stuck to walls and other smooth surfaces, but later removed and stuck somewhere else.

I even put a print on my laptop, with no fear that it will leave a sticky mess when I decided to swap it out. Okay, so it's an LTLprints logo, but imagine the graphic possibilities, and so much better than traditional stickers that shrink and curl and get icky round the edges. Of course, the amazing machine that LTLprints uses to produce these prints also cuts them out, ready to peel and stick. They arrive on your doorstep on a large roll safely packed inside a sturdy tube.

One of the hurdles to creating great cutouts is smoothly outlining and cropping the images. This can be intimidating for the novice, but Kendall and Carsten have it covered. All you need to do is upload the original hi-res photo and use LTLprints' web software to loosely draw the outline of where you want the image to be cropped. The company will then have skilled hands smooth the outline so that it is just right.

I couldn't wait to get home and go through my photoa archives for images that would look good on the office wall, and on my laptop. These guys are totally commited to delivering a quality product and I think they are going to do well. Check them out.

Wow! We're Officially "Award Nominated"

What a great way to start the year!

I learned today that Dare Not Walk Alone, the documentary film I've been involved with for the last four years now, has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award. There is more info over on the DNWA blog.

I'm a bit overwhlemed at the moment but will post more about this amazing news in a couple of days.

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a great 2009!

I don't know about you, but I'm quite happy to see 2008 end and a new year begin, a year that brings high hopes for some genuine, positive change.

For a quick New Year video clip, featuring Layla the Snow Queen, click here (opens in a new window).

What Happened to 2008?

I was just going to post a big picture here, a big rectangle full of black paint, or maybe red ink, because 2008 was a TERRIBLE year. If the queen of England hadn't used the phrase already, for her own worst year, I would pronounce 2008 annus horribilis. (Seriously, I'm not a fan of the British monarchy and don't like using their leftovers.) Instead, I have made a link to a Google search that says it all. The search term in "2008 worst year on record" and needless to say there are hundreds of hits. About the best thing you can say about 2008 is that it's over. Oh, and the people who perpetrated the failed policies of the last eight years are pretty much out of office. There is that. Sadly, nowhere near enough of them are in jail. 

Snow and Wind

Just a short slice of winter on video...shot from the front porch. The outside temp was about 10 degrees F, wind about 10 mph, gusting to very darn windy indeed.

A "Fix" for Windows XP Movie Maker 2.1 Artifacts

A few posts ago I described a situation in which Windows Movie Maker running on Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2 leaves persistent video 'artifacts' on the computer display after it has closed (or crashed). Today I found a way to fix this problem, for a certain definition of 'fix'. This trick probably applies to XP Home as well.

Cobb's First Law of Digital Comms

Cobb's first law of digital communications states:  You should never say anything in a digital communication that you wouldn't want your mother to read.

Why? Because there is a chance that at some point in the future your mother might read it. The probability varies, but it is there, whether your mother uses a computer or not; just ask the scores of embarrassed CEOs and public officials who have seen some of their nastiest emails reprinted in newspapers.

In the context of this law, "digital communications" means email, instant messaging, SMS, Twitter, web pages, blog posts, blog comments, social network content, and more. The term "say anything" means write or post and includes images as well as words. What constitutes digital communications will change but the law will remain the same.

I came up with the basic premise for this law before blogs were invented, before the web as invented, even before Internet email started to take off and millions of people began sending messages under the mistaken assumption that only the intended recipients could read them. However, it was email that really brought the 'message' home, so to speak.

Leaving aside the wrongly addressed and incorrectly cc'd emails, the fact is that email is like a postcard, not a letter, it can be read by any machine it passes through (with the possible exception of some specially encrypted email, although there are people who can read that too--and some of them can be hired by the lawyers that your ex-spouse or ex-employer hired).

I started using digital messaging in the early 1980s on services like The Source and CompuServe. Although these were 'closed' networks with paid admission, it was clear even then that the contents of digital communications could easily be exposed by human errors, technical errors, court orders, and business decisions, to name a few. It was also clear that digital messages could linger a long time after they were sent, read, and supposedly deleted.

Like many 'early adopters' I learned the hard way that it was better to moderate the wording of one's messages, or simply leave some things unsaid, than to face the embarrassment of rash words getting into the wrong hands. I don't think I ever went so far as to call a client a jerk in a message that ended up in the client's hands, but I did discover, to my chagrin, that there is no 'unsend' button in email applications and an email retraction never arrives before an emailed statement.

I happen to think there are some very positive ethical and philosophical implications to the reality I have tried to encapsulate in this first law of digital comms. I will try to lay out my thoughts on this in more depth in a future post. But here's the short version: the transparency and persistence of digital comms tend to reduce the fudge factor in human existence, forcing us to be true to ourselves in all aspects of our lives. For all the talk about the ways in which things digital can be faked, the underlying thrust of our world becoming more digital is that we are faced with a fuller, and truer, picture of ourselves, across multiple dimensions. We are more likely, over time, to engage in dialog than to stay silent, to be ourselves in all things, to both give and seek acceptance, to accept diversity of thought and lifestyle rather than to censure and straightjacket.

Of course, this will all take time, so in the meantime I humbly suggest that we all keep the first law of digital comms in mind. Big brother is one thing, mother is another.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays Video

I was going to post this on Christmas Eve but came down with a nasty head cold. Spent most of Christmas Day in bed, sniffing and sweating [and not in a good way]. Feeling slightly better this Boxing Day, so I posted this Christmas video I made on YouTube. For more about the video, scroll down the page.



What you are looking at in the video is a driver's eye view of the snow plow going down part of our notorious drive after about 18 inches of snow fall. The vehicle doing the snow plowing is a four wheel drive Arctic Cat ATV or "quad" (specifically a 2004 TBX 400). The plow itself is made by Warn, the company that makes winches. Using this setup and plowing ourselves, instead of paying someone with a bigger plow to do it for is, will probably pay for the ATV in two seasons.

Oh, and the driver, and camera-person, is yours truly. This video card's message is at the end of the drive. Enjoy!

Value of 2008 Bush Bailouts Exceeds Combined Costs of All Major U.S. Wars

"According to Bloomberg, the federal government has made commitments worth a total of $8.5 trillion in the bailouts of 2008. That includes actual expenditures as well as loan and asset guarantees."

CNSNews.com - Value of 2008 Bailouts Exceeds Combined Costs of All Major U.S. Wars

Go South Cobb! Marching band chosen for Obama parade

About ten days ago my wife pointed out this article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution about a high school band selected to march in Mr. Obama's inauguration (technically he is Mr. Obama between being Senator Obama and President Obama). She had noticed the article simply because of my last name, Cobb.

Now I  was already aware that Cobb County was named after an indirect ancestor of mine (that branch of the tree split off many generations ago). But I was not familiar with South Cobb High School. Apparently the students and staff of the school have worked really hard to turn the band around in the last five years and make it something really special.

Getting to march down Pennsylvania Avenue for the inauguration of the first black president of the United States is a huge deal and the school's excitement was matched only by their concern that this honor is truly honorary, there are no funds attached. So I emailed the principal and asked where people should send donations. He sent me a very nice reply:

"Your email address [@scobb.net] made me smile...I've attached the donation letter and encourage you to contribute or share with other Cobbs as you feel appropriate :-)

Thanks for your interest in our students. If you have not done so already, I encourage you to check out www.cbs46.com and click on the video portion of your story. It will put a face with the other Cobb name...hope we do your family proud!"

I'm sure they will, and I have posted the donation instructions here, so anyone who feels so inclined can lend their support to this great accomplishment. You can also donate online here. A formal donation request letter from the school is here. We'll definitely be watching for these kids on inauguration day.

Go Blue Eagles!