eggs benedict and two flat whites

Why it's cool

sandy.mamoli@gmail.com — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 03:16:00 GMT

There's actually something a bit different for me about the NZ On Screen website. Aside from the wild ride of getting it online, this would be one of the few projects I've worked on where the content draws me in.

I never really was a big TV fan, and actually only got one this year so that I would have a better idea of what everyone was talking about at work. But the material on NZ On Screen keeps dragging me back.

My favourites so far...

Kaikohe Demolition, a documentary by Florian Habicht - who'd'a thought I'd sit and watch an hour's worth of blokes from up North hanging out in mud pools and driving cars around a field. It's awesome! It captures something I would not otherwise have known about - they deepen the tread in their tyres with a chainsaw.... say no more.

Footage, by Niki Caro - foot fetishes and podiatrists - perhaps a likely combination, but presented in an intriguing and unlikely way in this doco.

Velvet Dreams, by Sima Urale - I was looking for this for the last few years and it's so cool to see it at last.

But not just the video - there are stories there, individual perspectives written by a diverse group of people and profiles of key cast and crew.

It's actually great to work on a project where the content is so cool, and I've realised from some of the fantastic feedback, that people are so happy to have access to it!

More coverage (podcast here) from National Radio today.

NZ On Screen madness

sandy.mamoli@gmail.com — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:20:00 GMT

It's been a while ... actually it really annoys me usually when people whose blogs I regularly read disappear for a while and then they come back and start with something like "It's been a while since my last post". So if that annoys you too, pretend you never read the last paragraph.

But, big news is NZ On Screen is live at last! If you've somehow managed to avoid the recent media blitz (or twitter and facebook blitz if you're not in NZ), then now you know.

It is, if I say so myself, an awesome website. I strongly urge you to check it out.
Not just because the content is great - and then probably mostly if you're a New Zealander - but the site itself has been extremely well received from a design and functionality perspective. It rocks.

There was a bit of a fuss on local Breakfast TV, and on National Radio, and on various websites around the country. The twitter network response was fast and furious and very positive.

The launch on Thursday was excellent - see some of the photos here.

Yesterday I crashed ... spent the afternoon on the couch answering emails but could not move. Yay for a long weekend!

Stamford Plaza - what a rip!

sandy.mamoli@gmail.com — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:29:00 GMT

An event that I am attending this evening is held at the Stamford Plaza Hotel in Auckland. Thinking it would be easier all round, I booked a room in this relatively grand establishment.

On their website it says "high speed internet access in the room". Great, I thought, I can do some work, go to the event, be online etc.,

On checking in I'm told that yes, there is internet in the room but it's not free. It's $5 for half an hour. Minor explosion in reception - 5 star hotel, outrageous rip-off etc.,

But getting to the room, getting online - it's $10 for an hour - a consecutive hour - so not dipping in and out but must be a consecutive hour or you buy another. And it's $30 for 24 hours!

On top of that there's a 'reasonable use' policy - if you download too much they'll cut you off. Looking forward to testing and demo'ing my video streaming site this afternoon that's for sure.

Stamford Plaza that is outrageous. For the cost of this room the internet should be free.

Sandy's new playground

sandy.mamoli@gmail.com — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 10:53:00 GMT

As by far most of my friends, i.e. this blog's readers, would be bored to death with me writing about professional or geeky stuff I have abstained from using this blog to write about anything than our private life and random stuff.

To make sure this blog remains as eclectic as it is I have found another playground for anything that occupies my brain professionally. In particular this will be Agile and some Ruby on Rails/iPhone/random geek stuff.

Check it out at: http://www.nomad8.com

(If you don't know what Agile and RoR means don't bother checking it out - you'll be bored :-)

best stats in a while

sandy.mamoli@gmail.com — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 08:49:00 GMT

In the midst of statistics and more statistics, sometimes there's a gem. This is one.

Best pie chart ever.

Rolling in icecream

sandy.mamoli@gmail.com — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:59:00 GMT

A couple of years ago my sister Rachel and a couple of others bought the NZ Mr. Whippy enterprise - not just a truck, but the whole kit and caboodle, complete with about 52 trucks, 13 shops and a brand with 98% recognition nationwide.

When we were working in Amsterdam it became a bit of a mantra in times of stress "moving to NZ, working in an icecream truck, always having happy clients .... " it had a lot of appeal.

Rachel and her colleagues have done a lot of work - bringing the brand into the modern era, revamping the website (we helped a bit, but Salted Herring did the design and most of the work) and revitalising the business. But it's now time for them to move on and they're selling up.

Rachel gave a lovely interview on TV3's Sunrise programme this morning (can't embed it, but you can go there to see it):

But aside from that, if you're looking for a change of career - you could do a lot worse than buying and nurturing a national treasure! (Auction closes on the 15th of August).

More online coverage

sandy.mamoli@gmail.com — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:26:00 GMT

Thanks to Alan we're now watching TVNZ's Olympic online coverage directly through Quicktime.

It's wonderful to bypass their crappy user interface and Windows Media Player (in)compatibility issues and to finally enjoy good streaming. (For urls and detailed instructions see Alan's blog)

fabulous online coverage ... not

sandy.mamoli@gmail.com — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:43:00 GMT

I really needed to go to sleep last night so headed off knowing that I could watch the spectacle of the Olympics opening ceremony on TVNZ today.

However this is the dog's breakfast that is the video viewer on that site

Sound, no video, this screenshot from halfway down the page, layout all screwed up and the only thing that could play was the 10sec promo!

I guess macs don't factor in TVNZ land. And yes, I tried 3 different browsers.

mouths of babes

sandy.mamoli@gmail.com — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:17:00 GMT

KID: This camera is dumb, it makes me look like I have bags under my eyes

SANDY: True, you don't have those. But look, it does that to me too.

KID: But you do have them.

SANDY: Oh.

Heeft meer hmmm

sandy.mamoli@gmail.com — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:52:00 GMT

From the discussion on Public Address it seems that Starbucks are largely universally hated in NZ. Primarily because they are trying to push an inferior coffee product in a market that has a taste for quality in coffee and can tell the difference.

In some European markets (the Netherlands for example) or in the USA the coffee is in general so crap that Starbucks is acceptable, but not here.

So why then does Moccona have huge billboards in NZ advertising instant coffee - Instant Coffee (!!) - and have a catch phrase in Dutch. There are so many things wrong with this concept:
a. instant coffee
b. dutch on the poster - how many kiwis know what "Heeft Meer Hmmmmm" means?
c. dutch coffee is largely awful anyway
d. strange sultry exotic-looking girl in a boat to sell the concept

why?

nice quote bad starbucks

sandy.mamoli@gmail.com — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:07:00 GMT

I've never liked Starbucks.

Today I'd like to thank Russell Brown over at Public Address for a wonderful Starbucks-related quote:

"Starbucks has never been cool in New Zealand, except perhaps to kids who should really still have been drinking milkshakes. It might play its role in more meagre coffee markets, but here it's strictly for dorks and tourists. Its competition isn't Mojo, it's McDonald's."

Brilliant.

and it's back

sandy.mamoli@gmail.com — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:51:00 GMT

I take it all back.

After an initial slow start, the guys at mob.co.nz came through with the warranty and I have an iphone again! Even all nicely updated to 2.0 without me having to go through hacker pain.

Sometimes it's a wonderful thing when things work out as they're intended.

Facebook ... settling down to a purpose

sandy.mamoli@gmail.com — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 05:49:00 GMT

It's been a while since I joined Facebook. I've been through the various phases of Facebook-ness - they're well documented in the realm of the internet.

I've given up on the whole vampire thing and for a long time now I have only used Facebook to play Scrabulous. Lots of games of Scrabulous. Scrabulous is great and

I've culled down my friend list to keep the people who I am interested in knowing about, and who don't drive me crazy with ridiculous status updates every half hour (or more frequently). I even have my mother as my friend - you know it's mainstreamed when your mother is your online friend.

But I've realised that I'm liking the little status updates that my 'friends' make. I like knowing that Omid went sky-diving, that Al is in Barcelona, that Sappho's up late drinking vodka, that Simon saw the Black Seeds in Amsterdam last night, that Zef is finally going to San Fran. It makes me feel like I'm in touch, with people who have interesting lives, with random useless details of lots of people who I do actually know and like.

So in that sense, Facebook is pretty damn cool.

iphone'd out

sandy.mamoli@gmail.com — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:44:00 GMT

The last 3 months I've had my (old model) iphone and I've totally enjoyed it. It is a joy to use, it is useful, it does everything I need - and it's a phone.

Then a week ago I woke up and it was dead. Cold, black, completely dead. Nothing we tried would bring it to life.

After I recovered from the shock, I managed to borrow back my old phone that I'd already passed to someone else. The experience is just not doing it for me. The iphone has ruined me for all other phones.

A gem of hope - the website of mob (where the phone was purchased) says they give a 12 month hardware warranty. Only problem is, we've been ringing them every day for a week and talking to their answer service and they NEVER call back. Not much point having a warranty you can't use because you can't contact them!

It's kind of hard to be an avid fan of something that doesn't work. Shows the power of apple that I'm still a strong supporter ... although if there was an alternative that was as cool I would consider it. But there isn't.

world gone crazy

sandy.mamoli@gmail.com — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:40:00 GMT

This is a story about getting a new puppy, from Dilbert creator Scott Adams. It pretty much sums up the world gone PC mad.

Or is it just Americans gone (going) mad.

Or is it just what happens when Americans are rich and get 'experts' involved in every aspect of their lives?