headsoff

After the horses we decided why not step it up a notch and try riding a dolphin? unfortunately, we weren't allowed to have video DURING the experience since they make a killing off selling photos by what they call their "mexican paparazi" (one of which is featured below, the one and only that we purchased). But you can still see some dolphins :-) Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is a minute and a half tags technorati : Puerto Vallarta Mexico vacation dolphins swimming with dolphins sun headsoff Serra Shiflett

Looking back, this was one of the most authentic-feeling moments we had on our entire vacation. Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is 50 seconds tags technorati : Puerto Vallarta Mexico vacation bus guitar sun headsoff Serra Shiflett

I did a lot of horse-related activities as a kid, first attending and then counseling at a horse day camp and working at the ranch in exchange for lessons. During my years of chemo and weakened immune systems, I was technically not allowed to go back to work with horses, and since I've been in Boston I've realized that I miss them! So, when presented with a chance to go on a multi-hour trail ride that included breakfast, lunch, and swimming in a waterfall for just under $50 each we decided why the heck not?? Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is just under a minute tags technorati : Puerto Vallarta Mexico vacation horses horseback riding sun headsoff Serra Shiflett

This is some footage from the town an hour up the coast from us that was slightly less tourist-focused, but still pretty crazy. One thing about Puerto Vallarta itself is that its ALL about the time shares. You can't walk 4 steps without being acausted by yet another guy trying to take you on a time share tour, but not saying so up front. Well, we were actually invited into the restaurant in this video and were at first like "no, we're not interested" because we thought it was a time share. When he said he was just inviting us into his restaurant we decided to give it a shot. We were, after all, looking for a place to eat. But once we were settled in, he came up trying to get us to go on a time share tour! I guess the restaurants have some kind of symbiotic relationship with the time share guys. It does bring in business! The irony to all this is that on our last day there, we had a few hours to kill between checking out of the resort and catching our plane home so we actually TRIED to go on a time share tour, figuring if we could make a couple hundred bucks in our down time then why not? As it turns out, after ALL that hounding, we're not even eligible to go on the tour because we're not over 30! You'd think they'd get that out of the way right up front... hah! Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is 1:10 tags technorati : Puerto Vallarta Mexico vacation Bucerias flea market sun headsoff Serra Shiflett

Chad and I went on our first vacation together that didn't involve visiting friends or family... just taking time to relax. We got to use a week of his parents' time share, and decided to trade into a spot in Mexico. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the time shares in Mexico all tended to be pretty ritzy, and in the middle of tons of other crazy resorts. I'll post a series of videos but this one is just about the resort... Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is 2.5 minutes tags technorati : Puerto Vallarta Mexico vacation sun headsoff Serra Shiflett

I had an e-mail glitch and didnt get notified about comments for the last post, so I sincerely apologize for those who commented and got ignored! As predicted, here's our very elementary video on figuring out the sock filter system of oil cleansing. Its probably too long, and definitely too dark, but amazingly simple! For those of you out there wondering if SVO is too much hassle, take a look and see what you think... Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is a little under 4 min Technorati Tags: SVO, alternative fuel, veggie oil, vegoil, filter, inner tube, sock filter, new balance, headsoff

Still thinking about converting to SVO, and Chad just put a deposit down on a VW Rabbit that has been converted already. So I called up the Green Grease Monkey guys and asked if they'd let me tag along while they collect waste veggie oil and show me the ropes. The restaraunt we will be collecting from for our car(s) will be considerably more straightforward than the footage you are about to see. Since it's a smaller restaraunt, they won't have the huge drums and all we will have to do is walk in and carry out already-filled cubes of oil! Next lesson will have to be setting up a filtration system at home... Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is 4 minutes Technorati Tags: veggie oil, bio fuel, red bones, waste veggie oil, oil collection, headsoff

Commentary on global warming? On the unusual winter we've been having? A day in Chinatown... Or just some random moments that caught my attention... Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is 1:27 Technorati Tags: Techhonrati tags: hot, cold

a moment. Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is 30 seconds See more of Chad. Technorati Tags: Techhonrati tags: socks, green, brown, light, headsoff

It's official. The new ("new") Jetta is now a green machine! Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) See my previous post Going Diesel for more on what I'm doing and why, and links to more information. Runtime is 3 minutes plus a bit Technorati Tags: biodiesel, diesel, alternative fuel, green, funnel, volkswagen, headsoff

I bought a car in August. It was a Honda Civic, a basic economy car known for its reliability and its gas mileage. Many of my friends live off the subway lines and many miles from me, my work at WGBH is hard to get to without a car, and every job I seem to be applying for requires that I have my own transportation. So I caved. Despite my good intentions and rationalizations, it became clear that driving this Honda was gnawing at my soul. The automatic transmission confused me and it's all together possible that the unfamiliar territiry simply made me paranoid, but the mileage just never seemed to be what it should be. I felt like I wasn't even making it to 30 miles per gallon, and slowly I stopped visiting people because I felt guilty. I would be on edge driving to have dinner in Waltham (only a 10 mile trip from my home) because I figure that's probably almost half a gallon of gasoline that I'm using, and by driving all the time and burning so much gasoline I'm contributing to so many problems including health risks associated with the gasoline exhaust, greenhouse effects, and warped political priorities that have arisen to ensure US appropriation of foreign oil. So after owning the Honda for less than 6 months, I decided it was time to sell it and buy something that didn't stress out my morals so much. Enter, 1989 VW Jetta. For now, this car will run on diesel which is not much better for the environment, but at least is more efficient. I can get approximately 45-50 miles to the gallon, as opposed to just under 30 with the honda. And as it warms up I can transition to biodiesel and eventually, with the help of these guys, to SVO (straight vegetable oil). Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Thanks to Chad for the excellent camerawork, encouragement and company. For more inspiring videos about running on alternative fuel, check out RyanIsHungry Runtime is 1:17 Technorati Tags: volkswagen, vw, jetta, diesel, biodiesel, SVO, straight vegetable oil, vegoil, alternative fuel

I was talking to Ryanne online while at work, and when she found out what I was doing she exclaimed "you're me!" and sent me these links: New Friend I work Nights This is for you, Ryanne.... Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is 4 Minutes Technorati Tags: Techhonrati tags: Ryanne, editor, work, nights

I posted this video of me working on stained glass a few months ago. Well, here's the final product, what all those countless hours of work helped to create! Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is about 3.5 minutes Music is "Ce matin la" by Air Technorati Tags: Techhonrati tags: stained glass, art, artist

While some may think it's a difficult, highly technical endevour, I'm pleased to present you with the idiot's guide to making ice. Turns out it isn't difficult at all, just takes a delicate balance between starting out with very little water in the first place, and accidentally leaving it outside in the car all night long while it's snowing... The result is beautiful. Just don't tell my mom I've been freezing the new Nalgene she got me... Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is 28 Seconds Technorati Tags: Techhonrati tags: ice, frozen, water bottle, winter, cold

Mike's friend from college (who is also incidentally originally from Iceland) is in town, and he brought us a movie to watch. Pretty freakin exciting... too bad you have to play it on a computer. Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is 50 seconds Technorati Tags: iceland region+encoding

Many of you know of or have even played with VideoString, my thesis project. It's going well, with one small problem. The existing vocabulary is way too limited. Not only are there not enough words to choose from, but the words themselves don't have enough different video options associated with them. How can I remedy this situation? Post a video blog about it, of course... Click this link to check out the project: http://videostring.blogspot.com Then Click this link to check out the word list: http://www.lanugo.org/videostring/WordList.html Oh, and click this link to watch the video... Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Ashe asked a great question. "How do I get footage to you?" To contribute your footage, post it somewhere. Ourmedia, Blip, Archive, your own domain... anywhere I can download it from. Then send me the link. headsoff at lanugo dot org. Remember, I will trim the video and compress it so the less compressed the better for me. Also, it must be at least 2 seconds in length. Rock on. Runtime is 1:54 Technorati Tags: videostring thesis masters+project flash

Merlin had to have surgery on his foot, apparently sometimes when cats are declawed and it isn't done quite right, the claw can try to regenerate over time, but by that time it has nowhere to go so it just sits inside the foot being really irritating and eventually tries to grow out some random place. which is what happened to merlin. This amazes me, because he was declawed when I got him and I've had him for 5 years! So they had to go in and remove the offending parts and amputate a part of one of his toes, because the internal infection had gotten so bad. poor guy!! so he's ok now but he is NOT happy. in fact, this is almost certainly the most offended merlin has ever been. usually he's just scared, but this time he's pissed off. there's no question about it. maybe a little humiliated, too, if i can anthropomorphize so much... Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is about a minute Technorati Tags: merlin cat pet surgery vet cast drugs

I love it. Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is 18 seconds Technorati Tags: Techhonrati tags: spring, leaf, leaves, green

They say April showers bring May flowers; not sure what this will bring..... Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is: 21 seconds Music is: "Hear me out" by Frou Frou Technorati Tags: Techhonrati tags: snow, flake, april, boston, weather, Frou Frou

This is a birthday present for my dad. His birthday isn't for another couple weeks, but I was so excited I couldn't wait to post it. -serra Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is 1:37 Technorati Tags: Techhonrati tags: woodpecker

We spent a few minutes trying to figure out how this could have come to be. Please share your own theories. Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is 1:45 Technorati Tags: Techhonrati tags: SUV Porter Square Cambridge car accident

Mike went down to a demonstration outside Planned Parenthood on Saturday morning. He spoke with a lot of people demonstrating for a lot of reasons, and the resulting video is a mini-documentary of those reasons. This video is mostly about conversation rather than politics or crowd shots. People from many perspectives speak to us, sharing the difficult and emotional issues surrounding abortion rights and legality. The conversation does not end here. The runtime is about 10.5 minutes

I'm pretty sure I have NEVER been in the Davis Square T Stop and seen every escalator working at once. One to all of them are ALWAYS under construction. Always. This, however, is a bit more dramatic than the typical halted escalator with yellow barriers..... The runtime on this one is about 96 seconds. -serra

We went to New York for vloggercue this weekend. On our way there, we spent some time contemplating the meaning of security. We felt it was important to give some thought to the orange alert in effect around us. Here are a few things we noticed. I can't figure out why this doesn't show up in FireAnt - If anyone knows, please leave me a note. -serra

This is my first year in Boston for the summer - who knew July 4th was such an event?? -serra

If you vote in Boston and support gay rights, here are some candidates who showed up to the Pride parade last week that you may want to think about.

Take Bre's advice; get inspired! Visit We Are The Media and check it out! This runs about a minute and a half

Bre Pettis and Peter VanDijck were very gracious to us when we showed up in NYC with no plans beyond attending the vloggercue party. We made this video as a special thank you to them for being so open and encouraging. This runs about 44 seconds and has a surprise ending inspired by Bre's famous quote and quote of a quote!

Road Node 101 dropped by on Sunday evening, and when they realized we had cookies for them they decided to re-work American politics. Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is 2:50 Please feel free to state your party offiliation below, after veiwing. Technorati Tags: road node 101, cambridge, cookies, cookie factions, oatmeal, chocolate chip, headsoff

At our meetup, organized by Road Node 101, we got to meet some interesting folks. Among them was Phil Hamilton, and his big time.How cool is that? Click here for Quicktime movie (in a new window) Runtime is 2:14 Technorati Tags: Road Node 101, Phil Hamilton, headsoff PS: Phil posted a video of us from this night, also! Check it out here!