Tuesday, January 22, 2008

TodTV Cancelled

It lasted less than 4 days.
That's hardly giving it a chance to gather an audience.



It sure was fun while it lasted.
A bit like having an electronic pet ferret to watch.

Friday, January 18, 2008

The gift that keeps on giving.

It's Friday night and Tod & I have nothing to do

Tod is taking a bath

Tod just darted out of the bathroom wearing only a towel.

And I missed capturing the screen.
Definitely worth the price of admission.

Unbelievable! Tod dares to be Tod



All Tod all the time.
He listens to Abba, sneezes, can't believe anyone is still watching ...

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Tod Maffin Abandons Podcasting

special to The Star
PATRICK WATSONWRONGYOUVEFORGOTTENMEALREADY
reporter



"I practically invented Podcasting! Don't these people know who they're dealing with?"
Tod Maffin is pacing the living room of his 20th floor apartment overlooking downtown Vancouver.
He's furious. His network of contacts on the internet have let him down.
"None of them would be anything without me. I told them, you've got to stand by your leader. These scams will not work unless we're all agreed."
A cellphone rings and Tod reaches for it, grabs it, without even looking,
"Make it quick. I'm being interviewed by The Downtowner" he says, in that distinctive voice known to loyal CBC radio listeners.
It's his old friend and webmaster Mark Blevis calling to confirm which products are to be mentioned on Tod's personal blog. Product endorsements remain a large part of the revenue supporting the Maffin empire. Each positive mention earns $100, and each negative comment against a competitor also $100.
"Make it Hp printers and the gripe about Ticketmaster surcharges" he states emphatically to Blevis and snaps the phone shut.
He sits down and reaches for the controller of his XBox, punches some buttons, then throws it in disgust on the couch beside him.
"I'm stuck in this forest and can't get out. Everyone else ran away. And I'm paying for Gold-level service!"
Off air, and unconstrained by CBC practices, Tod Maffin is even more wound up.
"Wired", he calls it. It was a condition he had noticed about himself, and later decided to make it into a Powerpoint presentation that could be sold to company luncheons.
"I told them to think low tech in a high tech world and they would be OK. I still don't know what it means myself but they bought it."
Maffin gives the appearance of a man whose mind is always working.
And it needs to be.
In the competitive world of cyberspace there's no predicting who will fail and who will come up with the next big thing. It means being vigilant and alert at all times to spotting a new opportunity, a new trend.
"I have a lot on the go at one time. A multi-tasker they call it. But I'm called a lot of things. The words themselves doesn't mean anything to me. What people don't realize is that it's not the words themselves that matter. What matters is that they make me sound like I'm better than you."
Keeping a high profile on the internet is what consumes most of Tod's time. He writes two blogs and tries to answer every email that he receives, so a Blackberry, iPhone or laptop is usually nearby. He relies on several devices at once, mostly because he keeps dropping them.
Maffin is a reporter's delight. He talks without being asked questions, and knows we need declarative statements that stand out.
"I need to write a book. I want to be introduced as an author. It sounds so much more reputable, and really sticks it to the people out there who couldn't put two sentences together."
He's reminded to explain why he called a reporter up to his apartment, which, it turns out, doubles as headquarters for Tod Maffin Inc.
"Oh right. I've called you here today to announce that Podcasting is dead. Kaput, finished."
It's a remarkable statement coming from a man who wanted to be the ultimate controller of all the podcasts in the country. How could this be?
"We simply can't compete. The big commercial outlets will always win over the little guy. Talent means nothing, just look at what Strombo is getting away with. Guests! I've been podcasting since the stone age and haven't made a single dime. I even tried to re-sell the bits I do for the CBC and they won't let me.
What's the point if nobody's listening?"
Is no one listening to Tod Maffin's podcast? How can that be?
A faint "oops" can be heard just before Tod says "what I mean is that the only thing that still counts is network radio. Stuff you can get without having to fiddle with downloads and cables and RRS feeds. People want simplicity in their lives, and they're looking for quality. Stuff that has an editor, and not just two laughing hyenas with voices in their head that tell them they should be on the radio."
He's asked if his belief that podcasting is dead has anything to do with this morning's announcement of the Top 100 Podcasts in Canada.
Tod's podcast is not on the list.
The question causes Tod's nose to quiver, and he reaches up to cover it while making it appear that he just needed to push his glasses closer to his face.
"Of courses not. That list, which I have not seen and do not have a copy of anywhere in my email that I've seen directly or indirectly is just a reflection of a demographic tuned into alternative entertainment. My Facebook group is more powerful than any of those radio wannabe's. Like I said, people are looking for quality."
And they've decided that Tod Maffin's podcast is not in that category?
Another faint "oops" is heard as Tod stands up.
"I'm a winner and will always be a whiner, I mean winner. Got that?
Now I'm scheduled to take a bath. This press conference is over."

As we go to shake Tod Maffin's hand, he reaches out as well, but there's a microphone in his.
"I prefer technology to people. More reliable, and more easily controlled. And there's usually a warranty" he says as he ushers us out the door.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Tod Maffin: Gamer, Futurist, Blogger, Gunslinger

Tod insists that he's demonstarting how a "gunslinger" behaves, while speaking at a health conference.
Yet, I detect a lasso in there, and he seems to be tying himself up while shooting at someone or something.



This at least is better than when he's simply on his high horse.

Tod Maffin: Gamer, Hardcore


Tod has a Mac, an XBox, and has already forgotten that he won a Wii.
This is his favorite video game.

I'm off Tod Maffin's "bro' list"

Tod has suddenly (again!) erected a barrier for one at his blog TodBS.
You can access his deep thoughts and gripes, but I can't.


Tod is also setting the stage for legal action by adding a new warning to anyone grabbing screenshots of him in his proverbial underwear ... his deep musings are for fans only.

The content below is Copyright © 2008. Web re-publication only permitted for non-commercial sites. The full post must be used with a link to the original post

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Tod Maffin asks "do you think I'm sexy?"

Tod loves contests, especially contests that rely on internet voting.
Through his exceptional powers of hypnotic charisma, Tod has developed a network of eager minions willing to jump when Tod says "vote for me".
The other day, he noticed that some anonymous fan had posted a picture and profile of him as a candidate for "The Sexiest Geek of 2007".




Tod was delighted, and encouraged all his discriminating supporters to vote for him.




Anonymous then suddenly removed Tod's picture, but left the flattery.



Which made the proposition kind of a hard sell without the bikini shot.



Fortunately, a new "anonymous" appeared with a new picture and new reasons to vote for Tod.

So far, it's still a bit early to say how Tod will do.

Did Tod Maffin nominate himself?

from


What indicates Tod Maffins fingerprints are on this flattering prose?
(a) Tod is always irritated when his name is spelled with 2 "d"'s
(b) achievements are made to seem bigger than they actually are
(c) confused. Was looking for "The Nicest Geeks of 2007" contest
(d) likes Tod Maffin
(e) thinks this photo is flattering

Tod Maffin appreciates your support

another class act from Tod



photo and caption by Tod Maffin, at his Flickr page.

Tod Maffin's most successful marketing tool: This blog!

According to Tod, everyone should be so lucky (super happy lucky!) as to have a blog about them like this one ...



Do you think he's being sincere?
Should I be advertising my services?

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Can we trust the CBC?


The CBC prides itself in being transparent and above board in their efforts to provide good public broadcasting to the nation.
But these ideals have yet to reach Tod Maffin.

At his officially sanctioned blog - insidecbc - he's free to use CBC logos and to present himself as speaking on behalf of the CBC.
He's also free to have an anonymous entity appear to have control over his privately owned and operated blog.
That entity is called "Blog Administrator" and the term is linked to, of all places - CBC.CA!
Yet Tod refuses to confirm that CBC administration is actively supervising the blog and making the comments attributed to this "Blog Administrator", let alone providing a name to this seemingly supervisory role.

In fact, any questions posed at the blog with regards to this are ignored.
As if no one asked.

Is this Tod's way of forcing the public to cough up $5 for access to information in order to learn the truth?

If we imagine for a moment that the CBC is indeed taking care of business at Tod's blog, then it would have to be the CBC that is ignoring any effort to clarify this new hierarchy of accountability, because several questions have been submitted in the past few days.
But that simply doesn't make sense.
Surely a Crown corporation is fully prepared to speak up and take responsibility for it's actions.
That's always been my understanding of the CBC.

My understanding of Tod, however, gives me reason to be concerned.
Tod erases things, his own words and those of others.
He enjoys as much control as he can possibly get.

Is the CBC now devoting resources - time and money - to reading all the comments submitted?
I find that hard to believe, but I'm prepared to be enlightened.

Tod Maffin reads this blog faithfully. It's one of his favorites.
And he leaves the most comments here of anyone.
How long before he gets into that proverbial scented bath of oil and soap, and comes clean?

A Blast From The Past

Tod's fearlessness and bravado got him a lot of press and admiration when he published this declaration.
As with a number of things in Tod Maffin's life, it was short-lived.




I will NOT erase history.

Posted by Tod on October 5, 2005 01:20PM (PDT)


Wow. This blew my mind:

"Upon ratification, CMG will encourage CMG members to remove as much as is possible, negative references and material related to the work stoppage from web sites, podcasts, blogging etc. consistent with the CBC and CMG accepted journalistic standards."

Listen. I'm a pretty huge supporter of everything the CMG negotiating team did for all of us, especially us casual/temp people.
But, for the record, I'm not removing anything.
From the beginning, I signed my name to everything I did. Only once did the CBC contact me to ask me to remove something (I had used a CBC logo inappropriately, and I removed it immediately.)
I have chosen to not publish hurtful, personal attacks against individuals (management or workers -- neither the infamous memo nore the "party" photo appeared on my site) and I stand behind every word I posted.
The last 50 days changed labour communications forever. The worst thing we can do is erase history.

Blogs are powerful. When I blogged about how Bell Expressvu fucked me over, it jumped to the top of Google.

If the Guild or CBC wants something off my web site, I will gladly provide the contact information for my lawyer and would welcome the challenge in court.
Bring it.


For the record - everything was removed.

Another milestone for us. Another millstone for Tod Maffin.

Our esteemed scientist here at T.M.R.T.U. has proven beyond a doubt that Tod Maffin needs to grow up.

At this, our 300th post, we can now lay claim to holding the world record for amassing the most incontrovertible proof that Tod Maffin is an asshole.
Many others have come to the same conclusion with far less evidence.

Tod Maffin Erases History - Again!

You may recall this delightful moment from last August.
August 21st, 2007, to be exact.



But did it really happen?

This post doesn't exist any more.
Tod has erased it from history.

His big kahoonas must have shriveled at some point, just as his blog has without this post.

Tod Maffin: Mincemeat or Cooked Goose?

Some of you may remember a while back when Tod Maffin called for a boycott of a local restaurant on Howe Street in Vancouver.




HERE is that shocking attack by the marketing/social media genius redux sensitive ears and ego Tod.

Now it turns out that Tod is going to be one of 200 contestants on the CBC TV show "Test The Nation", and look who he'll be competing against ... !


What's your problem?

Tod Maffin's version of absolute power.
I wrote a comment at a famous blog.
Tod didn't like it, and took the intial steps of legal action to have it removed.
He was successful.

It made me an unhappy camper.
And I happen to really like it here.