Old

Happy birthday, Scott!

On vacation I was on a mission. I wanted to get a new hat. The last time I got a new one was... well the last time I went to Disneyland. There was an Oregon Ducks hat at Meadow Lakes that I liked, but the next time I went back it was gone. And since then I haven't seen one like it. I am extremely picky about hats. I don't wear them often, but when I do it has to be "just right".

So I looked and I looked. I must have looked at every shop that sold hats in Disneyland and the California Adventure. But I couldn't find anything that had that "just right" factor. I did find one I liked - brown with orange and red Mickey's, and some cool stitching on the bill. But it was a one size fits all pro-back (non-adjustable) and it was waaay too big.

So I bought this shirt for Scott instead:


Yeup. Old guys rule. QED so do you. Happy birthday!

Loud

Tonight's gonna be a loud one. As I type, a huge storm is rolling overhead. Thunder is shaking the house, and rain is pounding down. It's so heavy, and the drops are so big, that I can hardly see across the street.



We haven't cleaned our gutters yet. Water streamed out of every corner and down the sides of the house. Some even flowed down the chain, like it's supposed to.



According to the weather reports and doppler, this one's gonna last a while. I am kinda glad! I like the smell of rain and I love a good storm.

Disney

My kids are gonna be soooooo happy.

I just noticed that BendBroadband started broadcasting The Disney Channel, on channel 56. 'Bout freakin' time! I had to ask Scott's folks to tape High School Musical 2 for us when it premiered a few weeks ago. Because even Klamath Falls had it, but not Bend.

So... does this mean that they are gonna pick ABC Family back up? Because that would make me so happy! (Gilmore Girls reruns, doncha know...)

Wish

It's no big secret that thump is my favorite coffee place in Bend. (Just to be clear, it's not my favorite coffee place in the world. That would be the Beanery in Salem. But thump is good. Really good.)

Anyways.

A while back they had these nondescript pieces of wood and pens. Patrons were asked to write their wishes on them. A few months ago they hung them from the ceiling, all over the shop. When someone opens a door, they twirl and spin. It's very cool! I managed to find mine, hanging over the walkway near the espresso machine. And I noticed over on Jon's blog that they posted pictures of all the wishes online. In looking at the pictures of the other wishes, there were some "repeaters". I am kind of proud that my wish is unique among the wishes. I do wish a lot of other things that other people wish, they just weren't what I decided to write down that day.

So, without further ado, here's my wish:



If all y'all only knew how much tie dye I own. My kids think it's a normal part of everyone's wardrobe. They don't comprehend that not every kid had a really far out tie dyed onesie when they were a baby, man. And while I can't get the hang of those new fangled crocs, I still lovelovelove my Birkies.

Yeup, my folks were (are?) hippies. My mom was one of those long-haired flower children handing out cards in Haight-Ashbury back in the day. My dad had a fro and some really neat tire shoes.

Yet somehow I never saw the Dead, live in concert.

Scott saw them twice. Plus Sting in a basement jazz bar in Eugene. And sat next to Garth Brooks in a hotel bar.

I am hoping some of his music mojo rubs off on me, so we can at least make it close to Jimmy Buffett. Because yes, I am a parrothead too.

Storm

It must be getting close to fall... we are watching an amazing thunder and lightning storm. A little bit of rain fell too. Not that wimpy misty stuff either... this was nice, big, fat drops of rain!

A welcome change from the hot, muggy afternoon weather.

Eclipse

It's 4:24am, are you looking at the moon?

In our neighborhood somewhere, a dog is howling at the orangey-red, somewhat obscured disc in the sky. The air is crisp but not freezing. Eclipse weather, maybe? And Stinky has something strange growing out of his face.

Ooops, that is how his face normally looks. Sorry 'bout that, Stinky...

Anyhoo. I overslept, since this whole thing was supposed to get rolling at 2am. I woke up at 4am. It's all good... still a beautiful (and unusual) sight to see. I am glad that I got to see it with at least one of the kids.

Now... back to bed with us. Morning should be an adventure....

updated - Really cool animations and pics of the eclipse, if you missed it. I was just too darn tired to look for my tripod and gear. Next time I will prepare better and have everything ready the night before!

City

Best view of a city... any city? From great seats, with good friends, at a baseball game of course!

Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath at the Old Mill Martini bar is served in a martini glass with a red grape garnish. It's light pink in color, and smells slightly sweet. It's a sipping drink. Refreshing, and one of my favorites on a warm summer evening.

After sipping my way through the evening, this morning I am feeling the "wrath".

Tylenol, anyone?

COWPU

A little less than a year ago, the Sherpa and I started thinking.

I know, dangerous stuff. I promise it didn't last long.

But during that brief moment we mused that we were spending a LOT of time driving to Portland to attend PDXCFUG (now known as PDXRIA) group meetings. When I lived in Salem I attended CFUG (Coldfusion user group) meetings off and on. Now that I was back in web development, and for once full time, I enjoyed the meetings for both their informational and social/networking opportunities.

Now, during the summer it's nothing to leave around 3pm and enjoy a leisurely, often sunny drive from Bend to the big city. And to make it worth our while, we spent some time visiting our favorite Portland restaurants... which sometimes made for a very late night drive home.

But winter was on the way. And at times it's bad enough driving over the pass during the shortening daylight hours, let alone in the dead of night.

So we asked that question: "Why isn't there anything like that in Bend?"

Tim

Stinky and Boo are in Salem visiting my mom for the week. Every summer she hosts players from the local baseball team. They are always very nice "boys". Even though the kids only get to know them for a day or two, they still talk about them for years, and we keep an eye on their progress with the Giants farm system.

Here they are at Sunday's game with Tim!

Watermelon

I made this quilt for my friends that will be having a baby soon. Mother-to-be has been craving watermelon so I thought it was an appropriate theme! Doesn't it make you hungry?

Beverage rack is looking a little bare though. Hmmm, might have to do something about that. Luckily there are several bottles in the fridge, too! ;)

360flex - Beyond Point and Grunt

Brain dump notes...

Get beyond point and grunt
Tony Hillerson, Effective UI

using picnik for examples

what other gestures can we use for a better experience? conveying intention with meaning
buttons, menus arrange things so they aren't in the way. tabbed menus serve similar purposes as menus.

relationships -
context menus: right-click menus and radial menus as well
keyboard shortcuts: ctrl-s
command line: ls, format c:
mouse gestures: click and drag over link to open in new tab, click and "circle" links to open all in new tab (see optimoz). less wasted mouse travel

fitts' law - law that predicts how much time it takes to point at something (doesn't have to be on a computer)
the farther away, the longer to point
the smaller size, the longer to point

QED make bigger buttons :)

Also use edges of the physical screen - can "bounce" the mouse off the edge of the screen so to speak. hot corners are similar.

make buttons closer to pointer so user doesn't have to work so hard to get pointer there

don't forget that the user has to FIND the button first!

the first time an app is used it's ok to take longer - exploratory. but as tasks become instinctive (repetitive) time to task becomes really important. think about ctrl-s, using that keyboard shortcut isn't necessarily obvious but as proficient it's fast and easy way to save!

menus
where is the item. how deep is it. sort of like how long does it take to navigate a maze.

keyboard shortcuts - good for when you are already using keyboard (ie typing) and don't have to switch to mouse!

quicksilver, cmd-space then type "f" will quick launch firefox.

Cairngorm stuff - blah blah ginger ;)

labs.effectiveui.com/commando
thillerson.blogspot.com

360flex - Stunning Flex Design

brain dump notes...

Building Stunning Flex Applications
George Comninos, Adobe

ways to skin:
css
graphics
programmatic
themes

use flex style explorer to create look, then export the css

getting graphical skins in from fireworks.
templates and commands will be available on labs... after max?
fireworks cs3, commands, flex skins
can choose one, many, or all components to modify
export from the flex skin menu
flex builder 3, import skin artwork

flex builder 3
includes css design view.
capability to automatically embed fonts.
can use scale grid to determine which items can grow or shrink.

360flex - Design Eye for the Dev Guy

...and gal too, apparently!

Brain dump notes...

Design Eye for the Dev Guy
Aaron Adams, Cynergy

Color theory and 2D design - rules to learn and follow for implementing good design

Constructing a composition - blocking things out on paper. don't worry about color. worry about flow and focal points

Present wireframes in b/w with no graphics to eliminate judgments and make it clear this is not a polished design

color theory - placing a color on different backgrounds to enhance focal points (or not), looking at distractions and visibility

distinguish focal points - use color and contrast to keep focus on important tasks. if there is an action that's important use more contrast so it is not lost.

prioritization - beware of flow and what needs to be accomplished in what order? perform tasks left to right or top to bottom so that it's logical to the person using it.

think (and build) in layers - comping in fireworks vs. photoshop - fw is higher productivity. shading, lighting, shadows improve "realism".

details - take some time to make things LOOK GOOD like buttons :) play with the elements to see what happens when you add styling to elements.

general suggestions:
eliminate excessive lines - reduce visual distraction, use implied lines instead of a physical line
allow elements room to breathe
design for consistent implementation
understand context
realism vs physical reality - ie put all shadows in same direction, so design mirrors "real world"

90% white on black is still "white" but not as intense, a little more eye friendly :)

transitions are "cool" but may not make sense in a day to day productivity setting. users don't want to wait for an animation or transition.

design still sells. if it looks good and makes sense then it will be more "popular"

get comps in front first, before functionality designed

accessibility - 508 compliant apps? might require multiple versions of applications

use familiarity with existing forms as a jumping off point. borrow from previous experiences so they don't have to relearn a process

make "design time" a phase of the project. once design is finalized then it's dev time, and you don't go back until version 2 :)

Combination of making things look "good" and enhancing productivity and storytelling. keep balance, productivity and flow in mind. Does everything have a purpose?

make sure transitions are consistent. if some items fade in and out, then all similar items should to avoid "jarring"

get the application WORKING functionally first then go back and add transitions as they make sense.

immediate user feedback and recognition. ie login errors, changing context

monitor testing for colors and contrast? some colors look better on mac monitors than lcd & pc monitors. ensure you have good contrast, perhaps exact colors aren't the most important thing?

use color and motion to get attention. gratuitous motion will distract user from what is important and focal points on screen

addressing gender, age, and audience of your application. know your audience!

pixel perfect suggestions:
build in layers, back to front
tackle one element at a time
don't overly depend on tools
borderSkin is your friend - export PNG out of fireworks
embed fonts in Flash - saves on file size :)
class extensions,
blendmode attributes
don't give up!

360flex - Monday keynote

Brain dump notes...

Things have changed a lot since flex 2

demands:
better experiences - intuitive, lower training costs
better user interfaces - using graphics etc to enhance
better integration - data from multiple sources
performance - faster data arrival, scrolling, etc
compatibility - build once for all platforms
just plain better :)

picnik.com
article on wsj: looking at app through users/customers eyes and noticing the experience. blur line between browser and desktop

easy to use. image processing. uses url states.

buzzword
ms word quality word processing in a BROWSER. targeted at college students for online document sharing. version control.

sliderocket
presentation software, built and delivered online. collaborate and update online so they are always in sync. changes and updates. portability

flash player adoption
passed 92% for flash player 9
8+ million installs/day
2.44 billion installs

flex growth
intranets - more companies choosing flex to power their intranet and internal apps

ribbit
soft phone to route and manage phone calls with simple flash ui

kapow
api generation tool to create xml/rest based on existing websites
EVEN IF they don't have an API (i.e. LinkedIn)

Flex history
changes to flash player
developers and structured programmers, not designers. new market and how can we make this class of developer successful
coming soon, better graphics integration, application performance, OPEN SOURCE, text formatting and control, skinning and styling, sdk faster and leaner

NEW FLEX 3 BETA IN OCTOBER

upgrade pricing will be gentle, value should be there compared to feature set.
1000 community bug base users, please register at bugs.adobe.com/flex/
flex 3 will ship as open source
flex 3 will ship in early 2008

AIR news
customer api feedback is very important
sqllite implementation added to runtime
application signing and security, certificates
onAIR leg 2 begins tomorrow
AIR 1.0 will ship in early 2008, parallel with Flex 3 ship date


MAX 2007
Chicago, Barcelona, Tokyo
over 60 flex sessions, mostly given by the engineers
flex bootcamp with dev team (also livecycle, coldfusion)
meet the flex team
registration surpassed 2006 (Las Vegas) - largest Macromedia or Adobe event ever
360flex discount code

Ted Patrick
ted@adobe.com
Flex Evangelist

No

Just Say No!

360|Flex

I am at 360|Flex in Seattle this week. I know, I know... I just got home from Disneyland, and I am already back on the road. It won't end with this either - I think this weekend we will be running around checking up on family in Salem, Medford, and Klamath Falls. Hopefully after that I will get to stay put for a while.

Anyways - I am staying at the Red Lion downtown on 5th, room 1207. If you are in this neck of the woods and want to meet up drop a line. I am planning to go to a Mariners game tonight, should be fun!

The big news here so far is that Flex 3 and AIR 1 will be released in parallel early in 2008. Also next spring there will be two 360|Flex conferences - one in Italy and the other on the East coast (city TBD). Good to see they are planning ahead!

Disneyland!

We're ba-ack!

The whole family had a great time on our vacation at Disneyland. The kids had no clue what we were planning. In fact, we did such a good job keeping the secret that they didn't believe us at first when we told them what was going on!

Without further ado... click here to see a few of our vacation photos.

Click here to read a full account of our adventures in Disneyland and the California Adventure!

Tuesday morning we woke up at 4am. Thankfully everyone had packed and gone to bed early the night before. The kids were troopers and got dressed and rolling with little prompting. They were sleepy but excited - and they knew that that there was some travel time involved though they didn't know the final location. We got on the road and all of them were back asleep by the time we reached the North end of Bend. As we pulled into the airport in Redmond they started to wake up... and realized where we were. Now they were really confused, but none of them could even take a guess at where we were going. We got them through security and onto the plane easily. It does pay to be organized when you travel with kids - we had them all wear sandals so that we didn't have to worry about shoes coming off at security and I personally placed their baggies in their luggage so that we wouldn't have to hunt for them.

Waiting to board the plane, Stinky noticed that we were headed for Los Angeles. He asked, "hey, is Disneyland in LA?" I told him no, it is in Anaheim. He looked a little bummed, and the kids mused about touring Hollywood and watching surfers, all the while wishing out loud that Disneyland was in LA. Heh! When we boarded I nabbed pillows and blankets for everyone. Another passenger asked the kids if they were going to Disneyland, and they all said that would be nice, but they didn't think so. We explained the surprise, and I gave the other passenger a knowing wink. After a smooth takeoff we were all back in dreamland.

When we arrived in LAX I found our way to the shuttle bus area. Wonder of wonders, the bus we needed was actually waiting at the curb! How's that for timing? The kids just stopped and stared at the huge tour bus decorated with Disney characters and the words Disneyland Express. They moaned about being tortured since there was no way they could be going to Disneyland! Our luggage was loaded and everyone found a seat. That's when we asked - doesn't anyone have any idea where we are going? We told them we were going to spend four days at Disneyland and they laughed at us - they didn't believe us! We insisted that was the truth... and the bouncing and giggling began!

The bus dropped us off right outside our motel, the Park Vue Inn. We checked in and stowed our luggage, then headed for the parks. It was still early - only 10am! Since Scott, Stinky, and JJ had never been to the California Adventure we went there first. Timing was perfect again as the park opened right as we arrived, and the crowds were minimal.

We started things off with a ride on Soarin Over California. All I can say is that ride is ... COOL! It simulates a hang gliding ride over California landmarks including San Francisco, ocean beaches, golf courses, Yosemite, and of course Disneyland! It was almost as much fun to watch the movie as it was to watch the kids' faces. They gasped and pointed at the scenery. Scott and I agreed that we got our money's worth on that first ride.

We wandered California Adventure and rode many of the rides in that park. Boo was truly terrified by the Tower of Terror, but loved the Maliboomer and California Screamin' along with the rest of us. Stinky was practically dragged onto Screamin', protesting that going upside down would make him lose his lunch. After that first ride he wanted to know when it would be time to go again, he was hooked!

By mid-afternoon our room was ready and we were ready to go back to our hotel room, settle in, and go for a swim. That's the great thing about staying at a motel right across the street from Disneyland - it isn't a huge deal to go back for a break whenever you need one. It was an easy five minute walk from the park gates to our room, even with tired kids. WUN. DER. FULL!!! I can't say much about the Park Vue - but it met our needs on our budget and isn't that really all you can ask? It is close to the park, clean, has a pool and free breakfast. The shower had good water pressure and the fridge kept our cold stuff cold. Nuff said!

While the kids and I played at the pool Scott braved the public transportation and came back with provisions - snacks, juice, beer, and blueberry Stoli. Yes, it was good to be in California where grocery stores are liquor stores, and I could enjoy a cocktail by the pool during our afternoon break!

That evening we went to the park that started it all... Disneyland! It was tough to decide where to begin. Everyone had a favorite, and we reassured the kids that we had four days - plenty of time to do everything we wanted. We managed quite a few rides that first night, including the Matterhorn and Pirates of the Caribbean.

The trip really is a blur, looking back. We spent our days hopping from park to park. Generally we started the day at Disneyland, then headed to the California Adventure late morning. After an afternoon swim we returned to Disneyland after the crowds thinned. We made good use of the FastPass system and single rider passes to avoid the long lines - but we really didn't run into anything more than a 45 minute wait. We decided not to wait (for two hours or more) to ride the Finding Nemo Submarines, and heard from other guests that it was a bit disappointing to all but the youngest guests.

We didn't see many characters, either. The kids and I were on the lookout, but we always seemed to be getting somewhere just as they were leaving. We did get to visit with Mickey, Pluto and Goofy. It really wasn't a priority for them to collect autographs and see the characters like when they were little, so we didn't make it a priority to find them.

We also spent a little time in Downtown Disney, where the girls enjoyed shopping at the Build-A-Bear Workshop and Stinky wandered the Lego store. We splurged on some fabulous desserts at the Rainforest Cafe, which was fun for all. One evening we sat and watched the fireworks from New Orleans Square, and then snagged riverside seats for Fantasmic!.

Our last day (Friday) was a marathon day. We woke up and packed, since we had to check out of the motel by 11am. We re-stowed our luggage and had a nice breakfast in Tomorrowland. We snagged a FastPass for one last trip on Space Mountain and rode the Buzz Lightyear ride.

Since we hadn't done the walk through the castle yet, that was next. When we came into Fantasyland I noticed that Merlin was fluttering around near the carousel, and it was time for the Sword in the Stone ceremony. Lo and behold, JJ was selected to attempt to pull the sword out of the stone... which she did! After a brief stint as the ruler of Fantasyland, she was awarded a certificate and a medal from Merlin. It was a really special moment for the whole family!

Early in the afternoon we said our final goodbye to Disneyland and went to the California Adventure. We got in a few last rides on Screamin' and the Maliboomer, and took a long break to enjoy frozen lemonades (for the kids) and Karl Strauss beer (for me and Scott).

Finally it was time to say goodbye to the California Adventure too. We dragged ourselves to the bus stop with our luggage. The girls fell asleep on the ride to the airport. While we waited for our flight we munched on some truly horrible food from the LAX Burger King. On the plane ride, we all slept.

And though we all had a very, very good time... I think we were all very, VERY happy to be home! My voice is hoarse (from screaming on, er, Screamin') and my shins and feet are sore. The whole family had a BLAST!

Sword

We are having a BLAST! :)

Surprise

No, the kids still don't know. We decided to see how long it takes them to figure it out. We have refused to confirm or deny any/all guesses as to our destination.

I am revelling in my kids' distress. It's been fun to mess with them a little. Witness the conversation between Boo and me, after we got in the car yesterday.

Boo: Mama, please tell me where we are going!
Me: No, it's a surprise.
Boo: I promise not to tell Scott or the other kids.
Me: No, it's a surprise.
Boo: Will you tell me the first letter of where we are going?
Me: OK, the first letter is "S".
Boo: "S"... what starts with "S"?
Me: "Surprise"
Boo: MOM! I'm being serious!
Me: So am I.
Boo: So... where we are going really starts with "S"?
Me: Yes, Boo. "Surprise" really starts with "S".

We gave them their packing lists last night. Threw in all kinds of random items just to throw them off. For instance, the big kids are using their backpacks. (I got them for camp this year, as there was a screaming sale and they LOVE them.) I let it drop that they would have to carry them a long ways, so now JJ is convinced we are going backpacking.

That's right... they don't even know we will be going on a plane. Not sure how we are going to explain why they need to put their toothpaste and deodorant in baggies, but I am sure we can come up with something. Or, we'll just let it be part of the mystery.

I will be keeping my camera at the ready, hoping to capture that moment when they all realize what's happening.

Zip

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah!
Zip-A-Dee-Ay!
I'm on way to Disneyland
What a wonderful day!

Burn

In case you haven't heard yet, there's a fire burning near Bend. Actually, not far from our house. Which means the 'hood is really hazy. Made me glad to go into work this morning, just to get away from that icky burnt smell^*.

On the other hand, all I really want to do is go home and lie down. My throat is itchy, my sinuses hurt, and I am sneezing forcefully. Seriously, I almost deafened the Sherpa with the last one. I tried the curry method^** of getting things flowing, and while it tasted awesome (yeah! I could taste it!) it did nothing to help stem the tide of the oncoming headache.

Keeping mind focused on one good thing - vacation next week. It will be good to see the Mouse. Four days and counting...

^*While I love the smell of a good campfire, the smell of forest fire smoke over a period of 12 hours is just not the same. sigh...

^**Red Curry Chicken from Thai on the Fly. They use a little bit of coconut milk and some pineapple. Yummmmm... so good!