My Name Is Rich

Ok the title may be a little extreme but I wanted to post a quick and simple fix for a bug that I ran into. Hopefully, this post will help someone else or just serve as a reminder for me if I run into the same problem.

Well here is the background. I was working on a project that needed to load in the Vimeo Video Player, named Moogaloop. This was my first time using it and so far it’s not too bad. A little hiccups here and there but I was able to get the player to load with help from derhess’ helper class. That was until I ran into one problem. It seemed that every time the Moogaloop player would be loaded into my own Flash movie the entire alignment would reset to Top Left. So, after doing a bit of reading and talking to a good friend that works at Vimeo we came up with the workaround of just reverting the alignment back to it’s original value. And that was it. The bug was now “fixed” and my site didn’t have that nasty shift to the side problem.

No, I didn’t hear that from any project manager or fellow employee. I actually read that line from the great site Clients From Hell. As I’ve mentioned before this is one of my favorite sites and this little nugget is proof why.

Client: I want you to do a 3-minute animation for my website. It’s okay if it’s in Flash. How much is that?

Me: That depends, what did you have in mind exactly?

Client: Well, I don’t know. It depends on how much it costs.

Me: The price depends on how complex the designs are, if there is any level of interactivity, if I have to get licensed music, if there is voiceover, etc.

Client: I’m just asking how much 3 minutes of animation is. I don’t know what I want.

Me: Well, the most basic designs start at $3,000 and more complex designs are upwards of $20,000.

Client: WHAT? I thought it would be like $100. I told you, you can do it in Flash.

Me: That’s how much Flash animation costs.

Client: Bullshit. I know Flash does all the animation for you.

direct link.

Now, I wanted to post this because for one reason it makes me laugh and therefore you should all be lol-ing right now. Two, it’s an clear example of a client being uneducated or simply not caring to know what is or isn’t possible despite being told the truth. When a client acts this way it can be a tough time for everyone. Fingers get pointed, lawyers are involved, cats and dogs living together… mass chaos. So, how do we fix this? Do we as developers invoke our civic duty of trying to educate these clients? Yes, I believe so but sometimes it’s not enough and sometimes business is just business. In the above case, I hope the client and developer reach a fair agreement in price or they break times then and there. All we can take from this is a lesson and hope to God that this doesn’t happen to any one of us.

Debuging is a craft in it’s own and it’s always helpful to find new tips and tricks. So, I’m writing to post about a new trick for helping us Flash coders debug our sweet, buggy code. Adobe put in a new feature in Flash CS4 called Conditional Compiling and you can read more about it from InsideRIA’s article.

The basic idea is that you can use a compiler constant called CONFIG::Debug to tell the compile when to run some code. If the constant is set to true it’ll be run if it’s set to false then it won’t. Simple, right? Before you start coding you’ll want to go into your Actionscript 3 settings and click on the last tab surprisingly called “Config constants”. Here you can create the constant and set it’s value.

Now that you are all set you you can then use code such as this to see it in action.

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var val:int = 0;
for (var i:int = 0; i < 200; i++)
{
    val += i * .5;
    CONFIG::Debug
    {
        trace(val);
    }
}

And that’s it. It’s a small tip but one that I’ll be definitely using from now on in my projects. If you want to see another simple example I’ve put up a zip file located here for your viewing pleasure.

Here’s part two of my thanksgiving series post. This time I’m thankful for the last two years in my life. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster but a very fun and enjoyable one I’m happy to say. Within the past two years I have graduated college and moved from NY State to Mayland and then finally back to NY State. So, let me give you some Cliff’s Note on the last two years.

Year One

This was interesting because it was the start of a lot of new changes for me. I left my hometown of Rochester, NY and settled into the great Rockville, MD. I guess I had a thing for cities that start with the letter “R”.

This was the year I spent getting my feet wet. On top of this big move I started my first full time job straight out of school at HZDG. I spent my days developing in Adobe Flash desperately trying to get away from Actionscript 2.0 and moving onward to the great land of 3.0. Work went well and I couldn’t have enjoyed it anymore meeting the new people and learning the new parts of this industry. Outside of work I bought my first car, Volkswagen Jetta, and explored the areas of Maryland and DC. I would say this was a great time for me to become more independent and see what else was outside of my hometown.

I would say the one bad thing about this year is that I lost some contact with a lot of my close friends and family. While I was able to still communicate with them via telephone and instant message it is obviously not the same. But that is part of life I suppose.

Year Two

The next year brought on a lot of change. I spent the first half of the year in Maryland and then with the support of my company was able to transfer to our NY office in Manhattan. So, not only was I heading back home to ny state but I was getting ready to work with a new set of people and work environment. But that part I can handle fine. The bigger change was moving in with my girlfriend. Yup, I went from living alone to living with someone else. I have to say it’s been worth it being able to spend the off time from work with someone that you care about. It’s very fulfilling and I couldn’t have it any other way.

Now all of this big move came with something that was missing the year before. Since I have been back in ny state I’ve been able to get back together with a lot of my college friends and family that are now a lot closer than before. Rochester is now a nice 5 hour drive and friends are now subway ride away. It’s a much better experience though I do miss working with the great people down in Maryland. If only I could have the best of both worlds but who really gets that?

The pas two years have been great and I couldn’t ask for more. Looking back in retrospect it’s allowed me to truly be thankful for what I have accomplished. If anything it’s made me think what will come in the next two years. Where will I be and how will life be. Hopefully, it’s continues to improve not only for myself but for those close loved ones.

Well, Thanksgiving is almost upon us and I figured what a better way to celebrate this holiday than to post on my dusty and much neglected blog? So, let’s start out my series of post what what I like to call “What is Rich thankful for?” This post centers on what you’ll guess are blogs.

You see I love blogs. The fact it can allow anyone from a kid in his room to a huge corporation to post really anything and everything. Due to my ever growing love I’ve acquired what i would say are a list of the blogs that I frequent the most. These go beyond just Google Reader. Usually these are the blogs I’ll tell people about and actually come back to read just because I love the posts. So, without further adieu let’s get started.

Daddy’s Fish Bowl

http://www.daddysfishbowl.com/

This is a new blog that I came across one day on twitter and ever since I found it I haven’t looked back. Daddy’s Fish Bowl centers on the life of a family from the eyes of a hardworking a father. I think what drew me the most into this blog, despite not having any children, is that I enjoy the stories. Reading about the various issues and problems that can go on through a family such as a child being afraid of the dentist or trying to act good solely for Santa always bring a smile to my face. It makes me come back for more and if anything reminds me of my own family back home.

Tech Crunch

http://www.techcrunch.com/

Anyone that loves technology and frequents the internet a little too much most likely has already heard about this blog. Techcrunch posts countless articles on startups, tech news, gadgets, etc. It’s really one of my favorite sites that I will return and just start reading the archives. One the aspects I love about this is how much notice they put into startups and entrepreneurs. It’s refreshing to see a site give some focus to what could essentially become the next future companies and services that we use.

From the Old Man

http://fromtheoldman.com/

From the Old Man is actually a new site that I came across, again via twitter. It’s tumbler site that actually focuses on tips and advice from men that have been there and done that. Why does someone go through the trouble of posting all of these little tidbits of advice? Well as the site says “Because you goddamn never listen anyway”. I’m sure my dad would agree to that statement. I’m not sure why but these type of sites always intrigue me. I think it’s the notion of constantly getting other people’s opinion on what could be done better. This site easily gives me that fix.

Lifehacker

http://lifehacker.com/

Lifehacker is another site that you’ve most likely already heard about. This site is focused on giving you tips and tricks on life. From how to get cheap airline tickets to how to it’s own guide to google wave and black friday. It’s a great site that I couldn’t do without.

5STARHIPHOP

http://www.5starhiphop.com/
Ok, now let’s move into some music. I love music, you love music. You might not like hip hop but I certainly do. When it’s done right you can’t stop listening to the lyrics and that’s what I love so much about it. 5STARHIPHOP definitely quenches that thirst as they are constantly posting new music songs that are put online from fans or even the artists themselves. What I feel sets this blog apart from the other music blogs is the author’s opinions. He doesn’t just post but actually provides some insight. It’s something that adds more appeal for myself.

Clients from Hell

http://clientsfromhell.tumblr.com/
Clients from Hell is another tumblr site and one that helps me relate to my daily job. This site posts other designers and developers experiences working with clients and their strange and sometimes insane requests. Luckily I don’t work with clients as bad as this but it does bring a smile to my face as I read through some of these posts. I would highly suggest this for all the developers and designers out there.

Trizle

http://www.trizle.com/
Well, we’re on the last blog and this is another type of blog that gives out little tips and tricks. The posts are fairly short but are full of great advice on just how to be a better person. As I said I gravitate to these types of sites not only for their insight but for the truth that it puts out.

Well, that’s all I have. Though if I wanted to I could add more blogs such as the great Smashing Magazine and 1000 Awesome Things. But, then this list would keep getting longer and longer and no one likes a never ending post. I hope you’ve enjoyed this and don’t forget to check out these great sites.

Well, yesterday Matt and I discussing the value of insults themed around flash. This sparked us trading them back and forth and after a having a few lefts we took off to twitter. We both started posting as many insults as we could and surprisingly we found a welcoming response from a few fellow flash devs. They also started to post back their own and the result was pure flash-geek-comedy. I have to say I’m glad that so many people enjoyed it and to show my love I decided to post a few of my favorites below.

Feel free to add to the fun if you are a flash developer!

• @8dot3 Your mom is so fat she’s spread across five scenes.
• @BrendanOliver #flashinsults you”ll never be able to addChild() while(this.member().length() < 4)
• @matthewwithanm Your mom is so dumb that she tried to use tellTarget to return a vacuum. #flashinsults
• @morgenstille you’re so fat, when your rotation val is changed, the earth starts shaking #flashinsults
• @greg_dove you’re so stupid, you think flash.display.JointStyle is an option at a Californian herbal medicine dispensary #flashinsults
• @lettertwo while (person == you) trace(‘hahahahahahahaha’); #flashinsults

And that’s it. There are a ton more so if you want to check it out here. I’m loving so many people found it enjoyable!

No, this isn’t about bad weather. This post is actually about my Blackberry Storm. See last night Verizon put out a much needed update. Now, I can safely say that I like using my phone. It’s fast, responsive and enjoyable to use.

So, this goes out to all the Blackerry users. If you have the chance to upgrade tp OS 5.0 then please take it. Hopefully you’ll have a good experience as well.

Out of Inspiration by Roy Hoes

I think I spend too much time going through sites, threads, rss feeds, etc all for one thing… inspiration.

I love it and I think it takes over too much of my time. Ask any of my co-workers and friends. I’m sure they’ll tell you daily horror stories of me sending them links upon links that I find interesting and inspiring. I’m not really sure why I do this and why I love going through so much media. I think if you ask some people they will say “I need it to stay ahead of the curve” or “I need to think of a new idea for a website design”. They will pour through books and websites. It’s almost like getting a fix for that great work that just makes you say “I want to do that!” Suddenly, a lightbulb is lit and you’re full of ideas and your second wind has just sprung. I don’t know about you but this type of rush keeps me motivated, allowing me to go through the “real” days of work. I feel like we all need something like that. There needs to be that edge that pushes you further when you’re running on empty.

At the end the day of the day you have to ask yourself “What inspires me?” Could be your job, family & friends, religion, or something else. If you can find it… then hold onto it.

So, I recently wanted to play around with the Bit.ly API and use it in flash. I decided it would be best to write up a nice little helper class. The usage for this is pretty simple and right now it only implements two of the API methods, shorten and expand. I’ll work on the other calls but I figured these were the most widely used.

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import com.imperez.apis.bitly.Bitly;
import com.imperez.apis.bitly.events.BitlyEvent;
 
var bitly:Bitly = new Bitly("bitly username", "user api_key");
bitly.addEventListener(BitlyEvent.SHORTEN, this._shorten);
bitly.shorten("http://www.google.com/");
 
function _shorten(event:BitlyEvent):void
{
	var shortURL:String = event.currentTarget.shortURL;
	trace(shortURL); //http://bit.ly/4BSxf
}

As you can see from the code above it’s pretty simple. Pass in your username and api key in the constructor and then listen for the BitlyEvent.SHORTEN event. Make your call along passing your long url and you are set to go. I wanted to keep this is as easy to use as possible. I also wanted to make it so you wouldn’t need to have to parse xml in order to get this information.

And that’s it. Nothing more to see but sweet, sweet code . If you’re interested I have it up on my repository located here. There are still some bug fixes and general clean up to on top of further implementation but I would say it’s a good start.

I was lucky to get my invite for Google Wave yesterday and quickly logged on. So far things seem smooth and I think this application has a ton of potential. It shows off my email from google mail and offers up a couple of default extensions. There’s even a section to manage your contacts on google wave. All is right but right now there’s no one to really… wave with. Hopefully once the invites keep coming I’ll be able to test it even more but for now I can just wait.

For anyone else riding the wave I hope you’re enjoying it and getting more out of it. As for those that are waiting for your invite don’t worry. I already sent out a few of mine and hopefully it won’t be too long until you get yours.

For now check out all the great previews here, here, and oh yea way over there.