[Official]Flex Builder in Linux

A little while back I posted some details about a hack to get Flex Builder working in linux. I've also been watching the Adobe blogs and other Flex Builder associated information sources. The same question always comes up when Adobe asks, "Any questions?". Yes, when is Flex Builder coming out for Linux. ...

In the Penguin.swf blog, an Adobe blog dedicated to Flash related products running in a linux environment, today I saw this post.

Adobe's Flex Builder is coming to Linux. You can download the public alpha of the tool over on the appropriate labs page.

My shock and disbelief led me to the appropriate labs page.

From the looks of things it looks much the same as the hacked version, except that it plays nicer with Eclipse 3.3. I'll be trying this out myself and see how well it does. If it does well with an MXML file, even if design view doesn't currently work, I will be very happy. Less back and forth OS switching at home :)

MTV Adobe Air Challenge

I'm jealous of all the people in Chicago at Adobe Max 2007. There is a lot going on this year that I am particularly interested in. I've seen a preview of flash player 10. Flex 3 and AIR beta 2 are out with some great new features people have been wanting to test out. One good thing though is there is much blogging going on. ...

In one of the most recent blogs I saw a link mentioned in passing. The link led me to the homepage for the MTV/Adobe AIR Challenge. I'm pondering if I should look into building something. There are a lot of smart people who will be doing some stuff as well. Of course, failure sometimes is the best option so I probably will. Now, what should I build? I haven't watched MTV since Tough Enough season 3 ( the last season? ).

If you have any ideas, I would love to read them.

Friday Humor with Chad Vader

What would it be like if Darth Vader had a brother who lived on earth? What would his goals be? Here's a possibility. Enjoy
...

It doesn't work! There must be a bug!

I am on a lot of programming mailing lists. One thing I see all too often is the, "This doesn't work as I expect it, there must be a bug" type of posts. While there are many cases where there very well could be a bug, I think people look in the wrong place too soon. ...

Some of the lists I am on are for projects that are currently still in beta, or even alpha status. On those lists, you most likely have got a bug. Even in those lists, it is important to run several tests with different types of data so that you can pass on as much information as you can to the developers.

In a majority of cases, on the lists of production software that has been thoroughly tested, people seem to jump the gun. "I want it to do 'X' and it doesn't, there is a bug!" However, the first thing to realize when things don't work is, "You don't know everything". Be humble and realize you've probably made a mistake in your own code or maybe you don't quite understand certain concepts well. Perhaps your bug report would be better as a feature request.

I'm lucky, I've only been doing this a few years. So my initial response when something doesn't work is that I made a mistake. Then I dive into the documentation, read related books, search the web and maybe ask a question on a mailing list to learn the best practices for what I'm trying to do. Sometimes I have to clear my head and do something else before coming back to the problem. In the end I've learned quite a bit and I can tackle even larger problems.

Screaming bug isn't as bad as crying wolf, but it can be annoying. Bugs are out there, but often times there's a better way to do what you want.

Strength Training without a gym

Having been a personal trainer I get asked the question, "What should I do to get in shape?". Well that or one of many variations. Often I focus on the philosophy and psychology of training over the physical act. Training doesn't require any specific exercise to be done right. In fact, what is right for one person may be wrong for another. Some people don't have the money for, or have enough discipline to train without, a gym. It can take some creativity, but bodyweight exercises are the easiest way for someone to start getting in shape. ...

Some well known body weight exercises are:

• Pushups
• Pullups
• Crunches / Sit ups
• Squats

Going back to the psychology of working out, workouts are most successful when they are fun. Doing the above four exercises only is not going to be much fun in the long haul. So it takes some creativity and some times a little inspiration from others. Here is a video of some parkour enthusiasts showing their form of strength training, maybe it will inspire you.

So be creative, have some fun and move your body. That is what you can do to get into shape.

Failure is the BEST option

The cliché says,"Failure is not an option". In some very rare occasions this is probably a good mindset to have. Most of the time, however, failure is the best option. We should try to fail, and fail as big as we can.

I'm not saying that failure is all you should ever do, but it is a great tool to success. Watching my two sons grow up is a treat to watch. They are experts at failing, and learning from it - as all children are. When a child is learning to walk, they fall down a lot. What if the first time a child tried to stand up and subsequently fell down they decided to never try again? Or worse yet, what if they never even tried to stand up in the first place because they don't know how? Nobody would walk. We can learn a lot from children. ...

Sometimes we need to try stuff and fail at it to get a good look at a problem. Take for example someone starting parkour. They might try a vault and come crashing down in any number of ways. Many people might decide right then and there not to try again. Some people, might think to themselves "What went wrong?" and "What do I need to do to make that vault?". Still other might just keep on trying to get a some more looks at the problem.

The people who give up might do so because they are nothing like the people they see in parkour videos. They might watch video after video of people who make it look easy. The truth is those traceurs and traceuses bite it once in a while too. In fact one of parkour's founders, David Belle, is in a great video that showcases this point.

Watch the great David Belle fall on a simple( for him ) vault.

Everyone who has ever succeeded, has failed at the same task. Nothing comes so natural to people that they don't have to learn. Everyone starts out as a blob with flailing appendages and very little control. But we also don't think failure is a bad thing until we get a little older. Sure, it is sad to fail or watch someone fail, but it is inspiring to be or to watch someone turn failure around and into success. Be inspiring, fail.

Friday Humor with XKCD.com

A while back I posted about the web comic XKCD. With its tales of love, raptors, computers and more there is a lot to laugh at. However, recently they did a comic about the state of summer blockbuster action flicks. I thought the solution they came up with was quite good. ...

If you didn't understand the joke, make sure to watch the Firefly TV series and the follow up movie Serenity.

Language learning with mango beta

I've talked many times before about the positive aspects of learning multiple languages. While I am still only fluent in one I do my best to learn French where I can. I have posted other ways to learn foreign languages in the past. Since then I have come up with a few others. Listen to the alternate language tracks on your DVDs. I have kids, so I watch the same movies over, and over, and over, and over... you get the picture. I have a quebecois in my EQ2 guild who gives me one phrase lessons quite often. For those of you who just want to enjoy your movies in your native tongue and don't have foreign language friends there is a new tool that recently went into beta online. The new tool is called Mango. ...

I tried it out and it seems decent. It is still in beta, and that is obvious at some points, but the basic lessons seem good. There is repetition of spelling, sound and meaning. Since learning a different language means looking at the world through different filters, it is good to learn the real meanings of the phrases you are saying.

There are 11 different courses, 9 of which are for english speakers. The french for english speakers currently has 100 lessons. It will be interesting to see how this grows over time. More courses? More lessons? Video?

Get learning.

Intellectual Property 26 years ago

I see it everywhere on the internet. Stories about people getting sued by the RIAA or the MPAA. Comments on the stories about the dated business models that need to change to keep up with technology, instead of having technology slow down or stop for the business model. You will also often read a comment about the similarities between what is happening now and what happened with VCRs in the late 70s / early 80s. Rather than write about it, someone ironically recorded a nightline special about the legality of recording off air to tape. It was illegal then to record it, but posting it to you tube now is just pushing it :) ...

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3 - includes a great satiracal piece about recording off air.

Robert Jordan dead at 58

Almost by accident I found it. An article stating that Robert Jordan, the author of the Wheel of Time series, died on Sunday. That is very sad. With one more book to go in the series, it leaves people wondering if the series will ever be finished. Will the fans take over and finish the series ( or more likely keep it going forever )? ...

Actually, it looks like it should be finished. However, I can't currently find the article that I read that in yet. Oh well, I'm sure it will come up soon. Leave it to the publishers to make sure this gets published soon to take advantage of the extra traffic. It's cold, but publishing is a tough business and the writing world lost one of the most popular fantasy writers since JRR Tolkein.

If you are interested, read the repost of Robert Jordan's blog at Tor's website:
http://www.tor-forge.com/NewsArticle.aspx?articleId=574