WWDC Day 1 Report: Free Stuff and Symbian Hackathon

I always like when people blog about our shows while they’re going on. Therefore, I felt it was only fair that I do the same for WWDC, since I’m an attendee with no responsibilities.

Today was the keynote, but everyone and their grandma will blog about that. Instead, I’ll blog about some of the other cool stuff going down today.

First off, you can really make out with some great stuff at WWDC! Here’s a picture of what I’ve received so far…and it’s just Monday.

As you can see in the picture, I made out like a bandit today. Thus far, I’ve received a Nokia 5800, Jawbone Prime, 2 rubber ducks (bath toys for my boys!), 4 shirts (FastMac, Apple, Zagg, Symbian) and a Snow Leopard Preview DVD. Life is definitely good.

Continue reading “WWDC Day 1 Report: Free Stuff and Symbian Hackathon” →

I LOVE my Kindle. Here’s why:

6 things that have impacted my life greatly — 6 Things That Have Impacted My Life Greatly

I’ve been holding off writing this post, because I wanted to make sure it was true. I didn’t want to give a false start on my new found gadget relationship. I have to admit though, I’m thoroughly smitten with my Kindle.

Before you eBook haters/book lovers dismiss this, hear me out. I was once among your numbers. I have hundreds of books. I love them, hardbacks and 1st editions. Signed…meh. But gimme a nicely bound, small press edition of one of my favorite authors and I’m in heaven. I even have some books in bulk, because I wear them out by reading them too much. I’ve proven my case. I’m one of you, and there will always be a place in my heart for the printed book. However, I must come clean. The majority of my book purchases will now be on the Kindle. Continue reading “I LOVE my Kindle. Here’s why:” →

Staying Happy During Tough Times

I know articles like this are bad news. People losing jobs is not good for their psyche or for the economy. Or is it?

I’m an odd egg, I get that. I see life in a slightly skewed way. The result of this is that I love experiencing everything: the good, the bad and the ugly. I have contigency plans. Should I ever get to the point where I have no job or any leads at all in the tech field, I’m looking forward to trying my hand at selling cars and flipping burgers.

In regards to selling cars, I have a list of ideas I’d use to help me be a great salesman. I even went to 3 dealerships one day to do research. The experience was so bad at all 3 (low end, mid and high) that I wrote down all the things that I would do to make the experience better.

For burger flipping, I’ve always wanted to work at In-N-Out. I realize that I’d be the oldest employee, but I’d have a blast. Last I checked, working your way up through the ranks was the only way to open up your own In-N-Out. Plus, managers make a hefty salary and have wonderful benefits. Continue reading “Staying Happy During Tough Times” →

Getting ahead by serving others

Too many want to climb to the top by stepping over people versus being pushed to the top by a group of friends.

I wrote that statement awhile back to explain my philosophy on leadership, particularly in business. Sadly, the world of business has become too much about greed. Too many CEOs and other business “leaders” look out for only one person, themselves. It would seem that amassing ever larger fortunes are more important than looking out for those who are supposedly in their care.

A lot of this is because leaders these days have forgotten what it means to serve. A leadership role does not command respect by default. Though, many in CxO level positions seem to think that. Heck, I’ve seen that mentality manifested down to the very first level of management. Respect, at all levels of the workplace, is something that must be earned. Many think that intimidation or bureaucratic process will help them achieve this respect, but that just backfires. They may feel they have respect, but don’t realize that people laugh and talk smack about them behind their backs. Continue reading “Getting ahead by serving others” →

Bloggers vs News Agencies: -1 for News Agencies

This one will be short. Over the years, bloggers have received grief about not being professional enough. This grief has come from big news agencies. I’ll agree, at times, bloggers do have a more lax feel to their posts. They may not have editors like news firms have, but their passion more than makes up for it.

HOWEVER, big news agencies are now losing credence in my mind these days. The drivel that is coming from them is frustrating. I’m not talking about content either. I’m talking about grammar. It’s the one area where “professional” journalism is supposed to shine. Sadly, more and more, it is not. Here are three examples from the Reuters News Agency:

#1 Berkshire net sinks; Buffett says economy in shambles:

“Though the path has not been smooth, our economic system has worked extraordinarily well over time,” [Buffet] said. “It has unleashed human potential as no other system has, and it will continue to do so. America’s best days lie ahead.

Berkshire generates about half its results from insurance, including auto insurer Geico Corp, but operates more than 70 businesses that offer such things as carpeting, ice cream, paint, real estate services and underwear.

Continue reading “Bloggers vs News Agencies: -1 for News Agencies” →

Finding good music on the ‘net

Note: This post is best enjoyed with a set of headphones, a warm drink in your hand and nothing distracting going on for a good half hour. If you’re not in those conditions, I suggest bookmarking this for later and reading it when those conditions are met.

With all the talk about how the internet is breaking the music industry’s stranglehold, I realized that I wasn’t using the internet to it’s full advantage. To be honest, I don’t really buy much music these days period. There are only 4 major label artists I buy religiously: Paul Simon, Dido, Coldplay and Beck. I also buy most Prince stuff, as he self publishes now on the ‘net (but uses major labels for distribution).

However, more so than those above, I’ve found myself listening more to 2 male artists that are not signed on to major labels and 1 female that self-published her first album and is now on Sub-Pop with her second album.

I love songs that weave intricate stories that takes several listens to fully get. I like thinking that the song is one thing then hearing a line and realizing it’s another and repeating that process over and over until the story is clear. Being a writer and a poet I’m impressed when people can tell a great story, much less one in rhyme and under a few minutes. Hence , the reason why I buy the Paul Simon and Dido. Continue reading “Finding good music on the ‘net” →

Leaving the Valley, Geeks and Workday for the Desert, Family and my Startup

Yup, you read that right. It’s been a wonderful 3+ years in Silicon Valley, but it’s time to head to the desert of Queen Creek, Arizona. I jump started my career here. It’s funny to say that because I moved here when I was 30! But these past 3 years did more for my professional life than my previous 12 years of working in Southern California.

There are two reasons I’m moving. One is sappy and is detailed on this post over on my spiritual blog.

The other is related to my day-to-day activities. In these tough economic times, I feel lucky and sad at the same time. Some out there do not have a job or are stuck in a deadend job. I, on the other hand, have two great opportunities in my life.

The first is my employer for the past year and a half, Workday. Many people come to the Valley in search of that great startup to join. Workday definitely fits the bill. The people are incredibly talented and the work is some of the most challenging out there. My team is one of the best I’ve ever worked for. (If you want to join the Workday UI team, drop me a note and your resume/cv at tom.ortega@gmail.com) Continue reading “Leaving the Valley, Geeks and Workday for the Desert, Family and my Startup” →

Flex code (read: my Tic-Tac-Toe game) on my Playstation 3!

You fair readers of my blog may remember a post from waaaaaay back in the day entitled Playstation 3. In it, I talk about being excited to run Flex Apps on my PS3. Sadly, my pretty HD console only ran Flash Player 7, so Flex was not an option. At MAX, I saw a big fat PS3 image and was hoping that Kevin Lynch would say, “Flash Player 9 is now on the Playstation 3!” He didn’t so I assumed it wasn’t yet. Then Renaun posted this! Adobe has issues about making noise sometimes. How did the blogosphere not light up on this news? Well, maybe it did, but I somehow missed it.

Naturally, I went and did what the PS3 was meant to do: Play a game! In this case, it was my very own Tic-Tac-Toe game. Check it out!

Continue reading “Flex code (read: my Tic-Tac-Toe game) on my Playstation 3!” →

Building Games with Flex: Tic-Tac-Toe V1 Code Explained Pt 2

In my last post, I explained my logic/thinking behind 2 of the 3 files that make up Tic-Tac-Toe V1: Main.mxml and GamePiece.mxml. Click here to play the game (right click to view/download the source). In this post, I’ll breakdown the remaining piece.

GameBoard.mxml
This piece is the real workhorse of the game. It houses not only the board where the pieces are laid out, but also the game logic itself.

Was that the best decision?

Probably not. If I wanted to swap out the game rules but keep the same pieces, I couldn’t do that. It’s not so common with Tic-Tac-Toe, but think of a card game. One deck of 52 cards can play an almost infinite number of games. Would it make much sense to put the Solitaire logic right inside the CardDeck class file? Nope, it surely wouldn’t. I was in a hurry though so I did. Continue reading “Building Games with Flex: Tic-Tac-Toe V1 Code Explained Pt 2” →

Building Games with Flex: Tic-Tac-Toe V1 Code Explained Pt 1

Part of my goals with these posts is teaching Flex for those just getting started. What better way to learn Flex than by building a game of Tic-Tac-Toe. Code is code and lessons can be learned/shared despite the final output. You’ll (hopefully) learn tricks and methodologies for helping you code non-game projects via the code that I share and explain in this series.

There are 3 files that make up the complete game (right click to view/download the source) :

Main.mxml – This has the Application tag
GamePiece.mxml – This is the X/O game piece
GameBoard.mxml – This is the tic-tac-toe gameboard

I’ll go over the 3 files, explaining logic on why/what from both the Flex and gaming perspective. Continue reading “Building Games with Flex: Tic-Tac-Toe V1 Code Explained Pt 1” →