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Finally got around to watching 21 Grams (on DVD) last night. I’d give it 3 out of 5 stars. The editing has you going back and forth in time, not so much like Memento but it wasn’t terribly confusing after you got the hang of it. Great performances by Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, and Benecio del Toro.
What is up with veterinary services in Los Angeles?
Ok, I’m no freakin’ business genius, but why is it that the staff(s) at vet clinics is so damn horrible? On the recommendation of a neighbor, we went to a new vet to have the ears of our dog, Stella, checked–she’s been shaking them a lot lately. We waited over 30 minutes past our appointment, and the staff was hardly sincere about their apologies for making us wait. Now, don’t get me wrong, when it comes to human health services, I’ve come to expect long waits. Hey, I realize insurance has screwed things up, and doctors have enough patients, all roughly giving them the same money for their services. But vets? I’m paying cash out of pocket for these services, which consequently cost us over $150 just for an ear infection. On top of the incredulous staff, the vet asked us rather nonchalantly if we “didn’t mind” if they did the first cleaning. We said, “sure, go ahead.” Well, I should learn to ask about how much each item is gonna cost—it was $48.60 to have drops put in her ears (that didn’t cover the cost of the drops—literally, that was the cost for someone to lift my dog’s ears and insert two drops of liquid, rub the ears, and hand her back to us). The good thing, I guess, is that we can find yet another vet if we want. There’s no doggie HMO forcing to go to any vet in particular. 
The Bourne Supremacy — Thumbs up!
We went to finally see the sequel to The Bourne Identity (based on the Bourne series by Robert Ludlam). I really liked the first one, but Supremacy surpassed its predecessor by a long shot. You may have heard already that it’s got one of the best car chases ever put to film, and I have to agree. The cinematography, production design and art director is top notch. I wouldn’t be surprised if I went to see it again. If you’ve seen it, post your review too!
Pondanet’s commercial grade LCDs play Flash movies!
Last night at the LA Flash UG meeting, a rep from PondaNet (a private company based in Tustin, California) showcased their line of high-quality LCD panels. These are no ordinary panels—they’re completely standalone displays that do not have a full-blown OS or motherboard. Rather, they’ve hardcoded Flash Player 5 on to their panels, which accept a Smart Media card (maybe other card formats as well). You simply put your SWF files on to the card, and insert the card into the panel. It’s a lot like a Sony’s Memory Stick display, but equipped with Flash Player 5. The prices are decent too, with the larger display (30” +, can’t remember the exact size) just under USD$5000, and I believe their smaller LCDs were around $600. Their web site doesn’t list pricing details (???), but they do have a bit more technical information than I provided here. More info at:
MACROMEDIA REPORTS FIRST QUARTER FISCAL YEAR 2005 RESULTS
Revenues up 25 percent and net income more than doubles year-over-year:
http://www.macromedia.com/macromedia/ir/macr/news/2005/jul_q105_results.html
Macromedia Flash MX 2004 7.2 Updater RELEASED!
The 7.2 updater is available at:
http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/special/7_2updater/
I highly recommend you get this update! It fixes a lot of problems. If you have any questions about the updater, just post em and I’ll do my best to answer in a timely fashion.
Also, check out the new articles in the Developer Center:
- What is the Significance of Ellipsis
http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/mx/flash/articles/context.html
- Flash MX 2004 Documentation : Responding to Users http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/logged_in/evera_flashdoc.html
- Introducing the JavaScript Flash File API http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/mx/flash/articles/jsapi.html
- Using the new mx.utils.EventDelegate Class http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/mx/flash/articles/eventproxy.html
- Skinning Flash MX 2004 Components
http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/mx/flash/articles/skinning_2004.html
Napoleon Dynamite — don’t miss it
If you’re fortunate enough to have a movie theater close to you playing Napoleon Dynamite, then don’t pass up the chance to see this off-beat comedy. It’s pretty frickin hilarious. I can’t remember a film that had me laughing through most of it. Check out the film’s web site for more info. (Oh, and it’s a heavy Flash site too.)
Modified Jabra power cord — works over USB!
Recently, the power block/cord that shipped with my Jabra BT200 headset (BT = BlueTooth) stopped working. It just wasn’t charging the headset. I suspected the power block had gone bad, so I had the idea that maybe the power rating of the block was compatible with USB power (which is 5 volts, up to 500 milliamps). And whaddya know? It was 5 volts 300 mA! With the help of my friend and co-worker Peng Lee at Schematic, we snipped the power cord from the Jabra power block and joined it to a USB cable. Sure enough, I’m now able to charge my headset with USB power! It works nicely with my APC TravelPower case, which can supply power to (and charge) my Acer Tablet PC, iPAQ Pocket PC, Sony Ericsson T68i phone and now Jabra headset simultaneously! Woo hoo!
My co-worker Troy Gardner showed me his Canon LiDE scanner (can’t remember the exact model) a while ago, and I couldn’t believe the quality of this highly portable lightweight scanner series. It’s fully powered over USB (meaning, there isn’t a separate power cord), and the scan times and quality are spot on. I bought the LiDE 80 model at Amazon.com, and haven’t regretted the purchase yet. It’s compatible with Windows and Mac—Snow’s nuts about it too.
Business of design forum at FlashSupport.com
Just in case you hadn’t browsed all the forum categories on FlashSupport.com, I thought I’d point out this one:
http://www.flashsupport.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=20
I was reminded of this category today when I got yet another informative e-mail newsletter from Recourses.com.
