Below are the sequential shots of the paintings progress after each of the nine painting session.

One of the greatest benefits of Android is that it gives customers the ability to chose a device with a UI and hardware most appealing to them.  This is also its greatest curse since it causes fragmentation in the Android ecosystem, a problem much more difficult for Google than it is for Apple and BlackBerry because Google doesn’t control the hardware.  The Android Update Alliance was created to guide device-makers and carriers towards updating their customers more quickly, but so far it seems dead in the water.   The small tweaks that carriers make to the OS help their devices stand apart, not just from other operating systems but other Android phones as well.  These differences make updating them much more difficult since the device makers need to ensure that every aspect of their customized version works on the latest update.  On top of that, the hardware-makers don’t see another dime from goods and services sold within the Android ecosystem, so there is little incentive for carriers to keep older phones up to date.  (Although I know I would have brand loyalty and be much more likely to continue buying a specific line of devices if the carrier guaranteed me the latest updates every time, but that’s a topic for a different post entirely.)

To make matters worse, two of the worlds most popular Android-based tablets are built on top of extremely dated versions of the OS.  Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Barnes and Noble’s Nook Tablet are both running customized versions of Android 2.3.  This forces developers to ask very difficult questions: “do we lower the features of our applications and potential quality to make one app that will run on all tablets, create two applications or ignore devices with older versions of the OS?” These are questions that iOS developers generally don’t need to ask themselves, thanks to Apple’s strict control over the hardware.  For a visual reference of just how much variation there is in Android versions out there, check out Michael Degusta’s chart, linked at the bottom of this post.

The bottom line is that Google needs to apply more pressure to carriers and device-makers to keep their customized versions in sync with the latest version of Android.  When a customer goes into the store, they should be able to look at a phones capabilities, hardware and customized UI without having to worry about whether or not their favorite apps will work on the device due to tweaked or outdated Android software.  It’s an incredible benefit to iOS users that Apple keeps much of its older hardware on the latest version of the OS, and I believe that’s one of the huge appeals of Apple’s ecosystem.  Google needs to give its user base that same assurance.

It’s my stance that phones should get the latest version of Android within two months of its release, and continue to receive updates for at least 2 years (This works in the USA where customers are typically offered a discounted phone upgrades at the end of a 2 year contract.  I’m not sure if this would be a good solution for customers outside the USA).  Tablets should get updates for at least 4 years from their release.   I realize that is forever in technology, but tablets are more expensive and beginning to replace laptops.  If I were a student who opted for a tablet over a laptop, I’d like to believe it will function fully for me through my college career.

My final thought – When a carrier no longer wants to provide updates to its customized versions, then they should open up their boot-loaders to allow the developer community to keep a device alive and up-to-date.  This will help give Android phones that are no longer in service contracts a second life as MP3 players, development devices and iPod touch equivalents.

- Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support | October 26, 2011

Thanks to new technologies, this entire process has been simplified and digitized.  Instead of needing to trace, grid and find the contrasting highlights and shadows of an image with bare eyes, Photoshop can do it almost all for me.  I used to print out dozens of images, but thanks to compact tablets I don’t print any!  Saving me tons of time, ink, paper and ultimately money.

Now, each painting session, I plug in my tablet, set it to not auto-off, cover the screen in disposable plastic wrap to protect it from paint-covered fingers and begin!  With just a flick, I can zoom in on a particular section of the image, switch to the grid view, high contrast or black & white.  My last painting of whiskey bottles, which took almost a year to complete, would have normally taken dozens of printed photos for each section of detail.  This time, I didn’t have to print one!

Not only has the my tablet device done wonders for my process of traditional canvas painting, I’ve started using it as a replacement drawing pad thanks to Autodesks’ SketchBook Pro.  I’m a huge fan of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School.  There are branches all over the country, and I’m thankful to have one here in Minneapolis.  The premise is pretty simple: A figure drawing class, at a bar, with burlesque dancers as models.  The dancers do a quick show, then stop and strike poses for the art students to draw.  Themes are given each session and you can win prizes for drawing the best representation of the days themes.  (I actually won a t-shirt my first visit for drawing the model in a post apocalyptic setting.)

I stopped bringing my paper sketch book about a year ago in favor of just my tablet device.  The breadth of artist tools that the tablet allows me to mimic at a moments notice makes for an incredible drawing experience.  As you can see from my images below, I can go from air brushes, crayon, pencils or fountain pens quickly and easily. Did I make a mistake?  No problem, I can quickly erase it, or select specific areas to rotate or resize.  The inclusion of layers and blend modes allows me to quickly experiment and revert back changes if I don’t like them.

The only real challenge with the current available tablets is a lack of pressure sensitivity, but after a few hours of practice, I learned to quickly adjust the value with my left hand while drawing with a stylus in my right. I am ecstatic to hear that Samsung is prototyping true pressure sensitive stylus tablets and I cannot wait to get my hands on one!

I knew that I didn’t want a Kindle or the Sony reader, and the new Nook Simple Touch and Kobo Touch seemed very appealing.  I read reviews and summaries but couldn’t decide which to get, so I got them both and took back the one that didn’t measure up.  I’m not going to get into specifics comparing the hardware specs, since Kobo has an accurate comparison chart right on its website.

First and foremost, lets talk about the content.  Nook is a Barnes & Noble product and has an excellent selection of books, as well as a more active social community reviewing books.  This makes shopping easier since most of the books have at least one user review and a few stars to average out.  I had a more difficult time finding books on the Kobo store, since the user community is actively reviewing and rating them with the exception of the best sellers, which all get high marks anyway.  (Kobo is partnered with Borders book, but as my experience and research, this doesn’t appear to have really effected the book selection)  Barnes and Noble edges out the Kobo store  in regards to access to magazine and news papers, although this seems notably slim on both devices.  When cross referencing content between Kobo, Nook and Kindle, there were only a few technical books that I could find in some stores and not others, but otherwise prices and selection remain consistent across the board.

The Kobo does have an advantage of being an international reading device.  I found more books came in multiple language formats than on the Nook.  It should also be noted that on some forums users complained that they were unable to access or download books on the Nook when traveling abroad.  So if you plan on taking your Nook out of the USA you may want to fill it with all your reads prior to departure.

Actually reading the devices is great on both and will probably come down to personal preference.  The Pearl eInk displays are all sharp and clear, with minimal ghosting from page turns.  (Ghosting is very light grey text from the previous page that appears at times)  Both devices will cache up to 6 pages which reduces the ‘flash’ when turning pages.  The Kobo touch has the upper hand here in that you can set how many pages to cache before a full page refresh which can reduce ghosting.  However, I found the actual page refreshing quicker and more fluid on the Nook.

The Kobo is slightly less wide, thinner in depth and a bit lighter.  Its rubberized, ‘quilted’ backside made it a bit more comfortable to hold for long periods of time.  Despite this, I feel the Nook gets the upper hand in ease of use and comfort because of its physical page turn buttons.  Even though the touch screen is responsive and easy to use on the Kobo, I found having to tap or slide every time a bit tedious.  When trying to read one handed, it took a bit of dexterity to click the screen or swipe.

The interfaces of both are essentially the same while reading.  As of the last firmware update, the Kobo actually gets the upper hand on text display formatting, with easy slider adjustments for changing text size, fonts, line spacing and margins.  I preferred the homepage of the Kobo as well for its simplicity.  A few headers at the top to show you your full library, link to the store or view your Read On accomplishments and then clickable covers of your last 5 reads.  It doesn’t suggest new books or clutter up the screen with store suggestions.

Lending and access to Library books is better on the Nook since its built in.  Lending is currently not an option on the Kobo, although its said to be available by end of 2011. Kobo does allow viewing of more file types, but many of them are obscure and most likely never used by your average reader.

PDF support is better on the Kobo, with zooming and scaling much smoother without distorting the content.  Tables and images in a PDF on the Nook don’t display correctly when zoomed in, and often times don’t display at all.  Initially, PDF support was my primary reason for wanting a Kobo over the Nook, but after trying for an hour to read a work PDF, I gave up.  The screens (on both devices really) are too small and full page eInk refreshes every time you move around a PDF while zoomed in are too obnoxious to really make eReaders a viable option for PDFs at the moment.  With its Android base though, I feel the Nook is more likely to catch up and get advanced PDF functionality sooner than the Kobo.

Bottom line:   Both devices are well made and as far as simply reading go, function fantastically.  I’m keeping the Nook though.  The fact that library checkout and lending are available now, the physical page turn buttons and longer battery life are the pros that stick with me.  I love the simplicity of the Kobo’s interface, the slightly lighter smaller form, and the fact they don’t jam their store down your throat every time you turn on the device, but these weren’t enough to give it the edge.

I honestly didn’t know much about Club Med prior to the trip.  I expected to get some guff from my friends when I mentioned the resort, but got little.  In my mind Club Med was a dated chain of resorts that was all the rage for the twenty-some baby boomers in the 80′s and was still primarily occupied by those baby boomers today.  I couldn’t have been more wrong!  There was a large variety of age groups, and I had no problem finding some fun young travelers to hang out with.

Turkoise is like summer camp for adults – the entire experience is geared around making new friends and meeting people.  When you first arrive, check out the events calendar near the main bar.  Activities include, but not limited to, salsa dancing lessons, beach Olympics, snorkeling, Zumba classes, yoga on the dock, volley ball, pool floatie relays, trapeze school, scuba diving and soccer.  There is always something to be doing!  Its an all-inclusive resort which means the two bars will serve you a delicious concoction or beer any time of day.  Hungry between main meals?  Head over to Sharkies for a burger and fries!

Every night their is a show and a dance-club style bar scene.  While the shows aren’t Broadway, they are entertaining.  They become even more so as you get to know the staff members who put them on – its like watching a school play with all your friends!  The circus show is especially impressive!

I found the food at Turkoise to be great.  The buffet changes daily with themes such as Mexican, French and Mediterranean, with a few staples remaining every day.  Honestly, my expectations for buffet food at an all inclusive resort wasn’t very high.  I was continually surprised at the dinner options: Escargot in puff pastries, beef wellington,  duck confit, and some of the most amazing desert spreads I’ve seen in my life!  Admittedly, the last time I was at a real resort was with my family at the age of 13 or so, but I certainly don’t remember this quality of food at any of the resorts we visited.

The majority of the tables in the main dining room seat 8, so if you have a smaller group you’ll likely be sat with other guests.  I was fine with this since it introduced me to new people.  There was only one time when I was sat with an entire table of Italians who didn’t speak a word of English.  Luckily a group of friends showed up soon after, and I ‘escuzied’ myself from the table and sat with them.

Its not a perfect resort though.  Turkoise was built in the early 80′s and it is showing its age.  The rooms could definitely use some touch ups.  My bathroom was missing tiles and spots around the shower had some mold.  A fresh coat of paint and new tiling would do wonders. I can understand how this might gross out some people used to more 5 star accommodations, but I didn’t plan on spending much time in my room, and Club Med clearly has this resort marked at 3 stars.

Word around the resort was that when Club Med has renovated their 18+ resorts, they often change to cater to families as well.  If cleaning up the rooms means it will suddenly another Beaches filled with screaming-cannonballing-crying-poolpooping-buffetsneezing kids, I’ll take the sub-par rooms.

I’ll finish with just a small address to some of the negative comments posted on Trip Advisor:

• “Singles” resort doesn’t mean “sex/swinger resort.”  Not that you can’t find it here if you’re looking and play that game, but its not going to be thrown at you like some other resorts.
• The “20 minute waits at the bar” are gross exaggerations.  Lets be real.  Yes at peak times it can be a bit slower, but 5 minutes tops.  (I know, 5 minutes can seem like 20 minutes when you really want a drink and are being a negative-nancy)
• Club Med is not dishonest about its marketing about it being a luxury resort.  Turkoise is clearly marked as a 3 trident (star) out of 5 resort in their brochures.
• Smoking is allowed at the resort, although I personally noticed very little of it. Sorry, you’re not in the USA anymore – smoking is still very prevalent in other countries.
• The grounds were clean and well maintained while I was there.  Every morning when I woke early for scuba a section of the pool area was being repainted and grounds crews were up trimming trees and shrubs.
• If you’re going to spend the money, read about the resort first:  Their brochures clearly state that All-Inclusive doesn’t include bottled drinks or premium alcohol (it does include Absolute, J&B, Jim Beam and Gimblys though if you ask for it by name – otherwise its Turks & Caicos island brand booze for you) and some activities such as scuba and massages.

I like doing skinning work in Flex but there certainly are a few components that I often times find easier to just re-engineer than skin. Scroll bars and TabNavigators are some examples of such components. I’ve heard skinning these components has gotten much easier in Flex 4, but alas, all my projects are still being developed in Flex 3.5.

I was recently given the task of skinning a ‘tabbed’ component, which was previously using the TabNavigator. In Flex 3.5, one can assign custom skins for the first, and last tabs, then a repeating skin for any in-between. This is a fairly common setup for tabs, but unfortunately in this particular component each tab needed to be unique. Another caveat of the component was that the tab bar needed to be wider than the views. After struggling once again to skin the TabNavigator to meet my needs, I finally decided that it might be easier to just do a little re-engineering.

In the past I’d done a series of normal Buttons in an HBox and scripted the ‘turn off/on’ for the other buttons. This time I decided to use RadioButtons and it went flawlessly! The script below shows how to do this. I believe this approach could be used in many situations and not require a lot of re-engineering since it can be done entirely in MXML. Another neat feature of this that the TabNavigator doesn’t allow is a ‘intro screen’ that doesn’t necessarily relate to the tabs, like the blank grey view in my example below.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml"
				layout="absolute"
				width="500" height="300">

	<mx:RadioButtonGroup id="fakeTabGroup" />

	<mx:HBox id="radioButtons" width="100%" height="100" horizontalGap="0">
		<mx:RadioButton styleName="tab1"
						group="{fakeTabGroup}" value="1"/>
		<mx:RadioButton styleName="tab2"
						group="{fakeTabGroup}" value="2"/>
		<mx:RadioButton styleName="tab3"
						group="{fakeTabGroup}" value="3"/>
	</mx:HBox>

	<mx:ViewStack id="views"
				  x="0" y="100"
				  selectedIndex="{ (fakeTabGroup.selectedValue as Number) }"
				  width="100%" height="200" >
		<mx:Canvas backgroundAlpha="1" backgroundColor="0x666666" />
		<mx:Canvas backgroundAlpha="1" backgroundColor="0x000000" >
			<mx:Label horizontalCenter="0" verticalCenter="0" text="BATMAN!" styleName="characterName" />
		</mx:Canvas>
		<mx:Canvas backgroundAlpha="1" backgroundColor="0x000000" >
			<mx:Label horizontalCenter="0" verticalCenter="0" text="WOLVERINE!" styleName="characterName" />
		</mx:Canvas>
		<mx:Canvas backgroundAlpha="1" backgroundColor="0x000000" >
			<mx:Label horizontalCenter="0" verticalCenter="0" text="WONDERWOMAN!" styleName="characterName" />
		</mx:Canvas>
 	</mx:ViewStack>

	<mx:Style>
		.characterName {
			fontSize: 24;
			fontWeight: bold;
			color: #FFFFFF;
		}

		.tab1 {
 			up-skin: Embed(source='/style/batman_d.jpg');
			down-skin: Embed(source='/style/batman_u.jpg');
			over-skin: Embed(source='/style/batman_u.jpg');

			selected-up-skin: Embed(source='/style/batman_u.jpg');
			selected-down-skin: Embed(source='/style/batman_u.jpg');
			selected-over-skin: Embed(source='/style/batman_u.jpg');

			upIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			overIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			downIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			selectedUpIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			selectedOverIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			selectedDownIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			disabledIcon:ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			selectedDisabledIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
		}

		.tab2 {
			up-skin: Embed(source='/style/wolverine_d.jpg');
			down-skin: Embed(source='/style/wolverine_u.jpg');
			over-skin: Embed(source='/style/wolverine_u.jpg');

			selected-up-skin: Embed(source='/style/wolverine_u.jpg');
			selected-down-skin: Embed(source='/style/wolverine_u.jpg');
			selected-over-skin: Embed(source='/style/wolverine_u.jpg');

			upIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			overIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			downIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			selectedUpIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			selectedOverIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			selectedDownIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			disabledIcon:ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			selectedDisabledIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
		}

		.tab3 {
			up-skin: Embed(source='/style/wonderwoman_d.jpg');
			down-skin: Embed(source='/style/wonderwoman_u.jpg');
			over-skin: Embed(source='/style/wonderwoman_u.jpg');

			selected-up-skin: Embed(source='/style/wonderwoman_u.jpg');
			selected-down-skin: Embed(source='/style/wonderwoman_u.jpg');
			selected-over-skin: Embed(source='/style/wonderwoman_u.jpg');

			upIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			overIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			downIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			selectedUpIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			selectedOverIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			selectedDownIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			disabledIcon:ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
			selectedDisabledIcon: ClassReference("mx.skins.ProgrammaticSkin");
		}
	</mx:Style>

</mx:Application>

Last week I read about GoDaddy CEO, Bob Parson’s African vacation during which he shot and killed an elephant, then poses wearing GoDaddy branded clothing.  The video also shows villagers slaughtering the elephant wearing bright orange GoDaddy shirts and hats.

While I’m far from a PETA activist, this whole scenario just really bothered and I decided to end my 10 year relationship with GoDaddy.  I understand that there are reasons for animal management.  I’m not going to preach on the morals of whether or not this elephant was destroying the livelihood of the village – it was the manner in which it was performed that bothered me.  Bob Parson’s would like us all to believe that he was helping the village by killing the elephants.  With his billions of dollars he could have found a better way.

From the video, to the photo-shoot after, this was clearly just a rich man getting his trophy kill.

He almost didn’t make it with me a few times!  Puppy hood is a stressful time for owner and pup alike.  I wasn’t sure if I could hack it.  Eventually he got into a routine of relaxing during my work day.  I’m extremely thankful for my mom, roommate and friends who have helped me out over the past year!  I’m glad this is one April fools that turned out well!

I started wearing glasses senior year of college.  I noticed I was starting to get headaches when reading or using the computer, and someone suggested I get my eyes checked.  Turns out, I was near sided in one eye and far in the other, which was the reason for the headaches.  Getting glasses was like an epiphany!  “You mean everyone could read that sign from that distance?  You mean you can actually tell that’s Josh walking in from across the bar?”  I just assumed everyone saw as blurry as I did!

I started wearing contacts about two years ago when I started snowboarding.  I had a pair of over-the-glasses goggles, but every time I put them on, my glasses would fog up!  They also jut out far enough from my face that I had to look almost straight down to see my board and feet, a common practice for a beginning boarder.

In December of last year my eyes started to really bother me while wearing contacts.  I would take them out at the end of the day and at least one of my eyes would flair up red for almost the entire next day.  I actually ended up getting drops for pink eye the first time this happened.  Contacts just didn’t seem worth it anymore and I wanted to find out if I was a candidate for lasik.

I had preliminary appointments at both Lasik Plus in Edina and North Suburban Eye Specialists (NSES).  I ended up going with NSES because I was the most comfortable with their treatment plan.  I never met with a surgeon at Lasik Plus, and according to their results I would only qualify for PRK – another type of eye surgery with a much longer recovery time.  At NSES however, I met with Dr. Lobanoff the same day as my preliminary appointment.  He explained my results and the process of lasik to me, how my eyes worked and about their unique system at NSES.  Apparently, they have the most advanced laser in the state!  Every lasik machine can track the small movements of your eye during surgery – left/right, up/down – but the laser at NSES is currently the only system in MN that can also track the small amount of circular rotation that occurs in your eye as well!

Dr. Lobanoff assured me that I was a candidate for lasik, and he would be able to perform it a few times if needed.  It all has to do with the thickness of the cornea, and while mine was slightly thinner than average, it wouldn’t be an issue.  They also have a guarantee – if my eye site changes I can come back and have the procedure done again at no cost.  He also mentioned that some of the other providers will have a similar guarantee, they have certain requirements on it – like coming in for yearly exams and vision deteriorating beyond a specific point.  I never confirmed if this was the case at Lasik Plus.

The surgery itself went smoothly.  I was given some Valium to help calm my nerves and a series of eye drops prior.  The procedure itself is… uncomfortable.  Its not painful, and its not very long.  Mine took about 8 minutes.  I think the most memorable thing was the smell from the laser – I suppose they are burning your eyeball, so yeah, you’ll smell it.  I put a video below to show some of the process and how it works on a more detailed level.  I don’t remember having my eye marked like that, but every thing else seems pretty spot on.

I had my three week post opp exam today, and my vision is currently at 20/15 and even my astigmatism is corrected!  I cannot imagine anyone not being happy with lasik!  If your looking for lasik in the Minnesota area, I highly recommend the team at NSES.   Tell ‘em I sent you!

Another example of bad account linking is the restaurant, Ginger Hop’s twitter.  Scrolling through their feed, it is rarely more than links to Facebook events.  If one must duplicate information over Facebook and Twitter, don’t just give a link to the event page – give a small description of the event within Twitter and link it at the bottom of the post.  Its my belief that Ginger Hop’s twitter followers fall into two categories, those who click on ALL their links, and those who click on NONE.  My guess is that most are in the ‘none’ category.