Kelly White

Not Attending MIX09

kelly — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:58:00 GMT

For the first time in four years I won't be attending the MIX conference in Las Vegas. I'm sad, sort of...

You see, for the first time in 25 years there will be opening rounds games of the NCAA Final Four tournament played in Oregon. It's been 34 years since a tournament game has been played in Portland. This year (2008-2009 season) the Oregon Ducks will be one of the a host schools for the first and second round, and games will be played at the Rose Garden arena (where the Trail Blazers play).

I have tickets, I bought eight of them last spring. Some of my family from Idaho will be coming out and staying with us. I sold two of the tickets to a friend who wasn't able to get any. I may have one more ticket for sale, maybe. It depends on whether I want to try taking Jasmine/Tyler to a session or not. I don't know if either of them could make it through 2 games. I've got to think this over and see how they do at some high school games this season. If you're interested in this other ticket, drop me an email and I'll keep you in mind.

I'm excited. I love college basketball. Back when I was in high school my family started a tradition of attending the opening round tournament games in Salt Lake City and Boise. Talk about a sweet family tradition. I can't wait to start taking my kids to these games. Jasmine's went to a Blazer's game last year and did really well. However, over the weekend I took the Tyler and Jasmine to see a high school football game (state tournament). Lake Oswego was playing, and just in case you are wondering, they are currently ranked 30th in the nation. Wow, they're a great team. We made it to halftime, but just barely.

So yeah, no MIX for me this year. Part of me is pretty bummed. Yeah, more like really bummed. I guess this means I'll be traveling to more code camps throughout the year. I'll be making a point to attend next year's Gamefest, as well. Still, who was the genius who scheduled MIX during the NCAA tournament? ARGH!!! Some may argue that the majority of MIX attendees would not have this conflict. Hah, I am one to disagree. I'll bet I can find some others...uh...maybe...

Tim O'Reilly endorses Barack Obama

kelly — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:26:00 GMT

Tim O'Reilly wrote a blog post today on why he's supporting Barack Obama. I've known Tim for years, though not personally, and not that well. I met Tim in Las Vegas at MIX06. That was fun. FYI, he's a little shorter than I expected, but don't tell him I said that. Tim's got a presence that is as big as Steve Ballmer and twice as big as Steve Jobs. Heh, some of you may be thinking that I'm not a fan of Steve Jobs. If that's true, then it is only because I don't know him.

Do yourself a favor and go read Tim's post on why he's supporting Barack. If you're a techie and during any time of your life you fought on the side of RMS, then Tim's post is required reading. (FYI, that was only during my freshman year in college, after that I became a pupil of ESR.) Yeah, bad joke, moving on... In the world of the internet there are red states (Adobe/Flash/Flex/Air) and there are blue states (Microsoft/IE/Silverlight/.NET). You can tell Tim is an independent because O'Reilly puts animals on their covers in black and white. Please read his entry on why he's supporting Barack Obama.

If you head on over to Lawrence Lessig's blog you'll see that he also supports Barack (watch Vote for Hope and Colin Powell's endorsement). Most of my readers (especially my family) may not know who Larry Lessig is. Larry argued Eldred v. Ashcroft back in 2002-2003. I remember being on pins and needles for months while waiting for the decision. Larry also founded the Creative Commons. I remember actively listening to Larry talk about code, patents, and free culture between 2000-2002. Even though I'm now a Microsoft fan-boy, I credit Larry for helping me refine my beliefs about fairness, about standing up, and about getting involved. I mentioned in a previous entry how the movie Lions for Lambs really reasonated within me. In no small part that is because of the spirit Larry's words helped nurture inside of me.

I will run for public office, perhaps here in Oregon, or perhaps back home in Idaho. I don't know when and I don't know what for (right now I'm too busy with a very promising startup), but I do know that it will eventually happen. I feel one part of me pulling the other part to become more involved, to answer the call, and to accept the responsibility. Why? Because I care. If I am blessed with the ability to care, then don't I also share in the responsibility to act?

Thank you Larry, and thank you Tim.

Seattle Code Camp v4

kelly — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:38:00 GMT

In case you haven't heard the news, the Seattle Code Camp will be happening in mid-November (11/15-11/16). The location will again be DigiPen's main campus in Redmond. I'm interested in attending, in carpooling, and in getting a cheap/free place to stay. If you have similar interests or connections, email me at kelly@whitepdx.com.

BTW, XNA Game Studio 3.0 gets released tomorrow. How cool is that?!

November PDXUX.Net Meeting

kelly — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 06:29:00 GMT

November PDXUX.Net Meeting: "Silverlight 2 Launch Party"

Vote Tina Fey for 2008

kelly — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:28:00 GMT

I watched last night's debate, as I'm sure many of you did. Then I watched Chris Matthews discuss what people thought of it. At one time when the camera was pointing at Chris Matthews you could read a poster that someone behind him was holding up. The poster said "Tina Fey 2008". That was awesome.

A coworker showed me a Palin web site the other day (http://www.thanksbutnothanks.com/). I'm not impressed with this web site, as I think it is a little too harsh and personal. However, it was while visiting this web site that I found the following video from last week's Saturday Night Live. Yes, Sarah Palin is a breath of fresh air, those Obama/McCain skits were getting kinda old.

Movie Referrals for family members

kelly — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 07:23:00 GMT

There's a few movies I've watched over the past month that I wanted to remember to refer to my family back in Idaho. I'm chosen to list those movies here for two reasons. One, because I'll probably forget to mention it whenever the next time is that I get to talk to them, and two, because they'll probably forget them as well. We watched all these movies through Netflix.

The Forgotting, a Portrait of Alzheimers - My grandfather, Clem Thompson died of Alzheimers in November of 2006. He taught Chemistry at Ricks College. It was sad and heartbreaking to see this disease take ahold of him. It slowly consumed his mind and left a shell of a man. Anyone who has ever had a relative diagnosed with Alzheimers should watch this movie. IMHO, everyone should watch it because the statistics are they will have a family member be diagnosed with Alzheimers and will have to deal with this in a very personal level at some point. After watching this I started to wonder if shouldn't be changing my profession, or at least do what I do but instead in the field of research to help find a cure for Alzheimers. I'm still dealing with this question and haven't found an answer yet.
Outsourced - What a great show. You'll enjoy it. It's funny, and touching. We're all dealing with this issue in some form or another and this is a great way to start the dialogue in discussing it. But, you can just enjoy the show and don't have to discuss the issues associated with it. Again, it's funny, it's entertaining. We're all humans with the same joys and sadnesses, we come from different cultures, we look and sound different, but with have the same emotions and are more alike then we are different. If I was younger, I'd really enjoy a trip to India and working overseas. That's the anthropologist inside me talking. It's harder for me to do that know, but maybe someday.
Lions for Lambs - There are three types of people in this world. Two of the types will watch this film, one type will not. Of the two types who watch this film, the first type will enjoy it, perhaps recommend it to friends, and maybe even refer to it as edu-tainment. The last type will be the ones Robert Redford's character is addressing throughout the movie. This group finds themselves in a position to change their lives and to choose the course Redford's character is placing before them. This group is also made up of individuals who maybe aren't in a position to change their lives, but have the desire and determinition to do it anyways. The questions they are asking themselves is "where", and "what". They're not asking "why", though everyone else around them will. And they're not asking "when", because the answer to that question is already known. "How" is an implementation detail and will be answered after "where" and "what" have been crystalized. "How" doesn't affect the outcome of "where" and "what", but instead it is the outcome of those two questions. "How" is the question which distinguishes the two groups who watch the movie, from each other. If you've seen this movie, what group do you find yourself in? Because it's really a separate topic, I'll write later about what group I find myself in.

Reading Tea Leaves

kelly — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:54:00 GMT

Last year there was an episode of Red vs. Blue done to promote the Halo 3 Beta (watch the video). In it, Sarge tells the "lunatics" that if they don't quiet down he'll drop a "tear gas grenade" on them. Immediately one fanboy concludes that they'll be getting "tear gas grenades" and exclaims that he needs to go update his blog. It is in that same spirit that I write this blog entry.

Silverlight 2 RTW Date most likely before mid-November, 2008.

I'm not saying I've heard a guaranteed date or anything, but if you read through the comments in Scott Guthrie's and Tim Heuer's latest blogs posts on Silverlight 2 RC0, then you might draw the same conclusions as myself.

# re: Silverlight 2 Release Candidate Now Available

Friday, September 26, 2008 10:09 AM by ScottGu

Hi Ian,

>>>>>>>> Great to finally have a release candidate although I read a comment on Tim Heuers blog that you are 'still committing to shipping Silverlight this year' which is totally against the whole 'Late Summer', 'really soon' and 'which will be soon though' comments I keep reading on SL team blogs. It seems almost an unsubtle way of saying it could be December. The team I work with are currently developing an SL 2 Beta 2 app due to be delivered to our client in early to mid November. However there are bugs in Beta 2 that are a real issue for us so we are kind of desperate to go to the RCO - we are not asking for a release date but would you be able to say that we can safely go to the RCO version and by the time we deliver our client will have no problem in using the app?

You shouldn't have any problems shipping your application in mid November. Do let us know immediately, though, if you find bugs with the RC that are impacting your application so that we can investigate and fix them.

Thanks,

Scott

Obama on economy and canceling debate

kelly — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 03:51:00 GMT

Barack Obama held a press conference about our current financial crisis and the principles we need to uphold as Congress works to resolve it.

Meanwhile, John McCain has suspended his campaign and wants to postpone Friday's debate on national security.

Watch Barack Obama's press conference on the state of the economy and whether to cancel Friday's debate.

Like Obama said, the president needs to be able to focus on more than one thing at a time. Canceling the debate would be non-presidential. This country needs to hear what the candidates think and feel, and how they would react during this time of stress and crisis, if they were in charge. After the election someone will be president and will need to deal with the many issues that this country is facing. Imagine McCain telling the Taliban in Afghanistan to please not attack us while we are trying to end the war in Iraq. I sure as heck don't want a president who either can't multitask himself or doesn't have a staff that deal with multiple issues at once. I've been gearing up for the last two weeks for this Friday's debate, so naturally I became livid when I heard that McCain wanted to cancel it.

September PDXUX.Net Meeting

kelly — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:44:00 GMT

September PDXUX.Net Meeting: "Silverlight Deep Zooming"

Why choose Barack Obama

kelly — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:17:00 GMT

Have you been watching the Democratic National Convention? Did you watch Michelle Obama speak? How about Hilary Clinton? Bill Clinton? Joe Biden? Al Gore? Barack Obama? Did you watch the entire speeches or just catch the sound bites on the 10:00 news? Don't worry if you missed it, you can watch any and all of the speeches in HD at http://gallery.demconvention.com/. This is a high quality video, just like what NBC's Olympics site had. What I find interesting is their HD video content is being delivered via Silverlight. I find that very interesting.

If you've read my blog before you may know that I'm a registered Democrat. Early on in this election I supported Hillary. I was very disappointed and heart-broken as I watched her lead slip away. When it came time for Oregon to have its primary election I wasn't sure what to do. I was planning on voting for Hillary. On the Sunday before our primary, Barack Obama held a rally on the waterfront in downtown Portland. I didn't attend but watched it on television. I was impressed. I was amazed. I voted for Barack in the Oregon primary election.

I've been pretty quiet about my political beliefs when talking to family members. I grew up as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and my entire family is active members of the church scattered throughout Idaho and Arizona. Mormons traditionally vote Republican. Many of my family members were supporters of Mitt Romney. I feel now is the time for me to explain why I am voting for Barack Obama and why I think they should do the same. Good thing us Mormons are forgiving of each other, eh?

Over the last four days I've spent an average of 5 hours each day listening to and watching the Democratic National Convention. I'm planning on doing the same during the Republican Convention. I've made a decision to support Barack Obama and I need to be sure that I'm making the correct decision. By watching the Republican Convention I will either solidify and finalize that decision, or identify new questions that need to be answered before my decision can be finalized.

This election is important. Some may say that all elections are important, but this one is important to me. I'm not voting for a candidate, I'm voting for me. I'm voting because I want my voice to be counted and heard. In 2000 I was supporting Al Gore but didn't vote because I lived in Idaho where Gore had zero chance of winning. I will never make the mistake of not voting again.

In this election I believe only four issues matter:

Nuclear Energy - Our energy/oil crisis is the number one problem, and I firmly believe the only way we can fix this long term is with safe and efficient nuclear energy. Solar and wind power are great and help out a little bit, but we aren't going to be able to truly end our dependence on oil and solve the energy crisis we face without nuclear energy.
Housing Market - Currently I rent a home in Hillsboro, Oregon. I have younger siblings in both Arizona and Idaho who have purchased similar-sized homes (or larger) for half the price compare to the one I live in. I'm wondering if I'll ever be able to afford a home in Oregon, let alone one with a yard. The prices on homes throughout America have started to adjust back to normal, but not in Oregon. Jeff Merkely, how can you help me on this? Will you?
Economy - This is perhaps most voters' number one issue. I've moved it to three because I believe a large part of this can be solved by increasing the amount of nuclear energy we generate. Item number two is really a subset of this item, but is listed higher for personal reasons. There's a lot more to talk about here, but I assume most people already understand why this issue is so important.
Universal Health Care - I find it very frustating that ever since I've moved out to Oregon I haven't been able to afford having my family on a health plan provided by any of my employers. It's actually cheaper to have my wife and children have their own policy. How in the world does it cost more money to have them on my plan, versus having them get their own? Their premiums consistently go up, and their benefits go down. This is one area that frustrates me to no end. What about all the families who don't work in the tech industry like me and have a smaller income? Ever see the movie John Q? How about Sicko? This is the point where I seriously start to consider moving up to Vancouver, BC. I could easily work as a software developer up there. I also hear the fishing is great. But seriously, why should I have to move from America to get decent and affordable health care coverage for me and my family?

Now there are lots of other issues that matter and need to be solved, but for me those are lower priority than these four. I recommend listing to Barack Obama's speech from tonight. I also recommend listening to Bill Clinton's speech from last night. If you do that you'll understand why I am voting for Barack Obama, and you'll come to realize that you should vote for him as well. Seriously, don't take my word for it, listen to him.

Barack Obama is grounded in reality. He knows what its like to not have a lot of money, to live from paycheck to paycheck. He knows what its like to have to go to school on student loans and then be wondering how you'll pay them back when you can't even get a job that brings in enough money to pay your bills. Barack Obama realizes that 95% of Americans deserve and need tax breaks. He wants to do away with tax shelters and corporate loop holes, and instead give breaks to those who take the risks of starting up new businesses. He believes in the importance of nuclear energy and wants to see us using more of it. He understands the importance of health care for every American and has a plan to increase benefits, not take them away. He will stop the insurance companies from denying services to those who deserve it. He had a grandma who had cancer and had to argue on the phone with the insurance companies to get services covered.

I'm not sure how Barack will help me with my housing market problems here in Oregon. I first need to go through my local representatives and get these stupid land use policies changed. It will be tough, and I'm guessing I'll be stuck where I'm at until this startup which I work for takes off and makes billions. Yeah, I'd be ok with that kind of solution to my housing market problems. But until then....

We've got a three-day weekend coming up. I know most of you won't be working on Monday. If you didn't take the time to listen to Barack Obama speak, then I encourage you to make an effort to do that. But don't stop there. Take the time to tune into the Republican National Convention (ignore the javascript errors on their website). Pay attention to the speakers and what is said. Take an interest in this election. Make sure you're registered to vote. Encourage others to do the same. Above all, focus on the issues that matter most to you. Make a list and verify the candidate you're supporting is actually the better candidate and will accomplish what you feel is most important. Don't stand for negative campaigning, but do stand for what you believe in.

Cell phone numbers DO NOT go public tomorrow

kelly — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:12:00 GMT

Have any of you ever received the following email (or one similar) from a friend?

Just a reminder that all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies tomorrow and you will start to receive sales calls. You will be charged for these calls.

To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.

Make sure to listen to the entire message after you have entered your number until the voice tells you that it is removed. I just did it and it was easy. You can also do this on-line at http://www.donotcall.gov/.

However, this is something you do not have to worry about. From the FTC website (emphasis added):

If you’ve received an e-mail telling you that your cell phone is about to be assaulted by telemarketing calls as a result of a new cell phone number database, rest assured that this is not the case. Telemarketing to cell phone numbers has always been illegal in most cases and will continue to be so. In response to recent e-mail campaigns urging consumers to place their cell phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission issue this advisory to give consumers the facts.

....

Here’s what you need to know about the National Do Not Call Registry program:

FCC regulations prohibit telemarketers from using automated dialers to call cell phone numbers. Automated dialers are standard in the industry, so most telemarketers are barred from calling consumers on their cell phones without their consent.
The federal government does not maintain a national cell phone registry. Personal cell phone users have always been able to add their numbers to the National Do Not Call Registry — the same Registry consumers use to register their land lines — either online at www.donotcall.gov or by calling toll-free 1-888-382-1222 from the telephone number they wish to register. Registrations become effective within 31 days of signing up and are active for five years. There is no cut-off date or deadline for registrations.

Yeah, it would be scary if telemarketers were allowed to call our cell phones. Fortunately the government has prevented that problem from ever occurring. And don't worry if you've been one who has rushed off to register your cell phone number with the Do Not Call Registry. You're in good company. I registered my cell phone number when I first moved out to Oregon, and then I did it again today.

July PDXUX.Net Meeting

kelly — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:02:00 GMT

It's amazing how the summer heat takes so much out of everyone's time and energy. Join us tomorrow evening to hear Erik Mork talk about the new Silverlight 2 Beta 2 and see how you can get started enhancing your web applications with this new technology.

--Kelly

WHAT: July PDXUX.Net Meeting

WHEN: Tuesday 07/15/2008
6:30 p.m. Pizza
7:00 p.m. Presentation

WHERE: Robert Half Technology
KOIN Center (Map)
222 SW Columbia Street
Portland, OR 97201

WHO: Erik Mork
Erik Mork is a speaker, consultant and Silverlight enthusiast in the Portland area. He specializes in Smart Client/RIA application development with Silverlight, ASP.NET AJAX, and other technologies. He's focused on making the web V.Next, and his consulting company can be found at http://www.silverbaylabs.org/.

TOPIC: What's new in Silverlight 2 - Beta 2
What's the big deal with Silverlight 2? What's the story with the latest beta release? Is it ready for primetime? Erik tackles these questions by reviewing what Silverlight 2 is and where it's going. If you're new to Silverlight, this is an opportunity to understand it, and if you've already played with Silverlight, it's a chance to further learn about the platform. Applications will be presented for 1) fighting corporate greed and 2) mindhacking with Silverlight. Erik will have the mindhacking source code available for all attendees.

While you're at it, consider visiting our Premium Sponsors that make these meetings possible:

Robert Half Technology http://www.roberthalftechnology.com/

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

PAXNAUG is FREE to attend

kelly — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 03:52:00 GMT

Someone on the PADNUG mailing list asked a question about whether there was a cost to attend the PAXNAUG June meeting which will be held this week. I typed up a quick reply which I thought I'd shared here as well. And seriously, if you're interested in sponsoring PAXNAUG or PDXUX.Net, feel free to contact me.

PAXNAUG is a free event, just like PADNUG and PDXUX.Net. You should definitely come, and please feel free to encourgage others.

If by some chance you feel guilty about showing up and partaking of the grub--some recruiters may feel this way--then please feel free to contact either George or myself about sponsoring PAXNAUG. :) Seriously.

This audience tends to be very technically competent, these are guys who would rather code than play Halo 3 (at least some of the time). And as far as the type of coding they do in their spare time, it isn't just basic web sites, either. These are junior-level architects who single-handedly manage multiple n-tiered applications for the Windows, Xbox 360, and Zune platforms. Well, "junior-level architects" might be stretching it a bit, but seriously, feel free to show up and find out for yourself who this group really is and what we're all about.

Regards,
Kelly White
(The junior-level nerd herder)

PAXNAUG June Meeting - Developing XNA Games for the Zune

kelly — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 06:38:00 GMT

Interested in developing games in XNA for your Xbox 360? What about developing games in XNA for your Zune? Ok, perhaps you don't have a Zune, but wouldn't you like to develop a game in XNA for my Zune?

PAXNAUG will be meeting this Wednesday and XNA MVP, George Clingerman will be presenting on just that, developing games with the XNA framework for the Zune. The meeting starts at 6:30, and you'll probably want to get there a little early.

If you think this sounds interesting but are not sure how it translates to your work skillset, then take a lesson from a page out of my life/book. With a current "top secret" Silverlight project I'm working on I found it better to opt out of the WPF pages model and instead use a screen manager like you'd find in XNA development. This approach wouldn't have even crossed my mind if I hadn't been exposed to it from XNA meetings, such as the one coming up this Wednesday. However, this approach is exactly what I need for the current application I'm building. Pretty cool, eh?

Besides, XNA is a breath of fresh air. It's nice to learn about development that is fun and actually released, rather that something that is not yet fully baked/adopted (e.g. Silverlight), or something that is what the boss would only approve of you learning (ASP.Net/SharePoint/LINQ/WPF). Don't get me wrong, these other topics are awesome and something that I thrive on, but sometimes you just need to unplug from the day-to-day technologies while you still keep sharpening that saw.

Here's a link via Upcoming. Hope to see you there!

Master Chief does Speak and Spell

kelly — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 06:02:00 GMT

Here's a blog post I never got around to writing from last year's GameFest. The title just cracks me up, and yes, I'm one of those that laughs hardest at his own jokes.

Kids + Xbox 360 + XNA Homebrew Games = Master Chief does Speak and Spell

Just one of the things announced at GameFest (from developermag.com). This is so going to be my next project, that is, if it would only pay the bills.

GAMEFEST: Landmark legal move allows consumers free use of Halo, Forza and Viva Piñata assets in homebrew works

After announcing the 2.0 version of XNA Game Studio during Gamefest's keynote, XNA general manager Chris Satchell also revealed that the company had made an "unprecedented" move to allow consumers direct, legal access to game content from a number of Microsoft-owned IPs.

Effectively immediately, Microsoft has granted consumers "a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use and display Game Content and to create derivative works based upon Game Content, strictly for noncommercial and personal use".

The licence, similar to the Creative Commons agreement that some writers and artists use to give their works free and open copyright to the public, gives users access to any game published by Microsoft Game Studios (but not any third-party brands). Users don't get rights to share the games themselves, but can share creations that use game content.

....

More details can be found at Microsoft's official 'rule' list for the agreement.