Don, I’m truly touched,  man. See you on tour! Click the ad to see the write-up.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, co-authored by Tony Chung

Links

• Official link to CCM Magazine ad: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
• Amazon.ca link (needs updating): A Million Miles In A Thousand Years
• Official book site: A Million Miles on Tour

Take this Umbrella acoustic performance video by an inspirational, talented, worship leader/performer named Cofféy Anderson. Just in time for Good Friday and Easter, or as we pentecostals like to say, Resurrection Sunday, yo.

Visit Cofféy Anderson’s official home page to find other ways to connect with him. I was going to list all his sites here, but he already does that, with more pizazz!

“Holler at yer boy!”

Example Ink Blog

Click image to view The Other Coast February 18, 2009

When I saw this comic strip in the paper this morning, I had to laugh. So much of today’s communications media: phone, text/SMS/MMS, email, TV, online publishing—are only available as long as there is enough storage to keep them. The Way-Back Machine on the Internet Archive helped me recover my Tablet PC Blogs posts in a jam, but if all the hard drives in the universe were full, what would have happened then?

In contrast to my post about what happens on the Internet living forever, I present the alternative view. My friend Wayne Radford, the self-proclaimed “King of Poco”, put this bug in my ear over lunch one rainy afternoon. The short version is that our online publishing efforts, though wide reaching, are only temporal.

Way back in the dawn of time the human race shared stories of their heritage through the spoken word. In each family or tribe was a storyteller who entertained, provoked thought, and presented their traditions and history to the current generation. Before that storyteller died, he passed the mantle to the next in line, to carry on the tradition.

In our electronics-crazed age, we are disconnected from one another. We listen to our personal stereos. We play portable one-person video games. We share a sense of community, but that largely occurs online. Which reminds me of another great cartoon I saw this week.

Click image to view Zits for February 15, 2009

The sad fact is that Social Media encourages online activity that makes us feel like we’re connecting with others. In reality we are still playing by ourselves in a large room with several others. When our kids were in preschool we arranged play dates so they could “get to know other kids”. It was an interesting phenomenon that even though they were in the same room, each of them enjoyed the experience of playing with a different set of toys—they rarely interacted, or played the same game together.

It soon became apparent that we arranged those play dates for other reasons besides our children’s social development; we arranged these dates for us to socialize with other parents. This became clear to me when I compared my wife’s impressions of the play dates where the parents of the children stayed to chat, with the ones where the parents dropped their kids off and left to run errands. My wife always felt a greater sense of connection when given the opportunity to socialize with other adults. Go figure.

Back to my original point. I wrote this blog entry and published it for the world at large to read. Well, actually, only the interested three or four of you will take the time to read this post. While my work makes me a published author for however long the post is kept on the server, when the lights go out, it’s over.

This is a different experience than that of a printed book, which has the opportunity to live for on centuries (or not!) on a library bookshelf. Even then, the written word is still temporary. What matters most are the real-life connections we make with each other, right now. It’s easy to hide behind a pseudonym or a web site façade, an instant messaging nick or an avatar. It’s far more difficult, and scary, to present ourselves as we really are.

I’ve had the great pleasure of joining various meetup groups, technology user groups, and other business/social networking groups that meet face to face. It’s fascinating to watch the dynamic within each group. There are those who use these occasions to promote their services, but still more who want to meet the real “you” behind the online “you”.

Which leads me to my next point: I’ve been invited to speak at Northern Voice on February 20, 2009 about “Putting Your Blog to Work”. I’ve been keeping this pretty quiet, as I’ve been too busy to even think about my presentation. Plus, it’s my first time ever going to this conference, and I am not sure quite what to make of the whole thing.

One thing is certain: Face-to-face connection is what is required to create true permanence in the hearts and minds of others. I intend to share the real “me” behind the online “me”, and meet and get to know the real “you” behind your online “you”.

I hope to see you at Northern Voice. Let’s put the “Social” into “Social Media”.

The Tony Macchiato ~ AKA the Triple Venti Peppermint Soy Caramel Drizzle Macchiato Style Latte

As the new year rolled around I thought I would stop drinking coffee, or rather, espresso—more specifically, my Triple Venti Peppermint Soy Caramel Drizzle Macchiato-style Latte, which I want to officially label as the Tony Macchiato. I first stumbled onto this drink the morning after my wife and I celebrated Christmas 2007 with the staff from a previous employer at a hotel in downtown Vancouver.

Starting from its humble beginnings as merely a Caramel Macchiato with peppermint syrup instead of vanilla, the drink evolved over the last year and a bit  into its current incarnation. I have my barista friends, and even Starbucks itself, to thank for that.

Old Faithful

For the last five years, I predictably ordered a Venti Six-Pump Toffee-Nut Long Americano every time I set foot in a store behind the green logo featuring a mermaid in a circle. My only deviation from the norm was during the summer, when I learned the iced version was 10 cents more expensive than a quad-shot long espresso, on which the drink was built. (Note: purists assure me that a Venti Americano is supposed to have five espresso shots, but most of the time they only give me four anyway).

However, once I stumbled upon this new pepperminty/caramelly/soyee espressoy beverage, it became my drink of choice. I even started making them at home.

Stirred, Not Shaken

One of the baristas suggested adding a third shot to compensate for the additional soy in a venti cup over a grande. I immediately fell in love with the boldness the extra shot offered. Sometimes a barista even offers to throw in the fourth shot that would normally be discarded anyway, giving it a double dose of boldness.

Regardless of the number of shots, the only way to enjoy this beverage is to stir it with a venti straw, and lick the foam off the straw before even sipping the drink. Like that scene from Tanpopo: look longingly at the caramel mesh as you slowly blend it with the foam, sensuously mingling the flavours into a divinely exhilarating experience. Caress the straw gently and enjoy the candy bar taste of the caramel exploding in your mouth. That sort of thing.

Membership Has Its Privileges?

When Starbucks introduced registered cardholder benefits, of which the free addition of syrup and soy milk into beverages is the easiest to quantify, I was in a quandry. When I paid with  my registered card, I’d lose the free syrup benefit, as it was already included in the price of a caramel macchiato.

To further complicate matters, Starbucks still must charge for specific syrups like cinnamon dolce, white mocha, and caramel sauce. However, this requirement is not usually enforced, as baristas are rather ticked with HQ for closing so many stores in the US, and for hiring management from outside the ranks of current sbux employees.

Bad, bad, bad PR Mr. Schultz. This reeks worse than the breakfast sandwich. When your staff turn against you, all you have is your product, which is only part of the concept, but not the central idea. People don’t visit Starbucks for the product, but rather the ambience of an environment rich in coffee knowledge. But I won’t go there in this post.

Working Around the Red Tape

As the special syrup charge is not widely implemented, I found the best way to order this beverage is to ask the cashier to ring it into the till as a Triple Venti Peppermint Soy Caramel Drizzle Macchiato-style Latte. Paying with a registered card saves close to a buck fifty on the syrup, drizzle, and soy. Even if the barista charges for the drizzle, I save a buck, and the total cost works to be five cents less than a Caramel Macchiato.

Sometimes I may not even care if the espresso shots are poured on top, and skip confusing the issue by ordering the latte as a macchiato.

Not Cutting Out Coffee After All

I mentioned earlier that I started the new year looking for alternatives to drinking  my espresso beverages. After suffering for about ten days, I caved and ordered my Tony Macchiatto. I tried the new fruit infusion beverages that Starbucks offered this year, and preferred the Berry Chai over the Apple Chai.

Then I stumbled onto Starbucks online beverage nutrition comparison chart and was amazed that among venti sized drink, the Tony Macchiato has 60 percent of the calories of the new Apple Chai Infusion,  50 fewer calories than the new Berry Chai Infusion, and just about on-par with, (well, 40 calories over), a Black Tea Soy Latte. The fruit tea infusion calories are all from sugar!

Starbucks Online Beverage Nutrition Comparison Chart

Of course, this isn’t taking into account any calories derived from fat. Soy milk definitely wins that comparison hands down, with a higher fat content than even whole milk. This nutritional information is still all my easily swayed mind needed to justify my espresso habit.

Next time you visit Starbucks, order a Tony Macchiato; I am certain that you will enjoy it. Print this article to remind yourself how to order it, and show the barista how to make it. You won’t even have to state a specific size: This drink is best enjoyed Venti.

Note to Hasbro: I am negotiating contract offers for this five-year-old toy designer, and his seven-year-old technical communicator brother. My contact information is below. Child labour is legal where I come from. LOL!

Introducing Stingbox™

My son’s new Transformer is named Stingbox. He is an Autobot who helps Optimus Prime and the other Autobots protect the universe from the evil Decepticons.

Stingbox: created by Jeremy Chung

Transformation modes

Stingbox can turn into everything: a boat, a car, a plane, a (something that looks like a football, but I don’t know what it is), and more!

Stingbox transforms into these vehicles

Weapons

Stingbox uses all the same weapons the Autobots and Decepticons use. I mean, all of them.

Stingbox uses these weapons to defeat the Decepticons

If Hasbro or any other toy manufacturer is interested in hiring some quality talent, I am accepting offers for either or both of my sons. In a previous post I showed examples of my older son’s technical communications skills. I look forward to your comments and private responses.

Readers of my RSS feed may want to visit my site to see the pictures.

Transformers Packaging

When I had trouble transforming the toy from car mode to its robot form, he showed me the reverse side of the packaging, where he drew the instructions.

How to Transform Sunstreaker

This is so far the Best. Christmas. Present. Ever.

Zits ~ Sunday November 9, 2008

More information

• Wikipedia article for Zits (comic strip)
• King Features Syndicate ~ About Zits
• ArcaMax online publishers home page

For the last month I’ve been going nuts trying to hack the ExtJS javascript application framework, recommended by the Technical Adviser from the company’s Web Services department. I have no problem applying different plugins to my project. However, when I try to add custom behaviours to the objects, I get that little red Firebug that shows me the hand and says “not so fast, cowboy!”

I’ve read the scant Learning ExtJS wiki, and tried to translate the ExtJS API Documentation to build sample code, all to no avail. Piecing together fragments from the ExtJS User Support Forums has been equally frustrating. I’ve found the user forums extremely hostile to newbies. The common complaint is that they don’t believe that the ExtJS forum is meant to teach users JavaScript OOP. I think the user base grew from version 1. Now experts by version 2, they forget that others haven’t been along the journey with them.

Many of the users are so ExtJS entrenched that they assume the reader has committed every single post from both version 1 and version 2 to memory. One would have to, because the accepted response to many questions is only one line of code without context, and the reader is just supposed to “get it”. (Strangely enough, the original poster often does.)

Add the additional stress of my having to find a new job, and you have my current befuddled state.

JavaScript This Fifth Edition is completely revised and expanded to cover JavaScript as it is used in today”s Web 2.0 applications. This book is both an example-driven programmer”s guide and a keep-on-your-desk reference, with new chapters that explain everything you need to know to get the most out of JavaScript, including: Scripted HTTP and Ajax XML processing Client-side graphics using the canvas tag Namespaces in JavaScript–essential when writing complex programs Classes, closures, persistence, Flash, and JavaScript embedded in Java applications.

An understanding of OOP is essential in understanding the way ExtJS extends common prototypes. Fortunately, in my last-ditch effort to plow through unexplored regions of the forum I stumbled upon a recommendation to purchase a really good JavaScript book, JavaScript: The Definitive Guide (5th Edition) by David Flanagan. Several users recommend this book to help users understand the object-oriented JavaScript programming concepts behind ExtJS, stuff I managed to miss by coding script as a writer rather than a software developer.

I only hope this recommendation didn’t come too late. It will take up to a week to receive this book if I order it by mail, but I know Chapters has it in stock. Wish me luck.

In that article I wrote that I felt:

…a discussion of FrameMaker, Robohelp, Captivate, and Acrobat may possibly be completely overshadowed by Adobe’s Acrobat Connect web conferencing system built on the AIR platform.

Well, Adobe Connect is very cool. I am intrigued by how well the technology enables a user to host webinars without having to download any additional software. Any user can create an account on www.adobe.com that gives them their own unique “Connectnow beta” URL to share with up to three participants at a time. Users can share desktops and specific applications, and run virtual meetings just like the one we held tonight, only on a much smaller scale. (In response to a remote member’s question, users can purchase a subscription to the Pro version if they need more resources. At the time of this writing, it’s only $39 USD/month.)

Adobe Technical Communications Suite

However, the major breakthrough for Adobe is how well the AIR platform integrates not only Adobe-branded applications like FrameMaker, Acrobat, RoboHelp, and Flash, but also embeds files created in other applications into a single file. Adobe is well-known in the world of multimedia, so of course embedded Acrobat 3D, audio, and video files play well. However, I was not expecting how well it integrated even Microsoft Office files. I really shouldn’t be surprised—after all, AIR is an acronym for Adobe Integrated Runtime.

Last year I won a ticket to attend the Massive Technology Show through a draw at an STC meeting. As part of the conference I got to attend a mind-blowing workshop on Adobe’s fledgling Flex and Apollo platform for building Rich Internet Applications (RIA). Even though I took notes back then, I don’t have a clue what I got myself into. That platform eventually became Adobe AIR, and it “AIRs” on the side of extreme coolness.

But wait, there’s more. That very same integration that makes AIR such a delight also exists in the ubiquitous Acrobat format as well. Now a PDF is no longer just a means to preserve your fonts and layout in a print-like version of your document. Now you can embed user-interactive 3D models from virtually any 3D CAD design software, Flash SWF applications, video, audio, and live Internet streams, into a PDF portfolio.

For this reason, coupled with the Connectnow live meeting, file sharing, and more web site, I’m so glad I waited to update my Technical Communication PDF portfolio. Right now it only contains a few projects I completed in my Writing and Testing Software Manuals class at BCIT. Acrobat Pro Extended ver. 9 provides a wizard that I can use to create a PDF portfolio that includes samples of all sorts of work I’ve done: graphics, movies, flash, audio, spreadsheets, web application prototypes—there is no end to what I could do.

So, RJ: if you’re reading this, any chance I could buddy up to you and score a copy of the Adobe Technical Communications Suite so I can write a review? You have my email address. I’ll be waiting.