Flashforward 2006, Day 3
Today was another good one. I’m glad I budgeted for this conference, because the sessions are good — and on paper, that’s the reason folks come — but in addition to that, Flashforward is a great opportunity to meet people of like mind.
Sessions
I started the day with Scott McClurg’s “My first ACCESSIBLE Flash Movie,” in which Scott went into a number of basics on how to use the Accessibility features in Flash. I enjoyed his session, and we bumped into each other afterward more than once. He’s a cool guy and very talented with Swift 3D, besides having a passion to make SWFs viewable by as many people as possible.
Next, I saw a number of ways to maximize the interaction between Flash and the browser, as presented by Robert Taylor and Tyler Wright. I saw Seb Lee-Delisle break down his company’s simulated 3D soccer environment. Phil Heinz presented “Flex Builder 2 for Flash Programmers,” which was a great intro to Flex. I found myself nodding in agreement several times, which was encouraging, because it means I’ve managed to grope forward somewhat in my own understanding of Flex Builder 2.
Finally, I saw and shook hands with Grant Skinner, who presented his views on potential pitfalls with the new garbage collection mechanism in Flash Player 9 (specifically, that of the ActionScript 3.0 virtual machine). I have so much to sink my teeth into! Really, Flash always keeps one step ahead of me, which is little like playing chess with someone who lets you catch up, then goes back to beating you 86% of the time: that’s your best opponent, because the experience improves your game. 
Eats
Todd introduced Chris and me to the Iron Works Barbeque for lunch. The food was simply incredible … we each got the sample platter, which consists of a mountain-high pile of slow cooked meats. I don’t remember when I’ve had such good food.
In the evening, I enjoyed the Flashforward Film Festival — lots of terrific entries, as usual — followed by an after party at Buffalo Billiards, again with plenty of free food and drinks. I ran into Branden Hall at the bar and we got to talking about Lego Mindstorms and abstract strategy games such as mancala, Connect Four, Pente, Abalone, and the like. It was fun, because I’ve admired Branden’s work for years, and he invited me to give him a call about his Flow project and maybe writing “patches” for his system.