Confessions of a control freak and an anecdote about AMF
If you haven’t read part 1, it’s there for the reading, and puts this post in context.
I figure the best place to start is where the title of this series comes from: I am a control freak; in life and so in code. This is not a very positive thing to say, but in terms of my personal skills development I feel it’s important. I don’t like things that just work; I have to know why.
There is a button on my washing machine that says “anti-crease“. This bugs the hell out of me: When would I not want this setting on? What’s the trade-off? If it creases my clothes less, then what is not doing? Is it cleaning them less?
Continue reading…
Introduction
I’ve been having an argument with myself for years over my reluctance to use third party code in my work. I am referring to everything from simple JavaScript libraries to complete CMS platforms. I’m not saying I never use third party code, but I use a hell of a lot less than most people. This makes me arrogant, blinkered and quite possibly a dinosaur – or – perhaps it makes me experienced, focussed and a veteran.
On any given day I may be feeling guilty about my attitude; or smug and satisfied. Yesterday I was cursing the [generally wonderful] Smarty template engine, and feeling smug that my favouritism toward my own code was righteous. The day before I was interviewing a chap about a possible Drupal gig and was feeling guilty that I had so far ignored Drupal, to my detriment. Continue reading…
Or, “why I haven’t done any Flash work for a year”
I effectively gave up Flash when I came to Public and it’s now a whole year since I did any significant Flash work. In this short time AS3 has really come of age, there are tonnes of serious libraries, from fractals to physics, and PaperVision 3D seems almost omnipresent. The prospect of going back to the ActionScript freelance circuit after a year on the wagon would be quite daunting. Continue reading…
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