I wanted to create a modal popup for a flash app that I'm building. I'm working in ActionScript 3.0 which does not have a native popup control. If I installed the Flex framework, I'd have access to more GUI controls, but I'm really trying to keep this thing on a low footprint, so I've opted out of Flex. However, I still needed to build the popup. So this is how I did it...

var modalsprite:Sprite;


function show(object:DisplayObject, xin, yin) 
{
            modalsprite = new Sprite();
            modalsprite.graphics.beginFill(0x000000);
            modalsprite.graphics.drawRect(stage.x, stage.y, stage.width, stage.height);
            modalsprite.graphics.endFill();
            modalsprite.addChild(object);
            object.x = xin;
            object.y = yin;
            modalsprite.alpha = 0.5;
            object.alpha = 5;
            stage.addChild(modalsprite);                    
            stage.setChildIndex(modalsprite, stage.numChildren-1);
             
}

the object parameter would be the MovieClip, Buttons, Controls..etc that you want displayed on the surface of the modal background. the Xin and Yin are the corresponding coordinates for the object that you want placed.
I'm sure theres probably an easier way to do this, but I haven't found it yet.
If you have something better, by all means leave a comment for the rest of us!

So...the next time you're out at Best Buy and you're about to drop off 300-400 bucks on a new gaming console...step back for a moment and wonder why. Is it because of the fancy new graphics, screaming cpu or rumbling-motion-sensing-controller thingy? Maybe?
I own an Xbox 360, Nintendo wii, Xbox 1 and decent gaming pc's. And what is my kid playing on a Saturday morning?

Thats right....the Sega Dreamcast.
Why? Because the living legacy of the Dreamcast is that the games are just plain fun.
So if you're looking to score some high value entertainment value for the childrens....maybe a search through Ebay would serve you well. I've seen the system (with games) going for around 40-50 bucks and what an incredible bargain for the amount of fun that you'll get out of this 'classic' system.

and i thought that i was a sci-fi nerd:

I bought Call of Duty 4.
I have beat Call of Duty 4.
In 5 hours.
thats $60 for 5 hours of entertainment.
Now dont get me wrong...the game was absolutely stunning and quite possibly the best I've played.
But seriously...a 5 hour single player mission? I realize that a good chunk of the people that purchase this product, do so for the online play. But I don't play online.
so yeah...short but sweet.

MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!
The graphics, as advertised, were brilliant:
 
and the warfare immersion was incredible. I truly felt overwhelmed by the chaos of battle.
What's truly great about the game is that you're just not one dude running around with a machine gun wasting everything that crosses your path. In fact, in one 'episode' you're the gunner of a C-130 Gunship. If you've ever watched videos like the one below on YouTube:

You'll be happy to know that the gunner portion of the game is nearly identical to these in flight video. The in game dialog is perfect for each of the various scenarios that you'll find yourself thrown into. And you'll also find yourself in a few 'holy crap' moments of awe during the game. Most notably the nuke scene. I wont ruin it for you, but when it happens you'll understand what I mean. 
So go buy the game. But keep in mind that its short. AND you'll want to be aware that this game is NOT kid friendly. Some of the earlier COD titles were borderline o.k. for young gamers, however COD 4 is NOT. There are quite a few instances of in street assasinations and group massacres that would raise parental eyebrows. In fact, during one cut scene you actually play the role of someone that is strapped to a pole and shot point blank in the head. So play and let play at your own risk. 
Overall..one of the best games that I've played in quite a while, if not the best. And who knows...maybe you want a short single player mission. In hindsight, its probably best that I could get in and out of the game in such a short amount of time. I have a ton of things to do this month and game time is a commodity. Speaking of being busy....back to it.

You just can't make this crap up:

Knife thief stabs self during getaway

Posted: Jan 7, 2008 06:35 PM EST

Updated: Jan 7, 2008 11:02 PM EST

CES 2008 is really starting to kick up some neato geek toys.
I really want one of these:

Here's an article from todays front page at woodtv.com (my local news station):

Posted: Jan 2, 2008 05:22 PM EST

Updated: Jan 2, 2008 05:22 PM EST

The as-yet-unidentified woman bought one of the limited number of $20 tickets from the Michigan Lottery's Millonaire Raffle. Six of those tickets are worth a million dollars each.

Employees at Party World told 24 Hour News 8 the woman came in Wednesday morning with the winning ticket. She planned to go to Lansing to claim her prize.

The winner, they said, works two jobs and really needs the money.

"It's gotta be very nice to be able to kind of get yourself on your feet, and that can really set someone on a good life path," said Rob Antor, who sold her the winning ticket. "And I feel fortunate that I was able to bring joy to somebody."

A ticket worth $100,000 was sold at the Meijer on Plainfield Avenue.

Christmas day:
I bought my daughter a Zune because I've loved mine so much. She listens to a ton of music, all of it from various genres, so a Zune Pass just made sense. Installed the software and signed up for an account so that she'll have her own account. And then the time came to login and show her how to start filling the Zune with Marketplace goodies. But no. Can't login on her laptop. I was getting some error about "Cant download or play this song..." and something about the digital rights. Well thats odd. I wasnt trying to download anything at the moment. I only wanted to login to the marketplace. My first inclination is to remove the monitored folders, just in case there were files attempting to authenticate. I'm a little new to the whole DRM thing, so I was really just taking a stab in the dark. But no. Didnt work. So I called Microsoft (yes on Christmas day) and some girl with a thick Indian accent walks me through some crap about reinstalling the software and trying again. No. Didnt work. So she calls the "next level" of tech support, puts me on hold, returns about 5 minutes later to tell me that their system is being "Upgraded" and that I should try again in a few hours. I questioned the logic of upgrading anything on the biggest gift giving holiday of the year, but she assures me that the system is just down at the moment. So we hang up.
But it really doesn't sit well with me that I was told to "just try again later."
Wait a minute..I have a Zune account, I'll try logging into my account on my laptop. So I fire up the Sony, start up the Zune software and blammo...I'm in. O.k. now to try her account on my laptop. Yup...works with hers too. So its not the server. She lied. Or just so incredibly lazy that she didnt want to deal with a tech support call that was not easily fixed with a "please to be reboot" or "please to be reinstalling the software."
O.k...so now I'm mad.
I'm not sure why it would be her laptop. Its fully updated, but I run Windows Update just to be sure that we're full up on patches and hot fixes. Still nothing. She had Itunes running and will no longer need that, so I uninstall Itunes, just in case it's tied into the DRM issue. Still nothing.
O.k.....Call Microsoft Zune support one more time. This time, some dude (can't pronounce his name and neither could he) asks me what the problem is. I explain the earlier call and that I'm still having the same issue. He has me attempt to login in three times, each time telling him the error. Not sure why he thought that subsequent attempts would help, but I'll just run with it for now. He then asks me to start Internet Explorer and navigate to the windows update page. I assure him that I've already updated the computer and that there are absolutely no patches, hot fixes or updates available for the OS, hardware or software on this laptop. He completely IGNORES what I just told him and says again "Please to be starting Internet Explorer so that we can navigate to the Update page." Now I'm really really mad. "Dude...listen. I've already taken care of the updates. You're not listening to me. I'm a Microsoft applications developer, I think I have a friggin clue on how to update my stupid damned computer."
A pause.
"O.k. sir...let me put you on hold while I discuss your error with the next tier of support. Please to hold."
Five minutes later:
"Mr Dan?"
"Yes?"
"We show our system is being updated or possible down at the moment. Could you please try again later tonight?"

I hung up.
ARRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
O.k.
It's time to really throw some attention and time into resolving this...
Off to google.
Twenty minutes later, I think I've found the solution. I need to clean out the DRM folder on the laptop. The folder that is hidden, by the way. The only disclaimer for said action is that any DRM content that you have will no longer validate. No problem for us, as I've ditched Itunes and all of her music will come from the Marketplace. So I back up the folder contents and subsequently delete everything in the repository. I've also uninstalled some old software to make room on her computer, so I need reboot to start fresh.
Moments later I start the Zune software and Wham Bamm, I'm logged in with her account. No error.
Off to the Zune store we go, downloading music like crazy. And no thanks to some ignorant, lazy phone jockey who couldnt be bothered to actually fix something for a customer.

When your child calls out to you in the middle of the night with the words "Daddy I threw up", you really want to ask "Where at?" BEFORE you walk into the room.

so december has been the update month for a good chunk of the technology that i use:

new Zune update (meh, it could have been better)
new Visual Studio (rocks)
Office 2k7 updated later than usual (update failed, btw. I'll have to reinstall O2k7. nice.)
new DNN version (pretty cool)
Stepped up to Flash CS3 (awesomeness)

And then along comes Vista SP1.
I've not really hung on the edge of my seat for this one, simply because the laptop that I use for development has been running superbly on Vista Ultimate with very few issues. But I still believe in grabbing the service packs when they come around and this iteration was no different.
And boom. It doesn't work. Now mind you, because it doesn't install correctly automatically means that I want it more. Now I MUST have it. But sometimes its hard being Microsoft's biggest fanboy:

And guess where that link takes you? Thats right...no where meaningful for the error I've received. It simply dumps you back to the home page for Microsoft support. 
grrrr. 
so ultimately I may have to restage the box to get the new sp1. That sounds worse than it actually is. I typically blow the machine out once a year and do a fresh install anyway, just to keep things in check and reclaim hard drive space that gets chewed up over time. so maybe this is a sign that the time has come.

its been forever since the last post, so i thought i would pop in to let you know that I'm not dead, deported, abducted or on a secret mission for the CIA. I've actually been quite involved with Mikeys hockey, a side project (more on that later) and just pre-holiday craziness.
Mike is working with one of the head instructors from Bandits Goaltending (www.banditsgoaltending.com). Coach Joe Messina has started the new mentoring relationship by spending an hour with my son on the ice just explaining the concepts of goaltending. What to watch, where to stand, when to react, etc... And what I thought was amazing was the fact that he didnt just tell him to do certain things, he explained and demonstrated why. Its easy to tell a young goalie to come two feet out of the crease, but to physically show him why helps cement the concept and pushes him towards adoption. Its been amazing so far. Mikey just about fell over when Joe told him that he's worked with Chris Osgood (detroit red wings) for quite a few years.
The side project is in the initial phases of development and I cant really say too much about it. I dont want you punks running off with the concept and beating me and my associate to the punch.
i will say that i'm working with Visual Studio 2008 now and so far I'm adequately impressed. I'd be happier if my host supported the 3.5 framework but from what Bruce has found, it won't be long.
I'm also building an interactive flash application that will be a core component to the site. It communicates via javascript with Ajax functionality allowing me the opportunity to hit some C# server side methods for various DB peristance. My description will make a lot more sense when i turn the site on and you can see what it is i'm talking about in person.
And yes...i know...should've used silverlight. but to be honest...the IDE and the user community is just not where flash is at the moment and I'm in a bit of a hurry. And to be honest...i'm pretty impressed with ActionScript 3.0. Its intuitive and very much like the C# world.
So we'll revisit this application in a later build when i'm ready to roll out the beta.
back to work slackers....

The Xbox 360 has returned! Actually, they've shipped me a replacement unit...and it actually works! I've read online posts complaining that the returned unit was DOA and I was concerned that I would suffer the exact same fate. However, the swapped out device works great for me. They included a 1 month Gold Membership card as a gesture of apology; however I've been paying for the Gold service anyway and I just missed over 3 weeks of Xbox Live; having no Xbox to actually log in with. So ultimately we're about even on that account. 
All in all, it was 25 days from the point of initial contact with Microsoft to the receipt of the unit.
The one complaint that I have about the entire process is that Microsoft keeps you in the dark about the status of the box. I would have appreciated a few update emails, especially as the device was shipped and on its way.
Off to play now.... 

Just a Heads up that Blade Runner is out in select theaters. In the Grand Rapids area, it's showing at the Rivertown Celebration Cinema. I'll definitely be there, having missed the original release on the big screen. I'm curious to see how different the "Final Cut" will truly be. After about 2 versions of the same film, my mind begins to lose interest...


Now if we could only get Fifth Element and Dune re-released to theaters, I'd be a happy little sci-fi nerd.

I've been attempting to work through this UpdatePanel mini-book lately and every time i sit down to pour out a few pages or sample apps, something crazy happens. Lately I've been struggling with the site and DNN updates. After much uploading, backup restorations and constant groaning, I finally have an updated app.

 You may have noticed the google ads at the top. I certainly did. Mostly because I'm the one that put them there. Why you ask? Well....my attempt at raising money for the youth program is going south. I've had it running for a few weeks and I've generated exactly $15. And thanks to the two that have graciously given: Scott V. and Evan H.
The site has been received 2500 unique visitors for the month, so I've made the decision to drop in  the Google Ads and turn over the revenue (if any) to the Youth Hockey Program, in addition to the paypal-based drive. We'll see how it works out.
 
So back to the UpdatePanel doc/mini-book...here's what I'd like to cover:

using multiple updatePanels on one page
updatePanel UpdateMode - when and why
using client side events with the asynchronous update process
issues and considerations with the Ajax UpdatePanel

now I'd like to say that I'll have this out soon..but i can't quite commit to that, with holidays approaching and Mikeys hockey schedule ramping up.

In other news: My Xbox 360 is on its way home! The support page changed status today and they've conveniently provided a tracking number so that I can monitor the machines journey home. According to UPS, its due back on the 20th. Just in time for Thanksgiving break. I can finally get into Call of Duty 4 and Mass Effect!

still updating dnn upgrades...stay tuned.