Its been a while since I posted a rant, hasn't it ? Keep in mind that you do NOT have to keep reading. If you do, its your choice to keep reading. Good, you are still here.

#1 BP. Well, let me expand this to include the President's administration. As a US citizen, I support our President and our government, however it doesn't mean I have to like everything that goes down. I am hideously offended and annoyed that an oil leak this bad is being passed around as a "paper issue." Nobody wants to pony up and get this resolved the right way. In my opinion, significant effort should have been made from day one. BP not cutting it? Fine, bring in US Military Corp of Engineers, and send the bill to BP. For Heaven's sake, do SOMETHING other than post a webcam on the leak and say "oh my, this is pretty bad."

#2 Apple. Steve is out of control. Bordering on mad man I think. The "holy war" he has waged on Flash is just school yard bullying. He is playing with the technology industry as if it were his big box of legos, and when he finds a piece that isn't a color he approves of, he discards it. Read this blog entry, about a company who had jumped through Apple's hoops to publish an ipad application. And even got several updates published. Apple called them and said they are pulling the plug on their app -- effectively wasting all that company's time and money invested into Steve's lego mansion. The best part is that Apple offers no reason, and no way to address the problem. Just a "good bye." Read here. They screwed Adobe after they spent a ton of money building iphone development tools, and now they are doing it to the small software companies. And as of May 27 of this year, Apple is now bigger than Microsoft. Remember Microsoft monopolistic bullying? and the anti-trust crap that wasted time and money, just for Microsoft to laugh and sidestep the rulings against them? Get ready for it again, as Steve Jobs decides he is the new "Emperor of Technology" and knows better than anybody else about how the world should be. If only Apple's products were crappy, like Microsoft's, then maybe we could resist...

#3 Ignorant Drivers. Nothing makes a BP hating, Apple bashing day worse than irresponsible car drivers who decided that 2 years after they got their license, all turn signals are optional. I know responsible drivers who have not been in accidents that for some reason just don't think turn signals are "worth it" anymore. Maybe they haven't SAID that, but their actions speak volumes. If you drivers CARED at all for anybody else on the road but yourself, you would notice that people LOOK for your turn signals. Maybe you can save somebody stress and time by using a turn signal LIKE THE LAW SAYS YOU SHOULD, so people can actually anticipate what you already intend to do. Yes, lane changes too. NOT using them is breaking the law. As a motorcycle driver, I am often terrified to make turns or lane changes in any kind of traffic because I have no idea what people around me will do. It is more stress than a single person deserves while just driving to or from work. I try my best to use signals, and honestly, I don't know if anybody cares. All I DO know is that if I was in traffic coming toward myself, I would appreciate the proper use of signals.

I'm done for today.

1. Have you spoken at CFUnited in the past? What would you tell someone who hasn't been to CFUnited before?

Yup. I've been speaking at CF United events for the last 4-5 years or so. Lost count. CFUN is cool because you get to hang out with all the movers and shakers in the industry.

2. Why should people attend your session(s)?

Why not? I'll be showing an example of using Flex to talk to Google App Engine (GAE), so its just pretty darn cool.

3. Do you have any projects in the works that you will be revealing at CFUnited?

I'm hoping to have a brand new product ready to demo called FusionDox Access, which is a way cool easy way to share large files with people, and easily integrates into your web projects. All build in Flex of course :)

4. Besides your topic, what other sessions are you looking forward to?

Flexy goodness, especially looking forward to Flex 4 graphics enhancements.

5. What are some of the hot topics you'd like to see at RoundTable discussions?

How to beat down the industry's impression that ColdFusion is dying.

6. Where can people find you at CFUnited? (At the bar, networking, working, in your room, etc.)

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes. Also email me. aschwabe(at)gmail(dot)com.

7. What's the latest news with you? Has anything changed since last CFUnited?

New version of FusionDox is coming out. See http://www.fusiondox.com/blog/

8. What is unique about CFUnited?

Everything is approachable at CFUN. Talk to whoever, everybody is sincere about wanting to transfer knowledge so that everybody grows.

9. When you are not working what do you like to do in your free time?

Playing guitar, riding my motorcycle (bmw k100), going to the shooting range with the family, travel, eat, drink, being merry.

10. Feel free to make up your own question and then answer it.

Q: Why? A: Because.

For those interested, I finally have my "new to me" BMW motorcycle. It is a 1985 BMW K100, inline 4-cylinder, 1000cc powerhouse. This had the original "RS" fairing removed, and a rifle-style fairing installed by the previous owner. This nice bike has less than 20k original miles on it, and was taken care of meticulously at a BMW dealership.