2007 Ni Hao From Beijing
I just arrived in Beijing, making a detour coming back from MAX Japan to spend 3 days in China (in Beijing and Hangzhou, and then leaving via Shanghai) for Flex and AIR related meetings and presentations. This is my first time in China (I have visited Hong Kong and Taiwan previously, but never Mainland China), and I plan to spend some time tomorrow seeing the sights.
Passengers arriving in to China must complete a "Health Quarantine Declaration Form" identifying any ailments and diseases they may have by checking the appropriate boxes. For some reason I found the range of diseases listed very amusing. The list started with snivels, cold, and vomiting, and progressed to venereal disease, leprosy, HIV/AIDS, open pulmonary tuberculosis, and ended with psychosis. (I just can't help but wonder how many people check that last box).
2007 New Training Experience In Tokyo
I've presented training sessions hundred of times, many of them hands-on sessions, and many of them sessions that were simultaneously translated in to other languages. But I had never attempted a hands-on session with simultaneous translation before - until today, here at MAX Japan. And it was quite the experience. The session went well, it was the same Hands-On ColdFusion Powered Ajax that I presented in Chicago and in Barcelona, but with a twist. My hand-out notes were translated into Japanese, and the attendees were using the Japanese version of ColdFusion (with Japanese Dreamweaver on Japanese Windows). Getting the machines set up was fun enough, but the real challenge was providing help. I was looking at ColdFusion error messages in Japanese and trying to figure out what they meant by the few English words and the Java stack trace, clicking on Windows and browser dialog boxes by trying to remember what button was in where, typing on a Japanese keyboard (finding : and / and # and % was fun enough, but the tiny space bar meant I kept hitting keys that switched languages), dealing with invisible embedded characters that threw off the compiler ... as I said, quite the experience. In addition, some of the instructions seemed to get lost in translation. For example, the instructions said to "Type the following between <cfcomponent> and </cfcomponent>", and several typed those exact words into the CFC. And so on. Fortunately the session run for 2 1/2 hours (instead of the 1 1/2 in MAX US and MAX Europe), so we got through all of the content. Still, it made for an interesting afternoon!
2007 Konnichiwa From Tokyo
I just arrived at the Hotel Nikko in Tokyo, venue for MAX Japan which starts tomorrow. I have several sessions that I need to present, and so before I do anything else, I need to walk around and figure out where everything actually is. I'll be back ...
2007 Next Up, MAX Japan
It's hard to believe that MAX Europe was two weeks ago, and MAX U.S. just two weeks before that. And now we get to do it all over again ... I am about to head out of here for the 13+ hour flight from Detroit to Tokyo for MAX Japan. After that I'll make a slight detour via China (for meetings in Beijing and a presentation in Hangzhou).
2007 ColdFusion And The Adobe MAX Cup 2007
Futsal is an indoor version of Soccer, and the game is hugely popular in Japan, where many companies have employee teams. Adobe Japan created the Adobe MAX Cup 2007 Futsal Tournament (with the final game set to coincide with MAX 2007 Japan later this week), and teams from Adobe, Intel, Microsoft, SAP, Yahoo!, as well as several Japanese companies, are all taking part. And it's not all about fun and games - the tournament is supported by a variety of sites and applications, and the Adobe Japan team used the opportunity to leverage Premier Pro, AIR, AMP, Flash, Flex, Flash Media Server, and of course ColdFusion (which powers the official Adobe MAX Cup 2007 Futsal Tournament site).
2007 Europe Wrapped Up
I am in Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, about to head back to the U.S. After last night's Brussels event we drove for 2 hours to The Hague for the Netherlands Adobe Business Exchange. Again, I presented ColdFusion 8 to a very appreciate, interactive, and engaged crowd (very few of whom are yet running CF8). And now I get to spend a few days stateside before heading to Tokyo next week for MAX Japan.
2007 Checking In From Barcelona
We're in the middle of the MAX Awards here at MAX Europe in Barcelona. Next up is Sneak Peeks (I am going to be presenting the CF/AIR sneak), and then comes the party. In addition to the keynote yesterday, and the Sneak Peek momentarily, I also presented a hands-on ColdFusion Powered Ajax session, a session on ColdFusion and AIR, and a (rather heated) BOF discussing ColdFusion in Europe. It's been hectic, and we're not done yet. Still, this has been an amazing first MAX Europe, and planning has already begun for MAX Europe 2008.
2007 European Keynote About To Start
MAX Europe started this morning, and it's great to see the crowd and feel the enthusiasm, especially as this is the first MAX here (prior attempts never materialized). The opening keynote here starts at 11:30am local time (any minute) - the stage is ready (and massive), the room is full, the music is blaring, lights are dimming, the intro video is starting to roll ... wow, is it just two weeks since we did this in Chicago? Definite sense of déjà vu!
2007 Hola From Barcelona
I just arrived in Barcelona for MAX Europe 2007 - I got here later than I had hoped, but, I'm here, and we're now prepping for tomorrow's opening keynote. The venue is right off the beach, and my hotel room overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the east. Not that I expect to do much sightseeing, but hey, I least I can see the sea!
2007 MAX Europe, Here I Come
I am on the way to the airport to catch a flight to Amsterdam, and then on to Barcelona for our very first MAX Europe. See you soon!