I just returned home yesterday from the first ever FITC Mobile up in Toronto, and if I was still of the drinking persuasion, I would raise a pint to Shawn and all of the other amazing FITC staff and volunteers who makes these events so bloody awesome! Every one of the events I have attended from them is amazing. Flash in the Can is always my favorite, but they are all top notch. The David Carson workshop a couple years ago was brilliant.

I always come back from these things energized and ready to take on the world again with new ideas and exposure to all sorts of tools, designs, people, and technology that I hadn’t heard of knew little about. FITC Mobile was no exception. The top 3 for me were sitting in with Dom Sagolla, Brady Gilchrist, and of course, Colin Moock. The only real down side is figuring out how to make all (hell, I’d settle with one or two) of the things swimming around in my cranium become some semblance of a reality.

The coolest thing I learned about was MegaPhone. So basically, it’s a Flash built gaming engine that allows players to call in using a mobile or standard phone and play games against multiple players from any location. They have some great things going on, have some cool games and more information on their site. I would love to get something like this going at work.

Being a mobile conference, there were a lot of sessions on iPhone dev and marketing, but they ran the gamut from Blackberry, to Windows Mobile. One things that I will be using on my next app will be Titanium Mobile from appcelerator. Titanium Mobile allows you to build native iPhone and Android apps using HTML and JavaScript, and it looks really cool. Just the other day, a friend of mine Ryan, sent me a link to an article about using .NET to build iPhone apps.

So now I want to be able to build simultaneously to iPhone and Android, so I will need an Android phone. I also have ideas for about 6 more iPhone apps, a couple of web sites, and some other things as well. Great. Last time I checked I’m just one dude who already has a full-time gig. I guess I’m going to have to prioritize a few things.

Now if only I can figure out how to squirrel away another extra 3 or 4 hours in the day, I’ll be all set to make millions…..

I think maybe I had too many neurons firing over the day 1 activities because I woke up with a headache yesterday, and it really put a damper on things until about lunchtime. That's not to say I didn't have some good sessions though.

Day Two
Session 1 was led by Seb Lee-Delisle from Plug-in Media in Brighton, and it was top-notch for being early in the morning for everyone. The talk was on Flash pyrotechnics or particle effects and it was cool. Again I left there wondering how I could do something with my new found knowledge and source code. I still have no real idea about how I could use this stuff except in games and to start working on some AS3 experiments of my own, but this is one of those things that I love to get in on. Maybe I will get to build some more games this year….

The next session only added to my headache. The one I wanted to go to was canceled, so I chose a runner-up because it sounded interesting and turned out to be… well… ignorant. I'm not going to go off and slag it, because I am sure the gal who was on stage is a decent developer, but I didn't drive 3 hours and pay the admission to listen to someone piss and moan about their job. Boo hoo…. It might have gotten better, because I heard some dude just ranting about how he loved it, but within the time I was in there – about 10 +/- people left; and I wasn't in the mood to sit through the full hour on the off chance it became more interesting.

The rest of the day was an interesting mix of work from various places around the US mostly – and there was some wonderful work showcased. Day 2 left me wanting a bit though. The previous day was so mentally charging for me that I was hoping for day 2 to be the same way; but I am sure my headache got in the way a bit. It was great to see new works from GMUNK, Joshua Davis though – they are very talented, and it's always good to see what other folks are up to.

The last session I went to for the day was by Buck. This was an excellent sesion too – these guys build some really cool videos. I don't really do a lot of video, nor do I do any 3D (or get the opportunity too) – but as I said above, it's always good to check what other folks are up to. I can get ideas, and quite often do, from other styles or genre of work other than just Flash and Web Design.

After the day was over, I walked around Toronto a bit since I wanted to go up the CN Tower. Holy smokes this thing is big! I was up all the way to the top, and it is pretty freaking cool. I will post some more pics on flickr either tonight or when I get home.

I have yet to totally plan what is in store for me today, so maybe I should shut up and get to it. 

Tomorrow after lunch I am heading up to Toronto for the 2008 Flash in the Can. It's been 2 years since I went last, so it's overdue. I am excited beyond all recogmnition, in fact it will be a wonder how much sleep I will get tonight – kinda like Christmas Eve in fact.

Toronto is a great city too, the 3 or 4 times I have been there have all been awesome.

I have no idea what my schedule is going to be yet, I can't decide so I am just going to figure it out as I go. The best part about these conferences is all of the massively creative people that you get to interact with. I have always feel reenergized every time I come back from one of these. I went to the 2006 FITC, and FlashForward in 2004 – and I am hoping to go to Adobe MAX next year…. Although it is in November, so maybe I will get lucky and be able to do both? Probably not…..

Maybe I will see you there.