Background (Whining)

Sometimes the easiest things can take a great deal of your day…

Recently I wanted to recertify for an Adobe ACE (and my Adobe Certified Instructor that goes with it) for Adobe Illustrator CS5.

To do that, I need to be certified in the previous version.

Here’s where the fun begins…I know there’s a link to publish credentials to a prospective client or employer, I just can’t remember how to find it.

Simple, right? Well, my initial phone call to the Adobe Certified Community went to voicemail, so I promptly emailed them and found that their email address has changed. It was partners@adobe.com and is now trainingpartners@adobe.com. (To be fair, I’m sure I got an email notifying me of this!)

My question asking about publishing my ACE credentials got a response about applying to the program. No problem; I clarified via email with more detail. This time I got a response asking if I was looking for the partner finder.

Publishing Credentials

If you are currently an ACE or ACI, there is a community page at
http://www.adobe.com/support/certification/community.html

Once you sign in (there’s a link in the upper right corner of the page) you should be presented with an Adobe Certified Expert Community link on the right side of the page. (you may need to reload the link above after logging in)

Click on Check your certification status on the left side, then find the Publish Credentials link on the left side of the resulting page.

To finish up, deselect any certifications you do not wish to send, fill in the email and a brief message to your recipient, and go grab your beverage of choice!

-Matt

If you’ve arrived here, you are likely either looking for me (Matt Sullivan), or have done Adobe training business with me or GRAFIX Training in the past. I’ve left the content for anyone who has linked to it in the past, but more current content can be found at the links below.

As of the date of this blog entry, here are some suggestions for getting in contact with me:

Phone

• 714 960-6840

E-mail

• my primary e-mail is still my first name at this domain (I’ve not written it out to avoid email harvesting by spammers)

Social Media:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Adobe Forums

Training and Services

• roundpeg.com (classroom training)
• mattrsullivan.com (small projects,  and coaching)
• roundpeg.com (where I am director of training)

Reference material

• framemaker.mattrsullivan.com
• tcs-integration.mattrsullivan.com
• roundpeg blog
• roundpeg webinars

User Groups

• Orange County Adobe Digital Publishing (pending)
  • Contact me for our online and live events
• LAID-Los Angeles InDesign Users Group

Upcoming events:

• STC Summit

If you’ve arrived here, you are likely either looking for me (Matt Sullivan), or have done Adobe training business with me or GRAFIX Training in the past. I’ve left the content for anyone who has linked to it in the past, but more current content can be found at the links below.

As of the date of this blog entry, here are some suggestions for getting in contact with me:

Phone

• 714 960-6840

E-mail

• my primary e-mail is still my first name at this domain (I’ve not written it out to avoid email harvesting by spammers)

Social Media:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Adobe Forums

Training and Services

• roundpeg.com (classroom training)
• mattrsullivan.com (small projects,  and coaching)
• roundpeg.com (where I am director of training)

Reference material

• framemaker.mattrsullivan.com
• tcs.mattrsullivan.com
• roundpeg blog
• roundpeg webinars

User Groups

• Orange County Adobe Digital Publishing (pending)
• Contact me for our online and live events
• LAID-Los Angeles InDesign Users Group

Upcoming events:

• STC Summit

As much as I enjoy posting on blogs and forums (I imagine that there is a plural form of forum, but I was never very good at Latin) I find that the editing process can be tedious!

For starters, the browser interface for WordPress-hosted blogs is slower than I’d like, and the HTML editor is quite buggy, especially when using iframes (something I do quite regularly for webinar and online registrations for clients)

I’ve tried Adobe Contribute (no surprise there, for anyone who knows my long history with Adobe) but I had trouble with getting the code just right and adding all the content I’d like. It too seemed a little on the slow side.

Enter Microsoft LiveWriter…

I ran across it when searching for detail on posting to WordPress via email. After successfully setting up the email posting (not a particularly easy task…) I decided to google “weblog desktop client”. After reading 3 reviews where Microsoft LiveWriter was at or near the top of the list, I downloaded it. (Free is free, ya know?)

The interface was straightforward, and the only snag I hit actually explained the problem with my WordPress admin settings.

Bottom line: I managed to set up links to 3 different blogs, post 4 or 5 articles at will, and actually enjoy the process while keeping an eye on today’s NCAA Tournament game.

I can’t wait to use this product more!

If you are fortunate enough to be attending the STC Summit in Sacramento this year, please stop by the Adobe booth to say “Hi”

I’ll also be presenting an STC conference session on using Adobe products to create ePub and apps from your FrameMaker and RoboHelp content.

In August of 2008 GRAFIX Training stopped offering training classes, and
Matt Sullivan officially became Director of Training for roundpeg, Inc.

As a result, this site is used mainly as a repository for my single sourcing
and multichannel publishing blog posts. Feel free to poke around.

I’m currently involved with a number of projects related to Adobe’s
Technical Communication Suite, and Adobe’s Digital Publishing System.

I plan to have some materials ready in May 2011 for the STC conference in
Sacramento.

These should include rough outlines of apps and epubs for FrameMaker
Authoring and Template Design classes, as well as works on producing apps
and epub using Adobe products.

If you are interested in any of these topics, I am organizing an Adobe
Digital Publishing Users Group to meet in Newport Beach, CA, and possibly
online meetings as well. I intend for this group to focus on the specifics
of app and ePub outputs using TCS, InDesign, and Flash Catalyst products.
Let me know if you would like to be involved.

-Matt
Matt Sullivan
Director of Training | roundpeg, Inc.
@mattrsullivan
P: 714.960.6840 | F: 360.230.7269 | matt@roundpeg.com
4590 MacArthur Blvd., Suite 620 | Newport Beach, CA 92660

www.roundpeg.com

Fresh off of a 1-week trip to Cabo San Lucas (AKA Los Cabos, Lands End) my wife & I put together a list of what we did well, and what we’d do different for future trips…if you find the list useful, or if you have other tips for a great Cabo trip, please add a comment below. -Matt

Things to pack

• Ground coffee
• sugar
• salt/pepper
• Bring max wine down/Vodka (buy duty-free on way down??)
• Music speakers (battery-powered are best)
• iPod & cables
  • ipod charger (not just firewire to PC)
  • iPod holder with clip for airline seatpocket
• Long Computer Cable/extension cord. Check airline for flight with AC power
• Bring beach-friendly marg holder (like Gatorade squeeze bottle). Freeze 1/3 of bottle to keep drinks cold while on beach.
• Collapsible cooler for beach
• Big sun hat
• More day clothes, less night clothes
• More underwear, less socks
• Long sleeve surf rash guard (sun protection)
• Wetsuit Vest for me, springer for wife
• binoculars

Things to prep

• Book 2nd room for the same week. Either sell that week, or find friends to use it.
• Install movies on computer for flight
• Set up Skype account with skype credit for international ph calls
  • skype-to-skype
  • skype-to-landline (with skype credit)
  • Make sure kids/sitter have access to video calls on home pc
• Set up email servers to work in Mex

Advice while down there

• Sunscreen!! Don’t forget knees, especially if surfing
• Carry small US/ peso bills always
• Set a 6am alarm for access to the best pool chairs (though the best beach chairs are almost always easy to get and to hold onto)
• Walk on the main street between the Nowhere Bar and El Galeon or Romeo and Julieta restaurants. It’s much shorter than the wandering Marina route. In fact, the main drag is an easier walk than the Marina in general
• The store at our condo (Villa del Arcos), La Tiendita has decent prices for food. Instead of a cab to the store, get short-notice items there instead.
• Find free internet access in hospitality suite, or pay $9/day internet access throughout complex
• Pack food & head to Lovers beach for the day/snorkel

Alaska Air

• Use Alaska Air credit card
  • $75 annual fee
  • $99 companion pass

Los Cerritos (km 64)

A gorgeous beach, about 50km north of Cabo San Lucas on the Pacific side, Los Cerritos is an easy trip for the day. Next time we may stay overnight at one of the hotels listed below. There’s a restaurant (with fairly steep prices for food & drinks) that has chairs and umbrellas for customers. There’s the Costa Azul surfboard rental trailer at one end of the beach, and the Diablo Blanco surf shack at the other.end.

• Head east out of town near Pueblo Bonito/Villa Palmar
• Consider spending less days at Cabo resorts, rent hotel at Cerritos
  • www.haciendacerritos.com ($100/night)
  • Tortuga Bay has beach huts as well
• Hang out on beach, not at the restaurant. You can keep a cooler in the trunk.
• Bring chairs & umbrella
• Don’t forget surboard wax

Things to ask for if negotiating attendance at a timeshare presentation

• Fishing
• Have all $$ and details written down
• Don’t include jewlery certificates (Diamond International)
• Have Taxi include trip to WalMart/Costco

Shopping list for Costco/WalMart

• Case of beer (bottles)
• Cans of beer for beach/pool
• sugar
• Cheese & crackers
• Butter
• bread
• Sandwich stuff
• Premix Marg’s /marg mix
• Bananas
• Eggs
• Cereal
• Milk
• Juice
• Cream

Restaurants/Bars

• Arts & Sushi. Fantastic fish, great service!
• Nowhere Bar. Just around the corner from Arts & Sushi. Good club music.
• Wamango. Good fish tacos, live entertainment for lunch.
• El Galeon. Great service and the best food we’ve had. A bit pricey, but defintely worth it!
• Romeo y Julieta. Solid italian food, but steak was just average. For a pricey place, service was really slow all around & setting was only so-so. We won’t plan to go back unless we’re meeting friends there.

Stuff to avoid

• Snorkle (unless going to Lands End to use it)
• Quote from my wife: “I packed too many clothes”
  • no more than 2 pair of regular shorts
  • 1 pair jeans
  • 1 sweatshirt/jacket
  • 1 long sleeve shirt

Check out  http://blogs.roundpeg.com/2010/03/fm-char-palette-util/ for a writeup of the easy-to-use FrameMaker Character Palette utility, complete with an interactive simulation. For Frame users, WAY easier than the Windows Character Map utility

Excellent free web artwork

I found a great list of free icons like these at http://websitetips.com/graphics/webicons/.

This is only one set of  the free icons available there, and I found it at /www.gosquared.com/liquidicity/archives/122

Social Media and others

I also found great stuff at http://dryicons.com/free-icons/page/2/

Shareware Solicitation

I also like what gosquared did with their PayPal Tip Jar…subtle, and well-designed.

Twitter Logos

A fantastic collection of twitter art is at

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/100-remarkably-beautiful-twitter-icons-and-buttons/

Matt Sullivan (Founder and CEO of GRAFIX Training, Inc.) is now the director of training for roundpeg, inc.

If you are looking for content previously contained on grafixtraining.com, please leave a comment below and I will respond as soon as possible.