A few years ago, the word "certified" was all the rage in IT and development circles. It wasn't enough to know one's stuff; one also needed to own a piece of paper that showed one had taken an online test, too. Back when I was hiring developers for whichever Dot-com-o'-the-Day I happened to be working for, it seemed everyone had a folder full of "certifications" to prove they were the best person for the job.

In my experience, such certifications are more for the benefit of human resources people than the techies themselves: Developers don't really seem to care one way or the other (I know I didn't), but the convenient silver star on top of the report card made it easier for HR types to weed through piles of otherwise identical resumes when searching for new applicants to pass onto the hiring manager.
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Since the introduction of Flash 8 last year, a lot has changed in the development arsenal of the average Flash programmer. I make my living creating Flash applications, and the development cycle and client deadlines have left little time to explore the latest and greatest techniques and wonders hidden within the newest Flash player.

Am I using ActionScript 3.0 yet? Hell, I've barely scratched the surface on AS 2.0 so far. Well then, surely I must be integrating Ajax technologies within my Web-based apps, yes? Um, no. Ajax is still just a bathroom cleaner to me.

But what about sIFR? MTASC? FLAME? Eclipse? Web 2.0? Velobrox? The 8.5 player and video layering? Well… no. Trust me; I want to use 'em, and I plan to experiment with them, but so far, I just haven't needed 'em yet.

Truth is, I spend most of my waking hours sitting in front of the Flash IDE and SEPY ActionScript editor these days, and I get a great deal of work done (and a great deal of play, to boot). Although I'm working my butt off and developing new skills all the time, I can't help but occasionally look up and notice a new buzzword or pet technology that just doesn't seem to fit what I'm working on at that moment.

In the past two months, I've worked on four e-Learning modules, three new Web-based games, a Flashified database front-end and a Flash-enabled interface to my TiVo unit. But I have yet to actually use anything I've downloaded from the bleeding-edge Macromedia Adobe Developer Center.
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Pavan Gupta has come up with a nifty little extension for Firefox: Quickchat allows you to talk — in real time — to anyone else currently reading the same Web site you happen to be viewing.

It uses IRC for its transmissions, and it appears to work well. While I'm not one for "chatting," I may just monitor Turdhead.com or its sister site, the Volvo 1800-oriented Classic1800.com for occasional witless banter. I figure it's worth giving a try, and it's yet another good reason to encourage people to get Firefox: