Category Archives: Life

North Carolina Politics: Amendment One

Remember when I said I was gonna try to steer clear of politics a few posts back? Yeah, me neither.

Right now there’s an odious piece of legislation working it’s way through the North Carolina Legislature. It’s known as the North Carolina Same-Sex Marriage Amendment. Because it’s 11:54pm on a Friday night, I won’t go into too many specifics about why it’s a horseshit law that flies in the face of any pretense of good-old-fashioned conservative “small government”. All you need to know is that, in the year 2012, amendments like this are a curious anachronism at best, and wholehearted bigotry at worst.

Having absolutely no influence in the North Carolina House of Representatives or Senate, I’ve decided to do the next best thing: design Facebook profile icons and cover images that encourage young, web-savvy Facebook users to take a collective stand against this hopelessly antiquated amendment. Will it change every heart in Raleigh? Probably not, but at long as it gets the issue on the minds of the voting public, I’ll feel like I’ve done my job. You can download both sets of cover images and profile icons here.

And while I’ve got your attention, seriously, vote “NO” on May 8th against Amendment One. Don’t let a bunch of old white guys in Raleigh decide what constitutes “love” and “family.” I can think of few things that are more personal and sacred.

Posted in Design, Life

Flipping Out About Facebook

While it’s sad to see a plucky startup like Instagram be absorbed into the Borg Collective that is Facebook (they’re definitely not the first, but probably among the most “controversial”,) I think we need to take a step back from our nerd-rage and remember that it’s also part and parcel of the extremely fast-paced world of web-based technology today. Companies come and go all the time, both due to intense competition, the rapid pace of technological development, and mercurial consumer demands. Facebook is just doing what they feel is necessary to stay on top.

On the other hand, a diverse marketplace is what breeds innovation and, ultimately, benefits consumers. Monopolies are never a good thing*, and if huge tech companies like Facebook and Google simply buy out the competition, as opposed to creating better alternatives, that can’t be good for users. In any case, I’m interested to see how this plays out. Will Instagram be heavily integrated into the Facebook experience, or will it largely be left alone?

*Internet browsers being the only exception because that would make my job so much easier.

Posted in Life, Technology

An Introduction

Howdy folks.

I’ve been thinking about starting a blog for a while. At first, I was thinking I might step away from discussing design all the time and devote my blogging specifically to news and politics. Brilliant, right? Nobody’s ever done that before! As I was working on some material for it, I decided that wasn’t for me. I didn’t want to devote a bunch of time to posting what would essentially be a weekly manifesto, (hey, if you’re gonna argue, argue right.)

So I decided to go back to my roots and integrate the blog I was working on with my new website. Along with keeping my blood pressure in check, I would have a little more leeway in the amount of content that I could produce and share. Sometimes I may post manifestos, other times, a simple video or photo will do.

In any case, keep an eye out here for updates. You may learn something new, and I may learn how to talk gooder.

Posted in Design, Life