Nope, still haven’t written the big “Moving To South Carolina” post yet. I think it’s because I’m still getting used to it down here. Still finding all the good lunch spots, still working on my tan, etc. However, I did manage to create a pretty impressive playlist of some favorite EDM tracks called Robo Jams. It has a wide variety of subgenres, but in general the playlist is pretty upbeat. Perfect for a night of late-night code wrangling, or any other time you need to stimulate your neural net. Check it out below:

I should mention that Porter Robinson, one of my favorite DJs lately, hails from Chapel Hill, NC. It’s good to see North Carolina artists making their mark in the electronic scene.

There’s definitely been a lack of updates lately. Lots of things have been going on in the past few weeks. Specifically, I’ve relocated from Charlotte, the city I’ve called home since graduating college, to Charleston, South Carolina. I’ve been staying creative, and plan on posting some updates on a few projects, but for now, I’ll share this long-overdue album design and playlist, entitled “The Macho Mix.” These tracks are perfect for an alligator-wrestling, whiskey-swilling, molotov-cocktail-throwing night of testosterone. Local bands from NC are highlighted in bold. You can listen to The Macho Mix below, or download it on Spotify.

1. “Rock Out” by Motorhead
2. “Shoot First And Run Like Hell” by Nashville Pussy
3. “Painkiller” by Judas Priest
4. “I Just Wanna Rock” by Municipal Waste
5. “Problems” by The Sex Pistols
6. “Rock And Roll Weekend” by The Flat Tires
7. “I’m A Babyface Killer” by Antiseen
8. “Metal Metal Land” by GWAR
9. “The Prisoner” by Iron Maiden
10. “Con Artist” by Remembering Never
11. “Unbreakable” by Sabaton
12. “Straight To Your Face” by Hatebreed
13. “I Just Wanna Start A Circle Pit” by Against All Authority
14. “Jenny Two-Times” by The Dielectrics
15. “Drunk, Tired And Mean” by Nine Pound Hammer

But I can’t do it alone, I need your help. If you have a favorite song that helps you power through a long day like a hot chainsaw through butter, email me with a link to it on YouTube, Grooveshark, Spotify or Rdio. I’ll post it here with a fancy-ass album cover design. To keep the playlist cohesive, I’m asking only for good punk and metal this time. Future “Design A Playlist” posts may be more eclectic. Thanks to my lovely wife Krista for the idea and to you for contributing.

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.

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.

My dad, a 30-year USMC veteran and an avid history buff, would love this.

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.