http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/ The personal journal of Derek Balmer en derek@theholdfast.com Copyright 2008 2008-08-21T22:58:00-07:00 http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/groceries/ http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/groceries/#When:22:58:00Z People. Crowds. Lines. I despise shopping for groceries. F Word. This entry was sent from my mobile 2008-08-21T22:58:00-07:00 http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/attack_of_the_one_page_websites/ http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/attack_of_the_one_page_websites/#When:21:20:00Z I have been pretty busy lately with lots of mind-numbing, data-centric design projects and I have discovered an excellent cure. One page websites! I recently banged out two simple sites for friends and family. The first was for my “Rock & Roll” Father in law, Rick McGregor. He’s a great musician and absolutely loves to play, so I put together a slick little promotional site for him. Check it out at www.RickMcGregorMusic.com. The other site for a friend of mine that runs a Dessert Boutique near Calgary. If you’re in need of some delicious custom birthday cakes, or sultry cheesecakes check out Sweet Tooth Creations! 2008-07-29T21:20:00-07:00 http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/ill_sleep_when_im/ http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/ill_sleep_when_im/#When:15:22:00Z It’s Summertime and the livin’ is NOT easy It’s been awhile since I have written anything and my guilt is getting the best of me, so here’s a little update. It’s been about a year since I left my previous gig to pursue my own endeavours and I gotta tell ya, life is great/hard/inspiring/long/amazing! I am no stranger to deadlines and work stress, but I feel I have spread myself way to thin as of late. I am currently providing full time creative services for three companies, a couple freelance projects and as if that wasn’t enough; I started a silly new side project with a buddy. While all this is fine and dandy, cause I absolutely love designing… I have a new deadline on the horizon with an unprecedented sense of urgency. My wife and I are expecting our first child in the end of August! We are both ecstatic and could not be happier! It’s hard to explain, but I have this extreme sense of motivation now. I have a handful of weeks left to crush every deadline, wrap up my work life in a tidy bow and prepare to become a parent. Amidst all this stress and endless list of tasks, I can’t stop myself from drumming up new ideas and silly little projects. I need to learn how to balance my life better. Once things get back to normal, I plan on writing more. In the meantime you can keep up with my daily mundane adventures here ↓ 2008-07-02T15:22:00-07:00 http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/support_open_source_buy_a_shirt/ http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/support_open_source_buy_a_shirt/#When:21:52:00Z Get your geek on with this awesome shirt from XFORWARD.com Support open source and buy this awesome geek shirt for PostMaster 2.0 designed by yours truly. 2008-04-19T21:52:00-07:00 http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/365_icons/ http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/365_icons/#When:14:34:01Z Here’s to 365 days of 16px X 16px crap from my mobile! I decided a few days ago it might be fun to take one random photo every day for an entire year, and post all of them as 16 x 16 pixel icons. My hope is that on April 10, 2009 I can look at a wall of icons and recap an entire year of awesomeness. Most likely it will just be 365 icons of empty Starbucks cups, sidewalk garbage and bizarre meat concoctions. Anyway I hope you enjoy 365 Icons and soon enough Brettage and I will roll out a free version for everyone to use. 2008-04-14T14:34:01-07:00 http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/seo_rapper_design_coding/ http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/seo_rapper_design_coding/#When:19:09:00Z This is rad! Watch this! 2008-04-08T19:09:00-07:00 http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/jumping_on_the_mac_train/ http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/jumping_on_the_mac_train/#When:20:58:00Z After years of hatred and harsh words, Brettage “I hate Apple” Duncavage just had a new MacBook sent to the office. “It’s for iPhone development” he says… Yeah right! BTW - I heart my Helio Ocean. iPhone’s make me angry. This entry was sent from my mobile 2008-03-26T20:58:00-07:00 http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/web_20_steez/ http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/web_20_steez/#When:16:34:00Z Yayhooray gives corporate america a facelift, Web2.0 style! In this day and age it’s pretty hard to design a site and avoid the all too common “Web 2.0 Steez” of glossy reflective logos, gradients and the excessive use of the term “BETA”. Personally I can’t wait until this trend dies, and interfaces begin to embrace real textures such as wood grains, metals, leather and dare I say it… fur. How boss would it be to see Starbucks.com draped in a Leopard print!? Latte’s and exotic animals! Ok, that’s a real shit idea. Scrap the fur. I’m rambling now. Check out this post and see the new logos of corporate US of A. My fave is the Quaker 2.Oats. Hilarious! 2008-03-04T16:34:00-07:00 http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/denver_arenacross/ http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/denver_arenacross/#When:19:38:00Z The Denver Arenacross was this weekend, and for the first time in years the event was held back at the Coliseum instead of the Pepsi Center. The track was great (for an AX) and all the local boys put in some strong finishes. Note - low light action shots taken with a cell phone look like shit! This entry was sent from my mobile 2008-03-02T19:38:00-07:00 http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/cartype/ http://theholdfast.com/index.php/journal/article/cartype/#When:14:43:00Z An interesting new site from the fellows behind T26 CarType is a comprehensive study and collection of reviews and typographical applications of emblems, car company logos and car logos with images, comments, links, car company information and general interest. If you’re into typography, logos and cars check it out. 2008-02-01T14:43:00-07:00