Holy Muppet! I Finally Redesigned My Web Site Tuesday September 13, 2011

If you asked any web designer in the world what is the most difficult web site to redesign, without hesitation they will all say their own site.

It’s an impossible task to explain. But most designers will probably tell you it’s far easier to create a web site that encompasses someone else personality, than it is to revert that same challenge on your own characteristics. It’s with that tidbit of knowledge that makes this redesigned so special. So with that please enjoy the newly revamped ctoverdrive.ca.

Yes, this baby has been over a year and a half in the making. It signals a new personal branding direction and also the end of an era. Gone away is the messy and chaotic nature of the previous overdrive. In it’s place is this new robotic-retro overdrive, including a new mascot – roboto-overdrive.

The design and re-branding is something I’ve been toying around with for quiet sometime. I wanted to create something that embodied the fun nature of c.t.overdrive, while also streamlining and simplifying the entire aesthetic. This new look is less about experimenting and an anti-aesthetic, like the previous incarnation, it’s more of a showcase of my own personal growth… which all in all is a wordy of way of saying I needed to grow-up a bit.

The biggest change in regards to the site is that I’ve gone and fully embraced my career path. No more hiding that I’m in the web industry any more. The About Page is a lot less mushy and I’ve added a new Hire Me Page. This new page talks about my work with Armadillo Studios Inc., and also goes in to a little bit more regarding my professional history. The Randoms are still kicking around and are better than ever. I will be adding a Contact Me Page… soon… ish.

If you’re curious about the design inspiration, there are a few key influences. The biggest and most dominant one is the book design by Will Staehle for Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. Which of course is a book I have been trying to finish reading for over three years now and could possibly be the most obscure reference I’ve ever made on this site. By the way, it’s actually a really good book.

The roboto-overdrive was inspired by GoMedia’s Branding yourself video tutorial and of course a bit of inspiration came from Calgary app developers Big Nerds in Disguise. (Psst, if you can’t figure it out it’s the glasses).

There is nothing really technically special about the site for anyone curious on that side. But for you design nerds, here is some of the dweeb meta info for you.

• Still powered by TextPattern
• The fonts are Wagner Grotesk BiForm from Veer’s Canada Foundry and of course Shadow Gothic. This ironically is as cheesy as Helevetica, when it comes to fonts.
• The Social Media Icons are courtesy of GSIX Corp.
• Also you are indeed correct, Helevetica is being used as the standard content font when viewed on Apple products.

So there you have it, the brand new c.t.overdrive. Please have a look around, explore and catch up on some old posts. I’d love to hear your feedback.

OH! And one more thing….

I’ve placed two Easter Eggs somewhere in the site. The first two people to find them, get a set of Armadillo Studios Stickers.

Categories: The-Site, The-Personnal,

The Internet in Society: Empowering or Censoring Citizens? Tuesday August 30, 2011

I know a few of you are curious as to why we’re living in DC/Arlington.

I’ve touched upon it in a few posts older post and I’ve hinted at it through my interaction on various Social Media networks. But the main impetus is that, my wife is doing her finishing up her Masters through the SCAR program at George Mason University.

Her work is really focusing on the effect (or is affect) of Social Media in Conflict Areas. It touches upon Cyber-activism, Cyber-slacktivism and what it all really means for the new global society. It’s a really new and fast pacing topic and one that is going to be incredibly important in the near future. Because of which, she’s been able to quietly make a name for herself in the area and is doing some incredible work with a few organizations. It also means that we have quietly become a bit of tech super duo, as some people have dubbed us. She’s the academic with the brains and I’m the guy who builds the shitty blog to help spread the word.

Anywho… I swear there is a post in here somewhere. One of the most difficult things about my wife’s chosen field of study is explaining it to academics and most casual observers. But this little YouTube video, from RSA’s depiction of Evgeny Morozov’s 2009 talk on the Cyber-Utopia is a great introduction for anyone interested in the topic. It also helps that it’s a fantastic little animation piece.

So if you’re ever interested in why we’re down here. Now you know.

Categories: the-social-media, The-Personnal,

Adios Calgary Tuesday January 18, 2011

What’s the saying… you can take the boy out of the prairies, but you can’t take the prairies out of the boy.

There couldn’t be much true words. So with that I bid adieu to Calgary for another X more months. Incredible trip home, but like always, if only there was more time in the days to really be home.

(P.S. Yes, and I do know that this spot was not special to calgary)

Categories: The-Calgary-Vibe, The-Personnal,

The Adventures 2010 Monday January 3, 2011

The end of a year and it’s time for another round of my favorite blog game in the world.

Welcome to the fifth edition of The Adventures Post! As always, The Adventures Post is where I lists the cities I’ve spent one or more nights in over the past year. The idea is completely stolen borrowed from kottke.org and has been a bit of a staple on the old c.t.overdrive.

Yes, I understand that flaunting the cities I’ve traveled to is a bit egotistical, as I know travel is something of a luxury for many. But it’s also a good way to look at the year in retrospective… ness.

So unlike previous years, I’m going to double up on the listing. Instead of just listing the cities, I’m going to list the cities in the order that I spent time in, just to kinda give a bit of an understanding at how stupid the months of March, October/November/December were for travel.

• Calgary, AB *
• Arlington, VA/Washington, DC (Finally seeing my wife after three months of marriage and two and half months living apart)
• Austin, TX * (SXSW Number 4)
• Calgary, AB *
• Billings, MT (The Start of the Big Calgary to DC road trip in a U-Haul)
• Rapid City, SD
• La Crosse, WI (Home of Great Beards)
• South Bend, IA (Home of The Notre Dame Fighting Irish)
• Morganstown, WV (Home of The University of West Virginia)
• Arlington, VA *
• Colonial Beach, VA *
• Arlington, VA *
• Boston, MA *
• Arlington, VA *
• Ft. Saskatchewan, AB *
• Calgary, AB
• Ft. Saskatchewan, AB
• Calgary, AB
• Arlington, VA *
• Calgary, AB (Finally home for Christmas)

Needless to say, 2010 was fantastic for my airmiles account, but painful for my bank account.

As always, I’d love to see other’s Year In Cities in the comments.

Categories: The-Adventures, The-Personnal,

The First Year Saturday December 18, 2010

So… what a difference a year makes.

365 days ago today, I was able to partake in one of the most amazing days of my life.

Beneath the glow of the winter city lights and a soft December snowfall, Caitlin and myself exchanged our wedding vows. At the time, we had spent the past year of our life planning and agonizing about this day, but in the back of our minds stirred a tidbit of news we had received days before the festivities were to start.

See a mere three days before our wedding, my wife had been informed that she had been accepted to George Mason University’s International Conflict Analysis and Resolution program.

As a precursor to the year ahead, we also learned that classes at GMU started on Jan 12th. To say this was a daunting turnaround would be an understatement. To go from the chaotic final days of a wedding to the Christmas season to figuring out how to uproot our lives and move across the continent – to say it was freighting would be an understatement.

So fast forward a year later and we’re back in Calgary for a bit of a Christmas vacation. A crazy two and a half month transition period, a 5 day road trip across America in a U-Haul, adjusting to life in The District, a family emergency and a dramatic change in our life path(s) later and we’re back to Dec 19th.

It’s been one hell of a year and … I wouldn’t have done a single thing differently.

We’ve both grown as individuals and as a couple … and really if we can make it through this year, the sky is the limits. This has easily been one of the most amazing years of my life and I look forward the next twenty-fifty odd years together.

So to the love of my life, happy first anniversary munchkin.

Categories: The-Future-Turners-Wedding, The-Personnal,