In 2006 blogging, more than anything else, has afforded me some incredible opportunities to meet fantastic people and visit some exciting cities. Greg and Jason have started a “city” meme of sorts. What a fun way to look back at a year! Here are my cities of 2006:

Auckland, New Zealand
Austin, Texas
Chicago, Illinois
Christchurch, New Zealand
Cozumel, Mexico
Ft. Collins, Colorado
Key Largo, Florida
Los Angeles, California (twice)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Nassau, Bahamas
Orange County, California
Phoenix, Arizona
Queenstown, New Zealand
Roatan, Honduras
San Francisco California
Seattle, Washington (twice)
Wellington, New Zealand

Here are some pics from a mental health break I took just last month (desktops are on their way!). Where did you go for work or fun this year?

Also, thank you to everyone who reads and contributes to… ...(more)

Attn: Albuquerqueans… don’t forget about ABQ’s first ever Barcamp this Saturday (11/11/06). This year I got to localize the Barcamp logo for Albuquerque and design the t-shirt. I’ll also be presenting something called Color Profiles for the Web at the “un-conference”. I’ll be sure to post my presentation here next week sometime. So, on to the details from Clearwired:

WHEN
We’re planning an ABQ Barcamp to take place on 11/11/2006 from 9am-4:30pm. Learn more about ABQ Barcamp and the host...

SCOPE
The scope encompasses any topics related to the web—Design (visual, experience, information architecture), Technology (infrastructure, programming), projects you’re working on. Come share your stuff!

LOCATION
After looking at different venues and having them fall through and others not quite up to task (wireless connectivity), we decided to fall back on on Plan B, the Clearwired Office: SEE MAP—on the second floor in SW corner of the building.

WHAT IS BARCAMP???… ...(more)

New Mexico, birthplace of Microsoft, the Atomic Bomb and the Albuquerque Isotopes, now joins the prestigious ranks of states like Arizona, Utah and Rhode Island with the debut of its first Apple Store (right here in good old Albuquerque).

The Mayor even gave a brief speech before hastily joining the more than 1,000 “Aqua-thirsty” Mac fanatics who showed up before noon today for free t-shirts, and a glimpse at the wall-to-wall stainless steel retail behemoth.

Kelly Robinson, an Albuquerque web developer, was first in line having guaranteed his position by showing up at 8:30 PM the night before.

I stopped by just after breakfast and shot for a while. Ran into many local Creatives and Developers, including the guys from Clearwired, as well as Sam Maclay and Tim McGrath from 3 Advertising.

The store is phenominal. Similar to the ones I’ve visited in other cities with one HUGE diffference… it’s 10 minutes from my house. Needless to say (and yet… ...(more)

At 4:45 AM we went to Dawn Patrol at Albuquerque’s 2006 Balloon Fiesta. It takes place about 5 minutes from my house, and is one of my favorite annual events in Albuquerque.

You literally can’t take a bad picture there (unless you forget to remove your lens cap). There were approximately 200 balloons in this morning’s Mass Ascension. They all launch side by side, and spectators are given free reign of the take off field. So you can pretty much walk right up to them, between them and even under them as they launch.

I’ve made a desktop from one of my favorite pics. If you like it, please feel free to download it (no “Mark Bixby” logos or anything).

SIZES:
2560x1600 (<-- Now in "Veerle" size)
1920x1200 (<-- 24" iMacs)
1690x1050
1600x1200
1440x900 (<-- MacBook Pro too!)
...(more)

Could I go back to when I was designing this site, I definitely would’ve incorporated a “links” section (like Longboard, or Premium Linkage) for when I saw something I wanted to share without bothering those who don’t have ADD. I’m hoping soon to have a new outlet for my daily distractions, but in the mean time, here’s some cool stuff from the internet this week:

Got Advertising?
A heartfelt public service message from my good friends at 3 Advertising. Please help? A true testament to what 3 guys can accomplish when they go off their meds and start their own agency.

SaraJoyPond
Another in a very long list of websites that make me feel old and busted. Great designers who also use words like “perspicacity” rule!

Get a clue.
Advice for lazy… ...(more)

Preaching ”no spec work!” is easy when you have more work than you know what to do with. But as a student just starting out on your career, the temptation to do work up front for little or no pay in the hope winning a project or future opportunity is hard to resist.

I used to teach Senior Illustration Seminar at Milwaukee Institue of Art & Design. It was exciting because the entire class was full of students ready to embark on their careers as professionals. All that useless information living between my ears was suddenly valuable to those 17 people. I remember what I used to tell my students about making your own opportunities, and paying your dues. You’d think spec work sounds like a great way to be competitive and gain exposure when you’re just starting out. You’d be wrong.

Let me start by saying I’ve done plenty of spec work. It took me a long time to be confident enough in what I do to expect… ...(more)

Wow, okay so I’ll keep this brief as there has already been plenty written and posted on Flickr (20,333 currently) about it. SXSW Interactive - If you didn’t go this year, you need to next year. It was ten times the experience I’d expected. Amazing speakers, amazing parties. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who responded to my Free Coffee at SXSW post. In the end, there were 3 people I was unable to connect with (for more than a brief introduction). I’m sure we’ll run into each other again somewhere, and when we do, I owe you guys some Joe!

In the interests of brevity, I present my summary in Haiku form:

Hot humid Springtime.
The birds here are psychotic;
“May I see your Badge?”

Pictured Left to Right: Greg Storey, Mark Bixby, part of Jason Santa Maria

...(more)

You heard it here first! If you are a developer, or designer who enjoys free coffee and talking about what you do for a living, contact me before March 9th and let’s plan to get together for a cup during the conference (my treat). If you’ve been blogging longer than I have (4 weeks), or know a lot about web standards and accessibility, then I want to buy you some Joe!

Free coffee and the opportunity to influence an impressionable mind? What a deal! Make no bones, I don’t want to be your friend or hang out with you at the after party. I just want to get you all hopped up on caffeine, and pick your brain! So call or email me now and let’s make plans.

See you there! I’ll be the really jittery one.

Welcome to my new website! At first glance, you might think it’s all about me. And you’d be mostly right. But it’s also about great design, creative, strategy and branding.

If you know me, you know I’ve recently left a terrific job with a large New Mexico tech company to work for a new boss. Myself. Since September business has been booming, and I’ve gotten the opportunity to work with some really remarkable people. I’ve also been working diligently on this, my own website.

I couldn’t have done it without help and inspiration. I’d like to thank my good friend Anna Brown for generously sharing her technical knowledge, and helping me navigate much uncharted territory.

I’d also like to thank bloggers like Chris Pirillo and Dave Taylor, who have inspired me to think differently about the web, and to build a home for content and conversations. They’ve also given me plenty of great stuff to read along the way.