withoutnations - Mark Mitchell » 2009 » October http://www.withoutnations.com Chasing a passion for good design, trying hard not to lose the plot. Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:05:36 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Headshift http://www.withoutnations.com/2009/10/31/headshift/ http://www.withoutnations.com/2009/10/31/headshift/#comments Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:26:17 +0000 Mark http://www.withoutnations.com/?p=369 I started work as a Web Designer and Developer at Headshift two weeks ago. They provide tools and platforms for organizations and businesses looking to further explore social technology. Given that my usage of social media seems directly inverse to its general popularity, working in an environment that encourages said adoption should be inspiring. I’m excited to join the design team and eager to dig into an array of new projects.

]]> http://www.withoutnations.com/2009/10/31/headshift/feed/ 1 Geocities, In Memoriam http://www.withoutnations.com/2009/10/28/geocities-in-memoriam/ http://www.withoutnations.com/2009/10/28/geocities-in-memoriam/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:07:19 +0000 Mark http://www.withoutnations.com/?p=347 Geocities has shut down. I can’t imagine the service has seen much activity in recent times, even with the Yahoo acquisition. I abandoned it not longer after it became obvious how cheaply you could build and host your own domain. Geocities does hold some sentimental value. In the early days of the web it was a magnificent idea. It was certainly responsible for nurturing my interest in web design — or rather, design in general — and nudging a good number of people into learning basic HTML. In its prime, I was running a half dozen different sites in different neighborhoods.

Perhaps the first and longest running however was a fan page I built dedicated to Pink Floyd. There were earlier iterations, but one in particular stuck and remained live at http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/6120/floyd.html for a number of years. The earliest record I see in the guestbook for the site (preserved at the internet archive) is 19 August, 1997. I was sixteen years old, writing code and pasting sites together in Adobe Pagemill.

Distortion Clouds? Check. Outer Glow? Check. Copperplate Gothic? Check. The Outer Bevel effect was probably created with Kai’s Power Tools.

Simpler times, it seems.

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]]> http://www.withoutnations.com/2009/10/28/geocities-in-memoriam/feed/ 0 Almost Poetry http://www.withoutnations.com/2009/10/24/almost-poetry/ http://www.withoutnations.com/2009/10/24/almost-poetry/#comments Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:40:43 +0000 Mark http://www.withoutnations.com/?p=343 Of all the unusual or ridiculous responses I received in response to a posting for a flatshare, this remains my favorite.

“I don’t like americans.
Saying that I don’t know all of them so forget it.
I’m a musician vegetarian against a dictatorship and against the NWO.
People should work together and be friends no matter what.
I am also an inventor an scientist and I try to make this world a better place.
If you are a good webdesigner and can sign up to this, I got a house.
[redacted] that’s the postcode.
I’m vegetarian.
I love Tim Buckley if you know him.
I play guitar i sing and I smoke.”

]]> http://www.withoutnations.com/2009/10/24/almost-poetry/feed/ 0 Quotation: Persistance and Determination http://www.withoutnations.com/2009/10/11/quotation-persistance-and-determination/ http://www.withoutnations.com/2009/10/11/quotation-persistance-and-determination/#comments Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:27:44 +0000 Mark http://www.withoutnations.com/?p=337 “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

attributed to Calvin Coolidge

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