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I recently went through a 16 part tutorial on ThemeForest.com and I was enlightened on the process of taking your Photoshop design and integrating it into WordPress. There are endless themes you can choose from to customize your own blog, but for a designer or someone who already has a site branded, it is important to be consistent and merge the two.

It is still continuing, but we are all waiting for author Drew Douglas to hurry up, I can't wait to finish this already!

Anyways, in reading my daily blogroll of incredible writers and informative designers, I came across this list from the site http://www.noupe.com. Many thanks for author Cameron Chapman. Cameron Chapman is a writer, blogger, copyeditor, and social media addict. She’s been designing for more than six years and writing her whole life. If you’d like to connect with her, you can follow her on Twitter or at her Personal Website.

WordPress

WordPress is a free blogging platform that can be modified to be used as a CMS.

So you want to create WordPress themes huh?

This is one of the most complete WP theme-building tutorials out there. It consists of 25 separate lessons and covers how the WP templating system works, The Loop, post meta data, search forms, calendars, comment templates and pretty much everything else about themes in WP. If you want to build a theme completely from scratch, this is the tutorial to show you how.

How to create a simple WordPress theme

This tutorial gives instructions for creating a basic, simple WP theme that includes the header.php, index.php, sidebar.php and footer.php template files, in addition to the style sheet. It’s very simple and straight-forward, but a great place to start if you’re new to building WP themes. The basic steps can easily be adapted to building more complex themes.

How To Create a WordPress Theme: The Ultimate WordPress Theme Tutorial

Here’s another very complete tutorial, offering up 11 lessons on how to create a WP theme. It focuses on creating a theme with good SEO, valid and logical semantic markup, separated trackbacks and comments, two widget areas, and all the basics you’d expect from a WP theme. The lessons are ordered logically and include theme development tools and information about the WP template and directory structure.

How to convert any web template into a WordPress theme

Sometimes you don’t want to design a theme from scratch. Maybe you’ve found the perfect theme (or designed one), but it’s just a regular web template, not a WP theme. This tutorial will show you how to convert that web template into a WP theme without too much trouble. It also includes a link to a video tutorial showing how one template was converted.

How to Create a WordPress Theme from Scratch

This tutorial shows how to take a basic HTML/CSS template and convert it to a WP theme. It’s incredibly complete, covering every aspect of WP theming. It also explains how themes are structured and how to create the core theme files.

Sitting here at my desk waiting for MAMP to download so I can set up a server on my iMac, I looked up at my bookshelf.

Hmmm, so much info and in an age where everything is instant, it seems so difficult to get in all the knowledge and use it daily to keep it ingrained.

This is especially true as so much changes in the web field in a nano-second!

I am re-taking a PHP class, or as Platt College likes to say, auditing.  If you don't use it you lose it I say, and I was recently overwhelmed by the files in WordPress when re-skinning a blog from a Photoshop file. It is actually my business site, Anubis Creative.

It's funny, and maybe it's just me, but I think sometimes that just because I bought a book I should know it's contents by what I term bookmosis, the fact that it is nearby... although I have not even cracked it open. Some special telepathy thing will happen because I took hard earned cash and bought it, thought about it, and got it.

It doesn't work that way and nothing is easy. I have indeed worked through many of those books, especially while I was taking the courses at Platt for my Web Development degree, but some I got from mentions on blogs, etc.  I have them handy as a reference and that I know where to go for the answers when in a stymie.

For those interested, these are amazingly thorough and informative - a must have for anyone involved with web design and front end developing. And NO, I have not been approached or will receive anything for promoting these!

• HTML, XHTML & CSS by Castro

• Stylin' with CSS by Wyke-Smith

• CSS Mastery by Budd, Moll and Collison

In researching and trying to get the basics down for WordPress installs and themes, customizing it for a personalized CMS etc. I went to Theme Forest and Nettuts for help. I found a series of tutorials on the subject , but the initial Day 1 was not available on the site? Intrigued, I searched Google and found it!

This informative, basic and thorough video that helps the newcomer set up a local server for the user: MAMP is for Macs and XAMPP is for PC environments.

This way you can create your blog, experiment with the numerous themes available from WordPress.com, or if you are a designer, create and use your own. After you get it going to how you like , and have utilized the advantages of all the different plug-ins offered to make the site more interactive and fun,  you can view what it will look like before actually posting this to the web.

NETTUTS-WordPressForDesignersDay1565

Here are some pretty insightful things to look for when looking for a "deal" in asking for a designer to create a custom logo for your business.

I am posting this because recently I was approached by someone who wanted a logo and possible website created for his new business. When he finally got to the bottom line and asked my rates, he paused and said he would get back to me. I never heard from him again, and I recently saw the new company logo and "coming soon" website online. You do get what you pay for!

This article I came across on Smashing Magazine and thought I would share... the author can be reached below:

Gareth Hardy is a professional graphic designer and illustrator based in the United Kingdom. You can find Gareth at Down With Design or on a snowy mountain near you.

With the power of the Web, and more eyes watching than ever, it’s important for a business to communicate its unique message clearly. The easiest way to recognize a company and distinguish it from others is by its logo. Below, we go through 10 common logo design mistakes that you should avoid if you want to create a successful and professional logo.

1. Designed By An Amateur

Avoid websites that promote ridiculously cheap logo packages. You get what you pay for.

A professional business should look professional. New business owners often invest a lot of time and money in property and equipment, but do not often match it by investing suitably in their logo.

Here are the most common reasons why many logos look amateurish:

• The business owner wanted to save money by designing the logo quickly themselves.
• A friend or relative who claims to know a little about graphic design does it as a favor.
• The wrong people are commissioned. (Local printers are not likely proficient in logo design.)
• The business outsourced the job via one of several design competition websites, which are mostly populated by amateur designers.
• The job was given to an online company that offers really cheap logos.

All of the above can result in disastrous outcomes. If your logo looks amateurish, then so will your business. A business should know where to look when it wants a new logo. David Airey offers great insight on how to choose the right logo designer for your requirements.

Here are the advantages of hiring an established and professional logo designer:

• Your logo will be unique and memorable.
• You won’t run into any problems down the line with reproducing it.
• Your logo will have a longer lifespan and won’t need to be redesigned in a couple of years.
• Your logo will look professional.

2. Relies On Trends

Focusing on current logo trends is like putting a sell-by date on a logo.

Trends (whether swooshes, glows or bevels) come and go and ultimately turn into cliches. A well-designed logo should be timeless, and this can be achieved by ignoring the latest design tricks and gimmicks. The biggest cliche in logo design is the dreaded “corporate swoosh,” which is the ultimate way to play it safe. As a logo designer, your job is to create a unique identity for your client, so completely ignoring logo design trends is best.

Logolounge has a great section on its website in which it updates current logo design trends every year. Being aware as a designer of the latest crazes is important, mainly so that you can avoid them at all costs.

3. Uses Raster Images

An example of how raster graphics can limit reproduction.

Standard practice when designing a logo is to use vector graphics software, such as Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw. A vector graphic is made up of mathematically precise points, which ensures visual consistency across multiple sizes. The alternative, of course, is use to raster graphics software, such as Adobe Photoshop. A raster graphic — or bitmap, as it’s commonly called — consists of pixels.

Using raster images for logos is not advisable because it can cause problems with reproduction. While Photoshop is capable of creating very large logos, you never know for sure how large you will have to reproduce your logo at some point. If you zoom in enough on a raster graphic, it will appear pixelated, making it unusable. Maintaining visual consistency by making sure the logo looks the same in all sizes is essential.

The main advantages of vector graphics for logo design are:

• The logo can be scaled to any size without losing quality.
• Editing the logo later on is much easier.
• It can be adapted to other media more easily than a raster image.

4. Contains Stock Art

Using stock vector graphics in a logo puts your client at risk.

This mistake is often made by business owners who design their own logo or by amateur designers who are not clued in to the laws on copyright. Downloading stock vector imagery from websites such as VectorStock is not a crime, but it could possibly get you in trouble if you incorporate it in a logo.

A logo should be unique and original, and the licensing agreement should be exclusive to the client: using stock art breaks both of these rules. Chances are, if you are using a stock vector image, it is also being used by someone somewhere else in the world, so yours is no longer unique. You can pretty easily spot stock vectors in logos because they are usually familiar shapes, such as globes and silhouettes.

5. Designing For Yourself Rather Than The Client

Never impose your own personality onto a client’s work.

You can often spot this logo design sin a mile away; the cause is usually a designer’s enormous ego. If you have found a cool new font that you can’t wait to use in a design, well… don’t. Ask yourself if that font is truly appropriate for the business you’re designing for? For example, a great modern typographic font that you just love is not likely suited to a serious business such as a lawyer’s office.

Some designers also make the mistake of including a “trademark” in their work. While you should be proud of your work, imposing your personality onto a logo is wrong. Stay focused on the client’s requirements by sticking to the brief.

6. Overly Complex

Highly detailed designs don’t scale well when printed or viewed in smaller sizes.

What better analogy for thumbnail images than fingerprints? You’ll notice the intricacies of your fingerprints only when looking at them really close up. As soon as you move away, those details are lost. The same holds true for highly detailed logo designs.

When printed in small sizes, a complex design will lose detail and in some cases will look like a smudge or, worse, a mistake. The more detail a logo has, the more information the viewer has to process. A logo should be memorable, and one of the best ways to make it memorable is to keep things simple. Look at the corporate identities of Nike, McDonald’s and Apple. Each company has a very simple icon that can easily be reproduced at any size.

7. Relies On Color For Its Effect

Without color, your great design may lose its identity.

This is a very common mistake. Some designers cannot wait to add color to a design, and some rely on it completely. Choosing color should be your last decision, so starting your work in black and white is best.

Every business owner will need to display their logo in only one color at one time or another, so the designer should test to see whether this would affect the logo’s identity. If you use color to help distinguish certain elements in the design, then the logo will look completely different in one tone.

8. Poor Choice Of Font

Font choice can make or break a logo.

When it comes to executing a logo, choosing the right font is the most important decision a designer can make. More often than not, a logo fails because of a poor font choice (our example shows the infamous Comic Sans).

Finding the perfect font for your design is all about matching the font to the style of the icon. But this can be tricky. If the match is too close, the icon and font will compete with each other for attention; if the complete opposite, then the viewer won’t know where to focus. The key is finding the right balance, somewhere in the middle. Every typeface has a personality. If the font you have chosen does not reflect the icon’s characteristics, then the whole message of the brand will misfire.

Bad fonts are often chosen simply because the decision isn’t taken seriously enough. Some designers simply throw in type as an afterthought. Professional font foundries, such as MyFonts and FontFont, offer much better typeface options than those over-used websites that offer free downloads.

9. Has Too Many Fonts

A logo works best with a maximum of two fonts.

Using too many fonts is like trying to show someone a whole photo album at once. Each typeface is different, and the viewer needs time to recognize it. Seeing too many at once causes confusion.

Using a maximum of two fonts of different weights is standard practice. Restricting the number of fonts to this number greatly improves the legibility of a logo design and improves brand recognition.

10. Copies Others

This is the biggest logo design mistake of all and, unfortunately, is becoming more and more common. As mentioned, the purpose of a logo is to represent a business. If it looks the same as someone else’s, it has failed in that regard. Copying others does no one any favors, neither the client nor the designer.

Going over my morning blog rolls I came across this excellent article written in Webdesigner Depot by  Jason Cranford Teague.

I have for the longest time enjoyed designing for the web, but until two years ago really made the jump into coding and front-end development. The interesting part is that I have found it to be a bit of a struggle in that as designer I am using one side of the brain and as a developer I use the other.

Mentally this is taxing, as a designer I want it to look right and as a developer I want the website to work right. Bridging that gap and coming to a happy medium is tedious, but I find myself to be a better commodity to pitch for employment. In most cases people are either one or the other. One is design and fun and balance, where the other is logical, technical and sometimes frustrating. Hope you enjoy the article, I did.

Peeve #1: “Why can’t the developer just make it look like the comp?”

You create a great-looking design and hand off the comp to your developer, but when you get the site back, it looks like a patchwork quilt of what you designed.

Issue
Comps are not Web pages; they are not a mixture of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code. Photoshop, Fireworks, and Illustrator can do a lot of things that are impossible (or at least wildly impractical) on the Web, which often means that developers will have to scale down the design.

Solution
Talk to your developer while you are designing, not just afterward. Ask them whether an effect you are using will be easy to accomplish or whether a better alternative exists. Also, as you learn more about Web development, you’ll be able to better tell the difference between when your design is impractical and when the developer is just slacking off.

Peeve #2: “The colors are all wrong!”

You don’t choose colors arbitrarily, but developers seem to think that “close is close enough.”

Issue
I don’t know whether this is true of all developers, but I once worked with a developer who was red-green color-blind (he was a huge fan of our content manager, who sent all of her emails in pink text on a lime-green background). However, being color-blind didn’t stop him from being a kick-ass developer.

Solution
If you want the colors to be right, then spell out all of the color values on the page. Don’t rely on your developer to eyeball the color values or to sample the colors in Photoshop.

You also need to consider that the problem may not be with the developer but with you. Colors look different on a Mac and in CMYK (if you happen to accidentally enable that color space). Make sure that your document color mode and proofs are set to generic RGB by default.

Peeve #3: “Do developers even know what ‘white space’ means?”

You’ve left plenty of breathing room around elements to create a fluid eye path and improve readability, but the developer crams everything together, telling you, “It’s the only way it will all fit.”

Issue
I once complained to a developer that he left no space between the border of a module and its content, making it really difficult for most people to read. He replied, “I don’t care about other people. I can read it.” While most developers are not quite so callous, they have not been trained in the fine art of mixing positive and negative spaces to guide the visitor’s eye around the design.

Solution
If you really want your designs to be as precise as possible, don’t just give the designer a comp and expect them to figure out the spacing. Specify the exact widths, heights, and lengths in a design specifications document. This serves as a blueprint that you and the developer agree on for how things should be spaced.

At the very least, define general rules for margins and padding. For example, “All modules must have a minimum of 10 pixels of padding between the content and the border.”

Peeve #4: “The developer can never get my designs to look the same in different browsers.”

You look at the site in Firefox and it looks fine, but when you switch to Internet Explorer it falls to pieces.

Issue
You have to be sympathetic to the plight of developers when it comes to making designs look consistent across browsers. Each browser has its own quirks with spacing. Things are getting better (especially with the slow death of Internet Explorer 6), but getting them all to completely play nice with each other is still hard.

Solution
I generally allow a few pixels of wiggle room in my designs to accommodate cross-browser issues, but it helps to know what these issues are while you’re designing, so that you can help the developer avoid them.

Don’t be afraid to point out cross-browser problems to the developer and expect them to be fixed. But resolving some of them may require that you tweak your design.

Peeve #5: “This will take how long?”

Nothing is more depressing than burning the midnight oil on double-time to get your part of a project done on schedule, only to get back a development LOE (Level of Effort) that puts the project release date back a month from the end of eternity.

Issue
In a classic episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Scotty explains the facts of engineering life to Geordi La Forge: “You didn’t tell him [Captain Picard] how long it would really take, did you? Oh, laddie. You’ve got a lot to learn if you want people to think of you as a miracle worker.” Some developers think of designers in the same way that Scotty thinks of Starfleet Captains.

Solution
Developers know they will encounter unforeseen problems and so tend to grossly pad their estimates. This also makes them look really good if they get their end done a lot earlier than estimated. Haggle with the developer down to a reasonable timeline and then hold them to it. As you get to know a developer, you will hopefully find your own way to be a “miracle worker”.

Special Bonus Peeve: “Developers just don’t understand designers.”

Or worse:
“The developer thinks they’re a designer!”
It’s bad enough when developers seem to simply refuse to see the designer’s point of view, but that difference of opinion can usually be mediated (usually by a good project manager). However, when the developer thinks they know more about design than the designer, tempers can flare.

Issue
I’ve had to deal with more than one developer who read an article by Jakob Nielson and then wanted to lecture me about good design practice in the middle of a meeting. This not only shows disrespect for the designer but slows down the project as debate ensues.

Solution
Working with know-it-all developers is tricky, and the way to handle these situations depends on the size of the ego you are dealing with. Generally, I find it best to simply listen to what they have to say and then, if they have a point, acknowledge it and move on. Avoid arguing with them if possible.

Often their complaint is about a design “rule” that’s been broken. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge that you broke a rule—that’s what innovative designers do—but make sure you can justify why you broke it.

Whenever I find myself in this situation, I think back to my review days in design school, when I had to defend my work against some pretty brutal criticism. These sessions were often ego-bruising, but they taught me how to quickly defend my decisions while keeping my cool.

It may seem humiliating to have to constantly justify your decisions, but the more you show the “method in your madness,” the more you will find that your colleagues value and trust your judgment.

I've come to believe it’s not just about the time spent on a project. Sometimes it’s about the value of the service rendered.
Here are some points I came across on buildinternet.com and freelanceswitch.com

• A service with a higher price tag doesn’t automatically mean it’s a scam. Expensive without justification might fall into this category, but pricing based on expertise and experience is another story entirely.

• A website is a digital real estate plot with a potential audience of millions. For most clients, the web will be a way of extending their business — a self-promoting salesman. This is an important thing to keep in mind when figuring out your pricing.

• Think of the other ways that a client might reach new customers. How much would they expect to pay for a magazine spot? A TV ad? A billboard on a highway? If you’re charging less for a website than it costs to run a newspaper ad for a week, it may be time to re-evaluate your strategy.

• Price services aggressively, and you may end up surprising yourself with the outcome. As you’ve probably heard many times before, it’s far easier to negotiate a price down than up. Stop worrying about scaring the client away and start giving quotes that are a reasonable reflection of your work.

• Don’t get discouraged and second guess yourself when you encounter a competitor with lower rates. There will always be people charging less than you, but there will also always be those charging more. Keep that in mind the next time a client brings up the lower price of a competitor.

Even if your hourly rate is $50, someone will challenge it. The key to responding convincingly, in this case, is to be confident and act surprised:

• “Really? I’ve found my pricing to be quite competitive in this area.”
• Or, “Really? For (designers, writers, programmers, etc.) with my experience and skill-set, my hourly rate is very reasonable.”

Most of the time, your surprised demeanor and casual confidence will simultaneously disarm prospects and let them know that you’re worth your rate.

A diplomatic approach works best for me:

• “It’s great that you found a freelancer within your budget. If they meet your needs and fit your style, I highly recommend working with them.”

You can get more specific if your prospect is asking for a service that is outside your specialty zone. For instance,

• “I’m glad you’ve found an affordable designer who specializes in brochures. Please let me know if you need help with website design in the future. I specialize in websites and I’m sure I could provide you a competitive estimate.”

Well today was our annual trek to the Del Mar Fair, currently the San Diego County Fair, but I can't seem to bring myself to say the longer version, to see the latest gadgets, gizmos, flowers, woodwork, photography, and culinary delights.

People watching is always fun and a carni-folk afternoon is worth the price of admission. With the high price of parking and entry tickets (we had already paid $46 before we hit the gates...) Dave and I discussed how we had no idea how parents can bring their families and afford the day. It must be a $200-$300 day event and definitely something that must be saved up for in these economically challenged times.

We entered to the fine aroma of corn grilling on the open coals! A quick slab of butter, a shaker of seasoned salt and Parmesan cheese and I was reveling in the fact I had for once planned ahead and lost 12 pounds a few weeks prior. Not an ounce of guilt today!

We made the rounds of food booths; looking at everything from deep-fried Twinkies, Snickers and now even Reeses bars to the 10lb BBQ Turkey drumsticks, pizza, Australian potato chips, battered artichoke hears, sausage and beef sandwiches to mesquite chicken and settled on a pastrami grilled sandwich with jalapenos for Dave and a grilled Mediterranean chicken kabob for me... delicious!

Next we made our way over to the flower section. I am taken back at the brilliance of nature and these amazing astrids, dahilas, orchids and roses take my breath away. The images don't do justice and the fragrance was heavenly.

We then cruised the endless booths where we dodged parents who thought they can command the right-of-way because the have strollers, countless fashion-risk-takers, arguing couples, ice cream dripping children, men eating wedges of fudge standing at tool exhibits, women who should not be wearing cut off belly showing shirts, and speeding wheel chair kamikazes. The food gadget salespeople, Cham-wow pitchmen, jacuzzi displays and latest in food storing and cookware were endless as were the Russian doll and spiritual Targot card readers! I even got a new wallet and Dave a few tool items.

Next we found the wonderful Chinese chair massage booth, had a quick 10-minute pick me up rub down and hit the ground running to see the rest of Carnitown. After a few hours and what seemed like miles, we found refuge in two wonderful massage chairs and worked the remotes for a while.

After that we went outside to watch the bunji jumpers try and hold their food in, and weaved through the crowds over to the woodwork and photography buildings. As we made our way out we came across the Web Design entries that were relegated to the back of a stairwell. I had no idea that there was a Web Design exhibit and made a mental note to submit next year for sure.

Well, one last snack for me was a cherry lemonaide and a Hot dog on a Stick, slathered in mustard. Although my dogs were barking I passed on the infamous Footsie-Whootsie machine; I had no more spare change! No dinner tonight, I am happy, content and shared another laugh filled day with my favorite person. More pictures in the Photos page...

Well I haven't been writing as much lately on a consistent basis as I would like to, but then again, how many people out there really know about this blog anyways?

I seem to go in spurts of inspiration and then I get side-tracked on a new development or project. I currently have been re-designing my personal business website, as well as re-thinking the name. I have been working my freelance business under the name of Anubis Graphics for nine years now, and as I have grown and stretched myself in design I feel my destiny is in web development. I read about 20 web and design blogs daily and am constantly taking tutorials, which leads me to the fact that I love to design and build sites. It has become a fantastic passion of mine.

So, in discussions with Dave we both realized that we love my logo, and that it is the name that will change, to Anubis Creative. I think it encompasses more of what I do and doesn't pigeon hole my company or give the impression of print graphics only.

I recently purchased the domain name and hosting will commence soon. I will have the old site forward to the new and over time the SEO will develop. Next I will need to register the name with the county, place an ad in the paper and get the new business license. It also means updating every site out there that I have Anubis Graphics on to Anubis Creative. No small task as I have been rabid in promotion anywhere I can! Holy smokes, I also need new business cards, letterhead and all billing templates and contracts need updating. Whew, here I go again...

The new site design is pretty damn cool as well. Now it's time to code it out, throw in some new tricks and tweeks to dazzle. More to come this week.

I was reading a blog today by David Walsh and he made me re-think and laugh at some web practices that people who design/build websites do that are outdated or simply should not be done at all. I'm adhering to these. Here are the reasons to not hire THAT web guy:

1. He calls himself a "Webmaster"

Any web guy that calls himself a “webmaster” probably isn’t a master of anything. The term “webmaster” has become a translation for the word “amateur.” The web has diversified into so many different realms that webmaster is no longer meaningful (was it ever though?)

2. He's a FrontPage Expert

Any developer / designer with a degree knows that Microsoft FrontPage most definitely isn’t a professional tool. FrontPage will pass for Mom and Dad who want to create a website dedicated to their dogs, not someone who’s trying to do business. I’d argue that a solid Web Developer should work at code level.

3. He'll submit your website to [inflated # here] Search Engines

Submitting your website to hundreds of search engines would be great…10 years ago. Websites are indexed by relevant search engines by how rich their content and keywords are. Search engine optimization is big business and submitting sites to search engines simply isn’t the way to get to the top of Google.

4. He wants a "Designed By..." plug on the bottom of every page

You’ve paid this person to create a marketing tool for you — not a billboard for him. Your website is a launch pad for your business and Poindexter McScooner is simply the man behind the curtain — keep him there.

5. He created a cool website for [insert family member/friend here]

Your business needs someone who’s been there before. The most common answer to my “Who was he and what business did they work for?” question is “Oh, he did a website for the CEO’s daughter’s [insert lame organization here].” I honestly hear that friend-of-a-friend story all the time. Choose someone with a sizable portfolio that can provide references.

6. He can make you a great splash page flash animation

Translation: “I can spend dozens of hours wasting your money to create something that will take too long to load and will be skipped more times than dessert at a bad restaurant.” Consistency and website flow are important to web design — not meaningless animations that waste visitors’ time and your money.

7. He mentions he's a HTML expert

Who the hell isn’t? I would argue that dropping any language acronym on a customer (PHP, Ruby on Rails, ColdFusion, etc.) unless they ask is meaningless fluff. A mechanic could use a banana on my car if it would fix it. Keep your tools, especially HTML, to yourself — the customer doesn’t care.

8. He'll fit a cool counter on your site

You’ll add an ugly relic of the early internet on my site so that my competitors have an idea of my web stats? Sweet! Counters make a website look as unprofessional as possible — don’t use them.

9. He'll place a "Best if viewed in..." message on your website

Any real Web Developer knows that he doesn’t make the rules. Follow standards in the initial build and then fix it in Internet Explorer — that’s the flow. No responsible programmer would place a “best if view in…” message on the front-end of a website.

My best bud Kenny lives up in San Francisco. We met while going to Mesa Community College down here in San Diego and it was an auspicious meeting to say the least. If I remember correctly, I saw him for the third time out of four classes, we had the same schedule, and after going there by myself and never really connecting with anyone, I thought I should get to know him. We were in a yoga class, and in the Downward Facing Dog position I heard him next to me say, "Is it in yet?" I swear I still laugh to this day, even now as I type this. I realized he had my sense of humor, we were both in a design program, I later found out that he was in recovery and gay as well. That was it, we were buddies for life.

We continued on and met our third partner in crime named Karen, who I recently reconnected with on Facebook, which was amazing as she married and changed her name. I never thought we would get in contact again as she moved with her husband back to Israel thereafter. Anyways, back to the story at hand...

So, as I was a year ahead of Kenny in classes, I left and went on to SDSU and he followed a year later. We had so much fun going to classes, carpooling, Starbucks breaks and classes with "Mistress" who cracked the whip in our Flash class. We talked recovery, life, finance, world events, etc. He is my best friend outside of my relationship with Dave. Here we are each graduating, couldn't have made it without him.

As I am an Egyptology nut, love that I grew up in San Francisco as well as web design, I told Kenny about the Tut Exhibit coming to the De Young and a Flash conference that Adobe was putting on for free up there and he should check it out. The price was right and he was there. I said I would go if I could and he said why not? He checked airline rates and within a few hours and talking with Dave I had a flight booked and was going to visit Kenny, see my city and go to a free Adobe Flash conference. Unemployment does have it's advantages sometimes!

As for the Egyptian exhibit, Dave and I need to plan another trip up there as it goes well into 2010. See May 8th posting for details if interested.

Anyways, more will be revealed upon my return. I am going up on May 26-30th. We are going to do a photo shoot as well with some props I used as a model for one of Kenny's photography classes. A laugh for sure, just updated and in various parts of The City with props I'm sure that will be hilarious.  Here are two of the pictures he took of me made up as a character we'll call Alvin.