Hi. I'm Paul Nixon, a designer living in Mountain View California. My days (and some nights) are spent designing websites for a little company in Cupertino. The rest of my time is spent with my beautiful wife and friends, road cycing and reading your blogs.
Friday, June 30, 2006 08: 16 AM
The Tour de France is in turmoil and it has yet to begin. Ivan Basso (Team CSC) and Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) -- two of the most favored men to win this year -- were both pulled from the Tour de France today by their respective teams as a doping scandal investigation widens. See articles at Velo News and NY Times.
Who could have predicted an opening weekend to the Tour de France like this? Wow. This sucks on so many levels.
Thursday, June 29, 2006 01: 04 AM
I forgot to mention in the weekly update: Cute Overload. If you have never been there before, prepare your minds my friends. You are about to be overwhelmed with cuteness. Should you currently hold any malice in your heart for cute little critters, it shall be wiped away. Just remember, once you enter, there is no going back. The cuteness beckons.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006 11: 14 PM
Twins. Originally uploaded by NIXON*NOW.
Let's get started this week with a birth announcement: We are the proud parents of two new Nintendo DS Lites in the Nixon home. After much research and debate we decided to adopt twins versus one Sony PSP. (It all takes me back to a time when I wanted a Super Nintendo SO BAD for Christmas and my parents delivered the goods...I was one happy Super Mario playing kid.) Anyways, Rebecca's likes to play the New Super Mario Bros. Mine is addicted to the super cheesy warfare in Advance Wars: Dual Strike. Sometimes they run off and play together. We have yet to name them, but one thing is for sure -- life is never the same after you have twins.
In dancing news it is apparently all about the Pool Palace. Learn it, film it, then put it on YouTube like everyone else. And don't miss the banned Xbox 360 ad. I can see how people might get sensitive about something like this, but it reminds of being a kid again -- "bang! bang!" And how about this for random: "The N to the O to the R to the R to the I to the S. Chuck Norris. This is the chorus." (Dear YouTube, Thank you for all the good times and laughs. I love you. - nix)
Don't forget to pick up your Stewart/Colbert'08 shirt at Busted Tees. It's never to early to start campaigning. Need to find the bumper stickers now. (Speaking of T-shirts: Nix-on! Nix-off! Adding that one to my collection.)
Finally, let's all welcome Andrei back with a new Design By Fire. He's looking sharper than ever and is even razzling and dazzling a bit with some super slick page transitions.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006 04: 33 PM
Yahoo! Network Diagram (Late 2004). Originally uploaded by NIXON*NOW.
How do you visualize one of the largest, most complex networks in existence? How does one represent the information, interaction and brand architecture for over 100 similar-yet-distinctive websites, applications and tools with varying degrees of integration? How much coffee would this require? Could this network diagram influence decisions about how the brand should be used?
The Yahoo! Network Diagram, in addition to the requirements mentioned above, includes traffic data such as top 5 referring URLs and countries of origin. It measures 3.5' high by 12' wide.
Crazy Yahoo! Network Diagram found on the IA Summit 2006 posters page. Check out the full 4MB PDF. (Diagram credits are found in the file.)
Monday, June 12, 2006 01: 11 AM
Longing. Originally uploaded by NIXON*NOW.
Went to The City for the weekend and, among other things, saw this interesting fellow. He just seemed, I don't know, sad...longing to be somewhere other than where he was...
Thursday, June 8, 2006 08: 58 PM
Heads up for Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team fans (and cycling fans in general or people who like guys who shave their legs) — Discovery Channel has created a free, very well-produced behind the scenes video podcast on iTunes called Race 2 Replace — currently there are 10 "webisodes" equaling about an hour and a half of content (with more on the way). The same clips are also available on the Race 2 Replace website.
Monday, June 5, 2006 05: 00 PM
Check another one off the "to-do" list: Run a marathon. Rebecca and I ran the Rock 'n Roll Marathon in San Diego over the weekend. This was her third marathon in the past 12 months and my first ever. It was a painfully great experience — I didn't train as hard or for as long as I wanted to...but when it's go time, it's go time — no excuses. I was able to finish in 4 hrs 42 mins, with Rebecca coming in at 4 hrs 52 mins. Here's a few photos from the trip.
Friday, June 2, 2006 07: 02 PM
The Pyramid of Internet Piracy. Originally uploaded by NIXON*NOW.
"The Pyramid of Internet Piracy" infographic (PDF) from the MPAA.