Where are we going?

I ran across this interactive map showing the trends in moving to and from major cities. It takes forever to load, so I decided to summarize it for you based on their data (as influenced by my assumptions).

Dallas: Your gateway to even hotter parts of Texas.
Seattle: Move here and you’ll never leave.
Manhattan: A destination for everyone.
Los Angeles: Only desirable to people from Manhattan.
Chicago: You’d rather live anywhere than here.
Washington: You’ll probably go back to where you came from.
Detroit: Nobody lives here anymore.
Miami: In with the old, out with the new.
Atlanta: Collecting the least-southern southerners.

Less is More?

Alright, usually it’s not. Most of time when I hear of people giving up all their worldly possessions in favor of a minimalistic lifestyle I laugh a little. Stuff makes our lives easier, makes it so we don’t have to deal with the boring crap. You would have to pry my appliances from my cold dead hands, especially anything that accessed the internet or washed something.

That said, this guy did it in a way that I find quite inspiring (and adorable). If you’re going to get rid of everything you own, the things you should make sure you have are: your Lambo, and your guns to defend it. Oh! And your mohawk. Richard Jordan, we seriously need to hang out.

On facebook and privacy…

Nothing in life is free. Fb isn’t run out of the kindness of anyone’s heart, it’s a business. Your data is the currency you use pay for the service (well one of them), if you’re not comfortable with that price it’s certainly your choice not to buy the product.

But personally? If knowing who I am friends with or the stupid crap I care about lets somebody somewhere sell me stuff I actually want… Well that’s a total win, I actually LIKE stuff. If that’s the price for the fantastic communication tool that fb has become, I’d call it a damn bargain.

It’s about the talent, not the tool.

If you’ve looked through much of the work I’ve posted so far here, you’ll see quite a few photos with iStockphoto watermarks… I know a lot of designers who hate the site, and hate ever having to use it. Personally, I don’t mind. A lot of clients can’t afford Getty or Corbis or whatever. And why should they have to? I think if you’re a good designer you can make iStockphoto images look damn good, it just takes more effort, creativity, and photoshop skills.