grfxguy

Inventory

Eight blog posts spanning 2007–2008 — three in 2007, five in 2008, all on the blog side of R4NT. A short, sharp run by a graphic designer who treated the blog like a community workbench: drop a finding, link the source, leave the door open for replies.

Voice

Accessible expertise with dry humour. Posts are conversational, informative, and anchored in personal experience — whether explaining a DJ mixer's spec sheet or venting about a CBC cancellation. The voice is enthusiastic but never oversold; opinions emerge naturally from observation rather than polemic. Titles often feature casual punctuation (ellipses, question marks) that signal playful curiosity. He'll quote a Forbes ranking in full, then close with a one-liner about F-350s and the oilsands. He'll review a piece of gear at near-magazine length, then end the same week with a one-sentence post about keyboard pants.

Topic mix

Eclectic. Music technology and industry (DJ hardware, musician licensing, jPod) dominate, but posts also cover Canadian infrastructure (cell-number portability, Calgary's environmental ranking), web novelties (keyboard pants, Chernobyl fungi), and local leisure (Sunshine ski resort, Oilers jerseys). Reflects someone equally at home discussing gear specs and civil policy — a graphic designer comfortable across domains, with a soft spot for Alberta sports and Canadian broadcasting.

Evolution

• Early posts (Feb–April 2007) are shorter, news-driven observations — often a paragraph plus a link and a punchline. Mmm…gamma rays is three sentences and a zombie joke.
• Mid-2007 ("Cell Out?") sees him try the longer pros/cons/conclusion structure and clearly enjoy it.
• By 2008 the writing matures toward substance without losing its ease: the Numark DJiO review runs to a hands-on, ports-and-drivers deep-dive; the file-sharing-compromise post lays out an actual policy proposal.
• The arc closes with the loosest post on the byline ("Off to Sunshine!"), which is essentially a weekend group text. Same person, same warmth, lower stakes.

Standout pieces

1. Review: Numark DJiO — Authoritative, practical deep-dive on affordable DJ hardware. Balances technical specs (RCA outputs, USB power, ASIO compatibility) with cost analysis and use-cases. Best example of his specialist voice.
2. Cell Out? One month to big move. — Prescient analysis of Canadian telecom deregulation. Structures the argument as pros/cons/conclusion, anticipating market shifts years ahead. Policy literacy unusual for a blog post.
3. Musicians offer Download Compromise — Advocates a $5 monthly fee as middle ground in the file-sharing wars. Early endorsement of what would later resemble Spotify's model.
4. Mmm…gamma rays — Shortest post but most infectious. Chernobyl fungi metabolizing gamma rays. Punchline ("Aaaaand cue the radioactive zombies!") is pure R4NT tone.
5. jPod Cancelled… — Passionate rant defending a CBC series. Rare emotional register; advocates action (provides phone number for complaints).
6. Calgary, World's Cleanest? — Local surprise masquerading as environmental news. Skeptical framing ("our oilsands gobbling, F-350 driving urban western province has something to show") leads into the full Forbes ranking and a quiet nod to European density.
7. New Oilers Jerseys leaked — A two-line Alberta-sports report sourced from a leaked NHL 08 build. The throwaway closer ("better than Vancouver!") is the whole personality in seven words.
8. Off to Sunshine! — The outlier: pure leisure post recruiting ski buddies, with a keyboard-pants link tacked on for good measure. Captures grfxguy as community member, not just analyst.

Throughlines

Consistently pro-technology but skeptical of hype. Champions cheaper access (DJ gear, cell portability, music-licensing compromise) over gatekeeping. Canadian focus is strong — CRTC decisions, CBC policy, Alberta sports and infrastructure all matter here. And there's a quiet civic streak underneath the gadget talk: when something is actually working (clean cities, portable phone numbers, reasonable streaming fees), he wants to show his work on why.

Fun details

• The jPod post literally lists a phone number and asks readers to call CBC. Few R4NT bloggers ever crossed from rant into call-to-action that bluntly.
• "Off to Sunshine!" pivots, with no transition, from a ski-day recruitment notice into "Also, keyboard pants?"
• The Numark review is about as long as some of Kim's magazine features, but it lives on the blog because he files it like a forum post: here's what I bought, here's what it does, here's where to put your money instead.
• The charm is how little personal brand-building goes on: these posts feel like a curious generalist dropping observations at a community table — show up, share what you noticed, head out.

The arc

Two years, eight posts, no wasted motion. A graphic designer with strong opinions on Canadian telecom, decent DJ gear, and how a public broadcaster should treat a Coupland adaptation — and the good sense to also tell you when the snow's good at Sunshine.