Web Standards, Accessibility & More

So it’s the dog days of summer, and that means vacation time for a lot of people. I was fortunate enough to be able to take almost two weeks off work and had some good times.

King Tut, Hearst Castle, and Sea Lions

First, I took the family to the special King Tut exhibit at the De Young art museum in San Francisco. That was neat, but the kids and I were very disappointed because there were no mummies!

Next, we drove down the central coast of California. We stopped in Monterey for a bit, then took a bunch of pictures thru Big Sur; it was the first time we had driven the whole way. We spent the night near Cambria and went to Hearst Castle the next day. It was a 5-mile bus ride to the castle on top of the mountain, which was neat in itself. I thought the best part of the castle was the outdoor pool. We then drove further south to Morro Bay. Cool little town with seafood restaurants, boat tours, sea lions, big beach, and one ginormous rock.

Carson and me on beach in Morro Bay

Art, Rock Stars, BBQ, Tigers, and Golf

Then I went on a trip to Michigan (just me) to celebrate my brother’s birthday. Connected in Dallas and met a few interesting people on my flights (including a army guy who just ended a 1-year tour in Afghanistan!)  I went to the Ann Arbor art fairs with my parents on the first day, then met my Web Axe co-host Ross and a few other guys at the Arbor Brewing Company. I golfed 9 holes with my brother and dad. Then took a cruise in my dad’s ’68 Mustang convertible and ate at a neat ’50s style drive-in called Tom’s Root Beer Stand. Then I went to Henry Ford Museum, where there was an awesome special exhibit “Rock Stars Cars and Guitars”. We then went to dinner at an awesome new barbecue restaurant/bar in Detroit called Slows. The last night there, we went to the Detroit Tigers Major League baseball game, and there were at least 8 home runs, and a Tigers grand slam in the first inning!

Front of Comerica Park

Garlic Festival is Last Stop

I worked this past Friday, then today I took the family to the Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California. We ate very garlicy pizza, bread, and stuffed mushrooms–all very good! It was very crowded and very hot, but a lot of fun.

Phew, OK, I think I covered most of the last couple weeks. Now back to work.

For almost a year now, I’ve been away from my hometown of Detroit, Michigan, but my fellow podcasters there (see the Detroit Podcasters Network) are certainly still going strong. Four of the guys are getting a display table at the Motor City Comic Convention, May 16-18, and they will be promoting their individual shows and podcasting in general. They are:

• Chris, Collected Comics Library
• Derek, Comic Book Noise
• Mike, Most People Are DJs
• Jasper, Plan Nine Rock Show

Here’s more about the participation of the event from Chris:

If you would like to participate feel free to send us your promotional materials (postcards, flyers or other such items). All we are asking in return is a donation of $5 to help us pay for our costs.

The four of us, and a few others involved, are going to have a great time hanging out taking about comics, podcasting (audio and video), and conducting interviews, But most of all, promoting all of our shows. We expect many of you to take part in this cool endeavor.

The Motor City Comic Con is a fun and enjoyable event–a small town atmosphere with big city flavor. We hope you will join in on the fun.

The fourth annual Internet User Experience (IUE 2008) conference will be held at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Michigan the week of March 31, 2008-April 3, 2008.

Organized by the Michigan Usability Professionals Association in collaboration with Washtenaw Community College’s Internet Professional Program, the User Experience Network (UXnet), Refresh Detroit, and other sponsors, the conference provides four days of presentations,panels, training sessions, and workshops on optimizing web sites so they are effective, compelling, and profitable for businesses.

Experts in search engine optimization, online communities, and user experience management will lead sessions at the conference. Tutorials and training are also available to attendees with 1/2 day and full-day workshops before and after the main conference days.

Discounts are available for Usability Professionals Association members and several other organizations, as well as full-time non-working students.

For more information and details on registration, visit the Michigan Usability Professionals Association or the IUE Conference web sites.

Yesterday was a fun day. It was Cinco de Mayo, and my wife and I got away from the kids and had a great Tex-Mex meal at Don Pablo’s. Of course, had to wash it down with a Corona and a Margarita on the rocks. But more importantly, the Detroit sports teams all won! All games were at home.
The Detroit Pistons won big over the Chicago Bulls in the first game of the second round of the NBA playoffs. Take that, Ben Wallace!

The Detroit Red Wings won pretty convincingly over the tough San Jose sharks in the NHL playoffs. Not a huge hockey fan, but will always watch the Wings when I can.

The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals. Gotta get to the very nice Comerica Park before I leave for California. Damn Comerica. They put their name on the nice baseball stadium downtown, and now I hear they’re leave the city…

So, I’ve decided to take a major step and pursue a great job opportunity in California. It’ll be tough leaving family, but all in all, I believe it’s the best decision. My freelance web company, CheckEngine USA, will continue as normal.

The company I’ll be working for is Yodlee, in Redwood City. My title will be “Senior UI Developer”. In addition, I’ve been doing some freelance for Google, so it’ll be neat to be in the neighborhood (Google’s HQ “campus” is in nearby Mountain View).

As my story goes, I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, moved to Orlando for 7 years, and then moved back. I’ve been home now for nearly 3 years, and have got a lot accomplished in relatively little time, so it’s kind of a bummer to leave. In September 2005, I started Web Axe, a podcast on web accessibility, shortly after joining the Detroit Podcasters Network. Less than a year later, I co-founded Refresh-Detroit, an organization of web professionals, with Ross Johnson.

On a personal note, my wife and I have had two children since arriving back home, Carson and Justin. Also, my parents moved out of the home in which my brother and I were raised (in Dearborn, Michigan). They bought a nice condo in Northville where my mom has opened a shop nearby, Petite Maison.

Beer is good. Web programming is enjoyable (usually). So why not put the two together during the Refresh Detroit monthly meet-ups? I am a co-founder of the local web professional group, and I’m usually the one to make the final decision on where we’re meeting. A pub has many times been the answer!

We’ve met three times at Stout Pub in Brighton, Michigan. This month’s Refresh Detroit meeting (April 25) we’re meeting at the Claddagh Irish Pub in Livonia. Good beer, good food, good times.

A few of my favorite beers are (from light to dark):

• Shipyard Light
• Old Speckled Hen
• Guinness Stout

I will be giving a presentation on Web Accessibility at the Refresh Detroit meetup at 6:30pm on Wednesday, January 24, at the office of 3point7designs in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan. If your interested in web accessibility (or web standards, usability, etc.), you’re welcome to show up. Refreshments will be provided. I’ll be audio recording the presentation and posting it on my web accessibility podcast, Web Axe.