http://green-beast.com/blog Mike Cherim's Professional and Personal Web Log Sat, 14 Jun 2008 13:10:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.5 en http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=249 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=249#comments Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:14:03 +0000 Mike Cherim Access Counts http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=249 They say too much of a good thing isn't all that good. It's true, and this fact remains as the statement is applied to web development. Especially when it's applied to the web accessibility branch. Let's explore this. Web accessibility is a good thing, right? You bet it is, from its benefits to myriad users to its benefits to the site in the area of search engine indexing. It's win-win all the way. But before jumping in and going wild with its application and adherence on your next project, making sure your site is accessible to the nth degree and all that, it can be overdone.]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=249 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=309 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=309#comments Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:05:03 +0000 Mike Cherim Beast Ramblings http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=309 I haven't been posting as much, roughly once a week I guess, but not as much as I used to. This post is meant to explain why. To tell you what I've been up to -- or not up to as the case may be. I have been purposely cutting back. I have family, it's the nice time of year, and I have a life-long hobby I'm taking to new level, or trying to. I'll offer more about that at another time. I have been dong fewer web and blog projects, or perhaps you could say I'm allowing more room between projects, making time or all of my other pursuits. Which are varied.]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=309 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=226 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=226#comments Tue, 27 May 2008 04:09:25 +0000 Mike Cherim Wicked Wild Web Access Counts http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=226 Semantics, schemantics, right? If that's your view, you might want to start questioning it now. The importance of web semantics may be on the rise. Semantics is meaning. On the web semantic HTML conveys this meaning to the user and his or her user agent. It lends itself to web accessibility, and the clear content organization is extraordinarily helpful to being properly indexed by search engines. Someday this fact may be more important than ever thanks to an interesting new approach to search. ]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=226 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=288 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=288#comments Wed, 14 May 2008 16:29:18 +0000 Mike Cherim Beast Ramblings http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=288 Please, let me explain. I speak not of wives without husbands. I am instead talking about a typographers' term that defines an undesirable situation that looks bad in print and is best avoided for reasons of both aesthetics and readability. The term pertains primarily to print as said, but it also applies to a web page situation that, in my opinion, is also best avoided. I'm not going to provide graphical example of the aforementioned malady, but I will offer a quick definition of the term I've introduced you to.]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=288 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=220 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=220#comments Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:19:43 +0000 Mike Cherim All Things PHP Security Matters http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=220 Spam robots or spam 'bots abuse comment forms, contact forms, and any forms they can. A true scourge of the web. They exploit insecure forms to send spam. Fortunately there are individual methods of slowing them down. And when used jointly, 'bots can actually be stopped. This post shares four scripted operations I've found particularly helpful to prevent illegitimate posting. In the following examples, at least one variable will be posted, and will appear in this article as $posted_var (meaning it's captured by $_POST['var']) to offer greater clarity, but this variable can be whatever you need it to be: name, email, etc. ]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=220 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=264 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=264#comments Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:25:01 +0000 Mike Cherim Access Counts Coding & Markup http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=264 I am really impressed with the HTML 5 work being performed by Ian Hickson, as the draft editor, and the others who are part of the WHATWG. I'm a fan of the work, and I believe it has promise. From the updated meaning of some of those gray area elements, to the deprecation (made obsolete) of some of the garbage that has littered the web for the past fifteen years, to the introduction of new elements that will offer organizational value where none exists today, to the introduction of new attributes to give all elements clearer meaning, it all bodes well with me. But I cannot help but wonder how we will get there.]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=264 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=294 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=294#comments Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:43:19 +0000 Mike Cherim Beast Ramblings Computer Stuff WordPressing http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=294 It's time to get a couple of nasty old Post-It notes off my desk. They're dusty and faded, they no longer stick to anything, and their edges are curled. A sad and all too typical sight no doubt. On them I see what may be little nuggets of one man's wisdom, and maybe a question or two (hard to read). Some of it is crap, some of it is gold, that is up to you. Since none is really worthy of an article of its own, I locked them away in a Post-It note safe so to speak. I am now opening that safe -- and the contents are spilling out. If something looks good to you, feel free to grab it.]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=294 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=232 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=232#comments Tue, 01 Apr 2008 04:01:10 +0000 Mike Cherim Wicked Wild Web Fiction Dept. http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=232 Worldwide email spam volume has grown to unprecedented proportions and something must be done. Something will be. Beginning August 1st, 2008, an action initiated by the International Consortium of Email Regulation (ICER), of Geneva, Switzerland -- supported by leaders in all continents -- will be effected. Precisely this action will be the application of outbound email charges levied by major telecom and cable communications carriers, billed to users (per email or in bulk mail lots) by Internet Service Providers (ISP), and metered at the mail server level.]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=232 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=262 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=262#comments Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:17:22 +0000 Mike Cherim Access Counts http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=262 As it concerns using lists and other non-form structural elements to lay out web forms, my feelings have been known. They haven't changed, but after interviewing an experienced screen reader user about this very subject recently, I do have new insights into it -- his perspective anyway. It was a revealing interview. Offering without a doubt relief to some, and probably disappointment to others. Any earned responses will likely determine that.]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=262 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=280 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=280#comments Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:25:40 +0000 Mike Cherim Imagery & Graphics http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=280 This is a technique I use to make less than great images look a little better. Bear in mind this isn't a good technique for print-quality images, nor is it terribly helpful for really large images where down-to-the-pixel perfection is required, but for web-use images under 800x600, this can be a real time saver -- a down and dirty technique -- with no heavy tools required, meaning most mid-range image editing software can handle this. Here's how it's done... In six, or so, easy steps. A poor man's technique. (Dial-up users: This post contains ~130kb of images.)]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=280 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=221 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=221#comments Tue, 11 Mar 2008 04:43:59 +0000 Mike Cherim Wicked Wild Web Access Counts WordPressing http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=221 Over the past month I made mention -- twice -- of a site I was creating that was specifically meant to serve as a practical example of what an accessible web site is supposed to be like and serve the needs of its owner. Since I don't create anything but accessible sites as a rule, this project wasn't really that different than any other project. Initially that was. At first it was a typical Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG 1.0 build, with a focus on meeting all of the priority 2 checkpoints, "AA," but once word got out, the owner and some of those behind the WCAG 2.0 requested that I take it further.]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=221 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=234 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=234#comments Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:10:34 +0000 Mike Cherim Coding & Markup http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=234 The HTML 4.01 specification defines the "phrase" elements em and strong as indicators of emphasis and stronger emphasis, respectively. The XHTML specification doesn't change this, it only demands the use of closing elements and proper nesting. These definitions, though, leave something to be desired. Is "stronger emphasis" an inflected inflection?! Is it used when you really, really mean it? Do you add two exclamation points just to get the point across? I don't like any of those options.]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=234 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=261 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=261#comments Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:20:19 +0000 Mike Cherim Access Counts http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=261 I have been fortunate to have had an opportunity to create a web site that is going to be showcased by the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Editors as an early and exemplary implementation of the now nearly complete working draft of the WCAG 2.0 (more on this and the WCAG 2.0 later -- expect relevant articles). In this article I will introduce and expound slightly upon the Understanding [of] the Four Principles of Accessibility. ]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=261 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=266 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=266#comments Mon, 25 Feb 2008 23:06:24 +0000 Mike Cherim Wicked Wild Web http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=266 I was recently contacted by David Rodriguez and asked if I was interested in writing an article for the Web Page Design For Designers site. I was, so I wrote a two-part article titled "Twelve Things Most Sites Need" covering what I feel are some web site must-haves. The first part of the article has been published. Enjoy.]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=266 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=259 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=259#comments Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:50:08 +0000 Mike Cherim Wicked Wild Web Access Counts Coding & Markup http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=259 number of years ago some members of the scientific community and the United States government were involved in a new way to share text and data documents over phone lines. This became the Internet. It didn't take long for people, call them web designers, to adopt and subsequently exploit this technology by using and even misusing the use-specific elements interpreted and rendered by "web browsers."]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=259 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=254 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=254#comments Fri, 08 Feb 2008 08:02:48 +0000 Mike Cherim Access Counts Coding & Markup http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=254 Not too long ago I wrote an article on keeping forms accessible. That was in September of '07. It's an okay article, mostly accurate and helpful. I'll stand behind its recommendations (it's not that old), but one of those recommendations, an allowance actually, is seriously flawed. I am compelled and obligated to correct this. You see, I learned that a normal form-building practice of mine -- wrapping a form input with its label -- can seriously impact the accessibility and usability of a web form. Like hiding an input under a blanket. ]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=254 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=247 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=247#comments Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:16:48 +0000 Mike Cherim Wicked Wild Web Beast Ramblings http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=247 I've been reading the various facts and opinions (links at the end of the article) and the pros and cons about the plan proposed by Microsoft that will make "DOCTYPE Switch" obsolete beginning with the up-and-coming Internet Explorer 8 (IE8). This news has angered some standards-compliant web developers, while others are finally seeing light at the end of a seemingly endless tunnel -- a tunnel filled with various IE versions of past and present partially blocking the way. Immediately I was against the idea, but I do see the good side of it, too, what with never having to deal with IE version fussing and constant updating again. And if other browser developers jump on board with this idea we will never have to update our sites again (yeah, sure, ha ha). Like a good sales pitch it has appeal. But maybe this is a surface sheen.]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=247 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=248 http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=248#comments Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:02:24 +0000 Mike Cherim All Things PHP Do It CSS Style WordPressing http://green-beast.com/blog/?p=248 Building a Dynamic WordPress Nav Menu" in which I described the how-to of my BeastBlog v2 theme's navigation menu. I thought I'd revisit the subject since it's been revisited through my projects lately. The menu's gotten smarter. This won't be needed on many sites, and WordPress blogs without "pages" wouldn't need this, but on others it might be a nice enhancement. That's your call.]]> http://green-beast.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=248