Dispatches From The Internets

As I mentioned to Ian earlier today, Dave and I were discussing having the jsTrace window keep pace with whatever the most current line is spit out to it. A few hours later, here it is: jsTrace 1.3. I have some other stuff (read: paying projects) that need my attention, so I am putting jsTrace down for a bit. Dave & I will be posting a few more demos of its use in different situations, but as far as further development goes, I’m gonna be hands-off for a bit to let you all get a chance to participate.

And if you’re in the participatory mood, check out this site I built with Adaptive Path. I will be posting some details about the project and how I accomplished certain design features once Kel’s campaign’s over and life gets a little less hectic.

In his most recent essay, Gerry McGovern was discussing expert opinions and voices. One particular comment he made struck a chord:

The Web is maturing. It needs more people like Jakob Nielsen who propose, explain and defend rules.

The reception for our latest script release, jsTrace, has been fantastic. From the write-up on the DOM Scripting Task Force blog to all of the emails and comments, it’s been great.

Like many of you, I’m sure, I hate debugging JavaScript. Really, it’s not the debugging, per se, as much as it’s using alert() to echo stuff out to the screen. It’s stupid and distracting and takes for ever if you’re debugging a lot of stuff.

Some interesting news on the Google front: there’s been sightings of a new Google universe which looks more than a little scary, especially in light of the mockumentary-with-a-stright-face known as EPIC 2014.

We always knew San Francisco was filled with rainbow pride, but it now seems the source was not what I expected. It reminds me of the mashed potato CN Tower scene in Canadian Bacon.

I’ve been informed of a great position in southern Connecticut for a strong standards designer/developer. The full-time position is at dLife.com, a site whose primary focus is providing information and support to individuals and families touched by diabetes. The parent company, LifeMed Media, is forming a formidable web team and are planning some great new material for this 11,000+ page site. There’s lots of content to play with and a heavy focus on standards. If you’ve got mad CSS skills and a penchant for semantic markup, this may be up your alley. As the site’s focus is the diabetic community (and diabetes can affect your vision), accessibility knowledge is also a good skill to bring to the table.

Have you ever gone to see a movie that is nothing like the trailer?

It managed to sneak past me for a few days, but my recent interview with Jeremy Keith has made its way into the latest issue of Digital Web Magazine. In the interview we cover the impetus behind his new book, WaSP’s DOM Scripting Task Force, and Jeremy’s future as a rockstar.

On a somewhat tangential note, if you’re interested in competing at the SXSW Web Awards in March, I recommend getting your entires in soon. If you enter by Friday (October 14th), you only have to pay $10 per category which is too cheap to miss out on. If you attend, you’ll get more of Jeremy & me on “How to Bluff Your Way in DOM Scripting.”