News
Hello there!
It's getting into the cooler months here finally. I was able to get outside for a bit and enjoy the milder weather. All sorts of behind-the-scenes happenings here and it is just eating up a lot of time and family stuff has commanded my attention so this will be a quick one! Now let's get to the newsletter.
What's Happening?
Streaming starts back up on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 1pm PT (-7 GMT) / 4pm ET (-4 GMT) and I am working on an Astro project that will be a resource for a much easier resource to look up and understand WCAG Success Criterion. You can catch me streaming that and much more over on my Twitch channel.
October is going to be busy for me between MagnoliaJS and ConnectTech. I still have to get to the remainder of the podcast episodes and while 2024 may be a year of a break from the podcast, I may decide to shelve the project totally. I just do not have the spoons for much these days with family stuff going down.
Accessibility
With a huge kerfuffle a couple weeks or so ago on the platform formerly known as the bird sanctuary, there was an uproar over an accessibility professional, a woman, asking a CEO to please fix accessibility issues on their product before telling everyone it is "production-ready" at the alpha stage. (Which it is not production-ready, it is still broken at that point).
I wrote an article that addressed a lot of the ego and resistance to acknowledge and understand accessibility and accessible code. People couldn't grasp what accessible code was an still wanted to opine about what they interpreted life and code as. Which was not the point. I don't explain the point to people. One commenter over at Dev.to even questioned the title which told me they didn't read the article because they missed the part where that was actually addressed.
Regardless, it has made the choice to stay off the former bird site as much as possible. The toxicity is at an all-time high. You can read what I write about on my site.
Other than that, the responses have diminished my thoughts of staying in accessibility. Walking away at this point would not be a tough decision to make at all. I do have work that I need to complete before I do though. Before I go, I'll see it through before I tap out for good.
Some other links to some good stuff:
The ID24 playlist is available over on YouTube While you're on YouTube, give this video a watch as well. How to write semantic CSS * The JS community on Twitter is dead * How to react when an employee discloses a disability * Ableist interactions
Conferences
These are the remaining appearances I have in 2023:
- MagnoliaJS, Jackson, MS. October 17-18
- ConnectTech, Atlanta, GA. October 24-26
If you're planning to attend MagnoliaJS in Jackson, MS (and I hope you are) I have a code for you to get 10% off a ticket! Head on over to the MagnoliaJS Eventbrite page and grab your ticket today! I will be wearing my lobster costume during my talk. Be prepared and I will have stickers for everyone until I run out!
October 26-28 I'll be Atlanta for Connect Tech! I have an all-day accessibility workshop and a talk about the four principle of accessibility! Hope to see you there!
Plugs
The podcast, the stream are the two of mine I will plug. Homer and I are trying to get some more podcast episodes out, as we have two in the can and some appearances to record that have been scheduled soon.
Lobsters! 🦞
There are so many possibilities for dinner when it comes to pasta. You may choose to make the pasta from scratch or use prepared pasta as a complement to your delicious sauces and fillings — and, of course, lobster. Try one of these delightful lobster pasta dishes:
Lobster and butter have always made a great pair, and this recipe calls for brown butter, which takes the flavor up a notch. This ravioli is filled with brown butter, lobster, shrimp and ricotta cheese.
Lobster Ravioli
Ingredients:
* 3 lobster tails
* 1/4 pound shrimp, uncooked, deveined and peeled
* 1 pound fresh pasta dough, rolled into lasagna sheets
* 1 cup ricotta cheese
* 1/4 cup freshly-chopped parsley
* 1 teaspoon lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
* 2 tablespoons butter
* Salt and pepper to taste
* Optional: 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Directions:
Prepare the pasta dough: Rolling dough into lasagna sheets. Once completed, cover and set aside.
Prepare the pasta filling: Cut through the top of the lobster tail shell lengthwise with a knife or kitchen shears. Pull the meat away from the shells. Use a large pot of water to steam the shrimp and lobster tails for about seven minutes. Once steamed, remove meat and set aside to cool. You’ll finely chop the meat once it’s completely cooled.
Melt butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. After about two minutes of stirring, brown bits will appear on the pan bottom. Immediately remove from heat and whisk briskly for another 30 seconds.
Add the garlic, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper — plus the crushed pepper flakes if you prefer them. Stir in the lobster and shrimp. Mix in the ricotta cheese. Breathe in the yumminess. Set the filling aside.
Prepare the ravioli: Heavily flour your ravioli mold or counter, and lay one sheet of pasta on top of the heavily floured surface. Place about a tablespoon of filling into each ravioli well. Use water to spritz the pasta so the layers stick. Put second pasta sheet on the first, then seal with a rolling pin. Use a pizza cutter to cut ravioli squares apart. Lay each ravioli on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Keep making ravioli until all your lobster filling is gone.
Prepare for deliciousness: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the ravioli in the boiling water until it floats — should take about two minutes. Remove from water with a slotted spoon, and enjoy with your favorite pasta sauce. Add fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese to taste.
Shoutout
To Salma for the raid on Friday bringing in all those people. You can catch Salma streaming over on her Twitch channel!
Finally...
I have a cooking channel up and have recorded the first couple of episodes check it out!
Follow me on Mastodon: @todd@a11y.info or on Twitter @toddlibby or @lobstahtodd and now Bluesky (I'm @toddl.dev). The Front End Nerdery Podcast that I co-host with my good friend, Homer Gaines, is on your podcast app of choice and on YouTube!
Go make accessible things, and see you next month!