News
November is Here!
Welcome!
It's November and it's getting closer to the end of the year. What is in store for me? Well, we will have to wait and see. But first, let's get to the newsletter.
What's Happening?
I am back from MagnoliaJS and Connect.Tech! Two excellent events and had a great time. So many awesome talks and speakers along with attendees that made the last two conferences for me this year very memorable. If you want to see me in a lobster costume right before my talk, you can view it when you click this link.
You can catch me streaming over on my Twitch channel but for the month of November and probably the rest of the year, I may not stream due to the holidays. November will be a busy month with a project that will need my focus, but I am going to try and squeeze some Astro content, as well as some gaming content in there.
Accessibility
After some time on the road you can view my talk and all the great talks at MagnoliaJS over on the MagnoliaJS YouTube channel where you can view Day 1 and Day 2.
I had the extreme privilege and honor to close out Day 2 and the conference with my talk and hooooo boy! I did not expect it to end the way that it did. Give it a watch.
Some other links to some good stuff:
Dave Rupert talks about being publicly shamed over at his blog with So you’ve been publicly accessibility-shamed and reading that brought me back to when I did that. Guilty as charged. I still let the frustration out and it happens every-so-often and I try not to do so, history has not been kind to accessibility professionals but the fact remains through diplomacy and education, we accessibility people need to do better because it is not inclusive and welcoming when we are shaming others. Regardless of what is thrown at us.
Learn HTML5 Accessibility from Steve Faulkner is a must-watch video. When Steve was at Paris Web in 2013, Steve gave this talk and everything in this talk still holds true. Give it a listen and follow Steve. He is one of the best to learn from.
Another terrific post about accessibility from Heather Buchel, It's 2023, here is why your web design sucks. From reading this, one thing jumped out at me.
We often talk about decisions that need to be made further left in the product development cycle. If only we could address accessibility, sooner.
I wish teams and organizations would read this, implement this, and do this.
and Heydon Pickering came out with a video to end all videos. What are accessibility overlays? and hooo boy! This video nails it. Overlays are bad, they oversell and under-deliver, and are bad. No matter what anyone says, overlays are bad.
Plugs
Since I have no more conferences in 2023, I will plug my appearance today on Nick Taylor's stream. Since the video will be up in a few days, check back on Nick's YouTube channel where we talk accessibility and go bug hunting.
The podcast Where I will try to get the next episode out, as it is an audio-only episode with Alvin Bryan from Contentful. So keep an eye out for that on your podcast app of choice.
Lobsters! 🦞
If you have access to lobster (and you do, you just don't know it), and you are looking for an easy dinner idea that you can whip up in a jiffy, do I have a recipe for you. Bánh Mi Style Maine Lobster Rolls.
Now you're probably saying to yourselves, "What?! Todd, you got to be joking!" and I say nay. No. I say, yay! Let us get to it!
Bánh Mi Style Maine Lobster Roll
Ingredients:
- Carrots 1 Cup, matchstick cut
- Radishes 1 Cup, matchstick cut
- Salt 1 Teaspoon
- Sugar 1/4 Cup
- White Vinegar 2 Cups
For the dressing
- Mint 1/2 Cup, chopped
- Coconut Milk 1 Cup
- Mayo 1/2 Cup
- Fish Sauce 1/4 Cup
For the sandwich
- Maine Lobster 4 Cups cooked
- Vietnamese-Style Baguettes
- Chile Pepper 1, sliced or minced
- Cucumber 1, sliced or matchstick cut
- Fresh Cilantro, chopped to taste
Directions:
Step 1:
To make the pickled carrot and radish mixture, cut the carrots and radish, mix together and salt heavily. After 30 minutes, drain and rinse the mixture.
Step 2:
In a microwave-safe bowl, mix together the vinegar, salt, and sugar and microwave for about 2 minutes. Pour the vinegar mixture over the carrot and radish mixture and let them marinate for about an hour. Chill until ready for use.
Step 3:
Next, prepare the dressing. Mix together coconut milk, fish sauce, mayo, and fresh mint in a bowl.
Step 4:
Place cooked lobster in a fresh bowl, and add about half of the dressing, mixing together as you pour. The lobster should be only lightly dressed but feel free to add more sauce to your liking.
Step 5:
Toast baguettes lightly on the outside, and fill each roll with cucumber, cilantro, chile peppers to your taste level, then the pickled carrot and radish mixture. Finally, layer in tons of the dressed Maine Lobster and enjoy!
Shoutout
To all the people that attended my talks and workshop at Connect.Tech and MagnoliaJS. I hope you got something out of those talks and can't thank you enough for all the kind words and comments.
Finally...
Even though I am taking a break from the socials until the news cycle dies regarding the Lewiston, Maine shootings and the coverage of some things regarding the terrorist, you can follow me at the following socials below. If you have a moment and some spare cash, I'd ask that you give to the victim's fund and now that everyone I know that are friends and family that I know are safe, I am directing efforts to help with the victim’s and donating to the fund as well as some other things.
If you’re inclined, a fund has been set up by the Boston Bruins organization and you can donate here. https://bruins.fanthem.io/give/bbf/donation/maine?referralCode=themainefund_org no matter how small, every bit helps a community I grew up near get back on their feet again and help the families of those who were taken from them. Thanks.
Follow me on Mastodon: @todd@a11y.info or on Twitter @toddlibby, Bluesky (I'm @toddl.dev). The Front End Nerdery Podcast that I co-host with my good friend, Homer Gaines!
Go make the web accessible and see you in December!