ThePickards
standards, accessibility, and ranting and general stuff by the web chemist

After I was meme-tagged by Roger Johansson, I thought I should maybe list five blogs that make me think. Roger asked the people on the list not to feel obliged to continue the meme, because of how some people feel about memes.
Okay then Roger. I don’t feel obliged to, but I will anyway as I […]

Read: 5 Blogs That Make Me Think »

Just thought I’d share with you some of the more interesting spam comments that have been heading my way recently:
I find new link about ringtones! What you think about thisxeessxxx
I don’t think it’s particularly surprising, or interesting for that matter. What puzzles me however is why after suggesting you’ve found a new link about ring […]

Read: Another spam fritter… »

As I was unable to attend @Media this year, I still haven’t had the opportunity to meet Joe Clark ‘in the flesh’. However, I did hear from his blog that he’s retiring from web accessibility. He has other things to work on.
Well, I didn’t hear it from his blog straight away. Firstly I had to […]

Read: Joe Clark: Accessibility Superhero »

I posted some time ago saying that I’d been interviewed on Radio Newcastle about my blog and I hadn’t thought the interview had gone particularly well: I’d not had much of a chance to put my points across, I didn’t feel they were asking me the questions that I’d been led to believe they were […]

Read: The Mike Parr Survivors Club »

Get in! I’ve completed the PC Game Oblivion this week, which I highly recommended in a post from September last year called Fear and Loathing in Cyrodil City.
Yes, that’s right, it’s taken me approximately nine months to complete the game. Obviously, I’ve not been playing it every day, but since the save games tell you […]

Read: Mehrunes Dagon and the Oblivion Gate »

…so, the logo for the 2012 London Olympics, along with associated advertising was unveiled the other day to a storm of criticism.

What? Oh, no, that’s not it at all.
That is actually quite a nice logo that was designed by Richard and Chris Voysey, and that won the BBC competition to try and find a […]

Read: London Logo No Go »

I have already mentioned that I have a problem with some users of mobility scooters. I don’t mind people having them: I accept that they’re a useful method for getting around, particularly if someone has some disability. I’m right behind equality for disabled people. I’d hardly talk so much about accessibility, taking part in Blogging […]

Read: Mobility Scooters As Weapons Of Mass Destruction »

In case you weren’t already aware, my three year old is a great fan of the Australian childrens entertainers The Wiggles.

They were appearing at Newcastle City Hall today, and because we had planned sufficiently far in advance that Santa had brought the Wiggles tickets, we’d been able to get front row tickets.
For much of the […]

Read: Wiggle Dancing: Why I’m A Wiggles Fan »

As many of you will already know, I’ve had a number of erm… disagreements with Mike Davies of Isolani. These have mostly come about because we fit into different ‘accessibility camps’: I believe accessibility shouldn’t stop at “enabling access to people with disabilities” but should also encompass cross-browser and cross-platform support where possible. Mike disagrees. […]

Read: Isolani: Credit Where It’s Due »

What does WCAG 2.0 mean, then really, I mean when you really get down to it? Well, as it has morphed into a much more usable set of documentation, it’s much more likely that it will make it through to being a formal Recommendation, there is now more of a need to understand what it’s […]

Read: WCAG 2.0 Lite »