I believe that most web developers don’t think too much about the visually impaired. We focus more on the design and functionality and what we see.

There are things though that we can do to make our sites better for screen readers and those with disabilities, however I don’t know them all and can say that I’ve never surfed the web without my sight.

If you’ve ever wondered about web accessibility or how screen readers work then you should come to The Nerdery’s Front-End Developer Talk on January 10th. Aaron Cannon, a blind PHP developer at The Nerdery, will be talking about web accessibility and showing you how he interacts with the web.

Aaron Cannon is an accessibility consultant and software engineer at The Nerdery. He is blind from birth and uses the screen reader JAWS on a daily basis. Aaron will be talking about accessibility concerns to consider when developing your website, which will be followed by a JAWS demonstration and Q&A period.

For more information, and to RSVP, visit http://nerdery.com/events.

This is open to the public so feel free to come and learn.

Also check out the The League of Front-End Developers website for more talks and meet-ups.

Image Source: Creative Star Art

How does one see the internet when they can’t see it? originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

The greatest thing a family can hear from their soldier is “I’m coming home” and lots of families are getting that gift this year.

Welcome back and thank you for all you’ve done.

Welcome Home Troops originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

Lily enjoying the parade.

From the horses to the floats to the candy, there was always something to look at and something to do.

When floats played music, we danced. When there was something being handed out, we wanted it. When the big vehicles honked their horns or backfired, we ran into daddy’s arms for safety.

We all had a great time, but I never realized how much work a parade was before. Keeping Lily entertained wasn’t an issue, but she was always on the move. By the end of the parade, I was ready to take a nap!

Parades are so much fun when you’re a kid. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

Enjoying the carousel.

Look at us go!

It was mom’s idea to go for a ride and it was a fantastic idea. From the moment the horse started to move, her face just lit up.

I’m pretty sure I’m growing a child who will love rides. And, as she gets bigger, so will the rides!

Taking a ride on the carousel. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

Lightning Show 7/30/11 originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

Zoo Goats

Did you know that some Minnesota libraries have free passes to all sorts of MN destinations?

We were lucky enough to get our hands on a MN Zoo pass last week and the whole family got into to the zoo for free!

We got to feed the baby goats, see the fish, lions and all sorts of other animals. Lily had a great time not only with the animals but also watching all the other kids.

The program is called the Museum Adventure Pass and they can get you into:

• The American Swedish Institute
• The Bakken Museum
• Bell Museum of Natural History
• Como Park Zoo and Conservatory
• Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary
• Firefighters Hall & Museum
• Foshay Museum and Observation Deck
• Hennepin History Museum
• The Landing – Minnesota River Heritage Park
• Minneapolis Institute of Arts
• Minnesota History Center
• Minnesota Streetcar Museum
• Minnesota Transportation Museum
• Minnesota Zoo
• The Museum of Russian Art
• Walker Art Center
• The Works: Hands-On, Minds-On Museum

To get a pass, stop by your local library and see if they have any available. They only have a set amount each week, so you have to be there at the right time to get them.

If you need more information, check out the official Museum Adventure Pass page.

How to get free passes to the MN Zoo and other great places. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

Waconia Beach

The setup is very nice, there is play equipment and picnic tables on the grass and there is plenty of beach for everyone. There are even big umbrellas scattered across the beach to keep you cool.

It’s also free, as long as you don’t drive. If you drive, then it’s $5 to park which isn’t to bad.

Lily enjoyed it quite a bit, even though the waves from the boats pretty constant. Unlike other beaches we’ve been to, boats go buy quite often and the waves make it a bit harder for little ones. But they can also make it more fun.

We had a blast and will probably go back again this summer as it’s close to home and very nice.

Waconia has a pretty nice beach. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

The good news is the worst of the storms didn’t hit us but the sky painted a pretty cool picture.

Storm clouds from last night. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

Then there are some great ones like the Silhouettes audition, that are creative and very talented.

And, if you’re going to go on TV, you must have big dreams.

The Kinetic King, from Minneapolis, has some great ideas for what he’d do if he won America’s Got Talent.

And don’t worry, he practices safe sticks. That’s why he’s got himself protected.

America’s actually got some talent. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

Lily in her rain boots.

Thanks to all the rain, we now have a water garden. However Lily doesn’t seem to mind.

We now have a water garden. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

At first we thought she’d freak out because her socks go wet, but it didn’t faze her. Then we got her to take them off and go barefoot and once again, she didn’t care.

She ran up and down the beach, played in the sand and even laughed it off when she nearly fell face first into the water.

We didn’t go swimming as we weren’t prepared for her to love the water so much, but she starts swim lessons next week and I don’t think she’s going to have any problems with that.

Put the sand in the bucket.

Got sand in my hands.

Dumping out our sand.

Into the water we go.

Lily loves the water this year. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

Lily overlooking the water.

Guthrie Theater

St. Anthony Falls

We even stopped by the Minneapolis Public Library which is the first time I’ve been there since they re-did it. Turns out it has a really nice kids area and a kids bathroom that has a mini toilet and sink which Lily thought was pretty fun.

It was a great morning for being out and about and it was fun to be downtown for a little while as we don’t make it there very often.

Minneapolis Morning originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

They worked great over the winter, then suddenly stopped this spring. Turns out weather.gov updated the RSS feeds. In doing so, they dropped the old ones without telling us.

Unfortunately the weekend gave us more than enough severe weather to test the Twitter accounts and the alerts appear to be working fine again.

If you want to get updates on severe weather watches and warnings on Twitter, then follow one of my weather accounts or create your own for where you live.

If you’ve created Twitter weather alerts for you county, please make sure to update the RSS feed so that it continues to work.

Twin Cities Twitter weather alerts are working again. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

One of the first things we did was play in a bounce house. Lily was all for it and had a blast, however it turns out that walking, or jumping, is a bit difficult.

What’s even harder is getting a little girl out of that bounce house. The entrance is pretty tiny and it takes a lot of coaxing to get her close enough to grab her and get her out. I had to lure her over with my phone to do it.

After that we played with balls and chairs on wheels.

Then we went to their Adventure Park and climbed through tunnels, slid down slides and just explored.

For $6, Edinborough Park is a great value and sure gives your toddler a lot to do. We’ll be visiting again for sure.

Lily’s first time in a bounce house. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

Such a nice morning with the sun trying to peak out.

Morning walk on lake Waconia originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

WCCO was reporting 12-15 inches possible, KSTP said 6+ and most other stations were reporting a major snow storm.

Now we are a day away from the storm and what are they predicting? 2-4 inches say most stations with a few thinking as much as 5 or as little as 1.

This is why I don’t trust the weatherman.

Now I love the weather. It’s unpredictable, its beautiful, it’s powerful and it’s ever-changing. But I’ve learned over the years that you never trust a forecast more than 2 days out.

If you want to know what the weather is going to be like tomorrow, check the forecast. Want to know what the weather is going to be like next week? Guess.

To many times I’ve gotten excited about an upcoming storm only to see nothing come of it.

I’ll continue to watch the weather and enjoy the possibilities of what may come, but if we get bent out of shape over what might be, we’re getting ourself all worked up over nothing.

Enjoy today, think about tomorrow and worry about the future when it gets here.

And that’s why I don’t trust the weather man. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

The roads are ice and snow-covered and you know what that means? No lines!

It’s one of the few times you can swerve into the other lane, then back. Onto the shoulder and back. Over and over again, and no one thinks twice.

Since you can’t see the lines, it’s all good!

Most of the time it’s the snow plowers fault too. Since they can’t see the lines, they make the road and we just follow. If they cut the corner, so do we.

I’m a little bit worried that if the snow plow were to plow itself right off the road, we’d all follow. And you know it’s true. We follow the path, regardless of where it goes.

That’s what makes winter driving fun!

I like driving on snow covered roads because you can drive anywhere. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

It took many years and many feet of snow, but I’ve finally given in and we got our first snow blower.

I picked it up at Lowe’s earlier today and it barely fit into my car. But it rode in the passenger’s seat quite nicely.

It turns out snow blowers are harder to find in February than you’d think. They’ve all been replaced by grills! I first stopped at Home Depot and they only had two left; and they were way to big.

This little guy should work well at clearing our drive way and, more importantly, the end where the snowplow plows us in.

If this next storm hold out, it should get its first run tomorrow!!

We now own a snow blower. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

I pass three of these on my way to work and they help me decide which path to take.

Some days they say it’ll take me 9 minutes to 35W via 494 and, even when I’m stopped dead in traffic, it eventually loosens up and an within about 9 minutes, I’m at 35W.

Other days, when it says it’ll take 26 minutes, that’s a good indication that I need to find an alternate route.

Thanks to Mn/DOT for installing these freeway signs as it makes my commute much more informed, which makes me much happier and less road ragey.

Freeway Drive Time Signs Are Amazingly Accurate originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

Vikings, TCF & Snow - Photo via Eric Miller / Reuters

This could be the best Monday Night Football game ever! Why?

1. The TCF Stadium is not designed to operate in December. Heck until a week or so ago it was in hibernation for the winter with most seats under a few feet of snow.
2. Seats are first come first serve. If you’ve got cheap tickets, you can sit front and center. You just have to get there early. That means the crazies could be in row 1.
3. The field “is like walking on concrete” -Vikings Chris Kluwe. No fancy soft astroturf here. Just rock solid, fumble enhanced, concussion ready, frozen tundra.
4. Includes a snowstorm! All reports are expecting at least a 1/2 a foot of snow that should be falling during the game.
5. No Beer! This means that the fans must be drunk before entering, or suffer though a cold crappy Vikings game sober.
6. The Bears don’t know what they’re getting in to. At least the Vikings know the playing & field conditions. The Bears will be clueless until they get here.
7. New Coach New Quarterback – Between Coach Leslie Frazier and quarterback Joe Webb, I think you can count the number of combined NFL games played on one hand.
8. The Vikings suck. Lets face it, they’ve had a less than stellar season. And why start now? They probably won’t risk hurting the star players. That means lots of TV time for the less than awesome players.
9. Mass confusion. Fans won’t know were to park, players won’t know where to go, and no one is really sure how this will work. We’ll just play some football and see what happens.
10. A national audience. As if it’s not awkward enough, all this will play out on national television! This could be reality TV at its best!

10 Reasons to Watch The Vikings & Bears Chaos on Monday Night Football originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com