Those of you viewing my posts on the blog itself may notice that I’ve added a handful of social media buttons to single post views. This is pretty much par for the course on most blogs, so I thought it was only appropriate that I append a few of my own. It’s not much–Facebook, for instance, is conspicuously absent, as their buttons are huge, unpleasant, and full of tracking code. But most people, myself included, probably have a personal system for sharing content to Facebook, anyway, so I just went with a Twitter, Google+, and StumbleUpon trifecta. These will probably become more useful once I start writing actual content, which is happening, I promise.

I spent some time and managed to assemble the buttons in a way that’s still valid XHTML, albeit a bit hack-y. It’s a regrettable compromise, as Google’s +1 button uses weird DOM implementation, and the only alternative is HTML5. (Twitter’s button is HTML5, as well.) Thanks to TVD at TechOctave for the base code for Twitter’s button!

I also had to go into the PHP for the Disqus plugin… again… to fix a validation error that surfaced after updating. Guys, you can make your plugin W3C-valid without my help. Promise! (That said, if you want to hire me to do it for you, I’m all ears.)

Alright, lunchtime. I’m out! Ciao, bella!

Well, it’s the first post of the new site blog! And what better day to mark it than a day dedicated to supporting web standards?

Actually, this is purely coincidental… I didn’t know there was such a thing, but lo and behold, the internet delivers again. I don’t own a blue beanie, though. Maybe I’ll do some pixel art or something. Everyone likes pixel art, right?

To be quite honest, it feels a little like sacrilege, talking about web standards on a tumblog. (Edit: Well, it was when I made this post.) The iframe that Tumblr embeds before the closing body tag contains a handful of ampersands that break validation, in spite of my best efforts. This is after having to fall back on XHTML 1.0 Transitional just to hammer an iframe through in the first place. Somehow, the fact that the lack of validation isn’t my fault makes it so much worse. It’s out of my hands! It’s positively giving me hives.

But still, happy Blue Beanie Day, kids! Support web standards, validate your code, stay in school. Maybe consider a W3C donation, if you’re feeling in the spirit of giving? ‘Tis the season, after all.