Ultranormal

  • Writing About Myself Is Hard

    You’d think that having a blog would have prepared me for this moment. For SxSW, I have to write a short and long bio… about me. You would think that someone who talks as much as I do would be able to come up with a paragraph describing myself. But, every time I start, I get self-conscious about writing about myself in the third person and it goes all Bob Goulet on me. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

    Kevin Lawver is a passionate lover of web standards (which his wife oddly doesn’t mind). He french kisses his CSS and makes sure all his tags are closed so the neighbors don’t gossip. Kevin (that’s me) loves writing valid semantic markup by candlelight, and desperately wishes that Barry White had written a love song about CSS3 Selectors. But, Kevin realizes that it’ll probably be country music that brings us our first song about CSS – and it will unfortunately probably be about adjacent siblings. Kevin longs for the day when all browsers hold hands in harmony and web developers, management and designers all understand and love standards and understand their benefits. Kevin would also really like a cookie.

    What do you think? Too much?

  • Completely irrational but…

    I feel responsible for Kevin’s broken ankle.

  • The End Of The Line

    I have a second opinion that’s just like the first. I’ve spent three months in either a boot or a cast, which haven’t make the pain stop.\
    I get my ankle opened up, and the pesky extra bone removed, next Friday at high noon. I would say I’m looking forward to it, but I’m really not. It means at least 3 weeks on crutches, possibly longer, and a very long recovery (“it’s worse than an ACL”, says Dr. Wilson).\
    The one small consolation is that we stuck with the conservative option until it was clear it wouldn’t work. My doctor comes highly recommended (even by the guy who gave the second opinion).\
    My other source of comfort is that my wife is awesome. She’s handled my various horrific injuries with grace, support and love. She’s just the best.

  • How To Convince Your Company To Embrace Standards

    Since we’re listed on the official panels list, I figure I can blog about it. Our panel got approved for SxSW Interactive next year!!\
    It’s called How to Convince Your Company to Embrace Standards and should be a lot of fun. We’ve had a really interesting experience the past couple years trying to push AOL to adopt and embrace web standards. I think we have a lot of interesting information to share about how to translate the technical benefits of web standards into terms that decision makers understand, and how to build a grassroots standards movement “under the radar” without getting yourself fired or pissing off too many people (or at least the wrong people). Since AOL is the size it is, a lot of the strategies I’ve seen posted on blogs and at other conferences don’t scale. Hopefully, we’ll be able to help fill the gaps.\
    We’ve lined up some really interesting folks for the panel, all with a part in the drama, and all with slightly different perspectives on the whole process:

  • Jen’s new shows

    Since Kevin did it, I will too.\
    1. Prison Break– It’s an intense drama that is making me root for both convicted felons and the innocent underdog.\
    2. Supernatural– Kind of like Charmed and Buffy, but without the preternatural abilities. Absolutely cheesy, but the boys are pretty.\
    3. Commander-in-Chief– This reminds me of what The West Wing used to be like. It is full of ideals and hope that have no place in the real White House, I am afraid.\
    4. Invasion– Thanks to Tivo, I can skip the part I don’t like (the sheriff who looks menacingly at everyone)

  • New Television To Watch And Enjoy

    The television season is now several weeks old, but I hadn’t caught up with enough new shows to make recommendations. Now, I have, and we have some winners!!! They are:

    1. Rome – It’s different, and aside from the sex, it’s not your typical HBO Sunday night. It’s political, familial, and conniving. Like other HBO shows, there really are no heroes, which is fine with me. Heroes always disappoint, while villains are at least entertaining. The acting is top notch, and it doesn’t really feel like I thought it would. It’s done for Antiquity what Deadwood did for the Old West – it’s put the life back in the statues, and isn’t afraid to treat the legends like real people. It’s definitely worth checking out, especially for Ray Stevenson’s portrayal of Titus Pullo, fatally flawed, goofy and vicious. He’s the antihero that all other antiheros aspire to be. And, lucky you, HBO is re-running the first 8 episodes this week.
    2. Threshold – I had low expectations for this show, and I’m not sure how far they can stretch the premise, but so far so good. This is sci-fi bubblegum, with just enough creep factor to keep me coming back. It’s a little like The 4400 but with some Andromeda Strain and X-Files thrown in. Good stuff, and the cast is great fun. It’s great to see Charles S. Dutton on TV again.
    3. Invasion – Kind of slow, and sometimes the acting isn’t great, but this one is interesting enough to put make TiVo keep recording it each week. The cast is pretty stock ensemble with very few recognizable names (unlike Threshold which screams indie movie fan as casting director). It is nice to see William Fichtner, but he’s really the only cast member I recognize from anything. If you like LOST but think it moves too fast, then Invasion may be for you.
    4. Extras – It’s by the guy who did The Office. If you like your comedy extremely painful, you’ll love this show.
    5. One Night Stand – It’s back!!! YAY!!!! I frigging love this show. A new comedian every week, and it’s only 30 minutes. Had a bad day? Watch Flight Of The Conchords and all your troubles are gone.\
      It’s not really a “new” show, but this season’s Amazing Race is so much better than I thought it would be. I was afraid they wouldn’t do anything with the families, and they haven’t left the country yet (crossing my fingers for this week), but it’s a lot of fun. It’s a good mix of in-laws, siblings, parents, teenagers, and kids… and they’re all a mess in some ways. It’s guilty, but it’s too much fun not to watch.\
      Set your TiVo’s now. You’ve been warned.

  • Huh?

    Max informed me today that he has gotten in touch with his inner skeleton.

  • I’m Not A Designer

    Have you ever seen something and said, “I wish I could design like that?” Well, check out The Oddzballz. Yeah, told you.\
    I’m not a designer, but boy would I love to be one. I’m not one to say I’m one just because I can screw around with PhotoShop and make gradients. I know too many “real” designers to pretend that I could be one.\
    But, enough about that. I’m just in awe of that site, designed by the amazing Elsa Kawai. Just go look. Really.

  • The Whole Busted Up Ankle Story

    I told you how it happened a while ago. Now, I’ll tell you what I did. I just found this great explanation of what an accessory navicular is. I’ve got one of those, and my little stumble in India moved mine around where it’s not supposed to be. I’ve got illustrations for you too:

    A Normal Accessory Navicular:

    My Accessory Navicular:

    If you’re not sure what you’re looking at. The toes are right above the picture. The left side is the instep. What this all means is that I’m in a good deal of pain because this little “extra” bone is now screwing up the whole rest of my foot by moving the large tendon that controls the arch. That’s causing the arch to collapse, which is making other bones go where they don’t belong.\
    We’ve been trying the “rest” bit of the treatment plan for a while now (three months and counting), and I’m just about done (finished, finito, finis, kaput) with it. This cast sucks. And, if I have surgery (wait, not if, when…), I’ll be in a cast for six more weeks. Merry fother-mucking Christmas.

    I’ve done this before with my right knee (twice) and my left ankle (left). I’m not sure why this time is worse. It just is. It’s probably worse because it was such a stupid nothing injury. It’s worse because I didn’t think it was anything when I did it, and it’s turned out to be something.

  • Six Weeks in a Cast

    Six Weeks in a Cast

    At least it’s blue. If this doesn’t work, it’s surgery. I’m hoping the blue cast does the job.