I've been feeling better this afternoon, although I am still resting a lot. I've been working on the blog. The Comment and Trackback links are now implemented like I want them. If JavaScript is enabled, you get a count of the comments and trackbacks. If JavaScript is disabled, you get a count of the comments (Blogger implements this without JavaScript) but not of the trackbacks (HaloScan implements its counts using JavaScript). In spite of the fact that JavaScript is used, both comments and trackback are implemented with NOSCRIPT tags which allow for accessibility to people browsing without JavaScript, either by choice or by what they are allowed.

Speaking of accessibility, I know that the external window link think (i.e. opening links to external sites in new windows) is a bad thing, and a while ago, I implemented a CSS fix that caused an icon to appear after those links. While I am fairly certain that this fix is not the best option, for right now it is the best I can do, and I will continue to try to improve it.

I've also wanted to re-arrange the XHTML of the template so that the blog content (i.e. what I write on a semi-regular basis) is before the left (name and Coat of Arms) and right (navigation, links, and general info) columns. This would cause the content to appear first when the pages are loaded without their associated style sheets. However, I've not been able to do that, but if you have ideas, please leave a comment. However, in the interim, there is a Skip to Content (if you clicked that link, was it fun?) link that appears when the pages are loaded without their associated style sheets.

If you are wondering why an accessible web site is important, David Gillaspey may have said it best when he wrote, "Because they [people with disabilities] matter to God, too."

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