Archive forJune, 2006

三字经

June 4, 2006 @ 10:42 pm · Filed under Chinese Culture 

人之初，性本善。性相近，习相远。苟不教，性乃迁。教之道，贵以专。
昔孟母，择邻处。子不学，断机杼。窦燕山，有义方。教五子，名俱扬。
养不教，父之过。教不严，师之惰。子不学，非所宜。幼不学，老何为。
玉不琢，不成器。人不学，不知义。为人子，方少时。亲师友，习礼仪。
香九龄，能温席。孝于亲，所当执。融四岁，能让梨。弟于长，宜先知。
首孝弟，次见闻。知某数，识某文。一而十，十而百。百而千，千而万。
三才者，天地人。三光者，日月星。三纲者，君臣义。父子亲，夫妇顺。
曰春夏，曰秋冬。此四时，运不穷。曰南北，曰西东。此四方，应乎中。
曰水火，木金土。此五行，本乎数。曰仁义，礼智信。此五常，不容紊。
稻粱菽，麦黍稷。此六谷，人所食。马牛羊，鸡犬豕。此六畜，人所饲。
曰喜怒，曰哀惧。爱恶欲，七情具。□土革，木石金。与丝竹，乃八音。
高曾祖，父而身。身而子，子而孙。自子孙，至元曾。乃九族，而之伦。
父子恩，夫妇从。兄则友，弟则恭。长幼序，友与朋。君则敬，臣则忠。
此十义，人所同。

凡训蒙，须讲究。详训诂，名句读。为学者，必有初。小学终，至四书。
论语者，二十篇。群弟子，记善言。孟子者，七篇止。讲道德，说仁义。
作中庸，子思笔。中不偏，庸不易。作大学，乃曾子。自修齐，至平治。
孝经通，四书熟。如六经，始可读。诗书易，礼春秋。号六经，当讲求。
有连山，有归藏。有周易，三易详。有典谟，有训诰。有誓命，书之奥。
我周公，作周礼。著六官，存治体。大小戴，注礼记。述圣言，礼乐备。
曰国风，曰雅颂。号四诗，当讽咏。诗既亡，春秋作。寓褒贬，别善恶。
三传者，有公羊。有左氏，有彀梁。经既明，方读子。撮其要，记其事。
五子者，有荀杨。文中子，及老庄。

经子通，读诸史。考世系，知终始。
自羲农，至黄帝。号三皇，居上世。
唐有虞，号二帝。相揖逊，称盛世。夏有禹，商有汤。周文王，称三王。
夏传子，家天下。四百载，迁夏社。汤伐夏，国号商。六百载，至纣亡。
周武王，始诛纣。八百载，最长久。周辙东，王纲堕。逞干戈，尚游说。
始春秋，终战国。五霸强，七雄出。嬴秦氏，始兼并。传二世，楚汉争。
高祖兴，汉业建。至孝平，王莽篡。光武兴，为东汉。四百年，终于献。
魏蜀吴，争汉鼎。号三国，迄两晋。宋齐继，梁陈承。为南朝，都金陵。
北元魏，分东西。宇文周，兴高齐。迨至隋，一土宇。不再传，失统绪。
唐高祖，起义师。除隋乱，创国基。二十传，三百载。梁义之，国乃改。
炎宋兴，受周禅。十八传，南北混。辽于金，皆称帝。太祖兴，国大明。
号洪武，都金陵。迨成祖，迁燕京。十六世，至崇祯。阉乱后，寇内讧。
闯逆变，神器终。清顺治，据神京。至十传，宣统逊。举总统，共和成。
复汉土，民国兴。

廿二史，全在兹。载治乱，知兴衰。读史书，考实录。通古今，若亲目。
口而诵，心而惟。朝于斯，夕于斯。昔仲尼，师项□。古圣贤，尚勤学。
赵中令，读鲁论。彼既仕，学且勤。披蒲编，削竹简。彼无书，且知勉。
头悬梁，锥刺股。彼不教，自勤苦。如囊萤，如映雪。家虽贫，学不缀。
如负薪，如挂角。身虽劳，犹苦卓。苏老泉，二十七。始发愤，读书籍。
彼既老，犹悔迟。尔小生，宜早思。若梁□，八十二。对大廷，魁多士。
彼既成，众称异。尔小生，宜立志。莹八岁，能咏诗。泌七岁，能赋□。
彼颖悟，人称奇。尔幼学，当效之。蔡文姬，能辨琴。谢道□，能咏吟。
彼女子，且聪敏。尔男子，当自警。唐刘晏，方七岁。举神童，作正字。
彼虽幼，身己仕。尔幼学，勉而致。有为者，亦若是。

犬守夜，鸡司晨。苟不学，曷为人。蚕吐丝，蜂酿蜜。人不学，不如物。
幼而学，壮而行。上致君，下泽民。扬名声，显父母。光于前，裕于后。
人遗子，金满嬴。我教子，惟一经。勤有功，戏无益。戒之哉，宜勉力。
a copy of chinese traditional education book.

Comments

Levels of Accessibility Knowledge

June 4, 2006 @ 10:27 pm · Filed under yellow boy

I admit in advance that I am about to flirt with an Internet meme, the “Internet meme” (often mispronounced as though it were French and used a circumflex). But if dashing Swede Rohgayr Johansson can delineate levels of HTML knowledge and a somewhat-less-dashing Swede can delineate levels of CSS knowledge, perhaps it is time for… Levels of Accessibility Knowledge.

Accessibility Level 0

A user level, not a developer level. People at this level discovered the Internet early on (in 2001) and experience it to this day through the bedazzling prisms known as Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Hotmail, MSN Messenger, and Microsoft Internet Explorer. As do all their friends. Hence they have no cause to imagine any form of deviation beyond 98 vs. XP vs. ME (“which sucks”), let alone missing an eye or a hand.

Accessibility Level 1

Only now does the band come out on stage. (Admittedly, the venue is a high-school gymnasium, but still.) These developers have read enough help files in FrontPage to know an alt tag is there to give you a tooltip on an image. alt="25 % off all brass fasteners limited timeonly !" Has seen blind people on American TV shows, and knows the first thing they will ask you is “Can I feel your face?”

Accessibility Level 2

Is aware that spacer GIFs are tedious for screen-reader users to listen to and wouldn’t be caught dead subjecting a blind person to something as jejune as a filename. So alt="spacer!" it is. Aware of the controversy involving table usage; developer’s layout tables are fully qualified with summary="This table is used for layout purposes only". (Such declaration is duplicated in a table title attribute that helpfully follows the mouse cursor around the page.) Uses XHTML because it’s “better,” but hasn’t figured out how to save a Unicode file on their Windows system yet, turning a simple copyright symbol into a string of comic-book profanities. Is a cochair of the WCAG Working Group.

Accessibility Level 3

These l33t-style developers know that tables r teh sux0r and use CSS for everything. Unfortunately, they are so preoccupied with said CSS that they overlook the structure of their pages, which end up as a jumble of divs. Has bookmarked WCAG – once. Here the skip-navigation link makes its début, dressed as a 1×1-pixel GIF with a cunning alt tag. Sadly, the target for such a link is an ordinary element set adrift in the flotsam of divs, and the developer can never quite figure out why it manifests itself in the same colour and underline style as the rest of the page’s links. Owns GoLive 4.

Accessibility Level 4

Knows who I am, agrees I’m right most of the time, but thinks I’m a twat nonetheless. Has his (sic) own podcast on iTunes but can’t be arsed to transcribe it. Has a large RSS feed and follows the tag accessibility. Reads Zeldman. Is not a very good visual designer, but creates well-structured code, one page at a time, in Homesite. (Fears the day when Homesite ceases to function in a future Windows version.) Runs a small freelance business from his bedsit. Tries to “include accessibility” in his contracts. Can speak seemingly knowledgeably at meetups.

Accessibility Level 5

Pitches Zeldman for articles and finally gets one published. Has username on Accessify Forum. Pays own money – it’s deductible – to attend Web-standards conferences. Is too polite to publicly correct Level 4 developer at meetups, but writes thinly-disguised blog posts upon return home. Has a spouse with a day job. Knows what WAI is. Works for an ad agency or Web shop run by Level 2s and covertly adds skip links and correct alt texts to every job he touches. (And then covertly puts them back when removed, pursuing a cat-and-mouse game on the CVS.) Has watched sign-language interpreter at church.

Accessibility Level 6

Has small but profitable Web shop. Coauthored Friends of Ed book; business partners have coauthored O’Reilly books and/or have colour deficiency. Writes front-page posts on Accessify Forum. Has cooed at Zeldman’s baby. Smokes. Has attempted to contribute to WAI process or has resigned from actual job with WAI. Has well-tuned Windows system; said system is decked out with all the toys, including necessary utilities and software his Mac friends cannot use to verify their accessibility claims. Speaks at Web-standards conferences. Hosts visiting fellow developers in spare bedroom. Is a competent visual designer with high-level coding skills. Has touched a Braille display and wondered what the fuss was about. Writes own CMS – in Perl, as PHP is more suited to commoners – and idly considers migrating to Ruby on Rails. Actually cares what Ruby on Rails is.

Accessibility Level 7

Runs small but unprofitable freelance business from “emerging,” shabby-“chic” neighbourhood with heavy metals in the soil. Author of minor star in gauzy firmament of accessibility books. Interested in subtopics so obscure even the actual disabled subgroups affected don’t really care. Overarching competence acknowledged, if begrudgingly, yet often viewed as subordinate to grating personality “quirks.” Difficult to feed, let alone have fun with, when staying over in spare bedroom. Viewed as derailing WAI process. Typically the only X in the village irrespective of village or value of X.

COPYRIGHT BY JOE CLARK

Comments (2)

What are you thinking and doing???

June 2, 2006 @ 12:56 pm · Filed under yellow boy

My girlfriend told me that she was defused by my action on Children’s Day.

I do have no idea what’s wrong with me.

Have we to make some romantic on that little children’s day??

Comments (3)