A Blog Not Limited

to web design, standards & semantics

Writing

Check Yo’ Self Before Ya Wreck Yo’ Project
0 comments
05/02/2012
Since going freelance full-time (almost two full years ago, oh my!), my professional life has been a series of learning experiences. Of course, I'm picking up new techniques and attempting to master new technologies. But the most important lessons, I've discovered, have more to do with who I am (and how I handle myself) as a person and a professional. When I worked as part of a team for my former employers, the success (or failure) of a project was…
On Colleagues & Idols
0 comments
04/03/2012
I recently came across the following quote from sociologist and Harvard professor Charles Willie: “By idolizing those whom we honor we do a disservice both to them and to ourselves. … We fail to recognize the fact that we could go and do likewise.” This quote was the inspiration for my March contribution to The Pastry Box Project, which is now available for your reading pleasure!
Building a Flexible Foundation for ee-podcast.com
0 comments
03/28/2012
Script Junkie, the tutorial site I've been writing for since 2010, has been fairly quiet lately. That's because they've been making a move to MSDN Magazine. Now the move is (mostly) complete (aside from a few URL redirects they are still addressing), and tutorials should return to a regular publishing schedule. I've seen some of the topics lined up, and they are not to be missed! Speaking of not to be missed, I wrote an article for Script Junkie in…
Quit Yer Bitchin’ & Get to Learnin’
0 comments
02/22/2012
If you missed my earlier announcement, I'm participating in The Pastry Box Project this year. The project gathers one thought every day in 2012 from leaders and thinkers in the web industry. My latest pastry came out of the oven just a few days ago and is ready for your reading pleasure!
CSS Selectors & Preferred “Styles”
0 comments
02/20/2012
As I mentioned last summer, I'm honored to be a contributing writer Sherpa for Web Standards Sherpa. The site focuses on best practices and web standards, offering reviews of reader-submitted sites and applications. My latest piece, What's Your CSS Style? is now available for your reading pleasure! In it, I review the reader-submitted klvn.org and discuss different selectors the author could use instead of (or in addition to) id and class selectors.
Let’s Make the Web Better with Fundamentals
0 comments
02/08/2012
For 2012, I'm participating in an interesting (and fun) little writing/sharing project: The Pastry Box Project. Run by Alex Duloz, The Pastry Box gathers 30 people who are influential in their field and asks them to share a thought every month about their work. This clever idea results in one thought every day in 2012 from designers, developers and thinkers in the web industry. There are no rules. No specific topics are assigned. Each "baker" just writes whatever he or…
Thankful
2 comments
12/13/2011
Professionally speaking, the past 12 months have been fantastic for me and my fledgling business. To be true, my goals weren't of the sky-high variety. For the first eight months of my freelancing adventure, my only goals were: Get an accountant Get a business license Get health insurance Pay my bills Avoid touching my savings as much as possible
Transition to HTML5 with the Newest Web Standards Sherpa (Me!)
0 comments
08/22/2011
I love markup. Always have. Suspect I always will. With HTML5, my love affair has reached new levels … markup + semantics = swoon. And HTML5 is now my "flavor" of choice. In fact, I've been using the doctype and new structural elements for over two years now! With no issues or problems … just happy clients and interesting, challenging projects. So, when I joined the Web Standards Sherpa crew, I knew that I wanted to write about HTML5 at…
Back in the Book Business
4 comments
12/29/2010
After I finished writing the book, I swore I'd never write another book again. A few months ago, I toyed with the idea of writing another, but decided that I'm not up for the task. Today, I feel no differently. Writing a book was, for me, amazingly stressful. With the new freelance business, I've got enough stress. Not to mention, I don't have the time for that level of responsibility right now. Oh, but I do enjoy writing. And I…
Doing a Little Writing for the New ScriptJunkie
0 comments
06/16/2010
In case you missed my shameless self promotion on Twitter (and Buzz and Reader and Facebook), I've been doing a little writing for a new MSDN site, ScriptJunkie. ScriptJunkie is a new site aimed at client-side developers and focuses on cross-browser information and resources. Yes. Cross-browser. From Microsoft. So far, two four of my articles are live and ready for your enjoyment: Be a CSS Team Player: CSS Best Practices for Team-Based Development Web Accessibility & WAI-ARIA Primer Meaningful Markup:…
.net magazine Microformats Tutorial
6 comments
05/19/2010
As part of my ongoing efforts for global microformats domination, I wrote a microformats tutorial for .net magazine — sold as Practical Web Design in the US. And, in my typically verbose fashion, I wrote too much. Lucky for me (and the readers), it was turned into a two-parter. Part one of the tutorial appears in the June 2010 issue (#202). It provides a simple background on microformats, covering some of the core concepts, and then dives right into how…
So, I Wrote a Book: Microformats Made Simple
4 comments
10/19/2009
Seven months ago, I posted the first article in this series, announcing that I had gotten a book deal. I was thrilled and excited for the new adventure. During the months of writing and editing, the thrill and excitement faded; replaced by stress, frustration and a growing realization that writing a book just isn't something that I would ever do again. Now, about a month out from completing the book, my emotions have shifted yet again. The stress is slowly…
So I'm Writing A Book, Part 4: The Editorial Process & Design
4 comments
09/30/2009
As I write this very sentence, I am writing without stress. Without looming deadlines. Without anything more to do with the book. Yep. I'm done! Which means it is time to finish up this book writing series. In the first three articles, I explained everything from how I got the opportunity to the proposal to the contract to the actual writing. Now it is time to dive into the editorial process. I'll also give you a sneak peak of the…
So I’m Writing A Book, Part 3: The Questionnaire, The Templates & Getting Started
6 comments
07/01/2009
I can't believe it is July already. Which means I've been writing my book for three months now. That's even more astounding to me than how quickly those past three months have flown by. July 1 also means that I have under two months to finish said book. While I would've figured that would have me even more stressed than I've been, I'm actually just relieved. It is almost over. I can do anything for seven weeks. You may be…
Happy Anniversary, A Blog Not Limited!
6 comments
06/20/2009
One year ago today, I started this blog. It has been a crazy year, and A Blog Not Limited has been a major part of my life during that time, so I figured a bit of "reflection" is in order. Before I dive in, I must give a huge shout-out to my buddy Chris Kenworthy who spent some time messing with my Google Analytics (and, no, that is not a euphemism) to give me some statistics about this blog's first…
So, I'm Writing a Book, Part 2: The Topic, The Proposal, The P&L and The Contract
4 comments
04/17/2009
When I announced I was writing a book, I mentioned that I intended to write a little series about the process. For the most part, this series is for me: I have a tendency to forget details and suffer from a "can't see the forest for trees" syndrome. I'm hoping by documenting what happens as I write this book, it will help me remember and appreciate. But I also like to think that anything I learn during the writing of…
So, I’m Writing a Book
9 comments
03/04/2009
Yeah, you read that right. I'm writing a book (holy shit)! Crazy! But so very awesome. And exactly the sort of thing I hoped would happen during the course of my career as a web professional.

The Coolest Person I Know

Emily Lewis

Yeah, that would be me: .

I'm a freelance web designer of the standardista variety, which means I get excited about things like valid POSH, microformats and accessibility. I ply my trade from my one-person design studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106 USA.

A Blog Not Limited is my personal blog where I pontificate about web design, web standards, semantics and whatever else strikes my fancy. Head on over to Emily Lewis Design if you'd like to see my work or, even better, hire me.

More

I Tweet, Therefore I Am

Baby elephants! Cuteness goes to 11 at 1:32 http://t.co/CSkK2xwc (05/21/201212:06 pm)