Jason Pearce

A friend of mine from Indianapolis years, Merritt Olsen, is running in the NY Marathon this weekend. Though she we caught up in Toronto two weekends ago, I might make it down to see her this weekend. Here are her words about the race.

The New York Marathon will be held on Sunday, November 2nd. There’s an incredible website for your entertainment (really, I could spend hours on it because there’s so much to look at and read about). And on race day they will have live coverage of the lead runners and hopefully finishing times on “normal” runners like me. Go to the site and look me up, my bib number is: #37748.

Good luck Merritt.

I was seeking an answer to a CSS problem today and came across this great site that explains why CSS is so much better than TABLEs.

Why tables for layout is stupid: problems defined, solutions offered

Tables existed in HTML for one reason: To display tabular data. But then border=”0″ made it possible for designers to have a grid upon which to lay out images and text. Still the most dominant means of designing visually rich Web sites, the use of tables is now actually interfering with building a better, more accessible, flexible, and functional Web. Find out where the problems stem from, and learn solutions to create transitional or completely table-less layout.

If you are a web developer and are having difficulties persuading execs or clients to switch to a tableless layout, this site would be a good place to send them. Of course, these sites would also be great, for they are all built using CSS and not TABLEs:

• CSS Zen Garden
• Adobe Studio
• Wired News
• ESPN
• Fast Company
• Quark
• Inc.com
• PGA Open Championship
• phish.com
• CSS Edge

Parts two and three of the Peace Corps series on saftey have been published. I’ve read several so far, they are pretty powerful.

PART TWO

Missing without a trace
Peace Corps answers few questions in disappearance

Roadside robbery leaves victim angry
Volunteer fears community she was helping to rebuild

Life of intrigue leads of murder of volunteer
Woman drawn into dangerous lifestyle during service

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Crimes against volunteers in Bolivia
• Photo gallery

PART THREE

Danger in the highlands
Volunteers on edge in scenic African country

Searching for success despite risks
Two local volunteers see impact of efforts during missions in Africa

Volunteer believes lack of support cost her right eye
Beth Heyward says her pleas to go home for medical treatment were ignored

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Photo gallery

Part 1 of a series of Peace Corps stories on safety appeared in today’s Dayton Daily News. Though I was interviewed for this series, I do not expect to have my story or comments included. This seven-part series explores how Peace Corps volunteers face injury and death in foreign lands. As many of you know, my Peace Corps story of early termination deals much more so with freedom of speech than safety and security.

Regardless if I’m quoted in an upcoming story or not, there is a lot of good content here. I hope that some of you choose to follow this issue. Here are links to Sunday’s articles.

PART ONE

Mission of Sacrifice
Peace Corps volunteers face injury, death in foreign lands

Ohio leaders recall defining moments in Corps
Tony Hall: ‘You’ve got to go in . . . with your eyes open’

Volunteer decides to return home
Englewood native left Africa after bouts with illness

Not every crime victim counts in tracking system
Three rapes and two assaults count as one ‘incident’ to Corps

Corps unwilling to release information on crime
‘Daily News’ fights legal battle against agency to access records

EDITORIAL

Peace Corps’ policies don’t honor promise
The Peace Corps’ good intentions and its public image as an army of ambassadors doing good around the world shouldn’t exempt the agency from accountability

PEACE CORPS RESPONSE

A letter from the Peace Corps
We have concerns about ‘inaccuracies and misleading information’

EDITOR’S COMMENTARY

Perils faced by volunteers need to be reported
Peace Corps has proven to be more dangerous and disturbing than is generally perceived. By Jeff Bruce

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Key findings of ‘Daily News’ Peace Corps investigation
• Chronology of the Peace Corps
• See where the volunteers serve worldwide
• Breakdown of assault incidents against Peace Corps volunteers
• Who we are: Learn about the series’ writers, photographer
• Peace Corps Death in Service database
• Photo gallery

MESSAGE BOARD

• Post your opinion on Peace Corps fatalities

A List Apart Magazine is back with a new design and some great articles. One absolutely amazing article on using CSS to layer background images, Sliding Doors of CSS will soon make its way into my code and future Web site designs. I really can’t wait to take advantage of the ideas presented in this article.

In ALA’s six to nine-month absence, I’ve been taking tips from css.maxdesign.com.au and css Zen Garden. Both are useful, but I’m so glad to see ALA back.