It's not just me who's enjoying the Snowstorm installed on my blog. By popular demand, and to give credit where it is due, I will reveal the source.

A short story first: We had a few snowfalls recently. By chance while surfing the web I discovered a web site with snow! I cannot remember which site it was exactly. Immediately I knew I must also have snow. For those who aren't aware of many JavaScript particulars, a savvy user can almost always find and read the JavaScript on every web site. So the first step in Firefox was to right-click -> View Page Source. I found the code that provided the snow storm, and in the credits was the author's address http://www.schillmania.com

Thanks Scott Shiller, for making it possible for my blog and The Art of Consumption to be a snowy holiday funfest.

For those who may like to install a Snowstorm, you can find the project page at http://www.schillmania.com/projects/snowstorm/. It's relatively simple, but there's no one-click WordPress plug-in install. For JS newbs, if you really want it roll up your sleeves, download and follow the installation instructions. Once you have it running, you can play with the customization options.

I bet there are still developers out there who write software where the security, and even the business logic, is dependent on the user having JavaScript enabled in the users' browser. One may as well just leave home in the morning, give your keys to the first person you see, and hope they don't enter and steal your furniture. I don't personally know any of these developers of course (or maybe I wouldn't admit to knowing them), for if I did know them I'd berate them until they stop doing it.

What I do know all too well is the software they write, and I have to fix it. Perhaps you feel as I do; fixing other people's errors as a result of their poor judgment is one of the great torments of human existence. "You mean, someone else screwed up, and now it's my problem?".

We'll be finding and fixing software made in the past for many years to come. Unfortunately, our dependence on JavaScript is not going to stop. In fact, we're probably setting ourselves up with even greater potential for error with fancy jQuery and Prototype libraries in the hands of the ignorant. I emplore you, developer, to use anything you like to enhance the user interface, but do not rely on JavaScript provide important business logic. Web sites may not function correctly in the future without JavaScript, but ensure the data is protected when it is disabled.