Plans

[coalescent]

My parents are currently away on holiday, driving around the rocky mountains. This means I've been enlisted to periodically check up on their house and make sure the cat is fed.

Now, my parents have a broadband internet connection. As a result, I have decided that I am going to spend the weekend trying to get to grips with the mystery that is S2 styles. I have this image in my head of how I'd like my journal to look, and I'm going to see if I can make it a reality.

(For the_truckstop folks, this means I'm likely to be around on IRC, for once. For tinyjo, this is a warning that I may send her tech-support-type text messages at some point...)

Whilst I'm here, this (1.7MB mp3) deserves wider exposure.

And some thoughts on Wonderfalls.

Comments

[pikelet.livejournal.com]

Good luck with that. I've been wrestling with it for a couple of months now, and it's impossible unless you know about object-oriented programming already. The documentation is absolutely appalling.

On the plus side, I've been playing with things over on the test server for a few weeks, and am finally getting to grips with the syntax.

On the down side, I do have to get out more often.

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

unless you know about object-oriented programming already. The documentation is absolutely appalling.

Hmm. This could be a challenging weekend, then.

Somehow, I'd just got the impression that as long as I could figure out CSS, I'd be ok...

[pikelet.livejournal.com]

Go read just a couple of the entries in component to give you an idea of what the code looks like and how people are being original with the closed-source component style.

It's a programming language, far more than a formatting language.

To be honest, unless you want to do something particularly funky, you're probably going to be just as well off to learn S1 in a weekend - it's far easier and mainly oriented around HTML. S2 is something to learn over a period of time, I think.

But hey, you go for it, kiddo. Don't let me stop you. If you do it, big kudos to you. :)

[pikelet.livejournal.com]

That should be s2component.

Oops.

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

But hey, you go for it, kiddo.

I shall leave this afternoon, but a child. I shall return on monday, a man.

Go for it!

[tinyjo.livejournal.com]

Don't worry - S2 rocks. It's not as simple as just understanding CSS though - it is a little tiny object oriented language in it's own right. But it's really nice, honest :)

If you're planning to learn CSS *as well* this weekend though, that might be overstretching yourself a bit. On either topic, feel free to consider me your tech support :)

Re: Go for it!

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

If you're planning to learn CSS *as well* this weekend though, that might be overstretching yourself a bit.

I do know the basics of CSS...I just haven't had a chance to practice. :)

[tinyjo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the docs suck atm. We're working on it though - hopefully by the time we're ready to officially announce S2 better docs for advanced cust will be available. If you want some help, I am happy to lend out my services more generally...

It's been easy for me to pick up because I am an object oriented programmer by profession and I can see that it would be hard for people who are not of a programming bent but I do think it's better designed than S1 and oh so much more flexible.

[pikelet.livejournal.com]

I can see that S2 is way more flexible than S1, and I'm doing my best to faff with it where I can. At the minute, however, that amounts to little more than reading other people's code to see how it all fits together :)

Having spent some time messing with Inform over the last few days, however, and reading the docs that come for that (260-odd pages of pdf action!), I've got a far better idea about object-oriented programming in general. As an idiot's introduction to the concepts involved, it's the best one I've seen so far that doesn't involve you paying for it.

Why can't you code styles in Atari BASIC, eh? :)

[pikelet.livejournal.com]

Incidentally, that mp3 is -

Oh, hang on. I just got to 'more tea vicar!'. You're right, that is sweet, sweet genius. I like it even more than the string quartet version of 'Rush of Blood...' I got a couple of weeks ago. And that's saying something.

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

You're right, that is sweet, sweet genius.

You can thank Mr Anderson for bringing it to my attention.

string quartet version of 'Rush of Blood...'

Please share!

[pikelet.livejournal.com]

Please share!

And I suppose you'd want the one of OK Computer too, wouldn't you?

[(Anonymous)]

It is around now that i mention The Darkness (http://www.thedarknessrock.com/)' cover of 'Street Spirit (http://www.thedarknessrock.com/mp3/streetspirit.mp3)'.

-- Tom

PS yes, that link is broken - let me know (soon) and i'll get the mp3 to you directly

[hawleygriffen.livejournal.com]

string quartet version of 'Rush of Blood...'

I second the "share!" Sounds promising.

[pikelet.livejournal.com]

Right, well, given that I lose addresses like Bill-O, anyone who wants a copy can email me their address and I'll try to get CDs out in the next few days. It's not the album per se, since there's bits of 'Parachutes' on there too. But it's very nice.

[hawleygriffen.livejournal.com]

who's bill-o?

[pikelet.livejournal.com]

He's like Billy-O, but feels that he's going to be taken more seriously if he drops the 'y'.

[brassyn.livejournal.com]

that's a really good question.

[ajp.livejournal.com]

You do all know that you have to turn the speed down, when you play LP's, right? ;-)