The Path Forward

2024-12-15: I should note that I'm not "copying" the prior work that I've done when I create all of the "peer review" paths (complete & otherwise).

That's a feature, not a bug.

For starters, it's simply easier (and quicker) to create the paths 'from scratch' than to look back and forth between my original work and then onto a blank grid in order to fill it in.

Also, when it comes to the undetermined fields, I'd like to think that I've gotten better (and more confident) at creating them than I used to be. 'Practice makes perfect' isn't just a slogan scratched onto some white board at a school by a teacher in order to inspire you. It really does work.

Finally, by duplicating my work as though I've never done it before, I get the proverbial 'second bite at the apple,' if you will. Without meaning to sound sappy, how many people wouldn't want a second chance to experience certain thrills for the first time again? Revisiting these fields is like a sudden visit from an old friend that you hadn't seen in a while. And after working on the 6x6 determined fields for over a year (has it been over a year already?), well... A 3x5 field is downright simple.

I know that it isn't a contest (one that I am by no means competitive in, judging by the accomplishments of others) but I'm always amazed when someone with a Neocities account follows my website. The response is always the same: Thank you. Every view is appreciated and I hope that you have found the website educational, entertaining and fun. If someone had told to me that I'd have thirty-one followers by the end of 2024... Well, let's be realistic with our aspirations, shall we?

2024-12-08: To paraphrase a political quote, there are some weeks where hours go by and there are other weeks where centuries go by.

Not all weeks can be monumental or significant; Some weeks are just outright dull (and that's a feature, not a bug). While it would always be nice to report that major milestones have been achieved, you only get to those major milestones by going through many weeks of day-in, day-out work.

It hasn't been all dreariness, mind you. My website now has thirty followers for the first time on Neocities. I've written it once before, I'm writing it now and I'll write it again: Thank you. Every 'like,' every 'hit,' every 'view' and every comment spurs further development. Although it may not be the sole reason for all of the progress on this website, such encouragement certainly doesn't hurt. And if I can bring even a tiny bit of joy into someone's life that needs it far more than myself at any given moment by drawing a maze or allowing them to draw a maze... Well, where's the harm? It may not be as functional as cleaning street gutters and removing litter but it does serve its purpose.

Web philanthropy aside, I continue to add more paths to the 'Peer Review' section. More of them should be appearing soon. Creating (or, more accurately, re-creating) such paths is considered the 'easy' work, the stuff that gives you a good (but somewhat hollow) feeling of progress. If I had more courage, I'd pursue some other types of work with unicursal mazes that really should be done but hasn't because of a combination of time, will & effort. And I have... And it hasn't gone as well (or as easily) as I would prefer.

We're only a few short weeks away from 2025. Where has the time gone?

2024-12-01: There is a new section of the website called 'Peer Review.'

An explanation is warranted.

Regular readers of this blog would guess correctly, should they have been so inclined, that this is one of the 'projects' that I wrote about earlier.

So what exactly is it? Well, for starters, it is as it reads: In the scientific process, 'peer review' is where others look upon the work of researchers in order to critique and inspect that work. The scientific process requires accountability and clarity; You can't just say "Hey, I've just cured cancer using only apple slices and cinnamon!" without actually proving it and showing how. Perhaps in other areas of society, such as politics, such tomfoolery is allowed (and, depending upon the political party, even encouraged) but science at least attempts to hold itself to higher standards.

More directly, these are all of the cycles for any given determined or undetermined field. Previously, most visitors have only seen completed paths of one type or another (mainly determined). If you've read the learning module 'Cycles' (and, if you haven't, why haven't you yet done so? I put a lot of work into it, you know... It's not there just to take up space on Neocities web servers...), you'll have seen incomplete paths.

More pragmatically, 'Peer Review' is also an advertisement that the Developer's version of the Unicursal Maze Path Designer (UMPD) is, to paraphrase a pop cultural reference, a fully-featured and operational unicursal maze path creator. Every cycle seen in 'peer review' was created using the UMPD. And if I can use it, others can, too.

Finally... Well, if someone spots a mistake in my work in 'Peer Review'... Tell me. I've got an E-Mail address for this website now (located in FAQ). The goal is to find all of the original paths in a given field. I've made mistakes before; I'll make them again (unfortunately). I nearly made one just the other day in my current original pair in the 6x6 determined field. Just another example of why 'Peer Review' is necessary.

2024-11-24: By the time that you read this entry, the first completed path for the third original pair (#00g) of the 5x5 determined field will be displayed. If past is prologue, finding all of the original paths for this original pair will take more than the seven months that it took for the previous original pair. Late June or early July 2025 is the starting estimate for completion. Only time will tell how accurate that estimate shall be.

I continue to work 'here and there' on other aspects of unicursal maze research. A little bit of obstacle research, a little bit of undetermined maze research... Whatever I can work on that doesn't make my eyes cross and my brain melt. As I've written before, I have no problem performing the research for as long as I enjoy it. And, of course, for as long as it doesn't adversely affect other aspects of my life. Bills, for instance, have to be paid timely and no one enjoys walking across floors that are badly in need of vacuuming. It's a hobby, not an addiction.

And then there are the projects that I continue to work on that, hopefully, you shall see soon. I'm not exactly slacking off in my effort to complete those projects. In one form or another, regular viewers of this website shall see some form of those projects by year's end.

2024-11-17: All of the original paths for the second original pair of the 6x6 determined field (#008) is now complete. There were 1,094 original paths and it took seven full months in order to draw all of them. By the time this post is released, I'll already be processing the third original pair. I can practically guarantee that it will be some days before the first original path for this third original pair is completed. One should not hold their breath in anticipation.

And, not to be outdone, all of the original paths for the first starting point of the 5x5 undetermined field (#000) is now complete as well. There were 821 original paths and that starting point took over TWO YEARS to complete (admittedly, at a pace of only one cycle per day).

Work continues elsewhere across the website and behind it. I've added an E-Mail address specific to this website in order for people to converse with me without the need for the Neocities profile page (which one needs an account before they can use). You can find the address on the FAQ page. I should have added the address far sooner; The website is four years old at this point.

I have once again been humbled, this time by discovering a new original path in the 5x5 determined field. All that I can write is that my journey through the 5x5 determined field was long ago during a far more youthful and inexperienced time. While anyone can make a mistake at any time, I'd like to think that I've improved more than a little bit since those days. Given that I've gone through the entirety of the Nx6 fields (save the 6x6 field, naturally) since then, my experiences with the 5x5 determined field seems almost a lifetime ago. Let us hope that they have now all been discovered.

Finally, not to toot my own horn, I've added another Neocities follower for a grand total of 29. As always -- Thank you. I can only hope that I provide to all of you (followers and non-followers alike) some measure of entertainment and enjoyment in some manner. From the UMPD (both basic and developer) to the various displays to the learning modules, a lot of the progress would not have been made without your encouraging comments, your hits and your views. Thank you.

2024-11-10: Well, THAT didn't exactly go as planned, now did it?

I've weathered some tough storms before. I'll just have to weather this one again. For those who use my website as a happy refuge from reality, it shall continue to act as one. If anything, current events have spurred development of future projects instead of inhibiting them. Anything to pass the time for when the next shipment of favorable news arrives, I suppose. And what exactly are those projects? Well, when they're ready I'll write more about them.

The recent spate of days without new completed 6x6 determined mazes on the main page has been coincidental in its timing to other events in the world; Work continues on completing all of the 6x6 determined mazes for the second original pair unabated. A back-of-the-envelope guess as to when that wraps up is in a few days.

And the next original pair for the 6x6 determined maze? Well, that one's going to be a doozy if my predictive powers still have any merit left in them. Let's peg the completion of that one to late fall 2025 for the time being.

2024-11-03: The big announcement was a few days ago; See the prior post for the announcement that the Developer's version of the Unicursal Maze Path Designer has been released to the public.

I was going to skip the usual weekly blog post since I had already made one. I then realized that I had forgotten to give an update in the horse race between the first and second original pairs in the 6x6 determined field for the number of original paths.

Silly me.

When last we left, our 2nd original pair (#008) was in the lead with 549 original mazes to our 1st original pair (#000) with only 371. With the additional of all mazes with 11 decision points, the 2nd original pair has opened up a considerable lead. #008 has produced 337 mazes with 11 decision points while #000 has produced 163 mazes. The grand total thus far for each is #008 with 886 mazes to #000's 534.

Did I write that the first original pair would have more original paths than the second when all was said and done?

Silly me.

2024-10-31: And now the "developer's" version of the Unicursal Maze Path Designer is out. Is it perfect? No. Is it 'good enough'? Well... I wouldn't have released it otherwise.

There is one bug that I haven't been able to correct just yet - For some reason, when a maze is initially created using pre-existing maze data (that has a title already) and then you change the primary segment color, adding (or changing) a title causes that title to appear along with the original one.

Nobody's perfect.

The chase for perfection has not been without results, though. An extensive use of the program (I hesitate to use the term 'program'; Real programmers create real programs; I'm just a hobbyist) has caused me to add two useful features for those who truly want to use this program as a creation platform. After all, if a chef doesn't eat the food that they make, how does one expect their customers to eat it as well?

And just to prove that the program is capable of being a "for real" creation platform, I have been creating something rather special with it... Something that I thought that I would never do...

But that reveal is for another time. For now, enjoy the Developer's version of the UMPD. It's there for you.

One final note: It's premiere on Halloween is only a mere coincidence. I had to release it at some point; Why not now? Think of it as 'a treat'.

2024-10-27: The final touches are being put on the "Developer's" version of the Unicursal Maze Path Designer (UMPD). If I was more industrious, it would likely have already debuted. However, there's a stark difference between just myself using it and getting it ready for the masses. You do want to put your best foot forward, even if it is the proverbial "two left feet." If I shame myself enough, maybe I'll even put it out at some later time today or within the next few days.

In the rush to debut the new version of the UMPD, I had forgotten just how close I am in creating all of the unicursal paths for the second original pair of the determined 6x6 field. Given that each one is taking roughly six months to complete, the oversight is forgivable. You can't be aware of all things at all times. A "back-of-the-envelope" assessment of how many days are left before completion is around three weeks, probably a bit less. How time flies. Between this field and the first starting point from the undetermined 5x5 field being completed... Well, every now and then, planets do align if you wait around long enough.

Sloth has prevented me from working on several other aspects of the website and in my research. To be fair, I do have other interests and, as much as I enjoy working on unicursal mazes, it's not as if I sleep with them at night as if they are a teddy bear or a security blanket. To mangle the comedian Groucho Marx's response to a woman who claimed to have seven children (which he probably didn't say, if modern historians are to be trusted), "Lady, I like cigars but even I take them out of my mouth on occasion."

And the website keeps growing in followers (28 as of this writing) to which I fall back upon a familiar refrain: Thank you for your patronage and support. I hope that you enjoy this website and that it gives you some amount of amusement and enjoyment during a time in our planet's history where one can't consume anything without an unhealthy dollop of politics or religion. I try to keep my political opinions to myself but this is a math-oriented (and, by extension, science) website so take that for the not-so-subtle hint as to where my affiliations lay.

2024-10-20: Some weeks are busy; Others are quiet. This has been a quiet week. That's not necessarily a bad thing as, I keep stressing, this is a hobby, not a job. While I do enjoy working on it, I do have to enjoy working on it; Otherwise, the work is no different than vacuuming a floor or dusting a shelf.

Even during quiet weeks, though, progress continues to be made. The second original pair for the 6x6 determined field continues to grind on and my estimations that the first original pair would have more completed paths than the second one...? Well, it wouldn't be my first inaccurate prediction. And, knowing my discipline for not making predictions, it won't be my last.

A nice feature of these weekly blog entries is that they subtly shame me into making more progress than I have made previously. Perhaps I'll find it in myself to release the new version of the UMPD sooner rather than later. Anything to distract me from the perils of an already perilous election cycle that likely won't end in early November...

2024-10-13: I'm getting closer to releasing another version of the UMPD (Unicursal Maze Path Designer). Is it perfect? Hardly. Is it 'idiot-proof'? Not even close. And when will it be releassed? Whenever I feel as though it's 'good enough.' And, currently, it's not good enough quite yet.

To be specific, all that I'm doing is trying to make it into a complete development suite.

The current UMPD on the website is nice enough for consumers to toy around with; I'm not going to knock it since I designed it myself. Can you make mazes with it? Of course. You can even save your creations in a SVG format and share it with your family, friends, co-workers or whomever else that you're brave enough to reveal that you have a fascination with unicursal paths.

The current developer's version of the UMPD is a slightly bit more robust. I'm not trying to hide it from people or anything; It's just geared more for my own purposes. A bit less user-friendly and a bit more useful in producing unicursal paths meant to be seen on this website.

The upcoming version of UMPD, though, will bring the tools of the developer into the hands of the people. It will allow just about anyone who wanders onto the website the ability to create their own unicursal path and complete the full development cycle of one. You have read the learning module about Cycles, haven't you? If not, what are you waiting for?

Nothing is perfect, mind you, and I have no plans of switching over from my current development methods to this one. However, for the artistically-impaired (and I count myself in that group), you could do far worse in your unicursal path studies.

And I'd like to acknowledge, not for bragging purposes, the astonishment of having 26 followers. Thank you. I know that pressing a button in order to follow a website here on Neocities is an easy and quick activity but it does mean something, at least, to me. I can't give back your time and so I hope that the time that you spend on this website is meaningful and pleasant. I try for my website to be a humble island of quiet in an ever-increasing sea of harsh noise. Hopefully, it succeeds on that level.

2024-10-06: Have you seen all of the 4x5 determined mazes in the Parade section yet? It's quite the achievement if I do say so myself. And I do.

And, being the efficiency aficianado, I'm bowled over by the fact that it takes just 2% (a bit less than 2% if I'm being completely honest but we all love whole numbers) of the space to display those mazes as opposed to throwing a bunch of pictures onto the website. And that's before adding in the time to arrange the pictures and the HTML infrastructure and other factors.

Cheers and celebrations aside, though, the achievement was not without lessons learned about the workflow. It's the same type of lesson most people learned when they're in school: Pulling an all-nighter in order to study for an exam is rarely a good idea nor does it end well. Best to take it slow, lest errors creep in at the most inopportune of times.

As much as I enjoy converting completed mazes into a digital format, I must regard such work as 'easy' work or, at the very least, 'desireable' work.

For the 'less desireable' work, the tasks are several and daunting: I need to reboot my research into the 'rules' of unicursal mazes and that involves a fair amount of artistry skill that I may or may not have, given the enthusiasm and ingenuity of the moment. I need to continue on my obstacle research which is both painfully slow and not entirely rewarding. I should probably back up my research. I need to create more templates for undetermined mazes and, by extension, research more starting points for them as well. I need to create more content for the website in terms of learning modules.

And those are just the tasks that I have the enthusiasm to write about if only because there is the plausible chance of completing them. There is another layer of tasks that can only be described as 'theoretically' possible since my talents rarely outrun my desires. And beyond those tasks? Well, everyone has pipe dreams. Don't they?

2024-09-29: It's never fun painting yourself out of a corner that you've painted yourself into. Of course, to be fair, I didn't think that I had painted myself into a corner in the first place.

The Unicursal Maze Path Designer was never intended to replace my normal workflow for creating unicursal mazes. All that I had wanted it to do was to be a platform for displaying unicursal mazes in a format-friendly and efficient manner. And, after a lot of hard work (at least, for me), I had accomplished just that.

Of course, idle hands inevitably leads to the phenomenon of "feature creep." If the road to Hell is paved with "good intentions," as the saying goes, then the road to Development Hell is paved with the phrase "While we're at it, let's add just one more feature..." being uttered one too many times... And taken seriously, at that.

I have many other aspects of the website and of the research to work on. Such temptations inevitably fade over time and, as always, there's always some ancillary benefit to research that "goes nowhere." The UMPD itself, oddly enough, is one such beneficiary.

The next batch of completed Unicursal Mazes from the 6x6 Determined field has been copied over to a completed folder and, therefore, it's time once again to compare and contrast how many completed paths that the two original pairs have produced thu far. Who doesn't enjoy a horse race every now-and-then?

When last we left, our 2nd original pair (#008) was in the lead with 410 original mazes to our 1st original pair (#000) with only 166. With the additional of all mazes with 10 decision points, though, the gap between the two original pairs has narrowed a bit. #008 has produced 139 mazes with 10 decision points while #000 has produced 205 mazes. The grand total thus far for each is #008 with 549 mazes to #000's 371.

2024-09-22: In less than a week, a new batch of completed mazes for the determined 6x6 field will be transferred over to the 'completed' category. Oh, the suspense! It's hard to believe that it has been over five months since this latest original pair began to be processed. It's hard to believe that it has been over one year since the 6x6 determined field was started. Where has the time gone?

And writing about how time flies, don't look now but the 5x5 undetermined field will soon be completing all of its mazes for its first (of three) starting points. I know that predictions are not my forte (see my not-very-accurate predictions on when all of the mazes for the first original pair on the 6x6 determined field would be completed should you require encouragement that your own prediction abilities are comparatively sub-par) but mid-November 2024 wouldn't entirely be off-base at this point for a date of completion.

Finally, I've been working on bringing all of the 4x5 determined mazes to the Parade. It's been quite the task and I don't recommend partaking in such an endeavor unless you have a strong constitution. It's not a state secret that a goal of mine is to get ALL of the completed mazes converted over to both the 'Parade' and 'Catalog' standards (I hope that everyone is enjoying creating their own with the online creator and TrueType font, respectively); It will take far more time than originally anticipated, though. Just another example of "Man plans; God laughs" but when hasn't that been the case in the world of content creation?

2024-09-15: In the world of programming, you can never be too certain of yourself.

Case in point: I discovered a strange quirk in the "Parade" method of displaying the unicursal mazes. 2x3 fields would render just fine but 2x4, 2x5 and so forth would not. 3x4 and 3x5 fields also rendered just fine. It took a bit of detective work but, eventually, the cause was identified and fixed. The javascript files that I use on the website are 'stripped' of programming comments in order to reduce their file size. However, I do keep versions of those files that are fully commented for just these sorts of events. Without those comments, I would have been lost. It's just another reminder to always fully document your programming code.

I also had a fairly close call in not providing an update. I understand that all science and all topics are politicized to one degree or another in this day and age so forgive me if the following story becomes too "political."

I received the latest Covid-19 booster vaccine and, true to form as all of the other ones I had received, it packed quite the punch. The result was being sidelined for most of a day but, for the part where I wasn't, I managed to perform all of my 'standard work.' Mission Accomplished. It's just another reminder that, although the standard work may not be much when observed on a per-day basis, the amount of that work is a feature and not a bug. Even when laid up with the after-effects of being vaccinated, I can still complete the task. Talk about dedication to your craft.

2024-09-08: And so ends the 0306-18 diagonal mazes. There were 363 original paths. Onward and upward to the next original pair.

The 3xN fields hold an unique property in that they have original pairs that can't be completed by having paths that only move in orthogonal directions (up, down, left or right). I've got templates for the 3x8 field as well but I have to ask myself how far I'd like to go with this research. Even though it is only 1 cycle per day, those cycles do add up over time. Don't believe me? Just look at the fact that I completed this latest 'original pair' in just about a year.

In other exciting news, my website has now experienced more than 30,000 views. Not too shabby for a website devoted towards unicursal mazes. If someone had informed me that I'd have 24 followers and 30,000 views after 4 years, I wouldn't have believed it. Granted, I'm sure some of those views were from bots and other forms of automated views but I'd like to think that the majority of them were people.

The pendulum has a tendency to always swing in the other direction and now that direction, from a lot of activity back to a more normal workflow, has begun. That's not a bad thing because, in the end, the work is continuing.

2024-09-01: Life is getting back to normal here or, at the very least, what passes as 'normal' these days.

The pendulum, as it always does, swings in both directions. Although I'm a bit disheartened that no one has downloaded the Asterion font yet (What? No one wants to make high-quality unicursal mazes in their own word processor?), it hasn't dissuaded me from continuing my work on the catalog.

Work continues on with the 3x3 obstruction paths. Obstruction paths will always be a niche research avenue but it is a research avenue, nonetheless. And it's a cheap date, so to speak. 'A few minutes here, a few minutes there' does add up over time and obstruction research is one such beneficiary to that train-of-thought.

One area of research that needs to be restarted are making the rules for unicursal paths. I even know the source of my procrastination: The picture templates are too small in order to place the necessary numbers and letters onto the paths. I've always had this notion that the mazes need to be small in order to store well considering that I will potentially be making thousands of them... And those 'thousands' all have to be stored somewhere. Even in cyberspace, be it the internet or on a personal computer, storage is not infinite.

However, small pictures means less resolution and less resolution means less pixels for information such as numbers and letters. Every solution that I've thought up so far trying to keep the picture size small has some inadequacy about them that causes me to intellectually wince. Roman numerals, morse code, the Mayan form of numerals... So far, the research has come up empty. Therefore, it may be time to just swallow hard and create larger templates.

And one last word about storage size... Don't look now but I've calculated the amount of space saved by using SVG and other compression methods for displaying unicursal mazes besides just ordinary pictures. By my calculation (which, admittedly, could be wrong), I'm using 90% less space. Not too shabby, if I say so myself.

2024-08-25: I suppose that an explanation is in order. It's only fair.

The re-organization of the website was a long time in coming. I won't go into all of the details but the major reasons should be obvious to anyone who has ever created a website. In brief, the larger that a website gets, the more organized that it needs to be. Organization means creating new folders, new sub-folders, and wondering just where everything should go and why.

Before anyone asks why I had never bothered to "future-proof" my website long before I needed to do it... Well, this IS a hobby. Four years ago, I had no idea it would last one year, let alone four. It was just a sleepy little website in the middle of the proverbial nowhere. Viewers would look at a few Unicursal Mazes, learn about the research and then leave. The first seismic shift, when the website went from its original "gray" look to the "white" look, was merely because my HTML skills were still sufficient for the year 2000. Back then, all that you needed to do for a prospective employer to sit up and take notice of your 'l33t' computer skills was to demonstrate that you knew Microsoft Office and that you knew what the acronym 'CSS' stood for in terms of web programming. The times, obviously, have changed.

This re-organization, though, was spurred on by my growing proficiency (I won't claim to be 'proficient'; That would be insulting to those who actually are) of javascript. The butterfly effect, the theory that one distant event can have significant ramifications for entities completely unrelated to that event, has been proven true in this case.

A major new addition to the website is a TrueType font that I created quite some time ago. Remember when I kept writing about dabbling with web technologies? That wasn't just all boastful rhetoric. The problem was that I didn't quite know what to do with the font. Releasing it out into the wild was a possibility but it wasn't very interactive. Also, being a 'journeyman' in anything has its disadvantages; Although creating something for yourself is always personally rewarding, complete strangers do insist upon a certain level of quality. It's all fun and good to encourage your neighbor to partake in their hobbies but how many of your neighbors are willing to pay good money (or their time) in order to watch you do it? At some point, you do have to be good at something.

It wasn't until I had created what would eventually become the Unicursal Maze Path Designer that a potential good use for the font had been realized.

You would think that the UMPD would have spelt doom for the font; After all, with sharp, colorful lines that an user could play with all day, who needed a drab, monochrome font? Yet I had always envisioned a large, all-encompassing catalog that detailed every single unicursal maze (the original plus all of its variants). Typing them out by hand would be a disasterously-long task (Trust me when I write that I tried doing just that at one point). Typing out just the original path and allowing javascript to 'translate' the original into its variants, though... That proved feasible... And the font (in my not-so-humble opinion) looks pretty dapper if you ask me. Where's the problem if a customer is given the choice of vanilla and chocolate?

However, where to put this new feature caused a domino effect that eventually caused the entire website to be reorganized. The Gallery had long stopped being a gallery. There was no sense in keeping "website notifications" as I had never really used it.

And there may be more efficiencies still to realize. Until then, enjoy the offerings here and, as always... Thank you for visiting my website.

2024-08-18: All of the 9-decision point original paths have been generated by the 6x6 determined field, pair #2. There were 255 new paths for a total of 410 so far (paths comprising from 6- through 9-decision points). Pair #1, by comparison, only had 93 original paths with 9 decision points, bringing its total up to 166. Pair #2 continues to enjoy its lead.

And there have been over 100 original pairs discovered in the 8x9 determined field. Completion on that task won't occur until some time in 2025.

Change, elsewhere, is afoot.

Without revealing too much, there shall be another organizational shift in the website. For those few who may have saved links to various webpages here, old advice tends to be the best advice: Link to the main page for the greatest assurance that you won't one day find some version of a "404 not found" webpage staring back at you. And when will all of that be revealed? Hopefully soon but I doubt that it will occur before the 4th anniversary of this website next week. A "soft opening" before then is not entirely out-of-the-question...

Best to end this update here and get back to the real work at hand.

2024-08-11: How much work for how much reward? That's the question everyone asks themselves over just about everything that they do. It's no different here.

I reminded myself recently that this website will turn four years old soon. I don't have anything special planned for the occasion (or do I?). It did jog my memory of numerous occasions where I have spent an enormous amount of time looking into various web technologies. The field of Unicursal Maze Research is admittedly dry and so anything that spices up an user's visit never hurts.

The sad truth is that my programming abilities are limited and my artistic abilities are equally limited. And even if both of those abilities were robust, time is limited and enthusiasm... Well, this is a hobby. I've always regarded all of my web ventures as being tiny, eccentric outposts; The proverbial small farmer's stand at the end of the driveway leading to an equally small farm where the customer puts a few coins into an unattended jar in exchange for a tomato or ear of corn. Anything can be turned into an industry; But what do you give up in order to become one?

And still I persevere in the odd event that the stars align in that my vision, my talents & my enthusiasm all find themselves in agreement. The results are plain to see: The Unicursal Maze Path Designer is one such event and the re-designed website is another. Numerous other endeavors, like stars in the sky, take a little longer to assess whether they will eventually shine down upon the users.

You never know what might appear here; After all, the website is turning four soon.

2024-08-04: I'm over ninety days into finding all of the original pairs for the 8x9 determined field. How time flies when you're having fun.

In the meanwhile, I have eleven more days to go before I count up the next batch of original paths for the 6x6 determined field, pair #2. Those will be the 9-decision point paths being added.

It is never a good idea to get anyone's hopes up but research still continues into how to adapt various web technologies towards creating ever-more entertaining depictions of unicursal mazes. Some efforts are more fruitful than others as all research tends to be. And, regardless of the progress made, it hasn't exactly been smooth sailing.

There's less than five months remaining until we bid farewell to the year 2024. Where exactly has the time gone?

2024-07-28: Restarting an entire line of research is very daunting. I would only recommend it if absolutely necessary.

Obstacle research has always been one of many sore points in my research. It's not a part of the daily "standard" work but more of a 'when I feel like it' endeavor. Of course, all research should be a 'because I feel like it' for when it isn't, something is likely wrong. And, previously, in obstacle research, there was something wrong.

Humility has always been one of my closest partners in this research. Constantly being wrong and/or going in the proverbial 'wrong direction' has been consistent throughout this journey, obstacle research being just one avenue. Up until now, I had always had a rule that no two obstacles could be orthogonally side-by-side. At the time, I thought that the reasoning behind such a rule was clear: What was the point of obstacle research if the obstacles could be just one big blob?

Yet, the more that I thought about this rule, the less that it made sense. Obstacle research is a niche task at best. I doubt that anything useful will come of it except, of course, for the satisfaction of knowing some minute statistic of determined mazes in general. But like so much that I perform already, I devote a little time towards it anyway, because, you never know what may lead to the next revelation...

2024-07-21: I'm experiencing burnout at the moment. Nobody's perfect.

After working on the Unicursal Maze Path Designer (UMPD) and the Unicursal Maze Path Slide Show (UMPSS), I'm not sure of what more I can do. You can always add another feature onto any program; Am I right, Chris Roberts? However, the Law of Diminishing Returns quickly comes in to play. A working knowledge of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) and Javascript can only get you so far before you have to become proficient at one, the other or even both. I have no problem giving any of my challenges "the ol' college try" but, at some point, even the most dedicated zealot learns their lesson the hard way that there is no substitute for skill, talent and creativity except for skill, talent & creativity. And, for the moment, I'm fresh out of all three of them.

There's a new learning module: Cycles. Is it perfect? Of course not but, as the philosopher G.K. Chesterton once wrote, "Anything worth doing is worth doing badly." Sage words, indeed. And there is much more that can be done.

All of this attention on web content has forced me to go back to what I used to do: Making unicursal paths, not that I ever abandoned that. Specifically, it's high time for me to reboot my obstruction research which is not exactly what I'd prefer to do but that's exactly why I'm doing it. You can't consider yourself "well-rounded" if you don't address your areas of severe deficiencies, now can you?

2024-07-14: The first project derived from the Unicursal Maze Path Designer (UMPD) has been released.

The Unicursal Maze Path Slide Show (UMPSS) is based upon the UMPD and was designed to showcase unicursal paths. It is quite a wonderful instrument; I encourage everyone to visit the first exhibit which contains this feature, Exhibit #5, 3x4 Undetermined Paths. Yes, you read that correctly - undetermined paths. As much as I enjoy creating determined paths, undetermined paths deserve to be seen and appreciated as well. What better way to showcase my appreciation for that type of unicursal path than to debut a new technology alongside with it?

The UMPSS is the first of the derivative technologies from the UMPD to be released. Several more are in development and I hope to be able to display them here in due time.

The UMPSS was necessary for several reasons, not the least of which was the displaying of Unicursal Mazes in a very flexible and forgiving format. The advantages simply speak for themselves: Vector graphics (the "VG" in "SVG" whenever you see that acronym here) are infinitely scalable (the "S" in "SVG"), so no more fiddling with picture sizes through Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) mark-ups and other such annoyances. The lines are always crisp and they don't blur with enlargening. The format is supported by every major modern web browser today. The pictures may be fit inside of an HTML file and so limitations on what can and can't be displayed become moot (which nullifies my earlier frustration with trying to display .PNG files at Neocities which weren't allowed but .png files were).

And a nifty bonus is, ultimately, compression. While the SVG picture itself is large, the digital information to create them is small. Since the SVG picture is dynamically-generated from the digital information, the amount of space needed to display these images is drastically reduced. Having been born in the era where every bit & byte mattered, such efficiences become more than just a bonus. Even still, Neocities does have a space limit of 1 gigabyte of space per website. While I don't imagine ever coming close to exceeding that limit here, it's always nice to know that I have, at least, one tool in order to deal with such an issue.

This is a wonderful & hopeful time for the website. I thank you, as always, for visiting and I hope that you enjoy your time here.

2024-07-07: I have only myself to blame.

I insisted upon placing completely dynamically-generated SVG elements into the Unicursal Maze Path Designer. I wanted users to have full access to any field from 2x2 to 10x10. I wanted them to have four colors. I wanted users to have full access to all of the symbols (even the 'red X' obstruction one).

Nothing would be out-of-bounds. It would be the World's Premiere Universal Maze Path Designer (primarily because, as far as I know, it's the only one but you can't blame me for being a trailblazer).

And now, of course, all of that freedom has come back to haunt me as I embark on other endeavors that are derivative of that one. Multiple development stages have caused me to deal with slightly different versions of the same program, causing all sorts of havoc. It's quite embarrassing.

As a result, my next major effort is simple: Document and clean up the code that I've already written. Not that I haven't already tried accomplishing that objective, of course; When you're in the heat of production, though, so many ideas get rejected, added back in, modified and so forth.

Progress delayed is not progress denied. I'm merely progressing in areas that I should have progressed in sooner.

And all of this discussion about the UMPD has overshadowed some otherwise meaningful milestones. I'm already three months(!) into creating original paths for the second original pair in the determined 6x6 field. Where has the time gone? I'm already two months(!) into discovering original pairs in the 8x9 determined field. It feels as though I may finally be reaching the end of creating paths for the first of three original starting points for the 5x5 undetermined field.

Which reminds me - I just added all of the 8-decision point original paths that have been generated by the 6x6 determined field, pair #2. There were 85 new paths for a total of 155 so far (paths comprising of 6-, 7- and now 8-decision points). The first pair had produced 63 original paths with 8-decision points, for a grand total of 73 during that same period. Pair #2 remains in the lead for now.

2024-07-02: Well, that prior blog post aged rather poorly.

The next version of the Unicursal Maze Path Designer has been released. Go and play with it. Test it out. See if it breaks. It shouldn't break but, if it does, let me know on my profile page here at Neocities. I did what I could to test it out.

As I wrote in the prior blog entry, one of the most significant changes is that you may now dynamically-generate any unicursal field from 2x2 through 10x10. And before anyone snarkily asks why I didn't include the 1xN fields... Well, that's called a straight line in most places... Not too many decision points in any of those fields...

With the release of this version of the UMPD, there isn't much left to add. I'll be tweaking the program for weeks and months to come but I don't envision any major new features anytime soon. There are a whole host of subjective decisions concerning the program that I could constantly fuss over, such as whether the sequence of point symbols should be (blank, start point, decision point, end point, obstruction) or (blank, decision point, start point, end point, obstruction). Some of these decisions are meaningless and others would have a direct impact on derivative projects stemming from this new program.

And there is no rest for the weary because, on the heels of this release begins work on the first major derivative project from this platform. I've already put quite a bit of effort into that project but held off on developing it further until I completed this part.

2024-06-30: And now, back to your regularly scheduled blog entries.

For those in the audience waiting with baited breath as to when the next version of the Unicursal Maze Path Designer shall be released, my only advice is to keep waiting. However, if it is any consolation, the wait shall not be as long as initially anticipated. Months? No. Weeks? Perhaps not plural and, if it is, not many.

And the next version is rather swell, if I do say so myself. It currently works to some degree and the first question on a reader's mind may very well be, "So why not just release it if it works?" which, on the surface, is a perfectly logical question to ask. The answer, though, is rather simple - Because even though it works, it doesn't work well. Perfect may be the enemy of good but you have to, at least, rise to the level of good before the analogy begins to apply. As an example, all of the prior versions of the UMPD may have been limited in scope but at least they worked as intended. The same can not be said for the present state of the upcoming version.

Yet progress is far enough along that I can reveal what the next version shall resemble in terms of capability.

For starters, all of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) tags are now dynamically-generated. Except for the SVG tags themselves, everything is generated through javascript. And that feature is important when the next feature is revealed: Dynamically-generated fields. All fields from 2x2 through 10x10 may be generated by the user. And for those who feel that a 10x10 field is a bit too puny for them, my response to that would be the Unicursal Maze equivalent of a certain weightlifting meme - "Bro, do you even cycle?"

Oh, and with much larger fields comes the necessary feature of dynamically scaling the size of that field on-the-fly.

To top it all off, there is a lot of behind-the-scenes optimization with the javascript coding. With experience comes efficiency. After all, what's the point of learning if you don't apply what you learn to your current efforts?

And the lessons learned with this application of the technology will branch out into other similar efforts as well.

As the old pop song goes, "the future is so bright, I have to wear shades." Indeed.

2024-06-25: If a Saturday edition of a blog post was rare, how rare is a Tuesday edition? It's not without reason.

Removed from excessive giddiness (you can't be stoic all of the time), I still implore those who still haven't tried the Unicursal Maze Path Designer (formerly "the Interactive SVG Unicursal Maze field") to do so. There is now even more incentive to dabble in Unicursal Maze Path creation with this new version. Here's a brief summary:

• There are now 4 colors (red, blue, green & gold)
• The "X" has been added so that obstacles and mistakes may be highlighted
• The javascript and SVG coding has been more optimized
• The instructions are a bit clearer

The good news is that this version has been released. The not-so-good news is that this will likely be the last version to be released for awhile. Is 'awhile' a week? A month? Several months? That depends on how much "feature creep" occurs between this version and the next one. Perfect is the enemy of good and I'm still learning to live with 'good enough.' And despite this glorious achievement of releasing this latest version, my SVG and javascript skills are no match for what I want out of this achievement.

Without revealing too much (not in order to be secretive but simply because my programming skills might not be capable of realizing it), the technology isn't limited to just being interactive but also illustrative as well. Remember back when I was briefly stifled by the whole "PNG versus png" debacle? Neocities has no problem with displaying SVG.

I'm not ignoring other aspects of the website; Far from it. Yet you would have to be quite heartless not to go with "the hot hand" for the time being.

2024-06-22: This is a RARE Saturday edition of the blog and, for good reason -- Because I can not contain my excitement any further.

Run, don't walk, and check out the latest new page on this website, the Interactive SVG Unicursal Maze field. If you don't want to read the rest of this blog entry, I can't blame you; It's just so much fun to click on that thing and create your very own 4x4 unicursal maze!

Now, as the name implies, it does require a web browser that uses SVG (scalable vector graphics) and javascript but practically all browsers have them at this point so you should be fine.

Now, the javascript is still a little rough around the edges and there are a lot of features that still needs to be added but this feature is a good testbed for future applications... And I have a lot of ideas for this.

I don't want to write anymore! Go and play with it! That's what it's there for! Create determined paths! Create undetermined paths! Create loops of either kind! And if you make a mistake... There's always the 'Erase' button so that you can start all over again! I'll write more when I've finally calmed down.

2024-06-16: Whenever I feel the urge to promote this activity into being more than just a hobby (a hobby that, I will remind the audience, takes up more than two solid weeks of my life per year if I put all of the time spent on it together), Real Life^TM decides to intervene in order to remind me that there are always more pressing matters to attend to.

Regardless of dealing with Life's Little Surprises with little to no notice, however, I continue to pursue avenues of interest that may one day wind up on the website. Without giving too much away, the desire for the website to be more interactive has always been near the top of my wish list. And while my desires, like many people, are far more ambitious than my ability to accomplish them, that doesn't stop the yearning to find a little something to place onto the website for people to pleasantly pass the time.

I have no illusions that I will convert anyone into believing that this pursuit is worthy of their own time; As addictive as it is for me to pursue, I must accept that others are not ambitious to jump in. I'm not tripping over myself in order to pick up skiing, motorcycle repair, ice sculpture carving, playing the oboe or needlepoint but that doesn't stop others from devoting a healthy chunk of their lives in pursuing those crafts to the point where they're more than just proficient. As the saying goes, "To each their own."

Yet the pursuit of technologies to make my website more appealing has led to some unintended pleasantries. After all, not every door that you blindly open up shall reveal peril. Even a stopped watch can be right twice a day. At some point, I'll find something to throw onto the website that may be of interest to the masses. Just you wait.

2024-06-09: Sometimes, I have a lot to write about Unicural Mazes within a week. And, sometimes, I don't.

It's been thirty-five days already since I started finding all of the original pairs in a determined 8x9 field. It's been two full months since I started finding all of the original paths for the second original pair in the 6x6 determined field. The first original starting point for the undetermined 5x5 field continues to plod along; Hazarding guesses as to when that would be complete at this stage isn't a reckless endeavor. I can't go wrong by writing "Before 2025." And diagonals are continue to progress, albeit slowly (the slow progress being a feature, not a bug).

As much as I would enjoy revealing a new and exciting discovery every week, there are just some weeks that are downright dull. And, as you get older, you learn that 'dull' is often good. Let someone else live in interesting times. 'Interesting' is a double-edged sword, one that has swung back at me in the wrong direction far too many times for my tastes.

2024-06-02: The next batch of 6x6 determined field, pair #2 completed unicursal paths have been copied over. There were 59 paths, each with 7 decision points for a grand total of 70 completed paths so far. And lest anyone would care to partake in the 'horse race' between pair #1 & #2, pair #1 had no paths with 6 decision points and only 11 paths with 7 decision points. However, as written before, in the world of unicursal mazes, if you want a lot of completed paths, it is better to start later than to start sooner. Pair #2 may have the head start for now but allow me to remind the reading audience that pair #1 wound up with 1,041 completed paths; There's still a very long way to go.

In other news, I finally made the first back-up of my progress in over four months. What took me so long? Well, nobody's perfect. In a better world, I would back-up my progress every day; Normally, I would do so once per month. Here's hoping that even this level of caution is ultimately only a minor inconvenience in time and effort.

And as for the next learning module... Well, it's getting there. I'm better with words than with pictures and the modern Internet (along with its users which includes myself) prefers visual media. I suppose that if I dropped everything, as the saying goes, I would get it done faster but then the next question would naturally be, 'What do I drop?' A lot of my other interests would not take kindly to being shoved to the back of the line; Would you?

2024-05-26: In a few days time, I will copy over the next batch of completed unicursal paths from the 6x6 determined field, original pair #2. It isn't a 'horse race' and I still suspect that pair #1 will ultimately have more paths than this one. Of course, I have less than a pristine record when it comes to accurate predictions as prior blog entries most readily prove.

There are times when the amount of work that I should be performing is daunting. The standard amount of work that I perform each day was never supposed to be synonymous with the only amount of work I perform at all for this endeavor. However, Real Life^TM rarely yields to your itinerary, even if unintentionally. Sometimes, even doing the standard work requires a handsome amount of sacrifice that turns the hobby into an outright chore.

For instance, had I the luxury of more time this past week, I would have begun work on a revamped method for obstacle path analysis. I may have also indulged in creating graphics for the latest learning module. I may even have invested some time with a gallery project.

There is always a deadline; Whether or not you meet it is entirely dependent upon factors that are often beyond your control. What you learn over time is merely to concentrate on what you may control and hope that you don't encounter more adversity than you can handle.

2024-05-19: Performing the standard work every day has become a metronome in my life. Does it have a 'calming effect' on the rougher events in my life? I wouldn't go that far but I also wouldn't say "No" out-of-hand, either.

I suppose that when you've performed a feat for long enough and often enough, your thoughts naturally turn to when it is all going to end. I'm not trying to be macabre or morbid in any way; It's just from experience that the phrase "Nothing lasts forever" really does ring true. Retail stores that you used to frequent suddenly close, friends move away, television shows that you look forward to watching are cancelled, beloved pets get old and die, websites close, co-workers find another job someplace else or (if you're old enough) just plain retire. The list of unwanted change is endless.

Experiencing even a little bit of unwanted and abrupt change has caused me to always try to stay as consistent as possible. Who knows who relies upon this site nowadays for their latest completed determined path? Do I really want to be the jerk that disappoints them by saying, "Well, it's been a nice run, but that's all folks!"? People adapt and move on from the disappointment of unwanted change but why rock the boat when you don't have to?

Therefore, it's a delicate balance of how ambitious I am with on-site content with how ambitious I am with off-site content. The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long. I could drop everything and really pour out some additional content - New galleries, new sections of the website, new learning modules... But there's a reason why 'work' is called work and once you deem something to be psychologically a chore, you just don't want to do it anymore. It's just that simple.

Slow and steady wins the race. Eventually, more galleries will appear and so will more learning modules. No one is going anywhere for the time being; That's the trait of a steady community and also a prosperous one. I say, let someone else burn themselves out in a blaze of glory. Better them than me.

2024-05-12: In the old days, I would always wait until I had completed all of the cycles from an original pair before copying all of the completed paths of that pair to another folder. However, the yields of completed paths from the current field (6x6 for those who have forgotten) have gotten too large for an "all-at-one-time" event to occur. Therefore, I have resorted to counting through them once all of one category of decision points have been processed. In other words, if I've processed all paths with 5 decision points in them, then I would copy all of the completed paths with 5 decision points over, and so forth.

Recently, all of the paths for the #002 original pair of the 6x6 determined field were completed. Thus, the horse race between #001 (the one that ended on 2024-04-16) and #002 has begun with #002 officially yielding 11 paths so far. Anyone thinking that #002 might outpace #001 should be hesitant before celebrating. #002 already had completed paths with only six decision points; #001 started having completed paths at seven decision points. Generally speaking, the later that completed paths start, the more of them that there tends to be. It's too early to say but perhaps we might see the start of original pair #003 this year.

Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, "Early to bed and Early to rise makes a man, healthy, wealthy & wise." In terms of unicursal mazes, though, the sooner that you see completed paths means that the sooner that the entire original pair will be completely exhausted and the less completed paths that you will have relative to other original pairs in that same field.

And, in related news, it has been now a bit over one month since I started working on this second pair. As always, time flies when you're having fun. It's already May; Where has the year gone already?

2024-05-05: When it rains, it pours.

This week brought about the end of finding all of the original pairs in the 7x9 determined field. Far be it for me to steal the thunder from the 'Achievements' page but it is notable in that I won't be completing finding all of the original pairs in the 8x9 determined field until mid-2025. The larger the field, the more original pairs that there will be.

I added another follower to my website, for a grand total of twenty, for which I am always grateful. People have an unlimited choice of where they spend their time on the Information Superhighway and to spend even a few moments here is always appreciated.

And, by complete coincidence (or maybe not, considering that the Internet, just like certain deities, works in mysterious ways), my website has hit 20,000 views since it premiered nearly 4 years ago. Call me a cheap date but I'm impressed, given that the totality of the website are unicursal paths with some educational material and some galleries of them.

All of this attention and action has compelled me to work a bit more than usual on presentation materials. Not to spoil the suspense, but it's time to re-boot my obstacle research and also re-examine how I create mazes for rules research. And maybe it's high time for undetermined mazes to get more than the occasional mention in a gallery or learning module.

Beyond the standard daily work, there's a lot to do. It's time to buckle down and do at least some of it.

2024-04-28: I'm not above a little website-cleaning. It's a necessary evil and one chore that I should perform a lot more of. You'll notice that the blog page is a lot shorter than what it once was. The posts have now been separated by year. The revision isn't radical but I'm fairly certain that my regular viewers aren't coming here for the bleeding-edge web design.

Writing about regular viewers, I recently had the pleasure of hitting 19 followers within the Neocities neighborhood of content creators. I appreciate each and every one of them; I'm under no illusions that the content that I produce is "must-see" viewing. However, if I do brighten up someone's day even a tiny bit, then it's always worth the effort. At the very least, it brightens up my day.

On the topic of content creation, another learning module is slowly taking shape. When it will arrive on the website is anyone's guess; Your's is as good as mine. However, as one ages, the ability to procrastinate weakens with every successive viewing of the obituary page. Nothing like being in the shadow of imposing and unavoidable deadline to sober up one's priorities.

By this time next week, there should be another achievement. The 7x9 determined field is almost complete in terms of finding all of their original pairs. After that, the rest of 2024 (and a healthy chunk of 2025) will be devoted towards the 8x9 determined field. Before anyone comments to the effect of, "Will you even get to make unicursal paths for any of these fields?" Well... Hope springs eternal, doesn't it? After all... I've got 19 followers at the moment and I never thought that I would ever achieve that... So I guess that anything is possible...

2024-04-21: If only I had the enthusiasm to create more content beyond the 'standard work' that I perform every day. I keep wondering about my very first, original version (an unrealized version) of this website. Yes, it would have been impractical, cumbersome and burdensome to maintain. And yet I know it would probably garner more interest than this current one.

I recently went back and took a critical look at my philosophy behind my 'punctured' (or obstacle) research. Without getting into the details, I may need to rethink that entire branch of research. Scrapping a lot of research is bad but, when going in the wrong direction, the best course of action is to turn around. At the very least, stopping is recommended.

My website was recently featured on Neocities; I highly doubt that the 200+ views a day was due to a sudden interest in my obscure hobby. It's always nice to be appreciated, even if temporarily. As much as I'd like to make a quick buck (retirement doesn't come cheap, you know), I've committed myself to not having people pay for my content. I'm not above a little merchandising but the price of everything else has gone up; I figured I'd buck that trend.

2024-04-14: There's a lot of work to do. There's always a lot of work to do. That's just how it is in the world of unicursal maze research.

Whenever I start work on a new original pair, I ponder all of the 'little things': Those tasks that are beyond what I consider my 'standard work' that I perform every day. I need to make more website content. I need to investigate how to research 3D original paths effectively. I need to start analyzing undetermined mazes. I need to devote more time towards analyzing the data that I already create during my daily standard work. I need... Well, you get the idea.

And, of course, I have to do all of those tasks while still performing my daily standard work which takes about an hour per day, every day.

It's a delicate balance and one that, I am forced to admit, I'm not very good at. Yes, this is a hobby. Yes, this is a hobby that I'm never going to be paid for in any sort of way. However, anything worth doing is still worth doing; At some point, you have to commit yourself to some goal and those goals all come with sacrifice. How much sacrifice, though, am I willing to tolerate for next-to-no-return?

I am always grateful for more followers from fellow Neocities website creators. I'm up to 18 followers now; 10 would've been impressive for a site such as this one. With more followers comes more pressure to create more web content. If you don't believe me, the "eclipse" from earlier in the week was a direct result. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing and, since I'm still in the first days of finding new original paths working in a new original pair, I figured that the one-day-only event would be a nice little gift for everyone who follows the progress on a daily basis.

Finally, even though I've sworn off making predictions (refer to the fiasco of trying to predict when I would finish up the previous original pair), I can't help but think that this one might not last as long as the previous one. How much shorter will this original pair last compared to the previous one? Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

2024-04-07: Today begins work on the second original pair of the 6x6 determined field. Yesterday, I completed finding all of the original paths for the first original pair. The total was 1,041 original paths. Could there be 1,042? 1,043? More? It's certainly possible. I've made mistakes before and, I have no doubt, that I'll make them again.

1,041 original paths is a huge amount for one original pair. HUGE. In order to put that number into perspective, the entire total of all original paths for the 5x5 determined field is 920. The entire total of all original paths for the 5x6 determined field is 7,963. In other words, with just one original pair from the 6x6 determined field, I've made more original paths than all of the 5x5 field and around 7.6% of all of the 5x6 field. That's a lot... And there's another 44 pairs to go (including the one that I just started).

It may be awhile before I produce the first original path from this original pair. The larger the field, the longer it tends to take to get to that first original path. Will this be the last original pair started for this year? As I've already proven, my predictions are not entirely reliable. It would be best if I just reported the news and not tried to predict it.

2024-03-31: The End is Nigh... Next week, at some point, all of the paths for the first original pair of the 6x6 determined field will be done. See? Early April of 2024. Just as I had always predicted it, right? Right?

One change that has occurred in my workflow is a tiny tradition that I always had. In the old days, I would always wait until all of the original paths would be completed for a pair before I would transfer them to their own directory and count them up. With the 6x6 determined field, those days of waiting until everything is done is over. There are just too many original paths for me to do all of that all at once. Therefore, I've been transferring the original paths in sections. So far, I've counted up 899 original paths in this first original pair alone. Will this original pair (the very first one of the 6x6 determined field) be the first to produce 1,000+ original paths? It's quite possible. Wait... Didn't I write "probably not" to this question a while back? This is just one more reason why I should stop making predictions.

2024-03-24: The End is Nearer... For finding all of the paths for the first original pair of the 6x6 determined field. There are 8 more days as of the end of 2024-03-23 and, judging by some of the cycles still to go, the final day of work continues to be in early April 2024.

The thought has crossed my mind that, unless I increase my productivity, the 6x6 determined field will be the last one that I complete. Certainly, not every original pair will yield six months worth of paths. However, enough of them will to the point where the average may be six months per pair. Six months times sixty-five pairs is... Well, that's a lot. It's a very humbling estimate.

I knew that, when I started the 6x6 determined field that I would never get to the 'end.' At the time, I thought that meant to the 10x10 determined field. I never thought that it could potentially mean 'to the end of the 6x6 determined field.'

2024-03-17: The End is Near... At least, for finding all of the paths for the first original pair of the 6x6 determined field. There are 14 more days as of the end of 2024-03-16 and, judging by some of the cycles still to go, the final day of work will probably be in early April 2024.

I've gone through so many original pairs by now that I am able to spot certain trends regardless of the fields or the position of the pairs. For instance, there is always a "final full seven" of incomplete cycles that is at the very late end of the entire work. You obviously see a full seven incomplete cycles at the beginning but there's always at least one at the end. A 'last gasp,' if you will, before the pair is finally complete and all of the paths have been drawn.

2024-03-10: Did I write that maybe the completion of the first original pair of the 6x6 determined field would be completed by late March of 2024? I think that I should stop estimating the completion of this first original pair for my own reputation, as tattered as it has become in terms of these predictions. There are at least 17 days to go (as of 2024-03-09 and that is before my daily 'standard' work) and so it is almost assured that April 2024 is the new estimate for completion. I know, from experience, looking at all of the uncompleted cycles left that there will be at least a few more days beyond late March.

2024-03-03: Did I write only a few weeks ago that the first original pair of the 6x6 determined field would be completed by early March of 2024? Well, that estimate aged quite poorly. The new estimate is now late March of 2024. And I wouldn't be entirely surprised if that estimate slips into early April of 2024.

I know that the gallery has not seen any new additions lately. That, obviously, is my fault (Who else is running this place besides me?) but I'm at my wit's end in wondering just how to express unicursal paths in a way that is fun, exciting and educational... And also fits into Neocities' restrictions on what is and isn't allowed. Putting paths through various filters to make them look blocky or hand-drawn is momentarily amusing but it's ultimately hollow and empty.

I haven't performed a lot of extracurricular work on Unicursal Mazes lately beyond my "standard" work. As the weather improves, the prospect of doing even less work beyond the "standard" work increases. Still, I know that I have to liven up the website and get people more involved.

And in a very late development, I have now recorded 75 original pairs for the 7x9 determined field. There are plenty more still to go.

2024-02-25: Which will I complete first? The entire 6x6 determined field or the entire 5x5 undetermined field? Don't be overly hasty in your response. It's tempting to immediately reply that the 6x6 field will take longer. However, I only perform one cycle per day of the 5x5 undetermined field. And while I'm probably nearing the end of the first original starting point for the 5x5 field, there are still two others to go... And I started the 5x5 undetermined field in September of 2022, not 2023.

To be certain, the 6x6 determined field will most likely take many years. At only one cycle per year, though, the 5x5 undetermined field isn't exactly progressing at great speed, either. If I had to make a guess, I'll still say that the 5x5 undetermined field gets completed first but it won't be a rout.

Speaking of progress, the 3x6 diagonal field is on it's 3rd-to-last original pair. At one cycle per day, progress on all of those paths isn't exactly at a scorching pace, either. Yet I'm only creating paths for original pairs that are impossible to complete using only orthogonal directions (hence the diagonal part, needing to have diagonal paths). And, although I have all of the 3x8 fields queued up already, will I still have the enthusiasm for 3x10? 3x12? Beyond?

And, even though they are not paths, finding original pairs continues to progress as well. I'm currently two months into finding all of the original pairs in the 7x9 determined field. At only one original pair per day, it will still be awhile before even the 7x9 field is done. The 8x9 field will take me all the way into 2025. Before anyone suggests that I step up the pace, let me remind everyone that I highly doubt, barring someone handing me a huge bag with lots of money inside of it (through legitimate means, of course), that I'll ever even get to the Nx8 fields in my lifetime.

So why do it? Well, everyone has to have something to look forward to in life.

2024-02-18: There is an old saying that "change is the only constant in the universe." While I won't go that far when it comes to Unicursal Maze Research, change is afoot even if only behind the scenes.

For instance, as the fields become larger, the number of decision points that any given point may be per original pair becomes larger as well. In the old days, I used to be able to count these decision points up mentally (and quickly) before transferring them to a computer spreadsheet. Recently, I switched over to keeping count with pencil-and-paper and then transferring them to a computer spreadsheet. However, the time has now come when I'm using a computer spreadsheet to count these decision points up AND THEN transferring the total to another computer spreadsheet. And the change doesn't stop there as the old standby of one decision point per day may soon fall by the wayside for something a bit more manageable.

There has always been a history of change here at Unicursal Maze Research as I've had to create just about everything here from scratch: From the terminology to the symbols to the algorithms to the work flow processes. And all along the way there have been dead ends and intersections which is more than a bit ironic given the research field.

And more change is forthcoming, as I foresee the time where finding rules for creating unicursal mazes will change. In that aspect of research, I have hit the obstacle where I can no longer be certain of which rule should apply to which situation. Therefore, I have developed a system whereby I label all possibilities and categorize them so, even if I have to go back and make changes, that those changes can be analyzed logically.

Finally, as a brief and very late aside: I recently counted up all of the completed determined paths for the first original pair of the 6x6 field and... It's currently at 534. And, trust me, that number is going to grow significantly. Will it hit 1,000? Probably not. And this isn't even the pair that I predict will have the largest amount of completed paths in it.

2024-02-11: If someone had walked up to me and told to me that I would still be working on finding all of the paths for the first original pair of the 6x6 determined field in mid-February (And, as a reminder, I started work on these paths on September 12, 2023 - Five months ago for those who don't have a calendar handy), my reaction would have been varied.

On the one hand, I wouldn't have been the least bit surprised; It is, after all, a 6x6 field. It's the largest field that I've ever worked on. The 5x6 field was large for its time but, judging by what I've seen so far from the 6x6 field, large for its time is an apt description when comparing to what the 6x6 field will produce.

On the other hand, it just goes to show how much I know about my own field of research; Even I thought that, by now, I would be done with finding all of the paths for this first pair. The number of completed paths has been massive and, while I do not have a precise number to give to anyone (including myself), it will most definitely shatter the record for the most number of original paths that an original pair has produced yet (which, by the way, is 396).

Simply because some of my predictions have been inaccurate, though, doesn't mean that all of them must be that way.

I have taken the liberty of looking ahead and estimating, at this point, when I will finally be done with creating all of the paths for this first pair. The result is a new estimate: Early March of this year (2024). Can I guarantee that date range at this point? No, although I have the experience of hindsight and a reminder that I am not impervious to inaccuracy to help guide me with that prediction.

And, writing about inaccurate predictions, I think that we can safely put aside completing all of the original paths for the entire 6x6 field by 2030. After all, even after I am finally done with this original pair, I will have another 44 of them to go.