The Path Forward

2025-03-30: Sometimes you just have to admit defeat. Or, at the very least, a 'strategic withdrawal.'

It's been another week of not premiering the 'new and improved' SVG maze viewer. That's my fault; I've been lazy. Not entirely lazy... After all, I have been making new SVG mazes along with the standard work that I perform every day.

And some of that standard work is about to hit a milestone. The 8x9 original paths are almost complete. Another week or so and it will be done. When I started on that map, it was May 2024. It will be April 2025 when it's complete and the 9x9 map that follows... Well, it'll either be very late 2025 or early 2026 when that map gets completed and then...

I've always regarded anything relating to the Nx10 fields as being 'the end' of research because, realistically, it is unless some radical new paradigm emerges in research (such as... I don't know... automating the creation of new completed paths...). After all, even if I started mapping out all of the Nx10 original pairs today, I highly doubt that I'd be done by the end of 2030. And those are just the original pairs, not working on the mazes themselves.

It's just a hobby. But it's also a hobby that I voluntarily decided to advertise to the world. I have an obligation to at least persevere. And so I shall.

2025-03-23: Another week has gone by and the "Peer Review" & "Parade" sections have not been merged. Not only that but no new original path maps have been created. No new sections in "Peer Review." And when was the last time there was a new learning module? 2024?

As the kids (and quite a few adults, for that matter) might say, "What gives?"

First off, there has been progress.

With sincerest apologies to Jean-Paul Sartre, Hell might be other people but commenting your programming code is pretty darn close. It's far more than "heck." As I've written before, if I premiere this program onto the website, I'll be premiering it a lot. This won't be just an one-off program and, therefore, you want to get it right the first time. That means making absolutely certain that it works as intended and that you comment your code to the point where, gosh forbid, if you do have to modify it again, you don't need two hours of fumbling your way through your code before you think to yourself, 'Oh, yeah... Right. Now I remember...'.

And since I'll be merging the two sections, it only makes sense to make other changes to the website as well (or, at the very least, consider them). When I made the whole "Parade," "Catalog," "Gallery" and other sections inside of the Expressions section, I thought that it might be a bit more robust than it is now. Truth is, an impartial observer would be fair to point out that it's mainly "Peer Review," "Parade" & a bit from "Catalog." Can you really blame me if I take a hard look at what I really wanted from "Gallery"? And is it time to throw in the towel on "Catalog"?

In the end, not much may happen. The minimalist approach would be to merely merge "Parade" & "Peer Review," while allowing "Gallery" & "Catalog" to linger until the mood strikes me to expand upon them. After all, why close doors (and weld them shut) when you don't have to?

2025-03-16: Whenever I consider myself even remotely-proficient at the web language, Javascript, all that I need to do in order to dispel that fanciful myth is to attempt to program in it.

Had I been more proficient at the language, this entry may well have been different. Yet all is not entirely lost; With all due respect to William Gladstone, programs delayed is not programs denied. But they are, to be certain, delayed.

Let me explain.

Ever since I premiered the "Peer Review" section, the "Parade" section has felt a bit... extraneous. After all, the "Peer Review" section contains both incomplete and complete paths whereas the "Parade" section displays only the completed paths of a given field. You don't have to be a grizzled veteran of the Interwebs in order to see the inefficiencies of displaying the same paths twice. Why waste the kilobytes when you don't have to?

Discovering the functionality of rotating and flipping the fields derived from SVG in order to give users the ability to see completed paths from a different perspective was fun. I won't deny that. Finding a pragmatic solution to switch between all fields and only those that have been completed, though, would yield a greater benefit to the website.

And thanks to my inability to see the error of my ways (or, more specifically, my code) until only very recently, that utopianistic vision will be delayed for a little while longer. However, it's looking like the "Parade" may be coming to an end. How soon of an end depends upon my motivation (or lack thereof).

2025-03-09: Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly. Unfortunately, I have to keep reminding myself of the virtues of that statement.

Everyone always wants to put their best foot forward. You don't get a second chance to make a good first impression and all of the usual garden-variety advice one would find on a refrigerator door magnet.

The intent for producing derivate paths was to stitch elements of three separate programs together. An user could see the original path and then select the type of derivative path that they wanted to see and then compare the two. On the surface, that wasn't too hard of "an ask" but, in the world of programming, everything comes at a cost. Programs don't derive intent and if you don't specifically ask for something, you don't receive it.

Upon much frustration, I came upon the realization that it would be far easier to stitch together two programs instead of three. Gone were the multiple SVG fields produced through one process in exchange for just the standard, simpler one field. Stitching two programs together still had its share of headaches but nowhere near the brain-melting prospects of adding a third ball into the air in order to juggle.

And so, after much paring down in order for my vision to match my talents, visitors to this site may now experience the joys of seeing derivative paths rendered in SVG for select mazes. Hold the applause.

A fair question to ask is if I will add this functionality to the "Peer Review" & "Parade" sections. Right now, the answer is "no." The program is big (at least, big for me) and I'm not sure what value it would have as a standard feature. Of course, I can't claim to be Nostradamus (or a stopped watch, for that matter) so who knows what the future may hold?

Speaking of unlikely futures, how did I manage to get 40 followers on Neocities? As always: Thank You. It's always a little humbling to be followed but it is also an obligation as well. People aren't subscribing just so that they can watch me sit on my laurels, you know. And I haven't. Just the other day, I was giving some thoughts on an exciting new application that would be a derivative of the technology used to create derivative paths in SVG. Of course, attempting to follow through on that pipe dream is for another time...

2025-03-02: I have only myself to blame.

At the end of last week, I had successfully converted original SVG maze data into SVG derivative maze data. It was quite an accomplishment and it still is. I know that you're never supposed to self-congratulate yourself (humility, at least in certain parts of the world, continues to be cherished for the virtue that it is) but it's hard to overstate what a hurdle it was to overcome, at least for an amateur programmer such as myself.

Then came the hard part - Rendering it into SVG, just as with the Peer Review & Parade sections.

It has been a daunting task, to say the least. The challenge is in rendering two SVG mazes at once. That, by itself, is not impossible; I've done it "behind-the-scenes" already. The challenging part is in integrating the program that performs the conversion with the program that creates the singular SVG mazes (what powers the Peer Review & Parade pages) & the "behind-the-scenes" program where I can render two (or more) SVG mazes at once.

Stitching together three programs to create a new fourth one is no small feat of mental gymnastics. I wouldn't recommend it for the faint-of-heart nor for those with sturdier hearts, to be honest. I'm tipping my hand again but I may go with a much more feasible (and simpler) option in the interim and work on a more robust version of what I want for later. Why have the crowds wait when they don't have to?

And speaking of crowds, Here I grow again. I've gained a 39th follower on Neocities and my response to the latest follower is the same as the first: Thank You. I hope that I give people who travel to my website a little happiness and reprieve from whatever ails them in the regular world. The more views, the more hits and followers simply translates into more effort to educate and entertain. My website can't be all things for all people but if it makes those who follow it a bit more cheerful and educated... Well, that's more than nothing, right?

Time to see what I can do about those derivative mazes...

2025-02-23: Last week, I wrote that I had found a solution to creating derivative unicursal mazes in the SVG format used by the Parade and Peer Research sections.

This week, I'm happy to report that progress continues. In fact, I've gotten to the point where the program can successfully convert any regular ("original") unicursal maze data and return the appropriate derivative maze data. It is quite an exciting development and one, honestly, that fills me with a certain amount of glee. It's even a tiny bit user-friendly.

Of course, much more work needs to be done and here I'll resemble one of those news stories where the study need more studies because, quite frankly, it's true.

Not only that, but all of this work has made me cast a critical eye on how I solved a few of these issues with The Catalog. Truth be told, I may need to change the data format there since some of the methods used with the SVG format are honestly a lot better.

And when will all of this happen? Who knows. Depending upon circumstances that are far beyond my control, the month of March may be harrowing and April is not looking much better. Here's to hoping for a few lucky breaks so that free time becomes far more plentiful in the near future.

Finally, I just transferred over all of the completed unicursal mazes with 8 decision points (which includes the starting point) for the 6x6 determined field, 3rd original pair (#00g). There were 160 mazes for a grand total of 186 thus far. And, just to save readers from going back through older blog entries (but why not? I think they're worth at least a second read, if I do say so myself), at the point pair #2 had a grand total of 155 paths while pair #1 had a grand total of 73. It's not an unexpected result.

2025-02-16: The problem with doing hard work is that it's... Well... Hard.

I've got no problem with creating unicursal mazes using the new Unicursal Maze Path Designer (UMPD). That's the easy stuff. Granted, I have found that there is an upper-limit for how long you can create unicursal mazes before your eyes cross and your brain melts. Yet, at least, there is the enthusiasm to discover what that upper limit is.

With some of these other projects, just contemplating how I would go about accomplishing them is taxing enough. I am, though, making headway on at least one of them.

It's bad form to write about projects in their infantile stages but I'm neither a multi-billion dollar corporation nor am I a technology start-up venture. However, I've written in the past that The Catalog has an advantage that The Parade doesn't have: The Catalog can render both original mazes as well as derivative mazes while The Parade can only show original mazes. There's a technical reason for this difference: Because, for The Catalog, it's kind of easy to do. All you have are rows and columns of identically-sized blocks to shuffle around and, so long as you know how to shuffle them about, the rest is easy. With The Parade, the 'blocks' (the points and segments) are irregularly-sized from one another. Again, when I created the UMPD, I didn't exactly have the ability to rotate or flip mazes in mind.

However, I've been persevering with trying to find a solution... And I've gotten a lot closer than my pessimism would allow me to admit. I'm nowhere near done with it; I did use the term "infantile stages" earlier, didn't I? That wasn't used just for dramatic license. But at least, now, there's a very dim light at the end of a very long tunnel.

In other news, I've now got 38 Neocities followers. I'm beginning to sound like a broken record but: Thank You. Your patronage means a lot to me. With each new follower, I find more encouragement to grow the website and make investments in it that, hopefully, everyone will enjoy. I know that the topic is not necessarily accessible but for those of you who appreciate it, I hope that there is something here that keeps you coming back for more.

2025-02-09: I recently completed and placed onto the website the 6x6 original pairs map. That took more than a bit of effort.

Speaking of original pairs, I've now completed finding 280 original pairs in the 8x9 determined field. There's a proverbial light at the end of the tunnel for finding all of those pairs. You don't have to remind me that I may never complete finding the original paths for ANY of those pairs. Such is the burden of the lone researcher.

And when will I transfer over the next batch of 6x6 completed mazes from the third original pair? In about two weeks for the 8-decision point completed mazes. When it comes to completing the entire third original pair of mazes, I'm not holding my breath. Neither should you. I can't even write with confidence if I'm halfway done with it yet or not.

In other news, I now have 37 followers on Neocities. It's not a brag, a humble one nor the traditional kind. I merely write it here for my own amazement and to simply have a record of it. As always: Thank you. There's no money exchanging hands, no walk down a red carpet nor some speech at a podium. I'm glad that you find value in my website and if I make your day a little bit brighter... Well, in this day and age, that's reward enough in most cases, mine included. Although, if there's a billionaire out there that has a few million dollars or pounds or euros that's burning a hole in their pocket...

2025-02-02: Another week has gone by without a lot of customer-facing products or services to account for it. Rest assured, the standard work is still being performed.

If I had more enthusiasm, I would place onto the website the 3x6 Peer Review fields. Also, I know that I have to continue to work on the Original Pair maps.

And then there is the spreadsheet to analyze undetermined mazes that still doesn't exist yet. Or, for that matter, the enlarged picture templates for the unicursal maze rules that I have yet to draw (along with the spreadsheet for those new pictures).

And, while I'm at it, I should probably shame myself for being lazy and not working on various web technologies that show a bit of promise. Javascript is hard, at least for those of us who are not immensely talented at it.

Not every day can enjoy a breakthrough or a premiere; Yet I suppose that those days are only achieved by a lot of undesirable work and toil.

Time to get back to work.

2025-01-26: Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.

No one likes reading about the "insider baseball" management of websites (and fewer still enjoy writing about it) but a necessary change was in order. Up until now, I had placed all of my javascript files into one folder. That arrangement was fine in the beginning when the folder only had a few files. However, with the advent of the Unicursal Maze Path Designer and the other platforms derived from it, a lot more javascript files began to be created.

No one likes a crowded file folder; For starters, it's messy and can lead to confusion. Therefore, a change was needed and the folder was subdivided into various categories. It's not a perfect solution (how many perfect solutions are there?) but it's a better arrangement than before. Will more subdivision need to occur future, near or far? Well, you don't need to ask a Magic 8-Ball to figure out that answer if the website keeps growing, but I'm guessing that it would read... Most likely.

Now that this proverbial heavy lifting is over and done with, more 'Peer Review' data can be placed onto the website. When that occurs depends upon how much enthusiasm I have for that particular chore.

And since I'm divulging the inner workings of the website, here's an interesting factoid: The 5x6 original pair map took nearly two hours to create with little slouching along the way. And that's using all of the efficiencies that I've learned along the way in order to transpose them into a website-friendly format.

2025-01-19: Steady as she goes.

I continue to work on "a little bit of this, a little bit of that." Not all of that effort instantly results, though, in customer-facing products, to use corporate lingo. However, it may eventually become as such. Hope springs eternal. After all, the research that ultimately became the UMPD (Unicursal Maze Path Designer) had similar origins.

Writing about projects that eventually come to fruition (as opposed to frustration), there are more original pair maps that have been placed onto the website. I am hoping to place all of them up through 7x9 (determined, naturally; undetermined original starting point maps are fairly simplistic) so that people can have a chance to peruse them at their leisure. Even in their currently truncated form, creating them is still a considerable task to undertake.

Don't look now but the website has 36 followers. As always, I can't write it enough but here it is again: Thank you. I can't give you back your time and so I hope that your time on my website has been enjoyable, relaxing, entertaining and educational. The Internet is the ultimate "pot luck" dinner and all that I can do is bring my own dish to the gathering. The more followers, the more that I am encouraged to provide more content. This stuff doesn't write itself, you know?

2025-01-12: Perfect is the Enemy of Good Enough.

A new section has opened up in The Library - "Original Pair Maps." These are interactive tables that will show all of the original pairs in a determined field, along with derivative pairs and even pairs that are technically original but can't be drawn due to limitations in that particular field.

Is it perfect? Of course not. It merely shows the summary of the research which, by itself, isn't bad. However, it doesn't show all of the detail in the spreadsheets that I use for myself. Is it better than nothing? Of course it is; Otherwise, I wouldn't have posted it.

At some point, I will expand upon the information in order to provide the necessary detail. I have my thoughts on how to do so without needing to retire early (a temptation that I refrain from only due to finances; Everyone has a price) and devote myself full-time in transcribing it all. How quickly I act upon those thoughts shall depend upon a variety of factors that are mostly out of my control at the moment.

Yet I'm extremely pleased with how the project has turned out so far. I hope that it is helpful to anyone who is curious about Unicursal Maze Research.

"Good Enough" has prevailed... At least, for now.

2025-01-05: I have a plan. I can't claim that it's a good plan but it is, at the very least, a plan.

Frequent visitors to the website have duly noted that "The Catalog" section of the website hasn't been updated lately. It's a fair accusation because it hasn't been updated lately. I haven't been ignoring it; Far from it. I still think that it's a nifty addition and if you haven't downloaded the TrueType font yet in order to create your very own unicursal paths inside of a text document... Well, that's your loss. To each their own. What's the adage again? You can lead a horse to water...

And those same frequent visitors shall also note that I've been spending a lot of time adding to the "Peer Review" section of the website because... Well, I have.

The plan is to concentrate all (or so much of them that it may functionally be considered "all") of my efforts on adding to the "Peer Review" section first until it is caught up to my current progress on the 6x6 determined field and the 5x5 undetermined field. After that, my efforts can diverge and fill in sections of "The Parade" and "The Catalog" and elsewhere as warranted.

This plan also reveals an emerging compromise: Going beyond the ol' "Maximum of 7 cycles per day" work load that has been a part of the "Standard Work." Except, of course, it isn't. The standard work shall continue undisturbed. However, the paths created by the standard work shall be a check against the paths created for the website.

As I wrote earlier, it's not a good plan but it is a plan. And, short of me devoting myself to this hobby all day and every day, it's the only viable plan for creating paths beyond the 6x6 determined field before I begin receiving social security checks.

On an unrelated note, it's a new year. You can check out all of the prior year's blog posts below. Who knew I'd be able to keep these posts going each week (and then some) for an entire year? It just proves that anything is possible...