The Path Forward

2026-01-25:Work has been steady for the past week but not overly exciting. More ambition would have yielded more results but research is a marathon, not a sprint unless you're in an armed conflict or your life is otherwise in imminent danger, neither of which applies in this case.

It's been a while since we've had a good horse race update. Through eight decision points, the current starting pair (#00K, the one that you see on the main page every day as of this entry) has 130 completed paths. The prior starting pair (#00g) has 186 through eight decision points. And before anyone asks, it's 155 for #008 and 73 for #000. Of course, it should be noted that the 6x6 determined field was started on September 12th, 2023 and for those who aren't enamored with math, that means I'm currently about two-and-a-half years into drawing all of the completed paths with several more years still to go.

Writing about drawing completed paths, one goal that might occur this year is being able to surpass the progress that I make in MS Paint with SVG mazes for the undetermined field. Astute viewers shall note that all of the SVG 4x5 undetermined paths have since been completed, leaving the 5x5 field as the next one currently being drawn. Before anyone holds their breath, it would be wise to point out that the 5x5 undetermined field isn't going to yield its lead quite as quickly as one might suspect. That's on the account of the MS Paint paths have a huge initial lead.

Finally, I seem to be on the verge of an "acceptable" (if by acceptable one means the method that I'm most technically capable of achieving at the moment) interim solution toward displaying Rules Maps. Creating them in SVG is still the ultimate goal but you also can't let perfect be the enemy of good or, at the very least,good enough... for now. Fingers crossed.

2026-01-18: After two weeks of writing really long (and, hopefully, informative) entries, this entry will feel more than a bit lean by comparison. The standard work is still occurring in the background. SVG mazes in the 4x5 undetermined & 5x6 determined fields are being created.

Perhaps my greatest accomplishment for this week was re-acquainting myself with javascript programming in anticipation for the time when I attempt some ambitious Unicursal Maze-related projects. None of that programming has any application for Unicursal Mazes. However, there's an old adage in First-Person Shooter game creation that goes something to the effect of, "The last level that you create for your game should be the first level that the player sees." It makes sense when you think about it; It's just a Silicon Valley version of the old phrase, You don't get a second chance to make a good first impression. What's the sense of starting a huge project if you're fumbling around while trying to remember the basics?

Finally, I'd like to welcome my newest Neocities follower, bringing this website up to 86 followers as of this writing. As always, THANK YOU.

2026-01-11: I wrote last week that one of the tasks that I should perform for this website is to create a method for converting numerical data into a SVG representation of a Rules Map, similar to what already happens now with the UMPD (Unicursal Maze Path Designer). No matter how little space I can make a picture, numerical data that represents the exact same thing will always be smaller. Given that Neocities only grants 1 GB of space for an entire website (and I'm using around 3.5 MB of it so far), there is always motivation for continual optimization for all types of graphical images.

However, there are a lot of challenges toward converting a Rules Map image into a SVG image. Besides the obvious one which is my decided lack of skill at javascript programming, another significant one would be how I would go about creating that program. Programming is not the same as writing a fictional novel; You can't just 'wing it.' Certainly, the highly-skilled amongst us have a bit more leeway to freelance their way toward creating a functional program but the rest of us have to work at it. As the philosopher (and boxer) Michael Gerard Tyson once said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." What is often left unsaid, though, is that you first have to have a plan.

Earlier this week, I began creating just such a plan.

I tackled the problem that the current Rules Map design isn't very friendly toward being converted into a SVG image. The format became friendlier after a few modifications with how rules violations are handled (Namely, I placed the numbers inside of the lined segments instead of to the side).

Also, I changed the very format between Unicursal Mazes and Rules Maps themselves. Without delving into too much 'Insider Baseball' dialog, the data format for SVG Unicursal Mazes is to establish all of the points and then establish all of the segments. For the proposed SVG Rules Maps (emphasis on proposed), such a detail is no longer necessary; Every element is handled sequentially as if someone were reading an English sentence: Left to right, top to bottom.

The important question is Will it Work? to which I can only reply at this moment with I don't know. But at least it's a plan which is more than what I've had before. And, as an added bonus, it resembles a viable plan that looks something vaguely like what I have done before.

Even pretending that this proposed format works, this development doesn't answer other pertinent questions about Rules Maps such as how to adequately write them down or quantify them in order to see if any trends emerge. But at least I have a plan... For now.

Finally, I welcomed a new Neocities follower into the fold this week for a grand total of 85. As always, I can not write Thank You enough for your support but attempt to do so anyway. It is this type of support that compels me to practice the many perilous skills of the Internet (such as javascript, SVG & other technologies yet to be named) in order to better convey my research to you, as opposed to rolling over and going back to bed or endlessly watching YouTube videos of car chases or unboxing videos or people walking down streets or whatever is popular at the moment. Thank you.

2026-01-04: A new year almost begs for a new plan for growing and developing the website. Before I prattle on with delusions of grandeur, though, posts from prior years may be found below in the links entitled "2025 Entries" and the like. A fair warning for new arrivals is that only the years 2024 & 2025 have a substantial amount of entries; It wasn't until early-to-mid 2023 where I began to enjoy the sight of my own writings and pretending that others shared the same sentiment.

I always hesitate to write a "State of the Union"-type post because I'm not sure what good that might do except as fodder for my own motivation. Unicursal Maze Research is a hobby, not a job or a chore as I've often written previously. I'm pretty certain that no one is waiting patiently for these posts which traditionally arrive once per week on Sunday. If you do, however, find some slight amusement or education in my stream-of-thought writings about this topic, consider yourself part of a rather exclusive club of followers, 'exclusive' meaning 84 Neocities followers as of this writing.

If anyone had ever mentioned that I would one day have that many followers for a website devoted towards the very not-popular (and continually not-popular) topic of Unicursal Mazes, at the most diplomatic, I would have commented about how very polite that assessment would have been. However, here we are, one year later, having grown from 37 followers to 84. None too shabby for a year as far as I'm concerned. To everyone who is currently a follower or aspires to be a follower: THANK YOU.

What are my plans for this upcoming year? Well, staying alive is always near the top of my list because I have no intention of editing this website via an Ouija board or by way of a seance. Of course, none of us have complete control over that aspect of our condition but avoiding activities such as diving into a swimming pool of rusty, radioactive razor blades or gargling paint thinner should still be able to swing that needle toward a positive direction enough so I don't have to sweat the details too much... I hope.

Barring that aspect of my existence, the next goal might logically be in continuing to add SVG unicursal paths to the "Peer Review" section of the website. While I aspire to catch up to where I am, creating such paths using MS Paint, the reality of the situation sobers even the most optimistic of expectations. I can't make any guarantees that I'll catch up with the SVG unicursal paths to where the MS Paint ones are but I'll certainly give it a try. Anything is possible.

Another plausible goal is to render, on the website, all of the Original Pair maps for the determined fields that I have created thus far, through the 4x10 field. I highly doubt that there are teenagers (or anyone else, for that matter) clicking away on those tables with great eagerness but the whole point is to show your research and that's what those maps represent: Research. Again, with enough time and motivation, creating all of the Original Pair maps by the end of the year is a plausible goal for myself which means that it probably won't be completed.

Rules Maps have fallen back into favor lately, for one reason or another, and it's high time to create a lot more of them even if I can't display them for now. I've written before how, individually, they're quite small in size but, collectively, would take up an entire chunk of my available 1 GB of space here at Neocities. I have a thought or two of how to deal with that but as they say, "the less said, the better," for now.

Moving onto more "pie-in-the-sky" achievements, there are a crowd of possibilities. The website always needs more learning modules. I could upgrade some of the existing graphics. If I want to make myself weep with fear, I'd try and merge the capabilities of "Derivatives" & "Peer Review" into one massive javascript program. If I want to proverbially throw myself out of a window, I'd try to create an SVG equivalent of the Rules Maps or, dare I write it, automate the very creation of unicursal mazes itself.

And what of the 'downtown' sections of the website, such as The Gallery, The Catalog and other sections that don't seem to get their due? Well, I love all of my children equally (who wouldn't?) but there's only so much time and motivation to go around. The pendulum always swings in the darndest directions and at the most unpredictable times at that. Who knows what the future might bring? That's what makes it so appealing.

In conclusion, I'm glad that the website is continuing. I always look forward toward making this website more education, more entertaining & more interactive than it has been the year prior. While I am frustrated that the gulf between my abilities and my imagination is always too wide for my liking in spite of progress to the contrary, it is your continued following that inspires me to "think outside of the box" (or should that be 'the path'?) in conveying my fascination and enjoyment of this subject.

Enough writing; Let's get back to creating Unicursal Mazes...