AguaT 1.2.2 is out, this time with iTunes 7.1 compatibility. Though the update itself doesn’t bring much except that, preparing it went quite a bit differently this time.

Prior to this update, I used ResEdit to switch out the resources in the iTunes.rsrc file. I enjoy ResEdit; I’m comfortable with it, and I’ve used it a lot. Unfortunately, the MacBook Pro I recently got doesn’t run Classic at all. To this point, it’s been surprisingly not much of a problem: until now, I had yet to even desire to launch Classic.

So I had to use a different program. ResPlendence is too unstable and apparently unsupported, so I gave ThemePark a spin, which incidentally, has a cool new icon now and is free too.

Now ThemePark is a pretty slick program, but it’s a lot more specialized than ResEdit. It can only edit a few resources - graphical ones in particular, so I can hardly use it as a general-purpose resource editor, but it does manage these resources a lot better than ResEdit did. Specifically, I’m glad to see an icns editor for general reasons, and glad for a PNGf editor for the purposes of iTunes. And of course the PICT editor, which ResEdit had as well.

ThemePark is very consistent in its handling of these resources. Whereas ResEdit had virtually a separate sub-application for each editor, all of TP’s look and act virtually the same. The single-window interface is convenient too, though not without its disadvantages: I can’t browse the PICT resources all at a glance like I could in ResEdit.

It’ll take some getting used to: I can’t copy resources from the resource browser, so I can’t copy and paste multiple resources at once anymore (and even if I could, I can’t even see the resources from the browser), but on the other hand drag and drop from editor to editor is pretty cool, and so are PNGf and icns editors. The fact that it’s OS X native doesn’t hurt either.

ThemePark is certainly not a replacement for ResEdit - it looks like that hole in my heart is here to stay for now - but for the purposes of building AguaT installations, ThemePark works great.

I just got done designing the website for Dragonblade Computers, a computer repair company in Salisbury North Carolina. From their website:

The whole site is built on a Wordpress installation, and the logo was designed in Flash, which I’m coming to appreciate more and more as an awesome vector design app. From mockup to final product took about 4 days once the logo had been designed.

In related news, R.I.P. Screw Myspace, which has departed from these mortal rackmounts to the great webserver in the sky.

Hooray for automatic audiences, eh? My first thought when I saw Facebook’s new Notes feature is versatile enough to use an RSS feed from an existing blog was, “Hey, I have a blog. And it has RSS feeds too!” So hello to all my new readers on Facebook. I’ll try to keep it interesting to you as well, even though I would much prefer you visit the original site (thrica.nfshost.com). I suppose I’ll have to write more often, since people actually visit Facebook. And to those of you reading on the actual blog (if there are any anymore), thanks for being faithful, and I’ll try not to whore myself out to the new audience. My original domain is still the heart and soul of this blog, so no sellout accusations (ok, ok, I sold out. The automatic audience was impossible to resist. But I’m not changing anything about the blog except perhaps to write more often so don’t worry there).

I’ll keep you posted as new things come up - my opinions on current events and what not; something interesting for everyone. And to restate the purpose of the blog for the new readers, this is not going to be a Xanga-type “omg let me tell you about my day” blog. It’s going to be captivating and interesting, whether you think so or not. So there.

A new TI-BASIC index is up, on the new site design. Incidentally, that was also the last holdout from the old Thrica Software site that I hadn’t bothered until now to move over, so I was obligated to keep the old design until I got the new one done.

I don’t know why it took me so long. It took me about 10 minutes to do, and it turned out rather nicely. No, none of the programs’ pages are actually up yet (tsk, tsk. I’ll try to have those up before July).

For the newcomers to this site, the design before this sunset one was Thrica Software. After I converted it to The Thrica Network, I moved the old design to /thricasoft/, and began systematically moving pages from that directory to the root. /thricasoft/ served me well, though it later became cumbersome: It came right after the OS X-themed site made entirely in tables, and was originally done in all absolutely-positioned CSS. I had drawn up the design for a merger between Thrica Software and another Mac site by a friend of mine, microkernel.tk. It didn’t quite work out, but I kept the design for my own.

The site also adapted as I learned more dynamic CSS: Instead of absolutely positioning the content boxes above and below each other, I was able to have them flow in line. The JavaScript also began to shrink, until I consolidated to the point where it was hardly necessary. Yet even through these changes, it badly lagged since it was never quite finished (darn TI-BASIC programs). It had 3 updates in the span of 6 months, since each change and the height of the page had to be hardwired into the code, due to poor structuring (it was divided into 9 sections: the 4 curved corners, the 4 sides, and the content). And when a bug introduced to Safari around version 2 messed up the background PNG to the point of wild discoloration, I decided that that design wasn’t worth keeping anymore.

I had been tossing around an idea in my head for a design with a Lake Waccamaw sunset at the top and the lake at the bottom with black in the middle for the Spring Retreat gallery, since the photos would be locationally appropriate. Lucky me, this thought came at around the same time as the demise of Thrica Software: I drew up this design, and moved the old design into /thricasoft/ for archive purposes.

Now, after the last bit of useful content has been moved off it, that design exists only in memory and the caches of search engines. In retrospect, it was a rather boring design, though not bad by any means (visually; structurally, it’s a different story). Yet as of now, it was the most primitive of all the sites in the portfolio. It served its time, but its time has gone. As nostalgic as I am about it, I’m glad to see it go.

I know, not exactly the most heartwarming eulogy (good riddance, ya geezer). Oh well.

Dé jà vu?

Welcome to my third Wordpress installation, and my second attempt at a blog. My first Wordpress was intended to be a grand battleground for everything controversial (Fact And Opinion -> Verbate -> Virbate) that never panned out, and the second was testing out for a friend. My first blog was actually on Blogger, which lasted about 2 days before I decided it was dumb.

Well, it’s not like this blog is going to get mad traffic, which is what I was aiming for with Virbate. I figured, hey, I read the Xangas and Wordpresses of a few of my friends periodically, so hey, why not give them something to read. It’s not much, but I’m not aiming high this time. I’ll try to keep it interesting for you, and if anyone ever reads this, then let me know that I’m not typing to the wind and comment!

Well I think that’s about it for now. The setup’s not even close to being finished; I’m posting this mostly so that it’ll have actual content on the launch date. Enjoy!