My apology for poor performance

[GooRoo]

Several thingz have come between me and proper maintenance of this Forum ... not the least of which is my attempt to use Internet Explorer version 7! Bugs in the BETA 3 version of the browser prevented me from accessing my web host (enhanced security in IE7B3, with no meanz to identify 'trusted' sitez, bypassing such security checkz entirely !) ... 'cookies' were not cleared, so once any sort of error was found ... it refused to try again!

Gaby has done yeo(wo)man work in creating two new indicez to Gruntz Custom Levelz:

• by graphicz set (linkz complete, verification (by me ) yet to be done)
  
• by difficulty (in progress)
  • Tryout
    
  • Easy
    
  • Medium
    
  • Hard
    
  • Very Hard
    
  • Frustrating
    
  
  

I am currently using an old version of Mozilla FireFox (to bypass the IE7 bugz), and am in turn bugged by FireFox incompatibilitiez:

• adding smilies, the cursor jumps to the end of the post
  
• when two (or more) vertical scroll barz exist in a window, the mouse scroll wheel only affectz the innermost scrollbar.
  
• it doesn't handle refreshing the background image as IE6 does
  
• it does not 'line wrap' text in posting boxez, adding scroll barz instead
  
• adding anything via the gadgetz, such as jumpz the window back to the top
  
• et cetera
  

Since I am concerned about being totally unable to access Gruntz thingz, I am reluctant to find a current version of FireFox ... at least this one allowz me to do something to maintain the Forum. So everything is moving very slowly for me.

Then, yesterday, I discovered that Yellow Jacketz (Waspz) were attempting to nest under the eavez just outside the external door into the garage area of my home ... where my computer room is! So I have been doing battle with flying, stinging insectz. Black Flag has created a barrier, preventing them from entering or leaving through the opening they found (or created), but I believe the queen is still live in the nest. Hopefully, starvation will take care of the remainder of the infestation.

I am a player, and have matchez on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (and am off-line for about 4 hourz each day).

I for 6 hourz a night.

Finally, I am a Seattle Mariners baseball fan, and a 16-game plan ticket holder (and an occasional special game, as the Washington Cougarz rally) ... so I travel with my daughter to Seattle's SafeCo Field for baseball gamez. Those usually have me off-line for 8 hourz ... and for night gamez sleep addz another 6 hourz to that.

So there are Custom Levelz (both Questz and Battlez) that I have not distributed to Gruntz Fanz, nor have I updated the indicez for the more recent CLz that I have distributed. Worse, with my CRS (Can't Remember Stuff) disease, I don't even know which taskz need to be done! So I just hunt for thingz that are amiss (or receive helpful reminderz from Gaby ) in order to fix thingz.

I ask that you please be patient with me ... God isn't done perfecting me!

[GooRoo]

The wasp/hornet spray smell is getting to me, so I am going off-line as often as possible, and for as long as possible. I am also still having problemz accessing my web host, so Forum maintenance is going to fall even further behind. I sent an e-mail to the web host support system, but have not received a response. So for the next few dayz, the only time I will be spending on-line (until the smell is gone) will be checking e-mailz for an answer to my problem that will allow me to get back to work.

[alexandgruntz]

My site is up and running still, so if you don't like a 'patchy' forum (no offence), (), visit www.alexandgruntz.co.nr. It isn't as featured as thiz forum though (only having walkthroughz for standard levelz and mine), so choose.

[Gaby]

I will not send any new game nor create a new index till thingz are back to normal and all the indicez are updated... #wink#
Edit: I tried to put in the criteria table for the new game I designed but it looks wrong... so I will not send that either (for now)...

[GooRoo]

I hope to be back on-line again in three hourz or so, to continue working on those thingz that were left undone while I have been fighting battlez (not Gruntz ) with web host access, waspz and general malaise. I have a couple of PMz telling me about specific thingz that need to be updated (that I read, but have not taken any action on ... yet). The hardest part is simply determining what Custom Levelz have been sent out via e-mail that have not been uploaded to my web host, and for which the various indicez have not been updated to include them. I don't mind being told (reminded, maybe) of the CLz that need attention ... even by several different people, in PMz. Better to be told five timez about something that needz to be done, than not to be told about it at all.

Anything that you know of that hasn't been attended to is worth reporting! While the smell of wasp spray keepz me from spending long periodz of time at the computer, eventually I hope to get to everything, and get caught up. (If those waspz keep returning and finding new wayz into the nest, "Plan B" is to call an exterminator to remove it all. )

[GooRoo]

Gaby and I have been trying to determine what Forum maintenance needz to be done, now that I have access to my web host maintenance area again. We have come across a very strange thing; we have more Custom Levelz (by count) in the indicez than we have threadz in the Custom Level Boardz! The alphabetical index has 224 entirez; the Designer index has 223; the graphics set has 222; the release date has 221 (counting 7 Secret Levelz that have not actually been released); there are 212 threadz in the Custom Level Boardz (and 7 Secret Levelz in the Standard Levelz Board, making 219). So there are (apparently) five Custom Levelz that do not have a thread with information (and discussionz) about them.

Our goal is to update the Forum so that the number of entriez in the indicez and the number of Custom Level threadz match EXACTLY. So we are working to identify not only the five CLz (or some strange duplication of entriez in the indicez), but those CLz that are in the BETA Board that should be released. There are at least five CLz that should have already been released, but the web host problemz have taken precedence. I will try to test the easier onez, and distribute what I can verify to be free of fatal errorz ASAP.

[BattlezM]

One of those is probably Gruntz Golfing .

[GooRoo]

The proper count is now 223 ... soon to be 224, as I will be sending out Gaby's "RockzRelay" in the next few minutez. I took a break from Forum maintenance to test it, and while I was playing, Gaby was hard at work determining what remained to be done. One of the Custom Levelz (mine ) had two entriez in the alphabetical list (normal + easy), one CL was not listed in the "by graphicz set", and she determined that the count in CL threadz was actually 223. So I will release the CL I have verified free of fatal errorz, and do a little more Forum maintenance, then go back to test another CL ... and hopefully also release it soon. I will repeat the test/release cycle until all the CLz sent to me are released to the Gruntzer community. Since I will attempt to verify from easiest to hardest (some I already have begun testing, so have a clue as to the order I will 'attack' them), "Karaoke Bar" will probably be the last one released.

BTW, "Paint" (a tool), ("Hearts", "FreeCell" and "Spider Solitaire" (fun stuff)) are all 'bundled' with Internet Explorer, so all of those are gone from my computer now! That makez it nearly impossible for me to provide screen grabz of "Statz Page" imagez for CL documentation. I hope I am able to re-install Internet Explorer 6, and get that stuff back.

[GooRoo]

That will teach me to trust someone else's software! Part of our problem was that the ProBoards software did not properly count the number of threadz within a few of our Custom Level Boardz! I did a "fix board" on all nine Boardz under the Custom Levelz category, and now the count is 217! With the 7 Secret Levelz that are stored with the 'Standard' Levelz, that makez a total of 224 ... which is what our index countz show. Once again, I feel confident that the Custom Levelz are properly documented! Next, is to ensure that walkthroughz, et cetera, that have been sent to me are stored on the web host, and may be accessed by Gruntzerz when they need them. And that is a task that I must do alone ... my faithful helper, Gaby cannot help with web host maintenance, as she has with Forum maintenance. (But I am sure that she will let me know when my linkz don't work ... when I indicate that they do, with a gooroosgruntz.info/images/Thumbs Up.gif[/img]!)

[alexandgruntz]

My newest CL, BombzandToyboxez is hosted on my site only, so there should be one more thread than CLz listed on your host. (Don't worry yet, it is still in the Beta board, but should be released.)

admin said:

BTW, "Paint" (a tool), ("Hearts", "FreeCell" and "Spider Solitaire" (fun stuff)) are all 'bundled' with Internet Explorer, so all of those are gone from my computer now! That makez it nearly impossible for me to provide screen grabz of "Statz Page" imagez for CL documentation. I hope I am able to re-install Internet Explorer 6, and get that stuff back.

These are actually Windows components: you can put these back without IE. All you need are your Windows XP CD and Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel.

[GooRoo]

Mozilla FireFox (old version, November 2004) does not give me the option to specify where a downloaded (or e-mail attachment) file should be stored. It just dumpz everything onto my desktop! And to make matterz worse, it obviously has an MS-DOS mentality on file namez, so "AnIcyPeace.WWD" is stored as "an.wwd" ... and sometimez eliminatez the file extension (.wwd) entirely, so that a dialog box must be opened to tell Windows what program to use to open it! So my simple project of testing recently received CLz is not so simple at all! I just completed a search for "ConvertingKitchen", and no 'hitz' were found. So I have to go back to the e-mail in which it was received, and try again. These problemz greatly slow me down in trying to get new CL releasez distributed.

I may have to change my attitude toward this Forum, and ignore the 'urgent' (Forum maintenance, CL testing and the like) and spend some time doing the 'important' (recovering an up-to-date (working!) browser (IE6, patched) program) to once again have control over what goez where when I download a program. Trying to work that into my schedule is a problem in itself! Tomorrow is filled with docotr's appointmentz and a shopping trip to the mall (typical male, I hate to shop!) that will eat up the entire morning, and into the afternoon. So I will try to fit in the browser repair between the time I return home, and the time to leave for the baseball game. If I cannot get it done then, I will do it some time Sunday.

In short, I will probably not be getting much done on this Forum until Monday afternoon. Please be patient ... I'm muddling along as fast as I can, under the circumstancez.

[BattlezM]

admin said:

Mozilla FireFox (old version, November 2004) does not give me the option to specify where a downloaded (or e-mail attachment) file should be stored. It just dumpz everything onto my desktop! And to make matterz worse, it obviously has an MS-DOS mentality on file namez, so "AnIcyPeace.WWD" is stored as "an.wwd" ... and sometimez eliminatez the file extension (.wwd) entirely, so that a dialog box must be opened to tell Windows what program to use to open it! So my simple project of testing recently received CLz is not so simple at all! I just completed a search for "ConvertingKitchen", and no 'hitz' were found. So I have to go back to the e-mail in which it was received, and try again. These problemz greatly slow me down in trying to get new CL releasez distributed.

I may have to change my attitude toward this Forum, and ignore the 'urgent' (Forum maintenance, CL testing and the like) and spend some time doing the 'important' (recovering an up-to-date (working!) browser (IE6, patched) program) to once again have control over what goez where when I download a program. Trying to work that into my schedule is a problem in itself! Tomorrow is filled with docotr's appointmentz and a shopping trip to the mall (typical male, I hate to shop!) that will eat up the entire morning, and into the afternoon. So I will try to fit in the browser repair between the time I return home, and the time to leave for the baseball game. If I cannot get it done then, I will do it some time Sunday.

In short, I will probably not be getting much done on this Forum until Monday afternoon. Please be patient ... I'm muddling along as fast as I can, under the circumstancez.

"ConvertingKitchen" ? I never sent you that yet. When you download something, does a box come up asking if you would like to open it or save it to disk? If it does get dumped onto the desktop, you can alwayz drag the icon to be placed into the program filez (accessed by left clicking on the start button, through explore.)

[GooRoo]

Being lazy, after the first couple of timez of having my download dumped onto my desktop, I now "Open" the file rather than "SAVE" it ... and do a "Save As..." with that program where I want the file to be. But that does not work for executable filez, because I have to know the source before I will run something that needz to be unZIPped (for example). So I SAVE those, and then run my virus checker against it before doing anything else with it.

My shopping trip ran much longer than I expected, so I have not done anything about re-installing IE6, and likely will not do so until tomorrow at the earliest. So I am doing e-mail runz and minor Forum maintenance thingz for the next half hour or so, then off-line for the rest of the day.