For quite some time I’ve been dissatisfied with the software available on Linux to work crosswords.  Most sites provide a java applet which allows you to do the crossword, but over the years there have been many hiccups in the integration of java into Linux browsers.  Across Lite is a very popular standalone app, which even has a Linux port, however it is pretty ancient and often incompatible with my distro.  At various times I’ve taken to implementing my crossword application.  Lingering amongst my projects are barely to mostly completed attempts written in Java or C#.  I’ve never been satisfied with those either.  I finally have finished a workable version written entirely in Javascript.  Try it out!  Just click on one of the puzzles at the bottom of the screen to load them.

A couple of considerations that went into the design.  I wanted to maintain a separation between the layout of the page and the engine.  The layout is maintained entirely in HTML and CSS.  This (hopefully) facilitates things like changing the font size or displaying the clues on the left as opposed to the right.

There are a number of issues that I have with the current implementation.

• Firstly, the CSS is really not at all the way I’d like it to be.  For example, in order for the clues to appear in scrollable columns half the height of the grid requires Javascript.
• When you select a word in the grid the corresponding clues are scrolled to, however they appear at the top of the scroll pane, not the middle as I would like.
• Non-ASCII characters do not make it through the way they should.
• Calling the JQuery .text (string) method does not work with HTML entities.
• It has been exclusively tested with Firefox v3.0.3 on Ubuntu v8.04, i.e. there has been no cross-browser compatibility testing.

Anyways, try it out or you can also download a copy and play around with it.  I requires JQuery v1.2.6 and the JQuery scrollTo plugin.  Also, it’s currently licensed under GPLv3 and has no documentation.

Last night Nelson and I were again scoffed at when we talked of our run-ins with the wild turkey, Mr. Gobbles, which hangs out outside the Volpe Center. There is a variety of firsthand reports, apart from me and Nelson, however it’s all discounted because it’s old or easily fabricated. It seems that only a recent video of this beast will satisfy the naysayers … well, you asked for it!

Eat it, skeptics!

For a while I was convinced that the Brazilian-Portuguese way of saying that one was hungover directly translated to “having the taste of an umbrella handle in one’s mouth.” I vaguely remember hearing it in a hostel in São Paulo, probably from another backpacker and those people’ll say anything.

Yesterday someone who was actually from Brazil and was actually hungover said, “estou numa ressaca lascada.” When I entered that phrase into babelfish it translated as, “I am in a splintery undertow.” Now, babelfish, like backpackers, will say anything [1] too but, whatever, it’s still rad.

[1] For example, let’s say you wanted to find out what the song “Sexy Boy” is about in English, you’ll find that babelfish thinks that the “French” phrase “sexy boy” translates to the English phrase “sexy servant boy“.

I just saw a movie with a friend of mine from Brazil. One of the main characters was named Dick and afterwards she asked me about the name.

“Is dick a word for penis?”
“Yes.”
“Ok, but was that also the guy’s name?”
“Yes.”
“Poor Dick.”
“Jimmy is also a word for penis, but I don’t mind.”
“Really?”
“Yep, and a ‘jimmy hat’ is a condom.”

Now she’s calling me Jimmy Dick Hat.

Last night while I was celebrating with my friend Brian at a bar a guy came up next to me to order some drinks.

“Happy St. Patrick’s Day!”
“Actually, it’s St. Patricio, he was Italian.”
“Well, Happy St. Patricio’s Day then.”

A while later, he came up again and ordered some sambuca.

“Hey man, so are you Italian or something?”
“Damn right! 100 percent!”
“How’d you get such red hair?”
“My mom’s half-Scottish, half-Irish.”

I wonder if he tells people that he’s a “t’ird Irish” on Columbus Day.