Mimi's last coffee

Penner Theologius Pott · Thu May 13, 2004 11:56 pm

William G wrote:
sjaffredo wrote:uncomfortable scrolling up/down and left/right.
Jesus, how fucking lazy has the web made us?

For whatever reason, I just can't shake the feeling that you've said something really profound here.

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Fri May 14, 2004 3:19 am

Necessity is the mother of invention, but laziness is the father.

Even so, gotta say, wanting a better interface doesn't equate to laziness.

William G · Post by **William G** » Fri May 14, 2004 3:49 pm

Penner Theologius Pott wrote:
William G wrote:
sjaffredo wrote:uncomfortable scrolling up/down and left/right.
Jesus, how fucking lazy has the web made us?
For whatever reason, I just can't shake the feeling that you've said something really profound here.

I do that every once in a while.

And while I agree that the current method Scott is using does work wonderfully, it always saddens me to read comments on webcomics that include the idea that scrolling is a laborious task.

Then again, I'm from the Commodore 64 generation. If it's faster than a tape to load up, I see it as good and anyone who complains is a nancy-boy.

sundre · Post by **sundre** » Sat May 15, 2004 9:53 am

Penner Theologius Pott wrote:
William G wrote:
sjaffredo wrote:uncomfortable scrolling up/down and left/right.
Jesus, how fucking lazy has the web made us?
For whatever reason, I just can't shake the feeling that you've said something really profound here.

I prefer this one. Of course, that may be because of my own proclivities.

Progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something.
Robert Heinlein, Time Enough For Love

Ain't that swell?

----------

ici

zerofoks · Post by **zerofoks** » Mon May 17, 2004 3:15 am

Robert Heinlein is the new L. Ron Hubbard.

Merlin · Post by **Merlin** » Mon May 17, 2004 10:06 am

> The ending of Externality's Ninja v. Jesus thread certainly shows that
> you can make an indirect link between clicking on a small panel and
> viewing another larger one which is in a completely different location
> than the one on which you have clicked

I feel I should put my hand up here and own up - the end of Ninja Vs. Jesus required a chunk of code re-hacking on my part in order to get a zoom out larger than the size of the whole comic.

Everything else in Tarquin is drag and drop - you drag the artwork to where you want it and then drop a special panel over the top of it so that the engine can register the size and location of the panel.

Scott actually asked me how to implement an intermediate zoom for Mimi, but then he went and figured it out by himself before I got a chance to reply. Again, as he notes, it's all just more drag-and-drop-ness.

The big balancing act for me at the moment is making the engine a little bit more open to easy customisation without losing this simplicity of use.

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Mon May 17, 2004 12:34 pm

merlin wrote:I feel I should put my hand up here and own up - the end of Ninja Vs. Jesus required a chunk of code re-hacking on my part in order to get a zoom out larger than the size of the whole comic.

But it's not larger than the whole comic, it is the whole comic. The starting point just doesn't show the whole thing. I'm guessing that you did two things- First, you had to allow someone to define a "zoom-level" panel as the starting zoom; Second you had to allow clicking on one "zoom-container" panel to zoom to a different panel. If I've guessed correctly, both of these are very cool features. Does using any of this still allow for users to drag & drop to create this functionality?

This could be used for purposes other than that demonstrated in Externality. You could have branching comics that "jump" space- where the trail isn't obvious and the comic then pans a (relatively) great distance over blank territory to reach the next group of panels (crossing an ocean, so to speak-- leading one to think that Tarquin could be used to chart routes on maps). If panels are allowed not to have borders, something like the famous Zot! Online "falling panel" could be completely reinvented.

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Mon May 17, 2004 5:03 pm

OK- Is it just me or is there no "Mimi" update for today, May 17th? Did I miss or forget an announcement that there wouldn't be an update?

Post by **Scott McCloud** » Mon May 17, 2004 6:10 pm

No, the panel was missing. Not because I didn't draw it in time. I FORGOT TO UPLOAD IT!!

I thought it was fine until I came home and Ivy asked my why there was no update.

I am the stupidest man alive today.

karenth · Post by **karenth** » Thu May 20, 2004 2:58 pm

all right, anybody else dig on the 1776 reference? ("my name is richard henry lee, virginia is my home!")

Post by **Scott McCloud** » Thu May 20, 2004 3:48 pm

You're the first!

Yes, most assured-LEE, that was the source for the "missus" comment.

Always loved that musical. The image of cranky, disliked John Adams bellowing to an indifferent room has been a comfort on many a lonely crusade for Yours Truly.

Sad that De Silva didn't make it onto the Broadway cast recording (I'm told he was sick that day) but what a perfect Franklin he makes in the film.

BuckBeaver · Post by **BuckBeaver** » Thu May 20, 2004 7:33 pm

karenth wrote:all right, anybody else dig on the 1776 reference? ("my name is richard henry lee, virginia is my home!")

I did! I did!

And it's sad to note that like most Canadians I catch more American cultural/historical references than I do Canadian ones.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri May 21, 2004 1:26 pm

I also took notice. "And may my wife refuse my bed, if I can't deliver, as I said, a resolution on Independecy."

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Fri May 21, 2004 1:47 pm

Oooh... Now today's panel (non-Flash link) shows an interpretation of the title that I don't think we've mentioned here AND illustrates how many of us were assuming what the red-haired, coffee-drinking woman's name was.

MrBlarney · Post by **MrBlarney** » Fri May 21, 2004 5:03 pm

Not only that, but the large panel may suggest that we might see more of Marv's story. Looks like things could definitely get more complicated.

Connor Moran · Post by **Connor Moran** » Sat May 22, 2004 4:36 pm

Here's hoping for some true crosswording. It would be interesting to see how well Scott can integrate different stories without preplanning (assuming that he hasn't planned all of this).

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Tue May 25, 2004 2:13 pm

Our heroine just isn't getting any breaks, is she?

Rip Tanion · Post by **Rip Tanion** » Tue May 25, 2004 4:15 pm

Mimi is turning into a Lifetime "Men Bad, Women Good" movie.

Several years ago, I was watching 1776 on TV, while coming down from a Forth of July acid trip that started in Central Park. I was like, "WOW! I didn't know John Adams and Thomas Jefferson could sing. Our founding fathers had some decent pipes." Needless to say, that was the last time that I ever dropped acid.

Peter! Pins!

Michael_Harker · Post by **Michael_Harker** » Wed May 26, 2004 12:16 am

Finally! A random explosion!

I was waiting for that.... I knew it was inevitable.

Penner Theologius Pott · Wed May 26, 2004 1:13 am

Rip Tanion wrote:Mimi is turning into a Lifetime "Men Bad, Women Good" movie.

Oh, for heaven's sake. Surely you're not prepared to extract an agenda from the one relationship represented in the comic?

Ronson · Post by **Ronson** » Wed May 26, 2004 12:30 pm

"RESTRAINING" order, Mr. McCloud.

Nice work as usual

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Wed May 26, 2004 1:01 pm

I was about to post saying that, though it appears to be an obvious typo for "restraining," there's a certain charm in the notion of a "retraining order" for an abusive spouse. (You know, as far as charm can be applied to abuse in any case.) I mean, ideally, you'd want the guy to be retrained to not be an abusive jerk, but not in some Clockwork Orange kind of way.

I vote that you leave it as is. If you didn't plan it and it is a typo, then you've got the redhead's next bit of dialogue- "You mean 'restraining' order, Doris," (or whatever her name is), or even the next branching bit of the story, where they discuss how the retraining would work (which could turn a little Clockwork Orange, I suppose).

And if you DID plan it, then all this is moot and we'll have to wait and see.

Rip Tanion · Post by **Rip Tanion** » Wed May 26, 2004 4:08 pm

Penner Theologius Pott wrote:
Rip Tanion wrote:Mimi is turning into a Lifetime "Men Bad, Women Good" movie.
Oh, for heaven's sake. Surely you're not prepared to extract an agenda from the one relationship represented in the comic?

No, just making a flippant observation. And don't call me Shirley.

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Thu May 27, 2004 12:26 pm

Ah, well. It seems as though the typo has been fixed. But, since the original panel still exists, maybe that can be a branch from the previous panel? When using a branching comic like this one, couldn't this panel still be used in it's original form? Maybe I'm just dreaming.

(Helpful forum tip, re: link from the Morning Blog today: There's a small blank page icon at the top of each post, to the left of the Posted date/time. This is actually a link to that exact post that can be used to link directly to that post. When linking this way, it's not a bad idea to also note the poster name and date of the post, because sometimes browsers don't scroll to anchors properly, depending on how fast the page is rendered, but still a useful way to link.)

Zwol.org

Mimi's last coffee

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AAAAAARGH!

"refreshing!"

Re: "refreshing!"