Software that makes placemats

[djewesbury]

Aha. Thanks JDAW for drawing my attention to this, I was a little busy. Jim has been making these floor works for many years and they are often dazzling. They used to be painstakingly constructed bit by bit with PVC tape; I don't know if he still hand-makes these pieces but I suspect he might, it's all about the hours put in. And of course, it is in that sense that we really find the link to Julian's wonderful software.

[jdaw1]

(Note to self: people complained about labelling the extra Ports with ‘¶’ and ‘§’, though didn’t mind the dagger ‘†’ and apparently don’t mind the ‘‡’. AHB repeated his dislike of Greeks: α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ σ τ υ φ χ ψ ω. A preference was expressed for currencies: £ $ ¥ €, perhaps in that order.)

And there was also criticism of the typeface: /TitlesFont /Cardinal-Alternate def was not liked.

[jdaw1]

For The Elliotts in London on 14 August 2015, two parameters were added to the code, GlassesCirclesFadingFactor and GlassesCrossedOut.

The intention was to fade out what I’m not drinking — in this event, the Champagne that was intended mostly for our better halves.

Then we started planning a Vesuvio tasting on 24 February 2016. Bottles were missing! Some were missing because the Symingtons didn’t make them (GlassesCrossedOut), others because, as of that stage in the planning before being rescued by Axel, we didn’t have them (GlassesCirclesFadingFactor).

Daniel and I corresponded about this:

I'm not sure I like excluded years being given a space on the placemat.

Excluded in the sense of not made? I was thinking likewise. Excluded in the sense of our failure? We should own up to our failings.

Further comments would be welcomed on these new parameters, and on their proper use.

[jdaw1]

I'm not sure I like excluded years being given a space on the placemat.

Excluded in the sense of not made? I was thinking likewise. Excluded in the sense of our failure? We should own up to our failings.

As this correspondence makes clear, I was thinking of using faded circles to admit to a failure of the team. But Glenn, during his recent visit to Davy’s Woolgate, suggested a sharper purpose. When people commit to attending a tasting, then can’t make it, and fail to send their bottles, then there should still be circles for what they promised but failed to provide. Individual rather than team shame, no doubt pour encourager les autres.

[djewesbury]

I think this is unnecessary. Most often when someone is unable to attend they give good advance notice or send their bottle on. This seems pusillanimous.

[jdaw1]

I think this is unnecessary. Most often when someone is unable to attend they give good advance notice or send their bottle on. This seems pusillanimous.

Sending the bottle is commendable: that would be rightly praised, not criticised. And “good advance notice” would be entirely proper.

But what about last-moment changed-my-mind hole-in-tasting people?

[djewesbury]

I think this is unnecessary. Most often when someone is unable to attend they give good advance notice or send their bottle on. This seems pusillanimous.

Sending the bottle is commendable: that would be rightly praised, not criticised. And “good advance notice” would be entirely proper.

But what about last-moment changed-my-mind hole-in-tasting people?

Really, when did that last happen? We are all such committed and dedicated devotees of this wondrous wine, who could imagine anyone turning up an opportunity to drink it amongst friends?
I think the placemats do not need to chastise, even latently.

[jdaw1]

We are all such committed and dedicated devotees of this wondrous wine

We on this side of the Atlantic, yes agreed. But there is also a ‘they’ — the all-purpose paranoid pronoun — on the other side. And, as you might have more obviously hinted, this is not yooks-zooks equivalence: the we-they distinction in this matter is all-important.

So they might wish to do things differently. We judge not.

[Glenn E.]

We often have people who bail but fail to provide either sufficient notice or their planned bottles. This likely wouldn't correct that, but would give those in attendance further information.

[djewesbury]

We often have people who bail but fail to provide either sufficient notice or their planned bottles. This likely wouldn't correct that, but would give those in attendance further information.

Barbarians. Greyed circles will not approach the enormities of these people. I recommend wholesale social exclusion - posters in the marketplace, silent separation at the office, shunning at the school gate. Shame them, cast them out into the wilderness for seven years, sell their belongings, enslave their children, scratch out their names from public monuments.

That usually does it.

[jdaw1]

Greyed circles cannot sufficiently address the misdeeds of these people.

Not just greyed: the circle would also be crossed out.

[djewesbury]

Greyed circles cannot sufficiently address the misdeeds of these people.

Not just greyed: the circle would also be crossed out.

A modern ostrakon. The placemats should then be eaten.

[djewesbury]

Whoops. I edited. Sorry.

[jdaw1]

Draft of the placemats. (Do not print from this link. A few days before the tasting there will temporarily be a different link, to counteract problems with the caching of old drafts.)

This is intended to avoid the needless hassle of storing every version, whilst addressing the stated problem. Perhaps also see earlier discussion about versioning of placemats.

Comment would be welcomed.

[jdaw1]

Re the discussion a few dozen posts ago about InlineTitles, there’s also a problem with Chrome, the PDF viewer of which mangles InlineTitles. This is known, and on 21^st May a bug report was submitted.

Chrome fixed as of version 45.0.2454.85.

[jdaw1]

This google cache might amuse or appal.

[djewesbury]

Loving the new version of the software. Such an improvement.

[foomench]

I've used this software many times, and as a programmer I love it.

I also have considered trying to adapt it for another use, but the time to tweak output seems a little prohibitive to me. Here is my use case: Best of show judging at a beer competition. All beers are first judged in their individual categories. Then the best of each category goes on to a best of show round. Now we have some large number (say 30) of beers to pick from, blind. But for each we have an entry number and a style (alphanumeric indicator and description, like "4A: Belgian Golden Strong"). So all the judges get out sheets of paper, draw grids, and start writing down these descriptors as the cups are poured. It is a pain and somewhat subject to error. It seems like a place for the placemat software to come to the rescue. But we don't know the BOS beers until very shortly before judging. Typing in the information into the correct spot in the PostScript, figuring out an ideal layout, and converting to a printable form takes some time.

So I've contemplated making a front end to make it easy for people to use, possibly even interfacing with the beer competition software. Features aren't key--just put in an entry indicator (for center of circle), and category (perimeter) for each beer and generate a large placemat (te.g. abloid size).

I don't expect Julian to integrate this into his requirements. I'm just thinking out loud about this.

[jdaw1]

Please post or send me an example of the hand-drawn grid.

If you can be helped easily, it might happen.

[DRT]

I have asked for a front end for this software more than once and the idea has been rejected. I still think it is a good idea, even if only for a "Placemats Lite" version with minimal faffery.

If JDAW could put forward a stable version of the Postscript code perhaps Eric is the man for the job to create Placemat Wizard v1.0

[jdaw1]

I have asked for a front end for this software more than once and the idea has been rejected. I still think it is a good idea, even if only for a "Placemats Lite" version with minimal faffery.

Open in your preferred text editor. Change:
• Circlearrays;
• Titles and Belowtitles;
• Names;
• HeadersLeft and HeadersCenter.
Upload to ps2pdf.com. Finished.

It is not more than a mite harder than typing the same data into an HTML page.

[DRT]

I have asked for a front end for this software more than once and the idea has been rejected. I still think it is a good idea, even if only for a "Placemats Lite" version with minimal faffery.

Open in your preferred text editor. Change:
• Circlearrays;
• Titles and Belowtitles;
• Names;
• HeadersLeft and HeadersCenter.
Upload to ps2pdf.com. Finished.

It is not more than a mite harder than typing the same data into an HTML page.

Even for a seventy year old, code-illiterate, beer-enthusiast about to judge 35 beers that he has never heard of with 22 minutes to go before the tasting?

I think not.

Not everyone is you. Believe me, this would be useful to those of us who are not you.

[jdaw1]

Even for a seventy year old, code-illiterate, beer-enthusiast about to judge 35 beers that he has never heard of with 22 minutes to go before the tasting?

Yes. He could not edit the text file. He could not do it in HTML.

You seem to be under the illusion that a wizard will make things quick and easy.

[DRT]

Even for a seventy year old, code-illiterate, beer-enthusiast about to judge 35 beers that he has never heard of with 22 minutes to go before the tasting?

Yes. He could not edit the text file. He could not do it in HTML.

You seem to be under the illusion that a wizard will make things quick and easy.

You seem to be under the illusion that everyone is you, or someone like you.

This is how it could help people who are not you...

Example 1:

1. Launch Placemat Wizard and choose "Easy".
2. Enter the number of drinks to be tasted.
3. Enter the number of drinkers.
4. Print.

Example 2:

1. Launch Placemat Wizard and choose "Include Drink Names"
2. Enter a list of drinks (max 50?) in one box, one name per line.
3. Enter the number of drinkers.
4. Print.

Example 3:

1. Launch Placemat Wizard and choose "Include Drink and Drinker's Names"
2. Enter a list of drinks (max 50?) in one box, one name per line.
3. Enter a list of drinkers (max 20?) in one box, one name per line.
4. Print.

Example 4:

1. Faff around with JDAW's solution.


You need to start believing that not everyone prefers option 4.

[jdaw1]

Example 1 could be pre-canned: 4 to 12 drinks (I, II, III, IV, …); 14 drinkers (A, B, C, …, N); A4 or 8½″×11″.