Msg: 1055 *Conference*

12-04-91 12:30:10

From: LEX JENKINS

To : RICK HANSON

Subj: SARDINE, FINIS

Does stumbling across the obvious qualify as a discovery?  If so, I've
"discovered" the solution to my LaserJet and Sardine Plus problems.

 As you recall (actually, I know you do; however, this summary may benefit
others) I recently acquired a 102 with Booster Pak, RAM expansion board,
Ultimate ROM II, other stuff (not relevant here) and four ROMs, labeled Sardine
Plus 1-4, in the Booster Pak's extra sockets.

 I received manuals for everything except the elusive Sardine Plus.  Elusive
because, even after (eventually) successful initialization of Ulti-ROM II, I
couldn't access Sardine via the "SARDIN" prompt in the Ulti-ROM menu.  I kept
getting "Disk Error" messages, even after CALLing 63013,1 and a few other
addresses I chose (some of which cold-started my 102!) after consulting a
racing form and a dial-a-tarot reader.

 The standard 102 is not particularly difficult to figure out, but throw in the
Booster Pak with its multiple directories and environments and initialization
procedures... Yikes!

 Here's what I did: loaded the NULL.## environment, which called up a ROM map;
I named the two ROMs on the map UR-2 (Ultimate ROM II) and BOOSTER ('cause I
didn't know what else to call it); created my first environment, LEX1 in mine
own image (although now I'd change it to DINGBAT1 if I could use eight
characters); ENTERed UR-2 as my ROM selection, and... zippo.  Nothing happened.

 So logic demanded that I repeat the same steps about a zillion times, except
sometimes I ENTERed BOOSTER instead of UR-2 as my ROM selection.  That's what
the manual says to do: "If the above steps don't work, repeat 'em about a
zillion times.  If you're still experiencing difficulty after that, call us.
We need a good laugh."

 Eventually I CALLed 63013,1 (the next step would have been M for Murder) and
Bingo!  Lo!  Ulti-ROM II appeared.  Angels sang.  Men wept.  Dogs performed
Public Enemy raps.  Some Fun Now began.

 I explored UR2's cadre of Nifty Stuff: T-Word, IDEA!, T-base, ROM-View 80.
Still, that "SARDIN" prompt nagged and taunted me.  I popped open the Booster
Pak, stared at those four aloof ROMs and recalled the riddle that plagues
travelers and programmers: You Can't Get There From Here.

 Last night, I Got There.  Instead of duplicating an existing environment with
Ulti-ROM II already initialized I loaded NULL.## (a blank environment with no
programs or files) and created a new environment named SARDIN.## (figuring
vanity might lure the fish).  The ROM choices UR-2 and BOOSTER appeared; I
ENTERed BOOSTER.  This time, instead of banging my head against a logic gate
another zillion times, I entered BASIC, CALLed 63013,1 and, Lo!  A banner
headline reading "T-WORD with SARDINE" unfurled across the expanse of my
240-pixel-wide screen.  In these days of Super VGA displays I'd forgotten the
simple thrill of watching a freshly booted program strut its stuff across even
a "primitive" screen.

 The workspace for my SARDIN.## environment now contained the program file for
TWORD+., WORDS.DO (empty and awaiting lexicographical input) and S-CONF.DO (a
version of CONFIG.DO for T-Word only).

 A trial run on a 23K file (the October newsletter) took 3 min:40 sec to sort
and check 3,723 words, and flagged 193 unrecognized words (most of which were
simply plural, adjective and past tense forms of recognized words).  This
compares well with similar programs I used years ago on my Franklin ACE (the
infamous Apple II series clone) and C-64, which were disk drive-intensive.

 So, to make a long story even longer, I'm happy to finally have access to
Sardine.  I'm disappointed that (apparently; I'm learning to hedge my
declarative statements) I can't have it and ROM-View 80 at the same time.  I
suppose I can enter/edit text in RV80, then swap environments/workspaces and
use Sardine.  I haven't yet tried to use Sardine Plus on an IDEA! file.  We'll
see.

 My Big Adventures with Sardine and the LaserJet printer (I set the page length
to 60.  Works fine.  Thanks for the tip.) have taught me a few things:

 1. Try something, even if it's wrong.  (My grandfather, "Tenthumbs Jenkins,"
taught me that one.)

 2. If all else fails, read the directions.

 3. That probably won't work either, 'cause directions are written by "experts"
(people who forgot what it was like not to know something) for "end-users"
(people who never knew).

 4. Do Step 1. about a zillion more times.

 5. Stare glumly.  Fret.  Mope.  Wait for "inspiration to strike" (i.e., brain
cells to realize they can do more than just play with all that fatty tissue in
your brain).

 6. Reread the directions.

 7. Dawn arrives.  She smacks you in the head.  Ears ringing, you notice the
directions are written in English, conveniently, your native tongue.  Scanning
the newly legible page, your mouth forms silent words, a trait your spouse has
always secretly detested.  Brain cells drop the fat globules they've been
fooling with and wander over to join you in reading the directions.
"Heyyy...," say your stunned brain cells, silent words forming on their little
mouths.

 8. "Eureka!" you shout, pretending to have "discovered" something.  Babble
excitedly in ASCII to your spouse, who ignores you because Geraldo is
interviewing the Gay Nazi's for Christ Motorcycle Club and it looks like they
might just kick the stuffing out of him.
 Even after learning all those Important Things, I still have a question:

 What the heck is Lucid-ROM and could it have helped me?