Announcements
Cancer....
JStrack's author (that's me...Jim, N5IAL) has been fighting the "Big C" (cancer) since...well,
the diagnosis was in late January, 2006...how long it had been there before is anyone's guess.
Anyways, what it comes down to is this: I've had zero income since that time, except for about one
month, before round 2 (round 1 was where the cancer had migrated to my lungs, where we first
discovered it; round 2 is where the cancer decided to have a second go at me, this time hitting my
brain). I've been out of work since that time, and don't know if I'll ever be able to return to work
(the doctors say no, but I'm more stubborn about these things than they seem to realize, so who
knows....). Basically, I need help.
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My present situation demands that I now accept donations if people choose to offer them. To
that end, I've setup a PayPal link that you can use, whether or not you're a PayPal member (if not,
just use your credit/debit card).
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JStrack E-mail Distribution List LOST
Everyone who was on the JStrack e-mail distribution list, please note: short version: the FreeBSD
machine that had the JStrack e-mail alias got nuked in the process of being moved around while I was in
the hospital. It cannot be recovered, and the JStrack e-mail alias (i.e., the distribution list for
announcements about updates, etc.), was not backed up anywhere. It's lost. The same goes for all of my
old e-mail with your requests to be put on said list.
If you want to be on the new JStrack e-mail list, send me e-mail at j88aggie AT yahoo.com.
Call For Assistance With Development
My new disability (resulting from the brain tumors, the triple brain surgery, and/or the radiation
therapy) has left me at somewhat of a disadvantage (the official term is "disabled") when it comes
to working on stuff like JStrack. I can do it, but it can, at times, take far, far longer than it
should (at other times I can cruise right along, and at still other times, forget it). So...if you
know Tcl/Tk and would like to help out with the work on JStrack, send me e-mail (see section above).
I could
really use the help.
Freeware—No, I Won't Be Changing That
There was some confusion on this point (one person wantd to help me make JStrack commercial
software—they meant well...they just didn't understand my intentions regarding JStrack),
so let me make this very clear:
JStrack is now, has always been, and SHALL ALWAYS BE FREE SOFTWARE.
My goal is to make JStrack the best hurricane tracking program (geared towards people like
me who are in a likely target area) that you can get, free or otherwise, and of course, as
I said, JStrack will remain free. This has been my objective since day one, and that has
never changed.
Bug Fixes and New Features
NOTE: For the most complete and current information, see the
HISTORY
file.
In Progress Now....
- City Names.... Working on code to plot city names on the maps. Using NHC breakpoints (for
watches/warnings, i.e., their start/end points) for locations, and adding to that in a few
cases. If a location is not on the current map, it will not be listed as an option to place
on that map. Intend to have city name placement options include plotting the name to the
left or right of the city's location on the map (to better handle multiple names in a small
area).
- BUG (not fixed yet): hyphenated storm names (e.g., twenty-five, from the insanely-active
2005 season) not handled properly...and the fix doesn't seem to be quite as simple as it
appeared to be when I discovered the bug and thought I'd fixed it....
- BUG (not fixed yet):: in some cases where the storm is off of the map....JStrack may say that
the storm is, or is forecast to be, within 60 (or whatever) NM, when it isn't anywhere close.
It's mostly an annoyance, though, as it's generally obvious that the warning is a bug....
06Jul08 "Snapshot" Release
- Bug fix: GOES East imagery ID bar was incorrectly positioned. Now OK.
- NEW FEATURE - Allows the GOES East satellite
imagery to be plotted directly on the tracking map.
See gulf_sat+map.gif for a
sample from early on in the process of adding this.
- Some aesthetic changes to the selection (listbox) for loading/unloading
storms, etc.—they are now not only sorted by year/name (this
assumes a directory tree under tracker/storms/old where each
year is in a subdirectory named according to that year, e.g.,
tracker/storms/old/2006, etc.), but there are clear markers
identifying the year. (Storm info in tracker/storms is at the
top, under "CURRENT".)
- NHC/TPC Data Format Change Breaks Filter (fixed): The 02Aug07 "snapshot" release includes fixes to
the filter to account for a small but significant change in the format of the NHC/TPC data...a
change which resulted in no data being found by JStrack's filter that "reads" the NHC products.
- Now plotting 12 foot seas information for current storm location
- Now, when you move the mouse over wind radii (for current or forecast positions), or the 12 foot
seas plot, the label which would normally identify the storm name (when moving the mouse over a
past/current/forecast plot point) now identifies the storm name, timestamp, and what you're
looking at (e.g., "64 kt wind radii for FRANCES 06/0300Z").
Earlier "Snapshot" Releases
- Improvements to FTP Script
- FTP transfers (for those who can't update via automated e-mail handling, e.g., procmail) now
update their respective timestamp files AFTER each successful transfer. This way, if
the FTP fails, it starts back up where it left off....
- Added a configuration variable to ftpfilt/ftplib.tcl for those who need to use passive mode
ftp (due to firewall problems, etc.).
- Bug fix in plotting of wind radii: they were NEVER correct before.
- Ability to display GOES-East visible, infrared, and water vapor satellite imagery (current images
and image loops). Requires Img extension (and, of course, an Internet connection).
- Ability to save an image file (GIF, JPEG, TIFF, etc.) of the main window from within JStrack,
without the need for external programs. Requires Img extension.
