thnik again!

The blog will re-open Monday January 9, 2012.

Happy holidays!

This blog will take a rest till Monday 7 November.

Comment author must now have a previously approved comment. This will slow down commenting if it is your first comment, but will stop spam from appearing.

If you like this post click the +1 icon.

(The WordPress plugin is called ‘Plus one’. Details here.)

If you are on Google+ the pages you click +1 for will automatically appear in your profile’s +1 section. Which means it is also a way to bookmark pages for reading later.

Dear Friends,

If you like an invitation to Google+ just drop me a line (jannordgreen@gmail.com).

Greetings,

Jan

This blog will take a break till September. Take care till then! And thanks for all the comments.

We will return Monday May 2.

Now LaTex works. I just added a plugin called WP Latex. Note: LaTex does not work in the comment preview, but it does show in the comment when it is submitted.

The plugin converts inline latex code into PNG images that are displayed in your blog posts and comments. Use either [xxxlatex]e^{\i \pi} + 1 = 0[/latex] or $xxxlatex e^{\i \pi} + 1 = 0$ syntax.

Where xxxlatex should be replaced by 'latex' without the quote.

Now, who can suggest a simple tutorial for basic math notation?

Update 25.01.2012:
http://www.codecogs.com/latex/eqneditor.php lets you preview your LaTex so you can see that it is OK before you use it in a comment. Link thanks to Richard Sabey.

I have just installed a plugin that lets you preview your comment as you type it. The plugin is called Live Comment Preview.

Preview is needed because when you type “<”, which also has an html meaning, strange things starts to happen.

swt has found that:

It seems that the problem appears when you use < followed by a letter or symbol. In such a case the text from < to the first occurence of > in the same line disappears. If no > is found, the text from < to the end of the line disappears.  If there is a space or number after < there is no problem.

He suggests that there should be a preview for comments and now there is. If your comment is not accepted the way you like it, you may, as before, post it as an image.

Update 20110327:
Anything between a < sign and the next < or > sign does not show up in the preview, but it shows in the comment when it has been submitted! So, if you want to type 2 < 5, just do so, It will show up in the posted comment, although it does not show up in the preview! Not exactly the best state of affairs!
Hopefully there is a simple solution to this mess.

Second update 20110327:
Mike may have found the solution! See his comment below.
Use &lt; for < and  &gt; for >. Use &le; for <= and &ge; for >=. You will then get a correct preview.

Third update 20110327:
I deactivated ‘Live Comment Preview’ and activated ‘Edit Comments XT’ and ‘MCEComments.’ The first is supposed to let the user edit his own comments. I did not get it to work. The second gives the user a few formatting options like bold, list, etc, but nothing interesting. It does not work with ‘Live Comment Preview.’ In the end I deactivated ’Edit Comments XT’ and ‘MCEComments’ and activated ‘Live Comment Preview’ again.

As Mike says below, it is sad that you have to write things like x^2 instead of the nicer x², but what can be done?

This blog has been on vacation almost since June 2010. That is a long time!

As you may remember, my two-year post in Thailand ended in September and then, after considerable visa work, we came to Tenerife, Spain at the end of September. In Spain, to get Internet at home you need a bank account. To get a bank account you need a NIE number. To get a NIE number you have to get your papers sorted out and ask for a date with the police. My date was four weeks in the future.

Now I have Internet at home. Changed apartment after two months. Moved from the ninth floor to the zeroth floor.  Got a maths post 40 minutes away in Puerto de la Cruz, but decided to stay in Santa Cruz.

This blog is a game of love, not a piece of work of any shape, sense, or form. That is maybe why we were off the air for so long. Who knows? Anyway, we are back now and, as always, look forward to the best part of this adventure, your comments.