So, what do you all think of the new layout? It looks much better IMO.

I finally got around to fixing the RSS feed, and it's available at the new link of http://www.garfunkiel.com/?feed=rss2.

This website now has a new host. Benefits include unlimited bandwidth, 10GB file storage, and 1GB MySQL database storage. Previously, I had 250MB file storage, 10MB MySQL database storage, and 5GB/month bandwidth. Interestingly, the cost at this host is only slightly higher for much better benefits.

This site may be down at some point this week: my webhost is upgrading the database server. Also, it is possible that some of the changes will affect collection data, so I would advise against using the collection functionality until the upgrade is complete.

With the assistance of the ie7-js project (http://ie7-js.googlecode.com/), this website looks almost the same across all browsers. I'm still working on making it completely the same, but it's very close.

I finally fixed the problem with the footer just barely being offscreen all the time. It now stays as close to the target location as possible without going above.

I am currently changing how Internet Explorer's CSS quirks are handled in the site code, so don't be surprised if it looks strange on IE while I'm doing this.

I've been working on adding breadcrumbs (those things that provide a path back to the top of the site hierarchy) to the site; the first page to have them is the Archive, so check it out!

I just noticed something about how remaining logged in works: adding the www. to the start of the address works differently than leaving it out. So, if you plan to use the "Remember Me" feature, be consistent about how you visit the site.

I finished updating the login code. You can now choose to remain logged in for 20 days.

I am improving the site's login capabilities, so you won't be able to login until I'm finished.

I just finished a program that, using the command-line, converts .cds and .mwBase files to .xml files. This should be particularly useful for converting the difficult to parse Magic Workstation Master.mwBase file to a more readily parsed .xml file.

This is clue #2 for the Secret Project. Once enough people vote, I will reveal whether the Secret Project's name contains the winning letter, and in which positions. So it's basically Hangman. By the way, don't pick Z. I chose it so I wouldn't bias the results but still vote.

I plan on adding a new riddle to the site soon, but first I would like to know which riddle type I should choose, so please vote.

Well, almost complete. The singles store and trade functionality are both disabled for now. Other than that, everything works.

I am redesigning the tables for cards and collections, so most of the Card Actions to the right are currently disabled. Maintenance should be done by January 16th at the latest.

I added a quiz question status icon and moved the poll to the top bar.

The Quiz Center is back online! All of your points and quizzes have been reset, however, so you will have to take the quizzes again. There is a positive side to this: questions you answer correctly will not need to be re-answered if you retake a quiz.

The quiz center is temporarily disabled for updating. It should be back this week.

Some of you may have noticed that the Projects menu wasn't working properly on IE7. It is now fixed. Also, be sure to check out the new quiz I added on Thursday.

I have added a new quiz to the site - it is about Metal Gear Solid.

I changed the news page to show the most recent news item for each category. Hope it works right!

As you can see, the site is working again. In other news, the next Ultimate Magic: The Gathering version will be up by mid-week.

I just received an email from my host stating that they will be moving all of their servers to a new data center this week, so my site performance may be spotty. They suggest not making updates until the move is complete, so I will not be uploading the next version of UMTG until afterwards.

I just paid to upgrade my hosting plan to free hosting without ads, so the evil ads have been neutralized!

I checked most of the pages, and none seem to have been broken by my upgrade to PHP 5. Also, Version 0.11 of Ultimate Magic: The Gathering should be complete by the end of the month. It will have a tag feature (as suggested by Peer) as well as the ability to launch Magic Workstation's game engine (as mine is not yet ready).

There may be issues with the site today: I am changing the version of PHP that my site uses from 4 to 5. Please let me know if you find a page that does not work properly.

I finished updating the site as you can probably tell from the links on the left sidebar. Take a look!

I have added a new poll to the website - which version of Windows do you use most often?

I am working on updating how the site is organized. Please bear with me; the organization should be complete later today.

It seems that, once again, Peer was the first to solve the riddle. Perhaps I need to handicap him somehow....

I have added a riddle for Time Spiral to the site. It became available at noon, but my Internet connection was not working this morning.

I have added a riddle for Mirrodin to the site. It will be available starting at 5 PM today. Good luck! Also, here is my final hint for the Ravnica riddle: images can have text that shows up when you put your mouse on them. Try that.

Version 1.1.0.0 is now available. I fixed the bug (ID# 2) where you could alt-tab to the window and it would remain visible. Also, I will be making the second riddle easier; the catch is that I will choose the next set released.

I have added a bug tracker to the site. Please use it to create bug reports for either Ultimate Magic: The Gathering or ScreenshotTaker. Also, I intend on making Riddle 2 easier soon, even though it is incredibly easy as is.

It has now been over 2.5 months since I added Riddle 2 to the site, and still no one has solved it. I suppose I'll have to make it a bit easier...though it's really easy as it is - hello, Google?

My ScreenshotTaker utility is now available for download. See the link under Other Projects for the download and more information.

I have added a new poll to the site - what resolution do you usually use on your computer(s)? I am attempting to determine if there is a real need for an 800x600 mode for UMTG; i.e. at least one of you chooses 800x600.

I have decided that a better reward for solving the riddles first should hopefully convince you guys to solve them quickly. From now on, I will choose the next sets to be made available. However, there is a new reward for solving riddles first: you can design a Planeswalker that only you can use (you will get unlimited quantities of it and can give a few to other users). All you have to do is make up some abilities, flavor, and art (give credit to the artist), and I will make the card image in Photoshop and add it to your collection. Bear in mind that I have final say regarding balance issues.

The Help Center link on the left is working, but not complete yet. Take a look if you have a question about something on this site.

A few notes:
-When you open a booster pack and get a card you already have 4 of (i.e. what I am considering unlimited), it will be auto-sold to the store for a new feature called booster points. Each booster is bought first with 1 booster point or (if you don't have any booster points) 200 normal points. If you open a pack and get all 15 cards that you already have playsets (4 ea.) of, you will get 1 point and that booster will have been free.
-I have added a hint to the riddle. Honestly, I didn't expect this to take so long to figure out. Also, if you think you have some progress on it, email me the characters/any ideas you have and I can help you out.

I have decided to enable sets based on the following:
-Core Sets (ex. 10E): Enabled immediately upon real-life release.
-Large Expansion Sets (ex. Ravnica, Lorwyn): Enabled after completing a riddle.
-Small Expansion Sets (ex. Darksteel, Guildpact): Enabled after collecting 4 of each card in the appropriate large set.

Also, no one has solved the second riddle yet, so here's a hint: every letter must be capitalized, and every character in the 10-character string could be copied and pasted directly from the page into the form.

Quiz 2 is now online. It is worth 2000 points.

Peer has chosen Ravnica as the next set available, and I have written the riddle code so that it will automatically become visible at 5:00 PM tomorrow. Note that for this riddle, it is not necessary to purchase a booster to complete it.

Earlier today, I added quite a few sets worth of cards to the card database. Unfortunately, this caused a HUGE performance degradation when the booster contents were added to the database, to the tune of ~30 seconds for each booster to either load or, worse, time out. However, I did some research and found a MUCH MUCH MUCH better way of updating the database, and the time per booster now ranges from about 2-3 seconds.


Also, the shop now gets 75 guaranteed unique cards each time you open a booster. Before, the contents were only guaranteed unique within a booster, but now the entire set of 5 boosters is unique.


Regarding the riddle, Nick has become the second to solve it. Peer, the first person, has informed me that he is deciding between Ravnica: City of Guilds and Betrayers of Kamigawa (surprise, surprise). Which will he pick?

Don't ask me how he did it, but Peer managed to solve the riddle in less than 1.5 hours after I sent that email. This post will be updated with his choice of next set.

Due to popular demand, and one user who told me he wouldn't buy cards until I release it (and who shall remain nameless and nickname-less), Champions of Kamigawa boosters are now available! Take a look! You may be surprised at what you find....

I have completed work on the new Quiz Center! There is only one quiz at the moment, and it is worth a total of 2000 points (200 points for each correct answer).

I just noticed that Wizards of the Coast made a change to Gatherer that makes the database updater in all available versions not work. I have updated the database manually and it is available on the downloads page, but I will need to fix the underlying problem in V0.06.

I will be intentionally breaking most of the site content later today. Do not be alarmed, I simply am reorganizing the site's source code and it will be back up either today or tomorrow.

I have finished the maintenance, and the site content is back up.

I am in the process of updating this website; I have already fixed some rendering problems in IE7. The site will soon fully support the PSP. Why? I don't know, I felt like making it work.

I have added Tenth Edition to the booster section of the store, but I am not going to add it to the singles store for awhile. This is because I will be adjusting the singles prices (downwards) sometime soon.

Also, I have added a second poll to the website. The question is whether you would have voted for Lorwyn in the first poll if it had been an option.

Big News! I have just registered the domain name www.garfunkiel.com, so you will be able to access my website by its current address (garfunkiel.coolinc.info) and its new address by this time tomorrow (4:40 PM).

I have noticed that two of you have chosen to purchase only a few boosters but buy a lot from the Singles Shop. This is, of course, your decisions to make, but I strongly suggest buying boosters first. Boosters are a MUCH MUCH MUCH (x10000) better deal than singles, and you WILL fall behind in collecting if you continue to buy singles at the expensive prices. If you two would like me to reset your points and cards, I would be willing to do that because I didn't make this clear earlier.

Go to the Message/Poll Center links on the right of the website to learn more. Each poll is worth 2000 additional points!

I have finished integrating the blog content as the new News system. This post was created using that system.

In other news, I will be uploading Version 0.04 as scheduled by this Saturday.

I have cleaned up the trade pages, and I have also finished the hidden portion of the site needed for the program to view your collections. I will continue working on the program, and version 0.03 should be done by July 28th.

I have completed the trade, singles store, and booster pack functionality for the website. Feel free to begin your collections! (Boosters have 2 rares, 5 uncommons, and 8 commons.) Remember, if you acquire 4 of a card, you essentially have an infinite number of that card, so you can trade it as many times as you want without losing it. One note though, the trade functionality has a lot of debugging data displayed on it, but pay no attention (to the man behind the curtain). It isn't important, and it will be cleaned up soon.

Hey everyone!
Well, it seems clear that I haven't finished Ultimate Magic: The Gathering yet, so I have decided to use this blog to post my notes and logic in order to get your input. By the way, Version .04A was done on 10-26-2003.