Design Oversight in Scratch 2

There is a problem in Scratch 2 where you cannot easily differentiate between variables that are global (shared by all sprites) and those that are local to the current sprite.

In the old version these were separated by a dividing line.

The screenshot below shows the three types of variable that are available in the online version.

Cloud variables have a cloud icon to differentiate them. Local and global variables look the same.

The workaround which can be seen in the screenshot is to make the variables visible temporarily on the screen. Then local variables are prefixed by the name of the sprite of which they are members.

Scratch 2 Offline Editor

I mentioned in a posting back in May that Scratch 2 had been released without the offline editor.

Well this has been rectified now and the editor can be download from here.

It is still described as "Beta Version".

The only thing I have spotted that you can do in the Online version and not in Offline version is to declare and access "Cloud variables".

Here is an image of the offline client:

Pompeii by Bastille

Pompeii by Bastille is one of the best songs this year.

I always assume (from the rich sound) that a lot of production had gone into it.

I was surprised, therefore, to find how very good this acoustic version is.

Just four guys and one guitar (oh, and a guitar case!)

Breaking Bad - Emmy Awards

What a show Breaking Bad was!

Here is a summary of the 9 Emmy awards it won:

2008:

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Bryan Cranston

Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series
Lynne Willingham

2009:

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Bryan Cranston

Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series
Lynne Willingham (edited by)

2010:

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Bryan Cranston

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Aaron Paul  

2012:

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Aaron Paul 

2013:

Outstanding Drama Series

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Anna Gunn

Breaking Bad - Star Tweets

The image below shows the tweets sent by Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul as the final episode aired.


I'm sure they will miss it too!

Breaking Bad - Series Finale

Just watched the series finale of the Emmy award-winning Breaking Bad.

The episode is entitled "Felina" which, as Vince Gilligan pointed out on Talking Bad last week, is simply an anagram of "finale".

I am very happy with the ending. I won't say (for fear of spoilers) how many of my wishes came true, but I thought it was excellent.

I can't believe it is all over! What will we look forward to watching now?!

Perhaps, like Firefly and The X Files, it will come back on the big screen!

It was a completely ground-breaking, one-of-a-kind show. And I will miss it.