\chapter{Coda}

\section{What I Learned About \LaTeX{} While Creating This Issue}

\subsection{Easy Ways with \textsf{tikz}}

I included some illustrations of card layouts back on page \pageref{cards}. Since these are just rectangles, I knew I could create them pretty easily using the \textsf{tikz} package. All I needed were the coordinates where the three rectangles would begin and end, and the coordinates of the nodes where I would put the letters. 

As it turns out, this was difficult to figure out using my mind alone—I have a lot going on, I am easily distracted, there was too much guesswork. I'm a big fan of having the right tools to do a job and then using those tools. I see no point in being a martyr. So I pulled out the best tool I had for this: graph paper and a pencil. No guess work, just straight lines and a bit of counting. I felt like I was in my eighth grade geometry class again, and I actually enjoyed it. 

\textbf{Protip:} draw it on paper first. 

\setlength{\fboxsep}{0pt}
\setlength{\fboxrule}{0.5pt}
\begin{center}
\fbox{\includegraphics[scale=0.28]{tikz-on-paper}}
\end{center}

\subsection{\texttt{include} is Your Friend}

Last time around, I mentioned using \verb|\input{<filename>}| to keep your \LaTeX{} GUI happy. But I've also found that using \verb|\include{<filename>}| keeps \textit{me} happy. Creating this zine means I end up with a very long file (the file for issue \#5 was 1005 lines long!) making it time consuming to constanty scroll through the file to get to the last part I was editing. (It's not terrible in and of itself, but repeatedly having to do it impacts my overall efficiency.) 

For this issue, I decided to write up each chapter as a separate file, and then just \texttt{include} that file into my main document. This makes it much easier to manage, and I do feel more efficient. But because I'm using a GUI (Texmaker) I do have to remember to switch back to my main file when I compile the document. Overall, that's a trade-off I can live with. As a bonus, I can comment out chapters I am not concerned about when compiling. This saves both printer paper (since I tend to edit on paper—I'm very old-school in that way) and my adult-onset-attention-deficit-disordered brain.)

\subsection{Redefining a Command} 

I switched to the Cantarell font for sans-serif fonts in this issue. The only problem is that it seemed a bit bigger than the serif font around it. So I redefined it in the preamble to make it a bit smaller: 

\begin{Verbatim}[]
\let\oldtextsf\textsf
\renewcommand{\textsf}[1]{\small\oldtextsf{#1}\normalsize}
\end{Verbatim}

The first line saves the \texttt{textsf} command under a new name (\texttt{oldtextsf}). The second line then allows me to renew the original command by using the new name as an input to the original. I added \verb|\small| in front to change the size of the sans-serif text, and added \verb|\normalsize| after it to return to the regular font size.

%\newpage % Use only to keep the afterword together if we end up with orphans
\section{Afterword}

\begin{multicols}{2}
\begin{small}
\paragraph{I cannot believe that this is where we are:}This is the sixth issue of this zine. I originally did this to learn \LaTeX{} and also to learn more about Linux (and get some practice with Git in the meantime). I thought I might get at most one or two issues and that would be the end of it. So when I started doing this, I pushed everything to my git repo at \kref{https://git.kjodle.net/kjodle/the-codex}{https://git.kjodle.net/kjodle/the\\-codex}. 

It looks like this is a thing now, and a single repo just won't work. I'm just over 300 commits in that repo, which doesn't really reveal much about the state of each issue. Going forward, I've decided to make this an organization on my git repo at \kref{https://git.kjodle.net/the-codex-zine}{https://git.kjodle.net/the-codex-\\zine}. That way, each issue can have its own repository and will eventually come to a logical end, instead of being never ending.

I will, however, maintain the wiki at \kref{https://git.kjodle.net/kjodle/the-codex/wiki}{https://git.kjodle.net/kjodle/the\\-codex/wiki}. Believe it or not, I also have a forum for it at \kref{https://forums.kjodle.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=15}{https://forums.kjodle.net/forumdi\\splay.php?fid=15}, so if you want to join that forum and share your opinions and ideas, I encourage you to do so.

Starting with this issue, I wrote each chapter in a separate \LaTeX{} file, and then used the \texttt{include} command to include it in the main file. This made writing and editing this issue a lot easier, but I realize now that this method also makes it easier to collaborate with others on the writing of this zine. If you are interested in contributing a chapter to this zine, and are familiar with \LaTeX{} and Git, then you can just clone the repo for the current issue, make your changes, and then file a pull request. 

\label{codeberg}Because you probably don't already have an account on my personal Git server (although if you are interested, contact me and we can talk about it), I'm also pushing the entire thing to Codeberg, which you can see here: \kref{https://codeberg.org/the-codex-zine}{https://codeberg.org/the-codex-zi\\ne}. (I've included the template files that I use for each issue there, so if you want to make your own zine in \LaTeX{}, you can download those and create your own.)

To mark this change, I've made a few changes to the title page to make it a bit cleaner and more inviting, but that's the only change I plan to make. You can expect the same level of quality (both high and low) as you've always gotten.

\paragraph{A shameless bit of self-promotion:} I wanted to learn more about using Tikz in \LaTeX{} so I created a zine of funny (or at least what I found to be funny) Venn diagrams. You can see and even buy a copy on Etsy at \kref{https://wolfgangswishlist.etsy.com/listing/1884948144/funny-venn-diagrams-a-zine-and-coloring}{https://wolfgangswishlist.etsy.co\\m/listing/1884948144/funny-venn-d\\iagrams-a-zine-and-coloring}.

\paragraph{Me, on social media:} I used to love Twitter, and was disappointed (to say the least) to see what it's devolved into. I am on both Mastodon (\texttt{@kjodle}) and Bluesky (\texttt{@iswpw.bsky.social}). Please feel free to reach out to me there, although I am not nearly as active on either of those platforms as I used to be on Twitter. Maybe someday, again, although I doubt it. Sometimes that which is lost will never be found again.

\paragraph{Zine site:} I make other zines besides this one, which you can read about at \kref{https://just13.click/}{https://just13.click/}. I also have a mailing list there, and I encourage you to sign up for it.  I have to pay if I send out more than one email per month anyway, so I definitely won't be clogging up your inbox.

\medskip
\begin{flushright}
\noindent{}Thanks,\\—Ken
\end{flushright}

\end{small}
\end{multicols}