diff --git a/app/src/processing/mode/java/preproc/PdePreprocessor.java b/app/src/processing/mode/java/preproc/PdePreprocessor.java
index b356d5e8a..70b3abddf 100644
--- a/app/src/processing/mode/java/preproc/PdePreprocessor.java
+++ b/app/src/processing/mode/java/preproc/PdePreprocessor.java
@@ -249,21 +249,30 @@ public class PdePreprocessor {
                                       stringStart)));
         }
       } else if (program.charAt(i) == '\'') {
-        i++;
+        i++;  // step over the initial quote
         if (i >= length) {
-          throw new SketchException("Unterminated character constant", 0,
+          throw new SketchException("Unterminated character constant (after initial quote)", 0,
                                     countNewlines(program.substring(0, i)));
         }
         if (program.charAt(i) == '\\') {
-          i++;
+          i++;  // step over the backslash
+        }
+        if (i >= length) {
+          throw new SketchException("Unterminated character constant (after backslash)", 0,
+                                    countNewlines(program.substring(0, i)));
+        }
+        if (program.charAt(i) == 'u') {
+          i += 5;  // step over the u, and the four digit unicode constant
+        } else {
+          i++;  // step over a single character
         }
-        i++;
         if (i >= length) {
           throw new SketchException("Unterminated character constant", 0,
                                     countNewlines(program.substring(0, i)));
         }
         if (program.charAt(i) != '\'') {
-          throw new SketchException("Badly formed character constant", 0,
+          throw new SketchException("Badly formed character constant " +
+          		                      "(expecting quote, got " + program.charAt(i) + ")", 0,
                                     countNewlines(program.substring(0, i)));
         }
       }
diff --git a/core/todo.txt b/core/todo.txt
index 65566fd4d..26ccf37d5 100644
--- a/core/todo.txt
+++ b/core/todo.txt
@@ -410,6 +410,8 @@ _ sort out destroy(), stop(), pause() et al
 _   ColorSelector should stop/pause when not visible
 _   start()/stop() perform like onPause()/onResume()
 _     all of which call pause() and resume()
+_ problem with destroy() calling System.exit()
+_   http://code.google.com/p/processing/issues/detail?id=698
 _ decision on registered methods
 _   remove registerPre() et al
 _   add register("pause", ...) 
@@ -968,3 +970,5 @@ _ repeating texture support
 _ exactly how should pixel filling work with single pixel strokes?
 _   http://dev.processing.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=1025
 _ consider bringing back text/image using cache/names
+_ exactly how pixel-filling works for strokes
+_   http://processing.org/bugs/bugzilla/1025.html
diff --git a/todo.txt b/todo.txt
index a78ad7ac3..c6d24e9d7 100644
--- a/todo.txt
+++ b/todo.txt
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ X   http://code.google.com/p/processing/issues/detail?id=634
 X incorporate gsvideo and opengl2 as the default libraries for video and opengl
 X Launch script for Linux fails to open a sketches with relative paths
 X   http://code.google.com/p/processing/issues/detail?id=707
+X Badly formed character constant exception
+X   http://code.google.com/p/processing/issues/detail?id=714
 
 _ add deployJava.js to local sketch folder (causes internet requirement)
 _   http://code.google.com/p/processing/issues/detail?id=650
@@ -80,7 +82,8 @@ _   also happens with stray characters sometimes...
 _   casey: accidentally typing a letter at the top of the tab
 _     throws you onto the end of the last tab... exactly the worst location
 _ jer: omitting a semicolon shows the error on the line after it...
-_ find across all tabs
+_ find across all tabs (jer request)
+_   http://code.google.com/p/processing/issues/detail?id=705
 
 reference/examples
 _ import p5 reference into the javadoc
@@ -998,7 +1001,7 @@ _   make the buildXxxx folders relate to time/date?
 
 low (common errors around reserved names/class naming)
 _ Saving sketch with the same name as a class or primitive breaks sketch
-_   http://dev.processing.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=1165
+_   http://code.google.com/p/processing/issues/detail?id=157
 _ don't allow people to override methods like paint() 
 _   make them final? just improve the error messages?
 _   http://dev.processing.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=1219