diff --git a/processing/app/PdeEditor.java b/processing/app/PdeEditor.java
index 3f6c336a6..e2793c92f 100644
--- a/processing/app/PdeEditor.java
+++ b/processing/app/PdeEditor.java
@@ -1776,16 +1776,40 @@ public class PdeEditor extends JFrame
 
 
   public void error(Exception e) {
-    status.error(e.getMessage());
+    //System.out.println("ERORROOROROR 1");
+    //status.error(e.getMessage());
+
+    // not sure if any RuntimeExceptions will actually arrive
+    // through here, but gonna check for em just in case.
+    String mess = e.getMessage();
+    //System.out.println("MESSY: " + mess);
+    String rxString = "RuntimeException: ";
+    if (mess.indexOf(rxString) == 0) {
+      mess = mess.substring(rxString.length());
+      //System.out.println("MESS2: " + mess);
+    }
+    status.error(mess);
+
     e.printStackTrace();
   }
 
 
   public void error(PdeException e) {
+    //System.out.println("ERORROOROROR 2");
     if (e.file >= 0) sketch.setCurrent(e.file);
     if (e.line >= 0) highlightLine(e.line);
 
-    status.error(e.getMessage());
+    // remove the RuntimeException: message since it's not
+    // really all that useful to the user
+    //status.error(e.getMessage());
+    String mess = e.getMessage();
+    String rxString = "RuntimeException: ";
+    if (mess.indexOf(rxString) == 0) {
+      mess = mess.substring(rxString.length());
+      //System.out.println("MESS3: " + mess);
+    }
+    status.error(mess);
+
     buttons.clearRun();
   }
 
diff --git a/processing/app/PdeMessageSiphon.java b/processing/app/PdeMessageSiphon.java
index 5b90368b3..61d4d80e6 100644
--- a/processing/app/PdeMessageSiphon.java
+++ b/processing/app/PdeMessageSiphon.java
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ class PdeMessageSiphon implements Runnable {
       //
       String currentLine;
       while ((currentLine = streamReader.readLine()) != null) {
+        // \n is added again because readLine() strips it out
         consumer.message(currentLine + "\n");
       }
       thread = null;
diff --git a/processing/app/PdeRuntime.java b/processing/app/PdeRuntime.java
index fbc8ca1d5..094456dde 100644
--- a/processing/app/PdeRuntime.java
+++ b/processing/app/PdeRuntime.java
@@ -362,7 +362,9 @@ public class PdeRuntime implements PdeMessageConsumer {
 
 
   public void message(String s) {
+    if (s.trim().length() == 0) return;
     //System.out.println("M" + s.length() + ":" + s);
+
     // this is PApplet sending a message (via System.out.println)
     // that signals that the applet has been quit.
     if (s.indexOf(PApplet.EXTERNAL_QUIT) == 0) {
diff --git a/processing/build/shared/revisions.txt b/processing/build/shared/revisions.txt
index 2e833c1b3..b90947cf1 100644
--- a/processing/build/shared/revisions.txt
+++ b/processing/build/shared/revisions.txt
@@ -135,6 +135,13 @@ ide fun
 - forgot to mention in rev 75 that double-clicking a .pde file on the
 mac will now launch processing with that sketch running
 
+- i've replaced the cvs version of jikes that we'd been using with
+  jikes 1.22, a real release, and the very latest. it's only 2 or 3MB
+  (instead of 8 or 9MB) and crashes much less. yay! the reason we can
+  make the switch is that 1.22 supports -target 1.1 again (it had
+  disappeared in some of the previous releases, and it's absolutely
+  essential for p5).
+
 
 bugs
 
diff --git a/processing/todo.txt b/processing/todo.txt
index ad74be58c..4afeefde8 100644
--- a/processing/todo.txt
+++ b/processing/todo.txt
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ X   (same as applet exporter function)
 o when using core graphics, don't show applet frame until first frame
 o   (in opengl, open frame early, make sure this isn't inhibited)
 X   probably can't do this, since don't know at runtime if it's gl
+X RuntimeException 
 
 create a new sketch
 create a new tab named "a"