Farm News 08-26-07

Technology

Pah! Technology! Who needs stinkin' technology? None of this stuff is working right. I even read the directions for a few of the parts of GeezerNet, but it is a mess. Users can't even load the home page. The last Farm News went out without the pictures. If I was still a professional nerd I would be anxious, upset, and working long hours to find the problem. Me, though, I'm no longer a professional nerd, I am Geezer, so, instead of fixing it right away, I think I'll complain about it for a week.

First, bunny news. It isn't good, either. When Brindle's time came, I put a nest box in for her. About three days later, just as I expected and had marked on the calendar, she started pulling out fur and lining the nest box. Then a day passed, then another, and another, and, still, no bunnies appeared. A week later I took the nest box out. Three days after that I came out in the morning to find Brindle with two newborn bunnies, one already dead and the other weak. I put the nest box back in the cage, put the live baby in the box, and waited. The little one started nursing and seemed to be picking up weight, but died after four days. So, no bunnies for Brindle this time.

This sort of thing isn't too unusual for first time mothers. I'll breed her again in a week or so and see how she does when the weather is a little less oppressive. Suzette, who has four bunnies ready to wean will get a vacation. I won't breed her until Brindle is over three weeks pregnant, so I can keep the bunnies spaced out a bit.

Now, back to technology. One of the reasons for all this software construction is that I wanted to be able to put pictures in Farm News. Making all the parts fit together to send out a bulk email with a bunch of pictures in it is ridiculously difficult if you refuse to spend money on the venture. I could buy a bulk mailing program for $40 that would probably do everything just fine, but I dislike buying software: I believe in free, open-source software.

The relationship between the cost of the software and the quality of the software is usually inverse: the more costly the software the less satisfying it is to use. There is a reason for that, I think, but I've never figured out why it should be that way, although I'm sure it's there. For that, and several other, reasons GeezerNet is completely constructed from free software, almost all of it open-source. I didn't think that good open-source software would behave as badly as has the GeezerNet machinery. So, to display my disgust, I'm spending a week complaining about the problem instead of fixing it.

There exist in this world, certain sanctimonious individuals who say that it makes no sense to sit around for a week, complaining about a problem that could probably be resolved in two days or less of fixing. I am not interested in hearing such claptrap. I am seventy years old, old enough to claim the right to be recognized as wise, regardless of what young, ignorant savages might think. Thus, if I say I want to sit here for a week complaining, it is up to the readers to find the wisdom in my decision.

Bah!

A Reader Writes

I know I'm not the brightest bulb in

the chandelier, but I think I SHOULD be able

to understand, but can't, why a person would

want more than one e-mail address; that being said,

I have two, but the 'second' one is always forwarded

to the other box. It seems having one would be like having

to go to several post offices [if you lived in a big town] to

get all your mail. Could you explain WHY [the 'advantage'] to

having, say, 'several' e-mail addresses ?

I have two mailboxes for building GeezerNet. The built-in rules of Mambo, the CMS, demands that each user have a unique email address, so I have two user identities, Administrator and User, each with it's own, unique, valid, email address. The server sends reports to the administrator and they all go into the Administrators mail account, Jim.Ware@GeezerNet.com. All messages I send to all users sends a copy to JamesL.Ware@GeezerNet.com, my user account. The final mail client, Thunderbird on my desktop, reads all the accounts and sorts everything into its proper inbox.

Well, that's theory. Actually, the sorting rules are at least three months behind, I probably lose mail occasionally, and the whole thing is a mess, but the theory is great.

Low Pressure, High Stress

One of the inconveniences of having a heart attack is the necessity of putting up with Cardiologists. Cardiologists aren't the worst of the collection of specialists vying for our money, but they are annoying. They are all positive that it is essential to control blood pressure in patients who have had a heart attack, by-pass surgery, and pacemaker implant.

In order to see a Cardiologist I have to drive to Lawrence, a trip of only about twenty five minutes, but enough to raise my blood pressure by twenty points or so when I make the drive. My blood pressure seems to respond to a foliage index: the less foliage I see along the road the higher my blood pressure goes. By the time I've crossed the asphalt in the parking lot and stepped into the building my blood pressure is usually close to what would be a considered a normal level for a person my age. The cardiology nurse check my blood pressure, tells the Cardiologist, who says, “Hmm. If this is normal then it might go higher. We better put a little control on that, and prescribes something to lower the blood pressure.” Some days, including several days in the past week, I come in from doing morning chores, check my blood pressure, and find that it is barely high enough for me to be able to stand up unassisted.

Monday, I decided to spend the week complaining about technology to anyone who would listen. Tuesday I did a little bit of work outside and worked up a good sweat. Whenever I work up much of a sweat my blood pressure starts dropping and then stays low for a few days. Wednesday morning I woke up and felt like I would never again be able to sit up. Once I finally got vertical the room was shifting around a little and I had very fuzzy feelings in my head. Thursday I wanted to stay on my hands and knees all day so that I wouldn't get my head too high and run out of blood. Friday, finally, I was starting to feel human again.

If I'd known that having a heart attack would be this much of a hassle I wouldn't have had one.