05.15.2006
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Don says:
I've been putting off further experiments with Linux pending some DSL/telephone line rewiring. I got into the wiring and decided I needed some ethernet jumper cables which I quickly found, at an affordable price, with pricewatch.com. They should arrive in a few days by which time I should have the wiring in place and waiting. There are connections for four cables on our router, three of which are being used by my Win2k computer, Lisa's WinXP computer, and our PCLinuxOS computer. I'm running the fourth jack to the the back bedroom, via a hardwired ethernet cable, so that I'll have internet access with whatever computer I'm working on.Not long ago I found GetAFreelancer.com where you can contract a freelance programmer to write software to order. I was pretty excited about it so I registered and wrote a job description. I wanted to purchase some modest utilities to give away, as freeware, from our site. About a dozen freelance programmers from all over the world submitted bids for my job. I posted some clarifications about exactly what I wanted and scrounged up a hundred dollars to pay for it before selecting a freelancer and awarding him my contract. I got some nice email from the fellow but that's as far as it went. The work was never done so I gave it all up as a bad idea to begin with. It cost me about $12.00 in fees to transfer the money from my GetAFreelancer account (the company is located in Sweden) back into my PayPal account and I used the "temporary windfall" to buy some computer parts (needed for the ongoing Linux experiment) on ebay and the ethernet cables I mentioned in the last paragraph. My PayPal account is back down to it's usual less-than-a-dollar balance and all is well with the world.
Lisa's been getting new clients right and left and spending just about every spare moment she has out in the yard communing with her growing collection of plants. I've not been quite as busy as she and have used the reprieve to catch up on my reading. I've been enjoying books written by Marion Zimmer Bradley, C.J. Cherryh, Elizabeth H. Boyer and Piers Anthony. In bygone years I was very particular about the authors I most wanted to read but that was before I moved to a Fantasy and Science Fiction wasteland. I've always bought books at flea markets, garage sales and used book stores but here in Central Texas F&SF books seem to be few and far between so I've taken what I could find since moving here (in 1990). I've read some turkeys but I've also discovered a number of new authors whom I enjoy. Once in a very rare while I have occasion to drive to Kerrville where there's a wonderful used book store with thousands of F&SF books. Among them are hundreds of books I haven't read. *grin*. I love it.
Lisa says:
The past couple of weeks have been rather interesting. Most people will tell you that putting new siding on the house is an experience not to be missed. Please do not say the word 'caulk' to me for a few months. Then *sigh* we have to paint. Other than that, I still have spring fever pretty badly and I'm getting a bit of a reputation for being a rock and plant scrounge. Once in a great while I actually buy a plant but if you ask me the most valuable plants are the ones you exchange with friends (read " free " here).Here are a couple of recent pictures that illustrate what a nice, quiet, rural place this is; Tow, TX. The first is my back-door neighbor, Ben, chopping weeds out of his tomatoes and peppers. In return for making him world famous, perhaps we'll get some produce if ours don't do well. I'm a novice at veggies, who knows what will happen! The second picture is a very handsome turkey owned by one of my clients. Doesn't he just know what an attractive bird he is?
Chopping weeds Handsome Tom
Indian Blanket in bloom.
