Robert@PNG

Been meaning to write a post on “Toy cars” since coming to PNG!

What does a “Toy Car” look like?…

And made from bush materials!

Many of the local kids can often be seen pushing one of these around the streets. I’ve seen two wheelers all the way up to 18 wheelers. Some even have real steering wheels! The 18 wheelers are rightfully referred to as “Kenworth’s”!!

I reckon that this concept of a free toy puts the Nintendo and Playstation brigade back at home to shame. The younger generation slowly retreating into their own worlds through electronics and expensively fancy toys.

When I was a kid… I was never shown how to make a billy cart by my Dad - I suspect that If I was taught that my life now would be totally different.

Simplicity at it’s best!!

On another note…

The reason I never posted to the blog on Tuesday this week was because I got caught up with a Linux “thing”.Funny how Open Source (Linux) has a way of drawing one into a vortex of “fiddling” - I have heard some say that Linux and fiddling go hand in hand (A bit like a british motorcycle). This so called “fiddling” leads to a PC/Laptop or Server being tailored and setup exactly as one wants. I’m really enjoying it!

So…

This week I set out to install a Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) on my Laptop - I wanted to do this so that any critical errors would be emailed to my Inbox in Evolution. After a couple of days of very intense fiddling - I eventually achieved what I set out to do and it all works like a charm. To do this the following software had to be downloaded, installed, compiled and configured…

- Postfix (MTA)
- Logdog (System Log monitor)
- SendEmail (sends an email to my Inbox from Logdog)

Although Linux can be somewhat daunting to the novice there are two things that assist in making it a little easier:

- Downloaded Packages tend to come with easy to follow and understand documentation.
- When one hits a snag - there are always a heap of resources on the net to make life easier.

After some painful moments and the odd trouble spot I was able to make it hum along nicely. Also, I am now that little bit more comfortable when sticking my head under the “hood”. It was a very rewarding effort indeed.

And on another note yet again… Eli left for the village on Tuesday and is due back tomorrow. You know what this means? Noodles for dinner!!!