Today, I went back to Ryland Glen to work out some paperwork. They needed a couple of months' worth of statements as proof that I have the necessary assets and income. Also, we spent a couple of hours going over the many legal documents that they are required to give me. Some state and county documents, a bunch of stuff about the house and mediation and lots of other things. The realtor was quite helpful, even if he is a Seller which means he works for the selling party obviously. But there are disclosure laws so at least the Seller can't lie to you or omit facts.

Next week I should get a call from Ryland Mortage for my home loan. I'll probably stick with them for the home loan. I mean, even if it's a little higher, what's an extra ten or twenty thousand over thirty years? After the loan I have to go to the Design Center to pick out some home options. I have a $3500 credit for options, which probably won't cover much. My parents really want me to tile the first floor which I think is kind of cold. I'd rather have carpet since I don't wear shoes indoors. This whole deal won't be done until at least mid-March.

My sister Steph met us there for lunch. We ate at Hong Kong Restaurant, on the corner of the block where Ryland Glen is located. Hong Kong style food has more oil than normal Chinese food, probably why I like it a lot. Of course that's probably why Dave doesn't care for it. I'll probably be going to that restaurant more -- if I ever go out to eat which I don't usually do. Steph is also getting a place. She got a two bedroom at that condo on the other side of the bridge. Nice condo, if a bit small. But it's where she wants to live. So we're both getting homes...

There was a news story yesterday. Some woman was on a crusade against land mines. The commercials kept quoting the figure "every 22 minutes someone is killed by a land mine". Now, there is a certain number of people that are all for the No Land Mine Treaty or whatever it's called. Most countries in the world have signed it, except for the United States. And of course people can't understand why since we try to have this White Hat image. Mostly the people in an uproar are American citizens because they don't understand.

Land mines are useful. They have a real tactical value in wartime. The United States Armed Forces have a great stockpile of various mine types, from anti-personnel to anti-tank to artillery and helicopter delivered mines. The real problem with mines is that once you're done with them they stay around. Hence the US has spent a lot of money developing mines that self destruct after a few hours or a few days. We need mines, we don't want civilians getting killed years later, and this is the compromise that our elected leaders can live with. And I think it's acceptable...

I'm trying out MacHTTP. It's one of the oldest Mac web servers around and was the basis for WebStar. The original developer got the rights to the old source code and is now making updates on it. It's not open source, but the source is available for people to use. I guess they just can't sell any modified versions. The server is not free, though I can't find the price anywhere. You have to contact the author. Anyways, I'm trying it out to see if it solves a problem.

The problem is that both NetPresenz and the old Pictorious Net Server break if a user cancels a movie download. NetPresenz breaks immediately, Pictorious breaks after a day or two. It freezes the computer. MacHTTP did freeze after a couple of days, though it didn't quite take down the whole computer with it -- NetPresenz and MacDNS were still working after a while. I need some more testing to see if it's a problem. There's also the latest MacHTTP beta which might work. And if not then maybe it's the TCP/IP stack amd I should reinstall the System software.

I'm just in a "I don't want to deal with installing and configuring Mac OS X for server use". If I can make it work with the current Mac OS 9 then I'll leave it there. At least until I have another computer to play with at my leisure.