So I installed Mantis bug tracking software for my main client, at their request as they’d seen one of their other developers using it, and they preferred it to the Bugzilla install I’d set up for them previously. I’m not bothered what system I use, as long as it serves it’s purpose and isn’t impossible to use. Mantis seems to fit the bill nicely here, and the bonus is that it’s PHP, so my client sees it as ’easily extendable, if we need to’. My client is wise.
It’s started to make my day-to-day life easier too, as now I don’t have to track issues in my Inbox so much. Tracking issues in my Inbox is a nightmare, because I get distracted every time I go to re-check something in an e-mail somewhere, but spot a new e-mail waiting to be dealt with (sometimes spam, or other non-work related). Now, I just keep a browser open on the Mantis ‘My View’ page, and deal with bugs and issues in priority order, tracking any billable time manually (gedit), in an XML invoice file, ready to be converted to PDF and sent to the client. I should really have set up bug/issue trackers for my other clients a long time ago. I still have to pause between jobs to check my e-mail (no escape!), but at least if I’m distracted at that point, I don’t leave the original job half-finished.
Yesterday, I went to get my ‘Bai Anuyaat’ (permission letter) from Thai immigration. I have to get their ‘approval’ to be allowed to own vehicles and obtain a Thai driving license. Mee wasn’t well, so she signed a photocopy of her identity card and a photocopy of the house book to say that she own’s the house, lives there and that I live there too, and I go alone. I get to Thai immigration, and they (finally) give me a form that Mee needs to fill in and sign and tell me to get her to fill it in. Another wasted journey to Darn Singkhorn immigration office, still I needed a break, and blasting the CBR along the main road and back for an hour or so was fun.
I should also apologise for repeatedly referring to Songkran as Songkram. A phonetic misunderstanding I had years ago seems to have got stuck in my head, and while I know it’s really an ’n’, it still comes out as an ’m’ sometimes.
It’s wonderfully hot and dry at the moment. I find it comfortable, but it can make me a little sleepy in the middle of the mid-day heat! The pond we draw water from is nearly dry, and some people are having trouble finding areas where the grass hasn’t dried up to graze their cows. No-one’s really sure how long it’ll be before rainy season comes to replenish it (maybe 1-2mths?!). I’ve marked out a spot to dig a bore hole, and I’m trying to get hold of P’Ma to come and dig it out (he’s the best, and it’s the perfect time of year for it now) - I’d rather have too much than too little next year. If I can’t find him, I’ll probably have to dig it myself (mornings and evenings, couple of hours a day, maybe a week or two!). I’m also hoping to get some time/money to get some pipes fitted to take water from the water filter into the bathroom, so we don’t have to shower outside when rainy season comes!
P’Chai’s gone to Samui for a funeral for a few days, and left me in charge of watering his (~20 rai) garden, using an electric water pump from his brother’s lake. The pump’s been broken since he left, so I spent the best part of the morning with P’Fai, and later P’Bot (the one who really knew what the problem was!) fixing it. I also added a valve on the output pipe, so we could close it off and see that the pump would build up enough pressure and click off. It all seems to be working fine now (cost: 47baht and about 3-4hrs labour!). I’ve since spent about 2-3 hours a day watering different areas of P’Chais garden, trying to keep their extensive selection of fruit trees, orchids and other beautiful, but water-starved plants alive, plus sweeping up leaves/collecting fallen coconut palms. Hopefully, he’ll be back to take care of it all himself on Sunday. Remind me to send him a bill!
Got an e-mail from Fatih Demir today. I explained the state of CVS HEAD to him in some detail. I’m still painfully aware that I should spend a couple of days hacking on gtranslator’s CVS HEAD to get it into shape. While it may build and run OK, it’s not yet usable, and it’s probably not good form to leave a CVS repository in such a state for such a long time. I just need a couple of days, that’s all - but my current schedule is looking relentless. The same applies for my GNOME sysadmin responsibilities. I know bonsai/LXR is still only half-fixed, and that the new sysadmin LDAP web interface is only half-ready and the issues are still only half-tracked etc. I’ll find some time real soon now, I promise, I just need to make sure my paying customers are happy and get back on top of the bills first. (The record isn’t stuck, honest!).