Hey! Flying Monkeys!

Dear Lazy Geekweb:

One of my hosting clients would like to be able to sell luvverly heathen eBooks (thus avoiding dead tree sales when possible) via my humble website. Assuming PayPal (*shudder of revulsion*) to handle the filthy lucre as I am not in a position to handle money, I was thinking that perhaps the simplest way to safeguard download of the PDF would be to have it in a directory that was auto-generated every twenty-four (or other) hours, and/or a static directory with a password that jumped every twenty-four (or other) hours. On successful purchase, a password would be sent to the user telling them how and where to download their goodies. The PDF is too large to e-mail, and frankly, one shouldn't e-mail PDF's in any case.^*

Is there a package about to facilitate this? Alternately, can you suggest some alternate, yet droolproof, fulfillment method?

Thanks in advance,

-- Lorrie

^* - I am a sysadmin of the Old Code. E-Mail was designed to transmit message averaging under sixty-four kilobytes. You damn kids, get offa my lawn!

California State Parks That You'll Miss When They're Gone:

This is of statewide interest to residents of California:

Our Governator has proposed some fairly stringent budget cuts in this next fiscal year's budget, which will involve serious cutbacks in social programs, public safety programs--and the closure of two hundred state parks.

You want a map? Have a map.

jon_decles, Clear Lake State Park is on the list.

emberleo, Portola Redwoods is on the block.

Amateur astronomers in the audience can say farewell to Fremont Peak just outside San Juan Bautista.

Did you think Tarantula Fest down at Henry Coe would be fun? Right around my birthday every year, when the male spiders come from their holes looking for love, and the people come and watch and some of California's most passionate park volunteers stage a battle versus arachnophobia. Henry Coe Park is on the list.

I suspect my SoCal readership will have their own favorites, but that's enough sample to get on with.

This morning's San Francisco Chronicle has an article with five parks that the author will miss most if the cuts go through without amendment. The parks won't be sold, but they will be closed to the public for at least a year to reduce staffing and maintenance costs.

"Go through without amendment" is the key phrase here. This would be an excellent time to e-mail, phone, or write to your state representatives--and how do you find those out?

Your state tax dollars are already at work. Tell your State Senator and Assembly Representative that if they want your vote in the next damn election, they can find some other way to address this shortfall: like social services and infrastructure maintenance, state parks aren't fat for trimming either. Cut some hours at the DMV, have every Assemblyman kick a toady to the curb, whatever: this stinks. Find something that sucks less.

Obviously, we have to ask what to cut instead, as the shortfall is real and needs addressing. I do not know; I am not a financial analyst, this is not my job; this is why we elected those bums, and why those bums have staff. While, yes, the loss of one or two of said flunkies would save Henry Coe...but the byzantine politics of state budgets is never that simple, and when I'm not wearing my rantypants, I do know this.

Okay, back to your morning coffee, after which pass along, take action, and all that jazz.

-- Lorrie