Some wag wrote on the OSM wiki: “For developers, Rails means less messing around configuring and more coding.” How we laughed on our way to the asylum.

If you get

/usr/bin/gem:14: undefined method `ruby_version' for Gem:Module (NoMethodError)

when you try to run (say) gem -v, and

/usr/lib/ruby/1.8/rubygems/source_index.rb:92:in `load_specification': private method `specification_version=' called for #<Gem::Specification:0x4e65c4> (NoMethodError)

when you try to run Rails, you have two choices. Either (a) search the web to find that lots of people have come across the same issue, and their solutions always boil down to a complete reinstall, which is not fun. Or (b): sudo it.

For some weird reason, that works, even though sudo which gem and which gem etc. return the same.

I am now off to put my head through the patented Rails blender. Again.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Anna: high-powered barrister
Richard: Twm Morys

Were it not for the fact that we already have two Pluriels, I would definitely get one of these.

Among the endearing features of 3’s “mobile” “broadband” “service” is the fact that, at first, they didn’t offer an SMTP server. At least, not one that they told you about. This I found a little annoying.

So I came up with a slightly insane way of sending e-mail, which I’m still using to this day.

I use qpsmptd to run an SMTP server directly on this Mac. The http-forward plugin then forwards the mail via HTTP (does what it says on the tin) to my usual systemed.net webspace. There, it talks to a fairly standard formmail script (obviously with some authentication).

It’s a bit hacky but it works, beautifully. I did have to use an .htaccess file to turn off mod_security, as perfectly innocent e-mails kept getting rejected.

As it happens, 3 do now have an SMTP server (smtp-mbb.three.co.uk), not that they tell you about it. It also turns out that our home broadband suppliers, Plusnet, actually provide authenticated SMTP, definitely without telling you about it. The latter is hugely useful as we’ve now switched Anna’s iPhone over to use it permanently; trying to use the O2 server used to bomb Mail without fail.

But still, I like my jerry-rigged SMTP server.