News
2023-12-08
AT THE END OF OUR ROPE
(Christmas Miracle Needed)
I thank you one and all that were kind enough to make a donation after our last
donation plea. It was only by your kindness that we were both able to survive this
far.
When we made our original plea we were honestly hoping to use the money to help
us to move to a new less expensive apartment (since neither of us has a driver's
license anymore meaning we'd have to hire someone to move us), but after looking
and looking for the past 3+ years we have thus far been unable to find one.[1]
As a result, all of the donated money has been used instead to help us pay our rent
each month since our existing income is not enough to live on by itself.[2] I do
apologize for that but one does what one must in order to survive. :`(
I don't like begging for donations. It's not only degrading, it's not fair either.
We shouldn't have to beg for money in order to survive in today's world. Instead,
I can only hope that some of you might find it in your heart to do so. Or
better, commit to a monthly donation. (Not a request, just a hope. Perhaps vain,
but a hope nonetheless.)
What would really help us the most, is if someone could manage to
find us a place to live whose monthly rent is within our budget. As I said, we've
been looking for 3+ years and we've been unable to find a place. While monetary
donations are nice and would allow us to continue living where we're at for a while
longer, that isn't sustainable. What we really need is a cheaper place to live.
Preferrably it should be somewhere nearby, in the same area (or general area) where
we're currently living. We're naturally reluctant at our age and health to move
long distance to a place we've never been to or seen. (How do you sign a lease
for an apartment you've never visited/seen in a city you've never been to? How
do you do that?)
Anyway, that's the situation we're in right now. We're near the absolute end of
our rope. We only have about $2000 or so left in our savings and that will likely
be gone in another 2 months or so at the most. After that, unless a miracle occurs,
I guess we'll be out on the street with the other homeless people. Doesn't sound
like a very Merry Christmas, does it? :`(
Happy Holidays anyway, guys!
It's been fun while it's lasted?
[1] Being in the heart of Microsoft country it seems every apartment operates under
the erroneous presumption that everyone makes decent money and thus can afford the
outrageous monthly rentals they're all charging these days.
[2] Our only source of income (besides the $100-$200/month we earn from selling my
software) is Social Security (we're both retired). That totals only $3287/month
(me=$1737, Laura=$1550) or $39,444/year. Given that we spend over $1200/month on food
alone[3] (not to mention the cost of electricity, internet[4], etc), it should come as
no surprise where all our donation money has been going these past years (Hint: we're
over $1000/month in the hole each month. How long could you survive at that rate?
Answer: not long.)
[3] We applied for Food Stamps but they turned us down. They said we make too much money.
(They don't take the cost of rent or utilities into consideration.)
[4] We also applied for ACP
(Affordable Connectivity Program) too, but the annual income limit is $39,440/year
and our annual income is $39,444/year. Four dollars per month too much. The system is
rigged against you. Once you're poor, you stay poor. Society wants nothing to do with you.
That's why there are so many homeless people. I fear we'll be joining their ranks unless
a Christmas miracle occurs. :`(
2020-03-13
LAID OFF WITHOUT PAY!
(COVIDS-19)
(DESPERATE Donations Plea!!)
As if being forced to move out of our apartment wasn't bad enough (see 2020-02-28
News item further below), NOW we're being forced to try and somehow survive WITH
ABSOLUTELY NO INCOME! (Thanks to the current COVIDS-19 crisis) :`(
Laura came home from work early today and informed me that the company she works for
(a major Hotel chain) has announced that effective March 16th, all employees (hourly
& salaried) in the Sales & Catering Deparments are now on immediate UNPAID furlough
until April 10th due to the recent economic downturn being caused by the COVIDS-19
pandemic.
Hotels have been hit especially hard. No one is booking any hotel stays because of
the COVIDS-19 scare and many businesses have cancelled their reservations. As a
result, the company she works for isn't doing enough business to be able to afford
to pay all of its employees. Hourly workers, like Laura, are essentially out of work
until the economy improves (which isn't likely to happen anytime soon). :`(
So we have no income other than my Social Security, which is NOT enough for two
people to live on.
Laura is of course applying for unemployment benefits and plans to also apply for
early retirement (so she too can begin receiving Social Security payments), but
that, of course, is going to take months before the paperwork goes through, and in
the mean time we will have NO MONEY to live on.
And we have to move out of our apartment by April 27 on top of all that.
Life really sucks sometimes. :`(
I have not had to beg for money for several years now thanks to the money I've
been bringing in from Social Security (I retired 2 years ago) and the wee bit
of money I've been earning from selling my software (and I hate begging
for money!), but unfortunately things have changed. Things are different now.
Today I need to start begging again. I hate doing it, but I must! I don't want
to end up on the street!
Please, please, PLEASE, if you can spare a few dollars (just $20 or even $10,
every little bit helps!), we would GREATLY APPRECIATE IT if you could find it
in your hearts to make a donation today. Just click on the PayPal link below,
fill in the amount, and click "Send Money!".
Thanks.
(And I hope all of you remain both healthy and happy throughout this crisis
our nation, nay, THE WORLD, is currently going through.)
2020-02-28
BEING FORCED TO MOVE!
(the end of an era)
(Donations Plea!)
On Friday February 28, after 22 years of living in the apartments we're
currently in, we received a notice on our door from our leasing office
that they have decided to not offer us a renewal on our lease.
:`(
They wouldn't go into details as to the reasons why the decision was made,
but said it wasn't made by any one person. For one reason or another, they
(the home office of the property) decided it was time for us to leave.
They've given us until April 27 to move out, which isn't much time. The good(?)
news is they said they were very willing to "work with us" regarding the
possibility of possibly continuing to live here for another month or two beyond
the deadline in case our new apartment wasn't available until then. Given the
current pricing and availability of apartments in our area however, we're not
even sure that will be long enough. :(
Long story short, we're going to have to move, and moving, as you all know,
is not only extremely stressful, but also quite expensive too, and we,
as I'm sure you also know, are not wealthy. In fact, we're pretty much dirt
poor.
Laura is actively looking for a new apartment and I'm busy trying to throw
out old boxes of stuff so there's not so much to move. Most of the places
that are available in the area are much smaller than the apartment we're
currently in (1,000 sq. feet = 93 sq. meters). Most are only in the 800 sq.
feet range, but of course still cost the same, or worse, even more. ($2100+
per month = 1886 Euros!)
Folks, it's stressful enough to have to move, but to have to worry about
the cost involved is even worse. We're going to have to have money to pay for
movers (we don't own a car and neither of us have a driver's license and no,
we don't have any friends that can help us either) as well as money for
security deposit, first month's rent, etc, etc, etc. Moving is not cheap!
We would VERY MUCH appreciate it if some of you could help us out by making
a generous donation to the cause. Any amount would be appreciated. Even $20.
If enough of you donate we might actually manage to get through this
emergency situation unscathed.
If not, then ... well ... I don't even want to think about it. :`(
So if you can afford to do so, PLEASE consider making a generous
donation today to help keep us alive and literally off the street.
Thanks.
2017-09-10
Severe Hardware Problems Causing Purchase Delay
(Donations Plea)
On Friday August 18 my computer broke. It wouldn't boot no matter what I
tried.
I took it to the repair shop the next day, and on Monday they said it was the
motherboard. They ordered a new one but when it arrived a week later, it too
was determined to be bad. So they ordered another one from a different vendor.
Unfortunately the vendor they ordered it from was located in Houston, Texas.
Shortly after it was ordered, Huricane Harvey blew through and wreaked
havoc, causing widespread flooding and introducing significant delays in all
deliveries coming from the Houston area.
Long story short, it eventually arrived over a week later and after some
initial stumbling, (they originally missed connecting a key motherboard cable),
they managed to complete the repair. I picked up my computer yesterday and
am now in the process of trying to get caught up with all my backlogged email
including several product orders that came in during this time.
If you have made a product purchase in the past 3 weeks or so (between August
18 and September 10, 2017) and have not yet received your confirmation email
containing your download URL, you now know why.
Your orders have not been lost. Your orders were received and will be processed
as quickly as possible. Expect your download URL email to be received within the
next day or two at the latest.
In the mean time we are asking for dontations to help defray for cost of the repairs
that needed to be made. Because we had to pay money we didn't have to get the system
repaired, we are not going to have the money to pay this upcoming October's rent.
If you can afford to do so, PLEASE consider making a generous donation today to help
keep us going.
Thanks.
2017-07-20
CTCI-WIN Bug Fix version 3.5.1 released
It was recently discovered the previous 3.5.0 version of CTCI-WIN released
on July 8 contained a checksum calculation bug affecting the TTTest
utility's "Ping Test". This problem has been corrected in
version 3.5.1 of CTCI-WIN being released today.
Those who have downloaded a Trial version simply need to re-download their
trial version again. Those who have recently purchased version 3.5.0 should
contact Software Development Laboratories Sales or Product Support for a
new download URL. You do not need to re-purchase CTCI-WIN again. This is a
free bug-fix upgrade.
It should also be pointed out the bug that was corrected in version 3.5.1
only impacted the TTTest tool's Ping Test functionality. It did not
impact CTCI-WIN's overall TunTap functionality itself. That is to say,
proper functioning of Hercules networking was not impacted. Version
3.5.0, even with the bug, still provides proper Hercules networking
functionality. The bug was in TTTest, not TunTap.
Software Development Laboratories apologizes for the error and for whatever
inconvenience or confusion this bug may have caused any of its customers.
2017-07-08
CTCI-WIN version 3.5.0 just released
Software Development Laboratories is pleased to announce the availability
of CTCI-WIN version 3.5.0.
Version 3.5.0 of CTCI-WIN contains some
important fixes for proper Hercules QETH (OSA) and LCS device functionality
as well as minor improvements to the TTTest program to detect and report
when running on Windows 10 as well as the ability to reduce debug messages
verbosity.
Those users wishing to leverage SoftDevLabs's newest
8873 pre-built version of
SDL Hercules 4.x Hyperion
(containing important LCS and QETH/OSA fixes and improvments) are strongly
encouraged to upgrade to CTCI-WIN version 3.5.0.
Customers who have purchased CTCI-WIN within the past year are eligible
for a free upgrade to the new version. Free Upgrade Notification emails
and New Version Availability emails should be sent out to all corresponding
customers within the next few days.
To ALL of my customers I would like to thank you most sincerely from
the bottom of my heart. Your continuing support is helping to literally
keep both me and my wife alive!
Thank you one and all, and have a safe and pleasant summer!
2017-06-06
YAFE: Yet Another Fish Emergency
((SIGH!))
I hate to do this again so soon (I wish we could survive on our own
without asking for handouts) but unfortunately I must.
It's June 7th and we still haven't paid rent yet. We told them we'd
pay them on Friday 9th, when Laura gets paid again, but looking at our
bank balance it's looks like we're not going to have enough.
The reason why is, believe it or not, Laura is not a salaried employee
(she's hourly) and doesn't get paid if she doesn't work, and she lost
2 weeks pay in April when she went into the hospital for a week (and
another week at home recovering) for
acute diverticulitis.
To make matters worse, she went into the hospital AGAIN(*)
for the same dang thing this past weekend, so her next paycheck isn't going
to be much either (and sales of my SoftDevLabs software has unfortunately
been very light to non-existent this past couple of months).
Based on my back-of-the-envelope calculations it looks like we're going to
need at least $500-$1500 (OR MORE!) to get us through the next few months,
which really sucks.
We still have not found an affordable apartment anywhere nearby (Laura's been
looking but she's quite particular about commute distance since she has to
take a bus to work and back each day since we don't have a car) and there's
simply nothing within our price range in the area we live.
Are there any kind souls out there that can help us out? Please?
We'd really appreciate any type of help you can provide, no matter how little.
Every little bit adds up.
I've been working on some Hercules changes and am very close to releasing
a new snapshot as well as a slightly newer version of my CTCI-WIN software
(with Windows 10 and some new Hercules assist support), but haven't gotten
it completely ready yet. Hopefully I'll have that done in the next few days
or so.
ANYTHING any of you can do would be MUCH appreciated.
Thanks.
(*) She just got out yesterday (Tuesday) with a tube attached to a drainage bag
sticking out of her abdomen. The doctor says she's going to eventually need surgery
in about a month (once she's had a chance to fully recover from this most recent
incident) to cut out and remove the section of her large intestine that's causing
the problem, which will lay her up for God knows how many weeks for which she isn't
going to get paid for either.
She's got insurance (I don't, but she does) but with the deductable and cost
for prescriptions (antibiotics, etc) it's still money out of our own pocket
which we obviously cannot afford. The loss of pay especially hurts.
Life REALLY SUCKS when you're poor. :`(
2017-01-28
Donations Plea
I hate doing this again since I last whined for donations only a short
6 months ago (July 2016, when we came
dangerously close to being homeless), but I
will do whatever it takes to keep us from thrown out and forced to
live in a refrigerator carton under a bridge somewhere.
Our rent is due on February 1st and we just don't have the money. The
4th day of the month is the last day they'll accept payment and my wife
gets paid again on the 3rd, but by my estimation we still going to be
approximately $800 short. :`(
We absolutely do plan on moving out of this outrageously
expensive apartment complex before our lease comes up for renewal again
in May, but we just haven't found a new place yet within our budget and
desired moving distance. We haven't owned a car for 20 years. We both
ride the bus everywhere we go, and my wife doesn't want to have to put
up with a 1.5 hour commute to work each day and then again coming back
home. If we don't find a place soon I guess she'll be forced to. Beggars
can't be choosers after all.
If just slightly more than a dozen of you kind souls out there could see
it in your heart to make a $50 or more donation we'd be eternally grateful!
Thank you in advance for continuing to care about our well being.
David and Laura Trout (aka Mr. and Mrs. Fish)
2016-12-05
FishLib packaging error impacting CTCI-WIN 3.4.0
There was an accidental packaging error in the initial December 3,
2016 release of FishLib impacting customers of CTCI-WIN version 3.4.0
running on 64-bit Windows.
For more infromation and how to correct the error please refer to the
Support web page.
Software Development Laboratories apologizes for the error.
2016-12-02
New Updated Release of All Products
Software Development Laboratories is pleased to announce new updated
versions of all of its products.
This new release is a minor incremental improvement over the previous
release and includes completed Help files (except HercGUI which is
still in progress), updated product icons and many minor bug fixes
and technical corrections including mention of the
Windows PATH issue
in each product's Pre-Installation README. Future releases should
hopefully be more frequent and contain more significant enhancements.
The most significant change is the dropping of support for Windows Vista
and earlier versions of Windows. The new minimum supported version of
Windows is now Windows 7. All customers still running Windows XP will
need to upgrade. All products were developed on and tested on Windows
7 but should hopefully also work on Windows 10 as well. I do not have
Windows 10 so I don't know for sure.
Those of you who have purchased any of my products within the past year
are eligible for a free upgrade to the new version and should receive
an email with the URL from where you can download your free upgrade.
All other customers who made their purchase over one year ago will have
to purchase the new version again or continue running the old version.
Be aware however that free support is only offered for the current (new)
version. Free support for old versions will not be provided.
To ALL of my customers I would like to thank you most sincerely from
the bottom of my heart. Your continuing support is helping to literally
keep both my wife and I alive!
Thank you one and all, and have a safe and pleasant holiday season!
2016-11-22
Kicked out of Hercules Developers Group!
After more than 15 years of dedication to the Hercules project
as a core Hercules developer, making numerous important contributions
along the way, the designated owners of the Hercules-390 GitHub
Organization (Enrico Sorichetti, John Hartmann and Harold Grovesteen)
have together decided to terminate my membership.
In short, they kicked me out!
I can no longer direcly contribute any changes to the repository.
I can no longer fix any problems or make any improvements nor even offer
any opinions or insight regarding any proposed enhancements.
I'm not angry. I'm not bitter. I'm not depressed. I'm actually only
slightly disappointed and not all that surprised that it happened. To
the contrary, believe it or not, I'm actually somewhat glad that it
happened. I'm quite excited about the opportunities it now presents me.
I can now develop "my" Hercules (Hyperion) the way I want to, without
having to get everyone else's permission or consensus beforehand.
I no longer have to convince others regarding whatever it is I happen to feel
should be done or how it should be done. After all, trying get everyone
to agree upon something (both what to do, how to do it, and who should do it)
has always been like herding cats.
But now I'm free. I'm no longer chained to group consensus. I can take my fork
of Hyperion in whatever direction I want
and no one can tell me otherwise.
Truth be told, I've been wanting to write my own Hercules for many years,
but could never manage to bring myself to leave the group. Doing so somehow
felt like I would be abandoning everyone. It felt selfish. So I stayed,
helping out as much as I could and tried to encourage (and even goad) others
in doing the same.
Getting thrown out of the group may turn out to be the best thing that has
ever happened to me!
It's going to be exciting I think. :)