# turn on autoflush for STDIN and STDOUT
select STDIN;
$|=1;
select STDOUT;
$|=1;
select STDERR;

##</code><code>##

sub logger {
  # set up a file handle for a log file.
  open LOG, ">>$log_file" or die("Could not open log file for appending.");
  select LOG;
  $|=1;
  select STDERR;
  print LOG "weldd $$: ", scalar(localtime), " @_\n";
  close LOG;
}