diff --git a/lib/http_tools.sh b/lib/http_tools.sh
index 17ec285..6cf42bb 100755
--- a/lib/http_tools.sh
+++ b/lib/http_tools.sh
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@
 #   -C   check the cache only
 #   -d   the cache directory (REQUIRED)
 #   -T   a temporary directory (REQUIRED)
-#   -L   a log file
 #
 # Use option -F or -C to alter the default behavior of the function.
 #
@@ -120,13 +119,12 @@ conditional_get () {
 	local cache_only_mode=false
 	local cache_dir
 	local tmp_dir
-	local log_file
 	local location
 	
 	local opt
 	local OPTARG
 	local OPTIND
-	while getopts ":vFCd:T:L:" opt; do
+	while getopts ":vFCd:T:" opt; do
 		case $opt in
 			v)
 				verbose_mode=true
@@ -145,9 +143,6 @@ conditional_get () {
 			T)
 				tmp_dir="$OPTARG"
 				;;
-			L)
-				log_file="$OPTARG"
-				;;
 			\?)
 				echo "ERROR: $FUNCNAME: Unrecognized option: -$OPTARG" >&2
 				return 2
@@ -159,16 +154,6 @@ conditional_get () {
 		esac
 	done
 	
-	# a log file is optional
-	if [ -z "$log_file" ]; then
-		log_file=/dev/null
-	else
-		if [ ! -f "$log_file" ]; then
-			echo "ERROR: $FUNCNAME: log file does not exist: $log_file" >&2
-			return 2
-		fi
-	fi
-
 	# a temporary directory is required
 	if [ -z "$tmp_dir" ]; then
 		echo "ERROR: $FUNCNAME: no temporary directory specified" >&2
@@ -178,7 +163,7 @@ conditional_get () {
 		echo "ERROR: $FUNCNAME: directory does not exist: $tmp_dir" >&2
 		return 2
 	fi
-	$verbose_mode && print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME using temporary directory $tmp_dir" "$log_file"
+	$verbose_mode && print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME using temporary directory $tmp_dir"
 
 	# a cache directory is required
 	if [ -z "$cache_dir" ]; then
@@ -189,7 +174,7 @@ conditional_get () {
 		echo "ERROR: $FUNCNAME: directory does not exist: $cache_dir" >&2
 		return 2
 	fi
-	$verbose_mode && print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME using cache directory $cache_dir" "$log_file"
+	$verbose_mode && print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME using cache directory $cache_dir"
 
 	# determine the URL location
 	shift $(( OPTIND - 1 ))
@@ -202,7 +187,7 @@ conditional_get () {
 		echo "ERROR: $FUNCNAME: empty URL argument" >&2
 		return 2
 	fi
-	$verbose_mode && print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME using location $location" "$log_file"
+	$verbose_mode && print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME using location $location"
 	
 	#######################################################################
 	#
@@ -220,7 +205,7 @@ conditional_get () {
 	)
 	exit_code=$?
 	if [ $exit_code -ne 0 ]; then
-		print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME failed to hash the location URL (exit code: $exit_code)" "$log_file"
+		print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME failed to hash the location URL (exit code: $exit_code)"
 		return 4
 	fi
 
@@ -228,18 +213,18 @@ conditional_get () {
 	cached_content_file="$cache_dir/${hash}_content"
 
 	if $verbose_mode; then
-		print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME using cached header file: $cached_header_file" "$log_file"
-		print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME using cached content file: $cached_content_file" "$log_file"
+		print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME using cached header file: $cached_header_file"
+		print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME using cached content file: $cached_content_file"
 	fi
 
 	# check if the resource is cached
 	if [ -f "$cached_header_file" ] && [ -f "$cached_content_file" ]; then
 		if $cache_only_mode; then
-			print_log_message "$FUNCNAME reading cached content file: $cached_content_file" "$log_file"
+			print_log_message "$FUNCNAME reading cached content file: $cached_content_file"
 			/bin/cat "$cached_content_file"
 			exit_code=$?
 			if [ $exit_code -ne 0 ]; then
-				print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME unable to cat output ($exit_code)" "$log_file"
+				print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME unable to cat output ($exit_code)"
 				return 3
 			fi
 			return 0
@@ -252,7 +237,7 @@ conditional_get () {
 		
 		# quiet failure mode
 		if $cache_only_mode; then
-			print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME: resource not cached: $location" "$log_file"
+			print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME: resource not cached: $location"
 			return 1
 		fi
 		
@@ -270,9 +255,9 @@ conditional_get () {
 	tmp_stderr_file="$tmp_dir/${FUNCNAME}_curl_stderr"
 
 	if $verbose_mode; then
-		print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME using temp header file: ${tmp_header_file}" "$log_file"
-		print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME using temp content file: ${tmp_content_file}" "$log_file"
-		print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME using temp stderr file: ${tmp_stderr_file}" "$log_file"
+		print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME using temp header file: ${tmp_header_file}"
+		print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME using temp content file: ${tmp_content_file}"
+		print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME using temp stderr file: ${tmp_stderr_file}"
 	fi
 
 	#######################################################################
@@ -304,7 +289,7 @@ conditional_get () {
 		header_value=$( get_header_value "$cached_header_file" 'ETag' )
 		return_code=$?
 		if [ $return_code -ne 0 ]; then
-			print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME: get_header_value (return code: $return_code)" "$log_file"
+			print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME: get_header_value (return code: $return_code)"
 			return 6
 		fi
 		if [ -n "$header_value" ]; then
@@ -314,7 +299,7 @@ conditional_get () {
 			header_value=$( get_header_value "$cached_header_file" 'Last-Modified' )
 			return_code=$?
 			if [ $return_code -ne 0 ]; then
-				print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME: get_header_value (return code: $return_code)" "$log_file"
+				print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME: get_header_value (return code: $return_code)"
 				return 6
 			fi
 			if [ -n "$header_value" ]; then
@@ -326,11 +311,11 @@ conditional_get () {
 
 	# invoke curl
 	cmd="/usr/bin/curl $curl_opts $location"
-	$verbose_mode && print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME issuing curl command: $cmd" "$log_file"
+	$verbose_mode && print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME issuing curl command: $cmd"
 	eval $cmd
 	exit_code=$?
 	if [ $exit_code -ne 0 ]; then
-		print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME: curl failed (exit code: $exit_code)" "$log_file"
+		print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME: curl failed (exit code: $exit_code)"
 		return 5
 	fi
 
@@ -345,17 +330,17 @@ conditional_get () {
 
 	# sanity check
 	if [ ! -f "$tmp_header_file" ]; then
-		print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME unable to find header file $tmp_header_file" "$log_file"
+		print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME unable to find header file $tmp_header_file"
 		return 3
 	fi
 
 	response_code=$( get_response_code "$tmp_header_file" )
 	return_code=$?
 	if [ $return_code -ne 0 ]; then
-		print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME: get_response_code failed (return code: $return_code)" "$log_file"
+		print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME: get_response_code failed (return code: $return_code)"
 		return 7
 	fi
-	print_log_message "$FUNCNAME received response code: $response_code" "$log_file"
+	print_log_message "$FUNCNAME received response code: $response_code"
 
 	if [ "$response_code" = "200" ]; then
 
@@ -363,7 +348,7 @@ conditional_get () {
 		declared_content_length=$( get_header_value "$tmp_header_file" 'Content-Length' )
 		return_code=$?
 		if [ $return_code -ne 0 ]; then
-			print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME: get_header_value failed (return code: $return_code)" "$log_file"
+			print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME: get_header_value failed (return code: $return_code)"
 			return 6
 		fi
 		actual_content_length=$( /bin/cat "$tmp_content_file" \
@@ -372,19 +357,19 @@ conditional_get () {
 		)
 		if [ -n "$declared_content_length" ]; then
 			if [ "$declared_content_length" != "$actual_content_length" ]; then
-				print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME failed content length check" "$log_file"
+				print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME failed content length check"
 				return 3
 			fi
 		else
-			print_log_message -W "$FUNCNAME: Content-Length response header missing" "$log_file"
+			print_log_message -W "$FUNCNAME: Content-Length response header missing"
 		fi
 
 		if $verbose_mode; then
-			print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME downloaded ${actual_content_length} bytes" "$log_file"
+			print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME downloaded ${actual_content_length} bytes"
 			if $do_conditional_get; then
-				print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME refreshing cache files" "$log_file"
+				print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME refreshing cache files"
 			else
-				print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME initializing cache files" "$log_file"
+				print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME initializing cache files"
 			fi
 		fi
 
@@ -393,28 +378,28 @@ conditional_get () {
 		exit_code=$?
 		if [ $exit_code -ne 0 ]; then
 			/bin/rm -f "$cached_header_file" "$cached_content_file" >&2
-			print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME failed copy to file $cached_header_file (exit code: $exit_code)" "$log_file"
+			print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME failed copy to file $cached_header_file (exit code: $exit_code)"
 			return 8
 		fi
-		print_log_message "$FUNCNAME writing cached content file: ${cached_content_file}" "$log_file"
+		print_log_message "$FUNCNAME writing cached content file: ${cached_content_file}"
 		/bin/cp -f "$tmp_content_file" "$cached_content_file" >&2
 		exit_code=$?
 		if [ $exit_code -ne 0 ]; then
 			/bin/rm -f "$cached_header_file" "$cached_content_file" >&2
-			print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME failed copy to file $cached_content_file (exit code: $exit_code)" "$log_file"
+			print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME failed copy to file $cached_content_file (exit code: $exit_code)"
 			return 8
 		fi
 
 	elif [ "$response_code" = "304" ]; then
 		# quiet failure mode
 		if $force_output_mode; then
-			print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME: resource not modified: $location" "$log_file"
+			print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME: resource not modified: $location"
 			return 1
 		fi
 		
-		$verbose_mode && print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME downloaded 0 bytes (cache is up-to-date)" "$log_file"
+		$verbose_mode && print_log_message -D "$FUNCNAME downloaded 0 bytes (cache is up-to-date)"
 	else
-		print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME failed with HTTP response code $response_code" "$log_file"
+		print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME failed with HTTP response code $response_code"
 		return 9
 	fi
 
@@ -424,11 +409,11 @@ conditional_get () {
 	#
 	#######################################################################
 	
-	print_log_message "$FUNCNAME reading cached content file: ${cached_content_file}" "$log_file"
+	print_log_message "$FUNCNAME reading cached content file: ${cached_content_file}"
 	/bin/cat "$cached_content_file"
 	exit_code=$?
 	if [ $exit_code -ne 0 ]; then
-		print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME unable to cat output ($exit_code)" "$log_file"
+		print_log_message -E "$FUNCNAME unable to cat output ($exit_code)"
 		return 3
 	fi
 	return 0