diff --git a/patch-control.sh b/patch-control.sh
index 0ce98dba8cf7aaad8a3fc18e390e169b01f81d49..dc4a0c222b10c92f4115a566668664d82742dcf2 100755
--- a/patch-control.sh
+++ b/patch-control.sh
@@ -17,6 +17,12 @@
 # DAQ_SERVER  -> IP address of the DAQ Server
 # DAQ_USER    -> user name on the DAQ Server
 
+function log() {
+  [ ! -d ${HOME}/.km3_private ] && mkdir -p ${HOME}/.km3_private
+  local logfile="${HOME}/.km3_private/pc.log"
+  echo "$(date): ${*}" >>${logfile}
+}
+
 function put_lock() {
   touch /tmp/pc.lock
 }
@@ -76,12 +82,6 @@ function dm_driver() {
   echo y
 }
 
-function log() {
-  [ ! -d ${HOME}/.km3_private ] && mkdir -p ${HOME}/.km3_private
-  local logfile="${HOME}/.km3_private/pc.log"
-  echo "$(date): ${*}" >>${logfile}
-}
-
 function nowUTC() {
   # print the number of seconds elapsed since Jan 1 1970 00:00 in UTC
   date -u +%s