Misc. Ramblings

As you've noticed, the CSS on this site has changed back to the optional "Georgia Blue" layout. This is because former Daynoter Jonathan Sturm found problems viewing this site via Internet Explorer 6. I tried to duplicate the scrolling problem he had but could not do so. But I figured if he was having problems, other were also. So I went through a process of rolling back the site to the default template and worked forward to where it is now.

I may leave it as it or may decide to make a few modification which, I hope, will not break things again.

Aloha!

The self-install ADSL kit finally arrived yesterday. I say finally because Verizon said the kit would arrive in three to five days (yesterday was just short of one week). They even sent me an e-mail prior to yesterday saying I should have received the kit and they hoped I was enjoying the increased speed of their service.

In either case, the Westell Wirespeed ADSL modem, along with five phone line filters and assorted cables was left on the floor of our garage by the UPS person. I opened the box and read the three steps required to install everything: 1. Plug in the filters on all phone lines except the one to be used for the modem; 2. Plug in the input cable from the wall outlet to the modem, plug in the Ethernet cable from the modem to my router/firewall, plug in the power; and 3. Turn it on and reboot the router/firewall.

If I were using a Windows box step three would have been to install the software they have but since I'm running a Linux router/firewall the software would not work nor was it needed. As soon as I plugged in the power to the modem I got a sync on the ADSL side and as soon as the router/firewall was finished booting I had Internet access.

I love it when things work that easily. Nothing to change (other than the outgoing SMTP mail server address in my mail client). It just works.

However, the speed is not as fast as RoadRunner. The Verizon service is supposed to be "up to 768kbits/sec" down stream but, of course, that's not what you actually get. What I measured last night was a little over 600kbits/sec versus a little over 1000kbits/sec for RoadRunner (I used the service here to measure the speed, but there are others that would work probably just as well). This is consistent with what I reckoned I would get. In my location, RoadRunner is clearly faster. Much faster in fact. The speed difference is easy to see. But the purpose of getting the ADSL in addition to RoadRunner is to have a broadband failover service available when RoadRunner is down. As slow as ADSL is, it's still many times faster than dial-up at about 50kbits/sec.

Is it worth it to pay for two broadband connections? It is to me because Internet access is no longer just a nice thing to have, it is essential. But wouldn't it be cheaper to have a regular dial-up account for back-up rather than broadband? Yes, but the price difference between $25USD for dial-up versus $40 for broadband is so small yet the speed difference is so large.

In addition, at some point, I will get the Nexland Pro800turbo which provides load balancing between the lines. That is, downloads are split between the two lines such that it appears your connection speed is doubled. It's not, of course, but it has the effect of being so. And having the effect of a T-1, while paying much less, is a Good Thing. YMMV.

Loof Lirpa roundup of tasteless drivel during this time of war.

• Squirrels take over campus. Vow world domination. See it here and here.

• Nudists take over campus. Vow world domination. See it here.

• Brush monkeys invade Michigan. Vow world, ah heck, you know the drill. See it here.

• Windows98 running on PalmOS. Bill Gates surrenders. See it here.

And finally:

Late Update I see that the Loof Lirpa Lite Army has taken a hostage (see picture below). From what I understand, they want [insert the voice of Dr. Evil] one million dollars, or the bird gets it. Updates as they become available (as opposed to when they are just imagined - ed.).

Aloha!

Since it's inception, that cold December day in 1861, the Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor any U.S. military member can earn. And make no mistake, it is indeed earned - many times paid with the ultimate currency, their lives.

It is interesting to note that the original bill, creating the version for the Army (the Navy version came first, and of course, the Air Force much later in the 1950s) stated that it was for "non--commissioned officers and privates..."

I don't know what the process is to nominate someone for this medal. But if the press reports are correct, and in the fog of war things can become very unclear, there is a 19-year-old Army Pfc. supply clerk that may have earned this honor. This soldier, part of the 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company, serving in Iraq, came under withering ambush fire. The Pfc. returned fire, fighting ferociously against the numerically greater forces firing on the unit. And even though gravely wounded by enemy fire, sustaining two broken arms and a broken leg, the Pfc. continued effective suppressing fire against formidable resistance until ammunition ran out. Even then, this soldier bravely fought on, hand-to-hand, until being stabbed multiple times.

Army Private First Class Jessica Lynch's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on her, her unit, and the United States Army. If these first reports are true, then she is deserving of being the second woman in the history of the medal to be so honored.

Late Update: This report here says she has no gunshot or knife wounds but does have two broken arms, a broken leg, and broken vertebrae. As they say, it is unclear how she sustained these wounds.

Aloha!

Current Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, a man in the mold of former Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara, wants to micro-manage war from thousands of miles away, while taking no blame when things don't work out (see, for example, how he blames the problems with supply lines and lack of troops on General Franks even though it is Rumsfeld who is directly responsible for both). Whatever happened to the buck stops here?

The full story is here.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

The events of September 11th have been and are continuing to be used as cover. Certain individuals not only want to roll back the post-Watergate reforms, forced through by Congress over a Presidential veto, but these same individuals also want to create centralized dictatorial powers greater than even President Nixon could have dreamed of.

It is frightening to freedom loving patriotic Americans to see the imperial powers this current president has amassed. The U.S. Constitution lays in shreds on the floor. The Republican U.S. Supreme Court has revealed itself to be a willing supporter of the process. The Republican controlled U.S Congress sprints away from its responsibility to be a check and balance against imperial usurpation of power. People convicted of high crimes, during the Watergate scandal, now run the government.

Is it any wonder our country has become an imperium? How long is it before we shall reap the bitter fruit of this choice?

See the story here.

Business may be bad, but there are opportunities out there - if you look hard enough. One of those opportunities came recently to the University of Hawai'i (UH).

For you long time readers, you already know that the UH and the Mau'i High Performance Computing Center have some of the most advanced computers in the world. Some of you even know that what is now called Ethernet was first developed at UH.

So it should come as no surprise that the university is partnering with InfoWorld magazine to do a "shoot-out" between Internet equipment companies Foundry Networks and Force 10 Networks. The tests pit the companies' 10-gigabit Ethernet switches and routers against each other to determine which has higher performance and ease of use.

The upside for UH is they get to keep much of the equipment. The upside for the companies is they get bragging rights based on a disinterested third-party (as well as saving on the cost of having to contract out for their own independent testing). And the upside for InfoWorld is they get to publish the results. Sounds like UH could become a hub of testing activity.

As I've said before, there are two political objectives of this war. The first is to kill or capture Saddam Hussein and the second is find weapons of mass destruction.

Given the fog of war, and given the need to accomplish the objectives, first reports should never be believed until they have been confirmed. Having said that, there is a report that nerve agents have been detected in two locations in Iraq. I again caution everyone that this is a first report and it must be confirmed but you can follow the link yourself here from ABC news.

Late update. One of the two sites held only pesticides. See the story here.

Aloha!

Most of this one probably won't affect very many of you but if you are in a large organization and you have Microsoft volume 6.0 licenses, you better read this InfoWorld link here. In cases where one company is bought by another, your license may become null and void unless you give MS copious amounts of money.

But if you are a volume 6.0 licensee, giving MS copious amounts of money is something you are already used to.

Oh, the part about WMD, that stands for Weapons of Microsoft Destruction.

Our Masters in Public Administration capstone group has less than four weeks to complete our paper so things may get very sparse around here. I will try to have something for you to read everyday but I can not guarantee anything.

One strange thing I've noticed when I switch from the RoadRunner cable modem to the Verizon ADSL modem is that even after I reboot, doing an ipconfig /all says the domain is roadrunner and the DNS is road runner. But when I check the gateway/router/firewall, it correctly indicates the Verizon domain and DNS. Everything still works fine, but I wonder if Windows is actually using the RoadRunner DNS? Just to be sure, I manually typed in the DNS IP addresses.

For those poor souls that may need to do this, the procedure is:

1. On the desktop, right click "My Network Places".

2. Left click on "Properties".

3. Right click on "Local Area Connection".

4. Left click on "Properties".

5. On the "General" tab, scroll down to the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" component and left click it.

6. Left click on "Properties"

7. On the "General" tab, click the radio button for "Use the following DNS server addresses".

8. Type in the addresses for your preferred and alternate DNS servers.

9. Click "OK" twice and you should be done.

I have to meet this morning at 7:30 a.m. with one of our interviewees for our capstone project so I gotta go.

Aloha!

Most people have seen pictures of nuclear reactors. At least, fission ones. The picture below is from Sandia Labs and is of one of a fusion reactor, or I should say one that could one day lead to a controlled fusion reactor.

To tell you the truth, just looking at a regular reactor gives me the heebeejeebies. But to see a fusion one, makes me think of Dr. Frankenstein's lab. At one time it is strangely beautiful and a fearsome sight. I wonder if we really understand the possible effects of the technology we are so diligently trying to produce?

Read the complete story here. Thanks to JWZ for the link.

Aloha!

There a line from Star Wars where Han Solo tells Luke Skywalker, after Luke has shot "down" a TIE fighter, that he shouldn't get cocky. If there was ever a time where this advice is valid, it is now, in Iraq.

Another busy day and nothing much interesting in my morning searches so see you tomorrow.

Aloha!

For those of you who appreciate Rube Goldberg-type devices, you'll love this Honda UK ad (requires Macromedia Flash) here. It is amazing in its inventive use of physics from start to end.

Speaking of Rube Goldberg, anyone who knows their way through a governmental budget knows the devil is in the details (talk about tortured metaphors - ed.). I haven't been over to Jennifer Balderama's site for awhile but today's post (see it here) talks about how President Bush's budget would give billions for defense, but then turn around and cut spending $150 million US for the Veterans' Administration and aide to schools attended by military dependents.

Of course this is the way to honor and reward our military. Make sure they don't have social/medical benefits and make sure the schools their children attend are poor and run down. Of course this makes sense. Not.

Speaking of outrages, the Republicans are trying to make permanent the onerous surveillance safety intrusions laws put into effect post September 11th. Dan Bricklin meditates on what the big picture is and how this war against the forces of safety versus liberty are winning and you are losing. See the column here.

Try to have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Even though there is a looming employees' strike, and I said I would not be buying any toys, gadgets, critical network infrastructure items until after the strike, I came across the Hawking Technologies FR24 Dual WAN 4-port Firewall Router (see it here). No, it does not appear to be as robustly built as the Nexland Pro800turbo (see it here), nor as easy to set-up or use, but then it costs substantially less than $100 ($63 from Amazon.com) versus over $300 for the Nexland.

Time will tell whether this is a wise buy or not but it should arrive sometime late this week and I'll let you know more when I do. In either case, the point of getting a dual WAN port router is that it allows two broadband inputs. This should provide for failover capability should one or the other of the inputs fail. Thus, I hope for increased reliability.

The downsides? I loose my Linux-based firewall in place of the one built in the FR24. Also, the eight-port D-Link switch I was using goes out the window in place of the 4-port in the FR24. While making things less complicated is usually a good thing, having all my eggs in one basket, as it were, means a single point of failure could knock out everything all at once. So while I am gaining reliability as far as access, I may be reducing total system reliability. Again, time will tell how well it works and what the balance point is.

Secondly, having two ISPs apparently causes problems, at least with the Hawking, as far as bonding the two lines together. Hence, only one line will be in use at a time, rather than two. This means I can't double the speed, as I had hoped I could. Having said that, I may be able to work around this with software (see this here or here) but I will need to actually get the box in my hands and test to see if I can do this.

Finally, I've emailed and received responses from both Nexland and Hawking (full marks to Hawking who responded within an hour, on a Friday evening) to confirm that they can work with two different ISPs. If you think about it, there are some very serious potential problems with two sets of DNSs, mail servers, news servers, not to mention IP addresses. How either of these boxes work around that I don't know. Stay tuned and I'll let you know if it does, work that is.

Aloha!

Most politicians, once discredited and disgraced, remove themselves from politics. No, not because they suddenly find a sense of probity, but because no one with any brains will associate with them. Examples include former US Presidents Nixon and Clinton.

But some people just don't get it. They think that if they move far enough and wait long enough people will forget. They think they can find enough ignorant dupes that they can do their carpetbagger song and dance once again. They think that they can then weasel themselves back into politics and gorge themselves at public trough. They think that the money will come rolling in again and they can wield the power they crave so much.

Well, to a certain extent, they are right. People do forgot. People do have short memories. People do move on.

Chuck Quakenbush. A name those in California should remember (see one article here. Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Times was the leading newspaper in uncovering this scandal. I say unfortunately because of its online policy of removing free access to old articles. Thus, making it very difficult to research issues such as this).

It is curious for a man to campaign (see his platform here) on lower insurance rates, tougher enforcement against individuals committing insurance fraud (but not, it appears, insurance companies), and greater competition through "easing regulatory burden" would actually do the following (see the full list here):

• Approve insurance rate increases, on average, of one every day, for the first three years he was insurance commissioner.

• Slashed the number of staff involved in investigating consumer complaints against insurance agencies.

• In relation to the Northridge earthquake - bailed out insurance companies while forcing homeowners to pay twice as much premium for half as much earthquake coverage.

All of of this, while getting millions in contributions from the very industry he was supposed to be regulating.

He was allowed to resign in disgrace, on July 10, 2000, rather than face what was probable impeachment. But now, three years later, he turns up here in Hawai'i saying he was framed. That he did nothing wrong - or at least, nothing illegal. He has given an interview with a national publication trying to get his name back into the limelight.

He has seeped into local Republican politics like oil seeps and spreads under a carpet - slowly, unseen. But the light of publicity has now been directed his way and the smart Republican fellow travelers are scattering like frightened roaches while the dumb ones are trying to attack the local newspaper for investigating what is going on (classic, stupid strategy of the guilty, go on the offensive and attack the accusers).

The more the local Republicans try to back this guy the dirtier they will get. And if they get dirty enough, they too shall fall.

Aloha!

Here's a different way of looking at the looting in Iraq (see it here). The main premise is that the real looting ended when the statue of Saddam was pulled down. For two decades, the real looters wore suits and uniforms, not robes or blue jeans. I don't know that I agree with everything the author has to say, but it's not a long column so take a look at the Big Picture.

Aloha!

The popularity of digital video recorders like TiVo seems to have gained momentum. So much so that now comes an OpenSource Linux-based competitor called Freevo (see it here).

I have not tried using it but it seems promising. The installation looks pretty straight forward but then, very little in Linux is straight forward. Yes, you need the hardware to run the program as well as get the TV signal into your box, but otherwise, it seems like it should work (famous last words - ed.).

There is even a Gentoo ebuild available for you Gentoo folks out there (you know who you are), although it isn't part of the portage tree yet. Go to the news page here and search for Gentoo to find the brief note. I don't know Gentoo that well but I assume the note tells you what you need to know to install, um, emerge it under Gentoo.

It must be me. But I can't understand why I have so many problems with shippers. It's not like I have a lot of things ordered from the mainland. But am I asking too much when I pay for 2nd day air service I get something in two days?

The last time I had problems, it was with UPS (see the post here). Now it's FedEx. The package was picked up from Amazon.com on Monday, April 14th at 2:13 p.m. According to the FedEx tracking system, almost exactly 24 hours later, it made it to Honolulu on Tuesday at 2:19 p.m. I reckoned they would deliver the package the next day, Wednesday, April 16th but Wednesday came and went with no package.

I checked the tracking this morning and it says a package, with this same tracking number was logged in again in Honolulu yesterday (Wednesday) at 4:55 p.m. Hmmm. Why is it being logged in twice, on different days?

All I know is it's now Thursday, four days after package pick-up and I still don't have my package. You better believe I filed a complaint with FedEx and will also do so with Amazon. The email response back from from FedEx was a canned reply that did not even come close to answering the issues I asked (why is it taking four days to deliver and why is the tracking system showing double entries).

So I called FedEx and spoke to "Debra". Debra must be having a long day and is tired of answering questions because her voice was full of sarcasm. Of course FedEx does not have a two-day service to Hawai'i or Alaska. Yes, it's called 2nd-day air, but that's not what it is for these two states. Well, why don't they say that anywhere? She had no answer to that. Further, she had no answer as to why the tracking system was showing multiple arrivals in Honolulu, other than to say it is a computer glitch. Sigh. I know when I'm being brushed off and I know when I'm wasting my time talking with someone. My next step is send a snail mail complaint to the CEO of FedEx.

People talk about gummint workers being rude and not caring about their customers, well take a look at private shipping companies because they are 10 times worse.

I hate this. I don't want to fight with shipping companies. I just want them to do what I paid them to. No excuses, no weaseling about computer glitches. Just deliver the darned box on time. Sigh.

Tomorrow is a state holiday, if my router gets delivered today I'll be setting that up tomorrow. If not, I got a copy of Red Hat 9 so I may install that and see what wonders Linux has to display. In either case, there won't be a post here.

Aloha!

This is going to be a mini-review because I'm spending most of my time working on finishing my Masters in Public Administration.

As Internet access has become a necessity and not a luxury, so too has the need to have reliable service increased. However, even today, just having broadband access is something to be happy about. Hence, having two broadband inputs from two different providers is something even rarer still.

But as the price of broadband access decreases, and the service areas increases, reliability will become more of a concern. While it would be great if you could have so-called five-nine reliability (i.e., 99.999 percent), my own experience with RoadRunner is not even close to two-nines.

Perhaps one-day, Internet access will be as reliable as phone or electricity. But until then, you can either live with what you have, or do what I did.

First, know that this is not something new. The larger service providers use multiple routes to the Internet via different providers. The intent is to have diverse paths so that there isn't any single point of failure that can bring down the service.

So while the concept is not new, there aren't a lot of hardware out there for home users who want to do the same. If you are lucky enough to have multiple broadband access, you either had to switch things manually, or use one of the two devices below.

The Hawking Technology FR24 Dual WAN Broadband 4-port Firewall Router (see it here) is one of two consumer grade dual WAN routers (the other is the Nexland Pro800turbo - see it here). As with the large providers, the purpose of having a dual broadband inputs is to increase reliability through redundant access.

These devices provide automatic switchover should one or the other of your broadband sources go down. Note that you may need to reboot your clients PCs but otherwise, the switchover is seamless to the user.

Assuming here that anyone attempting to setup this kind of access knows their way around an IP address, setting up the FR24 is fairly simple. Turn off your modems, connect their outputs to the WAN1 and WAN2 ports. Plug in the FR24, turn on the modems and the connections are done.

Using the built in web server, you access the FR24 with a browser at 192.168.1.1. For me, all of the defaults were correct and most will probably be OK with you.

There is a setup wizard that takes you through the entire process starting with setting the time and date. Step 2 is confirming the routers default IP address [192.168.1.1], subnet mask [255.255.255.0], gateway [192.168.1.1], Network Address Translation enabled (part of the firewall), and port number for accessing the setup [80].

Step 3 has places for inputting host name, domain name, and MAC address but I don't need to set any of those and most people won't either unless your ISP requires this information or you are running a server. This step also asks if you want your DNS to be assigned automatically by your ISPs DHCP server (you probably do).

Step 4 is setting your WAN2 settings. The most important question is the criteria for switching over from WAN1 to WAN2. You can choose always disconnected (I guess for those who don't have dual access); switch over when the primary WAN1 is disconnected; or switch only when the primary WAN1 is busy (based on adjustable throughput levels).

From what I understand from Hawking technology tech support, if you have two different ISPs, you can only use option 2 above. They did not explain why, just that it is the only way it will work.

Assuming your client PCs are already stepup to get their IP addresses and DNSs automatically from DHCP, you are done. Reboot the FR24 and any client PCs currently online and you start surfing.

The above instructions will work for most people, but if your situation is more complicated, the FR24 should be able to handle your needs. For example, if you don't use DHCP in your local LAN, the FR24 can work with static IPs. If you have a server that needs access outside of the firewall, you can setup an DMZ. If you want to have your servers behind your firewall, you can map incoming requests to a designated host. If you use Microsoft's VPN access, the FR24 supports one user being able to pass through the firewall. If you need it, you can modify the routing table to fit into your particular LAN. And finally, if you use dynamic DNS, so that your server with a dynamic IP address can be reachable by domain name, the FR24 can be setup to work with www.dyndns.org.

So far, the only problems I've had is to remember to reboot the router and the clients when I make changes to it. Otherwise, it seems to work just fine. The only thing I have not had time to check is how well it works in switching over. When I get a chance, I'll pull the plug on the primary WAN1 modem and check to see if the switchover occurs as it should.

Aloha!

Linux, as a Windows desktop replacement, gets closer everyday to what it needs to be. Having said that, it's still not there.

I installed the latest offering from Red Hat (version 9) on my PC at work last week (after I first deleted version 7.3. You can, if you want, do an upgrade install but I've found, over the years, it's best to do a clean install because doing it seems to reduce the number of problems).

But first, the configuration of the PC is an old Dell Optiplex GX1 with a Pentium-II 333MHz and 384MB of RAM. I chose a kitchen-sink install to try to reduce the number of dependencies later on down the road. Note that you apparently need to choose the "custom" installation first, and then later in the install, when you actually choose the packages to install, you can scroll down to the bottom of the list and choose "full."

Be aware a full install takes a long time and 4.849GB of space. For me, it took about an hour-and-a-half to complete. I realize the PII is hardly a speed demon, but 1.5 hours? This, in addition to the 15 or 20 minutes to configure the install and another five or 10 minutes after the install for more configuration.

Then, having spent all that time, I find that sound does not work. This is strange because the installer found the sound card, I went through the configuration, but upon rebooting, the module fails to install. While sound is not a high priority in our work environment, this has been a problem with Linux from as long as I've been installing various version (several years now). This bug has been evident for so long one wonders if anyone even cares about fixing it anymore.

The other perennial problems also still exist. Printing is still a hit or miss kind of thing. Once again, the installer correctly probed the HP 2200, but did nothing with the information. That is, I still had to manually install the driver by identifying the printer myself. Further, I can't find anyplace where I can modify the defaults for the driver. As such, it prints duplex all the time. While this certainly saves paper, sometimes I just want to print as fast as possible.

Then there's Internet access. Our network administrators set up a DHCP server that gives out IP addresses. But that's all. No DNS, no gateway, no mail, no news, no nothing. From what I've been told, they did this because they didn't want just anyone getting access to the Internet. So we still have people whose PCs are hooked up to the Internet, but don't know that all they need to do is set the DNS and they could be surfing.

So, you say, how is that a Linux problem? Well, let's call it an installer problem. The installer assumes that if you check DHCP, you don't need to set anything. Which, in our case, is incorrect. Hence, when you first boot into Linux, you don't have access until you manually input the addresses for the DNSs. Perhaps a small and relatively unique problem, but a problem none the less.

As an aside, after typing in the IP address, I tried to shutdown to get the change to go into effect, but I got a segfault as I was doing that. Needless to say, the vaunted reliability and robustness of Linux takes a hit when you make one change and the system blows up. But I digress.

And the final major problem - fonts. Yes, they are a lot better than they were in version 7.3. But they still suck, when compared to TrueType fonts. I really don't know when this will be solved, but you really have to wonder why it has taken so long to be corrected.

Not related to Linux, but Red Hat itself is their update service. It's so over saturated that it is unusable two out of three times I tried. I don't know if the situation will get any better, but if you are paying for access to updates, but the service is so overloaded that you can't download what you need, then you have to ask yourself why are you paying for this?

So, is there anything good about version 9? Sure, it looks prettier. I've already mentioned the improved fonts, but the default desktop really is pretty. It's not any easier to use, and you could make a case for it being actually harder, but it does look smooth. Otherwise, I haven't used the applications yet, so I can't comment on that.

The bottom line is, if you are using version 7.3, it probably would make sense to upgrade to 9. But if you are at version 8.0, I'm not so sure this is worth the time and money. In fact, in my opinion, they should have just called it version 8.1 and given it away for free. YMMV.

The purpose of having a dual WAN router is to make the process of switching between inputs transparent. That is, should the primary access go down, the secondary should come on line with little or no intervention from users. At the most, those online at the time of switch over might have to reboot to refresh the DNS/email/news server IP addresses.

So when I got home yesterday I noticed the RoadRunner cable modem was not online. Great, I thought, a real world test of the Hawking Technology FR24 dual WAN router. So I booted up a PC and was disappointed that there was no Internet access.

I logged into the FR24 via browser and saw that it was still indicating no problems with the primary connection. So I unplugged the modem from the router, rebooted the router and the PC I was using and found the same problem. As far as the FR24 was concerned, the cable modem was still online, even though it was now physically disconnected from the router.

The next thing I did was unplug the Verizon ADSL modem from WAN2 and plug it into WAN1 at the same time manually configuring the DNS address in the FR24. Rebooted the router and the PC I was using and still no connection.

As a final step, I reset the router to all its default settings and then inputed the correct settings for the ADSL modem. Rebooted the router and the PC I was using and still no connection.

At that point, I unplugged everything from the FR24 router and plugged them back into the CoyoteLinux-based router I had been using prior to getting the new router. I booted the CoyoteLinux router and rebooted the PC I was using and all was well.

I sent off an email to Hawking Technology last night at around 9:00 p.m. local time asking them about this problem. It is now 7:00 a.m. (10:00 a.m. PST, 1:00 p.m. EST) and I do not have a response. I'll let you know if and when I hear anything. But if you are considering purchasing this router, please be aware there may be problems.

Aloha!

The need for speed. This story from MSNBC (see it here) seems to confirm what I've been saying about the relative speeds between cable modems and DSL. The report indicates cable modems are about two times faster than DSL (which is about what I got when I last tested the difference between RoadRunner and Verizon ADSL locally).

Unfortunately, the report says nothing about reliability of such service. For me, RoadRunner seems unavailable on at least a weekly basis and sometimes on a daily basis. So much so that I am seriously thinking of terminating RoadRunner. But before I do that, I want to see how Verizon does on a long-term basis. So I'll keep both for at least six months and see which is more reliable.

The search for the perfect PIM continues. Just out of the blocks is Chandler ver. 0.1 (see it here). Chandler is an OpenSource alternative personal information manager. Since it's just in its 0.1 release, it has a long way to go. But you may want to monitor it as it proceeds down the path to enlightenment.

Speaking of alpha code, it was 10 years ago yesterday that a group of students at the University of Illinois National Center for Supercomputing Applications started development of the Mosaic web browser. Read the story here about what hath Andreessen wrought.

Don't be surprised if you download a patch from Microsoft for Windows XP and find your PC drops to a crawl after you install said patch. This report here says MS is investigating but has not received widespread complaints.

We have about a week more before the first draft of our last paper is due so it is heads down for me. I will try to post as I am able but I can't say when that may be. Until then, feel free to check out the other Daynoters.

Aloha!

SixApart, the company behind the Movable Type weblogging system, is set to launch a new "hosted" service called TypePad. There isn't a whole lot over at the TypePad site but the story here gives some of the details:

Like its rival, Blogger, the new system will be stored along with the user's writing on a central server. This means that, for the first time, budding webloggers who want to use Movable Type - regarded as the one of the most powerful weblog-building systems - will not have to hire server space from hosting companies. Nor will they need to go through the sometimes difficult processes required to install the Movable Type system on their server.

It is expected that there will be three tiers of pricing, with varying levels of features and complexity. Pricing will be officially announced in May, with a public beta (or test) version being launched in June.

Sorry about forgetting to put the link in to the story about the MS patch that brings Windows XP to a crawl (CPU utilization spikes to 100 percent). The link is now in (see yesterday's post). I can also say there appears to be a similar problem with Windows 2000 although I'm not sure it's the same patch or another. I've been hit recently with a slow as molasses response times from two of my three Windows 2000 PCs. I say appears because while the patch was loaded on my PCs, only two of the three are affected and removing the specific patch doesn't seem to help that much.

Otherwise, the symptoms are the same. Changes to network settings slow to a stop. Virus software and ZoneAlarm abends. "Savings settings", when shutting down takes minutes to complete. CPU usage spikes to 100 percent.

At first, I thought virus or drive failure. But now that others are reporting this, perhaps not. YMMV.

Aloha!

No sooner do I talk about the low reliability of the RoadRunner service does the Verizon ADSL service go down. Or I guess I should say their DHCP server went down - same difference because if you don't get an IP address recognized by their routers/DNS/gateway you don't go anywhere. Sigh.

Fortunately, RoadRunner was up so I switched modems and all was well. Having redundant access to the Internet is especially important right now as we near completion of our thesis. We are sending drafts back and forth via email and the turn-around time for changes is measured in minutes. So, having access, whether through ADSL or cable modem is critical. Whether or not I need to have this kind of access once I finish we will have to see.

On a related note, our group made it our policy to send copies of everything to everyone, both when in hard copy and electronic. We did this for two reasons. The first is for redundant backup. Should disaster strike, like fire or flood (or dog eating our manuscript), we would have back-up copies stored in five locations. The second is should one of our group drop out, we would have all of the work product up to that point.

Thankfully, we have not had to make use of our backups but it is nice to know that we have them in place should we need them.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Zero tolerance. It's such a powerful political image. Zero tolerance. We (those who have power) will not tolerate any behavior (from those without power). So much so that we will use no judgment in these situations. That is, regardless of the degree or grayness of circumstances, we will mindlessly apply maximum coercion to all instances.

We do this because it makes it appear we are doing something important. That we are so tired of dealing with the gray areas that is modern life that we can no longer trust using our own judgment. Hence, zero tolerance.

Under these conditions, when can family photos be considered to be felony child pornography? When you're poor immigrants living in Texas.

A family dropped off four roles of film to be developed at the neighborhood 1-hour type photo shop. The photo technician, upon developing and printing the film noticed that one role had several pictures of the couple's one and four-year-old children taking a bath while totally naked! Gasp! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the kids were naked while taking a bath. The horrible proof is right there in the pictures!

Now ladies, avert your eyes while we gentlemen read on. There was even one picture of, now get this, the one-year-old child sucking at his mother's, dare I say it, bare b r e a s t. Horrors! Mayhem! Cry havoc! Cats living with dogs! Rend the seventh seal!

Surely this is felony child pornography. Surely the children must be taken away from their parents to protect the very souls of these tragic victims. Oh, the horror! Oh, the pain these innocent infants must have felt!

Life is full of gray areas. Areas where we need to use our common sense and good judgment to make the hard decisions based on less than full information. Sometimes it will turn out we made the wrong call, but that does not mean we should abandon our responsibility to use your judgment. It does not mean we should hide behind the facade of zero tolerance to avoid having to make these decisions because to do so is to create a hell on earth. A hell reserved for those who run away from personal responsibility and instead take the easy way out.

See the full story here.

DISCLOSURE: Note that the family is apparently Seventh-day Adventist, as I am.

Aloha!

Our graduate school group is heads down as we finish our thesis paper. We hope to have it done by Thursday but it will be a stretch to do so. For example, yesterday I took off early from work and our group met from 2:00 p.m. (14:00) to 8:00 p.m. (20:00).

Anyway, there is much more to do and not much time to do it.

"Something you just don't want to touch." That, from a Charleston Police Major when asked to enforce the city's indecent exposure law in relation to women sunbathing in a city park. It seems some people are offended by women wearing bikinis (well, I agree, they shouldn't be wearing anything [whack!], ummm, sorry about that dear. - ed). It seems the city has been transported through a time warp back to the Victorian era where women must be clothed from head to foot and their faces covered in veils. Wait. Isn't that a description of Iran? See the story here. Oh, by the way, the Major is speaking only for himself [Whack!].

Aloha!

So, there's two more days, as of yesterday, until our capstone thesis is due which, of course, means anything that can go wrong will. First, at work, the image on my screen all of sudden starting shifting up and down. What the heck? Then I notice the PC doesn't seem to be responding. No matter what I click on, nothing happens. Oh, great, says I. Just what I need.

But I quickly notice the problem is exhibited only when the mouse pointer is placed over a scrollable window. Otherwise, I can use keyboard shortcuts and all is well. Hmmm. I have an old MS Intellimouse in a drawer so I unplug the USB Red Eye Trackball (AKA Trackball Optical) and plug in a PS/2 plain Dove Bar mouse. And all is well.

So the end of the day comes and I copy my work files to a floppy to work on at home. I get home, open and edit the files. No problem. Until I try to save my work back to the floppy. It says here the write failed because the disk is write protected. Hmmm, no it isn't. Bother. I tried another diskette, I tried rebooting, I tried casting the entrails of a chicken to see which way to face to Mecca, but no lucky.

I figure I have a couple of choices: Shoot the floppy drive, use ftp to transfer the files, or email them. I chose the last two options and all is well.

Oh, by the way, I also stayed up all last night so I am about the go to sleeeeeeeeeee.......[snore]...[/snore]

Aloha!