Routers -- Update!

Well, my DLink router configuration did not work as well as I would have hoped. I was watching a repeat of Psych! on TV (streamed over my LAN) and all of the sudden the dreaded start, stop, start, stop occurred. Thinking about my options, I was hoping the WISH configuration would work. So, I clicked my heels 3 times and said... "There's no place like a properly configured network!, There's no place like a properly configured network!, There's no place like a properly configured network!" That did not work! Gasp! Surprise! Shock! Maybe I had to click my heels 4 times?

If only there was some sort of Wireless Intelligent Stream Handling built into the router! Oh, wait a minute the acronym for "Wireless Intelligent Stream Handling" is WISH! Maybe THAT is what I need to use. This clicking of heels is definitely not working! So now, I've configured the WISH settings on the router and HOPEFULLY, that will work! Otherwise, I need to go back wishing I can discern the proper configuration settings that will allow my network to flow flawlessly!

So, click your heels 3 times and say "I wish Pelican Joe would blog about something I actually care about! I wish Pelican Joe would blog about something I actually care about! I wish Pelican Joe would blog about something I actually care about!"

Till next time ranters!

Routers!

I recently had to switch from one gigabit wireless router to another. Different brands, but pretty much the same functionality. I sent back my SMCWGBR14-N router because it was dropping wired and wireless connections (and I only had it since May of last year!). SMC finally agreed to give me an RMA for the router, so I decided to purchase another router so that I can have a backup once the replacement SMC arrives. I purchased a DLink DIR-655.

The DLink router (as mentioned) had much of the functionality as the SMC, but it was a little better at handling mixed speeds connections 100mbs vs. 1000mbs. So, my network is based on zones - Zone 1 is the wireless video streaming to the televisions via a media center server. Zone 2 is our VOIP (Voice over IP) box (ooma). Zone 3 is comprised of all wireless computers (5 in our house). Zone 4 is our print server. And zone 5 manages the remaining IP enabled devices from our Netgear gigabit switch.

So, I configure the DLink router identically to what I had in the SMC router. Zone 1 and Zone 2 failed to provide adequate streams and all telephone and television signals failed (much to the dismay of my family). After much playing around with the settings (QOS/WISH configurations as well as turning off a lot of bells and whistles), I finally have the DLink providing the same, if not better coverage in the house.

So, my rant is... Why can't you configure two devices that have similar settings the same and as a result they give similar performance? Why couldn't the same settings give similar results? Afterall, they are based on the same specifications and protocols.

I don't know! By the way, if anyone is interested in the configuration changes I made to the DLink DIR-655, just let me know and I will tell you what I adjusted.

Till next time ranters!

Zoiks!

Hi ho Ranters!

Well, I received the dog shock collar in the mail on Saturday. For those interested, here is the link to the collar I ordered. I ordered the collar because my son was physically drug by our dog and we needed an effective method of curing that behavior.

Anyways, we put the collar on the dog and first sign of deviant behavior, the wife presses the shock button and calls "heel". Nothing happens, so she turns up the power setting from two to three. Next time the dog pulls on the leash, the wife calls "heel" again and presses the zapper and again nothing happens. So eventually, she gets the setting up to 6 then realizes that she was not holding the zapper button down long enough. So, she presses and holds the button and the dog yelps and jumps. But, then she did what she was told! My wife immediately turned it back down to 2 where it was much more tolerable, but still annoying and the dog was doing well. A few more times and we can probably turn over the controls to my son (evil laugh placed here).

The only thing I would question about the shock collar was that it had a positive button. What's that for? You are supposed to get your dog positively attune to this sound? It's like pressing the tone and the dog realizes, you could have zapped it instead?

Oh well, the collar got a lot of positive feedback on Amazon. Hopefully it will work out for the long term.

Until next time Ranters!

Quackery! Pure Quackery!

Hi ho Ranters!

Question: Why don't ducks fly upside down?

Answer: Because they would Quack-up!

Well, what does that joke have to do with today's post? If you ask Richard Hoagland, he will probably give you an answer like "In fact using the Hyper dimensional physics model, they do fly upside down. It is only because of the secret organizations within our own government that make us see the ducks fly what you call - normally."

I know what you're saying... "again with the Hoagland bashing? Don't you ever get tired of bashing him?" No!

In the early days of Hoagland's dive into the unknown, he was a respected former museum space science Curator; a former NASA Consultant; and, during the historic Apollo Missions to the Moon, was science advisor to Walter Cronkite and CBS News1. In short, he was credible.

Now, Hoagland believes aliens lived on the Moon and Mars. He believes NASA crashed the rocket into the moon to see how much underground structures exist (taking seismic measurements from equipment left by the Apollo astronauts). He even asserts that NASA accidentally shows part of the structure in the infra-red video taken before the crash. Take a look at the photo. If you can see a structure, then you may have a future in NASA Conspiracies. Here is a link to the photos 1, 2. Here is a link to his theory.

What makes Hoagland dangerous is that to a casual by-stander, he appears credible. His pseudo-science has never been peer-reviewed and his claims are getting more and more on the fringe.

Maybe I'm looking at this in the wrong way. Maybe I should be joining him instead of criticizing! Maybe, I can come up with half-baked theories using my brand of physics called "Tetra-Dimensional Uber Quantum Physics" where I assert that we are not living on a planet, but on a microscopic piece of dust, floating in trans-dimensional space! Oops, a famous Doctor has already made that assertion... I think his last name was Seuss.

Until later Ranters! Remember, only 16 more days until the President of the United States reveals the existence of extraterrestrial aliens!

Rants from the homestead

Hi ranters!

Let's take a little divergence from my usual UFO alien meets bigfoot in a bar routine. I just want to share a piece of my day with you. I usually get up at 4 am and leave for the gym a little after 5. My wife sometimes gets up at 5 or 6 am. This morning, she wakes up at 5 am. Here is part of our morning conversation:

Me: Good Morning
Wife: Morning
Me: Whats wrong?
Wife: I don't know
Me: I forgot to tell you, I have tomorrow off from work
Wife: Darn! Well, don't take this wrong!
Me: How can I possibly take that wrong?
Wife: Well, you're going to mess up my whole day.
Me: Again, how can I possibly take that wrong?
Me: I'm planning on sleeping in.
Wife: Oh no you're not. If I have to get up at 5, then you're going to get up!
Me: I'm sorry I'm messing up your plans, but I had to get up early during the weekend. I need to catch up on my sleep.
Wife: So, I never get to sleep in!
Me: You wake up later than me almost everyday, and you get to take naps during the day! I don't think my boss would take it very well if I took a nap in the middle of the day. By the way, how did this conversation become about you? It is about ME sleeping in on my day off!
Wife: EVERYTHING is about ME! The sooner you learn this, the better it will be for you.

So Ranters, do you think I was totally off base here? I think this could be a Carly Simon song! You know the one. No, not "Nobody does it better"! ... Definitely not "Anticipation"!

Oh well, until later Ranters!

The Aliens are coming! The Aliens are coming!

All,

A couple of fun facts. According to Dr. Pete Peterson, President Obama on November 27th 2009 will announce on national TV information about Alien (I should say extraterrestrial) Contact and what the US knows about these Aliens. Meanwhile Acorn is desperately trying to get them registered for the 2012 election!

According to Dr. Richard Hoagland, NASA bombed the moon to get rid of an alien base. You should actually read some of Dr. Hoagland's accusations. They are very well constructed and backed up by his version of science. www.enterprisemission.com.

I was on one youtube video site that was announcing full disclosure of extraterrestrials on November 27th. I added the comment that it will not happen. Another comment came up in minutes that stated it will happen and that they are airing a new television series called "V" to prepare us for this knowledge. As a big Sci-fi buff, I can tell you that what "V" taught me was:

1) Aliens are lizards that eat people

2) Aliens lie

3) Aliens are pretty political

Yep, that is going to make me go into an alien disclosure open minded!

Until next time ranters,

Live long and prosper! err, correction... Live to 2012 and prosper.

OpenSource Rant

Hi Ranters!

I've been on a kick to lower monthly expense here at the MAD Pelican house. With losing my job (then finding another one- but at a reduced wage), I need to use technology for what its true potential really is... lowering expenses while enjoying the same things.

First thing I did was increase the bandwidth to the household by switching from DSL internet to Cable. You ask why? Isn't it more expensive? Well, yes and no. my DSL and telephone is $71 per month. My new Cable internet is $59.95 per month. You probably are saying... So? Are you going to sign up for their $24 internet

VOIP (Voice over IP) phone? Well, no. I am going to use a product that has been out since 2005 and has GREAT reviews... Ooma. I've ordered it, but it hasn't arrived yet. Ooma is an easy to set up VOIP system that is completely free after you buy the hub. I will also port my existing phone line to this system so that hopefully, my family won't be negatively impacted.

Second thing is that I want to get rid of my DVR. Don't get me wrong, I love my DVR... My family loves the DVRs, but there are three major drawbacks to my DVRs. -- First, there is a monthly fee (about $11.90). Second, there if something goes wrong with it, they have you reformat the drive and start over -- even though you have some great movies and shows on it. ...And finally, if you switch from your Satellite/Cable operator, they want the machine back (so you lose everything). Oh and as a bonus, if you stay with the same company, you can only record so much before your disk is full!

No more! I want the ability to:

• record and keep what I'm recording,
• stop live tv, and
• be able to add storage as I want!

So, you asked what is the easy replacement to the DVR? Well, I haven't found one. So, why do you even bring this up? Boy, aren't you pushy! Okay, in the past I've participated and programmed in Open Source projects. I thought there must be a DVR replacement in the Open Source community. So, I signed on to the Godfather of the Open Source community (Sourceforge.net) and searched some terms (DVR, TIVO, HULU, etc), to see what comes up. After all the searches, one project seemed to have the most support (support is key in Open Source projects). This was Mythtv.

I wanted to investigate the possibility of using Mythtv as a replacement for my DVRs, so I went to my usual sources... Wiki, Youtube, and blogs (oh My!). Reading the Wiki of Mythtv was like reading the an IBM redbook. Some good information, but dry, boring, and not very well written text. This was definite

ly not a project for a novice! Not to mention that I would need a dedicated server running the Linux operating system (AARG!!!! All of my servers are Windows XP!). Now, it becomes more complex, there are four main distros (configured versions on different flavors of Linux). Most people would probably have given up by now, the satellite DVR is looking better and better. Also Tivo is only $12.95 per month!

This brings me to my rant of the day (all this is just the set up to your

rant? I could have been watching my soap operas!!!) Open Source! It is GREAT to get free software, but there is a price you DO have to pay! ...and keep on paying. Most people responsible for Open Source projects would like you to use their software, but really don't want to be tied down to explaining everything to you. You have to really dig in and read allot. After you get in, it is not easy getting out... You start speaking their language, understanding their logic. ...And you get involved in this community that really has no concern that you don't really have a personal life. All that matters is the project! Your life is the project! Setup and forget is not a mantra for Open Source. Setup, configure, update, update, tweak, read some more, and attend some conferences are the life of Open Source users. So, with that s

aid, I can be satisfied with the satellite companies DVR, or purchasing Tivo, or purchasing other knockoff products (such as Replay). But, where would be the challenge? So, over the next few months, I'm going to build one of these machines (actually a couple of them -- one backend and a couple frontends).

Wish me luck, because I know that I'm just asking for trouble!