Thursday, July 31, 2008

Seattle

We're back from Seattle, where we spent a week on vacation and
attended my cousin's wedding. I love Seattle! We always have so much
fun out there. This time was a bit different, Maya takes some extra
planning due to naps and feeding.

Highlights include dinner at Mashiko (sushiwhore.com) where we each
ate a beautiful chirashi - sashimi on a bowl of rice - while Maya
slept. Walking around the Fremont Sunday market. Running in Myrtle
Edwards Park on Elliot Bay. Dinner at Vios Cafe. Walking along the
piers with Steph and Maya.

I'm happy to be home... But I can't wait to go back!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Maya is Growing Up!

It seems like it was only a few months ago that we brought Maya home from the hospital. (Oh, wait... it was!) Today she flipped herself from her belly to her back four times in a row, twice to each side! Yay Maya, you're growing up! Video of the momentous occasion will be posted when I have a moment to download and edit the files...

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Linksys Wireless Routers & DD-WRT

For a while now I have been planning to flash my routers (Linksys WRT54G and WRT150N) with either Sveasoft or DD-WRT. Last week one of the routers appeared to have finally died on me, a reset wouldn't work to coax it back to life and get Steph's computer back online. So I had nothing to lose by flashing the WRT54G.

The process itself was surprisingly simple and yields a wealth of options that are not in the original firmware on the router. I was so impressed, that I flashed with WRT150N today, as well. Now I am going to change my home network a bit. The N router will now serve up wireless on one SSID with WPA2 encryption, this is for all of my computers and any other devices in my house, like the Wii, which communicate wirelessly. I have also set up a second SSID on the same device for a public wireless network that friends and family can use if they are in range. On this public network I am hoping to use QoS to limit the bandwidth that any stranger can suck down. I'm also using QoS to hopefully improve the quality of my Vonage VOIP traffic when I am using the network heavily. I've got some more reading to do to ensure everything is set up correctly, but in theory it should work. I'm also planning to implement ipchains rules to prevent anyone on the public network from gaining access to the web based management console, but no luck on that one yet.

As for the other router, it will be moved downstairs and plugged into the TiVo. It will serve as a client, or possibly a bridge, in order to handle data from my DirecTV DVR, so I can get some of the on demand content that I am currently missing out on.

I don't get a lot of time to be a geek anymore, so this was a pretty fun project for a few hours. Not a bad experience to learn some more about wireless networking, as well... All in all, I'd recommend the upgrade to DD-WRT for anyone who owns a compatible router. I hope I can still say that in a few months time... but nothing can be worse the the Linksys default firmware...

Thursday, July 17, 2008

I'm a Negligent Blogger

Oops... It sure has been a while since posting. Some updates:

I'm now an instructor at the 6 AM Operation Boot Camp in Bitsy Grant Park. I run around a lot and yell (not at people, of course). And instruct. And sweat. Good times, I tell you. And I am still losing weight and inches. Which is an even better time. Today was bring a friend day and we had Super Phat Mikey from Star 94 come for the workout. See the video here. Can you spot me? Look for the Incredible Hulk green shoes doing fire hydrants... I have to say, Mikey did a great job. He should come work out with us more often... but probably at the 6 PM camp since he's at work when I'm working out.

Peachtree Road Race: I ran it and didn't die. 1 hour 6 minutes. Just a bit longer than I would have liked to have run the race in — an hour was the goal — but I am still happy to have completed it. Next year I will avoid getting soaked on the course from the various water spraying contraptions. Wet shoes are heavy. Duh. The post-race drinking was good. The post-race drinking was, however, interrupted with some tastless, racist remarks from someone who shall remain nameless. I won't be hanging out with said person any more. And if he truly hopes to run for office... well I hope his remarks come back to bite him in the ass. (Had I not been inebriated, my comeback would have been much more swift than the half-assed "That was... off-color..." pun that flew out of my mouth.)

Next 10k is the US 10k Classic on Labor Day. Is there a half-marathon in my future? Perhaps...

Java is not dead yet. Thankfully. Dumbass has probably stopped eating baby wipes for a while.

I still don't have a damn iPhone. Because I have a business discount I can't buy it at the Apple Store. AT&T still has none in stock and their customer service still sucks. No surprises.

We bought a new car. The POS Passat is no longer, we replaced it with a 2009 Subaru Outback XT. This is the turbo model, nice and fast. Not that I can really open it up until the 1000 mile break-in period is done with. No more VWs for me, thanks. And Jim Ellis VW can bite my butt, they are the worst dealer in the Atlanta area for any kind of sales or service. I highly recommend Classic Cadillac and Subaru in Roswell.

I met up with the Atlanta People With Blogs Who Get Together To Drink at 6 Feet Under for dinner. And drinks. Good times were had by all. And it helped me reconnect with an old friend. I've known Tami since my IRC days back in the early 90's when I was in grad school. We've all grown up and moved on since then, but it was nice to reconnect. Maybe she'll come out to drink next time?

We're headed off on vacation to Seattle soon... more on that when we get there.

Maya is still cute as hell. No surprises there...