Schinckel.net

I sometimes have to use the PC next to my imac, and when I want to start a shell session, I use PuTTY. Now, usually I have to go through the process of either filling in the address of my mac, or click on the profile and load it, before clicking open. However, it’s possible to just edit the Windows Shortcut, and add the name of the server (or IP address) after the Target: information. Make sure the server name or address is not inside the quotes, and there is a space between them. Now, double-clicking the shortcut will connect to the server. It’s also possible to connect to a different port number. Update: If I’d read the FAQ, I’d know you can also use a -load mysessionname switch to load all of the settings from a saved session. Now if I could just get MacOSX telnetd to accept environment variables from the telnet client!

I don’t use Safari. I keep removing it from my Dock (right next to the Finder icon), yet it keeps reappearing! And not every time I restart/log-in.

I wrote a script some time ago that puts a new fortune into my Mail.app signature. However, it doesn’t seem to save the signature between restarts of the application, unless I manually open and then close the Preferences window (and the Signatures pane of this window). How bizarre!

Temporary Post.

Broadspectrum Oval is the new name for Richmond Oval. I think this is just a little over the top.

I have a new pet hate. Along with incorrect use of apostrophes, wrong synonyms, and (among others) people only doing 50km/h when it’s clearly signed as 60, I can add people stopping in front of the ATM after they’ve finished their transaction. If only we were allowed to kill people for this sort of shit. Hey, that might make a neat book! Oooh! Another one. Too much froth on coffee. I order a flat white instead of a cappucino because I don’t want the top 10-15mm to be foam! By the way, avoid Cibo on the Parade, their coffee is appalling - or was last night.

The school year is coming to a close. Activities week is in full swing, and with the appalling weather this morning, the planned game of Soccer was cancelled (can’t have the kids getting struck by lightning, after all). I had [spooks] in my bag, ready to return to the library, so I thought, the kids (all 5 of them, in the end) could watch my favourite show.

Step 1. Put DVD into drive.

Step 2. Connect Projector to PC.

Step 3. Wonder why Windows doesn’t automatically start Windows Media Player.

Step 4. Try second disc. Windows Media Player starts.

Step 5. Wonder why video is garbled, audio is absent and WMP crashes after 30 sec of playing.

Step 6. Try to install InterActual player.

Step 7. Wonder why InterActual player cannot find the audio device (everything else seems to be able to).

Step 8. Download newer version of Inter Actual player.

Step 9. Get a slightly better error message, but be unable to fix problem due to user restrictions (and I am a Power-User)

Step 10. Let the kids go on the ’net instead.

I didn’t originally plan to write a review for this book, but after devouring it in one sitting (I should have gone to sleep…) it did have some points I thought were worth discussing. I do not have a wireless network (I’m still not entirely sure why WiFi - what’s Fidelity got to do with a digital data system?) but I do know a fair bit about TCP/IP networking, and ethernet. My home network is all 100baseT, and all of the cabling & setup was done by me. Chapter 1 was pretty informative - I for one didn’t really know about the incompatibilities between 802.11a & 802.11b, for instance. Chapter 2 was more ‘general networking’ - I for one could have skipped it. I guess if you didn’t know the difference between a router and a hub, or between DHCP & FTP then it would be more useful to you. Chapters 3-6 would realistically be about enough to enable someone to begin hacking a WLAN. Chapter 3 was a bit light on real info - it is more an overview of crackz/warez culture, but the others were chock-full of tips on how to break into a WiFi network. I for one never really thought that connecting to an access point could in itself be somewhat fraught with danger. The remainder of the book deals with virii, WLAN security & troubleshooting. Obviously the point of the book is how to protect a network, and I think there is a lot of stuff that everyone setting up a WLAN should know. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of mis-information, possibly with the exception of changing MAC addresses - I thought this was relatively easy to do! I’m sure even an Xbox can change it’s MAC. It strikes me that some sort of SSL-like system, with keys instead of passwords, would be better. I for one dislike passwords, even though I have a pretty good memory for obscure numbers & combinations of letters. This too could prevent spoofing, by encrypting all data. An attacker would be unable to correctly generate valid packets. I for one would like to see better adoption of encryption & verification across the wired world. In the spirit of this, here is my public PGP key! —–BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK—– Version: GnuPG v1.2.4 (Darwin) mQGiBEFs64ERBACBdiB0d9kE3xhRG1PqOIpx1BQeRRv8LxNq30Gme6Q2sr4pp7SV ZnAJCXnbM9yphXojycWhEwHHpBxuMrXP5YkWNxK0Vu8/rKZ5eHThCf5My4yRdo41 ATE+oDNVdeAi/AqIR0DGgdhUbJ+wa7az79xMexWInqHXy7aCVKUTTqKLYwCgoTct RmPw67RR4GX33bjSchIVcKUD/jUFvMg52zX70pWq/t1HvrTFIwWXQ0MrTn7GLzyC oyM8miZjpBgWma+Q1Fxk6RAnjfcB+1G7M8FVYmpyjLiEApuAQZPnKm+ljMWu+49s 1BQ6RcHnFH4xke0bR7Uow+HNgiujcQyR21aPBQfBBX4pIz//6zqO9swx9qm25lcr qsKiA/9O+E3HluLRw9IXFUyL4Tt1CJcokxmlE+enN1ItYpxcLTbM/0jvID4A04+m gUr/gG64hbOagAwHK5zgX+S1La4fDMvE5u/+9JcjPB7Wu9bSMNoFnHcYNg36E3m4 5N5onAm9Ug2VY6inGujl9Bb9wX9wF2D+PfwLdbySqGnwXnfTrLQmTWF0dGhldyBT Y2hpbmNrZWwgPG1hdHRAc2NoaW5ja2VsLm5ldD6IYQQTEQIAIQIbAwYLCQgHAwID FQIDAxYCAQIeAQIXgAUCQWz+vgIZAQAKCRBA0AanULPEZ3ZrAKCep0wuxnFe4Y3s Ss4WEAgGvE5/MQCgk/iraP0KLn8UnRKIhqB3WXvEG2aIXgQTEQIAHgUCQWzrgQIb AwYLCQgHAwIDFQIDAxYCAQIeAQIXgAAKCRBA0AanULPEZwjRAKCeGWU+ndSPi8p8 1tPUAUFjhvAolwCdHSikf9vlSpPOqksDgZGe5V0fkT60LE1hdHRoZXcgU2NoaW5j a2VsIDxtYXR0LnNjaGluY2tlbEBnbWFpbC5jb20+iF4EExECAB4FAkFs/tsCGwMG CwkIBwMCAxUCAwMWAgECHgECF4AACgkQQNAGp1CzxGeXDQCgjyXXRbrB9iqB5IAR gaR2As1eYAYAoI/4d2XgY65w60b76txicn/o2oA7tDJNYXR0aGV3IFNjaGluY2tl bCA8bWF0dC5zY2hpbmNrZWxAb3B0dXNuZXQuY29tLmF1PoheBBMRAgAeBQJBbP7x AhsDBgsJCAcDAgMVAgMDFgIBAh4BAheAAAoJEEDQBqdQs8Rn0ZMAn18z/JhbkmTu GD86rY73ynchTUrbAJsEyqnFTe+n7iJg2G3kJQTSmud3RbkBDQRBbOuEEAQAngC+ 5hO8JVx1OogzSR7jeRZ/3vXbvTlUwxpE0q8/oiEtKfCrPbkSvQRGIRRqZVJx6cQ4 318dt4SJmMRRpDK8wuCJzhstW2B+AB/nseZZbozGZ86PT33JB1T3PJ9oN5Lw8eT6 0j5vQX/yExi63sh+pnFfietKSsztbTXHKjFmF1MAAwUD/2ClCxy6IE/G4EgXx2IJ Hah3FFH7kMiR3heFKrx0okS1shJC4WZMIbPatwzTDXH0E9XYOLZG5Jb2cqEZwlL1 o+9aQU1cbtGqTQFAZSbeev0WshZkFePJfC9xIJc96vKAnQWJjRnJH5ZRlpsuCp7A TQnBUQf76uxA3iWGZ5+uTaYliEkEGBECAAkFAkFs64QCGwwACgkQQNAGp1CzxGfb mQCdHEaG/eu1D3ohpAzwKDPUuHe9l0EAn3aG5WGTw311tsrilcoVndsMSJdG =CA7T —–END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK—–In closing - this book is almost a must-read for anyone using or developing a wireless network.

Two items in this week’s NewScientist: One that some people ‘‘Do not respond to exercise". I think this is quite a dangerous statement - it gives people an easy out. “I did exercise, but it didn’t help me”. The other is also sobering - nearly half of all people who receive liposuction are fatter within a couple of months after the surgery than they were before. I’d like to see some follow-up data from Extreme Makeover!

One of the subjects I teach at school is Computer Aided Design (& Manufacture, if the facilities allow). I’ve done a bit of CNC machining in my time (nothing real, mind you, but a few toy things made here and there). There is a cool article on wired about where things might go, next generation. I’d love to have one of these in my workshop, or even study at home!