Dag! Talk about fun! Last night I went crazy after being let off my reading and riting class and opened up all of dulcea's services on the router and put that in place.
Fun tip number 1: The little web page doodad on the linksys router provides *exactly* enough entries for port forwarding for me to specify all the services dulcea offers only if all adjacent services are specified in ranges. Or in pseudo-english: the new linksys box I have barely lets me run everything at once that normally runs on dulcea.
Fun tip number 2: This little router is cool. I have its DHCP server disabled and its LAN interface numbered at 192.168.1.16 (because I was too lazy to renumber dulcea). Dulcea does the DHCP and now in all fancy-pants-ness specifies the .16 as everyone's gateway *ooo* *aaa*.
Fun fact number 3: When machines get renumbered, their numbering changes. Sounds obvious, but I had to kill everyone who was connected to IRC before I realized that.
Fun fact number 4: Testing your new setup locally *does not ensure it works remotely*. So at work today, I get in and said "let's see if this works from here". Well, it doesn't. Despite remembering to update all the workstations's default gateways, I managed to forget to change Dulcea's default gateway.
Fun fact number ... uh, "a many": Changing your default gateway remotely is scary. Trust me. I was very scared when I did that. (Yes, I did have to go in to dulcea through a "super secret back door" called "leaving both the old and new interfaces online".)
So there we have it. IRC, SSH and WWW all work now on dulcea's new interface from behind the router. Woo! I just finished disabling the old interface and since I'm obviously updating my Blog/.plan remotely, I know it's all good now, yeah baby.
Wednesday, 12 May 2004
Saturday, 8 May 2004
The Machines Are Everywhere
A quick summary for those who aren't up to date: For school, I'm hosting a small network of machines to be hacked for fun and learning.
"It's fun to use learning for evil"
- Lil' Sis
So anyhow, machines have been trickling in. I'm definately going to have some issues, like where the fuck do I put the two extra machines I have already, or the two (or possibly three) more that I have yet to bring home?
And where am I going to plug them all in? I've been fairly blase about our current setup which has three computers plus peripherals and networking devices hooked up to three power strips chained from a single outlet (or is it four power strips?). Building up a full network does make me a little antsy...
All in all, this place is going to get fucking noisy while the machines are on and if ever you look to Mount Pleasant and see smoke, just direct the fire department to my house, if you would be so kind.
"It's fun to use learning for evil"
- Lil' Sis
So anyhow, machines have been trickling in. I'm definately going to have some issues, like where the fuck do I put the two extra machines I have already, or the two (or possibly three) more that I have yet to bring home?
And where am I going to plug them all in? I've been fairly blase about our current setup which has three computers plus peripherals and networking devices hooked up to three power strips chained from a single outlet (or is it four power strips?). Building up a full network does make me a little antsy...
All in all, this place is going to get fucking noisy while the machines are on and if ever you look to Mount Pleasant and see smoke, just direct the fire department to my house, if you would be so kind.
Sunday, 2 May 2004
You've Got Viruses!
So this morning, I had a little fun. Excessory had said that there's no way Shaw (my ISP) would hand out multiple ip addresses though I know I've been able to get at least two, possibly three, last time I tried.
Today, I said "Let's see" and hubbed everyone to the cable modem. So dulcea of course kept her ip address, then there was michael, pyhrrus, my sister's unamed iBook, and chevette. They all happily pulled ip addresses from my provider. And I know they all had connectivity because within a couple minutes of coming out from behind the NAT, chevette got hit by W32.Blaster.
Booya! Now there's a poorly maintained machine. She doesn't even have the June 2003 patch that corrects the fault that Blaster uses. That was pretty fun.
Back behind the NAT she went, patch, reboot, patch, reboot, scan for viruses (no luck, didn't actually get infected), back out from NAT, reboot, all done. Fuck, windows is great.
So yeah, its fun. Now I get to do a lot of reading, and hopefully get around to a bunch of reconnaisance.
Today, I said "Let's see" and hubbed everyone to the cable modem. So dulcea of course kept her ip address, then there was michael, pyhrrus, my sister's unamed iBook, and chevette. They all happily pulled ip addresses from my provider. And I know they all had connectivity because within a couple minutes of coming out from behind the NAT, chevette got hit by W32.Blaster.
Booya! Now there's a poorly maintained machine. She doesn't even have the June 2003 patch that corrects the fault that Blaster uses. That was pretty fun.
Back behind the NAT she went, patch, reboot, patch, reboot, scan for viruses (no luck, didn't actually get infected), back out from NAT, reboot, all done. Fuck, windows is great.
So yeah, its fun. Now I get to do a lot of reading, and hopefully get around to a bunch of reconnaisance.
Saturday, 24 April 2004
Dear, What's Your Disability?
"How should I know? I'm retarded. Guh-ee!"
South Park season 8 is slowly trickling on to Dante's machine... Man those are some fucked up kids. Like really messeg up. No just like your friends, but really just insane coke junkies. And on that note, a few more movie reviews.
Animatrix
I borrowed the DVD from a friend. The Animatrix is a collection of 9 short animations (6 - 16 minutes each) put together as part of The Matrix project. Several were written and directed by the Wachowski brother and the rest were sponsored (if that's the right word) by them.
Some of the films are easily identifiable as being part of The Matrix and very much about setting human characters against machines.
Being short films, it is a bit difficult to place them with the huge epic setting of The Matrix. Each instead extends a specific aspect. In a couple, we see characters who are unable to become freed from the matrix, in one, we see a modern haunted house...
With the DVD, we have the advantage of letting the directors explain themselves in cases like Matriculation which makes absolutely *no* sense when you watch it. Though not as of the same 'general' appeal, watching through the animations and the directors comments, I greatly enjoyed all nine of the animations.
For overall rating, I'd rate it as worth putting aside an evening, renting the DVD, and watching through everything, including revisiting the more, ah, challenging pieces.
Blow
The Wendawg rented this one as well as Requiem for a Dream (below). It was a good movie, at least for those who like movies about drug lords. Blow is about a drug deeler, George (Johnny Depp), who goes from being a nobody to possibly the largest cocaine distributor in the US and then back down through a series of busts.
Good movie, I'd say rent it some time. Some people like this genre of movies about pushers and junkies more then others so mileage may vary.
Requiem for a Dream
Now here's a very rough movie. There are four characters we meet. We see them as they aproach the cusp of hope and loss in their lives. We vividly see their dreams, what they cling on to.
"It's a reason to get up in the morning."
When each character hits the brink between the safety of their existing resources and the pit of their vices, they tumble, clinging desperately to hope that was never strong to start with.
Really not a movie for the squeemish. The description on the back of the box is a little deceiving. When they say 'gut wrenching', they mean that you're about to watch heroine, cocaine, and speed addicts hit bottom.
Rating? Oh, um. Get a shrink. You'll be just fine.
South Park season 8 is slowly trickling on to Dante's machine... Man those are some fucked up kids. Like really messeg up. No just like your friends, but really just insane coke junkies. And on that note, a few more movie reviews.
Animatrix
I borrowed the DVD from a friend. The Animatrix is a collection of 9 short animations (6 - 16 minutes each) put together as part of The Matrix project. Several were written and directed by the Wachowski brother and the rest were sponsored (if that's the right word) by them.
Some of the films are easily identifiable as being part of The Matrix and very much about setting human characters against machines.
Being short films, it is a bit difficult to place them with the huge epic setting of The Matrix. Each instead extends a specific aspect. In a couple, we see characters who are unable to become freed from the matrix, in one, we see a modern haunted house...
With the DVD, we have the advantage of letting the directors explain themselves in cases like Matriculation which makes absolutely *no* sense when you watch it. Though not as of the same 'general' appeal, watching through the animations and the directors comments, I greatly enjoyed all nine of the animations.
For overall rating, I'd rate it as worth putting aside an evening, renting the DVD, and watching through everything, including revisiting the more, ah, challenging pieces.
Blow
The Wendawg rented this one as well as Requiem for a Dream (below). It was a good movie, at least for those who like movies about drug lords. Blow is about a drug deeler, George (Johnny Depp), who goes from being a nobody to possibly the largest cocaine distributor in the US and then back down through a series of busts.
Good movie, I'd say rent it some time. Some people like this genre of movies about pushers and junkies more then others so mileage may vary.
Requiem for a Dream
Now here's a very rough movie. There are four characters we meet. We see them as they aproach the cusp of hope and loss in their lives. We vividly see their dreams, what they cling on to.
"It's a reason to get up in the morning."
When each character hits the brink between the safety of their existing resources and the pit of their vices, they tumble, clinging desperately to hope that was never strong to start with.
Really not a movie for the squeemish. The description on the back of the box is a little deceiving. When they say 'gut wrenching', they mean that you're about to watch heroine, cocaine, and speed addicts hit bottom.
Rating? Oh, um. Get a shrink. You'll be just fine.
Friday, 16 April 2004
Out to the Movies - Hellboy and Kill Bill vol 2
Ah, the movies... Couple of high profile flicks for all y'all.
Hellboy
Another comic book film this time about a creature pulled in from an alternate plane to this one be evil forces (Nazis). Rescued by "good" Americans and raised to fight super natural evil in the US.
Okay, that's the first five minutes of the movie. The rest of the movie goes: Hellboy has been on earth 60 years, has the physique of someone who is 25, and the emotional maturity of a 14 year old.
Hellboy has one main power: he's invincible to everything. Woo.
And one major flaw: he's stupid.
Rating? Well, if you still have a lingering distaste for comic book movies, this one will put the nail in the coffin. This is a good investment, either seeing it in theaters or at home, if you want to save money in the long run by not ever watching another fucking Marvel movie again.
Kill Bill vol 2
Ah, the latter and longer portion of the Kill Bill ensemble. A very entertaining second-half (second two-thirds?). I found the comic aspects hilarious, the action sequences gritty, and the characters engaging.
If you can stand, or even enjoy, the violence and gore, this is a fabulous flick to catch. I rate it as: see it in the theaters probably once, twice if you get it cheap, and then get the DVD or have someone who is willing to lend it to you buy it.
Hellboy
Another comic book film this time about a creature pulled in from an alternate plane to this one be evil forces (Nazis). Rescued by "good" Americans and raised to fight super natural evil in the US.
Okay, that's the first five minutes of the movie. The rest of the movie goes: Hellboy has been on earth 60 years, has the physique of someone who is 25, and the emotional maturity of a 14 year old.
Hellboy has one main power: he's invincible to everything. Woo.
And one major flaw: he's stupid.
Rating? Well, if you still have a lingering distaste for comic book movies, this one will put the nail in the coffin. This is a good investment, either seeing it in theaters or at home, if you want to save money in the long run by not ever watching another fucking Marvel movie again.
Kill Bill vol 2
Ah, the latter and longer portion of the Kill Bill ensemble. A very entertaining second-half (second two-thirds?). I found the comic aspects hilarious, the action sequences gritty, and the characters engaging.
If you can stand, or even enjoy, the violence and gore, this is a fabulous flick to catch. I rate it as: see it in the theaters probably once, twice if you get it cheap, and then get the DVD or have someone who is willing to lend it to you buy it.
Tuesday, 13 April 2004
Ooo! Its Purdy
Well maybe not, but I did figure out what the fudge was wrong with my shortcuts. I cranked up the debugging and stuff and had the stderr/stdout piped out somewhere I could read it to find that the two programs were trying to use a temp folder that wasn't there. *phew* Just mkdir'd that and now they work.
Other then that, this install has been good in Linux, but a little wonky in Windows. I just installed KDE (I know, but it will be okay) and aside from the odd problem with the Firefox/Thunderbird problems, its been all good. I don't seem to be missing as many useful apps out of the box this time which is good.
Windows has basically been fucky. I had tried to backup my application data (e.g. settings) for the aforementioned Firefox and Thunderbird. That just didn't work. My username or something apparently wasn't the same, or I didn't have ownership, or maybe they just sucked, but whatever the reason, I had to set everything up again.
At least the GPG stuff was easy. I exported my public key ring and my private keys from linux, imported them in windows, wiped the plain-text versions of everything, and I'm signing messages like its nobody's business.
The other odd problem with Windows is that Dungeon Seige (yes, I'm a very bad man) keeps crashing. Its not the hardware because I was using the same hardware before. The only significant thing I've done is change from Windows 2000 to Windows XP. I know other people have played DS in XP fine, so its not so fundamentally 'a Windows XP' problem as that, so I'm thinking its some magical driver oddness. Which sucks. It doesn't crash too often, however the few times the Wendawg and I tried doing a LAN game, it has just been sucking down the lag problems.
Eh, that's about it. Nothing too interesting going on. I'm going to finaly try and analyse the tcpdump data I collected over a week of usage. Should be fun to see what happened. It will take a while. That's a gig of log files.
Other then that, this install has been good in Linux, but a little wonky in Windows. I just installed KDE (I know, but it will be okay) and aside from the odd problem with the Firefox/Thunderbird problems, its been all good. I don't seem to be missing as many useful apps out of the box this time which is good.
Windows has basically been fucky. I had tried to backup my application data (e.g. settings) for the aforementioned Firefox and Thunderbird. That just didn't work. My username or something apparently wasn't the same, or I didn't have ownership, or maybe they just sucked, but whatever the reason, I had to set everything up again.
At least the GPG stuff was easy. I exported my public key ring and my private keys from linux, imported them in windows, wiped the plain-text versions of everything, and I'm signing messages like its nobody's business.
The other odd problem with Windows is that Dungeon Seige (yes, I'm a very bad man) keeps crashing. Its not the hardware because I was using the same hardware before. The only significant thing I've done is change from Windows 2000 to Windows XP. I know other people have played DS in XP fine, so its not so fundamentally 'a Windows XP' problem as that, so I'm thinking its some magical driver oddness. Which sucks. It doesn't crash too often, however the few times the Wendawg and I tried doing a LAN game, it has just been sucking down the lag problems.
Eh, that's about it. Nothing too interesting going on. I'm going to finaly try and analyse the tcpdump data I collected over a week of usage. Should be fun to see what happened. It will take a while. That's a gig of log files.
Sunday, 4 April 2004
By the Power of fdisk
Ah, its been a fun weekend. First order of business was my damned cpu fan. That thing was really pissing me off. By most accounts, this fan is not the quietest fan when everyone is running off 12V, however dropping the voltage and therefore the rpm drops the noise significantly.
So I poked around in BIOS, couldn't quite figure out if I could change the voltage on that plug from there. Went online and eventually came accross that a rheostat is a handy little doodad for changing voltages. But before going too far into adding hardware, I actually found some useful ASUS docs (heaven forbid).
Once I found the Q-Fan option in BIOS, I had to enable it, reboot, and then listen as the fan whirred down to just about being innaudible. Its a wonderful thing. Now when Michael powers up, there a loud whirring of the fan powering up to the full 5,600 RPM and then as BIOS kicks in, it whirrs again but down to ~3,700 RPM. At that level, it is certainly the quietest machine in the room. After running at that level a little while, it seemed to just disappear. I can't even pick it out anymore. It's awesome.
So with confidence bolstered, I whipped out my operating system discs and gave Michael's partitions The Evil Eye. Primarily, I just wanted to steal some disc space from Windows and give it to Mandrake so I played around with Partition Magic 7 a little bit. It didn't seem to want to resize my partitions so then I had a little fun.
First, pop in the old faithful Win 98 boot disk and gave Michael a wee spot of the ole 'fdisk /mbr'. Sure boots up windows directly nice and fine, but still no resizing.
Next grab the Western Digital disk diagnostic/EZ BIOS floppy. Boot from that, disable EZ BIOS on the drive (still on there from when I tried to cram that drive in Nikita so many years ago). Reboot. Uninstall EZ BIOS. Reboot. Still no dice on the resizing.
Okay, copy everything from Michael to Dulcea for backup and fdisk the whole mofo.
Jammed Windows XP back on there. Patch, reboot, add driver, reboot, Direct X, reboot, reboot, patch, reboot, install anti virus, reboot, update anti virus, reboot, more stuff, reboot, reboot, reboot.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!! Goddamned Windows!
Install Mandrake. Hack at ypbind until the little bastard works on boot and I'm still not sure how I'm expected to set the domainname on boot so I eventually edited the functions network script to add that in there.
And now for some reason Mandrake won't laumch Firefox or Thunderbird from the shortcuts I have on my taskbar thing. I can launch them from a konsole (I feel shame), but even recreating the shortcuts doesn't help.
Whale oil beef hooked.
But its working. The usual couple of things to add in later, but I've got all my package sources sorted out so its all good.
So I poked around in BIOS, couldn't quite figure out if I could change the voltage on that plug from there. Went online and eventually came accross that a rheostat is a handy little doodad for changing voltages. But before going too far into adding hardware, I actually found some useful ASUS docs (heaven forbid).
Once I found the Q-Fan option in BIOS, I had to enable it, reboot, and then listen as the fan whirred down to just about being innaudible. Its a wonderful thing. Now when Michael powers up, there a loud whirring of the fan powering up to the full 5,600 RPM and then as BIOS kicks in, it whirrs again but down to ~3,700 RPM. At that level, it is certainly the quietest machine in the room. After running at that level a little while, it seemed to just disappear. I can't even pick it out anymore. It's awesome.
So with confidence bolstered, I whipped out my operating system discs and gave Michael's partitions The Evil Eye. Primarily, I just wanted to steal some disc space from Windows and give it to Mandrake so I played around with Partition Magic 7 a little bit. It didn't seem to want to resize my partitions so then I had a little fun.
First, pop in the old faithful Win 98 boot disk and gave Michael a wee spot of the ole 'fdisk /mbr'. Sure boots up windows directly nice and fine, but still no resizing.
Next grab the Western Digital disk diagnostic/EZ BIOS floppy. Boot from that, disable EZ BIOS on the drive (still on there from when I tried to cram that drive in Nikita so many years ago). Reboot. Uninstall EZ BIOS. Reboot. Still no dice on the resizing.
Okay, copy everything from Michael to Dulcea for backup and fdisk the whole mofo.
Jammed Windows XP back on there. Patch, reboot, add driver, reboot, Direct X, reboot, reboot, patch, reboot, install anti virus, reboot, update anti virus, reboot, more stuff, reboot, reboot, reboot.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!! Goddamned Windows!
Install Mandrake. Hack at ypbind until the little bastard works on boot and I'm still not sure how I'm expected to set the domainname on boot so I eventually edited the functions network script to add that in there.
And now for some reason Mandrake won't laumch Firefox or Thunderbird from the shortcuts I have on my taskbar thing. I can launch them from a konsole (I feel shame), but even recreating the shortcuts doesn't help.
Whale oil beef hooked.
But its working. The usual couple of things to add in later, but I've got all my package sources sorted out so its all good.
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