As submitted to http://acanac.org/blogs/geek/

If you're an avid reader, you probably already know that I am a big fan of SmoothWall Express.  I currently run version 3.0 and it serves as a multi-purpose appliance in my home network.  It's a router, a firewall, a DNS manager, an intrusion detection system (IDS), and it's a lot of fun.  Diving back into the Linux world after so many years away was challenging, but with huge help from the the community forums over at http://smoothwall.org - it couldn't have been any  easier.

I run what's called a red-green-orange-purple network.  Exciting isn't it?  Take a look at the image below for a little more detail and explanation.  I grabbed this image from http://www.linux-tip.net.  Basically the networks are as follows:

• Red - Incoming Internet connection - basically my DSL modem
• Green - Standard internal network for all of the computers and devices (and a few servers)
• Orange - DMZ Server network managing mail and web servers
• Purple - Wireless segregated network

In case it wasn't clear, each colour coded network runs on it's own subnet and is isolated from the others.  Each colour is also an individual nic in the server.  Obviously this greatly improves the security of my home network.  This weekend I set out to configure the purple network that was never set up properly.  Totally my fault :)

So, for my purple setup I used a D-Link DL-524+ wireless-g router.  In order to do this, you have to configure it to run in wireless access point (WAP) mode.  All you have to do is set the router to a static IP within the subnet and turn off DHCP within the router.  Please note that you have to have DHCP enabled on the SmoothWall purple interface for this to work.  To select your new router/WAP IP, look at the gateway address.  If your gateway (purple network) is something like 192.168.30.1, then your WAP IP should be something like 192.168.30.55.  If you are really stuck with this part, visit the forums and do a bit more reading.  In my case, the problem I had with my setup is that I had the WAP plugged into the wrong nic on the SmoothWall computer.  That was my stupid mistake for the day!

Since then I have slept much better knowing that my easily cracked wireless (does secure wireless really exist?) is isolated from the rest of my network.

Well, the spa has been in for a week now and the family is loving it.  There is nothing quite as relaxing as sinking into 104 degrees of chemically treated water and letting your cares melt away.  Getting to this point was less than easy though.  The hot tub purchase was plagued with frustration right from the get-go.  In my previous post, I mentioned the missing 'Standard Features' that had been removed as part of the promotion.  Well, I talked to the people at the pool store and they ordered me an ozone injector at no charge.  This is great because the injector is easy to install and the hot tub is pre-wired and pre-plumbed for it.  The installation should be a breeze.  That's not all though, they are also throwing in two terrycloth bath robes for my troubles.  I must be fair to the pool store by stating that they have worked hard to make up for every blunder that was created.

All told, they have given us a considerable amount of 'free' stuff to compensate for the issues.  The list includes:

• Free shipping
• A full case of Peroxysan Chemicals (as opposed to the standard 1/2 case)
• An extra filter cartridge
• A filter cartridge soaking canister
• Matching front steps
• A bottle of cleaning solution (to clean the plumbing out since rainwater got into the spa before delivery)
• $100 off the price of the cover lifter
• An ozone injector (yet to be delivered)
• Two terrycloth bathrobes (yet to be delivered)

I'm happy that they have gone out of their way to correct the mistakes, they could have easily taken the 'we have your money so go away' attitude.  I'm not as impressed with HydroPool as a company.  Don't get confused, HydroPool is not the pool store, M.P. Paradise Pools is.  HydroPool is simply the manufacturer.  So let's start with the props.  The hot tub is very nice and functions as expected.  It's easy to operate and easy to maintain.  The self cleaning feature simply rocks and the improved plumbing/pumping system is the best I have seen yet.

Now for the downsides...  The company is virtually unreachable.  There telephone system is awful and it seems to take days to get someone to return your call.  The automated phone system gives you the option to press 3 for technical support, then gives you a list of employees and extensions.  How hard would it be to have to go to a call centre?  Certainly do not try to reach them on a Friday afternoon after 3pm, nobody will be there.  When the electrician was trying to wire the tub, we discovered that there is no entry port for the wiring into the cabinet.  A call to the pool store (after no answers from HydroPool) revealed that this is by design.  They claim the spa is 'critter proof', therefore you must make your own hole.  I found that to be a little absurd.  It makes sense to provide a conduit for the wiring.  The only way to get it in was to use a hole saw on the cabinet and feed it through.  I think my electrician did an excellent job though.  You can see it in the pictures below.  The last issue I want to bring to light is the fact that one of the jets wasn't working at all once it was up and running.  I took it apart and found what appeared to be scraps and leftovers of plastic from the installation clogging the jet.  This is after the company advised me that they wet test the spas for quality assurance purposes.

All in all I am very happy with the spa and the purchase, regardless of the mishaps and blunders.  I'm looking forwards to the years of enjoyment that it's going to bring.

We've all been there.  It's a quiet day at the office, you've been working hard on some repetitive task for a while now and suddenly it hits you.  Bathroom break!  Your immediate thought process directs you to wonder if anyone else is in there, because you think this might be an embarrassing one.  You quickly make your way to the washroom, only to find that all of the stalls are in use.  Now you are stuck because all of that walking has shaken up your insides a bit; you can't go back.  If only you could have known that all of the stalls were in use and been notified when one had become available - instead you've soiled yourself.

Ok, good point, that normally doesn't happen.  Most people can hold it.  Still though, it's an interesting thought.  Enter Stall Status.

Our good friends over at Coding4Fun have given us yet another excellent application that allows us to avoid the situations noted above.  Stall Status is a Silverlight-based Vista Sidebar Gadget that interfaces with the Z-Wave wireless protocol and door sensors to notify you of the current occupied/available state of the bathroom stalls.  This amazing little tool is brought to us by Jerry Brunning from Clarity Consulting, Inc.  While this may seem a little bizarre to you, the implications are huge.  Imagine deploying the gadget to every machine in your office (assuming your company isn't too cheap to use Vista) and giving employees this sort of power. 

From a technology point of view, this application is fantastic.  It capitalizes on both an easy to use home networking technology (Z-Wave) and the rock solid Microsoft .Net programming platform.  Even if you aren't trying to bring your office into the next century of connectivity, this is a great way to get some hands on experience writing Vista Sidebar Gadgets, using Silverlight, and utilizing Z-Wave products.  If you are not familiar with the Z-Wave family, they bear a resemblance to the X-10 line of products that are heavily advertised around the interweb.

From the Coding4Fun website, they give the following synopsis of the project:

Well, after a couple of years we finally broke down and purchased a new hottub.  The old one stayed with the old house when we moved.  I used to spend at least an hour a day in the hottub at the old house, sometimes more.  Since we moved, I have longed for the relaxation that only a spa can deliver.  Not surprisingly, a couple of weeks ago I was at the pool store getting chlorine and I came across a pretty good deal.  I talked it over with the wife and we decided to go ahead.  Once the order was placed, we started the prep work for the concrete pad it would sit on.

We had a 4-5 week wait for the new tub, so we decided to remove the bricks from our interlocking brick patio to make room for the new concrete pad.  It was a lot of work.  At 10' x 8', we removed a lot of bricks and a lot of dirt.  We found a great place to get concrete from.  You basically go there with your vehicle, they hook up a trailer full of stone, then you take it home and dump it.  Once you are done, you simply take the trailer back and pick up a load of pre-mixed concrete.  In less than a day we had poured the new pad and just had to wait for it to cure.  Usually a couple of days.

Well the tub was delivered a couple of days ago and we arranged for the electrician to come tomorrow to put in the new line for it.  Once we got the tub in place, we noticed a couple of 'standard features' were missing that were outlined in the brochure.  One was a waterfall jet and the second was an ozone injector.  I made a few calls and it turns out I can install the ozone inject after the fact, but the waterfall jet is not likely going to happen.  The most frustrating part is that the pool place removed this stuff for their promo, yet failed to identify that.  Anyway, I expect to have it full this weekend and to be in it by Saturday.  Wish me luck!

How many weirdos does it take to make us realize that the world is a sick and twisted place?  Apparently a lot.

Over the past few weeks I have taken an interest in reading the headlines at CNN.com - particularly the Crime section.  One of the top stories today revolves around a man who kept his wife and four children hostage and no one new about it.  This family was held in a trailer that was complete squalor for several years.  Believe it or not, the trailer was located in a trailer park with plenty of neighbours around.  How does something like this happen?  How is a mother and four children, aged 11 - 14, held captive in a populated area and nobody knows?  What about the extended family?  Did nobody care about these people?

The squalor described was unimaginable - it caused a seasoned police detective to actually vomit and forced another to wear a gas mask.  The trailer is described as being wall-to-wall filth.  The counters were covered by a layer of insect feces, the stove was home to a maggot colony, cockroaches ruled the refrigerator, and the master bedroom housed several ant hills under the mattress.  The once clear shower curtain is now a chocolate brown colour and drawing it back revealed what looked like a moving floor in the bath tub.  Cockroaches again.

Another article was about the ongoing saga of little Caylee who has been missing for weeks.  Her mother is absolutely useless and several key indicators point to foul play on her behalf.  That little girl never even had a chance.  New stories like these pop up everyday.  The gaps in the system are truly incredible and show some of the signs of over-population.  Human life has become expendable.

Here are some additional CNN headlines that got my attention today:

• Female bomber blows up pilgrims, killing 18
• Newlywed charged in wife's tub drowning
• Demons made man punch church
• Police: Parents force kids to fight

Parents force kids to fight??  What the hell?  There is something seriously wrong with the world today.

For the torrent nuts out there who just love to download, the team over at uTorrent have finally produced another stable release.  This new version, v1.8, marks the first release since January of this powerful downloading tool.  The changelog is ridiculously large, so I've collected some of the key changes for your reading pleasure.  The main major new features added are Teredo and IPv6 support.  Teredo is a tunnelling protocol designed to grant IPvv6 connectivity to nodes that are located behind IPv6 unaware devices (excerpt from wikipedia).  If you already have uTorrent installed, next time you launch it you will see a prompt asking you if you would like to download the new version.  If you don't already have it, check out the download link below.  Now, on with the list...

• Fix: replace backslashes in file paths for multifile URL seeding with forward slashes
• Change: make association check on startup apply to all associations, not just .torrent
• Fix: do not try to connect to IPv6 peers if IPv6 is not installed
• Change: stopped torrents now show no ETA instead of infinity
• Change: do not automatically register .torrent, prompt instead
• Fix: systray icon loading before Explorer is running
• Fix: save "run on startup" across installs
• Change: Display application name instead of executable name in Windows Vista message boxes
• Change: Make more message boxes that had OK and CANCEL options instead have YES and NO options
• Change: ETA times are now maxed out at 4 years
• Fix: slow or no connections with large numbers of seeding torrents
• Fix: GDI handle leak on resize
• Change: when done, disconnect peers that have everything we have (instead of only 100%)
• Fix: Display of '&' characters in various places including general tab
• Fix: crash when stopping an in-progress hash-check
• Fix: Ignore last preference and overview tab from previous versions; fixes a crash when downgrading
• Fix: Crash when redirecting multiple files at once
• Fix: element not found and 99% cpu bug with partfiles
• Fix: update timeouts with trackers
• Fix: Various tiny memory leaks

As you can see from this small subset of the log, the team has been hard at work.  Get your copy today!