Posts by Little Drummer Boy

19

What kinds of sport are you into?

by zagor in

jw
friends

it just occurred to me that just about every single sport im interested in, is one-man-band whether you talk about martial arts, archery, golf or any other ie.none of them are team sports.

it just looks as if i best operate alone (or could it be i just find it awkward being in team i don't really know) .

heck, the most sports i did where other side wasnt an opponent were few dances such as salsa and recently tango.

Little Drummer Boy

I play Air Soft. Kinda like paintball but with realistic gear/guns and different ammo.

Great exercise and I get to hang out with friends.

Wanna see my Air Soft scars?

39

i'm going to buy my first laptop in the next week or two.i want to know what else i'll end up needing to go online with it at a wifi hotspot?there are a few of them around where i live at coffee shops and things like that.do i need a wireless service provider when i'm at these hot spots??.

also what would you recomend i get for use at home?i have a dsl modem that will allow me to have 4 computers pluged into one modem.i want to be able to use my laptop anywhere in my house.what do i need to reach these goals with a laptop??.

i've heard of wireless cards and wireless routers.but i don't know what they do or if i need them.i've never used a laptop before i have only ever used a desktop..

Little Drummer Boy

noni, please, please, please take what WAC and TD have said to heart (them in particular, but others are giving good advice too). I would not get any of those used laptops for those prices. They are too expensive. The first thing you would have to do is upgrade the RAM. Keep in mind that it is very common for the video circuitry in a laptop to share the main system RAM. What looks like 256 MB can quickly not be that amount. Win XP running on less than 256 MB is kinda slooooow.

There would also be questions of whether or not the built in wireless card on those older machines has the newest encryption (the wireless "password" stuff TD talked about). If you have to end up bying a new wireless card so that your network (the thing your new wireless router will create) can use the good encryption and if you have to buy more RAM, you are really, really gonna regret that used laptop purchase because of the expense. You need to be able to run the new encryption because the old stuff can be cracked in a matter of minutes by anybody who is even half trying. Even the new encryption can be cracked without too much trouble if someone wants to, but it takes long enough that most people will move on to an easier target.

As TD said, go with a Linksys wireless router. They can be locked down well and are reasonably priced and reliable.

When the time comes for you to setup the network, we'll walk you through it.

36

Apologize here....

by Mum in

jw
friends

our fun-loving friend, nvrgnbk, has turned somber and apologized for "everything.

" i, too, am an unwitting transgressor and owe many apologies, mostly for things i'm sure i don't even remember i did.. let us all apologize here, and then begin an absolution thread, so we've all cleared the air and everyone is forgiven by everyone else.. i'll start:.

i'm sorry.. penitently,.

Little Drummer Boy

I would apologize if I felt bad for anything but I don't, so I won't.

Speaking to the current theme of the past couple of days, I have grown enormously tired of censoring my feelings and thoughs for the sake of others just in the name of being "politically correct". I despise that term, btw. Oops, I accidentally called you the "mailman" instead of "postal carrier" and now you want to chew my head off. Oh, frickn' gawd shoot me!. I can't stand it. If this is going to be the trend of this board, then, whatever, but I will be long gone because I won't play that stupid game anymore.

I have grown weary to the point of breaking with being controlled by others in my life. The borg did that to me for far too long. "Think like this, wear this, live here, don't eat that, don't do that, blah, blah, blah. " I am much too old to do these gyrations anymore. I am beginning to feel that if I offend a person, either they deserved it (because I was trying to) or they need to get over it because I didn't mean to and they should be bright enough to figure out which one it was. They don't need to call me on it. I don't want to hear that kind of crap anymore. If on the off chance I offend because I was trying to and the person didn't deserve it because I misunderstood, then I'll apologize and gladly. But I won't do it for the sake of preserving the too thin skinned anymore.

Yes, I am more than my usual grumpy today. It is because of the themes of many of the last few days threads.

34

Any Suggestions for Curbing Kids' Internet Access?

by Scully in

what kind of measures do other parents take to help kids navigate the internet safely?.

i hate msn and other iming programs - there's far too much potential for mischief with that service available.. are there some easy ways to block sites or isps?

or is it better to set it up with approved sites only?.

Little Drummer Boy

The childs' computer needs to be in plain view.

Any parent that puts a comp in a closed bedroom with a child is doing the child a dis-service,

I think that is a bit harsh and is a sweeping statement. So where should the computer be placed? You say in plain view? Do you mean in the kitchen? The living room? These are the only 2 rooms that the majority of homes are garaunteed to have (in the U.S.). Not all of us make 6 figures and have spare dinning rooms, home offices, huge kitchens, and furnished basements where all of the family activity takes place. Some of us have small homes. So how do you propose that we cram a computer desk into the kitchen in a small home? Should we somehow cram it into the small living room where there already isn't even enough room for the furniture needed just to simply sit down? Computers have become an essential part of life (whether we like it or not) and I, for one, won't stiffle my son's ability to learn how to use it by taking it away from him just because we don't have a common area in the house big enough for a computer desk. Many people are in a similar situation and don't have the space to put a machine right out in the open or to dedicate a room as a home office. If you would care to finance the construction of small rooms for us and everone else where we can place our children's computers, please feel free to do so. Until then, our family and others will simply have to do the best we can and be reasonable about it.

34

Any Suggestions for Curbing Kids' Internet Access?

by Scully in

what kind of measures do other parents take to help kids navigate the internet safely?.

i hate msn and other iming programs - there's far too much potential for mischief with that service available.. are there some easy ways to block sites or isps?

or is it better to set it up with approved sites only?.

Little Drummer Boy

Hey TD,

It performs very well. I reboot it maybe 2 times a year. Routers (of any price level), as you probably know are just computers. Like computers, the more reliable the hardware is, and the more reliable the software is, the more stable the platform. The Linksys stuff is fairly robust on the hardware side for home grade gear. Putting a good OS on it just makes it that much more solid.

It has features on the OS that I didn't even begin to understand until I got through my entire CCNA course work. I can V-LAN my network in any way I like, Run OSFP, RIPv2, on and on. It's pretty damn cool. I would like to mention that it also lets me change my default wirless radio output from the default of 28 mw to a monstrous 251mw. That is a huge decibel gain. I can throw my signal about 3 times as far now, so my Mom (next house over) gets on my wireless so she doesn't have to pay an ISP. And that extra power does get the router HOT!, But I've been doing that for several years, and like I said, I only have to reboot about twice a year or so.

I do want to point out that the version number of the router is critical when researching which OS will work. This mod became so popular that (if you believe the rumor mill) Linksys started reducing the amount of memory built in so that you couldn't fit some of the larger OS's on the flash. I can confirm that the different versions all look identical, but have vastly different amounts of RAM. Mine has 32 Mb (just like a lower end Cisco). Some of the new Linksys have much less. Also, you can turn your router into a brick by doing this, so be careful to follow the instructions. Also, beware of the "turn off the reset button" options in some of these OS's. If you do that and forget your password you are screwed because you'll have no way to force a reset of the settings.

Can't think of anything else to say at the moment except my OS is:

Sveasoft

Alchemy-V1.0 v3.3768sv

34

Any Suggestions for Curbing Kids' Internet Access?

by Scully in

what kind of measures do other parents take to help kids navigate the internet safely?.

i hate msn and other iming programs - there's far too much potential for mischief with that service available.. are there some easy ways to block sites or isps?

or is it better to set it up with approved sites only?.

Little Drummer Boy

Take the typical home network topology for example:
Cable/DSL Modem ----> Router ----> Desktop(s) and Laptop(s)
The gateway here is the router itself and the computers are all peers. While some home type routers do allow you to create blocklists and shut down ports used by IM software, most don't.

Just want to let you know that the Linksys routers (among others, but I mention them because a lot of people, including me have them), come with a decent OS that can do quite a bit. The cool thing about them is that you can flash the router with a new, free, OS (not from Linksys) and turn that $50 router into a $1000 low end commercial equivalant capable of filtering, blocking, restricting times, etc. My router is a beast right now. I don't need it to do all that stuff, but I can.

121

Are some of us still judgmental and think ourselves morally superior?

by nvrgnbk in

jw
friends

is a certain "uptightness" creeping into our community?.

should we be scolding one another?.

especially kids?

Little Drummer Boy

Here piggy piggy piggy!

121

Are some of us still judgmental and think ourselves morally superior?

by nvrgnbk in

jw
friends

is a certain "uptightness" creeping into our community?.

should we be scolding one another?.

especially kids?

Little Drummer Boy

little drummer, apparently you haven't followed this thread, as i stated earlier, i don't drink. and, you moral zealots are usually the ones guilty of spouse beating. kind of like those loving elders in the cong.

Naw man, I read both threads. I read that you don't drink like you used to. John Doe has already said everything to you on that subject and I can't improve on what he said. I've never been called a moral zealot before. Hmmm. Interesting. Let me try that on for a minute.....Nope don't think that quite fits. See, I don't have a problem with any attitude, thought process, or action that doesn't effect other people negitively. But...when people's behaviour starts making other people's lives misserable, then I have a problem. ____________________________________________ Heh, twich. Twang ta Twang Twang Twang Twang Twang Twang Twaaaang