Dino29

I’ve been procrastinating about doing an update to the site…it needs a refresh now that I’m back on the east coast in Halifax.  I’ve been busy refurbishing the new bike and learning Cocoa for iPhone development.  I’ll get a new look up soon and some news on the new company with Jason R…will be concentrating on iPhone 3.0 apps.

A few months ago I encountered throttling on my Teksavvy account in the Queen St. East area of Toronto. It was being done by Bell as that is who supplies Teksavvy its lines.

The following was posted to the DSLReports.com back in May of 2008 and is a simple work around for people who don’t want to invest time into learning about MLPP. For the original post click here…kudos to HiVolt for the post…

“Here is an idea for the people who have non-WRT54G linux capable routers, to temporarily use the MLPPP trick in Windows, in order to bypass the traffic shaping.

Set your modem in bridge mode & disable its DHCP server, and your router should be configured to use your TekSavvy PPPoE login, as usual.

What the loopback wiring allows you to do, is to establish a PPPoE connection using Windows XP, with the multilink checkbox, while your router is still connected in the mix and can still supply your other PCs or devices with internet. When you connect in Windows using it’s built in PPPoE, it overrides whatever is supplied by your router, so you can download a torrent or use whatever application is affected by the DPI.

However, as you can see, it eats up two ports on a typical 4 port router. If you have another switch with more ethernet ports, you can easily uplink to your router and your problem is solved. Also, as this creates a direct IP connection to your machine, it bypasses the firewall of your router. So make sure to at least enable the Windows firewall, or use some other firewall software of your choice. Otherwise, you’re left exposed to the net with a direct IP. One last thing. If you have a singlestatic IP, you will have to manually force a disconnect in your router’s web interface, as an account with a single static IP will not be able to connect again unless its disconnected. You can then establish the PPPoE in Windows.

As an added bonus, you can now access your modem’s line stats without unhooking your router. Just make sure the modem’s IP address is different than the router’s. If not, change one, for example the modem 192.168.1.254 (ST516), router 192.168.1.1″

Here are the apps that I have on my iPhone…

Will update every so often

Here’s how you do it…

Taking iPhone Screenshots

1. Navigate the iPhone to the screen you want to create an image of
2. While holding the Home button, press and release the Lock Sleep/Wake buttonYour screen will flash letting you know that the screenshot was taken
3. Navigate to your Camera Roll library (Photos)The most recent image should be the screen capture you just created

I didn’t figure this out on my own, I found this on the site On a Mac which offered credit to Make Magazine

These are the netcasts (podcasts) that I listen to on a regular basis. Most of them are technology related…

Buzz Out Load

TWIT

Windows Weekly

This American Life

Loaded (…Natalie is a hottie!)

I’ve posted some screen shots of the apps on my iPhone on Flickr.

Here are the apps on my phone from September 17, 2008…iPhone apps 9/17/09

About a month ago I decided to jailbreak my 3G iPhone with firware 2.0.2.  I’m on the Fido network in Canada on a contract.  I tried it using WinPwn 2.5.  I tried twice in basic mode and ended up having to restore the phone to the 2.0.2 firmware both times after it froze up.  I then read a couple of comments on BigBoss’s Guide and tried it in Expert mode.  For whatever reason it worked perfectly.  I installed Cydia and Installer and changed the size of the root partition to 700 mb.  I was able to install some great apps to customize my iPhone.  I would recommend BossPrefs and Winterboard.  Another app that was great but isn’t working after the 2.1 upgarde is Customize.  Hopefully thespiceychicken will update this great app.

My friend Cameron found this great pork marinade recipe in a President’s Choice cookbook.  The Kobe sauce in the recipe can be found at Loblaw’s in Ontario and Quebec, No Frills out West or at Atlantic Super Store in the Maritimes…there may be others.

Here’s the finished product, the marinated piece is the one in the front…the recipe for the dry rub piece in the back is also on my blog.  It’s titled “Pork Dry Rub: A Pig’s Best Friend”.

1			Danish Pork Loin (4 to 5 lb/2 to 2.5 Kg)
2 tbsp (25 ml)			Tellicherry Black Peppercorns
2 cups (500 ml)			Ranch Dressing
¾ cup (175 ml)			PC memories of Kobe “The 2 Min Miracle” Tamari Garlic Marinade

1. Score top of the pork loin in diamond pattern
2. Wrap peppercorn in tea towel and using a heavy skillet or mallet to coarsely crack pepper and using the heal of your hand  press pepper into meat
3. Place pork in heavy large plastic bag and add mixture of dressing and marinade.  Seal well and turn a few times to coat the pork and let marinade in refrigerator for 6 – 8 hours or overnight, turning occasionally
4. Place pork loin on lightly greased grill over high heat for 2-3 minutes per side or until meat is seared all over.  Reduce heat to medium and cook with lid down for 40 to 50 minutes or until internal temperature is 150°F (65°C) on meat thermometer.  Meat will have a hint of pink in the centre when its done.  Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

The roast will continue to cook after it is removed from the grill, so be sure to remove it at the specified internal temperature or a few minutes before.

I found this great pork dry run recipe by Kevin D. Weeks at

http://cookingfortwo.about.com/od/ingredients/r/dryrub.htm

Here’s the original recipe and possible substitutes in brackets. I didn’t wrap the pork in plastic wrap and still turned out great…I also went a little more heavily then “sprinkle liberally on pork”.

Here’s the finished product, the dry rub is the piece in the front…the recipe for the marinated piece in the back is also on my blog. It’s titled “Kobe Ranch Pork Loin”.

Pork Dry Rub: A Pig’s Best Friend

Ingredients:

* 1/4 c paprika
* 2 Tbsp. kosher salt
* 2 Tbsp. onion powder
* 1 Tbsp. cumin
* 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
* 2 tsp. dried thyme
* 2 tsp. rubbed (dried) sage (OR Basil)
* 1 tsp. black pepper
* 1 tsp. dried, ground lemon peel
* 1/2 tsp. ground mace (OR Allspice)
* 1/2 tsp ground chipotle (OR Cayenne)

Preparation:

1. Thoroughly combine all ingredients.

2. To use sprinkle liberally on pork, wrap pork tightly in two layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

My iPhone was only about 6 weeks old when on my way off the elevator going into work on a Tuesday morning I flipped the silent/ring switch to silent mode and the button snapped off cleanly.  Couldn’t believe it, it wasn’t sticky or stiff…it just popped off and fell to the elevator floor.  

I live in Toronto and have my service with Fido (yes it’s as expensive up here as you have heard) so first I called customer support expecting them to tell me that they would send me out a new one and to return the one I have when I received it.  I expected this because that is what happened to a co-worker who has his service with Rogers (Rogers and Fido are the same company).  When I called the Rep asked me where I bought my phone and I told her at a Fido corporate store.  She then said because I didn’t buy it over the phone I would have to go to the store in person…so I guess the 1-800 customer service number is only for people who get their contracts and devices over the phone.

When I got to the Fido store the technician looked at the phone and said they don’t fix or replace iPhones and that I would have to go to the Apple store.  I’ve only been in Toronto for a year and this was the first real time I have had to use Fido/Rogers customer service but from all the horror stories I have heard in the past I now have no doubt that 95% of them are true.

Luckily the Apple store is 2 floors up in the Eaton’s Centre from the Fido store…not sure what they would have made me do if I was still living in Halifax with the closest Apple store being in Montreal.  Being my first Apple device I was unaware that I would have to make an appointment with a “genius” in order to have my iPhone looked at…three days!

When I finally did get in for my appointment is was smooth sailing.  The genius was great and replaced the phone as soon as he looked at it.  My SIM was swapped out and he even gave me a credit to use for a new anti-glare screen protector that couldn’t be salvaged from my own phone.

This was a long way to say that Fido/Rogers customer service is a lot to be desired…the rep on the phone didn’t have a clue what to do about iPhone service and repairs (and it was a directed call for iPhones specifically).  Although it was annoying to wait for three days to get an appointment the Apple employees were great.  

Anyone in the Toronto having issues with their iPhones don’t even bother with Fido or Rogers, just take a trip to the Apple store…after making an appointment.  Look for the “reserve link” under the genius logo on the right side of the following pages for the Toronto locations:

http://www.apple.com/ca/retail/eatoncentre/
http://www.apple.com/ca/retail/sherwaygardens/
http://www.apple.com/ca/retail/yorkdale/

I`m figuring out what I want my blog to have and say…check back in the next couple of days for updated content and a new look