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How fast are you?

I enjoy writing about technology at Spy Journal Tech Tips. My lastest piece discusses Internet connection speeds. Reprinted here:

Our children will never appreciate the handshake of a 300 baud modem. The thought of transferring anything at 1200 baud is unthinkable even if we invoke the sacred z-modem. Now-a-days you are more likely to talk about megabits per second (a data rate) instead of baud (a symbol rate).

I find it amazing how our data communications have increased in such a short time. We used to drool over a T-1 connection (1.544Mbit/s). Since only businesses could afford such luxuries, people would plan weekend gaming sessions at their work place or stay late to download and surf in ways that the average home user could only dream possible. Now, your cable connection is likely faster than a T-1. Comcast advertises 6Mbit/s standard with 8Mbit/s for some extra money and is currently testing 16Mbit/s in Richmond, VA. The near future promises even better (28Mbit/s)!

What is your speed? Online testing services such as http://www.testmy.net/ and http://bandwidthplace.com/ can help you see if you are up to snuff. Your internal networking equipment can cause slowdowns so by-pass your router, hubs and other gear by plugging your computer directly into your cable or dsl modem when speed checking. You may need to power cycle the modem after connecting directly. http://broadbandreports.com/ (aka DSL Reports) is a fantastic resource when troubleshooting or investigating network speeds.

Your system software can influence speed. Tools like SG TCP Optimizer can greatly improve your Internet connection by adjusting network settings you may not even know exist.

See also It’s the latency, stupid for more understanding of speed issues. Read about hacking the Linksys router and Linksys Blue Box Router HOWTO.

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Is it just because of their age?

  • Sarah, 13, frustrates me with her attitude but that’s just what teenage girls do.
  • Tommy, 16, smells like teen spirit even after a bath (and no, I’m not referring to the song or the deoderant) but teenage boys just smell.
  • Noah, 10, is a space cadet but all 10 year old boys have their brains turned off.
  • Amy, 4, is having her terrible twos but all children go through this.
  • Evan, 14 months, is clingly but he is still a baby and needs coddling (2nd definition! Not first!).
  • Cathy, 27, is simply wonderful but if I put anything here I’ll be cut off for a year.
  • Doug, 37, has CRS disease but that is because of stress and bad sleep habits.

So when do we quit attributing actions to their ages and just brushing them off? That is not accurate. We are a very consequence based family. Cathy and I put great weight in natural consequences. "if you choose to walk across the gravel in your bare feet rather than slip on shoes, your feet will hurt." When the child is going to learn the lesson for themselves, the lesson sticks more than if it is scolded or yelled into their head. Besides, why create a riff between child and parent when nature is going to handle it? You may bring about a shortterm solution faster or avoid a mess by forcing a child to do something, but having patience and taking time to clean up this mess will have a much more positive impact long term. I know, easier said than done.

Just this week, Tommy started asking everyone to be sure to rinse their dishes before putting in the sink. He has learned on his own that cleaning the dish is more difficult after the food has dried and hardened. That comes from the natural consequence of having to rewash dishes.

So Noah. I fear his absentmindedness is going to hurt him in school badly this year. Seems he has gone from spacey to deep spacey. Just yesterday he gets out of the van, goes to the tailgate, opens it, gets his $200 karate gear (pads) out of the back, sets them down on the ground to close the gate, closes the tailgate, and walks into the house. Hours later, fortunately no rain, Cathy returns from an errand and is agast to see the brand new pads in the yard where weather, animal, child or crook could have put a damper on Noah’s karate lessons. We ask Noah to look in the yard and he just stares in confusion failing to see the pads. 10? I’m thinking daily games that improve memory, concentration and attention to details are in order! Of course, as much as I hate to become one of those adults, I cannot help but think that video games are contributing to the absentmindedness.

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From the mouths of babes

peg game medium

The other day we went to Cracker Barrel with Cathy, Noah, Amy, Evan and myself. If you have never been to a cracker barrel, you should know ever table has that triangular game with the golf tees. (which ironically, is how they describe it in their product description! I wrote mine first!) I have accidentally solved it once in my life.

Amy is playing the peg game and drops a golf tee on the floor. We ask Noah to pick it up. Now Noah could be holding something and still be unable to find the object he is holding. The rest of this plays like it was scripted for a movie.

Noah begins looking for the golf tee on the dark tile floor and Amy watches Noah intently from her booster seat with this pleasant, relaxed look on her face. The guests around us take no notice as they continue to eat their pancakes, grits, and chicken and dumplings. The checkers board sits on a barrel just waiting for two players. We are near the kitchen and the wait staff enter and leave at haste and Noah stays out of their way. Noah is bent over staring at the floor. A waitress quickly sweeps the floor in front of her on the way back to the kitchen. It almost looks Monkish as if she does not want to step on a dirty floor. Amy continues to watch Noah as he stares at the floor moving his head back and forth as he scans for the golf tee. Knives and forks clink on plates. Conversations hum.

Dad: "Amy can you see it?"
Amy, non-chalantly and continuing to watch Noah: "She sweepered it."