This blog can and probably will contain items of a semi-adult nature. While I don't post graphic images or porn, I do talk about issues relating to being in the LGBT community, as well as frank discussions about my views on life. I also talk about subjects that offend the religious right - such as tolerance, understanding, atheism, and being true to yourself.
If you are under age 18 in the USA, then you probably shouldn't be here. The laws vary from country to country, but as a good rule of thumb, if you are not considered a consenting adult in your country, then you are probably too young to be here. A nice alternative would be Scarleteen, a highly recommended site for teens dealing with sex education
Friday, June 14. 2013
Fixing Wifi Isses On Some Macs - 10.8.x (including 10.8.4)
Ever since 10.8.x came out, some people (including myself) have had major issues with Wifi on our Macs. The problem has existed since 10.8.0 and still exists in 10.8.4. Over time (sometimes within 10 mins), the Wifi transmission speed will gradually drop down to 2-4, and transfer speeds will drop accordingly, and not recover without a reboot.
The following conditions seem to cause this bug:
- 802.11n (either 2.4ghz or 5ghz) wifi connection (does not seem to affect 802.11a/b/g)
- Large transfers such as Time Machine backups, AFP/SMB file sharing
- Confirmed some models of MBP 2007 15" (MacBookPro3,1), and some late models of MBP Unibody 2011 15"
- Happens on Apple Airport Extreme (any generation) or 3rd party APs
Rebooting fixes the problem for a while, until the large file transfer happens again.
From 10.8.0 till 10.8.3, the fix was to take 10.6.8 or 10.7.3 IO80211Family.kext files and swap it in. The connection issue would go away and performance would be snappy and quick like it was in 10.6 and 10.7.
In 10.8.4, Apple made some changes for various reasons, which ended up breaking Wifi pretty badly if you tried the kext swap.
I needed to fix the problem since I couldn't back out to 10.8.3. I spent a few hours rummaging around through OS X's guts, swapping out files, changing settings, messing with permissions. I discovered that the problem was related to changes with /usr/libexec/airportd. Swapping the 10.8.4 airportd back to the one included in 10.8.3 restored Wifi.
I did a posting here on Apple's support forums detailing my part of the fix that makes the kext swap work again. Unfortunately, took a little while for people to realize what I was talking about. But, once they did, and tried my fix, I was getting positive feedback.
I've made a zip file of everything users who are suffering from Wifi problems need in order to get back up and working. You can get it here. It includes the 10.6.8 and 10.7.3 IO80211Family.kext files, as well as the kext utility you need to install them, and the 10.8.3 airportd binary that you can use to replace the 10.8.4 one.
Friday, January 11. 2013
A Thought On Blaming Gun Violence On Video Games
So, if people are willing to blame video games for causing violence, I have a great idea as well!
If you are going to claim that impressionable minds are going to imitate video games and go out and kill people, why aren't we putting forth a proposal to ban and burn the bible?
Thursday, December 27. 2012
Got the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite Yesterday
Been a while since I last posted, but figured I'd share that I got our EdgeRouter Lite yesterday. Some high res pics for your enjoyment.
Friday, November 18. 2011
How not to request a whitelisting in the AHBL, part 2
Apparently, me berating Orange.fr/Orange.com last year about bulk mailing DNSbl maintainers fell on deaf ears.
Hint: this is a good way to piss me off, and have the exact opposite effect than desired.
Delivery-date: Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:06:27 -0700 From: <mathieu.girol@orange.com> Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:05:56 +0100 Subject: New IP for SMTP transaction Message-ID: <14231_1321628758_4EC67455_14231_3310_1_FFFC8BE2ADAABA48B51B0C1C6E11EBBC264DCA5093@PMEXCB1D.intranet-paris.francetelecom.fr> To: undisclosed-recipients:; Hello, I am in charge of managing the France Telecom Email platform. I would like to inform you that we have some new IPs opening SMTP transaction. Here the list of the new IPs with there reverse DNS: IP Reverse 80.12.242.29 smtpout1.wanadoo.co.uk 80.12.242.42 smtpout2.wanadoo.co.uk 80.12.242.59 smtpout3.wanadoo.co.uk 80.12.242.68 smtpout4.wanadoo.co.uk 80.12.242.80 smtpout5.wanadoo.co.uk 80.12.242.81 smtpout6.wanadoo.co.uk 193.252.23.158 msa1.wanadoo.co.uk 193.252.23.159 msa2.wanadoo.co.uk 193.252.23.168 msa3.wanadoo.co.uk 193.252.23.169 msa4.wanadoo.co.uk 193.252.22.95 sout1.wanadoo.co.uk 193.252.22.102 sout2.wanadoo.co.uk 193.252.22.226 sout3.wanadoo.co.uk 193.252.22.253 sout4.wanadoo.co.uk 193.252.22.125 smtpout1.voila.fr 193.252.23.185 msa1.voila.fr 193.252.22.245 sout1.voila.fr 193.252.23.7 smtpout1.orange.ne 193.252.23.8 smtpout1.orange.co.ke 193.252.22.176 smtpout1.orange.jo 193.252.23.9 smtpout1.orangemail.cm 193.252.23.10 smtpout1.orangemail.co.bw 193.252.23.11 smtpout1.orangemail.ro 193.252.23.12 smtpout1.orange.ug 193.252.23.2 smtpout1.orangemail.ch 193.252.23.150 msa1.orange.ne 193.252.23.151 msa1.orange.co.ke 193.252.23.152 msa1.orange.jo 193.252.23.153 msa1.orangemail.cm 193.252.23.154 msa1.orangemail.co.bw 193.252.23.155 msa1.orangemail.ro 193.252.23.173 msa1.orange.ug 193.252.23.184 msa1.orangemail.ch 193.252.22.227 sout1.orange.ne 193.252.22.230 sout1.orange.co.ke 193.252.22.233 sout1.orange.jo 193.252.22.234 sout1.orangemail.cm 193.252.22.238 sout1.orangemail.co.bw 193.252.22.239 sout1.orangemail.ro 193.252.22.240 sout1.orange.ug 193.252.22.244 sout1.orangemail.ch Thank you to take into account these new IPs. Regards, Mathieu Girol Responsable s=E9curit=E9 de la messagerie =E9lectronique FT/OLNC/DPS/MSE/MIQ T=E9l : 01 57 36 09 94
Thursday, October 6. 2011
Rest in peace, Steve Jobs
Oct. 5, 2011. May you rest in peace, Steve Jobs.
Normally, I don't get very emotional over the death of a CEO or other big wig at a company. But, then again, Jobs was never your average big wig. I feel deeply saddened over his passing. Maybe it has something to do with the fact I grew up with Apple products, or maybe because even today when I look at the Mac Plus sitting on my desk that I see more then just a machine...
Yes, Apple products can be overpriced and at times glitchy, but they've always inspired me. I've spent days soldering on motherboards and doing general fixes to bring back to life machines from the 80s and 90s, just to see them turn on and make the classic start up tone. I'd never waste that kind of time on a PC.
When growing up, it used to piss me off when people said I'd be the next Bill Gates, or asked me if I aspired to be like him. I wanted to be one of the Steve's at Apple. Two of the greatest pioneers in the computer world - one, his technical prowess the stuff of legends, the other perhaps the greatest salesman of the past 35 or so years.
Yes, he may have been a jerk at times, and his reality distortion field was something few others could muster, but he was Steve Jobs. Not many people in this world would or can come back to the company they created years later, and turn it from a neglected and nearly bankrupt wreck into one of the most valuable and unstoppable companies to ever exist.
