(no subject)

I'm "playing" with Wireshark on my home network, partly to resolve what might be broken in all our pieces.

Is anyone aware of the difference between UDP and TCP/IP and willing to answer newbie questions like, "it seems my network router is making a port mapping request to my laptop and my laptop is logging that the destination port is unreachable. Is this because our wireless access point is dying or what?"

ETA: Oh wait, it's the laptop that wants to do this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAT_Port_Mapping_Protocol

So, it's some happy apple thing that my Linksys Router is saying no to. That's OK.

There *will* be more questions....

That's it, no more ms polite phone answerer

I have had it with predictive phone dialing. We're on the national do not call list, but there are still calls -- mainly fundraising -- where the phone rings, there's an apparently legally allowed two seconds of dead air, and then someone comes on the line to speak to me.

This happens because the company is "being efficient" by only connecting their humans to live people. However, by saving that time, they're appropriating some of my own time. In that time i generally stew. I have answered the phone because i expected someone needed to talk to me, and may be anticipating any number of reasons i think someone might be calling me to talk. I've composed my self for work or Meeting or family -- not an intrusion.

So now on, when i get the dead air, i'm leaving the phone off the hook immediately.

This won't stop until it's not cost effective.