Netcomm NB604N and Firefox

One last post on my new NetComm NB604N modem/router, and this time about a minor problem accessing the settings when using Firefox. Occasionally as I navigate around the settings I get a “400 Bad request” page returned. Clicking on the link again will usually load the page OK the second time.

BadRequest

The occurrence of the bad request seems to be quite random, and appears to be a problem restricted to Firefox – if I use Internet Explorer, or Chrome or Safari, I don’t get this problem. If I use Firefox and then start the Fiddler web proxy to try and see what’s going on, the problem also goes away.  When I did a web search on “Firefox” and “400 bad request” then it seems that the problem is not just isolated to the Netcomm modem settings interface.

Long story short, I haven’t yet figured out what’s going on, and I just use a browser other than Firefox if I need to access the modem settings.

Foaming Eucalypt

I recorded this video of a foaming tree in my backyard earlier this year. I had seen it do this once before. On both occasions it happened when it rained after a prolonged period of very hot days.

In investigating this phenomenon, there seems to be two theories as to what’s going on.

  1. The foam the tree is producing is a natural “wetting agent” that improves the penetration of water into the soil around the tree.
  2. The foam has anti-bacterial or anti-fungal properties, and is protecting the tree from infection.

If anyone has any definite information on what’s going on here, I’d love to hear from you.

VPN settings on NetComm NB604N modem/router

One other difficulty that I had with my new NetComm NB604N ADSL modem/router, was that when I tried to connect with my work’s network from home using the Cisco VPN client, I wasn’t able to make the connection. It turns out that there is additional configuration that I needed to make in order to allow VPN connections. This is documented on Netcomm’s website,  but for my own reference, and because pictures tell it clearer than words, here’s the setting I needed to add in the “NAT – Port Triggering” section.

VPN

Time settings on NetComm NB604N modem/router

I got a new ADSL2+ modem/router last week, a NetComm NB604N. I ran into some problems when trying to set the parental controls (to turn off internet access at various times of the day) because I found that the time on the modem was 1 hour ahead of what it should have been.  After some experimenting with changing the timezones I believe that there is a bug in the firmware, for the “(GMT +10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney” timezone. Even though daylight savings is not currently in effect, the modem is incorrectly adding 1 hour to the time.

As a workaround I was able to set the timezone to “(GMT +10:00) Brisbane” timezone to get the right time.

NetComm time

 

No doubt I’ll have to change the timezone to something else when daylight savings does actually start in a few months.

UPDATE: NetComm have confirmed to me that they are aware of the problem and that it should be fixed in a future firmware update. (28-Jul-2013)

“Invisible” does not equal “not real”

Given that politics is often subjective and contentious I don’t often comment on political matters here, but sometimes such stupid things come out of politicians mouths that I can’t help commenting.

Today, Tony Abbott in response to Labors announcement that the fixed carbon price will be transitioned to an Emissions Trading Scheme a year early said of the ETS

“It’s a so-called market in the non-delivery of an invisible substance to no-one.”

Firstly, an ETS involves buyers, and sellers, and the exchange of money, and the transfer of rights – that sounds like an actual market to me, not a “so called market”.

Secondly, the fact that someone pays for “non-delivery” doesn’t mean its not a market. When you pay an organised crime boss money, to not deliver you a violent beating, that’s a real transaction, with real benefits. Extortion may be be hideous, odious and evil – but it is nevertheless very real.

Thirdly, just because the thing being traded is invisible, doesn’t make it not real. If I buy helium gas for my party balloons – that’s an “invisible substance”, but its still a very real and useful element in party making.

So from start, middle, to finish Mr Abbott’s statement is just foolish. But more importantly in making a statement like this he is completely evading the real question : Will an emissions trading scheme result in a reduction of CO2 emissions?

It seems that economic analysis of the real question is beyond Mr Abbott and he has to fall back to childish ‘proofs’ that ‘invisible’ = ‘not real’.

Happy birthday Rembrandt

rembrandtSo its Rembrandt’s birthday today, and Google celebrated it with a special Google doodle.

As it happens, we have a print of a Rembrandt self-portrait at home that I rather like, but the kids for some reason have taken a real dislike to. Anyway, in celebration of Rembrandt’s birthday today, my daughter gave him a special birthday makeover.

rembrandt2

I couldn’t have done it without them

While the political process lurches on in Canberra, democratic machinations proceed in other parts of the country, and after a hard fought battle, factional backroom deals, and
intense lobbying – last week I was elected as website administrator of the Society of Frogs
and Reptiles. Well actually I was elected unopposed, being the only nominee.

lizardsHowever my sincere thanks do go to “Little Squirt” and “Mr Big” – for truly and honestly I would have never attained the position without them.

Too much information

Following on from my recent post on my ‘mid year report‘ on my bike riding to work, I now calculate a number, that perhaps ought not to be calculated, but I’m going to since I have the following information:

  • In the last 4 and half years I’ve ridden my bike to work 578 times
  • When I first started riding to work, I bought a 4 pack of soap to use in the shower at work
  • Each cake of soap is 95g
  • With rare exceptions I’m the only person to use the shower at work
  • I’ve just used up the 2nd cake of soap

Which gives me enough information to calculate …

Average amount of soap used per shower = 0.33 grams.

Hmmm… perhaps too much information?

Now 0.33g sounds like a ridiculously small number, but bear in mind that I’m washing off the sweat from a 20 minute bike ride, not the grime from an 8 hour shift down a coal mine, and the soap I’m using isn’t some dainty melt in your hand luxury product, but more of an el-cheapo industrial grade soap mixing it with the high flyers on Mohs scale of hardness.