affable-lurking

The door bell rang earlier - I answered it to one of the lesser seen neighbours carrying a laptop.

“Hello, I’m Brian from number 18, I wondered if you could do me a favour, Tony says you are good with computers.”

“Hello, Er, Ok. What’s the problem?”

Brian had been using someone else’s WiFi connection and now he couldn’t connect. He’d been told by someone else that the WiFi owner had probably changed the key and he needed to use WEPcrack to get the new key. He didn’t have a clue how to use it, could I help?

I suggested that maybe the key had been changed to keep him out?

“Nah, nah mate, he said I can use it.”

I take a look at the laptop screen and see that the SSID of the access point he is trying to crack is 8bob. This being my WiFi connection. I asked him how long it had been since he was unable to use the WiFi?

“About 3 weeks now”

“Yeah, that’s about right - that’s when I fixed it to stop others using it. Don’t think I can help you really. See you later.”

I upgraded from WEP to WPA about three weeks ago when I noticed the odd connection I couldn’t account for.

“Oh, um, right. oh. er. fookin’ hell. So you can’t help then?”

“No, not really. Can’t help you.”

I think he missed the bit where I said I’d changed it to stop it being used…

He left.

Having just had to suffer several hours of commercial radio due to builders some distance away with a loud radio, I needed to hear some decent music again. So does Bill Hicks…

Bill Hicks at his most passionate - contains language

Embedded video isn’t showing up for some reason, try the link instead.

Are you bored? Then why not make a Thermic Lance out of tin-foil and spaghetti?
Go on, you know you want to.

In recognition of international talk like a pirate day I shall be wandering up and down the Mile End Road with a plastic carrier bag, accosting all and sundry saying only “DVDs?”

When you are practising science on a tiny budget you sometimes have to get creative with replacement equipment. The following happened nearly a year ago, I’ve just happened to find what I wrote at the time.

Taken from a chat log at the time.

[dtl-afk] I’m just about to ask stores to reimburse me from petty cash for a box of condoms, this could be interesting.
[friend] oh my. um, why?
[dtl-afk] we needed a thin flxeible tube, and the only thing we could think of was those
[dtl-afk] it sort of works
[friend] HAHAHA
[dtl-afk] cue me going to the chemist asking for “a box of thick unlubricated condoms please” “no we don’t have those” “oh, a box of extra safe then I suppose please”
[friend] i can just imagine the quartermaster going “are you sure you weren’t having a lunchtime quickie?”
[dtl-afk] quite probably knowing Alan (the storeman)

Stores were closed that day. I did get a ribbing next day when I made the claim. The things I do for science.