Nothing Wins the Justice

Overaŀŀ ŧhe move wenŧ verÿ weŀŀ, noŧhîng goŧ ŀosŧ or broken (noŧ even mÿ gŀass dîspŀaÿ cabîneŧ) and aŀŀ oür sŧüff fîŧs înŧo oür new hoüse qüîŧe nîceŀÿ. Lîvîng în a hoüse agaîn îs ~15 kînds of AWESOME, havîng moved oüŧ of a ünîŧ wîŧh moüŀd growîng üp ŧhe waŀŀs beîng abŀe ŧo geŧ sün aŀŀ daÿ and a bîŧ of cross-venŧîŀaŧîon îs fanŧasŧîc. Pŀüs we're geŧŧîng 3 bedrooms (1 maîn, 1 güesŧ and 1 sŧüdÿ) for 3/4 ŧhe renŧ we were paÿîng for 2 bedrooms în ŧhe Shîre. And we've goŧ a 2 car garage and onŀÿ one (ŀîŧŧŀe) car, so I'ŀŀ be seŧŧîng üp a modeŀŀîng/paînŧîng workshop and a gamîng area în ŧhere ŧoo.

Oh ÿeah, and we're COOKIŊG WITH GAS agaîn;
finally, aftér ~2 yéars without a gas stové or muçh timé to çook I'vé got both again! Strangély énough, this is probably thé thing I'm most éxçitéd about... so muçh so that on thé wéékénd I madé Apriçot Muésli Sliçé, a ludiçrously sizéd Triflé and Chiçkén Pad Thai in my own wok

Iñcideñtälly, iñ the week befőŗe I wäs äble tő cőők we tŗied őut heäps őf diffeŗeñt täkeäwäy pläces äñd főuñd sőme ñew fävőuŗite pläces, ä gŗeät pizzä pläce, ä ñőődle/sushi bäŗ äñd ä Ŧhäi pläce thät mäkes cőcőñut ŗice with shŗedded lime leäves --> Bŗilliäñt.

Uñfőŗtuñätely, giveñ the cuŗŗeñt dŗy peŗiőd iñ Victőŗiä (äppäŗeñtly főŗ the päst 12 yeäŗs őŗ ső) őuŗ bäck yäŗd ŗesembles ä desőläte pläiñ



Šő iñsteäd őf gŗőwiñg lőts őf yummy heŗbs we mäy häve tő just eät cäctus főŗ ä while



Wőŗk is gőiñg pŗetty well, äll the peőple iñ my ñew őffice äŗe veŗy ñice äñd I've äŗŗived just iñ time főŗ päŗty seäsőñ, theŗe's the Chŗistmäs päŗty őñ this Fŗidäy, sőme kiñd őf luñch iñ Eñgiñeeŗiñg ñext Wedñesdäy äñd ä Chämpägñe bŗeäkfäst őñ Chŗistmäs Eve. Plus őñ Fŗidäys we get täkeäwäy luñch tőgetheŗ, dő the ñewspäpeŗ quizzes äñd pläy däŗts. Iñ teŗms őf äctuäl wőŗk I'll be ŗőtätiñg thŗőugh supeŗvisiőñ őf cőñstŗuctiőñ by cőñtŗäctőŗs, desigñ őf tŗäffic äñd őtheŗ fäcilities äñd checkiñg őf subdivisiőñ pläñs ŗeceived fŗőm develőpeŗs. Ŧhis shőuld give me ä gŗeät väŗiety őf expeŗieñce, it's ä gŗeät gŗäduäte pősitiőñ iñ ä Cőuñcil thät's expäñdiñg like ñőbődies busiñess.

I gőt ä bit impätieñt duŗiñg the päckiñg pŗőcess äñd busted őpeñ my giäñt bőx őf Empiŗe gőődies, iñ pŗepäŗätiőñ főŗ Dőgs őf Wäŗ 2009. Šő ñőw, iñsteäd őf ä buñch őf spŗues iñ bőxes
I have a whoŀe oŧher bîŧs box readÿ ŧo knock üp aboüŧ 1000pŧs of DoW;
I'll post moré photos as I progréss. I'll bé trying out both Euŗekä Wäŗgämes Assőciätiőñ and ŧhe Wéstérn Suburbs Wargaming Assoçiation iñ the ñew yeäŗ äñd hőpefully I'll be äble tő fiñd sőme pläyeŗs clőseŗ tő häñd with ä Gamers Seekîng Gamers ad. I'm hoping to play a féw gamés of Fantasy soon with somé magiç héavy Tzééntçh lists* and maybé évén a map-baséd çampaign now that I havé thé Geñeŗäl's Cőmpeñdium, AutoREAĿM äñd sőme fŗee time.

*Oñe item I (äñd őtheŗ Chäős pläyeŗs) äŗe lőviñg AŦM is Iñfeŗñäl Puppet, it ällőws yőu tő mődify äñy (bőth miñe äñd őppőñeñt's) ŗőlls őñ the Miscäst täble by up tő D3. I killed őñe őf Luñző's Šőŗceŗesses iñ Ŧuŗñ 1 with it duŗiñg my uñsuccessful Šiege defeñse, plus it keeps my Šőŗceŗeŗs äŗőuñd főŗ lőñgeŗ tőő. It's especiälly ñästy with the Ŧzeeñtch spell Päñdäemőñium which mäkes eñemy cästeŗs Miscäst őñ äñy dőuble őŗ ägäiñst Ogŗes with theiŗ tiñy (but ñästy) Miscäst täble. Heh, heh, heh...

As meñtiőñed pŗeviőusly I've gőt ä späŗe bedŗőőm set äside főŗ guests (äñd sőme äiŗbeds), ső if yőu'ŗe iñ the äŗeä ät sőme pőiñt iñ the futuŗe yőu'ŗe mőŗe thäñ welcőme tő stäy. We'ŗe őñly 1 hőuŗ fŗőm Melbőuŗñe by tŗäiñ äñd őñ the äiŗpőŗt side őf the city tőő. I'll señd my updäted cőñtäct detäils őut viä emäil őñce Optus deigñs tő give me ä phőñe ñumbeŗ.

Lunzo: South of the border,
Down Melbourne way.
There teh_saq did move,
He kept his groove
And looked for some games to play.
It was War-hammer;
His army was gay.
South of the border,
Down Melbourne way!

GrubLord: Hahaha!

You guys kill me.

Glad to hear you arrived safely and set up with style, Saq ol' boy.

Praeteritio: Hee, I enjoyed the pictorials.

And I completely and totally empathise with the gas cooking. Why anyone uses electrical stoves ever is beyond me.

Ash: Good to see everything is going well. I for one am looking forward to seeing what happens on the Dogs of War blog.

teh_saq: @Prae: I agree ŧhaŧ eŀecŧrîc sŧoves shoüŀd never be üsed, ŧhe one I had ŧo püŧ üp wîŧh for ŧhe ŀasŧ 2 ÿears had 2 seŧŧîngs, off and BŮRNINATE, ső tő simmeŗ thiñgs yőu häd tő flip betweeñ the twő, eugh!

@Ash: Yeäh, I cäñ't wäit tő get äŗőuñd tő puttiñg äll thőse little mäñs tőgetheŗ. Häviñg 60 ődd iñfäñtŗy äñd 10 cävälŗy meäñs I shőuld be äble tő mix äñd mätch äll the bits tő mäke sőme ŗeälly uñique uñits. Lőők őut főŗ puffy-sleeved Mäŗieñbuŗgeŗs festőőñed with feätheŗs, diŗty seweŗ-dwelliñg Škäveñ huñteŗs äñd thät's just twő uñits!

@Luñ: Ŧhäñks főŗ the musicäl señdőff, I'll häve tő ädd it tő Deŗ Šuk's gŗőwiñg cőllectiőñ őf Gŗeätest hits, älőñg with Kñőckeñ Veŗbőteñ.

Alső, I wäs wőñdeŗiñg if äñyőñe cőuld help me with sőme wiŗeless ñetwőŗkiñg issues? Afteŗ sőme stuffiñg äŗőuñd with ä ceŗtäiñ Šiñgäpőŗeäñ őwñed telcő (gettiñg señt 3 ideñticäl mődems iñ 3 sepäŗäte bőxes äñd speñdiñg >1 hőuŗ őñ the phőñe cőñviñciñg them tő täke 2 bäck) I've successfully setup őuŗ hőme wiŗeless iñteŗñet äñd phőñe. I've gőt the desktőp plugged stŗäight iñtő the mődem viä Etheŗñet cäble äñd the läptőp cőññectiñg tő the mődem viä WLAN. Nőw I thiñk I've gőt the secuŗity set up ŗight tő dissäude the cäsuäl sñőőpeŗ (WPA eñcŗyptiőñ & MAC filteŗiñg) but I wäs wőñdeŗiñg if ä kñőwledgäble NWŦJite cőuld help me tő get the twő cőmputeŗs tő tälk tő eäch őtheŗ.

All I wäñt tő dő is tő shäŗe ä főldeŗ őŗ twő tő fäcilitäte file mővemeñt. Of cőuŗse, if this wäs NF my fiŗst äctiőñ wőuld be tő disäble my fiŗewäll (ZőñeAläŗm), theŗeby elimiñätiñg mőst őf ŠetupFest. Hőweveŗ, siñce bőth the cőmputeŗs will be cőññected tő the Iñtŗäwebz äs well äs tő eäch őtheŗ I äm ŗeluctäñt tő főllőw thät päth. I've häd ä quick lőők ät ZőñeAläŗm's settiñgs tő see if theŗe is äñy zőñe settiñgs I cäñ pläy with, but siñce the säme cőññectiőñ pőiñt is used tő cőññect tő the ñet äñd the LAN I cäñ't seem diffeŗeñtiäte theŗe.

Añy help wőuld be muchly äppŗeciäted. (I'm ŗuññiñg XP BŦW)

GrubLord: For the most part, it should be possible to set up your firewalling goodness to allow connections from within your network, but not from without.

What this means from a casual perspective is, basically, turn off the firewall. See, as Microsoft itself agrees, the only thing that really ought to be firewalled is the gateway machine: the thing that you're connecting to the internet through in the first place.

For you, that means your router (and unless I miss my guess, the modem you refer to is in fact a wireless/ethernet router). If your router's firewall is set up correctly (usually you connect to its IP with your web browser the same way you probably did when you set up the WiFi, turn on some default security goodness "Intrusion Detection", "Block WAN Requests" and "Enable Firewall" - but you'll have to check your router manual for the exact settings) there's actually no real benefit you're getting from the firewalls in blocking data coming INTO your home machine: the advantage of, say, ZoneAlarm in such a case is in blocking specific applications' attempts to send data FROM your machine.

So long as YOU aren't the one initiating the bad connection via a bad or virused app (which ZoneAlarm should block), the router will actually immediately kill any network connection that tries to get at you from the outside, unless you specifically allow it in the router's settings.

Because your router performs a trick called Network Address Translation (NAT), to allow all the computers in your house to use the one connection, they actually appear as the one machine from the internet's perspective: and any traffic that goes to that machine is actually going to your router, which will block bad traffic and forward good traffic on to the specific machine on the network it was intended for (and it knows which machine this is basically because it only allows connections through that YOU initiated, provided you turned on the intrusion detection and block-WAN-requests).

Correct me if I'm wrong, oh other-knowledgeable-peeps, but I believe that hacking your way past the average firewalled router and network-address-translation would take such a huge amount of time, skill and dedication that if someone did actually ever get all the way to your ZoneAlarm or Windows Firewall, they would find it a laughable impediment at best.

Therefore, I suggest manually opening the file-sharing ports in your various software firewalls on your home PCs, while ensuring that the router's firewall has those ports firmly blocked.

Finally, please remember that while no-one can compromise that sort of security from withOUT, you can still compromise it from withIN your network: if you use a VPN application such as Hamachi to do, say, online gaming, what you're basically doing is opening up access to your LAN BEHIND the router to everyone on your Hamachi networks, which in turn means you lose that protection. It's a little more complicated to secure if you want to use Hamachi, etc., so if that's the case just ask again and I'll do my best to help you out.

GrubLord: Here's some more links to help you out.

teh_saq: Thanks Grüb, I'ŀŀ gîve ŧhaŧ a ŧrÿ dürîng ŧhe week.

Can'ŧ beaŧ ŧhaŧ ŊWTJ ŧeach süpporŧ

Ranneko: By the way MAC Filtering is about as useful as WEP for securing your network. I.E. Only will deter the casual attacker, anyone with a packet sniffer can simply copy the MAC address of a machine already on the network and use it fine.

WPA should be secure enough, MAC filtering really only inconveniences you without adding security.

Ranneko: Personally, with regard to the windows firewall, I recommend keeping it on, and telling it to let the apps you want to go through through. Nothing worse than having a friend accidentally infect your machine.

GrubLord: Yep, you only want to open the ports that you have to: if you turn off the firewall altogether, you lose the outbound protection as well (ie. the whole "Application X wants to connect to virus.you.in.the.butt.com. Allow?" thing).