Author Archives: John

Hawaii Trip

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Since the vacation in Hawaii was a computer-free one (the laptop stayed home!), no chances to add entries while I was there. Instead, I made notes on the little pad beside the bed in the hotel and I’m going to type it all in as this one mega-entry! (As ever, click on the photos for a popup window with a larger version in it.)

Tuesday, May 18

Our flight from San Francisco, on Hawaiian Airlines landed just before lunch time. Our two friends already in Honolulu (one living there now, and the staying with her for an extended vacation) met us at the airport and came to pick up the rental mini-van with us. Then it was off to lunch at Helena’s Hawaiian Foods. Not a restaurant I would recommend to vegetarians, and perhaps I would think twice about recommending it at all – it is very much a taste of home-style Hawaiian food, and very reasonably priced.

After lunch we headed for Waikiki to check in at our hotel, the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani. Our rooms were around the back of the hotel, overlooking the parking lot, but we thought since we would be out most of the time that would be OK (according to the front desk we had already been upgraded from dumpster view rooms).

Once we were checked in and all the luggage had been delivered to the rooms (and a quick change into more appropriate clothing for the Hawaiian climate), we took a walk through the International Marketplace and the rest of the stores along the main strip of Waikiki.

To finish our first day, dinner at Duke’s Waikiki Restaurant. Duke’s is part of the TS Restaurants chain that also owns the Sunnyside Restaurant and Lodge and Jake’s on the Lake in Tahoe (both good places to eat). Duke’s has beautiful views over the beach, and was a great place to eat, have a quick drink and watch the sun set on our first (half) day in Hawaii.

Wednesday, May 19

Wednesday morning we set off relatively early (at least we thought so) for the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately, it seems that we were not early enough and despite arriving around 9:30am, we had to wait until 11:45am for our slot in the movie theatre and boat ride over to the memorial itself. While waiting we checked out the museum, the gift shop and the nearby USS Bowfin Submarine park (we did not have time to actually go into the museum though).

After USS Arizona, we headed over to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet which only operates Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. This is a good place to get Hawaiian clothing and souvenirs cheaply (the International Marketplace carries much of the same stuff, but is more expensive).

Dinner was at the Wailana Coffee House followed by dessert at Lappert’s Ice Cream and Coffee. The Wailana Coffee House is something of a diner with a local twist. Not as much home-style as Helena’s, but still includes some Hawaiian influenced dishes. Lappert’s is, as they say, gourmet ice cream. Pricey, but good.

Thursday, May 20

Thursday started with a hike up to the summit of Diamond Head State Monument. This has some pretty steep climbs (up stairs) in places, so take plenty of water and don’t rush it (one poor man had to be collected by a rescue helicopter as he fainted at the top of the steepest climb). Don’t forget the sunblock either – most of the trail is exposed and the sun burns fast! The views over Honolulu and surrounding areas though are well worth the climb.

A quick lunch back in Waikiki at Fatty’s Chinese Kitchen, a hole-in-the wall Chinese take-out, before heading over to the Ala Moana Shopping Mall. The girls did most of the shopping; the guys stopped at the Apple store and the Oakley store before heading upstairs to the Mai Tai Bar for happy hour.

Dinner at the Angelo Pietro Italian-Japanese fusion restaurant, a block or two away from Ala Moana. Yes, you did read that correctly: an Italian-Japanese fusion restaurant, and it was good too.

Friday, May 21

Friday was north shore beaches day; a quick trip up the Likelike Hwy took us to the eastern side of the island, and Kaneohe Bay. From there we went around the coast stopping at beaches along the way, taking photos, swimming and even cracking open a coconut found on the beach for a quick snack.

Our original plan had been to stop at Andy’s World-Famous Shrimp Truck, but we took too long on the beaches so instead we stopped at the Polynesian Cultural Center for a quick bite in their outdoor fast food restaurant, The Banyan Tree snack bar. We did stop by the shrimp truck later on though to grab a photo, as well as picking up a fresh pineapple from a road-side fruit bar.

In the afternoon we met some friends at Waimea Beach, then proceeded to Haleiwa for some shaved ice from Matsumoto’s Shave Ice. Not a big fan of this (I tried some at the swap meet earlier in the week too). It is too sweet from all the syrup they pour over it.

After that, a drive past Shark’s Cove and Sunset Beach (stopping for photos of course), before turning onto the Kamekameha Hwy to drop by the Dole Plantation and then back to Honolulu for dinner at Ev’s place.

Saturday, May 22

An early start for a repeat visit to the swap meet at the Aloha Stadium – to pick up the last remaining souvenirs, then on to the west coast. Stopping briefly at Ko Olina, and then on to Waianae for lunch at an L & L Drive Inn. After lunch we continued all the way up the Farrington Hwy past Barking Sands beach until the road ended at the top of Yokohama Bay. A few photos, and then back to Honolulu, stopping in at Chinatown before heading back to the hotel.

For the evening we joined the crowds on the beach in Waikiki for Sunset on the Beach – live music, then as the sun sets they pull up a giant movie screen and show a movie (we saw Miracle, the movie about the 1980 US Olympic ice hockey team). Sadly it seems as the council is trying to cancel the Sunset on the Beach events – that would be a big shame as it was a very pleasant way to spend the evening on the beach.

After the movie we grabbed a bite to eat at a small Japanese restaurant just across the street from the beach before heading to bed.

Sunday, May 23

Sunday morning we headed out to hike up to Manoa Falls – just on the edge of Honolulu. We were not really prepared for a hike through what is essentially a rainforest (and was making it quite clear where that term came from). The hike itself is relatively gentle, and certainly easier than the Diamond Head one, but having the correct footwear is essential as the trail becomes wet and slippery in many places. The scenery alongside the trail is dense and very green. At the top is the waterfall; not the most impressive waterfall I’ve seen, but still worth the walk.

Having been drenched by the hike (from the almost continual rain), we headed back to the hotel for a shower and change of clothing. Then it was round to the food court at the International Marketplace for lunch and some shopping at the DFS Galleria.

In the evening we headed back out to Ko Olina, just off the western end of H1, for a Lu’au at Paradise Cove. We were there early enough that there were no lines for the activities when we got in. While the girls worked on thread lei-style bracelets and braiding grasses into anklets and headbands, the guys tried spear throwing, bowling rocks and pegs and other games in exchange for shell necklaces. Then on for a quick ttemporary tattoo before meeting up with the girls again for a trip in an outrigger canoe around the little bay.

As the sun set we watched some traditional ceremonies near the roasting pit, snapped some shots of the sunset and then went back to the main area for dinner. Food was so-so (for vegetarians they did a large plate of salad and pasta), the entertainment though was excellent, including some impressing fire dances.

Monday, May 24

For our last day the plan was to check out the south east part of the island, starting at the Hanauma Bay Nature Park where, after a short video explaining the rules of the bay (which is a nature preserve) we trekked down the hill to the beach, rented snorkelling gear and headed into the bay to check out the sealife. And it was amazing. A huge assortment of brightly coloured fish, large and small, and brightly coloured corals too. Truly a magnificent place, and if I lived on the island I think it would become a regular destination for me! Don’t miss this one.

After the snokelling, we grabbed lunch to go and then drove north to find Lanikai Beach and then back down H3 to the city in time to catch the Blue Hawaii show at the Waikiki Beachcomber hotel.

After the show we walked down the Waikiki main street to the All Star Hawaii restaurant for dinner.

Tuesday, May 25

Up early to finish packing, then out to buy some peanut butter mochi for a friend, pick up some food for lunch at the airport and then return the rental and catch our flight home. Vacation in Hawaii over.

Wireless TVs

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I first saw a wireless TV panel a few years ago when my former employer had one that was shown on its trade show booths (they had provided the OS for the product). That was a first generation Sony Air Board, and they were available only in Japan, and had a user interface that was entirely Japanese.

Sony now has a newer version of that product, the Air Board LF-X1.

According to Akibalive, this panel uses a proprietary extension to Wi-Fi to boost performance, although they also quote a maximum of 15Mbps, which would be slow even for regular 802.11a or 802.11g connections (my SMC 802.11g access point will do over 20Mbps, and I have seen 802.11g systems go as high as 29Mbps in TCP throughput tests).

TechTV is showing a splash proof equivalent from Casio, the Xfer. They comment on the problems of range (basically, get too far from the thing’s base station and the video becomes choppy). The same was apparent on the Sony device I played with, and probably won’t be something that will get much better with current generation 802.11 technologies – at 60 feet 802.11 will still have a connection, but not at the full data rate. As an example, I am averaging 24Mbps to my PowerBook through an access point I am testing today when in the same room; walking to the other side of my 1 bedroom apartment though, the data rate was slashed in half, and also suffered from occasional dips below 10Mbps. If the video stream was expecting to use more than 12Mbps, that will translate to dropped frames.

Gokart Racer

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Yesterday was a ‘boys day out’ for one of my friends, Anthony, who is getting married later this year. The days’ events consisted of a Monoco style race at the Gokart Racer indoor go kart racing center in Burlingame.

After that, lunch at the nearby Elephant Bar, then down for a little bit of shopping at Fry’s Electronics in Palo Alto (though none of us bought anything other than a drink in the in-store cafe).

Finally, dinner at Sushi Maru in Sunnyvale.

The girls spent yesterday up in Napa at a spa, followed by dinner at the Culinary Institute’s Greystone restaurant in St. Helena.

Wireless Security

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An article online at the Denver Post reports that a local TV channel demonstrated the lack of security in wireless neworking by showing that they could gather personal information from a traveller at Denver’s airport when it was sent unencrypted over a wireless link at an airport hot-spot.

Clearly some sensationalised reporting since it would be silly for the traveller whose information they sniffed from the air to be sending such personal information unencrypted anywhere over the internet, wireless or not.

That said, at least for hot-spots that require a username & password before you can connect (such as the T-Mobile ones in many airports and coffee shops) there is a good solution: WPA with 802.1X authentication. Both are built into Windows XP and MacOS 10.3, and can be added to Linux easily (see http://hostap.epitest.fi/). This will allow for authentication, and perhaps more importantly, encryption. When WPA2 becomes available that will further enhance the security of the connection to the access point.

Of course, that only encrypts the connection to the local access point. Once there, it is back in plain text for the rest of its journey unless some other form of encryption is in use (VPN, SSL etc).

Web email portals, such as Yahoo! Mail could help here by providing SSL access to their email portals. Yahoo does at least offer secure login to protect your username & password from sniffers (though why it is not the default puzzles me). Adding fully secure access would seem like a sensible next step. Banks and other financial institutions, as well as the checkout pages of most online stores already use this technology so it is not something that is new or unknown by end users. Longer term it would be nice to see all IP traffic being secured (in addition to the planned improvements to the security on the wireless link).

Free Wi-Fi Antenna

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Saw a segment on TV about a website devoted to free antenna designs for wireless, including Wi-Fi. In particular, there was a design for some simple parabolic reflectors to place on the little rubber-duck antennae that are common on most home gateway/access point devices, such as my Linksys BEFW11S4 and its newer companion the SMC 2804WBRP-G.

So, if you have your access point in the corner of your home, and there are areas that are perhaps not well covered at the moment, these would make a really simple booster and for the price of a piece of card and some aluminium foil well worth trying before you invest in a second AP to improve the coverage.

Blog Spam

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I’ve had a little spate of blog spam recently (for those that don’t know what this is, imagine the spam you get in your mailbox for adult products, but posted as a comment on a blog entry). I can’t tell if the choice of entry is random, or whether they are picking on specific keywords – they are all older entries though.

I have MovableType set to email me whenever a comment is posted, so removing them so far has not been a major problem (along with banning the IP address they originated from, though that is almost not worth it since they are most often dynamically assigned, and these people jump from ISP to ISP anyway).

Instead, I chose to search out some countermeasures. The goal was to make sure that anybody posting a comment did not have to suffer, but any bots out there scanning for comment posting links would be confused. I found a lot of good information for MovableType users at Yoz Grahame’s blog, and also a reference there to this entry at Burningburd both of which provided some useful suggestions for simple countermeasures. More robust techniques are probably needed for the scum who are posting this stuff manually.

For those interested, here’s the hall of shame to date (i.e. the domains where the postings came from):

Domain Owner Contact E-Mail
movi.com.ar Cooperativa de Credito Santa Elena josemedina@ADVANCEDSL.COM.AR
fibertel.com.ar Fibertel TCI platini@FIBERTEL.COM.AR
cox.net Cox Communications abuse@COX.NET

Ultimate Bath

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Moving on from previous bathroom furniture postings which concentrated on the toilet, the La Scala from Jacuzzi is perhaps the ultimate bath tub. To give you an idea of what we are talking about, here are a few of features (taken from the full list on the product’s webpage):

  • DVD System.
  • State-of-the art entertainment center, with a 43″ high definition flat screen television.
  • Floating remote control.
  • Underwater lighting.
  • Built-in CD/AM/FM stereo with remote control.
  • Surround sound system.

Notice the focus on entertainment there? Of course, the thing is also packed with water jets and all the other features one would expect in a top-of-the-line whirlpool bath.

The price for this experience? A little bit over $30,000, excluding iinstallation.

T-Mobile Cellular

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Seems that I’m not the only one who finds T-Mobile’s cellular support folks to be the best in the industry: check out T-Mobile USA’s Handset Unlocking Policy on the Operation Gadget site for another story of excellent customer service from T-Mobile.

While on the subject of cellular, there’s an interesting article about mistakes made by the the disaster called AT&T Wireless. Very interesting reading, and perhaps a clue to some of the problems they’ve had with customer support lately.

DirecTV & Electronics Enthusiasts

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Almost a year ago, Kevin Poulsen wrote an article at SecurityFocus.com describing the tactics that DirecTV was using to home in on satellite TV pirates. Problem is that detecting who is receiving a satellite signal is very hard (though the dish on the side of the house might be a giveaway in many cases). So DTV resorted to chasing the people selling the equipment that could be used to hack their system receivers and smartcards.

Problem there is that electronics enthusiasts, and even some potential entrepreneurs such as the doctor mentioned in the story above, have perfectly legitimate uses for this equipment. DTV is not the only company using smart card technology, nor do they have any right to restrict who uses the technology. Sure, DTV has a right to prevent people stealing their signal, but as many seem to be forgetting in this country, people are innocent until proven guilty.

Yesterday, SecurityFocus published a new story from Kevin Poulsen about one John Fisher, a former employee of DTV who was tasked with getting settlements from people who had bought this type of equipment, many of whom had simply had an interest in smartcard technology. John Fisher is now filing suit against DTV for asking him to do unethical, and perhaps even illegal, things as part of his job, thereby forcing him to resign. Don’t know how I feel about that as a case in itself, but his filing makes for interesting reading about the tactics DTV was allegedly using. The account on page 10 of the filing, where DTV was allegedly trying to get a $3500 settlement from a person who bought a leather pouch is especially good, as is the case on page 30 where the accused points out that he was regularly paying for his DirecTV service at the time, but was still told he had to pay the settlement for purchasing an illegal programming device.

Wireless News Roundup

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Wireless Guest Access at the American University: The Register reports that the American University campus in Washington DC is now a T-Mobile hotspot, but one that is providing free access to users. Since the university already has a campus-wide WLAN of its own for use by students and staff, this new one is intended to be for guests on the campus. The deal also includes some discount rates for students and staff when using off-campus T-Mobile hotspots and cellular service.

Gateway™ 7001 A+G available: The second of the Gateway Computers wireless access points that Instant802 provided the software for is now up on the Gateway website. Also available now, for those after more in-depth info about the unit’s capabilities (including the support for guest access), is the user guide.

SBC Park in San Francisco goes Wireless: SBC Park, home of the SF Giants baseball team, has installed a wireless hotspot which will provide free access to the internet and also to the digital dugout during games. Check out the story in the San Jose Mercury News – interestingly, I could not find any mention of it on the SF Giants/SBC Park website.