Wake On Lan (sparkly Magic Packets)

I just found a way to start up my computer remotely. The problem: I have a computer at home that is my personal repository of all things Aron. I don't normally leave it on (because the best security is the "off switch"... and to save power) but sometimes I want something off of it. I have an always-on network connection, so I have the necessary technology to get there, but what if my computer is turned off? Most people would give up at this point, but not me! My computer is equipped with WakeOnLan technology. You may have heard about WakeOnLan (or WOL) technologies, but if you haven't, here is a short synopsis. Most modern computers never really turn off unless you unplug them. When you shutdown the computer, it lies dormant, but a WOL enabled machine maintains some power to the network card, which is listening... (you can tell because the network card light continues to flash even when the computer is shutdown). The network card is listening for something called a "magic packet". This packet consists of the MAC address (a low level factory assigned hardware address) of the network card repeated 16 times. If the network card hears this packet, it immediately starts the computer. The network card is listening, but only on a very low level. (The computer is sorta "sleeping" but if it hears its name often enough it will wake up...) The IP address (which is assigned at a higher level than the MAC address) is how you would usually address a computer on the network, but it doesn't apply when the computer is off, because it requires some "higher brain functions" of the computer, so the magic packet must be broadcast across the network (just like your mama "broadcasting" your full name on saturday mornings when she wants you to do something and you just wanna sleep!) This morning I found a way to start my computer remotely. Requirements:

• WOL enabled computer (most newer computers have the technology, but just need it turned on in the BIOS or the operating system.)
• Magic Packets enabled on your network card
• Verified ability to start your computer within the local network
• Router
• An open port on that router
• DDNS service running (if you have a dynamic IP address)

There are three steps to actually setting up the remote start.

1. Retrieving the MAC address of your computer
2. Setting up router to forward the "Magic Packets"
3. Sending the magic packets to your computer

Retrieving the MAC address:
To retrieve the MAC address of your computer, you would open a command line window (Start-Run-"cmd") and type "ipconfig /all". This will give you lots of info, but the important part is the 6 hex digits which is your MAC address. Copy that down for later. Setting up the router:
This will vary depending on your router's make and model, but what you want to do is point that open port to the broadcast address on your network (On my network this is 192.168.1.255). The local broadcast address only works within the local network (which is a good thing for the health of the internet) so you hafta be on the local network or have a friend on the local network (which is what the router is for) that will broadcast your packet for you. Sending the magic packets: You can find a utility to send these packets here. Near the bottom of the page is a link to the AMD magic packet utility. This utility will ask you for a broadcast address (which is just the DDNS name you have registered) and the MAC address you got in step 1 to send a "Magic Packet" to your computer. Finally you don't have to worry about leaving your computer on when you need to remotely access it. As long as your broadband is up, and the router is properly set up and working, you can always get to your computer.

Chronicles of Narnia

C.S. Lewis's Miracles is a good book to read before (or after) you read Chronicles of Narnia. It gives a philosophical basis for why the story could actually happen and shows the mind of the man (C.S. Lewis) rather well.

Sunday Wisdom

This sunday evening our pastor preached on John 19 especially vs. 25, 26, and 27. John was the only disciple represented at the foot of the cross, but he also ran away when Jesus was taken. The pastor had many points, but the most important, to me, was this one. John wandered from Christ (actually ran away). You would think Jesus would chastise him for it, but instead, when he came back, Jesus had an important job for him. This applies for me lately. May path lately hasn't really been straight. Actually, my whole spiritual road hasn't really been straight. Bunyan wrote of a man traveling on a journey as an analogy of the Christian's life, and the image is a powerful one. Sometimes I think of this path as a straight one. As if once you pass through the right gate you have a straight (though uphill) path to heaven. I am evidently mistaken. The gate may be straight, but the path sure hasn't been in my experience. This should not be. When we want to get somewhere, we don't take the "scenic route"; we plot a straight line. The ultimate joy is in the destination, not the journey. Side trips only slow us down. How marvelously patient is our guide, who waits on the path for us to return. What mercy, that he comes to get us when we cannot return to Him. What love, that He cleanses us again from the dirt that we have gathered in our wanderings off the path. What redeeming love, when He binds up the wounds that have been caused by our refusal to stop and turn around. What we should do is ask for directions as soon as we realize we are wandering. What we really should do is read and follow the directions he left us, to get to His house. There is the party that never ends, all to His Glory as He deserves.

Starchy Wisdom

You can learn a lot from starch...

• Rice: Don't sweat the small stuff.
(or maybe I am just a little O.C.D..)
• Pasta: Life is supposed to be messy.
It is more fun that way.
• Potatoes: Good things take time.
Assuming the potatoe is baked...

Hmmm... anyway... I should be headed for great things... I spell potatoe like a vice president.(and I am consistent too!)

count(Blessings)

Lately I have been feeling sorta down, for reasons that are entirely preventable. I chose to hack code instead of going to social events, and this ended up taking over my weekend. I am starting to see that something is not necessarily worth doing just because (1)it is cool, and (2)I can think of a way to do it...
Anyway, because of these happenings, I feel sorta down.
(The rather pathetic part of all this is that I don't know if anyone is reading this... so is this even worth doing...?)
Most of the reason I get feeling _down, is that I am afraid I will end up all alone and no one will ever love me... I wonder if maybe I am a person only God could love... but then my compulsive honesty kicks in, and I have to qualify it with:

and...
1. Mom
2. Dad
3. 6 siblings
4. 3 (soon 4) brothers in law
5. 3 nephews
6. 2 nieces

... so I guess I am pretty blessed really. Then there is the people at church... (why did I skip today? Listening to a sermon at home is NOT the same as joining a congregational body...)
But family love is different. Family loves because the common ancestry holds us together (blood is thicker than water). Church members only see you at church and don't really know the real me. Only one member of my church really knows me and she hates me now...
I need to know if there is someone besides God that could know me and still love me... I am starting to think it would take a miracle. Of course, being a social gimp like I am... and not being able to remember people's names, and not being able to carry a conversation in a bucket...
It. would. take. a. miracle!
So while I wait.. this represents the life.

while (!getGirl()){
   count(Blessings);
}

Value of Things

I just got a job, and it is a 40 minute commute, so I've been thinking about moving. Whenever I move, I use the opportunity to throw out stuff I haven't used in a while. This hurts my Dutch/Packrat side, but I have built an elaborate philosophical reasoning to allow me to throw things out.

• Things don't matter, memories matter.

• Matter = Energy + Information

  All matter in the universe is essentially energy. This is what E=mc² means, (though the formula doesn't show that information is lost in the transition). The only difference between gold and lead is the information that the energy contains. If the information in the matter could be extracted, then that matter could be reconstructed with "different" energy and still be the same matter.

This theory also solves the dilemma about ressurection. The body is made of matter which is really energy and information. When we die, the energy from our bodies is returned to the system to be reused (some of the information remains), but a complete copy of the information is saved by God to allow our bodies to be reconstructed at the last day. Thus the resurrected body is the same body, even though it may not be the same information. This is just like saving your word document on a floppy, and storing it for a few years, and then restoring it later. It isn't like the document takes up the same physical sectors of the hard drive after restore, but it is the same document. Information is not a soul, though. The soul goes to God from whence it came, but a soul is not of this natural world, and therefore can't be quantified by natural mathematical theories. Ok, back to my original point... I don't have to be a packrat and hold onto things that have sentimental value, because the formula can be restated as:

• Things = Energy + Memories

The boxes and boxes of pictures of old friends are only valuable because of the memories they contain. If we save the memories, or save the information contained in them (like digitizing them) then the pictures are worthless. The only other use is as a back-up to our mental or digital memories, as well as a form of pointer that allows us to retrieve information from our brains, that we have lost our reference to. Forgetting is not really losing the information from our brains, but rather losing references to it. I don't think the brain is limited in space, so there isn't any reason to run any garbage collector. The information stays there, but there is no way to get to it, unless we have an external pointer to it. More on this later...

Speaking of Universes...

The Real universe has a few wonders of its own.

I got a job.... I think that's pretty wonderful. But beyond my petty little achievements are the stars... (You will need a properly powerful computer, and a pretty big screen to truly appreciate the wonder of the thing, but the install should only take a moment, and let me tell you, it is worth it.)