Cracking Eggheads

So a quick update on my tutorial for securing yourself from your own ISP. Step 1 - My router arrived and is installed.  That actually went really smoothly. ASUS RT-3200 on ugly countertop Step 2 - ASUS have added the ability to connect a VPN client directly into their own ASUSWRT firmware.  Thus, I did not have to flash a custom firmware on to the router to get the VPN up and running.  (Although there were tricky settings to master - more to come on that.) Step 3 - Using the VPN has a profound effect on the performance throughput.  (Testing with wired gigabit ethernet connection.) For example - without VPN: 2 ms ping 942.94 Mbps download 942.73 Mbps upload (It's OK to be jealous.) With router-based VPN: 4ms ping 42.54 Mbps download 50.45 Mbps upload So - I'm working with the good folks at GoldenFrog to see if we can improve this before I give up.  The connection speeds with the desktop client aren't that much different. 4 ms p

 What are you going to do about it?  Fortunately, I saw this coming a while ago and have a plan that I'm happy to share.  This is what I think will work for my family and I hope you can take some of the lessons and apply them in your digital life.  Step 1 - You need your own VPN service.  You may be familiar with VPN as "the thing you use to connect to the office", but VPN technology has many other uses and now the most important one is to protect you from illicit observation.  You should find a VPN service that will work with all your digital devices, and fits in your budget.  There is simply no excuse to not use VPN nearly all of the time.  I chose VyprVPN  from GoldenFrog because I'm a spoiled neckbeard who wants and can afford the fastest and most versatile service.  There are many lower cost options available.   Find one that will work for you and do it today. I will be using VPN software on my phone, tablet, and laptop all the time - everywhere I go .

Since the natural inclination of any rational person is to engage in a tad bit of escapism when confronted by a truly terrible situation (And lest I fail to be perfectly clear, I checked with my therapist, a minor fugue state is an appropriate response to the Trump administration.) - I've invented a new drink. I call it the White Ex-Pat. Ingredients: 3 oz. fresh white organic 2% milk from a local dairy . 1 oz. authentic Canadian maple syrup. ( from Costco  if you are just dreaming of being an ex-pat). UP TO 3 oz. of AMERICAN (dammit!) craft vodka.  I suggest Titos . Shake vigorusly over ice and serve up in a crystal martini glass to reinforce your liberal elitism. Guaranteed to make you dream of living in a rational country with an attractive popular leader and fulfills my arbitrary rules about not combining caffeine and alcohol.   Dedicated to Larry Gifford .

No one likes a know-it-all.  I know, because I’ve been one all my life.  I’ve been ostracized, bullied, harassed, taunted, excluded and even beaten up by people in the course my life.  I learned early on to hide myself because even average people will seek to destroy things they can’t understand.  Lack of understanding leading to fear.  Correctly predicting the future scares people.   When Michael Moore predicted a loss for Hillary Clinton in this year’s election - many vilified him.  I agreed with him and said little.  He’s written and spoken about his observations at length, but the nutshell version is that the people in rural America are stuck.  There are diminishing economic opportunities in those regions, and they have no idea why.  My experience is that they will accept any explanation that doesn’t involve their own culpability.  My insulated liberal friends did not want to hear what I was saying.  I crave social acceptance and let it go.  It never feels good to be right whe

Doing a final edit on the short story Worklife.   Soon to be featured on NetherWords .

I've updated jefferyevansbooks.com to include progress meters on my writing projects.  So - if you are interested in how things are coming you can check updates there.