null's journal

Wed, October 12 - I learn that Sunrise, my cellphone provider, allows me to manage every aspect of my account on the internet. A password is sent to my phone upon request and I start poking around the site rightaway. An item labeled "sunrise webphone" catches my attention. They offer full-fledged VoIP & POTS telephone service for 5.90/month, 2 hours included, free from VoIP to VoIP and I get to choose the phone number. I compare it to my 25.00/month, no free minutes included, expensive Swisscom landline. The decision to place an order is easy.

Fri, October 14 - the letter with my password arrives. I start playing around with X-Lite. I can make calls, but not be called. I hope this will be better with the equipment they promised to send me.

Mon, Ocober 17 - the "starter package" arrives. The shelf of electronic gadgets in my room is extended by a small black box labeled Zyxel Prestige 2302R, a so-called ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) sitting on the server next to the UPS. This box is pretty cool but somewhat stupid, it expects to be connected directly to the internet and offers mediocre NAT/firewall services with private IPs to all other devices. I just know that my server doesn't like the idea of sitting behind this box, so I try to add it to my LAN. I quickly find out that a VoIP device behind a firewall and a NAT server is a nightmare to configure.
I set the NAT server to forward port 5060/UDP, which is used for SIP, to the ATA. The device registers, both inbound and outbound calls work. Crystal clear communication even with eMule, a large download and a busy web server fighting over the available bandwith with the VoIP app. I'm happy!

Tue, Oct 18 - The phone is dead. The ATA says it can't register. My network sniffer says it doesn't even attempt to connect. I play with the settings for half an hour before I give up and reset the darn thing. I enter my username and password and it works again. Happy!

Tue, Oct 18, later - The phone is dead again. I try to fix it for a couple of hours. When I reset & reconfigure it, it works for a few minutes and then it can't connect anymore. The latest firmware update they offer is one minor version behind the one on my device. I'm pissed off.

Wed, Oct 19 - I learn that RTP, the actual protocol used to transmit the conversation, may use any UDP port from 10000-50000 (quite the modest protocol). I inform the NAT server of that fact.
I find out that when I give that Zyxel thing a static IP address it goes crazy after a while, and when it obtains the exact same data over DHCP, it works. They could have mentioned that in their manual!
The darn thing still announces its private IP th the SIP proxy, but at least the proxy seems to be smart enough to ignore it.
Anyway, phone works, I'm happy!

Now to talk all my friends into getting VoIP so I can chat with them for free.

This post was edited by null on Oct 27, 2005.

I'm putting this in my journal because it's not of too much public interest. :-) If you were having trouble reaching NAO today from 11:15-12:20 GMT (coincidentally, my lunch break), it was because of a server upgrade on short notice. Everything should be back to normal now.

This is what NAO's new home looks like from the outside.

Fresh bread and orange juice for breakfast.
Lazing on a Sunday afternoon.
Talking about important and unimportant things with a dear person next to you.
Grabbing your special one and make them dance to 70's love songs, even tho both of you are most likely the worst dancers in the world.
The blue sky and fresh snow outside - and consequently, going for a walk.

Isn't it the small things that tell you that life itself just rules. :-)

Today I've learned that a packet to the USA may not contain more than 2kg of chocolate. Supposedly it's due to some anti-terrorism regulation.
Now I don't know what the *#@&% they think we put in our chocolate, but could somebody enlighten me what our chocolate has to do with terrorism? Do they expect it to be communist or or islamic, or is Swiss chocolate now considered a chemical weapon? It's not that bad, you know! I'm genuinely curious.

On DRS3 (well-known Swiss radio station) they've had a special week about speeders. Why some people speed, why they think it's cool, how many accidents they cause each year and how (if at all) speeding could be done away with by law. It's not about people who maybe go 55 or 60 in a 50 zone, but about those who drive 80km/h in cities, and 180 or more on highways (where the official limit is 120). Some people just don't seem to be frightened by large fines and/or suspension of their licence.

I have just the solution.

Fine them and take their licence away, as it is now.
Then scrap their cars and make them watch it and pay for it.

Think about it. Most speeders have fancy cars because they need to compensate for something: small weener, lack of confidence or coolness. (Which is perfectly okay by me, as long as they drive responsibly.) They're not intimidated by speeding tickets, heck, they even fucking brag about it! "Man, the other day the cops caught me with some 200km/h." - "Whoa, cool!" What a pathetic bunch of miserable losers.
I say, take their cars away. Take away whatever kind of compensation they seek by speeding. If they still don't get it, tattoo LOSER on their foreheads. That will teach them. Keep the streets safe.

To make driving even more pleasurable and safe, I would also introduce much harsher fines for slow driving. Anybody driving much too slow for no reason should be punished. This especially includes angst-ridden chicks who barely can drive (and usually have their fog lights on because they think it's the rear-window defroster and flip you the bird when you gesture them to turn it off), old people with bad eyes who drive with their nose on the windshield so they can see at least a few cm of road beyond their bonnet, and last but not least, men with hats! For some unknown reason they are the worst.

Unfortunately it will probably take years until appropriate laws have been passed by our slow-working (sic) government. That's why I'm planning to equip my car with an automatic machine gun and two batteries of short-range car-car missiles.

Today's advice for housewives: Tea tree oil is, apart from its stench smell, a truly great thing. Not only has it a soothing effect on the skin and small wounds, it is also anti-inflammatory and cleansing and generally well-tolerated. It helps with irritated or bad skin, small wounds, insect stings (hey Martin, hint hint), first-degree burns, even light colds.
But don't let it get into your nose.

Bergkh. *blows nose*