Bob’s Slice of the Internet

Posted on Monday, 29th June 2009 by Bob

This is a quick note for geeks with kids who want to do what they can to keep them (relatively) safe on the internet.

The goal of this little initiative is to keep my technology-loving son Alex out of harm’s way on the internet.  The last time he had internet access he was downloading cool mouse cursors and got himself a nasty bug.  To prevent that from happening again, or more accurately to try to prevent that from happening again, I needed a desktop app (Avast! AV and Spybot Search and Destroy) as well as a network-based approach to keep the nasties off my machines.

Since I run an SBS server here at home, this is relatively easy to do – I set up a dedicated proxy server along side the SBS system that is running Linux (Centos 5.3), and did the following:

1. Add a static DHCP reservation for the kids’ PC in DHCP.
2. Add a firewall rule that blocks all traffic from their computer to anywhere outside of the home network.
3. Set up a proxy server with the following goodies:
   1. Squid Cache (http://www.squid-cache.org)
   2. Squid Guard (http://www.squidguard.org) – inputs filtering and content-blocking of sites.
   3. HAVP – (install details at http://blog.doylenet.net/?p=46) – this will add in-stream anti-virus using ClamAV as well – so you get content blocking and virus scanning in one system)
4. Set the kids’ programs to use the proxy server you built, and away you go.

Did this over the weekend for Alex’s computer, effectively keeping him from downloading any more bad stuff

Bob

Posted in Family, Technology | Comments (0)

Posted on Friday, 19th June 2009 by Bob

Well, the hardware arrived yesterday, and last night I had the chance to put most of it together.  Since there are a lot of things I will be writing down, I moved the info from blog posts to actual pages, so RSS feeds won’t reflect the changes…  Please check out the latest pages on the peripherals and hardware assembly.

Bob

Tags: carputer, jeep, Jeep Carputer, jk
Posted in Jeep Carputer, Jeep Information | Comments (0)

Posted on Saturday, 13th June 2009 by Bob

Linux? Nope.  Vista? HELL no.  XP? Yup – I need something small(ish), fast, reliable, with a lot of driver support, and the ability to be run on small(ish) hardware.  So XP Pro it is. Read the rest of this entry…

Tags: carputer, jeep, Jeep Carputer, jeep computer, jeep jk
Posted in Jeep Carputer, Jeep Information | Comments (1)

Posted on Friday, 12th June 2009 by Bob

The inside of a Jeep Wrangler is about as spartan as they come and limited in space – so finding the right hardware is important.  There is no room under the back seats (well there is, but it is eliminated when you fold down the back seats) and space under the front seats is limited due to electronic components attached to the bottom of the seats.

While searching online, I found a great site – www.mini-box.com – that has VERY small mini-ITX systems, and incredible prices.  After pouring through tons of information online, i ended up getting the following components (should arrive next week – sweet!) Read the rest of this entry…

Posted in Jeep Carputer, Jeep Information | Comments (1)

Posted on Friday, 12th June 2009 by Bob

Well, I have had this thing sitting on my desk in my home basement for probably close to a year, and have had lots of little tinkerings that I have been doing, but since I have been swapping cars a lot lately, it hasn’t been real practical to actually get it installed in anything. I was going to put it in the Excursion, but traded that in for a Magnum. I was going to put it in the Magnum, but it turned out to be a lemon, so I traded that back and got a Jeep. I was going to put it in the Jeep (2007 JK Unlimited) but never really got around to it because I had my Garmin GPS on the dash, and that was enough…

… until…

…some asswipe stole my GPS out of the Jeep. So now I have the option – spend the $$ on another GPS unit, or get off my ass and get the Carputer (now Jeeputer)up and running and installed.

So out of the drawer has come the unit, and I will be getting the rest of the goodies up and together and mounted in the truck. I will also try to upload here any tips/tricks/software I find along the way.

So I will start a new series of pages her to document the process as well as putting as many details as possible up here to make life easier for anyone who wanted to do this on their own.

More coming,

Bob

Posted in Jeep Carputer, Jeep Information, Jeep Mods, Technology | Comments (0)

Posted on Wednesday, 6th May 2009 by Bob

Since this was such a pain to get the hang of, thought I would share this.

Posted in Jeep Information | Comments (0)

Posted on Friday, 24th April 2009 by Bob

Disable the Constant Seatbelt Warning chimes (source: JeepForum.com)

I wear my seat belt for the most part, for i’ve been in one too many accidents in my lifetime. BUT to have that chime just continually go off, even pulling forward or backward in my longer than normal drive way is just freaking annoying. so:

Here are the steps to deactivate the chime (picked this up from another forum, should be in the owner’s manual, too):

1. turn the ignition switch to the OFF position, and buckle your seat belt while sitting in the drivers seat.
2. turn the ignition key to the ACCESSORY/RUN position (engine does not need to be running), and wait for the seat belt warning light to turn off.
3. unbuckle and then re-buckle your seat belt at least three times within 10 seconds, ending with theseat belt buckled. then start the jeep. (i don’t know if starting is necessary, but i did it)
4. turn the ignition key to the OFF position. A single chime will sound to signify that you have successfully completed the programming.

Next time you start the jeep, you’ll hear the initial fasten seat belt chimes, but the continuous chiming reminder will be turned off. the light in the dash will remain on, though.

Posted in Jeep Mods | Comments (0)

Posted on Friday, 24th April 2009 by Bob

WARNING:With ESP in the permanent disabled mode, the enhanced vehicle stability offered by the Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and Electronic Roll Mitigation (ERM) systems is unavailable. In an emergency evasive maneuver, the ESP and ERM systems will not engage to assist in maintaining vehicle stability. This disabled mode is intended for off-road use only. Vehicle modifications requiring the owner to configure the vehicle in the ESP disabled mode, will seriously affect the vehicle roadworthiness, safety, and may lead to loss of control and/or accident resulting in serious injury or fatal injuries.

Procedure To Turn ON (or OFF) The Permanent ESP Disable Feature:

1. Verify that the automatic transmission selector is in the “Park” position, and that a manual transmission is in neutral gear.
2. Start the vehicle engine and wait approximately five (5) seconds for the system bulb check to complete.
3. Shift the transfer case into the 4H range position. Firmly set parking brake.
4. Turn the steering wheel until it is centered and the wheels are pointed straight ahead.
5. Turn the steering wheel one-half (½) turn to the right (clockwise). HOLD steering wheel in this position.
6. Press and hold the “ESP OFF” button for 7 seconds. Release the “ESP OFF” button right after 7 seconds. Wait for chime.
7. Turn the steering wheel back to center, then turn the steering wheel one-half (½) turn to the left (counterclockwise). HOLD the steering wheel in this position.
8. Press and hold the “ESP OFF” button for 7 seconds. Release the “ESP OFF” button right after 7 seconds. Wait for chime.
9. Turn the steering wheel back to center.
10. Press and hold the “ESP OFF” button for 7 seconds. Release the “ESP OFF” button right after 7 seconds. Wait for chime.
11. Cycle the ignition switch to the “OFF” position.

While the Permanent ESP Disable feature is turned on, the vehicle will display the following:

1. The ESP telltale in the instrument cluster will be illuminated.
2. The vehicle odometer will display a “ESP OFF” message.

To Turn OFF The Permanent ESP Disable Feature

1. Repeat the above procedure (in Step 1).

Tags: disable esp, esp, jeep, jk
Posted in Jeep Information | Comments (0)

Posted on Saturday, 28th March 2009 by Bob

Unfortunately, I have the distinct displeasure of rebuilding my Blackberry several times over the last 2 days.  After disconnecting from the corporate BES server and purchasing my own device, every time I go to synch my contacts and calendar, I end up with the corporate IT policy all over again.

So needless to say, I have had to rebuild this thing a few times – so I am putting together this list to help you find cool stuff and for me to be able to browse to this page and re-download everything all over again
Read the rest of this entry…

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Posted on Saturday, 28th March 2009 by Bob

I got the engine out, power-washed, and the AFR 165’s installed.  The intake ports are MUCH larger than stock:

Stock E7 heads: ~1″W x 1.9″ High
AFR 165 Heads:  ~1.125 X 2.0″h
Trick Flow R-Series runners: ~1.375″w x 2.125″H

So out came the porting kit to open up the intake ports to match.  Thank god they are aluminum!  Took a few tries with Summit to find the right gasket with the right port sizes, but got that figured out finally.

With the engine out of the bay, i also started cleaning everything under the hood out and shooting the interior primer and paint just to clean it up.  Went with Hammered Black over grey primer so that the grey shows through the fish-eye – looks very cool.  Once I get under the hood done, I am going to give the bottom of the cowl hood the same treatment.

One thing I found is that 20 years of grease and grime are stupid hard to clean – especially if the engine had an oil leak.  Getting the K-member cleaned up is going to take FOREVER.  I just pulled in some side work, so once I get the $$ from that, I am going to pick up a front K-member for it.  It needs struts, ball-joints, bushings, springs, and an alignment anyways, I can get all those goodies for pretty much the same price as all those OEM parts together as a kit, plus gain the extra benefits of adjustable front suspension and better handling.   LOL at this rate, there won’t be much that hasn’t been replaced

Once the heads are back on, I can at least get the trans and rest of the driveline in place.  Can’t wait since the weather is getting nicer!

More soon.

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