Category: Uncategorized

I’ve been trying to get the look and feel of this site to a point where I’m happy again and something that has bothered me for some time now is the date at the top of the pages. This was a weird theme decision in my opinion. For what reason would a “static?” page need to have a date at the top of it?

Development and coding are not in my wheelhouse but I’ve always been to understand php and some other languages well enough that I can typically make small changes. In this case, I was able to remove the date from the top of the Page Template (page.php) file.

To do this, remove <?php the_date(); ?) from the page.php template.  Appearance –> Editor –> Page Template (page.php)

Click Update File and you’re done.

That’s it!

 

Note: There is probably a better way to accomplish this but until I discover it, I’ll just have to fix the template any time their is an update.  Not a huge deal I suppose.

Lately with my pfSense firewall project I’ve been pretty busy with the configuration but now that I’m slowing down a little and finishing up the last bits, I can concentrate on a very important part of any firewall or server for that matter. I needed a way to test the amount of data (throughput) that the link outside of my firewall could handle and also test the processor and disk usages when at load (performance). I accomplished this by using TTCP, a utility that allows you to send and receive multiple threads of TCP data. At the end of the test, which usually takes about a minute and a half, you get a display of how long the test took, what your buffer size was (that can be modified), and what your total throughput was. The binaries for Windows and other OS’ can be downloaded from here. You will need to have this running two or more computers to get any kind of results. The “receiver” is ran accordingly:

pcattcp.exe -r

The transmitter, another computer on a remote segment of the network can be run with:

pcattcp.exe -t 10.0.0.20

The software will then work it’s magic and give you the report at the end of the test. To test from multiple locations, you can launch multiple sessions one right after another on the receiver side and have multiple computers be transmitters to that single receiver.

The diagram below illustrates what I am speaking to accomplish with this.

Alternatives to TTCP would be iperf and qcheck as well as a whole lot more.

My father subscribes to Inc. magazine which is one of my favorites. I don’t get a subscription because my dad gives them to me when he’s done and I’m cheap. I think you already knew that from my previous posts of “free” tech, but just in case you didn’t know….I am cheap. This in it’s own way is an environmentally friendly gesture. Less paper prints, or I would like to think so anyways, though, I’m sure they have a set number of prints they must roll out, I just don’t participate in the disposal of those prints, and tree killing. 🙂 I’m not a tree hugger, but I hate printing things out when I don’t have to. The same goes for technical things, if I can get it on the computer, I will. It’s searchable, highlightable, and saveable. SHSable.

OK, back to the original subject. Approximately 14,000 blogs have agreed today to post something about the environment. This could include how to’s for making your own Eco friendly detergents, cleaners, or batteries. It could include how to make a solar grid work for your home, install a wind generator, or even explain the benefits of geothermal heat. The reason I mentioned Inc. magazine was it’s never ending ability to always put an Eco friendly spin on technology, include articles about businesses and entrepreneurs who are Eco friendly and they look good doing it. Just go to the website, http://www.inc.com and see for yourself.

Here are a few of my favorite Eco friendly videos. It really makes you wonder what they will come out with next.

Water::..

Solar::..

Wind::..

Earth::..

Captain Planet::..