The Blog of Steve

Nintendo Wii Wireless Wierdness

Hmm, long time with few posts. Have been getting stuck into facebook a bit.

That said, I have found something odd in configuration of our Nintendo Wii that may be of assistance to some.

But first, a bit of background information:

At home, we have a wired network with a number of devices hanging off it. In addition to this we have also had wireless that I used with my laptop and my mobile phone around the house. The complication arose when we added another three devices onto the network, it was basically observed that there was a decrease in performance (as expected) of performance. There was also the issue that coverage was weak at points. To address this, I set up a 2nd wireless access point with the same SSID and security details on a seperate channel (ie: 6 channels away from the existing one)

It seemed for a while that devices would happily roam between them and select whichever had the strongest signal and connect, increasing the capacity of the network.

The following problem arose however.

It seemed that, for reasons unknown, the Nintendo Wii would no longer connect to the network. It would work fine when the 2nd (new) AP was disabled but would also not connect to the 2nd AP. Basically, it would seem that Nintendo have elected to make the wireless profiles use a specific BSSID (ie: not just SSID) and that it did not like having a 2nd BSSID using the SSID that it was configured to use.

The fix for this was fairly simply but not entirely standard.

Basically, on the 2nd AP, I cloned its wireless MAC from AP#1 so that they both shared a common BSSID. So what we not have is fairly nonstandard in that we have the same BSSID shared between two physical access points, just on different channels.

It did however make the Wii happily connect. Furthermore, none of my wireless devices have any issue roaming between the two at all (due to the break/make nature of 802.11 they will drop a few packets). Happy days.

Increased capacity and also increased coverage and noise tolerance.

Just on the side, it may also be worth knowing that my experience has been that the Wii also doesn't like it if you have your AP to use "Short Preamble".

Happy days

Enabling Avivo codec in Vista Media center

After running the Cyberlink Codec on Vista media center to avoid a problem where I got a green screen in HDTV playback, I noticed that it doesn’t seem to handle deinterlacing very well at all.

The problem was getting quite annoying so I set about to see whether it was possible to use the ATI Avivo codec with Vista media center.

The issue had been that it had not appeared in as an option when using the "Vista Media Center Decoder Utility" (mentioned in the previous post).

After looking around on the net I stumbled across a tool distributed by Microsoft that could apparently resolve this issue.

It can be found HERE

Even though the tool is made to run on XP, it seemed to run fine on Vista x86.

With this tool you can then select the ATi codec as default (ignore the warnings), which then allows it to be selected from within the Vista Media Center Decoder Utility. Happy days.

Making use of this also gives the advantage of making use of the built in hardware accelerated decoding that the X1250 can provide.

Media Center PC musings

Well after messing around with our Media PC for a bit, I believe that I have finally got it doing everything that I want. It is now hooked up and running with full HDMI goodness.

Some of the set up issues were:

Playback of HD content within Vista Media Center (VCE)

The first bit of wierdness that I encountered with VCE was that when viewing digital TV, standard definition channels would come through fine but for HD channels I would get nothing more than a solid green screen with audio… Upon recording some HDTV I got the same result.

I installed DNTV Live! (which comes with my TinyUSB2 receiver) and attempted to replicate the issue. The problem that I found with this was that I could not get any of the Codecs in DNTV Live to run with hardware acceleration.

After this downloaded a tool that lets you select the Codecs used by Vista for Video and Audio.

http://mediacenterexpert.blogspot.com/2006/07/vista-media-center-decoder-utility.html

Since the sound worked fine already, I left it set on the default. I did however change the Video Codec to the Cyberlink Codec that comes with DNTV Live.

Upon restarting VCE I could view HD channels without issue… Happy days..

Getting Australian EPG information in Media Center

Upon setting up VCE with the channels for my region, it became apparent that Microsoft did not have any EPG set up for VCE to use within Australia.. What a shame..

This disappointment was short lived however as I found that epgstream provides a plugin for VCE that will allow it to use free EPG services like OzTivo and free*EPG.

<strong><a href=”http://www.epgstream.net/”> http://www.epgstream.net/</a>

Installation of Webscheduler

I have been using Webscheduler on my desktop PC for some time now and it has worked fine. Because I have never really had issues with it I have not been keeping up to date with the latest release.

Upon attempting to download the latest version for the Media PC I found that this software is apparently no longer open source… What a shame..

The previous GPL versions however are still available and do the job fine.

Version 4.0.14 (the last free version of DVB Webscheduler can be found HERE

Getting the PC to wake on lan while in Standby

Just one point that I noted with this PC.

I noticed that the PC would wake on LAN (WOL) from either a powered off state or from hibernate. It would not however wake from standby.

This proved most irritating but upon inspection of the Network card (and the switch that it was connected too) as the PC went into standby, it was switching its network card off.

Once the power options of the network card were changed so that it could not be shut down to save power, it would happily WOL from Off, Standby or Hibernate.

Allow the MCE remote to be used as a mouse

Another feature that I wanted to get working was to be able to just use my MCE remote to move the mouse around if required.

I found a great little app that lets you do this which also runs happily under Vista

It can be found HERE

And just for the sake of it, a piccy of the finished product

New TV

Heh just on the side, we have finally jumped on the HDTV bandwagon, with the first new TV to be purchased in our house in the last 25 years.

It has also been combined with a spiffy little Home Theatre PC for other multimedia and iTunes goodness.

Reflections on return from Melbourne

Well after what was effectively a two week paid holiday in Melbourne, it is back to reality in Brisbane. The two weeks I had down there were an excellent chance to simply take a break and make use of the time through some good reading and reflection.

It was not very far into the course when my other course mates began to head out onto town and conduct themselves in a less than ideal manner. I was surprised at this seemingly mindless behaviour from the vast majority of the group given that I seldom encounter it in my normal environment at home. At first I came to the conclusion that this group, and the broader Army must be, in general, more &ldquo;morally flexible&rdquo; and prone to poor behaviour when compared to the rest of society. Towards the end of the course however I developed the feeling that this may not actually be the case (Even though I believe that Defence encourages seriously damaging social behaviour patterns).

My theory is that this is simply coming as a realisation that morality informed by a classical Christian worldview is becoming increasing counter cultural. This can also be seen in the continuing unwavering commitment that both sides of Australian politics seem to have to economic rationalism.

That said, if we take what is found in scripture seriously, this should not be surprising.

2 Timothy 3:10-17
You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,
(11)persecutions, sufferings&mdash;what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.
(12)In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
(13)while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
(14)But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,
(15)and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
(16)All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
(17)so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Either way, it was a good break none the less and it is also good to be back to reality.

More Post Chrysalis Thoughts

I have been reflecting upon my weekend at Chrysalis and had the additional thoughts about the weekend.

In addition to what was written earlier, I really think that Chrysalis and my trip to Melbourne came an I time when I really needed them. Simply put, Chrysalis was an excellent chance to rediscover the first love, prayfully re-connect and recharge.

I have also found, with some of the books I have been reading down here, combined with the reflections on Chrysalis that this is a great time to recommit to maintaining a deeper and more committed spiritual life, seeking to be closer to God. It can be quite easy to get very tied up with the doing within the Church, such that simply &ldquo;being&rdquo; can suffer from some neglect.

Coming down here to Melbourne for Army has given me an excellent chance to do something else which I slowly been getting out of the habit of and that is to simply pause, be prayerful and to listen.

I feel that these simple things will be very helpful in moving into a more full time ministry job, because if left unattended could have lead to significant spiritual fatigue. I think that the following sums it up quite well.

Hebrews 12
(1)Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
(2)Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Either way, I am very much enjoying this time down here as a break from reality and a time to stop, read, reflect and listen. (The listen bit being that which can suffer the most during a busy schedule)

Chrysalis Reflections

Well as I am on my flight to Melbourne I thought I would take the chance to reflect on my Chrysalis experience while it is still fresh in my mind.

Well after getting off to a bit of a false start last year with Chrysalis, I have finally experienced it. The bit of back story surrounding the false start is that I was asked to go (ie: someone offered to sponsor me to go) last year, but I had also been called to attend the 11th National Assembly, preventing me from going. While I felt bad for missing it at the time, with inherent guilt that is associated to saying no to sponsorship, when looking back over the last 12 months, I do believe that it was providential and that last year was not the right time.

The weekend itself is built around a combination of extreme service to the attendees, table group Bible studies and worship. There were also a number of additional times of prayer and periods of reflection throughout the duration, as well as a sharing of communion. The weekend also includes a candle lighting service as well as receiving of letters from friends and family at the end of the weekend. The thing that needs to be mentioned about Chrysalis is that it is (or I found it to be) a very experientially orientated event. Hence why it can be difficult to fully articulate exactly why it was very good. The letters from friends and loved ones coming at the end of the course were also very challenging and powerful, but I am unsure as to exactly why this was so. None the less, they were very much appreciated.

One of the other elements that was present in this activity that I believe to be very valuable is the fact that it is a lay run event, with only minimal guidance from clergy. I thought that it was fantastic to see people who have been impacted by previous Chrysalis experiences being given the chance to participate in the ministry over the course of the weekend. In short, I think that they will likely have gotten just as much out of it, if not more, than many of the actual participants for whom the weekend was being run to serve.

With the prospect of moving into full time service constantly on my mind, I think that this weekend came at an excellent time to simply stop, reflect and refuel. Simply put it feels very much like someone standing upon a mountain range looking out upon an unknown land into which they must enter, as opposed to staying put somewhere familiar. While I am very much excited and do feel that it is the only thing that I can do, there is the anxiety that comes with departing from the area of work in which I have studied for since the middle of high school, but also in choosing a separate path to those with whom I have shared so much of my life. While I know that they will still be there, it still saddens me greatly that I may not be there to share with them in their professional life, especially given that this has been a primary area in which I have been able to maintain contact with these peers. The same thing can also be said of those who I have come to know through my work in the Army Reserve, which it becoming increasingly apparent that will not be able to co-exist with the schedule of full time ministry.

At the same time I found this to be a valuable weekend of affirmation. The emphasis placed on showing Agape (the Love of God) was surprisingly challenging. I was constantly amazed by the love shown towards the participants, which when considered is also only a dim reflection of that shown to us every minute of the day by the Lord. The other unexpected surprises came from the interactions with the leaders those who were on course with me. I was further surprised and impressed with the actual Chrysalis/Emmaus community who were present to support us at various points during the three days. I think that remembering that these networks of supportive and loving people are present in the church is of great encouragement when moving into such community orientated work.

We were also given a considerable amount of little thingies throughout the duration, and and the end got given one of these: (which all those who had done Chrysalis prior seemed to have)

As much as I am loathed to be going straight to Melbourne after doing this weekend, I do think that having a break from busy life, like the break found when on course with the Army, will be highly beneficial. I get the feeling already that this is one of those camps/experiences which continue to have impact as they sink in over a period of time.

Fly with Christ.

Day Camp done for another year

Well it was that time of year again where 200 odd of the primary school kids (and 100 odd other bods who are leaders for the week) descend upon the Allawah Scout campsite for Day Camp. It is also the time of year when many of the young people from churches between Ipswich and Indooroopilly all converge on a single location and continue with a conversation that they were having 12 months ago. It never ceases to surprise me how people seem to come out of the woodwork every year for this as there are many people who just keep coming back. Equally impressive is how quickly everyone seems to scatter after the event. Perhaps it is all a bit much and they need 10 months to recover.

That said, being the ecumenical idealist that I am, I really think that it is great when the people from the local churches all get together to run a local event. I really think that this whole deal of doing work within your own community in which you live seems to have been forgotten of late. It is also a great opportunity for the Youth of the area to network with others within their community (specifically those outside of their individual church) and be part of the wider church as opposed to operating in their own little world within their congregation. Furthermore this is an excellent example of a large scale even that is organised and run by the lay people within the churches, not just the paid staff.

What was equally impressive was the rain that we got on Tuesday, which lead to the main assembly tent breaking and needing to be replaced. In amongst the cars sliding sideways in the car park (thankfully no-one was hurt) and the kids getting a bit feral after being kept within a relatively confined space for 5 hours, the day worked out really well. The bonus from this rain is that we got to swap the usual dust clouds for mud, much more fun and less irritating (even if it can be a touch dangerous and slippery)

I also got a chance to give my shiny new car its first real use and also get rid of a bit of that shiny new-ness about it. Overall though it fared very well and still looks new. 

Overall through, it was an excellent week and I very much look forward to next year.

Shiny new silver thing with wheels

It is quite funny. About 3 years ago I go this idea in my head that I wanted to save up for a car. The problem was that I was still working at Pizza Hut and earning next to nothing. More recently I have working for the EPA which allowed me to save some money over the last 18 months.

What else is funny is that prior to the start of June, I was not actually looking to buy a car, instead looking to wait until about December to do this. It was pointed out to me however that if I were to make said purchase before the end of the financial year, considerable savings could be realised compared to if the purchase was made at the end of the year.

I had decided some time ago that I would very much prefer to get myself a diesel car, due to the increased efficiency and the fact that they are cleaner to run. I was looking at getting myself an VW Golf but the biggest problem with them seemed to be that they were in extremely high demand. Because of this, dealers were very resistant to any form of bargaining, because they obviously knew that they would simply sell it to someone else. So I ended up looking at the Astra diesels.

Anyway, the result can be seen here.

And parked in a dodgy shelter (made up of 2x $29 shelters )

Overall I am quite happy with the car so far and it is working very well. Apart from the wanky sounds that are associated with having a turbo, it doesn’t sound that different to a normal petrol engine once you start moving.
I will just have to make sure that I don’t accidentally fill it up with petrol. 

When co-operation ends

Well I have finally come to the end of my period of work for the Environmental Protection Agency. I have to say that getting ~18 months of work out of what was originally a 10 month QUT industry co-operative placement is not bad at all. Furthermore, due to my working full time for this period, I can now be deemed financially independent through Centrelink. (which can be handy)

Overall though I think that I have learned a lot during my time with the EPA, the sorts of things that you can&rsquo;t really learn in lectures, but that all students should really know before they graduate and move into full time work. One concern that I do have is going back into full time study. The biggest advantage that I saw with full time work was that you didn&rsquo;t really need to take your work home with you, very much unlike uni, and you were then free to do things in your space time. This was extremely useful for the voluntary youth work that I am involved in as I could easily commit to things well in advance and not have to worry about an assignment or exam popping up.

Despite this, I still really need to get around to finishing my course. I found that attempting to do full time study + army reserve + Youth Work + EPA part time didn&rsquo;t really work very well. Hopefully this semester will be a bit less crazy. Either way I am still on track to start a ministry traineeship next year out here, which should be interesting. I just need to get as much of my degree out of the way as quickly as possible. (4/5 years through it would be a bit foolish to simply not finish it)

Oh yea and the other advantage of working full time for 12 months while still living at home is that it makes larger purchases, like a car, much more feasible.