How to Stop YouTube from Sucking (DD-WRT Version)

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This awesome blog post at MitchRibar.com outlined a great way to improve YouTube’s sometimes crappy load times and performance.  It works very well and I’m glad somebody took the time to share this knowledge on the internet.

His method is a local client only option, so if you have alot of computers like I do it may be a pain to set this up on every computer, phone, etc that you have.  Instead, I decided to try and block it at my router which I happened to have flashed with DD-WRT.

Here’s how you do it!

  • Log into your router’s admin interface
  • Click on “Administration” and then select the “Commands” tab
  • Paste the following lines into the commands text area:
    iptables -I FORWARD -s 173.194.55.0/24 -j DROP
    iptables -I FORWARD -s 206.111.0.0/16 -j DROP
  • Now click “Save Firewall”
  • You should now notice a firewall section with these lines added, which looks like this:
    firewall_settings

Congratulations!  You’ve now improved YouTube’s performance on your entire network.  I did this on a DD-WRT enabled router; but this could be done on any device that runs iptables.  Open-WRT, Tomato, Linux boxes, etc.  If you have ipables, give it a try!

Creating an HP Integrity Virtual Machine on HP-UX 11.31

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When I was trying to find a way to create an Integrity VM, I had to do alot of research. It was difficult to find updated information and correct syntax for later builds of HP-UX and later versions of the VM software.  Being the thoughtful and forward thinking internet citizen that I am, I figured I’d give back a little…

So, without further adieu, here is the steps necessary to create an HP-UX Integrity VM on HP-UX 11.31 using HPVM version 6.x

Create a virtual switch first

  • hpvmnet -c -S <vswitchname> -n <lanID>
    • The LanID references the numeric portion of the name. Run netstat -in to find yours
    • Example: hpvmnet -c -S vswitch1 -n 10
  • Boot up the switch by running:  hpvmnet -b -S <vswitchname>
  • Run hpvmnet to see a status

Now, create the virtual machine

  • hpvmcreate -P <servername> -l <label or description> -O HPUX -a network:avio_lan::vswitch:<vswitchname>
    • This creates the VM with a default network connection.
  • hpvmmodify -P <servername> -a dvd:avio_stor::file:/path/to/HPUX1131.iso
    • This will create a virtual DVD device connected to an iso for installation later. If you’re going to install from ignite or something else, dont worry about this part
  • hpvmmodify -P <servername> -a disk:avio_stor::lv:/dev/vgname/rdevice
    • This is adding storage for the VM to use. You could also add a disk image file instead of a real logical volume if you wanted
    • To create a disk image file, run something like hpvmdevmgmt -A -S 10G /path/to/vmdir/diskimage.fd
  • Your VM is now created!  You can run hpvmstart -P <vmname> to boot the VM up
  • If you need to install via an iso, just connect to the console by using hpvmconsole -P <vmname> and then selecting boot to file from the boot menu, and then selecting removable media.  Or, just wait and it should boot automatically if you added the DVD device.
  • hpvmstart, hpvmstatus, hpvmstop are useful commands to manage your VMs

SOPA / PIPA – The Day After

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1/18/2012 was a very interesting day on the Internet.

I was somehow infatuated with what websites were doing to show their opposition and protest to the SOPA and PIPA bills. I think I liked reddit’s blackout page the best of anybody that I personally saw, but there was certainly alot of creativity across the board.

This blog captured many of the screenshots of big players in the blackout day. They somehow left out my site on that blog, so I’ll go ahead and share what my site looked like with you yesterday.

The most amazing thing, is that I really think this actually worked.

Even GLENN BECK is against it!

This social media age has ignited a fight in the common people. It’s awesome to see. From insane corporate strategies [Netflix], to the occupy movements, to protests that literally changed the landscape of countries: A small spark can ignite a firestorm.

Where the SOPA and PIPA bills will end up remains to be seen, but yesterday was pretty historic. The Internet bonded together and certainly made an impact on a very key turning point in the information age.

Yesterday was supremely significant, yes, but it’s certainly not over. Watch the video. Share it with friends. Use the form to contact somebody and tell them how you feel. Part of the solution.

SOPA / PIPA Blackout

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I’m not the “activist” type…

But following the ongoing SOPA and PIPA proposed legislation has me inspired to do my part.

Many strong internet companies are against these bills, and many of them are taking action up to and including blacking out their website for a day.

This is a viral protest, and many sites are taking part in this campaign. Certainly, ericvb.com and its 50 visits per day are merely a drop in an olympic size swimming pool – but we are all swimming in that pool.

Therefore, tomorrow I will be using this handy WordPress plugin to black out my site as well and stand at arms with Wikipedia, reddit, etc.

Learn more about these bills and the blackout by visiting this site:
http://sopablackout.org/learnmore/

Fantasy Football 2011 – Delight and Angers

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Our beloved fantasy football league, “The Worst People Ever”, has concluded another epic season of virtual competition. I usually try to come up with a good team name, and this year I chose “Delight and Angers” which couldn’t possibly be a more accurate description.

In the 2010 season, I had a really good year. Arian Foster and a quick Mike Vick pickup powered me to an overall 12 – 2 record and over 2,000 points scoring. I did very well and I don’t mind saying that. But, the regular season means nothing once you make the playoffs. A singular loss by 3 points and the championship is no longer yours; and that is exactly what happened. My brother defeated me, as I can only describe was perfect karma for the terrible defeat I handed him in the regular season. He went on to win the league, and I went on to 3rd place even though I all but dominated overall.

The 2012 season brought me a similar amount of success, although I was much luckier in many areas. Calvin Johnson, Lesean McCoy, and Darren Sproles powered me to the same overall record as last season at 12 – 2. I won 10 games in a row to start the season, but had a few close calls in there. Two of my victories were achieved by less than one point.

I clinched the playoffs very early and tried not to get my hopes up. Obviously anything can happen in this fake sport, as the previous season showed.

As playoffs started, I finished in 1st place and was fittingly matched up with a 4th place Vanlandw. He and I had a 1 – 1 split the regular season matchup. I certainly wasn’t confident in an easy victory; but, I should have been. My team put up the highest score that has ever been tallied in our league’s 5 year lifespan. I honestly felt a little guilty… Vanlandw’s team had put up enough points to beat any of the other 6 teams playing; and I still defeated him by more than 70 points.

I allowed myself to enjoy the success and the notion of playing for a fantasy championship for the first time; and really the matchup was very favorable in my direction. Payner’s team was lacking Matt Forte, Darren McFadden, and it was possible that the Packers may sit his quarterback Aaron Rodgers. I really liked my chances and I was a very heavy favorite to win based on projected points.

Flo even gave me the league trophy a few days early…

I’m not one for superstitions, but he absolutely jinxed me by doing that.

The downward spiral started with Tony Romo getting hurt on the first drive of his game. I literally scored 0 points at the QB position. Shortly after that, Lesean McCoy was rendered with an ankle injury. And with those two players each getting me an average of 20 points a game – I now had a 40 point swing to make up for. I had strong performances from Calvin, Colston, Sproles, and even my kicker – but it was not enough.

I’m settling for 2nd place this year it seems, but I have put together back-to-back 12 win seasons and that is really pretty impressive.

Congrats are surely in order for Payner, and I’m not a sore loser here by any means…