nullrend

Mexico City

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:26:09 -0800

So I’m looking for a place to live and a place to work in Mexico City. Got any ideas? Contact me on twitter.

Cablemas DNS

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:01:00 -0800

So it seems cablemas decided to block DNS requests (port 53) going out of their network. I’m not sure if they’re doing this at the network level — which would be extremely stupid on their part — or by reconfiguring their modem. Either way this means:

Cannot use OpenDNS or Google Public DNS for domain resolution.
I’m forced to use Cablemas DNS servers. They are very, very slow. Most lookups are above 20s, with 30s-40s latency being common.

Since DNS queries take long to resolve, internet connectivity is slow as hell. Enter DNS caching (DNS proxy).

Most DNS servers can do caching on the side (BIND, djbdns, dnsmasq) without too much additional work. The problem is most of the time the cache disappears when the computer is rebooted. If your system is a server, you’re fine. But what if you’re on a laptop or a desktop? It’s no good having a cache if you have to rebuild it every day.

There isalso the fact the electric system in Mexico isn’t the best, so often computers go down hard when the electricity fails. UPS units are expensive to put them on a single desktop computer.

So that’s when I discovered pdnsd. It’s a light DNS proxy that can act as a caching system, working on localhost to speed up queries.

Being on Debian Sid, all I had to do to install it was

# aptitude install pdnsd

When asked which mode to use, I chose ‘manual’. When it was done I added my ISP’s DNS servers like so to /etc/pdnsd.conf

server {
        label=cablemas;
        ip=200.95.144.3;
        ip=10.147.0.43;
        ip=10.147.0.15;
        timeout=30;
        uptest=ping;
        ping_timeout= 300;
}

You’re free to use other DNS resolvers like OpenDNS or Google Public DNS obviously. The caching will work regardless of what upstream server does the actual resolving.

Then set it up so it runs on boot by editing /etc/default/pdnsd

This sets up the daemon to work; you still have to set up your network interfaces to make use of the cache. In my own case my system is getting an IP address from the cablemodem itself dynamically, so I had to edit /etc/dhcp3/dhclient.conf and enable the prepend domain-name-servers directive:

prepend domain-name-servers 127.0.0.1

If you’re setting manually via /etc/network/interfaces, you’ll have to manually edit /etc/resolv.conf so your local DNS is queried first.

Once everything is done, bring down the interface (eth0 in my case):

# ifdown eth0

Then bring it back up:

# ifup eth0

I’m pretty sure it’d be same for wlan interfaces. This should be more useful on laptops or systems that connect to networks of unknown quality.

This all goes to show Cablemas is one of the worst ISPs around and you should avoid it like the plague.

Sources:

pdnsd man pages
HOWTO: Persistant DNS Caching with pdnsd.
Speedup DNS requests with a local cache

What About Mexico? China? Brazil?

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:04:29 -0800

What About Mexico? China? Brazil?

Photo

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:40:43 -0800

Twitter: The Criterion Collection

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:22:34 -0800

Twitter: The Criterion Collection

I think Mafalda was right.

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:49:16 -0800

I think Mafalda was right.

It’s what I want, that’s easy. It’s getting it...

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:04:01 -0800

It’s what I want, that’s easy.

It’s getting it that’s complicated.

Photo

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:35:45 -0800

Diana

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:28:39 -0800

I’m eating one of the two alegrias I bought on the Metro. Have you eaten yours yet?

lettherebeblogs: Geek Heaven

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:17:59 -0800

lettherebeblogs:

Geek Heaven

derbyboy: This describes my day...

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:09:15 -0800

derbyboy:

This describes my day perfectly.

thedailywhat:

LOLDWELL.

So. True.

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:11:00 -0800

So. True.

Video

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 23:47:59 -0800

Today’s Cannot Be Unseen (via @Lulumargya)

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:54:16 -0800

Today’s Cannot Be Unseen

(via @Lulumargya)

http://iscrapbecause.it/

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:05:35 -0800

http://iscrapbecause.it/

If you really want to see the whole thing, it is here.

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:29:35 -0800

If you really want to see the whole thing, it is here.

Photo

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:18:53 -0800

Conversations with bots

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:20:57 -0800

(03:47:52 PM) Nicki: hi
(03:54:54 PM) nullrend: ?
(03:54:55 PM) Nicki: hi
(03:55:01 PM) Nicki: hi how are you today?
(03:58:03 PM) nullrend: ?
(03:58:04 PM) Nicki: hello
(03:58:12 PM) nullrend: yer a bot, en’t you
(03:58:13 PM) Nicki: my name is kaylee I’m doing great today I’m 21 yrs old how old are you?
(03:58:40 PM) nullrend: I wonder if I should take the time to insult your maker
(03:58:59 PM) Nicki: listen hun, I am just about to start my webcam show with jen, come chat me there in my chat room? We can cyber, I will get naked if u do..lol!
(04:00:10 PM) nullrend: http://www.enews.org/blog/_pics/lolcat.jpg
(04:00:11 PM) Nicki: ready yet
(04:00:31 PM) Nicki: I can show u how to watch free if u promise not to tell anyone else how to do it???PLEASE:-$
(04:00:45 PM) nullrend: http://koreamatt.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/funny-pictures-kitten-is-ready-for-picture1.jpg
(04:01:15 PM) Nicki: well since its free the law that u gotta be 18 (nudity involved), u have to sign up with a credit card for age verification! BUT .. Once you are inside, just clikc on “Webcams” let me know what name you use to sign in with so I know it is you babe! http://[edited] fill out the bottom of the page then fill out the next page as well and u can see me live for free!
(04:02:46 PM) nullrend: http://patrick.ripp.eu/images/lolcat_dude.png
(04:02:47 PM) Nicki: hello
(04:03:06 PM) Nicki: Please dont mention anything about that in the chatroom once u get in ok?:-$
(04:05:12 PM) nullrend: http://lolcatgenerator.com/downloads/lolcat-245-710.jpg
(04:05:32 PM) Nicki: OH SHIT.. k I am late to start my show, I gotta get off msn…I will see ya inside my chatroom babe.. remember not to mention that I am upgrading u for free… You can use your msn name to sign in so i know it is you..
(04:06:17 PM) nullrend: http://www.flashpointsocialmedia.com/Area51/Orion/Images/o_rly.jpg
(04:06:18 PM) Nicki: AUTO-RESPONSE: hey just in the middle of my free webcam show if you want to watch click the link http://[edited]
(04:07:09 PM) nullrend: http://media.photobucket.com/image/annoyed%20cat/LadyCatfern/funny-pictures-unimpressed-cat.jpg

"@belen_cg ahahahaha no xD @nullrend no me a hecho nada como para decirle fuck you =)"

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:38:00 -0800

“@belen_cg ahahahaha no xD @nullrend no me a hecho nada como para decirle fuck you =)”

- @LuluMargya

Greg Rutter's Second Definitive List of The 99 Things You Should Have Already Experienced On The Internet Unless You're A Loser or Old or Something

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:06:08 -0800

Greg Rutter's Second Definitive List of The 99 Things You Should Have Already Experienced On The Internet Unless You're A Loser or Old or Something