Well we're on the move again. Ros offered us her rental property because it's empty at the moment. Big downside though is we won't be living rent free anymore, which is a pain because we're trying to save for a house. But Rob can't take living in the two room shed for another 6 months, so we're moving again. I really hate moving - technology is great, but having to unplug and move it, then set it all up again is a massive hassle. I wish someone would invent real cordless appliances - no power cord or connecting cables at all! I suppose it's good that we'll have some more space, and we'll finally be able to unpack stuff we bought from NZ with us - mostly theres just a lot of boxes cluttering up the space we're in now. But having to move it all, then possibly re-move it again in July if the new house goes to schedule is a big pain in the ass.
This command line tool is included with all versions of Mac OS X, and is also available on many other Unix platforms. To get started, try the following command.
The sudo command causes tcpdump to run with privileges, which is necessary to access promiscuous mode.
The -i en0 option tells tcpdump to capture packets on the first Ethernet interface. You need to select an interface; there is no default. For a list of interfaces, type ifconfig -a. Mac OS X 10.1 and later provide packet capture support on PPP, so you can also specify a PPP interface here (for example, -i ppp0).
The -s 0 option requests the full packet rather than just the first 68 bytes.
The -w DumpFile.dmp parameter tells tcpdump to dump the packets to a file called DumpFile.dmp.
In response to this command, tcpdump will begin to capture packets and put them in the DumpFile.dmp file. When you want to stop capturing, interrupt tcpdump by typing ^C. You can then display the contents of the packets as text using the following command.
The -n option means that addresses are not converted to domain names, which speeds things up considerably.
The -e option causes tcpdump to display the link-level header for each packet.
The -x option causes the contents of the packet to also be displayed in hex.
The -vvv option makes tcpdump's output as verbose as possible.
By specifying -r DumpFile.dmp option you tell tcpdump to read packets from the file DumpFile.dmp rather than from a network interface. Note that you don't need privileges to do this, so running tcpdump using sudo is not required.
You can also combine these steps, as shown below, but if you do this you don't get a high-fidelity record of the packets that you captured.
sudo tcpdump -i en0 -s 0 -w DumpFile.dmp
The sudo command causes tcpdump to run with privileges, which is necessary to access promiscuous mode.
The -i en0 option tells tcpdump to capture packets on the first Ethernet interface. You need to select an interface; there is no default. For a list of interfaces, type ifconfig -a. Mac OS X 10.1 and later provide packet capture support on PPP, so you can also specify a PPP interface here (for example, -i ppp0).
The -s 0 option requests the full packet rather than just the first 68 bytes.
The -w DumpFile.dmp parameter tells tcpdump to dump the packets to a file called DumpFile.dmp.
In response to this command, tcpdump will begin to capture packets and put them in the DumpFile.dmp file. When you want to stop capturing, interrupt tcpdump by typing ^C. You can then display the contents of the packets as text using the following command.
tcpdump -s 0 -n -e -x -vvv -r DumpFile.dmp
The -n option means that addresses are not converted to domain names, which speeds things up considerably.
The -e option causes tcpdump to display the link-level header for each packet.
The -x option causes the contents of the packet to also be displayed in hex.
The -vvv option makes tcpdump's output as verbose as possible.
By specifying -r DumpFile.dmp option you tell tcpdump to read packets from the file DumpFile.dmp rather than from a network interface. Note that you don't need privileges to do this, so running tcpdump using sudo is not required.
You can also combine these steps, as shown below, but if you do this you don't get a high-fidelity record of the packets that you captured.
sudo tcpdump -i en0 -s 0 -n -e -x -vvv
Well after a week of insane running around we've finally made it the main event - Armageddon 2007. Just quietly I was crapping my pants because I've never gone to an event as an artist before and had to produce art with people hovering over me. I suffer from performance anxiety when people are watching, mostly because I don't feel my stuff is ever good enough for human consumption (I had a teacher in high school that told me my art was so bad, I should never bother doing anything artistic), and a lot of people tend to look down on comic art. So we anxiously set up the booth, and about 15 minutes later I sold a sketch. You could have knocked me over - I couldn't frickin believe it. By the time I sold the second, I was off and running. I drew my ass off for the next two days and sold a few sketches - by Sunday I was taking requests. I'm so glad I did it now, because it was a huge confidence booster. I'm feeling much better within myself now about my art - of course, that's not to say I couldn't improve still, and there's still lots of things to learn - but at least I don't feel crippled by anxiety anymore. I've come back awhirl with ideas for stories and original material. Heh don't panic Rob - I will finish my Rally Mark installment before I start drawing anything else.The con was really good though, and the guests were really nice and interesting people. I had Nicola Scott draw me a fantastic Catwoman sketch, that's definitely going in a frame and on my office wall once we have a house to live in again. Also, Amanda Conner's most excellent Power Girl is going up there too. I got Billy West (Futurama) and Richard Horvitz (Invader Zim) to sign sketches I'd drawn of their characters for my kids. I was gutted that Adam West couldn't make it in the end (as were a lot of people I spoke too) - hopefully next time we'll get some 100% pure West.
Color me excited though - we got offered a free booth at Supernova to sell drawings and New Ground. I'm working on getting Robin over for it, and hopefully we'll be able to loosen Jeremy's grip on his wallet so he can come over and help publicize New Ground here. The latest book looks really awesome (although Dylan Horrock's cover could be a little more action packed), the contents are consistent and of a higher quality. The book just keeps improving. I really hope it'll get to the point that the creators will be able to start to see some reward for all their hard work. Check out Dealer Man Comics if you want to support some great New Zealand artists. Thanks to Robin, Neala, Tuku, Michel, Jeremy (and his army of munchkins) for making it an awesome time.
Finally finished running around the place dropping stuff off. Only one more person left to visit now, so it's time for some play. Micky's gone out for a girly day with Beagle - apparently they're having pedicures. Meanwhile the boys are going to Snow Planet for an all-day snow-ganza of fun! The prices have really improved since I was last here and I can now get an all day pass (12pm till 10pm) and gear hire for $52 which is damned good (it costs as least $70 just for the pass on Whakapapa, and that's without driving all the way to Taupo, finding accomodation, petrol, food, gear hire!). The only minor hiccup in the plan was they'd changed the opening time from 10am to 12pm and we didn't realise. So we had to sit in the carpark for awhile. But once we got going it was awesome, and being middle of the week, it was pretty well deserted - there was maybe 20 people there the whole time we were there. I haven't been skiing in nearly a year, but it all came back pretty quickly. I only had one bad accident on the large ski jump - I stupidly took on the jump at full speed, then had a major panic attack when I got more air than expected. I came down quite badly on my arm, but luckily I only bruised the inside of my arm and elbow. I mastered the jumps by the end of the day, albeit a lower speed. Bev was taking on some of the easier rails, and we did the slalom once it was setup. After 5 and a half hours, we were pretty knackered. I paid the price for the next few days, rediscovering muscles I haven't seen in a long time - damn I was sore.
Okay so we've done 650 kilometers in 4 days. We did the mad drive up to Coopers Beach to visit Rob's Nan - it should have taken 4 hours, it took more like 5 hours by the time we followed the Twin Coast Discovery route that everyone told us to follow. Problem was it went off the main highway, took you out to coastal towns then looped back again. It was the most indirect route I think you could possibly follow. Coming back was much quicker for sure. We just followed Highway 10 and 1 and got back much quicker. Sure the scenery is very pretty, but 5 hours in a tiny little roller-skate of a car is not a funny joke by any means. (I'll post photos later - I'm on a friend's dial-up connection and its slower than a snail on ritalin).
Nan was going well which was good. I'm frightened that she's going to die up there alone though and not be found by anyone. It's the back of beyond, and when your advancing in years with a number of medical complaints, and the nearest hospital is at least an hour away, its scary stuff. I think she appreciated the visit, and it was worth the effort of going up there. We went down the beach for a look, and it was blowing a frickin gale - sand was swirling down the beach in cloudy waves. I had considered driving to Cape Reinga for a look since I've never been there, but when we were told it was another 4 hours, we quickly squashed that idea. I didn't fancy an 8 hour return trip.
Rob wasn't able to extend our tickets any longer, so we're coming up with a Plan B. I'm giving up racing around town trying to chase people up - now I'm just going to organise to meet at the pub on Friday and they can come to me (or not, there choice!). I've got too much to do and too little time, and I don't want to spend my holiday chasing after people anymore. I'm definitely not going to spend all of tomorrow in the car.
Nan was going well which was good. I'm frightened that she's going to die up there alone though and not be found by anyone. It's the back of beyond, and when your advancing in years with a number of medical complaints, and the nearest hospital is at least an hour away, its scary stuff. I think she appreciated the visit, and it was worth the effort of going up there. We went down the beach for a look, and it was blowing a frickin gale - sand was swirling down the beach in cloudy waves. I had considered driving to Cape Reinga for a look since I've never been there, but when we were told it was another 4 hours, we quickly squashed that idea. I didn't fancy an 8 hour return trip.
Rob wasn't able to extend our tickets any longer, so we're coming up with a Plan B. I'm giving up racing around town trying to chase people up - now I'm just going to organise to meet at the pub on Friday and they can come to me (or not, there choice!). I've got too much to do and too little time, and I don't want to spend my holiday chasing after people anymore. I'm definitely not going to spend all of tomorrow in the car.
No travelling today - spent the day helping our good friends move furniture and tidy their house. The weather was pretty grotty anyway, with freezing cold winds and rain showers, so there wasn't a hell of a lot you could do anyway. We're heading up to Mangonui tomorrow to visit Rob's Nan, which should be nice, although we'll be in a technology-vacuum for a couple of days and I won't be able to update my blog. I'm not even sure if they know what a blog is up there, it's pretty primitive. Still it does have stunning beaches and scenery so it should be a nice trip. I've only been up once, so I'm hoping I can find the place. I don't want a big drama, cos Rob already thinks i'm a big retard and can't cope with travelling.
Well we're back in NZ visiting friends. Not much has changed, sure there's the occasional new building on the skyline, but the traffic is still absolutely horrendous (2 hours from the airport mid-afternoon), and there's so much wind and rain it's been constantly cold and damp since we got here. Okay sometimes I complain about the heat in Brisbane, but I'm kinda wishing it was a few degrees warmer now. Micky's already got the sniffles (she just sneezed and blew snot everywhere! gross!).
We did some catching up with friends yesterday which was good. Got some of the mundanities we'd been craving out of the way, like going to the local shops, having a walk on the beach, that kind of thing. It was nice to just turn up and visit people, and have them be pleased to see you. Absence does make the heart grow fonder! I dropped Micky at the other branch of the family for a visit, which I was kinda loathe to do - I don't like to see them hurt her. But it went well for her, and she stood up to them and did herself proud. Good to catch up with Bron and her brood. It's amazing how much kids grow and develop in 10 months. Unfortunately missed out on catching up with Sim, so we'll have to try to see him again later in the week. Apparently his blood pressure is pretty elevated at the moment because he left reapplying for his work visa a bit late. Hope it all works out for them.
We did some catching up with friends yesterday which was good. Got some of the mundanities we'd been craving out of the way, like going to the local shops, having a walk on the beach, that kind of thing. It was nice to just turn up and visit people, and have them be pleased to see you. Absence does make the heart grow fonder! I dropped Micky at the other branch of the family for a visit, which I was kinda loathe to do - I don't like to see them hurt her. But it went well for her, and she stood up to them and did herself proud. Good to catch up with Bron and her brood. It's amazing how much kids grow and develop in 10 months. Unfortunately missed out on catching up with Sim, so we'll have to try to see him again later in the week. Apparently his blood pressure is pretty elevated at the moment because he left reapplying for his work visa a bit late. Hope it all works out for them.
It's been totally bizarre here the last few days. One minute it's stinking hot, then it's raining full on with thunder, lightning, the total package. Driving home yesterday, pleasant one minute, then got dark, started raining with seriously large drops. Mass flooding, rivers sprang up from nowhere, then the hail started. Huge chunks of frozen ice started slamming down on the car, thick fog sprang up. Cars were stopping dead in the road (when they weren't slamming into each other). Suddenly the roads started to look like the Desert Road in NZ at the peak of ski season - large piles of ice covered the roads, tire tracks occasionally cutting through it. Torrents of mud and debris washing down the road, pieces of tree flying through the air. The hail smashed the outdoor security lights on the house, but luckily the cars held up okay. I was dreading getting out and finding the roof covered in dents. Some people in Brisbane weren't so lucky - pictures on the news of people's homes filled with ice after tennis ball-sized lumps of hail smashed through their ceiling and into their homes. We've got another 3 days of this. I'm dreading having to fly on Friday if the weather is like this - last time I flew from Sydney to Brisbane in a thunderstorm it was pretty scary.
Micky found this monitor outside the other day. Pretty big lizard, it wasn't too keen on being near us, so it shot up the tree. We'd circle around the tree to get a look at it, and it would move around the other side away from us. We watched it for awhile, then let it go about it's business. Looks like it's lost the end of its tail before, and regrown it - you can see some banding across its long tail.
