Friday, December 3, 2010
Journaling Vs. Blogging
I've been keeping my journal for years since college. I just realize blogging is the new way of journaling and it's more convenient. I decided to start blogging instead of journaling. However, journaling is private, it's for yourself to reflect your thoughts and action and try to improve upon what you did wrong. Blogging is public and people can read and judge what you think and what you talk about.
Friday, November 13, 2009
商场如战场：酒桌上你该说什么？
酒桌上要想做到夸夸其谈真不容易,因为里面有很多文化和技巧. 百度一下,找到了下面一篇文章.
"谈起喝酒，几乎所有的人都有过切身体会，"酒文化"也是一个既古老而又新鲜的话题。现代人在交际过程中，已经越来越多地发现了酒的作用。
的确，酒作为一种交际媒介，迎宾送客，聚朋会友，彼此沟通，传递友情，发挥了独到的作用，所以，探索一下酒桌上的"奥妙"，有助于你求人交际的成功。
1、众欢同乐，切忌私语
大多数酒宴宾客都较多，所以应尽量多谈论一些大部分人能够参与的话题，得到多数人的认同。因为个人的兴趣爱好、知识面不同，所以话题尽量不要太偏，避免唯我独尊，天南海北，神侃无边，出现跑题现象，而忽略了众人。小贴士——派对历险记
特别是尽量不要与人贴耳小声私语，给别人一种神秘感，往往会产生"就你俩好"的嫉妒心理，影响喝酒的效果。
2、瞄准宾主，把握大局
大多数洒宴都有一个主题，也就是喝酒的目的。赴宴时首先应环视一下各位的神态表情，分清主次，不要单纯地为了喝酒而喝酒，而失去交友的好机会，更不要让某些哗众取宠的酒徒搅乱东道主的意思。
3、语言得当，诙谐幽默
洒桌上可以显示出一个人的才华、常识、修养和交际风度，有时一句诙谐幽默的语言，会给客人留下很深的印象，使人无形中对你产生好感。所以，应该知道什么时候该说什么话，语言得当，诙谐幽默很关键。
4、劝酒适度，切莫强求
在酒桌上往往会遇到劝酒的现象，有的人总喜欢把酒场当战场，想方设法劝别人多喝几杯，认为不喝到量就是不实在。
"以酒论英雄"，对酒量大的人还可以，酒量小的就犯难了，有时过分地劝酒，会将原有的朋友感情完全破坏。
5、敬酒有序，主次分明
敬酒也是一门学问。一般情况下敬酒应以年龄大小、职位高低、宾主身份为序，敬酒前一定要充分考虑好敬酒的顺序，分明主次。好使与不熟悉的人在一起喝酒，也要先打听一下身份或是留意别人如何称呼，这一点心中要有数，避免出现尴尬或伤感情的局面。
敬酒时一定要把握好敬酒的顺序。有求于某位客人在席上时，对他自然要倍加恭敬，但是要注意，如果在场有更高身份或年长的人，则不应只对能帮你忙的人毕恭毕敬，也要先给尊者长者敬酒，不然会使大家都很难为情。
6、察言观色，了解人心
要想在酒桌上得到大家的赞赏，就必须学会察言观色。因为与人交际，就要了解人心，左右逢源，才能演好酒桌上的角色。
7、锋芒渐射，稳坐泰山
酒席宴上要看清场合，正确估价自己的实力，不要太冲动，尽量保留一些酒力和说话的分寸，既不让别人小看自己又不要过分地表露自身，选择适当的机会，逐渐放射自己的锋芒，才能稳坐泰山，不致给别人产生"就这点能力"的想法，使大家不敢低估你的实力。 "
"谈起喝酒，几乎所有的人都有过切身体会，"酒文化"也是一个既古老而又新鲜的话题。现代人在交际过程中，已经越来越多地发现了酒的作用。
的确，酒作为一种交际媒介，迎宾送客，聚朋会友，彼此沟通，传递友情，发挥了独到的作用，所以，探索一下酒桌上的"奥妙"，有助于你求人交际的成功。
1、众欢同乐，切忌私语
大多数酒宴宾客都较多，所以应尽量多谈论一些大部分人能够参与的话题，得到多数人的认同。因为个人的兴趣爱好、知识面不同，所以话题尽量不要太偏，避免唯我独尊，天南海北，神侃无边，出现跑题现象，而忽略了众人。小贴士——派对历险记
特别是尽量不要与人贴耳小声私语，给别人一种神秘感，往往会产生"就你俩好"的嫉妒心理，影响喝酒的效果。
2、瞄准宾主，把握大局
大多数洒宴都有一个主题，也就是喝酒的目的。赴宴时首先应环视一下各位的神态表情，分清主次，不要单纯地为了喝酒而喝酒，而失去交友的好机会，更不要让某些哗众取宠的酒徒搅乱东道主的意思。
3、语言得当，诙谐幽默
洒桌上可以显示出一个人的才华、常识、修养和交际风度，有时一句诙谐幽默的语言，会给客人留下很深的印象，使人无形中对你产生好感。所以，应该知道什么时候该说什么话，语言得当，诙谐幽默很关键。
4、劝酒适度，切莫强求
在酒桌上往往会遇到劝酒的现象，有的人总喜欢把酒场当战场，想方设法劝别人多喝几杯，认为不喝到量就是不实在。
"以酒论英雄"，对酒量大的人还可以，酒量小的就犯难了，有时过分地劝酒，会将原有的朋友感情完全破坏。
5、敬酒有序，主次分明
敬酒也是一门学问。一般情况下敬酒应以年龄大小、职位高低、宾主身份为序，敬酒前一定要充分考虑好敬酒的顺序，分明主次。好使与不熟悉的人在一起喝酒，也要先打听一下身份或是留意别人如何称呼，这一点心中要有数，避免出现尴尬或伤感情的局面。
敬酒时一定要把握好敬酒的顺序。有求于某位客人在席上时，对他自然要倍加恭敬，但是要注意，如果在场有更高身份或年长的人，则不应只对能帮你忙的人毕恭毕敬，也要先给尊者长者敬酒，不然会使大家都很难为情。
6、察言观色，了解人心
要想在酒桌上得到大家的赞赏，就必须学会察言观色。因为与人交际，就要了解人心，左右逢源，才能演好酒桌上的角色。
7、锋芒渐射，稳坐泰山
酒席宴上要看清场合，正确估价自己的实力，不要太冲动，尽量保留一些酒力和说话的分寸，既不让别人小看自己又不要过分地表露自身，选择适当的机会，逐渐放射自己的锋芒，才能稳坐泰山，不致给别人产生"就这点能力"的想法，使大家不敢低估你的实力。 "
Thursday, November 12, 2009
婚姻如鞋，你腳上是什麼鞋？
婚姻如鞋，你腳上是什麼鞋？
上网的时候突然看到这篇文章，很有趣。1.男才女貌的婚姻是品牌鞋，看上去高貴、漂亮，感覺上舒服、大方，但它的價格昂貴，經不得泥濘，需要精心保養、時時珍惜。
2.青梅竹馬的婚姻是布鞋，看上去樸素無華，穿起來經濟，放起來了無牽掛，感覺上輕便快捷，可一旦登堂入室，總讓人感覺不大入流。
3.患難與共的婚姻是旅遊鞋，它看上去奇特，穿上去靈巧。其最大的特點是歷經風雨泥濘也不會脫幫掉底，且只要穿上就總是和腳抱得緊緊的。因此，越是在坎坎坷坷的人生路上，越是顯出其耐用合腳的特徵。
4.浪漫型的婚姻是舞鞋，它輕便、靈活、雅致，但一離開平坦光滑的特定環境，就顯得極難適應，也極不實用。
5.事業型的婚姻是跑鞋，它能和腳相互幫襯、共創輝煌，但一脫離事業的跑道，鞋和腳就很難相互適應。
6.老夫少妻的婚姻是鬆糕鞋，穿著它雖不能長途跋涉，但卻顯得頗特別。
7.老妻少夫的婚姻是大傻鞋，看上去滑稽、穿起來方便、脫下去容易。不過，穿上它只能在臥室裡自我感覺，如果跑到街上顯擺就難免會成為話柄。
8.開放型的婚姻是涼鞋，它有著極強的季節性，它能讓人在情感升溫的夏季，毫不猶豫地穿上它，又能讓人在情感的季節變涼之後，很隨意地就脫掉它。
9.紅杏出牆的婚姻是拖鞋，它很好穿，又很方便，有很大的適應性，但致命的弱點是出不了大門、上不了正路、走不了多遠。
10.被金錢收買的婚姻是小尺碼的緊口繡花鞋，看上去挺美，但只有腳知道：感覺並不好受。
選擇滿意的婚姻如同選雙滿意的鞋子，重要的是鞋的尺碼和腳的尺碼相同，最好是什麼樣的腳穿什麼樣的鞋子。舒適的鞋子養腳。但千萬要記住：舒適的鞋子，不一定是最漂亮的鞋子。任何時候，我們都只能讓鞋子來適應腳，而不能讓腳去適應鞋子。
鞋子舒服不舒服只有腳知道。上路最怕穿錯鞋，婚姻最怕受折磨。
如果鞋子特別擠腳，要趁著還沒鞋腳兩傷就趕快換上一雙!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
吃什么长头发？
最近这一年头发掉得特别多，我好害怕秃顶啊！这么年轻就秃顶，难看死了！百度了一下，发现可能是压力太大，加上营养不良。如果和我有类似的情况的朋友也看看吧。
"造成脱发的因素很多，主要有以下几种：精神因素，营养因素，内分泌因素，遗传因素，药物、物理损伤，内脏疾病及头皮的化脓性感染等。
治疗上首先要祛除造成脱发的因素，同时要加强营养，保持精神愉快，经常锻炼身体，以便毛囊恢复再生功能。在饮食上要保持营养平衡，多吃含维生素和矿物质 的食物，如绿色蔬菜、水果、豆制品、瘦肉和花生、芝麻、蛋黄，限制脂肪和糖类食物及刺激性食物的摄入，头发出油多的人更应如此。
其次保持头皮和头发的清洁，但洗头不宜太勤，更不能使用碱性强的洗发剂。
另外，介绍两种小药膳你可以试试。
黑芝麻是防止掉发的最佳食补材料，这是因为黑脂肪含有头发生长健壮的重要成分如卵磷脂、蛋白质、维他命 E、亚油酸等。经常服用除了让头发乌黑之外，还能够补血通便呢。
1.黑芝麻磨粉：最简单的服用法到超级市场选购不加糖的黑芝麻粉，每天一汤匙即可。不爱吃早餐的漂亮妹妹，最好能够把芝麻粉当做早餐，一个月后，就看得到效果。但是别吃太多，以免一直跑厕所。
2.百合芝麻炖猪心：麻烦、可是也有效百合、黑芝麻、红枣、生姜等各少许，再加上猪心一个，小火慢炖两三个小时，就能让人心情安定、减少掉发。一个月可吃一次，虽然麻烦了点，但是很值得投资。
下面来自百度知道
"造成脱发的因素很多，主要有以下几种：精神因素，营养因素，内分泌因素，遗传因素，药物、物理损伤，内脏疾病及头皮的化脓性感染等。
治疗上首先要祛除造成脱发的因素，同时要加强营养，保持精神愉快，经常锻炼身体，以便毛囊恢复再生功能。在饮食上要保持营养平衡，多吃含维生素和矿物质 的食物，如绿色蔬菜、水果、豆制品、瘦肉和花生、芝麻、蛋黄，限制脂肪和糖类食物及刺激性食物的摄入，头发出油多的人更应如此。
其次保持头皮和头发的清洁，但洗头不宜太勤，更不能使用碱性强的洗发剂。
另外，介绍两种小药膳你可以试试。
黑芝麻是防止掉发的最佳食补材料，这是因为黑脂肪含有头发生长健壮的重要成分如卵磷脂、蛋白质、维他命 E、亚油酸等。经常服用除了让头发乌黑之外，还能够补血通便呢。
1.黑芝麻磨粉：最简单的服用法到超级市场选购不加糖的黑芝麻粉，每天一汤匙即可。不爱吃早餐的漂亮妹妹，最好能够把芝麻粉当做早餐，一个月后，就看得到效果。但是别吃太多，以免一直跑厕所。
2.百合芝麻炖猪心：麻烦、可是也有效百合、黑芝麻、红枣、生姜等各少许，再加上猪心一个，小火慢炖两三个小时，就能让人心情安定、减少掉发。一个月可吃一次，虽然麻烦了点，但是很值得投资。
下面来自百度知道
"您问得很不错。脱发不是“病”！可是还是有不少人老惦记着去医院弄点什么
药来“治疗”脱发。基本的常识告诉我们，人不是靠吃药长大的，人的头发当然
也不是啦! 头部是人体血液循环的“制高点”。因此，头发所需要的营养就很难
送达这里,尤其是当我们所摄取的营养浓度不够时，脱发或者发质不良的情况就
更容易发生了。
头发犹如禾苗，当干旱或养分不足时，枯萎衰败的现象就不可避免的出现了。
几乎所有的脱发和发质问题最终都可以归结为头发的营养补充和代谢问题。
只有补充头发所需要的营养物质来解决脱发问题才是根本有效的办法。因为头发
是一种不断的生长发育的人体组织，也需要吸收营养才能保证正常的生长发育。
化学合成物质为主要原料再添加些植物成分的“营养洗发水”主要的作用就是清
洁头发，对头发的生长也不可能会有什么功效。因为它们毕竟不能提供头发组
织生长发育所需要的营养物质。
【重要提示】头发组织几乎完全是由角蛋白构成的，这种角蛋白又是由近二十
种氨基酸物质在人体内合成的。因此，
除了氨基酸以外，这个世界上就再也没有什么可以生成和修复头发组织的物质了！
氨基酸物质在体内仅需三四十分钟即可被人体全部吸收，这些营养物质通过血液
循环送达毛囊以合成和修复头发组织。内服吸收效率更高；营养最全面；效果最
直接。只要坚持按量服用,十天左右止脱，七八个月就可以生长出浓密的头发来。
氨基酸是蛋白质的基本组成单位，是人体利用各种蛋白质的基本形式。我们在吃
进各种蛋白质食品后，只有将这些蛋白质消化分解成氨基酸后才能用来合成和修
复人体器官和组织。氨基酸和维生素都是人体不可或缺的基本营养元素，
服用这些营养物质就像日常吃饭和喝水一样安全而无任何毒副作用。 "
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Amazing Paper Craft
I have found this blog about amazing paper castle, it's really amazing, it took an art major student in Tokoyo 4 years to do it. Amazing!! From Tokoyobling:
"I had the immense opportunity to see this wonderful paper craft art installation by a genius of the name of Wataru Itou, a young student of a major art university here in Tokyo. The installation is hand made over four years of hard work, complete with electrical lights and a moving train, all made of paper! Clearly, this man must have created one of the most stunning examples of Paper Craft in the world? At the exhibition you will also have the chance to see a video showing Mr. Itou at work in his studio, cutting and folding piece by piece. The exhibition is called Umi no Ue no Oshiro (A Castle On the Ocean ), 海の上のお城. It is exhibited at Uminohotaru, a place which in itself is a major attraction: a service area in the middle of the ocean, right between Tokyo City and Chiba Prefecture. If you haven’t checked it out yet, use Google Earth for a close up of what is probably the weirdest parking lot in the world. Well, it’s more than a parking lot actually, but I am saving a more detailed description along with photos for another post. For now, enjoy this wonderful work of art!"
"I had the immense opportunity to see this wonderful paper craft art installation by a genius of the name of Wataru Itou, a young student of a major art university here in Tokyo. The installation is hand made over four years of hard work, complete with electrical lights and a moving train, all made of paper! Clearly, this man must have created one of the most stunning examples of Paper Craft in the world? At the exhibition you will also have the chance to see a video showing Mr. Itou at work in his studio, cutting and folding piece by piece. The exhibition is called Umi no Ue no Oshiro (A Castle On the Ocean ), 海の上のお城. It is exhibited at Uminohotaru, a place which in itself is a major attraction: a service area in the middle of the ocean, right between Tokyo City and Chiba Prefecture. If you haven’t checked it out yet, use Google Earth for a close up of what is probably the weirdest parking lot in the world. Well, it’s more than a parking lot actually, but I am saving a more detailed description along with photos for another post. For now, enjoy this wonderful work of art!"
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Turn your $60 router into a $600 router
by Adam Pash
Of all the great DIY projects at this year's Maker Faire, the one project that really caught my eye involved converting a regular old $60 router into a powerful, highly configurable $600 router. The router has an interesting history, but all you really need to know is that the special sauce lies in embedding Linux in your router. I found this project especially attractive because: 1) It's easy, and 2) it's totally free.
So when I got the chance, I dove into converting my own router. After a relatively simple firmware upgrade, you can boost your wireless signal, prioritize what programs get your precious bandwidth, and do lots of other simple or potentially much more complicated things to improve your computing experience. Today I'm going to walk you through upgrading your router's firmware to the powerful open source DD-WRT firmware.
What you'll need:
One of the supported routers. I used a Linksys WRT54GL Wireless router that I picked up from Newegg, and the instructions that follow detail the upgrade process specifically for that router and its close siblings. If you're upgrading one of the other supported routers, you might want to look into instructions specific to your router. These instructions may generally work for other supported routers, but I'm not making any promises.
The generic DD-WRT v23 SP1 mini firmware version located here.*
The generic DD-WRT v23 SP1 standard firmware version located here.*
*You'll be upgrading the firmware twice, first using the mini firmware, then using the standard.
Upgrading your router to the DD-WRT firmware
Check out this gallery for the detailed step-by-step upgrade with screenshots. When you're finished, come back here for some of my favorite tweaks. Update, October '07: Reader Josh Harris writes in:
All the new WRT54G routers being sold now are v8, and the previous DD-WRT software didn't work on them. However, recent versions added support for the new v8 router— but it's a little more in depth.
Got this to work on the WRT54G v8 (should work on 7 as well, just replace the files with the corresponding 7 version):
First of all, use IE explorer. Firefox didn't work at all on this for me, even after install. Second, go to this page. Read the textfile carefully and follow its instructions. Two edits to the textfile:
1. Make sure you go to command prompt and type ipconfig /all. Record the default gateway, the subnet mask, and the two DNS addresses. When you set the IP address manually on your desktop/laptop to 192.168.1.100 as per the instructions, you will need to set these 4 numbers as well.
2. Don't forget when you do the tftp that you need to be in the folder that contains the downloaded dd-wrt.v24_micro_wrt54gv8.bin file (for example, if it is in C:/Downloads, type /cd C:/Downloads).
Lastly don't forget you need to be on a wire to the router, and download both vxworkskillerGv8.bin and dd-wrt.v24_micro_wrt54gv8.bin before you start. Following this procedure will install the micro version on your router.
After this, switch your laptop/desktop back to receiving your IP address via DHCP rather than the manual configuration you set as per the instructions. You will be able to access the DD-WRt micro install via 192.168.1.1 with the login username root and the password admin. From here, you still need to install the DD-WRT standard.
Unfortunately, you cannot go any farther than this with WRT54G v7 and v8 because Linksys downgraded the physical memory in these recent models. However, micro is still an improvement over the original Linksys firmware.
Boost your wireless signal
The first thing I did after I finished the firmware upgrade was give my wireless signal a much needed boost ("needed" in the sense any signal boosting that can be done needs to be done, right?). Doing so is trivial.
Go to the Wireless tab, then to Advanced Settings. Find the entry labeled Xmit Power, which is set by default at a paltry 28mW, and can be set up to 251mW. To be honest, I don't know much about the science of the whole process, but I do know that 251 is WAY bigger than 28. However, you probably don't want to pump it up to 251mW right away.
The DD-WRT manual suggests that a "safe increase of up to 70 would be suitable for most users." Anything too much above that and you'd be flirting with overheating your router and damaging the life of your router (though I've heard that many people have pushed it up to 100 or above). So go ahead and change your Xmit Power to 70 and click the Save Settings button at the bottom of the page.
I can't measure for sure how the signal boost has improved things for me since I've just moved into this apartment, but I can say that the signal is full bars pretty much anywhere I go. How's that for scientific?
Throttling your bandwidth by program
While most routers treat one request for bandwidth the same as any other, your new $600 router is a step above. By setting up QoS (Quality of Service) rules, you can give priority to your interactive traffic (like VoIP, web browsing, or gaming) while throttling traffic that doesn't require a steady rate of bandwidth to function (like P2P programs).
Doing so will ensure that even if your network gets clogged with lots of file sharing, you'll still have enough bandwidth left over to make all of your free SkypeOut phone calls. If you've got roommates who tend to sponge up a lot of bandwidth, you can even prioritize by IP address.
What to do if you brick your router
If, god forbid, while flashing your firmware you end up "bricking" your router, don't worry - all is not lost. The DD-WRT wiki (a great resource of all things DD-WRT) can help you recover from a bad flash.
Of course, your router will handle securing your network, port forwarding, and all the other things your regular old router does.
Obviously I've just scratched the surface here, so if you decide to try this out, there's a lot of potential for other things you can do. Any readers tricked out a router with DD-WRT or one of the other open source distros? Tell us what tweaks have worked for you in the comments or at tips at lifehacker.com.
Adam Pash is an associate editor for Lifehacker who loves a good signal boost. His special feature Hack Attack appears every Tuesday on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Hack Attack RSS feed to get new installments in your newsreader.
Of all the great DIY projects at this year's Maker Faire, the one project that really caught my eye involved converting a regular old $60 router into a powerful, highly configurable $600 router. The router has an interesting history, but all you really need to know is that the special sauce lies in embedding Linux in your router. I found this project especially attractive because: 1) It's easy, and 2) it's totally free.
So when I got the chance, I dove into converting my own router. After a relatively simple firmware upgrade, you can boost your wireless signal, prioritize what programs get your precious bandwidth, and do lots of other simple or potentially much more complicated things to improve your computing experience. Today I'm going to walk you through upgrading your router's firmware to the powerful open source DD-WRT firmware.
What you'll need:
One of the supported routers. I used a Linksys WRT54GL Wireless router that I picked up from Newegg, and the instructions that follow detail the upgrade process specifically for that router and its close siblings. If you're upgrading one of the other supported routers, you might want to look into instructions specific to your router. These instructions may generally work for other supported routers, but I'm not making any promises.
The generic DD-WRT v23 SP1 mini firmware version located here.*
The generic DD-WRT v23 SP1 standard firmware version located here.*
*You'll be upgrading the firmware twice, first using the mini firmware, then using the standard.
Upgrading your router to the DD-WRT firmware
Check out this gallery for the detailed step-by-step upgrade with screenshots. When you're finished, come back here for some of my favorite tweaks. Update, October '07: Reader Josh Harris writes in:
All the new WRT54G routers being sold now are v8, and the previous DD-WRT software didn't work on them. However, recent versions added support for the new v8 router— but it's a little more in depth.
Got this to work on the WRT54G v8 (should work on 7 as well, just replace the files with the corresponding 7 version):
First of all, use IE explorer. Firefox didn't work at all on this for me, even after install. Second, go to this page. Read the textfile carefully and follow its instructions. Two edits to the textfile:
1. Make sure you go to command prompt and type ipconfig /all. Record the default gateway, the subnet mask, and the two DNS addresses. When you set the IP address manually on your desktop/laptop to 192.168.1.100 as per the instructions, you will need to set these 4 numbers as well.
2. Don't forget when you do the tftp that you need to be in the folder that contains the downloaded dd-wrt.v24_micro_wrt54gv8.bin file (for example, if it is in C:/Downloads, type /cd C:/Downloads).
Lastly don't forget you need to be on a wire to the router, and download both vxworkskillerGv8.bin and dd-wrt.v24_micro_wrt54gv8.bin before you start. Following this procedure will install the micro version on your router.
After this, switch your laptop/desktop back to receiving your IP address via DHCP rather than the manual configuration you set as per the instructions. You will be able to access the DD-WRt micro install via 192.168.1.1 with the login username root and the password admin. From here, you still need to install the DD-WRT standard.
Unfortunately, you cannot go any farther than this with WRT54G v7 and v8 because Linksys downgraded the physical memory in these recent models. However, micro is still an improvement over the original Linksys firmware.
Boost your wireless signal
The first thing I did after I finished the firmware upgrade was give my wireless signal a much needed boost ("needed" in the sense any signal boosting that can be done needs to be done, right?). Doing so is trivial.
Go to the Wireless tab, then to Advanced Settings. Find the entry labeled Xmit Power, which is set by default at a paltry 28mW, and can be set up to 251mW. To be honest, I don't know much about the science of the whole process, but I do know that 251 is WAY bigger than 28. However, you probably don't want to pump it up to 251mW right away.
The DD-WRT manual suggests that a "safe increase of up to 70 would be suitable for most users." Anything too much above that and you'd be flirting with overheating your router and damaging the life of your router (though I've heard that many people have pushed it up to 100 or above). So go ahead and change your Xmit Power to 70 and click the Save Settings button at the bottom of the page.
I can't measure for sure how the signal boost has improved things for me since I've just moved into this apartment, but I can say that the signal is full bars pretty much anywhere I go. How's that for scientific?
Throttling your bandwidth by program
While most routers treat one request for bandwidth the same as any other, your new $600 router is a step above. By setting up QoS (Quality of Service) rules, you can give priority to your interactive traffic (like VoIP, web browsing, or gaming) while throttling traffic that doesn't require a steady rate of bandwidth to function (like P2P programs).
Doing so will ensure that even if your network gets clogged with lots of file sharing, you'll still have enough bandwidth left over to make all of your free SkypeOut phone calls. If you've got roommates who tend to sponge up a lot of bandwidth, you can even prioritize by IP address.
What to do if you brick your router
If, god forbid, while flashing your firmware you end up "bricking" your router, don't worry - all is not lost. The DD-WRT wiki (a great resource of all things DD-WRT) can help you recover from a bad flash.
Of course, your router will handle securing your network, port forwarding, and all the other things your regular old router does.
Obviously I've just scratched the surface here, so if you decide to try this out, there's a lot of potential for other things you can do. Any readers tricked out a router with DD-WRT or one of the other open source distros? Tell us what tweaks have worked for you in the comments or at tips at lifehacker.com.
Adam Pash is an associate editor for Lifehacker who loves a good signal boost. His special feature Hack Attack appears every Tuesday on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Hack Attack RSS feed to get new installments in your newsreader.
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