Words and Stuff...

No pictures today, just words. I was oh-so-politely reminded (Alyssa, erhem...) that I have not posted in a month. I really don't want to formulate complete paragraphs, so I'll copy Michael's style and write in a numbered list. Lazy slug am I.

1. This morning the Staples delivery dude showed up and handed me a big box. Guess what was in it? A Linksys PAP2 VOIP Phone Adapter (woohoo!) and 180 recordable DVDs, at a total cost of $89.76 before rebate, $39.76 after. I am a total nerd. I know.
   
   
2. I spent the ENTIRE day doing the following:
1. Unlocking the Vonage-branded PAP2 phone adapter for administrative control.
1. Flashing it twice with unlocking firmware using an TFTP server. It took me forever to realize that I wasn't actually updating the firmware, as I had the wrong IP address for the TFTP server! Once I had, unlocking the adapter took a matter of minutes.
2. Getting the unlocked phone adapter to make free phone calls.
1. Set up proper settings to use Voipbuster's SIP server.
2. It didn't work for several hours, until I found that I needed to also use a STUN server. So I did that, and finally had (drumroll, please)...
   
3. FREE calls to landlines and mobile phones in the US, Canada, and much of the EU, from a standard cordless telephone!
4. This means I will be calling a ton of people to test it out and chat!
   
5. Again, I know I am a nerd.
   
   
3. I am extremely excited about the coming weeks' happenings. These include:
• Oct. 12 - My brother Chandler is returning from his 24 months as a missionary in and around Vienna, Austria!
• Oct. 18 - I leave with Chandler and my mother for a lightning tour to visit family in California and Oregon. Before we leave, I submit my mission papers.
  
• Oct. 24-27 - I attend the 13th Foresight Conference on Advanced Nanotechnology: Advancing Beneficial Nanotechnology. This will be my second conference (the first was the Mars Society Conference in Boulder in August).
  
• Late Oct. - Should find my mission call in my mailbox.
• Dec. ? - View full-home Contour Crafting demonstration at USC. Woot!
  
• Late Dec. - Depart for mission; take over world.
  
  
4. Please feel free to contact me for much chatting pleasure; see my profile at top right for contact info!
   

Well, that about sums it up! Of course, I have also many much more interesting and crazy things going on (in my head and out). Get in touch with me and we'll chat!

Cheers,
Chris