better congestion control in linux

Note to self:

modprobe tcp_westwood
sysctl net.ipv4.tcp_available_congestion_control=westwood

poor man’s bandwidth control

Consumer broadband modems and routers typically cannot deal with a large number of connections from multiple users, and the cheap firmware has no settings to restrict the bandwidth of each user. This is when you resort to the physical layer to help you out.

Solution: Restrict wifi to the really slow 802.11b, maybe even slower, and let the physical layer radio contention fake the effects of fair bandwidth control. Works like a charm, no more dropped connections.

carps and the Chicago River

This article is talking about control measures to stop the Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes via the Chicago River. The interesting part is this however:

They have called for the drastic and massively expensive action of separating the Great Lakes from the Mississippi water basin. The two systems were connected in an epic feat of engineering a century ago when the Chicago River was reversed so that the city’s waste would flow away from Lake Michigan — which provides the city’s drinking water — rather than into it.

Never having been to Chicago, I didn’t know of this geographic feature.

What’s more, why is the fish so terrible? I mean all kinds of carps are eaten in China all the time. Apparently, “the fish tend to be boney and have an unpleasant taste to the American palate.” Oh well.

Now that I think about it, fish that Americans like are all meaty and have thick bones.

How fish is often eaten in China:
http://static.zhidao.manmankan.com/kimages/201612/05_1480916847767686.jpg

How fish is often eaten here:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5589/images/5589_MEDIUM.jpg