@brijazz: "The easiest way to stay out of jail is to avoid crime. "

@SkipErnst: WTF, Skip. He's just doing it for fun. The fact that it's in Google Earth is just gravy.

"Wi-Fi signal has an easier time traveling down and sideways than up"

Regarding "lead shielding" in dentists' offices, this is a bit of a myth. I have done a lot of wireless designs for hospitals, and they're always on about "lead shielding" in X-ray rooms. The "lead shielding" is actually foil, not heavy lead like you might expect, and it's tuned to X-ray frequencies, which are much…

@acidrain69: Microwaves usually interfere on channel 11 only. Channels 1 and 6 are often relatively clear of interference from microwave ovens. But on channel 11, they can be totally catastrophic.

@CaffineFreakUs: You are basically shit out of luck. Cinderblock, concrete, and brick, are heavily absorptive of RF energy in most cases. The only answer is higher-gain antennas (which boost on transmit and receive, unlike increased AP output power), but even then, your AP density is likely to be much higher than it…

@Les Mikesell: The short answer: not really. The best option is to buy a new(er) phone that uses DECT 6.0. These phones operate in a frequency range around 1.9 GHz, that does not interfere with any 802.11 transmitter.

@Donuthead: Yes, and "efficiency" must be the only value that we prioritize, right? Can you hear the sarcasm?

@Gregory R. Sudderth: Are you kidding me?! Exterminate a whole flock of chickens because their eggs tested positive for salmonella?! WTF? What a cruel and thoughtless response.

@smkm: Local food starts in your back yard, front yard, patio, whatever.

@Curves: I have three chickens myself (used to be four, but a hawk got one), and I have had a completely different experience. My chickens are raised with free access to pasture, so they require basically no clean-up. I move their house every day or two to keep them out of their own manure. You say that they're…

@bsegovia: For easily under $200, under $100 if you try, and under $50 if you're a real skinflint, you can get yourself two or three chickens that will give you and your family more eggs than you could ever eat. Done.

To all the people who are saying that hiding the SSID is "extra" security, here is the analogy I like to use.

@ape_ck: Bottom line is this. Use WPA or WPA2 with a strong key. Anybody who can crack that can find your SSID no matter what you do. And anybody who can't crack that can't benefit from your SSID at all.

@kyle.cw: Why not use it? Here's why. Do you have WPA2 encryption on your network? I hope you said yes. If you said yes, then hiding your SSID adds zero security to your network, because WPA2 with a strong key is basically unbreakable as far as we know today, and probably for a good long while.

@CubemonkeyNYC: You would think that female lawyers who visit clients in jail would have figured this out, and would buy bras without underwire. They do make them, you know.

@mat: Interference is usually highest on channel 11. Setting your Airport Express to channel 1 or 6 should reduce interference. This depends highly on the emission pattern of your microwave. I have done some tests where channel 1 and 6 were totally unaffected by a microwave, and in other cases, they were hurt…

@Cosmopolitan: r.e. "signals over any significant distance are attenuated": I have personally set up long-distance wireless links of 2 miles or more using a 250 mW transmitter (hardly "high power") and a 24 dBi antenna. Water attenuation in the air at 2.4 GHz is totally negligible. Something like 1/10 dB per km IIRC,…

@XerxesQados: This is stupid, as you may already know. If I play middle C through an enormous loudspeaker, I might blow out your eardrums. If I play it at a low enough volume, you wouldn't even be able to hear it.

@sethcollie: The energy put out by a typical microwave oven is about 600-1200 watts. The energy put out by your typical router is around 30 milliwatts. The incredibly low power of the wireless device is the reason.