i managed to actually get the m0n0wall to work after messing around with the cables a little bit and power cycling the various components. i was using the used linksys router i bought recently as an wifi access point (by turning off the DHCP server) and managed to see the internet. i was so relieved, after slaving over the setup last night and couldn't get anything to work. 
the whole reason why i'm setting up a m0n0wall box is so my parents came have some control over the public wifi they intend to have at their cafe. through a captive portal page, customers seeking to get online will be first redirected to an username/password page. 
i spent some time designing a basic captive portal splash screen, before calling up my father and letting him know everything was ready. when he came later to check on the setup, we can to this conclusion: instead of having a captive portal machine that requires username and password registration, wouldn't it be much easier to set up a public wireless access point (WAP), and just disconnect the WAP when not in use? it'd also save on electricity: the m0n0wall PC used 70 watts of power, compared to the WAP which used just 7 watts.
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in the afternoon i went to the garden to do some watering.
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rob house dropped by in the late afternoon. i haven't seen him in a while, he just came back from a 6 weeks eurotrip. we were talking about bike accidents. i remember he'd been in a bicycle accident when we used to work together back on broad street. he hit his head (no helmet, naturally) and had to go to the hospital when he began to feel dizzy.
my father came later as well, with a delivery of some vietnamese beef broth and noodles.