Get a WRT54G and then talk to these guys (http://sveasoft.com) about some third-party firmware for it. Then, boost your signal, setup SSHD, sysloging, iptables, etc, etc...
Paid the $20 for the 'full' release firmware, and I'm MUCH happier with the WRT54G's functionality.
Now, if only the madwifi driver supported WAP-TKIP w/AES...
--JamesT