Cable to DSL: FASTER, CHEAPER, BETTER, more RELIABLE!

After 4 years of using Cable for broadband access, 3 with Comcast and 1 with Wide Open West (WOW) we've changed over to DSL and couldn't be happier! Our primary reason for the change was that our WOW connection tended to drop sporadically and Lisa now works from home a few days per week so we need a rock-solid connection. We were in the low-tier of service with WOW so the throughput was around 500kbps for about $23 per month. I signed up with SBC under the $14.95/month promotion for new customers. Initial results look great.

According to Speedtest throughput is 1.3 mbps, of course your connection speed may vary as this depends upon your distance from the switching station but if you have a slow connection (500 kbps or less) you'll likely see a boost for a very low cost. If you're thinking of signing up, please help out our TWINS (any credits received will go towards the babies) by signing up here and using this referral code "LC3216001".

Thought of the Moment

"Let Tao move. Let Tao have a place in your heart. Let it move through your actions. Let Tao speak through your words."
Wisdom of the Tao
Interpreted by Priya Hemenway

Arts in Chicago - "Orion" at the Ravinia Festival

Philip Glass and his Orchestra performs "Orion" at Ravinia. Originally composed for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Glass captures the essence of numerous world cultures. This moving composition combines didgeridoo, flute, Chinese instruments, with percussion, piano, and synthesizer into a harmonic blend. Early on a lone voice calls out it what seems a lament to the loss of traditional culture and values to modernization and so-called progress. Glass sends a message that change comes at price: for all we gain we lose something sacred. The first two movements of this composition were directly meaningful to us for how it combined east, west, and Australian aboriginal overtones; capturing the very essence of our current existence. The third movement was reminiscent of an Irish jig and low and behold young people on the lawn actually broke out in dance! This was followed with a diverse combination of world cultures including song in a native African tongue combined with African instruments. Indian sitar follows this backed by an ethereal blend of instruments allowing the sitar to glide as if floating through the air gently easing above, below, and through the clouds. The end finishes in a grand crescendo with each musician from around the world playing side by side in, a model of harmony for the people of the world. True Art 5*. Performed 21-Jun-05.

Arts Around the World – "Page 8" at the Playhouse in the Sydney Opera House.

The Playhouse in the Sydney Opera House stages "Page 8", Written by Louis Nowra and David Page. "Page 8" is the life story of David Page –who also performs this one-man show- explores the life experiences of David Page, Australia’s answer to the Jackson 5. We follow Page from a young man who danced on the kitchen table to entertain his 11 siblings (yes, thats right 11!) to his entering a talent show which eventually attracted the attention of a record label. Page becomes a national child-star by age 13 until his voice breaks at 15. Then fame and fortune, ever fleeting, abandon him. He goes through various phases coming to terms with life and with coming out. Page is a natural story teller, creating a sense of intimacy with the audience as we watch him, I felt as if he were telling the story just to me, as if we were together and selected me to share his life experiences with. Interspersed in the narrative are photos, videos, song, and dance. An exceptional performance in the world famous Sydney Opera House. 4*. Runs 31-May-05 through 11-Jun-05.

Technology - The Tiger Wakes!

Yesterday I picked up a copy of the Mac OS X upgrade, Tiger, from Micro Center. They had a fabulous deal, only $79 after rebate. The upgrade ran smoothly, I chose the Customize and de-selected the foreign language support and de-selected the Printer Drivers for those which I don't use. This saves lots of space on your hard drive. The computer I am installing it on is a 15" Powerbook Al, 1.25 ghz g4, 80 gb, 512 mb ram, superdrive. The install ran smoothly, no problems to report. OK, there was one issue, I must admit. The new version of QuickTime, grabbed the SMIL filetype away from Real Player making it impossible to listen to Real audio. Who cares, right? Well, I listen to NPR a lot through streaming and they use Real so, I care. To solve this problem, open up the Info for an SMIL file (select the file and press Command+I) and choose "Open With" Real Player" then press "Change All" and click OK to the confirmation dialog.

I've only been using the new OS for a couple hours but feel compelled to share some of the good news! Here are my Top 3 new features:
1. Improved AirPort Signal Strength
I've always had a problem with signal strength in parts of my house using the PowerBook (an issue that my iBook didn't share). Well I am pleased to say that the PowerBook now shows amazing signal strength! I had no idea it was even possible to improve this from a software update.
2. Safari blazes!
Safari was already super fast to render pages now it is even faster! Pages load so fast it seems like my broadband connection has been upgraded to ultraband!
3. Mail UI Overhaul
Mail has been overhauled and the updated UI looks great and makes Mail even easier to use by improvements in the buttons.

Other "nice to mention" things include:
Dashboard widgets, they look great! These are small applications, such as a dictionary, iTunes controller, Weather, etc that are toggled visible/invisible by pressing F12. The great the great thing is that your current work is not disrupted in any way. Also there is a visual effected when adding a new widget that looks like a ripple in a pond, very cool!
RSS ScreensaverThere is a new screen saver that loads RSS feeds and displays them in an effect that could be described as Apple meets Matrix! Think the classic blue background with text floating, panning, and zooming. You can select from a variety of feeds to display.

The upgrade brings a fresh breath of life to the Mac and I strongly recommend it. Well worth the money, especially for PowerBook owners!

Arts in Chicago - "Silk" at the Goodman Theatre

The Chinese believe that when two people are fated to love one another, there is a red string that pulls them together in life; in this story it is a silk thread that brings two people together across vast distances and foreign cultures. The Goodman Theater stages "Silk" adapted and directed by the award-winning Mary Zimmerman from the novel by Allesandro Baricco. Here we follow the story of Hervé Joncour, played by Ryan Artzberger, a silkworm egg merchant in the late 19th century who -due to a disease affecting the silkworm eggs- is forced to travel all the way to Japan to purchase silkworm eggs free of the disease. While there he meets an exotic woman, though no words would ever pass directly between the two, they share an intimacy that is beyond words. What they do not know frees them from the constraints of preconception to experience a love as pure as the silk that brought them together. We watch the performers almost like a man looking in from outside a window, as voyeurs in the life of Hervé. The Narrator, played by Christopher Donahue, is fantastic at weaving the threads of this story together, acting both as omniscient observer and occasional participant. Zimmerman creates a sense of epic scope through simple yet remarkably effective techniques such as rotation of a walking stick in a full circle whilst the Narrator walks alongside Hervé to represent the enormous distances being traveled. Set designer, Scott Bradley, deserves recognition for creating a dynamic set that represents the town of Lavilledieu in France and when lifted transforms into the mountaintop village of Shirakawa in Japan. The tragedy in this story lies in the notion that only in that which we cannot understand can we ever really experience what truly is. Seeking to unlearn and free ourselves from our selves we can truly live yet our self inevitably traps us in ourselves. Runs beginning 23-Apr, 2005. Highly recommended. 4.5 Stars ****1/2.

Quote of the moment - Nature vs. Nurture

"Historically, nature/nurture divided what was fixed from what could be changed. But what our biology really gives us is our plasticity, our ability to respond to our experiences. That's what's innate."
Evelyn Fox Keller
Science Historian and Physicist
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Thought of the Moment - "The Divine Spark"

"Though we might provide kindling for the fire, it is God who provides the Divine Spark."
Cuauhtemoc Chamorro

Poem of the Moment - "Secret of Life"

Take time to Think. It is the source of Power.
Take time to Play. It is the secret of perpetual Youth.
Take time to be friendly. It is the road to Happiness.
Take time to Work. It is the price of Success.
Take time to Pray. It is the greatest power on Earth.
Take time to Love and be Loved.
It is the way of God.

Author Unknown.

Arts in Chicago - "The Story" at the Goodman Theatre

The Goodman Theater stages Tracey Scott Wilson's "The Story" directed Chuck Smith, a play about getting ahead above all else. Yvonne, played by Lizzy Cooper Davis, is a journalist who must decide if her career is more important than someone's life. Davis convincing portrays a journalist who longs for upward mobility regardless of the cost or consequences. The staging is interesting in its usage of multiple dialogs transpiring simultaneously, a metaphor that every story has two sides. Is there truth or only perspective? Runs 5-Mar, 2005 through 10-Apr, 2005. Recommended. 3 Stars ***.

Arts in Chicago - "Floyd and Clea Under the Western Sky" at the Goodman Theatre

The Goodman Theater stages the musical-drama "Floyd and Clea Under the Western Sky" directed Michael Wilson, a story of a man who feels he is at the end of his road and a woman at the beginning of hers. Floyd, played by David Cale who also authored the story, is a down and out musician who has lost hope. Having given up on life he lives in his car drinking and occasionally writing melancholy songs. Enter Clea, played by Faryl Millet, a vivacious young woman who intuits that she will one day be a successful musician. Their open and honest friendship serves as a source of strength to each other; Clea gives Floyd renewed hope and Floyd gives Clea compassion. Both Cale and Millet are excellent in their roles, they inhabit their characters. The story is interwoven with songs suited to the context, making this drama particularly entertaining. I found one of the songs lyrics especially poignant, a song about seeking "an uncluttered mind". I relate to this seemingly simple notion; the need to clear one's mind, experiencing each bright shining moment as it truly is: the miracle of existence itself. Runs 9-Apr, 2005 through 8-May, 2005. Highly recommended. 4 Stars ****.