It’s been a busy few weeks with school ending for many of my good friends, the election dragging on, temperatures soaring, and life’s adventure in full swing. Two things to share with you all.

Zoo Pictures

Sunday 5/4/08 on a wild hair I decided to spend the afternoon doing a bit of urban tourism.  I recently purchased two replacement Lithium-Ion batteries off e-bay for my camera and was curious to see how the generic brand batteries would hold up. The price difference was amazing - $10 for two 1800 rated batteries, compared to the $60-70 official price for one 1300 rated name brand battery through a major outlet.  For those curious the batteries worked out great with over 3 hours of battery time each.  Quite an improvement when compared to the dwindling 2-30 minutes of active time I’m currently getting out of my old battery.

I shot off a few quick texts before taking a power nap.  As expected most of the people I contacted were busy or lacked interest in the Zoo. It was actually almost a relief.  By and large I was eager to go and wander at my own pace, taking photos, enjoying the animals and generally spending some time as a tourist in my home city.  It’s always one of those funny quirks - the way in which we travel hours and thousands of miles to explore foreign destinations and then forget to take even the smallest amount of time to explore the area around our own city.

After having a little trouble locating the Zoo (google maps showed a non-existent street) I eventually arrived a few minutes before 3 which gave me a full 2 hours of wandering before the zoo closed. All things considered the Phoenix Zoo has a lot to offer.  It’s definitely not the largest Zoo out there, nor is it the nicest.  It is, however, ideal for a lazy Sunday afternoon.  If the 90+ degree weather left me wondering if it was still spring the blossoming flowers assuaged my doubts. The Zoo grounds were alive with the buzzing of pollinating bees and splashed in the reds, yellows, and golds of blooming flowers.

Despite the heat I was surprised to find that a lion’s share of the animals were out and about enjoying the late afternoon sun…Though the lions and tigers themselves were holed up in the shade and all but invisible. The beauty, power and majesty present in some of the animals is truly amazing. A photo can express a lot, a great photo can leave you feeling like you’re there, but it never truly compares to being present in the flesh…Seeing, smelling, feeling and hearing the animal’s presence.

I spent my two hours lazily wandering through the Zoo before winding down shortly after 5.  I’ve uploaded the photos from the trip here.

After catching a quick dinner with a friend as he passed through town I tightened up my laces, drank a hefty glass of water and made my way to Shall We Dance for the Sunday night salsa dance social. Nate and I have started recording some of our dances both for our own reference, and as a way to share with family and friends.

Dancing at a salsa club is vastly different than performance salsa. It’s dirtied, random, and lacks any sort of standardized routine.  It’s fun, fast-paced, shoot from the hip style dancing that is both extremely enjoyable and always a unique experience. The following is a video of Michiko and I dancing next to Chris and Andrea:

The following is another sequence shot late last month of Mitchiko and I:

Here’s a third of Ashley and I dancing:

If you’d like to see more videos I’ve added a number of them to my Youtube page. Most are salsas but several are other dances (rumba, etc.). In addition to videos of me dancing I’ve also posted a number of videos of Nate and other members of our dance group dancing. View It.

The Road goes ever on and on
Out from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
Let others follow it who can!
Let them a journey new begin
-Tolkien

The gift of travel is a wonderful thing. It expands the mind, liberates the heart, and refreshes the spirit. The opportunity to take in unimaginable beauty is an amazing gift. There are moments in our lives where we pause…Where we catch ourselves, breathless, in shock, reflecting that the experience, the moment in time we’re immersed in is something too good to be true…Something movie-like….Straight from fairytales and the depths of our creative imaginations.

Travel is that wonderful enabler…it’s the pixie dust of myth that enables the heart and mind to fly. It’s a blessing that far too few enjoy. It’s been 4 months since I returned from my European walkabout and I can already feel a yearning for the open road tugging at my heartstrings. I was watching several of the new videos posted on the TED (Technology. Entertainment. Design.) which is sponsored by BMW and after one of the videos an ad started running which caught my attention. You can view the ad here:

It’s for BMWs new hydrogen-powered car. In addition to being a beautiful ad, it has some amazing footage of waterfalls, fjords, and gorgeous natural spaces. Despite the fact that it’s an advertisement and I had no real incentive to watch it, I found myself glued to it…Sucked into the panoramic shots and the sheer beauty of the locale. It tapped into the roaring hunger for travel and new experiences raging just under my skin and held in place only by the knowledge that I have to be at work tomorrow at 9:00 and that cash doesn’t grow on trees.

The knowledge that there’s an amazing world out there, that’s nearly endless, with transformational adventures and opportunities but that I…like so many others…am shackled down by funds and responsibility…is frustrating. It is a frustration so tangible that I can almost feel it. It is something so powerful that it’s more a sensation than a feeling.

If everything goes according to plan and I’m able to make my work situation viable, I’m currently planning on spending a week or two in Japan with Lander sometime this fall. I’m praying the dollar has recovered a bit by then though I imagine that’s probably just silliness. I can’t wait to experience a new culture and for the opportunity to explore new places. The feeling of freedom that goes with being on the road and in amazing places is something else. The sense of independence…ahh, I don’t know how I’ll manage to wait.

I think a trip to the Rockies may be in order, sometime this summer. A small taste to keep me alive until I’m able to spread my wings again and fly.

This past weekend Nate and I attended the Las Vegas Desert Challenge Ballroom Competition with ASU’s Devil Dancesport Team. The competition draws students from several major southwestern universities and is held over a two-day period. My little brother Nate is currently a Sophomore at ASU and has picked up where I left off with the ballroom program. As part of the fun he’d signed up for a number of dances in this past weekend’s competition with several different partners.  I had initially planned to tag along and support Nate and the team but ended up doing a late sign up about an hour before the competition started on Friday.  One of Nate’s dance partners and a mutual friend needed a partner for several latin dances and graciously talked me into signing up for the competition.

Friday morning at 6:15 a.m. we all gathered in the parking lot north of the football stadium, staggered onto the two waiting buses and prepared for the long drive to Vegas. Two stops and X hours later we finally rolled into the city that never sleeps and set to exploring our hotel.  We had an hour and a half to prepare before check-ins during which I frantically ran around getting the fee paid and signing up for Rumba, Salsa, ChaCha and Merengue. After getting checked in I set about trying to locate an outfit that would work for the comp.  Luckily I’d brought a pair of black slacks and was able to borrow a black dress shirt. We all grabbed a bite to eat and then the dancing began.

After an hour of check-ins the comp started at 5 and ran until about 8 Friday evening. The main event was the open salsa competition. Andrea and I made the first two callbacks which was fantastic since we hadn’t had any time to practice together and had only danced Latin once or twice before. What really made the night though was Nate and Debbie’s Salsa.  They were able to carry over some of the social Salsa moves we’ve developed for the club, and apply them to the competition environment.  The result was a fantastic set of dances which took the GOLD! No small accomplishment given the structure of the Salsa competition. Unlike the majority of the other dances which are broken down into skill categories - Newcomer, Bronze, Silver and Gold - the Salsa is an open dance where all levels of dancers compete at once. As a result it’s both significantly more competitive than some of the other events and has a much larger crowd.

After a few exciting hours of competition the first day of the event ended. We assembled a decent-sized group. After waiting a while to round everyone up about 25 of us started toward the strip. The walk ended up being about a mile or so and after a few hiccups we ended up at a restaurant capable of serving the 15 of us or so that were still together. The food hit the spot and we managed to work in a little dancing at the restaurant in an open space that had been created when they put our 5 or so tables together. Stuffed, exhausted, and dreading the walk back to the hotel we began the mile walk down the strip and the additional mile between the strip and hotel. After a few hours spent socializing we all turned in.

The 2nd day of the competition was long. Check in was from 8-9 and open dancing stretched from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. with a 2 hour break for dinner. The day was a full one.  Luckily the dancing was excellent, and the event organizers did a great job moving things along and mixing in social dances.

All of the ASU competitors did a fantastic job, and there was a lot of terrific dancing.  For my part, I danced Rumba, ChaCha, Merengue and had a blast. Mixing things up and keeping everyone on their toes Nate and I decided to have some fun with our Merengue.  Dragging our poor partners along, we performed a mid-dance tunnel maneuver where one set of dancers holding hands opens up and creates a bridge/tunnel of sorts, which the other pair then bends down and backs through.  While the move didn’t score us any points with the judges (and may have even gotten us disqualified) it was entertaining and well worth it!

While I don’t have any direct video of the comp itself uploaded, Nate just finished posting this video of a ChaCha I danced with Jill during one of the social breaks.

After the competition wound down a group of us formed up and began the trek back towards the strip.  After another long, tiring walk, we managed to arrive at the Excalibur before the buffet’s 10 o’clock closing time.  As you can no doubt imagine, after a long day of dancing without food breaks, we were famished.  We hungrily set to the task of emptying out the buffet and managed to make a pretty impressive dent before relaxing for a few minutes in a food coma.As we left the buffet in the Excalibur we picked up a few refreshments and then hit the strip. Several of the members of our group were under 21, and eager to keep the group intact we avoided areas that carded, sticking instead to the outdoor parts of the strip and common areas/casino floors.

Singing, dancing, and goofing off we made our way down the strip pausing to take in anything/everything interesting and generally having a blast.  Eventually, we found our way towards Paris, Paris! We were delighted to find a large open portion of the sidewalk located directly in front of the bar’s patio area. The bar’s music blasting on the patio was loud enough that we could easily hear it on the sidewalk. As luck had it,  it was just right for dancing.  Before long we’d dropped our bags, put down our drinks and grabbed our dance partners. The sight of the 12 of us dancing on the sidewalk quickly caught passerby’s attention and before long we’d managed to gather a bit of a crowd. As the crowd grew, the occasional random brave soul jumped in and joined us. Hotel/Bar security kept a wary eye on us, and at one point 3 officers on patrol paused to watch us for a few minutes before continuing on down the strip.

One of the most entertaining moments came when one of the group realized that the music would work for the Wild Wild West line dance we’d learned earlier that day during the competition. If we thought we’d made a scene with the random dancing we’d been doing before, the line dance stopped passerby’s in their tracks.  Before long, we’d probably gathered 30 or so people on the street and another 30 or so on the bar patio. After a few minutes of the Wild Wild West line dance, we decided it was time to continue exploring. We picked up our bags and were gone…just like that =) It felt like a spontaneously orchestrated Improv Everywhere skit. It was a blast!

From Paris, Paris! we meandered up and around the fountains before pausing briefly in front of one of the Casinos. Georgi and Chels (our two resident dance/gymnasts) showed off their skills with a number of back flips in a grassy area. Back flips completed and all extremely impressed we made our way inside and found our way to the stunning floral gardens.  The gardens are incredible, with intricate designs created out of live flowers. It’s a beautiful and vibrant creation.  As an added perk there were a number of beautiful butterflies on display in the butterfly greenhouse. Enjoying the setting we paused for a number of photos…more than a few of which involved dips, lifts, or other entertaining poses before making our way back outside and onto the strip.

Once back on the strip we wandered for another hour or two, pausing to take photos, dancing, drinking, and generally having a wonderful evening.  Eventually, footsore and exhausted, we made our way back to the hotel by way of McDonalds.  By the time we got back to the hotel it was 4:00 a.m. and after40 minutes or so socializing in the hotel room we split up and called it a night.

After 3 hours of sleep it was wake-up time. We piled our sore, bruised bodies back onto the buses for the trip back to Arizona. We’d all made loads of new friends, had incredible stories, and a wonderful weekend full of memories to show for it. Vegas was a blast!

The Technological Revolution - why everything must change.

Over the past 15 years there has been a lot of dialog over the impact of modern technology, the amazing pace at which it has evolved and general shock at the impact of the Internet and personal computers on our day-to-day lives/the way business is done. In fact, as I completed my research for this article I’ve constantly had to re-evaluate the current situation based on significant developments which have been announced. Yet despite the common appreciation for the significance of current events our government, big business, and the American people have been slow to react.

What we are experiencing now is not just an interesting blip…an increase in productivity. It’s a modern technological revolution which is every bit as significant as the industrial revolution. As was the case with the industrial revolution the adjustment will be equally significant. We are well into the early stages of the technological revolution and the window of opportunity is quickly passing during which the U.S. can change the way we operate while working to maintain our spot at the leading edge of the new social/political/financial structure that will eventually transform the global landscape. We are faced with an opportunity to not only maintain but strengthen our status as the world’s super power for another 100 years…but only if we adjust. Should we fail to take action, history will repeat itself and we will experience the same disastrous ramifications as late adapters during the industrial revolution.

Right now America is falling further and further behind every day. Luckily with powerhouses like MIT, Silicon Valley, Microsoft, Google, Dell and a plethora of brilliant individuals and infrastructure we have a slight advantage. We also still have one of the most diverse, motivated entrepreneurial markets in the world. It is full of creative, inventive, and driven minds but that market is losing steam where it counts. According to statistics recently released by AeA’s Cyberstates 2008 report, “U.S. high-tech venture capital totaled $16.9 billion in 2007, up by six percent”. The fact is large amounts of American capital is being invested in the high-tech industry but the growth rate, while positive, isn’t promising.

For America to ride the current wave we need to adopt, embrace, and acknowledge the new role of technology and the worldwide web (WWW). Our political policy and legal approach to internet/technological issues cannot cling to our old systems while stifling growth with regressive policies. We must embrace invention and focus on creating a culture that not only understands technology, but is driven by it. Already, every aspect of an average American’s daily life has been effected. We may not acknowledge it, but from entertainment to food distribution, our lives are now driven by modern technology, especially the WWW.

Now & Then - Modern Parallels

Parallels between the Industrial Revolution (IR) and what I’ve dubbed the Technological Revolution (TR):

IR: We saw trade explode. This growth was powered by the creation of complex rail and canal networks. Eventually, with the invention of steam power and the automobile we saw additional significant infrastructure growth.

TR: Computer processing speed is growing exponentially. In many ways the computer is representative of IR advances in steam power and electricity. Similarly, our cable/fiber optic/copper/wireless networks have expanded quickly. These networks are the transport infrastructure of the future. They are the roads, canals and rail systems that future commerce and parts of our social dynamic will depend upon.

IR: Massive growth in individual’s production capacity and a shrinking effect as the world became a smaller place.

TR: Similar growth rates and potential in production and productivity. In some instances what previously took hundreds of people to do can now be accomplished by a lone individual in a quarter of the time. The WWW has effectively duplicated the shrink effect the IR had on the world, only now instead of being able to travel to the next town over in an hour instead of a day…you can virtually explore or talk to the other side of the world instantly.

IR: The creation of a middle class. The empowerment of the average individual. An explosion in the options available to the common person when compared to the pre-IR world.

TR: Drastic changes in social power. A populace that switches jobs more often than it switches socks.  A business environment where the typical social structures which dictated your professional focus and qualification [e.g. A college degree] have evolved into flexible, general, guides and amount to little more than training opportunities. A population of professionals able to pursue their diverse interests and able to constantly explore new opportunities. The TR has also created amazing opportunities for individuals of all backgrounds and ages [e.g. Facebook, Ebay, Winamp]. Individuals are no longer limited by age, professional experience, or other classic professional barriers.

IR: Major shifts in employment structures and viable business systems. The complete re-evaluation and reformation of certain components of the business sector [e.g. the creation of the automobile industry]. The simultaneous creation of major, alternative business structures previously never before seen.

TR: Drastic shifts in major elements of the business landscape. Major impact resulting from web-based automation all across the spectrum - from WalMart’s automated ordering system to a major shift in math-oriented careers such as accounting and finance where strictly formulaic/mathematical operations can and are now handled by computers. One such example is the automation of the stock market system.

These illustrations are just a brief snapshot. A taste of why I feel that we are truly entering a new global economic period.

Putting Things In Perspective

Even as a relatively tech-savvy individual I find myself regularly surprised by the technological advancements occurring in leading research labs and international markets. Here’s some information that might surprise you.

The Grid: CERN publicly announced the roll out of this data network (think of it as a parallel Internet) recently as part of their Large Hadron Collider project. It was developed in response to their need for a way to exchange the equivalent of 56m CD’s worth of data in a year. The Grid is estimated to be some 10,000 times faster than your current internet connection. This is possible by creating a new network based on state of the art technology instead of a system based around pre-existing networks and operating at the lowest common denominator. By combining modern fiber optics and routers with state of the art servers the increase in web performance is astounding. The Grid currently has 55,000 servers up and running and according to the Times Online expects to have 200,000 within two years. Users of the Grid would be able to download a full length film in mere seconds instead of hours.

Malaysia & Indonesia: Probably not a place that jumps to mind when you think about high tech centers, I recently found an article published by Computerworld Malaysia outlining a Broadband Over PowerLine (BPL) web company which is working on providing Internet access to 60 million Indonesian internet users. To be perfectly honest, I don’t completely understand what they’re doing, but as far as I can gather instead of conventional coaxial or Ethernet lines standard power lines are used. They are using a network of 400,000 mosques in order to serve the projected 60 million users. They claim that their users will be provided unlimited high speed internet connections with a 224mbps connection for approximately $1.60 per user. Compare that with Cox’s standard $50 package for a 7mbps connection with 3 mbps power post. The good news here is that the guys behind this project have inked a deal with US based STM Networks Inc. who will be providing 5 communication satellites.

Japan & Sweden: When I started exploring these concepts I had no idea about the BPL project (Posted March 28th) or CERN’s Grid project (posted April 6th). What I had heard was news of current internet practices and developments in Japan and Sweden. Articles like this one published April 4th by the BBC outlines what’s currently taking place in Japan. The article notes that for $35 you can get a 100 mbps connection. Again keep in mind that here in the U.S. Cox and other similar companies are advertising a 7mbps connection as blazing fast and still charging $40-$60. The article notes that 30% of Japanese subscribers now have access to these plans and that the Japanese government intends to see that expanded to 60%+ in a matter of years.

Meanwhile Sweden which has garnered a lot of media attention as a major hub for P2P networks like ThePirateBay.org and is known for its quality internet network articles like this one outline some of the current experiments being done. This article attracted attention when it mentioned that fiber network operator Karlstad Stadsnät provided a 40gbps connection to a 75 year old woman. The article also outlines plans to expand the service to a 100gbps connection.

FCC Standards & the U.S.: On March 19th Engadget, a major tech blog, noted that the FCC had finally updated it’s policy and official classifications for broadband. The good news is it raised the standard 384%. The bad news is that that raise brought the official broadband threshold to a pathetic 768kbps. Please note that throughout the article this is the first time I’ve so much as mentioned speed in kbps. For those not familiar with the breakdown a kb is a kilobyte. 1,000 kilobytes are in 1 mb or megabyte and in turn 1,000 mb are in one gb or gigabyte. According to the new FCC regulations any connection between 768kbs and 1.5 mbps is now designated basic broadband. It’s also important to note that download speed is often significantly higher than upload speed.

Comcast Corp. & American Broadband: After getting into a major tiff with the general public and the U.S. government over P2P throttling practices, Comcast Corp. changed their stance and has announced plans to offer a 50mbps connection (an upgrade from 16mbps). While a move in the right direction the 50mbps connection also comes with a $150 dollar/mo price tag according to a recent Reuters article. Even better news, however, is their announcement that they eventually plan to offer speeds in the 100 mbps and 160 mbps range. Unfortunately for us that $150 price tag is more than a little different than the $1.60 offering currently going live in Malaysia and Indonesia and still a long ways off of the $35 price tag in places like Japan.

Update - Gizmodo just reported here about new price plans being implemented by Time Warner as well as similar plans already in place in Oregon that are based on a [very minimal] base service with charge by the byte fees if you go over. In addition to having outrageously low minimums these plans are exactly the type of regressive pricing platforms, behavior and thought process I’m talking about.

The EU and P2P: One of the big issues in today’s tech talk is the issue of P2P (Peer-2-Peer) software like BitTorrent and tracker sites like the previously mentioned Pirate Bay. Major lobbying/watchdog groups representing the Movie Industry (MPAA) and the Music Industry (RIAA) have kicked up a lot of press for their lawsuits and ongoing battle with services like Napster and Kazaa.  These services enable user-to-user file transfers. There has even been legislation introduced to block the use of P2P software, which has come under heavy fire because P2P networks themselves are not in any way shape or form illegal. In fact, they are used by musicians, software developers, writers, and every day users to distribute software. Even major corporations like the game development group Blizzard behind the online video game World of Warcraft (9 million+ subscribers) use customized P2P networks to distribute their software and updates.

A lot has changed over the last few months. RIAA in particular is getting creamed in court for their unconstitutional behavior, major music labels have dropped/discontinued their controversial DRM (Digital Rights Management) software and the EU announced its 15 million dollar investment/support for a next generation P2P start-up called P2P-Next which will focus on developing a state of the art BitTorrent platform which will allow both downloading and streaming online content. P2P-Next has already picked up the support of several major European players (e.g. the BBC).

Update - The BBC just posted this article about a looming fight between the BBC and ISPs over their iPlayer software which streams legal video. According to the report in its first 3 months over 42 million shows have been downloaded. Unsurprisingly ISPs are crying foul and petitioning the BBC to help offset the costs of expanding their pipelines to meet the increased demand.

Web Hosts - The Other Side Of The Coin

I’ve focused most of my attention and research on the consumer side of things. A lot of focus gets placed on making sure the virtual roads of tomorrow are large enough to keep up with demand but one element that is often overlooked is webhosting. It’s wonderful to have huge pipes, but at a certain level they’re pointless if you lack a pump that can keep those pipes full. In other words, after shelling out your $150 a month for Comcast’s 50 mbps, you pull up your friend’s website and go to download a custom made 50 mb music video he has created. If they’re hosted with a U.S. based webhost there’s a pretty good chance you’re only going to be able to download at a max of 300-500 kbps. The sad reality is that you’re probably realistically looking at a download speed closer to 40-80kbps. Say what you want about Apple and Microsoft, one of the things they have been fantastic about is securing high quality connections. I recently downloaded from Quicktime at 1.8 mbps. THAT is where the web needs to be and that is the level of broadband service we will need to stay competitive.

Security

It’s a problem we are all intimately familiar with. From viruses, to phishing, to identity theft, to hacked websites, security is one of the biggest obstacles to internet progress. Even seemingly harmless issues like spam can reap havoc on user adoption and the utilitarian value of future web development. It’s something that will need to be addressed and that we all need to keep in mind.

The Future

If we want to have any hope of maintaining our position as a world super power it is paramount that we embrace modern technology, foster it with investment, and ensure that it is not hampered by regressive legislation. We are in a time where we need to not only focus on building our infrastructure, but ensuring that American companies, products, and citizens are the best trained, most capable users in the world. As odd a concept as it may seem, the future of tomorrow’s America very well may depend on things like P2P networks, video gaming and the modern media.

The Industrial Revolution is dead. Welcome to the Technological Revolution.

Gas prices are skyrocketing and though it’s just starting food prices are probably going to follow suit. Last night after doing a bit of reading on the widespread impact current increases in gas prices will have on the cost of every day goods I wandered into the kitchen for a midnight snack. As I stood there staring staring blankly at the odd assortment of foodstuffs my room mate and I have accumulated I had a college flashback.

Sometimes life’s little lessons come at you in the most entertaining of ways - four boys, 1 apartment, 1 fridge. Three Americans and one Taiwanese exchange student.  We not only went through a lot of food we went through a lot of a weird food, and a lot of beer.  Unfortunately, we also forgot about our fair share of food.  Stuff that got pushed to the back, or placed in the drawer at the bottom of the fridge and then sat forgotten for months. When time came to clean the fridge we made all sorts of interesting discoveries.  I’ll leave out most of the details (yes, we had a molded stew)  and skip to the important part - the fruit.

At the beginning of Spring semester one of us had decided to eat healthy, picked up some pears and apples, then proceeded to forget about them in the produce drawers at the bottom of the fridge. Four months later we re-discovered them, and to our surprise they were still good.  Not only were they still good, they seemed fresh. Which brings me to today’s tip.

We all forget about food, and most of us could be significantly better about eating the stuff we put in our fridge.  Unfortunately we all goof and usually end up throwing out a pretty notable amount of spoiled food each year.

TIP: Lower the temperature in your fridge to just above freezing. While it will spike your electrical costs slightly, the amount you’ll probably save on spoiled food will more than make up for it. It will be especially useful in preserving fruit and vegetables. A lower fridge temperature will result in firmer, longer lasting, fresher tasting fruit and vegetables.  This is the same technique used by florists and produce packing/transport plants. It’s just an odd quirk that it’s never really made its way into consumer behavior.

When adjusting your fridge’s temperature make sure not to lower it too low. The two best indicators I’ve found are pre-packaged roughage (Spinach/Lettuce etc.) and Milk. If you’re over cooling the roughage will develop ice crystals and wilt a bit.  Milk will separate (nasty).

Happy shopping!

Open letter to Mr. Warde V. Nichols:

Mr. Nichols,

A recent Ars Technica article (http://arstechnica.com) caught my attention as both an Arizonan and an individual with significant technological experience. As the sponsor of HR 2660 and with an update noting that you intended to continue to pursue the bill next year I’d like to offer some feedback from a Millennial. While I find a desire to reduce violent crime admirable, especially crime which is sexually driven and the images associated with it I cannot help but feel you have had the facts misrepresented to you. I invite you to correct me if I’m incorrect in any of my statements or assumptions.

There have been two significant pieces of miss-information which have been embedded in our culture’s psyche in regards to video games. The first is the age demographic that uses them, the second is their association with violence. While I encourage you to do your own research, I’ve provided some basic information I have on hand from my own research.

On the demographic mi’s-perception - a few excerpts from: http://www.theesa.com
“Women age 18 or older represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (30%) than boys age 17 or younger (23%)”
“Thirty percent of most frequent game players are under eighteen years old.”
“Twenty-six percent of most frequent game players are between 18 and 35 years old.”
“Forty-four percent of most frequent game players are over 35 years old.”

Similar statistics have come out of Palo Alto’s gaming research studies and for a wealth of academic research done into the gaming community as a whole please consider reviewing the Daedalus project: http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/

The demographic breakdown, and other data that disproves the media’s stereotyped version of the gaming community was also reflected in my own thesis research done as part of my undergraduate studies at ASU through the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication and Barrett Honors College. A PDF of the full paper is available for your review here: Berger-Thesis-MMOGs.pdf

On violence - Did watching T.V. or reading a book make you more violent? Did your history text make you want to commit serial crimes after reading about Jack the Ripper? Though we don’t generally acknowledge it, our culture’s stance on video game violence is sadly hypocritical. That argument aside, even my personal experiences as a semi-retired gamer aside, the actual data does not support a connection between violent video games and actual violent crimes. Because of the significant bias/lack of understanding which has existed for the last 15 years over the issue it’s hard to find legitimate research that shows even a fundamental understanding of the video game-video gamer relationship.

Some research done in the community however, paints a pretty clear picture. Articles like this one: http://www.gamerevolution.com which show the parallels between the release of violent video games and video game platforms and violent crime. Another recent posting that explores it from an informed perspective can be found here: http://www.gamecritics.com each of these only cover a brief snapshot of the actual information out there. The overall picture however, is one that shows that video games are not the culprit.

Fundamentally the true source is social abuse, poor psychological, poor parenting or a combination of all 3.

As a staunch conservative, I would think that you better than most would understand the difference between having a gun for sporting purposes/to hunt and individuals who use that weapon for violence against their fellow man. If video game producers are responsible for the actions of the individuals who choose to play their games, gun makers are equally responsible for the actions of the individuals who use their product. I think, when we get right down to it, we both know that argument is ridiculous.

While I respect what you’re trying to accomplish as far as sexual acts and abuse, I also worry that this bill again follows the same path. By the standards I’ve seen set down through this bill and it’s policies the acts, concepts, and stories recounted in 2/3s of the books on Oprah’s book list would constitute violations and could be argued as dangerous and obscene content. They almost always seem to depict or be based upon acts of rape, incest, abuse, or excessive violence. If we move down this road there is no definitive stopping point - under the guise of doing good what’s to stop us from classifying even the absurd such as the historical Rape of Europa as within the classifications for obscene.

Please, continue to focus on correcting the problem but take the time to truly focus your energies where they can do real good and will move us forward both culturally, historically and morally.

Regards,

–
Alex Berger

So I say to you again Mr. Nichols: No sir, you are incorrect in your assumption that violent video games result in violence.  Unless, that is, you also believe that reading the Bible also results in violent behavior.  A text which depicts vivid stories of rape, stoning, and horrible violence.

Howdy all,

I decided to take my camera out with me this weekend to two dance events and recorded some quick video.  These videos are significantly different than the footage you may have seen from December/May a year ago.

The first is a Rumba filmed at the Shall We Dance studio during Devil Dance Sport’s Spring Magic Themed dance on 4/5/08. The second and third are Salsa’s filmed Sunday 4/6/08 at Shall We Dance during the Sunday night Salsa function and represent typical dances during the weekly social.

Rumba w/ Chelsea:

Salsa w/ Ashley:

Salsa w/ Michiko:

This footage is all of just fun, social, spontaneous dance.  Nothing choreographed or planned out.

Due to heavy traffic, customer’s calls and chats will sometimes be put on hold for longer than usual and sometimes disconnected automatically. - Ipowerweb

In the first half of 2002 I signed up with the then somewhat small discount domain provider Ipowerweb on my guild hosting account for The Legion of Light. This past year (June) I set up a second account with them for mixed use with www.alex-berger.net, www.cdescry.com, www.citadel-of-light.com and www.alexberger.org. Despite small off and on issues things were decent until approximately the end of December/start of January. That’s when I started experiencing massive slowdown and what’s turned into a 3 month ordeal began. As a matter of record i’m posting the exchanges I’ve had by e-mail with Ipower, some of which detail my phone/chat conversations. I’ll start with my oldest exchanges with the latest at the end of this post. You’ll note the evolution of my understanding of the problem despite the lack of honest feedback/input from Ipower support. The sad thing is - this excludes several equally embarrassing chat exchanges on their online web help and several phone calls. All of which basically mirrored the e-mail exchanges shown below.

*For UPDATEs and the latest developments please see the end of this post*

SENT: 1/24/2008 (1 Month into the issue)

PREFACE: This e-mail is being sent because after trying to submit it via the cpanel I received:

“Contact Us:

I’m sorry, but there has been a problem submitting your inquiry to IPOWER Support.

Please try submitting your request again. If you continue to have trouble with this form, you can always contact us directly by email, chat with a live agent , or call us at 888-511-4678.

Sorry for the inconvenience!”

What the hell is going on with you guys? 2+ hour waits for live chat, service disruptions, slow server performance and dead pages left and right even in the help system.

The ticket as typed:————————————-

Note: Had 2 previous tickets open. The Bandwidth one was resolved, and in the same phone call the second was addressed. For some reason the URL for the 2nd ticket is not working and taking me to a 500 error page. Same with the update and close ticket commands.

Regarding the issue - despite having a great conversation with a capable/helpfull tech he was unable to locate an issue/familiar with anything.

It has however persisted (random page outings)

I continue to randomly receive:
Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.
Please contact the server administrator, support@ipower-inc.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.
=—————-

Randomly. It happens with all of my pages. Though it especially seems prevalent across PHP platformed elements (WordPress, phpBB, CopperMine etc.)

The last one occured at 11:47 Arizona time if that’s of any use.

=—————————–

This e-mail is the one affiliated with the account, as is my name - Edward Berger.
Thank you,
–
Alex Berger

SENT: 2/3/08

Account domain: www.cdescry.com

Despite a brief period immediately after my previous ticket was resolved during which I was assured the issue would not re-appear massive slowness upon any attempt to access any portion of the site using PHP (I believe this is the area i’ve narrowed it down to as pure html domains work fine) has returned. It’s the worst on the blog - www.citadel-of-light.com but is also present on the forums and Coppermine Gallery. The issue is not consistent (from day/hour - day/hour) and usually does not result in a complete timeout, just extreme slowness while loading pages. This has been going on for nearly a month now in one form or another and is unacceptable. PLEASE resolve it immediately. Having to wait hours on hold, or days for a response is ridiculous. Also, the issue is not limited to me. Everyone attempting to access the site is experiencing it.

*Also - I had to re-submit this by e-mail after your web form off of the cpanel gave me server generated error message.

–
Alex Berger

A response took 2 days.

RECEIVED: 2/5/08

Hello Alex,

Thank you for contacting Support.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. I was unable to duplicate the issue and in order to further investigate on your issue please get back to us with the following information:
1. The steps to duplicate the issue.
2. The screen shot of the error message.
3. The answer of the Security Question. Security Question.

Please reply to this e-mail with the requested information, so that we can assist you further.

Sincerely,

Herbert West
Customer Support

My Reply SENT: 2/5/08

Security Question: ****

Performance got significantly better last night around 10:00PM PST. However, it is still slow and the issue has been off and on.

Please actually read my initial message below. As I noted in it, the issue is server performance. IE Pages loading so slowly that they almost time out (Believe in the instances where they do it’s a 500 error). Since the issue is extreme slowness not actual timeouts (in most instances) it is not possible to screenshot the incident.

The issue is not duplicate able per say. Rather, it depends on how badly the Ipower servers are preforming. If you get lucky and ipowers system is working it will boot quickly (rare). In most instances though all .php based websites will suffer the issue simultaneously. Also, i know for a fact it’s not my machine or Internet connection as I’ve confirmed the issue with multiple users simultaneously.

I’ve even narrowed it down to all .php based elements of the site (WordPress Blog, phpBB Forums, Coppermine Gallery) on the server. Normal .html pages have not been effected. As a cross check I have also experimented with the limited plugins installed on the WordPress blog - no effect.

I suspect that the issue is tied to Ipower overloading their php servers as part of the transfers. If that’s not the case, then it’s most likely tied to the software being used to distribute php queries across your new platform.

This isn’t directed at you specifically but to be blunt, this or other similar issues have been nonstop for the last month and the level of customer support i’ve experience has been pure garbage. I’m sick and tired of sitting on hold, help forms that don’t work/won’t submit, 2 hour waits for CHAT support, ridiculous lines and responses that ignore the issue/information i’m providing. I’ve been with the company since 01′ on my second account and am starting to severely regret opening my second with you guys. I’m paying for a service and it’s about time that service was actually delivered. 700,000 subscribers may be all well and good but it’s about time the company remembered that it’s about a lot more than just signing people up and collecting checks. If things go on like they have been much longer i’ll be filing a complaint with local consumer protection groups.

Regards,

Edward A. Berger

Note it took another 2 days for a response.

Received: 2/8/08

Hello Edward,

Thank you for following up with us.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Due to heavy traffic, customer’s calls and chats will sometimes be put on hold for longer than usual and sometimes disconnected automatically. We are really sorry and would like to apologize for that. Please try calling us once again at 1-888-511-4678 or chatting us http://ipowerweb.com/livechat.html or e-mail us.

I checked your phpBB Forums at: http://alex-berger.net/Forum and WordPress at: http://citadel-of-light.com both are working fine without any issue from our end. In order to investigate further on your issue, please provide us the screenshot of the error message and the exact URL of the page where you are experiencing the issue, so that we can check it on our end and escalate the issue to our engineers.

Please reply to this e-mail with the requested information, so that we can assist you further.

Sincerely,

Stuart Thomas
Customer Support

Sent immediately after.

SENT: 2/8/08

First - in regards to the issue. As I have now stated repeatedly. The issue is extreme slowness. I’ll take a screenshot of it, when you tell me just how exactly you expect me to take a picture of website performance that does not result in an error message.

In the 2+ days I’ve been waiting for a response and the week since I initially sent my first e-mail I’ve been keeping a close eye on the issue. Not only is it PHP based, but the lag seems to be tied fairly consistently to normal hours of operation (6AM-10:00 PST) which again fits with my suspicion that the issue is caused by overloaded database servers, not any technical/coding problem with the site. A theory in part confirmed by your e-mail - I imagine the site was working perfectly at 4:00AM in the morning. As I told your colleague in my last e-mail it’s tied to ALL php based elements of the site. Blog, Forums, Photo Gallery. I’m not going to waste another hour of my time making a list of 100+ URLs because you guys arn’t listening to what i’m telling you.

Second - Explain to me just when this period of “longer than usual” waits will come to an end. So far it’s been over a month and they seem to just be getting worse. I’m paying for a service, key words are PAYING & SERVICE. I’ve been doing plenty of paying, but still waiting for the service, hell i’m still waiting for you guys to actually READ my entire e-mail. What kind of company admits that their tech support is so horrible and backlogged that they are automatically disconnecting customers? Then has the Gaul to encourage me to call in. Why? So I can spend another 2 hours in webchat, only to be disconnected and have to start over?

Perhaps the two are tied together? Your tech support is apparently overloaded - as are your servers. That strikes me as a pretty convincing case of cause and effect!

Stop jerking my chain and fix the issue.

-Edward

The following is from one of the chat records I have a record of.

OCCURRED: 03/18/08 and lasted 1 hour 5 minutes with wait.

info: We appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
info: You are now chatting with ‘Ariel Danson’
Ariel Danson: Hi Alex. I apologize for the wait time. My name is Ariel, how are you today?
Alex: Whew, howdy =)
Alex: I’m doing well, yourself?
Ariel Danson: I’m great, thank you. How can I help you today?
Alex: Well it’s no doubt tied to the weight time. For the last 3 months i’ve been going back and forth with Ipower over performance issues.
Alex: Please try and access www.citadel-of-light.com and take note of how long it takes to load.
Alex: I’ve been told that the issue has been resolved multiple times
Alex: but basically the problem seems to be ipowers php servers are overloaded
Alex: resulting in acceptable performance for basic html pages
Ariel Danson: To protect your account from unauthorized changes, can you please verify for me the answer to the Security Question:
Ariel Danson: What city were you born in?
Alex: but insane slowness (depending on your load) for things like forums, wordpress blogs, coppermine gallerys etc.
Alex: ******
Ariel Danson: Thank you for the authentication.
Ariel Danson: Due to heavy traffic, customer’s chats will sometimes be put on hold for longer than usual. We are really sorry and would like to apologize for that.
Alex: btw the citadel-of-light.com domain i requested you open DNSed directly to the account
Alex: In regards to that, please be aware that I will be saving a log of this conversation for my records.
Ariel Danson: I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you.
Ariel Danson: To obtain the chat transcript, you need to click on the ‘Close’ button at the end of the chat conversation. Then you will get a pop-up window asking you to obtain the chat Transcript. You have to check on the radio button next to ‘yes’, enter your e-mail address at the space provided below and click on ‘Send’. The chat transcript will be delivered to your mailbox.
Ariel Danson: Could you please hold for 2 to 3 minutes, while I check this for you?
Alex: Thanks
Alex: By all means
Ariel Danson: Thank you for holding.
Ariel Danson: I’m sorry, in order to assist you, I am going to have to ask a member of our team who specializes in this issue to take care of this for you.
Ariel Danson: Could you please provide me your e-mail address so that we can contact you as soon as the issue is resolved?
Alex: ***********@gmail.com is my e-mail
Alex: however
Ariel Danson: You can see the reference number by going to the Support Console by going through the link:
Alex: All of the previous tickets i’ve opened on the issue, in addition to taking 2 days between response have not solved the issue.
Ariel Danson: http://www.ipower.com/support/index.bml
Ariel Danson: I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you.
Ariel Danson: Could you please let us know if you have contacted us earlier via e-mail with regards to the same issue?
Alex: I have, multiple times.
Ariel Danson: Could you please provide me your e-mail address from which he has sent?
Alex: The issue is still outstanding and i’ll be contacting the consumerist and other outlets if it’s not resolved once and for all.
Alex: The e-mail provided
Alex: and via the cpnael for the cdescry.com domain
Ariel Danson: Okay.
Ariel Danson: We will look into your issue.
Ariel Danson: One of our specialists will contact you as soon as possible.
Alex: I’ve been with Ipower on this account and a second since 2001
Alex: These last 3 months have been intolerable.
Alex: Fast track it, escalate it, whatever it takes - if it takes 2 days again to even get a basic response
Alex: I’m going to give up and have to get the company’s attention through public outlets.
Ariel Danson: I can understand your frustrations.
Ariel Danson: I have given high priority to your ticket.
Alex: I know i’m not the only one with these issues, hell the Biz Journal here in Phx ran a piece recently on it.
Alex: Thank you, I appreciate your help.
Ariel Danson: We will resolve your issue as soon as possible.
Ariel Danson: Thank you for chatting with us. Please feel free to contact us at any time. We are available 24×7.
info: Chat session has been terminated by the site operator.

I actually received a prompt response this time.

RECEIVED: 3/18/08

Hello Alex,

I am writing to you regarding to the ticket # 4777872.

I have checked the website at http://citadel-of-light.com/ and it is coming up fine without any issue. Could you please check it from your end?

If you have any further questions, you can e-mail us seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

Sincerely,

Sonja Anderson
Technical Specialist

SENT: 3/18/08

Thank you for the prompt response. A nice change of pace.

The site started behaving about halfway into my chat conversation with the tech I was talking to. For whatever reason this has happened just about every time I’ve contacted you guys about the issue.

During the 40 or so minutes i was waiting in the web cue, the blog component of the site consistently took between 1-3 minutes to load. Both in the wordpress control panel and the site proper. This is the same issue I’ve been having off and on since January.

I have cross confirmed that the issue exists with multiple people, in multiple locations, on multiple machines simultaneously on several occasions. I have also checked my site to make sure it was not something in one of the databases I’m running causing the hiccup.

The issue does NOT effect the site as a whole. It is limited to database driven elements of the page. eg: The WordPress blog, Coppermine Gallery, and phpNuke BB. These are all effected simultaneously. I’m 99% sure the issue is overloaded database servers on ipower’s end. I realize that your new platform should be distributing the load to improve their speed - but it’s not happening. Either the redistribution is not occurring correctly, or you’ve overloaded the servers. Standard html elements of the site operate smoothly.

Please note that the main domain is www.cdescry.com - www.citadel-of-light.com is a godaddy.com domain which is DNSed to the Blog element of the site.

The slowdown occurs regularly. It has resulted in bad PR. Annoyance and major traffic loss.

Because browser timeout is only occurring in extreme cases, the servers seem to still be sending data but just at a very slow rate.

This entire experience has been ridiculous. It’s been 3 months now. I’ve had to spend in the neighborhood of 15 hours on hold and the issue is still not resolved after multiple tickets and multiple assurances that the problem was fixed. I’ve been with you guys since 2001 on my second thelegionoflight.net domain and stuck with the company recently only because of the long relationship and because of your geographical proximity - I’m in Scottsdale. The lack of professionalism I’ve experienced over the last 3 months in several of my interactions with tech support and blatant misdirection has left me VERY close to transferring hosts, writing a complaint to the consumerist, AZ Biz Journal, and AZ BBB. In addition to periodic down time which I’m willing to attribute to the server move (though I believe this account has been on the new platform since November) the slowness, and performance issues have fallen woefully short of the 99.9% up time guaranteed. Beyond constant apologies no effort has been made to actually correct the issue or make amends for the downtime and cost. Not to mention the $ opportunity cost the time spent on hold has cost me - the equiv. of literally 100s of dollars.

I appreciate your attention to the issue and time. My phone number is ***.***.**** and I will be available if a local AZ tech needs to contact me directly for additional information.

Regards,

Alex Berger

RECEIVED: 3/19/08

Hello Alex,

I am writing to you regarding to the ticket # 4777872.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. I have checked the website at http://citadel-of-light.com and it is coming up fine without any issue. Could you please check it from your end? If the issue persists, please get back to us with the recent tracert result of the website so that we can investigate further on the issue.

If you have any further questions, you can e-mail us seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

Sincerely,

Sonja Anderson
Technical Specialist

Sonja - Seriously? Since you failed to bother taking the time to read my origional response before offering a near duplicate response to:

“Hello Alex,

[REMOVED- DUPLICATED ABOVE]

Sincerely,
Sonja Anderson
Technical Specialist”

Here it is again - PLEASE take the time to actually review it before responding this time.

“Thank you for the prompt response. A nice change of pace.

The site started behaving about halfway into my chat conversation with the tech I was talking to. For whatever reason this has happened just about every time I’ve contacted you guys about the issue.

During the 40 or so minutes i was waiting in the web cue, the blog component of the site consistently took between 1-3 minutes to load. Both in the wordpress control panel and the site proper. This is the same issue I’ve been having off and on since January.

I have cross confirmed that the issue exists with multiple people, in multiple locations, on multiple machines simultaneously on several occasions. I have also checked my site to make sure it was not something in one of the databases I’m running causing the hiccup.

The issue does NOT effect the site as a whole. It is limited to database driven elements of the page. eg: The WordPress blog, Coppermine Gallery, and phpNuke BB. These are all effected simultaneously. I’m 99% sure the issue is overloaded database servers on ipower’s end. I realize that your new platform should be distributing the load to improve their speed - but it’s not happening. Either the redistribution is not occurring correctly, or you’ve overloaded the servers. Standard html elements of the site operate smoothly.

Please note that the main domain is www.cdescry.com - www.citadel-of-light.com is a godaddy.com domain which is DNSed to the Blog element of the site.

The slowdown occurs regularly. It has resulted in bad PR. Annoyance and major traffic loss.

Because browser timeout is only occurring in extreme cases, the servers seem to still be sending data but just at a very slow rate.

This entire experience has been ridiculous. It’s been 3 months now. I’ve had to spend in the neighborhood of 15 hours on hold and the issue is still not resolved after multiple tickets and multiple assurances that the problem was fixed. I’ve been with you guys since 2001 on my second thelegionoflight.net domain and stuck with the company recently only because of the long relationship and because of your geographical proximity - I’m in Scottsdale. The lack of professionalism I’ve experienced over the last 3 months in several of my interactions with tech support and blatant misdirection has left me VERY close to transferring hosts, writing a complaint to the consumerist, AZ Biz Journal, and AZ BBB. In addition to periodic down time which I’m willing to attribute to the server move (though I believe this account has been on the new platform since November) the slowness, and performance issues have fallen woefully short of the 99.9% up time guaranteed. Beyond constant apologies no effort has been made to actually correct the issue or make amends for the downtime and cost. Not to mention the $ opportunity cost the time spent on hold has cost me - the equiv. of literally 100s of dollars.

I appreciate your attention to the issue and time. My phone number is ***.***.**** and I will be available if a local AZ tech needs to contact me directly for additional information.”

Thank you.

RECIEVED: 3/20/08

Hello Alex,

I am writing to you regarding to the ticket # 4777872.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. I have checked the website at http://citadel-of-light.com/ intermittently a couple of times using different networks, the websites loads fine. Could you please check it once again from your end? At times, when the load on the server is high, website loads slowly. If the issue persists further, please take the tracert of the website when it loads slowly and provide us with the same so that we can work on the issue.

If you have any further questions, you can e-mail us seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

Sincerely,

Sonja Anderson
Technical Specialist

The attachment contained the requested tracerts.

SENT: 3/20/08

The issue is occuring currently. I have attached a Word Document W/ SS enclosed of two TRs run about a minute apart from eachother at Approx 1:10 AZ Time.

RECIEVED: 3/21/08

Hello Alex,

I am writing to you regarding to the ticket #4777872.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. I have checked the URL http://citadel-of-light.com , the website loads fine without any issue. Could you please check it from your end? If the issue persists further, please take the tracert of the website when it loads slowly and provide us with the same so that we can work on the issue.

If you have any further questions, you can e-mail us seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

Sincerely,

Sonja Anderson
Technical Specialist

I re-sent the attachment with several additional tracerts.

SENT: 3/21/08

What the hell is wrong with you people. Somehow I doubt that sending me the same copy pasted message 5 times and ignoring the attached tracert in my response is going to resolve the issue.

I’ve done several since and ATTACHED THEM in the ATTACHED WORD DOCUMENT.

In typical form.

RECIEVED: 3/21/08

Hello Alex,

I am writing to you regarding to the ticket # 4777872.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. I have resolved the issue with your website. Now the website at http://citadel-of-light.com loads fine. Could you please check it once again from your end?

If you have any further questions, you can e-mail us seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

Sincerely,

Sonja Anderson
Technical Specialist

SENT: 3/21/08

Thank you for working one resolving it. As of 5:00 AZ the initial load of the page still took 20+ seconds to load, down from the 2 minutes. Upon trying to open an actual page link within the blog the loadtime was significantly longer at approximate 1 minute.

Looks like the issue is still persistent. My tracert is also still registering 90+ ms response times from the last 4 jumps w/ 1-8 ms times for the first 10 jumps from my end.

I still think the reason the issue is so difficult to track down is that the html elements are loading fine, but that it’s the database server which is overloaded/not behaving properly. Is there some sort of huge php db hog or cruncher located on the same server? There are times when everything is actually working when the blog/pages load in 1-5 seconds like they should be.

It looks like the issue finally got escalated.

RECEIVED: 3/22/08

Hello Alex,

I am writing in regards to ticket #4777872 and the problems with your site loading slowly. We are aware of MySQL speed issues on our systems right now, we are working on resolving this by adding an additional 5 MySQL servers to our systems. This will alleviate the bottleneck and increase performance on all sites on our platform. We hope to have these machines operational by the end of the week. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us back either by replying to this email or calling us at: 1.888-511-4678.

Thanks,
Aaron B
Technical Specialist

SENT: 3/22/08

Aaron, thank you for finally providing me with an honest response and solution. I’ve been going back and forth with support for the last 3 months over this issue. In addition to the additional servers, from a customer service standpoint what is being done to make this right? I’ve been with ipower since 2001 on my thelegionoflight.net domain name, and May on the cdescry.com account and have to be honest with you. After the last 3 months, the types of responses I’ve gotten and the B.S. I’ve been fed i don’t just feel frustrated, I feel abused and taken advantage of.

I’d already made up my mind that if the next e-mail I recieved from you guys was another clone and more bull that my next e-mail would contain all of my previous correspondences with the company and be to Thomas Gorny, Tracy Conrad, the AZ BBB, and the Consumerist.

Because of your response I’m going to hold off on sending the e-mail and moving in that direction until the new mySQL servers are installed. To be honest with you, you guys don’t have much credibility left in my book - but I’m going to give you this one last chance. PLEASE make this situation right and don’t disappoint me.

Regards,
Alex Berger

It’s now 4/1/08 and this is NOT an April Fools joke. While the addition of the 5 SQL servers seems to have temporarily improved performance, the site is still experiencing nasty slowdowns [As I write this post it’s at a near standstill]. The ticket was closed and my last e-mail never received a response.

THIS is the type of customer support Ipower seemingly feels is acceptable. This post has been submitted to several consumer based websites in the hope that if nothing else, others know what they are getting into with Ipower.

To those of you who read the site and have had to battle through slow load times and timeouts - thank you for your continued loyalty.  I apologize and hope that sometime in the near future this issue will actually be resolved once and for all.

UPDATE 4/2/08

This afternoon I noticed the following message when I logged into my Control Panel:

Right now SQL performance is still VERY slow (it’s 12:05PM PST and I just waited over a minute for the site to load).  At least they seem to be actually doing something about the problem finally. These upgrades may be the changes they told me to expect last week. I’ll keep you updated.

UPDATE 4/4/08

So far the changes have been effective in speeding up load times and finally delivering the service I’m paying for.  There has not, however, been any attempt by Ipower to compensate/credit/make amends for the downtime/lies/service issues.

UPDATE 4/7/08

Well after a day or two in paradise the crapfest is back.  Since last night at 6 when I tested the site things have been moving at a snails pace.  Worse, they’ve been so slow that I’m actually timing out now, instead of just having it sit and crank away for ages.  Maybe, just maybe 5 SQL servers isn’t quite enough to lighten the load of 1,000,000 website accounts. Or maybe the issue is something else, but it’s definitely tied to an under performing or overloaded database server network.

UPDATE 4/8/08

Add 3 hours to the list of time blown. After database based elements of the site had been down for 30 some odd minutes I started the call process dialing into tech support. I made my call around 6:45 and spent the first 30 some odd minutes on hold before having a brief conversation with a Tier 1 Tech who escalated me to a Tier 2 fairly quickly. After waiting an additional 3 minutes - I was forced to hang up at the 1 hour mark because of a social commitment I had.

I called back in around 10:30 and went through the same process.  20 some odd minutes for the first escalation, 40+ for the second to a Tier 2 tech, then a long conversation with him about the site, the issue, etc. before being escalated to the floor manager and opening up a detailed ticket Danny/Danni. It turns out that Ipower is randomly continuing to upgrade database servers, and doing server maintenance and that mine had been scheduled for last night which was part of what apparently knocked it out.  According to Danny the repair should have been done by the time I got on the phone with her - around 12:20 and from teh sound/look of it, the issue that took me out, while triggered by the repair was not due directly to repair based downtime.

I’d like to point out at this point in time that I was never contacted, warned, or given any sort of heads up that the maintenance was being carried out and that it might/could/would knock my site offline for 6+ hours.

To Danny’s credit though she was able to credit my account for 2 months of free hosting. The first attempt by ANY Ipower associate in the last 3 months to offset the downtime and make things right. I recieved the following confirmation e-mail at 1:40AM this morning:

Hello,

This e-mail is being sent in response to your e-mail regarding database issues (on ticket # 491****).

We could see that you were facing database issue from long time; hence for the downtime caused I have added 2 months credit on your account. You can utilize those credits for the future hosting renewal or purchase of any product.

Please feel free to reply to this message if we can assist you any further.

Sincerely,

David Allen
Billing Specialist

I assume he was either tired or foreign?

This past Tuesday was my 23rd Birthday. Though I didn’t really realize it until a week or so ago it marked a significant milestone in my life. I realized I had always drawn a mental line between 22 and 23…dividing my life as a youth from my life as an adult. For me, turning 23 was the symbolic representation of major change. It was a time for retrospection, introspection and preparation.

Since the middle of High School I’ve slowly been preparing for my independence.  Both scared and excited by the thought of being 100% responsible for myself and accountable to myself. A time where I’d make my own money, decisions, and be solely responsible for how the future of my life was charted. That said, we are never truly alone or independent.  We are always shaped by the people we rely upon and surround ourselves with.

So, as I looked at myself, who I am, who I was, and who I want to become I spent a good deal of time thinking about the people I’ve surrounded myself with. These are the amazing people who have invested in me, who have offered their wisdom, thoughts, questions, guidance and companionship and who have driven me to become a better person.

Since an early age I’ve been a sociologist at heart.  With a mediator personality and an ability for extreme empathy I’ve understood people. I can put myself in their shoes, step outside my own skin and am willing to invest in total strangers in order to understand them better. I’ve developed into a social chameleon with radically different groups of friends because I see and understand the value and quality in each group and individual. I’ve also made a few rare mistakes along the way and associated with people I shouldn’t have…for the wrong reasons. In the end though I’ve always selected the best of the best to rely on and to surround me.  These individuals have re-affirmed my moral convictions, driven me to aspire and succeed, and offered me greater insights into the nature of my humanity.

I’ve been exceptionally lucky.  I have a fantastic relationship with both of my parents and a close relationship with my younger brother.  For a variety of reasons my parents have been as much mentor as friend over the years and as I have grown they have offered insights, guidance, drive, and honest criticisms which have given me the motivational fuel to aim for the stars. They are the foundation upon which I’ve been able to build myself and without their guidance I’d be a significantly different person. It’s not just that I could rely on them, or that they were always there for me, it’s that they spent time as they grew and matured to develop themselves.  To explore and become comfortable with themselves and then to built a rapport with each other that offered two of the most driven, self confident people I’ve ever met. They showed me that it is not only acceptable, but right to strive toward excellence and that excellence comes in many shapes and forms, but above all - that truth, independence and morality are what define a person’s character and energy in this world. That they are concepts independent of religion and faith. That they are concepts that touch, craft, and shape the inner spirit of a person because of their own significance.

That goodness of spirit.  That belief that the right thing isn’t done for a reward or out of fear of punishment, but rather because it is a fulfillment of one’s duty to oneself and an opportunity to create positive ripples in the world has guided the way I’ve picked my friends and lived my life. It is a philosophy that, while not always easy, has offered me a firm basis for my belief and confidence in myself while also coming back to me ten-fold.

During my time spent gaming I was exposed to the anonymity of the Internet. In that environment I had the opportunity to see people’s true natures and gained an insight into the discrepancy between the person they revealed on a daily basis versus their core personality.  For years I was disheartened and frustrated at the astounding number of people whose entire sense of morality was driven/installed solely by a desire for reward or fear of punishment. Individuals who - once the rule of accountability was removed-would seek to take advantage of, exploit, and abuse their fellow man without qualm or moral pause. These people - I realized - were the same otherwise seemingly goodly people I met on the street corner, did business with, and worked with. These were the individuals that, if I wasn’t careful, I’d be entrusting with my friendship, secrets, and future. It was a scary thought. Especially as I came to realize that perhaps half, if not more, of the people out there belong in this group.   

Then there was a second group - the individuals who despite the anonymity of the Internet banded together.  Individuals who if anything, freed of the bonds of accountability, became more moral, more driven to do right by their fellow humans and the world as a whole. It’s not that these individuals were selfless - they had their own needs, agendas, and projects…Just that they were true to themselves and entertained a desire to do right by their fellows. I came to realize that these were the individuals I wanted to find and identify as friends.  These were the people who would make me a better person and help me make the world a better place - simply by living. As time has passed, luckily these have been the people I’ve surrounded myself with and their influence on my growth has been fantastic.

In addition to quality of character, the people I’ve been able to surround myself with have offered me their respect, loyalty and confidence. I’m not sure there is a better compliment out there than the knowledge than another individual is willing to rely on you and seek your input and guidance as they chart their own course through life. That vote of confidence and pact is an incredible social contract but above that, is perhaps one of the strongest and most incredible motivators to succeed.

They have set the bar for me and continually raised it.  Often leading by example and creating an energy charged atmosphere that has driven me forward, offered me support and encouragement as I moved beyond my comfort zone, and shared their energy and motivation with me when my own lagged.

They have opened opportunities for me, both socially and professionally that have led me to where I am currently…Opportunities that I might never even have even realized existed if not for their help.

My recent 3 month walkabout in Europe was an enlightening time.  It offered me the opportunity - almost completely isolated-to explore myself and build the confidence in myself I needed to really soar and to continue moving toward my potential.  The 2 months I spent on my own were transformational, but equally amazing was the last month spent traveling with Lander - one of my best friends. As we explored Italy and Greece, got ourselves into challenging situations, and had 1 month to analyze, discuss and explore…the experience offered me new insights into the power of friendship.  The shift from pure independence, to becoming part of a team requiring compromise, and collective decision-making offered extreme contrasts which really opened my eyes to parts of my personality.

I also mentioned that I’ve made mistakes. Though frustrating and embarrassing they offered as much in the way of quality insights as any of my other positive decisions. There have been times along the way - not many, but they have existed - where I’ve associated with people for the wrong reasons.  People who’s sole loyalty was to themselves, who lacked that fundamental moral framework, and who I thought I could either change, or who offered experiences that I thought I wanted. The simple lesson I’ve learned is that despite the apparent benefits - it’s never worth it. To be associated with, influenced by, and perceived as tied to individuals of a low caliber is a reflection on who I am, who I want to be, and how I choose to live. It’s a powerful and important lesson…One I think we all face, and which is often much harder to deal with, and realize than we give it credit.

So - thank you.  Thank you for your respect, for your trust, for your friendship, for your wisdom and for making me a better person. You are the earth that nourishes me, supports me and grounds me.  As I continue to develop my inner-self I look forward to the insights and guidance you have to offer.

Hello all,

This has been a long time in coming and I apologize, but after months of struggling with software issues, my webhost and a crazy-busy life I’ve finally sorted through the 1,600 photos I took on my recent Europe trip and have uploaded 435 select shots. They are sorted by geographic region/the part of the trip (eg: Italy) and added to my own personal photo gallery hosted here on the site. There is also an Album that contains all 1,600 photos for those of you who want to see what didn’t make it into the 435 select shots.

In addition to the recently uploaded photos I have also created an Album with select shots from my 2004 study abroad trip to the British Isles with shots from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and England.

As I find the time I will continue to add albums with new photos, retouched photos, and some of the very best shots that I’ve taken over the years.

To view the photos visit my photo-gallery here.

Let me know what you think =)