Are slow. 103 down, 396 up. It is funny that I can upload faster than I can download.

via Speakeasy.

I just built this web site. I got hungry watching all those photos while I put the site together. It’s the first catering site I’ve ever done.

Also, it is the first time I used SlideShowPro. I highly, highly recommend it for online Flash galleries. It can be customized any way you want, and who ever wrote it thought about every single detail — real designers over there.

My brother Tom took all the food shots – aren’t they great?

I just switched my hosting to Media Temple from Dreamhost, and I couldn’t be happier. I would say:

- connection times
- initialization times
- raw up and down transfer times

are a minimum of 20-40x faster that Dreamhost.

Literally, I just FTP’d 50 imagines down in a matter of seconds, and uploaded them back in almost the same time (during a site update). Dreamhost, it would clog around for 10-20 seconds, reading folders, initializing, then it was start putting along at 3k to 5k per second. It would take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes.

If you were like me, you just thought it was “The Great China Firewall” in action. Turns out, it’s just substandard service from Dreamhost. I regret not switching when my brother did a year ago. The switch was seamless, Media Temple picks up the phone on the first ring for support, WordPress blog transfers are a easy, it’s fast(!), and the list goes on.

If it makes any differences, I’m in the Yunnan province. Perhaps other provinces are experiencing different things. Also, it should be noted that when the internet was down in China because of the Taiwan earthquake, my Dreamhost sites were the last to come back online (by weeks, not days).

Jusy FYI, this is not an ad, just advise. I think Dreamhost “By The Employees” approach isn’t working anymore.

Update: After more use and evaluation… It’s lightening fast! I feel duped by Dreamhost!

Goodbye.

Down one to many times. Good luck.

I’ve been working on Chun Mei’s site for quiet a while and have come to the conclusion that ImageReady is a royal piece of s***. I love me some Photoshop, but damn. I just wanted to have some simple rollovers, you know, take it back a few years. Well, not only was the index page 268k (because my tabbed rollovers required hotspots), but everything kept failing.

I just reworked it all in Flash and so version 3.0 (three times the love for the wife) should be up soon. Not sure why I didn’t go to Flash first.

Oh and I forgot, where the hell is Dreamweaver NV? (Next Version). How long does it take to rewrite the code? This is incredible.

Chun Mei and I have spent the last three days scanning her photographs from the last 20 years of her life. Our goal is to make a web site for her to use when we get back to the US. Needless to say, there were many stories to be told, and I still cannot believe all the places she has been, shows she has done, people she has met, and places she has lived. Oh, and the competitions she’s won…

PHOTO (clockwise from top left)

1. Chun Mei (balanced on top) performing with André Heller in Europe
2. Chun Mei on the front page of Montreal’s Le Devoir
3. Gold medal trapeze performance at Cirque du Demain in Paris
4. Chun Mei and Steven Spielberg, backstage, while performing with Cirque du Soleil in Los Angeles

Update: Chun Mei (Chunmei) Trapeze Web site here

Average download speed: between 100-500 bytes/second
Average upload speed: between 20-100 bytes/second

That means that uploading a 35k index file to the US can take up to 29 minutes. I believe this is slower than a 300 baud modem, correct me if I’m wrong.

But anyway, Chinese sites are really fast and I try to get news and stuff from the local English web sites.

I ran across a page where they discuss flaws of Chinese movie stars (and I thought Perez Hilton was hardcore!)

Water Buffalo Update 2

In two days we will embark on a southbound journey to buy and deliver a water buffalo to a family that needs it. I’ll be taking pictures and video.

MotherLoad

Use your digger to excavate as much ore as possible

Play this free game now!!

Dude this game is pretty addictive and not something I have time for. That’s why I’m sharing it with you! Just use the arrow keys. It’s like dig-dug v5.

This is Flix Pro 8.5 for Mac, Flash Video exporting on crack, here’s a screenshot. Basically, what I’ve been looking for… for a while. $279 well spent.

I just re-exported it with the proper dimensions. Variable Bit Rate encoding in Flash is off the hook.