September 30th, 2006
I complain about the computer industry all the time. Today is no exception. I just helped Philip fix his internet connection after random websites stopped working the other day. Apparently he spent at least an hour on the phone with Sympatico technical support, and the technician there gave up, basically just saying that windows was messed up.
Turns out Sympatico’s DNS servers are just junk, and switching to other servers fixed the problem right away. But why couldn’t the person working at Sympatico figure that out? Even worse, some web searches show that this problem has been occurring intermittently for years now. It’s appalling how tolerant we are of incompetence in this field…
September 30th, 2006
I ust finally got around to registering redowl.ca! So you should now be able to reach this site at https://jono.redowl.ca instead of using the longer dyndns.org address.
I can also receive mail at jono@redowl.ca, though I’m still using jonathan.addleman@mail.mcgill.ca as my main address. Having my main e-mail on a not-all-that-stable ADSL line kinda scares me.
Any of the other e-mail addresses hosted here should work with the new domain too.
If it’s not working for you just yet, give it another day or so – I just registered it last night, and sometimes it takes a while to propagate through the net.
September 29th, 2006
The concert in Fredericton went very well! I didn’t get it recorded, unfortunately, but there will definitely be more. Gallery 78 is a very nice place for a harpsichord recital – just big enough to hold some people and sound good while still being cozy and intimate. We have a concert coming up with the Seasons Baroque Ensemble in a couple of weeks. If you’re in Fredericton, it will be October 15 at the Cathedral – I’ll get some more details up here in the next little while.
While in New Brunswick, I went roaming in the woods, of course. The weather was fantastic most of the week, and with the trees starting to change colours, it was really perfect.
September 26th, 2006
The woods and fields are quite stunning this time of year. The leaves are just beginning to change in these pictures.
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September 20th, 2006
So I’m back in Keswick Ridge, in preparation for the concert I’m doing this Saturday. I guess I should have posted some more updates in the past month, but it hasn’t been too interesting – just busy. I’ve been working full-time at the helpdesk (I’m mightily glad that I’m finished with that now!), doing a bunch of choral gigs at church and with the Montreal Symphony, and frantically trying to prepare for this solo recital.
This concert’s been quite exhilarating to put together. I haven’t done a solo recital since I finished my master’s degree three years ago, and haven’t done a harpsichord recital in Fredericton ever (for that matter, I don’t know if anyone ever has, at least not in the past century or so). But it’s been going very well, with a good mix of familiar and obscure (some familiar for the audience, and some for me!), simple and difficult. I’ve been playing a few pieces that I performed many years ago – I always find that to be a rewarding experience, since I can feel how much I’ve improved. Something that took 6 months to half-learn now takes a couple of weeks to play very nicely.
If you can’t make it to the concert, I’m going to attempt to record it, but can’t make any promises – my laptop has pretty terrible input sound quality, and I haven’t gotten an external sound card yet (though the Tascam that Mershie suggested is looking like a keeper), so I’ll be struggling with the minidisc.
In any case, I have a preview available: the Scarlatti that I’m performing Saturday is available (in ogg format, as usual – let me know if you have trouble playing it, and I can get you turned away from the Dark Side). Unfortunately, it’s one of those acrobatic Scarlattis, so on a recording, you won’t get to see all the fun hand crossings and leaps, but you can surely imagine them. Without further ado, Sonata K.54 in A minor.
September 1st, 2006
Sari found this beastie perched on the screen of the window. I’ve never actually seen one before! I’ve heard them though…
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