Online Audio – Page 43

Switching ISPs from Shaw to TekSavvy

Tuesday, August 14, 2012Wednesday, August 15, 2012 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Canadians, particularly those in the Vancouver area, may be interested in this post – others not so much.

I’m switching internet service providers.

I’ve had Shaw cable internet for as long as they’ve been in business here. Before that it was Rogers who provided internet access. I only switched when the monopoly in this area was handed over from Rogers to Shaw.

Over the years Shaw has been pretty good. I don’t think they’ve engaged in a lot of the shitty practices I hear many ISPs have.

But, the price has never gone down, and the service hasn’t really improved.

So, when I saw that there was an $3.00 increase scheduled for September 1st, 2012, one without explanation as to how I was getting a better service for it, I decided to look around at the competition.

I think I first heard about Ontario based TekSavvy back in 2010, when the then CEO, Rocky Gaudrault, went on TVO’s Search Engine podcast to talk about usage based billing (here’s that |MP3|).

Gaudrault made a great impression, and I remember thinking that TekSavvy sounded like they were the ideal ISP.

Shortly after beginning my research today I discovered that TekSavvy has started operating in Coquitlam, I gave them a call. They use the same wires as Shaw, but they offer those same wires at a better price and with better download and upload numbers.

Shaw’s “High Speed Internet” for August cost me $58.24 per month (including taxes)

TekSavvy’s “Extreme Cable 25 Unlimited” $50.34 per month (including taxes)

TekSavvy promises numbers about double the download speed and quadruple the upload speed I am currently getting. And it’s cheaper.

Here are the three calls I made today:

First call |MP3| Inquiring To Teksavvy

Second call |MP3| Cancelling Shaw

Third call |MP3| Signing Up With Teksavvy

All three recordings are unedited except for the obfuscation of some non-$$ based numbers.

Here’s all three done up as a YouTube video:

The only downside to today’s switch is the switchover cost. Here’s what I paid out today to switch:

Qty Item Price
1 Shipping – Canada Post $10.00
1 Activation Discount – Rabais d’activation -$20.00
1 DCM475 DOCSIS 3 Modem $99.00
1 TekSavvy Extreme Cable 25 Unlimited / TekSavvy Câble extrême 25 Illimité $44.95
1 Activation Fee – frais d’activation ($79.00) $79.00

Subtotal: $212.95
BC HST : $25.55
Total: $238.50

I’ll let you know how it goes on September 14th, 2012.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Lovecraft: Fear Of The Unknown (2008)

Saturday, August 11, 2012 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Having just watched the excellent 2008 documentary, Lovecraft: Fear Of The Unknown, I went looking for a podcast interview about it. I found one! Suvudu On Air #24 has a short interview with the filmmaker, Frank Woodward.

Here’s the interview. |MP3|

The doc itself is full of fascinating interviews intercut with H.P. Lovecraft inspired art (much of which comes from the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society) and brief snippets of prose.

Writers Peter Straub, Neil Gaiman, and Caitlín R. Kiernan talk about Lovecraft and filmmakers Stuart Gordon, John Carpenter, and Guillermo Del Toro do too!

I loved it!

And here’s the documentary in it’s entirety via YouTube:

Posted by Jesse Willis

The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey (read sinisterly Rob Beschizza )

Tuesday, August 7, 2012 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

The Poky Little Puppy is a horror classic, if you read it the way Rob Beschizza does. He’s right too. How else can we interpret lines like: “NO DESSERTS EVER” ?

Although, this reading, done for YouTube by a bowtied gentlemen named “Travis Tickle”, is creepy in a whole other way:

[via BoingBoing.net]

Posted by Jesse Willis

The Derelict by William Hope Hodgson

Tuesday, August 7, 2012Tuesday, August 7, 2012 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

The Derelict by William Hope Hodgson

I’ve started reading a lot of William Hope Hodgson lately. Ever since The House On The Borderland he’s somehow captured my imagination.

But that wasn’t my first encounter with Hodgson. Indeed, I’d forgotten there was an adaptation I’d heard of one of his most famous stories. Forgotten until reading the original novelette that is!

William Dufris, audiobook narrator and audio drama producer, is largely responsible for this terrific adaptation of William Hope Hodgson’s The Derelict. Broadcast and podcast five years ago, it’s still available on the Radio Drama Revival.

Radio Drama Revival #38 – The Derelict
Adapted from the novelette by William Hope Hodgson; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 27 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Podcaster: Radio Drama Revival
Podcast: October 4, 2007
An unsettling tale of a ghost ship found afloat deep in the Indian Ocean. Produced by Mind’s Eye Productions.

Here’s the original story narrated in two parts for the excellent Cthulhu Podcast:

Cthulhu Podcast – The Derelict
By William Hope Hodgson; Read by FNH (Felbrigg Napoleon Herriot)
2 MP3s – Approx. 1 Hour [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Cthulhu Podcast
Podcast: February and March 2012
First published in The Red Magazine, December 1, 1912.

Part 1 |MP3|
Part 2 |MP3|

And here are two different PDFs I’ve assembled:

Famous Fantastic Mysteries, December 1943 |PDF|
Avon Fantasy Reader, No. 4 |PDF|

Posted by Jesse Willis

Voices In The Dark: The Empire Of The Ants by H.G. Wells

Monday, August 6, 2012 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Empire Of The Ants by H.G. Wells

Editorial introduction to The Empire Of The Ants by H.G. Wells - from Amazing Stories, August 1926

Empire Of The Ants by H.G. Wells - illustration from Amazing Stories, August 1926 (unsigned)

The Empire Of The Ants
By H.G. Wells; Read by Sean Puckett
1 |MP3| – Approx. 36 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Voices In The Dark
Published: 2005
A Brazilian navy gunboat, sent up the Amazon river to investigate reports of problems inland, discovers that large ants have begun taking over parts of the jungle. Showing signs of intelligence, the insects prove extremely hard to deal with. First published in the Strand Magazine, December 1905.

And here’s a |PDF| made from the publication in Amazing Stories, August 1926.

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: The Facts In The Case Of M. Valdemar by Edgar Allan Poe

Saturday, August 4, 2012Saturday, August 4, 2012 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

LibriVox In my reading about The Frozen Pirate, back in 2010, I discovered that Edgar Allan Poe’s The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar was possibly the first account of suspended animation.

I normally mention The Case Of M. Valdemar as part of a set lecture I give, explaining to my students why root words are important. I start by asking them if they’ve read any Harry Potter. They usually have, and that’s when I point out that they know, just from the sound of his name, that Voledemort is a bad guy. I point out that J.K. Rowling chose this name carefully, even pointing out that “Voldemort is pronounced with a silent ‘t’ at the end, as is common in French.” I point out that Draco Malfoy’s name too, is just as connotatively powerful. Then I point out that J.K. Rowling didn’t invent these names in a vacuum. I point to Edgar Allan Poe’s The Facts In The Case Of M. Valdemar.

Hypnosis itself is a somewhat mysterious psychological phenomenon. It arose from the proto-psychological work of the 18th century physician Franz Mesmer. For those in the know “mesmerism” and “animal magnetism” had, by the time of Poe, lost most of their occult mystique. But for the general public, even today, there is a left-over supernatural feel – to the phenomenon – owing in part to the the strangeness of the phenomenon itself, and in part to Poe’s stories about it.

Etymologically the word itself, “hypnosis”, takes its name from Greek – “Hypnos” meaning “sleep” and the suffix “-osis” meaning “disorder” or “abnormal state”.

The Facts In The Case Of M. Valdemar
By Edgar Allan Poe; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 22 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 12, 2009
In an attempt to halt rumors surrounding a widely publicized incident, the author gives the facts about a grisly experiment in mesmerism that he recently conducted. First published in the December 20, 1845, issue of the Broadway Journal.