Coming Home

I am coming home for Christmas!  I'm sorry I'm just now posting the dates but here goes...  I'm coming in friday night and staying until Wed.  I will be going to CCM on sunday and hangin with fam on Christmas!  yea!

Long time, no post...

So I've been a little busy this past week.   We just got finished with our Christmas production.  What that entails for us is stage setups, lighting, audio setups, tear downs, rehearsals, regular weekend services, then we had to set everything back again, do 2 preformance, and then tear down and clean up.  

I thought it was going to be really boring.  Christmas music, readings, carols, and something new to me... ballet.  I wasn't dreading this event, but I didn't see anything cool about it.

Well... after it is all said and done...  it turned out to be fairly cool.  Some of the songs were cool and while I don't have a particular appriciation for ballet, it ended up fitting very well with the service.

I learned a few things about set design, stage setups, lighting, and digital sound mixing in a studio enviroment.  I also learned a good bit about politics during this past week.  I hate politics.  Lots of talking, meetings and people.  And then you never get what you really want.

Anyways... that's what's going on these days....

Running camera at Perimter

Here's pictures of me running stage cam at Perimeter.... This was during "Night of Worship a few months back... I really hope we can do this type of event again... it was totally awesome!

 

random cookies

After lunch today, when we returned to our offices, there was a bag of cookies and a note sitting on our conference table. It was addressed to me. Why? I could not think of anyone (other than Karla who had also recently given me cookies for helping her with a project. However, I also knew it most likely wasn't Karla, 'cause we just got finished with a meeting involving her)

The note was hand written and those who know me, know I really struggle reading other people's handwriting when it's in cursive. It was very neatly written, but I couldn't make out most of it. Steve took it from me to read it for me (curiosity was killing him and didn't want to wait on me to figure out what was being said) and what he was reading was clearly not what was written.... :)

After finally getting an accurate reading, it turns out to be from a lady I helped with some moderate projection issues for a last minute event several days ago. The funny part is Herman is the one who gave me this task "cause he was busy" :)

watt usage

I have used up 1,952 kilo watts of power in my apartment since I moved in . (June 2007)

I'm not sure if that's a lot or not.

Stuff I've worked on....

This is one of our digital consoles that I took apart to fix the headphone jack... that was fun....

A new set!

Here's a photo of the set we built for this weekend...

It's a really crappy photo... but oh well. I gives you an idea what we do for our stage.

6 Months and still going....

6 Months and still going....

So, I've been in Atlanta for 6 months now.

And it's been pretty good. Here are the highlights...

I moved to ATL April 2nd. (this was the saddest and hardest day of my life)

I stayed at Scott Sweeney's house for 2 months.

I started working at Perimeter Church on "temporary basis" (until August 31st) on April 3rd.

During the last week of May, Steve (my boss) offered me a permanent position as Chief Engineer and Production Technician. I quickly accepted. This position included higher pay, and more benifets (and of course, longer than August 31st)

In the first week of June, I left Scott's house and moved into an apartment.

In August, I worked in the biggest production to this point in my life at Perimeter. (The event was called - Night of Worship) My primary role for this was stage camera operator. I did many other things, but that's the most interesting thing.

In September, I really expanded in my knowledge of the equipment we have at Perimeter and the infrastructure of Perimeter. I started getting involved in projection (text, graphics, backgrounds, video) Also, we started a 4th weekend service... it's a much smaller service and is at the same time as our primary service on Sundays. It's in the gym with a full worship team and teaching portion. We have multiple worship teams taking turns playing in the gym and I'm on one of these teams playing percussion. (I'm very excited about this)

This Month has been much of the same. We did a re-org within our own deportment. This means I have a new boss. This isn't bad or good, just different. So far, it's been pretty good tho... Matt Reeves (Lighting Engineer)(he actually has a different position now, I just don't know what it is) is now my boss. Matt's boss is Steve. We all still work together and I can still go to Steve just about any time I want. But I should try to put anything I can through Matt. We also have plans to hire 2 1/2 more people. (the 1/2 person is already hired... she was already working part time for us and is now working... most of the time for us.)

Yesterday, I spent all day working with Jacob (a brilliant volunteer who I wish we could hire to work full time with us) hanging conduit and wall mount boxes for amps and other gear. That was a lot of work, but I learned a lot of stuff...

Other things...

The weather is getting much colder. And they still keep the church inside really cold. Steve and Matt spend a lot of their time in meetings and I'm getting my fair share. (It's not too bad, it could be a lot worse) As I learn our gear and building, my work load increases. I find myself "facilitating" more than working in specific areas for extended periods of times. Ladder vans are still a predominate epidemic here. I haven't eaten at Arby's in over a month now. Wal-mart is not the place to be in ATL for ANY reason. I now have just as many keys on my key ring when I left Mobile. I also have a Home Depot card from Perimeter Church. I used to have Grant's Lowe's card from CCM all the time. And his keys. And I had Scott's keys for a while... Shoot, everybody's keys for that matter.

That's it for the highlights... Now for some other details...

I am in the 4th month of a 1 year lease in my apartment. While it does the job, I don't want to stay for another year. Also, I still have a strong desire to work with the fire dept. Being in ATL, it's hard to find nearby volunteer depts. So far, the only option I have is to move much further out (which mean long commutes to Perimeter) and it would mean, most likely getting a house. (it's also hard to find apartments further out near the VFD's) I haven't put much time and research into this matter, but as time moves closer, I will.

A word of thanks to my grandmother... Before I was getting ready to go to Florida, I knew I needed a new vehicle. (my red van was getting old and had many quirks) So, I decided I needed a new vehicle. Just before I decided to change my mind about FL and go to ATL, my grandmother gave me her van. (she purchased another vehicle for herself) This has been a constant blessing. Obviously, I use everyday. But the biggest blessing is it's very nice and clean on the inside (and doesn't have any quirks) and my co-workers and I go to lunch everyday in it (and frequently go to dinner) It's really nice to have a nice vehicle to transport other people and hang out with others. I have also had friends come in town for a weekend and we hung out in my van a lot. :)

In next month, I'm going to be planning a ski trip with Marshall and possibly a few others. I have no details right now other than it will be in the western part of the country.

Ending...

All the things that I have been wanting to do in Mobile, I'm doing here in Atlanta. In Mobile, my tech friend is Marshall. Now, I have many tech friends. It's really cool.... (I'm trying to get Marshall up here ASAP so he can hang out with us)(which, btw, is going pretty well so far.) I pretty much spend all my time with tech people and computer geeks. (which aren't really geeks, they're just experts with computers) We have a Tech Lab with all the parts and supplies we need to do just about anything we want. I really wanted to build something like this in the EDGE, but I couldn't quite pull it off. Mostly 'cause I lacked some of the skill and knowledge required. We have many really nice cameras, most of which I now know how to operate. We have lots of lighting equipment. This is something I have always wanted to be able to work with. I haven't been trained yet, but it's there, and I'm going to be learning how to use all of it in the near future. Digital sound consoles! This has always been my dream to be able to work these. Not only do we have 4 digital consoles, but we have 4 SUPER NICE AWESOME digital sound consoles! (3-80 channel and 1-48 channel) I have begun training and getting better and better with these things. (As a matter of fact, tomorrow morning, I'll be working on one of these consoles for a few hours)

Windows Mobile 6! Now on my phone!

I have the Cingular 8525 as my cell phone/PDA. It comes with Windows Mobile 5. Which isn't bad.... It does have some querks about it and some things are hard to do. But overall, it's a HIGHLY functional OS for a phone/PDA.

They have released Windows Mobile 6. I have read about this upgrade, and it looks like it's going to be awesome. However, they did not release for my phone. :( (or my boss's and he's not happy about it either)

Well, I did some research and found out they they were eventually going to release WM6 for my phone... probably 4th quarter this year. Well, last night, I did some more research and found some people at had already gotten their hands on it! LOOOOOONG story short, I spent about 7-8 hours (only stopping to eat) reading, researching, hacking, flashing ROMs (which is basically erasing and reinstalling the OS for the phone) more reading and research, more hacking, more flashing ROMs and more and more stuff... it was a long and painful experience.... but it paid off!!! I now have a fully operational Windows Mobile 6 phone!

The UI is cleaner, nicer, and has a lot more options. (including some that I was really wanting in WM5 that I thought should be there, but wasn't)

Also, other news, I figured out how to get my personal email to work in the way that I wanted to on my phone.... So now I can be even more efficient with my email (both work and personal) I had my personal email working somewhat previously, but not efficiently.

For you techs, here was my problem...

I set up an email account on my phone... it would receive the email... however, next time it would send/receive, it would delete the email off my phone (which was every 15 mins) This is a problem 'cause I don't always check my personal email every 15 mins. The problem was that it was a POP3 type account.

What I needed was a IMAP type account. But GMail doesn't support IMAP. :( and I most certainly didn't want to change from GMail. So, after much research and with much regret and dislike, I found out that AOL was my best option. (i know AOL is the worst thing I could have chosen, but they are the only people that have a free email service with unlimited storage (or close to unlimited) that supported IMAP)

Here's what I did... I setup an email account on my phone... the incoming email was the AOL IMAP server. (I had GMail automatically forward all email to my AOL account) and the cool part.... I set up the outgoing email to be sent from my GMail account! By using IMAP, the phone will "sync" rather than send/receive as it did with POP3.

I tested this throughly and it works GREAT! I can now "SYNC" every 5 mins without fear of not having the email on my phone.

Calvin and Hobbes - My favorite comic

Click the picture to seem the rest of it...

Halo 3 - Part 1 of however many I feel like posting

Halo 3 has been released. And even tho I do not own a Xbox 360, I now own Halo 3. How dumb is that? Hopefully, I can find a cheap enough Xbox 360, that I can justify it's cost.

Anyways... here is my report of the game... keep in mind, I had 7 other people CONSTANTLY shooting me and NEVER giving me a chance to "just play around" and I did not know the maps or how to use the new (and mostly stupid) interface.

The maps are nice. There is one map where I never could get where I wanted to be. But all the others seem to be really cool. There is no Turf like map. This saddens me greatly.

However, there is another map that has some similarities (can't remember the name) so, I guess I can deal with this trade off.

There's another version of "hang 'em high" but it's harder, and a lot cooler looking (a lot better than the "Blue" version)(I get tired of blue)(But I do like red)

There is a version very similar to "Zanzibar" It's a little harder, but nicer looking. The camo is MUCH harder to get (not too happy about this since this we a key part of most of my strategies with this map)

There is this one desert map that is the BOMB. Excellent sniper level, good med range combat and awesome for vehicular MANSLAUGHTER (just for you okra). It's kinda hard for the short range stuff even tho there are a few spots for that sort of thing. (Josh, I'm sorry, but you'll hate this one) It's also very big. Which makes me happy.

Weapons. You may have even skipped my map description just to hear about the weapons. (I would have)

The weapons are better balanced in this version (or maybe I haven't played with any one weapon long enough to discover it's true potential)

The pistol SUCKS. I didn't play with it much, but I quickly discovered it had a VERY slow rate of fire. Perhaps it's fairly powerful... i don't know, but I died trying to shoot it 'cause it took so long between shots.

The battle rifle is still there, but seems to be weaker... not really sure tho.

The sniper rifle is the same. :)

EVERY time (and i mean EVERY FREAKING TIME) I picked up the rocket launcher, I DIED. EVERY STINKIN TIME!!!!!!! so I don't know if it's cool or not. :(

The shot gun is not as good, but I could tell the finer points of it 'cause of my limited time using it.

The needler may be the ultimate short to med range weapon in this game. It has a small magazine. But if you can keep the reticle on your target (and it be red) then the needles WILL track your target and he (or she) are SCREWED. It is a VERY good weapon and should be picked up every time possible. Even to replace the shotgun or carbine (another one of my favs)

The assault rifle is back! And it's better! Better accuracy, more steady, longer effective range, tighter shot, but smaller clip... by 28 rounds. (So it has a 32 round clip) I might prefer this weapon over a shot gun 'cause of it's flexibility.

There is a submachine gun, but like halo 2, it sucks. and that's all I'll say about this weapon, other than you'll never see me wielding it unless that's all I truly have.

There is now a "Spartan Laser" It's basically a power laser gun. You charge for 3 secs of so (better be good at tracking your targets) and then it releases a DEVASTATING blast (it's not an area blast, very precise) It WILL destroy your target in one shot. I'm not sure of it's effect on vehicles, but I imagine it's not good....

There is also a "Brute Spiker" I'm not sure what the advantage of having this weapon is. But it does have a high rate of fire, fairly accurate, short effective range, and it can be dual wield. (which does come handy) It shoots these laser like "things." very small, not very powerful individually, but when shot in rapid fire (and dual wield) it's a fairly effective weapon for a room take down.

Missile Pod - Basically, a rocket launcher with an auto-heat seeking missile that tracks vehicles while manned. I didn't get to use this weapon, but saw other players use effectively (against me)

Turrets - Some turrets can now be dismounted and taken around the map. You walk slower and can't throw grenades, but you gain the ability to kick but with a rapid fire, high power machine gun while moving with it. :) it's cool, but hard to master. If you could master this weapon, you will be VERY hard to beat.

Grenades... are, in my opinion... better. However, everyone else that I played with could figure them out. They didn't like them. They are not as destructive, and the area of effect is a lot less. I like them better 'cause they are more realistic. the Blast... not clear an entire area like a nuke. I used only frags and a new type called - Spike grenades. The "Spikes" are just like regular frags, except, they don't bounce... they spike (or stick) Highly effective as a defensive weapon (running while being chased closely)

Halo has now incorporated "equipment." This equipment will be hard to master. But really cool. The best one is the "bubble shield" You throw it at the ground at your feet and it becomes your own personal fortress for a few seconds (don't know how long.) however, you cannot shoot (or throw grenades) from within the bubble. But nobody can shoot or throw into the bubble. But they can come in (or out) of the bubble to melee attack.

There are other pieces of equipment, but never had the chance to figure everything out properly. The manual say there are trip mines (which I wish I knew about before the game) and gravity lifts.

Vehicles - are cool.

The only vehicle that I used that was new to me was the "Mongoose" or small ATV. It does not shoot, but carries 2 people and moves VERY fast and is HIGHLY maneuverable. There are other vehicles, but I can't describe them at this time.

Interface. in a single phrase... IT SUCKS!!!!!! It took us a VERY long time to figure out how to create profiles (which isn't really worth the time) sign in, sign out, create games, hosting games, joining games, and even setting controls is VERY HARD!!!!!! YOU CANNOT SET CONTROLS WITHIN GAME PLAY WITHOUT TAKING UP THE WHOLE SCREEN!!!!!! whoever did not keep what was so great in halo 2 (interface wise) needs to be shot in the knee, buried in HOT sand (only head sticking out of the ground) and honey poured onto his (or her) head and then have ants come and get the honey. Or bees. Or a bear. Or... maybe they could just keep the old interface. Anyways... IT'S really stupid and it sucks. I have no positive words for the interface. it doesn't even look cool. or smell cool. or feel cool. or sound cool. BTW, have I mentioned, I hate the interface?

They also changed a few of the default controls. which, isn't bad... just different. They had to allow fo the use of "equipment" and moved the reload button (which will mess with your mind as usual marshal)

I'm sure I left out a few things, but it's almost 2:30am and I must go to bed. So.... have a good night halo fans!

New tool

I Got a really nice new tool last week... Yes.. it's another item to add to my belt!












And this is the bit kit that we also got. I keep this in a pouch that I keep in my pocket. (it's really slim)

New Chair!

I got this really nice new chair for my apartment....

I figured out that I don't play my keyboard as often as I could... and the main reason was, I don't have a place to sit over there... So I got this new chair and put my old one by my keyboard... And it was only $100! Most chairs like this are over $150.

Crapy photo - I lost my camera (and the bag associated with it) and am stuck using my cell phone for a camera for the time being.

Men's Retreat

So... some have complained that I fell off the face of the earth this weekend. (or maybe I just didn't answer my phone.) It is true, I have been unavailable 95% of this weekend. I spent my weekend running tech for a men's retreat hosted by Perimeter Church. There was VERY little cell phone coverage. I did however, have some WiFi. Just enough time to check my email and get voice mail.

Scott Logan (Not to be confused with Sweeny) was the tech director. We had a good time setting up, running tech, talking tech, hangin out and packing up to go home. The event itself was a success. Things went very smooth technically (although we had some minor issues with the speaker's visual presentations) We rented 4 man lifts (to mount the main speakers and projectors) We also rented the projectors (which we not really bright enough, but got the job done) and various other cables. Setup took about 5 hours and tear down took about an hour. Then we had to unload it again (which took about 30-45 mins) Monday, we have to put it all where it goes (which will take several hours.)

So, there's my weekend in a nutshell...

Distracting Marshall

ok... so this is for Marshall.... who for some reason, wants to be distracted from work right now. So... here's to Marshall! Be distracted my friend! Stop being productive you... you... um... you... un-productive person.

Things are happenin at Perimeter

So... right now... my heart is for ministry through tech. Particularly video related stuff. I never really thought about until recently, but now that I'm working this full time job at Perimeter, I can actually say I'm full time in the ministry. It's just not the same kind of ministry that most people think about. But it is definitely a ministry.

So... things are starting to come together with the video stuff we've been doing. People are starting to get more used to it and like it more. Every-now-and-then, I get an older person not like one thing or another and we'll have to make some adjustments, but that's ok.

We are now in a position where we need to get camera people to show up for rehearsals on Thursday nights. That way, we can actually practice and plan our shots in advance. We also have a plan that we're probably going to use that will help with the way our video teams are managed. I'm not sure what effect it will have on our teams, and who wants to be on our teams, but hopefully for the good. We're trying to raise the quality of the video so that it will look smoother and more professional.

CoCMS07

For those who don't know... CoCMS07 means - Camp of Champions Mississippi 2007

There is also a CoCTX07 that I'll also be participating in. Guess what that means...

CoCMS07 was great! I worked with Scott Sweeny in sound and video tech. The sad thing was Scott had to leave on Tuesday morning. The camp lasts till Friday. Fortunately, nothing terribly crazy happened while he was gone. It did get hairy wed night, but we made it. Friday was cleanup day. That was hard. We had equipment from 6 different people that had to be sorted and put back in it's proper place. We also got to use a technology that's new to us. (it's been around for awhile, we're just now getting it) In-Ear-Monitors! Wireless! They were great! While it was kinda hard to get some of the people used to it, once they did, the sound quality for the whole building skyrocketed! It was AWESOME. DB levels went down by5-7.

I then came back to Mobile to hang out with fam and friends. And also to help Grant hook their sound system back up with the new monitor systems! Hook up began at 1pm saturday and we were 100% finished around 7. Main speakers eq'd and everything. DB levals PEAKED at 101! That is the quietest IMPACT meeting EVER!

I'm looking forward to CoCTX07 and I will be bringing lots of gear from various places once again.

My Entertainment section

Here is my entertainment section... this shelf came with my cheapo desk and so I decided to use it for this... it's almost the perfect size...

My computer setup (temporary)

Here is my computer setup... I bought this cheapo desk to hold me over until I get my primary desk (hopefully very soon) and then I'll use it for a secondary desk...

My music section

Here is my music setup... I wish I could have brought my drum set....

I am now in an apartment!

After much time spent in finding a permanent place to live, I have finally found a place and am now officially moved in! I have made several trips to Mobile to hang out with friends and family and to get as much as I can fit in my van... I don't have much furniture, but I have my stuff... and I'm happy about that! I have all my music stuff (piano, percussion stuff) set up and a basic computer setup with a cheap, temporary desk from wal-mart.

I'm 10 - 15 mins to Perimeter and about 20 - 30 mins to anywhere else I want to go to. (i.e. Scott's, CLC, other friends, etc) The neighborhood seems to be very quiet so far. Parking is pretty nice here too. Even tho I'm in the lower floor, I don't have walk downstairs because of where I park. I have a phone line setup with DSL as well. The DSL here in ATL is VERY nice! I can get download speeds up to 800Kb/per sec! (Compared to 130Kb/per sec in Wilmer)