Politicians

It does make me feel better knowing that the United States is not the only country with retarded politicians.

New Cell Phone Number

Hello everyone, just a quick note that I have changed my cell phone number. My old number will remain active indefinitely, but I will stop carrying it with me soon. If you do not have my new number let me know and I will find a way to get it to you.

This is happening right now.....

I don't even know what to say. Just when I thought it could not get any worse, Ken Wilson had to share this with me. This is happening right now.....

iPhone update

My iPhone vs. Blackberry debate has come to an end. The verdict being, I am sticking with my blackberry. I played with an iPhone for a while and while it has its nice features, I feel that it lacks the raw business power of the blackberry. Granted, the iPhone does have the wealth of support from itunes and the untold numbers of apps available there, I would rather own the device that cuts down on the flare, and goes with functionality. Don't get me wrong, the blackberry is not without its flaws, I simply was able to get over the flaws of the blackberry much faster than those of the iPhone. For those of you who are big Apple fan-boys that are going to whine and cry of my critique, here is the answer to your question before you ask. My biggest complaint is this; have you ever tried to type on the iPhone in any window other than safari? IT SUCKS! the touch detection was horrible for me. I don't have huge hands, but the iPhone was constantly registering keystrokes for letters that I did not intend to type. Not a huge problem unless the predictive text engine sucks as much as the iPhones does. And heaven forbid you type something you didn't want to and it finds its way into the custom dictionary. Then you have a whole new problem to deal with. Granted I did not own the iPhone I was testing so I did not want to tear it apart and change all 3 of the settings it will let you change. The point being, that for a first time user, the advanced settings and functions were hidden in typical Apple fashion to keep them away from the normal users way. While this streamlines everything and gives the user interface a nice look, it doesn't help someone like me that actually cares about the nuts and bolts. To be fair, I might like the iPhone more if I spent a little more time with it, but I already own a blackberry, and the cost to switch far outweighed any gain on my part. So to cure my previous ailment discussed in the last iPhone post, I am purchasing a new iPod touch to replace my aging iPod to run my apps and do everything that iPhone can do minus the phone and camera.

RSS Feed

I have had a few people complain to me recently about my RSS feed not working. This is due to the fact that I recently transferred all of my RSS traffic to feedburner at the request of most of the people currently complaining. Please check your RSS readers settings and refresh if necessary. New RSS feed url: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheCapsWay

Im In!

This series starts next week at Fellowship Church in Dallas. Looks like its going to be good.

They Dont Make A Van

I had somewhat of an epiphany over the weekend. Mercedes-Benz does not make a van. I had this sudden realization while offering my opinion of a technical budget submitted to me but a customer I am consulting for. They had budgeted a significant amount of money to install some very specialized and expensive tech in a multi-purpose room in the auxiliary section of the building. This is all well and good, except when you do not wish to hire full-time tech people to operate the equipment in the room. Their response to my critique was this; “If we have the money, why shouldn’t we spend it on tech.” Despite the overwhelming excitement that came over me hearing this from a financial person, the point is this: When you need a utility van, don’t go to the Mercedes-Benz dealer looking for one.

What An Awesome Team!

I just want to take a moment to be thankful for the team I work with. For those of you who don't know, I worked an epic 93 hours last week. Some would say that must have been "hell", but I would say it wasn't. And that is all thanks to the team that I work for. By boss, but more importantly my friend Wes, was with me every step of the way doing everything he could, even when it was just a one man job. One night later in the week the Senior Pastor and his wife took us out to dinner to show their appreciation for all the work we were doing. And that's what makes the difference. When you work 93 hours, and no one notices or cares, that's what makes it "hell".

Why 93 hours you ask? Well here is the short story and to-do list for last week:

1. Final prep and media for the Iron Sharpens Iron conference that weekend. (all 12 videos and countless powerpoint presentations.)
2. implement final leg of new lighting rep plan after weeks of CAD design revisions. (i.e. take down every single fixture and put them back up the right way, then reprogram the congo from scratch)
3. Final prep to launch new sermon series that weekend. (New intro video and graphics)
4. Sit through 2 hour staff meeting no one cares about (I'm not bitter)
5. The usual weekly tasks
6. PM on all the lighting gear (replace gels and bulbs in lights, replace broken sockets in the worthless strand fresnels, and rest the lighting racks, dust everything, clean filters, you get the idea)
7. Fix the outlook control system once an for all
8. Continue to work on resolving the Crestron control system issues.

None of this could have been possible without the help and support of the rest the team.

Excellence Or Perfection?

I wish I could take credit for this post linked below, but I can't. My boss Wes, and I have been talking over the last few weeks about how to raise the bar, and not cause problems doing so. In the process we have started creating training programs, rewriting our crestron control software to better fit our needs, and reworking some of our standards and procedures to make things run smoother. However in our discussions the same question continues to come up. At what point are you obsessing over something and straying away from excellence and heading toward an un-realistic pursuit of perfection. Then out of the blue this morning, a new post appears in my RSS feed list from the awesome Mike Sessler, the author of the Church Tech Arts blog. His post "Perfection or Progress?" is by far the best post on the subject I have read to date. So for all of you that are also having the same issues with excellence, i encourage you to read Mike's blog. Here is the link: http://www.churchtecharts.org/Blog/archives/454

Chruch Tech Arts At Its Best

This video was sent to me a few days ago following a conversation about what the next step toward "perfection" should be in our respective applications. The video was filmed at Fellowship Church in Dallas, Texas not long ago. The team at Fellowship did a wonderful job putting this together and and finished it with near perfect execution. Enjoy the video!

Live Version:



Post-Production Version:

I Need Help!

Alright people, here is my problem.

I have searched high and low for the one piece of technology that does it all. You know that one thing that keeps track of your calendar, does the chores your wife asks you to do before she nags you about them, accepts phone calls from the people you do want to talk to but conveniently ignores those calls you don't want to answer (that way you really can blame it on your phone) syncs seamlessly with Microsoft exchange for email, contacts, and calendar, will freeze time so you are never late to work (no fast-forward though because that would be bad. we all know what happened in the movie "click"), run any application no matter what device it was originally designed for, and it must have a touch screen, play music, and not cost 4 million dollars. Now I know that I left a few requirements out but I didn't want to make this a 20+ page post.

But seriously, I currently own a blackberry pearl and love it. Only problem is, it doesn't have WIFI, and the useful software apps are few and far between. I am not married to my blackberry at all, I simply have not run across a device that I was convinced did everything the blackberry did and more, without introducing more problems. I have thought about the iPhone, but no one that I know who owns an iPhone knows anything about it other than it looks cool and was the next best gadget that everyone was buying so they had to have it. I cannot find anyone to talk to that owns an iPhone that I can really talk to about the stuff I care about. Not just the GUI but also its advanced features and how it really compares to the blackberry and others. Before you write me off as an idiot, I will tell you that I have been able to find more than enough apple fan boys that can do nothing but drool over the thing. But that isn't what i need. I need someone that will get over the fact that it is an apple product and tell me more than what it can do(I can find more than enough information there), but also what it cannot do.

What I really want is a device that will do everything my blackberry does, (Email, phone, calendar, contacts, extra apps, ect..) and will run some industry specific apps. I used to own a PalmTX handheld before it was stolen from me, and I used it to run several sound and lighting applications. This was awesome while I was at work, but also meant I had to carry my Palm along with my phone and any other tools that I needed to work on a given project. That is a lot to have on you at any given time, especially if you are up in the catwalk when you are not really supposed to have that stuff on you in the first place. I have recently discovered some software apps that run on the iPhone and the iPod touch and will not only run new and improved versions of all my old software, but also run new apps that will allow me to directly control my lighting console and any other DMX device directly from my iPhone or iPod touch using the built-in WIFI and other protocols. The simple solution would be to buy and iPod touch and keep my blackberry and continue to live my life. However, then I would be right back to carrying 2 devices with me all over again. Therefore the better solution would be to get an iPhone. Problem there is I am not sure that I will like it, and that I am unsure of how it will handle everything I throw at my blackberry as well as the added load of my industry applications.

So now do we all understand my problem? I would be glad to own an iPhone if I knew it was the right device for the job.

BTW, sorry to everyone that has been mad at me for not blogging enough. I promise to make it up to you!

Is Cheap Worth It?

So we have all heard of the infamous 'good, fast, or cheap' triangle. But at what point does cheap become to cheap?

Last fall we were in desperate need of new projectors. The two proxima projectors in our main worship center were just passing 6 years of age, which as most of you know is pushing it for 'gen 1' LCD technology. At the time I had recently been hired as TD, and did not know quite where to turn considering that I had a non-existent budget to work with. I went to talk to our head of IT who has been at the company for more than 8 years and is well known and respected, in hopes of getting a little advice. We called a company out in Oklahoma that we have worked with in the past who informed us of a wonderful sale they were having. The sale was this: two Panasonic PTD-7500U projectors for just under 24,000 dollars. Way too good to be true right? Well in our haste to replace our rapidly dieing projectors, we jumped on it. Can anyone guess why I am just blogging about this now? If you guessed that its because both projectors are failing then you deserve a gold star. Here we are just a year later, with both projectors failing in different ways, only to find that they are out of warranty. After several phone calls, I managed to figure out why we got such a great deal. We had been sold "b-stock" projectors that were just over 6 years old, and had originally been purchased as demo units by the company that sold them to us. The next step of course was to call our genius executive pastor to mediate. But with fall kickoff closing in, time is a luxury we don't have. If all goes well, we will get the company that sold them to us to honor their original 'as new' sales agreement, and time will be my only enemy.

But the question remains, was it worth it? it was the right deal at the right time, but is it worth the pain now, just a year later? I am honestly struggling with this because I don't know what to think. How do you know what deals are good an what deals are bad? I would really rather not be know around the office as the one who "always goes with the most expensive option.". My proposals usually are a little on the expensive side because I play it safe, I go with the parts and sources that are proven, and I know wont let me down. But will I ever get the chance to prove my methods if I keep getting passed over for the cheaper option? I hate being the one that's always there saying "I told you so" but what else do you do?

ADDED:

For clarification: This is NOT a stab at the leadership of my current employer. Due to circumstances beyond any ones control, we had but one option and we took it. We were blessed to be able to get what we did, because otherwise we would still be stuck with those old proxima projectors. I am pleased with the way that the situation was handled and everything has worked out OK.

FOLLOW UP:

Both projectors we shipped off to be repaired by Panasonic not too long ago, and have now returned in perfect working order! The only cost to us was shipping to the repair facility. The real blessing in all of this was that both projectors were damaged far more than we had realized, and Panasonic repaired them both anyway. So now the only problem is that they are only 5000 lumen projectors. Other than that they look great!

The Right Way, The Industry Way, And The CAPS Way

Well, here begins the first post.

I am new to the world of habitual blogging, but as a fellow member of the entertainment direction and production profession, it would be highly disfunctional for me to not blog away with all the rest of you.

I had a hard time coming up with a name for my blog, and finally settled on 'the caps way'. To some of you this may not make any sense at all. But for those of you who have had the pleasure of being my supervisor, you may already know where this is going. The explanation is as follows; One day I was working for my favorite mentor to date and good friend Jason Cole. Most of you know him already, but for those of you who don't, please take the time to read his blog as well. (Jason's blog can be found here: http://productionnuts.blogspot.com/) Anyway, I was prepping our new multi-track rig for its first use and to complete the setup, the MAC required a admin password. I though Jason had given it to me before he left, so I tried it. Much to my dismay, the password I had remembered did not work. After several tries, I became rather annoyed with MACs in general and decided that I would call Jason even though he had already left for the day. (Against the code I know, but its all part of the story. Remember there is the industry way, the right way, and then there is the caps way) Jason was of course happy to help and told me what the password was. I informed him that I had already tried that, and that the MAC had rejected it. A long pause came from the other end of the phone, and a puzzled Jason says to me, "Well that's the password that I set not an hour ago before I left, I couldn't imagine why it wouldn't accept it. Do you have the caps lock on?". I looked down to the keyboard (which was a wireless MICROSOFT keyboard on a MAC, which was the first mistake, and second, lacked the basic green LED on the caps lock key to indicate its status. Instead, MICROSOFT in all their infinite wisdom, put the LEDs on the receiver unit, which as luck would have it was on the floor out of sight.) and I noticed that there was no indicator located on the keyboard and as an experiment, toggled the key and tried again. As luck would have it, the MAC now had not problems accepting the password, making me feel the the biggest idiot in the world, in front of my mentor. Life couldn't get much worse. I have never been successful in shaking the new nickname I had just earned and have instead decided to embrace it.

Now you know the story an hopefully the rest of my blog will begin to make sense.

Please feel free to comment as I value your opinions and input. If there is ever a day when you didn't learn anything, you have stopped living.