So it was finally announced today in Sunday morning service that I am leaving my fulltime position at DFA and going to work for Hiscall.  I am as excited for the new opportunity as I am sad to be leaving, a strange mix of emotions. 

A few months ago I began to feel that I needed to get a little more training and certification under my belt, as I have 15 years experience running A-V and 8 years running IT equipment . . . but absolutely nothing on paper as far as classes or certification go.  To that end, I began looking for a new job where I could get some training.  That’s where Hiscall comes in.

Hiscall specializes in telecommunication and data networks but has recently expanded into security and A-V for businesses, churches and schools . . . which is where I come in.  I recently was offered the opportunity to interview at Hiscall to be a part of the fairly new A-V department.  Right now the A-V department is specializing in A-V systems integration in conference rooms and classrooms and the like (press one button and all the A-V tech comes on and is plug-and-play ready, automatically sensing what is plugged in and switching inputs accordingly . . . and not just A-V stuff either, see www.crestron.com) and digital signage (basically super-duper power point on high def screens in several locations throughout a company run by a central server.  Info in lobbies of banks, outside the door of a conference room telling when meetings are today, etc.  See www.trms.com) as well as a few other things.  But we are going to expand into new areas as soon as we can, meaning as soon as we all learn how to install them ! 

To that end, I’ll be getting not only a lot of certification in codes and practices . . . but training on how to install and program all kinds of cool A-V stuff !  Tomorrow, Monday the 21st of June, will be my last day at DFA.  I will start at Hiscall on Tuesday the 22nd. Yah, no rest . . . no vacation . . . just hitting the ground running.  There are several reasons for the fast transition . . . but basically the timing worked out that I either needed to start Tuesday or wait a couple of weeks and then start.  And while the prospect of a few weeks of vacation sounded very good . . . the budget is tight enough that financially that would leave me with no emergency fund.  So . . . it’s hit the ground running and rest later !

After 15 years running A-V at DFA, after 10 years heading up the A-V department, after 8 years of being a full time employee of DFA and taking on not only the A-V, but the Media creation and IT roles . . . it’s difficult leaving.  I was training my replacement last week, Chip Johnson (a super awesome guy who is, quite honestly, going to be better at my job then I ever was), and it started to sink in that I was leaving. Then I was cleaning out my office and it finally hit me . . . it’s not my office any more.  After 15 years, it was like handing over a child to someone else’s care.  Very strange.

But I am excited about the future !  I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to tweet or write about at first, as some of what we’re doing isn’t officially announced yet . . . but as I get certified and trained on the new products, I’ll finally be able to write about them on the blog as an expert . . . or at least as someone who has professional training on the products ! 

So, here’s to the future !

Now I must continue reading up on Tight Rope Media Systems Carousel digital signage system.

This post is to test how well my RSS feed is working . . . if it’s working at all.

http://www.arackas.com/wptest/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=144 is a link to THIS POST.

http://www.arackas.com/wptest/ is the auto-discover link to my RSS feed. 

Hopefully.

It’s been a while since I posted any pictures.  This is mostly due to the fact that I have to format the pictures, save a smaller version (to display on the page for you to click on), and then upload the whole mess over a slow connection.  And lately, there hasn’t been much time for picture taking. 

But lately the business has been limited to small crisis’s.  Little things like getting ready for the staff Christmas party,  or cleaning up my office and getting rid of old computer parts, or . . . you know . . .  coming into work to find a server burned up (literally).  Little things like that. 

You know it’s going to be a bad morning when you open the door to the server room and our rushes 80 degree plus degree air, along with the smell or burning metal and plastic and ozone.  Yes, the magic smoke has left some of the components of the server.  However, with a new power supply the green light on the mother board lights up and we get half way through SCSI BIOS boot before it freezes !  So maybe there is hope yet for recovering at least one of the hard drives. 

Anywho, I decided to make a separate page for the pictures and such.  That way they can be a bit bigger (and I don’t have to make small versions as well as large versions and upload them both) and I can put comments with each pictures and not have to worry about the column width or anything like that.  I figured I’d do a few today, and a few more tomorrow.  I need to take some pictures of my fish too.

So, if you’re ready for a bit of load time, click the link below to proceed !

Click HERE !

Shhhh . . . dont tell everyone else that I’m doing this during Staff Meeting between topics relivent to me. 

This is an interesting story.  A guy has his 360 stolen at college and finds it with his wireless controller . . .
HERE

There is a nice cloak of Plasma around the Earth, I though we allready knew about this . . . but I guess we didn’t . . .
HERE

This is a very cool article about Fusion Power . . .
HERE

     In other news, I walked into the A-V room this morning to the smell of burning . . . which is never a good smell when walking into the room that holds a network server.  Someone has set the AC unit to heat and turned it up . . . not knowing that the unit was going to heat my office and the A-V room to temps above 83 deg F. and cause a server to overheat.  The thermostat is labeled with a dont adjust sign, but people dont seam to read those things.  I have to tell the Pastor that we’re out a server (at least the processor, maybe the whole main board) and that we need to get a digital thermostat that we can lock people out of so that the other server in my Office dosent fry. 

     The server (RILIEN) was the DHCP server (as well as an Active Directory Server, and a File Server) and I had just moved the FSMO roles to that server (there are a few things that  . . . so now I get to set the network back up after staff meeting.  Funny thing is, I just made RILIEN the ‘master server’ (if you will) because HEBION (another server) is having bad blocks show up every day.  We have a third server (RANDIR) is now taking over the DHCP roles, and I have to read up on how to put the network back together.

Fun times ! 

Things are slowly returning to normal, just in time for the Christmas Play rehearsals to start up in full swing.

Budges for 2009 were due today.  I managed to ask for $2,000 less stuff this year then I did last year.  It’s amazing how much money it takes just to maintain the A-V equipment.  Lights, projector lamps, gells, blank media, new cables, CCLI copyright renewal, and all manner of things just to keep stuff going.

Not to mention all the things we need to upgrade or replace in the coming year to account for stuff breaking (hard drive failures, memory upgrades, etc).

And that doesn’t include stuff that we need to get (like a new video mixing board since this one doesn’t always like to work the first, second, or third time you turn it on). 

My LG phone finally broke today.  It’s been having trouble changing for a while now.  Last night when I unplugged the charging cable, part of the phone came out with it . . . that’s never a good sign.  I’ve had it for like 3 years, and I think Michael had it for a year before that.  So 4 years isn’t a bad run for a cell phone.  The bad part is, for some STUPID reason, I cant upgrade to a new phone until December.  Or rather, I could upgrade . . . but I’d have to pay the full cost of the phone plus a $20 upgrade fee.  If I wait until December, then I get a $100 credit.

So I’m going to try and borrow someone’s old phone and do a line transfer until then. 

Any sudgestions for a new phone ?

I like LG, it MUST have clear voice quality, I don’t need a touch screen (I’d break it), I don’t need a slide phone or a razor . . . I just want a decent clear phone with web surfing capabilities (what phones don’t have that now adays I suppose). 

My Gears of War 2 review comming soon.

Oh, and check out Pete Cullens review of the latest Bond film HERE !

Matt Jones pointed this leaked trailer out to me today.  It’s obviously captured using a camera phone or something, but you get the idea.  Find it HERE. 

Read more

So Veronica and Pastor Barry has this guy redo our logo (matt from DigitalSnot.com) . . . and it’s very cool !  We not only got the logo, we got it as a layered Photoshop file and we got the logo infront of all these cool still and animated backgrounds . . . all for a very good price.  Pastor Barry did a sketch of his logo concept, and matt took that and did a full up logo for us ! 

 I’d post some of the backgrounds and animations but . . . I dont have time right at the moment.  But here is a sample of the logo !

Thanks Matt !

First, the fish tank.  I finally took some pictures of the tank that I got more then a month ago.  I think that I put the tank in a bad place in the living room because the couches are 90 degrees to it (facing the TV set on the wall to the right) . . . but I didn’t want to put it next to the TV / Entertainment center because I wasn’t sure about putting all that weight on the one spot of the floor of the apartment.

Anywho, the right side of the tank is missing any kind of decoration because I haven’t found anything I like yet.  I want something like a big(ish) castle or something with gecko-roman columns . . . like Atlantis sunk in the tank lol. 

In other news, I’ve decided that we need to change the color / pattern of the back wall monthly.  Last month was a very geometric / sharp edged / masculine breakup pattern . . . green pattern with purple background.  So this month, wanting to avoid fall colors since they will take up the next two months, I decided to go with a green background and a paisley pattern. 

I know it’s very busy.  But many of the backgrounds that I downloaded for use in worship / Pastors notes have a sketched / scribble / paisley aspect to them.  And it’s more feminine then last month (many ladies told me last month that the pattern was very linear).  The pictures are blurry, sorry, and one looks more saturated then the other . . . but you get the idea.  I may make the paisley pattern a deep orange and see how that looks on the green . . . just to take away from the bright white of the pattern.

I know, it is very busy.  But I’m still learning stuff here.  Also, the green isn’t as deep as I wanted and the focal point of the lamps in my ellipses are off (so the pattern has a glow about it that washes out the green even more).  But I think it’s a step in the right direction.

Last, but not least, you should check out Camron Ware’s web site and blog.  He does some amazing stuff with architectural projection (that’s pointing a projector at a wall and projecting some cool designs on them to make for a more immersive service).  His latest post shows a church that he worked with that uses fabric and some color mixing LED banks in the ceiling to truly create an immersive space.  Check it out

Well, we have been having a bit of a dry spell here in Tennessee (like many other places in the South) . . . this has not been good for my allergies.  You know what else is not good for my allergies . . . wood smoke. Today the neighbor across the road decided to burn more stuff . . . AGAIN.  There has been a burn pile of one sort or another burning like every 8 – 10 days over there for the longest time. 

Hey I don’t mind that kind of stuff every now and again, the guy has a large field and a wood line and you need to clean it out.  But our apartments are down wind and even if you have all the doors and windows closed the apartment still reeks of smoke . . . and I mean REEKS.  My next door neighbors called the fire department (or police department or someone) and complained when her little girl couldn’t stop coughing.  She went to talk to the guy across the road and I could hear her with the windows closed lol. 

In other exciting news, I need to come up with a new color / pattern scheme for the platform walls.  This past month I’ve had purple background with a green ‘deconstruction’ pattern (I didn’t pick the name of the pattern).  Here is a picture . . .

I want to do something new for September but I’m not sure what.  I don’t want to do ‘fall’ colors as October and November will likely be that way.  Also, warm colors often make bad background colors as they don’t contrast with our pastors skin tone (since he is white and tanish looking, I usually go with a cool color for the background). 

I had to draw in where the projector screne goes.

Also, we have been matching the color of the background for the songs with that of  the walls (either using a purple that matches quite well, or a green that is pretty close to the one I’m using).  So I’m kind of looking for a song background(s) that I like and then perhaps basing the color scheme off that. 

Any ideas ?