Teri will probably like this blog :/
I was listening to a CD I just got in by Neal Morse, excellent christian progressive rock. It came with a bonus CD, so after listening to the 1st cd, I popped in the 2nd CD, and the first song just made me jump back hmm 25-30 years maybe? WOW!!! Below is the original version that Teri will remember as well. But Neal, George and Mike all do a great cover of it.
Interesting... I just spotted this other blog entry about the song, on an Osmond blog?
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Amp Room
I heard about this "idea" awhile back, never really knew what they meant until I ran it through my brain for awhile and then it dawned on me, and it's a great idea. One thing that I am sure some churches struggle with (including ours) is guitar amps on stage being to loud, or just adding unwanted sound to the music. But, how does a guitarist hear himself if he doesn't have the amp there.
One note before I go on. We have two guitarist now. One on bass, one on acoustic guitar. Both of them use DI (Direct Injection) boxes. The DI box takes the signal from the guitar itself, splits it up, sends the sound to the main mixer board, and then also to their amp. That way I get clean, un-modified sound. With Electric guitar I would not do this, I would either mic the amp, or pull signal after the amp processing so I get the exact type of sound that is being sent out from the amp.
Ok, back to the topic. I have started to hear about "amp room(s)". Hmm interesting concept. Above is a photo of an amp room that I "borrowed" from the net. The way it works is... on stage, the guitarist just plugs in his guitar. That cord feeds into the "amp room" where the Amp is setup. These rooms can be fairly small, and since no one really sees them, you can us acoustic absorption devices to cut down on reverb and reflection. In this room is were the amp is "mic'd". The sound from this mic is then fed to the mixer(s) and is sent back to the stage via the monitors or via In-Ear monitor (IEM). Whalla! Pure amp sound, with no amps on stage! Interesting huh? Of course this idea takes pre-planning in the building, but it is something I will keep in mind if I ever have input on a church/stage design.
One note before I go on. We have two guitarist now. One on bass, one on acoustic guitar. Both of them use DI (Direct Injection) boxes. The DI box takes the signal from the guitar itself, splits it up, sends the sound to the main mixer board, and then also to their amp. That way I get clean, un-modified sound. With Electric guitar I would not do this, I would either mic the amp, or pull signal after the amp processing so I get the exact type of sound that is being sent out from the amp.
Ok, back to the topic. I have started to hear about "amp room(s)". Hmm interesting concept. Above is a photo of an amp room that I "borrowed" from the net. The way it works is... on stage, the guitarist just plugs in his guitar. That cord feeds into the "amp room" where the Amp is setup. These rooms can be fairly small, and since no one really sees them, you can us acoustic absorption devices to cut down on reverb and reflection. In this room is were the amp is "mic'd". The sound from this mic is then fed to the mixer(s) and is sent back to the stage via the monitors or via In-Ear monitor (IEM). Whalla! Pure amp sound, with no amps on stage! Interesting huh? Of course this idea takes pre-planning in the building, but it is something I will keep in mind if I ever have input on a church/stage design.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Hands off my Equipment!
Argh... Sunday morning I was in a great mood, till I got to the church, did some sound checks, and noticed most of our stage equipment had been tampered with. Levels on the monitors had been messed with and the monitor mixer board had been messed with. So I went about getting things reset to best guess levels as fast as possible before practice started. During practice I had a few issues with feedback on the monitors, but worked them out fairly quick and thought I had it all under control.
At this point, I was still in a fairly good mood, enjoying Sunday School and then the worship service. (well... enjoying might be too much of a word, During the worship service I am usually a wreck, nervous, fidgeting with the main board, trying to make sure everything sounds good, make sure it's not to loud, or too soft, etc.)....
Worship goes on, we are on the 4th or 5th song I think, then BAAMMM!! Huge low frequency feedback emitting from the stage. Panic city!! Gladly the worship team just kept going, no hiccups, no one stopped singing, just kept going. I will frantically dropping microphones from the mix one by one, trying to clear the problem, to no avail. I happened to look up and see Nathan (the pianist) missing with his piano, so I killed his monitor and that cleared the feedback. He kept his piano off and the 7 singers, along with a flute and bass guitar finished the song. It was actually really pretty sounding. After the song was over, I lowered levels on the piano monitor, and gave him the ok to turn things back on again, and the service went on.
I happily kept my cool, and last night during worship practice, my assistant and I completely re-set the monitor board from scratch. So we should be ok now. We figured out that possibly some kids from the spanish church that meets there on Tuesdays and Saturdays had probably been missing with the knobs and got things messed up. So, I had a little discussion with our pastor, politely stating that no kids should be allowed on stage for any service (unless of course it's planned that way) and to assert to both congregations that no-one should be touching the equipment. And I think that with the real life experience that our church just had, they now understand why I don't want anyone touching the AV equipment.
At this point, I was still in a fairly good mood, enjoying Sunday School and then the worship service. (well... enjoying might be too much of a word, During the worship service I am usually a wreck, nervous, fidgeting with the main board, trying to make sure everything sounds good, make sure it's not to loud, or too soft, etc.)....
Worship goes on, we are on the 4th or 5th song I think, then BAAMMM!! Huge low frequency feedback emitting from the stage. Panic city!! Gladly the worship team just kept going, no hiccups, no one stopped singing, just kept going. I will frantically dropping microphones from the mix one by one, trying to clear the problem, to no avail. I happened to look up and see Nathan (the pianist) missing with his piano, so I killed his monitor and that cleared the feedback. He kept his piano off and the 7 singers, along with a flute and bass guitar finished the song. It was actually really pretty sounding. After the song was over, I lowered levels on the piano monitor, and gave him the ok to turn things back on again, and the service went on.
I happily kept my cool, and last night during worship practice, my assistant and I completely re-set the monitor board from scratch. So we should be ok now. We figured out that possibly some kids from the spanish church that meets there on Tuesdays and Saturdays had probably been missing with the knobs and got things messed up. So, I had a little discussion with our pastor, politely stating that no kids should be allowed on stage for any service (unless of course it's planned that way) and to assert to both congregations that no-one should be touching the equipment. And I think that with the real life experience that our church just had, they now understand why I don't want anyone touching the AV equipment.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Finally - A nice RPG Editor
For those that are not programmers, you can skip this blog :)
Today I happened upon a program called RPGAlive. Basically it's a PC program that runs in the background, and "watches" your terminal emulation program. It can sense when SEU is running and then it reads the code and makes it "pretty" and a bit more understandable. One thing I have always disliked about IBM's SEU or FSEDIT is they are very crude and not real intuitive. Since I have now moved from the S36 environment to the AS400, meaning I moved from FSEDIT (back) to SEU, I have not been very comfortable when I am coding, like I used to be with FSEDIT. Maybe this will change things.
(click on the image to see the full size and animation that shows what it does)
That is a screen shot that I "borrowed" from RPGAlive's website to demostrate what it does. It is really helpful/useful when coding, especially if you are doing alot of loops or similar. I also like that feature that "underlines" fields for each type of oper command, so you know where the fields are without having to go to single line mode. Only problem with RGVAlive is it's $800 price tag.
The above is another program I use from time to time called CodeStudio (and it's FREE!), it's a PC program that FTPs the source code from the 400, lets you modify it, then FTPs it back to the 400. Only problem is it has a few quirks that I don't like, but I am starting to get used to it.
If I could get RPGAlive, I would probably switch back to SEU for all my coding. I have 30 days to try it out. After that I might end up switching back to CodeStudio.
Today I happened upon a program called RPGAlive. Basically it's a PC program that runs in the background, and "watches" your terminal emulation program. It can sense when SEU is running and then it reads the code and makes it "pretty" and a bit more understandable. One thing I have always disliked about IBM's SEU or FSEDIT is they are very crude and not real intuitive. Since I have now moved from the S36 environment to the AS400, meaning I moved from FSEDIT (back) to SEU, I have not been very comfortable when I am coding, like I used to be with FSEDIT. Maybe this will change things.
(click on the image to see the full size and animation that shows what it does)
That is a screen shot that I "borrowed" from RPGAlive's website to demostrate what it does. It is really helpful/useful when coding, especially if you are doing alot of loops or similar. I also like that feature that "underlines" fields for each type of oper command, so you know where the fields are without having to go to single line mode. Only problem with RGVAlive is it's $800 price tag.
The above is another program I use from time to time called CodeStudio (and it's FREE!), it's a PC program that FTPs the source code from the 400, lets you modify it, then FTPs it back to the 400. Only problem is it has a few quirks that I don't like, but I am starting to get used to it.
If I could get RPGAlive, I would probably switch back to SEU for all my coding. I have 30 days to try it out. After that I might end up switching back to CodeStudio.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Like when I was a Kid
It's lunch time, I am sitting at home having a Pimento Cheese Sandwich! Hmmm good. Been a long while since I had one of these.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Actually... UP with Ike!
As God is in control of all things, he likes toying with us with hurricanes. They go north, they go south, they go west, but no one knows, for sure, when or have fast. Yesterday morning, most computer models and forecasters has Ike going in around Houston, as the day went on, the forecasted landfall moved further and further south, down to Brownsville. As the afternoon came and went, the forecasted landfall moved back north again. As of today they are saying it looks like it will go in somewhere between Corpus and Houston areas.
Yesterday at lunch, Nick and I went to Lowes and picked up some plywood and hardware just in case. If Ike does stay North, Laura and I will still build some custom window covers out of the plywood and have them ready for the next time. If it does go in as expected, we will still get some rain and winds, but not near what we had with Dolly. And hopefully the rain from Ike will work it's way into the Austin area and give Mom and Dad some much needed rain.
On another note: After lots of considerations, thinking, declining, thinking again, considering, and a few cold beer (Bacardi Limon & coke for Laura) meditation moments. Laura and I have decided to step into the HD world. This morning we ordered a Sharp LC-37D64U LCD TV with 1080p resolution. I am also dealing with DirecTV to try and get a good deal on 2 HD DVRs. So far we have not reached an agreement. I might end up just getting 1 HD DVR and 1 HD receiver. Why 2? well Nick put his JVC flat panel in the living room, the new TV will be in our bedroom (where we watch 95% of our TV). We would put the HD-DVR in the bedroom and just have the regular HD Receiver in the living room.
Here is a picture of the TV.
Yesterday at lunch, Nick and I went to Lowes and picked up some plywood and hardware just in case. If Ike does stay North, Laura and I will still build some custom window covers out of the plywood and have them ready for the next time. If it does go in as expected, we will still get some rain and winds, but not near what we had with Dolly. And hopefully the rain from Ike will work it's way into the Austin area and give Mom and Dad some much needed rain.
On another note: After lots of considerations, thinking, declining, thinking again, considering, and a few cold beer (Bacardi Limon & coke for Laura) meditation moments. Laura and I have decided to step into the HD world. This morning we ordered a Sharp LC-37D64U LCD TV with 1080p resolution. I am also dealing with DirecTV to try and get a good deal on 2 HD DVRs. So far we have not reached an agreement. I might end up just getting 1 HD DVR and 1 HD receiver. Why 2? well Nick put his JVC flat panel in the living room, the new TV will be in our bedroom (where we watch 95% of our TV). We would put the HD-DVR in the bedroom and just have the regular HD Receiver in the living room.
Here is a picture of the TV.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Down with Ike!
Laura, Nick and I are starting to make plans for yet another hurricane. Ike has decided that Lousiana and upper Texas coast isn't as fun as the lower coast. I will probably be taking a bit of an extended lunch today to go by Lowes or Home Depot with Nick and pickup some plywood, screws and other supplies. If I can do that, tonight I'll cut the plywood to fit and possibly pre-screw it and get them ready to go. I'll also probably go by a pet store to pickup a carrier for the dogs, just incase we decide to evacuate.After Dolly, Laura and I agreed that we would probably leave if a Cat3 or higher hurricane came in. We are still considering that option. We will keep an eye on the news and weather channel for the next several days. If we do leave, we'll board up the house, lock it down tight and head north. If it is expected to stay Cat1 or Cat2, we might stay. Not real sure what Nick is going to do yet, we have not talked to him about it. But if we leave, we are leaving because I don't want anyone in the house, so he'll probably stay elsewhere or go with us.
I'll update again as we get closer and get more info on the expected track later this week.
Monday, September 08, 2008
We have a Roof over our heads!
The workers finished our roof yesterday morning, Finally! There was a few delays due to mis-communication, but the roof is now finished and paid for. Laura and I have alot of other projects planned for around the house, but they will have to wait for the appropriate funds. Next on our agenda is a outside faucet that is next to our garage that as leaked since we got the house. It's gotten progressively worse, so we pushed that to the top of the list. After that we are going to get the siding replaced on the east front window and around the front door, then a complete repaint. Lots more planned after that, but those projects alone will take a while to get done (ie: finance :> )
We are keeping a close eye on Ike this week, hopefully he will steer north of use and go into unpopulated areas. LA definite doesn't need any more rain, we don't either :)
Just a image to make this blog look interesting. This is the view from my desk as I wrote this :>
We are keeping a close eye on Ike this week, hopefully he will steer north of use and go into unpopulated areas. LA definite doesn't need any more rain, we don't either :)
Just a image to make this blog look interesting. This is the view from my desk as I wrote this :>
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Palin blew our Roof off!!
Well, not really, but it just so happens that as we watched Palin last night, we had no shingles on our roof. Not long ago, my sister and brother inlaw had roof work done. Now it is our turn. Yesterday the house was alive with trampling on the roof, hammering, and roof shingles flying off the roof into a trailer parked in our drive way. They should be finishing up the job today, so if I remember, I'll get some photos and post them.
And what about that Palin speech last night!? Laura and I both had problems staying up, waiting for her speech, but once it started, we had no problems keeping our eyes opened and our ears trained on her words. I think she did an excellent job, and got in some really good jabs to the media and Obama.
And what about that Palin speech last night!? Laura and I both had problems staying up, waiting for her speech, but once it started, we had no problems keeping our eyes opened and our ears trained on her words. I think she did an excellent job, and got in some really good jabs to the media and Obama.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Hurricanes Everywhere!
Wow, is the hurricane season off to roar or not! I just hope they stay in the atlantic and out of the Gulf. We are scheduled to have our roof replaced this week (we hope) because of Dolly. We don't need anymore repair work! (Actually we do, but not hurricae related).
Laura is off and running with school. She is teaching classes and also taking a class at UTPA. This keeps her either away from the house or studying alot. So Nick and I have taken over most of the chores and cooking.
We really enjoyed our Labor day weekend. We got some chores done. Laura did some shopping and the rest of the time we just relaxed.
Hope everyone is doing well!
Laura is off and running with school. She is teaching classes and also taking a class at UTPA. This keeps her either away from the house or studying alot. So Nick and I have taken over most of the chores and cooking.
We really enjoyed our Labor day weekend. We got some chores done. Laura did some shopping and the rest of the time we just relaxed.
Hope everyone is doing well!
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