Busted Photos

Reporting to you LIVE from beautiful Oak Island, NC!

Here's a few photos from the accident mentioned in the previous post. We really were very fortunate that the van and trailer didn't start rolling. Also, in retrospect, I remember standing outside after the accident thinking with the rest of the guys that it was one awesome ride!

As you can see in a couple of the photos, one of the passenger side tires of the trailer was flat busted, and the other one wound up completely missing. We later found it after the trailer had been towed back to the house UNDERNEATH the trailer!

Delayed...

Reporting LIVE from Nashville, TN...

As many of you know, between Christmas and New Year's, I travel to Nashville and to various parts of North Carolina for The Edge Conference. This year, our start has been a bit delayed due to an accident.

[12:00 pm] We loaded up a big 16x7 trailer with sound equipment and merch, etc... hitched it up to the van, and headed out. [1:15 pm] About five to ten miles down the road, the van began to swerve a bit. Our driver did the best he could, but the trailer we were towing seemed to want to take over. The swerving turned into 180 degree spin, and for a few seconds, the trailer was actually towing us. The trailer seemed bored with that, and spun the van another 180 degrees back into the lead. At this point, the van was being forced into the soft median, and the trailer wanted to continue on, and jack-knifed the van.

When everything stopped, the trailer and the van made an 'L' shape. No one inside the van was hurt - thank God - and no one else was really on the road. When we all piled out of the van, we surveyed the situation and noticed that on one side of the trailer, one of the tires were shredded, and the other one was completely missing! - Rim, hub, and all!

A state trooper, a sheriff, many awesome people stopping to ask if we're okay or need assistance, and a couple hours standing in the cold later - and we're back at the house where we left from... plans are in motion to get trailers in order to get equipment and people to N.Carolina tonight.

... Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Not too sure when the next time I'll be able to post is, so I figured I'd go ahead and wish everyone safe travels, warm family gatherings, and lots of good cheer.

Between now, and New Years, I'll be in Columbus, OH; Lexington, KY; Nashville, TN; and Ridgecrest & Caswell, NC. A lot of traveling, and a lot of fun, growth, work, learning, and excitement!

Starting...

It's starting to feel a little more like Christmas to me. Tonight - Stephanie, Dustin, Katie, and I got together at Steph's to make Christmas Cookies and Sweets. Dustin and Katie made a bunch of different cookies, and I taught Steph how to make Oreo Balls. Oreo Balls have 3 ingredients: Oreo's, Cream Cheese, and White Chocolate... and they taste A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I discovered them around last Thanksgiving, made some myself, and everyone who has tried them has absolutely loved them! Anyway, while making cookies and stuff, we listened to lots of Christmas music. Two things that always put me in a Christmas mood are Trans Siberian Orchestra, and the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

Also, I received my first present of the season - Volume 3 of the Family Guy DVD sets. (Thanks, Steph!) I love Family Guy and only own the first Volume of the DVDs... incredibly funny!

Another thing that helped me get a little more in the spirit was a Christmas Concert that I went to on Sunday night with Steph. We went to see Mercy Me & Steven Curtis Chapman at Rupp. It was a lot of fun. The music was awesome - Steph has a huge heart for Chapman's values on adoption. And at the beginning, both MM & SCC was on stage at the same time doing a "Songs We're Not Going to Play" set where they played quick excerpts from some of their more popular songs. Being a lighting technician and designer, I really took in the fantastic and wonderful design. Around 75 - 100 intelligent fixtures painting the air and adding another dimension to the music. I'll post a few pictures from the concert when I get a chance.

NFL Playoffs

Here's what the playoff bracket would look like if the regular season ended today:

FOOTBALL!!!

A great day (so far) in the game of football...

>> Whoo HOO! Indianapolis has been knocked off their high horse! San Diego whomped 'em a few hours ago with a score of 26 - 17.

>> Cinci is leading the Detroit Lions 24 - 7 at half-time!!
. . . .update: CINCI WON 41 - 17!!!

>> Steelers easily defeated the Vikings, 18 - 3. Good for Dustin, okay for me.

Kong

Went to see KING KONG last night with Dustin, Katie, Jarred, Kelly, and Katie/Jarred's Dad. It was great - really long, though, and I had to pee through 2/3 of the movie... thanks Peter Jackson.

This great remake of a classic film was just that; great! Everything one remembers and loves and thinks about when they think about King Kong is in this movie. With the technology available to the movie industry now, it was finally time for this movie to be reincarnated. And Peter Jackson did right by this movie.

I really enjoyed the acting in this movie, as well. I never really thought anything about Namoi Watts, or to that fact, think I've seen anything she's ever been in... but I enjoyed and was pleased by her performance as Ann Darrow. Jack Black even amazed me in his role of the filmmaker, Carl Denham. The screenwriter/love interest of Jack Driscol was well portrayed by Adrien Brody.

Definitely see this movie in the theatre! But don't sit too close... you might get sea-sick.

Quote

"... and it was a happy place; filled with love and laughter."

Chandler M. Bing
Friends - The Last One

Chronicles of Narnia

So as I said on Tuesday - I went to see Chronicles of Narnia with Dustin, Katie, Jason and Kathryn. And usually a movie like this I make sure to include Steph in, but she and Chris decided to hold off until he makes it back to the States to see it together.

The first of (hopefully) many movie adaptations of C.S. Lewis' children's books, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe was incredible. I have been a fan of Chronicles since I first read them in 4th grade. I'm not a huge reader, but when I get hooked on a book, it's just about all I do in my spare time. I have owned three sets of these books, and worn out the first two via reading them so much.

At one point during the movie, I thought that this must've been what fans of Lord of the Rings went through in anticipation and during those movies.

When asked what I thought of the movie, I've responded with, "it was like they reached into my imagination and put it on the screen."

Bengals Watch

Okay, the Bengals are pretty set in the playoffs. Right now, they're seeded third in the AFC right behind the Denver Broncos. I've researched all the scenarios for playoffs and really want Denver to lose any or all of their remaining division games, the Steelers need to lose in order for Cincy to be North Division Champs (sorry, Dustin), and needs Kansas City and San Diego losses (sorry, SFB).

Right now, as it stands, Cincy will be facing the Steelers in the first round of the playoffs with a home field advantage.

To be honest... all this stuff is quite confusing to me, I just know what I read, I don't exactly know how it all works. As long as my team is going the distance, that's cool with me. :)

Rapid Fire

No long stories... just the facts...

>> Sunday, operated roaming stage cam. Had a blast! Not as good as Patrick, though. :)

>> Still working Sudoku puzzles.

>> Half-way through reading WICKED. It's getting really good.

>> Saw Chronicles of Narnia last night with Dustin, Katie, Jason, and Kathryn. It was AWESOME. More on that later.

>> Saw Aeon Flux on Sunday evening. Translated well from MTV animation to Big Screen live action. No oscar performances, but an entertaining movie. I enjoyed it.

Cheesy Post

While shopping at the grocery store for snacks the other day, I was in the cracker aisle (where I belong), and passed by - as I had many times before - the Easy Cheese. It seemed to call out to me this time though. I reached out and grabbed it and put it in the basket.

When I got home, it was like an old friend long forgotten. I remember when I was younger, I used to go through cans of easy cheese like they were nothing. I remember loving to make designs on the crackers. Those were simpler times.

Why do things have to change?

Chocolate Drops of Heaven

I love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. Before I ever tasted a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, I was dipping Hershey's candy bar into a jar of JIF.

Growing up, I also loved Snicker's candy bars... but when I got braces in Jr. High, I wasn't allowed to have caramel any more. Around that time, they came out with Peanut Butter Snickers... and my taste buds were saved. Later, even TWIX came out with a peanut butter version, which I also fell in love with. I actually like the peanut butter versions of most candybars better than the caramel versions.

So when at Steph's house one day, I was introduced to Peanut Butter Kisses!!! Fantastic!!! Then just the other day, I was shopping and saw them... I immediatly bought two bags. They are so tasty!

News of Note

News from around the net...

- iPod underwear

- Superman's Lunchbox?

- Snake vs. Cow

Bengals 10 - 3

The Bengals defeated the Browns this afternoon in another step toward the playoffs...

"How long can it last?

No one is talking Super Bowl yet - well, except for receiver Chad Johnson. But with the no-huddle offense on a roll, the defense getting turnovers at a remarkable rate and the breaks falling their way, these Bengals are a team that no one would like to face in the playoffs.

Not even Indianapolis."

Rapid Fire

No long stories (stop cheering), just the facts:

-> At Church - old console froze up, a replacement came in while ours is being fixed.

-> Christmas time - mixed feelings. Love giving, love receiving, love my savior Jesus Christ. Don't mind shopping. Hate trying to figure out what to get people.

-> Get to operate the "roaming cam" for church tomorrow morning.

-> Got hooked on Sudoku. A number based crossword puzzle type game.

-> Finished reading DARK LORD: The Rise of Darth Vader. Takes place shortly after SW: Episode III and about 18 or so years before the events of the original trilogy (when Luke and Leia were just babies).

-> Started reading WICKED: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

A New Day - Gear

Here's the sweet new setup we have at church for the lighting system. What's been added is the two monitors on the right, the keyboard, mouse, and the server (CPU). The new system turns our old lighting console (the big grey thing with lots of buttons and sliders) into a big giant keyboard. It's really awesome. It has CAD and 3D visualization software built in. So, I can see what the lights will look like, without actually turning them on. I can see what people will look like on stage, as well as placing risers and musical instruments. I love it.

Now, the new board is just part of what's cool about the new building. The control booth is not a loft way in the back of the building... it's now a rolling cart... well not so much cart as platform... a 2 1/2 ton, high tech, monster of a platform - affectionately known as, "the barge".

The Barge. A funny story about the first weekend of services was that due to the incredible high quality of the sound system, the subwoofers actually made the booth rattle... kind of like when you're driving down the road and a car with WAY too much bass pulls up next to you at a red light and you think that their car is going to fall apart from all the rattling.

The next day, our TD found a "To Do" list in the booth, it read:
- Install HEMI in the booth.
- Install hydraulics lifts.
- Install Neon lights underneath.

There are now efforts underway to dampen the sound of the barge. :)

Hear Ye, Here Ye

I am proud to announce (with permission) the return to the blogging scene, a dear friend of mine. Ladies and Gentlemen. Run, don't walk. To
an American Girl in London.

After a hiatus of unimaginable proportions, she's back with a new style, a new outlook on life, and as quirky and as (so she thinks ;)) humorous as ever!

To the right is a screen shot of her page. Just a sneak peek at what's in store. Go check it out. And when you come back tell me what you think of it. I have a special interest in it because I designed the look and layout of her new template!

I'm sure I speak for her as well when I say, we both hope you like it.

Some of you may recall about a month or so ago (around october) when I was talking about the secret project I was working on... as well as how to build a british flag from scratch

A New Day ... Rewind

Whew... the past week has been a whirlwind. I, along with many others, moved my church into the new building, and prepared for the first weekend of services in the new main room.

I figured it up, and I worked around 80 or 85 hours this week (Sunday - Sunday). Many people commented on seeing me there so much, asked me where my bed was, and if I was spending the night on the catwalks or in the booth, or if I slept at all. It was actually a lot of hard work. I remember coming home most nights, sitting down on my couch, turning on the TV, and the next thing I knew - waking up in the morning.

The first weekend services were awesome. The new sound system is incredible - installed by FORD A/V. The video system which was designed/installed by Mankin Media, was a treat for the eyes. Not only were these guys awesome intallers, but they are great people to be around and hang with. In Lighting World... our upgrades consisted of an Emphasis Control Server by ETC, and 6 Martin MAC 500's (intelligent/moving lights), which we only had four of for the first weekend.

For the actual services themselves, I had the time of my life. The music was awesome. There was a huge choir with a full band including brass and string instruments which sounded incredible. I could totally cut loose with the lights. There was a decent drama, and a great message. There was a video that got me all choked up. And we had four cameras for iMag (image magnification) two in the house, and two onstage cameras (one roaming).

The end product was worth all the restless and sleepless nights; all the stress and worry; and all the time and energy.

It was an awesome experience to be a part of something really huge and impacting like that.

Who Dey???

Welcome to the Jungle

The Cincinnati Bengals are closer than ever to their first division title in 15 years (sixth overall), as well as closing in on a home-field advantage for the playoffs.

Along with battling the Pittsburg Steelers for the AFC North Division Championship, there's also a chance at second seed in the AFC playoffs. A lot of things need to go their way in order to beat out the Denver Broncos for that slot. A second seed would mean a week off for the bengals plus home-field advantage.

Meet Hero

Let me introduce you to "Hero". I created him on a fun little website where you can customize a "Sonic The Hedgehog-like" character.

In other news... my life is once again non-hectic - at least for a week... maybe two. A full report on what I've been up to will come later. Probably tomorrow. It's been exciting, frustrating, tiring, fun, amazing, fulfilling past week or two.

Until then go create one of your own.

Three Words

Worried. Stressed. Tired.

Update: 12.02.05 | I'm not worried anymore... not as much stressed... still tired.