On the other side of the pastel green planet...

When I was starting out in college, I majored in theater (emphasis on technical theater).  Silly thing is, I only received an Associate of Arts (2 year degree program) in theater, because I wanted to be an archaeologist.  So, yeah, I went to another college/university to get my degree in that.  But I digress. While getting my degree in theater I had to take acting classes.  Acting can be fun, but I prefer to be behind the scenes.  Something very useful that they teach the actors is to know where you are going.  This is useful for them when something goes wrong (someone forgets a line, there is some technical glitch, whatever).  It is obvious when you have an amateur actor on stage when something goes wrong because they will often freeze, run off stage, or do something really stupid.  On the other hand, a well trained actor will handle the situation so well that you, in the audience, will be hard pressed to know if they are covering up a fau...

I like to be prepared.  I don't like surprises (in a bad way).  So, yes, when I travel, my bag is usually packed with more than what I want, and hopefully I won't end up needing anything.  Such was the case with a recent business trip that I took.  First of all, the system that I was responsible for was tested and fully planned for any problems that could arise when arriving on site.  I was very thankful for that since we ended up with other challenges. Now, this event had live performers as well who would be doing some stunts.  In preparation, we trained before hand as well as on site to make sure that if anything were to go wrong that we would be able to get our performers medical attention as soon as possible.  This goes along the line with normal training in basic first aid and CPR that normally goes into my work.  We also train in electrical safety (had my electrical hazard, safety toe shoes on for the entire event) as well as other hazards...

We have all been instructed that it is important to back up our files on our computers.  After all, hard drives crash, yadda, yadda, yadda.  I know some people who are extremely good about this.  I went out and purchased an external hard drive and have backed up quite a few files, even if I don't do it on a schedule yet.  Yet, I still seem to never get around to organizing all those files, I just know they exist multiple places. Sure, this goes along with physical things as well.  I know that I have boxes of things that I don't need (hoarder?, just in my garage) and should get rid of.  At least when I moved from Arizona, I had a wonderful opportunity to purge.  The people at Goodwill knew at the sight of my car that there would be a lot to unload (actually exceeded my IRS allotment for donations that year).  Even at that, I know that I really need to purge more and also organize what I have. So, today, I had my laziness bite me in the rear....

Aside from being busy at work, I have been creating a second blog.  This one is not theater related, but was requested none the less.  You see, my wife gave me a set of Zombie Magnetic Poetry for Christmas and I started writing poems on the refrigerator.  My youngest happened to be collecting them in a notebook, so when I was asked to share them, I created a new blog.  Please enjoy the poetry and comments are welcome. http://eerieedgar.blogspot.com/ I'll get back to the theater related posts soon.  It's just been a busy season as I'm sure you all understand.

Sorry to anyone who was a fan of President George W. Bush for me borrowing one of his terms.  However, I tried to think how better to express how I felt after giving a presentation last month.  I volunteered to give a presentation on the basics of video for theater at the Nevada State Thespian Convention.  Since I was a Thespian in high school and there was a definite shortage of technical classes, I felt that I could take the opportunity to help out the next generation, as I do moderating ControlBooth .  So here's how it goes.  The announcement comes through that they need presenters.  I say, sure, I'll help out.  I've been pretty busy at work and home and don't take a close look at the date when I do so.  I go home and check the calendar to make note of when I'm going to do the presentation and the date seems off.  Usually these sort of conferences happen over a weekend, and I was pretty sure that I...

Earlier tonight I was reading about the OSHA fines for Spiderman Turn off the Dark .  This got me thinking about another tragedy that happened a couple years back when a performer in a Christmas pageant fell to her death after a similar mishap.  In both instances, the performer did not have their safety device fully engaged which resulted in the accident.  Regardless of fault, both were the result of human error.  The biggest difference between these two incidents is that one had an employee injured and the other had a volunteer die.  Since OSHA only covers the workplace, then the church who had a performer die had no repercussions. Sorry about the short post, I'll add more soon.

Check this out, two posts in one day. Anyhow, I like the idea of improving myself in my career.  By this I mean, I don't climb the corporate ladder just to be above everyone else or purely for more money, but I like to challenge myself and not stagnate.  Even if there is not an opportunity at the moment, I try to go to trade shows to learn from industry representatives and read trade magazines to see what other people are using and give me an idea of whom I should speak with when I get to the shows.  So a little while back, I was given the opportunity to maybe make a career advancement.  In some ways it is scary.  I have a family with young children and so if I make a change that takes me to a new city, it's a big change, no matter the job.  A little over three years ago, I made that choice, uprooted my family from our home of many years, and moved to a city that I'd never really considered living in.  The job is amazing.  I make almost twice ...