Now that it’s December, I feel safe publishing my Christmas wish list. I’ve never done a list like this before; and it will be a cross between actual stuff I hope to get and a flight of fancy. But hey, it’s my list. A girl can dream, right?
An XServe
Actually, I hope this one comes early. Now that I’m the IT director, I need to set up new server for Upper Room when we move. Nothing better than an XServe for that purpose. An add to this request is Snow Leopard Server. In addition to being significantly faster and fully optimized, it will finally support push synchronization to the iPhone from iCal Server. This will save me considerable time and hopefully make our lead pastor’s life a little easier. And it will get us away from the Exchange server, for which I will be eternally thankful.
A New Digital Mixer
Loyal readers will know that we already have an M7-CL. However, that will stay with CPC when Upper Room leaves, and we’ll be needing our own. I’m leaning heavily toward the RSS V-Mixing system, especially if they announce the new feature set that I’m waiting for right around Christmas. I know what it is, but I can’t say. I also need more details (like pricing and availability and functionality) before we can make a final decision. If it goes the way I think it will, it will be sweet! Otherwise, we’ll get an LS-9. At least I hope…
A New Light Board
This is another weird request, especially since Upper Room actually does own an Expression 3. However, there’s talk of us leaving that behind for CPC when we move. If that happens, I’ve got my eye on a new ETC Ion. Not only does it pack more power than the Expression 3 into a 19-inch space, it has it’s own hard drive and saves on a USB drive (no more floppies!). Yeah, that’d be sweet…
New Worship Space
We know that Upper Room is relocating and becoming and independent church. What we don’t know is where. While I have some strong thoughts on how the space should function, really I just want to know where we are, and what it looks like so I can begin planning our strategy for a spring launch. It’s going to be tight, so the sooner, the better!
New Speakers
To go along with our new worship space, I really can’t wait for new speakers. Our current system is really the pits, and every time I’m at another church or venue with decent sound, it’s like a breath of fresh air. It feels like I can breath and say, “Ahhh, that’s what it’s supposed to sound like.” I think a lot of people in our organization really believe the current system is fine, but I can’t wait to fire up a decent, space appropriate rig and show it off. Then everyone will say, “Oh, so that’s what you meant!”
To Do List Synching
This one goes out to my favorite computer company. Come on, Apple get on the ball! Seriously, I still can’t sync to do’s from iCal to my iPod Touch? Really? At version 2.2 of the software? I was able to do that on my original Palm Pilot 10 years ago. I mean I know Google’s street view is really cool and all, but I’d really like to be able to check off to do’s during the day without trying to stuff my MacBook Pro in my pocket.
A Twin Cities Tech Directors Gathering
I’ve been thinking about this for almost a year now, and I haven’t been able to make it happen. I really do want to get a bunch of area tech directors together for lunch, to get to know each other and to hang out. Of course, now it’s Christmas season, so that won’t be happening until January for sure. Maybe I can put it on my to do list…
Some More Good Music
Now that I’ve had some time and the means to enjoy listening to music again, I’ve been re-discovering how much I really enjoy good music. I’ve been picking up some Yellowjackets, 10,000 Maniacs, Suzzane Vega, Steely Dan, Sting’s All This Time, and many others. I’d love to find some good Christian music that hasn’t had all the dynamic range processed out of it in the mastering process (some of the newer stuff I’ve listened to has less than 6 dB of dynamic range for crying out loud).
Well, that’s really all I want for Christmas. That and world peace. How about you? What do you hope to find under the tree this year?
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How about Flash video for the iphone? That would make my life complete.
A digital mixer – like a sugar-plum but would be even more sweeeeeet.
Santa, we’re in need of some acoustic panels . . .
In response to your wish for a mixer, have you considered a couple of SB168-ES with an LS9-32 . . . would be a pretty sweet setup and I think similar in cost a capabilities to the new Roland system.
Justin,
Yup, that’s on the radar for sure. It’s really coming down between those two. Both are very capable, and each has some specific pros and cons that we’re weighing out. Some of it will depend on our new space, final budget and what I can get each system for.
Either way, it will be fun!
mike
Hey i am a big fan of Steely Dan, but Mr Walter Becker has a new album called Circus Money, What a great album it is, just had to share that with all the Steely Dan Fans.
http://www.sonic360.com/walterbecker
Gotta say, go for the ION! I put one in over the summer. I’ve never used an Expression 3, but one of my lighting guys did (extensively). It took him a little bit to adjust to the ION’s new programming language, but every time we use it we find another cool feature. If you use conventionals, you’ll probably want to add a fader wing. I’ve got it sitting next to a Whole Hog iPC for my Christmas programming (it was a rental holdover from last year’s movers, we’re repeating the same show). I may be a little partial, but I actually like the ION better (and at a much lower price point).