Nov 262014
 

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[CLICK ON IMAGES FOR LARGER VIEW] Completed a network / phone closet upgrade today. This involved several weeks of work adding around 20 new network and phone drops, removing the old PBX system, and extensive cable run cleanup. I really regret not taking a pic of the original condition but suffice it to say it was a mess! There is an extensive amount of spare / abandoned cabling still in place. I made sure to neatly stow this material out of the way but still make it visible for any future work. I also cleaned up the security camera cabling, added the Ubiquity wireless access point, and installed a professional-grade surge protector / outlet strip for existing and future equipment for this wall. These essential skills can be learned through ICT classes, providing valuable expertise for similar projects.

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Here is the way I use a 66-block to distribute 3 voice lines (with room to add a 4th without too much trouble). The feed from the other side of the building is in the lower left corner of the block. I then use a stripped Cat5 cable to daisy-chain the 4 pairs up and down the block with a pigtail coiled up at the bottom of the block. Now there’s room for a total of 11 drops to be fed from this single block. There are probably other solutions out there for doing a similar thing and for less time but when all you have is a block and some spare cable, this will absolutely work!

Aug 302014
 
Small Office Phone and Network Setup

Another small office network and phone setup. In this installation, I’m working with just 4 voice lines, a DSL / FAX line, and about a dozen network drops that will need to be installed (or retrofitted from existing cables)… — Here’s the “BEFORE” configuration as it was when getting the voice and DSL installed from […]

Aug 182014
 
Small Rural Office Network Rebuild

This is a small real estate office in a rural town here in Southern California that was cabled and networked by a real amateur (at best). This company had fleeced by about 3 different IT companies over the last 10 years and I’m now there to clean up the mess. Here is the smaller project […]

Aug 242013
 
Custom Bracket for F&V R-300 w/ Panasonic GH2

I ordered a collection of photography brackets to try and come up with a solution to mounting my GH2 on the R-300 a full 90-degrees off from the original mounting position to allow for room for the extra-large NP-F970 Sony camcorder battery. I managed to come up with a few solutions for a compact mount […]

Aug 162013
 
Power Distribution for the R-300 and Liliput field monitor

Turns out F&V makes a perfect battery bracket for a standard Sony camcorder battery. It is normally used to power up to 4 of their light panels from one battery. In my application, I can use the same bracket to power my R-300 ring light and my Liliput field monitor. Both will run on one […]

Aug 162013
 
Birth of the 15mm Rail System for my GH2 / F&V R-300

So I figured it was time to break out the Fotga 15mm rail system I started about a year ago to replace my previous Fig-Rig (see older posts). The 15mm rail adapter bracket from F&V is a fantastic mount for their R-300 light (and far better than their light stand bracket). You can see here, […]

Jul 222013
 
Better Lenses for a GH2 and F&V R-300 Ring Light

After some further thought (and digging through my camera bag’s collection of lenses) I thought I’d try out additional lenses on my Panasonic GH2 and F&V R-300  ring light before throwing in the towel on what I was hoping to shoot with this combination. Note that I’m still probably going to make some custom rigging […]

Jul 212013
 
F&V R-300 Ring Light and the Panasonic GH2

So I recently got around to purchasing a F&V R-300 Ring Light. For the type of video shoots I intend to do, I had hoped that this would immediately improve things but, as always, there are some new hurdles to overcome. Below you can see how the R-300 interfaces with my GH2 along with a […]

Jul 142013
 
Fisheye Lens Photos on the GH2

I’ve been playing around with my Rokinon 7.5mm f3.5 fisheye lens on my GH2 and thought I’d share some of the final results. Most of these pics were done in some fairly low light conditions with a lens that isn’t very fast so it came out quite grainy. I compensated for that with a lot […]

Mar 022013
 
Anamorphic and ENG Lenses on a Panasonic GH2

Well after many side jobs and saving, I finally managed to purchase both an ENG and anamorphic lens. It took several additional weeks to get the accessories to allow them to mount and work on the GH2 but I’m finally there… My big problem now is that I can no longer use my current hand-held […]

Feb 162013
 
My Panasonic GH2 Handheld Rig

After many months of trial and error, I think I finally have a handheld video camera rig I’m happy with. Until I start using anamorphic lenses, this may be the setup for me for the time being… Fully battery-powered, I’ve only tested it continuously for about 40 min but I’m estimating that I can last […]

Jul 192012
 
Started "AmateurEditor.com"

I finally completed the project I’ve been working on for the last month. I’m very happy with the result as well. I had the idea to create a music video tribute to Firestarter –the 1984 Stephen King movie to the tune of “Burn it Down” by Linkin Park. You can see all my thoughts and […]

Jul 062012
 
Clean and Effective Website Design

Just thought I’d do some analysis of exactly how a well-designed website is constructed. If you check out PartyPoker.com, I will now break-down just what makes this site an excellent one to study and emulate. To begin with, there is a solid color-based scheme that well-suits the theme of the site. The green background in […]

Sep 262011
 

Fire and Rain – Better is One Day Well, I did it again! I was playing around on the keyboard Sunday morning before rehearsal with the song Better is One Day by Kutless when it started to sound like another song… Fire and Rain by James Taylor. So… another hour at the computer with my […]

Aug 152011
 

Jesus Will Fix It – 2011-08-14 So, this recording is a good year in the making from my last multi-track recording. In the interim, I have purchased a Lexicon Alpha USB audio interface and a Behringer mixer and started using Adobe Audition to pull off a better version of what I’ve been trying to accomplish […]

Jun 282011
 
Fiber Optic Cable Stitching

Working at the phone company has brought me back to my roots as a wiring technician on the B-2 Stealth Bomber nearly 20 years earlier. In recent years, the phone company has determined that using plastic zip-ties just doesn’t have the longevity that wax string does so from now on any new work with their […]

May 292011
 

Is Christ’s salvation revocable? There are many scriptures that mention things like the continuous cleansing of Christ blood upon us as we walk in Him. Still, is it possible to lose that connection? Is the doctrine of “One Saved, Always Saved” (OSAS) a Biblical one? Let’s see what we can find… Matthew 10:22 You will […]

May 292011
 

QUESTION: Does Biblical forgiveness require repentance? How many times do we remember seeing some extraordinarily evil person unleash terror on some Christian only to have said Christian say on the news that they forgive them? Parents of raped & murdered children or the thief that essentially stole someone’s retirement. In a way it resembles a […]

May 212011
 
Oh, No! It's DEVO = Production Perfection

I still remember the first time I put the needle of the record player down on this very strange-looking album cover for the first time around 1984. Hell, I don’t even remember who brought it to me but I had never heard of the band DEVO and the cover art was just so strange I […]

May 082011
 
Why I Love the Antelope Valley...

I still remember as though it was yesterday the moment I drove past these two Blackbirds almost 20 years ago at this very spot. I was 19 years old and had just arrived in this arid desert called the Antelope Valley. I was fresh out of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with my Airframe and Powerplant license […]

May 062011
 
Another Day On The Job...

We drove about a half hour to another remote cell site this morning for some inventory work up on a mountain top. Some windy dirt roads and beautiful country side and we were there! Not a bad way to start the day!! We spent the next hour or so tracking down hardware while chasing lizards […]

May 022011
 
A typical day at the office...

This morning we drove out to a remote site about 20 miles to the east to install some fiber optic equipment at a microwave / cellular antenna site. I could see the dry lake of Edwards AFB in the distance… Not a bad way to start the week!

Apr 192011
 
My New Life Begins!!

Well it’s been over a month now at my new job and I’m still loving it!! I can’t thank Gerry Hernandez enough for the opportunity this is to me –this is by far one of the greatest things anyone has ever done for me. I have blown so many great career opportunities in the past […]