So I figured in this post I would talk about some of the technology that we’re using @ Sunset. Naturally, churches have limited budgets and Sunset is definitely not exempt from this. So often times we have to find "creative" ways of doing things. Some technology that I’m enjoying right now:
Windows Server 2008
I first started using this in a virtual environment when it was in beta form. When it came out as RC’s and CTP’s I took a more serious look at it and its possible impact to Sunset. Lot’s of great features in there. Something that I’m working on right now is the Hyper-V technology. Did you know that when you license WS08 Enterprise, you are allow to run 4 instances of it in VM’s? That’s amazing! This will allow me to build out Sharepoint and have a dedicated DB server. About time…
Something else that’s cool? An Enterprise license only costs about $350 through charity licensing. Whoa. In the corporate world, you would be paying slightly more. 
Cisco Wireless Stuff
Always been a fan of Cisco technology, just not a fan of their price. But when the price comes down to $0.00, I certainly don’t mind it at all! We had the following donated to us:
2 x 48-Port 3560-Series Catalyst Switches w/POE
2 x 24-Port 3560-Series Catalyst Switches w/POE
5 x Lightweight 1130 series Access Points
1 x Wireless Controller System (WCS) 2100
The switches were installed January, but the link between the admin building and the gym was giving us some trouble. You can read about that frustration here. After that was resolved though, we started working on configuration of the wireless system. I’m glad to report that we’re almost done! We will be placing the AP’s around the church starting this weekend!
Vista Deployment
With the addition of our new physical server and WS08, I’m finally able to take the next step in our rollout of Windows Vista. Say what you want about it, I have found it more helpful than a hindrance. So many management features and reporting. Couple that with System Center Essentials 2007 and I think we’re finally going to be taking a step forward in IT rather than backwards. I am utilizing the Microsoft Deployment Kit to build out my infrastructure and planning on a Lite-Touch deployment. The kit documentation was obviously geared for a larger organization, but I think I can manage.
There is some more stuff which I will write about later, this should suffice for now though.
Ξ March 16th, 2008 | → 2 Comments | ∇ Life |
Ok. So I was having a bad/good day today. You may know what I mean. I was having a bad day that turned good, that turned bad, that turned ugly, then turned back to good. Ever have one of those? Well.. to start it off, I *am* four months pregnant, emotions running wild. Then, I have a lot of stuff going on in my life. Just stuff that needs to be dealt with and only can be dealt with by God. I have to let Him take over, and my oh my, has it ever been hard in these instances. Ok. So I taught today in the 2’s room at church. I was hit hard with the message I was teaching for two year olds. I love it and really dislike it when this happens. In this instance here’s how it went…
I am watching all of these toddlers be extremely excited about learning about how Jesus walked/rode the road to Jerusalem and how people were so excited about him coming and praising him and shouting "hosanna" - which I read about meaning "save me". The toddlers all had palm leaves (made out of green paper, mind you) and they were telling Jesus "Thank you" and shouting and making great noise. It hit me hard that I was supposed to be doing this exactly same thing in my life. Where I had been moping and frustrated and angry angry angry in my life lately, I was supposed to be thanking Jesus for giving me the things I do have, for telling me to give up my fears, frustrations and anger to God so that God could do what is in His will. No amount of Bible reading and soul searching had brought about these results. It needed to be simple, straight forward and RIGHT THERE.
Oh man. I was power struggling with God. He had tried to show me so many times and I just wouldn’t listen. I was being exactly how my toddlers can be to me. God had to speak to me on a toddler level, simply because I was being one. Woah. And then, to top it off, I initially disagreed with Christ that He needed to reach me that way. Uhm yeah. I struggle with control.
So I realized that it was the best way to reach me and I Thanked God for the rest of the day that He was willing to try so many ways to get to me and there was no giving up, even when a 25 year old needed to be talked to like a two year old.
Ok, now here is the really bad part. After spilling my guts to God in the car, crying and just letting it out. I was totally tired out and uhm.. who pulls up next to my car in the next lane? Jay McKenney, Matt Singley and my dear ole Hubby. They honk. They totally know its me. Uhm. I look so bad, and I was just baring my soul… and.. uhm… so now people totally know that I am breaking down. Haha. I am so totally not comfortable with people seeing me crying/looking like I was crying. That sucked. and then I realized. Its all part of the plan. It was God just showing me that I could do what I needed to do, and we are all just human. Dang. We’re all just human.
So guys, thanks for being a part of making my day mean a little bit more.
And Mike, I am dang glad you’re home. I need you to help balance me out, pregnancy emotions and all.
Ξ March 16th, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Life |
It seems to be the topic for me at the men’s retreat this year. There are so many things that I don’t even consider distractions, more like noise. When you go on a "retreat" you expect to get away from the noise of normal life. Most people think that the lack of vehicles, horns, city noise and cell phones is the reason for the retreat and for me it’s really not.
i’m not to sure what it is
Maybe it’s the fact that here I don’t feel stress about doing work. I mean…with an Internet connection I could do work, but I really don’t feel the pressure. I am miles away from the nearest town…and that town doesn’t really amount to a lot; considering the towns I’m used to.
I guess distractions for me is just the buzz of normal life. I went up to Seattle to get away and reconnect with old friends. I come out to Wildhorse not to really get away, but to reconnect with myself…my priorities. In the end they’re really God’s priorities and not mine, he just wants me to follow them.
This post is really just some floating thought…I’ll probably have a more structured post later.
Good night everyone.
WARNING: Geekism in post.
Well…that obviously didn’t work, so here is a normal link to the comic.
Take a look at this picture. What do you see? I’ll tell you what I see…
Pain
Frustration
Heartache
This little piece of lint hurts. It’s also not little…it’s huge. Or at least what it represents is. Let me explain.
I’ve been working on a wireless project for the greater part of 3 months now. 1 month of it has been stalled because of this little guy. I won’t go into the technical details for this blog. Let me simplify it for you.
We have fiber. Fiber is cool. Fiber uses light instead of electrical signals to transmit data. But if something is blocking the light, then fiber stops working.
Guess what the little piece of lint was doing?
Deep down, in the tiny crevice where we connect the fiber, this little blood sucker was hiding.
It was waiting…
It wasn’t until uber volunteer James noticed something strange about this small space, and I took some canned air to it. We still didn’t know what it was, so we were quite surprised when we saw something fly out of it. Both James and I looked up and gave each other a silent "OMG!" thought. It then took residence on my arm.
We plugged in the fiber, it lit up like a Christmas tree.
It’s the little things…
Ξ March 6th, 2008 | → 3 Comments | ∇ Life |
It seems like everyone goes on personal retreats. I thought I would get away a bit and head up to Seattle to hang with both Phil and Dan. So we set a date and went. Now since I’m a "Corby", I’ve known both Phil and Dan since about 3 or 4 years old. I really do enjoy and value the time spent with them. What did we do? What we do best…
Video Games!
First, we had to drive up there. It would have been a two and a half to three hour journey but since we hit traffic it turned into five hours! Totally not expecting that. Had some good conversation though and finally arrived at our destination. Next was the unpacking of the goods. The goods included my two gaming rigs, Xbox 360 and monitors.
Now I’m not going to go into a blow by blow account of what we did because 
frankly that’s really boring and you just had to of been there. They key word for this trip though was "fun" and that’s exactly what we had. Aside from the lack of sleep (average night ended at 3:30a-4:00a) and the video games there were two highlights.
Mars Hill Church
Dan awhile back wanted a new church to visit so I suggested that he go to Mars Hill Church. There was a church site rather close to him and he decided to go. He has become hooked on Mark Driscoll and I don’t blame him. I was real excited that we would be attending. Turned out to be better than expected! Very charismatic, and seemed very knowledgeable on what he was talking about. You can view the service I saw here.
Guinness & Starbucks
I discovered Guinness last weekend. Simply an awesome stout…if you can call it that. I think it’s in a different class altogether but that’s just me. All I can say is that I’m hooked (in a responsible way, of course 
) and there is no going back. Even Guy love it!
We also on Saturday took a trip to Pikes place. Never really been there (within the last 15 years anyway’s) and I thought "Wouldn’t it be swell to pay tribute to Starbucks???". We did just that considering Dan had never been there either. I was expecting something a bit more modern and larger. It was about the size of my living room square footage wise and there were so many people in it that it was hard to move around. In either case, I ordered a tall white mocha and it in fact did taste better than at the other locations. Nice!
Those are pretty much the highlights. Specifically for me it was coming back refreshed and relaxed. A lot less stress and a more positive attitude towards work, something I really do enjoy…just in moderation .
Ξ March 4th, 2008 | → 3 Comments | ∇ Life |
So awhile back when Jay and I took a trip down to LA to visit Matt, we took our camera’s and Matt also got some good footage of the rides as they were happening. Well, when we arrived back home Jay and I were eager to get the video footage on our blogs for all of you to see but Matt couldn’t find the camera. We thought it was all lost.
I found it. . .
I found it in my bag that I took down there. I’m not sure how it got there, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t me since Jay and Matt had packed my bag since I wasn’t going back to Singley’s house…they probably assumed it was mine. The footage is…funny to say the least. Below are the two best video’s that came out of that trip.
I’ve watched it over a couple times just to hear that little girl scream from Jay…priceless. (RSS Readers: Videos are below!)
