February 21, 2010
I was checking my website statistics tonight. Pretty dreary this time of year, but, that's expected, Anyway, I was checking my traffic statistics and noticed an out of the ordinary IP address that had visited my website. I clicked on it and it took me to a blog of somebody that was visiting here from, I think, France. The blog was in French. I didnt have a clue what it said. Lucky for me that Google has a Firefox translator add-in that I could use to translate it. Here is a link to the actual blog Vie d'expats aux USA This is the Link to the translated version of the blog Life of Expats in the U.S. Pretty cool. Hope you enjoy it.
Nothing new to add as far as progress on the 2010 display. Shoot, all of the Snow Village has'nt been taken down yet. I just havent had the time. Work has been a little demanding, but given the economic climate, I'm not complaining. Til next time........
February 7, 2010
It's been a month since I've updated anything. Where did January go ?
January is the month that Paul at Creative Displays has his annual LED preorder sale. I'm stocked up, but can't resist the temptation to take advantage of a deal on Christmas lights. It's not every day that you can buy some quality lights at a 35-40% discount. They're a LOT better than what you find in the stores and they cost less. I bought 50 strings each of red/blue/green/yellow in c-6's (the larger bulbs I use on the roof and tree trunks) and m-6's that I use on the bushes (same size as the minilights you buy at Walmart). I also bought 50 strings of multi-colored (red/blue/green/yellow/orange) m-6's. I'm going to use those on something new that I'm planning to add to the display this year. If I can program it to do what I want it to do, it should be pretty cool. I also picked up some new strobe lights. Everybody seems to enjoy the ones on the roof, so, I'm going to add some to the display. The new strobes are also LED type. They were available in different colors. I bought some red, blue, green and a few more clear ones. I can't wait to see how they look ! And last but not least, I bought something that ive never seen before. They are 9" long clear iciles that have 16 LEDs in them. The LEDs are lined up for the length of the icicle. When they are on, it looks like they're dripping. Here's a youtube video if you want to see how they work. They're just too cool !! The ones I bought are on the far left of the video. LED Dripping Icicle
I'm also in the process of getting the controllers set-up in Christmas Central. Christmas Central is the spare bedroom where I set-up the controllers and lights to do my programming. Its starting to get crowded in there with 18 contollers ! With a little luck, I should be able to start experimenting with some effects to see if I can get the lights to do what I'm going to try.. I'm also going to try and use all new music this year. The problem I always have with the music is finding something that will match-up with what I'm hoping to accomplish. If you have any ideas about something you'd like to see or a song you would like to be included in the display, feel free to drop me an email. I always welcome ideas !
January 7, 2010
I'm planning on making some changes for 2010. Maybe I'll reveal some of what I have planned at some point. Please check back occasionally. I'll be posting the status of the 2010 display and maybe even a sneak peek of what I have planned for next year.
January 3, 2010
It really is disheartening for me this time of year. It's sad to round the corner at the top of the hill and see my front yard dark. All over the city, I see Christmas trees thrown out on the curb, on the side of the road and even in parking lots. I look at each tree and wonder about all the Christmas memories that it saw. A Christmas tree on the side of the road really is a sad sight. The displays in people's yards have all but disappeared. Every once in a while, I'll stumble onto a display thats still on. I'll pull over to the side of the road and just look at it and smile. It's nice to know that there are others like me that just dont want Christmas to be over. It does'nt have to be though. It's not for me. The lights may be off, but Christmas is with me each day. It lives inside of me like a glowing ember. It wont be long before that first cool night in August stirs me. Fall is coming. That ember starts to heat up. Christmas is coming. Enjoy every moment because it will be here and gone before you know it......
January 1, 2010
Unfortunately, the 2009 display had to be turned off 2 days earlier than expected. I had a technical issue pop-up tonight. The software couldn’t turn the display off. I eventually disconnected it from the computer after trying various things to correct the issue. That didn’t work either. The display continued to run even after I disconnected it from the computer. I started having flashbacks from the movie 2001 - A Space Odyssey. The display had taken on a life of its own. A trip to the power panel that feeds the display, and a flip of the main breaker and it was done. The 2009 display was officially over.
I want to thank everybody who came out to the display and those that donated to the Sunshine Center. The notes and cards you left in the mailbox were so kind. Thank you so much. The genorisity of those who donated never ceases to amaze me. This year's donations totaled $7,727 !! By far, the best year of any. I have two special thank you's to mention. One family (who asked to be unnamed) that visited the display left a check for $5,000 !! You could have knocked me over with a feather when i saw it. THANK YOU ! The second special thank you goes to the people that visited on Christmas Eve this year. It was absolutely 40 days and 40 nights pouring down rain the entire time the display was running. The rain stopped around midnight. I went to check the donation box, expecting to find very little, if anything at all. I was so wrong. There were so many that donated. I was deeply humbled by your generosity and show of support for the Sunshine Center. You got out of your cars, in the pouring down rain, probably getting soaked, to donate to such a good cause ! God bless every one of you!