# Hi Everybody



## deadlygopher (Jan 27, 2008)

I've been lurking around here as a guest for ages.
I'm Michael. I'm the vice-head tech at the theatre in South Eugene High School, Eugene, OR. Yeah. That's about it.


----------



## cutlunch (Jan 27, 2008)

Welcome Mike from one of the dowunder members. The Aussies will be along later.

Feel free to ask questions and contribute to discussions. There is also a search feature that will let you check old posts to see if your question has already being discussed.

Is Eugene part of timber country ? Excuse my ignorance when I think of Oregon I think of mountains and timber.


----------



## Logos (Jan 27, 2008)

Welcome aboard. We aussies get up a bit later than the Kiwis but we get here. 

A small word of advice, love your logon but never turn your back on Gafftaper. He just loves small furry animals ... to eat ... spitroasted.


If you've been hanging around for a while you know about all of us. The old guys the young guys the wierdo's. Don't be frightened off by anyone and please tell us a little more about yourself. Got a website, youtube entries etc.

See you round.


----------



## derekleffew (Jan 27, 2008)

Logos said:


> Welcome aboard. We aussies get up a bit later than the Kiwis but we get here. ...


 Actually, you guys are the only ones on when I post at 4am Las Vegas time. Wonder why that is?


Logos said:


> ...A small word of advice, love your logon but never turn your back on Gafftaper. He just loves small furry animals ... to eat ... spitroasted...


Don't try it Mark, he's poison. You must tell us where the name Deadly Gopher came from.

Ask the one question about tech you've always wanted to know, and you'll have many responses within the hour. But be aware, you may be admonished if it's been asked and answered before. The "search" feature is your best friend. That and a thick skin, and that inedible quality of yours. 

Welcome, deadlygopher. We've got to come up with a better title for you than Vice-Head tech, unless we're trying to extract information, which in a way we are!


----------



## Logos (Jan 27, 2008)

Duh, when it's 4am there it's midday here

I do like stating the obvious


----------



## derekleffew (Jan 27, 2008)

Logos said:


> Duh, when it's 4am there it's midday here
> 
> I do like stating the obvious


Yesterday, or tomorrow? So besides the metric system, you have different times too? Crazy. Has anyone noticed ControlBooth's time clock is often wacky? Sometimes it will have posts that haven't happened yet, other times spot on. Does Australia have it's own Cesium clock, or do you use ours in Denver? Maybe there should be one in Green-witch.


----------



## avkid (Jan 27, 2008)

See here:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=152


----------



## Logos (Jan 27, 2008)

derekleffew said:


> Yesterday, or tomorrow? So besides the metric system, you have different times too? Crazy. Has anyone noticed ControlBooth's time clock is often wacky? Sometimes it will have posts that haven't happened yet, other times spot on. Does Australia have it's own Cesium clock, or do you use ours in Denver? Maybe there should be one in Green-witch.



Actually tomorrow.

And yes we do have our own cesium clock. I used to know the phone number. I'll see if I can find it.

Now I'll read avkids link and discover he's not only got got the phone number but arranged to have a beer with the bloke on the phobe as well. He's so good at this stuff.

avkid I'm in Adelaide actually which is 30 minutes earlier rather than the usual 1 hour. Apparently done years ago so our business poeple wouldn't have too many problems. trouble is we are now 90 minutes ahead of Perth which has its own problems. You guys have four time zones don't you?


----------



## Chris15 (Jan 28, 2008)

Welcome to the controlled (well normally) chaos.

Derek, we haven't used GMT since 1971. You didn't get the memo that said we were using UTC now? And UTC is based on TAI with an offset. And that gets calculated from more than 200 atomic clocks in more than 50 national measurement laboratories worldwide. http://www.bipm.org/en/scientific/tai/tai.html

And I've learnt to take time stamps on posts with a grain of salt...


----------



## derekleffew (Jan 28, 2008)

Bad link, Chris. And no, just like not being informed of taking the ° out of Kelvin, no one thought to copy me on that scientific memo. I get all my scientific info from Van, mad scientist. At least I think it was Van. Edit: Nope, good ol' Icewolf08, should have known.


----------



## Chris15 (Jan 28, 2008)

Whatever wierdness caused the bad link has been fixed. How can one take the ° from Kelvin when it was never there?

You are sure you information didn't come from books etc. that fell out the back of a van? (Off the back of a truck still sounds better...)


----------



## derekleffew (Jan 28, 2008)

This thread, posts 5-8.

Perhaps we should get back to "murderous prairie-dog" or whatever his name is.


----------



## deadlygopher (Jan 28, 2008)

aah forum insanity
it's always fun


----------



## gafftapegreenia (Jan 28, 2008)

Oh. You'll fit right in. Maybe you'll become a member of our "Regular Deck Crew", as it were.


----------



## dvlasak (Jan 28, 2008)

Welcome to the Booth, even if you have been lurking here for a while. Please ask and answer questions - that's how we all learn.

Dennis


----------



## deadlygopher (Jan 30, 2008)

charcoaldabs said:


> Arr, Van, swab the misenmast! Derek, man the tiller! Greenia, go play with swatchbooks! [-]Gaff[/-] Mark, fire up the Mk10 ballasts, oh wait, you don't have any!



This gives me a really really bad idea. Imagine flying a potato cannon...


----------



## gafftapegreenia (Jan 30, 2008)

charcoaldabs said:


> Arr, Van, swab the misenmast! Derek, man the tiller! Greenia, go play with swatchbooks! [-]Gaff[/-] Mark, fire up the Mk10 ballasts, oh wait, you don't have any!




I believe the commands are:

"Man the Showguns"

"Aim the SuperTroupers" 

"Fly in the Blacks"

"Load the confetti cannons"

"All hands on Standby, G-O at will!!!!"


----------



## derekleffew (Jan 30, 2008)

So deadlygopher, you're between _The Sound of Mucous_ and _The Laramie Project_? I believe Gafftaper just did _Laramie_, so if you have any questions, I bet he could help. And a play by Christopher Durang? Quite a challenging season for a High School. Is the campus as nice as it looks in the pictures? Tell us about your theatre building. People love to tell us what's wrong with their theatre, and sometimes what's right also.


----------



## deadlygopher (Jan 30, 2008)

derekleffew said:


> So deadlygopher, you're between _The Sound of Mucous_ and _The Laramie Project_? I believe Gafftaper just did _Laramie_, so if you have any questions, I bet he could help. And a play by Christopher Durang? Quite a challenging season for a High School. Is the campus as nice as it looks in the pictures? Tell us about your theatre building. People love to tell us what's wrong with their theatre, and sometimes what's right also.



How do you know these things?????


----------



## deadlygopher (Jan 30, 2008)

Sometimes I forget the power that is google.

On a related topic, we have 2 rather odd theatres. Our auditorium is annoying. It has no fly system and no wings. This makes moving set pieces very difficult. In The Sound of Music we built a 2-story house out of flats and platforms on top of casters and rolled it behind a scrim. It sucked. (Especially because the stage crew was particularly incompetent. I wasn't on the run crew thankfully.) Our other theatre is our new black box. Last year it was an odd combination of a proscenium and thrust, so we tore it apart over the summer and built a new 3/4 round. It is also odd. Our control booth is in a position so that it is almost impossible to see the majority of the stage. The best place to hang a light for the center zone's sidelight is right in front of the booth window. We have an ancient EDI 12-channel scrimmer for dimming in that theatre. It doesn't want to work sometimes. We still have no houselights, so we have to have really bright curtain-warmers when the audience comes in. It looks really awkward.

So yeah. That's my theatre in a nutshell.


----------



## derekleffew (Jan 30, 2008)

Well, I hate to say it, [user]KillerRodent[/user], but your black box sounds better than [user]Gafftaper[/user]'s black box, brand new, and in a community college. He has no, usable, houselights either. 

The EDI Scrimmer is NOT ancient, I last used one just in 1991! Should be serviceable to you for many years to come. How many electronic things do you or your parents have that were built in 1990 that still function?


----------



## deadlygopher (Jan 30, 2008)

charcoaldabs said:


> I may have one of those, anyone have a manual? I'm in need of some replacement parts, and a new dimmer module. Really the space should just get an LP-612 and a couple dimmer packs. Actually, %!#@ I'll just clean that space up myself. First order of business: rep-plot, see about replacement parts/gear, re-label everything. Anyone have any good labeling solutions? Pictures to come.



I ran a show off an LP-612 a few weeks back. I hate the feel of the controls. It all feels plasticy and crappy. I much prefer the EDI board we have in the black box.

The main problem with our scrimmer is that the internal fan has died. We bolted a box fan on, but it isn't a good permanent solution. Supposedly the school district is going to buy us new dimmers because the current system is a fire hazard (but I don't expect to see them in my lifetime.)


----------



## derekleffew (Jan 31, 2008)

Charcoaldabs: Anyone have a manual? Did you try this site. We say it all the time, "Use the search, Luke." I know the page has ScrimmerII dimmers but not the Scrimmer model. Those are the same ones used in 1975 on _A Chorus Line_ on Broadway starting in 1975. If that's what you need, I bet STEVETERRY has a manual, but also could repair them with his eyes closed and at least one arm tied behind his back!

deadlygopher: Supposedly the school district is going to buy us new dimmers because the current system is a fire hazard (but I don't expect to see them in my lifetime.) Most likely not until you are in college!


----------



## derekleffew (Jan 31, 2008)

charcoaldabs said:


> ...It is built inside a little "touring case". The dimmers have a similar "built into little touring case" thing going on, but the dimmers ain't so little! ...


I suppose you've never noticed that the "little touring case" cover/console, fits onto the "big touring case" dimmers, and you used to have another "little touring case" cover (without a console) for the other side. Hint: put the control cable in the side without the console, so as not to damage the potentiometers on the console.

Whaddya know, 12x2.4Kw (or 3.6Kw) dimmers, control, and cable, all in one easy-to-travel package that fits in a 1975 Ford Country Esquire simulated wood-paneled station wagon, perfect for doing that show at the polo grounds. Lighting fixtures, load cables, and feeder sold separately.

Have you tried moving dimmer module#11/12 into slot #9/10 to see if the problem moves with the module or is in the pack? I bet it's the module, and that your SCRs, possibly Triacs, have "gated open." Contact your favorite local lighting shop. Even if they don't carry EDI, they will be able to repair the dimmer modules, most likely at a cost greater than the entire system is worth. Even though it's only about $20 worth of parts.

If you are not qualified, *DO NOT* touch it. *Electricity kills.*

Hire a qualified professional, _each and every time._


----------



## gafftaper (Feb 3, 2008)

Greetings Gopher. Don't be afraid, I prefer roasting small cute animals that are [-]endangered[/-] uhh... difficult to acquire. Welcome to the booth. We've got a couple members in the Portland area and I'm just up the road in Seattle. It's a great community have fun and be careful or you might just learn something.

Cut lunch Eugene isn't timber country it's Hippie Country!


----------



## derekleffew (Feb 3, 2008)

gafftaper said:


> ...cutlunch Eugene isn't timber country it's Hippie Country!


From the cited site:

*Service Dogs*
We welcome service dogs. Please have your dog wear a service vest so our security folks know the dog is permitted on the property. You can also pick up a *laminate for the dog to identify him or her as a service dog* from the 4A Crew. Please visit them at the 4A Booth at the Dragon's Head at the Fair entrance. It is not required that the dog have identification, but you and the dog will have a much better time if we can clearly see this is a service dog and no intervention is required.

A dog with a laminate? Will Charc's cat need a backstage pass also?


----------



## deadlygopher (Feb 3, 2008)

Everyone loves the OCF. Hopefully I can get on sound crew at some point!


----------



## gafftaper (Feb 4, 2008)

deadlygopher said:


> Everyone loves the OCF. Hopefully I can get on sound crew at some point!



You just want to see all the naked hairy women.  

I never done more than stop for gas in Eugene and keep moving as fast as possible... People were really mean... perhaps it's my purple and gold bumper stickers.  

I have a hippie friend who loves the area and has had a plan for years to move to the woods near the OCF and live in a yurt.


----------



## deadlygopher (Feb 4, 2008)

gafftaper said:


> I never done more than stop for gas in Eugene and keep moving as fast as possible... People were really mean...



That's odd. Eugenians as a whole are rather friendly. Sometimes they get mad when you get gas on rainy days though. (Oregon's no DIY pumping law sucks sometimes)


----------



## gafftaper (Feb 4, 2008)

deadlygopher said:


> That's odd. Eugenians as a whole are rather friendly. Sometimes they get mad when you get gas on rainy days though. (Oregon's no DIY pumping law sucks sometimes)



Sorry, I'm a master of subtle expression in the real world but not on the internet...

Being a Husky, I was referring to your Duck infestation. For a mild mannered Hippie town, you've got some of the nastiest sports fans in America... and those NUCLEAR YELLOW uniforms! Do you know what they do to my TV? 

As for the forced service at the gas pump, it's one of the more bizarre things I've ever seen when traveling the U.S. I believe you are the only state where pumping gas is considered too dangerous for a common person to do. No you must be a highly trained high school student making minimum wage to handle this dangerous task. It's amazing that the gas station attendants have such a powerful lobby that they are able to keep that law on the books.


----------



## deadlygopher (Feb 4, 2008)

gafftaper said:


> I was referring to your Duck infestation.



UO sports irritate me. I try to ignore them. The basketball stadium is 4 blocks from my house, and they have no parking for the stadium. If I go out during a game, I often have to park 5-10 blocks away. 

I personally don't have a problem with Huskies considering I'm looking very seriously at UW.


----------



## derekleffew (Feb 4, 2008)

gafftaper said:


> ...I believe you [Oregon] are the only state where pumping gas is considered too dangerous for a common person to do...


New Jersey also. I know that because it made the news, when, on an episode of _The Sopranos_, Christopher is seen pumping his own gas, on the NJ Turnpike. Slow news day in Las Vegas.


----------



## gafftaper (Feb 4, 2008)

deadlygopher said:


> UO sports irritate me. I try to ignore them. The basketball stadium is 4 blocks from my house, and they have no parking for the stadium. If I go out during a game, I often have to park 5-10 blocks away.
> I personally don't have a problem with Huskies considering I'm looking very seriously at UW.



UW has a nice variety of theaters on campus to work in. I've got two degrees from there although neither is in theater. I do sort of casually know a couple of the people who work on staff there and they seem really nice and well qualified. 
The campus and University District are great for the over all student experience.


----------



## Van (Feb 4, 2008)

Sorry for comming to the party so late, but at least I made it, crazy schedule this year. I think we've met Mr Deadlygopher. I may be thinking of someone else though. 
I know a guy who works on the fire crew for the bathouse at OCF, the kids quite a peice of work, He works for me when he's in town. This last year he worked for me then left town to go work electrics for Burning Man, then went to OCF for a week, came back worked in the shop for a month and a half then headed down to San Francisco where he hopped on the Lynx where he crews, and takes tourist up and down the coast. Oh and last summer he spent three months sailing a tall ship between Seattle and Hawaii. Yeah he's young talented, works cool jobs he's good looking and nice. I want to kill him. 

Anyway, Welcome Aboard. I'm just a mere three hours away if you every need anything.


----------



## Van (Feb 4, 2008)

gafftaper said:


> ........
> As for the forced service at the gas pump, it's one of the more bizarre things I've ever seen when traveling the U.S. I believe you are the only state where pumping gas is considered too dangerous for a common person to do. No you must be a highly trained high school student making minimum wage to handle this dangerous task. It's amazing that the gas station attendants have such a powerful lobby that they are able to keep that law on the books.


It's actually a fire safety law, Can you believe it ? 
There really isn't a gas pumpers lobby, it's the Gas companies themselves, it's great profit strategy; Keep the no self serve law on the books, under staff the pumps by employing only one guy at a time, figure out the profit margin needed to pay him a working salary, Jack the gas prices accordingly to cover the cost of said salary, pay the guy a quarter of that salary, fire him before he qualifies for unemployment. It's a beautiful thing. Ah Capitalism.  And Y'all thought all the Left wing nutjobs were in Eugene.


----------



## deadlygopher (Feb 4, 2008)

Van said:


> I think we've met Mr Deadlygopher. I may be thinking of someone else though.



Where/when?


----------



## Van (Feb 4, 2008)

deadlygopher said:


> Where/when?


Did you do House and Garden last year ?


----------



## deadlygopher (Feb 4, 2008)

Van said:


> Did you do House and Garden last year ?



You're probably thinking of Ethan, the short angry tech with too many keys. We don't work on the same shows because he's afraid I'm trying to replace him. (Which I sorta am.)


----------



## Van (Feb 4, 2008)

Or maybe I'm thinking of your Instructor ? I might have misread your post. 
My former Master Carp. Had an old college instructor who was teaching in Eugene, I thought, Then again I might be Crazy. < No fair Gaff, it's way too easy.>


----------



## Logos (Feb 5, 2008)

And I'm too tired. I think Gaff has a lot of toys too play with at the moment.


----------



## gafftaper (Feb 5, 2008)

Yeah I'm way too busy here to care. Now if Hughesie served up a fat one like that I would somehow muster the strength to knock it out.


----------

