What am I thinking? What are you thinking?

From the tour to the ...

I stumbled across a great bit of growth, irony, and fun today.

This weekend is the third annual ETC Live! This is a company picnic of the greatest variety. We have live events happening on stage all day including great singers, rock bands and all forms of entertainment. Check the lineup.

While we showcase out internal performance talent on the amphitheatre stage out front, we also have an 'Art Fair on Town Square' inside the building. This is the evolution of the traditional ETC company picnic into a great yearly event celebrating ETC employees.

Of course there is a lighting rig. And we have our in-house professional lighting designer/programmer -- Tom Littrell. If you don't know Tom - you should know Tom. He was the original console programmer for the first moving light rig to ever go out on tour  - The famous Genesis tour of 1981. That tour launched the VARI*LITE fixture and began the great moving light space race.

Tom is seasoned - Well seasoned. Some might say crusty, but he has kept his skills up all these years.

Well - the fun thing I realized today is that this is the third year we have had ETC Live, the third year Tom has designed and run the lights and he will be using the third new console in a row! He started in 2005 when he ran the show with Congo. (Notice he is pointing at the white tape over the LCD's!)

In 2006 he ran the show with the yet to be released Eos.

And in 2007 he gets the most appropriate tool of all for his style - SmartFade ML!

So this Saturday night - July 26 Tom will be doing his artistic 'flash and trash' entertainment for ETC employees and their families. Interestingly enough - across town in Madison - an 8th grade student will be doing the same thing for a puppet show at the church my family and I attend.

I did load in an amazing rig of 2 Source Four Pars and 2 trackspots (the original!) controlled by a Smartfade ML to add some spice and theatricality to the youth puppet show. Saturday night Tom will be dueling it out with Eli - the 8th grader for the prize of "Best flash and trash in Madison."

This is meaningful in alot of ways. Certainly we are glad to have produced a new console for Tom 3 years in a row. There is also a certain irony to the fact that the first moving light programmer in history and Eli the 8th grader will be using the same tool - for very different(?) tasks. We at ETC also have the satisfaction of knowing that even though we designed the SmartFade ML to be usable by 8th graders like Eli - we think Tom can probably figure it out too!

Tom says his vote is with Eli.

Rock on dudes.

 David

Living in the best place to live - What a life!

Well if you haven't heard - or we haven't told you enough times. Middleton Wi, our town, was selected as Money magazines best place to live in the USA. This is actually quite an honor for Middleton. Madison has received this honor multiple times, but I guess the growth of Madison has notched it down the list.

I just moved from Madison to Middleton last fall and I have to say it has been a pleasure. I really love the Middleton vibe. I have never lived in suburbia before - always choosing an urban setting. I have usually been critical of suburban life, as I tend to prejudge these things. Now I see I was wrong all those years! Imagine that.

Moving from California we settled in an older neighborhood in Madison - but decided to get a little more country setting 4 years later. Thus the move. Middleton has all the access to what we love about Madison, with lower taxes, lower crime, better city services, more affordable homes. I wouldn't change a thing - in fact - moving to Middleton convinced me that Wisconsin is where I want to stay.

The video on the CNN website features ETC prominently (misspelled name and all.) If you are interested in a move to Middleton, Check the ETC Jobs section of our website.

David

Back to work and Workshop week

Well I'm back, and I'm cranky.

First let me say that vacation was wondeful and all that I expected. The worthwoods are truly a gift and I am happy to be in them.

I returned to work on one of the most chaotic weeks of the year - the week of workshop. Workshop has become a yearly ritual at ETC. We invite our dealers and reps to Madison for up to 4 full days of training and fellowship.  This activity has developed greatly over the years and we had a great time this year.

So - Why am I cranky? It was a tough week to come "back to work" and I was not fully prepared for my responsibilities before leaving. Note to self - "don't schedule vacation until after workshop so you can fully relax!"

This years event was the best ever. You can see some coverage of workshop on our website. We revealed some "coming soon" product releases to our attendees that are very exciting and we had a great time with an event in town square on Thursday, A great dinner and speech by Don Holder on Friday, and the traditional burgers and brats at the bowling green with softball on Saturday. Attendees enjoyed a wide range of classes.

I really thought this years event came off great. My only complaint is that my "back to work from vacation recovery" begins Monday. A week later than planned.

Have a great week.

David