I AM...

    kellen_butler's photos More of kellen_butler's latest photos

    Morning Snow

    1/31/2008 04:34:00 PM

    I woke up this morning to see a nice snow cover.

    Morning Snow

    Nothing out of the ordinary there for January Oklahoma weather. Except that I was wearing a t-shirt on Monday and it was still in the 50s part of yesterday.

    0 comments

    Best Buy Worst Service

    1/28/2008 09:50:00 PM

    • January 26 (Late at Night): WOO HOO placed order for those super nice Bose In-Ear headphones. Between gift cards and a Rewards Zone gift certificate I was pay next to nothing out of pocket.
    • January 27 (5:30 PM): Received email notification of Order Cancellation. What?!?! The email gave no other information as to why my order was canceled, just that it was. The email said my Credit Card and Gift cards have been credited as well as "If you used a Reward Certificate for this order, points will be reissued to your Reward Zone Program account with in 3-5 days."
    • January 27 (Later That Evening): Call to Find out what happened:
      • Explain to Rep 1 my case, directs my call
      • Explain to Rep 2 my case, Rep 2 told me that the issue was with my shipping address (double/triple checked my address, same exact address I have used for the last year and a half with a large amount of online retailers). Rep 2 tells me the sales department can override this error. WOO HOO. Transfers
      • Explain to Rep 3 my case, Rep 3 makes it sound like it is most likely my error in what I am saying my shipping address is, but she will try. Asks me for the SKU number (Why can't she just pull up my order and resubmit? Whatever.) I give her the SKU number, she confirms it is the "Boss In-Ear Headphones" (no typo there) I tell her it is. She takes my reward zone $5 certificate number. She then tells me that the certificate shows that it has been used. She is willing to direct me to the reward zone department to get it fixed, but I ask how long it takes on its own. She told me about 24 hours. I decide to just wait, I am sick (cold) and tired of talking to these reps.
    • January 28 (Evening): I decide I will just have them sent to my parents address as they are coming to visit me in the next couple weeks. Seeing that it is 24 hours after, I gave it a shot. "The following Reward Certificates have already been redeemed and cannot be reused: ####." Bummer. I decide to call and see if they can get it fixed like they said they cold last night.
      • Tell Rep 1 it is about a Reward Zone Certificate. She Transfers me
      • On Hold (Estimated 10 minute hold time). A few minutes later a Guy picks up. He takes my personal information. Asks me what he can help me with. I tell him the story. He says "your last purchase was on Saturday", Me: "Yes". Him: "Is there anything else I can help you with today?" Me: (puzzled) "No.... Is my certificate refunded?" Him: "Yes, I will do right now." Me: "Thanks." Him: "Bye". (talk about awkward)
      • I try to place order again, same message about the Certificate. Wait an hour, still the same message.

    I understand stuff like this happens, but the customer support surrounding this has been horrible. All I ask for is being told what is happening and what will happen. Is that too much to ask for?

    0 comments

    Cheap Video Surveillance

    1/26/2008 04:36:00 PM

    This last summer we installed several IP based cameras. The D-Link DCS-5300 and DCS-6620 to be specific. Both of which have the option of being mounted inside of an external enclosure for those outdoor camera locations. We also purchased the DWL-P50 Power over Ethernet (PoE) Adapter to extend our pre-existing PoE network to these cameras. These cameras do not nativity have any PoE compatibility; however, with the DWL-P50 placed between your switch and a short distance from the camera you can power the cameras with no extra cabling required.

    Both of these cameras have a Pan/Tilt/Zoom(PTZ) ability with 270 degrees of pan and 90 degrees of tilt range. We have found this to be ample range for a camera mounted on a wall. If you are mounting a camera from the ceiling, you would need to find a 90 degree range that the camera won't be able to see (most likely a wall). Where these cameras start to differ is their zoom capability. The 5300 only has digital zoom which is very poor and useless to expect anything out of. However, the 6620 has a 10x optical zoom lens in addition to an auto focus.

    The D-Link web site specifications get a little hazy in this area; however, we have 2 practical choices for resolutions. You can either go for 30 frames per seconds at a small 352x240 or lower the frame rate to 10 fps and receive quality of 704x480. This is probably the biggest area that I have found these cameras to be lacking. It would be nice to at least get 30 fps at 704x480; however, you get what you pay for.

    These cameras have multiple ways of accessing or recording video content. Each camera has a built in server that allows for up to 10 concurrent users with separate user accounts (no integration with other databases or even other cameras). With this built in server, you can view the video through a web based client (only works in Internet Explorer as it uses ActiveX) or through two different applications that come supplied with the camera. I got the feeling that D-Link has 2 teams creating software for the same goal here. Both applications will do recording based on motion as well as continues or event driven recording. We have finally set on using the "IP Surveillance" applications for both our clients and our server. The software is only designed to be used on clients, so because of this every user accesses the cameras directly rather than through a server.

    I gave you three screen shots to look at one of the views that is offered by the IP Surveillance software. You have the ability to click and drag to move the video feeds to a different location. There is also the ability to click where you want the camera to rotate to, as well as an option to have preset camera locations.

    The view can be adjusted to 6 options: Single Camera, 4 Camera, 6 Camera (shown below), 9 Camera (where we mainly operate), 13 Cameras, and finally 16 Camera.

    All 3 screen-shots below are using the same cameras. You can see the type of image produced with interior shots (first), midday door shots (second), and midnight shots (third).

    The bottom left camera shown is the 6620, in dark it will switch into black and white night vision mode. All of the other cameras shown are the 5300.

    Security Cameras Angle 2

    Security Cameras Day

    Security Cameras

    What we like about having Cameras

    Number 1 thing that we love is the ability to know where people are at all times. Not in a stalker sort of way, but the ability to know that guests are arriving for mid-week events and are having a hard time finding the right location. This allows us to serve others better.

    And of course, we can now look back at video feeds when ever a criminal event takes place.

    Things I would have done differently if the money permitted

    Higher quality cameras - There are similar IP based cameras that allow for full 30 fps VGA streaming as well as some that go even higher.

    Use all 6620 Cameras - The 6620 is a very nice camera for when needed to zoom and see at night.

    Use a different Video Server App - There are many applications out there that can use the D-Link line of cameras in addition to many other types. Many of them include true server features such as redistributing to client computers or some even stream all feeds concurrently over a web interface.

    Final Notes

    I have covered much of what I learned through this process; however, I realize you may have a special circumstance that you have a question about or I might have left something off completely. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me and I will give you as much help as I can.

    0 comments

    Blog Update

    1/17/2008 05:41:00 PM

    I am currently working on rolling this blog into a new format as well as several changes in my hosting. Please bare with me as these changes are taking place!
    0 comments

    2007 Wrap Up

    1/17/2008 12:45:00 AM

    Christ the King

    I know it is already half way through January, but I feel as though a 2007 wrap up is in store.
    Most of the activity at Christ the King Lutheran in Kingwood, TX, at least from my perspective, has been over the past 6 months.

    I got the privilege of taking on several new roles all wrapped into the title of Special Projects Coordinator. The major tasks taken on under this role was the implementation of a new phone system (and all of the training and maintenance associated with such), coordinating the bidding and contracting of an Access Control System (and all of the details of issuing cards, creating policies, and the like), and finally the research, purchasing, and installation of IP security cameras (and the training of certain users to access the cameras).

    In addition to the major projects of the year, I once again ended up in the attic running cable for many items including cameras and replacing outdated phone lines. As well as general maintenance tasks for all of the items listed before as well as our security alarm system.

    Be on the lookout for some posts in reference to the details of the major projects we took on. Hopefully I can provide some information that can assist others if they are walking down the same path.
    0 comments

    Sign Up for the Spiceworks 2.0 Webinar & Keep IT Simple

    1/16/2008 11:59:00 AM


    Sign-up for the Spiceworks 2.0 webinar to see how to make the most of 2.0's new features. And, you can see a full list of those features here.
    0 comments

    The Lone Server

    1/11/2008 09:43:00 AM

    Thanks to Brett Anderson for pointing this out.

    Have you ever wondered what happens to operating systems once they are decommissioned?

    The Windows Server Division Weblog shows you in this video.
    0 comments

    Winter Break Wrap-Up

    1/05/2008 09:14:00 PM

    Here is a taste of what I worked around this Winter Break:
    This first image is just an overview of our server closet.
    Server Rack
    A schematic showing the devices in the rack
    server_rack-724775
    The biggest project I took on was relocating all of our phone lines into the server closet. Our old phone system was located in our main office and when replaced we had it installed in the server closet, but ties were just added to tie the lines over from the main office. Now all (or almost all) are cleared out. There are 3 blocks that remain. Two of the blocks have absolutely no use and the third is being used for all of our devices off of the phone system (fax, alarm panels, postage meter, and phone tree). Next time I get a chance those will get cleared. (Note the lights in the bottom right of the picture, I will refer to them later)
    Old Patch Bay
    In addition to relocating the path of the lines a set of patch panels were added to allow for the non-technical office manager to change extension easily.
    Patch Panel
    I also worked on our alarm systems some. I actually did no work on this panel, but I needed a visual. The panel that I did work on needed an additional power supply to meet the draw we were putting on it from motion and glass break detectors. The alarm panel shown is located next to where our old phone system was. This panel will be one of the final items to move into the server closet.
    Alarm System
    The final item I worked on was adding a set of buttons and lights that will allow of the control of our door locks remotely. This all runs through the input/output board that is in the bottom right of this enclosure.
    AEC
    For the most part all of these projects went off very smoothly. We did find that we had been ignoring our power consumption while moving all of these devices into this single room. One morning I walked in to find our breaker had tripped. One of our servers did not get shut down properly when the batteries ran out. When the system booted back it gave the dreaded "No Operating System Found" error message. Fortunately the system just got a bios reset and raid reconfigure and the system was up and running again.

    After this event we decided it was time to look into how much power we are using. We added up all of the peak current draws for all of the devices in the room; we found we were up past 60 amps on a single 20 amp breaker! Needless to say we are already in the process of running two more dedicated power lines (10 GA) on indvidual 20 amp breakers boosting our total breaker amperage in the room to 60 Amps (not including our dedicated AC). With the 10 GA wire and the existing 12 GA wire we will be able to get 30 + 30 + 20 = 80 total breaker amps to the closet safely if we ever desire to increase the breakers.
    1 comments

    Hall Way Talk

    1/03/2008 12:22:00 AM

    Without getting too bogged down in the minutiae of the situation surrounding this following post I would like to look into the casual, what I would like to call "Hall Way Talk", and its consequences (or lack thereof) in our lives.

    I ran a couple of errands today and was helped by a man who asked, "So how was your New Years?" I paused for a moment and then realized that I can no longer say "fine, thanks" when someone asks me a question like that. I can't say it when asked "How are you?", either. It's amazing to me how often we all say that -- when we don't really feel it. It's automatic, isn't it? Or it was. "Before".

    -Orignal Post


    How often are you in a conversation that entails the following?

    Person 1: How are you?

    Person 2: I am Fine, I am OK, I am Great, or any other phrase along this line

    Person 2: How about you?

    Person 1: (One of the infamous lines)

    Really, think about it. I don't believe I can even think back and count how many times it happened to me today just because of how often it occurs. Do you really think that many people are good every time you talk with them? (Maybe you have this effect on people, but I sure don't)

    So how and why does this occur so often? Are people just not honest with each other? With themselves? I believe there are 3 main reasons this takes place. First, and probably the most common, is that we are creatures of habit. But that is really just an inane reason, after all, how did that habit get started in the first place, thus leaves the final 2 reason. I want to believe that people think that we need to be happy all the time, thus if we aren't happy there is something wrong with us. The idea of something being wrong has a negative and unhealthy connotation to it. To avoid having others view us negatively we put on a smile and say we are great. The final, and somewhat related, reason is that when we are hurting there are some people (arguable most people) that we would just rather not have to explain to what is going on. Whenever someone does in fact respond saying they aren't well it leads to either awkwardness in the conversation or inquiry of the issue.

    One of the most respected man I look to for guidance by word and example is Pastor Doyle Theimer. One of the best things I believe I have learned from example is his ability to express how he actually feels in the most truthful way possible without offending or scaring the receiver of the comment, but still making you aware that he is struggling with something.

    Without blabbing on for too much longer... PLEASE take off the "happy mask" and say how you are really feeling.

    More to come later... Maybe.

    0 comments