A quick audio update! (right-click and choose Save Target As to download)

• Removing a large amount of wood paneling from the walls and replacing with drywall while also re-insulating the walls to make them more energy efficient.
• Removing the acoustical tiles from the ceiling and re-insulting it as well and refinishing it with drywall.
• Installation of recessed lighting in the ceiling
• Removal of poorly executed built-in cabinets
• Removal of faux brick surface on the fireplace and replacing with slate tile
• Adding a few additional outlets
• Installing a new 5′x3′ window to allow more natural light into the room
• 3 new exterior doors, 2 with new screen doors
• New baseboard heaters
• All new trim

It’s a big project but well worth it and I can’t wait to see the end result. The entire project is supposed to take around 3-4 weeks and hopefully it’ll get finished within that time. In the meantime I’m setup in the dining room and working from there, which is a nice change of pace and much brighter.

Just recently I acquired a few pieces of video-related gear including Final Cut Studio 2.0, a 2 piece soft box lighting kit, backdrop support as well as black, white and green muslin backdrops and a high quality lapel mic. It’s basically a movie studio on a budget and though I’m still in the process of learning the ins and outs of the process I’ve finished my first green screen test and I’m happy with the results (don’t adjust your speakers, there is no audio).

It’s not perfect, there are a few little artifacts and lighting/reflection issues, but what’s cool is that I only spent about 10 minutes setting up this shot. I didn’t iron the green screen and it wasn’t lit perfectly, but still you can begin to see the potential of this simple setup. Below is a photo of the setup I’m using. In case you’re interested, here are links to the eBay auctions where I purchased the gear.

• Softbox Lighting Kit
• Black/White Muslin Backdrops
• Backdrop support w/green screen

I called up AppleCare and after they walked me through many of the steps I had just tried again for good measure they made me an appointment at my local Apple Store so they could have a look and, if need be, send it in for repairs. I show up at the store a couple of days later, give them my laptop so they can have a look and eventually the guy tells me that he’s going to order a new hard drive and logic board for me and send it in for repairs and that I should have it back within a week. Much to my surprise I find out that I wont have to drive an hour back to Indianapolis to pick it up either because they now ship repaired products directly back to the customer!

Six days later the FedEx guy shows up and I have a very carefully packaged 17″ MacBook Pro that has been cleaned very thoroughly and more importantly works like a brand new computer. The best part about all of this is the fact that were it not for AppleCare these repairs would have costed me nearly $1300 for parts alone!!! With AppleCare it was completely covered.

Extending the network reach

We’ve got a large wireless network setup at the house currently but the signal wasn’t quite strong enough to reach to the back end of the garage, so I took one of the Airport Expresses I had lying around and plugged it in out by the receiver and a 2nd Airport Express towards the front of the garage to bridge the gap between my router and the one hooked up near the receiver. I set the “bridge” AE to extend my existing wireless network and the receiver’s AE to join my existing network and enabled AirTunes. I had a nice strong signal so I used an 1/8″ stereo to stereo RCA cable it hooked it from the receiver’s AE to the AUX input on the back of the receiver and was able to setup iTunes to play my music from my MacPro through my receiver in the garage, which was cool enough but I wanted a way to be able to change songs from the garage without going inside to interact with iTunes, and then it hit me.

The iTunes Remote Control

If you’re fortunate enough to have an iPhone you have access to one of the most amazing apps created for the device. It’s called Remote and it’s probably the best example of a sleeper app I’ve ever seen. I had downloaded it (it’s free) from the App Store but never really had a use for it until now. With Remote you’re able to connect to your iTunes library (as well as your Apple TV) and control the playback of songs. What’s amazing is that is also gives you a wonderful artwork view, ability to control AirTunes speakers, search your iTunes library, edit playlists and more. So instantly I had this amazingly powerful remote that allowed me to access and playback music sitting inside on my computer and hear it outside in the garage through my receiver and the sound quality was excellent.

The other bonus is that I now have wi-fi access out in the garage should the need ever come up

We’re going back to the very beginning of season 1 of LOST and making our way through to the very end of the series. While I myself have been addicted to LOST since the beginning, Anton has just started watching the show and is getting more hooked by the day. So far it’s his unspoiled views that have made the podcast so entertaining to recent and long-time LOST viewers alike.

So, check out our website, subscribe to the show and let us know what you think!

My wife recently purchased an Apple TV for me as a birthday present. I was very excited as I’ve wanted one since they released the 2.0 update which no longer required that you have a computer connected to it in order to watch/buy/rent movies from iTunes.

Since then I’ve converted my entire DVD collection to my computer for instant access on the Apple TV, purchased more than a few movies and TV shows from the iTunes Store and have spent far more time than I expected browsing YouTube videos. But there’s something missing…

I’ve been a Netflix user for several years now. A year or so ago they announced the ability to watch many of their library videos directly on their website instantly, which was huge. The cost of the membership seemed instantly more worthwhile. The only downside is it’s windows only (due to DRM issues) and while I don’t mind setting up a Windows partition on my Mac Pro I’d prefer to not have to reboot my computer to take advantage of this great feature. So this got me thinking, will we ever see the ability to watch Netflix movies directly from the Apple TV?

The Roku set-top box (and soon the XBox 360, if you have an XBox LIVE Gold membership) offers this ability right now, but that’s the ONLY ability it has. No online store for buying movies, no access to movies on your computer, nothing. I would love to have the ability to browse and play the titles Netflix has available for online streaming directly from my Apple TV. This would not only bring incredible value to my Netflix membership but (I think) would also dramatically increase the appeal of the Apple TV.

Netflix has announced that their online streaming service will be available to Mac users before the end of the year; could this mean the ability to watch Netflix movies on the Apple TV isn’t far behind? Oh please let it be so!

The kitchen remodel was a huge success, I’ll be getting some final photos here soon but we’re so excited with the change. Our entire house is now remodeled and every room is exactly the way we want it. The office is by far my favorite improvement. As you can see from the photo on the right it’s a wonderfully warm and inviting yet contemporary room. I haven’t worked in the living room with my notebook once since the room has been finished, I love being in here. The new office was even featured on Unplggd.com!

Work has been fantastic. I had a staggeringly huge first quarter and I’m amazed that I even made it through. Agee Design has been a huge adventure and I’ve grown so much through the experience. I’m so thankful to have a career that I love so much and to be able to work with so many wonderful people. I’m hoping to take a couple of big steps in the next year or so, but I’ll wait and see how things go. More on that later.

Kristen and I are planning a vacation to Sault Ste. Marie Michigan in early June and I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be another road trip like our trip last summer to Niagara Falls and Alenxandria Bay New York. I’m really looking forward to getting away for a bit and recouping a little.

Office Remodel
Not long ago I built a closet in our office to add some storage space. We went ahead and slapped some paint up as well even though there was a little bit of cosmetic cleanup that needed to be done to the walls. We’ve also noticed a place on the wall that was very weak appeared to be slightly damaged from water, so we decided to have ProSource Construction come in and take a look. As it turns out we had water coming in from the bottom left side of the window frame. We decided to take all of the drywall off of that particular wall so we could make sure there wasn’t any major damage that might need repair. Thankfully it wasn’t damaged that badly at all, we sealed up the area that was leaking, re-insulated the entire wall and we now have new drywall over that wall as well. We’re also having Rick fix some cosmetic blemishes in the room before repainting the entire room. Once all of that is done we’re having light maple colored laminate flooring installed in the room and probably a ceiling fan put up. Then that room is finished!

Dead Tree Removal
In our back yard were 3 very large, old trees. They were one of the things that I loved most about this house when we bought it. They were incredibly tall and big around and the provided great shade to the patio throughout the summer. Sadly 2 of the 3 were in really bad shape and were showing signs of significant decay, so we decided to have a local reputable tree service come and take a look. I wasn’t interested in having the trees removed unless they really needed to be and after they showed us a few tell-tale signs I was convinced that it was necessary. Both trees were removed completely and the stumps ground down. It’s very sad to have them gone, the yard has really suffered aesthetically because of it but I guess it’s worth it to not have to worry about an 80-foot Silver Maple limb crashing on your house one day… We planted a small Bing Cherry tree yesterday in the back yard, but it’s going to be a while before it gives us much shade.

Some New Carpet
We finally got around to replacing the unpleasant (and stained) carpet in 2 of the 3 bedrooms. We were able to get remnants for both rooms so it was very inexpensive and really made a big difference in those rooms.

Minor Kitchen Improvements
We’ve held off on doing any work on the kitchen thinking that it would end up being the largest and most expensive renovation we’d be doing to the house. However, after our bathroom project we felt ready to take it on and confident that it would be an easy project in comparison. For now we’re doing pretty basic improvements, painting, bead board, chair rail and probably painting the cabinets. We looked into getting new cabinets and totally redoing the room but it was just too expensive. The minor improvements we’re making will make a big difference on their own.

Privacy Fence
One of the improvements I’m most excited about is our decision to build a privacy fence around our back yard. Our back yard faces an alley and a several other houses which leaves the back yard feeling a little too exposed. We’d also like to be able to let Pepper be outside more so she can run around and get some exercise. Hopefully we’ll be starting that project in the next month or so.

We’ve got some other small improvements planned as well, all of which will bring us to a finish line in our home improvement marathon. I’m sure I’ll have photos and other blog posts as the projects go forward.

I purchased the current version of their plugin for my Logic Express setup and I plan on upgrading to 2.0 (the first version to include their Direct Note Access technology) when it’s released this fall.

Celemony Melodyne Direct Note Access

Enjoy!

The One

Words and music by Evan Agee

I see you as the night turns to day
The sun begins to shine, forgetting all the troubles of yesterday
I see you and the clouds roll away
The sky bares its blue, for you

You’re nothing like my mother and you’re nothing like my friends
and you’re nothing like the woman like the woman I thought I would be with
and you’re nothing like the girls that I’m always chasing after
oh you’re nothing, nothing but the one.

I had heard when I found the girl for me
love would take control and guide us to our destiny
I had heard everyone has someone
one that’s meant to be for you

You’re nothing like my mother and you’re nothing like my friends
and you’re nothing like the woman like the woman I thought I would be with
and you’re nothing like the girls that I’m always chasing after
oh you’re nothing, nothing but the one.

Thursday (Maundy Thursday) is a commemoration of the Last Supper of Christ and his disciples, their taking of the passover meal. This is also the night when Jesus was betrayed and arrested to be taken before the chief priests and the elders of the people where he was mocked, spat upon, beaten and condemned by false testimony.

Good Friday is the day Jesus bore the full weight of our sin as he was severely beaten and eventually surrendered His life on the cross. One can only marvel at His willingness to suffer through the events of Good Friday knowing that He had every right and Power to condemn the very men that beat Him. How wonderful is He who was willing to suffer so much for the forgiveness of our sins. Then, once it was all accomplished through His death on the cross, He was buried.

Easter is the time when we celebrate the revelation of His power over even death. Just as He had predicted, three days after he was killed He rose from the tomb.

Matthew 28:5-7
5The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

This Holy Week it’s important that we remember that this isn’t just a story told with the intent of passing along a greater truth. This is truth, this is history and this was God’s plan for saving all of us. For just as Romans 5:18 says “Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.” I pray that you’ve accepted the sacrifice Christ made for you.

The church I attend, First Baptist Church of Richmond Indiana is also now podcasting! We finally got a new computer in our sound booth (a 20″ iMac) so now we’re recording the services digitally and releasing the sermon portion of the service online. You can check that out on iTunes as well. I’m really enjoying working on our church’s podcast, not something I get to do often.

For work I’ve been getting into some video-related work as well. We’re adding a component for uploading video that will subsequently be streamed via our video streaming server. It’s something that’s hard to troubleshoot and requires a bit of time but it’s great fun.

Some other great news is that the band I played with a couple of years back, Unseen, is reforming with a slightly altered lineup. This time around we’re playing mostly original music that I’ve written and we’re in the process of writing more. My brother Mitchell is going to be our vocalist so I’m really excited about that. He can sing well and it’ll be great to have a chance to spend more time together.