Newbie Family Controller Fund

[ItsMeBobO]

Last year the LOR forum members chipped in and awarded a free controller to one lucky newbie family and accessories to another.

Read that thread here http://forums.lighto...er-kind-of-ccf/

Lets continue this gift for another year and help make some memories for a newbie family. This is only for first year animated show newbie families with kids to get them started please.

Newbie families please feel free to apply for the scholarship by making a post here of why you need a controller or lights from LOR!

A Funny story is good and sappy is even better! Pictures of your kids are encouraged.

The application period will end on Sunday August 12, 2012. Advance apologies to those who come upon this late and miss it. The plan is to award the controller by the end of August.

Determining who is awarded the scholarship(s) will be up to the admin (Bob-O) and the donors but we will listen to advice.

A full accounting of all funds will be provided to any donors. I have started it off with $40. Anyone who would like to chip in $10 or whatever please paypal me itsmebobo at yahoo dot com. No public posts will be made by me about who has donated but you may post about your own contribution if you wish. Records will be kept to assure the concerned this is not scam. If for some reason the scholarship is not awarded, all donations will be returned.

[John Slade]

BobO, so glad this tradition carries on ... as giving is what Christmas is all about!

Thanks for what you bring to the LOR community!!

[TheUltimate]

Okay so I'll be the newbie that goes first. See my story below :0)

It all started back in 1993 when I was in 8^th grade. We had recently moved to St. Louis, Missouri and our new neighborhood did a yearly Christmas decorating contest. My brother and I had always loved Christmas lights and decorated our room each year with as many lights as we could get in there. We got our parent’s permission to decorate the house and enter it in the contest. We didn’t end up winning but watching all the cars stream into our cul-de-sac and stop to look at our lights was reward enough. From that year on the outside Christmas decorations were our responsibility. We tried to go bigger and better each year. Eventually my brother and I got older and moved on with our own separate lives and families. In 2010 we moved into a new house in Lakeville, Minnesota. This was the first time in years I had the opportunity to decorate a whole house. I planned out my display and put as many lights up as I could afford. I was really happy with the outcome and excited to see if people would stop to see my house as they did years ago in St. Louis. The season came and cars did stop, they stopped 5-6 at a time, but not for my lights. Turns out the family living in the cul-de-sac across the street had their lights timed to music and broadcast via an FM station. I had never heard of such a thing. I was instantly in awe of all the work he had done. I watched my kids stare out the kitchen window watching his display for hours while listening to the music on the radio. I knew it must be way more complicated than I could handle so the next year I just did the best I could again and while I was still very happy with my display I longed to put my own lights to music and entertain the public in the same way my neighbors lights had for years. I eventually met this neighbor and asked about how he had accomplished such a feat of exterior lumination. He introduced me to Light-O-Rama and I began my research. I found that the programming and configuration wasn’t as hard as I had thought and with my wife’s permission decided to make the jump to LOR for 2012. The learning curve has been steep and maximizing both my dollar and power budget has changed my display plans several times. I am anxiously awaiting the day I can order my first controllers. I have already downloaded the demo software and started sequencing songs. The forums have been very helpful as I searched for information and tips. I can’t wait to join the world of LOR users and share my love of Christmas lights with the people that drive by and hopefully raise some money for a local charity at the same time. My kids are already trying to decide which charity and are giving me the final approval on the display and sequences. Who knew an 11 year old boy could be so critical of timing and display features. It has really become a family project. Thank you all for your support and expertise!

[ItsMeBobO]

Fantastic story The Ultimate! I liked that you got your start in St Louis. Which neighborhood? Anyone else to want to try for it?

We have had four people make a donation to get a newbie family a controller in the first two days. Thank you !

[greywolf]

talk about newbees

my family are bouncing back from a forced move (august 2011) ; we was at a home under the impression my mom was purchasing but in july of 2011 we was forced to take action and found out the house wasn't even owned by the landlord and he had no right to even rent nor sell said property we was given 30 days to move thanks to the grace of the court ; the latter only wanted to give us 24 hrs to move

but we don't let situations like that deter us from our love for family and the holidays we been doing statics for decades ; we are now 3rd generation to be doing displays at our homes any reason to decorate up the yard and house i took my family to a Christmas light show in 2011 after we moved and this is when i started to see and found out about LOR it was being used to run the show at that location and i was hooked .

i was surfing through facebook and found a group with the same love of making children smile and the love of lights this is how i found out about LOR and it's equipment

I've already picked a transmitter i can afford at this time a recommendation from a few friends at FB

i'm just starting out with this pc light animation and so i'm as green as any Christmas tree

i have the software and i am trying to get used to it now my wife is excited to get started on our 1st animated light show for this season

our present locale wont allow for large displays so we will have to cut back on the size of it due to power requirements and the size of the yards given to these apartments (HUD)

my family

my mom

thanks for letting me try for my fist controller

Edited July 27, 2012 by greywolf

[rainyoregonchristmas]

Forty Pounds of Flesh

So as a newbie why do I deserve another controller or equipment? Beside the insane tenacity that drives me to do what I love, the answers surround my home. If the tracks ran in a different place, you'd say I live on the wrong side of the tracks. There are very few homes that actually put up any lights where I am at. For the last two years I have stood out in the neighborhood simply by using a "Mr. Christmas" to animate my display. I've received "Thank You's" in the mail, and dozens of comments from passersby. Now I want my first year doing LOR to be big! I've got lights, and ambition, but need a few controllers to pull off the ultimate debut and I'm willing to do just about anything to get them.

Starting this last Winter when I discovered LOR I realized I had one problem, the family budget did not include room for extras. My family spends money like those on "extreme couponing," if it's not on sale or in the discount bin we don't buy it. So how would I get the money to start into this endeavor. The kick-start to my campaign came from inside of me, literally. Our local paper held a weight loss competition with a cash prize at the end. I am not a large man, but at that time I stood to lose a few pounds. And so, with the help of my wife we set on the endeavor together. After three months of heavy dieting my clothes no longer fit and I had gone from 176 pounds to a mere 136. In all I shed 40 pounds of my flesh including some I maybe shouldn't have. I placed second, winning enough to purchase software and my first controller. When the newspaper reporter interviewed me he asked me what my motivation was for shedding so much weight I answered "I wanted the money to buy Light-o-Rama controllers." As a result, even as the second place winner, I had the lion share of the article describing my Christmas lighting endeavors.

That was April, to date I have gone through the garage selling any item that I can trying to reach my goal. I've gathered extension cords, reclaimed junction boxes, and salvaged items out of the dumpster at work. I've even bartered my welding skills hoping for equipment and yet still I'm not where I want to be. My three little helpers (pictured) ask me constantly, "Daddy, is that for Christmas?" The neighbors think I'm nuts but still I keep at it. If I am chosen I would love to have a FM transmitter, another controller or my ultimate dream a set of cosmic color bulbs!

Oh please help me really sparkle bright this winter!

-Matt

[ItsMeBobO]

Two more wonderful Newbie families! Thank you both for introducing yourselves to the LOR forums.

It is very inspiring to hear the determination you both have to do something nice for your neighbors at Christmas time and include the family in the effort. Good luck to all.

[dusty72]

The O'Bryan's Story

Hello all! First off , Thanks LoR for all you do! second.. please excuse any typo's ( I'm not much of a blogger type)

Here we go... My wife and I met in the fall of 1993 through a blind date( she must have been blind and I was lucky to have a date!) We pretty much have been inseparable since then. I was at that time into car audio competition using audio and neon lighting being the first to bring neons to my area, so needless to say, I have always loved electronics and lighting.

On our first Christmas dating each other, knowing how close she was with the Christmas Holiday, I decided there wouldn't be any other way to show her I loved here than to string the outside of her house with 5000 motion lights. While I was in the process she explained to me when she was 12 yrs old her brother was killed in a auto accident on Christmas eve morning of 1979 and it took many years for her family to heal and start celebrating Christmas again. She also explained to me that time did heal and that here and here family began to realize how much the celebration of Christmas really means. It is not to be a sad reminder, but a reminder of how much through good and bad your loved ones mean to you.

We were married shortly thereafter, and of course she joined me in my car lights and audio competitions with her own show car.

Life continued on and were blessed with 2 great kids, A daughter, who is a senior this year, chasing life as an graphic artist at college, and a son who was playing with rca cables at the ripe age of 12 months old ( I'm still trying to figure out where he got that at

Through these past years we got by on what we had, but in 2008 I lost my job of 20 yrs, like many others due to the economy and could only find basic part time work to survive, But we will make it somehow because we can !

As we slowly rebuild we are really wanting to continue our love for special effects. Our kids are ready to be the next generation of this awesome hobby and learn as they go along with us.

I know you requested some humorous stories, the humor we see into our experiences is more just ironic.

At this point, I really don't know "who" needs "who" most here. My family and I are needing this hobby to reflect the joy and sincerity, or the hobby needing us to work it to our fullest potential on growing. My future plans are to learn on our house then expand what we learn and are taught to my county owned building...from there who knows?

Sincerely Neil, Julie, Shelbie, Shawn

ps pictures are coming soon( as soon as I can figure out how

[zman]

Great idea Bob. I look forward to the entries.

[spindler88]

Hi Newbies, I was the winner last year. But sad to say I could not come up with the extra extensions cords for the controller I won. I didn't have enough for the one I allready had. But I'll be ready this year. I am buying one a month.BOBO and Friends Thanks again. Good luck to all the newbie families. Don't forget make sure you have enough extension cords.

[Klayfish]

Alright, I'll throw my name in. I just signed up for the website to get a jump start on my holiday plans for this year and saw this thread, so what better place to introduce myself. First, I'll say that I've been fortunate enough in my life so far (knock on wood) that I don't have a really tragic story to tell. I've got a wonderful wife, 3 awesome kids and that's all I really need. Anyhow, on with introducing myself and why I was looking for a light controller.

I'm a Christmas junkie. I'm not a religious person at all, but I just love the holiday spirit and always have. I actually grew up in a Jewish household, so I never got to celebrate Christmas. But even then, I always wished I could have a tree and do all the traditional Christmas things. When I first started dating, I was so excited to have girlfriends that celebrated. I would go to their house and soak up every bit of it I could. I met my wife in 1997, and we both had a love of the Christmas season. My wife's mother passed away when my wife was 16 (ok, so there's a bit of a sob story, but that's all…), and she loved the holiday season and passed that onto my wife. So from the start, the holiday season has always been our favorite time of year. My wife still has some decorations that were hand made by her mother, and we proudly display them on our tree.

Just like any young couple starting out, our Christmas display started out small. Our first year together, we got a fresh tree from a Wal-Mart parking lot stand, put it up in our apartment with a few decorations my wife had and were darn proud of it. Every year since then, we've been slowly adding to our collection. When we first moved to a townhouse, we started decorating outside too.

Fast forward to today. We are now the proud parents of an 8 year old, and twins that just turned 5 last week. As I said at the outset, my family is my world and my life. So when the holiday season rolls around, we try to go all out. A family tradition my wife and I have had since '98 (after the first year of parking lot tree buying) is to go to a local tree farm. They take you out in a horse drawn wagon to their forrest, and you cut your own tree. They have old barns converted into shops and it's all very quaint. My kids are awestruck with it every year, and it's one of my favorite days of the entire year. I always pick out the monster 10'+ tree for our family room, and a 6' one for the kids. I've also been dressing up every year as Santa since my oldest child was born. Funny enough is that one hobby my wife and I share is weight lifting and running, so I'm proud to say I'm pretty fit for a middle age guy (and my wife is ripped!). That leaves me at 170lbs, so I require lots of padding to play the part. But it's something I cherish. I go to the local daycare/preschool where my kids go, and also do it at the local mom's club holiday party. Seeing the reaction of kids to you, especially your own children, when you're Santa is beyond awesome! It makes me so happy seeing the excitement in their eyes.

So, back to why I'm here. My wife and I are fortunate enough to have the perfect home for a monster holiday display. We have a large property, 3.5 total acres. Our front yard stretches about 400' from side to side. We just happened to be in the exact right place at the exact right time. The house was a forclosure, and we were first in on the bidding, otherwise we'd have never been able to afford it. Actually, we found it on Dec. 24th and put the bid in on the 26th, so I guess it was a Christmas miracle for us. The house is on a relatively well travelled road (we live in the countryside, so it's never "heavy" traffic), so it's perfect to attract visitors. This will be our 4th Christmas in the house. Every year, we try to add to our display outside. It's fairly nice now, but nothing spectacular. My plan this year was to add a mega-tree and/or a controller with FM broadcast music to really make the display pop. Our grand scheme, which will take time to build, is to have one of those completely over the top Christmas displays where people from all around our area come to check it out. My goal is to be able to have a few nights where I dress up as Santa, with the whole display lit around me and do photo sessions for the kids and families. We'd like to make it into a fundraiser for a charity, such as Toys For Tots. We won't require money, all are welcome, but would ask for any donation... even a quarter. I know it's going to take time and money to build it all out…need tons of lights, significant electrical upgrades at some point, etc…but you've got to start somewhere. I think we've got enough now that with a light controller and music, we can start attracting people and try some fundraising this year.

So that's my story. Win or not, I'll be around to ask questions and push forward with whatever plans I can manage. Thanks to everyone at LOR for putting the contest on, it's a really cool thing!

Here is my family with Santa last year...I can't believe my oldest son didn't figure out it was me.

[WilliamS]

How much we up to Bob, Im starting to see we might need more than 1!

Keep it up guys, love the stories and see who will be joining the ranks of the next viral sequencer!

[Lee Long]

What a great thing to do for the lor community. Good luck guys

[Gary Levelius]

Bob, I just kicked another $40 your way for the family fund. Thanks to all for the wonderful and touching stories. Gonna be a pain to pick one And I'm not shy to post cause I'm glad to have the chance, through you, to help one or more lucky families share the spirit of Christmas and make more memories!

-Gary-

Edited August 2, 2012 by Gary Levelius

[missieod]

Hi everyone! I have been lurking in the LOR Forums for about 2 years now and am ready to take the leap into animation. I'll try not to jump around too much in my story.

Christmas was always important growing up. Most of my favorite memories of my family are from Christmas. So when I joined the Army, it was the time of year I was most homesick. My mom would go out of her way when I was not able to come home to "send" me Christmas. I would get a box with a mini-tree and lights, presents, Christmas pajamas...the works. Since I was an Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician, I supplied the fireworks ;-)

I was in Baghdad, Iraq from September 2003-April 2004. We were supporting 1st Brigade 1st Armor Division. What a magnificent group of soldiers! As EOD, our job was to disarm all the IEDs that these guys found. Working 14-16 hours a day was great to make the time go by, but pretty exhausting. Command Sergent Major (CSM) Cooke, the highest ranking enlisted man for the brigade, took exceptional care of us, even though we didn't belong to his command. He made sure my team and I had all the food, water and security we needed. He even offered to get us armored vehicles since ours were pretty much aluminium. He also helped me through the hard times. One day we had one of our security personnel killed by an IED while he protected our team. As the senior EOD team leader, I had to pack up his stuff for his command. I just couldn't bring myself to start and here comes CSM Cooke. He told me about the first soldier he lost and told me all the feelings I was having were normal. Then he helped me pack up this young Specialist's gear. CSM Cooke continued to be there for me whenever I needed guidance or help

Moving forward to the holiday season, my mom went full blown Christmas for me and my team. A tree, presents, cookies, decorations and lights. CSM Cooke came down to our living area once we were all set up and told us that "this" was where he was going to spend Christmas! He loved the holiday's as much as me. On Christmas Eve, CSM Cooke went out on a mission with his troops. He was killed in action that night. We were sitting around talking when one of his troops came into our living area to tell us. We were all in shock. No one said much, just a bunch of warriors with tears streaming down our faces. Christmas was a quiet day that year. We didn't want to celebrate. We didn't open our presents until days later. And I took that tree down the very next day.

Christmas was no longer the happiest time of year for me. The first Christmas after I came home, I had to pretend to be happy around my family but most of my time alone was spent in tears remembering CSM Cooke. I was angry. Darn it, my job was to disarm those IEDs and one killed him. I spent the next few years blaming myself for not doing more to protect one of the most respected CSMs in the Army. I did Christmas stuff just so people wouldn't see what I was feeling inside, but it was no longer exciting for me.

My daughter was born in August of 2008. She was my little blessing. I became very sick in Iraq and had come home to find out I had multiple medical issues. One of which was that I was not supposed to be able to have children. I knew that for my daughter, I needed to get my holiday cheer back. I wanted to give her the same happy memories that I had growing up. That wasn't going to happen if her mom couldn't enjoy the Christmas experience. So I went and bought some lights to put up. The next year I used some EMT to build lighted arches across our driveway. They came out ok, but I went looking for better designs. That's how I came upon this place and started to read about LOR. While I couldn't afford the controllers yet, I got some great ideas for my static display.

Last year my daughter had a BLAST helping me set up the lights. She was so excited that Santa was going to be able to see our house from so far away! And I felt that same joy and happiness I used to feel. Seeing her innocent love of Christmas healed me. I promised her that I would do even more the next year and plan to keep this promise.

But these lights are not just a promise- they are a tribute and a silent thank you from me to CSM. I found out I was pregnant at Christmas time. I truely believe that CSM had a hand in making this miracle happen. He called us all his "kids" as he and his wife didn't have any. I like to believe he called in a big favor to give me my daughter so I could let go of my anger and sadness. Every year I will give my daughter her beautiful lights and some day I will tell her about the special man looking down on us to see how beautiful they are.

-Missi

[smallhousetomanylights]

i have a family of six, two adults an eighteen, seventeen, thirteen and eleven year old who seem to think i go overboard every year. So this year it will be automated. thank you for understanding. trying to send them off with a bang.

[greywolf]

talk about newbees

my family are bouncing back from a forced move (august 2011) ; we was at a home under the impression my mom was purchasing but in july of 2011 we was forced to take action and found out the house wasn't even owned by the landlord and he had no right to even rent nor sell said property we was given 30 days to move thanks to the grace of the court ; the latter only wanted to give us 24 hrs to move

but we don't let situations like that deter us from our love for family and the holidays we been doing statics for decades ; we are now 3rd generation to be doing displays at our homes any reason to decorate up the yard and house i took my family to a Christmas light show in 2011 after we moved and this is when i started to see and found out about LOR it was being used to run the show at that location and i was hooked .

i was surfing through facebook and found a group with the same love of making children smile and the love of lights this is how i found out about LOR and it's equipment

I've already picked a transmitter i can afford at this time a recommendation from a few friends at FB

i'm just starting out with this pc light animation and so i'm as green as any Christmas tree

i have the software and i am trying to get used to it now my wife is excited to get started on our 1st animated light show for this season

our present locale wont allow for large displays so we will have to cut back on the size of it due to power requirements and the size of the yards given to these apartments (HUD)

my family

my mom

thanks for letting me try for my fist controller

maybe a ruff 1 to get my display off the ground this season (mom having some difficulty) family comes first

[LP IA Lights]

Thank you LOR

We have been putting up Xmas lights for many years and have always enlarged the display each year about 5 years ago I invested in my first Mr. Christmas controller, then added 1 more each year for the next couple at that time we started to learn about all these shows people were doing with computers and controllers this is when we discovered LOR. It has taken a few years and a lot of research before I could afford to make the jump to get into this group, as of now I have one controller and another on order so that We can build a show for others to see what we love about the Holiday season. I have 3 children and a lovely wife that has come to understand my obsession with this project, also I must mention that We also have 2 Grandson's that really enjoy the lights, hoping soon they will be old enough to help us out with our obsession, We are in need of another controller and some CCR and who knows from there. We all thank you for your consideration for this program and look forward expanding more in the future.

[greywolf]

sorry guys i didn't expect it to repost my post just wanted to add the comment at the bottom of it

[rainyoregonchristmas]

Just two days to go until Sunday!!!! It feels like we're coming up on Christmas early, well one of those weird Christmases where you don't know if you'll get a present or not. The anticipation is killing me. While I have been patiently, (ok impatiently) waiting to find out the results I realized something no one told me about this hobby. It comes with many types of diseases more kindly called syndromes that all newbies like myself should be aware of.

Such as the Miles-Wires Syndrome. It is first noticed when you stop counting extension cords, and start measuring them in relation to miles.

Then comes the Case-Stares Syndrome, often occurring when you are in hardware stores buying household items in case quantities. Then you tell the checker it's for your Christmas light display and its only August they seem to just stare back at you.

This last syndrome is often found in conjunction with other syndromes. It is the dreaded Longo-Kay Reflex Syndrome. That's when a person learning that you plan and work on you Christmas display 11 months out of the year responds "oOOOOook." I learned the danger that last syndrome can have when it occurs in the middle of a job interview. (Note to self: keep the lights to yourself until December)

Even after all this, I still love this hobby. And though my chance of winning might be the same as being able to have a snowball fight in August in 103 degree heat, it felt wrong not to try. Oh, and yes, it could happen. See below, that's me with a snowball from the snowball fight with my boys last Saturday in 103 degree heat. Freezers are great for storing January's blessings.

-Matt

RainyOregonChristmas

Edited August 10, 2012 by rainyoregonchristmas