How does one learn how to do that?  This is a question I am often asked when describing that my job working with Home and Live Show Automation, image mapping and projection geometry. It can seem as daunting a process as decrypting an Enigma Machine transmission – I mean, who has the services of Bletchley park at our disposal?

For many of us the process that got us to where we are now involved a long tenure of hit and miss experimentation and gleaning what we could from manufacture manuals, white papers and a small highlighted sections of too many books to count. While this has a certain can-do quality to it, the truth is that misinformation can and will creep in.  You may get something to work but never know why or how to do it again. Even when you do get the special decoder ring sometimes all the manufacturer’s key gives you a “Drink your Ovaltine” type message.

The New York City College of Technology has a great program centered around solving just this issue, and one of my good friends and industry colleague John Huntington is a Professor of Entertainment of Technology for the school. I have hired folks who have come out of the program and while they may lack some seasoning, their core knowledge is quite remarkable.   John recognized early on that a comprehensive and single reference was not only needed but required if a consistent and reliable information base was to be built. The classes and degree are one thing, but what about those of us in the field who need this information – John has answered this dilemma as well.

John has written a Bible –  Abulafia’s Bible.

Abulafia is the computer Belbo – the main protagonist in Umberto Eco’s bookFoucault’s Pendulum named after Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia, the founder of the school of “Prophetic Kabbalah” – uses to create and absently uncover a great plot between the Knights Templar, Rosicrucians, Paulicians and Synarchists.

The first edition of John’s book was titled Control Systems for Live Entertainment, but the content and information contained within it was as important to the home/commercial automation pros as the live events and theme park pros.  During my tenure as a Show Control Specialist for Scharff Weisberg, I ensured each division had a copy and evangelized to my associates about it.  When I managed a call center in support automation products, my first act was to purchase four books for the NJ office and one each for the regional offices – I still get emails from former staff stating that “… that book saved my butt yet again!….”

I gushed about the first addition in an Amazon.com review 
“The bible for automation and show control industry February 2, 2001

By George Tucker

Format:Paperback

A well dog-eared copy of the first edition has been in my tool kit / computer kit for the last couple of years. I have found it a valuable resource. It has helped me on-site more than once. The second edition is more comprehensive and organized. Kudos to John in publishing a great resource fit for the student and experienced professional.

George Tucker- Show Control Engineer- Scharff Weisberg NYC”

More fittingly the fourth edition is called:  Show Networks & Control Systems  and is chock-full of updates and in depth chapters on Ethernet Networks  – for this alone it is worth more than an original copy of a Lullian Circle.

We just received our four books this week at WorldStage – These were snatched up by the convergence staff almost before I could finish opening the box.  This alone should let you know that this now self-published book is more than relevant – it is a revelation.

I still feel that I would not have understood the movie Pi without reading John’s Book.