Thanks.

I've been meaning to get some pics up of this job we finished about a year and a half ago.  I wish I could say I did the rack work, but it was mostly done by another guy.  Enjoy

Damn that's purdty!

A whole bunch of change went into that masterpiece. No expense spared. I even see a touchpanel in the far right rack. Very nice.

...got initial service on the new herniated disc I picked up this weekend.

It rocks!

fun with wife's car...

last tuesday - thermostat housing snapped in half, blew all the coolant out and car started overheating while wife is driving to work.   left work early - 4 auto parts store trips and 2 dealership trips and I've got that fixed in about 5 hours.

this monday - get a call that car is running really rough, plus just started making a screeching/grinding noise.  grab a friend and run up to wife's work to check it out.  car will start but won't stay running.  after 4 tries it stays running but is misfiring.  engine code says "Random Cylinder Misfire".  find oil all over and inside two spark plug boots.  clean it up as best we can and it seems to be running fine.  drive the car 10 feet and hear the "noise" - brakes are suddenly down to the wear tabs and need to be replaced immediately.  wait around for wife to get off work at 11:15 pm and drive her home

yesterday 2:00 - left work early, took wife to work, picked up new valve cover gasket and brake pads.  3:45 head to friends house, rip everything apart (in the rain) and get to work.  replaced brake pads, rotated tires, replaced valve cover gasket.  brake pedal solenoid has been acting up so I go to replace it and realize the part I bought 4 months ago is the wrong one.  so I take it out an clean with electrical contact cleaner.  put everything back together, car is running great.

yesterday 10:45pm - leave to pick up wife from work.  car battery is completely dead.  have to jump it with the work van.  apparently I pushed the plunger on the switch too far when cleaning it - it only needs about 1/2" travel and it was "clicked" almost all the way in.  brake lights had been on since I hooked it  back up 6 hours ago.  11:30 picked up wife from work and headed home.

today - 10:00pm - wife and I run out to grocery store.  start car, same misfire is back, same engine code is back.  

I give up.  :)

I have zero luck with cars. I purchased 1 new car in my life and 3 days after i bought it someone hit me as i crossed an intersection and took out the whole front end. It was repaired but never ran quite right. Buried it 6 years later with 100k on the speedometer and a blown engine.

Every other car i have owned in my life has been my mechanics dream come true. I have probably put a couple of kids thru college having my cars serviced. My girlfriends saturn has had about 5k worth of repair work and its not even paid off yet.

If i wasnt allergic to horses i would probably make the switch.

Stamp, this might be an alternate transportation mean, but just crious where do you load your ladders?
[Link: google.com]

Those racks are gorgeous.

Speaking of cars,

Yesterday: Went under to change the oil in my new truck for the first time. I notice oil ALL over. Between the oil pan and something i have no idea what it is. not to mention theirs two odd rubber tubes on eather side of the oil pan that i have never seen before on any car.

Oil is dripping in and around those tubes and between the crack,my new truck which has exactly 3k miles on it is having this kind of issue so i run inside and call the dealership, it was literally 5:03 and service is "closed"

I immediately call my buddy which is really really good with cars, can diagnose anything and everything and could pull your car appart clean everything and put it back together. I explain it to him and said its a very common problem with my type of engine. He put me at ease lastnight.

I wake up and decide, better safe then sorry. I called the dealership up and he said "this is a very serious issue. Bring it in asap, btw our next service appointment is available tomorrow morning".wtf? I agree to the time and brought it in tonight instead of tomorrow morning so they can get on it first thing.

He told me that this could either be an Hour fix or a fix that would require them to have it for a minimum of a week.

I find out tomorrow if i get some type of loaner vehicle. My truck is now my work vehicle and personal vehicle. Im hoping its the 1 hour fix becuase i have a pretty big install to start friday and im not sure i can do the work out of a chevy aveo =)

and it requires a pretty nice size extension ladder, i maybe on the next Trunk slammer Ultimate forum thread on here if it comes down to an aveo lol ;)

If you get stuck without a truck, rent one. Pull up in a Uhaul, that would be awesome.

I've actually considered getting a smaller work vehicle, maybe like the new Ford and then just renting a truck/van for a day on those big jobs. With gas back up to $3.25/gal, I'm guessing I would come out ahead in the long run.

Today, we started wiring for a retro project that we are doing. a 4.1 Media room with Totem Tribe I's custom mounted with a 60" Pioneer on a Sanus Double Arm cantilever. Plus Prodigy control with 2 zones, but one is a big zone with 4 speakers. I'm actually using the Prodigy PAMP and am going to run the 4 kitch/dining speakers off 2 zones (but linked as one for control) then bridge the other two zone to power the outdoor speakers.

Tomorrow we'll finish up the last of the wiring get the rack together and hopefully get this custom mount done for the Tribes. We are also doing a local system mounting a 46" LCD with a old Yamaha AVR and some NHT towers for the kid's game room.

After work, went to the new house and started measuring out for the lights. Going from one to the next then back and getting them all fairly balanced and cut. I got 10 of the recesses cans cut and 1 of the ceiling fan locations measured, marked and clear for cut in.

I have 4 more standard ceiling lights for each bedroom and probably 2 cans for the kitchen and 1 in a hallway. I also want to put a light in the master closet and the pantry.

Probably do some under cabinet lights in the kitchen as well.

Internetraver, Those racks are absolutely beautiful! Incredible to say the least!
The only thing missing is trim strips.

Nice, I cant wait to get up there and check it out. I've seen many pictures of the progress and followed the project for quite some time.

This is a very big deal and I will say this, Madrona Digital is a very serious company with some extreme talent and an excellent business plan. It's only a matter of time until they become a name that demands respect.

Went to the Crestron Digital Media information session. I knew the analog video sunset was coming, but not this soon. We have several homes wired with DM cable, it looks like we are going to need it:)

Yeah, we're pretty serious! Good group of guys. It's pretty scary doing a start-up in this economy, but we're all pretty optimistic, and a couple of us have good track records in the business. Wish us luck! Thanks!
We have a well known Theater designer who has done a lot of work for Imax as well as some very noteable residential theaters, helping with the design of our theater. Can't wait to get it completed. Our expectation of the Theater's overall performance are high, and hopefully we'll get to that level.

2nd that!  I just checked their website.  

Bruce, can I have a job???