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Buy your latencyproject mechandise! Shirts, sweatshirts, it's all here! Pushin' snow with the quad video Friend's Blogs: Moto X 2006 Flatscreen TV Installation My 42" Flatscreen Wall Installtion -- DIY My Photo Gallery's iPod Installations Install in Swoggs Grand Cherokee AMA -- MidOhio YSR onboard track footage 2005 Season YSR Racing 2004 Season YSR Racing August 14th, 2004 CRP Race Pics Come Race with us! OHIOYSR.ORG YSR Race Supplies : Team Calamari Racing Project Links Stuff I read: 
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Once you have a bobcat, you quickly look for ways to transport it...this guy however, takes the prize. Amazing: Sunday, June 28, 2009
Not a good OYL season for me this year....today marks the third race I have missed in the 2009 season. The more I work, the more I need the time on the weekend, and honestly, leaving the house with all of the projects behind, stresses me out to no end. Today, (as one of 10 projects I did...) I put the finishing touches on the girls bathroom:    I always say, nothing is nearly as impressive until you see the before. I will show those below, but essentially, we transformed this bathroom from a one sink, low efficiency toilet, and nasty linoleum floor to a two sink, multiple flush, intelligent toilet (one for liquid, one for solid), new tile floor, new cabinets, new granite, conversion to dual sinks, inset display 'nook'.....the list goes on and on.... Here were the before shots....   Friday, June 26, 2009
Some time back I was interested in seeing some of the infrastructure that Google uses in their data centers. I quickly found myself reading the GFS (Google File system) paper and learned how they utilize entirely, 100% commodity hardware. Pizza boxes. Just recently I was describing the GFS with a customer, and it got me interested to go see what other bits of the Google enterprise has been posted. I found the below video on their container based data center, and have to say, pretty interesting video. Now, I know, I have only 2 readers that will find this even REMOTELY interesting...you know who you are: Thursday, June 25, 2009
OMG -- today has proven to be quite wierd...just learned of the passing of farah fawcett and now, Michael Jackson: Looks like MJ passed away at 50 today....sad for sure. As I update Safari, I saw it in the view...I did not believe it at first...  Every once in a while I find a tool that I get giddy over. Just found and downloaded this cool little ute from Cisco...I am using it in the 7 day trial, but I thought it was pretty slick. Even though I have eradicated everything that provides network services away from Linksys (they are notorious for failing after 3 years), I still thought it would be cool to download and test. This utility looks very slick, here is a quick screenshot of my current network:  What is really cool....is I have found a rogue machine that at one time attached to my router. By rogue, I mean, "aint one o mine". When I started thinking about it, I remembered who was here, and who it was. That being said, very cool to pull the arp table, map it out. It also mapped out the machines in use, the security pc, the ip camera, the home automation box, the girls machines. Very slick for sure...just had to post! Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Call it what you will, but I am trying to get some updates posted.... So, I have switched phones, and smart phone platforms at that. Many know I used to be an Exchange Architect, we ran and implemented the first Blackberry...  This was the original, and we deployed them for a large telecom on Exchange 5.5. Most folks thought that the units were skytel two way pagers...no one knew what a BB was. Fast forward to today. For the last 4 years, I have been a windows mobile user. I had issues with the PPC6700 -- very not-stable. Then I moved to a Motorola Q...rock solid, ZERO functionality. I still to this day scratch my head on how MS was so behind RIM. They OWN the corporate Email domain...how could they not integrate the feature sets the BEST??!?! I dealt with them, then I started to forget about BB...then Windows mobile was just that...Windows Mobile, and it was 'good enough'. Then the hardware died. Batteries would not charge. Phone was essentially a brick. But I had a problem, my phone plan had been absorbed by corporate. Now, through my manager I needed to request a new phone. The BB 8330 was shipped. Then I was re-introduced to the BB. The functionality, the shortcuts, the applications, the messenger, the speed, the mobile flickr, the 2 megapixel camera...the list...goes on...and on....  The above shot is my 8330 and my Q. Q dead, 8330 is much alive. Q is smaller, delivers WAY more functionality...across the board, and I realize, that "good enough" is only "good enough" when you do not know what you are missing. This was a tech wake up call for me....glad to be back with the BB where the entire thing started back in 1998 at a very large twisted pair telecom.... On to some other stuff.... The mini-me. This dude is literally the ladies man. Look at this kid:  This a shot that Fembot got with her point and shoot cannon. The kid, is, adorable. He is good spirited, fun to be around, and I have to say, this guy will be trouble. He is the 3rd. He has two older sisters. He is my offspring, and he likes motors, and technology. The above posted Q is what he has been carrying around all night, acting like he is talking on the phone (exhibit A that Dad has been on the phone too much with work @ home).... Tuesday, June 23, 2009
MiniFem's quad is coming along nicely. Motor is in the frame, carb installed, rear end re-installed, some more fab work required there. Monday, June 22, 2009
 "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated" - Mark Twain.... You can tell right? You can tell that work has been crazy? That I have sat at my home office desk about 2 times in the last 45 days? That I am still (but making good progress) in three separate renovations at the house (laundry room, girls bathroom and our bathroom)? So, what have I been up to? Work, renovations, family time, skipping some road races to spend time with the people that matter most to me, and I even got in some ATVing and camping 2 weeks ago in Wayne National forest, photos here. Sadly, I broke the good ol TRX. I break her, then I build her stronger. Me to the fembot "add fixing my 1986 quad to the list of projects I don't have the time to blog about hun..." Had a break down about 6.5 miles from camp, but was able to limp it back. Have to tell you, riding the TRX, is somewhat nastalgic of riding my Ducati 748. Didn't matter where I went with that bike, it got stares and everyone wanted to talk about it. In Wayne, everyone seemed to notice the TRX....you have to remember that this was the first ATV of most enthusiasts...and mine is in mint condition, and it hauls ass on the TRAILS!!!! (with me on it). There is something to be said about coming out of 15 miles of ATV trails, covered in the nastiest swamp mud ever, pulling into an ATV friendly town, then parking your ATV outside the local watering hole, walking to the bar in with inches of mud encrusted riding gear.... "I'll have a bud light please" Bar keep: "k, that be $1.50" Me: "Wha????" Me (to the rest of the crew): "Guys, beers all on me today." We had a blast, good atv time, GREAT camping time, some firearms, some fire, lots of beer, and recently much more important ---- ZERO, and I mean ZERO cellular signal. The only thing my blackberry was good for was taking the pictures in the above Flickr post... Ok, so, we are still renovating. All the granite tops are in, lights in our bathroom are in, the drywall patched from moving lights, and we are ready for paint. Then, I am left with finishing wood work, and that just may be "out-tasked" to someone greater skilled than I in mitre cuts....who knows.... Also on the project list... Mini-Fems atv. I just walked in from the garage. The super secret motor purchase from Chin Din Dong (some guy in CA) that has chinese connections, was able to order the same GY6 scooter motor from China that the original Xtreme Brand ATV's had. They modified them, but the roots were the GY6. Jazzed to see my new delivery, I put the kids to bed, and headed to the garage to install the new motor plant. Some modification needed, to modify the mounts, etc....motor is in, and the quad looks pretty good. Can't wait to get it really together this coming weekend. What else is going on? I switched from Windows Mobile to Blackberry. I am yet certified again (certifiable depending how you see it) from a work perspective. Getting "are you alive emails" -- both personally and professionally. My youngest is WALKING AND TALKING -- well, talking to me....at least. Others hear: "hhhhaaa daaahddd....aga gakdd aklajdf a sksks eeedd" I hear: "Hi dad, so, when you think you are going to retire that 1986 TRX, get m e a quad, and upgrade to something that is more in line with your riding skills? You know pops -- something you can be seen on...." What else....oh, Dad and I scoped another great score on Craigslist, we may execute on it, a trailer for the bobcat (and the quad and the bikes, and the mulch, and the dirt, and the ... you get the idea). Monday, June 01, 2009
UUUUUH OOOOOOOOOOH: Rally Car Driver Is Lucky To Be Alive After Crash from TotalProSports.com on Vimeo. Saturday, May 30, 2009
It has been a few long weeks. Lots of changes at work, which I have been trying to fill some gaps. So, finally a weekend hits. Dad came over today, he wanted to work on the bobcat while I was swapping plugs and filters on the BMW (thing hauls now btw...sad that I let the intake get that bad....) Dad replaced the fuel, hydraulic, and oil filters, changed the oil, then we did this...operation degrease. Dad took the 'cat to the track, we pulled out the power washer and the heavy duty de-greaser, and were able to get the 'cat nice and clean...FINALLY. This poor thing, all it needed was some TLC. The major oil leak was the oil drail that had come loose and spewed oil all over....easy remedy. Almost looks new:    Thursday, May 07, 2009
This is ... a MARKETING genius. Someone email my wife and let her know that someone in marketing finally hit the mark: Intel Rockstar: Wednesday, May 06, 2009
As they say, I guess it can happen to anyone. For those of you that know me well, I have been in the past, and when possible, still try to stay abreast on anything Microsoft from a technology perspective. Love them or hate them, they have changed how many things are done with products they have built, bought, introduced...whatever. Tonight, in a I-need-to-catch-up-on-some-security-blogs fit...I wander over to Steve Riley's blog. Then I read his last post. Microsoft eliminated his position...what? Are they serious? If you have ever been to a tech-ed, and if you have ever attended a session, you had to run into one of Steves. His sessions were the ones that were standing room only, that had lines of folks out the door. He is different, he is honest, and he is thought provoking as well...and he did all of these while at Microsoft talking about security as it relates to the MS landscape. I have to wonder why MS would eliminate their Security rockstars position, but I guess you would have to imply that security is not the highest of priorities as of late? Too bad, best of luck Steve, I know we will see you elsewhere in the Security community: http://blogs.technet.com/steriley/archive/2009/05/06/good-bye-and-good-luck.aspx Steve's new Blog: http://msinfluentials.com/blogs/steveriley/default.aspx  Friday, May 01, 2009
Home today with the kids while the Fembot is at IKEA...and they are being great today. In fact, mini-me is down for a nap:  So here is episode two of "The Website is down". I am off today, you are not...sit back, put on your head phones, and get an 8 minute comedy relief... Monday, April 20, 2009
So I saw my therapist on Saturdy...yep...the track. Saturday was the first race of the season, and the 2009 bike is on fire. The new updates and changes have made a WORLD of difference. Both F2 and F3 races were podiums for me, and finished the day 3rd overall in both. Great day of racing, and in the F2 class, we gridded 14 riders. The club is growing faster than an in-bred family...it is such a good thing to see. Start of the F2 Race (me in the middle):  Sunday, April 12, 2009
The new controls layout...moved the kill switch, mounted the timer, with new quarter turn throttle (made for a CRF50 - adapted to work with NSR):  The 2009 season bike it is ready. Quite a few new bits this year: - WRW Exhaust - 13 sprocket specialists countersprocket - new DID chain - Laptimer - Main Jets - Quarter Turn Throttle - Rear set setbacks Sunday, April 05, 2009
I had a small run in with Columbus Patrol on Friday night. I had a customer of mine with me, and we were leaving Hyde Park downtown and getting on 670 right by the convention center. I was merging and was heading up the hill....when I crested I saw the car on the left of the lane, door open...I slammed on the brakes and he....shuts the door. Oof... So we get pulled over. He shot me doing 71 in a 55. That was lucky....I had to be up there based on the fact that I was braking. In all seriousness, I just wanted to merge... Then when he gets up to my car, after I hand him my insurance card (which he immediately said was expired), then I politely pointed out the card is good till may of 2009....and he still argued? Then I counted the months, March, April (Current Month) May...he laughed...."sorry about that, I was thinking March in my head." Then this happened... Son, please raise your drivers window 3 inches. He tested the window, my 35%'s are illegal....great, my customer and I will never make the poker game at his own house now...I have visions of flat beds hauling us to impound... Guy was cool, just cited me for speeding ($140) and let me off on my windows, and just told me to fix them... All these years, and that is the first time I have ever been stopped....I guess it was about time...   So, today was the day I got the last motor to make us a motox family....a bobcat. Dad found it on craigslist, went to look at it and my dad and I bought it. We split it 50/50.. I can FINALLY build my dirt mini-track, backfill the house, ...I just have to be careful, the jumps are already getting too big on the track. :) This is the first bobcat I have ever driven, they are a blast. Just what every pitbiker and mini rider needs....a mini-bobcat!! My wife, my wonderful, wonderful, tolerant and understanding wife. I come home, she walks outside, sees the cat in the front yard...all she says is ... "don't you think this would have justified just a quick call to me - just so I could expect it?" "...this is it. No more motors this year...ok?" Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Kids are in bed, fem is working on our taxes, and I decided to post some shots of one my most recent house projects. This past weekend Fem wanted to redo the office, so we were painting all weekend. Worked out ok, and we FINALLY got rid of that nasty green color the presious owners had. New color...grey, which works perfect for my black and whites that I print. But, that is not, what I will post up tonight. This one is a bit of a tech project. We have had for a while now a digital picture frame, with never having really installed it anywhere, set it up anywhere, I decided it was time...to mold it into the wall. Who wants nasty wires hanging around, it sitting on a desk that could get knocked over. Lets install it (not on the wall) IN the wall in the most traveled location in the house. Identifying the cut zone:  We decided to install it under the wireless weather station, seemed like a good spot. Next up, drywall saw:  This frame is powered by your standard outlet, maybe I will post another time on how I worked that out? Any way, here is the finished product, with my best bud Alex's picture (RIP boss) up on the screen. The unit is controllable via remote control, so is easy to turn on remotely, and has scheduling intelligence for auto-on and auto-off based on day of week, date...etc.  Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
I just learned and stumbled across the story of John Britten. I am amazed, if you are at work, go get some coffee, sit back, and watch this series of videos. Absolutely amazing to me that someone can build this type of motorcycle by hand. Double wishbone front suspension, carbon body work, fully custom motor...all built, molded and cast in his home garage. I am speechless: Here is the link to video series.... http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/britten-backyard-visionary-1993 Sunday, February 08, 2009
The weather, while not perfect, was pretty darn close for February weather. It was warm enough for me to air out my garage, re-organize some things (moving my bench to the side wall) to make room for the bikes allowing me to work any at any time. New layout (my Big bench used to be in front of the 530):  Got the MotoX bike back together as well, had been apart while dad and I repaired the exhaust (good shot of the big bench as well):  And of course, started to prep the mini for the 2009 road race season. Installed the new DID chain, cleaned up the motor, need to rebuild the carb, and have the exhaust removed to make room for the new Jemco pipe:   Sunday, February 01, 2009
With temps up to around 35 today, it was a perfect day to get out in the snow. Girls and I made a snowman, then I did my absolutely best not to destroy it while out on the quad. Days like this, just bring a smile to my face:    Sunday, January 18, 2009
Who doesn't love playing in the snow? MiniFem2 and I spent a good amount of time today out in the yard. MiniFem had a cold, so was not up to playing outside. Along with having me pull her all over the place (woods included), riding on her sled behind the ATV, she absolutely loved riding in the snow the most. "Faster, Faster Faster daddy..."      Mini-me and I were sitting in the office yesterday. We were reading supermotojunkie, oyl forums, planetminis forums, thumpertalk and watching some race footage and motogp testing. When Fem came in, she had to shoot a pic. It all starts....here:  Saturday, January 03, 2009
So what did you do today? Watch a game, check out some things on the web? Play some games, maybe console or pc? Maybe you slept in till 12, because you could. I...on the other hand, will never be able to sleep that late with the 4 human alarm clocks in my house. So Fem and I started the day on the renovation hunt, looking for materials for the next reno...GASP. I just finished the laundry room, next up, girls bathroom. So, after doing that, installing all new hardware on the kitchen cabinets (it was an impulse buy today), I was able to make my way to the garage. I have officially started mini-fem's frame-off restoration of her 2004 Xtreme X-49 50cc 4-Stroke ATV. I bought this little guy from Craigslist last year, and I have had serious issues with it. I keep scratching my head to try and figure out what the previous owner could have done to get it in this BAD of a condition. I have determined, that it spent at least half of it's life stored outside. So last year, it started like this, looked good, but was really nice on the outside and a disaster on under the plastics:  Lose the bars, remove the battery, remove the body work, remove the left side cover, remove the carb...this is the first issue. The intake boot going into the head has a 2 inch gash. That needs replaced:  Next up, getting rid of the wheels and all of the 'protective' black plastic engine shrouding:  Ouch, look at that rear brake. Completely bound up with mud, rocks and debris. Time to clean those pads and get the calipers unfrozen:  Then time to pull the other side cover. This cooling fan, had at LEAST, 12 inches of inseam from what looks to have been some poor kids toughskins, or maybe lee jeans. Unbelieveable this thing ran:  Then, after some review of the service manual, it was time, for, the...motor extraction:  Here is the beast. The head itself is toast, both exhaust ports were destroyed when Captain Goober the handy man previous owner used drywall screws to secure a loose exhaust pipe...FI(*$&$#!!!!:  Next up, time to lose the rear axle and shock. Shock is completely locked and bound up...will need replaced:  So cute! :  Here is the wire snarled harness. Captain Sr. Ding Dong before me, decided he would cut wires, HOT GLUE others, and fray most. I am going to have hand rebuild this guy to get it in good dependable working order:  And that brings us to the last shot of the quad. Ready for the paint, rust, weld flack and grime removal, I am left with just the bare frame. I am going to start cleaning this guy in the upstairs paint shop tomorrow. Time to clean it up, and make this thing look better than when it rolled off the chinese assembly line (if more than one person actually worked on it):  Thought I would also toss up a shot of the shop as it is right now. SO hard to keep things in order. You would think this garage as large as it is, would be plenty of space, BUT IT NEVER IS!!! You can see in this shot, I have three active projects going at one time....the mini-quad frame off, the NSR50R (awaiting parts), and the PitsterPro X2R that I recently redid the exhaust on...so many motors and pistons and SO LITTLE time... ....Now back to your regularly scheduled programming...and one last shot of my haven:  God love the internet... In finding an ATV forum today, I answered a post on the minifem's Xtreme x-49 and quickly was answered with someone else giving me some information that was priceless! Apparently, the engine in the x-49 is a very near clone of the GY6 50CC 4 stroke developed by Honda and produced in the 80's. While Honda is no longer using the perfected design, many chinese and korean atv, scooter and buggy manufacturers are. So, what does this mean?!? I have found a source of parts, a TON of sources of parts. If I even wanted to, I could grab a $299 crate engine..."oh so tempting, must resist...the ... buy it now...button..."  Friday, January 02, 2009
So, many of you know that I bought my 'vintage' quad a few years ago on Ebay. Scored a great deal for a small 200cc fourstroke Honda TRX200SX. It came with a plow, which, was the primary reason I bought it, so I could push snow on our rediculously long driveway. After spending some time on the quad, rebuilding some things, un-freezing the brakes with Mark, replacing busted levers, and getting it running in tip-top condition, it quickly grew from just a snow pusher to a mini-yard thrasher. Fast forward to that quad getting a good buddy of mine re-into quads, and he goes out and buys a Grizzly. So he immediately got it registered and got an APV sticker and was going to Wayne all the time...without me, beause my quad was NOT titled, so I could NOT get a Wayne pass. So, early this fall, I started looking into the process for titling a 1986 Honda (which in Ohio, no ATV's were sold with titles at this time). It was ugly...really ugly, affadavits, bill of sales, proof of purchase....blah...blah. So, I was digging in my files, and I came across a packet of stuff that the wife had filed away when I bought the quad. Low and behold, in there, was a title from the original owner (from Illinois, I bought my quad from a Sheriff in Michigan) and it was ready to be signed over. So last weekend, I trecked up to the local BMV with my title in hand, and they politely let me know that I simply had to go through the out of state title transfer process. I would just need to bring the quad up for an inspection, and then they would give me the paperwork to go to the title agency for issuance of a state of Ohio title, then I would go back to the DMV to get my registration. Fast forward to today, after ATV inspections, paying Ohio Sales tax on the quad I bought two years ago....and I now have a registered ATV to ride on public land!  Sunday, December 28, 2008
Spent a few hours in the garage last night. Got the mini-motox bike back together:  Then it was time to break out the new project. Lots to do on this one, and several parts to replace:  So far, I have identified the need for a new throttle cable, a new intake boot (the existinging one has a 2 inch gash in it (which certainly was affecting the iradic throttle and the difficulty starting). A little cleaner, some paint, a re-routing of all the wiring (after it is fully mapped out) and should be good as new. Shot here with side cover offer for tranny inspection and cleaning:  Friday, December 26, 2008
All hail ebay. All hail ebay.. All hail ebay... After a year of hunting, I finally found a service manual for mini-fems Xtreme X-49. It is a dealers service manual, and thankfully, some one tossed it up on ebay...I grabbed it immediately. Just went to the mailbox and grabbed it, looks to be a GREAT reference. This should help me fix the electrical and carbeuration issues...manuals like this just do not exist...unless you find them on EBAY!!  Friday, December 19, 2008
I have no idea where this has been hidden, or better yet, how in the world I was under a rock to have missed this????? The guys in the office turned me on to it, and I cannot stop watching it in tears. Friday, December 12, 2008
This is one for the "I can't believe what I am seeing" books.... I never was much into stunting, but I can still appreciate the skills at such a young age. Back to the roadracing world that dominates my brain, here is the 2008 season in review of Peter Lenz, maybe one day the Fembot will let mini-me do this (I foresee me having to stop racing to make that happen....but it is all worth it if he wants to do it). Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Saturday I made the trek to Cleveland and the lake to hit the pitbike ride night at RamJam's. Good time as always, unfortunately my night was cut somewhat short as my exhaust canister snapped off on landing one of the tabletops. Too bad, was finally starting to get used to the track and get some air time. Just one foto from the night:  Monday, November 24, 2008
So you have 17 years of spare time, and a really good knack for engineering. What should you do? How about HAND BUILD a replica Lambo Countach...in your basement, part by part, and one day, have the need to extract the car.  Check out the site: http://www.kiengineering.com/Home_Page.html  |
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