TTP XVIII Powered by the Legs of Bing

[Bing Fung]

I would like to welcome and invite all HTG Forum goers to this 18th installment of the ever long running TTP.

Feel free to post about anything significant or insignificant in your life, or add to the topic of discussions.

I open this chapter with dedication to Lance Armstrong and his Discovery Channel Team, who as of today has won an unprecedented 7 consecutive Tour de France titles. The Tour is with out a doubt the toughest and most grueling sporting event in the world.

http://www.thepaceline.com/images/paceline/galleries/2005/tdf/st21/gw1.jpg http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41338000/jpg/_41338029_champ300.jpg

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41337000/jpg/_41337859_seve300.jpg http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41338000/jpg/_41338309_back300.jpg

http://www.jsports.co.jp/tour/pc/img/report/sunada/0725_ARMSTRONG-Lance.jpg http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41338000/jpg/_41338035_arc.jpg

http://shopping.discovery.com/DiscoveryStore/images/products/largenew/713099_lg.jpg

Congratulations Lance.. I too Live Strong! :sn

[Bing Fung]

Further, please mark this date as a running time count to how long it takes Trev to trade in his Pontiac Gran Prix for one of these... :wink:

http://www.htguide.com/forum/attachment.php4?attachmentid=3968&stc=1

Or a new Charger :lol:

[jimmyp58]

Great goin' guys!!!

[Trevor Schell]

Sweet Sweet Sweet!!!
:amen::amen::amen:

However I have my eyes on the Infinity G35..:drool:

[Trevor Schell]

Or even this!!
:E :E :E

http://www.thetechzone.com/photo/data//510/1951denise2-med.jpg?6083

[Lex]

whoa

[Andrew Pratt]

Very nice eyes :drool:

[jimmyp58]

Yep, definitely nice eyes!

[Kevin P]

She has eyes? 8O

Wow, new TTP already! And we already got our first b@b3 pic and our first ugly car pic. :tomato:

I'll get the statistics up tomorrow. I already archived the last one.

[Lex]

It is a good thing that girl has big boosters, as she's just not extremely beautiful.

The car on the other hand Kevin is a Bently, just a bit of coin there.

[Chris D]

Kev, I'd be very interested to see how long it took to go through each TTP chapter. I'll bet this latest round was the fastest.

Trev, who is that girl?

[Kevin P]

Chris, when I update the statistics tomorrow I'll add duration info for each TTP. The program I wrote already gets start and end dates so getting the durations will be a simple change. :)

I have to do it tomorrow since the server does a database dump at 2 AM every morning. I download that dump and use it to generate the statistics.

[jimmyp58]

Danika Patrick crashed today in Milwaukee....she's o.k.

Chris and Nicholas ... while celebrating my niece's wedding, it was near the EAA Fly-in. Don't know if either of you are aware but that little airport becomes the busiest in the world this week with all the planes landing and taking off.

[Shane Martin]

Had a good time watching "The Island". Was what the doctor ordered on this afternoon of 100+F temps and high humidity.

[jimmyp58]

You should have clued me in Shane. We hit over 100 degrees F today. Brutal!

[Chris D]

Good to hear Danica's okay. I think we become numb to the extreme danger those drivers are exposed to for the sake of "sport" or "entertainment".

Jimmy, I used to work at the Oshkosh airshow every year when I was growing up. My dad worked for a company that made instructional videotape lesson programs for people training to get various pilot license ratings. Had a blast. I was there the year that Rutan's Voyager came in, right after becoming the 1st airplane to fly around the world unrefueled.

I'd be tempted to go to the show myself, but our airshow here at my base is next weekend, and I'm helping run it. It's going to be a good time. We've got lots of participants, including the Air Force Thunderbirds demo team.

[Trevor Schell]

Watch this too see the birth of a HummingBird.

http://community-2.webtv.net/Velpics/HUM/

[jimmyp58]

Small world Chris!

[Trevor Schell]

Kev, I'd be very interested to see how long it took to go through each TTP chapter. I'll bet this latest round was the fastest.

Trev, who is that girl?

Not sure Chris! She might be friend of mine.
I only know her first name is Denise and I have these
photo's of her as well.

http://www.thetechzone.com/photo/data//510/1951denise5.jpg?3283

http://www.thetechzone.com/photo/data//510/1951denise3-med.jpg?2537

http://www.thetechzone.com/photo/data//510/1951denise2-med.jpg?6083

[Trevor Schell]

The car on the other hand Kevin is a Bently, just a bit of coin there.


I think it is a 300C all DUB'd up.
Sure is nice.

[Lex]

Well, maybe it is a 300. I thought Bently by the grill, but I could be wrong. Also, the wheels didn't look Chryslerish. Bing, what the hell is that thang?

Lex

[Bing Fung]

:laughat: Ha, ha Trev is going for the big Guns :lol:

The car is a 300C with a Bently styled Grill :)

Trev are you really looking at the Infinity G35's? Those are nice cars in the coupe version. The New Skyline is based on that :yesnod: They are kind of like a less expensive Japanese M3.

One thing that is turning me off is how all these other car makers are now trying to cash in on the "M" name. M was originally the BMW moniker for the Moterwerks division of BMW, now we have Infinity M, Chrysler M... M3 shavers, M this, M that blah, blah, blah.... All riding on the popularity wave of the BMW M's :evil:


I have been upgrading my Bicycles with lots of cool go faster parts and gear (which I won't bore you guys with) however its been a lot of fun getting back into it again. I'm planning on custom building another Road Racing bike :T We'll see how my season goes and if I feel I deserve it. ;) I certainly did not deserve new parts, but I just wanted them :twisted:

[GregoriusM]

It is a good thing that girl has big boosters, as she's just not extremely beautiful.

The car on the other hand Kevin is a Bently, just a bit of coin there.

She may not be extremely beautiful, but she sure is danged good looking!

And I actually saw that car TODAY. I wondered about the grill, since I hadn't seen a 300 with it before. Danged nice car.

Too bad it doesn't have as nice headlights as the girl does! :B

I love Trevor! His babes are great! (Jason's are too! Hey, Jason, got any more to send to me?)

Feeling a wee bit better again, peeps!

I hope you are all doing well.

Now I have to dig a sliver out of my finger. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! :cry:

:D

[Paul Wu]

It was a great Tour for Lance this year.

Bing: You have to list the new go fast parts! It's never a bore.

[Trevor Schell]

I don't normally go for the big boobies..In most cases
kind of disgusting.(floppy, hanging, etc) But this one is different..
They do her well in a different way I guess. I just like her look
with the boobies! :yesnod: I think she is very pretty too!

Bing, yup,,The g35 coupe is all that!
I seen a nice black one today. It made me go! :E
Funny on the "M" stuff..:laughat:
Denise makes me go MMMMmmmmm Too! So it's pretty much
uncontrollable..:alol:

Hey Paul!! :later:

Gregor! Glad you like my ladies! :T

[Chris D]

Trev, I agree. I'd be extra amazed if those were...real. Um... does Tracy know you have all those pictures? :)

[Chris D]

I found this article to be very sobering:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/07/23/clinton.rwanda.reut/index.html

President Clinton regrets preventing our country from taking action in Rwanda during the genocide there. A little late now, but rather poignant. I'm rather ashamed of our country's various refusals to take a stand against multiple atrocities during those years.

[Bing Fung]

It was a great Tour for Lance this year.

Bing: You have to list the new go fast parts! It's never a bore.

Lance was played a very smart tactical course management game this year, basically letting others attack and wear themselves out. He knew it was a long race and didn't try to win the tour in one day. He wasn't as powerful as he use to be, annihilating his opponents in the Alps and Pyrenees as in previous Tours, however he made up for that with strategy :T

Go fast parts?? OK, only because you asked ;) I haven't received everything I ordered yet, but basically I'm on an update the Trek 5000 and reduce bike weight kick. Will it actually translate to more speed? maybe not, but it will be fun while my body gets back into it :)

To start, I pulled my old 1987 GT Karakorum K2 MTB down from the rafters and blew off the dust. This was a spare MTB that I bought for a back up bike a long time ago. It has not been ridden for years, seeing as I used my Rocky Mountain all the time. So I Picked up some 1.5 Tom Slicks for it and now it is my Urban Assault bike. It's been fun because all my other bikes are SPD pedals, where as this one I can just hop on with out biking shoes and cleats. It could use a new saddle, however I'm working on that :) I installed a Vetta C15 Computer, that I had kicking around for fun as well.

http://images.mec.ca/media/Images/Products/Cycling/4011357_v1_m56577569830526554.jpg

http://www.htguide.com/forum/attachment.php4?attachmentid=3969&stc=1
It has a Suntour 9010 XCR Gruppo, it was their Deore XT if you remember.

http://www.htguide.com/forum/attachment.php4?attachmentid=3972&stc=1

While I was tooling around on it, I felt I needed a new lid, so i picked up a Giro Eclipse, nothing like a new lid to inspire riding ;)

http://www.selectit.jp/item_wear/xpwe-hel/05giro/eclipse-silver_01.jpg http://www.selectit.jp/item_wear/xpwe-hel/05giro/eclipse-silver_02.jpg
http://www.selectit.jp/item_wear/xpwe-hel/05giro/eclipse-silver_03.jpg http://www.selectit.jp/item_wear/xpwe-hel/05giro/eclipse-silver_04.jpg

So with my Urban assault vehicle ready to roll, I turned my attention on to my Trek 5000.

http://img303.imageshack.us/img303/9163/dscn1266ess3la.jpg

I bought a set of Dura-Ace 10 Speed STI Flight Deck Compatible Shifter/Brake Levers

http://i11.ebayimg.com/01/i/aa/9b/d9/46_1_b.JPG http://i11.ebayimg.com/01/i/01/2c/70/d2_1.JPG

The Flight Deck System is a wireless computer that gives you all the normal Cycle computer stuff, plus it is wired to the shift levers where there are buttons to activate all the functions with out taking your hands off the levers. It has a virtual Cadence, and a gear indicator which gets feedback from the shift levers. The cadence is calculated with a running gear /current speed algorithm, Real Bicycle geek stuff :T The Computer is transferable to 4 different bikes equipped with Flight deck compatible levers.

http://www.bruegelmann-shop.de/shop/bilder/5324570.jpg http://images.rei.com/media/697271Prd.jpg

I then picked up some new 700x23C Kevlar beaded Tires 189 grams, and long valve stem tubes.

http://www.htguide.com/forum/attachment.php4?attachmentid=3971&stc=1

Seeing as I was upgrading to a 10 speed system, I needed a new freewheel cassette and a new free hub. I could have just rebuilt my Dura -Ace hubs, but there is no fun in that so I ordered a new set of custom wheels

http://www.kolarstwo-szosowe.gda.pl/AC_420.jpg http://www.supercycles.co.uk/images/americanclassic_cr420wheels.jpg

American Classic 420s, they are 1400 grams a set and lighter than most carbon fiber rims. The rims have a 34mm aero profile and are laced with DT bladed spokes and aluminum nipples. 20 Radial spokes in front with a 24 Radial/Cross 2 in the back to ultra light RD Micro Hubs. The reviews of these wheels are excellent and although the are light, they are stiff enough for Criterium racing. They also have aluminum quick release levers with titanium skewers.

To finish off that area, I picked up a Titanium Dura-Ace cassette in a 12-23 corn cob cluster

http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/SH-CS7800W.gif

Aztec Power Lines, Zero Compression cables

http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/DE-PLD.gif

A 120mm Modolo Stem to stretch me out a bit on the Trek. This is similar to the one I have, but just 20mm longer.

http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/YS-QE.gif

A couple jars of crimp on cable ends to finish the job.

http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/NS-CRO.gif

So, I spent more than I should have seeing as I want to build a completely new bike, but hey, I though this would be a good warm up for me :twisted:

It's fun doing all the research and reading about stuff again. I always loved to tinker on bikes :T


Sorry not much but it's a start... ;)

[Chris D]

Oooooooooh, we know who Lance's replacement is going to be in next year's Tour de France now! The Tour de Bing!

[Bing Fung]

:laughat: Ah-HAAA, Ha :roflmao: You crack me up Chris. Lance could be riding a Green Machine and drop me like last weeks bread :lol:

http://www.toyadz.com/toyadz/marx/greenmachine2d.jpg

[Chris D]

Wow, you're up late with me, Bing. I'm letting the lawn sprinklers run for a while before I head to bed.

[Lex]

I found a picture of Trevor's new girlfriend. Tracy is jealous too.

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/TECH/science/07/22/rockford.dinosaur.ap/vert.rockford.dino.ap.jpg

Now, I give someone my permission to run and flip this thing.

[jimmyp58]

Kind of looks like Denise.... :confused:

[jimmyp58]

ready

[jimmyp58]

set....

[Shane Martin]

Flip?

Saw the Island this weekend. Scarlett Johansen is a hottie :E :E :boobies:
http://images.hollywood.com/images/large/l_2431131.jpg

They also featured this nice Cadillac
http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-abc/Cadillac-Cien-Pillars.jpg

[Kevin P]

Mornin' folks... started to post earlier but got interrupted, so here goes again...

Came in to work to find the A/C went out in the server room. It was around 100 degrees (F) in there when I opened the door. We have the door propped open and fans blowing air in/out until the AC guys show up. Fortunately nothing fried permanently as far as we know, but some things shut themselves down.

And I came on here and had to clean up a mess another d*mn spammer left behind. I'll get the TTP statistics up in a little bit. Gotta fire up the laptop and load that database dump.

Talk later,
KJP

[jimmyp58]

Got me Shane.....

[Snap]

:later: Moring guys!

What a week. Glad last week is over! This week should be better!

[Nick M]

Bing - Cool bike! Some of those parts look expensive! :E I think building custom from scratch is damn near best with pretty much everything. It's customized to you.

I want a "Green Machine!" (use to have a "Big Wheel" when I was little).
----------
Chris - Man, my Jeppesen books must have outdated info in them. They say that civilians have access to "SPS" GPS while the military can use "PPS" GPS. My textbook is a 2004 revised edition too. I'm gonna' complain! :M

My instructor told me my first solo is close (possibly next weekend). Oh man, I can't wait! I'm just happy to fly anything, even the aluminum can I'm in now! :lol:

I get a kick out of Insurance costs. Insuring my '90 Caravan (basic coverage) with the safest driver rating in Massachusetts costs me $502/yr. Aircraft renters insurance for $500k as a student pilot only costs $375/yr.
----------
Making a good 'ole meatloaf, along with some homemade chicken tenders basted in Tabasco for my "Kickin' Salads". Meat prices are all over the place where I live. 90% lean Angus burger is $3.69/lb now, and chicken breasts are back down to $1.89/lb. WTF? :huh:
----------
Kevin - Bummer on the server room. Too bad it didn't happen in the winter!

[Andrew Pratt]

Morning :later:

Taking the day off to be with my brother.

[Bing Fung]

Morning Gang :later:

Chris, seems I go to bed at late times and wake up early :(


:lol: Funny Lex, but I don't think T=Rex has bigg enough guns for Trev :lol:


Nick, thanks. Building your own is fun, however can be more expensive depending on the bike. Most times manufactures can outfit a bike for less cost than an induvidual can due to their volumes. However you don't get a custom bike.

http://www.cervelo.com/bikes/2005%20images/2005-R25Chorus-full.jpg

Example: This Cervelo R2.5 Chorus as shown is $3,899 cdn. Ready to roll. To buy the frame by itself is $2,999. There is no way I could buy components for it for the $900 difference. Buying the Chrorus gruppo alone would be $1,600 and I would still need rims, tires, seat, handles bars...etc :roll: As spec'd from Cervelo it is a full carbon fiber bike with carbon cranks & seat post, The better choice would be to just buy the bike ready to roll.

Iit can be done, a person just has to look carefully... :T

Cool on the Solo :T Thats when you get your wings :) So cool :8

[Shane Martin]

I want a "Green Machine!" (use to have a "Big Wheel" when I was little).

We all did I'm sure if we grew up in the 70's and 80's.
I get a kick out of Insurance costs. Insuring my '90 Caravan (basic coverage) with the safest driver rating in Massachusetts costs me $502/yr.
Your age has the most to do with it. I pay that much for a year on my 04 GC 4x4. Also they factor in replacement parts cost and a few other things. I know about bad insurance rates. I paid them when I was younger. When I got married and hit 25 my rates plummetted.

[Kevin P]

Updated TTP Statistics (http://www.htguide.com/forum/ttpstats.htm) are up.

Highlights: aud19 (Jason) led the pack in flips (22), followed by Shane (20) and Nick (12).

And just for Chris, I added number of days from start to end of each TTP chapter. The last chapter was pretty fast, took 76 days. But it isn't the record. The shortest chapter was TTP IX (3/5/03 - 5/8/03 - 64 days). Took 2 months and 3 days to post 101 pages. The longest was TTP IV (7/18/01 - 1/19/02 - 185 days). So it's taken anywhere from 2 months to 6 to complete a TTP chapter.

Ttp XVII -Powered by the Sun
05/09/2005 - 07/24/2005 (76 days)

Ttp XVI
02/21/2005 - 05/09/2005 (77 days)

Ttp Xv
11/08/2004 - 02/21/2005 (105 days)

TTP XIV
08/02/2004 - 11/08/2004 (98 days)

TTP XII.I -Powered by Spontaneous Combustion!
05/20/2004 - 08/02/2004 (74 days)

TTP XII ---Powered by Dreams and Reality
01/31/2004 - 05/20/2004 (110 days)

TTP XI --Powered by DeLL
09/22/2003 - 01/31/2004 (131 days)

TTP X -Powered by DeLL
05/08/2003 - 09/22/2003 (137 days)

TTP IX
03/05/2003 - 05/08/2003 (64 days)

TTP VIII
12/18/2002 - 03/05/2003 (77 days)

TTP VII
08/17/2002 - 12/18/2002 (123 days)

TTP VI
04/07/2002 - 08/17/2002 (132 days)

TTP V
01/19/2002 - 04/08/2002 (79 days)

TTP IV
07/18/2001 - 01/19/2002 (185 days)

TTP III
04/06/2001 - 07/18/2001 (103 days)

TTP II
11/29/2000 - 04/06/2001 (128 days)

TTP
08/13/2000 - 11/29/2000 (108 days)

Average is 106 days (a little over 3 months).

[Kevin P]

Auto insurance is such a scam. What other industry can overtly practice sex and age discrimination and get away with it to the degree that auto insurance does.

And the premiums are ridiculous. Just look at Nick's cost for aircraft insurance compared to auto insurance. Granted, more cars get wrecked than airplanes.

Not only that, but some auto insurance companies actually buy radar and laser guns to give to police departments so they can give out more speeding tickets. And then they raise the rates for those who get those tickets. Talk about a scam. They even refuse to cover radar detectors, and at least one company won't even give insurance to those who have detectors (I won't name names, but it starts with a G and uses a gecko as a mascot... yes their name is similar to gecko too).

I almost wonder if it's cheaper to forego collision coverage and just put the extra money in a savings account. If you don't get into accidents often, it might acually work to your favor.

[Shane Martin]

Auto insurance is such a scam. What other industry can overtly practice sex and age discrimination and get away with it to the degree that auto insurance does.

I don't think the auto insurance industry is wrong here. Look at the statistics on what type of drivers get in the most trouble and get the most tickets. It's young fearless male drivers. Females still pay a hefty sum as well when they are at that age.
Not only that, but some auto insurance companies actually buy radar and laser guns to give to police departments so they can give out more speeding tickets. And then they raise the rates for those who get those tickets. Talk about a scam.
I don't see a problem with this. You speed and get caught you deserve to get your insurance rates raised becuase you are now a driving risk. They wouldn't give out tickets if idiots wouldn't speed.

No reason to be in such a hurry.

[Kevin P]

There are far more dangerous things people do in cars that aren't ticketed/enforced as much as speeding... things like improper lane changes, failing to yield, cutting people off, yapping on their cell phone instead of watching the road, etc. that cause far more accidents than merely driving 5-10 mph faster than what the big white sign says you're supposed to. Most cars on the road go 5-10 over on the highway, so no one is in any real danger. Sure, if you're doing 90 when everyone else is doing 70, and weaving in and out in order to maintain that 90, sure, that idiot deserves a ticket and more. But speed limits are the most enforced traffic law, for the simple reason that it's easy money. They pick a location where everyone is speeding, so by setting up a trap they can just pick and choose who gets bagged. Usually it's in a spot where the posted limit is 10-20 mph below what it should be, so everyone "speeds".

It's all in the name of revenue, not promoting safety. City, town, and state budgets benefit from the ticket revenue, as do the insurance companies from the surcharges.

There are ways to get people to slow down for safety reasons without being sneaky. Park a cruiser where it's clearly visible, and people slow down. Hide behind a bridge abutment and zap traffic with a laser, that's a ticket machine, not a safety incentive. Heck, such traps can be more dangerous since it causes people to slam on their brakes to avoid getting a tax supplement.

[Bing Fung]

TTP IX we were on a tear, 64 days :T

Thanks Kevin, nice work on the stats page :T

[Bent]

There are ways to get people to slow down for safety reasons without being sneaky

On my street, I have found that standing by the roadside on my driveway with a beer in one hand and a bat in the other are very effective deterents to speeding - that and the element of fear can go a long ways.

I don't see any problem with higher speeds on hi-ways, but I can guarantee that on a residential street in which there are children playing (not necessarilly on the streets, but in the yards for sure) and the remote chance a child may run onto a roadway - there should be no excuse for high speeds.

[Shane Martin]

Most cars on the road go 5-10 over on the highway, so no one is in any real danger.
These don't even go on our driving record plus they get thrown out of court. The real speeders 10-20 miles over are the ones whom are getting tickets.
Usually it's in a spot where the posted limit is 10-20 mph below what it should be, so everyone "speeds".

Speeding is no excuse to ignore the road signs whether you agree with them or not. I live near 2 speed trap cities that while I don't agree with their limits(they are like 20 when you are used to doing 55 going into town) but I dare not speed thru them.

We'll have to agree to disagree I suppose.

[Bing Fung]

Speeding is Great! I love to speed ;)

:smackbutt:

[Kevin P]

I agree with Bent... there are places where speeding is not appropriate, and residential neighborhoods and school zones are amongst those. Construction zones too, if there is work going on or the road conditions are poor. I drive at a speed that I feel safe at given the conditions at the time. That speed could be 10-15 over on an open highway with a good view or 10-15 under in a residential back alley with kids roaming around, or in a construction zone with workers right on the side of the road.

More often than not speed limits are established using broad guidelines that often don't address the individual conditions of each street. For example, a city might specify a 30 mph limit for all city streets unless otherwise posted. Of course, what happens is some streets you feel like you should be able to do 50 on, and others you feel dangerous doing over 25. Same for highways. Most states have maximum speeds for highways that have nothing to do with the actual safe speed for a given stretch of highway. Thus the feeling that you can do 80 safely in some areas when the posted, state-wide maximum limit is 65.

As for me, even on the open highway I don't speed excessively, even with the V1 (http://www.valentine1.com) on watch. I drive a Saturn after all. :) I tend to go with the flow of traffic. That's the safest speed to drive, regardless of what the white signs say.

Even if Shane obeys every speed sign, I'd say at least 70% of drivers don't. Do you find you have a LOT of cars passing you on the highway? If I stuck to the 65 mph all the time, I'd have cars blowing by me like I was standing still. Of course, I'd still have to pass those slowpokes doing 50 in the 65 as well. Speed doesn't kill in an absolute sense, it's speed differences that are the issue. Going 10 under the flow of traffic as at least as dangerous as 10 over.

[Shane Martin]

Flow of the traffic is understandable and cops usually don't give tickets on those. Being in a family full of cops we have talked about this. I haven't gotten a ticket yet while doing the flow.
Heck, such traps can be more dangerous since it causes people to slam on their brakes to avoid getting a tax supplement.
If you have to slam on your breaks to get down to the speed limit I'd say you are doing too fast. That is not the flow. Typically the flow is 10 miles over on average. If the flow is faster than the cops need to park their butts out there and start giving tickets and make their presense known. It will slow people down. It has worked near my workplace where one of the main roads flow in. It's posted at 45 but people do 60 thru there all the time. The motorcyle cops have got the whole area paranoid to the point where I think people are going with the flow and staying 5 miles over at the most.

[Kevin P]

Flow of the traffic is understandable and cops usually don't give tickets on those. Being in a family full of cops we have talked about this. I haven't gotten a ticket yet while doing the flow.They don't usually give tickets to those going with the flow, but if they're told to issue more tickets to boost revenue (in some areas, there are more speed traps at the end of the month in order to help the month's figures), then anyone is fair game. Going 10 over usually won't get you nailed, but if traffic is flowing 10 over and you're going 12 over, bang, you've just been "chosen". Or if you're in the left lane doing 11 over passing someone going 5 over, whoops, he's in the left lane, he must be a speeder! Or if you're in a red sports car, you could also be singled out, even if there's a brown Chevy sedan going 5 mph faster in the next lane over.If you have to slam on your breaks to get down to the speed limit I'd say you are doing too fast.Maybe, maybe not. If a cop is there to get people to slow down because the flow is going too fast, he'd park in a spot where he's clearly visible from far away. And if he's running radar, he'd have it on continuous, to give detector users a warning. Then you can slow down gently and safely. Not everyone speeds on purpose, but sometimes they need a gentle reminder to check their speeds. When a cop hides behind a bridge, or over the crest of a hill, using instant-on or laser, he's only doing it to catch people off guard in order to issue more tickets. Using sneak tactics to issue more tickets doesn't slow down the flow of traffic as much as a visible presence.

Visible presence = safer roads. Sneaky speed traps = revenue enhancement.

My V1 is one of my favorite toys, and I'm not even that fast a driver. I just like to know when I'm being "watched".

[Paul Wu]

Bing: I agree with your comments about Lance. He also had a great team this year. I missed the day where somehow he lost his team during the first week and I only caught the bit in the second week where T-Mobile dropped Discovery, but not Lance. I loved how Hincapie and Salvoldelli both won stages.

I am amazed at how T-Mobile was attacking thier own man in Vinokourov. :?: But I'm pretty sure he won't be back at T-Mobile next year. It was great that he won the final stage and they reinstated the time bonus as well.

Ahh, the old GT's I remember seeing those at our local bike shop. Yup, I remember Suntour, are they still around? Was that pre-grip shift? I think so. I always like the Suntour components, I've got a set of old circa '86 Superbe hubs laced up to some Campy tubular rims for my road bike.

I see a Zefal double pump on the work bench. I got one of those too. :) My presta rubber seal has worn out, so I need to find a replacement if I ever want to get 100 psi into my tubulars.

Wow! That Flight Deck System is da bomb! Do you have enough space between the rear stays to fit in a 10 speed hub?

Those wheels!!! American Classic!, Aero, DT Bladed, aluminum nipples. 20 Radial front, 2 cross back. RD Micro(?) alumnium QR w/titanium skewers. Aaaaaarrrrrooouuuuuggggghhhhhhaaaaaaa. I don't think I can get out of my chair for a few minutes.

12-23 10 sp cassette. 12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23?

What size of bike do you ride? a 52 cm? I've got a 120 mm Cinelli stem with some deep drop bars. I think they were the Champion du Monde model.

I want that Cervelo! No a Litespeed! No a Kestral! No a Trek! No a..a..a....??

[Kevin P]

Man, I need to get a new bike and start riding again. Maybe next year once we're settled in the house once again. Still, with gas prices the way they are, I could save a lot of $$$ by biking to work. And right now, the apartment I'm in is closer to work than the house.

And I wouldn't need a V1 on the bike either. :) Unless I pedal as hard as Lance. :)

[aud19]

Yay! I won the flips!!! :banana:

Nice new bike gear Bing! :E :T I wanted a Big Wheel as a kid.... but never got one :cry:

Greg, I've been a busy boy lately! If I have time I'll try to find something for ya ;)

Shane, Scarlett = Yummy! :drool: I'm with Kev though, cops hiding = revenue, cops out in open = safety. I usually go 10-20km over on highways myself but residential streets it's time to slow down folks. The people who piss me off the most are the left lane lollygaggers :evil: I don't care if you want to go 5km under the limit on the highway, but stay out of the F'ing road and at least and get out of the F'ing passing lane :evil: :F

The thing I find funny is when people (like myself) have cars with sporty (not loud fart-can :throwup:, but a nice burble :D ) exhaust, bigger wheels etc are driving around, people just assume you're going faster than you should :roll: I was doing around 40km/h in a 50km zone and some mother came yelling out on the street for me to "SLOW DOWN!!!".. I was like :wtf:

[aud19]

Oh I almost forgot!!!

Yesterday morning I surprised Jazz and Tasha with a trip to Bowen Island :T So we headed off to Horseshoe Bay, took the ferry over and spent a nice afternoon at the beach, Tash and I had a nice swim, she got cold, I didn't :lol: Then went back to "Snug Cove" and had dinner and tooke the ferry back in the evening. Gorgeous day :T

[efarstad]

:sn :sn :sn HELLO TTP PEOPLE!!! :sn :sn :sn

It has been a LONG TIME since I've been around...but it's nice to see this place still kickin'! ;x( I was prompted by a message notice from Kevin, thanks buddy, and thought why don't I come and say "Hi!" :later:

Nice cars and nice women, still the staple of TTP! :) But of course it's the folks that make this place! :T

Yes, the rumor is true...I'm selling my ML speakers...cannot justify having speakers to demo to clients that I don't sell. So I'm getting KEF Reference speakers to replace them...and to my amazement...and my wife's...we liked the KEF's better in direct A/B comparisons in our theater! Larger-layered-deeper soundstage, more three dimentional, deeper-tighter-more controlled bass, the ever important midrange was just as detailed and transparent but put us "in the music" rather than it being played "at us." :E I feel like that is blasphemy...being a HUGE ML fan. But they are both great speakers...so the ML's will make someone really happy!

Someone may ask, so here's the link:

KEF Reference (http://www.kef.com/kefamerica/products/reference/refhome_page1.html)

I'll try to pop back in from now again...but until then...have a great week fellas! And remember to keep on :sn!!!

[Bing Fung]

Hey Pauly :later: That was a good day when T-Mob was trying to put the hurts to Lance. He was left all alone with out his team mates, and later that day in an interview, stated that they were going to have a talk at the dinner table... No doubt, the next day he was surrounded by his team the next day to counter the attacks. Hincapie's win on on Stage 15, Pla-d'Adet was great to see. I was so happy for him as he has been with Lance through all his wins and to finally take a win for himself was special :T

Lance stated it on the podium, he had the best support team around. With out a doubt credit must go to Lances Team and Support team as well. It was written that Carmichael stated when building the team that they want to to go and get the best and the brightest. So they retained or added top notch physical therapist, coaches, aerodynamic and bio-mechanical specialists. Lances team was nick named the "F1 Consortium" for they had the skills, talents, depth, sports science & engineering typical of modern day Formula 1 racing teams. Anchoring this "F1 Consortium" was Trek, Nike and Giro, I guess they would know a thing or two about sport sciences :lol:


That was good how T-Mob kept counter attacking Vinokourov. Vino was pretty aggressive throughout the tour. I did feel for Jan Ulrich though, as for the last 7 years he has been Lance's whipping boy, always so close, yet so far. Now that Lance is got, Ulrich's chances would be better if it were not for a fellow by the name of Ivan Basso.

If you get a chance watch "The Big 6" on DVD. It high lights Lance's wins and really gives a person an appreciation for how dedicated Lance was to winning the tours.

The GT is pre grip shift, but it is a 7 speed Indexed system. I haven;t heard from Suntour of late, but those Superbe Hubs are legend as much as Record hubs of the day :T

Great eye, yeah the pump is a Zefal Double pump. I have a love hate relationship with it. I love it because it's such a badassed pump with it's dual barrels it's over the top. I hate it because it's a workout in itself just to use :lol: I had the same problem with the valve head until I found this Top Peak Brass Valve adapter at my local bike shop. I just cut the old head off and clamped the Top Peak in place. It is a Presta head, but comes with a Schrader adapter. I got it at my local bike shop for ~$18.00, just the other day ago too :)

http://www.htguide.com/forum/attachment.php4?attachmentid=3973&stc=1

From what I hear how they squeeze in the 10 speed cassette is they use a narrower spacing than the 8-9 cassette, and they use a narrower chain. It requires no more dish than what is typical of 8-9 speed systems. Not totally sure if I may need a new derailleur just yet. I suspect I will, but I thought I would try it first to see. Correct on the gearing steps :T

Once again good eye, the Trek is a 52 cm frame. Based on my inseam I calculate to a 52 cm frame, however I can also ride a 54, which stretches me out more in comfort . Thus the 120mm stem upgrade. Cool on the Cinelli stem, those were classics. To bad I didn't hear on the Cinelli sooner :E

Totally hear you Brother. I keep thinking, Light Speed, Ceverlo, Giant (Can you believe that?), no...errr Merlin... Carbon, Ti,....Ahhhhhhh!!!!! :rofl:


Thanks Jason :) So do you drive with your seat in the "Gangsta Lean" (reclined mode) too? :lol: Horse Shoe Bay is Beauty :yesnod: Got any pics?

[Bing Fung]

Hey E!! :sn :sn

[efarstad]

Hey Bing!!!

[Bing Fung]

:laughat: Great to see you around :yesnod:

Those KEF Ref's are stellar looking. I have always like Kefs :yesnod:

[efarstad]

Bing: You have quite the bike gear going on there buddy! Nice work!!!

Yea, I've installed a lot of KEF gear over the last two years...but hesitated EVER replacing my ML's...until I heard the Reference Line, my rep had a pair I could "borrow to demo" and then invested in a simple A/B speaker selector! LOL...nothing like A/B two different pairs of speaker in your own listening room to REALLY hear the differences.

[Bing Fung]

Thanks E :) Good to hear your business is going well. I like hearing success stories like that when start-ups do well based on the love of a hobby.

ML's look like nice speakers, I have never heard a pair, however I have always loved electrostatic speakers when I heard my first pair of Dayton Wrights. Based on looks alone, those KEFs look like champs :T

[aud19]

No Bing, no "gangsta lean" :lol: I took a few pics but we got home late'ish last night and I haven't had a chance to retrieve them yet ;)

Hey Erik :later: I told you guys those reference Kef's were nice and certainly no step down :p: Congrats Erik :T

[jimmyp58]

Had a pair of Kef 105.2's back in the day....incredible speaker.

[Andrew Pratt]

Hey E! Nice to see you around again :sn

[Paul Wu]

Bing: Yes, Baso is going to be the future. On the F1 Consortium I totally agree, it was last year that they had the preshow that showed Lance getting ready for Tour #6 and the amount of prep he did, plus the support from Trek and Nike and others as well, was stagering. I'll put that DVD on my wish list.

The Superbe hubs I have were pre-cartrige bearings era, but had a grease nipple, which was great as I had a functional grease gun. Well until I dropped it. The Record hubs as well as the crankset were always on my dream list of components.

Did the Top Peak come with the hose clamp? I'm always afraid that due to the high preasures that the clamp won't hold. I used to normally run a min of 100 psi to a max of 125 psi.

I've heard the same on the 10 speed, on the narrower chain and spacing, as well as the cogs themselves. I remember when Shimano had the Deore XT 6 speed shifters and derailleur's, the derailleur's had enough travel for 7sp and there was an extra click on the old thumb shifter as well. So you may be in luck with your existing deraileur.

Yeah, Giant(?) there was a big suprise, but not really. They were always the actual manufacturer of many bicycle brands. It was just a matter of time before they went and branded themselves. Let's see, I can't think of any other custom big brand names from the past that are still around. Look? Most others were the steel kind, Colgnago, Olmo, those guys, Klien, Cannondale, oh yeah Vitus alumnium! Almost bought a frame and built a bike around it.

Erik: Howdy Sunshine! Do you already have a home for Martin and Logan? :) I don't think I can convince my wife that we can be a good home. Did you hear, I've got a new set! An older Toshiba 50HX81. I am so pumped, got an awesome deal on it, slightly used from a good friend. Now it just needs some calibration. Those KEF's are nice speakers, I listend to a set about 20 years ago, that's right! 20 years ago, there was local Hi-Fi shop that spent about 2 hours educating myself plus a couple of friends, still in highschool, about all great things in stereo. I never forgot how those KEF's sounded.

We'll have to come visit again soon! I bet Andrew is a biggun now and brother ... oopps forgot little brother's name... I want to say Dylan? I got a big, "Why didn't you look us up?" from Chris when I mentioned I drove down before. So we may be down your way in December, but we are planning this trip with some friends so may not have the time to stop by and say hi.

Speeding: Here's my take. Going with the flow should be okay. Trying to pass somebody going with the flow should be okay as long as it is safe. Ticketing just because you are going with the flow and are at the head of the flow is not cool. The simple fact is that there is preasure, either formally or informaly for all law enforcement to enforce the speed limit. I don't like it but that is the way it is. I will do my best to abide by the law but ensure that I am not a menance nor a risk to other drivers and pedestrians. Unfortunately I did recently receive a ticket for speeding. First one in 10 years! I paid it cause I was "speeding" in a municiple zone. I could have fought it, and might have won. But I decided that it was my duty to pay as I was technically speeding and I have no real defence against that fact. Jason will know where I was at, going south on Knight and got nailed at 45th Ave. A fairly standard radar enforcement location. So now I'll 'slow' down, but will maintain flow speed as everybody is in such a rush! I've notice my average speed increase over the past years.

[aud19]

oooh

[aud19]

Shall I Flip!!! :B

Erik's new speakers! (or at least the top model in that line)

http://www.widescreen.ru/hifi/Kef_Reference_207.jpg

Which models did you get anyways Erik?

[aud19]

I'm familiar with the spot Paul ;) How fast were you going anyways? :P

[Paul Wu]

I can't believe I missed a FLIP!!! I am so rusty these days! At least the flip crown is being kept north of the boarder.

I could tell you but I could get into more trouble with my name and stuff. But you know how fast people drive along that route, so I was pretty much average speed, in front of the pack as I had just turned left off of 41st. I accelerated to pass 2 cars that were in front of me as they were slow pokes, I'm sure you know the kind, and moved to the center lane and that is when smokey jumped out in front. I pulled over onto 45th and he didn't even ask to seem my registration! I thought that was kinda strange.

Speaking of which. I gotta fly! :) But I'll be keeping it safe.

[aud19]

I'm guessing cloer to the 70km/h range give or take a few then :lol:

[Andrew Pratt]

Rented Contantine for tonights viewing

[efarstad]

Hey Andrew, Paul, and everyone else!

Paul: Andrew is now 3 and Nathan is 19 months...they're SO MUCH fun! :D Yes, if you do come down...you know you and Sarah have a place to stay! :T

I'm actually getting the 201's and the 202c. I never thought what KEF considers a bookshelf (201's), would outplay my ML tower speakers...but alas they did. The 201's even had deeper and more articulate, hitting, bass than the MLs. Plus the smaller speaker looks better in my theater, the ML's did overpower the stage a bit...since when I designed it I had my Energy C2's as mains! :)

Here are the 201's:

http://www.kef.com/kefamerica/products/reference/images/new_model201_small.jpg

And the 202c:

http://www.kef.com/kefamerica/products/reference/images/new_model202c_small.jpg

While the 207's, the picture Aud showed for the flip, would be nice...15K retail for a pair of speakers would NOT pass the wife test...even at my cost! Plus they're too big for my theater...I'll post some pictures when I get them all installed.

Off to go eat dinner with the family!

E

[Trevor Schell]

Hey Guys! :later:

[Kevin P]

Hey E!!!!!!! :sn :sn :sn I just answered your PM and begged you to drop by TTP... and it looks like you did! That's what I get for answering PMs before checking TTP. :)

Those KEFs look suh-weet too! So many choices for speakers, so little time. As you know with my situation I'm having to build my HT from the ground up, and it's going to be killer! CRT projector and all. I'm still up in the air as far as speakers. Just no time to drive all over creation looking for places that have various speakers to listen to. I'm up in the air as far as pre-pro and amps go too... either Rotel or Sherwood/Newcastle at this point.

Paul, sorry to hear you got a speeding ticket. Guess you need to be the next V1 owner on TTP. :) Nice bikes. I need a new one.

Oh well, time to hit the sack. I'm :tired: and ready for :Z

[Chris D]

Nick- could you PM me with your address? I'd like to send you something. (and I promise it's not a rotten egg!) :)

[Chris D]

Paul, yes, you're always welcome to come say hi if you come down to WA! (Jason, you too!)

Not only that, but some auto insurance companies actually buy radar and laser guns to give to police departments so they can give out more speeding tickets. And then they raise the rates for those who get those tickets. Talk about a scam. They even refuse to cover radar detectors, and at least one company won't even give insurance to those who have detectors (I won't name names, but it starts with a G and uses a gecko as a mascot... yes their name is similar to gecko too).

Kev, I couldn't agree with you more. I don't generally have a problem with insurance companies raising rates for those that get multiple speeding tickets. Insurance companies have to assess those that are a higher risk and will statistically get in more accidents over their lifetime. Now, whether speeding is always, or even generally, dangerous, is another issue to debate that we won't go into here. :)

HOWEVER, I have had a HUGE problem for a very, very long time with Geico's policy of radar guns. I don't see how it can NOT be a conflict of interest for them to "donate" radar guns to police, who then issue more speeding tickets, and Geico gets to raise insurance premiums, and rake in a large amount more income. I think that's something that should be investigated by the justice department as fraud, but of course, the justice department would never do that, as it deals with their own police departments working for "driver's safety". If a driver's advocacy group wanted to donate radar guns in the name of safety, or private citizens... cool. But for Geico to do that so that they can increase their corporate profit margins, that seriously approaches fraud and entrapment. That's like a bank that bribes Alan Greenspan to raise interest rates so that they can get more profit from their customers. The bank would argue that it's cool, just part of national economics, the way Geico says "oh, we get to profit from the police using the radar guns we give them? Gee, we never thought of that--really--we were just trying to get people to slow down."

Funny that Geico chose to attack one issue of safety that makes them money. You don't see them educating the public about driving etiquette, or stopping cell phone use by drivers, or paying to make road signs more visible, or funding mass transit, do you? Hmmm... I don't think they're actually interested in safety. Seems they're only interested in schemes to line their pockets.

[Chris D]

Andrew, I rented Constantine tonight, too! From what I've read, it should be a better rent than a blind purchase.

Hi, E! :sn: :later:

[efarstad]

Hi Chris...just send you an email! :T

E

[Andrew Pratt]

Sure is nice to have the Big E! posting again :T

Constantine was a B- in my books.

[Chris D]

Come on, everybod-E :sn:

Andrew, just got done with Constantine myself. B- is about right. I SO wanted to like the movie. It had great potential, great impact. Just... I don't know, fell apart. I'll tell you one thing, though, those Hell scenes were...well... hell on my subwoofers!

[Bing Fung]

Morning Gang :later:

Paul, the Top Peak came with the hose clamp and has a deep barb to where it clamps, its secure. If your referring to the head holding on to the presta valve, it seems pretty secure. My friend who owns the bike shop told me he uses these on all his shop pumps. It certainly seems much better than the original head ever was. It was $15.00

I forgot Giant made everyone bikes. They sure do make nice carbon Fiber Units that compete with the best the world has to offer. Look and Colnago are still around and they command premium prices. $5000 for a C50 Frame :E Rassmusen (King of the Mountains) was crashing with a Colnago and having all those problems on the last ITT :lol:


Hey guys, I have a friend that wants to spend somewhere around $3K on a projector and screen. Possible? what do you recommend for the short list. Nothing to esoteric. Thanks!


Driving to Regina today with the In-laws. They want to see the RCMP Museum and Display.

[Trevor Schell]

Morning Guys!

I am home today to celebrate
my daughters birthday with her.
Taylor turns 7 years old today!
:party: :party:

[Trevor Schell]

Have a fun trip Bing!
Are you driving to Regina or
Biking,,
BTW,,Cool bike parts!
I see you are really getting into that.
Hopefully you can bike out to Briarwood someday.

[Nick M]

LOL! I didn't know Geico donated radar guns to cops! What a bunch of scumbags... :rofl:

I sent you a PM Chris.
----------
Those 201's & stands look like a cross between a Paradigm and a B&W.

I'll have to look for them to listen next time I'm down at my "local" hifi dealer.
(Those are B&M speakers right?)
----------
Made a killer Buffalo Chicken wrap. I make my own breaded/baked chicken strips, coat them in a low-fat buffalo sauce, and roll a couple up in a tortilla with shredded lettuce, red onion, and a teaspoon or so of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing.:drool:

EDIT: Happy B-Day to Trevor's daughter Taylor! :dance:

[Trevor Schell]

Come on, everybod-E :sn:

Andrew, just got done with Constantine myself. B- is about right. I SO wanted to like the movie. It had great potential, great impact. Just... I don't know, fell apart. I'll tell you one thing, though, those Hell scenes were...well... hell on my subwoofers!

I agree!
I just didn't care for it much..

[Trevor Schell]

Sounds yummy Nicholas,,


Here is my Car pic of the day!
Now that's what I am talking about.

http://www.thetechzone.com/photo/data//503/1951aok3.jpg?4261

[Trevor Schell]

http://www.chargerforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=284

[Snap]

:later: Good morning guys!

[Gordon Moore]

I liked Constantine better than most....it wasn't perfect but I think it's worthy of a sequel. Crappier films have gotten a part deux (armed and fabulous comes to mind).
They've laid an interesting ground work....if they can tighten things up it has a chance.

BING.... :thud: bike heaven dude. That's some quality gear there....I guess Lance has pumped the juices.

I think for the first time ever a Ford has finally grown on me....mark your calendars. I saw a non-GT stang go down the street in white with blue stripping and I have to admit it's finally starting to catch my eye.....I don't care for the GT driving lights but the lines of the car get my attention now. It's not too bad.


Andrew, did you go racing with your bro?

Lots to do in 2 days then off to the Whiteshell for some RnR (boating, fishing, water-skiing....Kenora Harbour Fest), then off to Gimli for a couple of days for their Icelandic Festival.

Hi E!

Nick, that sounded pretty darn good. :drool:

Interesting convo's the last couple of days....
I hear Paul Martin (PM of Canada) is coming in for that.

Trev, get the viper already....you know you want it. ;)

[Shane Martin]

Morning!

I've heard the KEF 201's before. They are extremely nice but they sure were a bit expensive(to me). I think they were $3,500 a pair. They were worth it though. B&M only correct Nicholas.
Hey guys, I have a friend that wants to spend somewhere around $3K on a projector and screen. Possible? what do you recommend for the short list. Nothing to esoteric. Thanks!
For $3k including a screen he could go with a few options:

720P LCD
1. Sanyo Z3 LCD 720P.
2. Panasonic AE700

720P DLP: Might have to float the budget up a bit(not by much) but it's worth it.
1. BenQ PE7700 - This is currently the hot projector for the money. Dead quiet too.
2. Toshiba MT700 - Tossup between the PE7700.

The only difference between the 2 is their deinterlacer/scalers.

If he wants to step down he could consider:
Infocus 4805 480P DLP
Optoma H31 480P DLP

Both of these are around $1k w/o the screen.

I really really really really really really want a PE7700. HD2+ DLP 6 segment wheel for $3k. :E :E I personally prefer the black levels of the DLP vs LCD which is the deciding factor. On the HD2+ FPTV's I haven't seen any rainbows yet. Oddly on the RPTV versions I see them :(

[Lex]

Shane, that discussion really needs to go to Projectors...

Hey E!

Wow, that Challenger image looks awesome. I had a Challenger once, a 72 model.

[Nick M]

Gordo - Have fun on vacation!

Constantine has incredible potential with that storyline. I just wished it was cleaned up with better directing. I loved the ending. Also wasn't so hot on the shotgun gadgets. Has anyone here seen Warlock II: Armageddon? I use to love that doomsday storyline.
----------
Trying my hand at some East African food. I love some of the simple, yet intoxicating flavors it has.
----------
Ordering my Sanyo PLV-Z3 from Visual Apex on Thursday. I can't wait! :-y

[Shane Martin]

Shane, that discussion really needs to go to Projectors...


Understood but one of your moderators asked the question here. :)

[Lex]

We do have a place to ask that quesiton you know. I didn't notice exactly how the discussion ensued before now.

We really do need to focus on keeping the HT discussion in the HT forum, uh Bing et al.

Shane, you were just answering a question. Point taken.

thanks,
Doug

[Lex]

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/TECH/space/07/26/space.shuttle/top.1039.launch.jpg

[Snap]

feeling better lex??

Well my 55 inch WEGA goes away this week :( time to get somethign new to try. Not sure what I am going through up there Was thinking a new Sony or new Samsung. Maybe even a 50 in Panny plasma. Even though I will hate the 5 inch less viewing size. Oh well...... I am sure Jimmy can relate but it is a small advantage to being a HT installer. (Constant upgrades!)

:T

Going to go with a Parasound system too, and move the 3805 to the bedroom.

:later:

Well hope every one is haveing a great day.
Congrats on the gear Nick!

[Shane Martin]

Go with the Panny snap. My buddy LOVES his. In fact he won't watch movies on his LCD projector anymore now that he has seen what black level is and does. I was pretty surprised when he told me that.

[Andrew Pratt]

Andrew, did you go racing with your bro?

No we took in a movie instead. His sholder was bothering him for some unknown reason so we opted out of Golf and Cart racing...besides it would be more fun with a larger group so we'll do it another night.

[Gordon Moore]

prey tell...what was the movie? Anything worth seeing? I'd really like to see the Wedding Crashers....but I guess it'll have to wait till next next.

[Lex]

and it

[Lex]

is time to

[Lex]

roll it over,

in honor of the Crews of the Challenger and Columbia here are images of the launch of Discovery:

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/TECH/space/07/26/space.shuttle/top.1043.launch.wide.jpg

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/TECH/space/07/26/space.shuttle/top.discovery1.ap.jpg

[Andrew Pratt]

It was Wedding Crashers Gord. As the thread in the movies area says its a typical hollywood movie full of sterotypes and the actors play their typical roles...but its very funny and has some nice eye candy :)

[Paul Wu]

Jason: Pretty much, give or take a few. ;) My car is pretty much stock on the outside, but I've got it chipped. :) I'm thinking of getting some new wheels and beefing up the suspension, but everytime I think of that, it seems like my clutch starts to slip some, so I start to save for the eventual clutch job.

Erik: Thanks for the open invite. We may just come down for a quick weekend some time. I like your new KEF's. I have a feeling that you needed more space for the M&L's to really open up. The KEF's, being smaller, might have been a better accoustical fit for your room. My cousin(inlaw) got a set
of Totem bookshelves and they sound amazing! Very tight, great bass response for such a small speaker and very smooth highs as well. We've been meaning to bring them down to his theater room and run some serious power through them to see what they can really do. Right now he has them for his upstairs TV room/HT and being powered from a Denon 3805.

Kevin: A couple of jobs ago I was set to get a V1! But it turned out I was busing to work, so that plan went by the wayside. Now I may have to seriously consider a V1 purchase, plus with the exchange rate, it's not as bad as it was when I first looked.

Chris: Thanks, I will try to say hi if I'm down that way as well. I really wanted to make it down for your grand opening of your theater.

Bing: Thanks for the info onthe valve. I was more worried about the hose clamp, but if it has that barb, then it should be okay. I'm not worried about it securely holding the presta, those rubber valvues really only last a few years, depending on usage. So I haven't used mine in close to 10!

Yeah, poor guy Rassmusen! I really felt for him on the last TT. Everything just seemed to go wrong!

Trevor: Happy B-day to Taylor! Wow 7 years old already!

[aud19]

Morning everybody :later:

Erik, I agree those 207's are a bit $$$$$ :E but your 201's are very nice as well :T :yesnod:

Happy B-day Taylor! :party:

Thankfully that shuttle launch went off OK... all that talk of launching even though they didn't know what caused the probelm from the last attempt, all of the guages not working etc.... :E :unsure:

So my boss doesn't want to pay me the three hours OT I worked last week (it's our slow season, not much $$ coming in) so I'm getting off at noon'ish on Friday instead :roll: On a good note I'm on vacation for two weeks after that so I get a head start on the vacation. Got to look at the good side :T :lol:

[aud19]

What are you driving again Paul? Was it a BMW? :scratchhead:

My cousin(inlaw) got a set
of Totem bookshelves and they sound amazing! Very tight, great bass response for such a small speaker and very smooth highs as well.
See Kev/Greg, I told you to listen to those Totems as well :T :B

[Andrew Pratt]

Pauls got (or had) a Golf I believe.

Jason welcome to my world ...we never get OT just time in lieu...and even then being salaried its never 1:1...not that I'm complaining as there are so many other benefits that esily make up for it but it does make you take stock of your holidays :)

[Kevin P]

Paul, if you don't want to spend the bread on a V1, the Escort 8500 X50 is cheaper and has comparable performance for radar. What you lose is the directional arrows and some laser sensitivity. But if laser is an issue where you are you'll want more than just a detector. :)

[aud19]

But if laser is an issue where you are you'll want more than just a detector. :)
A stealth jet converted for road use? :B :rofl:

Yeah I wouldn't nomally mind Andrew but I sure could use the $$ myself for house expenses plus the trip to Victoria we're going on in a couple days... Oh well :huh:

[Trevor Schell]

Thanks Paul, Jason and Nicholas for wishing Taylor a
Happy Birthday! :later:

We are just heading out to the Fun Factory.
There will be 7 kids to entertain. Should be fun.:yesnod:

[aud19]

Have fun Trev and kids :later:

[Lex]

Happy Birthday Taylor!

[Paul Wu]

Jason: Prat is correct. I'm in a nondiscript 4 door Golf. Don't know if I'll ever get into a BMW. I had my heart set on owning a M3, but I sat in one and I felt kinda cramped. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it performs and the crampness goes away as you drive it hard, but I'm more leaning towards an Audi S4. Plus for insurance, 4 doors is always cheaper than 2 doors. Just ask my 2dr GTI bretheren. They pay through the nose for insurance. I'm like $140/mth for business, while they are more like $200-$260 for pleasure. Age could have something to do with it as well. But I am firmly in the 4 door category for my next car. Unless it is a Porche, Ferrari or Lamborgini. :)

For time off, just becareful how you ask for it. When you request a 1/2 day, make sure it's not where you want the afternoon off, and they just give you the morning instead and have you come in on Friday afternoon. :)

Kevin: Thanks for the headsup on the Escort. I've always had a Bell, so I'll keep an eye out for the Escort. If I can save on one ticket in the next 18 months, it will be worth it. As not only do we pay for the ticket, but the points will be added to my existing points. They say that after 1 year, points will be deducted from your total, but there was a time the insurance company went back over a year to bill me. :M

For laser, I figure, if they are aiming at you, you're nailed.

[Lex]

Snap, thanks for asking. Am I feeling better? Well, better is a relative thing. I feel better than I did a month ago. I feel better than I did the 2 weeks after my uptake test. I am not 100%. I still have quite a bit of insomnia at times, then other times I zone out. I'm not chilling as much as I was, that's a plus. I feel better, but still exhibit some symptoms. My hands are still a bit trembly too. But as long as I stay aon the meds, I am feeling a lot better than I was.

Better enough that I am likely going to cancel my date with surgery, and ride this thing out for a while on ATDs. Maybe shoot for remission someday a year or two from now. What have I got to loose except a thyroid?

Lex

[Andrew Pratt]

That sounds like a reasonable plan Doug and it must be a relief to at least know what's going on and that you're on a path that appears to be working :T

[aud19]

That sounds like a reasonable plan Doug and it must be a relief to at least know what's going on and that you're on a path that appears to be working :T

What he said :T Sounds like it's coming together for ya... good stuff ;)

[Snap]

yep good to hear. Forward progress is very good!

wonderfull news.

Lost a few sales this weekend to E-stores! :banghead: those cats were selling the stuff cheaper than I can get it!
8O

I bet if something goes wrong with it they call me up and ask me to help them fix it too! :roll: Oh well business is business.

Got to run fellas... got a TV broadcast to make! :T

Nick- Going to have to get that Laptop that I was talking about getting ASAP. I dropped mine and the fans are going NUTS now. Plus they are making a terrible noise. :confused: Oh well I guess I will get a new one and get this one fixed for my wife to have! :T

I hope that it last long enough to do my work tonight.

[GregoriusM]

See Kev/Greg, I told you to listen to those Totems as well :T :B

Oh, I've listened to them, and they are great speakers. <fingers sliding across each other on one hand>.... MOUHLA.....SCRATCH..... PESOS.... put them out of my price range.

-------

Hello to all!

I hope everyone is doing well.

Crashed again today. I'm seeing my doctor on Thursday, praying for some new meds that can help this <expletive deleted>!!!!!

So, I haven't read even the first 4 pages and that's why I'm not commenting on anything. Sorry. If there's something bad that happened, I hope it got/gets better. If something good happened, then :T .

Later kids!

[aud19]

Their smallest models aren't too prohibitively expensive..... :oops: :B

Hope your Dr. can help ya out big guy :T

[efarstad]

:sn :sn :sn Hey guys! :sn :sn :sn

Speaking of the sun...it's out here in spades and hot...much like the rest of the country...but thankfully not in the 100's!

Hi Lex, Trev (happy b-day to Taylor), and everyone else...it's nice to be back. You'll likely on see me posting when I'm here at home...no time during the days...but I'll do my best to be around more...I do miss this place a bit! :-)

I just sold my ML Theater...whoohooo...no just the SL3's to go...

Aud: Yea the 207's are a chunk of change (15K/pair) but the 201's ($3,500/pair) are a bit more affordable!

Having some friends over for dinner tonight we haven't seen in five years...so that should be fun!...oh, time to help put the young one's to bed!

Have a great night fellas!

E

[Nick M]

Snap - Which laptop from ProStar are you going for? Did you check out Sager too? I have both websites bookmarked for later this fall when I upgrade my old jalopy. I can't decide between the UXGA 15.4" or SXGA+ 17". They have a UXGA 17", but it's way more than I plan on spending.
----------
Paul - I feel the same way about 3-Series Bimmers, as well as VWs like the Jettas. When I use to work with/on 'em I'd always feel cramped when test-piloting them. The Audi's were much better, and the S4 was fantastic. Audi's drivetrain isn't as bulletproof as the simple RWD BMW platforms though. Easy solution would be to simply get an M5... :B

For a romp-stomping sedan-like coupe I think the Pontiac GTO with an LS1 and 6spd is pretty tough to beat even if it looks like just another Grand-Am.
----------
Off to work... :)

[jimmyp58]

Good morning fellas!!!

[Lex]

Hey Jim.

Hope you enjoyed work last evening Nick, and a normal shift at that, lol.

Not waking up so great this morning so far. At least I slept pretty solid last night anyway.


Thanks Andrew, Jason, Snap too.

How's Haley doing Andrew? Mom?

Erik, good to see you around. We have missed your contributions. Yeah, I am more than a little surprised you sold your ML's, but long as you did what was right for you, that's what counts.

Doug

[Andrew Pratt]

Haley's doing great...thanks for asking.

[Snap]

Cute baby Andrew!

Nick- I have a re-sale account with Pro-Star and Seggar comuters so my price on those things are sweet. They have good pricing on line for every one but I get them even better. I am looking at the Big Boy the 9097. 17 inch super xga monitor, 2 gig of ram, P4 3.8 with 2 meg of L2 Cache, dual SATA drives, DVD burner (bay1) CD burner (bay2) and a whole host of other goodies. IE Port replicator for the office, another power cord. (1 for office and 1 to drag around) It is a pretty sweet machine. Seggar and Pro Star are owned by the same company. So if you buy a pro-star there is a Seggar one that is pretty much the same thing. Just different case pretty much.

Fellas- Good Morning!
:later:

Got to run to the sim so talk at you all later.

[Gordon Moore]

Must be Wednesday....I got to bed fairly early but I still feel :tired:

Oh well :??

Went to the Spaghetti Factory last night....had a nice dinner with the kids....Kathy's cousin is in town from up North so we all went out, then I took the kids home and crashed (too many consecuative late work nights lately). I'm in good shape to go on vacation though (starting tomorrow).

Kathy went to see Mr. and Mrs Smith last night with her cousin and she reported it was just so-so. Not a blockbuster year for movies....a few gems and a lot of pyrite. Let's see Dukes of Hazzard opens this week....bah...

Oh well one more night of solid sleep and I should be back on track.


We got new monitors...DELL 19" 1905FP ....not bad, a little slow on the refresh when scrolling stuff. I LOVE the rotation feature :clap: It makes debugging code a lot easier to do. It's fantastic for webpages and debugging. Very practical :yesnod:

Mostly a nice monitor....I would love to get one but alas my NEC 17" from 15 or 16 years years ago won't die (nothing an super high refresh rate wouldn't cure :twisted:). Hopefully I can buy my old monitor a Dell M992 (It's not even a year old) with a 19" tube, s/b a step up

[Andrew Pratt]

Nice monitor Gord :T

[Shane Martin]

Gord,
The low refresh rate and response times were the reason I didn't go for the Dell. I like my Samsung.

Looks like it is actually going to be under 100 today..

[Gordon Moore]

Sorry I had that wrong....

Stealth
The Aristrocats
Must Love Dogs

Ho-hum :tired:

I guess Dukes is next week. Is Hollywood devoid of ideas? The Island looks like a rip off of the matrix...the Dukes???? Bad News Bears???? Man...and they try to blame Kazaa.

[Gordon Moore]

Gord,
The low refresh rate and response times were the reason I didn't go for the Dell. I like my Samsung.

Looks like it is actually going to be under 100 today..

That's good to know Shane but I didn't pay for it...it's the company's; so I don't really care what they stuck on my desk ;) New is ....well....new.

[Bing Fung]

Morning Gang :later:

Slept in a bit after a long day of traveling around our province. :Z

Took My In-laws to Regina to see the RCMP Training center & Museum, then went to Government House (Lieutenant Governor's residence) and then the Legislature building. It was a good day an the family enjoyed it.


Lex sorry about the projector post. It was just a quick and dirty throw it out there for ideas, as I was heading out of town. I knew I would post a separate post once I got back.

Shane, thanks for your input.


Andrew, nice picture of you and Haley :T She is tiny in that picture :)


Trev, Good on ya taking the day off for Taylor's Bday :T

Gregor, Crashed again as in Car? :scratchhead:

Lex, I like your decision :T


Snap, Segar makes some kick a55 computers form what I have read on there web site.

Gordo, cool on the LCD. I like that rotate feature and actually rotate my laptop (from time to time) if you can believe it :lol: Typing is a drag though :roflmao:

E, $15K us for those top line KEF's :E Beauty!

Paul, good to hear the Golf is working well for you :T Do you like the new Jettas? I didn't at first, but I'm warming up to them.... I have to say I really like the new Audi's. Would I take one over a BMW? Some days I sure would. Although I don't like what BMW has done with it's styling of late, there is still something about them when you see it on the road, a mystic if you will :drool: As much as I don't care for the new 3 and 5's looks. However they are cool to see as we see a lot the last generation 3's here running around town (even my old 3 is a rarity these days ;) ). It's refreshing to see something different, even if it's not totally my cup of tea.

Hey Jim :later:

Hey Nic :later:

Hey Aud19 :later:

Hey anyone else I missed and may be reading my drivel :later:

[Bing Fung]

My Projector Thread is below, feel free to provide any input.

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=14875

[Shane Martin]

Reposted for you Bing. I really like the PE7700 HD2+ DLP from Benq.
so I don't really care what they stuck on my desk
Ditto at work. I can live with a 25ms panel at work. At home is another story(because I game).
The Island looks like a rip off of the matrix
It's not. If anything it is comparable to Logan's Run. I haven't seen Logan's Run in the past 10 years to remember it so I can't say if it's a rip.

[Andrew Pratt]

Will do bing.

[Nick M]

So far "Cinderella Man" (fantastic), "Robots", and "Kingdom of Heaven" have been the only three films that have really stood out as winners. Sin City was pretty good too. There were a few "good" movies such as Episode III. Then comes the plethora of Hollywood shame raping wallets around the world which seems to be in full-force this year. :roll:
----------
Just bought some curtains to cut ambient light in my room. I'd say it was reduced ~85%. Ordering my projector tomorrow morning! It has "free shipping". I wonder if I'll see it by christmas... :lol: :|
----------
Oh well, have to do the dishes, and get ready for bed. :tired:

[Andrew Pratt]

Might as well flip it

[Andrew Pratt]

http://www.htguide.com/forum/attachment.php4?attachmentid=3993&stc=1

Trevor this was taken with the Tamron lenes...its deadly sharp :E

[Shane Martin]

"Kingdom of Heaven"
Waiting on the directors cut here. The theatrical cut BOMBED big time in fact it might be one of the biggest of the year.

[aud19]

The new Jetta's are slowly growing on me as well Bing. (I hope when I see the other versions of the new Civic in person, it does the same thing.... :confused: ) Based on current models I'd have to go for the S4 over the BMW due to the styling. Last generation, that'd be a much tougher call ;)

Great pics Andrew :T

Gord I've been sleeping well but still feeling tired lately too.... Maybe it's the heat/allergies etc....? Another friend went and saw "Charlie..." and gave a stellar :T :T review so there's another movie likely worth checking out ;) I've been actually kind of surprised at the lack of posting on it here so far....?

:later: everybody

[Nick M]

Andrew - Great Shot!
----------
Shane, we definetly have different tastes in film! :B
----------
Man am I ticked off. Having trouble with my Denon, and was pretty much told to send it out and wait until October. My consumer spending desire just dropped through the floor. I'm not sure I even want to get a PJ tomorrow.

I'm pissed now, and can't fall asleep.

[Bent]

Nicholas, don't let it get you down - have you explored the option of temporarilly using your computer as your DVD palyer while the Denon (or it's replacement) makes it's weay to your house? You know the computer will hook up to almost any PJ via the VGA out?

and on the upside, well mine at least, Kyle at acoustic-visions is getting a re-cone kit manufactured and sent to him for my failing BP-1503 subwoofer driver.

Now I have to actually follow through with my plans to bump up the frequency of the rumble filter on my AS-15 (Heretic) subwoofer so I don't cook the next one.
'Maybe I should have built it sealed, in hindsight. :E

[Andrew Pratt]

Nick I know how you feel but you can't let one bad episode spoil your fun.

Ben that might have been an idea...or just turn it down a notch or three :W

[Gordon Moore]

Ben, you killed a Blueprint driver :wtf:

[Bent]

or just turn it down a notch or three

Blashemy!

Gordon, I'm not sure if it's damaged or not - it has taken on a "rattle", Not actually rubbing like a damaged voicecoil, but more like something is loose in the dustcap or on the front of the voicecoil. I did have a certain Sarah Maclachlan dance remix really - really cranked up loud one day (some unauthorised version of "the possession", I think...) and with her prodigeous bottom end (on the remix, LOL), and the fact that some sneaky little fart (he's going to be 7 years old in four weeks) had both parametric eq bands turned all the way to 16 Hz (lowest setting) and both level controls cranked to full boost.

I wasn't going to even take it in for an examination till I knew it could be repaired. It seems that Creative Audio in WPG outsources their re-coning jobs, as does Advance Audio (both may actually be performed my MM Electronics, I've yet to find out)

I'm feeling pretty happy about it though.

[Shane Martin]

Shane, we definetly have different tastes in film!
If you are talking about Kingdom of Heaven, I won't argue with you on the film. Different strokes but it is a pretty known fact it bombed. Just dig up the #'s.

[Nick M]

Ok, the blood has cooled back down below 100*C. Listen-Up stepped up to the plate backing up their products by offering an open-box 2910 as a replacement unit. I think I'm taking a bit of a step down in the audio department though, but hopefully nothing too noticeable.
----------
Shane - Yeah, I have a tendency of disagreeing with many of the mainstream reviewers. Of my top three picks thus far (Cinderella Man, Kingdom of Heaven, Robots) only Cinderella Man received rave reviews from mainstream critcis.
----------
Damn, that got me wound up today. It's 4pm and I have to be to work at 11pm. So much for my 8hrs. Hopefully I'll be mellowed out for sleep by 5. Then get up at 10... :roll:

[aud19]

Good luck with the gear guys ;) Speaking of which Andrew, how'd your 1098 problem work out?

[Andrew Pratt]

They sent me a couple of new boards to replace...which hasn't helped so we're going to take it a step further and have it looked at.

[RebelMan]

Hi all, I believe I am in the right place to make my first personal post. I have been a somewhat frequent lurker here for a while now but was always a little reluctant to post anything personal as you all seem to be a pretty tightly knit group and sometimes it is a little tough fitting in at first. But I just had to tell you all some very good news.

My wife and I have been trying for some time to have children. It seemed that things were getting pretty hopeless for us as we were nearing the prospects of having to go with artificial insemination or perhaps in vitro fertilization, a rather cost prohibitive venture to say the least. Although my health care would cover 80% of the cost, a $2000 - $5000 bill at the end of the day was not something that I was looking forward too. Not to mention the possiblity of another failure. But low and behold I believe the good Lord blessed us as we just found out that she is pregnant! Yaaah Hoooooo!!! :D

If anyone else has had the unpleasant experience of having to go through something like this will certainly know how I felt. Now when I try to sleep at night and can’t it is because of good reasons!

[Andrew Pratt]

Welcome to the TTP james(?) and congrat's on the fantastic news! Don't be affraid to post here we're mostly a friendly bunch (don't mind Jason he's harmless :W )

[aud19]

Congrats to you and your wife Rebelman! :party: and welcome to TTP :T

[aud19]

Welcome to the TTP james(?) and congrat's on the fantastic news! Don't be affraid to post here we're mostly a friendly bunch (don't mind Jason he's harmless :W )

Hey! :evil: :p:

[Andrew Pratt]

I think we should be honest though and giving James the oppertunity to run now while he still can. Trust me once you start posting to the TTP thread you can never never leave...sure people take extended vacations but they always come back...it gets in your blood and there's no known cure ;)

[Andrew Pratt]

Jason I only picked on you b/c I knew you were online :)

[RebelMan]

Thanks guy's. Yeah I am sure you are probably wondering, is this his real name??? It is! ;)

[Andrew Pratt]

See that's two posts already....next thing you know you're post count will be several magnitudes bigger then it is today and you'll wonder what the hell happened to the last few years :)

[RebelMan]

I think we should be honest though and giving James the oppertunity to run now while he still can. Trust me once you start posting to the TTP thread you can never never leave...sure people take extended vacations but they always come back...it gets in your blood and there's no known cure ;)Believe me the temptation has always been there. It's kinda like getting into the pool for the first time. A foot at a time. Until you are waist high in water and then you finally decide to just... jump on in.

[RebelMan]

You got me Andrew.

[Trevor Schell]

Hi Guys!

Rebel Man! :T
Excellent for you and your wife.

Andrew, Nice photo! :T

Going out to Rock!
Taking the family to the Avril Levigne concert tonight. :-y

[aud19]

mmmmmmmmm Avril :drool:
http://www.twobeats.com/avril/pictures/tsunami16.jpg
http://gportal.hu/portal/avril16/image/news/tsunami8.jpg

I know Andrew ;)

[aud19]

BTW anybody watching Big Brother? Last night's was AWESOME. Kaycer(sp) RULES!!!!

*In comic book guy voice*
"Best episode ever" :D

[Kevin P]

Evening folks...

RebelMan, welcome to TTP, and congrats to you and your wife! Just to toss out another option, there's always adoption. :baby:

Pr@ emailed me a new smiley to put up on the board. Here it is: :scareboo: :scareboo:

Pr@, GREAT pic of Haley there! Your camera takes awesome pics!

Wow, looks like Avril Levigne's all grown up now! :drool:

We're getting our new kitten this weekend! :B

Looks like I'll have Sherwood Newcastle sepa (http://www.sherwoodusa.com/prod_p965.html)-rates (http://www.sherwoodusa.com/prod_a965.html) in my new HT! :W

[Bing Fung]

Hey Gang :later:

Wecome James :later: Good news and congrats on the family :yesnod:


Kevin, very nice looking equipment. That Amplifier looks very nicely designed.

Andrew, bummer on the 1098. I have not flashed my FW since new... Image form the lens looks very crisp :T


Trev, have fun at Aviril :)

[Andrew Pratt]

Yeah the new newcastle amp is 7 monoblocks in one case :T I'm going to be demoing that and the matching pre amp this weekend at Jim's which ought to be a blast :yesnod:

[Lex]

Just watched quite a documentary on Samual L Goldwin's life on PBS. Really quite a story of the Jewish immigrant turned film maker. If you are trying to figure out who that is, think Metro Goldwin Mayer, though eventually he was eliminated from this partnership and started Samual L Goldwin Studio.

His given name was actually Goldfish. He changed it to match the Goldwin name in the original company that was a blend of 2 names.

Doug

[Andrew Pratt]

Sounds like an interesting story Doug.

[efarstad]

:sn :sn :sn Hey gang! :sn :sn :sn

Welcome James...and congrats on the pregnancy...somone I know is working on their third child! ;-)

Andrew: Cut pic of Haley!

Hope you had fun at the concert Trev!

Kev: That pre and amp look nice!

Hey Bing, Jason, Nick, Bent, et al... :-)

Just checking in to say "hi" and now it's time to go bed-E-bye! See you tomorrow gents...have a great Thursday!!!!

E

[Andrew Pratt]

somone I know is working on their third child! ;-)

And what are to read into that E!?

[efarstad]

Pratt buddy...there's no reading involved! ;-)

[efarstad]

Hee...hee...hee...hee...nighty nite fellas!

E

[Andrew Pratt]

Have fun trying then :)

[Trevor Schell]

FLIP!!!

A Madagascar Birthday Cake!

http://members.shaw.ca/TTP/gcake.jpg

[Trevor Schell]

We had a great time at the concert.
This was the girls first one, so we picked up T-shirts for them
to have as a keepsake.

http://members.shaw.ca/TTP/avril.jpg

http://members.shaw.ca/TTP/avril2.jpg

[jimmyp58]

...and not only does the S-N look sweet, it sounds even better!

[Gordon Moore]

morning one and all. Avril came and went....It looks like your daughters had a blast. I heard zero feedback on the Winnipeg concert so I'll assume no news is good news :)

Andrew
Sorry we didn't make it at baseball but work work work work.....funny, these days we put in extra time just so we can take vacation :confused:

Bummer on the dead Rotel...that really bites. Good thing they use you as a lab rat on firmwares.

Kevin, that's some sweet equipment you're getting there.

Howdy Jason, Nick, Rebel Man (STELLLLLLLA! ;) ) ,Big E, Chris, Lex, and anyone else.

S/B heading out to the cottage sometime this a.m.

[jimmyp58]

Looks like your daughter had a great birthday Trev. Enjoy these times with all your heart. Just like my parents said to me when I was a kid, time goes so fast. I still can't believe my son will be 18 in September. Where has all the time gone?!

[Snap]

Congrats Rebel Man! :party: That is so cool.

Hey any one know of a GOOD pillow? Reason why I ask is the last few weeks I have been waking up with a HUGE head ache and my neck KILLING ME! I am thinking it might be the wal-mart pillow I am sleeping on? I was going to post this question in the AV Chalete seeing how my head ache directly messes with my ability to hear music! Buuuuut I thought the better of it. :rofl:

:later: Good morning every one!

Well time to get into cammies and go teach!

See ya!

[Lex]

It was quite a story Andrew. I usually watch King of Queens from 10 to 11 as my nightly laugh, but I could not turn the channel off this film maker's story. Wonderfully put together biography including lots of old movie clips, discussion with many aged former actors, etc...

Great picture of your girls Trev. :)

Doug

[jimmyp58]

Good morning all.............

[cuda65]

Morning everyone!!

[Andrew Pratt]

Morning Cuda:T

NP Gord we were a little short on players but we came though anyway.

[Lex]

Hey Cuder', and welcome Rebel! New baby on the way huh? Wow, that's some news!

E, you and the Mrs. trying again? I thought you'd have figured out what caused that by now after 2 times, lol.

[Bing Fung]

Morning Gang :later:

The girls look like they had fun Trev :T

Check out this cool BBQ :lol:

http://www.htguide.com/forum/attachment.php4?attachmentid=3994&stc=1

[Kevin P]

Morning folks...

E, going for 3? Don't you realize you'll be outnumbered? With today's cost of living, I don't know how anyone on an average income can afford to have 2 or 3. Well, I suppose you can hope one of them becomes rich and supports you in your old age. ;) Imagine putting 3 through college. 8O

If I had kids I'd be living in the poor house.

Trev, sounds like the concert was fun and your girls enjoyed it.

Bing, cool BBQ. :lol: That's about the shape mine is in right now. I'll have to spring for a new one next year.

[Andrew Pratt]

If I had kids I'd be living in the poor house.

Not really you just shift your priorities away from your own interests. You could likely save a couple hundred a year by getting rid of your cats but you won't b/c of the benefits you get from them ;)

[Nick M]

Thats one thing that drives me nuts in Canada!

I never carry change on me, just paper and plastic. Whenever I'm up there and I go grocery shopping I have to go all the way back to my vehicle to get a coin so I can get a cart.:rant:

I sure do wish we had SafeWays in the North East. Those Artisan Breads they sell are pretty good...:drool:

[Kevin P]

Not really you just shift your priorities away from your own interests. You could likely save a couple hundred a year by getting rid of your cats but you won't b/c of the benefits you get from them ;)So, if I get rid of my cats I could save enough to pay for 1/20th of a kid. Hmm... 2 cats or 1/20th of a kid... tough decision. :)

I'll keep the cats and just rent the neighbor's kids when we're in the mood. That way we can just give them back when we're done winding them up. :)

[Lex]

Nice grill Bing. :lol:

[Andrew Pratt]

I never carry change on me, just paper and plastic. Whenever I'm up there and I go grocery shopping I have to go all the way back to my vehicle to get a coin so I can get a cart

Nick I too hate carrying coins...and bills for that matter...its all plastic for me. For the shopping carts it depends on where you shop...IGA doesn't require a coin but they're more expensive the SuperStore which does. We just leave a dollar coin (loonie) in the car for that purpose so its not that big an issue

[Shane Martin]

I sure do wish we had SafeWays in the North East. Those Artisan Breads they sell are pretty good...
We had Safeways here until Albertson took over the market really. Now we have Reasonrs, a few IGA's and Albertsons not including the Evil Empires grocery stores which I despise.

Oddly I saw a ton of Safeways in Northern California while I was out there.

[Lex]

hey, just noticed it's Cuda's Birthday, happy BD Cuder!

Doug

[Shane Martin]

Thanks Canada for the great colder weather. It's was 81 yesterday! :clap:

[efarstad]

:sn :sn :sn Good Morning! :sn :sn :sn

Let's just say I'll let you guys know when and if there is news! ;-)

As for kids and family, as they grow I believe you adjust as necessary...just like Andrew said...priorities, we all make and have them and live accordingly.

Enjoy the day fellas and we'll catch up on the flip side...

E

[Kevin P]

You're right E, we all have our own priorities. One of mine is to retire some day, hopefully before I die. :)

When you get to three, doesn't the law of diminishing returns start to kick in? What I mean is, you have your first, and that's really special. With the first, you're a parent, and you have a family. Then you have your second, and that's pretty special as well, as now the first has a sibling. But #3 doesn't really get you anything "new" that you don't already have with #1 and #2. Unless you have a girl this time around.

Also, with 3, you and your wife will be outnumbered! :E

Of course, I shouldn't talk. I was #3 in my family. And then my parents adopted two more! Talk about being outnumbered! Granted, #1 was in college when #5 came along, so there was really 4 in the house, plus foster kids. Now you see why I don't want kids, I burned out on them at a very young age. Also, I believe that overpopulation is a real problem in the world today, so by not having any that's my meager contribution to this.

[taz13]

Good day all
Back at work for the next 2 weeks, then 2 weeks off :T
If the weather stays nice I will be able to get some good eagle pics. This years fledglings are just starting to fly.

[Nick M]

Visited my mother and one of my younger sisters today (it was her birthday).
----------
I didn't let my recent experience with Denon keep me down. I just purchased my first PJ, a Sanyo PLV-Z3. We'll see how it goes...:D
----------
Talk about kids, check this guy out! :E
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4720457.stm
Can you imagine how much Cap'n Crunch they go through! :lol:
----------
Gonna' hit the hay soon here. Just got scheduled for two more weeks of overtime in mid-August. That extra dough should easily cover whatever screen I decide to purchase for my new PJ.

Just received my screen samples from Da-Lite too!

[Kevin P]

Wow, Nick... I think one of his problems is he can't afford any Cap'n Crunch. And on reading that, I rest my case on the overpopulation problem...

Congrats on getting a projector! I have a CRT, just waiting for a house to install it in. I'm going with an electric Da-Lite screen too.

Taz13, I got some great eagle shots in Alaska four years ago. I took them from a tram so they were shot from above the eagle. They came out great.

[aud19]

You don't get anything new?!?!? :E Kev!!!!??? :wtf: How about a whole new kid with it's own personality and life?!? Are you an identical clone of your brothers and sisters and had all the same life experiecnces etc?

What was the deciding factor on the S-N gear Kev, I'm guessing Jimmy...? ;)

It's only a quarter for buggies out here :scratchhead: That used to get me and friends snacks when we were kids. We'd go to a local grocery store and take back all the stranded buggies and make a few bucks each :B (Nice grill BTW Bing :lol: )

Happy b-day Cuda :party:

Snap, get yourself a "chiropractic" pillow made of memory foam. The memory foam is VERY important :T

Looks like the girls had fun Trev :T

Nobody else watching Big Brother...? :oops:

:later: everybody I missed ;)

[Kevin P]

Well, Jason, my last expanation was oversimplified. Sure #3 adds to #1 and #2, but do you really get 50% more enjoyment out of 3 as you do from 2? Is 4 twice as enjoyable as 2? 6 twice as enjoyable as 3? Or ask that guy in Africa, is he twice as happy with 11 wives and 77 kids as he would have been with 5 wives and 35 kids?

Heck, even with cats I see a diminishing return after 3 or so. I had 3 before, and don't see having more than 2 or 3 now, as much as I love cats. Would I be happier with 6 cats? Maybe, but I don't think that 6 cats would bring me double the enjoyment of 3. 6 would cost twice as much as 3 to feed and take care of though.

[Andrew Pratt]

1 cat would be to many for me so we're all different...lets just leave it at that.

[Bent]

Nick - good luck with the pj,
that's the one I'da picked too.
dual component video inputs plus a DVI :T

about the carts at grocery stores,
our local stores in steinbach all went to the loonie rental for the carts, but the customers complined so much that they took the coin catchers off.
It's not like it cost anything - they always got them back, but at least the carts got put away when they were done. Now you have to hunt all over hells half acre, or get out of your car when you are parking just so you can move a cart out of the spot.

I liked the loonie rental thing.

[efarstad]

I have the Z3 Nick...you're going to like it! :-)
I have it projecting on a Stewert Greyhawk...in a completely like controlled room.

E

[Kevin P]

1 cat would be to many for me so we're all different...lets just leave it at that.Cats are little people in fur coats. :) Kids are little people not in fur coats. 1 kid would be too many for me. I would repeatedly whack myself upside the head with a dead fish until I went unconscious before I would have kids. ;)

As for the question about S-N, my friend at work was the influence. He has the preamp and he loves it, and was able to arrange a local deal. That's all I can say here.

That's weird about the shopping carts in Canada. The only place I've seen coin deposit carts around here are in airports.

[taz13]

Snap, get yourself a "chiropractic" pillow made of memory foam. The memory foam is VERY important
I seem to remember you asking questions about memory foam. Do I take this to mean you are also a convert?
We have so many patroling the mall lot that you can't even finish unloading before someone is asking if they can return the cart for you? At the cost of a quarter, no problem and the carts are always where you need them. My truck came with a coin holder so I keep it full for carts.
Other then that I am, like most, a debit card carrying Canadian! Who needs bills or coins. :T

[Nick M]

The other thing that ticked me off in some Canada grocery stores were the ones that have you bag the groceries! I forget what chain it was, but the lady cashed me out and said "Have a nice day" leaving me standing there with my groceries sprawled out across the end of the register. :confused:

I started bagging them moaning and groaning as everyone looked at me as though I should have known I was supposed to bag them.

I'm used to "Baggers", "Cart Catchers", and shoeshiners down here out of the permafrost and glaciers (Just kidding Gordo! :rofl: ).

[Andrew Pratt]

That would be SuperStore Nick...and you do that to save a ton of money over Safeway, IGA et al. I just use two plastic tubs with handles on them so the grocerys just go into them and into the car...no bags needed.

[Andrew Pratt]

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/rtf_flash/images/desktop1_800x600.jpg

[taz13]

Must remember that Andrew, good idea.

[Kevin P]

The other thing that ticked me off in some Canada grocery stores were the ones that have you bag the groceries!Well, some stores have "self checkouts" where you scan *and* bag the groceries yourself!

And do they give you a discount for saving them from hiring a couple more cashiers?? Of course not...

Actually, I find the self checkout at Home Depot handy when I just have 1 or 2 small items to check out. A lot quicker than standing in line. But in a grocery store when you have a cartful of stuff, I don't care for them there. At least they still have regular checkouts but they always have 10 but only 1 or 2 open.

[GregoriusM]

:later:

[Kevin P]

Hey Grego! How's it going? Getting better I hope.

[Trevor Schell]

Hi Guys! :later:

[taz13]

Finished for the day I hope.
Sure is slow here tonight.

[jimmyp58]

Tomorrow night Prattster!!!

[GregoriusM]

Hey!

I reached 1500 with my last post! :E

Thank goodness all of those posts aren't primarily just a bunch of drivel like the rest of you guys. :P :P :P

Mine should count for about 10,000 really, IMHO! :W

:later:

[efarstad]

:sn :sn :sn Evenin' Gents! :sn :sn :sn

I guess I really need a moon-i-con for my night time posts! ;-)

Congrats on 1500 Greg!

Hello to everyone!

E

[jimmyp58]

Good night fellas....I am soon to hit 1400!!!

[Andrew Pratt]

See you soon Jim :T

[Trevor Schell]

Here is some good Therepy!

20 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity :
>> >
>> > 1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and
>>point
>>Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.
>> >
>> > 2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.
>> >
>> > 3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want
>>Fries
>>with That.
>> >
>> > 4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In."
>> >
>> > 5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone has
>>Gotten
>>Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.
>> >
>> > 6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Smuggling
>>Diamonds"
>> >
>> > 7. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The
>>Prophecy."
>> >
>> >
>> > 8. Don't use any punctuation
>> >
>> >
>> > 9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.
>> >
>> > 10. Order a diet water whenever you go out to eat with a serious
>>face.
>> >
>> > 11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."
>> >
>> > 12. Sing Along At The Opera.
>> >
>> > 13. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme
>> >
>> > 14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play tropical
>>Sounds All Day.
>> >
>> > 15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend
>>Their
>>Party Because You're Not In The Mood.
>> >
>> > 16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name,
>>Rock
>>Bottom.
>> >
>> > 17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won!"
>> >
>> > 18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot,
>>Yelling "Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"
>> >
>> > 19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We Are
>>Going
>>To Have To Let One Of You Go."
>> >
>> > 20. And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity.......
>> >
>> > Send This E-mail To Someone To Make Them Smile.
>> >
>> > Its Called therapy.

[Lex]

couple of good ones there Trev. I think I like the coffee and kid ones best. Though the zoo one was pretty good too.

[Lex]

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/28/people.brookeburke.ap/story.burke.jpg

Brooke and her husband split up. To bad for their 2 kids.

She sure is a hottie.

[Kevin P]

:sn :sn :sn Evenin' Gents! :sn :sn :sn

I guess I really need a moon-i-con for my night time posts! ;-)

You want a moon smiley? You got it!

;s@ ;s@ ;s@ Evenin' Gents! ;s@ ;s@ ;s@

haha ;)

[jimmyp58]

Darn, Brooke and her hubby split!!!!!!! :cry:

[Nick M]

Ughhhh... got locked out of my apartment last night. Lucky I had a spare for my van to get to work. Just finished taking the A/C out of my window and crawling in (then reinstalling it).

Andrew - That grocery store was a mess. None of the shelves were actually "stocked" (they just put cases of product out), the meat was terrible, I had to bag my own groceries, and search my van for a coin to get a cart. I dunno, not my kinda thing.

Discovery - Hope there was no critical damage with the foam impacts on the leading edge of the shuttle's wing(s).
----------
Trevor - Funny list! :B
----------
2nd shift guy took the night off, so I'm splitting his shift with the 1st shift guy. Working 7pm-7am tonight. Have to hit the hay early today...

[efarstad]

:sn :sn :sn Morn Fellas! :sn :sn :sn

Morn is "morning" in Norwegian for those who are newbies and those who may have forgotten...I AM the Norwegian Freak Boy!!!

Oh my...and HAPPY FRIDAY as well! It's a short work day for me...I usually get off work at 2pm on Friday's (still shocked when the boss told me everyone tries to leave the office at 2pm on Friday's and to do the same) then I'm headed to install some 30" LCD's at a Fitness center gig I landed...it's been pretty fun! I've put in two 42" plasma's, projector and 120" screen so far...and will eventually install a total of 26 LCD's throughout the work-out areas (15,000 sq/ft facility). This fitness club is the coolest I've seen...the owners want to be cutting edge and they're great people as well! www.callawayfitness.com

Trev: Those were some good reads! ;-)

Jimbo and Pratt: Have fun playin' tonight...

Thanks Kev!

Don't work too hard Nick and get some sleep!

Until next time...have a great one!

E

[taz13]

TGIF everyone ;x(
However in my case it is just the start of day 2 of 14 16hr days. :(
Only bonus is it causes the toy and investment accounts to grow.
And of course, this shift we have a major problem, our waste water plant is refusing to do what it is supposed to and all of our samples are failing on TC.
Company who built this POS is out of business in North America and is located in France. They want $45,000 usd just to look at it and then they want to change out a PLC at a cost of another 20,000. I gather they did not like their answer and we are going to install all new. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Pikeral were biting again last night. Cleaned and froze several. Tonite we are skipping supper and going fishing with the plan of having a fresh fish shore supper. :T :T :T
Probably won't catch any fish tonite.

[Snap]

wow Taz long day! 8O

Well for me...I am the unlucky dude that has to stay and man the fort while every one else in the shop is GONE! :cry: So I am done teaching for the day...all the students are gone...BUUUUUUUt I get to sit around till shut down time.

I do not think that I can drag out the paperwork that I have till 4PM :cry: Soooooo I guess I will be finding busy work to do around the office. Maybe add new pictures to my lesson Power Point presentation or something. :confused:

Or shine the coffee pot or something :rofl:

Well hope you all have a WONDERFULL weekend I wil talk to you all later!

:later:

[aud19]

Morning everybody :later:

I'm off at noon today myself and then on 2 weeks vacation :party:

Nick, I'd say you got a bad store there, not all Canadian grocery stores are like that :lol:

Mmmmm Brooke! :drool: :T

Well short day so I need to get back to work.... :later: everybody

[Andrew Pratt]

Just a few short hours till I'm airbourne on my way to meet another TTPer...this will make it 7 or 8 I think of people that I've had the good fortune of meeting :T

[Andrew Pratt]

Came across this funny Avatar...

[aud19]

Have fun Jimmy and Andrew :T Don't :party: too much :lol:

I'm at home now... Officially on vacation!! :B

[jimmyp58]

Thanks guys....

Hey Shane, guess what I picked up for me and Andrew this weekend?

[hidefdvd]

Andrew - That grocery store was a mess. None of the shelves were actually "stocked" (they just put cases of product out), the meat was terrible, I had to bag my own groceries, and search my van for a coin to get a cart. I dunno, not my kinda thing.


Was the store yellow in color? Sounds like a NoFrills. And thats what you get when you shop there. Cheap prices, prepack meat and no frills.

[Trevor Schell]

TGIF everyone ;x(
However in my case it is just the start of day 2 of 14 16hr days. :(
Only bonus is it causes the toy and investment accounts to grow.
And of course, this shift we have a major problem, our waste water plant is refusing to do what it is supposed to and all of our samples are failing on TC.
Company who built this POS is out of business in North America and is located in France. They want $45,000 usd just to look at it and then they want to change out a PLC at a cost of another 20,000. I gather they did not like their answer and we are going to install all new. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Pikeral were biting again last night. Cleaned and froze several. Tonite we are skipping supper and going fishing with the plan of having a fresh fish shore supper. :T :T :T
Probably won't catch any fish tonite.

Ah!
What a good life that is!!:T

[Trevor Schell]

Andrew!, Thanks for the new Avatar! :T

Lex,,Thanks for posting the hot babe pic..
who is that though? She is sweet..:yesnod:

[Trevor Schell]

Erik!!
Sounds like a cool facility!!
26 LCD's!! :E

[efarstad]

Just got back from installing the first 3 LCD's...yep, 23 more to go! :-) It really is a cool facility Trev!

Time for dinner...have a great weekend fellas!

E

[taz13]

It is amazing how good a feast of fresh caught cold water pics taste. We had several of those and a few Alexander Keiths. And now I am sitting back watching the CFL game in PIP while possibly setting up a run. ;)

[Trevor Schell]

We have a front lawn!! :clap:

[Trevor Schell]

It is green! :B

[Trevor Schell]

No more mud!

[Trevor Schell]

FLIP!!!

NOW!! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!

More photo's of Denise, just for our buddy Gregor!
Get better soon!:yesnod:

http://www.thetechzone.com/photo/data//510/1951denise13-med.jpg?7662

http://www.thetechzone.com/photo/data//510/1951denise8-med.jpg?5467

http://www.thetechzone.com/photo/data//510/1951denise7.jpg?8824

[Lex]

really? Dang, missed ya. lol.

[Shane Martin]

Hey Shane, guess what I picked up for me and Andrew this weekend?
:^x and here is a :321: for taunting me with it :)

I need to work a deal out with you for some. My contact from Wisconsin is moving to Colorado. :M

Trev,
The newest Dubs edition of MTV's Cribs had a rapper whom bought an early sample of the Charger. He painted it all black with chrome 24" wheels. The interior is all suede. Set your Tivo up since I know you like Chargers.

[Trevor Schell]

Cool Shane!
What day is it on..?
Wait,,I don't get MTV,,I might
not get this show then. :huh:

[aud19]

Evening guys :)

Trev I was expecting a lush green lawn for the flip pic after that setup! :lol:

Just walked up to the local Rogers Video and rented *ahem* Garden State, Midsummer Night's Dream, Mickey Blue Eyes, Bourne Supremacy, Hitch (which we're about to watch ;) ), The Aviator and finally, Lemony Snickets...phewww :B

That's one crazy sounding place Erik!?!? :E How's anybody supposed to work out with all those distractions? Nevermind the cute girls in tight clothes walking around :lol: