And we haaaave separation Folks!






















Working on and off on the Subaru these days. I run into a problem - spend a day thinking about it..and then back to work again. Finally removed the engine today. ( About a week behind schedule..but whattodo?) Spent a couple of days trying to get the transmission to separate from the transmission. Once that finally happened - the front end damage on the car body was blocking the engine removal - so I spend a day psyching myself up to SawZAll the front end off the car. I was not looking forward to that. I hate that particular tool - loud, violent and a favorite of the DarwinAwards. But.. I pulled out the new SawZAll Jim gave me 2 years ago with a new metal blade - and WHOOSH - "like Butta " says Mr. Eric After I send the Subaru off to the junk yard - the fun part begins while I get to tinker with the subaru on the engine stand. AND ORDER MORE PARTS! yay!

Olde Good Things







I visited Olde Good Things in Manhattan a year a ago. The store features recycled architectural pieces from buildings and monuments. I have always loved these types of stores and frequently visited the few that are local to me. The smaller shops however - tend to focus on salvage from houses - hence the selection is a little less spectacular.
( But still cool! )

Olde Good Things is much more like a store from my past - Irreplaceable Artifacts. Based in NYC - these places featured much more interesting, one of a kind pieces from torn down buildings. Giant roman columns and gigantic doors. LOVE IT!

While at Olde Good Things last year - I saw mention of their Scranton PA warehouse.
"All our big stuff" as they informed me. So a visit was put on the list.

It was not a disappointment. An A M A Z I N G PLACE. I always had dreams of restoring a warehouse / loft - which would have been a great home for this type of "art" - but alas - it was not meant to be at this time. No complaints however. Eric and i have found a fun house to restore that is a much more realistic scale. So maybe someday..









See the rest of the pics on My Flickr

Neat!

Another piece of software I would love to learn if there were 49 hours in a day

ENVISION : Step into the sensory box from SUPERBIEN on Vimeo.

BUSY BUSY!



No real blog posts since we moved. Of course - the fact that my Mac is still in its box tells you how much how i have working on unpacking my office. I have moved on to more pressing projects. I finally located a wrecked subaru as a donor car for the vanagon engine transplant. I want to take the van out to BurningMan this summer and the Vw has been pretty grumpy the past 2 years despite my best efforts. So time to an upgrade. The wiring harness had to be removed first - as it must be sent out for modification ( which takes a month) It took me a while to get it out - all 43 lbs of it! But now it is in Tacoma getting a Nip and Tuck while I move on. The coolant manifold also needed to be sent out - so I had to remove the whole intake system for the car first. So now while I wait - the rest of the engine will need to be pulled and put on an engine stand while I work on the modifications. Of course - i am still mulling getting the vanagon transmission rebuilt as well. Which would mean putting all of this aside while I get rid of the donor car and get the vanagon home to remove its engine and tranny as well. The schedule will be tight. :O)

Kitchen of the Future!

Eric and I were already working on some similar ideas for our pending kitchen remodel.
I hope our solutions are a bit more on the integration/elegant side.

iWant mE An iMiEV!



I have been watching this car in development for a while now. If it looks a little familiar - it should be. There once was a time when Daimler-Chrysler and Mitsubishi were best buddies. During which - Mitsubishi got a good look ( or copy of..) the blueprints of the Smart car. I used to love the Smart car - but it has never been the prettiest thing to look at. And once the US version arrived and boasted! a! stunning! 44mpg!(?) - the car lost its wonder to me. Now the Diesel version - that coulda' been a contentda' i tell ya.

Anyways - Mitsubishi reworked ( alot?) of what they were given ( or took...) and the outcome was the "i" car. Much more refined ( in my opinion) than the Smart and ALOT
more practical with a second set of doors.... it all played well with my small car fixation. Of course - the fact that the engine is in the rear - reminiscent of an old Volkswagen brings a flutter to my heart. It did not take long for the company to look at the platform for electric potential and
last year - an electric version wen on sale in Japan. Hence the iMiEV.






It looks like the car only has an 80 mile range - but that would easily get me back and forth to work each day. It will be interesting to see what it costs. With a commute of 25 miles one way-
a Chevrolet Volt could almost function for me as a pure electric car with none of the iMiEV;s shortcomings. Of course - the ( nessesary) design evolution of the Volt has resulted in a car that resembles a puffy Dodge Status.


Some links to test drives and write ups -








Edmunds write up

Top Gear write up


Some of the write ups include estimates to how much the car will cost - which
at this point I am inserting my fingers into my ears.

LALALALALALALALALALALALALA

Today's Chillout

Happy Holidays!

Seeing how we are moving IN THREE DAYS - one would think I should be PACKING MY CRAP - but instead I am putting together some snaps shots of our holiday party from this past December. The party was great. My sister and I traded party help with each other - where I helped at her party and she came up with her friend Chris and helped with mine. A GODSEND! A wonderful time with friends and family all rolled up with lots of lights and cookies. Life is grand.

(Click on the pics to expand)






We did not get to capture everyone in the photos as some headed out before our great photographer Gerry started to work his wonder - but i think everyone had a good time.

More photos on my Flicker site here ==>

DesignGeekHumor

Hot Design Otters singing about Fonts. Designers are just FUNNY. In an inside joke-you're-not-worthy way.

The many faces of Christmas













Eric and i headed down to Owego on Saturday morning to continue the festivities with the Myers clan. Kristin hosted everyone for dinner and the stomach bug alert level kicked down to yellow thankfully after anna started feeling better.









The afternoon consisted of exhausted sport - inclined nephews, the first try of an experimental Hor' duerve "Grandma's Garlic Yum Yum" and much sugar-enhanced goofyness. Presents were unwrapped, beverages consumed and mash potatoes thoroughly ketchupped. Nephews cracked smiles and there was much rejoicing.























To finish the evening, the ladies did their best Isadora Duncan imitation.

Merry Christmas!

Eric and I both were awake pretty early. So much for a holiday and sleeping in. We entertained each other fairly well with our stocking contents.














The circus peanuts were not universally received.

Its got to be the morning after...








Well, the annual holiday party was a bash. Despite the last minute stress bombs.

Eric and I were up early to start getting the house ready and we were moving at a fairly good clip until 9:30 am when eric turned on the vacuum cleaner. Half the house promptly lost electricity
and the breaker was not the problem.....

!!

SO - a phone call later and the landlord and his electrician were ovder around 11 and were here for 4.5 hours trying the find the problem. Eric and I told the landlord this was the same circuit we have been having problems with and since half the circuit was still on... there was a bad junction box somewhere. Hopefully not burning in a wall....
Meanwhile - they have tools all over the kitchen and I am tapping my foot to start cooking for the party........ My sister Kristin and her friend Chris arrive to help out and they finally clean up around 3:30 or 4:00 YIKES.
So at 3:30(?) the landlord locates the problem...... turns out it is a... junction box..... in the back stairwell.....

Annnnd off we go.....


The party was great. Especially with electricity. The extra help really was awesome. I got to spend actual minutes with all our guests. Our resident photographer was on hand to document the party. But here is the morning after...

Happy Holidays part 2




This years holiday card.


St. Eric - patron saint of abandoned disco balls

St. Tom - patron saint of old grumpy volkswagens