Nissan Forums / Infiniti Forums - NICOclub: Around the House

Advent Loudspeakers "Vintage"

VRoy — 2009-11-21T18:20:52-08:00

I've had my set of Yamaha floor speakers for almost 10 years now, and though they have been champ's. Enduring many drunkin nights, some great music and some bad. I'm listening to them right now, still sounding just like they did the day i got them. They have gotten me by for years but now my ears are changing. So I've been casually looking for a new set of floor speakers with a clear, chrisp sound at ear spliting volume and ran across this http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ele/1476034544.html ad sounds interesting but $285 for a 1982 model speaker? Not sure if i could justify that. I dont know anything about this brand either so...off to research some....after the bar...err maybe tomorrow Which do you guys think?

My Girlfriend

240ismylife — 2009-11-11T14:07:25-08:00

Modified by 240ismylife at 8:00 PM 10/26/2009

Why exotic speakers cost so much.

Looneybomber — 2009-11-12T07:34:24-08:00

RAAL, known for their awesome ribbon tweeters, teamed up with Requisite Audio Engineering and created an omni-directional speaker; the Eternity.

http://www.raal-requisite.com/pages/eternity.html

And like all exotic speakers, it has an exotic price tag. Well, check out how they make the woofer enclosure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1wOhkCrgIs

And the whole assembly process.
http://6moons.com/industryfeat....html

Oh, and life is good for a person that makes/designs ribbon tweeters.

Ventilate your entertainment centers.

Looneybomber — 2009-10-11T06:37:09-08:00

Whether you have a TV stand like this, where everything stacks up ontop of itself,

or one that has shelves for your gear,

the thing is, it's all enclosed and filling with heat. Heat plus electronics means shorter life, and even some random thermal shut downs. The biggest sources of heat are AV Recievers and DVR.

Some may also have power amps, PS3's, and Xbox's that also produce substantial amounts of heat and normally aren't INside entertainment centers. If you do have those inside, you really need to take them out or do this active cooling idea below. Otherwise, with all that gear inside there, they're basically acting like a space heater in a closet.

Some things I've seen people do are drill out holes in the top rear of their cabinets to let heat out and cut holes in the base to help let cool air in from the bottom.

This can work, but what would work even better is some kind of active cooling system by means of fans. The downside to fans are the noise, but luckily there's a whole industry dedicated to making quiet fans; The PC industry. And some companies are cashing in.

Stand Out Designs makes nice TV stands and has this as an upgrade for 300.00

For 300 bucks you get 4 fans, 2, 12v power transformers, 4 shelves (albiet glass shelves) with holes in them, and a couple screws.

If you shop cheap, you could retrofit your own stand for a lot less. Newegg has deals on fans everyonce in a while and Schythe makes nice quiet fans they they'll put volume deals on.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...120mm

But, you'll need some way of powering the fans, and I came across this gem, 12v, 1.8A transformer for $3.00! It'll easily power 6 low speed 120mm fans, which should be plenty.

http://www.parts-express.com/p...er_9E
You'll need a power cord for it, but they can be attained pretty cheap. Hell I have 1 or 2 sitting around here that I never knew what to do with until now.

The end, you'd have to cut off and strip to bare wire, solder on more wires to run to your fans (wire in parallel to keep them all operating at 12v), cut holes in the top rear of your entertainment center where you want to exhaust out the hot air, and cut holes in the bottom front where you want cool air to come in.

Here's the coolest part, because that transformer doesn't have the big transformer part right where it plugs into the wall, you know those kinds that take up two outlets and they suck, you can plug this into the back of your AVReceiver. When you turn on the receiver (which creates a lot of heat) it turns on the fans. When you turn it off, the fans turn off.

So for 30-40bucks, you can have a switchable active cooling system for your entertainment center/TV stand.

Olin Ross OR703

jltibbs — 2009-10-11T20:33:04-08:00

I'm a bass head and know a ton about car audio. When it comes to home audio, not so much. I scooped up a pair of Olin Ross OR703 speakers. One has been opened (to look at/display) and the other box still has tape on it and the plastic straps around it. I pulled the open one out to take a look at it and these things are beautiful. Polished black wood, two metal cone 6.5" mids, 1" titanium tweeters, and 8" subs. The boxes are ported and tuned. These look sick and I really want to hook them up, but, something caught my eye on the boxes they came in: "MSRP $3,100".

Now, since I'm in retail, I know that MSRP means nothing. I have, however, seen these going brand new for around $1,800. The link I posted above is to OR's website, which is the fourth listing when you Google the speakers. Here's what else comes up. That almost makes me weary of even trying to sell them.

Like I said, I want to hook them up because I'm guessing they sound way better than my outdated Pioneer towers, but if I can sell them, the extra cash would be helpful as well.

Thoughts?

Oktoberfest beers

Looneybomber — 2009-10-03T23:06:29-08:00

First off, if you don't know what Oktoberfest is, here's Wiki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest

During all Oktoberfest seasons, I've drank beer, but never "Oktoberfest" beers. This year, I'm going to be looking for various seasonal Oktoberfest beers and doing a quick taste test.

Of my usual breweries, I didn't see any of their Octoberfest beers out yet, so I will keep checking back every couple days, so this will be a progressive post, expanding as I can get more brews in.

Anyhow, first up with the Sam Adam's Octoberfest (with a C, not a K)

Price = $8 for a 6 pack of 12oz bottles.

It tastes good for a cheap (non-craft) beer. Has a little bitterness, just enough to not be a sweet beer; Definately a good hops and malt blend. The after taste reminds me a bit of coffee. Yeah coffee, not toffe.

Overall it's very drinkable in high amounts and would work well with Sausage and sauekraut, which is what Oktoberfest is all about.

Score = 80%

My scoring system may be a bit different than yours because, after all, this is totally subjective. But to give you guys another frame of reference, I would put Miller Light, Bud Light, Mich Ultra, and Coors light all in the 50-59% range. Mephistopheles by Avery get's an A+ at 98%, but it also costs me $8/12oz bottle.

I plan on checking out the Oktoberfest beers by Avery, Boulevard, Left Hand, Carolina, Goose Island, and the brewery here in Topeka, Blind Tiger. If you have any other suggestions, I'll see if I can get them here.

Home audio speakers and receivers

PapaSmurf2k3 — 2009-09-19T09:34:52-08:00

I saw the "deals" thread, but thought it would be better to start my own.

I'm looking for a home audio setup for music. I might turn it on for movies as well sometimes, but the #1 use is going to be music (LOUD music, rock). Looking for a nice 2 channel amp, and 2 bigass speakers (none of these stupid tiny f***ers that everybody seems to be making today).

I'm still up in the air for a receiver, but I'm thinking of Cerwin Vega for the speakers.

Currently looking at this:

Cerwin Vega VE-12F
� Frequency Response: 28 Hz - 20 kHz
� Peak Power Handling: 300 watts
� Sensitivity (1w/1m): 93 dB
� 5 1/4" Midrange with Fiber Impregnated Cone
� 1 1/4" Treated Silver Mylar Tweeter with Ferro Fluid
� 12" Cast Frame High Excursion Woofer

Problem is, there really isn't any audio stores around me that stock quality speakers (let alone these Cerwin Vegas). The closest place that has these would be in Nashville, roughly 5 hours away. Does anybody have any experience with them? Of all the stereos I've heard, from the multi channel systems with satellite speakers and separate subwoofers, up to a multi-thousand dollar bose system, nothing pleased my ears more than a simple 2 channel receiver and a pair of bigass speakers (Fisher or Technics... can't remember which) that a friend of mine had. Another friend had a comprable system with a pair of KLH floor standing speakers that absolutely pounded.

I'll be going to Best Buy either on Friday or Saturday this week and visiting their Magnolia display. Anything I should look for? Do any other speaker companies still make large speakers?

Wine: Found one I like besides Boone's Farm.

Looneybomber — 2009-09-20T19:05:48-08:00

7 Deadly Zins

It's pretty good. Can't describe it in any other way because I am far from a wine Konashure. So far in-fact, I can't even get close to spelling it.

15%AbV is nice. Goes down easy and isn't a bit dry.

Not as good as a nice craft beer, but I ran out, so I had to improvise with a glass of this.

Infinity training on how to listen to speakers

Looneybomber — 2009-10-11T20:48:49-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9lroIP3BKo

I've been a fan of Infinity since back in the day when their Overture line came out. I think I was in middle school at the time, though I may have been a freshman. That said, I watched that video while listening with a set of Infinity Beta20's.

Anyway, enough Infinity brand talk, I saw this video where they had the user pick out which frequencies were augmented and I remember doing similar tests/observations with various songs and eq settings around a decade ago.

Too bad I didn't know about this stuff back in the day. I might have been able to get paid to listen to music on high end speakers!

Food cravings

RuskeyJDM — 2009-10-03T11:38:32-08:00

I know there is a thread for "gross foods" but....

Today i walked into the grocery store to get some Gatorade, and all of a sudden i get this crazy craving for some rice pudding as im walking by the dairy section.
Now im sitting here starting on 22 ounces of the stuff and wondering what kind of craving do other Nico members get when they go to the grocery store.
I know its kinda weird but i know there is foods out there that just hit the spot some times.....

Audio With A Difference

ABM~Tuning — 2009-07-26T15:05:08-08:00

Ok so due to illness i cant drive or own a car but that doesnt stop me bringing parts of cars into my room as furniture or electrical equiptment.I would like peoples advice on a good sound system i.e makes, sub size, ways to store them, and rough prices.I live in the UK but shipping is an option.I personally am thinking a couple of square kickers in an acrylic presentation box with a neon light and a purge valve just for effects.

tell me what you think,vinny xx

Central Air Unit Not Cooling House

BrendanMowgli — 2009-08-18T20:00:28-08:00

I have 2 units- one upstairs and one downstairs-

The upstairs is blowing- I feel the air blowing- the thingamabob outside (can't think of the name) is operating, but no cold air. I did notice that there's no water being pumped out.

I hear its the compressor, but hopefully it's something else. Is there a few other checks I can do before I call the rapis- I mean the HVAC guy?

Thanks!

Finally, new 7.1 unit to replace my trusty 5.1 system

audtatious — 2009-07-06T06:04:57-08:00

So, for fathers day my wife purchased this for me:

It's the Pioneer Elite SC-05 which replaces my old Pioneer VSX-D509 5.1 box. So far so good I guess. The old VSX was uncomplicated and simply worked well. This one has so many bells and whistles it's gonna take me a while to figure everything out. Right now it's working OK with my blu-Ray player and DVR (both are simply connected via HDMI). Still have not tried music at this point but that will come.

Any connectivity and setting suggestions?

Stout beers. Post your favorites.

Looneybomber — 2009-11-16T19:34:48-08:00

Niconaughts. Add your favorite stouts to this thread.

I'm not a big fan of stout beers, I love abbey/belgium style ales; Tripel and quad ales to be exact. But I've run across a couple stouts which should be available in most areas that you should really try.

By Ommegang of NY: Chocolate stout

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/42/38818
I'm not currently drinking this beer, but for a stout I really liked this beer. It's smooth, pretty flavorful, but not overly powerful. The chocolate is certainly apparent, but Ommegang really did a good job adding it to their beer.

I've paired this beer up with steak, pasta (robust cheeses and heavily seasoned), and sweet & sour chicken breast (not breaded chinese) and it's worked pretty well.

By Avery of CO: Mephistophele's
http://www.averybrewing.com/index2.html
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30/28204

This beer is demonically good, demonically strong...and demonically expensive. I paid 7.99 for a 12oz bottle. Sorry for being melodramatic, but it's in the "demon" series of beers. It's actually not that expensive, I've paid just over $1 per ounce for a beer. Trappist Rochfort or whatever it was.

This beer is black black, and has a TON of flavor. With it's chocolate and burnt barrel aftertaste, I have to wonder if they didn't just melt some chocolate and add some charcoal into the beer to prevent any light from penetrating it.

It pours pretty thick, kinda like a thin cough syrup, and has no head. Do not serve cold, but don't serve room temp either...unless you want a biting flavor, then definately drink it at room temp.

As I am drinking it, I'm still not sure what foods I'd pair this with. It's flavor will be overbearing for any foods I prepare. Maybe it'd work with a blackend chicken or fish. Right now, I am drinking it alone, but could see myself snacking on beef jerky while drinking it.

PS you'll notice all kinds of AbV percentages for this beer. The Avery website lists a different percent (15.1%) than what's printed on my bottle (15.92%) which is different than what beeradvocate lists (13.43%). All I can say is this beer definately has a high alcohol content!

Rebuilding a rotting shed

audtatious — 2009-06-11T14:29:02-08:00

Well, my shed was in "not so great" condition when I bought the house in 1998. After 10.5 years the sides were falling apart (some kind of pressboard) so I replaced the side with wood panels last year and kept pushing off rebuilding the front. Well, the doors were pretty much falling apart and the front wood was simply disintegrating. Wife wanted it torn down but a replacement was not cheap and I felt the main structure was sound. I had already bought most of the wood so last weekend I started rebuilding it in-between stroms rolling through. I still have some trim to put on and need to get a thick coat of paint on it but it seems to have turned out pretty good. I'm happy with it and got to use all my power tools and nail guns

Help me. little bro b day party

OMSIN — 2009-05-23T08:38:32-08:00

so it's my little brothers birthday party and he decided to have 4 of his friends spend the night. They all between 10 and 11, I go to put up with them yelling and screaming all night. I swear the one they call sean is the spawn of satan.

Grad School Coming to an end

21nemesis — 2009-05-15T22:00:05-08:00

Modified by 21nemesis at 10:16 PM 5/15/2009

Refinancing a home

mmm240 — 2009-05-07T21:00:50-08:00

I know that rates are low right now, but not sure how low. I'm looking for advice.

I have two mortgages ATM; one at a fixed 6.125 (about 75%), other Adjustable currently at 5.75 (about 14%) So I've got some equity. I am looking to combine them into one fixed. I just spoke with an "adjuster" with whom I have the loans and he couldn't combine them and could only get my fixed to 4.875% at a cost of about $1200. That would save me $70 something a month. Pfft, that ain't s***. I think, I'm still pretty new to this.

But I think because my house is worth less than what I bought it at two years ago means the rates are pretty damn low, am I right?

How would you go about this?

Need some advice on air purifiers

DJ Raijin — 2009-08-23T05:22:06-08:00

Well I'm shopping for an air purifier and possibly a sanitizer to go along with it. I have bad allergies to pollens, dust, molds, animal dander, particulates...things of that nature and so I want something that will clean my bedroom. Preferably a filterless one so I don't have to keep buying new filters all the time....

Anyone have any experience with:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H0RZB0

or do you guys have any other suggestions? I'm all ears

the kitchen sink

S133P3R — 2009-05-15T18:22:55-08:00

my friend in hawaii turned me onto this new craze that is sweeping the nation of bathing in the sink while at work at your fast-food restaurant job. seems odd but what better place to bathe than the place where you get the dirtiest? makes tons of sense to me.

there are only a few rules people, so play fair while tub-ing...
1. work at a fast food restuarant: pref. the one where the sink/bath is located (ie: KFC or McDonalds)
2. have a camera: cuz no one, i mean no one will believe you did this unless its all over the internet.
3. BE FUGLY: regular ugly doesnt wash of at your house but maybe FUGLY will wash off at Burger King.
4. Groups: some one has to wash your back with the grille scraper right? and the more the merrier i always say...

any ways heres some videos to get ya'll started:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpAXRt4TVgM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1iyN7Y-jJQ

i wish my work had a big sink, it would keep me from making worthless threads while im bored at work.

Shop pics, post em up!

boro drift — 2009-04-28T07:14:55-08:00

So where do you do all the work to your vehicles? Got a shop, space, garage? Whatever, post some pics!

Here's mine, I'm not a home owner yet, so I rent.

24X40, with a storage next to it.

My welder.

Sander I built, handiest tool I have.

My AE86. I'll get that S13 subframe attached someday....

My work bench...a

The beast....

And finally, the Supra.

So I remodeled the upstairs... If anyone still uses 56k, KYS...

Beancooker — 2009-07-03T23:12:38-08:00

For anyone who has followed (Learned'd Crew) here are the before and after pics...

The before pics were after I had moved some furniture, and had just started the demo work...

What was the Media Room, will be the Master Bedroom

Hallway

What was the Unused Room now the Media Room

Bathroom

After the remodel...

.
.
.
.
.

The new Master Bedroom

Hallway

The new Media Room

The remodeled Bathroom

The bad-f***ing-a** job I did at joining the wood to the carpet... Way harder than you would guess...

Is your living room dirtier or more ghetto than mine

Looneybomber — 2009-04-03T09:14:34-08:00

My living room was getting out of hand. I was busy doing homework and various other things instead of cleaning.

Then I cleaned up a little, tried to organize some stuff I got in the mail, and snapped this picture of my roomates playing guitar hero.

And here's the ghetto part, I'm using boxes as speaker stands...and yes there's speakers inside most of those boxes...and I have more unused stuff in the same room along with another room and closet. I just don't have enough time to continue working on getting my audio setup the way I'm supposed to.

Did you find the case of beer? It's in 3 of the 4 pictures.

Modified by Looneybomber at 2:09 PM 3/13/2009

Onkyo introduces the 1st receiver with 7.2 Prologic IIz

Looneybomber — 2009-03-14T08:23:50-08:00

Onkyo TX-SR607 is First Receiver with Dolby ProLogic IIz

Onkyo has added three home theater receivers (TX-SR607, TX-SR507, TX-SR307) to its lineup, including the �world�s first� with Dolby ProLogic IIz processing.

The TX-SR607, a 7.2-channel receiver with Dolby Pro-Logic IIz, adds a vertical aspect to the sound with left and right channel front height speakers above the main speakers.

Each model supports Blu-ray and other HD A/V source components, 1080p resolution, Deep Color, and x.v.Color.

They also feature:

-Audyssey 2EQ calibration to correct frequency and time domain in each channel�s output

-Audyssey Dynamic Volume technology to optimize the dynamic range at any listening level

-Audyssey Dynamic EQ to fix problems with reduced sound quality at low listening levels

Onkyo also included four gaming modes: Rock, Sports, Action, or Role Playing to match the listener�s experience to the gaming content.

The TX-SR607 and TX-SR507 have HDMI repeaters and Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Both also offer new proprietary rear-panel universal port to simplify connection to the HD Radio Tuner and iPod Dock that will be available in late spring.

The TX-SR607 also has dual subwoofer line-outputs and upconverts analog sources to HDMI via Faroujda DCDi technology.

The entry-level TX-SR307 has HDMI pass-through switching on three inputs.

The 5.1-channel TX-SR307 and 5.1-channel TX-SR507 have 65- and 80-watts per channel, respectively. The TX-SR607 is rated at 90 watts per channel.

MSRP:
TX-SR307 � $299 (March)
TX-SR507 � $399 (March)
TX-ST607 � $599 (April)

http://www.electronichouse.com...c_iiz/

Share your favorite recipes with NICO! Official NICO Good Food Thread.

MinisterofDOOM — 2009-11-08T18:50:45-08:00

By request, this is the official NICO recipes sticky. Post 'em up!

Feel free to leave feedback and discuss, but I'm going to make an effort to keep this thread as easy to navigate as possible, so don't be surprised if non-recipe posts disappear from time to time.

Question about wiring in your home

breadbox — 2009-08-22T11:21:14-08:00

I think we have aluminum wiring. We are going to be fixing up the house. Isn't alu wiring common for house fires?

Should we even consider rewiring the house? I have know Idea how its done but just wondering what people have to say.

What kind of wiring is the best?

Re: beer of choice

sr20powerz — 2009-03-13T01:30:31-08:00

budlight ftw

Home audio/theater deals.

Looneybomber — 2009-10-11T08:18:12-08:00

Hey guys/gals, I'm big into home audio and periodically I see deals worth looking at.

I came across this deal. Energy 5.0 system. No idea how long it'll last.
399.00 + free shipping!
http://www.wwstereo.com/#/ecom...44559

Also, they have an eBay store with a Buy it now option. With the Live.com discount that's now back to 25%, you could have this for 300.00 shipped!

You'll still need a receiver and a sub to complete the 5.1 system.

Modified by Looneybomber at 12:27 PM 2/28/2009

I need some interior color ideas

mmm240 — 2009-08-18T11:18:41-08:00

I'm painting my living room/kitchen/hallway tomorrow and don't know what color to choose. I know white goes with everything, but I don't want it to be boring.

Maybe a white, but a not often used white?

Lemme know whatcha got!

Basketball goal restoration inside..

cmfireman — 2009-03-09T08:06:42-08:00

So my mom just bought an (old) new house, and there was an old rusted post with a rotten piece of plywood for a backboard, a rusted goal, and no net in the driveway.

I decided instead of tearing it down, I would give it new life and maybe get some exercise in the process and after completion.

* First, I sanded the post with 220 grit paper and hit it with Rustoleum primer. I then put a few coats of Rustoleum gloss black on it.

Post after painting:

*I attempted to unbolt the backboard, but the bolts were so rusted I had to tear it off and sawzall out the bolts. I picked up some new bolts at ACE hardware.

*I then went to Lowes and picked up a sheet of 3/4" plywood, a quart of white exterior paint and a brush. I traced out what was left of the old backboard, and cut out the new pattern with a jigsaw. I straightened up the strait edges with a tablesaw.

The backboard with 2 coats of paint:

The porous plywood really soaks up the paint. I hope I won't need more.

I need to pick up some red paint so I can finish the rim and the red square on the backboard. I bought a net at Walmart for like $4.

Will post final pics when done, I have to work the next 3 days so it'll probably be next week until I can finish.

So far, I have about $35 in the project. It would cost a bit more to buy a new backboard or a new basketball goal, and when I'm finished I can say I did it myself.

Basketball goal restoration inside...

cmfireman — 2009-02-22T06:40:41-08:00

My bad.

Modified by cmfireman at 10:24 AM 2/22/2009

Water Disaster 101

audtatious — 2009-03-18T11:12:32-08:00

Doing some work in the storage room of the basement there was a water line hanging around that used to be part of the old heater. By looking at it I knew it had been the water line that went to the built-in humidifier from the old oil-based furnace. As it was in the way and not in use I went ahead and decided to put my new pipe cutter to use. As I'm sure you can guess, it was a gusher.

Water went everywhere. Wife grabbed an empty bucket to start catching the flow and was spittin and sputtering as it was flying in her face. CLASSIC. So, I turned off the main water shutoff and it only slowed by 1/2....Guess I need to have a new shutoff valve installed as water was still pouring out of the 1/4" pipe.

I traced it back to the main water pipe and it did have it's own old shutoff valve.....Which the idiots that initially threw in the ducting had blocked off with a metal pipe. 20 minutes of screwing with it and I had THAT shut, but it only decreased the water drain by another 1/2....Oh my!

I went ahead and installed another coupler to the old electric solenoid that I had removed from the pipe and the water leak was gone. What a pain in the butt!

So, I guess we are going to contact the guys who put in the new heater as they should have removed that line and patched the pipe. If they don't take care of it I will have to bill them for another plumber. Will have to get the main shutoff taken care of as well.

Fun fun fun on a Saturday night

Sticky Buns

mzeo — 2009-02-12T05:14:30-08:00

Had some tasty ribs for dinner, and this for dessert:

Nuked for 10sec to warm it up, and a glass of 3.25%. Damn it was good. Sorry, no pics of the ribs. Didn't think of it in time.

New limited ed. beers by Boulevard.

Looneybomber — 2009-02-11T18:39:57-08:00

You may have seen posts by me referencing the Sixth Glass quadrupel ale in the Smoke Stack series. Well Boulevard has come up with two "spin off" beers from that series, which I highly recommend checking out.

Here is the official info on the two beers.
http://www.boulevard.com/image...e.pdf

I bought a bottle (bottle #189) of the Bourbon Barrel Quad, a complex quadruple ale "based loosely" off of my favorite beer, Sixth Glass quad ale. I say complex because of all the flavors! This beer is teeming, yes teeming with flavor! But don't expect the flavor rich stout bitterness to be there. Not only does it have the sweet, rich flavor of being a quadruple ale, it's also fermented over cherry's and stored in a bourbon barrel. And even though I don't have a good sense of smell, the aroma will have you scrunching eyebrows, puzzled, wondering if that's whiskey and chocolate you smell coming from a beer?.

This beer is a brown brown and semi-opaque, not near as translucent as the picture. Because of it's 11.8% alcohol, it's not real "fizzy" like the notorious domestics (bud, miller, ect...) are. It's also best served cool, but not cold! 45-65deg is great for this beer, but Boulevard recommends 50.

Tonight, I made a steak dinner with fried rice (long story, but suffice it to say, I ate the tuna steaks and sushi rolls before dinner) and it just wasn't quite the right beer for this meal. Though had I used a different seasoning, something a tad sweeter like I would have used on the tuna, it would have been pretty good. I could see myself cooking some mandarin chicken or lamb and serving this beer. I could also see myself snacking on swiss cheese slices while drinking this beer.

All in all, I give this beer an excellent rating, but will likely not buy it too often because of the price. My typical liquor store charges 12.50/bottle (minus 10% if buying a case), but I've found it as cheap as 11.50 else-where in town. My typical beer, Sixth Glass, sells for 7.50 at the same store and still tastes great, plus, because of it's more tame flavor, sixth glass quad ale, goes with more foods.

Side note: Those not familiar with alcohols, to put things into perspective, this is nearly a 24 proof beer in a 750ml bottle and wine averages 20 proof, meaning, you're consuming more alcohol than if you drank a bottle of wine. So don't go drinking a bottle of this, then driving to your friends house, unless you want to risk getting a DUI/DWI.

Beer of choice.... for now

Tumbler — 2009-08-06T03:04:33-08:00

I am a big fan of unfiltered wheat beers, I am into leinenkugel's sunset wheat right now.
What are you drinking?

tree advice needed

numbnuts240 — 2008-10-23T17:04:26-08:00

ok, so in an effort to pretty up my backyard, i've decided to add a couple of trees. as of now, my yard is riddled with a few stumps that will be ground out, as well as a pool that i will be extremely happy to part with next spring. i'm already dead set on a sugar maple for one of the trees because they are quite the lookers during the fall season. that and the possibility of getting some syrup for myself out of it equates to major win. now for the other tree, it has to deal well with, for the most part, direct sunlight, and i don't want it to be a tall behemoth where it will block my view from my back deck (i live on top of a hill and get a decent view that i enjoy to look at). i would prefer it to have some nice flowers during spring and a vivid leaf color during fall. anyone have any ideas?

jUST WAnna say

Murdered_T — 2008-10-04T12:39:25-08:00

Those new Dominoes toasted subs are pretty good. You should at least try one. The Philly is good.

SDS Rotary Hammer Drill / Harbor Freight

ishkabibble — 2009-08-06T20:39:48-08:00

I got this today. I think it's my new favorite tool.

http://www.harborfreight.com/c...41983

Cuts through concrete and brick like butter! My friends regular hammer drill took 1 hour to drill a hole in a brick wall, this thing does it in 10 seconds.

Oh, yeah, I love Harbor Freight, too. Cheap tools that are "good enough" for small jobs.

balloon got stuck

Dasoupdude — 2009-06-17T08:37:26-08:00

No more ceiling cat is watching you, its now "Nissan Balloon is..."

So yeah i leave my room unattended and let my balloon chillin not tied to anything, and minute later i hear something similar to an orphan girl trying to escape the grimy paws of some sort of nun coming from my room, i return to find this.

now whenever the fan runs it makes a weird noise. o well.,

yet another epic around the house story.

Screened Porch

Q451990 — 2008-08-18T08:04:06-08:00

Well, I finally finished a project that I thought would have gotten done years ago! The roof and floor were already there, so I just took out the rails and columns that were there and framed up the porch. The framing is wrapped with a vinyl flashing called "duraflash" and the screen system is called "screen tight"

It's an awesome system... you attach plastic tracks with grooves in them to the framing, and then the screen is attached to them with rubber spline - much like you would use to replace the screen in a window screen. Then the white plastic cap covers it up for a nice clean finish. If you ever damage a peice of screen, you just pop the cover off, rip out the spline, and rescreen that one section... very cools system and not overly expensive. Each 8' stick of the stuff costs about $8 for the base and cap.

I have a ceiling fan and speakers hooked to zone 2 of my receiver in the living room, so I can pipe music or TV out there too. That works great during football season when I have people over for the game.

Well, I'm going to go enjoy the sound of the frogs with a glass of JB Black and a cigar a bug free environment!

Heath

Modified by Q451990 at 4:11 PM 12/18/2008

Some artwork

hpmachine — 2009-06-24T06:15:15-08:00

I'm a long time avid skateboarder/artist so I thought I'd combine the two. Here is my sculpt of Jamie Thomas doing a smith grind on a hand rail. Still needs to be cleaned up a bit and painted. Thanks for looking

Tempur-pedic mattress

Dasoupdude — 2009-11-12T03:22:57-08:00

Does anyone have one, or has tried one?

They look mad comfy and I'm thinking of getting one...(trying out first)

I say a good sleep diminishes stress and helps your day go through a more positive vibe . What better way to start that than to try out one of the most comfortable beds?

Favorite salad dressing !

Kckouki — 2009-03-12T09:49:23-08:00

Yes, saleds are ****ing amazing.

I dont know if you guys have a Red Lobsters near you, but get there balsomic vinagarette (SP?) salad dressing is ****ing epic.

Its ah-mazing.

Whats your alls favorite dressing ? I havent tried much, maby you all will get me to try new things. lol

Tub prawblems.

Dasoupdude — 2008-10-27T22:07:17-08:00

Does anyone know how to remove this kind of Tub Stopper?My tub has an inch of water that has been sitting there for 2 days now and it goes down about a millimeter every day because it is soo backed up, i tried pulling out the stopper with alot of force but i was afraid that i was doing it incorrectly. I was just wonderin if anyone has any helpful insight, cheers.

Patching Drywall

240marcuSX — 2008-07-24T19:31:16-08:00

Anybody know how to do this? Im watching tutorials on it right now, doesnt seem too bad.

I have a couple holes in my bedroom walls from when I got pissed off as a kid, and now its time to fix them.

One of them I think is small enough to put some mesh over and sand smooth, but the other I think needs to be cut out and patched.

Ive been watching this:
http://www.easy2diy.com/cm/eas...#shop

Any other advice?

Sam Adams: Summer Ale

Looneybomber — 2008-09-11T21:32:33-08:00

Guys/Gals, this is certainly a cheap beer worth trying. It ranks right up there with the Boulevard (Unfiltered) Wheat, except this has a hint of lemon.

The initial taste starts out light and smooth and remains that way even well into the aftertaste. No surprises with this beer at all. It's not a robust flavored beer by any means, but this is a summer brew, so heavy, complex tasting beer just isn't fitting. So pick up a case of this while you can, it's seasonal and wont be around again till next summer.

Unless you're at a Mexican restaurant, it kicks Corona's ***!

Side note: This also makes an excellent "summer beer" beer. Get out a frosty mug, add some sour mix, a shot of vodka, and pour in the beer. But becareful, this drink will sneek up on ya.

Any Hawaiians I'm now a hawaiian food nut

HashiriyaS14 — 2009-09-28T20:03:02-08:00

Or rather, I should say crazy about a lot of the food EATEN in Hawaii.

See, my interests fall more with Loco Moco and Spam/Kimchi Bokkumbap than with Poi and Lomi Salmon.

Not that I don't ENJOY Poi and Lomi Salmon, because I most definitely do, but stuff like Poi, and then also things like Taro Leaves (for lau lau) are really tough to get on the East Coast.

However, I can obviously get the ingredients for Loco Moco, Misoyaki Butterfish, Spam Musubi, Kimchi Fried Rice, etc.. anywhere.

I've started taking my own "plate lunches" to work. I even make my own Mac Salad! I'll take a piece of Kalbi Shortrib, some homemade kahlua pig (from crockpot, LOL), and "2 scoop rice, 1 scoop mac salad".

My next thing is going to be trying to make my own Ahi Poke and Squid Luau.

And no, I've never been to Hawaii, but I've developed an enormous obsession with the food through blogs (Ono Kine Grindz, Tasty Island, etc).

It's all the best Asian cuisines melded into one supertasty ubercuisine, and then combined with the best the USA has to offer. How did I not discover this sooner?

And why don't we have Okazuya in DC?!?!

Homemade blackjack table

M45-Zero260 — 2008-09-08T12:58:08-08:00

Got bored a couple of months ago and decided to try and build my own blackjack table for my basement game room. I didn't think it turned out too bad for my first one, and I got a lot of ideas from just doing searches online at blackjack and poker tables. I bought all of the supplies for the table online, and picked up the fabric, pad, and wood at my local fabric and home improvement store. I had to build the padded rail independent of the table itself and then attach it with screws from the bottom. I used white acrylic paint and masking tape to make the stencils for the diamonds where you place your bets. It's something fun to play during the crappy Winters we have up here in Northern Illinois, and I think I've gotten better at the game as a whole by playing several times a week on it. Anyway, here are some pics of the finished product:

VUDU Wireless Kit Enables Whole-Home Viewing

Looneybomber — 2008-06-06T08:56:44-08:00

VUDU Wireless Kit Enables Whole-Home Viewing
Wi-Fi supports all VUDU functions, including instant-on for HD content, depending on bandwidth.

The new plug-and-play VUDU Wireless Kit creates a wireless network that allows the video download service to be used anywhere in the home.

A wireless base station plugs into the existing broadband router and a receiver plugs into the VUDU box to create secure 802.11g Wi-Fi.

All VUDU functions are supported by the Wi-Fi, including instant-on for HD content, depending on bandwidth.

This is yet another added feature to VUDU, which offers more than 6,000 titles directly to TVs. VUDU recently addressed several issues with the release of 1.5 software, which gives users discounted extended rentals on all movies.

"Following the rapid success and strong following we've already achieved for the VUDU box, we're now taking the next step to offer even greater convenience to video fans," says Patrick Cosson, VP of marketing for VUDU.

"Our customers have been asking for a wireless solution, and we've responded with a hassle-free and secure solution that does not require complicated configuration."

The VUDU Wireless Kit will retail for $79. A package including both the VUDU box and VUDU Wireless Kit is available for $349.

http://www.cepro.com/article/v...ewing/

The Garage Mahal: Grease Monkey Meets Audiophile

Looneybomber — 2008-06-05T09:43:30-08:00

The Garage Mahal: Grease Monkey Meets Audiophile
Baumeister Electronic Architects shows off the Garage Mahal, an integrated garage the Autobahn Country Club.

Just when you thought custom electronics had made its way into every room of the house (not to mention outdoor spaces), Niles, Ill.-based Baumeister Electronic Architects found another.

You guessed it: the garage.

"Garages are definitely on their way to becoming the ultimate male sanctuary," says Mike Johnston, system designer.

He says many guys like to listen to music through high-performance audio and watch sports on a good video system while working in the garage. Garages with audio and video also make logical extensions to whole-house control systems, Johnston adds.

The next time Baumeister needs to showcase its garage integration ability, it can show clients pictures of "Garage Mahal" -- that's what they call a 6,000-square-foot garage located at an amateur racing track at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Ill.

At the Autobahn, members get to race their cars on a real track, and several members own garages on the property. A builder of one of the garages, Patrick Lee of Gary, Ind.-based Lee Construction, enlisted Baumeister to provide his clients with an entertainment and control system along with cameras on the roof.

"At first we thought the camera was for security, but we finally realized it was for watching the track," says John Baumeister, owner.

The cameras are just the tip of the iceberg. On the first floor are the garage and the office. There's a second floor with a 1,200-square-foot living space complete with living room, kitchen and two bedrooms.

The most challenging aspect of the installation, according to Johnston, was finding space to store components. "There was a need to be creative."

Technology includes a 42-inch plasma with Artisan speakers, a Denon receiver, Crestron Adagio control and multiroom audio, ReQuest hard-drive media server and SpeakerCraft in-ceiling and on-wall speakers.

"This garage has the most advanced technology of any garage at the course," says Lee.

That could change. Baumeister says he has been working with the builder that does most of the garages on the site. He expects to take on a few more garage projects, perhaps as the racing enthusiasts engage in one-upmanship.

"Each one wants it bigger and better," Baumeister says.

http://www.cepro.com/article/t...phile/

ATTN. pool experts!! question on pool slide instal....

amolao — 2008-12-22T12:06:25-08:00

The pool is gunite and a couple of years old with concrete deck.
What are the liabilities when it comes to installing a slide after the pool had been completed ?

Safety issues (bonding, etc...) ??
Any chances of cracking the deck while drilling before the installation of the anchors...??

Is this a DIY job ?, it doesn't seem complicated at all. Mainly worried about a kid falling and breaking his neck, God forbid.

Bud Light Lime (New for May '08)

Looneybomber — 2008-08-13T17:00:44-08:00

Have you seen this?
http://www.budlightlime.com

It just came out Thursday, but I found out about it after the liquor stores closed. Tomorrow I am going to pick some up, if I can find it here in town, and I'll let you know how it compares to the beer it copied off of; Miller Chill.

What's your favorite "gross" food

Looneybomber — 2009-09-05T14:40:36-08:00

You know what I'm talking about, that food you eat that everyone kinda scrunchs their face up when they look at it. The reason I thought of it, is 'cause I'm eating mine right now.

Menudo with a side of collard greens.

Menudo is a hispanic soup made of beef tripe (cow stomach), homony and seasonings. I've had it made from pork before, but it just wasn't the same. It's absolutly delicious and I eat it a few times/week. The mexican's I used to work with couldn't believe I (an american) would eat it! I brought it to work and ate it at lunch one day. My friend John had to leave the room, he was getting sick just thinking about it

Check out my new furnishings!

krash — 2009-02-25T21:00:51-08:00

yea so I got real bored and put some new items in my room:

I got a Turbo key-holder:

a piston book-holder

and my latest and favorite addition. My nightstand. 18" ICW's wrapped in kumho 225s:

Any one gearing up for a summer garden

thekage — 2008-03-14T07:39:50-08:00

I remember as a kid helping in my parents garden, but as an adult have never had the space. Now I have this huge back yard! I plan on using the square foot method of gardening, for efficiency and space sake. I built myself two 4x4 boxes, six inches deep this weekend out of cedar. In a couple of weeks I hope to plant a little bit of everything in them.. tomatoes, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Leeks, Corn, Onions, radicchio, a few different lettuces, carrots, a ton of herbs, I might even transplant the garlic I planted this winter to the new boxes.. along with some helpful flowers, such as Marigolds, ect.. and in swamp east Missouri, you cannot forget the mosquito plants...

Oxyacetylene for bodywork

ReaperBJJ — 2008-10-12T21:05:39-08:00

So after I buy my 240, I've been debating buying a welder. I'm probably going to have to weld some hole in the hatch, and plus I'm in the process of fixing up a lot of rust on an '89 F150 I own and need to weld in a few patches.

I can get a used O/A kit and tanks for a lot cheaper than I can get a MIG, and I like the quality of work I do better on O/A than MIG, and plus, the torch will be helpful for bending stuff and things like that.

My question is, I always see everyone using MIG on all autobody work, how effective is O/A welding for it?

I want throne space!

mmm240 — 2008-06-01T20:44:42-08:00

My bathroom is quite small. I am thinking about getting a pedestal sink so that I have more knee room. Anyone dealt with this before? Help me find a good one!

First House

s13girl — 2009-06-17T08:36:30-08:00

So I am buying my first house in a couple of weeks, my b/f and i are purchasing it from his grandmother so that means no mortgage which will be really nice.

Im not sure what we should do first. I know cleaning is a must be cause there were renters living in it before.

Paint?
flooring?

im not sure where to start

Thanks

33Morgan

Two products that I highly recommend.

BOOMSHAKALAKA — 2008-08-25T16:18:08-08:00

What: Shopvac Floormaster wet/dry vacuum
Why: Very powerful, easy to set up, easy to use, hose does not contort and twist while in use, lightweight, etc.. I love it. I used to use an old Craftsman vacuum and that was starting to show its age. I'm glad I got this. It works like a charm. Not too shabby for use in cars either, although it is kinda hard to get in tight spots. But that's what a mini vac is for.
http://www.shopvac.com/vacs/de...oreID=

What: Melitta Express Kettle
Why: Heats up water way faster than any other traditional stove top kettle I've ever used before. It never fails to deliver hot water for tea, ramen noodles, etc. Pretty cheap too!
http://www.everythingkitchens.....html

Overall, neither product has any true downsides to them. If they do have any, it can be easily overlooked. Both products are awesome and reliable. I highly recommend getting them for Christmas or whenever. You will not be disappointed!

Post your House bangers

_spetznaz — 2008-10-05T12:19:12-08:00

These are my speakers

i like looking at diesel floor standing speakers! so post em up!

Anybody here have a Traeger

float_6969 — 2008-10-10T20:30:16-08:00

The company that I work for sells these Grills and I recently borrowed one from work to see what it was like to cook on one.

Holy crap, it made the most delicious, juicy chicken I've EVER had. It's amazing. Even crappy, pre-made hamburgers that my brother brought over didn't taste too bad.

I can but one below dealer cost, so I'm saving up my pennies.

Anybody else have a Traeger and love it?

Anybody in Atlanta GA

gepeto — 2007-10-29T15:34:49-08:00

Hey guys,

If anybody is located in GA, could you give me an idea of how much car insurance costs, license plates, average housing etc..

I searched a bit and it seems houses are not too expensive, and the income tax is damn low, since I'm used to paying about 40% income tax before deductions (yeah, fawk this).

Dishwasher help

elwesso — 2008-07-25T08:25:56-08:00

ok in my house, we have a fairly new-ish dishwasher (maybe 2-3 years old). it gets used every day, so its seen its use in recent times. Its a kenmore, I cant tell you any more than that.

The problem is the dishes dont come out dry. They come out really clean and spot free but theyre not dry. Any suggestions?

Tree removal

tiger-SE-R — 2007-10-22T19:29:25-08:00

Ok, I just moved into my new house, and one of the first things I need to take care of is a 55 ft pine tree thats located 8 ft from my living room. I also need to get 5 other trees trimmed back. I got my first estimate today......$2400

I got 6 other people coming by next week, hopefully with some cheaper costs. The tree is full of carpenter ants and the roots have messed with the chimney. $$$$$$$$$

guess I know how I'm spending my bonus I just got

anyone else have had large trees taken away from their property?

NICO bookshelf Why not!

Dano — 2008-07-11T17:27:29-08:00

I'll admit I was bored earlier, and was tired of looking at this yellow bookshelf that's been in the family a long time, sooooo I painted it.

Not done, but here's the progress thus far:

Before... yuck.

Then sand and paint black to match my other furniture!

Looked boring so add something to it... I just freehanded the logo, so the O sucks.

Voila! Not done, still have to go back with black to make the outline of the letters crisp, my stencil raised some with the force of the compressed air in the can. I'm also ordering a piece of glass to put over it.

I'll update when it's done.

-Dan

off-the-shelf bread reviews

dickie — 2008-10-01T14:02:10-08:00

i have been experimenting with a lot of breads recently in my quest to find a suitable replacement for the Brownberry brand stuff I used to get when I lived up North.

me requirements are simple:

- must be wheat bread
- no preservatives
- must have a "hard" boderline crumbly moist texture
- grains, oats, or nuts may be present but aren't necessary

so far i have tried:

Health Nut Bread:

taste - pretty decent. every once in a while you get an almond sliver or oat and it adds dimension to your sandwich.
texture - close, but no cigar.
versatility - good, but if you like to make toast with it, make sure your toaster has a removable pan for all the **** that falls off.

Honey Wheat by Natures Own:

taste - sweet but unobtrusive.
texture - soft but spongy. kinda moist.
versatility - its a utility bread and can be used for almost anything.

Double Fiber:

taste - fiber-y.
texture - hard but dry.
versatility - good if your plumbing is backed up.

Dark German Wheat by Pepperidge Farms:

taste - really powerful wheat taste, very earthy.
texture - firm but very dry.
versatility - okay sandwiches, surprisingly good toast.

please add more!

Drinking wine, around the house.

bone_stock_240 — 2008-08-15T15:26:20-08:00

So I have never been much of a wine drinker, but last night mommy offered me a glass of wine, so I thought to myself ... why not? So I was sipping on my wine in my bathrobe, just chilling. Then I thought to myself, it has been a couple weeks since I have gotten laid, and now I am drinking wine in my bathrobe. Am I a desperate housewife?

Old Time Radio

tiger-SE-R — 2007-07-07T19:25:13-08:00

Ok, I was out at a tag sale with my wife and we saw and bought an old school radio for only 5 dollars . This is the type that people used to listen to because there was no television. I can post pics later but basically it stands 4 1.2 ft tall and is made from mahagony. The thing still works believe it or not and only thing it needs is some old style speaker fabric where the 5x7 is ripped. Other than ebay any other places to find the fabric?

Golly gee, ain't this forum nifty

bone_stock_240 — 2007-09-12T22:30:05-08:00

So I am sitting around my house in my boxers. Discuss.

I got some wood today...

Beancooker — 2008-04-25T06:36:50-08:00

I was given a bunch of wood like this. It is all fiddle back grain, and the peices vary from 24"x36" down to 8"x4"

Now I need to build something.