Finally did some office upgrades this weekend.

The old decor was 1960s corporate standard issue. All painted steel; seafoam blue and DOD grey. Got a new sit / stand desk to try and take some stress off my lumbar spine, a new side table for the printers and laptop, and some decent lighting for a change.


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ae9606c004.png

I see you are also one of those people who secretly wants others to refer to your office as "Mission control". :)

--Ian

A buddy has put hydraulic lifts in his garage floor. He'll be painting the floor and remodeling everything. When the lift s not being used there are no posts in the way!

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...204_143211.jpg

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...204_151630.jpg


He had the ceiling raised above the lift.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...204_151657.jpg

Hehe.

It's not all that excessive. The small PC monitor on the left is a computestick showing me status from both transmitters. Two normal monitors on my desk, and then TVs on the wall for all of our stations. Actually, I need to add a sixth TV now that TBD Network is on the air...



That's the way to do it right there. Nice. Are the hoses in conduit, or did he bury them in the concrete?


Unrelated:


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c3269c8c28.png

4in conduit within the concrete. You can see the trench he cut to the left in the elevated picture. The power unit and control panel is over by the wall. He's also got an air line run through the conduit so an air hose can be connected at the base of the lift. He says it is to keep from tripping over hoses but whatever hose he plugs into it will just be laying on the floor anyway. I didn't have the heart to tell him right then.

Taking this machine in on trade if anyone is interested. Runs well and only $125k.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...5&d=1517839461

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...11_resized.jpg

Joe,

The same guy owns this monstrosity (complete with a Procharger) which wouldn't be able to drive onto a lift that sits above floor level.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ef5f3b2f4f.jpg

That was right after he bought it. He has since removed the stupid tire lettering paint.

Not a fan, but to each his own.

I first saw those buried scissor lifts a few years ago when we were all debating about 2 post vs 4 post. Fell in love, and will definitely be doing that if I ever own a home with a garage.

In other news, I love working in a place where, when someone leaves a couple of 12 packs of beer in the studio behind the wireless rack, nobody objects except to question their taste in beer.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7b559d1d75.png


I'd have a hard time ever re-adjusting to a normal / office corporate gig. It was one of the things that drove me out of NC. Where else do you get to do this pretty much every single day?

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ce7fb85473.png

Tipping my virtual hat to some of the hardest-working stagehands in television.

These particular lifts seem to be very, very heavy. The thicknesses of the lifting pads are surprising. The arms are solid rather than fabricated tubes. He claims they are near 1k lbs apeice with the cylinders and they are rated for 7k vehicles.

And I don't like the car either.

Pic unrelated.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6ec5bcfb6a.jpg

not being able to pro-brady troll is killing me today...

The big problem with scissor lifts from my perspective is that you can't park another car underneath it.

Spent the weekend using my lift to do clutch & flywheel on the FD.

http://www.codrus.com/cars/fd/clutch...tch-2-0001.jpg

--Ian

Based on your ceiling height, what type of car will even fit under an occupied hoist?

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6ce404c875.jpg

I agree with it being nice to keep extra cars underneath. But a four post means you have to have a jack on your jack to do suspension work. I see you have them.


https://memegenerator.net/img/images...85/yo-dawg.jpg

I would like a two post lift. And I do know they are famous for denting doors and occasionally dropping Lotus Elise cars on the floor.

With my 8' high ceilings in my garage I calculated that I can park my Miata under my Miata.

Xzibit.gif

I have them, yes. I'm actually doing transmission work in that photo (swapping clutch & flywheel), the car is on jackstands on the lift so that I can use one of the roller jacks to support the nose of the diff (FD has a PPF like a Miata, but you're not supposed to dangle the diff by just the diff mounts) and the other one as a transmission jack.

The main reason I don't have a 2-post is that they're 2-4 feet wider than 4-posts, so you can't really fit one in a standard 20x20 garage and still have enough room to park another car next to it. A 2-post would also have required substantial concrete work, and they're less stable if you live in earthquake country.

http://www.codrus.com/cars/fd/clutch...tch-2-0002.jpg


--Ian

Ceiling height is 10 feet, the Miata & the FD stack nicely. The tape measure says the Audi will fit underneath, although it's pretty marginal and I've never tried it.

http://www.codrus.com/cars/fd/miata-fd-lift1.jpg

--Ian

That would cause me to have too many cars and divide my efforts. I can't think about more than one thing at a squirrel!



http://www.slate.com/content/dam/sla...mo-xlarge2.jpg

I've heard the whole "but I can park another car under the first car" justification many times. And who knows, maybe for some people this is a major factor. For me, permanently assigning the lift the role of "parking aid" kinda defeats its primary purpose, which is as a shop tool. Can't see the appeal in owning so many cars that I don't have enough area to park them without compromising my work space.



Also, ask a German person to pronounce the word squirrel. You're welcome.



In totally unrelated news:

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6b03c33707.png

Do WANT!
(car & lift)

Not sure if I really hate you or am just extremely jealous.

Married with 2 kids it's nice to have multiple cars. Otherwise you're doomed to driving this all the time:

https://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/h...oem_1_1280.jpg

--Ian

I would argue that using the lift to park a car IS using it as a tool IF it is a solution to a problem. That said all three cars in my garage have tires on the ground. Though that's usually not the case. One of them is usually staged on the lift for something to be done, or something in progress. Last weekend the Benz was on the lift for a shifter rebuild. From that it got a an oil change, then the Prius went on for an oil change. I'm a lift advocate for anybody who works on their car(s) regardless of what kind of lift. They all beat a jack and jack stands.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b884ef1ef7.jpg

So many cars, so little time...

ugh. I still have to wait 4.4 years to get a Porsche!

Don't you need to be 50 years or more to own a Porsche?

I would upload a picture but the mobile app is broken.

While I meet that particular requirement, I'll still probably never own one... I did get to drive a friend's yesterday, though:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4669/...8a435c39_c.jpg

475hp... 9000rpm... surgical steering... :drool:

All I can really say is WOW... amazing experience. I'm hoping to get a chance to drive it on the track next month. :party:

yes, but the wife messed up and said when I was 40!

problem is, the 996 is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. so ill just have to settle for a 991.

I guess I just don't get the whole "owning more cars than I have time for, and being forced to park them in really inconvenient places" thing. I get codrus' point, but it's not like you're going to park a minivan under anything else to begin with. It can live outside.

I dunno, maybe I'm just being a curmudgeon... Here's a picture of a thing which serves no purpose whatsoever other than to create marketing tie-in opportunities:


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e5e2962832.png

In my case, the only car that's inconvenient to get out is the Miata, and it's a car that's been modified to the point where it doesn't get driven on the street all that much anymore anyway. It's become a 90% track car, and if it takes a few extra minutes to get it out for weekend drives that's not a big deal. I don't commute in it.

It does take a few minutes of shuffling vehicles around to start a car work project, and it forces me to spend the time to clean everything up so I can put the cars away again at the end. I actually view this as a benefit, because it helps to prevent the garage floor from getting cluttered with crap, and it provides incentives to break projects up into small chunks that I can actually finish in a weekend, rather than having a non-working car taking up garage space for months at a time and losing the motivation to finish it.

Random photo from the Sharks game I went to a couple weeks ago with my dad. Unfortunately they lost:

http://www.codrus.com/misc/sharks-2018.jpg

--Ian

Hopefully purchasing car number 6 in the next few days. All cars have purposes, all get driven.

1990 Miata. Turbo'd and broken. This exists to taunt me and make me feel like a failure at engine building
2001 Miata. Cheap miata for driving when above miata is broken
2000 Jeep wrangler. For running into things in the woods
1993 Caddilac deville. For jumping on gravel roads while drinking beer
1972 Ford F100. Reminds me of my grandpa I never met, its our date car and what I'll be driving at our wedding
2014 Mazda 3 Hatch. Hunting for one of these right now for Hailey's daily driver/road trip car.
1 Motorcycle, 3 dirtbikes.

1998 4Runner. For sale, anyone want it?

and we lost cause your phone doesn't know how to properly white balance.

Game I went to last night: Oilers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (top team in the league). Considering the Oilers are struggling and likely will miss the playoffs, it was a pleasant surprise when our team dominated and won 6-2. Picture below came just after Connor McDavid scored his hat-trick (which explains all the hats thrown onto the ice). He finished with four goals and an assist.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...48e71b068a.jpg

Don't mean to go all fanboy but we rarely, and I mean rarely, see such entertaining hockey. Mostly we, I mean our team, sucks.

More proof birds are pretty smart, but cats are still ass holes.
​​​​​​​https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ae889ee341.gif

According to GQ they exist because of the number of native puffins on the island that would likely get into the frame of the shot. http://www.gq.com/story/porgs-only-e...rid-of-puffins

exactly- except they all run and don't "need" anything right now

Because I like working on them and have no deadline to complete anything. There are two licensed drivers in the house. Each has a commuter car and play car, though mine (Miata/190e) are both play cars since they're not critical for commuting. I work from home and mostly ride my bike or walk since I'm in-town and essentials are never far away. I calculate my driving time in minutes-per-week. The Miata and 190e are insured as collector/stated-value since standard insurance won't pay "what they're worth" and is far more expensive.

@brainy - the 996/986 is the cheapest Porsche (sportscar) going. Or am I missing a joke?

[QUOTE=m2cupcar;1465798@brainy - the 996/986 is the cheapest Porsche (sportscar) going. Or am I missing a joke?[/QUOTE]

turbo models seem to be six figures more than the Carrera counterpart. I'm not buying a Porsche without a turbo.

Translation: "I'm not buying a Porsche." :giggle:

Starman driving his Tesla through space. Didn't Panic.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...fb6bb13caa.png


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...208df26b43.png

Seen while driving this morning.

At some point in the future, possibly several million years from now, someone is going to find this car floating around the solar system and be very confused.



https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a28abc24b5.png

While I do like the campy pbs version, i'm sad nobody liked the modern era theatrical version, thus killing all hope for more -quels.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...45b802f813.png

PS Sam Rockwell is like the third pillar of movies requiring crazy characters.

I actually liked the modern version. Just thought I'd try for some old-skwel cred.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8f025a446a.png

sorry. BBC.

That game sucked for a kid. but it taught me the word "analgesic" and the box came with all sorts of random shit.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f3a88a18c2.jpg

you guys should read ready player one for major nostalgia.

https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.F...BAHaKP&pid=Api

Another fan of the BBC radio series. here

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ada558db85.jpg

I liked the new version too. Pretty good adaptation in my eyes. I think the TV series probably captured the British sense of humor a bit better but thats not surprising. I dont actually know why the movie was received so poorly.

Attachment 236911

Hint: Braineack thinks that Zooey Deschanel can't be talented because she's too pretty (while claiming to find her unattractive.)

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bf29470a34.png

fuckin what

As far as I can Google, she hasn't #metoo anybody yet. Hell, if you can't at least get some no-name producer to grab your tit at some point during your career, you're not that pretty.

Also... been awhile since airplane pics... bonus geek points to anybody who can tell me all 4 aircraft here and what they're doing in formation together.

996 Turbos are like... $30k. What are you smoking?

Well, it might help if the pic wasn't microscopic.

Top left is a F-86 Sabre, bottom is a P-51 Mustang. No idea about the other two. Not a clue why they're flying together, except maybe airshow?



Edit: cheating with Bing reveals the answer, but I won't post it. I would have never guessed in a million years anyway.

I reckon Bob Hoover in the Aero Commander ...

The exec jet was a disappointing American thing that I can't name offhand, as opposed to something like a Lear.

+1 on Bob Hoover

Looks like a Rockwell Saberliner...

Apparently not Bob Hoover... but it was Bob Hoover Tribute day. Oshkosh 2011 according to the Warbird Heritage Foundation...

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...be2eeedb52.jpg

I did the same (well, Google Images) and I don't get the "would never have guessed" unless you mean the specific man that those airplanes are all relevant to. It was, after all, an airshow.


Kinda cool to look at how technology has progressed in such a (relatively) short time.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5148f0fe31.png