Champagne taste beer budget

Actually, every car sold in the US for the last 20 years or so runs in OPEN loop until certain parameters are met, engine temp being one, and "warmed up" is an over statement. When in open loop, there is fuel injected based on different programs, or maps, in the computer based on engine temp, air temp, barometric pressure, engine vacuum, air density, and other factors. Once the oxygen sensors warm up, which happens rapidly on newer (OBD II, 96 and up) vehicles, the system goes into CLOSED loop, which means the injectors put in an amount of fuel based on if the oxygen sensors indicate they had just previously put in too much or too little for optimum efficiency or performance, whichever the driver is requiring at the moment. (And really, "spew" is nothing like what happens when pulse rate is controlled in milleseconds.) Just for grins and giggles, I just went out and did a cold start on a 2000 Pontiac Bonneville. Start up coolant temp was 18, intake air temp was 18. At 1 minute, 7 seconds it went closed loop, with a coolant temp of 68 degrees and air temp of 20. I believe most of us that warm up vehicles for 5 minutes just want to have some heat in there before we start driving, aside from the safety factor of exhaling humid air from our lungs onto a 15 degree windshield causing frost on the inside of the windshield, then scraping off the frost while still trying to see enough to drive through the one little spot near the dash that is still clear, invariably on the passenger side of the car anyway. [] Today is $1.99 in town, was $2.02 in Minneapolis yesterday and $1.99 100 miles south in Albert Lea, MN

We've had a small (5x10) spot for 6-7 years with tomatoes, assorted hot peppers, a watermelon and pumpkin here or there, some beans, I forget what all. The area it was in went away when we built the new house, so last fall I set up an 8 x 24 raised bed down in the lower yard, 18 inches high. First off, is that high enough? I can always raise it. It's currently filled with decent black dirt, but will be ammended with manure, straw and fertilizer this spring, we're in the country and can hear the source of our manure bellowing on a calm night. My wife wants to do all sorts of stuff this year, tomatoes, beans, peppers, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, I'd like to see some corn, not sure what'll get put in yet, it's 3 degrees here this morning, so we have time to think about it. Any advice you can offer before we get into the planting season?

Somewhere in one of these threads are these same images, in color and good focus. I believe they were from Edgars' site, but I can't say for sure, may have been 2 years ago. I thought about searching for them when I was at work with a fast connection, but we got everything done and handled for the week, it was either browse old posts or go home early on a Friday. The locks clicked close not too long after. Suffice to say, I intend on doing staggered studs and double sheetrock on both sides, insulation inside the walls, not exactly image 'D', but close. Since I'm home, I can verify that I still have 16 tubes of DAP Dynaflex 230 left for sealing every nook and cranny I can find to seal. The ceiling is really my biggest concern for containing sound since it's all open joists excepting the HVAC and water ins/outs, which are not insignificant. There is only one duct outlet into the listening room area, in the ceiling, but there are a myriad of ducts that run through the joists as they go to different rooms upstairs.

Sorry, I had the name a little screwed up. See here: http://www.auralex.com/sound_isolation_sheetblok/sound_isolation_sheetblok.asp I'm trying to prevent as much sound transmission as possible from a listening room and a work shop from getting out and up to bedrooms directly above and the into the house in general. This is in a downstairs area with two of the walls poured concrete. The "Design My House" thread has drawings of the rooms in question. I already have the staggered studs in one wall and intend on double sheetrocking it, along with sealind any openings with caulk type sealant.

Is Soundblok still the preferred material for killing sound transmission through walls, or has something new come along in the last couple years I'm not aware of? Does anyone know a place that discounts it? For the ceiling and one wall that seperates the loud rooms (workshop and dedicated listening room) from the rest of the downstairs area, I'm looking at approx 1,000 s.f I need to do some rereading of old posts, but though I'd throw this up as a seperate thread to see if anyone is aware of new product or great pricing on old product. On one hand, I want to get by as inexpensively as possible. On the other hand, I need to do it right the first time, so if it's more than I want it to be I'll just have to keep saving pennies. I certainly don't want to go with some new product that's 'supposed' to work as well, only to find out when I get done that it really doesn't and I have to rip out walls to fix it. Any advice or opinions are, as always, appreciated.

To the best of my knowledge, the taxes paid on gas go to the state or federal accounts, not the oil producers, so the taxes have no bearing on the profits. I do not begrudge anyone making a profit; I'm a small business owner myself. However, when the profits made by Exxon are higher in one quarter than those of 492 other companies in the Fortune 500 FOR THE YEAR combined, I smell something fishy. If it were based simply on demand, why wouldn't grocery stores or lumber yards near New Orleans be making similar profit margins? Because there are laws in place to prevent price gouging. Lots of stories about people being arrested for trying to sell generators or what have you in hurricane areas for many times normal price. That's simple supply and demand, is it not? But when goverment officials have a background in and likely still have good personal friends in the oil business, somehow those same laws get overlooked. I agree, we need to cut down on usage. We need to wean ourselves off of foriegn fuel. We need to find alternate sources of energy, and implement the use of energy sources we are already capable of using but don't for political reasons. We should be paying a lot more than we are for gas, much like the rest of the world. All good points, and all true. But the fact remains, big oil is taking us all to the cleaners with Uncle Sams assistance. I'd venture to guess that if I could get the goverment to subsidise my operating costs, regardless of if I needed the money or not, my quarterly profits would go up considerably. And this morning regular unleaded was down to $1.94 at all three stations in town. []

Come on now, OB, those oil company guys need to make some money too, don't they? Heck, Exxon Mobils' profit of 10, 000,000,000 dollars in the third quarter of 06 isn't really that much. Only 111,111,111 dollars a day, or 4,629,628 dollars an hour. A meager 77,160 dollars a minute, for a full three months, 24/7. They need to put bread on the table and shoes on their kids feet too, don't you agree? And as far as I know, that is true profit, money in the bank account, AFTER paying costs for payroll, insurance, inventory, speculative drilling, bonuses, advertising and toilet paper for the offices. (Technically, it was only 9.9 billion, but makes for easier math to round up.) [:'(]

Not sure if the image will link when I do a quote from an old post, if it doesn't, see page 1 for the drawing of my downstairs. Things are finally starting to come around, finding homes for a lot of the stuff that was boxed up when we moved, organizing what's left, I'm finally getting some shelves and work bench into the shop area. Which also means the area for the proposed listening room is getting closer. : ) I did a quick check, almost dial-up speed here at home so don't do much surfing, wondering what's the best price out there for SheetBlok, or if there is a comprable and less expensive product since this thread had legs 2 years ago. For the entire ceiling and one wall I need appx 1000 s.f.. The one link I saw was $350 for a 4x30 roll, or 120 s.f. Times 8 gets to $3,000 pretty fast with tax/shipping. Then sheetrock, wiring, paint, lighting, etc., next thing you know I got my a$$ in a sling! I realize some of you guys drop 3k on an amp to see how it sounds, might not like it, sell it, move on to something different, but I ain't you. 3K for me is huge, more than I have in my whole system at this point, so will draw a HUGE red flag from the Misses. Just wondering if options and/or prices for acoustical stuff like Soundblok has changed in the last year or so. I still want to do the room right the first time, but need to have the cash on hand to do so.

I don't have a Magnolia near me, but I can see the bubbles over the cartoon characters heads.... Imagine this in a bad Japanese Monster Movie Voice Over: Floorstaff: We've been selling a lot of these speakers. Management: I know, it's been hard to keep them in stock. Floorstaff: What do you think we should do to improve profitability? Management: I don't know. Lets have a sale and mark down list price. We'll still not have enough speakers, but can make less on every one we sell. Floorstaff: AHHHhhhhhhhh... so wise... no wonder you management.... lose money per every sale, but make it up in volume...... Management: Now you see why I buy stock in Apple/Dell/IBM/BP/GDYN/ETC Floorstaff: I bow down to the Master.

You done good. Congradulations again on a fine looking setup.

My system is nowhere as evolved as yours, but you do pose an interesting question. I'm looking forward to hearing others thoughts.

Sounds like a wonderful time was had by all. Nice report, you have a lucky son. Or he has a lucky dad. []

Well, since you asked nicely, and I DO want to appease the KLIPSCH folk... I wish you a 12 lb 5 fish limit and looking for culls by 9 AM every day, a kicker that wins big fish pot every day, no break offs, no dock wraps, no one shooting BB's (or worse) at you as they tell you they own the water around their dock, no damage to the lower unit running the river, (if you do there), and always, constantly, never ending livewell pumps and aereators. ( I can never spell that word.) Best of luck this season, you run the B.A.S.S. club thing, local tourneys, Dennys, etc? Never know, maybe I'd run into you at a regional or something sometime.

In fact, I believe you've baited in this thread before. I may be wrong, but don't have the time to read all 39 pages again. If so, and no one else noticed it, you are truly a Master. Baiter. [] (ps) I'd hate to try to get a permit for March on Dixon this year, but I'd love to have one. If it wasn't 2500 miles away, give or take.

Roy, Roy, Roy... With an avatar of a guy named Mike, holding a fish caught by Mac, but caught previously by a different Mike, and also caught "by a man named Jed", according to the Madonna birthmark on it's gill, I can unequivocably accuse you of "baiting" on this thread. [6] Can this 25lb, 1 oz bass fly? No. Will it if you strap it to a jet engine? Sure. And it doesn't even have wheels to spin as fast as a treadmill can go, regardless if it's standing on it, swimming/flopping on it, or being delivered down it to the local sushi shop. Speaking of treadmills, we ordered a Solo a week ago, it's getting closer to delivery, which is listed as "Free", but they can't get a semi to our door due to our driveway, nor can my wife and I unload a 385 lb crate off of a semi, so we're in limbo as we wait to hear from the different shippers involved in its trek from Cali to Middle Of Nowhere, MN. SHMBO is worried that we're missing valuble days of potential fitness improvement. I'm hoping they can't find us, and if they do, it's got a cup holder. [] Actually, I'm looking forward to it, but a little nervous about the whole life change/get fit thing. Time will tell. And yes... if you strap a jet engine to a fish, or a plane, or a car, or a rock, it will fly. To those naysayers, imagine looking at a car on a treadmill, with a jet engine strapped to its roof, with said engine going full afterburners. Wouldn't it seem odd that the car isn't moving with Xteen thousand lbs of thrust being applied to it? That's because it won't happen that way. Roy, Roy, Roy... May 1,000 professional over-runs inhabit your baitcasters this summer, each of your spinning rigs have the line wound backwards, and all your weigh fish burp up at least three craws on the way to the scales. [][{][}] (I actually hope you have a wonderful year with lots of pots/plaques/trophies coming your way, but PUHLEASE.. it won't fly??) Baiter. []

Late to the party as usual, but in there none the less. Couldn't meet a nicer group of folk. [{][Z][}]

OK, here's a new way to work this idea: Originally, there were these people interested in a get together: Wuzzer, Schurkey, DoubleJ, Hammertop, Cut-Throat and Klewless. DrWho thought it's be cool to do, but surely a long drive. I've had a poll on the pegboard of Two Channel, and have only heard from Wuzzer, Dexter, (new), and Brian Berube (new). Really, if there's not enough interest in the idea of a get together, for a major metropolitin area such as the Twin Cities and the surrounding area, I'm apparently disallusioned in how much interest there is in the search for good sound in the upper midwest. Maybe we've been BOSE'd to death. [6] I am only trying to stir interest, I have no problem with BOSE, for what they are. Not what I'd want.

Was $2.15.9 in our home town yesterday, drove 35 miles to "The Big City" and filled up for $1.99.9 in Brainerd, MN. Regular gas. In our town, you can see all three gas stations from the main intersection in town, which, by the way, is the only stop light in the county, and all three stations are always the same price. If they're not the same, it because someone is outside with new numbers going up, but they'll all be the same within an hour. In Brainerd, saw a range from $1.99 to 2.24.

Check out the Architectural Forum, there is a LOT of information there about room sizing, height/width/length ratios, speaker placement, room treatments, etc, I'm sure you find what ever you're looking for in there, though It won't be something like :If you have Cornwalls, you need to have a room XxYxZ for them to sound their best. It's a synergy thing and will take work to get right, but should be worth the effort. Best of luck, I have spent my entire day cleaning stuff and orginizing boxes trying to gain "emptyness" where my dedicated listening room will be at some point. First things first, I need to get the things in that area for storage out and stored somewhere else!!

I was thinking it could be a Sat/Sun thing with people staying the night at the Marriot. I doubt people would want to drive hours to sit for a couple then drive home right away. That would mean you could get in on Sat night or Sun AM, dependiung on what happens. I believe someone mentioned doing a demo at their house one of the days.

Well, after lackluster interest in the poll, I'm going to take DrWhos' advice and just make the date the weekend of Feb 24/25. I'll get ahold of my lady at the Marriot tmrw and get numbers/prices, post those, and see if we can get enough people to commit to make it a go or not. I sure hope so, I'd love to meet everyone and also have a chance to hear some good sounds.

I can, so I will: http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ele/259701742.html

Can I just say that polls are a pain in the butt?

If the wires inside the amp/receiver to the speaker terminal strip are copper, and the wires inside the speaker enclosure are copper, how does inserting silver/gold/platinum in the middle change the characteristics of the copper wire on both ends? Still giving to the obvious, proper gauge for the length needed, properly insulated, etc.

Having problems making a poll list, it may cut off at 4 options? Not sure, I'll ask Amy about it in the AM.