[smiley=spyme.gif]  Stay Tuned   [smiley=justcrazy.gif]

---

Raise the lawnmower up an inch or so and put that in ground pool (Olympic size)in the left rear corner?  ;D

Ya never know.

---

Hi Tom:

When will the autonerdz traning center be done :question

Save me a seat  [smiley=evilgrin.gif]

Keep us posted ,I am very happy for you, [smiley=thumbup.gif]

You will love it [smiley=rockon.gif]

Have a good weekend [smiley=chopper.gif]

I had wondered about what you might call a campus. Now I see this. I will one day be there. as I live so close to start out with. Great Balls of Fire!

Breaking ground today.   [smiley=jawdrop.gif]

---

More madness  [smiley=banghead.gif]

---

Hi Tom,

I think the "gone mad" thing happened a long time ago ;D

Anybody that uses an OLD VW bus to pull their camper ain't right ;)

Best of luck with your project.

dave

Quote:

I think the "gone mad" thing happened a long time ago

You got that right, Dave.  1963 I think it was  :o


Quote:

Anybody that uses an OLD VW bus to pull their camper ain't right

The VW was an exercise in poor judgment on the part of the neighbor's son  ;D

If you had noticed that the Earth had a little wobble on the axis lately, we did move a lot of dirt.  Behold....Mount Justin.
Along with a stack of materials that arrived.

---

Hi Tom.


I am lost as usual. :o

Is this a new training center? I will be there,only problem is I ain't getting on a airplane so it will take me about 3 days of driving. >:(

Hi Ronnie:

If you do take the big drive to the autonerdz training center swing by and pick me up[smiley=evilgrin.gif]

I know we would have enough stuff to talk about all the way there [smiley=ok.gif]

We could make this an autonedz gathering [smiley=justcrazy.gif]

Hi Ronnie,

This new facility should be multipurpose.  Office, warehouse, training, research, play pen.   ;)

It won't happen soon enough.  Hopefully be on line by next year if we don't run out of money.   :o


Quote:

problem is I ain't getting on a airplane so it will take me about 3 days of driving.

Are you on the terrorist watch list too?   [smiley=eek.gif]

We'll post the progress as this takes shape.

A couple more pics of the progress......

---

Hi Tom

Poles! What happened to foundations. [smiley=shocked.gif] Or is this the gazebo for the reception area  [smiley=devious.gif]

I can see it now Ray and I fighting over the window seat on the trip over for opening day. [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]

Looks like a nice propety

Mick

Thanks Mick.  Yeah we like it here.  Back of the beaten path a bit, but still close in with enough space to rattle around a bit.

The post and frame construction has become quite popular around here.  Here is some more progress.  Starting to take shape now...

---

And some more progress this week.....

---

The pour....

---

COngratulations Tom. Are you thinking about a chassis dynomometer?

Hey where the large Autonerdz insignia imprinted in the floor? [smiley=grin.gif]

Looks great so far

Sam

Quote:

Are you thinking about a chassis dynomometer?

That would be nice but I don't see that happening anytime soon.



Quote:

Hey where the large Autonerdz insignia imprinted in the floor?

Carl thought that should go on the roof   :D

---

The basic building is finished.  Now all the other work starts.   :-?

The contractor for this project was Town & Country:

http://www.permabilt.com/index.php

We have had a good experience with the way this was handled.  The sales rep, Russ Bogar, has been a good listener and responsive to concerns that came up during the whole process.

The actual builder was Butch and Dave's Pole Barns

360-359-8534  Butch
360-280-5999  Dave

These guys are pros.  Great guys too.  I would recommend them to anyone in the local area for this type of project.

---

Hi Tom.

Looks great.I can appreciate a new garage as I have a new 30x40 shop at home complete with lift.One thing I noticed is they poured cement after building structure.I had my foundation poured first and elevated 4 inches for run-off due to the fact I am on the foot of a very big hill.At a house I once lived in I converted a old barn into a shop and had a floor poured but I always have seen foundation first and then the building.
Was there a particular purpose for constructing it this way?

Hi Ronnie,

The concrete slab is not the foundation.  A post and frame structure doesn't even need a cement floor.  It could just be left gravel or whatever.  The posts are the foundation.  I suppose the pour could be done at any time after the posts and boards are on to frame the slab but pouring after roof and all allows it to be done in any weather.  It was pouring rain the day of the pour and it would not have been possible to get a nice floor in the rain.   :(

What kind of lift did you put in your building?  I have not chosen a lift yet.

It never ends, a man and his toy's [smiley=chopper.gif]

Looks nice Tom ,When's the nerdz reunion party [smiley=gulp.gif]

I can see it now a jet full of nerdz headed west [smiley=justcrazy.gif]

Hi Tom.

Due to my low ceiling height I chose a asymmetrical bar type overhead with 7 ft, clearance.I have had trouble with some Pick-up trucks but for the most part it works out well.If I had to do it over again I would have chosen a conventional lift most preferably a Rotary brand as the long pick-ups have a awful lot of truck hanging off of the rear and it kinda scares me at times,of course that would have limited my extension height and could not lift to full capacity.Your ceiling height looks sufficient to accommodate a conventional above ground lift with no problem.I don't know about other parts of the U.S but Rotary is the most widespread lift in use down south. :)

Ronnie.

I run a Nussbaum assym lift. It has been a Great tool, made in Germany. I Like the lift pads and safety features. May not find it in your USA documented lift propaganda literature but I assure you it is a great Lift that will last you a lifetime( mine is a 7k lift) I have always ran dextron fluid in it , moved it once, no leaks and it has been overloaded on numerous occasions..(knock on wood)...Great Lift, pretty Quite also. Some of the low slung streetfighters that come in are a little quirky to get on, I haven`t had any thing yet that wont work. Sometimes I wish I had a set of ramps to convert it to a drive-on, exhaust and suspension work.

Since the last post it seems we have been mostly digging holes and covering them over again  :P

Anyway, we have power hooked up now and I think the hole digging is over for a while.  Wanted to get all that done before the weather changed on us.  We have been also working on the interior and Laura put together an awesome patio too   :)

Here are some pictures I took today of the mayhem...

---

Tom I am looking all over those pics and I see lots of blue things, I am sure If I look harder for a while, I will find a Pico  [smiley=devious.gif]

Looking good thereTom,  But Laura will have to make that patio bigger for opening day with Rich, Carl, Dave, Fisher, Ray, Me and many others having a few  [smiley=beer2.gif] at the barby.  [smiley=happy.gif]

Mick

Very Nice Tom.  [smiley=ok.gif] Only problem I ever had with work being in the back yard is the customers always know where to find you. [smiley=spyme.gif]

Mick,

I can see this is going to be a good time with the grand opening. How do you want your steak cooked?

Tom will make an announcement when everything is geared up. I'll be flying in and a few other instructors for this. Go easy on me. You might know the material better than I do.

Hi Tom,
Looking good, Now your getting to the fun stuff, When do you think that jet full of nerdz will head west  [smiley=eek.gif]

Carl,
I'll take my steak well done,and a  [smiley=beer2.gif]please [smiley=evilgrin.gif]

Mick,
Well I made it back alive and just start to get things in order, [smiley=jawdrop.gif]
I am in for going west  [smiley=ok.gif], I am sure there is some other guys like Dave, wilf,Ronnie and many others that would like to go ;D this would be a very good time. [smiley=2vrolijk_08.gif]
Then I could learn some of Micks tricks [smiley=evilflame.gif]

You know what mick your right the patio is to small but we will be inside playing with pico's.

Have a good night.
Rich

Hi Carl

Ill be the one in the front row with the big  [smiley=nerd.gif] eyes

As for eats I want one of Rich's fish roasted on a over large spit. He would have had enough practice catching them by then  [smiley=spyme.gif]

Mick

Excellent  8-)

Maybe there is something to that 'If you build it they will come' thing.   ;)  

No one is more anxious for the grand opening than me.  As you can see, there is a LOT of work to be done yet.  At this point, I am doing it all in my 'spare time'.  So, we don't even have a projected opening date yet.  Of course, it will never be 'finished' but as we progress and I can see a workable result on the horizon, I will set a goal for the opening and let you all know so you can make plans in advance.  I anticipate sometime in the spring if all goes well.  Maybe the rain will have slowed down by then and we won't have to crowd Laura's patio which is the only outdoor covered area.  Like Rich says though, we'll be paling inside mostly anyway  ;)

Rick, I know what you mean about a shop in your back yard.  I used to be a ESO with a shop on my property.  It was some distance away from the house, but still....  However, we won't be doing work for the public here.  Been there done that and had my fill.  This will be strictly for professional techs as a research/training facility along with my office operations and warehouse.  And of course, Pico Automotive Central.  My Autonerdz customers already know where to find me so it's too late anyway  :P   I don't mind that at all  :)

"Spare Time"  LOL!!!!!

Been spending the wee hours of the morning`s with the Nerd 1and 2 cd`s, man its alot of info to digest..Thought I take a look at Headquarters and see if there was a open spot for a learner...Tom, you need someone to sweep the floor?
Got any new pics?

Dave

er..Wife told me she wished I spent that much time with her.. ;D , so there will be a break between these CD`s  ;)

Hi Dave,

Glad you are enjoying the Nerd Series on CD.  

Yeah the floors are a mess but I sure couldn't afford you.  And, if I could, I wouldn't waste your talents that way  ;)  I'd have you give me a Euro class  [smiley=nerd.gif]

Sure not ready yet but going to an Opportunity Grant Mentor Information meeting tonight at SPSCC.  Might be able to snag a talented youngster from the automotive program for some Nerdly mentoring in the future.  Who knows  :-?

I have been lax in updating the progress here.  We are down to the time intensive not so dramatic changes.  But, I grabbed some pictures for you this morning.

The Solaronics radiant heater is absolutely awesome.  I highly recommend it.  This is a dual stage 100,000/65,000 BTU unit 30 feet long.  It does an awesome job and seems quite efficient.

I purchased it through:

Industrial Air Systems

http://indairsys.com/aboutus.aspx

As I have done throughout this project, I continue to give reviews on the companies I have done business with along the way.  Good, bad and ugly.  This one is in the excellent category.  They were very helpful when things went terribly wrong and the first unit arrived completely destroyed by Roadway shipping.  They arranged for another unit to be sent pronto and used a different freight company USF Holland and the replacement arrived undamaged.

Here is the Solaronics web site:

http://www.solaronicsusa.com/

Here is a series of photos:

---

Hey Tom,
My talents are not above sweeping your floors...I`m still learning and hope I never forget the little stuff :-). Everything is looking real good. I use those heaters--radiant-- mine is a "Reznor". A good tip on those is the differential pressure sensor, seems the spiders like to get in mine and it fails to start come winter...A good cleaning gets it heating again.

Dave

Are you on the terrorist watch list too?

No...but try to pass a few old PCMs, voltage regulators, rectifiers and various alternator/starter parts thru airport security...when you first name is Mohammad...!!! :)

Great project Tom...it definately would be worth a visit. Good luck.

M.S.

Hi Mohammad,

Pal, I wish your name wasn't subjective. That is not fair to you.

No need to worry, you've got some watching your back.  ;)

What an honor it would be for you to show up. You are an expert in rotating electrical which many of us are no where near your expertise.

I feel for ya trying to aboard a plane with crazy looking stuff. (And tag that with the first name). It is just car stuff agent! Can't blame them for trying to protect everyone with what they have to work with.

Hope to see ya soon, Mohammad. I just wish you weren't discriminated.

Thanks for the nice words Carl, I appreciate it.

I did download the latest Pico software and seems it is doing fine now. The site used to ask you the scope's ID or serial number on the back of it before download, but I guess not any more, they just ask which Pico scope?! Thanks for all the help from you and Tom.

And Tom...is any date for the Grand Opening Bash announced yet?!

Great job.

Regards,

M.S.

Quote:

And Tom...is any date for the Grand Opening Bash announced yet?!

Sorry, not yet.  We will announce it here though.   :)

I have not posted any pictures in a while.  We did have some delays but the office area is ready now to move into.  Not likely you will ever see me with a clean desk again.   ;D

Still much to do, but the office area was the priority.  Now to move in and start the next project.   ;)

---

Tom and all who go to classes like this

I was listening to Glen Beck interview.... um I think it was the ex CEO of Jet Blue concerning airline ticket pricing. He (and others) think the day of low cost (reachable by the masses) tickets are going away permanently.

I can't help but think this will hurt hands on or in person training. What do you think?

There is readily available technology to have PC based live interactive training (beyond what you've already done) but it is quite expensive to "experiement" with.... Even the academic versions

A long time ago I thought the educators/trainers/seminarians etc could get together and redo an "iatn" and have a reasonably priced central advanced training site where those creating the material would actually financially benefit instead of the host. Instead what has happened is that those with good material to offer have all split off in different directions and occasionally throw a bone out to the masses on the business called "iatn" hoping it will suffice for an advertisement without bringing the wrath of BB on them.

I don't ever see it happening...   And the tech population loses again.    :'(

Well, after a year of work we have reached a point where we can have that opening event   ;)

It is scheduled for the weekend of October 11 and 12.  I know it is rather short notice, but I wanted it sooner rather than later, after we knew we were ready, so we have a better chance of decent weather.

As Jim noted...flying is getting more and more difficult and expensive.  I don't expect anyone to go through that unless they really want to.  We built this mainly for locals and to expand our business here in the Northwest.  Of course, all are welcome.  There is nearby lodging available as well as a lot of space for 'camping out'.

This is, of course, a free event.  There is no schedule of events.  It's just an informal opening and what happens happens.  We have space to play and space for impromptu sharing.  

In the future we will also be having PicoScope training events.  These will be provided as yet another service to our PicoGroup members.   8-)

Here is a map from one of the nearby hotels to Autonerdz:

http://www.autonerdz.com/yabbfiles/Attachments/ghtoazmap.gif

Hey Tom and Nerdz  [smiley=nerd.gif]

This is finally it, I'm going[smiley=2vrolijk_08.gif]mad [smiley=ohmygod.gif]

Quote:

We built this mainly for locals

If you look from the Universe the world Is local right  [smiley=happy.gif]  So I might get my second longest distance award  ::)
I'm flying to SeaTac and plan to hop over for about 5 or 6 days, I'll post details later.
Looking forward to meet the Master [smiley=nerd.gif]  [smiley=notworthy.gif] and as much disciples as possible  [smiley=jump.gif]

Jan.

  It will be good to meet you Jan. Have you been to Washington before?

Good to meet you to Don [smiley=thumbsup.gif] No I haven't been to Washington yet [smiley=happy.gif] and it will also be the last trip for the time being because I need the time and money to move the shop in the near future [smiley=devious.gif]

Jan. [smiley=wink.gif]

Hey Guys  [smiley=wink.gif]
I arrived in Seattle @ 2 pm  11 pm  dutch time and had a pleasant flight  :)
Picked up the car (red STS ::)) and drove to the hotel in Tukwila :)
For me it's about 3.10 am right now [smiley=jawdrop.gif] but have to stay up for a couple of hours to get my biological clock on time [smiley=justcrazy.gif] So I'll take a look in the mall close by and get a bite to eat ::)

Jan  8-)

Hello Jan,
      We could meet this week. I am working till 5 PM these days. There is a sizeable Scandinavian community here in the Pacific Northwest; you might notice. Carl is coming out on Friday.If you want, call me at 206 450 3969.
 Are you going to rent a car?  

Hi Don  ;)
I'll try to call you today  [smiley=ok.gif]
I'm visiting a dutch friend in Seattle today and pick up Rich from the airport tomorrow  11 am, then we go to the space needle, so maybe we can meet after that if it's ok with Rich [smiley=chopper.gif]
Yes I've already got the car, a Caddy STS with 4820 miles on it that we can break @ Tom's [smiley=evilgrin.gif]
My Cell is (1) 269 779 26 26 just in case [smiley=wink.gif]

Jan [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]

Great. I am going to work the 4 ten- hour- day week, or at least so that Friday I have just a couple hours or so to make up; I could pick Carl up at the airport myself. How does that sound Carl?

Hi Don,

I'll be renting a Cobalt.  :'(  Only rich people can afford to rent an STS.  :)

See ya Friday,

Nah I'm not rich just saved for this ;) so if we can put the cobalt in the trunk of the caddy then you can ride with Rich Mick and me [smiley=spyme.gif]

Jan ::)

Tom and Laura,

Thank you both for the hospitallity. It was well worth the flight out to Washington. There was quite a bit of brain power there breaking... eh em... I mean working on Jan's 09 Cadillac.

We were able to explore a brand new pressure transducer and that was a lot of fun. Tom, you may want to check out your hard-drive space now. When we weren't looking, them boyz were filling it up with captures, so you might want to look into that.

I don't know what happened today with you crazy Autonerdz (Tom, Mick, Jan, Don, and Rich), but what ever you did, I'm sure guys were able to fix what you broke so you nerdzs could make it back home.

Jan,

Thank you for the Dutch house shoes and the cook book. I was thinking of wearing those shoes into work tomorrow. I'm sure the other techs will be jealous of them.

Mick,

Man... I can't keep up with you on pressure transducer analysis. Thanks for hepling us out with the evaluation of a new tool.

Rich,

You now know how to start an STS without the key.  ;)

Don,

I'm glad you could make it. It was good to see you again.

We got a visit from Keith Crowell of Crowell Bros. Inc. Good talking with you again, Keith.

We also received a visit from the ASA of Washington President, Jeff Lovell. Thanks for stopping in, Jeff.

Jan, Mick, Rich... Hope you guys make it back home safely.  
 

I am amazed at how many of you came to our humble open house event from such a long way.  I hope you all had a great time...I know we did  :)

Thank you all for coming.   [smiley=thanks.gif]

It never got over crowded and the local visitors trickled in one group at a time an so there was never too many at one time to get to talk with everyone and see what was going on.

Laura did a great job with the foods and other things to make things go smoothly.

We just were able to visit and do nerdy stuff all weekend.  It was a pleasure to meet you all and I was blown away by the expertise we had here in one place.  Wow.   [smiley=notworthy.gif]

I know we will be having future Nerd conventions here.  This was just too much fun.  I'm sure it must have been illegal  [smiley=disimulo.gif]

The weather got sunny just for the weekend and so we were all able to enjoy some rare beautiful  days for October here.

I wish we would have gotten more pictures but here is all we have in a zip file.

---

Tom, I had a great time at your grand opening. I was able to  learn some stuff. Thanks Carl ;)
It was cool to meet everyone . Just sorry I could not make  it back on Sunday. Family matters kept me from returning. Don't even tell me what I missed.  >:( So nice to meet Jan,Mick,Rich,Fisher & Carl's friend .Was it Garrett or Gary?
I hope Jan , Mick and Rich made it to the airport ok in that Caddy. :o
I don't know if you know it or not but you have started something great with the Autonerdz.

Hey  nobody has said anything about the laptops . Man there was a few there. 7 or 8  ;D How many gigs?

I am looking forward to the next one.

Or any training event that you may have there. Nice for me 45 minute drive and I am there.

Thanks again Tom..........Keith Crowell

Well I made it back home to Toronto but not without problems at security. I had taken
back some cop extension leads in my computer bag and I had to be pulled over to the side
and explain what they where before they opened the bag, then they did a swob test in all
the compartments.   [smiley=justcrazy.gif]

Anyway I can tell you all, that being at Toms was a treat we got looked after by Laura in
the food and drink department, all the vegetables were fresh out the garden I feel so
healthy now.  [smiley=thanks.gif]

To be able to try out the new pressure transducer on the Cadi while we used Carls Tech 2
to activate the intake and exhaust actuators was great.

Rich got the easy job from the
drivers seat so in the end we got him to polish the beautification covers when we were
done.  [smiley=grin.gif]

It was good to be able to put a face to a name Fisher (Don) Keith Rich Carl Jan Tom and
many more thank you for making me feel at home and making sure I got to the airport to
return . [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

I only wish I lived closer for future events. If you do live on the west coast you got to go
there,  you want regret it.

I will post pictures when I get back on track

Mick

I was glad to meet all the fellows I did. I am going to be around for a few years more (I dont plan on dying just yet) ;  I would be glad to put up folk whom travel from afar... I cant do that now; though. Oh well. Tom has a nice place in a more rural part of town; deer can be seen grazing on the lawn.

Hi Group,

Well I made it back in one piece. [smiley=engel017.gif]

Today was the first day back on the job. [smiley=cry.gif]
I think, I gained some weight from all the food and drinks that Tom and his wife set up for us [smiley=gulp.gif]Many thanks.
Tom and his wife are very fun to be around, thanks for the good time and hard work that was taken to make this posible. [smiley=tekst-toppie.gif]

I also enjoyed meeting other piconerdz as well.

It was fun to mess with some of the guys in person that I have messed with for years online. [smiley=spyme.gif]

Thanks for the toys Tom. I used one today with good results.

And a special thanks to Jan for dragging my butt out there [smiley=ohmygod.gif] [smiley=ohmygod.gif].

Never Stop learning [smiley=chopper.gif]

Hi all,

Congrats! I'm happy everybody had a geat time.

Tom,

Can names be assigned to the faces in the zip file?

I think I recognize you and Carl, however  :-/

Thanks,

dave

Quote:

Can names be assigned to the faces in the zip file?

Sure Dave.....This should do it.

---

Hi Tom,

Thanks! that works, I guessed wrong on about half of those guys ;)

Thanks,

dave

Hey everybody,
I made it back home safely as well. Landed 7.00 am local time tuesday (11.00 pm monday Seattle time)
Boy this jet lag does weird things to my biological clock, I'm still dazed and confused, [smiley=justcrazy.gif] they say recovery could take up to 5 days or more. [smiley=jawdrop.gif]
My hand bag was examined thoroughly at security as well, [smiley=disimulo.gif] some items, even my spare batteries, were x-rayed two times and when I opened my suitcase at home I found this notice of baggage inspection paper.

Laura and Tom, [smiley=thanks.gif]
Thanks for the great hospitality that we were exposed to, [smiley=notworthy.gif] I sure wish I lived closer for future events to.
It was an awesome experience to meet the MasterNerd at last, I've been looking out for this a long time. [smiley=happy.gif]
I'm sure the training center will become a respected [smiley=tekst-toppie.gif] location for Pico and other training, I wish you both the very best.

Thanks [smiley=dankk2.gif] to my fellow Nerdz who were able to travel the distances they did, you are my mentors. I can only dream of the knowledge you have.
Sad [smiley=sad.gif] for the ones that couldn't make it and sure hope to meet more of you [smiley=nerd.gif] the next time I hop over.

It was hard though to drag Rich across the state, [smiley=ohmygod.gif] but somebody had to do it......  We sure had a great time did we? [smiley=2vrolijk_08.gif] The music museum, [smiley=rockon.gif] Pike place market, dinner with Don up in the space needle, meeting Alice and Albin in Dryden and the drive up there.

I was a little disappointed :-/ but lucky that you guys couldn't break [smiley=evilgrin.gif] the caddy, what a great car!!! drove 665 miles in delight. [smiley=rolleyes.gif] It doesn't even have an ignition key, only a remote and a start button on the dash.

So I love to be in the US and wish I was born there, but now my first priority will be to rent out the shop, find another house with shop and move to a more rural and quiet place. [smiley=rolleyes.gif]

Until soon, [smiley=jump.gif]
Jan.

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Oh yeah, Rich, you did a great job too [smiley=spyme.gif]

---

Hi Jan,

You Forgot to show them the rest of your Car [smiley=evilflame.gif] [smiley=evilflame.gif]

---

Jan,

I got a better idea for you, instead of flying and get stopped by the homestead security, why not drive your Cadi [smiley=tekst-toppie.gif] [smiley=tekst-toppie.gif]

---

Jan,

Next time we go to Autonerdz I want you to rent this one.

Home James [smiley=rockon.gif]

---

Jan,

I know how you like those pearl white Cadi's, [smiley=evilgrin.gif] with this one all the nerdz could ride at the same time. [smiley=idea.gif]

Thanks for the good time Jan ;)

---

Rich,

That white Cadi has a flat on the right front rear tire. For some reason that doesn't sound right. Wouldn't we need to service that on the world's longest hoist? Do you think that has a really long engine beautification cover?

Hi Carl,

We don't need that tire, we got traction control [smiley=evilgrin.gif]

Jan can handle those sharp turns with ease [smiley=jawdrop.gif].

I know how you like lifts, [smiley=spyme.gif] but this feels safe

We could drive up on a piece of wood,Stopping under the front 2 tires,then we could change that flat , beating (flatrate) [smiley=rockon.gif]

I'll stick to my [smiley=chopper.gif]