From the Desk of Philip - Happy Monday

We are running at 115% right now. Things are crazy.

This can be good, but it can also get quite stressful.

So, taking a few moments to drop off and dream ...

I've had that book since I was a young teen. Small Block Marine was probably some of the better builds I've been a part of in the past (easily 1hp/CID).

Today's wistful thinking is along the lines of LS6 at 6.2L, cold-air intake, 8-10lbs of Magnuson Roots based boost, headers, high flow cats and Y pipe with a 4" straight pipe, and then a pair of high flow mufflers on a banana. The final bit would be in the tune (Side-Note: Gotta get rid of the nanny pause whenever I hit that accelerator! What were manufacturers thinking?).

The Dyno slips I saw for this setup showed 490bhp/ at the wheels (the one that really counts). Torque was relatively flat from about 2,800RPM to a little over 5K.

As a car guy it brings a bit of pain to say this but this would be the setup for a Sierra 1500 series pick-up.

We all know that one needs to be practical when it comes to life in the country!

We hope your Monday is going as good as ours is!

Keep dreaming the dream. :)

EDIT: Point of order: I was stuck on the Z06 LS6 crate motor ... Engine code for the 6.2L is L9H in the Sierra Pick-ups. My apologies for the misleading bits. :)

Philip Elder
Microsoft Cluster MVP
MPECS Inc.
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Chef de partie in the SMBKitchen
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And Now For Something Completely Different: 8 Minutes of Shuttle Launch Video Not To Be Missed

This is nothing short of totally all-out _neat_ !

Enjoy, we sure did!

Happy Monday (and election day for us Albertans) :)

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Happy Labour Day

For those who have the day off, enjoy your families, friends, and just plain relaxation.

For us, it is a time to catch up on internal projects that have been sitting by the wayside while we have been focused on our client needs. Later today it will be time with the kids hauling them around in the bike trailor to burn off the seat building calories! ;)

So, while waiting for our new Server Core data storage server to reboot after joining our internal domain, have a happy Labour Day!

And to those facing down Gustav, all the best to you as you ride out the storm. Our thoughts are with you.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Photosynth Video Demo is truly a neat thing to see

This is the link on TED: Blaise Aguera y Arcas: Jaw-dropping Photosynth demo.

In an era of Web 2.0 and "Social Network" hype and circumstance, this video is quite refreshing.

We get to see Blaise run through a very stunning demonstration of the product he is the architect of: Photosynth.

The product is totally "social" in its abilities to pull hundreds if not thousands of images together based on a keyword search that incorporates all of the image search result's meta data.

Think "Image Wiki" anyone?

The usage models for this product are truly amazing in their breadth and probably the significant reason why Microsoft, wisely in our opinion, purchased the company in 2006.

This is a link to Blaise's Bio: Blaise Aguera y Arcas: Software architect.

Something to check out in an off moment. :D

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Good for a Coffee Snort & Laugh :)

We are insanely busy right now, thus the infrequent posts.

But, I had a good laugh over this one: Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog: Now it can be seen: Fake Steve Jobs at Microsoft.

While I haven't seen the Lyons video yet, the quote of Lyons in Todd's article almost passed my coffee through the nose:

"The thing about Jobs that makes him ripe for parody is that ... he presents one face to the world and it's different than who he really is. It's why Hillary Clinton is a great target for parody, too, or any number of people. Bill O'Reilly, right?

"Jobs does the whole Zen and peace and love thing, but you know, behind the scenes, he's this monster, he's this terrible manager. He throws tantrums and slams stuff. The thing about Ballmer is ... if you go out on stage and do a Monkey Boy dance, you can't parody that guy. He's already parodying himself."

I haven't seen the "Monkey Boy dance" (Wikipedia) either ... but it is now on the To Do list for some down time later today ... if the link works!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Hobbies: I blend to relax :)

Robert Clayton Dean who is the main character in Enemy of the State:

I blend to relax.

That line as always stuck with me. Blending is something I have always enjoyed doing. It can be really rewarding or at times quite disastrous. Great movie BTW.

A neat summer drink that came of this weekend's relaxing blend: :D

Needed things:

• Blender.
• Two (2) trays of ice.
• Filtered water.
• Three (3) scoops of orange crystals (we use Tang).
• 5 scoops of all natural vanilla ice cream.
• A small portion of 7-Up.

When I was young, my grandmother used to give us a wide variety of floats during the hot Winnipeg summer months. This weekend's creation ass is based on one of my favourite floats: the Orange Zinger.

Here is the process:

1. Place the ice in the blender.
2. Give the container a shake to set the ice.
3. Fill the blender until the water is about 1" or 1.5cm below the ice level.
4. Add the 3 scoops of orange crystals.
5. Crush mixture until it is slushy.
6. Test flavour, add more drink crystals if needed and blend until well mixed.
7. Add the ice cream to the mix and a bit of milk if needed.
8. Blend until the right consistency.
9. Add more ice cream if required and blend again.
10. Pour the contents into frozen cups, leaving about a fifth of the volume empty.
11. Fill the balance of the volume with the 7-Up.
12. Add a good sized straw and serve.

This will serve approximately 2 large steins or 4-5 small kid's sized ones.

This drink is best served in the type of glass that has the ability to be frozen to keep its contents cool. This keeps the drink consistent a lot longer than a standard glass.

All work and no play makes Johnny or Janey a dull boy or girl. :D

Enjoy the summer folks! We are having a really hot one up here.

UPDATE Today: Okay, my Freudian slip is showing. :) LOL

My apologies for letting the expletive slip by. Changes made.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.