Photos of Aiden available online, videos to come soon

Hello all!

I am writing this post to remind everyone that all of the photos of Aiden are posted in his scrapbook in the gallery.    I have photos up to April of 2009 uploaded and have more photos (as well as videos) to come!

In order to see Aiden’s photos you will need to be logged into my site, if you do not remember your username or password email (or call) me and I can set things up for you.

Thanks!!!

Customizing Nexus, how to program your autometer nexus gauges!

Recently I added the TVS supercharger to the car and in doing so I needed a good set of gauges to monitor what was going on in the motor.   I chose the Autometer Nexus gauges for their warning indications and playback abilities.  I have known for a while that is is possible to program the opening and closing ceremonies of these gauges, but it was very difficult to find out how.

I spoke with Autometer who could not help me, I searched high and low on the Internet, and I finally found the answer on a NASIOC forum, which I will be reposting here for anyone else searching for this information.

First, you can use this information to customize the opening, closing, and demo ceremonies.   You will need notepad (not word, word pad, lotus notes, or open office - NOTEPAD), a 2GB or smaller SD card, and some free time.

First, customizing the ceremonies

File Usage
If there is more than one file of the same valid file extension on the SD Card,
the most recent created date and time will loaded into internal memory.

Filenames may be of any length, but will be truncated within the C4 remote
to 8 characters.  Filenames with the same first 6 characters will be
truncated to the 6 characters and a tilde (~) followed by an index number.

File Type Extensions
Opening Ceremony File:  .ocf
Closing Ceremony File:  .ccf
Demo Mode File:       .dmf

FILE COMMAND TYPE ID

Parameter ID    Data        Bytes   Valid Data           Description                                   ID
PP                        UWORD       2            0-1040                    Pointer position                                       0×00
PS                        UBYTE         1            0-36                        Pointer speed                                           0×01
DC                       UBYTE        3             0-63, 0-63, 0-63    Dial Color.  Red, Green, Blue dial color    0×02
RI                        UBYTE         1             0,1 (off, on)             Record Indicator.                                     0×03
PI                        UBYTE         1             0,1 (off, on)             Peak Indicator.                                         0×04
WI                       UBYTE         1            0,1 (off, on)              Warn Set Indicator.                                   0×05
TD                      UBYTE         1            0 - 255                     Time delay.  In 10th of second                0×06
LP                       NONE          0           NONE                        Loop command to loop Demo Mode.       0×07
CM                      NONE         0           NONE                        Color Morph turns on in ceremony.          0×08

UBYTE   Unsigned 8-bit value
UWORD Unsigned 16-bit value

You can download the stock ceremonies from the Autometer website, below is a new shutdown file from NASIOC user WR^2X that is more of an “instant off”.

ps 36
dc 0, 0, 0
pp 0
td 6

A quick translation of the closing sequence above would be Pointer Speed set to MAX (PS 36), Dial set to full black (DC 0,0,0),  Pointer Position zero (PP 0) and Time Delay 6.

To load the ceremonies to your gauges you insert your SD card, hold down the demo button on the Nexus remote, and turn the key on.    You should see a short green light and the gauges should boot up right away - that is it!

Hopefully this helps some of you nexus owners out there, it took me forever to find!

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1019396

Logitech Harmony 520 Advanced Universal Remote FTMFW!

Recently we decided that it was time that we retire our 27″ CRT television and upgrade to something more “modern”.    So after a few weeks of shopping for the best deals we now have a new 50″ Plasma, DVD player, Dolby 5.1 Surround with AM and FM, as well as the DirecTV receiver to control.

I knew right away that living with two women it would be all but impossible to teach them how to swap inputs, enable surround sound, etc.    I was also disappointed that my DirecTV remote would not control my Surround/Stereo or DVD player.  I had setup Harmony remotes for clients before and knew the macro feature was exactly what I needed.

So I began my search to determine the model that was correct for me.   Upon seeing that many of the Harmony remotes were priced between $100 and $300 I was slightly unhappy as this was out of my budget.    I got lucky and found the Harmony 520 from RadioShack (apparently they are blowing out stock because they will no longer carry logitech) for a steal of a price (under $50).

Right out of the box this is an impressive remote.   It feels like a very solid piece that fits in your hand very well.   The buttons are not cheap and depress nicely.  The entire remote has a blue back light which matches my components that all have blue lights perfectly.  It really feels like a very quality piece.

Setup for a Harmony is a breeze.  There is no entering multiple codes for each device, you simply load the supplied software onto your computer, enter the model number of each device (which can be found on the back of the device or on the manual), and then download the program to your Harmony via the supplied USB cable.   Thats It!

My favorite feature of the Harmony is the macro feature.    You can setup “activities” which are lists of commands.    For example I setup an activity called “Watch DirecTV”, and when that button is pressed the harmony sends out the following signals:    All devices off - Surround Sound on - Surround Sound Aux Input - Surround Sound Aux Input  - TV On - TV Input 2 - DirecTV receiver on.     You may notice that the surround sound is set to change inputs twice, I have a unique system that requires the AUX button to be pushed two times and the Harmony handles it with no issues.   If i wanted to I could get more advanced, I could even have the DirecTV turn on with the TV guide open on a specific channel.

Overall, I am amazed with this device - I should have picked one up years ago!  If you are looking for one or for specs here is the link to amazon with more information.   http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-Advanced-Universal-Remote/dp/B000BDG3HU

Project Lets Go Racing: NRP 3″ Offroad X Pipe and 3″ Magnaflow Catback

Last week I dropped off the project car at Nevarez Racing Products, so that they could develop a new exhaust system for me.   The new system would consist of 3″ pipe, mandrel bent, from the collectors to the exhaust tips and utalize magnaflow mufflers.  Read more

New Featured Video: The Lost Verse of the Psycho B*tch Anthem

As you may or may not know, I have ZERO respect for any person (man or woman) who is gutless enough to go after a persons property.   This includes but is not limited to his vehicle.   So naturally when the Psycho B*itch Anthem (Carrie Underwood’s - Before He Cheats) came out, I was “slightly displeased”.

Read more

America as a whole IS NOT READY for a quality performance vehicle…

Yep, thats right I said it.   America does not want a quality built, performance vehicle, for an affordable price.   You may say, but Mr. Webmaster having such a car for a good price would be the frosting on the cake.  Well, I would ask why you did not buy one when it was available?

Read more

Do people who turn sentences into questions annoy me, yes?

I just don’t understand this phenomenon?

Do you feel smarter because you use more words?

Do you feel like you are quizzing yourself and you allready know the answers?

Does it help you get your point across?

Or are you just trying to read the other persons mind?

How about you make your point, without answering your own questions, and then if the other people in the discussion have another question - LET THEM ASK!

If you are a relative or good friend you need to sign up!

There are several “family only” galleries (i.e. gatherings, my son, etc) in the scrapbook that you can not see without a login.   Once you have created an account, I can give you the proper permissions to use this website.

How to sign Up:

• Click this link - http://blog.sideways-into-third.com/wp-login.php?action=register
• Input your Whatshername and your Email Address
• Your password will get emailed to you
• I can then upgrade your account

Do it!, Now.

Finally getting this thing up and running

It seems like this website has taken me forever to get functioning the way I like, I have had some free time recently and have been able to get it up and running for the most part.

The videos section still needs a new solution, I am not positive how I am going to handle that.   YouTube is an option, as well as a handful of other hosting sites.    I need a way to have certian private videos for family though, and that is causing a hangup right now.

Most everything else should work, but as always if you notice any issues let me know so that I can take care of them.

EDIT:   It turns out that Youtube has an API so that I can at browse, and I beleive also play, private videos while logged in as a user.    I may explore this option for a Video host, so that I can use YouTube’s bandwidth to my advantage, for free!

Lets Go Racing, 2010 Gameplan

The goal of this project is to build a 6 Speed, IRS, 8″ Street Tire, Single Power Adder, 10 second car; as if those aren’t enough challenges to overcome.

So I am breaking this down into two steps.   #1 Make the power and #2 Put the power to the ground, this entry will outline Step #1.

Class rules prohibit a big motor, sick heads, and a huge blower/turbo/or shot of nitrous, so this is about as un-radical as it can get.   

• Forged LS2 Engine (364ci) built by Nevarez Racing Products (www.nevarezracing.com)
• Vortech S Trim Supercharger (www.vortechsuperchargers.com)
• T56 Transmission built by Tick Performance (www.tickshift.com)
• Level 5 clutch from Monster Clutches (www.monsterclutches.com)
• Upgraded Differential from Difftechnics (www.difftechnics.com.au)
• Upgraded IRS & Drive train from Gforce1320 (www.gforce1320.com)

That is the plan in a nutshell, of course there is alot more that goes into it than that but this covers the important parts.    This project will be underway shortly with updates to follow.

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