rick!

I stumbled across this magazine article and DIY plans on how to build a retro arcade system (5 pages of plans included!). This would be a blast to build in preparation for Gran Turismo 5 or your favorite racing game. Click on the thumbnails for a bigger picture.

Magazine Article:

If you’re a “computer guy” I’m sure you get calls from friends and family asking to help troubleshoot computer problems all the time. Personally I find it very hard to troubleshoot problems over the phone without looking at the console. Walking users through setting up RDP/VNC, port forwarding is even harder. I have been using this support technique for some time with my friends and family and it works perfectly. I decided to write a quick howto article to describe the steps.

I found this Projektzwo MK4 Jetta grill in the classifieds on VWVortex.com. The ad said the grill was already painted Platinum Gray so I was excited to throw it on. I remember the seller said it had a “couple” of rock chips but when I received it I noticed a lot more than a “couple.” I wasn’t going to complain because it’s not every day that you find a very rare grill like this one, so I decided to put a fresh coat on it. I know painting your grill isn’t that difficult but I figured I might as well create a how-to for the people who like a step-by-step walk through, plus I’ve never done it before so I thought it would be a cool project. Below I outline the eight step process I followed to paint this grill. Click on the thumbnails for a bigger picture.

We decided to setup a wedding website for all the wedding info like event times, accommodations, maps etc. We will continuously update the site with new information. The URL for the wedding site is: http://www.rickandnikki.com/ 

I  love my new 'uber rare Projektzwo grill!

• Gallery of pics I took during the process: Click here
• Howto article I wrote on VWVortex: Click here

We are in love with a wedding photojournalist named Sergio (Link to Sergio's website). Photographik, a photographers network, is running a contest for brides. They are looking for the most creative, fun and romantic engagement story. We posted our engagement story and now it's up to you to vote and help us win! (Click here to read the post and vote!)

*Note - When you rate our story you need to input your email address. The site then sends and email with a link that you need to click on in order to cast your vote. If you don't receive your voting email, check your spam/junk email folder for an email from photographik. Thanks!

For our 8 year anniversary Nikki and I stayed at our favorite resort, The Valley Ho; little did Nikki know that I have been planning on proposing to her.

The Ring:
With Nikki and my extreme contemporary taste it was hard to find a setting that defined us both as a couple. Several years ago we were introduced to the jewelry designs of Niessing who is well known for state-of-the-art, highly contemporary rings, jewelry, and watches. Nikki had purchased me one of Niessing’s “economy” tension set rings for our two year anniversary and from then I was stuck on their designs. I did a little research on their engagement settings and found one called the ‘High End’ which I knew was just perfect when it was time for me to buy a ring. Six years passed (with a lot of hinting from someone) and it was finally time to propose and I was still adamant on buying that specific setting. The only problem is that the setting is created around the diamond, so I had to buy a diamond and send it to Niessing’s design studio in Vreden, Germany.

The diamond is a whole other story, but I feel as if I could take a Gemology test to become a Gemologist with flying colors. Niessing only allows for certain quality diamonds to be mounted in their settings due to the tension settings. If the diamond has internal flaws the pressure placed on the stone by the tension setting may cause it to shatter, so the diamond had to be of certain specifications. A family friend who owns a Jewelry store helped me find the perfect stone and then sent it to Niessing for them to make the setting.

Another interesting thing about Niessing is their metal color choices. Not knowing much about jewelry I thought there was only yellow and white gold, but Niessing has many color choices including red, green, gray & others. I decided to have the setting created using a matt gray gold which is white gold with the nickel content removed and replaced with palladium and sandblasted to a matt finish.

I was very excited to finally receive the ring as I had not seen the stone or setting at all. They call this an E-Ring which is where someone completely purchases the stone and setting online and HOPE it’s exactly what they wanted when received. To my amazement it was better than I could have ever imagined!

The proposal:
I wanted to do something out of the ordinary to propose to Nikki. Plus I knew that if I tried to plan something she would automatically know that something was happening, because I’m not the best at planning. So with that decided I needed to let Nikki plan something and inject the proposal in so she wouldn’t expect anything. Our eight year anniversary was the perfect time to do it.

I created a piece of art inspired by Roy Lichtenstein’s work which would help me propose. I took a picture of Nikki from our four year anniversary and used photoshop to make it look like pop-art. After the work was completed I had it printed on a 20x30 piece of stretch canvas. I worked with the concierge at the resort to have them place the artwork in the room before we arrived.

When we arrived at the room I was carrying two bags, a backpack & two pieces of luggage, the ring was in the backpack. We walked in the room and I tossed the luggage and immediately saw the picture, but Nikki didn’t. She made a comment about the chairs that were in the room and then turned around and saw it. She screamed “BABE” and then went into tears, turned around and saw me on one knee with the ring. It went off without a hitch.

In the gallery I uploaded some pictures from the anniversary/engagement weekend and also a photo shoot of the ring. View the full album by clicking here.

The heat and terrible gas in Arizona doesn't do great things for my car. Especially after I took it to Evolution Motorsports and got all the performance work done to it. As it started to heat up my car was detonating and surging more then ever. I decided to give the guys at Eurojet Racing a call because they are known for their intercoolers.

Eurojet installed their street core front mount intercooler to help lower the intake temperatures and also installed their turbo-back exhaust. While they were at it they installed a new N75J valve to reduce the surging and deliver boost smoothly. The exhaust isn't terribly loud and just has a very low growl during normal driving conditions, but when I open up the throttle it sounds very aggressive.

I didn't remove any of the front bumper vents so the intercooler install can be as discreet as possible. I uploaded a couple quick pics I took after I got it back from the shop. View the full album here.

I hosed the site trying to do an in-place update. I also had to move from my buddies hosting company to godaddy.com. Everything should be back up soon, except I have lost 3+ years of blog content. Oh well.

Nikki got me a very fun present for my 26th birthday this year. She sent me to the Bondurant Racing School where I was able to test my driving skills. Their racing school features a 60 acre purpose-built racing facility with multiple tracks. We started off the day doing laps in the Cadillac CTS-V. It was like follow the leader and after every lap the instructor increased the pace.

Next we moved on to the new C6 Corvette. They setup a autocross track and unleashed us, it was a lot of fun to go WOT in the new C6. The new Corvette drove so incredibly well that I almost hopped off the track and drove it straight home.

Then we finished off the day at the kart track. We did a 45 minute Lemans style endurance race. We suited up and cheered our team on, even though we didn't do so well it was a lot of fun. It was interesting to do the endurance race because we had to make pit stops and driver changes just like Lemans.

If you ever get the chance to go to the Bondurant Racing School do it! View the full album here