Articles by Dana

Finally! After being a sole proprietorship for over 8 years I finally Incorporated my business as an S Corporation in the sate of California as Web Design Solutions, Inc. I have learned a lot through this process, specifically regarding greater tax relief than what I was already enjoying as a business owner.

After working from home for so long it's finally time for me to have my own office, if you want to drop by here's my new address:

Web Design Solutions, Inc.
3604 Fourth Ave Suite 5
San Diego, CA 92103

I'm already seeing lots of advantages from a quieter and more focused work day to much better separation of my work and personal life. The biggest advantage though is my office building is filled with graphic designers, marketing agencies, business consultants and print brokers... all of which are companies that perfectly compliment what I do. In the coming weeks I will be profiling all the companies that are in my building so stay posted.

Meet Our "Suite" Neighbors, May 28th, 2008 4:00pm - 7:00pm

The Business of 4604 Fourth Avenue cordially invite you to attend our Spring Open House. Hors d' oeuvres, wine, and beverages. Please bring your business cards to win door prizes!

http://webdesignsolutions.com/suite_neighbors.html

My goal all along was to have an office in my own neighborhood near my house in Normal Heights so I can walk or bike to work, so after months of looking I finally found my new and more permanent home...

Web Design Solutions, Inc.
2840 Adams Ave. Suite 320
San Diego, CA 92116

I'm right on the corner of Utah and Adams near 30th, on the 3rd floor with a view of University Heights and double the space for less than I was paying before.

Stop by and say hi any time!

Making awesome progress on the Bronco, next step King Shocks...

Check out more pics at Bronco Graveyard.

• Remove 35"x14.5" Super Swamper Boggers from old rims.
• Order the last set of 12'x15' aluminum rims on earth.
• Ship to Champion Wheel for C3 Flush Series Beadlocks.
• Black Powder Coat treatment for the So Cal effect.
• Thank the guys at Exalt Customs for hookin' it up!

I have an incredible setup with milled .100 Trick Flow Twisted Wedge heads, a new 95' 5.0 block running the F303 cam and Kieth Black pistons... yet I have this crappy old intake with ports half the size of the heads intake ports. After upgrading to a 3500 RMP converter I could really feel the limitations of this setup so I decided to upgrade to a new Edelbrock Performer RPM Air Gap intake with the EnduraShine finish....

This is a personal adaptation of a recipe I got from the guys at Ballast Point Brewery which turned into not only the best beer I have ever brewed but the best beer I have ever had the pleasure of drinking. Rather than just post the beer recipe, I am going to go into a little more detail than normal... answering some of the the questions I had when I first started brewing.

1. 2 gallons of tap water into a brew kettle - tap water is critical for the mineral content to feed the yeast.
2. Into a steeping bag...
   
   1. 24oz 10L Crystal
   2. 16oz Carapils
   3. 8oz Carafa II
3. With steeping bag submerged but off the bottom bring almost to a boil.
4. At 170f rinse grain over kettle with 2 pints of tap water - do not wring bag out!
5. Add 1oz Centennial Hops and 9 lbs of Coopers Light Malt Extract into kettle and bring to a boil.
6. Once a boil is reached add 2oz Columbus Hops.
7. After 30 minutes add 1oz Centennial Hops.
8. After 15 mire minutes add 3 teaspoons Irish Moss for clarity.
9. After 15 more minutes add 1oz Simcoe Hops
10. Pull off burner and immediately add 1.5 gallon of purified water - to dilute the tap water for correct balance.
11. Wash your carboy with low sud detergent then rinse and wash with iodine and rinse.
12. Pour 1.5 gallons of purified water into the carboy to keep it cool followed with your wort (un-fermented beer).
13. Once the temperature drops to 80f add...
    1. 1oz Simcoe Hops
    2. .5oz Amarillo Hops
    3. White Labs California Ale Yeast
    4. White Labs Burton Ale Yeast
14. Ferment for 10-14 days at 60-70 degrees ferenheight.
15. Rack into your keg and chill for 24 hours with no pressure.
16. Apply 30 pounds of pressure then tip keg back and fourth till you don't hear it taking any more CO2.
17. Let rest a week or more gradually reducing the pressure for the CO2 to fully absorb into the beer for the proper mouth feel.
18. Dispense at 6 pounds of pressure (my preference) and Enjoy.

I know this could be improved on with all grain or using a wort chiller but I wanted to balance quality with simplicity, but if you do want to go all grain trade the malt extract for 14lbs Domestic 2 row. Please let me know what you think!

Yep thats right, a seafoam green Fererri F60 Enzo...

And what about this gem for runner up...

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/26/ferrari-enzo-in-taxi-livery-found-where-else-the-middle-east

Feast your eyes on these custom valved remote reservoir 2.5 Kings, thanks to Down South Motorsports...

I'm quite proud of the progress we have made in the automotive web development arena with Web Shop Manager, as one of the leading automotive eCommerce solutions out there. The thing I am the most excited about right now is full DCI / Catalog Rack / Web Shop Manager integration which allows any of our clients to populate their catalog with over 1 million SKU's overnight. Here is a pefect example of an eCommerce Automotive solution that Web Design Solutions designed and developed using Goodies Speedshop. In addition Web Shop Manager is probably one of the only systems that has an "out of the box" Make - Model - Year solution that uses AJAX to update on the fly as the user browses the menus without refreshing the page for every selection. Here are just a few of the Web Developments we have added so far...

• Year - Make - Model AJAX attribute system.
• Brand management dynamically integrated with YMM.
• Unique or global options for colors and sizes.
• The most advanced data import-export tool in existence on any eCommerce platform.
• CMS: Photo Gallery, Blog, Links, Surveys, FAQ, Locator, Etc.
• Advanced Automotive Web Development
• Amazing Automotive Web Design eCommerce

Here are the Automotive Web Developments we have coming Soon...

• Readers Galleries (Readers Rides)
• Classifieds System (Auto Trader)

I love my iPhone but nothing makes me happier than more automotive applications to entertain me on my iPhone...

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=7&article_id=8043&page_number=1

More than 1 billion iPhone and iPod touch applications have been downloaded since Apple opened its App Store on July 11, 2008. It didn't take long for the automotive industry to realize that it could put product information right into consumers' hands with the development of a slick download — a few recent examples being apps for the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, Porsche Panamera, Kia Soul and the European-market Volkswagen Polo. In the automotive sector, you'll also find an almost endless selection of racing games, performance dynos, educational tutorials, driving logs, gas finders and much, much more. After test driving countless automotive apps we've found 10 that really stand out from the crowd. Read on as we count down our favorites.

Jay Leno is my here when it comes to having an amazing automotive collection and justifying his tinkering with his cars on a regular basis.

It's been 10 years since Jay Leno's garage first appeared in Popular Mechanics. But instead of looking back, Jay's celebrating his first decade with PM by looking forward--at which cars today have the potential to be collectible in the future.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/jay_leno_garage/4312877.html

OK so I have had my F150 for 3 years now and already had to stop at the dealership and get a new set of floor mats. Well the drivers side one wore a hole through it about a year ago so I switched to using the passenger side one which didn't have the little hole to hook into the truck carpet so it was always sliding around. Also with black carpet every little piece of dirt was always visible and getting pushed off the carpet mats. Anyway I was done messing around so I did some searching and found these great WeatherTech All-Weather Floor Mats over at Truck Champ for a great price and I got them in just a few days! Click this image to see more photos of the installation...

When I got my truck a few years ago, the first thing I added was a tonneau cover. I wanted something low profile and low maintenance, I was hoping for something that was completely flush with the bed sides but the best I could come up with was the Agri-Cover Access Tonneau Cover. It was nice but the biggest problem I had was that it either had to be fully closed or fully open, if I drove with it half way say if I was hauling lumber or a pipe with the tail gate up then it would blow all over the place. Overall it was nice and did the job though so I didn't really complain, or even think there was a better option.

Fast forward to a few months ago when I discovered BAK Tonneau Covers, they produce the BAK Flip HD which is a hard folding tonneau cover. I could go on and on about how amazing it is, from allowing partial bed access to being light yet sturdy enough to stand on! Check out this video that shows a full tour of all the features...

Below is my own installation image gallery of the BAK Flip HD, click to see more photos. Of particular note is how you can fold it all the way up to get FULL bed access, there is a rod to secure it so it won't fall back down while driving. Installation was a snap, it was actually easier than removing the old Access cover! These guys thought of everything from the drainage of rain water to making sure when its folded up it doesn't rub against itself and scratch the finish. Best of all, it lays completely flush with the bed sides and it looks awesome on my truck.

I owe my inspiration to pursue smoked meats to my Jerry Long my Uncle who is probably the most renowned custom meat processor and sausage maker in Southeast Michigan. The following recipe is a combination of several that I found through research, although the primary influence for the brine and rub is Alton Brown I've tweaked them a little. It's important to note that a properly brined meat beats marinade injection any day of the week, by the way this is also my secret when it comes to my amazing Thanksgiving turkey.

Ultimate Brine, 8-12 hours...

• 4 ounces of dark brown sugar
• 12 ounces (1 jar) molasses
• 24 ounces of salt
• 1 Gallon bottled water
• 2 x 8lb Boston butt - for all the trouble 1 just isn't enough!

Ultimate rub, apply liberally after brining with latex gloves optionally on a base of spicy brown mustard...

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon ground fennel
• 1/8 cup chili powder
• 1/8 cup onion powder
• 1/8 cup garlic powder
• 1/8 cup paprika
• 1/8 cup ground pepper
• 1/8 cup dark brown sugar

Preheat smoker to 225 degrees with mesquite or similar, smoke meat until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees. For a final twist spritz your meat every hour or so with a mixture of 2 parts 100% apple juice to 1 part Captain Morgan spiced rum. Once its done let it rest under a tent of aluminum foil for a half hour then pull the meat apart with two forks, then enjoy with liberal application of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce which is literally the best BBQ sauce known to man. If you are assembling pulled pork sandwiches make sure you have the freshest buns and top it off with true homemade coleslaw.