New blog to keep track of my projects

Overview of different projects I am working on:
- Flight Sim HOTAS Setup: I have a preliminary design of what I want to build.
- Painting of my garage, and possibly adding a plastic tile floor. This is in the planning stages.
- Purchase or Lease of a '07 BMW 335i Coupe, delivery in Munich: Car and options, and things to do in Germany picked out. Passport is being renewed, and getting ready to ping the dealers with an offer.
- New web page: Thought stages.

Things I need to do:
-Renew my FAA Medical before 12/31/2006.
-re-floor the foyer in the house. The original tiles have popped off the foundation, right after the warranty ran out. They sounds funny.

Detail of some of the above projects:
Flight Sim HOTAS Setup:
Ever since realistic controllers for flight simulators have been around, I have always wanted to have my own mockup cockpit to fly the simulators in, to add to the realism. This normally involves wrapping wood or plastic around a instrument panel, seat, computer display, and yourself. Since my woodworking skills have not been tested since grade school, I am going to start out small.
Problem: Flightstick and Throttle are on my computer table, where they are uncomfortable to use.
Solution: Design and build 2 platforms to support them at a height that would be similar to a combat aircraft.
I have a preliminary design drafted on graph paper. The problem is, they are not that big, and I am not sure how much they will be moving around when I am actively using them. The current design is a 3D rectangle connected to a 3D triangle. The triangle slopes backwards at a 30 degree angle from the vertical. The plan is to build one to test my woodworking skills, but I will eventually want 2. One for the throttle, and the second for the flightstick. With the second one, I would like to incorporate the stereo unit I have powering my speakers. I would need to indent it some, to make it flush with the side of this stand, and I might want to place it at an angle, so I can see the controls better since I will be sitting right next to it.

Painting of my Garage:
Currently, it is as the builder left it. Drywalled, but unpainted. There is white paint (primer?) where the drywall slabs meet up I think. If I get the 335i, I would want to get the garage painted first. I have started to go through my stuff that is still in the boxes they where in when I moved in from the apartment. Most of it I know is junk, I just need to get off my butt and clean it out. The only thing I need in the garage is my car, grill, outdoor folding chairs, lawn supplies(mower, edger included), the leftover bricks from construction, and the garbage bins. That is all I should have in my garage. But right now, there is a handful of boxes as well.