It's here! I've finally published my first Windows Phone 7 App. If you're a previous reader of my blog, you may have noticed that I'm avid XBMC supporter. I run XBMC on several machines in my house including a Linux based HTPC and on Apple TV devices throughout my house. My company recently started piloting Windows Phone 7 devices and I wasn't happy with the XBMC remotes that were on the market (or their price!) so I decided to write my own.

The first version of XBMC Remote for Windows Phone 7 includes the core capabilities for browsing your library and controlling your XBMC box. If you have any suggestions, comments, or problems using the app, please contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Check out XBMC Remote on the Marketplace (the one by BoshDirect). The app includes a fully-functional 15 day trial and is the lowest priced XBMC remote on the market at $1.49

• View and search movie library and select for playback
• View and search albums and artists and select songs
• View and select TV shows, seasons, and episodes
• Remote control your XBMC
• View movie, tv, and music artwork (fanart, posters, album covers)

Note that XBMC Remote is a libary browser and remote control. It does not stream videos or music to your phone.

V1.0 ("Taco"):

• Requires XBMC Dharma (10.0).
• Tested with Pre 11 (Eden) -- subject to change
• Movies, Albums, Artists, and TV shows are cached to device for fast viewing and searching
• Initial movie, music, and TV viewing and remote control functionality
• Panorama view for movies
• TV Show Wide Banner view
• Artwork cached to device for fast viewing (on second load)

A few more of the critical parts for my GTO to Monaro conversion came in. I originally ordered the VZ Monaro front bumper kit from JHP in Australia. They were really great to deal with - professional, friendly, and really helpful when I ran into some basic issues. The only downside to using JHP was that I had to pay a 3% conversion fee with my credit card company since the charge was in Australian Dollars and my credit card company is American Express and thus uses US Dollars.

I decided I would try to find a US based company to purchase the rest of my Monaro parts. I did a little research and found TopShelfPerformance. I ordered my badge kit and side-marker repeater light kit from them. It look a really long time to get the parts from TopShelfPerformance and it's a pain in the ass to try to get a hold of them as they never answer their phone calls, so I called up JHP and ordered my rear bumper insert from them even though they were $20 more expensive. Once I called them and placed the order, it turned out they were actually $50 cheaper at JHP than TopShelfPerformance (I guess the AUD:USD conversion swung in my favor).

The moral of the story is JHP is great and if you are looking at ordering from G8 to Commodore or GTO to Monaro conversion parts, I would highly recommend you order from them.

You can see the pictures of my GTO to Monaro conversion in progress at the following URL: GTO to Monaro 

I haven't had the chance to make it to the Texas State Fair yet this year, but my brother did. He sent me a shot of this 2009 Camaro called "bumblebee" that starred in the movie Transformers. I'd trade my GTO in for one of these when they come out, but they will probably be way overpriced.  I guess I'll just have to settle for a Vette.

Click the image above for a larger version. 

More info on the Jet Ski. As I mentioned before we got it up and running within the first week we had it in Dallas. It had been broken for about two years. My dad and brother attempted to work on it, but I really dont know how much effort they invested into it. We pulled the CDI box -- which is a small sealed box that houses all the electronic components -- only to find that it was developing it's own mini-environment inside it. If we were to buy all the individual parts inside it, we would have spent over 1500 dollars. We went on ebay and bought a $300 replacement box and had it shipped to us within the first week.

(...read more click below.)
Here's a list of the things we replaced/fixed:

• CDI Box -- all components inside
• Throttle cable
• Choke Assembly
• Fuel Filter
• Spark Plugs
• Oil Change

The speedometer doesn't work -- so we need to figure out what's wrong with that. The ski smokes a bit when it starts up, so we are thinking about doing a modification that removes the Oil Tank/Pump and allows you to manually put the oil into the gas. The guy at the Kawasaki dealership said he recommends it. It's supposed to be better on the motor and improve performance.

This saturday was the second time I got to go out on it since I've been in Dallas for the internship. I think Travis has gone out on it five or six times. It ended up costing me just over $500 dollars to get it fixed. My parents said they would pay me back for it, so I need to get all the bills together and work out a total.

It was taken to the lake (2) two weekends in a row without having the trailer registered because of the stupid system at the County Office. They were going to charge us for two years because the of the date at which we wanted to register the trailer. The last two weeks in May would have forced us to pay for the whole 2005-2006 year. We decided to wait until June and just pay for the 2006-2007 year.

It's all registered now and is begging me to ride it. I look at a little lake out my window all day and it makes me want to leave work and go to the lake. Oh well, it's just something to look forward to for the weekends.