Well I've been gaffing this off for a while now, so it's time to make good on at least one of those New Year's Resolutions.

Here is the worklog for my next machine.

This rig used to be a server for a hospital. My Dad does contract Desktop Support for the IT Dept. He was about to toss this thing in the trash bin when he remembered my request for him to keep his eye peeled for any useful components or cases he comes across. He gave me a call at work and told me he had a case for me. I was all ears. He said it was big. He wasn't fibbing. He brought it to me and I just about threw up when I saw that not only was it big enough to affect the tides, it was a Compaq. I have a certain aversion to the so-called Tier 1 OEMs anyways, and Compaq is the crown jewel on my list of proprietary-non-upgradable-yukko's.

Then something happened. The Humanitarian/Modder/Geek/Mechanic in me took over. I saw flashes of the opening clip at the beginning of the 'Six-Million-Dollar Man'. I can rebuild it. I can make it Better, Stronger, Faster.

Redemption.

The Humanitarian in me said, "I will redeem this machines' soul and try to make it respectable again."

The Modder in me said, "Look at all the room for windows, fans, lights, and LEDs!"

The Geek in me said, "It will have the finest components and will perform like a champion" (NOTE: the Geek in me is unaware of my account balance, hence the delay)

And finally, the Mechanic in me said, "Knock off all this stupid typing and let's get to frikkin' work."

I spent about an hour unclipping and unscrewing the arcaic hardware from the belly of the beast and when I saw the case in all of it's naked glory............

.........my mind went completely freaking blank.

I had no idea of what I intended to do with this gargantuan hunk of steel. (It is a heavy pig, even empty.) This has been and still is, a work, AND conception, in progress. To those of you who have done original conceptions, (Zackbass, web56n, DRxAndy, TAZ, Adisharr, GaryUT, DS, and any others) did your projects go like this at any point in the building? Every time I have decided on how something is going to be placed, the next step gives me a new idea, causing me to take two steps backward. Oh well, onward.

DISCLAIMER: The mods and materials for this project are conceived from ideas from many people, not just me. Modding is ART. Just as you see influences in classical paintings, you will see some of my modding influences from some of you. I have been a member of Sharky forums since its early days (had to re-register after the format changed) and have been a thread lurker for the most part. I don't post alot, but I read ALOT. I pay attention to things that are posted and have gained much of what I know about computers right here.

I dedicate this project to those of you who have helped and inspired me. (Yes, even you DS.)

So let's put a fresh reinforced cutoff wheel on the Dremel and get to work!