Santoro Family Webpage

It’s been four years since I built my “Mamenation” arcade machine, and we have enjoyed it thoroughly .

The technology has come along way in those four years and Mamenation is HUGE, protruding rudely into our den. With the recent LCD price reductions it is now possible to build a slimmer arcade cabinet than was previously possible with large, deep CRT tube-style monitors. All these facts, combined with the fact that I haven’t built anything cool in a few years, made me decide to build a new, slim arcade machine. I will be selling Mamenation to fund the new project.

Last time around I did paper sketches and it wasn’t conducive to quality work. This time around I used the opportunity to learn “Sketchup,” a free 3D modeling program from Google. It has a rather steep learning curve. I have spent about 15 hours with it so far and am now just starting to not be spastic with it. In the end it was worth it because it gives you the ability to look at your creation from any angle before it ever exists.

Here is the design I am leaning toward:

(click for larger picture..)

I have ordered all the parts that I need and should start construction soon if work doesn’t keep me working late too much.

Stumbled across this.  Make your own Shrinky-dinks, couldn’t be much simpler.  Cool. 

http://www.curbly.com/Chrisjob/posts/2252-DIY-Shrinky-Dinks-

If we try it I’ll report back here how it worked.

So, I have been on a mission to see as many of the great 1980s bands as I can as they go on reunion tours. In the last few years I have seen:

• U2’s ‘Vertigo’ Tour (twice, Madison Square Garden, and Continental Airlines Arena)
• Peter Gabriel’s ‘Growing Up’ tour at the Continental Airlines Arena
• Billy Joel at the Hartford Civic Center

I got an email a few weeks ago saying that there were tickets available for The Police at Giants Stadium, and was able to jump on the opportunity. We scored floor seats about thirty rows back from the stage.

Read the rest of this entry »

I got the inspiration for this from a recipe I saw in a magazine, but I didn’t get the recipe at the time so I had to recreate it from the ‘picture’ in my mind. It turned out great. Read the rest of this entry »

A lot of new photos from have been added to the gallery, including:

• New Years
• Dave’s visit to Pelican Bay
• Easter
• Lots of Lacrosse pics of Ben and Emily
• New Car Pics
• Great Adventure with Joel and Beth

I have enhanced the Photo Gallery with a user registration procedure. You can now apply for your own account on the server, rather than using the generic ‘family’ user ID. This will be good for friends and family of ours that might not know the ‘Rose’s maiden name’ password. We will approve all family and friends, however distant.

If you want to try it, go to the gallery and click ‘Register’ in the left margin of the page.