I posted this in the General Garage Discussion area, but I'm putting it here too -- for maximum exposure. 
A few months ago I was surfing around on the internet and landed at a web site for a magazine called Family Handyman. They were holding a contest called the "2011 Best in DIY award." The part that got my attention was that they had a garage category -- so I emailed in a picture to enter.
Yesterday, I was surprised to learn (since I'd forgotten about it) that I'm one of the five finalists in the "Dream Garages" category.
Now, above everything else, I enjoy having a project in front of me -- especially one that I've got a plan for -- which is where the Garage Journal comes in. This board is like a force of nature that is unrivaled by anything else on the internet. It's got 84,000 of the nicest guys I've ever met. So...
84,000 votes is a lot. And I'd like to win this thing -- which means I'm asking you to click on the link below and vote for me. You can vote once a day, any day or every day, for the next seven weeks.
The downside? You're going to have to give them a mailing address, phone number and email to register -- which I apologize for. I think it's dumb. But here's the deal -- I looked at their privacy policy, and they will not send you unsolicited emails or sell your personal information in any way. For added safety, I'd suggest making a change or two to your mailing address and phone number so that the data isn't useful to them even if they cheat (although Reader's Digest is the parent company, which means they probably won't cheat). Your email needs to be valid for account confirmation, but I signed up back when I entered the contest and it hasn't led to any unsolicited emails coming into my inbox.
I emailed Ryan to make sure posting this was all right and he gave me his blessing. If I win the whole shebang (there's a grand prize up above the category prize), I think it would be cool to take the additional money and use it for some charity that we can all get behind. But that's getting ahead of myself. The next step is to win the garage category.
So, that's my plea. If you're willing to click and vote for me, I would really appreciate it.
To do it...
First, click on this link:
2011 Best-in-DIY Contest
Then, select the 'California Dreamin' entry in the garage section. I'm number four of the five finalists. Click on the little bullet by the thumbnail, then scroll down and click on the 'vote' button.
You'll have to enter your email and stuff once, to set up your account. After that, you can just click. Remember, you can vote once a day.
I'm really grateful for any votes I get.
Still reading? Okay. There's more. Maybe you're wondering WHY you should vote for my garage.
Here are my three reasons:
Reason one. My garage is the only Garage Journal garage in the batch. This is a shame, since there are so many awesome garages on this site. But it's too late to enter, so if you want yours in there, then wait for next year -- I promise I'll vote for you then. But that's only part of it. The cool thing about Garage Journal is that so many of the garages here are honest-to-nuts working garages. Not slick showrooms with rows of million-dollar collector cars under designer lighting. (Well, there are exceptions -- but still.) I
like the ordinary-guy, dirt-under-the-fingernails vibe of GJ -- even when the shops are big enough to hold my whole house. Of the other four garages competing with me, the most spectacular (number 1, the one built by the bridge engineer with the leaded glass windows) doesn't even have a driveway leading to the doors. Number two has some great cabinets. And I'll give him points for the fact that there are some actual oil stains on the floor. But it's just a wall of cabinets as far as I can tell. They're nice cabinets -- the guy's got skills -- but I don't see a whole shop in there. Number 3 is, well... some more nice cabinetry. I'm not convinced that guy ever uses those tools (although I could be wrong). Number 5 looks like a pretty decent working garage, and he ought to check out Garage Journal... but I think Number 4, which is mine, is the best combination of DIY, smart planning for a small space, and a garage where automotive work, woodworking and metal fabrication all get done in the same space, often on the same day. And maybe most importantly, mine is the only garage in the contest
that has a car inside it.
Here it is this morning -- getting used!
Reason two. My garage is the scrappy underdog. It's the smallest in the contest and pretty clearly had the lowest budget (well, I
think it did). I dug the hole and poured the concrete for my lift. I beat up my knees by tiling the place myself. I painted it, built the cabinets, built the benches. It was all done on the cheap and -- as such -- I think it says something about the many other self-reliant and resourceful guys on this board. I'd be thrilled if I had the bridge engineer's money to build a place like he did -- but I don't. And since that's the case, I did the most with what I had. And like I said before, you can actually drive a car into and out of mine. I do it every day.
Reason three. Okay, this might be shameless exploitation of a child. But if I win,
little Max gets a racing kart. Yep, that's a promise. (And his mother can't make me take it back.) Here he is on his crappy little push car that he's outgrown. It does
not have a 50cc two-stroke in it. Does he look happy? No, he does not.
Here is the sort of thing he could be driving next year if the might of the Garage Journal is brought to bear on this contest. Put yourself in Max's shoes. Which car would you rather have your daddy get you? Which one is going to make Mom more nervous? Which one requires a
fire suit?
(My apologies to whoever's kid/kart I grabbed off of a Google Images search. But it's a cool picture.)
Okay. Thanks for taking the time to read this. My garage needs your vote, any time (and as much as once a day) between now and the end of October.
The link is up there! Help Max get his race kart! 
