Niko......yes, those were the good old days......when I could get up in the morning and not have to guess if it was going to be a "Good orthopedic day" or a "Testy Orthopedic aided by Ibuprofen day!" I'm not that old, but will never forget, during the O.J. Simpson trial, when O.J. responded to questions about his physical abilities as related to the crime, and he responded by saying, and I paraphrase, "I have to take two motrin every day just to get on the golf green!" He was referring to his football history and the long term damage from the sport. I don't believe he was even 50 at that time.

Anyway, about the equipment. I too don't mind paying more if I feel comfortable about the technical support. At the time I bought the S1, everyone was talking about Chris, and referring all comments on the forums to him. I could've purchased from Jim at 1st Line, but figured that if I had any problems, Chris would be the only one to really know the in's and out's of the machine. At this point, my next machine, or machines, will be probably be commercial NSF. I'm still waiting for the NSF Vivaldi machines. At the SCAA show the La Spaz rep from Seattle said that they're still waiting and she couldn't give me a specific availability. The one machine that really caught my eye was from http://www.jet-steam.com. You've got to check it out, as it's a one-group, but with an approach that's very, very different. They sell for $6k, but could find a home "at home", if the pocketbook priorities were such...? (One option would be to simply pre-enlist one of the Grandkids in the merchant marines and invest the bonus money or something!)

Best, Al (and I'll make a point of contacting you when I'm up in The City)

That's an amazing machine you linked me to!
Wow.

I loved the Vivaldi and Chris' service so much that I bought 3 machines from him, I plumbed the VII back in February in addition to the original S1 which I still have in operation. All the little changes made for a HUGE difference in the newer version for me.
So what's the difference in the NSF version of the Vivaldi, does it have taller feet or something? I don't need that sort of certification for home use...