Jon,

The Silvia/Rocky combo sure is a classic. The Silvia looks especially nice with its recent facelift. Like the empeg, these machines offer lots of opportunity for hacking and upgrading along the way, adding to the fun and geek-appeal.

We have some good cafes and roasters here in Chicago, too. I walk past Intelligentsia every day, as well as a cafe that stocks beans from Metropolis across town. I use Intelligentsia Black Cat most often (hard to beat 2 lbs for $14 on 2 lb-tuesdays!).

I may get into roasting my own someday, but for now I'm still learning the art of grinding and pulling a good shot. I don't drink many milk drinks, so it's hard to hide a bad shot. My favorite things about the new setup so far are the quietness of both the M4 and the V2 compared to the machines they replaced, and the direct-plumb line on the V2. It's been fun playing with it over the past few weeks.

I've been reading more at home-barista.com than CG lately. The CG forums are just slow enough to try my patience. Good information at both, though.

--Dan.