Regforte and others,
I have been taking the meat directly from the fridge which taking it out for an hour or so makes a lot of sence to me - thanks for the tip.[

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Basically I have been preheating to about 180deg for the last couple of outings. When I put in the meat, it drops to around maybe 110deg or less and hangs there for longer than my patience will bear[

!] therefore I wind up bumping the slider to get it up to temp quicker, and then have to back it off to it's "pre-bumped" position. Then I usually wind up going over to over 200deg. No biggie when I'm cooking something, but the last thing I did was a batch of jerky and I did not want the temp that high. Some of you pointed out some of my problems in another thread, and I was smoking too hot.
I also read the tip about the brick and what I used (but forgot to report on) was some extra barbecue briquettes I had when I changed over my grill from lava rock to ceramic. They are like 2 inch square, and I lay out six of them around the water bowl on the bottom tray in hope that I can replicate the brick idea. I had a brick, but it is really heavy and ackward compared to the briquettes, so I never tried the brick.
I think one big difference is the temp of the meat, and I will try to warm to room temp next time. I have two loins in a brine right now and will be smoking them on Saturday. Report my results on my smoked porkchop thread under curing.
Thanks guys[

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John - Lethbridge, AB