diff --git a/stack.sh b/stack.sh
index 6b3e09c..0950e64 100755
--- a/stack.sh
+++ b/stack.sh
@@ -103,8 +103,7 @@ if [[ $EUID -eq 0 ]]; then
 
     # since this script runs as a normal user, we need to give that user
     # ability to run sudo
-    apt_get update
-    apt_get install sudo
+    dpkg -l sudo || apt_get update && apt_get install sudo
 
     if ! getent passwd stack >/dev/null; then
         echo "Creating a user called stack"
@@ -121,7 +120,7 @@ if [[ $EUID -eq 0 ]]; then
     echo "Copying files to stack user"
     STACK_DIR="$DEST/${PWD##*/}"
     cp -r -f "$PWD" "$STACK_DIR"
-    chown -R $USER "$STACK_DIR"
+    chown -R stack "$STACK_DIR"
     if [[ "$SHELL_AFTER_RUN" != "no" ]]; then
         exec su -c "set -e; cd $STACK_DIR; bash stack.sh; bash" stack
     else
@@ -912,6 +911,10 @@ function screen_it {
     NL=`echo -ne '\015'`
     if [[ "$ENABLED_SERVICES" =~ "$1" ]]; then
         screen -S stack -X screen -t $1
+        # sleep to allow bash to be ready to be send the command - we are
+        # creating a new window in screen and then sends characters, so if
+        # bash isn't running by the time we send the command, nothing happens
+        sleep 1
         screen -S stack -p $1 -X stuff "$2$NL"
     fi
 }
diff --git a/tools/build_uec.sh b/tools/build_uec.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..6bab526
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/build_uec.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,248 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+# Make sure that we have the proper version of ubuntu (only works on natty/oneiric)
+if ! egrep -q "oneiric|natty" /etc/lsb-release; then
+    echo "This script only works with ubuntu oneiric and natty"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Keep track of the current directory
+TOOLS_DIR=$(cd $(dirname "$0") && pwd)
+TOP_DIR=`cd $TOOLS_DIR/..; pwd`
+
+cd $TOP_DIR
+
+# Source params
+source ./stackrc
+
+# Ubuntu distro to install
+DIST_NAME=${DIST_NAME:-oneiric}
+
+# Configure how large the VM should be
+GUEST_SIZE=${GUEST_SIZE:-10G}
+
+# exit on error to stop unexpected errors
+set -o errexit
+set -o xtrace
+
+# Abort if localrc is not set
+if [ ! -e $TOP_DIR/localrc ]; then
+    echo "You must have a localrc with ALL necessary passwords defined before proceeding."
+    echo "See stack.sh for required passwords."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Install deps if needed
+DEPS="kvm libvirt-bin kpartx"
+dpkg -l $DEPS || apt-get install -y --force-yes $DEPS
+
+# Where to store files and instances
+WORK_DIR=${WORK_DIR:-/opt/kvmstack}
+
+# Where to store images
+image_dir=$WORK_DIR/images/$DIST_NAME
+mkdir -p $image_dir
+
+# Original version of built image
+uec_url=http://uec-images.ubuntu.com/$DIST_NAME/current/$DIST_NAME-server-cloudimg-amd64.tar.gz
+tarball=$image_dir/$(basename $uec_url)
+
+# download the base uec image if we haven't already
+if [ ! -f $tarball ]; then
+    curl $uec_url -o $tarball
+    (cd $image_dir && tar -Sxvzf $tarball)
+    resize-part-image $image_dir/*.img $GUEST_SIZE $image_dir/disk
+    cp $image_dir/*-vmlinuz-virtual $image_dir/kernel
+fi
+
+
+# Configure the root password of the vm to be the same as ``ADMIN_PASSWORD``
+ROOT_PASSWORD=${ADMIN_PASSWORD:-password}
+
+# Name of our instance, used by libvirt
+GUEST_NAME=${GUEST_NAME:-devstack}
+
+# Mop up after previous runs
+virsh destroy $GUEST_NAME || true
+
+# Where this vm is stored
+vm_dir=$WORK_DIR/instances/$GUEST_NAME
+
+# Create vm dir and remove old disk
+mkdir -p $vm_dir
+rm -f $vm_dir/disk
+
+# Create a copy of the base image
+qemu-img create -f qcow2 -b $image_dir/disk $vm_dir/disk
+
+# Back to devstack
+cd $TOP_DIR
+
+GUEST_NETWORK=${GUEST_NETWORK:-1}
+GUEST_RECREATE_NET=${GUEST_RECREATE_NET:-yes}
+GUEST_IP=${GUEST_IP:-192.168.$GUEST_NETWORK.50}
+GUEST_CIDR=${GUEST_CIDR:-$GUEST_IP/24}
+GUEST_NETMASK=${GUEST_NETMASK:-255.255.255.0}
+GUEST_GATEWAY=${GUEST_GATEWAY:-192.168.$GUEST_NETWORK.1}
+GUEST_MAC=${GUEST_MAC:-"02:16:3e:07:69:`printf '%02X' $GUEST_NETWORK`"}
+GUEST_RAM=${GUEST_RAM:-1524288}
+GUEST_CORES=${GUEST_CORES:-1}
+
+# libvirt.xml configuration
+NET_XML=$vm_dir/net.xml
+cat > $NET_XML <<EOF
+<network>
+  <name>devstack-$GUEST_NETWORK</name>
+  <bridge name="stackbr%d" />
+  <forward/>
+  <ip address="$GUEST_GATEWAY" netmask="$GUEST_NETMASK">
+    <dhcp>
+      <range start='192.168.$GUEST_NETWORK.2' end='192.168.$GUEST_NETWORK.127' />
+    </dhcp>
+  </ip>
+</network>
+EOF
+
+if [[ "$GUEST_RECREATE_NET" == "yes" ]]; then
+    virsh net-destroy devstack-$GUEST_NETWORK || true
+    # destroying the network isn't enough to delete the leases
+    rm -f /var/lib/libvirt/dnsmasq/devstack-$GUEST_NETWORK.leases
+    virsh net-create $vm_dir/net.xml
+fi
+
+# libvirt.xml configuration
+LIBVIRT_XML=$vm_dir/libvirt.xml
+cat > $LIBVIRT_XML <<EOF
+<domain type='kvm'>
+  <name>$GUEST_NAME</name>
+  <memory>$GUEST_RAM</memory>
+  <os>
+    <type>hvm</type>
+    <kernel>$image_dir/kernel</kernel>
+    <cmdline>root=/dev/vda ro console=ttyS0 init=/usr/lib/cloud-init/uncloud-init ds=nocloud-net;s=http://192.168.$GUEST_NETWORK.1:4567/ ubuntu-pass=ubuntu</cmdline>
+  </os>
+  <features>
+    <acpi/>
+  </features>
+  <clock offset='utc'/>
+  <vcpu>$GUEST_CORES</vcpu>
+  <devices>
+    <disk type='file'>
+      <driver type='qcow2'/>
+      <source file='$vm_dir/disk'/>
+      <target dev='vda' bus='virtio'/>
+    </disk>
+
+    <interface type='network'>
+      <source network='devstack-$GUEST_NETWORK'/>
+    </interface>
+        
+    <!-- The order is significant here.  File must be defined first -->
+    <serial type="file">
+      <source path='$vm_dir/console.log'/>
+      <target port='1'/>
+    </serial>
+
+    <console type='pty' tty='/dev/pts/2'>
+      <source path='/dev/pts/2'/>
+      <target port='0'/>
+    </console>
+
+    <serial type='pty'>
+      <source path='/dev/pts/2'/>
+      <target port='0'/>
+    </serial>
+
+    <graphics type='vnc' port='-1' autoport='yes' keymap='en-us' listen='0.0.0.0'/>
+  </devices>
+</domain>
+EOF
+
+
+rm -rf $vm_dir/uec
+cp -r $TOOLS_DIR/uec $vm_dir/uec
+
+# set metadata
+cat > $vm_dir/uec/meta-data<<EOF
+hostname: $GUEST_NAME
+instance-id: i-hop
+instance-type: m1.ignore
+local-hostname: $GUEST_NAME.local
+EOF
+
+# set metadata
+cat > $vm_dir/uec/user-data<<EOF
+#!/bin/bash
+# hostname needs to resolve for rabbit
+sed -i "s/127.0.0.1/127.0.0.1 \`hostname\`/" /etc/hosts
+apt-get update
+apt-get install git sudo -y
+git clone https://github.com/cloudbuilders/devstack.git
+cd devstack
+git remote set-url origin `cd $TOP_DIR; git remote show origin | grep Fetch | awk '{print $3}'`
+git fetch
+git checkout `git rev-parse HEAD`
+cat > localrc <<LOCAL_EOF
+ROOTSLEEP=0
+`cat $TOP_DIR/localrc`
+LOCAL_EOF
+./stack.sh
+EOF
+
+# (re)start a metadata service
+(
+  pid=`lsof -iTCP@192.168.$GUEST_NETWORK.1:4567 -n | awk '{print $2}' | tail -1`
+  [ -z "$pid" ] || kill -9 $pid
+)
+cd $vm_dir/uec
+python meta.py 192.168.$GUEST_NETWORK.1:4567 &
+
+# Create the instance
+virsh create $vm_dir/libvirt.xml
+
+# Tail the console log till we are done
+WAIT_TILL_LAUNCH=${WAIT_TILL_LAUNCH:-1}
+if [ "$WAIT_TILL_LAUNCH" = "1" ]; then
+    set +o xtrace
+    # Done creating the container, let's tail the log
+    echo
+    echo "============================================================="
+    echo "                          -- YAY! --"
+    echo "============================================================="
+    echo
+    echo "We're done launching the vm, about to start tailing the"
+    echo "stack.sh log. It will take a second or two to start."
+    echo
+    echo "Just CTRL-C at any time to stop tailing."
+
+    while [ ! -e "$vm_dir/console.log" ]; do
+      sleep 1
+    done
+
+    tail -F $vm_dir/console.log &
+
+    TAIL_PID=$!
+
+    function kill_tail() {
+        kill $TAIL_PID
+        exit 1
+    }
+
+    # Let Ctrl-c kill tail and exit
+    trap kill_tail SIGINT
+
+    echo "Waiting stack.sh to finish..."
+    while ! egrep -q '^stack.sh (completed|failed)' $vm_dir/console.log ; do
+        sleep 1
+    done
+
+    set -o xtrace
+
+    kill $TAIL_PID
+
+    if ! grep -q "^stack.sh completed in" $vm_dir/console.log; then
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    echo ""
+    echo "Finished - Zip-a-dee Doo-dah!"
+fi
diff --git a/tools/uec/meta.py b/tools/uec/meta.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5b845d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/uec/meta.py
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+import sys
+from BaseHTTPServer import HTTPServer, BaseHTTPRequestHandler
+from SimpleHTTPServer import SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
+
+def main(host, port, HandlerClass = SimpleHTTPRequestHandler,
+         ServerClass = HTTPServer, protocol="HTTP/1.0"):
+    """simple http server that listens on a give address:port"""
+
+    server_address = (host, port)
+
+    HandlerClass.protocol_version = protocol
+    httpd = ServerClass(server_address, HandlerClass)
+
+    sa = httpd.socket.getsockname()
+    print "Serving HTTP on", sa[0], "port", sa[1], "..."
+    httpd.serve_forever()
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    if sys.argv[1:]:
+        address = sys.argv[1]
+    else:
+        address = '0.0.0.0'
+    if ':' in address:
+        host, port = address.split(':')
+    else:
+        host = address
+        port = 8080
+
+    main(host, int(port))