What's up guys?! "thumbsup"
A little birdie told me some people were asking about me so I stopped over and found this thread. I sold every last RC car and RC part and I quit!
Just kidding! :mrgreen: I really appreciate you guys asking about my whereabouts and thinking about me! It means a lot. I hope you are all doing well, kicking ass, taking names and building the RC of your dreams.
Despite my sometimes, umm, different demeanor, I think you guys know I love this place. I'm a diehard. I've been active on here for a long time (actually twice as long as my longest relationship - which is currently ongoing) sometimes contributing and sometimes not. But this place has brought me lots of entertainment, enjoyment, socializing and even real world friends.
I still do stop over here believe it or not. It's only to answer PMs though as a small part of my mod duties. Yes, I'm still a mod, but I've been a bad mod full of neglect. I do think about it and feel bad for dumping it all on Topher. I also still converse with Mike when I can't execute the requested action in PMs. In fact I texted him just before this about a non RC matter. It's just that adulting has gotten in the way of RC! :evil:
As for why I've been MIA - well there's lots of reasons. COVID, as shitty as it is, has done its part to reinvigorate American manufacturing. I am busier than ever at my day job as a Project Manager/Design Engineer at a sheet metal fabricator. We literally can't keep up with demand. I did work at home for about 4 months, but now I'm back in the office. On top of this, we got a new engineer, right out of college that's greener than moldy money. So I stepped up to mentor him since nobody else was doing that. You'd think the engineering manager would be involved in that, but... So anyway, I simply don't have downtime at work to browse like I used to.
And as the birdie stated above, motorcycles have consumed me this year. Motorcycling is the original and ultimate social distancing activity! My "big bike" (Buell) only got ridden once or twice, but my Grom has been my ongoing project and leisure toy. Not long ago I installed a Yoshimura cam, Sex Machine Racing (what a name!) stiffer clutch springs, a billet clutch plate and some Womet-Tech levers. I used to love riding fast and then it got me in a lot of trouble so I put bikes away and basically just gave up riding for a few years. With the Grom I can constantly have the throttle cranked to the stops and giving it the beans and still be barely breaking the speed limit. If you don't understand the challenge and the fun of trying to go fast on something slow then you probably won't ever understand. My current, new top speed on the highway is an honest 69 MPH! :mrgreen:
And then there's the fact that I've been looking for a place to live in the craziest housing market ever. My landlord is selling the place I've been renting for nearly 13 years. My plan was to buy it when they were ready to sell, but their daughter decided she wants to downsize from her new, custom home and, well, she has more pull with her parents than I do. :ror: Everything happens for a reason though and my new, white trash with cash neighbors are a chore to live next to. Hopefully my future neighbors will be better. My girlfriend and I looked at 23 houses because we refuse to overpay and that's a tough stand in this insane and competitive market, especially when you're faced with being homeless. We believe we found one so keep all of your fingers crossed! Don't even uncross them to type. Use your face!
And so, because of all of this, I haven't touched RC since about February when I did a trail run with OSRC. I did buy the SCX24 that I may or may not have posted about, but after installing wheels and tires and driving it once or twice it was never touched again.
