Supposedly, the admins want me to post here in order that they may know that I'm not a spam-bot. I get it; I probably hate those things more than you — but introducing myself is, to me, a lot like going through "enhanced-inspection" lines run by the TSA and ICE. I don't know whether this board is hosted in the USA -- and even if it is, I don't know if the admins and mods are US Citizens (not that it really matters, on the Internet); and even if it is and they are, I don't know if they care about the US Constitution or anything else — including Mustangs. So, here is a little bit about me:
My forebears have been in the land that became the USA, for hundreds of years before the USA was even imagined — and despite the fact that my Citizenship in the USA is by birthright, I'm hardcore grateful for it, and I get more than a little irritated when people (any person or group of persons, regardless how that person or group may be characterized or otherwise described, and regardless whether such characterization or description is the person or group's self-opinion or the opinion of one or more others) start trying to turn the place into some sort of authoritarian backwater. At least this forum doesn't seem to have turned into the sort of cancel-culture madhouses that Quora and Facebook have become.
I risked my life to defend the US Constitution — mainly for everyone else, but also for me; I've got an honorable DD-214, and I earned it by being old-school honorable, not as a participation trophy — and I did not do any of that because I wanted a paycheck or benefits (I preferred that I was paid, as that was part of the bargain between me and my then-employer, but neither did donning a uniform change who I am, nor has not wearing a uniform changed who I was) or baubles and trinkets and recognition. Putting it as charitably as I know how: I don't have a high opinion of anyone whose allegiance, fidelity, loyalty — or similar such — can be bought.
Not everyone feels that way: I get that; the right to dissent is among the rights I risked my life to preserve and protect. On the other hand, don't assume from that tiny blurb that you know me, or that either you and I think alike — or, for that matter, that you and I don't think alike: I generate my own opinions; if they align with yours, then it's a happy accident — and if they don't, you'd really do well to at least consider the differences and why they exist, which means critically understanding the moral and factual roots of both our positions.
I'm half-ancient and semi-cranky at the moment, but if you're even remotely trying to be a good (or at least a better-than-you-are) person — on any level: intellectually, morally, socially, professionally; just show me that you care enough to keep your mouth shut about political issues you either can't or won't understand, and that you're not spreading hate or lies — and you'll discover that I want very much to help you to succeed in every honorable action you undertake, and in every achievement you wish to make.
I'm still learning, but I'm a lot farther ahead than I should be, for the effort and suffering that I've put in, not because of any "privilege," but because (a) I submitted myself to the instruction and discipline of my parents (and to the moral authority of the God in Whom I believe — I'm not proselytizing, and YMMV: I'm simply saying this works for me, it's well-tested, and I'm not about to change it), and (b) I've learned not only from my own mistakes but also from the mistakes that others made.
Neither my opinion, nor the opinion of any other person or group, defines whether anything is right or wrong; however, we each have the power to perceive right and wrong, and to align our respective beliefs accordingly as each among us wishes. Neither will I ever apologize for my heritage, nor will I request or demand that anyone or any group apologizes for its heritage: no one who came before me, and no one who comes after me, has the power to define who I am. I mentioned my belief in a deity; among the tenets of my belief system is that I will someday answer to God for my thoughts and actions — and I won't be able to put the blame for any of my failures on anyone else but me.
In my opinion, if you're constantly pursuing gratification in this life, you're wasting your time: I've been poor, I've been wealthy, I've been debt-free and I've been enslaved by debt. Not every risk is worthwhile, and there's always a thousand others looking to beggar you as soon as they see you're trying to make the world a better place for others.
If I have advice to give, it is this: always do what you believe to be right — and if you're in doubt which option to choose, then choose to avoid whatever you know to be wrong.
That sounds simple — and after you've practiced it so much that it's become habit, it is — but never underestimate how sorely you can be tempted or how brutally your beliefs can be challenged. If the test is too easy, it doesn't really either prove anything or reveal any deficiency that should be addressed and corrected, but — to borrow a racing analogy — one doesn't begin by competing in the top professional class: there's a licensing procedure involving various certifications through which the candidate must advance.
The carry-along is that we're not all racing in the same class: some of us are in "Z/Showroom Stock" and others are in "Top Fuel." Don't hate on the slow cars; don't envy the quick ones: run your own race, don't let the other competitors get in your head, and don't try to get into theirs. Just focus on being the best person that you can be — and if you are doing that, people will ask you what's working for you, because they can't help but see the difference between your results and their own.
My guess is that there's not a spam-bot out there that would come up with this sort of intro. I'm not ordinarily sour, and usually I'm answering others' questions with objective facts (things like part numbers) or my opinion on pistons, intake manifolds, header design, wheels, tires, transmissions or — Jimminy Cricket! If it's part of a car, or if it's a car, I've probably answered either a question about it, specifically, or at least something related to it — and although I've actually been a Ford guy longer than I've been a Mustang guy, I've been hardcore into Mustangs for half a century.
Peace and love; keep the shiny side up, and all that.
My forebears have been in the land that became the USA, for hundreds of years before the USA was even imagined — and despite the fact that my Citizenship in the USA is by birthright, I'm hardcore grateful for it, and I get more than a little irritated when people (any person or group of persons, regardless how that person or group may be characterized or otherwise described, and regardless whether such characterization or description is the person or group's self-opinion or the opinion of one or more others) start trying to turn the place into some sort of authoritarian backwater. At least this forum doesn't seem to have turned into the sort of cancel-culture madhouses that Quora and Facebook have become.
I risked my life to defend the US Constitution — mainly for everyone else, but also for me; I've got an honorable DD-214, and I earned it by being old-school honorable, not as a participation trophy — and I did not do any of that because I wanted a paycheck or benefits (I preferred that I was paid, as that was part of the bargain between me and my then-employer, but neither did donning a uniform change who I am, nor has not wearing a uniform changed who I was) or baubles and trinkets and recognition. Putting it as charitably as I know how: I don't have a high opinion of anyone whose allegiance, fidelity, loyalty — or similar such — can be bought.
Not everyone feels that way: I get that; the right to dissent is among the rights I risked my life to preserve and protect. On the other hand, don't assume from that tiny blurb that you know me, or that either you and I think alike — or, for that matter, that you and I don't think alike: I generate my own opinions; if they align with yours, then it's a happy accident — and if they don't, you'd really do well to at least consider the differences and why they exist, which means critically understanding the moral and factual roots of both our positions.
I'm half-ancient and semi-cranky at the moment, but if you're even remotely trying to be a good (or at least a better-than-you-are) person — on any level: intellectually, morally, socially, professionally; just show me that you care enough to keep your mouth shut about political issues you either can't or won't understand, and that you're not spreading hate or lies — and you'll discover that I want very much to help you to succeed in every honorable action you undertake, and in every achievement you wish to make.
I'm still learning, but I'm a lot farther ahead than I should be, for the effort and suffering that I've put in, not because of any "privilege," but because (a) I submitted myself to the instruction and discipline of my parents (and to the moral authority of the God in Whom I believe — I'm not proselytizing, and YMMV: I'm simply saying this works for me, it's well-tested, and I'm not about to change it), and (b) I've learned not only from my own mistakes but also from the mistakes that others made.
Neither my opinion, nor the opinion of any other person or group, defines whether anything is right or wrong; however, we each have the power to perceive right and wrong, and to align our respective beliefs accordingly as each among us wishes. Neither will I ever apologize for my heritage, nor will I request or demand that anyone or any group apologizes for its heritage: no one who came before me, and no one who comes after me, has the power to define who I am. I mentioned my belief in a deity; among the tenets of my belief system is that I will someday answer to God for my thoughts and actions — and I won't be able to put the blame for any of my failures on anyone else but me.
In my opinion, if you're constantly pursuing gratification in this life, you're wasting your time: I've been poor, I've been wealthy, I've been debt-free and I've been enslaved by debt. Not every risk is worthwhile, and there's always a thousand others looking to beggar you as soon as they see you're trying to make the world a better place for others.
If I have advice to give, it is this: always do what you believe to be right — and if you're in doubt which option to choose, then choose to avoid whatever you know to be wrong.
That sounds simple — and after you've practiced it so much that it's become habit, it is — but never underestimate how sorely you can be tempted or how brutally your beliefs can be challenged. If the test is too easy, it doesn't really either prove anything or reveal any deficiency that should be addressed and corrected, but — to borrow a racing analogy — one doesn't begin by competing in the top professional class: there's a licensing procedure involving various certifications through which the candidate must advance.
The carry-along is that we're not all racing in the same class: some of us are in "Z/Showroom Stock" and others are in "Top Fuel." Don't hate on the slow cars; don't envy the quick ones: run your own race, don't let the other competitors get in your head, and don't try to get into theirs. Just focus on being the best person that you can be — and if you are doing that, people will ask you what's working for you, because they can't help but see the difference between your results and their own.
My guess is that there's not a spam-bot out there that would come up with this sort of intro. I'm not ordinarily sour, and usually I'm answering others' questions with objective facts (things like part numbers) or my opinion on pistons, intake manifolds, header design, wheels, tires, transmissions or — Jimminy Cricket! If it's part of a car, or if it's a car, I've probably answered either a question about it, specifically, or at least something related to it — and although I've actually been a Ford guy longer than I've been a Mustang guy, I've been hardcore into Mustangs for half a century.
Peace and love; keep the shiny side up, and all that.