I always feel like a new guy here. Seemed like I joined an already tight community back in 2005 (wow!). Didn't help that I'm a few decades younger than most of you - I still am! Funny how that gap always stays constant
It still amazes me how much experience and knowledge is here, from all walks of life, on just about any topic imaginable. My interpretation is that, most of us ended up here as a Porsche owner, and that means you're either good at what you do and have done well in life, or worked bloody hard to get yourself there (I'm definitely in the latter group). Either way, that means you have interesting stories to tell. I do enjoy learning from all you old timers' life experiences!
I spent an unhealthy amount of time on the tech forum all the while I was "studying" in university. I probably could have studied a bit harder and done a bit better, but considering where I am now, I can't really complain! Pelican is where I first met Jeff Alton, who got me my first job in motorsport. So I should thank him and Pelican really, or should I say, I forgive you
Funnily enough, it was also here where I met Captain and he gave me some good advice on my latest career move. Not sure where I'll go next but so far it's a nice bookend kind of situation.
I don't go on the tech forum at all anymore. It's not very useful when my car is 7500km away (according to Google) and for the most part, It's "fixed" now. I see occasionally my turn signal switch quick fix thread gets bumped back to the front pages, I'm just happy I could contribute something, anything at all!
I never had much personal connection with other members here. But this place feels safe and comfortable in a strange way. I'm not sure people outside of this forum would understand. I feel like I could ask vash-esque questions or deep, meaning-of-life stuff without any judgement, and get (mostly) straight answers. A mix of anonymity and camaraderie, I suppose. I miss people like Warren, Grady, Ron and so on. They gave so much here and expected so little in return - a good way to live life, I think. Just knowing that people of that calibre were around, was a nice feeling, especially when you're lying under your car at 2AM trying to fix something new. I wonder what happened to the Pelican Wiki project? All the technical knowledge here is surely worth preserving in a proper way.
I think JWW is still around? And Milt is back (
). Dr Webb and other PNW "characters" are mostly still around too, I think. For sure this place has changed. But as long as I can come here to look at some random and transportation pictures, I'm happy. Sorry for rambling on. Think of this as my ode to Pelican.