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I'd try to make myself available as well.

Thanks for having everyone over again Al.  It was great to get back out, catch up with some people, and do some racing.  It was even nicer to see that one or two of my cars still even work!

I know I've been scarce but I do *want* to race.  Once the work on the camper gets under control, I do intend to get back at it more consistently- hopefully by a little later this spring.

It was great to see those who showed up.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!

CK

A crashed rally car led me back to this hobby a long time ago...

I had a small HO set as a kid, and fairly well wore that out.  I still have some of the cars but that track is long gone.  I enjoyed it thoroughly and remember racing with my brother and cousins up in the attic, and rebuilding the cars to see how much faster I could make them (or not).  Eventually, I moved up to real cars and left the little track to collect dust- or more likely to get pitched when my parents cleaned house.

I kept those cars around without a track because hey, they're small.  They don't take up much space and I like them.  But then... 

At one point in my life, I stage rallied.  My promising career as a factory Subaru/Mitsu/Citroen driver alongside McRae, Sainz, and Makkinen came to an abrupt end on the 1999 Oregon Trail Rally, somewhere in Vernonia.  I went sideways into a tree at about 40 mph.  I hit just behind the driver door and it was hard enough to taco-fy the left rear wheel (including making it a multi-piece unit), bend the rollcage, and make me unconscious.  Clearly I am fine (right?), but I earned a flight on a helicopter and a weekend stay at the resort known as OHSU from it.

Upon recovery, I started salvaging what I could of the car (1979 RX-7), part of which was a quick ratio steering box.  I sold this to someone in New Zealand, and they paid me via something called "Pay Pal".  Yes, this was around the infancy of the "internet", so I had this sum of "internet money", but didn't know what to do with it.

One day, on that very same internet, I stumbled across a gorgeous little GT40 model.  This one was different- it had a motor and a guide!!  It was a slot car!  The specific one I found was a Fly Mk I GT40, which as we all know, is a beautiful, but horrible slot car without being worked over.  I didn't know this at the time though, so order one up I did!  It didn't even cost me "real" money.

So then I had a slot car, but no track.  Time to fix that...  I found a listing for someone who bought track sets and sold off the cars and track separately.  Boom!  Got me a track now.  Still for free, even!

Now running one car by yourself can be a little boring, and I still had internet money left, so I bought my first Slot.It 962 (my other favorite Le Mans car). 

My fate was sealed.

This car blew me away.  I was hooked.  I was living in Phoenix at the time and scoured the internet to found some local nerds who raced on Weds nights.  This worked perfectly with my schedule, and I fell in with the AZ Garage Racing crowd- a fine bunch of mini-gearheads.  After racing with them for about 2 years, I moved back up here to Portland and found another guy on the internet who lived in Troutdale and had a sweet track in his garage.  I think you know the story from there...

Made the drive last night.  Highly likely that I will be doing it again next week as well.  If anyone is interested in joining, let me know.  The official hours are 7 to 9, but he's working on other stuff and I didn't leave til much later, and I imagine we'd be able to show up early as well.

To be clear.... not trying to goad anyone into attending, just pushing the publicity.  Entry is covered.  Come and play if you're interested.  Don't let entry cost deter you.

Also, I have no commercial stake in the new car but it's been a painful gestation period as Alan was consulting chatting with me regarding the GT40 and wanted to get it right (but still called me??).  I actually contributed to the modeling and details on the car, so I am very excited to see how they came out.  It's been years in the making.

He asked me not to say anything about the project and I didn't, so I am very glad the cat's out the bag now!

As someone who has hosted events a handful of times and attended countless others, I have utmost respect for the individuals who open their homes or other spaces for us to come together and play.  I can't begin to explain the respect I have for Al in how he continuously supports Odd Thursdays!!  This group has some amazing and generous people.

As adults (technically), we shouldn't need to put a disclaimer that proper decorum should be expected at our events, and it should be understood that improper decorum will not be tolerated.

If someone can't respect this, I agree with Howie- it sounds like their problem, not yours, Bob.  I can partially understand the feelings you are experiencing, but if someone made a habit out of coming to my house and raining on my parade, I would be clear with them that they are ruining the fun for everyone and further antics would not tolerated.  If that upsets them and they never come back, it's their choice, but your attendees won't have to deal with them.  If they become more pleasant to be around and continue to show up, it's a win for everyone!

Either way, it would be a shame to let someone ruin the fun of everyone else.

For all you Can Am fans, here's your chance to truly dive right in and be part of an actual Can Am team!

The BC gang (Darren, Alwyn, etc...) emailed about joining forces to put together a multi-cultural entry.  If you've always been a Can Am fan, here's your chance to actually participate!  It'd be super fun, eh?

Come on up and be part of the legend.  If it's too long of a heat, we could definitely use marshals and or pit crew or grid girls.  Come join the party!

It got to be ~6p and my wife reminded me.  Ugh!!  I meant to go and totally forgot.  I am super out of practice of where to spend Odd Thurs eves.

Monte- got a pic of what I'd be looking for?  Most of my desktop stuff is of a certain vintage so if it's something "old" which is needed, I'd bet I have something which will work.

I just don't know what XT and AT stuff is, unless you're talking about bike component sets.

I may also be able to locate one if Monte's falls through.  Let me know.

Actually, I can locate one, would just need to confirm it has the needed port.

Whenever...  I will be there early, would be happy to buy you breakfast as usual but at this point you can arrive leisurely and meet us in the pits.  You can let me know what time you want to be there.