Bill Murray, where are you???
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From: Roswell, GA USA
Bill Murray, where are you???
Bill,
I miss your "xx,xxx" registered member messages. We surpassed 65k and have not heard from you. Please let us know that you are ok. (and, on a personal note, what is with all these d*mn hobby stores opening up in Roswell???)
I miss your "xx,xxx" registered member messages. We surpassed 65k and have not heard from you. Please let us know that you are ok. (and, on a personal note, what is with all these d*mn hobby stores opening up in Roswell???)
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From: Hammer Lane
Re: Bill Murray, where are you???
Originally posted by webmaster
Bill,
I miss your "xx,xxx" registered member messages. We surpassed 65k and have not heard from you. Please let us know that you are ok. (and, on a personal note, what is with all these d*mn hobby stores opening up in Roswell???)
Bill,
I miss your "xx,xxx" registered member messages. We surpassed 65k and have not heard from you. Please let us know that you are ok. (and, on a personal note, what is with all these d*mn hobby stores opening up in Roswell???)
We're allowed to send off color messages to the webmaster?
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Last time I talked to him, he was looking to buy a scanner for his computer.. After recommending a HP scanner to him, I haven't heard from him since...
Maybe he got caught with his pants down, and has been banned from using the computer...... or something?
Maybe he got caught with his pants down, and has been banned from using the computer...... or something?
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 705
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He just posted 7 or 8 days ago. Bill has been known to be gone for a week or so at a time.
Heck, just keeping up with Koi ponds, cataloging old documentaries, chasing crooks out of the store, stocking a hobby shop, and Atlanta traffic can keep you away for awhile.
Heck, just keeping up with Koi ponds, cataloging old documentaries, chasing crooks out of the store, stocking a hobby shop, and Atlanta traffic can keep you away for awhile.
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Really Old "Member"
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 1,362
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From: Kennesaw, Ga. USA
Forgive me Steven for I have sinned
I don't have time to write a note so I will write a novel.
Steve, forgive me for not keeping up the tradition of racing CeesJan (f150europe) to be the first to post 5,000, 10,000 members and so on. I think the last I posted on the subject was when you reached 1 million posts on the forum.
In any case, I have watched with great pride the growth of this band of merry men and maids since spring of 1999 and most certainly congratulate you for one of the best sites of it's type on the WWW. I don't know if you have a user counter on the site but if you do you will see that I visit here at least once a day and often several times a day and have done so since day one.
My lack of posting is a result of a series of issues which I will describe below and understand I am not looking for a shoulder to cry on or sympathy, just relating a story.
1. The site and my interests.
About midway through last year (a significant time), I began to get the feeling that the postings on the site were beginning to deteriorate into a lot of crap for lack of a better word. Tuner bashing, political bashing, individual bashing and just a lot of general garbage. This was compounded by the fact that I had gotten rid of the Lightning and while quite happy with my Blackwood it was just not the same insofar as exchanging ideas, experiences etc. I enjoy the postings on the Blackwood forum but let's face it, it ain't real exciting. Chip, filter, exhaust and that's about it. I enjoyed reading stuff here but just did not feel I could contribute much.
With 20-20 hindsight, I realize that when you expand a site as rapidly as this one has, you will get a much greater cross section of the population and one that is probably a more "real" sampling of the general trucking public. I have come to understand that and no longer look upon the site as having gone in the toilet but as being more representative of life as it is.
2. The "Biz" and my personal situation.
I think Stever has been to my location more than once in the last two years and may have witnessed what we have gone through.
We got through 9/11 without too many problems but the recession hit us fairly heavily as we are a totally discretionary income type retail store and, well, there was not a lot of that income out there.
To make matters even worse, and this was karma, not just the recession, all but one of the so called "anchor" stores (4 in total) either went upside down or moved out for some other reason and we were left with an 80% vacancy rate in the center. This went on for about 8 months and then the owners of the center decided to do a complete rehab and started tearing the whole place down. In our case, when they finally got to our storefront, it meant we were under heavy construction from June of 2003 until January of 2004. If I can figure out how to do it I will post some pics of what the store looked like for almost six months. Suffice to say, it wrecked our entire year of 2003 and we barely survived.
I regret to say that I did not take this too well and for about a six month period, I hit the sauce real hard which, of course, did not help matters.
3. Regroup and Restart.
This last January, I realized I needed to get a handle on myself and get back on track. For almost 30 years, I had another hobby or whatever you call it, an interest in the history of the development of military transport vehicles. From motorcycles to tank transporters. During that time I collected a huge collection of photos, books, manuals, catalogs and whatever. 20 filing cabinets, 40 running feet of shelving of books and an equal amount of bookcases full of stuff on the subject. I had let this stuff just sit in the basement for almost 15 years and my dear wife Pat said, "you have to get involved in something you enjoy and get off the booze". So, in January this year I started again with my original hobby interest. I now have bookmarked over 200 websites dealing with military vehicle history and have downloaded over 3,000 photos etc. dealing with that subject.
Much as I used to do on this site, I am in daily contact with fellow military truck enthusiasts around the world swapping photos, info and advice. Actually, I have a small but satisfactory reputation as the Identification Expert for a number of European and Asian sites when it comes to American origin trucks. Even lets me practice my rusty knowledge of Scandinavian and Romance languages. In a given day, I may write posts in Swedish, Spanish, French and English. Kind of fun and very good therapy.
4. Other issues.
Due in part to my straying off the path on the booze issue and in part to the stress and strain of the biz getting a bit rocky, I developed a blood pressure issue which is treatable but at a cost.
I am on an extremely powerful series of meds which control the BP but which also have really pissy side effects. I suffer from extreme fatigue, have a recurring dry cough which really takes the stuffing out of you and the "itch" which can best be described as feeling like you are the host to the largest flea population on the planet. All of these issues are well documented in the literature I got with the meds.
5. So what now?
Well, I cut back to next to nothing on the sauce and I am working with my Doc on a different ****tail mix of meds for the BP issue.
The shopping center is on target to be 90% filled by Thanksgiving so we should have at least a shot at a good Christmas season.
6. Other.
Regarding hobby shops in Atlanta, I don't know what is going on in Roswell outside of the HobbyTown group. I can tell you that we approved of the stores in Duluth, Cumming and Peachtree City as they are out of our area of influence. If there are other independents coming in I am not aware of them but I am not concerned.
My experience with scanners has been less than happy. I am on my second HP 4670 in 9 months and must accept that a scanner of that type is not up to "industrial strength" scanning which is what I am doing. I am now looking for one in the $300 plus range which I hope is more of a commercial application.
Well, there is the novel.
Steve you do an outstanding job, keep up the good work.
The rest of you who posted here, thanks for popping in, you are the good guys I remember from before.
Bill
Steve, forgive me for not keeping up the tradition of racing CeesJan (f150europe) to be the first to post 5,000, 10,000 members and so on. I think the last I posted on the subject was when you reached 1 million posts on the forum.
In any case, I have watched with great pride the growth of this band of merry men and maids since spring of 1999 and most certainly congratulate you for one of the best sites of it's type on the WWW. I don't know if you have a user counter on the site but if you do you will see that I visit here at least once a day and often several times a day and have done so since day one.
My lack of posting is a result of a series of issues which I will describe below and understand I am not looking for a shoulder to cry on or sympathy, just relating a story.
1. The site and my interests.
About midway through last year (a significant time), I began to get the feeling that the postings on the site were beginning to deteriorate into a lot of crap for lack of a better word. Tuner bashing, political bashing, individual bashing and just a lot of general garbage. This was compounded by the fact that I had gotten rid of the Lightning and while quite happy with my Blackwood it was just not the same insofar as exchanging ideas, experiences etc. I enjoy the postings on the Blackwood forum but let's face it, it ain't real exciting. Chip, filter, exhaust and that's about it. I enjoyed reading stuff here but just did not feel I could contribute much.
With 20-20 hindsight, I realize that when you expand a site as rapidly as this one has, you will get a much greater cross section of the population and one that is probably a more "real" sampling of the general trucking public. I have come to understand that and no longer look upon the site as having gone in the toilet but as being more representative of life as it is.
2. The "Biz" and my personal situation.
I think Stever has been to my location more than once in the last two years and may have witnessed what we have gone through.
We got through 9/11 without too many problems but the recession hit us fairly heavily as we are a totally discretionary income type retail store and, well, there was not a lot of that income out there.
To make matters even worse, and this was karma, not just the recession, all but one of the so called "anchor" stores (4 in total) either went upside down or moved out for some other reason and we were left with an 80% vacancy rate in the center. This went on for about 8 months and then the owners of the center decided to do a complete rehab and started tearing the whole place down. In our case, when they finally got to our storefront, it meant we were under heavy construction from June of 2003 until January of 2004. If I can figure out how to do it I will post some pics of what the store looked like for almost six months. Suffice to say, it wrecked our entire year of 2003 and we barely survived.
I regret to say that I did not take this too well and for about a six month period, I hit the sauce real hard which, of course, did not help matters.
3. Regroup and Restart.
This last January, I realized I needed to get a handle on myself and get back on track. For almost 30 years, I had another hobby or whatever you call it, an interest in the history of the development of military transport vehicles. From motorcycles to tank transporters. During that time I collected a huge collection of photos, books, manuals, catalogs and whatever. 20 filing cabinets, 40 running feet of shelving of books and an equal amount of bookcases full of stuff on the subject. I had let this stuff just sit in the basement for almost 15 years and my dear wife Pat said, "you have to get involved in something you enjoy and get off the booze". So, in January this year I started again with my original hobby interest. I now have bookmarked over 200 websites dealing with military vehicle history and have downloaded over 3,000 photos etc. dealing with that subject.
Much as I used to do on this site, I am in daily contact with fellow military truck enthusiasts around the world swapping photos, info and advice. Actually, I have a small but satisfactory reputation as the Identification Expert for a number of European and Asian sites when it comes to American origin trucks. Even lets me practice my rusty knowledge of Scandinavian and Romance languages. In a given day, I may write posts in Swedish, Spanish, French and English. Kind of fun and very good therapy.
4. Other issues.
Due in part to my straying off the path on the booze issue and in part to the stress and strain of the biz getting a bit rocky, I developed a blood pressure issue which is treatable but at a cost.
I am on an extremely powerful series of meds which control the BP but which also have really pissy side effects. I suffer from extreme fatigue, have a recurring dry cough which really takes the stuffing out of you and the "itch" which can best be described as feeling like you are the host to the largest flea population on the planet. All of these issues are well documented in the literature I got with the meds.
5. So what now?
Well, I cut back to next to nothing on the sauce and I am working with my Doc on a different ****tail mix of meds for the BP issue.
The shopping center is on target to be 90% filled by Thanksgiving so we should have at least a shot at a good Christmas season.
6. Other.
Regarding hobby shops in Atlanta, I don't know what is going on in Roswell outside of the HobbyTown group. I can tell you that we approved of the stores in Duluth, Cumming and Peachtree City as they are out of our area of influence. If there are other independents coming in I am not aware of them but I am not concerned.
My experience with scanners has been less than happy. I am on my second HP 4670 in 9 months and must accept that a scanner of that type is not up to "industrial strength" scanning which is what I am doing. I am now looking for one in the $300 plus range which I hope is more of a commercial application.
Well, there is the novel.
Steve you do an outstanding job, keep up the good work.
The rest of you who posted here, thanks for popping in, you are the good guys I remember from before.
Bill
Last edited by Bill Murray; Oct 15, 2004 at 05:24 PM.
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Joined: Aug 2002
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Bill, you are far too wise a person to fall in the alcoholic trap. A good stiff belt is always okay, it's just the 6 or 7 that come after it that puts you in a different category. Glad to see you've got things on the fast track to recovery.
In the short time I've been here, you have always been the voice of reason and moderation. Yes, this site has changed, some for the good, and some for the ..... well, the site is a melting pot of personalities and opinions. Similar to you, I check into the site multiple times daily although I don't post as much.
Hang in there Bill!!!!
john
In the short time I've been here, you have always been the voice of reason and moderation. Yes, this site has changed, some for the good, and some for the ..... well, the site is a melting pot of personalities and opinions. Similar to you, I check into the site multiple times daily although I don't post as much.
Hang in there Bill!!!!
john
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From: 49 45' 40.76"N 119 10' 12.84"W Sol III ᐰ
Bill
Congrats on beating your demons and getting back on track. As a fellow self-employed/small business owner, I know all too well the emotional ups and downs that go with the economic ones. Some time it seems as if it will never turn around.
Fortunately, I haven't fallen into the alcohol trap. Drinking for me, the last 15 years or so, is a rarity and I don't miss it at all. Instead I get the depressed thing, but it's relatively minor and I get through it.
Anyway...with 90% occupancy, hopefully you'll have a good holiday season so you can start getting back to the plus side!
Good luck to you and your wife. I hope things stay positive for you both and hey, have a good luck 'nanner!!
Congrats on beating your demons and getting back on track. As a fellow self-employed/small business owner, I know all too well the emotional ups and downs that go with the economic ones. Some time it seems as if it will never turn around.
Fortunately, I haven't fallen into the alcohol trap. Drinking for me, the last 15 years or so, is a rarity and I don't miss it at all. Instead I get the depressed thing, but it's relatively minor and I get through it.
Anyway...with 90% occupancy, hopefully you'll have a good holiday season so you can start getting back to the plus side!
Good luck to you and your wife. I hope things stay positive for you both and hey, have a good luck 'nanner!!
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 4,424
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From: Motor City
So it sounds like you own a hobby shop, is that correct? Do you have a web site? I love RC cars/trucks/planes/boats/helicopters and would rather support a fellow F150Online member than the chain stores! My favorite local shop moved years ago...
Really Old "Member"
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 1,362
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From: Kennesaw, Ga. USA
Thanks
Thanks, guys for your concern and support. Something I have always seen on this site and it is very much appreciated.
However..........
John (Serotta) you credit me with a tolerance for alcohol far beyond my capacity. Appreciate it, but your numbers are way out of my league
Without trying to write another novel, I set my own standard for having a "problem" and my standard is pretty low. Given my age (64) my weight (160) and my personal metabolic rate (whatever that may be) 5 drinks in a session was my maximum during this period. And, that was very carefully considered, in that I filled a highball glass with ice, mixed it 2/3 scotch and 1/3 water. 4 of those and Iwas casually mellow, go to 5 and I was mucho mellow. That was when Pat got concerned. Were I to try to consume 7 or 8 would probably mean my heart would have stopped
Nowadays, I enjoy two such on a normal day and if I am in a good mood as opposed to a bad one I might stretch to three. No fifth a day consumer here. But, by my standards it was getting into the area of becoming at least from a clinical definition point of view a good candidate for AA and that I am not ready for. As a side bar to this issue, I did some research sometime in December and found that based on one's tolerance for alcohol you could be considered a bona fide alcoholic even after only having two mild drinks. My grandaddy drank until he died in his mid eighties and it was sort of sad to see what two glasses of wine did to him in his last few years. He would get pretty unruly on a really small amount of the stuff.
On to other stuff. Dzervit, yes I own a hobby store, a HobbyTown USA franchise in the Atlanta area. I do not solicit business on this site out of respect for Steve's policy regarding my not being a supporting vendor. I am not one of those because of any problem with the program but rather because I just do not have the time to run a mail order/online store on a volume basis. We have a 30,000 sq ft retail store and that keeps me quite busy, thank you. However, Steve and I have a sort of agreement that he does not mind if I help a few people out now and then on a one on one basis. In this case, find what you want either in the enthusiast magazines or online and contact me by email and I will do the best I can to help you out. Nowadays, we meet, not beat, meet pretty much any mail order/online price when it comes to RC stuff.
Well, I am on a bit of a roll again so I will mention to John that the thingie with the Koi often gets crazy. We lost a fish two weeks ago to a fungus infection. Rather than just net it out of the pond and bury it, Pat had me put it in a plastic bag which we put in a roaster pan and stuck it in the freezer. This to hold on to it until we could take it to a seminar on treating fish diseases our fish supplier is hosting next week. Our Marilyn will be the subject of a fish autopsy to show other folks what to look for and hopefully how to prevent such infections. Who would have thought I would have to gone to the length of keeping a dead fish in my freezer for two weeks waiting for an autopsy?
Well, got to run. Thanks again for your concern and kind comments and rest assured I am in control of my situation.
Looking forward to the elections being over and jumping into a smashing Christmas season.
Bill
However..........
John (Serotta) you credit me with a tolerance for alcohol far beyond my capacity. Appreciate it, but your numbers are way out of my league
Without trying to write another novel, I set my own standard for having a "problem" and my standard is pretty low. Given my age (64) my weight (160) and my personal metabolic rate (whatever that may be) 5 drinks in a session was my maximum during this period. And, that was very carefully considered, in that I filled a highball glass with ice, mixed it 2/3 scotch and 1/3 water. 4 of those and Iwas casually mellow, go to 5 and I was mucho mellow. That was when Pat got concerned. Were I to try to consume 7 or 8 would probably mean my heart would have stopped
Nowadays, I enjoy two such on a normal day and if I am in a good mood as opposed to a bad one I might stretch to three. No fifth a day consumer here. But, by my standards it was getting into the area of becoming at least from a clinical definition point of view a good candidate for AA and that I am not ready for. As a side bar to this issue, I did some research sometime in December and found that based on one's tolerance for alcohol you could be considered a bona fide alcoholic even after only having two mild drinks. My grandaddy drank until he died in his mid eighties and it was sort of sad to see what two glasses of wine did to him in his last few years. He would get pretty unruly on a really small amount of the stuff.
On to other stuff. Dzervit, yes I own a hobby store, a HobbyTown USA franchise in the Atlanta area. I do not solicit business on this site out of respect for Steve's policy regarding my not being a supporting vendor. I am not one of those because of any problem with the program but rather because I just do not have the time to run a mail order/online store on a volume basis. We have a 30,000 sq ft retail store and that keeps me quite busy, thank you. However, Steve and I have a sort of agreement that he does not mind if I help a few people out now and then on a one on one basis. In this case, find what you want either in the enthusiast magazines or online and contact me by email and I will do the best I can to help you out. Nowadays, we meet, not beat, meet pretty much any mail order/online price when it comes to RC stuff.
Well, I am on a bit of a roll again so I will mention to John that the thingie with the Koi often gets crazy. We lost a fish two weeks ago to a fungus infection. Rather than just net it out of the pond and bury it, Pat had me put it in a plastic bag which we put in a roaster pan and stuck it in the freezer. This to hold on to it until we could take it to a seminar on treating fish diseases our fish supplier is hosting next week. Our Marilyn will be the subject of a fish autopsy to show other folks what to look for and hopefully how to prevent such infections. Who would have thought I would have to gone to the length of keeping a dead fish in my freezer for two weeks waiting for an autopsy?
Well, got to run. Thanks again for your concern and kind comments and rest assured I am in control of my situation.
Looking forward to the elections being over and jumping into a smashing Christmas season.
Bill
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From: Roswell, GA USA
Bill,
I'm glad to hear your ok. I will read through this thread and provide a more thoughtful response, but I am in New Orleans at the moment, enjoying the French Quarter and don't have a lot of site time...
Steve
I'm glad to hear your ok. I will read through this thread and provide a more thoughtful response, but I am in New Orleans at the moment, enjoying the French Quarter and don't have a lot of site time...
Steve