Hi Keith,

That's what drove me away as well... I've been poking around a little
the last few months as well.

Not as much juicy stuff to talk about these days.

I've seen a couple of posts from John Durbin now and then...

smiles,
Jamie

Ooh, I'm sorry you had to see my little tantrum at Matt.  Matt and I usually
get along fine (and he is a tremendous addition to RAC).   For some reason I
got the feeling he was going on a nit-picking jag, and I let him know it.
And that started a very unpleasant exchange of Emails.

I believe there is such a thing as spending TOO much time on RAC.  It's easy
to let other people's personalities start to get to you and vice versa; your
own personality is CERTAIN to annoy some people (it's human nature).
Sometimes a break is a good strategy if you feel yourself getting annoyed
for any reason.  Anyway, that exchange with Matt was not my finest hour.

Keith, may I ask why you left RAC for several years?

I know, for me, there were periods where I just completely lost interest in
car audio as I became heavily involved in other hobbies (electronic music
making, in particular techno).  For several years in 2001-2003 I was MIA
from this group.  I think that is usually why people come and go.  They lose
interest in car audio as a hobby.

Also, as people get older their priorities change.  A HUGE killer SPL
vehicle, while important in one's twenties, will often take a back seat to
the needs of a family once the thirties are reached.  I'm 38 and I try to
balance both, a big system in a family SUV!

MOSFET

Speaking of JL folks, Manville Smith Emailed me just a couple days ago and
mentioned that he now hangs out at Carsound.com.

MOSFET

jl, hmm.does that stand for ''just laughs''. lol
or  ''Just for Laughs''.
had a nightmare once i had rf/jl/re/memphis car audio system....woke up
sweating....
ran looked at my jvc/profile/pioneer/jensen/lanzar
system... felt better......LOL.....

Well isn't this a teary-eyed reunion type thing we've got going on
here...

Holy crap, what a load of self-righteous, pandering, condescending tripe.  Once
again, everyone must do everything Nick's way, to Nick's approval, for Nick's
reasons, or they're a waste of flesh.  If you don't live up to Nick's image, you
don't deserve to be alive.

Get the f.ck over yourself, already.

Come on, dude, cut the guy some slack. We all go through seasons of
life.

I used to build model airplanes when I was a kid--I did a terrific job
on them, too--I even hung them from my ceiling in action poses so I
could fall asleep pretending I was surrounded by dog-fighting jets.
But, as much as I loved it, I don't do it anymore because, well, I grew
out of that hobby and into something else--skateboarding.

I skated for quite a few years--it was not only my hobby and my sport,
but also my sole means of transportation for a number of years (my left
calf is 3/4" bigger than the right to this day because of this).
Eventually, I "grew out of" that hobby and into something else....and
so the story goes.

Does that mean that I've lost my appreciation for detailed airplane
models? No, not at all--I can still enjoy someone else's work and
appreciate all the effort that goes into building one even if I don't
care to do it myself anymore. Or does this mean that I can't appreciate
what it takes to ollie up onto a park bench and grind the wood off of
the seat? No, I can appreciate the skill required to do that without
killing oneself, even if I don't do it myself (and even if I don't
particularly care for the destruction of property attendant with
'boarding).

TI also gave up mobile audio as a hobby...for reasons that are not
important enough to be discussed here. I don't get back into the hobby
because with a wife, two kids and a mortgage to support, my priorities
have shifted. I've also learned a powerful lesson--that the more stuff
you own, the more stuff owns you. I can't tell you how paranoid I was
about someone breaking into my car and robbing me of thousands of
dollars of "stuff" that I had bought and installed myself. Does this
mean I cannot appreciate music or a system that images so well you feel
like Clair Marlo is sitting in your lap? No, I think that's absolutely
amazing. But ya know...as imporant to me as music is (I'm an amateur
musician, too), it's just not important enough *for me* to spend my
money putting that stuff in my car.

The fact that I have chosen not to pursue mobile audio as a hobby says
nothing about you, the industry, hobbyists or hard-core fanatics who,
of their own volition, have chosen to pursue something that they truly
enjoy--the pursuit of audio perfection on wheels. So if those of us who
"grew out of it" as a hobby promise not to pass judgement on you for
enjoying your hobby, could you agree not to pass judgement on us for
not being "into it" any more?

Amen, brother. Long live music and the faithful reproduction thereof.

Actually, I find that my "soles" are stirred most when dunking on short
people who stand between me and a basketball hoop. (Sorry, couldn't
resist. :-)

May distortion never find you, and may the spurrious vibrations of your
chassis be forever damped.

-dan

Batvette said it better (and a lot shorter):

"It's about the music, stupid!"

JD