Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

Things will be happening down here shortly. We are currently under a Topical Storm Warning and flash flood warning. The track of the hurricane has turned a bit to the south which is not good news for our area.

Fort Myers is almost due west of where I live (Port Charlotte Area) and is in the cone of uncertainty - based on its east north east trajectory.

My ophthalmologist canceled my Thursday appointment and my cardiologist canceled my appointment for tomorrow. Schools in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties are closed until Friday.

I’ve been praying for those poor souls on the central west coast.

My brother in St. Petersburg has been evacuated from the rehab facility for the second time to a church gymnasium. For him the southwards turn is a good thing.

kyfdx

mjfloyd1 said:

@imidazol97 said:

Unless the storm has served south more, I think Abacomike could go south. He's on the south edge of the highest winds.

I’m not sure which way it will go but I’d be in north Georgia by now

I bet if you lived on the Atlantic Coast, you'd still be at home..

stickguy

Mother Nature is making a great case recently to not retire and live to Florida. Those poor residents getting abused more than normal. Hope everyone stays safe but sounds like Tampa/bradenton area is getting hammered.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

Mother Nature is making a great case recently to not retire and live to Florida. Those poor residents getting abused more than normal. Hope everyone stays safe but sounds like Tampa/bradenton area is getting hammered.

It’s just their turn. You’d think you were safe in North Carolina but look at what happened there.

stickguy

Asheville area was actually my ideal place to move to. What happened there was definitely a fluke

abacomike

I am not worried about the hurricane - the building I live in is 4 stories high and constructed with 100% concrete. It’s the rain and surface flooding that affects me along with tropical storm winds. We are also under a Tropical Storm Warning due to expected wind field being 300 miles in diameter.

We were just notified of a tornado WARNING for Collier, Miami-Dade and Broward counties due to a dangerous thunder storm moving northeast. A tornado was forecast by it showing up on radar. And this is not even from the hurricane yet. It seem that ahead of the hurricane there is a mini-cyclone churning things up due to the fact that Milton has been in and out of a category 5 hurricane.

abacomike

I’m staying home again today for obvious reasons.

imidazol97

stickguy said:

Mother Nature is making a great case recently to not retire and live to Florida. Those poor residents getting abused more than normal. Hope everyone stays safe but sounds like Tampa/bradenton area is getting hammered.

@stickguy
But they don't get snow... hmmmm.

qbrozen

@kyfdx said:
Oh yeah.. I have an Edmunds jacket, too..

Is it the heavy fleece one? That’s what I have. It is my go-to fall jacket. Warm and lots of pocket space. Love it.

Kirstie_H

mjfloyd1 said:

I’m not sure which way it will go but I’d be in north Georgia by now

Unfortunately, it's not possible to evacuate most of the West Coast of Florida - 5-6 million people in the potential path of this storm. By Monday, it was almost impossible to find gas in my county, and the northbound traffic was already horrific. Plus, hotels were sold out up to Atlanta. Worst scenario of all is to be stuck on the road, out of gas, with no options, during a hurricane.

If Milton maintains the current projected path, which is by no means a certainty, I'll be spared the worst of it. Our community still has tons of debris on residential/commercial curbs from Helene, and our biggest worry is that they'll become projectiles in the wind. The current path does put @abacomike in a worse position.

abacomike

Just got another tornado WARNING effective until 10:45 AM. Tornado spotted about 20 miles southwest of me moving northeast toward me in northern Broward County. These are embedded in those rain and wind bands from the southern part of the hurricane - we are again on the dirty side of the storm.

kyfdx

qbrozen said:

@kyfdx said:

Oh yeah.. I have an Edmunds jacket, too..

Is it the heavy fleece one? That’s what I have. It is my go-to fall jacket. Warm and lots of pocket space. Love it.

Nope.. just a light stretchy jacket. I'm pretty low on the list.

imidazol97

Florida State prepping for this an warning everyone to leave dangerous areas.

And the tornado-producing storms over SE Florida are going to be followed
by another squall like that's still of the west coast.

Hope everyone is safe.

imidazol97

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

Mother Nature is making a great case recently to not retire and live to Florida. Those poor residents getting abused more than normal. Hope everyone stays safe but sounds like Tampa/bradenton area is getting hammered.

It’s just their turn. You’d think you were safe in North Carolina but look at what happened there.

W. North Carolina and the adjacent far upstate SC had been getting lots of folks from high tax NE states moving there during the last few years.
The weather is great, but hot at times, yet cooler than some more southern regions folks were moving into. Close to Smokey Mountain Appalachian areas.
I've considered it ideal. Friends moved there a decade ago on a golf course.

mjfloyd1

@Kirstie_H said:
Unfortunately, it's not possible to evacuate most of the West Coast of Florida - 5-6 million people in the potential path of this storm. By Monday, it was almost impossible to find gas in my county, and the northbound traffic was already horrific. Plus, hotels were sold out up to Atlanta. Worst scenario of all is to be stuck on the road, out of gas, with no options, during a hurricane.

If Milton maintains the current projected path, which is by no means a certainty, I'll be spared the worst of it. Our community still has tons of debris on residential/commercial curbs from Helene, and our biggest worry is that they'll become projectiles in the wind. The current path does put @abacomike in a worse position.

Even if you left when they first announced its projected path? I’d think there was enough time to get out

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

I am not worried about the hurricane - the building I live in is 4 stories high and constructed with 100% concrete. It’s the rain and surface flooding that affects me along with tropical storm winds. We are also under a Tropical Storm Warning due to expected wind field being 300 miles in diameter.

We were just notified of a tornado WARNING for Collier, Miami-Dade and Broward counties due to a dangerous thunder storm moving northeast. A tornado was forecast by it showing up on radar. And this is not even from the hurricane yet. It seem that ahead of the hurricane there is a mini-cyclone churning things up due to the fact that Milton has been in and out of a category 5 hurricane.

What do you do in case your parking lot floods? Is there some way you can put your car up on blocks or a cradle? I just saw a YT video about car restoration and they built a cradle out of 2x4s to support the car. They did it to prevent body flexing but it got the car 2’ off the floor.

abacomike

@oldfarmer50 said:
What do you do in case your parking lot floods? Is there some way you can put your car up on blocks or a cradle? I just saw a YT video about car restoration and they built a cradle out of 2x4s to support the car. They did it to prevent body flexing but it got the car 2’ off the floor.

In the 24 years I have lived here in this condo, my parking lot never flooded. It’s the feeder streets and routes that flood. The turnpike also does not flood. When I go for my surgical appointment Friday, I will take the turnpike north instead of the streets and avenues. By Friday morning most street flooding will have receded anyway.

Tomorrow, if the weather permits, my friends are taking me to lunch as I become an octogenarian. Can’t believe I made it to this age with all that’s happened to me and what lies ahead with these leg artery procedures to increase blood flow.

sda

Happy Birthday Mike..in advance..!

kyfdx

mjfloyd1 said:

@Kirstie_H said:

Unfortunately, it's not possible to evacuate most of the West Coast of Florida - 5-6 million people in the potential path of this storm. By Monday, it was almost impossible to find gas in my county, and the northbound traffic was already horrific. Plus, hotels were sold out up to Atlanta. Worst scenario of all is to be stuck on the road, out of gas, with no options, during a hurricane.

If Milton maintains the current projected path, which is by no means a certainty, I'll be spared the worst of it. Our community still has tons of debris on residential/commercial curbs from Helene, and our biggest worry is that they'll become projectiles in the wind. The current path does put @abacomike in a worse position.

Even if you left when they first announced its projected path? I’d think there was enough time to get out

Yes.. if she left six days ago, she could have gotten out. But, not everyone, even if they all left at regular intervals, since then.

And, if you left every time they predicted something six days out, you'd be gone for 50% of hurricane season.

jmonroe1

mjfloyd1 said:

@imidazol97 said:

Unless the storm has served south more, I think Abacomike could go south. He's on the south edge of the highest winds.

I’m not sure which way it will go but I’d be in north Georgia by now

————————————————
And if he had a car with any giddy up he could be in northern Maine by now.

jmonroe

stickguy

I hate snow but even I would rather have a few snow events to clear than deal with hurricanes and tornadoes.

Kirstie_H

mjfloyd1 said:

Even if you left when they first announced its projected path? I’d think there was enough time to get out

Sure - but the projected path was almost all of the West Coast. Where do you put 4-5-6 million people? How many weeks a year are worth evacuating, just in case? You have to make wise decisions. I'm not getting hit directly, which means I should leave room on the roads and hotel beds open for those who absolutely HAVE to evacuate or risk life/safety.

This is just life in Florida during hurricane season. Everything is a calculation. We're used to it.

suydam

stickguy said:

I hate snow but even I would rather have a few snow events to clear than deal with hurricanes and tornadoes.

Those aren’t the only options. 😃

ab348

I sometimes watch a YT channel called The Daily Woo. It is mostly about all things Disney-related and I have little interest in that, but the fellow also has interesting glimpses into life in the area he happens to be in, either Orlando/Celebration where he lives or Hollywood/L.A./Orange County where he often spends time visiting the original park and things around it like Knott's. He also has been on a trek to visit every MLB baseball stadium which was interesting. He has a friend who joins him in that sometimes called The Philly Captain who is hilarious.

So as of yesterday morning a lot of the filling stations in the Orlando area were already out of fuel. No update as of today. As is always the case with these sort of storms, there is a lot of conflicting info floating around about strength and track because nobody can be certain. There is no question it is going to hit but nobody can say with certainty how strong and where it will hit. It is certainly going to be not good for those in its path. Wishing members affected all the best.

kyfdx

We've been to 22 MLB cities/ballparks..

Michaell

ab348 said:

I sometimes watch a YT channel called The Daily Woo. It is mostly about all things Disney-related and I have little interest in that, but the fellow also has interesting glimpses into life in the area he happens to be in, either Orlando/Celebration where he lives or Hollywood/L.A./Orange County where he often spends time visiting the original park and things around it like Knott's. He also has been on a trek to visit every MLB baseball stadium which was interesting. He has a friend who joins him in that sometimes called The Philly Captain who is hilarious.

So as of yesterday morning a lot of the filling stations in the Orlando area were already out of fuel. No update as of today. As is always the case with these sort of storms, there is a lot of conflicting info floating around about strength and track because nobody can be certain. There is no question it is going to hit but nobody can say with certainty how strong and where it will hit. It is certainly going to be not good for those in its path. Wishing members affected all the best.

I started watching his videos during the pandemic; he lived in Orange County at the time and was visiting various fast food restaurants (sometimes, the original locations!) and reviewing the food.

The video of his visit to Coors Field in Denver was funny, in that he originally wasn't allowed to video himself in the ballpark.

corvette

Kirstie_H said:

Unfortunately, it's not possible to evacuate most of the West Coast of Florida - 5-6 million people in the potential path of this storm. By Monday, it was almost impossible to find gas in my county, and the northbound traffic was already horrific.

Makes me wonder how much worse the evacuation would be in an electric vehicle. Hope you and @abacomike stay safe!

imidazol97

How often is this happening in FL now and in the days to come?

graphicguy

Thinking of my career....and a memory jog...skip if not interested in a pretty important part of today's computing....

Recruited by Xerox after I graduated college as a "Technology Specialist"...part marketing, part sales, part trainer for the brand's (then) new "information system". That included a digital copier that was capable of 9,400 copies/minute being electronically linked by a series of word processors. Pretty heady stuff for the time. The thought process was they'd sell more high margin behemoth copiers (if you've ever seen the movie "9 to 5" you'll know what they look like if they had more word processors connected to them. Little did they know that every desk in the world now has a copier/printer/scanner on their desktop.

Infamously, our division was also the one that developed what became the MacOS. One of the (many) reasons Xerox is a shell of what they used to be.

Xerox sold part of that division (the one I worked at) to Kubota...yep, the Japanese tractor folks. They wanted to get into the exploding computing market. They threw a TON of money at us to develop high end graphic focused computers that ran high end Computer Aided Design programs (the ones that today designs cars, movies, roads, bridges, infrastructure. We were kind of successful. Except, the computing industry was moving headlong into more commodity based computers that saw chips doubling in power every 6 months, or so. Intel was crushing it. Everyone else was getting into the act, too. Names like Compaq, HP, Gateway, Digital Equipment (DEC), Unisys, NEC, etc jumped into the market. Kubota was an afterthought (actually, we weren't even a "thought"). But, we had developed some pretty slick silicon that could make a regular old Intel based computer into a "super-computer".

Kubota told They'd fund us for 90-days, but made it clear that if our division could not find a buyer in that time frame, we were gone. Most of the division just turned to dust. But, there were a few of us who knew of customers who might be interested in our little silicon project called "graphics processing units" (GPUs or standalone graphics cards) that users needed to do their CAD and design work on a plane Jane Intel based computer. We knew we had "something" of value. What we didn't have was the runway to get it going. Some didn't have the stomach for working in the "unknown" space of start ups. They dropped out and went with other, established companies (many of whom are little more than a footnote today, like NEC, DEC, Gateway, etc).

Luckily, this was the "heyday" of the technology boom in Silicon Valley. Those of us willing to throw the dice had no idea who to do a "pitch" to Venture Capitalists, who we would need to fund us. And, as mentioned, the runway was short. There were a dozen of us who were throwing caution to the wind and betting we'd be able to get a new company kick started. In addition to Kubota's 90 day window, we had to collectively come up with an additional 7 figures. Only way to do that (at least for me) was to mortgage my house amd cash in IRAs, savings, etc. Which I did (which caused all sorts of friction with the then wife).

Everyone else did the same. Those who were living in California put in a lot more than I did, so they naturally got more equity in the company. But, we bought another 90 days...6 months in total for the runway.

"Dog and Pony" shows to banks, VCs, Mutual Fund Managers, etc ensued. We finally got funded, became profitable, went public. Some of us (not me) wanted to cash out when we went public. Since they had more equity and voting power, the rest of us couldn't stop them. That meant an upheaval in the force. It also meant those who were working for us, who weren't founders, went looking for employment life boats. See current day NVIDIA to see where they went.

We needed to find more funding (which would dilute our founder's stock) or find a buyer. We chose the latter. Another GPU company bought us called ATI. The tech boom turned into the tech bust shortly thereafter. That meant ATI was looking for a buyer.

That buyer was AMD....Intel's biggest competitor, who has surpassed Intel and is the ONLY major company who does both CPUs and GPUs. I retired and cashed out from AMD right after the Covid restart. They wanted me to do some contract work on a part time basis. That turned into going back full time, which I din't want to do. My last contractor stint was last February.

About 40 years of a career in a few paragraphs. Not sure if that's good or sad!

mjfloyd1

@kyfdx said:
I bet if you lived on the Atlantic Coast, you'd still be at home..

Nope. Tornados seem to form with the tropical storms. I’d be outta there

mjfloyd1

@Kirstie_H said:
Sure - but the projected path was almost all of the West Coast. Where do you put 4-5-6 million people? How many weeks a year are worth evacuating, just in case? You have to make wise decisions. I'm not getting hit directly, which means I should leave room on the roads and hotel beds open for those who absolutely HAVE to evacuate or risk life/safety.

This is just life in Florida during hurricane season. Everything is a calculation. We're used to it.

I have an insured house in Naples. I’m perfectly fine if it gets wiped out as long as my family isn’t there. I’d think that there are quite a few non full timers with primary homes elsewhere but who knows the real percentage.

I’d be willing to wait it out as long as needed. I didn’t work for 6 weeks during COVID.

mjfloyd1

@corvette said:
Makes me wonder how much worse the evacuation would be in an electric vehicle. Hope you and @abacomike stay safe!

My FL insurance company sent an email advising to get vehicles with lithium batteries outside the garage

laurasdada

graphicguy said:

Thinking of my career....and a memory jog...skip if not interested in a pretty important part of today's computing....

Recruited by Xerox after I graduated college as a "Technology Specialist"...part marketing, part sales, part trainer for the brand's (then) new "information system". That included a digital copier that was capable of 9,400 copies/minute being electronically linked by a series of word processors. Pretty heady stuff for the time. The thought process was they'd sell more high margin behemoth copiers (if you've ever seen the movie "9 to 5" you'll know what they look like if they had more word processors connected to them. Little did they know that every desk in the world now has a copier/printer/scanner on their desktop.

Infamously, our division was also the one that developed what became the MacOS. One of the (many) reasons Xerox is a shell of what they used to be.

Xerox sold part of that division (the one I worked at) to Kubota...yep, the Japanese tractor folks. They wanted to get into the exploding computing market. They threw a TON of money at us to develop high end graphic focused computers that ran high end Computer Aided Design programs (the ones that today designs cars, movies, roads, bridges, infrastructure. We were kind of successful. Except, the computing industry was moving headlong into more commodity based computers that saw chips doubling in power every 6 months, or so. Intel was crushing it. Everyone else was getting into the act, too. Names like Compaq, HP, Gateway, Digital Equipment (DEC), Unisys, NEC, etc jumped into the market. Kubota was an afterthought (actually, we weren't even a "thought"). But, we had developed some pretty slick silicon that could make a regular old Intel based computer into a "super-computer".

Kubota told They'd fund us for 90-days, but made it clear that if our division could not find a buyer in that time frame, we were gone. Most of the division just turned to dust. But, there were a few of us who knew of customers who might be interested in our little silicon project called "graphics processing units" (GPUs or standalone graphics cards) that users needed to do their CAD and design work on a plane Jane Intel based computer. We knew we had "something" of value. What we didn't have was the runway to get it going. Some didn't have the stomach for working in the "unknown" space of start ups. They dropped out and went with other, established companies (many of whom are little more than a footnote today, like NEC, DEC, Gateway, etc).

Luckily, this was the "heyday" of the technology boom in Silicon Valley. Those of us willing to throw the dice had no idea who to do a "pitch" to Venture Capitalists, who we would need to fund us. And, as mentioned, the runway was short. There were a dozen of us who were throwing caution to the wind and betting we'd be able to get a new company kick started. In addition to Kubota's 90 day window, we had to collectively come up with an additional 7 figures. Only way to do that (at least for me) was to mortgage my house amd cash in IRAs, savings, etc. Which I did (which caused all sorts of friction with the then wife).

Everyone else did the same. Those who were living in California put in a lot more than I did, so they naturally got more equity in the company. But, we bought another 90 days...6 months in total for the runway.

"Dog and Pony" shows to banks, VCs, Mutual Fund Managers, etc ensued. We finally got funded, became profitable, went public. Some of us (not me) wanted to cash out when we went public. Since they had more equity and voting power, the rest of us couldn't stop them. That meant an upheaval in the force. It also meant those who were working for us, who weren't founders, went looking for employment life boats. See current day NVIDIA to see where they went.

We needed to find more funding (which would dilute our founder's stock) or find a buyer. We chose the latter. Another GPU company bought us called ATI. The tech boom turned into the tech bust shortly thereafter. That meant ATI was looking for a buyer.

That buyer was AMD....Intel's biggest competitor, who has surpassed Intel and is the ONLY major company who does both CPUs and GPUs. I retired and cashed out from AMD right after the Covid restart. They wanted me to do some contract work on a part time basis. That turned into going back full time, which I din't want to do. My last contractor stint was last February.

About 40 years of a career in a few paragraphs. Not sure if that's good or sad!

Sounds like a heck of a career, GG. It's good, be proud. And buy more cars with your hard-earned cash-out!

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

Thinking of my career....and a memory jog...skip if not interested in a pretty important part of today's computing....

Recruited by Xerox after I graduated college as a "Technology Specialist"...part marketing, part sales, part trainer for the brand's (then) new "information system". That included a digital copier that was capable of 9,400 copies/minute being electronically linked by a series of word processors. Pretty heady stuff for the time. The thought process was they'd sell more high margin behemoth copiers (if you've ever seen the movie "9 to 5" you'll know what they look like if they had more word processors connected to them. Little did they know that every desk in the world now has a copier/printer/scanner on their desktop.

Infamously, our division was also the one that developed what became the MacOS. One of the (many) reasons Xerox is a shell of what they used to be.

Xerox sold part of that division (the one I worked at) to Kubota...yep, the Japanese tractor folks. They wanted to get into the exploding computing market. They threw a TON of money at us to develop high end graphic focused computers that ran high end Computer Aided Design programs (the ones that today designs cars, movies, roads, bridges, infrastructure. We were kind of successful. Except, the computing industry was moving headlong into more commodity based computers that saw chips doubling in power every 6 months, or so. Intel was crushing it. Everyone else was getting into the act, too. Names like Compaq, HP, Gateway, Digital Equipment (DEC), Unisys, NEC, etc jumped into the market. Kubota was an afterthought (actually, we weren't even a "thought"). But, we had developed some pretty slick silicon that could make a regular old Intel based computer into a "super-computer".

Kubota told They'd fund us for 90-days, but made it clear that if our division could not find a buyer in that time frame, we were gone. Most of the division just turned to dust. But, there were a few of us who knew of customers who might be interested in our little silicon project called "graphics processing units" (GPUs or standalone graphics cards) that users needed to do their CAD and design work on a plane Jane Intel based computer. We knew we had "something" of value. What we didn't have was the runway to get it going. Some didn't have the stomach for working in the "unknown" space of start ups. They dropped out and went with other, established companies (many of whom are little more than a footnote today, like NEC, DEC, Gateway, etc).

Luckily, this was the "heyday" of the technology boom in Silicon Valley. Those of us willing to throw the dice had no idea who to do a "pitch" to Venture Capitalists, who we would need to fund us. And, as mentioned, the runway was short. There were a dozen of us who were throwing caution to the wind and betting we'd be able to get a new company kick started. In addition to Kubota's 90 day window, we had to collectively come up with an additional 7 figures. Only way to do that (at least for me) was to mortgage my house amd cash in IRAs, savings, etc. Which I did (which caused all sorts of friction with the then wife).

Everyone else did the same. Those who were living in California put in a lot more than I did, so they naturally got more equity in the company. But, we bought another 90 days...6 months in total for the runway.

"Dog and Pony" shows to banks, VCs, Mutual Fund Managers, etc ensued. We finally got funded, became profitable, went public. Some of us (not me) wanted to cash out when we went public. Since they had more equity and voting power, the rest of us couldn't stop them. That meant an upheaval in the force. It also meant those who were working for us, who weren't founders, went looking for employment life boats. See current day NVIDIA to see where they went.

We needed to find more funding (which would dilute our founder's stock) or find a buyer. We chose the latter. Another GPU company bought us called ATI. The tech boom turned into the tech bust shortly thereafter. That meant ATI was looking for a buyer.

That buyer was AMD....Intel's biggest competitor, who has surpassed Intel and is the ONLY major company who does both CPUs and GPUs. I retired and cashed out from AMD right after the Covid restart. They wanted me to do some contract work on a part time basis. That turned into going back full time, which I din't want to do. My last contractor stint was last February.

About 40 years of a career in a few paragraphs. Not sure if that's good or sad!

It took courage to take those leaps of faith. My hat is off to you.

oldfarmer50

On the heels of shelling out $500 for a starter on the truck I just got word from the Kia dealer that they couldn’t fix the slow leak in one tire. They also said the tires were starting to dry rot (dubious after 5 years) but I was planning on replacing them anyway for the winter. I had them order some Michelin CrossClimate 2 AS. Their price was comparable to Tire Rack so out goes another $930 plus tax.

Car fandom can be pricey. At least the dealer installed the theft prevention fix so my nice new tires won’t drive away with the Kia boys.

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

On the heels of shelling out $500 for a starter on the truck I just got word from the Kia dealer that they couldn’t fix the slow leak in one tire. They also said the tires were starting to dry rot (dubious after 5 years) but I was planning on replacing them anyway for the winter. I had them order some Michelin CrossClimate 2 AS. Their price was comparable to Tire Rack so out goes another $930 plus tax.

Car fandom can be pricey. At least the dealer installed the theft prevention fix so my nice new tires won’t drive away with the Kia boys.

————————————————
If the theft protection was The Club, I hope they gave you two keys.

jmonroe

laurasdada

Do you feel lucky? Well, do you?

https://tapkat.org/larz-anderson-auto-museum/8541bE?promo=20BONUS

stickguy

How about them Mets! Quite the unexpected playoff run this year but 1 step away from the WS.

Bummer for you Philly fans but you had your run recently!

roadburner

laurasdada said:

Do you feel lucky? Well, do you?

https://tapkat.org/larz-anderson-auto-museum/8541bE?promo=20BONUS

I buy several raffle tickets every year- hope springs eternal...

sda

graphicguy said:

Thinking of my career....and a memory jog...skip if not interested in a pretty important part of today's computing....

Recruited by Xerox after I graduated college as a "Technology Specialist"...part marketing, part sales, part trainer for the brand's (then) new "information system". That included a digital copier that was capable of 9,400 copies/minute being electronically linked by a series of word processors. Pretty heady stuff for the time. The thought process was they'd sell more high margin behemoth copiers (if you've ever seen the movie "9 to 5" you'll know what they look like if they had more word processors connected to them. Little did they know that every desk in the world now has a copier/printer/scanner on their desktop.

Infamously, our division was also the one that developed what became the MacOS. One of the (many) reasons Xerox is a shell of what they used to be.

Xerox sold part of that division (the one I worked at) to Kubota...yep, the Japanese tractor folks. They wanted to get into the exploding computing market. They threw a TON of money at us to develop high end graphic focused computers that ran high end Computer Aided Design programs (the ones that today designs cars, movies, roads, bridges, infrastructure. We were kind of successful. Except, the computing industry was moving headlong into more commodity based computers that saw chips doubling in power every 6 months, or so. Intel was crushing it. Everyone else was getting into the act, too. Names like Compaq, HP, Gateway, Digital Equipment (DEC), Unisys, NEC, etc jumped into the market. Kubota was an afterthought (actually, we weren't even a "thought"). But, we had developed some pretty slick silicon that could make a regular old Intel based computer into a "super-computer".

Kubota told They'd fund us for 90-days, but made it clear that if our division could not find a buyer in that time frame, we were gone. Most of the division just turned to dust. But, there were a few of us who knew of customers who might be interested in our little silicon project called "graphics processing units" (GPUs or standalone graphics cards) that users needed to do their CAD and design work on a plane Jane Intel based computer. We knew we had "something" of value. What we didn't have was the runway to get it going. Some didn't have the stomach for working in the "unknown" space of start ups. They dropped out and went with other, established companies (many of whom are little more than a footnote today, like NEC, DEC, Gateway, etc).

Luckily, this was the "heyday" of the technology boom in Silicon Valley. Those of us willing to throw the dice had no idea who to do a "pitch" to Venture Capitalists, who we would need to fund us. And, as mentioned, the runway was short. There were a dozen of us who were throwing caution to the wind and betting we'd be able to get a new company kick started. In addition to Kubota's 90 day window, we had to collectively come up with an additional 7 figures. Only way to do that (at least for me) was to mortgage my house amd cash in IRAs, savings, etc. Which I did (which caused all sorts of friction with the then wife).

Everyone else did the same. Those who were living in California put in a lot more than I did, so they naturally got more equity in the company. But, we bought another 90 days...6 months in total for the runway.

"Dog and Pony" shows to banks, VCs, Mutual Fund Managers, etc ensued. We finally got funded, became profitable, went public. Some of us (not me) wanted to cash out when we went public. Since they had more equity and voting power, the rest of us couldn't stop them. That meant an upheaval in the force. It also meant those who were working for us, who weren't founders, went looking for employment life boats. See current day NVIDIA to see where they went.

We needed to find more funding (which would dilute our founder's stock) or find a buyer. We chose the latter. Another GPU company bought us called ATI. The tech boom turned into the tech bust shortly thereafter. That meant ATI was looking for a buyer.

That buyer was AMD....Intel's biggest competitor, who has surpassed Intel and is the ONLY major company who does both CPUs and GPUs. I retired and cashed out from AMD right after the Covid restart. They wanted me to do some contract work on a part time basis. That turned into going back full time, which I din't want to do. My last contractor stint was last February.

About 40 years of a career in a few paragraphs. Not sure if that's good or sad!

graphicguy said:

Thinking of my career....and a memory jog...skip if not interested in a pretty important part of today's computing....

Recruited by Xerox after I graduated college as a "Technology Specialist"...part marketing, part sales, part trainer for the brand's (then) new "information system". That included a digital copier that was capable of 9,400 copies/minute being electronically linked by a series of word processors. Pretty heady stuff for the time. The thought process was they'd sell more high margin behemoth copiers (if you've ever seen the movie "9 to 5" you'll know what they look like if they had more word processors connected to them. Little did they know that every desk in the world now has a copier/printer/scanner on their desktop.

Infamously, our division was also the one that developed what became the MacOS. One of the (many) reasons Xerox is a shell of what they used to be.

Xerox sold part of that division (the one I worked at) to Kubota...yep, the Japanese tractor folks. They wanted to get into the exploding computing market. They threw a TON of money at us to develop high end graphic focused computers that ran high end Computer Aided Design programs (the ones that today designs cars, movies, roads, bridges, infrastructure. We were kind of successful. Except, the computing industry was moving headlong into more commodity based computers that saw chips doubling in power every 6 months, or so. Intel was crushing it. Everyone else was getting into the act, too. Names like Compaq, HP, Gateway, Digital Equipment (DEC), Unisys, NEC, etc jumped into the market. Kubota was an afterthought (actually, we weren't even a "thought"). But, we had developed some pretty slick silicon that could make a regular old Intel based computer into a "super-computer".

Kubota told They'd fund us for 90-days, but made it clear that if our division could not find a buyer in that time frame, we were gone. Most of the division just turned to dust. But, there were a few of us who knew of customers who might be interested in our little silicon project called "graphics processing units" (GPUs or standalone graphics cards) that users needed to do their CAD and design work on a plane Jane Intel based computer. We knew we had "something" of value. What we didn't have was the runway to get it going. Some didn't have the stomach for working in the "unknown" space of start ups. They dropped out and went with other, established companies (many of whom are little more than a footnote today, like NEC, DEC, Gateway, etc).

Luckily, this was the "heyday" of the technology boom in Silicon Valley. Those of us willing to throw the dice had no idea who to do a "pitch" to Venture Capitalists, who we would need to fund us. And, as mentioned, the runway was short. There were a dozen of us who were throwing caution to the wind and betting we'd be able to get a new company kick started. In addition to Kubota's 90 day window, we had to collectively come up with an additional 7 figures. Only way to do that (at least for me) was to mortgage my house amd cash in IRAs, savings, etc. Which I did (which caused all sorts of friction with the then wife).

Everyone else did the same. Those who were living in California put in a lot more than I did, so they naturally got more equity in the company. But, we bought another 90 days...6 months in total for the runway.

"Dog and Pony" shows to banks, VCs, Mutual Fund Managers, etc ensued. We finally got funded, became profitable, went public. Some of us (not me) wanted to cash out when we went public. Since they had more equity and voting power, the rest of us couldn't stop them. That meant an upheaval in the force. It also meant those who were working for us, who weren't founders, went looking for employment life boats. See current day NVIDIA to see where they went.

We needed to find more funding (which would dilute our founder's stock) or find a buyer. We chose the latter. Another GPU company bought us called ATI. The tech boom turned into the tech bust shortly thereafter. That meant ATI was looking for a buyer.

That buyer was AMD....Intel's biggest competitor, who has surpassed Intel and is the ONLY major company who does both CPUs and GPUs. I retired and cashed out from AMD right after the Covid restart. They wanted me to do some contract work on a part time basis. That turned into going back full time, which I din't want to do. My last contractor stint was last February.

About 40 years of a career in a few paragraphs. Not sure if that's good or sad!

Great story of believing in the purpose, willingness to take financial risk that most wouldn’t and succeeding. Kudos

driver100

sda said:

graphicguy said:

Thinking of my career....and a memory jog...skip if not interested in a pretty important part of today's computing....

Recruited by Xerox after I graduated college as a "Technology Specialist"...part marketing, part sales, part trainer for the brand's (then) new "information system". That included a digital copier that was capable of 9,400 copies/minute being electronically linked by a series of word processors. Pretty heady stuff for the time. The thought process was they'd sell more high margin behemoth copiers (if you've ever seen the movie "9 to 5" you'll know what they look like if they had more word processors connected to them. Little did they know that every desk in the world now has a copier/printer/scanner on their desktop.

Infamously, our division was also the one that developed what became the MacOS. One of the (many) reasons Xerox is a shell of what they used to be.

Xerox sold part of that division (the one I worked at) to Kubota...yep, the Japanese tractor folks. They wanted to get into the exploding computing market. They threw a TON of money at us to develop high end graphic focused computers that ran high end Computer Aided Design programs (the ones that today designs cars, movies, roads, bridges, infrastructure. We were kind of successful. Except, the computing industry was moving headlong into more commodity based computers that saw chips doubling in power every 6 months, or so. Intel was crushing it. Everyone else was getting into the act, too. Names like Compaq, HP, Gateway, Digital Equipment (DEC), Unisys, NEC, etc jumped into the market. Kubota was an afterthought (actually, we weren't even a "thought"). But, we had developed some pretty slick silicon that could make a regular old Intel based computer into a "super-computer".

Kubota told They'd fund us for 90-days, but made it clear that if our division could not find a buyer in that time frame, we were gone. Most of the division just turned to dust. But, there were a few of us who knew of customers who might be interested in our little silicon project called "graphics processing units" (GPUs or standalone graphics cards) that users needed to do their CAD and design work on a plane Jane Intel based computer. We knew we had "something" of value. What we didn't have was the runway to get it going. Some didn't have the stomach for working in the "unknown" space of start ups. They dropped out and went with other, established companies (many of whom are little more than a footnote today, like NEC, DEC, Gateway, etc).

Luckily, this was the "heyday" of the technology boom in Silicon Valley. Those of us willing to throw the dice had no idea who to do a "pitch" to Venture Capitalists, who we would need to fund us. And, as mentioned, the runway was short. There were a dozen of us who were throwing caution to the wind and betting we'd be able to get a new company kick started. In addition to Kubota's 90 day window, we had to collectively come up with an additional 7 figures. Only way to do that (at least for me) was to mortgage my house amd cash in IRAs, savings, etc. Which I did (which caused all sorts of friction with the then wife).

Everyone else did the same. Those who were living in California put in a lot more than I did, so they naturally got more equity in the company. But, we bought another 90 days...6 months in total for the runway.

"Dog and Pony" shows to banks, VCs, Mutual Fund Managers, etc ensued. We finally got funded, became profitable, went public. Some of us (not me) wanted to cash out when we went public. Since they had more equity and voting power, the rest of us couldn't stop them. That meant an upheaval in the force. It also meant those who were working for us, who weren't founders, went looking for employment life boats. See current day NVIDIA to see where they went.

We needed to find more funding (which would dilute our founder's stock) or find a buyer. We chose the latter. Another GPU company bought us called ATI. The tech boom turned into the tech bust shortly thereafter. That meant ATI was looking for a buyer.

That buyer was AMD....Intel's biggest competitor, who has surpassed Intel and is the ONLY major company who does both CPUs and GPUs. I retired and cashed out from AMD right after the Covid restart. They wanted me to do some contract work on a part time basis. That turned into going back full time, which I din't want to do. My last contractor stint was last February.

About 40 years of a career in a few paragraphs. Not sure if that's good or sad!

graphicguy said:

Thinking of my career....and a memory jog...skip if not interested in a pretty important part of today's computing....

Recruited by Xerox after I graduated college as a "Technology Specialist"...part marketing, part sales, part trainer for the brand's (then) new "information system". That included a digital copier that was capable of 9,400 copies/minute being electronically linked by a series of word processors. Pretty heady stuff for the time. The thought process was they'd sell more high margin behemoth copiers (if you've ever seen the movie "9 to 5" you'll know what they look like if they had more word processors connected to them. Little did they know that every desk in the world now has a copier/printer/scanner on their desktop.

Infamously, our division was also the one that developed what became the MacOS. One of the (many) reasons Xerox is a shell of what they used to be.

Xerox sold part of that division (the one I worked at) to Kubota...yep, the Japanese tractor folks. They wanted to get into the exploding computing market. They threw a TON of money at us to develop high end graphic focused computers that ran high end Computer Aided Design programs (the ones that today designs cars, movies, roads, bridges, infrastructure. We were kind of successful. Except, the computing industry was moving headlong into more commodity based computers that saw chips doubling in power every 6 months, or so. Intel was crushing it. Everyone else was getting into the act, too. Names like Compaq, HP, Gateway, Digital Equipment (DEC), Unisys, NEC, etc jumped into the market. Kubota was an afterthought (actually, we weren't even a "thought"). But, we had developed some pretty slick silicon that could make a regular old Intel based computer into a "super-computer".

Kubota told They'd fund us for 90-days, but made it clear that if our division could not find a buyer in that time frame, we were gone. Most of the division just turned to dust. But, there were a few of us who knew of customers who might be interested in our little silicon project called "graphics processing units" (GPUs or standalone graphics cards) that users needed to do their CAD and design work on a plane Jane Intel based computer. We knew we had "something" of value. What we didn't have was the runway to get it going. Some didn't have the stomach for working in the "unknown" space of start ups. They dropped out and went with other, established companies (many of whom are little more than a footnote today, like NEC, DEC, Gateway, etc).

Luckily, this was the "heyday" of the technology boom in Silicon Valley. Those of us willing to throw the dice had no idea who to do a "pitch" to Venture Capitalists, who we would need to fund us. And, as mentioned, the runway was short. There were a dozen of us who were throwing caution to the wind and betting we'd be able to get a new company kick started. In addition to Kubota's 90 day window, we had to collectively come up with an additional 7 figures. Only way to do that (at least for me) was to mortgage my house amd cash in IRAs, savings, etc. Which I did (which caused all sorts of friction with the then wife).

Everyone else did the same. Those who were living in California put in a lot more than I did, so they naturally got more equity in the company. But, we bought another 90 days...6 months in total for the runway.

"Dog and Pony" shows to banks, VCs, Mutual Fund Managers, etc ensued. We finally got funded, became profitable, went public. Some of us (not me) wanted to cash out when we went public. Since they had more equity and voting power, the rest of us couldn't stop them. That meant an upheaval in the force. It also meant those who were working for us, who weren't founders, went looking for employment life boats. See current day NVIDIA to see where they went.

We needed to find more funding (which would dilute our founder's stock) or find a buyer. We chose the latter. Another GPU company bought us called ATI. The tech boom turned into the tech bust shortly thereafter. That meant ATI was looking for a buyer.

That buyer was AMD....Intel's biggest competitor, who has surpassed Intel and is the ONLY major company who does both CPUs and GPUs. I retired and cashed out from AMD right after the Covid restart. They wanted me to do some contract work on a part time basis. That turned into going back full time, which I din't want to do. My last contractor stint was last February.

About 40 years of a career in a few paragraphs. Not sure if that's good or sad!

Great story of believing in the purpose, willingness to take financial risk that most wouldn’t and succeeding. Kudos

@graphicguy I skimmed your bio story and it was fascinating, I'll read it in more detail tomorrow. I love a good success story, especially when it includes making lemonade out of lemons.

Hurricane Milton is heading right to our snowbird place in the Tampa area......I am glad I don't go down until November 4th. I still have my plane ticket...if the place is still there.

laurasdada

roadburner said:

laurasdada said:

Do you feel lucky? Well, do you?

https://tapkat.org/larz-anderson-auto-museum/8541bE?promo=20BONUS

I buy several raffle tickets every year- hope springs eternal...

Vaya con Cayman!

roadburner

graphicguy said:

Thinking of my career....and a memory jog...skip if not interested in a pretty important part of today's computing....

Recruited by Xerox after I graduated college as a "Technology Specialist"...part marketing, part sales, part trainer for the brand's (then) new "information system". That included a digital copier that was capable of 9,400 copies/minute being electronically linked by a series of word processors. Pretty heady stuff for the time. The thought process was they'd sell more high margin behemoth copiers (if you've ever seen the movie "9 to 5" you'll know what they look like if they had more word processors connected to them. Little did they know that every desk in the world now has a copier/printer/scanner on their desktop.

Infamously, our division was also the one that developed what became the MacOS. One of the (many) reasons Xerox is a shell of what they used to be.

Xerox sold part of that division (the one I worked at) to Kubota...yep, the Japanese tractor folks. They wanted to get into the exploding computing market. They threw a TON of money at us to develop high end graphic focused computers that ran high end Computer Aided Design programs (the ones that today designs cars, movies, roads, bridges, infrastructure. We were kind of successful. Except, the computing industry was moving headlong into more commodity based computers that saw chips doubling in power every 6 months, or so. Intel was crushing it. Everyone else was getting into the act, too. Names like Compaq, HP, Gateway, Digital Equipment (DEC), Unisys, NEC, etc jumped into the market. Kubota was an afterthought (actually, we weren't even a "thought"). But, we had developed some pretty slick silicon that could make a regular old Intel based computer into a "super-computer".

Kubota told They'd fund us for 90-days, but made it clear that if our division could not find a buyer in that time frame, we were gone. Most of the division just turned to dust. But, there were a few of us who knew of customers who might be interested in our little silicon project called "graphics processing units" (GPUs or standalone graphics cards) that users needed to do their CAD and design work on a plane Jane Intel based computer. We knew we had "something" of value. What we didn't have was the runway to get it going. Some didn't have the stomach for working in the "unknown" space of start ups. They dropped out and went with other, established companies (many of whom are little more than a footnote today, like NEC, DEC, Gateway, etc).

Luckily, this was the "heyday" of the technology boom in Silicon Valley. Those of us willing to throw the dice had no idea who to do a "pitch" to Venture Capitalists, who we would need to fund us. And, as mentioned, the runway was short. There were a dozen of us who were throwing caution to the wind and betting we'd be able to get a new company kick started. In addition to Kubota's 90 day window, we had to collectively come up with an additional 7 figures. Only way to do that (at least for me) was to mortgage my house amd cash in IRAs, savings, etc. Which I did (which caused all sorts of friction with the then wife).

Everyone else did the same. Those who were living in California put in a lot more than I did, so they naturally got more equity in the company. But, we bought another 90 days...6 months in total for the runway.

"Dog and Pony" shows to banks, VCs, Mutual Fund Managers, etc ensued. We finally got funded, became profitable, went public. Some of us (not me) wanted to cash out when we went public. Since they had more equity and voting power, the rest of us couldn't stop them. That meant an upheaval in the force. It also meant those who were working for us, who weren't founders, went looking for employment life boats. See current day NVIDIA to see where they went.

We needed to find more funding (which would dilute our founder's stock) or find a buyer. We chose the latter. Another GPU company bought us called ATI. The tech boom turned into the tech bust shortly thereafter. That meant ATI was looking for a buyer.

That buyer was AMD....Intel's biggest competitor, who has surpassed Intel and is the ONLY major company who does both CPUs and GPUs. I retired and cashed out from AMD right after the Covid restart. They wanted me to do some contract work on a part time basis. That turned into going back full time, which I din't want to do. My last contractor stint was last February.

About 40 years of a career in a few paragraphs. Not sure if that's good or sad!

A great inspiring story- well done!

ab348

stickguy said:

How about them Mets! Quite the unexpected playoff run this year but 1 step away from the WS.

Bummer for you Philly fans but you had your run recently!

Been a Mets fan ever since the Expos fled Canada. I’ve learned over the years to never expect them to win but hope springs eternal.

nyccarguy

@ab348 said:
Been a Mets fan ever since the Expos fled Canada. I’ve learned over the years to never expect them to win but hope springs eternal.

Nice win! I know @stickguy ia a Mets fan too! Congrats!

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

On the heels of shelling out $500 for a starter on the truck I just got word from the Kia dealer that they couldn’t fix the slow leak in one tire. They also said the tires were starting to dry rot (dubious after 5 years) but I was planning on replacing them anyway for the winter. I had them order some Michelin CrossClimate 2 AS. Their price was comparable to Tire Rack so out goes another $930 plus tax.

Car fandom can be pricey. At least the dealer installed the theft prevention fix so my nice new tires won’t drive away with the Kia boys.

————————————————
If the theft protection was The Club, I hope they gave you two keys.

jmonroe

Ha ha, that’s what I was afraid they’d do but I believe it’s some electronic fix so that the car can’t be started by a YouTube hack.

I was once told to take a car for inspection and found the steering wheel sawn in half and a Club in the back seat. Lost keys maybe?

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

How about them Mets! Quite the unexpected playoff run this year but 1 step away from the WS.

Bummer for you Philly fans but you had your run recently!

I’ve only been waiting since 1969 for them to do this. 😫

kyfdx

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

How about them Mets! Quite the unexpected playoff run this year but 1 step away from the WS.

Bummer for you Philly fans but you had your run recently!

I’ve only been waiting since 1969 for them to do this. 😫

The Mets were in the World Series in 1973!

nyccarguy

@kyfdx said:
The Mets were in the World Series in 1973!

And 1986

stickguy

And 2015. Just didn’t win that one.