Dave Ambrose

Backing stuff up is a complicated subject. No medium lasts forever, and even archival DVDs are only good for 20 years or so. Then there's the matter of obsolete formats. I got whacked by that some time back. Information was stored in an archive format that's no longer used, and I can no longer run the archive program. Oops. We go to a lot of trouble to protect this site. We have multiple backups in multiple locations; including an air-gapped hard drive that isn't plugged in to anything unless we're copying data to it. Our problem, and I suspect other sites' problem is that the backups have gotten so large. Backups for this site are now running at 250GB and growing at about 15% per year. We're lucky that big hard drives are relatively cheap, but I look like a data hog to my local internet provider. We learned some hard lessons when we got hacked. Now, we're pretty well protected from both vandalism and data loss. But, this is still something I'm actively working on.

You should post a link to your site in Links to Aftermarket Suppliers. That’s the place we reserve for parts vendors and suppliers.

I (and my friends) was shocked and saddened. Good guy. Any time you can help people be smarter, and actually think, you've done something great.

This weekend, my wife and I were driving south on the Pacific Coast Highway, south of Cardiff. We encountered a motorcycle club driving north. That wouldn’t be unusual, except these people were riding Vespas instead of Harleys.

Our web server is a vital part of our forum. It's our foundation and the bit of technology that makes the forum and web site possible. Our server runs a version of the Linux operating system. It supports the web server, forum software, and database; all of which let us deliver information quickly and seamlessly. Our current version of Linux is going off support and we have to upgrade the server to a newer version that will be supported for the next 4 or 5 years. This cannot be done in place. We actually have to start up a new server, install all the software, then transfer the data from the old server to the new. I'm still working out how long this will take, but right now, it looks like we might be offline for a day or so while we transfer the information, then verify the new installation. The benefits aren't immediately visible, but they're huge. Those of you who were around for our hacking incident know just how disruptive a system intrusion can be. Keeping Linux up to date is a big part of preventing successful attacks. The upgrade will also reduce our operating costs, which is getting more important as time goes on. The upgraded system will also be easier to maintain, something I appreciate more than most. ? I don't have any dates yet, but it will need to happen well before November when our current version reaches end of life. I’m aiming for August so we don’t get caught in a mad rush of servers in need of updating. I'm also anticipating a major upgrade to our forum software. That will happen later this year. We get some new features, some security improvements, and again, it will be easier to administer. I don't think the appearance will change much, if at all, but I don't know for sure yet. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted almost everything. We're lucky we have model cars to keep our minds occupied with something positive. To that end, my goal is to keep the board and web site operating well, and the experience here both pleasant and positive. Thank you all for contributing to our community. It's needed more than ever. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them below or send me a PM.

I was talking to our local hobby shop, and they say Tamiya paints have been hard to get. They order a lot and get a little. The racks In the store are looking rather bare.

That's great news! I hope her recovery continues to go well.

I think I see the problem. If this is regarding messages from Fiat Boy, those are messages in your feed, and public. Notices for those are turned off by default. You'll want to continue that conversation in private messages.

The first episode was excellent. The MG TD got my immediate attention. This being an MG heavy household and all. . . . . .

Wishing the best, for both of you.

No apology needed. Why do you want to delete a topic? If you want something removed, you need to ask a moderator.

I think there are a lot of us walking down that path.

Very nice. I love that era of T-bird.

Best wishes for both of you.

If you need to resize pictures, Irfanview is free, versatile, and handy.

I’m looking forward to this. Been looking at my two Grand Sport kits and wondering if my skills are up to the kit yet.

I've seen this car. It's a very clean build.

I remember that finish. It was A Thing(tm) for a while. Don't know why they thought that was a good idea. You might be able to just etch the concrete to get rid of the slickness. I'd try that first. Behr makes non-skid paint in various colors. We painted a shed floor with it, and the texture is just right. It goes on quickly with a short nap roller. It's also usable on concrete, but I would certainly acid etch the concrete first. I plan on using that paint in my garage, and maybe the patio, tho I really want to stain the patio concrete instead of painting it.

We had someone threaten to attack the site and dump a bunch of objectionable stuff on us. It was one of the attack vectors, and we had to put the time limit on it. I’m working on a better solution, but it’s surprisingly complicated.

I call it autocorrupt for exactly that reason.

We had a server problem that apparently started some time this morning. Of course, the day I don't check in on the server, is the day it decides to go on the fritz. It's fixed. Hopefully, no problems going forward, but I'm still not entirely sure what went wrong. Please let me know if you encounter any problems with the board.

I keep thinking I should wear a gorilla mask on the next company video call.

A while back, I asked that we not discuss COVID-19 here. That seems to have been mislaid, as that discussion has started up here. I've hidden a few posts. Not going to warn anyone, but please keep that in mind when posting here. Coping strategies are fine. Covid-19 medical topics are not. I know it's important information, but there are better places for that than here. Thanks, Dave

The Deora also has an inline 6. I'm pretty sure it's a Chrysler Corp motor, but not sure which one.

We had to shut off editing due to vandalism threats. It wasn’t something we wanted to do, but unfortunately it was necessary. I’ve been working on ways to mitigate that threat, and have gotten closer to having a viable solution. Unfortunately, we’re still not where I’d like is to be. If I had more time, I’d create a solution And turn it into a commercial service. I’m getting ready for some major MCM server work we have to have finished by November, which is why I’ve been quiet lately. We’ll be reshuffling content for a while