Rob Hall

I remember using Pine for email and TRN for usenet news groups... I remember how slow dialup with CompuServe was in the 80s. And those monster CRT monitors. Definitely wouldn't want to go back to the olden days.

The modern world runs on internet-enabled software...without software engineers, there would be no internet...no MCM forum...no online banking, no Revell website..no eBay...no phone apps..no Amazon.com. I couldn't imagine what it would be like going to back to how it was around 1992 before the WWW and cell phones hit it big...( though I was on the internet back then in college, but was text-based and connections were much slower).

Ya..this just a small glimpse into the terminology used in my world...which at various times over the last 20 years has felt like the TV show 'The Office', the tv show 'Silicon Valley', the Dilbert comic strip and the movie 'Office Space'. And sometimes a mix of all of those. And there are a zillion acronyms (lots of TLAs) in software and systems...SOAP, REST, DBA, swag, SNMP, i-MAP, XML, HTML, RMI, JDBC, JNDI, WCM, etc.. But I love it..esp. when I get deep into slinging code and making stuff work.. and the pay isn't bad either. Cube life...what a life.

'agile' has been a big buzzword in the software engineering space the last 10 years or so...basically it's a approach of project planning and building applications that focuses on building small, working chunks of functionality in a fixed time period (a week, two weeks, a month) so that the business sees useful functionality all along during a development cycle rather than the older approach which was more of a big bang approach---design everything up front, have a period of time where the functionality was developed then deliver all the functionality at once (which was trouble prone as there would often be issues and misunderstandings, etc). 'actionizable' (or actionable task) are tasks and subtasks that can be completed in a few hours or day or two... small units of work. One thing I've seen that is pretty interesting is how agile approaches and software for agile project management can be used even on non-software projects. At my previously company, we had a client that was in the aircraft parts re-manufacturing business and they adopted agile and agile software for their projects.

That's project planning terminology used in the agile methodology. Stuff from my work world. When I'm working on agile projects, I work with the other developers, the project manager, QA, and product owners (i.e. the business side and SMEs) to create user stories (use cases--i.e. how users interact w/ the software) and break those stories down into actionizable tasks that can have some time estimates applied to them. Funny how that illustration uses old school technology like a black board, typewriter and books. In the modern world, we usually use whiteboards, sticky notes, laptops and tablets with project planning software (I particularly like Atlassian's tools such as JIRA) working on the user stories.. Alas, many of my clients are disorganized and have more chaos-driven methodologies. They have vague or non-existent user stories and unrealistic deadlines and expectations. (at my current client, I'm working on two related but distinct US market projects currently and trying to help get a third project for the Barbados business going).

It's a generational and occupational thing to some degree. Since I'm a software engineer, I'm very comfortable with a wide variety of gadgets and applications. I couldn't imagine not having access to the internet on my phone, or access to the latest gadgets. I'll admit its hard for me to relate to people not in the tech industry ('normals'), but I try.

I'd love to see one kitted...one of my favorite '70s GM designs. I have resin '71 and '72 kits along w/ diecast in several scales, but a new 1/25th scale kit would be great.

Looking forward to the Lawman Plymouth...probably will get one from Tower Hobbies or Modelroundup along w/ the Petty Plymouth and '75 Duster race car...

Wheeler Dealers and Chasing Classic Cars are my favorites. For driving/review shows, I like /Drive and Petrolicious vidoes on YouTube. I'm looking forward to The Grand Tour when it debuts. Of the squabbling goofball/fix up cars type shows, I like Graveyard Carz for the cars, Mobsteel, and occasionally Desert Car Kings. There is an East Coast set one also that I like but can't recall the name of it.

Been thundering and lightning here, a few sprinkles of rain...power went off briefly earlier..

That's kind of how it was when I worked for a consulting firm for a few years....I had desk space at the office, but usually worked from home or at a client site..I'd drop in the office a couple times a week for meetings and then usually worked on my laptop on a sofa. I used my work iPhone for all my communications, carried a Mac Book Pro laptop wherever I went. I liked that way of working... don't know if I'll ever go back to a normal FTE gig, I like contracting and consulting..

Portillo's is very tasty.... I haven't been to one in a while, but IIRC lunch w/ a soda was usually $10-12 or so.

I'm a good multitasker...I work my 40 hours...usually always have music or a podcast going that I'm listening to. And I use my phone for work sometimes, to check how the websites I'm building look on mobile.

I couldn't imagine not having a smartphone, after having cellphones for 20 years and smartphones for almost a decade. Though when I'm home in the evening and weekends, I tend to put my phone down to charge and use my laptop and tablet instead. I'm sure I look at my iPhone more than 88 times a day, though...(for checking the time, taking/making calls, surfing Facebook, surfing this and other modeling forums, listening to podcasts, listening to music, checking the weather app, checking Mint and my banking apps, checking eBay, reading restaurant reviews on Yelp, looking at maps, etc..)

I thought about going in Portillos for lunch yesterday--was right beside the one in Scottsdale--but went to In-and-Out instead...forgot how small their regular cheeseburgers are.

In the past, I've had diecast in my cubicles at various places...but never really brought in anything of value...wouldn't want a model to disappear like my red Swingline stapler did from one company. At my current client (I've been there 2 years this month, and just re-upped for another 6 months), I keep very few personal items in my cubicle (besides my Dilbert calendar and coffee mug), as I want to be able to pack up and sprint away in 30 seconds should the need arise..

Had an amusing interaction with a pizza delivery guy the other evening. I opened the door, he looked at my t-shirt and asked 'Is that a real place? I've seen it in horror movies'.. I was wearing a Route 66 t-shirt I got in Williams, Az.

Lol...same here, mine is in a storage unit in Denver. As far as the F&F '70, I'll probably get a couple, do one as an F&F replica and one as a street machine w/ maybe a 6 pack hood scoop or the Hemi hood scoop from the '68 kit, along with some narrow and wide resin steelies. I've got an MPC '70 R/T annual and a resin '70, so I'm set for stock versions.

Saw a really clean '78-79 Ford F-series shortbed flareside 2wd pickup, maroon w/ the rectangular headlights. I've seen this truck in traffic in the morning maybe 4-5 times over the last couple of months. And strangely enough, each time I've seen it the driver is going 10-15 mph slower than the posted limit. I passed him then got in front of him, and he came up behind me over a car length away at the light...must have bad brakes.

Speaking of LT and LS engines, a buddy of mine is looking at putting an E-ROD LS3 6.2 in his '84 Land Cruiser FJ60...partially because he's had a lot of trouble getting the original engine to pass emissions...and he wants to keep it for on- and off- road use at least another 15 years. I was reading over the specs on the E-ROD, sounds like a pretty good package.

The Huayra has a twin turbo Mercedes-AMG V12.

Trying to compare Tamiya product (or other import kit makers) with the domestics is a pointless exercise--it's an apples and oranges comparison, since with a few exceptions, they have different subject matter in different scales targeting different builders and sold in different markets. They really aren't competing against each other...some buy import only, some buy domestic only, some each...probably 50/50 for me.

Revell also had a Camaro that had a similar (same?) body w/ the flared fenders. I built that one from a 'Hot Rod' series issue in the 80s, molded in blue with a blower.

Sharp build...always liked French blue...great shade.

Neat..don't remember that one...I have a Revell '79 Trans Am kit I built as a kid back then, but it's not stock...has molded in flared fenders, turbine wheels and side pipes..very simplified engine IIRC>