Happy anniversary to me!

Posted by: chaosmagnet

Happy anniversary to me! - 12/03/19 05:14 PM

Ten years ago today I created my account here at ETS, and also made my first post (about, predictably enough, a pocketknife).

I’m proud to be part of this community. Thank you to each and every one of you that makes it special. Thanks also to Doug, for continuing to pay the rent and letting us flop here!
Posted by: Janysboy

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/03/19 06:35 PM

😁
Posted by: Phaedrus

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/03/19 07:19 PM

It's great to have you here! Happy anniversary!
Posted by: chaosmagnet

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/03/19 08:02 PM

Originally Posted By: Phaedrus
It's great to have you here! Happy anniversary!


Right back at you!
Posted by: Phaedrus

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/03/19 11:33 PM

Guess I'm creeping up on the ten year mark myself! Didn't notice that till you posted!
Posted by: dougwalkabout

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/04/19 04:32 AM

Chaos, we truly appreciate your steady hand on the tiller. Happy 10th, and here's hoping you can put up with this gang of lunatics a while longer. Cheers!
Posted by: Herman30

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/04/19 08:58 AM

Oh, you young boys....2006 so 13 years for me. smile
Posted by: hikermor

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/04/19 01:35 PM

I agree - best moderation ever!
Posted by: chaosmagnet

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/04/19 02:09 PM

Thanks for the kind words! Thank you all for making the moderation job so easy.
Posted by: GoatMan

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/04/19 03:22 PM

Keep up the great work!

It would be interesting to know how many real old timers are still around. RIP OBG. Is Blast, Chris, Eugine, Martin or others still around?

I'm user number 28xx, back in '07. While I don't post much, I catch up every week.

Posted by: RayW

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/04/19 11:05 PM

Thank you for Chaosmagnet for helping to keep this forum a place that keeps all of us coming back. Even though you are still a youngster with only ten years here. The 5th makes 18 years for me,I did have to look because I really didn't remember.
Posted by: Nomad

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/06/19 01:54 AM

17 years here, but only 471 posts. But I have read most of what has been posted over those 17 years. What an education it has been.
Posted by: M_a_x

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/06/19 04:23 PM

I second the encouragement to chaosmagnet. And thanks chaosmagnet for this work.
I do not know whether I qualify as an oldtimer. My member number is 126 and I completed 17 years here. Those year where full of fun and education. Thanks to the community for that.
Posted by: chaosmagnet

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/06/19 05:53 PM

Originally Posted By: dougwalkabout
Chaos, we truly appreciate your steady hand on the tiller. Happy 10th, and here's hoping you can put up with this gang of lunatics a while longer. Cheers!


Thanks very much! I derive a great deal of enjoyment and learning from my time here, and the moderation is only rarely any kind of burden.

Originally Posted By: Herman30
Oh, you young boys....2006 so 13 years for me. smile


Yep. You'll always be here for longer than I have been.

Originally Posted By: hikermor
I agree - best moderation ever!


Thanks very much!

Originally Posted By: GoatMan
Keep up the great work!

It would be interesting to know how many real old timers are still around. RIP OBG. Is Blast, Chris, Eugine, Martin or others still around?

I'm user number 28xx, back in '07. While I don't post much, I catch up every week.


Thanks!

Here are the oldest ten accounts that have logged in sometime in 2019:

Doug (duh) #3
hthomp #10
jet #12
NAro #17
aardwolfe #28
Roarmeister #34
Craig #48
RayW #52
inkslngr #55
Tjin #86

...and I found that Nomad #95 is the 11th.

With regard to Blast, he hasn't logged in for some time. I'm in contact with him outside of ETS. I'm not sure which Chris you're referring to. Eugene logged in just over a week ago.

Originally Posted By: RayW
Thank you for Chaosmagnet for helping to keep this forum a place that keeps all of us coming back. Even though you are still a youngster with only ten years here. The 5th makes 18 years for me,I did have to look because I really didn't remember.


Thanks! Your account is old enough to vote!

Originally Posted By: Nomad
17 years here, but only 471 posts. But I have read most of what has been posted over those 17 years. What an education it has been.


It's all been quality.

Originally Posted By: M_a_x
I second the encouragement to chaosmagnet. And thanks chaosmagnet for this work.
I do not know whether I qualify as an oldtimer. My member number is 126 and I completed 17 years here. Those year where full of fun and education. Thanks to the community for that.


Thanks! And thanks for being here!
Posted by: KenK

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/09/19 04:31 PM

Congratulations Chaosmagnet!

I first came to ETS while a Cub Scout leader seeking to protect and educate the boys (and parents) in my charge.

Last summer I retired and moved from the craziness and high taxes of the Chicago suburbs to the peace, quiet, and beauty of the Wisconsin north woods.

This location certainly changes our focus on preparedness. Cell phones are not so reliable. Distances between locations are in hours, not minutes.

We installed a whole house generator that runs on natural gas (we were shocked to find out we have a natural gas line running in front of our house). This provides not only electricity, but also well water. We have satellite internet and TV.

We're finding that many of the homes here are summer homes, and many people leave for the winter. After already having 12-16 inches of snow, we'll see how it goes this winter.
Posted by: chaosmagnet

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/10/19 02:39 AM

Thanks, KenK!

Maybe I’ll feel differently when I retire, but anywhere I live has to have high speed Internet and Amazon Prime. And, of course, Mrs. Magnet. She won’t live anywhere colder than we are now.
Posted by: Phaedrus

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/10/19 05:24 AM

I too am pretty attached to Amazon and decent internet!
Posted by: KenK

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/10/19 12:18 PM

Originally Posted By: Phaedrus
I too am pretty attached to Amazon and decent internet!


We've found that the smaller town makes access to Amazon and other online shopping stores even more important, and luckily the US Mail, UPS, and FedEx do a great job of deliveries here. We even buy our horse feed online! We're blessed with an amazing little hardware store and a grocery store that is pretty good except for the somewhat limited selection of fresh fruits & veggies.

Does Amazon Prime require shipping other than UPS & FedEx? I know Amazon used other unmarked delivery people in the Chicago suburbs. I'm not sure if that would be available around here.

Satellite internet (HughesNet) actually does pretty good speed-wise and so far has been very reliable. The only complaint is that it is not unlimited data, so we have to be careful with heavy data usage, such as video (Youtube, ...). A different internet provider is in the early stages of building a line-of-sight broadband tower pretty close to here - essentially on the other side of our large block, but I have my concerns about how the nearby spruce trees will impact our access. That access would be unlimited data.
Posted by: chaosmagnet

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/10/19 04:29 PM

Originally Posted By: KenK
We've found that the smaller town makes access to Amazon and other online shopping stores even more important, and luckily the US Mail, UPS, and FedEx do a great job of deliveries here. We even buy our horse feed online! We're blessed with an amazing little hardware store and a grocery store that is pretty good except for the somewhat limited selection of fresh fruits & veggies.

Does Amazon Prime require shipping other than UPS & FedEx? I know Amazon used other unmarked delivery people in the Chicago suburbs. I'm not sure if that would be available around here.


Makes sense. Amazon Prime started before they started doing their own deliveries, so I imagine there are still parts of the country that Prime is available via the usual carriers.

Originally Posted By: KenK
Satellite internet (HughesNet) actually does pretty good speed-wise and so far has been very reliable. The only complaint is that it is not unlimited data, so we have to be careful with heavy data usage, such as video (Youtube, ...). A different internet provider is in the early stages of building a line-of-sight broadband tower pretty close to here - essentially on the other side of our large block, but I have my concerns about how the nearby spruce trees will impact our access. That access would be unlimited data.


When I had satellite Internet it was a little better than dialup. HughesNet is advertising 25 Mb/s down and 3 Mb/s up, which is way better than what I had before, but much slower than what I'm currently getting from The Internet Provider That Shall Not Be Named.

Latency times for satellite Internet is inevitably poor, which is important for online gaming (which isn't important to me) and remote control of customer devices (which I expect wouldn't be important to me after retirement).
Posted by: GeoEarthSensei

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/11/19 02:01 AM

Wow, I've been lurking for 12 years. Thanks to all the regular posters and the mods!
Posted by: Eugene

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/11/19 05:57 PM

Looks like 17 years for me, I registered 12/26/2002.
Posted by: KenK

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/11/19 10:03 PM

Originally Posted By: chaosmagnet

Latency times for satellite Internet is inevitably poor


When I first called HughesNet to ask about their service they were quick to warn it was not suited to online gaming - something I don't do at all.

I'd read horror stories online, but oddly enough got some reassurance from a local plumber who replaced our water heater. He said he had no troubles.

Almost 5 months later I have no complaints with HughesNet, but would prefer unlimited data so we can watch videos, use our Google Home devices, and get some Nest cameras. We assume the Google Home devices and Nest cameras would use too much data.

Ken K.
Posted by: Chisel

Re: Happy anniversary to me! - 12/14/19 07:39 AM

Thanks Chaos, for keeping this place peaceful, and guarding it against chaos !!