Still Here

[Fr Mac McDonald]

Hello all to the remainder of those halcyon days of netins.test, at least for me Oct 1995-Jan 97. Yes, it's been that long. Still little to report as I'm now a couple yrs past 60 thinking ahead to retirement & if I can afford to. Up until Thursday I was a parts guy for our local Subaru dealer but significant differences in management caused me to strike my now former boss off my Christmas card list. I am now looking to do something that will give me health coverage for the next couple yrs. My darling wife is already on Medicare so I'm only worried for me. We are living in Grand Rapids MI now as we successfully escaped NJ back in 2018. The Midwest is our natural home as both of us are alumni of Calvin College so we still have a network here. My best friend from seminary is begging me to join him in SW MO (Springfield/Branson area) but we'll cross that bridge when/if we need to.

Both my kids are here for Christmas with the spouses in tow. No grandkids yet so we wait. Son still is an engineer for the Army at a research facility in NJ while daughter is in Seattle working for a major environmental engineering consultant. Both have more than done well.

I am an electric car driver now. Since my commute was under 7 miles I took the plunge and took a lease on a Chevy Bolt. I giggle when I pass gas stations now. I've got a Level 2 (240 V) charger that the electric utility paid for which I use once maybe twice a week. We did drive to NJ & back with it and there are enough chargers to make it worth it along I-80. I actually have seen more than a few Tesla Model 3s around town and there's Superchargers & various high speed chargers around to keep all going.

I still check the group here regularly & see Ted checking propagation. I do hope all are well and did nag Big Dog last yr in Australia to check in here when he could. If anyone does Reddit, I've noticed how Reddit looks a lot like what Usenet was back in the 90s. Newsgroups became /whatever. Hope Santa was good this yr and also hope for a better New Year.

Pax,
Pastor Mac

[Ted Heise]

Hey, thanks for checking in, P Mac! As you noted, I do indeed
check this place on a regular basis. I lost touch with bigdog
years ago, though I still consider him a friend. In addition to
the NetJams in Des Moines, he and the Mac Lady stopped by to visit
us in Indiana on their way to Florida--many years ago! We were in
pretty regular e-mail exchange even after they finally landed in
Australia. Do you have a working address for him? The wadda
address he used for some time seems dead.

Glad to hear things are okay for you. Retirement is sounding
better all the time. I'm going to half time in 2023, and then to
part time or consulting--just doing the things I enjoy and not the
management drudgery.

2020 was a bit of a challenge, as I went through prostate surgery
and follow up radiation therapy. My last check up was good, so it
seems things are cleared up. THink I have another check coming
soon, and I have my fingers crossed.

--
Ted Heise <the...@panix.com> West Lafayette, IN, USA