Bravo PohSoon! You just took my place in the top 10. It's on now. I just got my new coolant fans installed and am running a partially open case (until I can find a metal shop that can cut 1/16 plate steel).

Also the proverbial "mad props" to KeithHenry and Dataman!

Finally, I am depressed to see that Marysdubs gains more points in a day than me in a good week. How many computers do you have!?!?! Also, is the "dubs" a Volkswagen reference? In the VW/Audi tuning community, we refer to VWs as Dubs.

Dataman, if you want to race me for pink slips, its going to be on a snowy day on a curvy track. I currently only put out about 242 Bhp and about 280 Lbs/Ft of torque. It tops out at about 150-155 mph. I've taken it to 135 though. Here's the rest of my mods list:

01 A4 1.8TQM
- APR chip
- Forge 007 Diverter Valve
- APR catback exhaust
- K&N
- Centerforce/Clutchnet race clutch
- Brembo rotors
- EBC pads
- HID kit
- 17" Flik Justice rims
- racing stripe

When I get to it, I may throw up a few more cools pics of my ride.

Also, I'm curious what all of you do. I know silver surfer is a retired vet (or at least is a vet who has lived longer than it is likely that I will).

Being a part of WCG is so very much like volunteering for a non-profit. WCG just runs on CPU cycles instead of currency. I guess that's why it's so hard to get folks to get involved - it's pretty hard getting volunteers in any non-profit plus we have to contend with the phobias that exist thanks to the hackers and scammers out there in netland. As in any non-profit, you have the occasional volunteer that comes along with their own way of doing things. In the business world, not being able to work with the rest of the team can get you booted out the door. With non-profits, volunteers are slim enough as it is that you can't just go tossing one out the door. Having to deal with the "challenging" volunteer is always an interesting exercise in that situation. I guess that's why you see the periodic dust ups here in the forums once or twice a year. Shame is, everyone loses in those situations. Must be our version of the "Kobeyashi Maru".

Jonathan, the difference between you and me at your age is you clearly have a working brain! I would just as soon forget much of my life. Well, thick skulls may be good protection for the brain but they sure make learning an extra challenge. I suspect in your classes you get to examine many of the issues and questions that us old farts ponder naturally at our age. If you take away our current levels of technology, just how different are we from those back in history we call barbarians? When you look at the things that have been done in the name of religion, aside from the fact that we don't burn folks at the stake or draw and quarter them today, just how much has changed? If you are going to believe in charity and easing human suffering, how can you without living it? Aren't your actions the real reflection of your beliefs? The thing I recognize about discussing issues and questions like that at your age was that, looking back on it now, how little I really knew and understood about them. At that age, so few have had to deal with the crises and problems of life that without which, as hard as you may try, make it extremely hard to really comprehend the full picture of an issue or question. Burying a child, watching a loved one die - sometimes literally in your arms, fighting to protect yourself and your family from those who have no hesitation to kill or maim you, trying to scratch together some food for the day, a place out of the rain or cold - those are all the sort of things that give life "perspective". Believe me, your outlook on so many things will change so much as you age. We like the world to be black and white despite the fact that we are fortunate that it is only shades of gray. Some like to say that abortion is wrong - period - but how do you tell that to the parents of a 12 year old who was raped and whose pregnancy places that child at a very high risk of dying? How do you argue that stem cell research is immoral with someone who is dying from a disease that will keep them from growing old with their spouse, seeing their children grow up and start lives of their own, enjoying their grandchildren, being able to look back on their life and feel contentment, satisfaction or that they've made some small difference in the world. Do I have the right to tell you that you're just going to have to die anyway just because I believe something that may offer you hope is wrong or immoral? In all honesty, I hope folks your age never are able to discuss and examine those sorts of questions and issues with the perspective us old folks have. Kids (that's anyone younger than you are when you're an old fart like me) these days are pretty smart though and, I think, just might be a bit better at seeing the true issues in life than my generation was - hopefully because you've had the benefit of our foul ups! Yea, I've left the "emoticons" out on purpose but just maybe the above is a little fodder for discussion in your classes. Maybe it and 75 cents will get you more than a soda out of the nearest vending machine.

Yes, we can get crotchety in our old age but, like it or not, we're allowed - after all, we've paid our dues so to speak and we've decided we're entitled! Guess you could call this "blue-collar Plato".

Edit: Another thing at our age is typing is hard enough and making sense is even harder.

Ah Dataman. When I blow this engine (and it will happen I'm sure) (its just a 1.8 litre four cylinder) I'm going the Wicked Motorsport 2.8TT route. The package delivers 800 all wheel horsepower (awhp) and more than 900 lbs/ft of torque. It uses two Garrett Gt35R turbos and runs more than 20 lbs of boost. Sure the engine costs 35000 and install will run another couple K, but then you have a beautifully appointed four door sedan that will annihilate anything this side of a Bugatti Veyron. It apparently hits sixty in less than 3 seconds! On the more attainable side of things, I can borrow my friend's boosted S4 (2.7t) which makes just under 450 awhp. Fancy a go with that?

I had no idea that there were dustups in the forums! Everyone has been so friendly and nice so far – I thought that was just how things are. As far as the killing in the name of religion thing, that’s one of my main research interests. I’m so curious why people believe what they believe with such fervour that they would kill for those beliefs. Especially when it seems to me like there is no evidence to corroborate one’s beliefs. I think that your comments on abortion and moral absolutism are particularly sage. The issue of abortion is much more subtle than “abortions are good or abortions are bad.” No reasonable proponent of free choice is going to say that abortions are a good thing. And I would hope that no right to lifer would deny a raped woman the right to have an abortion. If you’re interested in the thoughts of an intelligent person of faith, check out Jim Wallis. If you type his name and The Daily Show into google, you’ll get an interview he did with John Stewart of The Daily Show. This Wallis guy is one of the most kind and intelligent people I know. I’m personally an atheist – in part because I have yet to be convinced that there’s a God, and in part because if there’s a God, how can he explain great tragedies like the Holocaust. Anyway, my thoughts are rather jumbled (thanks Seagram 7!) and I need to run, but if you want to talk more about any of these issues, post ‘em up. I’m sure I’ll have an opinion, and hopefully, a more thoughtfully articulated one.

MyOnlineTeam Daily Statistics for 11/02 - Active Members

Active team members report
==========================

                                                     Current          Points
Active member name            Rank      Change       Points        This Period
=========================     =====     ======     ===========     ===========
CompuDude                         1          0      15,345,522          20,856
nl59056                           2          0      13,619,095           4,788
marysduby                         3          0      11,324,670          26,037
Ploetner                          4          0       9,058,313             139
Esteban69                         5          0       6,749,614           3,714
parmesian                         6          0       6,059,919           4,213
Graham                            7          0       3,995,219               0
cyberwire                         8          0       3,941,212           1,344
Coingames                         9          0       3,195,820           7,737
Fanie                            10          0       2,476,757           5,694
frans6nl                         11          0       2,469,686           5,500
PohSoon                          12          0       2,255,632           2,352
joshuabayer                      13          0       2,086,239             380
Rasse                            14          0       1,809,412             732
Vuj                              15          0       1,683,288           2,852
Silver Surfer                    16          0       1,577,113           8,916
Dave Bell                        17          0       1,568,653           7,879
spikey_richie                    18          0       1,498,552           2,095
Neumonic                         19          0       1,487,686           1,717
Alain Bryden                     20          0       1,404,257           3,077
lawrencehardin                   21          0       1,398,919             804
MikeOD                           22          0       1,254,797               0
siseberg                         23          0       1,234,056           1,130
bl1nxz                           24          0       1,179,079               0
txjallen                         25          0       1,145,770           1,269
John Parker                      26          0       1,141,924           3,380
Wunderwuzzi                      27          0       1,100,882           1,573
largethunder                     28          0       1,078,045             560
smcclarigan                      29          0         977,267             817
charlie99                        30          0         958,252             287
keithhenry                       31          0         908,116           5,108
finman                           32          0         881,122           2,405
Johnwoods                        33          0         877,137             782
kkelson                          34          0         820,488               0
AStafford                        35          0         820,366             790
newtod                           36          0         785,712             616
Tomwp                            37          0         755,312             668
SteelDragon                      38          0         738,534             258
Pandas Dad                       39          0         536,185           1,064
Sunny L. Kae                     40          0         527,477             520
Dataman                          41          0         518,929          13,460
laughing66607                    42          0         448,016               0
JerBlock                         43          0         447,012             752
Edward McCoy                     44          0         433,732             313
SAKU1303                         45          0         425,744               0
Barramundi                       46          0         410,008             506
Airwolf_Liu                      47          0         383,599             552
dtype                            48          0         365,191             224
wrr                              49          0         362,789             566
sulcata                          50          0         334,286           1,791
Blueprint                        51          0         312,896               0
simonbendall                     52          0         308,859               0
Mr. Plates                       53          0         307,741               0
RetiredPB                        54          0         248,719             398
Arthur256                        55          0         224,873           1,384
barney15c                        56         +1         210,949           1,054
Bon Kuhlman                      57         -1         210,632               0
John Conrad                      58          0         205,725               0
elpe                             59          0         205,422             499
Lanscader                        60          0         188,315               0
johng                            61         +1         176,125           1,988
amusic20                         62         -1         175,875             246
Verhaegh                         63          0         159,495               0
shinob925                        64          0         158,319             829
Hintsala                         65          0         145,980             564
mapplebeck                       66          0         136,954             193
harry_i_c                        67          0         133,829               0
cknotty                          68          0         133,788               0
Calamity                         69          0         129,669               0
lenmccart                        70          0         120,120               0
dub4u                            71          0         106,926               0
shawnangelo                      72          0          95,120               0
jan.fratric                      73          0          92,178             312
xZeddx                           74          0          91,679             499
Dean Mullins                     75          0          88,815               0
Harry de Swart                   76          0          85,742               0
madambaster                      77          0          78,842               0
Natalino                         78          0          78,815               0
platinumbus177                   79          0          75,778             311
Jonathan Figdor                  80          0          41,298           5,999
Daragaaz                         81          0          21,089               0
sammercer                        82          0          20,145               0
WoytaZ                           83          0          18,063             489
Silbo                            84          0           8,931               0

Note: Active members are those who earned points in the prior 30 days.

Top Ten active members returning points today:
01: marysduby - 26,037 points
02: CompuDude - 20,856 points
03: Dataman - 13,460 points
04: Silver Surfer - 8,916 points
05: Dave Bell - 7,879 points
06: Coingames - 7,737 points
07: Jonathan Figdor - 5,999 points
08: Fanie - 5,694 points
09: frans6nl - 5,500 points
10: keithhenry - 5,108 points

Total points returned today: 164,982
Active members returning points today: 58
Average points per member active today: 2844.51724