The Citadel

Hi,

I created this forum because a group of friends who engaged in sometimes heated discussions lost their home at another forum. It was a home to some of us for decades. We had a lot of history there, and made a lot of friends, and suddenly much of that history was wiped out by changes to the site. I wanted to make a place that was dedicated to our group - to good conversation. I wanted it to be a place where we could express ourselves honestly.

A bit more about myself. At one time I was a decent spacecraft navigation engineer, I'm really into philosophy, and I have a soft spot for video games and cars.

Enough about me, tell us about yourself or just say hi so we know you're here. Then you can go back to lurking.

As one of the members of GTPlanet, most of you know who I am by now. I first got interested in these conversations and debates with you guys when I was 19, when I simultaneously thought I knew so much of the world but equally when I was aware that my outlook on life was forming. That was fifteen years ago. Now in my mid-30s, I've been on quite the journey and learnt so much along the way.

As someone originally from Wales, I consider myself to have good knowledge of the history of the United States, which is so often the central focus given the sheer number of US and US-based users I've gotten to know since 2011. Outside of that, I'm extremely interested in languages, etymology and word facts; I speak several languages and pure terminology fascinates me. I'm an English second language teacher and I write and host quizzes in my spare time. Also really into sports, primarily football (soccer), gaelic football and motorsports.

Hi.

* resumes lurking *

I'm just excited that if Famine decides to join us, I'll have a higher post count than he does for about 12 minutes.

Not many of you know this but I've carried 29 out of 30 ban points on GTP for *18 years* now. I suppose once I dipped my toe into politics I became invincible. Society has gone so awry that the forum itself got banned before I did.

Keef wrote: Tue Sep 23, 2025 3:36 pm Not many of you know this but I've carried 29 out of 30 ban points on GTP for *18 years* now.

I'm from BFE Northern Michigan and live in a log cabin away from people because...well you've met people so I assume you understand my desire to get away from them. I split my time between Michigan and Utah (I'm currently in Utah). I'm in Salt Lake roughly 15-20% of the year, which gets a little old since it's the same hotel suite every time and the same lonely hotel bar I eat at. The flight sucks to come out here too. If any member is ever in Utah for whatever reason, I'm happy to meet up and show you around the city if I'm out here. Otherwise on the off chance you come to rural Northern Michigan I'd buy you a beer.

I like my immediate family, beer, cooking, and automotive stuff. I also enjoy buying tools for projects I may or may not complete while spending more money than it would've cost just to hire it out. Cooking is probably my biggest passion though.

My expertise is in healthcare since that's what I do for work. I also know about archaeology since that was my dream career path that never panned out. I'm decently well informed on politics, but not as much as I should be. I identify as a libertarian centrist for the most part, but fluctuate. I used to be hard right Libertarian but the loony toons that denied COVID invaded that party so I left it. I still want the government to leave me alone unless I start violating rights.

Let's see, what else? I have affinity to Toyotas, I'm a massive Detroit sports fan, and I'm hopeless addicted to caffeine and nicotine (I haven't used tobacco in 10 years though!). Oh and I help my parents run their small vineyard and make wine, which is fun.

Ok here goes.
Most of this is likely known by most of the current members but why not.

I emigrated to Australia as an 8 year old from Scotland in 1982. Proudly call myself an Australian now and while it's not perfect as a country don't have the desire to move anywhere.

I left school at 16 to start an apprenticeship and since have completed 3. Feels like I've never stopped schooling since leaving school.
When asked what I do for work the reply is I fix trains, ultimately that's what I do but it's a bit more complex than it sounds. For the most part it's a very cruisy job but when the heat is on its on, if a train is stopped at the wrong part of the network it can stop half of Melbourne's network which isn't ideal.
We get paid very very well for what we do but it's a 24/7 365 days a year job.

Outside of work I have two wonderful boys (well young men now) and a beautiful wife.
My wife has been diagnosed with MS for around 18 years now and sadly in the last 3 odd years it has progressed faster than any of us would have hoped. I know the day will come when I need to quit work to become her full time carer but hopefully we can delay that for a while yet. Obviously not a great situation but we are both optimistic people and our sons are fantastic in assisting where possible. She constantly amazes me with her lack of complaining about her situation.

Outside of work and caring for my wife cycling has been a passion for quite a while now and I've also recently started playing golf again after around a 15 year hiatus.
Still play the odd video game, mostly sim racing but find now to relax I more lean to listening to some music.

Hey folks, just popping in to say hi!

For those who don't know my full story, I was born and raised in Australia but now live in London, Ontario. In between that, I grabbed a microbiology PhD and spent time (at least 3 months) living in Vancouver, Toronto, England (Cotswolds), Scotland (Fife) and The Netherlands. Managed to set foot in 30 or so countries on top of that.

Hello party people!

Long story short, I was raised in the Southern US, and have been into games and cars since I was very small indeed. As a kid, I always wanted to be a racer or a mechanic, but after learning about both trades over the years and accepting that I am too large, out-of-shape and broke for both of those professions, I've gotten into automotive and motorsport photography over the last couple of years. Motorsport photography in particular has been my obsession for the last little bit, although my budget makes it hard to visit those events on the regular.

Outside of that, I've gotten into collecting games and music (particularly vinyl), and have a small but respectable collection of both, again, budget be damned.

Hello,

I consider myself one of the newer members of GTP, although truth be told I skulked around in the shadows, not really engaging often, normally only to point out when someone else's logic was flawed. And so was really surprised by Danoffs invite to join, but that may be a shared appreciation for Any Rand.

I'm 42, originally born in England but moved to Canada when I was 27. I currently work for one of Canada's big three telecoms, as a "Level 3 Support and Escalation Support Specialist" (ask me what that is and I'll tell you how I'm paid a lot to not do a lot). I have a history in team leadership and escalation management, and I'm sure any of you that have seen me intervene in heated discussions could see some of those skills come in to play (try to understand eachother! Life is easier if you do!).

I'm a retired audiophile, tech nerd, gamer and weirdo with a dry, dark sense of humor. I enjoy philosophy, music and reading. Oh and I'm a 40k nerd.

I'm 83, born in Australia, retired near Cape Cod in Massachusetts USA
Had 50 odd years in computer career, active in community teaching computer, AI and EV stuff.
Love cars. Currently drive a 2012 Corvette Grand Sport and a 2024 Tesla Y.
Play racing games and select RPGs. Oblivion and Skyrim. The Fallout games from 3 onward. All the Assassins Creed games.
Joined GTPlanet over 10 years ago
Had a triple screen setup for Forzas 1 through 4, and Gran Turismo 5 and 6
GT Sport plus PSVR left me unsatisfied but whet my appetite
PSVR2 has hijacked me back into Gran Turismo 7 from AC Shadows and Oblivion Remastered. VR is addictive.
Have used Apple products starting with Apple ][, house is very much Apple ecosystem.

EDIT: I tried to figure out "Yectolur Going Hern" and failed.

I'm 51, live in Alabama, formerly from Florida. Lovely wife and two kids; one in college and the other in high school.

Used to play Gran Turismo, haven't seriously played in almost 20 years...I'll fire up the PSX and PS2 about once or twice a year, mostly GT2 and GT4. I'll play Wordle and Quordle and that's my daily dose of gaming.

I travel around the US and Canada training people on specialized software; travel seems to have been my game for the last 15 years and I haven't burnt out yet.

I stopped caring about a lot of the same things when I first joined GTP almost 24 years ago. Or at least, I'm much more ambivalent about some things. But there's a lot of enshittification lately but them good 'ol days is a tale as old as time.

I still enjoy going for a drive, playing with my camera, listening to music, watching F1, so some things never change.

I’m 36, born, raised and still living in a small town called Timrå, Sweden. I have walking distance to the pulp mill where I’ve worked for the last 13 years. Not married and no kids = A LOT of spare time.

Been a car geek for literally as long as I can remember, although I’d say I’m more into motorcycles right now.

I’m also into travelling, music, movies, art, video games occasionally, philosophy and politics. I consider myself a democratic socialist.

Strittan wrote: Tue Oct 07, 2025 5:05 am I’m 36, born, raised and still living in a small town called Timrå, Sweden. I have walking distance to the pulp mill ...

... and walking distance to the North Pole it seems!

I had to look up Timrå and wow, you are beyond the 62nd latitude! I'm glad we have global reach in this community.

GBO Possum wrote: Tue Oct 07, 2025 8:14 pm... and walking distance to the North Pole it seems!

I had to look up Timrå and wow, you are beyond the 62nd latitude! I'm glad we have global reach in this community.

Lol, yet I’m about 1000 km (620 miles) south of Norwegian town Tromsø, which has a team in the top tier of Norwegian soccer. Good thing the Gulf Stream exists!

I'm 60 years old. Never been married, no kids. Born and raised in Alabama. Born in Florence then moved to Huntsville in 2007. My mother's family lived in Huntsville so I've been coming here since my earliest memories.

I've worked in the auto industry all of my life. My father had a used car lot when I was a small child then bought a new car dealership in 1978. I worked there until leaving in 2006. Then moved to Huntsville in October 2007 and got hired at my current job in November 2007.

Racing is my main interest in my downtime. F1, IMSA, WEC, ELMS, GT Challenge, NLS, many others. I don't watch any other live sports. I watch the highlights. I don't have any loyalty or support any US sports teams. I do support Liverpool Football Club of the Premier League. Again I don't watch them live (especially this year) because I have a monumental temper that might lead to destroying a tv, just kidding, but I do get very very angry.

I bought a PC for gaming two years ago. I probably understand about 50% of it. Maybe less. I feel ashamed to ask questions in the Assetto Corsa Mod section on GTP because what I'm asking is basic stuff to computer guys. I bought a rig for my wheel but you have to get down on the floor to get in it and I'm not getting any younger. Plus I have a bad back and any race over about 20 minutes and my back feels like it's on fire.

Outside of racing I do try to get out and go to concerts when I can.

Jezza819 wrote: Wed Oct 08, 2025 5:13 am I feel ashamed to ask questions in the Assetto Corsa Mod section on GTP because what I'm asking is basic stuff to computer guys.

I know nothing about Assetto Corsa Mods, but if I needed to, I'd probably go to ChatGPT for help. As a tech support assistant, it's amazing whether it's helping me with cleaning car trims, tuning Gran Turismo, PS5, Mac, programmable switches or whatever.

Good to see you all here! I feel honored to have received the invitation from Dan and the Gang here.

I honestly love GTP and considered it the best forum, but recently I got fatigue from it and needed a break by disconnecting.

A few days after that, out of the blue, i got the surprise message to come here.
How refreshing to start anew and find a new home nevertheless !

I have been around the world enough to know that having an open mind and acceptance of our differences in each one of us are what make our lives a tad more difficult, yet much more rich, and learning from each other takes times, but is worth the effort.

I am all about self improvement, because i am not a perfect individual, and i will probably will never reach perfection, but i strive to be better for myself and people around me. I cannot stand people who are too square, scared, or close minded with all the wrong assumptions, or lack the ability to question themselves, or humble enough to accept other perspectives or possibilities. If you are one of these persons, let's still work to learn from each other.

Critical thinking has to be constructive, not destructive, and far too many people are confused and not grasping of that difference.
i always want to Agree to disagree without having to control, lets just share and put things honestly on the table for debate.
Be aware that Poking fun with jokes and some light intimidation via sarcasm may be some of the side effects during this process.

You have to be able to take yourself seriously enough to accept not being so serious about it, nothing here is a life and death matter.

Except for everything about GT7!

The reason i dont play GT7 PSVR2 as much as i want to and as i used to anymore, it's primarily because the limited memory of the GT7 save file, preventing me to save all of my replay unlimitedly. I know this is a restriction from Sony, and because of fear of corruption PD doesn't allow another way.
BUT I hate that i am capped, as i like to save all of my replay, but now my GT7 save file is at 99.8%, which i think makes it hard for me to play smoothly, so i stopped playing, until i can find a way to easily offload all of my replay files externally. I want to be able to go back to them and take photos... otherwise i would have upload them onto YouTube.

For this reason, and too many things to do around the house and the garage, ever since 2025 came, I find myself too busy with the routine of preparing for the dystopian future that is coming up next,

I am a rather optimistic person at heart, always looking at the cup half full... yet things lately looks so grim.

so i am looking forward to coming here to get a break from life from time to time.

Cheers all !

GBO Possum wrote: Wed Oct 08, 2025 2:10 pmI know nothing about Assetto Corsa Mods, but if I needed to, I'd probably go to ChatGPT for help. As a tech support assistant, it's amazing whether it's helping me with cleaning car trims, tuning Gran Turismo, PS5, Mac, programmable switches or whatever.

I've tried ChatGPT a few times with a very specific Excel problem I'd like to streamline and completely stuck out every time.