I'm leaving the hobby - who will win my parts?

Originally posted by SVT PETE:

Originally posted by Digital Slacker:
I will post a picture of any part I 'win' sitting on my head making a funny face

No need for you to "make" a funny face.

lol, you'se a funny one there pete...

are you coming to play paintball btw

You know, when I first saw the MSDS headers listed in the classifieds, I was a little bitter because I'd missed out on the chance to nail them and I had really wanted them. But you know what? This is a really cool thing you're doing. It's reminiscent of a guy I know through paintball who had one of the best collections of custom gear I'd ever seen, and one day he posted that he'd had an epiphany and gave about 2/3 of it all away for nothing to random paintballers online, sort of like how you're doing (first come first served, if he felt they deserved it). Anyway, JED, I hope you have fun with this.

Originally posted by Digital Slacker:

Originally posted by SVT PETE:

Originally posted by Digital Slacker:
I will post a picture of any part I 'win' sitting on my head making a funny face

No need for you to "make" a funny face.

lol, you'se a funny one there pete...

are you coming to play paintball btw

You mean this Saturday in Bowie?

Better double-check that, I think it's tomorrow, not Sunday.

First and foremost I would like to thank JEDsContour
for following through on his most generous offer. It seems that I am the fortunate winner of the headers. I am highly confident that these headers will be on my doorstep soon, but I will post an update as well as pictures of the beautiful headers once they arrive.

These headers will be a crucial element of my 3 liter project so I could not be more excited!

THANKS AGAIN JEDsContour!

Originally posted by Aspire:
It seems that I am the fortunate winner of the headers.

Congratulations!

Originally posted by Aspire:
These headers will be a crucial element of my 3 liter project so I could not be more excited!

I'm still running a stock intake on my 3L.

heck! I haven't done any mods to my engine yet...and I have have had it for almost a year. I have just been too poor this past year to get anything done to it. Oh well, guess i just have to wait.

Check the Classified

PM'd

Originally posted by path914:
PM'd

I hope I got mine in before you did! hehe

This would really finish off my exhaust work on my 3L

i hope mine beat you all.

I hate dial up internet, so slow. hopefully i get the next one.

How am I supposed to get any work done?

Good thing I'm already set on exhaust. Good luck to somebody out there!

Hope i get a chance, my frankenstein SVT exhaust just doesn't cut it anymore.

Originally posted by rkneeshaw3.0:

Originally posted by path914:
PM'd

I hope I got mine in before you did! hehe

This would really finish off my exhaust work on my 3L

I think this is totally cool. I have had a few requests for my extra side skirts but the original buyer didn't go threw on the deal so they are back on the market. I would do the same thing, but I am really poor (looking for a job since school ended) so I can let them go for $25+shipping. They don't have jack stands and I am dumb and forgot to take the mounting brackets off the car before I had it junked, but there are the ones on the skirts. Metallic Teal in color. Same rules as the awesome guy doing this....hope this isn't considered jacking his thread.

This honestly is a really great thing that you're doing, it finally gives people who don't have much spendable cash the oppertunity to get great parts at amazingly good prices. Too bad all of us don't need the money when it came to selling new/used parts. Keep it up!

I'm not even going to bother PMing now. I missed it for sure this time.

Figures my last post was just 3 mins before the new listing. I posted and then walked away from the computer.

Originally posted by SVT Driver627:
This honestly is a really great thing that you're doing, it finally gives people who don't have much spendable cash the oppertunity to get great parts at amazingly good prices. Too bad all of us don't need the money when it came to selling new/used parts. Keep it up!

That would be amazing, this is very respectable, pm sent

I only have a few things left on my "to do" list, i thought it'd take forever but if i'm lucky enough to win some of these things i will be done faster than i thought!

Jed, I sent a PM, but it kept saying access denied after it sent. Hope I didn't send you three of them !

Huh...I bet that means his PM box is full.

Originally posted by weasel:
Jed, I sent a PM, but it kept saying access denied after it sent. Hope I didn't send you three of them !

I kept getting that as well, i just thought the forum hated me, guess i'm not alone haha

I just tried a second ago and it went through ...

Access denied here about Bosal???

now, as i am not interested in the exhaust, i will wait... but what do you mean exactly by "the shipping will be much more than the cost to you of the parts I am sure!" Do you mean that the cost of the shipping is more expensive than the parts? or that the shipping is worth it because you are getting the part for $1...

Pm sent.

Originally posted by guitarman19853:
now, as i am not interested in the exhaust, i will wait... but what do you mean exactly by "the shipping will be much more than the cost to you of the parts I am sure!" Do you mean that the cost of the shipping is more expensive than the parts? or that the shipping is worth it because you are getting the part for $1...

Shipping an exhaust system anywhere will cost more than a dollar. I expect the winner to reimburse me for that cost alone when they receive the part (plus $1 of course). It allows me to make a decision independent of the memberâ�?��?�s location.

For example the winner of the headers lives in Southern California, while I am in Virginia.

Deciding on the Bosal exhaust is much more difficult than the MSDS Headers as many more CEGers expressed an interest within a short period of time.

Also, during the MSDS sale, at least one interested CEGer made an immediate cash contribution to Lance for the CEG fund. That helped to focus the search. With the Bosal exhaust, there is no one yet who has made such a gesture - and that complicates things for me. I honestly wish to be fair about this and may have to ask the moderators to help me pare down the list of names based on their experiences.

I promised to be able to do this in less than a day, but now I am not sure if that is possible. I honestly donâ�?��?�t think there is any way at all I can be fair about it.

I wince thinking what might happen when I list the wheels and tires or some of the other rarer parts.

In the end, this is really just an unusual and dramatic way of focusing attention on how people comport them-selves on this board and directly contribute to CEG.

Originally posted by JEDsContour:

Originally posted by guitarman19853:
now, as i am not interested in the exhaust, i will wait... but what do you mean exactly by "the shipping will be much more than the cost to you of the parts I am sure!" Do you mean that the cost of the shipping is more expensive than the parts? or that the shipping is worth it because you are getting the part for $1...

Shipping an exhaust system anywhere will cost more than a dollar. I expect the winner to reimburse me for that cost alone when they receive the part (plus $1 of course). It allows me to make a decision independent of the memberâ�?��?�s location.

For example the winner of the headers lives in Southern California, while I am in Virginia.

Deciding on the Bosal exhaust is much more difficult than the MSDS Headers as many more CEGers expressed an interest within a short period of time.

Also, during the MSDS sale, at least one interested CEGer made an immediate cash contribution to Lance for the CEG fund. That helped to focus the search. With the Bosal exhaust, there is no one yet who has made such a gesture - and that complicates things for me. I honestly wish to be fair about this and may have to ask the moderators to help me pare down the list of names based on their experiences.

I promised to be able to do this in less than a day, but now I am not sure if that is possible. I honestly donâ�?��?�t think there is any way at all I can be fair about it.

I wince thinking what might happen when I list the wheels and tires or some of the other rarer parts.

In the end, this is really just an unusual and dramatic way of focusing attention on how people comport them-selves on this board and directly contribute to CEG.

Thanks Jed. I'm sure whoever you decide will be deserving.

This is probably the nicest thing I have seen on this site since I have been here.

It's a tremendously generous offer and if I am selected for the Exhaust, I will offer the same deal to others on my stock SVT exhaust as a token of good will. I know it can't compare, but it will help out some non-svt owner out there.

JED,

It's a good gesture and no one should be bitter or take offense that they were not chosen. They should keep in mind that these are your parts and you are free to do with them as you wish.

Best of luck to you in "selling" the rest of your parts.

So who won the exhaust?

I have to admit, this is pretty cool

Originally posted by dnewma04:
It's a tremendously generous offer and if I am selected for the Exhaust, I will offer the same deal to others on my stock SVT exhaust as a token of good will. I know it can't compare, but it will help out some non-svt owner out there.

I was thinking the same thing today. It only seems right.

Thank you JEDsContour!

I was the winner of the exhaust. You have no idea how awesome this is. I'm still using the stock exhaust with my 3L and this is the upgrade that I've been needing to do!

I'll post pics of the exhaust when I get it as well.

Anyways, thanks again. This made my day

.

OH!
My old svt exhaust will probably be donated to someone. However, this will be when I get the new exhaust on the car, so it may not be for a bit. I'll be sure to let you guys know when it is ready, and it'll be in the classifieds.

Sweeet.

Well deserved. Congrats.

Damn I didn't win the exhaust, I am so pissed I am quiting this hobby. Anyone want to buy my car for one dollar

Originally posted by livinsvt:
Damn I didn't win the exhaust, I am so pissed I am quiting this hobby. Anyone want to buy my car for one dollar .

Sure!

Originally posted by JEDsContour:

Originally posted by livinsvt:
Damn I didn't win the exhaust, I am so pissed I am quiting this hobby. Anyone want to buy my car for one dollar .

Sure!

It comes motor less and shipping will be at least $6k

That's ok- you don't have to ship it. I'll come and pick it up

Then it has a handling fee of only $5995!

Originally posted by Matty K:
Then it has a handling fee of only $5995!

Originally posted by JEDsContour:
I promised to be able to do this in less than a day, but now I am not sure if that is possible. I honestly donâ�?��?�t think there is any way at all I can be fair about it.

I wince thinking what might happen when I list the wheels and tires or some of the other rarer parts.

In the end, this is really just an unusual and dramatic way of focusing attention on how people comport them-selves on this board and directly contribute to CEG.

Despite all of the hassle & potential for screw ups, this is a fantastic idea. Look at all the donation posts in the CEG Finances thread. I haven't seen that much activity since the last financial crisis, & the SZ money is filtering in now so there are no worries for at about a year if we don't blow the wad on software...

I didn't win

Oh well, congrats, hope i do get lucky, espicially on brake parts since i'm near death, brett knows this!

I sent out the headers and Bosal exhaust this morning. The exhaust went in two big boxes via DHL. The headers are UPS. I will PM the guys when I get tracking numbers.

I'm trying to decide how to do the rest of this. Maybe four or five (or more) classified ads: I'm trying to put the retail value at about $500 to $700 per classified ad while keeping a consistent theme for each. The 5 Rousch Racing wheels and tires have the largest remaining single item monetary value - but I don't want to split them up.

Any ideas on what would make sense? There is a near complete parts list in another thread, though I keep finding more stuff to add - like a brand new DMD and specialty suspension alignment tools.

This was (maybe) a crazy way to do this, but now that Iâ�?��?�ve started I feel committed to the process. A few people have suggested holding a raffle using donations to Lance for CEG site maintenance instead of tickets (say a $20 donation per ticket?). I like this idea for the wheels and tires and if I can work out the logistics may make them the last of the â�?��?salesâ�?� using that tactic. If I do this, everyone who has donated at least that much since I started this last week will get a ticket!

One thing that surprised me a bit when I started looking at offers was the sheer number of really great people that frequent this site. Looking at the post histories it became clear that the rudeness and bad taste Iâ�?��?�ve seen so much of lately is not the general rule â�?��?? it just tends to sticks out.

I really wish I had a dozen of those damn loud beautiful exhausts to give away!

At some point long after this is over I will share some of the PMs I received from people trying to convince me to send them parts (without revealing the writers CEG name). Unbelievable and occasionally hilarious â�?��?? though I suspect the intent was not always humor!

I really like the raffle idea. I also understand not giving away parts to ass-clowns, but picking out the "nicest guy" to give them too will only get harder! A random drawing (with a post-draw ass-clown check) would be very impartial, and raise money for the site. Thanks for doing this, all the mods-poor people like me now have hope!

Originally posted by Auto-X Fil:
I really like the raffle idea. I also understand not giving away parts to ass-clowns, but picking out the "nicest guy" to give them too will only get harder! A random drawing (with a post-draw ass-clown check) would be very impartial, and raise money for the site. Thanks for doing this, all the mods-poor people like me now have hope!

Agreed, I like this idea too. Hopefully I spot that Magnaflow res. when he puts it up. I'd like to get one of those to go with my SVT exhaust when I get that from Chris (tour96se)...

This really is an awesome thing that you're doing, just make sure that you don't go broke doing it! I know by looking at the list of parts and whatnot that you have spent quite a bit of time collecting parts and also quite a bit of money. I guess what im trying to say is be sure that you're not screwing yourself by helping us out with really nice/cheap parts for our cars.

That was pretty funny about the car shipping/handling thing! I got a good laugh outta that!

Originally posted by 99Mystique ATX:
This really is an awesome thing that you're doing, just make sure that you don't go broke doing it!

No problem! Life has been kind to my wife and I in recent years.

I definitely agree with the raffle idea. I was thinking about donating to CEG and now this just more solidifies my decision, although I no longer have paypal to do so

which makes things slightly harder

I certainly think this is a worthy idea, though I can see a few potential problems with narrowing choices to those who donate monetarily, or to those who have only donated in the last week.

Some donated before this week, others donate tons of time/help.

I could certainly use a DMD, but i haven't got $20 or more after a new baby... see my point?

Ray

Originally posted by Ray:
I certainly think this is a worthy idea, though I can see a few potential problems with narrowing choices to those who donate monetarily, or to those who have only donated in the last week.

Some donated before this week, others donate tons of time/help.

I could certainly use a DMD, but i haven't got $20 or more after a new baby... see my point?

Ray

I agree with ray.

Originally posted by Digital Slacker:

Originally posted by Ray:
I certainly think this is a worthy idea, though I can see a few potential problems with narrowing choices to those who donate monetarily, or to those who have only donated in the last week.

Some donated before this week, others donate tons of time/help.

I could certainly use a DMD, but i haven't got $20 or more after a new baby... see my point?

Ray

I agree with ray.

I agree also. My 3L swap drained me of all my cash, I haven't been working as many hours, and now I have bills piling up. I want to donate money to CEG badly, because I've been on here a long time, I love the site and want it to continue in the future, but at this time, I can't donate anything.

how bout this ray, i have a 5 month old baby, so i know exactly what its like. Luckily tho ive been meaning to donate to ceg but dont like the idea of opening a paypal account, so i contacted lance for his address (before this whole raffle thing was suggested) and i will be sending lance some money. If we do have a raffle i will give you my ticket since i dont want/need the rims (actually i need struts) but if the raffle ticket is transferable then ill transfer it to you. If not, then if i with the ticket then ill give you whatever i win, you live close enought.

Man, you have no idea what a wonderfully caring gesture that is.

I am in DIRE need of rims.. they are all SEVERELY curb rashed, and out of balance (stupid hit and run IDIOTS!!!) and the car drives terribly because of that.

Good things go around, and I always make sure of that!!

In your debt...

Ray

maybe one day the all mighty rays portable garage will help me put new struts on. ive done it before just dont feel like doint it alone again.

. ill drive over there if i have to. Also i you dont win them ill help you find some.

I think this is an awesome idea as well...i donated to lance before this was suggested as well and i was also thinkin, if its a possibility, that we should put Jeds name and car or a special recognition thanking Jed on the homepage because if he wouldnt have done something like this than i dont think we would have gotten near the amount of money that has been contributed over the last week or so...good luck to us all with the rims and thanks again Jed!

Originally posted by owen_SVT:
and i was also thinkin, if its a possibility, that we should put Jeds name and car or a special recognition thanking Jed on the homepage because if he wouldnt have done something like this than i dont think we would have gotten near the amount of money that has been contributed over the last week or so

Wouldn't this be similar to a suggestion which was made a few weeks ago in reply to our funds being low? As in those who contribute a lot gets to have special recognition on their screen names? Maybe not that good an idea.

And in any case, I don't think any of us will forget this gesture from Jed.

sounds good...i didnt see the one from a couple weeks ago...sorry about that, my bad...

I just donated $40... it's worth it for this site. But man, being a full-time student, that's like multiple Chipotle trips!

I also asked in the donation that, if Jed is doing a $20 ticket raffle, one ticket be in my name and one in Ray's. Dude's earned it, the walking Contour database that he is.... And nice, to boot!

You guys don't know how much you continue to make me smile.

People complain about this site, and all the terribly mean people on it... I surely am not seeing that.

You guys have NO IDEA how much I could use a new set of rims. I was telling one guy I was talking to about the stock rims I have now. They're all curb-rashed and unbalanced.. they really make for a terrible ride in the car (and the wife makes sure that I don't forget about that EVERY TIME we ride... lol)

Man, oh man.... This would really make my year!

Ray

A taste of the dollar day sales insanity yet to come
More details soon:

nah not many people are mean here just a few like:

everyone in michigan/cali ect.basically everyone thats not from texas

Awesome! You weren't kidding when you said you had a lot of parts lying around

I need like 2 of the parts that you posted!

if i get the struts and springs, i wont sell my car

If i get the wheels and brakes i won't die.

seeing a few of those parts just made me

....im in desperate need of pads and rotors, my rotors lip and ive got half mm left of pad before im metal on metal lol...BAT

, wheels

and plug wires

lol
Jed....i heart you lol

Originally posted by SVT Driver627:
If i get the wheels and brakes i won't die.

hahaha! well i guess you must be the most deserving then!

Originally posted by Nate S:

Originally posted by SVT Driver627:
If i get the wheels and brakes i won't die.

hahaha! well i guess you must be the most deserving then!

we'll see, winter tires and shot pads and rotors aren't a good thing i'm pretty sure. i squeel tires on EVERY corner with winter tires and my suspension, i take a turn at 10, squeel, and they wear VERY fast.

i know what you mean!
...my front end has a scraping sound coming from the brakes, rotors are warped and pads feel like theyre going too. this is all getting fixed on tuesday though.

im in the same boat as you regarding the suspension- when i bought my car it still had the original suspension... with over 116k miles on it!
i swear my old '96 GL handled better

well i mean my winter tires don't like my stiff koni/ B+G setup so they scream all the time. and i can be ticketed for my winter tires because it is "improper equipment" but it's all i got.

This whole $1 sale thing is awesome! I could certainly use a few things, but others are more needy than me. Might throw in anyway...

Originally posted by SVT Driver627:

Originally posted by Nate S:

Originally posted by SVT Driver627:
If i get the wheels and brakes i won't die.

hahaha! well i guess you must be the most deserving then!

we'll see, winter tires and shot pads and rotors aren't a good thing i'm pretty sure. i squeel tires on EVERY corner with winter tires and my suspension, i take a turn at 10, squeel, and they wear VERY fast.

All this begging is not very becoming. Not one person on this site deserve's this sort of thing, and even if they were, I'm positive there are 15,000 members who are much more deserving than anyone asking for these deals. This isn't about earning these parts, it's about making people think about their contributions to this hobby and specifically this platform. If you get something, be grateful and leave it at that.

I didn't mean to beg in the least, sorry if that's how it's coming out, i actually didn't really intend to sell my wheels when i did, but oh well, and I'm happy with what i have, i suppose haha, but whoever gets whatever congrats to them.

Originally posted by lsneo:
nah not many people are mean here just a few like:

everyone in michigan/cali ect.basically everyone thats not from texas

Word.

This is realy coo!!!!

Originally posted by dukeofsho:
This is realy coo!!!!

Oh yeah... I wouldn't want anything major since I am pretty new here, but heck, send something cool but relatively cheap my way (like just racing wires, or aluminum pedals or something) and I'd be absolutely ecstatic.

I agree, anything would be great and highly appreciated...

Originally posted by Rishodi:

Originally posted by dukeofsho:
This is realy coo!!!!

Oh yeah... I wouldn't want anything major since I am pretty new here, but heck, send something cool but relatively cheap my way (like just racing wires, or aluminum pedals or something) and I'd be absolutely ecstatic.

This is GREAT! I could realy use that BAT suspension kit.
But I'm F@$# I can't PM from my computer here at work and my home computer has just gotten messed up last week.

How do you make a donation to Lance?

Donate Here

I haven't really been on in a few days...since the exhaust went up, and I must say all the stuff that he has is insane!!! There are going to be LOTS of VERY happy people on this site in the next few days/weeks. I love this site, and the people on it...well most of the people on it. I do think Ray should get something though...he has been EXTREAMLY helpful to everyone. (Wink wink, give Ray rims.)

Originally posted by elraido:
I haven't really been on in a few days...since the exhaust went up, and I must say all the stuff that he has is insane!!! There are going to be LOTS of VERY happy people on this site in the next few days/weeks. I love this site, and the people on it...well most of the people on it. I do think Ray should get something though...he has been EXTREAMLY helpful to everyone. (Wink wink, give Ray rims.)

I vote Ray for Moderator of the year (with Phil unisys a very close second) and think if anyone on this site deserves something for helping people out it should be Ray. He does the best how-to's with pics and seems like a pretty fair guy.

If Ray wins, I'll even throw in $10.00 toward shipping costs for the wheels to his house. He needs 'em. With the new kid and the air gun happy house wife he really needs them.....

No way!! Ray is a meanie & all you guys are just afraid of him so you're suckin' up!!

<<< (imagines rims on a Cabernet Mystique)

J/K Ray!

This is not a voting, "plead my case" situation or contest.

Please let JED make his own decisions.

Again... I agree... I am moved by the sentiment from WAY more people than I would have ever imagined... however:

The focus of this post was to elicit a very selfless act, and to improve the overall community that is CEG through said act. It isn't about me, nor should it be. I am sure that Jed knows what he wants to do, etc...

Once, again, Jed: I commend you for such a great offer to your fellow enthusiasts.

Ray

I just read through every single one of the posts and it blew my mind. Go Jed.

Thanks, you are a role model to what a generous human being should be.

I wonder how much traffic CEG has generated in the last few days... Is excess bandwidth/usage gonna be a problem??

Wellâ�?�¦I sold the Rousch Racing wheels and tires for a $1.

Maybe someone knows the story behind these wheels. I believe they are a limited edition wheel installed by Rousch on select Mercury Cougars (I think it was the 35th anniversary cars). The center cap has the name â�?��?ROUSCHâ�?� on the medallion.

The overstock was sold through BAT, which is where I bought them. When I called BAT to inquire, they had five left, so I bought all five.

I donâ�?��?�t know if this makes them more valuable or not, but it is an interesting story to research and you wonâ�?��?�t see very many of them on Contours!

Iâ�?��?�ve had these in storage for a while (since May 2003) and I never completely opened the wrapping until now.

This is the only item I plan to sell without an open classified advertisement and the chance for everyone to make an offer. Try not to be disappointed they are sold and just be happy for the person who won them. It is a small gesture in recognition of a man with a truly generous soul.

Generosity is not all about money. There are few members of CEG who have not benefited in some way from the humor, patience, experience, and good automotive sense of the man I am shipping these to tomorrow.

Selling these the way I did was the right thing, but please donâ�?��?�t ask me to make any more private sales.

Iâ�?��?�m also going to delay further sales until the items I shipped Saturday reach their destination.

Jed,

It is your prerogative to do whatever you want with your Contour modification parts. You chose to sell them to us for $1. We are all grateful for the opportunities to purchase them for $1. Thank you for your kind gestures.

Originally posted by Tony2005:
Jed,

It is your prerogative to do whatever you want with your Contour modification parts. You chose to sell them to us for $1. We are all grateful for the opportunities to purchase them for $1. Thank you for your kind gestures.

I agree!

Jed, what you are doing is terrific!
You're right, generosity is not all about money. There are many wonderful people on this site that have been very generous with their time. I have learned a lot from the members here since I've gotten my SVT, and about my daughter's Zetec (she's recently aquired a duratec).
Thank you Jed for being so kind.

Awesome, just awesome.

From pretty much every experience I have had with fellow CEGer's it has been nothing but the best. Everyone has been very generous with help/parts that I have encountered and I know you will not find this with anyother group of car enthusiasts.

The people here are second to none and I am very greatful and proud to be among us! I also try and return the favor to the people of CEG whenever possible. Thank you Jed for helping out and being a stand-up guy!

Originally posted by JEDsContour:
Wellâ�?�¦I sold the Rousch Racing wheels and tires for a $1.

And I'm certain the winner was a worthy one. Congrats to him/her. Let's see some pics when they're on.

Originally posted by Tony2005:
Jed,

It is your perogative to do whatever you want with your Contour modification parts. You chose to sell them to us for $1. We are all grateful for the opportunities to purchase them for $1. Thank you for your kind gestures.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Imagine, I was thinking about buying the whole lot from him. I coulda had it all for what, about $9 ?

Originally posted by cruises8:

Originally posted by Tony2005:
Jed,

It is your perogative to do whatever you want with your Contour modification parts. You chose to sell them to us for $1. We are all grateful for the opportunities to purchase them for $1. Thank you for your kind gestures.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Prerogative is spelled with 2 r's. It was spelled correctly in my original post.

As awesome as this is, I wonder if JED is falling for the 94.32% sucking up in this thread?

Originally posted by RawBurt:
As awesome as this is, I wonder if JED is falling for the 94.32% sucking up in this thread?

Doesn't matter. It is generating donations to our site and showing the goodwill/kindness of our members.

Originally posted by RawBurt:
As awesome as this is, I wonder if JED is falling for the 94.32% sucking up in this thread?

Naw. Jed is waaaaaaaaay smarter than that. Right Jed. Ol' pal, ol' buddy!

Besides, he's going through old posts of people who PM him for parts. If he goes back, say 5 or 6 months, & randomly selects 10 posts to read, he should get an idea of who he's dealing with. He doesn't even have to do that much work. Just pick random posts from troubleshooting section for each applicant. He'll find out who helps, & who habitually tosses in the, "search noob" posts.

Originally posted by Tony2005:

Originally posted by RawBurt:
As awesome as this is, I wonder if JED is falling for the 94.32% sucking up in this thread?

Doesn't matter. It is generating donations to our site and showing the goodwill/kindness of our members.

Well yeah... More like goodwill/kindess of JED. Dont get me wrong, I've donated as well (a couple months ago).

JED, tell us... what do you do in order to afford giving these items away?

I think he's a Software Developer.

According to profile - software developer.

Originally posted by TourDeForce:
Imagine, I was thinking about buying the whole lot from him. I coulda had it all for what, about $9 ?

Yeah. I offered $20 as a joke.

I shipped the five Rousch Racing wheels and tires today via UPS and have sent the winner five tracking #s.

It looks like UPS will deliver the MSDS headers on 4 Aug and DHL will deliver the Bosal Catback exhaust on 8 Aug.

I donâ�?��?�t have a delivery date for the wheels and tires.

Originally posted by SVT PETE:
I think he's a Software Developer.

God knows I have written a lot of software and it's the part of my work that is easiest to describe.

To be all dramatic, I am a physicist working in the field of what used to be call artificial intelligence. My training and background are in nuclear physics, but I have not done any practical work in that area since the 80s

The tools I work with are best described as evolutionary programming (genetic algorithms) guided by neural nets.

I am not building systems that are self-aware or any mystical crap like that. I am developing practical decision-making and optimization engines. Simply stated, I am making certain types of weapon systems smart enough that when activated, they kill what they are supposed to regardless of how far outside their design specifications the environment varies. They learn and they adapt â�?��?? and they remember. The vault I was trapped in during Suniel's SVT auction was not protecting currency.

The fire control and maneuvering system I am now designing will use a modest number of parallel processing nodes (256) and will still be extremely smart â�?��?? about as smart as a cockroach. For machine intelligence, this is extraordinary.

It will impress me greatly if someone here will post the number of US patents currently held by machine intelligences (or at least the corporation that owns the code).

The â�?��?futureâ�?� is coming at us all much faster than anyone believes. Hang on for the ride.

Common, I need those dang struts and springs, I think my struts are going bad, they are starting to creak.

Just don't post them up tonite and it'll be ok.

I work tonite.

J/K,

I do work tonite tho, but you can post them anytime,(of course it's your sale) I'll find some springs and struts for a decent price somewhere I'm sure.

Anyone wanna get rid of LOW mileage SVT struts and springs.

skynet!!! eeeks!!!! lol...

Originally posted by mystique97:
Common, I need those dang struts and springs, I think my struts are going bad, they are starting to creak.
Just don't post them up tonite and it'll be ok.
I work tonite.

J/K, I do work tonite tho, but you can post them anytime,(of course it's your sale) I'll find some springs and struts for a decent price somewhere I'm sure.

Anyone wanna get rid of LOW mileage SVT struts and springs.

I have some early SE springs I was going to put on Ebay, but...

Not sure if that helps you or not. (They wouldn't work with SVT struts, for instance.)

Intelligent Machines Research Corporation

Originally posted by RogerB:

Originally posted by mystique97:
Common, I need those dang struts and springs, I think my struts are going bad, they are starting to creak.
Just don't post them up tonite and it'll be ok.
I work tonite.

J/K, I do work tonite tho, but you can post them anytime,(of course it's your sale) I'll find some springs and struts for a decent price somewhere I'm sure.

Anyone wanna get rid of LOW mileage SVT struts and springs.

I have some early SE springs I was going to put on Ebay, but...

Not sure if that helps you or not. (They wouldn't work with SVT struts, for instance.)

I don't need spring, I just got one replaced a few weeks ago, and I figured if I'm gonna need all new springs and struts soon, might as well upgrade them all.
This here is a good oportunity, but oh well if I don't win them no big deal I guess.
Thanks for the offer tho.

Originally posted by JEDsContour:

Originally posted by SVT PETE:
I think he's a Software Developer.

To be all dramatic, I am a physicist working in the field of what used to be call artificial intelligence. My training and background are in nuclear physics, but I have not done any practical work in that area since the 80s

The tools I work with are best described as evolutionary programming (genetic algorithms) guided by neural nets.

I am not building systems that are self-aware or any mystical crap like that. I am developing practical decision-making and optimization engines. Simply stated, I am making certain types of weapon systems smart enough that when activated, they kill what they are supposed to regardless of how far outside their design specifications the environment varies. They learn and they adapt â�?��?? and they remember. The vault I was trapped in during Suniel's SVT auction was not protecting currency.

The fire control and maneuvering system I am now designing will use a modest number of parallel processing nodes (256) and will still be extremely smart â�?��?? about as smart as a cockroach. For machine intelligence, this is extraordinary.

woh, sounds pretty intense...i know my prof at Brandeis did some AI stuff with machines but probably not anywhere near your magnitude. i nominate all terrorists to be your test subjects if you get everything all set up though since "they kill what they are supposed to regardless of how far outside their design specifications the environment varies"

A guy here at Lockheed did some work on neural nets and emergent behavior - really cool stuff! It sounds like you found a nice niche in your field!

I know what you mean about descibing your job. I'm a computer engineer, so I let it go at that. When people ask what I really do, it gets hairy! There's just too much backround knowledge needed for a brief, accurate description.

In that field, in that location, I suspected you might be involved with some sort of AI or other programming for military applications, but I was not going to say anything...

In the early 80s, there was a lab or two experimenting with data storge on cubes of inert gas. Coulda been a huge boom to the tech sector if it had panned out. I've also gotten wind of some nano-technology projects that were quite scary.

Up until recently, I had been reading publications by Theo Pavlidis. Bright guy. Imaginations Engines, Inc. is an interesting company I've come across in my meanderings on the internet. Am I close?

If you're feeling generous, which you obviously are, I am pretty excited about the BAT suspension.

Maybe a little too excited.

Originally posted by CLASSVT:
If you're feeling generous, which you obviously are, I am pretty excited about the BAT suspension. Maybe a little too excited.

Seems a lot of people are. Myself included.

Ohhhh pleaaaase lemme snatch that Aussie bar!!

Originally posted by JEDsContour:

Originally posted by SVT PETE:
I think he's a Software Developer.

God knows I have written a lot of software and it's the part of my work that is easiest to describe.

To be all dramatic, I am a physicist working in the field of what used to be call artificial intelligence. My training and background are in nuclear physics, but I have not done any practical work in that area since the 80s

The tools I work with are best described as evolutionary programming (genetic algorithms) guided by neural nets.

I am not building systems that are self-aware or any mystical crap like that. I am developing practical decision-making and optimization engines. Simply stated, I am making certain types of weapon systems smart enough that when activated, they kill what they are supposed to regardless of how far outside their design specifications the environment varies. They learn and they adapt â�?��?? and they remember. The vault I was trapped in during Suniel's SVT auction was not protecting currency.

The fire control and maneuvering system I am now designing will use a modest number of parallel processing nodes (256) and will still be extremely smart â�?��?? about as smart as a cockroach. For machine intelligence, this is extraordinary.

It will impress me greatly if someone here will post the number of US patents currently held by machine intelligences (or at least the corporation that owns the code).

The â�?��?futureâ�?� is coming at us all much faster than anyone believes. Hang on for the ride.

I am a CIS major and have taken the AI classes...cool stuff, but program in Lisp is really really wierd and abstract. What type of language are you using to program in?

Originally posted by JEDsContour:
Wellâ�?�¦I sold the Rousch Racing wheels and tires for a $1.

So who got them?

Originally posted by elraido:
I am a CIS major and have taken the AI classes...cool stuff, but program in Lisp is really really wierd and abstract. What type of language are you using to program in?

C++ and C#.

Yes, LISP is very weird! Manipulating code as data is the most important concept I think came out of LISP. Genetic algorithm genome manipulation (crossover and mutations) is similar to this. I would not suggest learning LISP for anything but a hobby nowadays however.

Believe it or not I used to be a really big fan of Visual Basic. I developed a massive discrete event design environment and compiler for testing software defined radio networking algorithms and agents ENTIRELY in Visual Basic. The user builds the scenarios graphically and can play them back and forth for debugging. The application is called "COMTEST Scenario Generator" and is sold by SAIC for $20,000 a license. The outputs are used to drive OPNET simulations.

I also developed a radar physics and engagement simulator called the "Position Time Sensor Simulator" for a company called SPC. SPC uses this for maritime and space radar modeling (Navy and BMDO) - again all in Visual Basic.

There are a handful of other commercial products I have developed, "Extract" used for automated infrared image analysis at the Naval Research Laboratory indoor Range, "RAMSCAT" a physics based multilayed dielectric performance and design tool (Radar absorbing materials) used with XPatch, "MAM" a genetic algorithm based optimization engine for calculating ship control inputs to successfully transit littoral minefields, "GARP" a genetic algorithm based route planning tool for cruise missile operation in defended areas, â�?��?STAM" a time dependent thermal analysis model for calculating (and controlling) temperature transients in planar phased array radar antennas, and on and on.

I just recently accepted a position at Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors to develop various IR&D projects related to a really amazing weapon system concept. Although I am senior staff, I donâ�?��?�t have to â�?��?manageâ�?� anything and all I do is think about technology. I have broad autonomy to pursue whatever interests me. This weapon must be completely automated and must operate in one of the most demanding and constantly changing environments on earth. The engagement timelines are so compressed that there is no possibility for human decision making contributions.

It's my dream job come true!

Wowzers

Ray

Originally posted by JEDsContour:

It's my dream job come true!

congrads!

now give me the aussie sway bar NOW!!

Thats pretty cool man. Sounds like wargames re-loaded...

You like that Falcon guy aen't you....

"Would You Like To Play A Game"?

Originally posted by Ray:

Wowzers

Ray

thats all i could manage too

Originally posted by my csvt:

Originally posted by Ray:

Wowzers

Ray

thats all i could manage too

I spent years in the military, and I was going crazy reading the names and synopsis of each program.. I was inadvertantly making acronyms for them, and there were FAR too many acronyms.. I was starting to smoke out of my ears!

Ray

Originally posted by Ray:
I was starting to smoke out of my ears!

Ray

LOL. Actually, I understood everything Jed said. NOT! LOL.

Originally posted by JEDsContour:

It's my dream job come true!

Congrats to that! It's awesome when you get to do what you love. I'm still trying to figure out what that is....... Suffice to say, it's not what you do

.

(Mostly 'coz I'm bad at math n' stuff).

Originally posted by Tony2005:

Originally posted by Ray:
I was starting to smoke out of my ears!

Ray

LOL. Actually, I understood everything Jed said. NOT! LOL.

i understand what he said...but i cannot duplicate any of it.

I'm in that same boat. I grasp the concept, and context of what he does, though I couldn't begin to fathom how to duplicate his efforts.

Ray

Sounds really interesting... I bet that I use some of your programs without even knowing it. I am in a similar situation (working for SAIC at a Lockheed Martin facility). I work as a systems integration analyst utilizing different simulation software for FMS cases.

Originally posted by JEDsContour:
and is sold by SAIC for $20,000 a license.

They just used, abused and sold my company.

Originally posted by captainoblivious:

Originally posted by JEDsContour:
and is sold by SAIC for $20,000 a license.

They just used, abused and sold my company.

Who? Telcordia?

Originally posted by path914:
I am in a similar situation (working for SAIC at a Lockheed Martin facility). I work as a systems integration analyst utilizing different simulation software for FMS cases.

Well...not quite. After six and a half years with SAIC, I jumped ship and accepted a position with Lockheed Martin. SAIC was generous with IRAD funds but I was spending more and more time on management functions. I am really not ready to leave the technical work to the â�?��?youngerâ�?� people yet!

Seriously though, keeping up with the state of the art in machine intelligence is impossible, even more so if you must dilute your day with managerial nonsense.

Lockheed Martin offered me tremendous autonomy and substantial IRAD funding with no managerial duties. That may or may not erode with time depending on the results I generate, but right now it is great.

Does FMS mean "Foreign Military Sales?"

Originally posted by path914:
They just used, abused and sold my company.
Who? Telcordia?

I did some work with Telcordia while I was at SAIC. They were using COMTEST to generate scenarios for autonomous agent traffic.

Nasty, brutish bunch of people. CYA in all caps.

Just kidding.

Sort of.

Originally posted by path914:
Who? Telcordia?

Yup.

Well I should say may my-soon-to-be-former company since sometime b/n September and December I'm getting my work outsourced.

I'm on the RBOC's side of things. So you can badmouth any other parts of Telcordia.

Yes, Foreign Military Sales. I could not be happier to leave...

I have had absolutely great experiences with SAIC as a company, but some employees have been a pain (happens everywhere...). I wish I could say the same for LM, my experiences have led me to believe that the company is complete incompetent and a mess (at least in the area of work that I do, I'm sure other areas are fine)

Anyway, I will be going back to school full-time soon and doing something that I really enjoy instead of something I really hate

Back to "Dollar Day Sales" business.

I plan to have all the rest of the items sold by Friday next week (12 Aug 05). I will be putting out a bunch of classified ads starting next week. Eveything I have a buyer for I will ship all at once on Satuday, 13 Aug 05.

If I have no buyers for something (say the lowering kit or brand new 2000 SVT upper intake manifold or Aussie bar with reinforced subframe

), I will donate such item to the local goodwill and take the deduction.

I do want to let the roughly $2,700 in stuff I've already shipped reach it's new owners before placing more ads.

PLEASE do not PM me with your offer until you see an ad posted.

Sounds great. Can't wait to see whats available next.

You're the man JED.

<homer voice> SVT upper intake manifold

I know Honda created a robot. Do they own a bunch of the machine intelligent patents? Is it another Japanese company that may have a hand in car making?

Has anyone gotten close with the patents?

I just went back, you were looking for US patents, DOH!

Asimo does have a sort of learned response mechanism, but I don't think it's the same kind of thing they're programming."His" is like a see/do, whereas Jed's is more of an anticipation thing.

I think.

...But then again, I'm bad at math.

You people are makeing my head spin......

this is awesome...jed this a great thing youre doing

Did I miss the big sale?

I am a little late here to post, but Jim you are doing a great humanitary gesture here on CEG, and something that I am first to witness here on this site. Congrats on the generosity and may God bless you and your entire family.

XL

Originally posted by liquidX:
Congrats on the generosity and may God bless you and your entire family.

XL

INDEED!!!

jed, looking forward to MAYBE getting lucky on one of your adds.

Josh

AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!

Three guys post & the thread gets 50 views in a matter of minutes!

JED, you're being stalked!

yep

Originally posted by JEDsContour:
I plan to have all the rest of the items sold by Friday next week (12 Aug 05). I will be putting out a bunch of classified ads starting next week. Eveything I have a buyer for I will ship all at once on Satuday, 13 Aug 05.

Oh Man, I am way off my schedule with this! Truth is these â�?��?dollar day salesâ�?� take an awful lot of time to do properly, time thatâ�?��?�s hard for me to find recently.

If you are interested in this though, never fear. I am committed to leaving the hobby this way and it gives me a lot of pleasure to see these parts being used by true enthusiasts.

One thing is certain, I am not going to place the last 6 or 7 ads until I have time to deal with the PMâ�?��?�s I fear they will generate!

Iâ�?��?�m actually considering an alternative way of doing this: A lottery of sorts where each person enters with a list of the parts packages in the order that they would prefer winning, for example1 through 6 might be:

1. engine
2. exhaust
3. lowering
4. handling
5. steering
6. brakes

I would pick 6 winners randomly from the pool, filter out any blatant you-know-whats (I guess since I am getting respectable I shouldnâ�?��?�t say the word â�?��?ass-clownâ�?� anymore), and then match person to package as best I can from the priority lists.

This would obviously take a hell of a lot less time and reduce the kind of subjective decision making I had to do with the first three sales.

Outstanding problems to this method are who gets to enter and how to determine the amount of tickets for each entry.

A potential solution is:
Each Person who enters receives one ticket.
Additional tickets will be awarded or can be â�?��?purchasedâ�?� through CEG donations (obviously looking several weeks back).
Some fraction of the total tickets distributed this way is given to the moderators to distribute as they see fit (based on their knowledge of who contributes to CEG).

For example: If I have 200 entries and 20 additional tickets from CEG donations, I would take 20% of this and ask the moderators for names. This would result in a total of 264 tickets for the random 6 draws.

If I go this route, please donâ�?��?�t ask for ass-clown pre-screening! I you even suspect you have this problemâ�?�¦donâ�?��?�t enter the contest.

No timetable as yet.

Originally posted by JEDsContour:
A potential solution is:

Each Person who enters receives one ticket.

Additional tickets .... can be â�?��?purchasedâ�?� through CEG donations (obviously looking several weeks back).

I like it.

sounds like a much easier job to me as well

â�?��?Just when I thought that I was outâ�?�¦ they pull me back inâ�?�

Well... itâ�?��?�s not that often I am totally surprised anymore. I received an email last night followed by a very surprising (and pleasant) telephone conversation.

Seems there is a lurker on this board, someone who, completely without my knowledge, has been following my posts with great interest. Been doing it a while to, probably since my visit to his home last year.

Bottom line, I no longer own a Contour or any Contour parts. I sold the whole lot, including the car, for a dollar (and some very serious promises concerning grades and so forth).

It looks like the first car on my new lift this fall actually will be a certain low mileage (22K); super clean 1996 Ford Contour with 2.5L and ATX. Somebody is going to get an intensive introduction to just about every aspect of automotive maintenance, repair and improvement!

Iâ�?��?�ll post some details of this, but here is a hint. Imagine being 16 years old with a fresh learnerâ�?��?�s permit, dreaming about that first car... and finding out online that your uncle is planning to give you a car! Then watch as this uncle basically gives away a big pile of really neat modification and performance parts for that same car! The horror of it all!

I frankly donâ�?��?�t know if I could have stayed quiet for as long as my nephew did! He was obviously hard at work learning everything he could about Ford Contours.

The whole dollar sale thing was fun while it lasted â�?��?? and three CEGers for sure would agree with that!

Nephew, I know you are reading this. Never doubt my seriousness about grades and safe driving... I will see you later in VA!

JED, I'm sure if we traced our roots back to place of family origin that we are somehow related.... Now how 'bout that BAT setup?

Well congrats to the little guy anyway.

Originally posted by JEDsContour:
.... (and some very serious promises concerning grades and so forth)......

Nephew, I know you are reading this. Never doubt my seriousness about grades and safe driving...

Good for you Jed. And congratulations Jed's nephew. Welcome to Contour.org!

Now THAT is an excellent sale.

I hope you help your nephew learn to drive it safely and well, to boot. Get him into some advanced driver training once the car's done!

Maybe when your garage is done, some of us Virginians can work in a CEG visit.

Best sale yet! Congrats JED's-nephew

Originally posted by rkneeshaw3.0:
Best sale yet! Congrats JED's-nephew

hear hear!!!!

Congrats!

Ray

That's awesome for him. He is a sneaky sneaky little guy.

Get him on CEG for sure if he decides to mod the car later.

Congrats to him.

Well, it has been fun! JEDs antics have brought back my mod bug... So now instead of waiting for the BAT struts, I'll have to buy a set. That'll put my FSVT brakes & header purchases on hold for a short while. This episode of cyber history has been good for CEG, certainly.

So, let's see, a modded '96 minus headers, wheels/tires, and what was that 3rd thing? Bosal exhaust system? Deal for you, young man!

Ya spread the love, thanks Jim!

JimR

<whew!> Guess I can stop sucking up, now.

< stops watching the classifieds like a HAWK.

you are truly a good man, and tell your nephiew, if he doesn't respect this car and take good care of if we're going to take it away from him

im jealous

good luck

Congrats to the nephew! You are a good man Jed!

Originally posted by cruises8:
Congrats to the nephew! You are a good man Jed!

Originally posted by LUCA:

Originally posted by cruises8:
Congrats to the nephew! You are a good man Jed!

Sweet deal man, tell him to get that stuff put on and post some pics over here already!!!

Originally posted by LUCA:

Originally posted by cruises8:
Congrats to the nephew! You are a good man Jed!

congrats