Shocking Little Head Turner

"Speed" (raggedrides) 07/22/2020 at 10:43 • Filed to: None

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It’s amazing what happens when you type in random keyword, such as Scam p (like the fiberglass campers) and set your radius for 500 miles. The other things that pop up are sometimes more interesting than what you’re actually looking for.

Here’s the Facebook link for those who can access it.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > Speed 07/22/2020 at 10:54

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I’d put a Volt battery pack in it, upgrade the motor/controller , and add wheelie bars.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Speed 07/22/2020 at 10:55

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Isn’t there an Oppo who has one of these? I remember it being orange and the user not having been active for years.

ranwhenparked > Speed 07/22/2020 at 11:18

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Is it me, or does it seem like almost every electric car company of the 1970s and 1980s appeared to be started for the purpose of making electric cars seem as unappealing and undesirable as possible? Almost as if they were secretly backed by oil companies, or something. There's a similar urban legend/conspiracy theory around the Truth commercials, that they're done to provoke the opposite response and make people double down on smoking out of spite. 

Speed > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 07/22/2020 at 12:18

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I’ll have to dig around. You think Torch would buy it?

Speed > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: 07/22/2020 at 12:19

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My man. Have you seen the Tesla powered, old school Accord with the Volt pack?

fintail > Speed 07/22/2020 at 12:22

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Fond memory, my recently departed aunt won one of these in a shopping mall raffle around 1981.  I recall it being a yellow/orange color, and I got to go for a ride in it before she sold it (as she had no real interest in keeping it) - as a little kid, I was of course quite impressed by the form factor alone.  

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Speed 07/22/2020 at 12:27

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I think you should send it to him. It’d be cool to benchmark it against that Chinese EV he bought.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > Speed 07/22/2020 at 13:12

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Don’t believe that I have. Vol t packs are highly coveted in the diy community though. I'd strip one down for my bike if I could find one locally for a reasonable price.

Speed > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: 07/22/2020 at 14:08

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I’m not sure what he’s done by now, but here’s an article from Jalopnik that’s a couple years old.

https://jalopnik.com/this-glorious-madman-stuffed-a-p85-tesla-drivetrain-int-1823461909

Speed > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 07/22/2020 at 14:13

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Consider it done. Worst case scenario he can talk Tracy into scooping it up since it’s in Michigan.

Speed > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 07/22/2020 at 14:14

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I’m not sure; haven’t seen one around here. Someone with more disposable income than me needs to pick this sucker up and share it with us. 

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Speed 07/22/2020 at 14:14

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Good.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Speed 07/23/2020 at 05:33

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Tesla swap

Stef Schrader > Speed 07/25/2020 at 04:02

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I love these so much!

Stef Schrader > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 07/25/2020 at 04:07

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Was it Jonee? I don’t think he had one, but he probably posted about it.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Stef Schrader 07/26/2020 at 09:20

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I honestly cannot remember. They had a number of eclectic cars. 

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Speed 08/18/2020 at 14:30

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Replying here with my (painfully out of date) online portfolio:

http://davidlange.co/

Speed > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 08/18/2020 at 16:02

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Hey thanks for sharing. I really need to get myself together and put a portfolio online, but the tediousness of putting a website together drives me nuts every time I begin. Are you freelancing or do you work for an agency?

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Speed 08/18/2020 at 16:09

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I freelance on the side. My day job is in mapping & software support for a small oil & gas company.

Speed > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 08/20/2020 at 09:06

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Wow that’s cool. I’m assuming you were into the mapping and software first. I’ve grown tired of what I do and have been looking into different areas where graphic design can be applied such as UI, architectural concepts, mapping, ect. Very cool though! Thanks for sharing.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Speed 08/20/2020 at 09:42

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Mine’s been a very weird path... Took drafting in HS, liked the idea of architecture, but grew up poor and wanted a more “sure thing”. Started in civil engineering (including surveying & AutoCAD) , stuck with it 3 years before admitting it was the wrong path, spent another year at the same school, basically undecided. Transferred to another school, started off in art, still thinking I’d eventually make it to architecture, but then they added a graphic design program. Loved it, was perfect for me, got my BFA . Moved to a bigger city, but had no luck getting a good design job. Ended up at a sign shop... Did that for over a year, hating it. Just happened my next door neighbor was a geologist, knew I did computer graphics and didn’t like my job. Told me to come and interview for an opening at his company. Got the job, learned fast, took a lot of industry training classes and eventually went back for a post-grad certificate in GIS (Penn State online). I’ve been laid off a couple times due to asset sales & office closures, but the job I have now can best be described as “winning the employment lottery”. Have kept my design chops by taking on occasional side work. Can’t imagine being more fortunate than I have been.

I’d definitely consider training yourself in GIS. It’s a great tool to have in your “toolbox”. I’ve thought about getting into UI/UX as well - I have a natural ability to see what’s working well/poorly and how it could be improved (my civil engineering mind is always seeing these in traffic design...).

Speed > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 08/20/2020 at 10:29

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Wow, a winding path indeed. I seriously considered drafting and CAD in high school, but was a stoner with better things to do, so I took whatever was easiest and skipped enough school to get kicked out.

I wanted to join the Airforce, but was told I’d at least need a GED and that a few college credits wouldn’t hurt since getting kicked out was not a good look. I took the GED through my local community college and nailed it, not knowing there was an incentive where half your first year’s tuition would be paid for if you scored in the 9x percentile. I had plenty money from work so I took some classes and just paid the rest out of pocket.

Continuing my stoner ways, I bombed a couple classes, needed a kick in the ass and moved from Mississippi to PA after meeting a girl, applying for a college, finding work and finding an apartment up there. Once at the university, I pursued Business after realizing they had no Political Science major (thank God! That was just a phase). Business absolutely put me to sleep. I’ve always been artistic and passion driven; this wasn’t for me.

I flipped through some brochures looking at majors and ran across Mass Communications. I had no idea what that meant. I was thinking fiber optics, telecom or something literal. Nope! Video, radio, writing, graphics! My stuff! I switched majors and absolutely loved every bit of it, especially graphic design and writing.

My first job in my field out of college was at an outsourcing agency doing advertisements for newspapers across the country. In a few months a made it to lead artist and was running advertisements for a half dozen papers, including the Philadelphia Inquirer (that was the one I bragged about).

I left there for a position at a small advertising agency where I got to broaden my portfolio out to billboards, graphics for TV commercials, corporate spec work (we had an Audi & Porsche dealership as a client), and a monthly clipper type magazine. I liked the place, but the owner had a falling out with a bunch of clients, we lost accounts and I got laid off.

My parents own a small racing business and asked if I wanted to come down and check it out. I’m a gearhead, so naturally I went down for awhile to check it out. I loved it, but they weren’t ready to actually hire anyone so back to pounding the pavement I went after relocating permanently to Kentucky.

I worked at a sign shop and learned a ton, but business wasn’t quite enough for an extra employee and eventually I couldn’t afford to live on the limited hours. I worked at the public library for awhile and loved it, especially working with the kids, but making $8 or so an hour wasn’t cutting it. I went from there to running a printer operation at a pretty sizeable screen printing company. I burned out after 6 months doing that. I wasn’t part of the design process or graphics department; I just ran two giant printers and managed packaging and shipping out all promotional materials for the business.

From there I went back to working for my parents. I absolutely felt I was living the dream. One day I’m at the dyno working on a twin turbo 496, the next I’m installing a tubular suspension and coilover conversion on a Cutlass, then wrapping up the week with some graphics, web work and social media promotions. Dug it, but working for and renting from family is trying a lot of tense strings together. Add in being severely underpaid and it was time to look elsewhere.

From there I landed work at a good size grocery distributor doing anything and everything they need from a graphics standpoint. We supply about 250 independent retailers so I’m constantly busy with base ads, banners, flyers, tags, ect ect. The pay is decent for the area, it’s COVID proof and I couldn’t ask for a better boss, but my heart’s not in it, my commute is nearly an hour each way and I haven’t been able to get a raise in 2 years. It’s stagnant and I see very little runway for upward mobility. It’s time for a change.

You have indeed been blessed with the way your path has wound up. What are the odds!? Everything you had done up to that point had actually molded you into an ideal candidate for the position that your neighbor just so happened to nudge you into. It’s really great hearing how people fell into these unconventional positions because it helps one broaden their own approach and seek out those niches that may need to be filled.

I’ve kicked myself more than a few times for not going into some sort of engineering field. I’ve always been mechanical and analytical anyway. I’ve always worked on and built things, figured my ways around problems and have a knack for out of the box solutions. Instead, I followed my talent for art. Now that I’ve a few years into my 30s, it’s weird that I’m still not sure where I want to be and honestly feel less certain than I was in my 20's. The difference now is I’m coming at it from a completely different perspective.

If someone wanted to peek into the type of field you’re in, what sort of positions would I look for? What sort of companies are out there? I miss school (but have far too much student loan debt to return on my own dime!) and would chomp at the bit to work for a company willing to finance my education if it applied to the job.

Sorry for the book! I truly appreciate you sharing your own path.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Speed 08/20/2020 at 11:01

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Wow - I would’ve loved to have some of the experiences you’ve had along the way! I don’t think it’s weird to be uncertain of your path in your 30s; honestly I think it’s pretty normal for creative/analytical/ inquisitive people like us. I’m in my 40s, and as sweet as a gig that I have now, I don’t really have a love for the work I do (I’m good at it, it comes naturally to me, it’s generally low stress, and it pay ridiculously well, so...). I don’t see myself doing this work in my 50s, so I’m always considering what my second career will be.

As for engineering, I wonder if I’d have stayed with it if I’d started in mechanical engineering. I wish my dad or brothers had know more of that stuff and passed some on to me; I’ve thought about taking a automotive repair course with my son at the local community college once he’s a little older, just so I’d increase my limited knowledge & ability and he’d have a leg up.

With your background, I think you could pretty easily teach yourself ArcMap, but it would be good to get some formal instruction, too (to better understand the database side of things, map datum & projections, best practices, etc.). Definitely worth downloading this and starting to play with it: https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-for-personal-use/overview There’s tons of federal & state data available to play with. Just pick a dataset that sounds interesting, and go to town (can’t wait for the new batch of census data to come out).

Once you’ve gotten up to speed, you’d be looking for an entry-level GIS analyst job. If you could prove to a company you know your stuff with a portfolio of your work, and documentation of the books/online training you’ve complete , they may give you a shot and be willing to pay to get you some kind of certification (but those with a GISP or formal education will have a leg up, of course ). Everything these days has a location component to it, if you think of it. Tech (Google, Uber/Lyft, all types of small start-ups), military applications, governmental orgs - city/state/federal, energy companies (oil & gas, wind, solar)...

I think, for you, finding a small employer that has a need for a designer AND someone capable of making maps c ould be the ideal fit, as they could get a 2-for-1 by hiring you. Plenty of designers have the artistic side, but don’t have the technical chops to make a database work well. Having both (and a gift for understanding software, and the ability to make it do what I want ) has gotten me where I am. It sounds like your brain is similar to mine, so finding a role where you can leverage both sides of your brain will make you incredibly valuable to a company, and hopefully be very rewarding as well.