[tweakmonkey]

Take a deep breath, and count to 3... 2... 1...

Tweak3D is not closing down. I have no intention to ever close this site, and will never hand over the keys to anyone who's not ready to keep it afloat and healthy. Speaking of which, anyone want to borrow the keys for a while?

I've just been given the most amazing opportunity. Seriously, if I was to write down the best job I could ever imagine a year ago, it would've been this exact job in this exact city with these exact people. I know, it sounds crazy, but it's true!

So no, Tweak3D was not my dream job. In fact, for the past several years, I've become increasingly depressed about my career. Don't get me wrong. I don't dislike Tweak3D and I love what it's become. I'm extremely proud of the site and enjoy reading about the wacky adventures of all of the other members. I show off my Tweak3D shirt everywhere I go and make sure to brag about it to anyone I meet. It's made me the person I am today, and without it, I would've probably worked countless terrible jobs that would make me despise living on this planet.

Why would I say that then? There are hundreds of reasons which have slowly crept up but the most common themes which made me want to find something else are:
1) Technology is not my biggest passion, interest, or hobby. In fact, it's something I've never felt extremely passionate about; it was more just something I was good at and as a teenager/young-adult, I assumed it was what I wanted to do (hence a CS major in college) and it always paid the bills so I never ventured outside the circle.
2) I need something more challenging. I know I could contract out the work and make Tweak3D amazing. I know I could invest the time and effort to make the site packed full of articles. But I've done that so many times in the past that it's just not difficult anymore. The creative well dried up years ago.
3) It's very lonely. I work at home in a small town. I have a hard time meeting people because my time is spent sitting behind a computer. My personality type is usually incompatible with other web types and I have a hard time finding friends with that common interest.

So what's this dream job?
I'd love to say everything, but it's just too early for me to go into details. With time I'll gladly post pictures of my workspace, office, co-workers, and all that. But for now, I better summarize with:

- The job will be tuning and upgrading 996 and 997 Porsches (1999-2008+), mostly twin turbo and GT3 models. I'll be upgrading some cars to 700+ horsepower. Think like RUF (for the Gran Turismo fans), but in the United States. I'll be covering track events, and learning how to operate high-quality cameras by the best people in the industry. I'll be constantly surrounded by the fastest and most cutting edge exotic cars and all the local race tracks from Laguna Seca to Thunder Hill.

- I'll be moving to the Bay Area, my favoritest place on Earth. The weather is perfect, the surroundings are great, and the girls are hot. The beach is 30 miles away, SF 30 miles away, my friends in Bakersfield and LA only a bit further... there are tons of trails, mountains, and parks for me to explore, and of course, it's the hub of all technology. Hell, as I'm writing this from a friend's couch, I'm about 4 miles from Google, 5 from NVIDIA, 10 from Apple, and so-on... Ethernet, the mouse, the GUI... the personal computer, even 3dfx, were all created within walking distance of this couch.

- I'll be going to work with two lifelong friends and a third newly-met-but-very-cool-dude. The people here are some of the warmest and best friends I've ever had, and there are so many that I barely have the time to see them all! They are the most brilliant and talented people I've met in my life and are in the top 1% of the top 1% in each of their own industries. I've got three tutors: an accomplished businessman who ran a web site that was 20x the size of Tweak3D in its prime, the busiest/most cutting edge Porsche mechanic on this continent, and a former-executive-trained VP who's done everything from make video games to produce broadcast TV to create independent films. In fact, I'm the least accomplished/educated/youngest guy in the group -- I'll have to SPRINT just to keep up with their walking pace!

I know I'm going to learn so much this coming year. I can barely take the anticipation! I have never been this excited in my life, so please please don't hate me for this decision.

What does this mean for Tweak3D?
Currently, it does not mean much really! As long as the bills are paid for the server and I check the forums from time to time, things will be the same as they have been for years. Chapel, J0k3r, ivwshane, Lord Kain, Daveyiv, and James K have been doing a great job keeping the site secure, organized and spam-free. I actually do only a small portion of the 'work' around here.

I'm betting the site will continue to grow and develop, and as I become less available, I'll gladly shift control over to those that can make the biggest differences. I'll post neat car stuff and pictures/video of my adventures so everyone can see what I'm up to. Also, I will have IM, my own computer at work, and all that. I will have plenty of time to still make updates to the site, and may even have more time to write articles. I'm sure I'll be much more inspired by both my environment (think of all the cool shit I can see around here!) and brilliant co-workers.

I was debating on a good time to post this thread, but I'm just having such an amazing week that I felt this was the best time to share this news with everyone. I'm still visiting San Jose for another week to fine tune everything before I plan my move, but I hope to be moved here completely by April 30th. Wish me luck.

[Torx]

yea a deep breath is right. but an even bigger for you after reading about this tuning career youre getting into.

first off, congrats on this huge fucking step. HUGE.

are you hinting at selling t3d? After this career change, you probably wont have any time to really monitor and make additions like in the past

[randomtask]

wow, well good luck, sounds neat!

so no need for another .org revolution

[Torx]

i wanna buy this website, how much is it going to cost me?

[tweakmonkey]

Originally Posted by Torx

yea a deep breath is right. but an even bigger for you after reading about this tuning career youre getting into.

first off, congrats on this huge fucking step. HUGE.

Thanks man. I know, it's big! I'm flipping out, it all seems like a dream still. Each morning I wake up I have to make sure it's all still real.

are you hinting at selling t3d? After this career change, you probably wont have any time to really monitor and make additions like in the past.

No, I was hinting more at the idea of having someone (or someones) run things and let me help when I can, rather than selling it outright. I don't care about the money, but I'd be worried about who would take it over, and could never sell out to someone that would close the community and make the site worse, in any way.

Nobody's taking control of anything unless they'll do as good of a job a I would (although I'd really prefer to sell it to someone that would do better job, as I've slacked for so long, which is why traffic and content are not where they could be).

I'll have my time-after-work and weekends, but yeah, I'll be very busy. I don't know what kind of hours I'll be working yet, and won't for another month. There's a lot of time to discuss things still.

[j0k3r]

Congratulations, that sounds awesome. My dad worked on Porsches when he got out of the Navy and he loved it.

[-Sevendust-]

Wow, thats great to hear. Congrats.

[MSP]

Tuning Porches? That's like getting a job as the house gynecologist at the Playboy mansion! Congrats.

[mistawiskas]

Porches....WOW! Go gettem'. What's even better? They're california Porches
The best of wishes for your success in this endeavor. sounds like a golden oportunity. You'll really be missed in any and all absences that may result from playing for a living. Just think how close you are going to be to the Redwoods now!

[smirnoff]

Holy cow. That IS a sweet job. Congrats!

[jake]

Good work Dan. Sounds like your really excited, I can hardly blame you it sounds like an amazing experience.

[Juballharshaw]

Now you can have a revamp of s2nd.com with a personal editor's section.

Congrats are definitely in order and we are going to expect updates with awesome pictures, videos, and links.

Oh and a T3D meet day at the tracks wouldn't hurt either.

[Lord Kain]

Wow! That's uber great Dan! I feel very happy for you. Especially since you love meddling with cars.

I hope you'll still release your work on the T3D relaunch though! It would be a shame if it went to oblivion. T3D as a side project, as a hobby, will probably more pleasant for you.

[Coleman]

You.... asshole...

[Chainblade]

where in Bellingham is this anyways? that's pretty sweet. I wish I still lived in Bellingham. It's a sweet area. But, it's hard to get a great job up there so I'm stuck here. I'm sure you'll be making some good money too! congrats!

[ivwshane]

Sweet!

So does that mean I can hit you up for some Porsche motors when I finally fix up my ghia?


Where exactly in the bay area?

[sims]

Rinspeed?!

Gemballa?!

techart?!

Fill us in you bastard! oh and congratulations!!!

if you guys need a helping hand out their I know I nice, young, talented Canadian who understands an appreciates the appeal of AWD turbocharged cars :P plus I can probably get a house in the bay area for cheaper then in Canada these days and I know some badass fabricators in the bay area, I just had a custom intercooler made for me by one of them.

the automotive scene in the bay area is huge, you're going to have such a good time out their. I'm not jealous of many people these days, but you are now one of them.

[Chair]

good to hear man... my gf's brother sells porches and I've heard all kinds of crazy fun shit :P

[tweakmonkey]

Thanks for all the kind words.

I've been in the shop 996 Turbo pushing around 800 HP already. Talk about a fun clutch to handle! haha... Also, their 3.8 GT3 RS has the craziest exhaust sound ever. I love GT3s... the thing just sticks to the road like glue. I haven't been in the Cayman yet, but I hear it rides like it's on rails.

Wiskas, don't forget about Yosemite!

Chainblade, I'd be moving to San Jose and leaving Bellingham.

Sims, the tuner is only a small company so far, but they are doing great things. Mostly it's installing and working with those parts (especially Evolution MS, Techart, and Tubi). They are already really busy and have a lot of great customers, so I'll be uber busy when I first start.

I'd probably be living in South San Jose, but working in the East bay. More info to come later.

[sims]

once they start to expand, you need to hook a T3D brother up!

:P