PDA

View Full Version : Greetings from an old forum member...



Vegeta_AO
08-12-2006, 12:59 AM
Hello AO, good to see you all. My name is Mike Eckert, and I used to be a very active member on this board many years ago, before the days of AGD ownership even. My handle on the board was "Vegeta", but I could not log in using that name so I made a new account to say hello.

I haven't been around in a long time, and so I do not even know if there are people around that remember me. I sure hope so, though. The boards used to be a bluish color, then went to the gray for a long time after the folks at AGD started to hang around, but now the look has changed again as it seems.

I used to be a automag newb on here, until I bought my first 68 mag. I couldn't tell you how long ago this was but I am guessing about 6 years or so.. maybe I am off. I can remember chatting on the IRC chat, and talking with online friends. Names I can remember are CPhilip, Army, Sara, SHartley, RobAGD, Miscue, and I'm sure I would recognize many many others if I saw the names.

I remember now how great of a board this was and how nice the people were, also in the chat. I remember I had a very slow computer (it was something like 300mhz) and the times were changing so I needed some new hardware but had no money for it. A forum moderator named Miscue was so kind that he boxed up a pretty much new condition Gigabyte motherboard (a very very nice one) and an AMD athlon 2000+ and shipped it to me from Nevada to Missouri, for free. I offered to at least give him something but he refused. I went on to use the computer made from those parts to do so much.

I also remember Tunaman, who I helped start up his website. A great guy who sent me several tidbit parts for me to toy with.

I haven't read the boards at all so I really hope people that were around are still around. I would love to exchange words to see what everyone is up to. The reason I fell away from here I guess was my weening paintball time combined with the fact that I formatted my harddrive and afterwards lost the cookie that had my saved password. I couldn't remember it and I could never, and still can't, login to the IRC chat anymore (is it still alive?). For a whole host of coincidences with old emails long gone and connection problem I got seperated from AO, and then slowly forgot about it. But not totally.

As far as I am know, I still have all of my paintball gear, including the original 68 Mag and in addition, a newer spyder Imagine that I traded some things for. I have never used it, as I got out of paintball about 3 years ago. I haven't played but maybe one game since then. Sad, but money had to goto other things.

I am writing this as I am moving tomorrow morning. I am going to be attending the University of Missouri Rolla. I guess I am just trying to catch up to old online groups I belonged to as this is sort of the turning point in my life. AO was the best of any group I was ever apart of online.

As far as where the money went from paintball, if any remember I was into web design and graphic arts as a hobby, and I think I even kept the pages on the AO server for a STL meet once. Well, that hobby became a small career in which I made a nice sum of money working online and at an art studio doing graphics work. But paintball for me was already winding down. So what did it go to? Well, I now own a '87 Porsche sportscar and spend my freetime with others of the same hobby. There is something similar between German engineering and AGD markers. Maybe that is what I saw in them all those years ago.

Well I was know to be long winded then and I am now. I will wrap this up, but if anyone out there remembers Vegeta, I'm back saying hello. I can't stay long, as I know nothing about paintball as far as today's markers and action goes, but I will check this thread if anyone wants to leave me a message. Or if SHartley wants to argue with me about something. Plus I still need to thank Miscue again for sending me those computer parts, I hope his Acura is running nicely.

Best wishes,
Mike Eckert, AKA Vegeta.
schumiistweltmeister@gmail.com

SPECK
08-12-2006, 01:13 AM
That's a great story.

That is neat that you helped start Tuna's website too.

:cheers:

Arstron
08-12-2006, 08:20 AM
Vegetta sounds very familiar, I am not sure if I played against somone with the same name online a long time ago, or if I rember you from these forums. My name on these forums (atleast durring the time you are talking about) would have been "mofo" or some form of that (my dads race team from the early 90's was called mofo "more fun").

Anyway, when we get the next AO:MO setup, you should try and come out to it, if you have no equipment there will be plenty there for you to borrow. :D

Rudz
08-12-2006, 09:01 AM
The name is familiar, I've heard it from somebody somewhere, in facr might have been mentioned on tunas site if I remember right, tuna is a great dealer, shartley is still around, on here and mcb, army is a mod now, nice to see you back.

NewbieMagMan10988
08-12-2006, 10:21 AM
. Names I can remember are CPhilip, Army, Sara, SHartley, RobAGD, Miscue, and I'm sure I would recognize many many others if I saw the names.

CPhilip, Miscue, and Army are now mods (I think). I have seen RobAGD around somewhere, as with Shartly, mostly on MCarterbrown.com. Sara is new to me....


Its good to see you back, i remeber doing the chat right when i got this account, it ws great fun....



:cheers: to AO!



Mike

Vegeta_AO
08-12-2006, 11:10 AM
Sara was Army's daughter if I remember correctly....

It's funny how much I can remember now that I think about it.

paint magnet
08-12-2006, 11:45 AM
Sara was Army's daughter. Cphillip used to be a mod but most recently posted under the username "UnkaPhil" or something like that...don't know if he still has the mod status or not. Haven't heard anything from him in a while.

As you probably know, Tom is regretfully no longer president of AGD but still posts here on the message boards under his old name.

As for myself, I think I remember you from waaaaay back in the day when I first joined. Good to have you back (or at least hear from you again) :)

Vegeta_AO
08-12-2006, 12:34 PM
thanks PM.

I did not know that Tom is not the president of AGD anymore. That must have happened after I left. Nice to hear he is still around. I used to talk to him on the chat every know and then.

magman007
08-12-2006, 12:37 PM
HOLY CRAP. Welcome back man.

Wil
08-12-2006, 02:03 PM
Might want to check this out: http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?t=200524

Vegeta_AO
08-12-2006, 02:36 PM
Hey magman! I remember you too!

Wow, this is getting to be like opening some sort of time capsule.

Wil- I didn't bring any PB equipment with me here to college, allthough I am moved in now in the R.C. I see you guys have some players there, I may have to take a trip back home before next semester and pickup some gear. It has been so long since I have played.

68magOwner
08-12-2006, 02:44 PM
hrm, handle seems familiar

MicroMiniMe
08-12-2006, 03:56 PM
If your going to be in Rolla, MO, you might as well look up Coolhand here if you want to shoot some paintball talk. He runs a machine shop and is a nice fellow.

Chronobreak
08-12-2006, 04:39 PM
veggie, where in MO you live?

you should keep an eye on the meet and greet, well be having another AO-MO meet here soon(2-3 months)

ZEROte
08-12-2006, 04:41 PM
hi my name is zerote, i remember you vegeta i used to be called wc keep. i used to play on a team with a bunch of people like dayspring and riotz and the likes. i dont know if anyone remembers that team much....

Vegeta_AO
08-12-2006, 11:06 PM
ZEROte- yep, I remember that team. I chatted with Dayspring all the time on IRC.

As of today I am now located in Rolla, MO. Finally all moved in.

bentothejam1n
08-12-2006, 11:18 PM
how far away is rolla from kansas city?? And do you have any relatives in kansas city specifically the lenexa/shawnee area?

Vegeta_AO
08-12-2006, 11:32 PM
I wouldn't even know how to approach KC from Rolla. I know that from around where I used to live in Farmington MO, to travel to KC took about 5 hours. Rolla is right in the middle of the ozarks and to get to KC you would either have to travel to STL via 44 (Rolla is on 44) and take 70 out of STL to KC, or take some letter/small highways up to 70 to get there.

bentothejam1n
08-13-2006, 12:21 AM
gotcha
so do you have any relatives in the kc area?

Jonno06
08-13-2006, 01:55 AM
no one ever remembers me:(





except maybe, "jonno....the post whore?","yea, thats him"


haha.




welcome back man. :cheers:

Arstron
08-13-2006, 09:55 AM
I wouldn't even know how to approach KC from Rolla. I know that from around where I used to live in Farmington MO, to travel to KC took about 5 hours. Rolla is right in the middle of the ozarks and to get to KC you would either have to travel to STL via 44 (Rolla is on 44) and take 70 out of STL to KC, or take some letter/small highways up to 70 to get there.

Farmington huh? I live around a 100 miles south of there at the "Home of the throwed rolls" (sikeston). I cant rember now if it was farmington (i belive it was) or fredricktown that had the old kart track a few years ago, but I was at one of them a few times for that. :dance:

Vegeta_AO
08-13-2006, 10:03 AM
Jonno, yea, post whore. :)

Fredricktown had a karting track. probably not anymore though.

I have no reletives in the KC area, :(

I lived north of farmington about 15 minutes (Bonne Terre). South St. Louis county was about a 45 minute drive.

Army
08-13-2006, 12:51 PM
Heya Veggie-poo! Good to see you again.

Just to update you: Tom sold all factory stock to his former XO Dave, and stepped down as President of AGD, which post Dave assumed. Tom still owns AGD and Perfect Circle, but now spends much more time on his Astronomy projects, bone collecting ventures, and un-interupted with his family....and no longer has the paintball industry headache. He still makes it to serious scenarios though, the next being Shatnerball in California (the evolved SPPLAT). Evil semi-sorta-kinda confirmed rumors has Tom working on a new gun design...but there has been NO confirmation in any form. If you remember the big telescope lens being ground to shape in the back room, it's done. Tom has also contributed a display at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago (http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/), that lets YOU create a crater on the moon, using a slightly modified AIR valve and empty PC shells at high velocity into a very fine dust. Perfect actual impact craters are formed in the same manner as nature.

Phil is still playing some paintball, but has discovered Vespa scooters and their collectable status, along with the fun in riding them. He has become as serious an authority on them as he was/is on paintball. For personal reasons, he has ended his Mod status but continues to post as UnkaPhil.

We have a new Mod in England, MarkM, who keeps us updated on the Euro-paintball scene, and has a hard time understanding American humor :rofl: (Monty Python shot there :) )

Miscue, 'Tato, RobAGD, Tunaman, LoadSM5 and myself are still here. BlackVCG had been very busy with school, but still keeps his hand in here. NeroBro was made Chat Room Mod, and contributes to AO whenever he isn't wrecking his motorcycle (got busted up pretty bad, he's OK now). Speaking of bike wrecks, Z-man found a deep surprise washout while dirt riding, and busted his legs badly. Unfortunately, he didn't land on his head which would have saved him any injuries :D ...his spirits are way up though, and he's doing fine. I took a year off (as have many AO members) to tour the lovely semi-desert hinterlands of the northwest Tigris Valley in Iraq (OIF-2). Dodged a few, ducked many, and came home OK.

Jon Comprado has left AGD to put his college time to good use, and has been spotted still driving the AGD Cougar.

Tunaman has his own Automag custom service center, TunaMart (www.tunamart.com), and as far as I know, has never received a complaint.

So, now you are somewhat updated on AO and AGD

shartley
08-13-2006, 03:04 PM
Well hello again. Yes I am still around, but just drop in from time to time. I frequent other forums but can still be contacted easily enough.

Good to see things are going well for you.

Smoken
08-13-2006, 04:17 PM
What up?

Your name is familiar to me. I am just returning myself after hearing about Shatnerball from a friend.

Vegeta_AO
08-13-2006, 11:25 PM
Nice to see you Army and SHartley.

Wow, Things have changed a bit. It's nice to hear Tom is doing what he loves. I remember him talking astronomy and dinosaur bones all that time ago....

It is funny, I can recall how when I was younger on this board I always loved the tinker forums where we talked about marker designs and I did my share of quikie MS Paint drawings with the internals. Now this week I am starting my major as a Mechanical Engineer. Only instead of paintball guns I hope to be working on race cars (Porsche in Stuttgart is my main goal, also Formula 1 is in mind.) Nothing thrills me more than speed.

The party scene is already cooking down here as UMR is one of the top party schools in the midwest. Of course, it is also one of the top engineering schools in the nation, so I believe I took the right choice. Alternate mindsets are already common on weekends though. And the upperclassmen don't move in till next weekend.... :-/

Hopefully I will stay around a bit and keep in touch. I hope to try to get back into the chat room and meet with some more old friends.

I hope this post makes good sense, it's late here... or something like that. LOL.