I grew up with the attitude that it was possible to be a jack of all trades and a master of most. I've been able to achieve this goal with most things that interest me, but after the birth of my two boys, I decided that I'd rather not spend 8-10 hours after the typical work day engrossed in my projects. In hind sight, this was a major killer to anything called a social life.
My day job is working for a major technology manufacture solving communication network related problems. Prior to that I was a consultant's consultant for about 16 years. Basically, I solved the types of technical problems that other professionals had given up trying to solve. Beyond that, I enjoy metal work, fabrication, diesel tuning, home improvement and spending time with my wife of 10 years and our 4 and 5 year old boys. In my line of work, anything I can get my hands into is a way to relieve stress. So, I’ve got no shortage of hobbies.
My introduction into looking for better economy was when I commuted 250 miles between work and spending time with my GF, now wife. Making the trip in a 4x4 Dodge Dakota at 12MPG prompted me to ditch it in favor of a VW TDI Beetle, which brought me up to a solid 35+ MPG with as much pedal punishment as I could muster. After my lease was up, the diesel bug stuck and I’ve been dreaming of ways to put it to use.
On top of that my dad introduced me to wrenching on British race cars back in the 70s and I spent my teenage years playing with Buick GNs, and in my adult years, almost everything I own is now a diesel 4x4.
As you can tell from this post and most of my others, I don't mind brain dumping.