I'm sure you guys have noticed I haven't been around much lately (read "much" as "at all"). Life has gotten in the way, and priorities have changed. Some of you may be aware that I've been acting as live-in caregiver to my aged mother for the last three years, who's suffering dementia (weird thing about dementia is it's actually everyone else who suffers from it... the person with the condition remains blissfully unaware) as well as holding down a full time job. On top of this I've recently become engaged (yay!) to someone in another country (oh...) and that's been taking up what little free time I have left. The bike's been rather neglected of late, in fact I've only ridden it twice in the last six months. My RC planes are also somewhat neglected with my latest remaining 99% complete for about a year now and my club membership having lapsed. Bills are mounting up with regular international travel and I've been trying to get myself into a financial position where I can buy a couple of investment properties with an eye toward early retirement (before 50 would be nice). My plan, for anyone interested, is to get a pilot's licence, buy a seaplane, and retire to the Philippines where I'll drink beer, sit on the beach, look at tiny little brown girls in bikinis, and run a small inter-island air taxi service for tourists. There's 7107 islands in the Philippines and only one other seaplane service that I've found, so I shouldn't be short of destinations.

The upshot of all of this is I've decided it's time to sell the bike, as much as I love it, to fund some short term goals like applying for a visa for my fiance and getting deposits together for investment properties. I'm not giving up riding per se, just taking a hiatus while I reach for new horizons, so to speak. The lack of personal time means I'm no longer able to fill my responsibilities as a moderator here so I'll take the opportunity to bow out gracefully. It's been fun, and I'll maintain my membership here to keep up with the news, and help out with any electronics related queries. My website will also remain online for those who use it.

I'd like to thank you all for the friendship and comeraderie you've shown me. It's been a fun ride, and I'm sure there'll be more in the future, possibly with a slightly more tropical flavour.

Matt Electronic mods for TBA/SM!