Official GTPlanet Member of the Fortnight [Member of the Week]

Except I'm already known to be rude, thus it isn't out of the ordinary for me to be precisely that.

In your face. :P
 
This interview was way more easy going than I thought. No hell broke loose. Just W&N but bleh, like no one knew. I'll try to hook up in LOL with you some time, dude. I just need to install it lol.

I had to read this about 10 times before I finally realized it made sense and you were being serious.

Could be that I'm just really hung over though.
 
This week's inductee reviews cars for a living and is often called "Church Camp" by myself due to an incident that makes absolutely no sense, welcome homeforsummer to GTPlanet fame!

1. First and foremost, you're officially the Member of the Week so what were your thoughts going into this and how does it feel to be recognized amidst the hundreds of thousands of other members here?

It's about time! Oh wait, Cody's already done that one. Erm, well I certainly appreciate it, but do wonder if it means I spend too much time here...

2. What brought you to GTPlanet and what keeps you coming back?

I originally joined around the time GT5P came out. I was working at an electronics store at the time and had seen all the promo material for GT5P emerging, and was conveniently in a position to get a discount :lol: So I bought the game, and found GTP while searching for info. I think I'd been a previous lurker but decided to sign up.

As for what keeps me coming back, I'd say it's the sense of community. I've met several GTP members in "real life", as people like to call it, but there are plenty I haven't met in person who I'd feel perfectly comfortable hanging out with, thanks to GTP.

3. There's a lot to do around the forums so I have to ask: what sub-forums/threads do you frequent most often and why?

I'm frequently found in the Infield, but I do venture into the auto news and general cars sections, and when I'm feeling in the mood to argue with people I don't really know I'll also dip into the opinions forum. I'd say that I'm always right about everything, but Cody's already used that one too...

4. What was it that sparked your interest in Gran Turismo?

I got into the GT series with GT2. Well, watching GT1 really - myself and my brother got a PSX fairly late on, and one of my brother's friends had GT. So I watched them play that, and got GT2 on the day it came out. The selection of cars and tracks really grabbed me and I appreciated the semi-realistic handling too.

I still play GT2 very occasionally. The graphics are hard to stomach on an HD TV though, sadly.

5. How did you come up with the name "homeforsummer"?

It's the name of a song by Feeder, who most here will be aware have quite a connection with the GT series. Half a dozen or more of their songs have appeared in the soundtrack.

Anyway, it's an obscure B-Side from, I think, the Echo Park era *Checks google* Yes in fact, it was the B-Side to Seven Days In The Sun. It's a nice slow acoustic track and one I enjoyed playing guitar and singing to, as a bit of a music buff.

I've never felt the need to change it either.

6. Controversial question time: Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport or both?

Hmm. GT out of loyalty and experience I suppose - I've never owned a Microsoft console so my Forza experiences have been limited. However, I've considered it on several occasions as it seems a bit more "pick up and play". GT is at its best with the full wheel and pedals experience, and I don't got time fo dat these days.

7. For those that don't know you're an automotive blogger, what's that like?

Blogger? Pish! I'm a dyed in the wool journo now, doncha know! Though having seen the success of actual proper bloggers I'm inclined to think I've gone about things the wrong way...

But it's fun. People give me cars to drive, invite me on launches to drive other new cars, and I've met a hell of a lot of great people through it, including the odd well-known person. Did I tell you about the time I hung out with Red Dwarf's Robert Llewellyn for a few days?...

8. What was it that drew you toward the profession?

Cars. Been a car person since growing up. Always been fairly adept at writing too, and though I was heading towards the marketing side of the industry while I was at university, I couldn't pass up the chance of getting to drive the latest metal. It's a slow, poorly-paid process, but one worth pursuing.

9. Have you ever ended up being in the presence of a car you didn't want to give back?

Several times. And not always the obvious stuff either. One of the ones I warmed to most last year was the BRABUS version of the Smart Fortwo Convertible, for example. Was just hilarious fun. The Peugeot RCZ and Honda CR-Z were also hard to give back, because they're both stylish coupes and I like stylish coupes. The latest Miata was another one.

As for shorter-term stuff, where I've just been driving rather than holding onto it for a week, there's plenty. The new Ford Fiesta ST is staggeringly good and I'd quite happily drive one every day. I've driven and love pretty much all Jaguar-Land Rover's current range, but the XJ Supersport and RR Evoque both stand out the most. There are a few nice Lexus and Mercedes I wouldn't mind keeping either.

10. Aside from being a blogger, do you have any other joyous hobbies?

It sounds daft but I don't really have time for hobbies. I love going stargazing but that's a frustrating one in the UK where it's cloudy half the time. I play guitar, but far less than I used to. I'm an information sponge so I'll also happily spend loads of time reading about different things or watching the Discovery channel, most likely something physics or astronomy-related.

11. Given the opportunity, what would you do as a Moderator here?

Cry myself to sleep.

12. Are you driving anything special at the moment?

Sadly not. Right now, as in as I'm typing this, I have a base-spec Vauxhall Corsa on the driveway. And it's not even a press vehicle, it's a rental as I've got a gap between press cars!

I get my first Mercedes on week-loan next month though, which is nice.

13. Where and when was your very first post here and how does it differ from your posting style used today?

Here we go. April 4, 2008, in the GT5P subforum. Perhaps a few too many exclamation marks used but I suspect it's less embarrassing than some other first posts, mainly as I was already 23 when I joined up so past the age where I'm more likely to be an idiot.

It also appeared I lied, since I'd never owned the original GT at the time of posting...

14. How many of your controllers have died because of heavy physical abuse whilst playing a PS3 game?

Pleased to say absolutely zero. Partly because I rarely play on the PS3 any more, and partly because I stopped rage-quitting years ago. Though I never broke any PS2 or PSX controllers either. I'm a fairly calm person.

15. Have you ever accessed the website during an unusual time and/or place?

You mean apart from on the bog? Almost certainly. Pre- or post-coitus is quite likely, since we're blessed with infinite access to the internet via phones these days. Can you imagine doing that in the 90s? "Sorry dear, just need to fire up the IBM to check something...". She'd be asleep before the screeching of the modem stopped.

I've certainly used GTP when I should be working on numerous occasions. I've probably accessed it from Dubai too, since I used to visit my ex out there. But I'm not sure that's really unusual.

16. What's the longest you've gone without logging onto GTPlanet since joining: Years, months, weeks, days, hours?

Not sure. Would be surprised if it's longer than a week though.

17. Who (in your own opinion) is the most inspiring person / people here on GTPlanet ?

Hard to say. Several spring to mind for their resolve through some really tough personal struggles, but I won't mention their names just in case they were wanting to keep such things to the Infield. I'll name Shem though, because his Guinness World Record motorcycle trip attempt will be pretty awesome.

18. What's the funniest thing you can remember from all of your time being a member here?

Perhaps the funniest was at whichever UKGTP event Famine plied us all with home-made limoncello. It made us all drunk very quickly indeed and turned our normally-clean racing into an absolute destruction derby.

On the forum itself, not sure. There have been some funny-ass posts on occasion but right now, off the top of my head, I can't remember them.

Oh, apart from this one by Famine. It had me rolling around on the floor.

19. Have you ever participated in any of the racing series' found here?

I did, very briefly, participate in an MX-5 series on GT4, organised I think by RACECAR. But unfortunately, racing series drop once again into the "don't have time" category.

20. Yet another controversial question: What was your position on the "hybriding" in GT5?

I honestly couldn't give two-fifths of a toss. If people want to do it, let 'em, but if it gets them banned from PSN or something then it's their own stupid fault.

21. Have you ever considered developing your own racing series, and if you have where can we find it?

I think I tried, back in the day, but nobody bit. It was probably too boring. I quite like GT's slower cars but many don't.

22. Anything else you'd like to say?

No. So watch this video of a Lotus 49 around Circuit of the Americas instead:

 
Once again, a great read. I find these MOTW entries more interesting than most 'normal' threads here in the Rumble Strip.

Yay, thanks for the mention HFS, I do agree with the awesomeness (audacity, stupiness) of my WR attempt. :sly:

Good job T-12, same to you HFS. (What do you do in the winter?) ;)
 
Well deserved MOTW.
Enjoyed the read and can't wait for next weeks interview.
 
Good read HFS 👍 I like that your username has come from a Feeder song, surprised I didn't twig on that earlier!
 
Congrats HFS! Aother highly deserving member. 👍

13. Where and when was your very first post here and how does it differ from your posting style used today?

Here we go. April 4, 2008, in the GT5P subforum. Perhaps a few too many exclamation marks used but I suspect it's less embarrassing than some other first posts, mainly as I was already 23 when I joined up so past the age where I'm more likely to be an idiot.

It also appeared I lied, since I'd never owned the original GT at the time of posting...

BAN HIM! :mischievous:
 
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