I have been meaning to post this for a long time but I think that you should know the depth and history of the Bradley Forum. I have been a member since 7/17/04. It is an extremely friendly and helpful forum with many extremely knowledgeable people posting. Occasionally there is a squabble but those are rare. This board has regional smoke outs, Christmas exchanges and Iron Chef Competitions. Many people have anonymously helped other members out. There is much charity offered.
I am not quite sure of when or how it was started. Right now it has a total of 10689 members with 314528 posts. Two names come to my memory that I believe were instrumental for this board becoming what it is Olds (oldman) and Chez Bubba. I believe that they might be able to fill you on the history. Other long time members that I recall are Iceman, kummok, mallardwacker, nsxbill, arc n spark, habanero smoker and others. Don't feel hurt if your name is not here, I don't remember everything.
I searched through the data base, which can be very interesting and found that the oldest post is from Barb. Here is a link.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=1.msg2#msg2 (http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=1.msg2#msg2)
Also, here a link to the site statistics.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?action=stats (http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?action=stats)
There are some notable unique characters on this forum. Two of them that stand out are owrstrich and agent provocateur.
There are also newer members that keep on making this forum what it is and I want to thank all of you, past, present and future.
Any comments or insights would be appreciated.
Brad
Interesting post Brad. I remember owrstrich and agent provocateur very well. I always looked forward to their posts. A number of other really interesting folks have gone their own way too. I miss 'em.
Good post
Owr and AP i do believe are the same entity.
Chez drops in from time to time, Sparkler does sometimes. nsx i heard wasnt doing good, Ice is here when he aint so busy, MallardW i aint seen in sometime, Raye is here on and off.
nepas.
Owr and Ap are not the same but alternate personalities.
Quote from: car54 on January 26, 2012, 10:19:28 AM
nepas.
Owr and Ap are not the same but alternate personalities.
;D
There may have been posts prior to your link. I recall when they migrated to forum to another server, may posts were lost.
I remember JJC, was very involved, and tried to organize the first smoke out back around 2005. The earliest member who signed up is Ann; 2003-02-02, but there are no post listed for her.
good post, there are a lot of good members out here including the above named
Before I found this forum the only reason I had the Bradley was for smoking salmon and beef jerky ::). I have learned a lot from the members on this forum and continue to this day. I raise my glass to those I learned from ;D ;D ;D.
Mike
Very nice history post. I am new here compared to the pioneers so thank you to all of you guys and gals who blazed the trail for the rest of us. I have learned more than I could have ever imagined. More importantly, I have made some of the greatest friends I could ever ask for. Some I have met. Some I have not yet had the honor to meet face to face but they are still my greatest friends.
Wow I am surprised that I am #10 in the top 10 posts. This is interesting stuff. I wondered about the beginning of time, for the forum that is.
And lets not forget members who have fallen below the radar due to lifes happenings.
Please feel free to add cuz i been having to many DOS XX :o
Sonny???????
Carolyn
icerat
smoking duck
WCK
BLSH
West texas
Consiglieri
HR
LilSmoker
Lots of great memories on this forum and the friends Ann and I have met you couldn't put a price on. We kind of joke about it but it seems everywhere we go we run into a forum member (even out of the country) or at least they have heard about the forum. I admit I get busy at times and drop off the radar but I still enjoy "coming back home". :) This is without a doubt the best forum there is and the members are what drive it to the top. ;)
Out of all the years here I've only had problems with one bad apple and they are no longer part of this great family. The generosity and caring of the people here is proof that good, honest folks are still around. :)
Thanks again everyone for making this such a great place to be a part of.
QuoteThis is without a doubt the best forum there is and the members are what drive it to the top. ;)
Out of all the years here I've only had problems with one bad apple and they are no longer part of this great family. The generosity and caring of the people here is proof that good, honest folks are still around. :)
Thanks again everyone for making this such a great place to be a part of.
What Pat says ...... sums it up nicely! :)
Quote from: manxman on January 27, 2012, 11:57:01 AM
QuoteThis is without a doubt the best forum there is and the members are what drive it to the top. ;)
Out of all the years here I've only had problems with one bad apple and they are no longer part of this great family. The generosity and caring of the people here is proof that good, honest folks are still around. :)
Thanks again everyone for making this such a great place to be a part of.
What Pat says ...... sums it up nicely! :)
Ditto
Well thank you everyone and your welcome........what.......what do you mean they weren't specifically talking to me.......oh I thought the voices in my head were actually talking to me alone. So sorry everybody. I digress and proceed to my corner. Sorry...again. I will just be over here.....by myself......in the corner. If anyone wants me..............ok bye ......for now.
I was working on the recipe site and came across nsxbill's name. I believe he was the first who brought up the idea of temperature controllers for the Bradley. He even talked Shotgun Fred of The BBQ Guru to develop the Raptor so his temperature controllers could control electric smokers.
3rensho
I was trying to recall who was the first to build a PID, and I believe it was you. Am I correct on this?
Good question. I have no idea actually. Built mine quite a while back though.
That is interesting stuff Habs.
Hab,
I know I was not the 1st to build a PID but i was one of the very early ones along with putting a 2nd heating element in. I do remember some one working with BBQ Guru. Who started the circulation fan? I also have it installed.
Wasn't arc n spark very inolved with helping people build PID's?
Yes it was NSXbill. Here is a link.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=4659.msg43733#msg43733 (http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=4659.msg43733#msg43733)
I remember all of talk about building a PID. I am electronically challenged and wanted one. Pat offered to build one for me and it is still going strong.
Quote from: NePaSmoKer on January 26, 2012, 08:37:51 PM
And lets not forget members who have fallen below the radar due to lifes happenings.
Please feel free to add cuz i been having to many DOS XX :o
Carolyn
Carolyn's good just busy. I'll get her to pop in !
No wonder there is 5 pages of unread posts when you get on after a day or two. The stats say there was roughly 10,500 new members in 2011!! I think we got them all in the last two months of the year
Olds is the one that came up with and developed the fan. He did a few experiments to find the right motor and blade size.
I forgot you where one of the earlier ones to add the second element and PID.
Good Ole Bill, know there should be earlier post on the Raptor Guru. It should date back to around 2005.
Lots of good members and memories on this site.
Who would have thought 4 years ago when i came for the first time, that i would end up with a tattoo with my user name on it? This is the best tribute to this forum ;D ;D
Quote from: deb415611 on January 28, 2012, 06:05:52 AM
Quote from: NePaSmoKer on January 26, 2012, 08:37:51 PM
And lets not forget members who have fallen below the radar due to lifes happenings.
Please feel free to add cuz i been having to many DOS XX :o
Carolyn
Carolyn's good just busy. I'll get her to pop in !
Thanks Deb :)
Yes, I'm still here and I still love this Forum very much :)
I'll get posting again!
Carolyn
Very interesting! I am a newbie myself and have heard of a few of the pioneers. I love smoking, posting about it and reading all your comments. This site has been a huge help to me and I owe all of you a huge thanks because without your guys I wouldnt know half as much as I do now. Thanks again!
Great People and Great Information!
Hey hey All,
I originally joined this site on March 8th, 2004. In the beginning there was only Chez who stood for this site. He told me that Bradley at that time had no interest in it and he (Chez) had to convince Bradley that this was a viable site. He was a moderator with limited powers. Nevertheless, Chez did a great job.
In those early years Chez and I became friends often talking on the phone. One of the items that "ticked" us off was recipes that just disappeared from the site. Thus we created the Recipe Site. It was created with the help of several members. When we launched the site ,collectively, we had many thousands of hours into it. As long as I'm alive the recipe site will always be here.
Today I don't post very often. I just don't have the time plus I see that the "new blood" has now picked up the banner. I believe without a doubt that one of the greatest members of this site is Hab. He now has taken the recipe site to a level that was and is beyond our original design. I trust him to the point that he has access to a section of my secured server. Plus he updates the complete site for a desktop download every year -- believe me that is no small feat on his part. I know as I set up the first download.
To all here and to those now gone I wish you all the best. Smoke-on and keep sharing.
Raye Minor
AKA "Olds"
Thanks Raye. You and habs are definatly legends here. We appreciate what you have done for us with this forum and with your recipe site. This is a great forum for sure. Good to see you on here too. How are you doing?
QuoteHow are you doing?
Going crazy... You may know we are now a small defense contractor and as the company's (FSO) Facility Security Officer the regs keep changing to the point I want to pull my hair out. I still have one to address I got last week.
Thought about an early retirement but the extra taxes on Susan and my SS payment just did not justify it yet. I am training someone to replace me.
Going to purchase a 8' X 20' flats boat and go fishing and spend more time with my Grandaughter. My gardening is going well. I just set up a 15' by 30' wild flower garden in the front yard. They are already growing. Found today a baby pineapple growing. I figure about 3-4 months until it is fully fruited.
This Saturday I will smoke a brisket, make my candized baked beans, do a crunch bread, and raw apple cake with home-made caramel sauce.
Otherwise all is good for an old man.
Olds
While I don't post much, I do every now and then take a few and try and keep up to date.
Have learned lots of great information over the years and have even started to dabble in new things (cold smoking, jerky making, dehydrating & yogurt (not smoked...yet), sausage making, sous vide, etc.) because of the inspiration of others.
I constantly share info about this and old's recipe site with others at work - know several who have even bought OBSs - wish I could say because of me but it's really because of how great Bradley is. Even wear my Bradley cap everywhere and am always happy to talk about the Bradley - even to non Bradley smoker sales people demonstrating at Costco ;D
That is great to hear Raye. Love the wild flowers. Those things that just pop up are always a surprise. Once when I was driving dump trucks I was at a jobsite where they were building a warehouse in what was farmland before. I guess they had come in with a bulldozer and pushed the top soil back to the perimeter. I was sitting in my truck waiting to dump the aggregete I had brought when I looked over the recognized a plant in the piles of soil. As I worked on a potato farm in my teens it was obvious. I walked over to see and started digging up spuds that were growing all over. Some of the workers asked me what I was doing. The next thing I knew almost the whole crew was over digging up potatoes. I would say we dug up probably 40 lbs of free potatoes. Free is good.
Go for it on the boat Raye, you won't regret it. Anytime you can spend time with the little ones is good for the soul.
Raye;
Thanks for the kind words, but without your support and backing the Recipe Site would not exist.
Wow! Good to see that you are planning to takes some of your time to enjoy yourself.
It funny you should mention the candized baked beans. I had plan to make my first batch last weekend, but my plans have changed. I'm now planning to make them tomorrow.
Raye,
It is great hearing from you. I had forgotten about your gardens. Your techniques are great and I admire what you are doing. Thanks for everything. How is your(or your grand daughter's) MG doing?
Brad
Quote How is your(or your grand daughter's) MG doing?
It is in storage for the most part. I do take it out once per month, and I have to add a stabilizer to the gas. I hope this year to finish its restoration.
Olds
Raye, glad to hear you're doing well and spending time with your family. Thank you so much for your devotion to both this website and the recipe site. Were it not for you, literally none of this would exist and none of us would have the opportunity to take advantage of it.
A heartfelt thank you from me. Now get back on here more often!
Glad to hear you're doing well Raye. I was actually a little worried about you as I hadn't seen a post from you in a while.
Cheers,
Tsquared
Hab and I thank you for the good words...
Olds