Well, it's nice to know that there's some people with similar thoughts and experiences. That I didn't just violate the Code of the Brethren as it were and earn a shunning for all time. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

It sounds like the Busse family has never really explained their methodology even to you veteran members. I didn't want to bring up the word 'cult' though it crossed my mind, because for some it has some very nasty implications. But since you brought it up, it is cultish. You have a personal leadership rather than a corporate entity; you have your own language to a degree, with cryptic acronyms; you have iconic worship, of warthogs, rats and canines; you have a mythos of excellence; and you have a community which is relatively difficult for the outsider to penetrate.

I'm not saying cults are always bad thing, or even that it feels particularly strongly like one. I'm just saying the qualities are there, set to a low but recognizable volume.

I wonder if we could persuade the Busses, or in this particular case Mr. Dan Busse, to sit down and explain their strategy. Has there been any attempt to ask directly? Direct questions often succeed where hints fail. I see in another topic that he just got back from an excursion and had some thoughts on the matter. Strike while the iron is hot?

I write as if he's not around. He could be reading the thread five minutes from now. :P

And yes, the dogfather from what I found sounds like it's at the highest levels of hack-n-chop knives. I've never owned one before, but they look useful, sort of a long-edged hatchet. And just plain cool. It will be fun playing with it to see what I can apply it it to. Playing cautiously of course, since it's a seriously big dog and could cause injury in its enthusiasm.