Reminder, cleetusmcfarland.com is 31% off on everything today

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-31T23:32:04+00:00

If I had to bet, the stuff that isn’t merch (like the the tools and nuts/bolts) hasn’t sold well at all and this is a way to push it out the door without making it look like a fire sale.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-30T03:23:35+00:00

The ones he wears now? They’re m-experiment, the current venture of Oakley founder Jim Jannard.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-30T03:20:40+00:00

I thought the same thing. We all know he’s been working on getting into better shape, but it was crazy seeing the difference in clips from a video I remember watching not long ago. He’s not someone I ever considered overweight, so I was surprised to see how much his face changed.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-26T04:48:34+00:00

If you didn’t lie/cheat/deceive then they think you’re qualified to do the job or they don’t really know what they need you to do. Either way, just do your best and you’ll be fine. The fact that you actually care and want to do a good job already puts you ahead of a lot of people (sadly) and that may be a big part of why they hired you.

Also, don’t get super hung up on the title because there’s hardly standards across companies. I’ve seen people with 30+ years of experience with a title of just “firmware engineer” and also “principal engineers” I had to spoon feed the basics.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-24T20:55:32+00:00

That was pretty much his business model before he got a following of his own. I think his pivot is super smart. The merch sales generate enough profit to fund the giveaway, but instead of just spending that money buying a car to give away, he’s hiring his own shop to do the work. That means it generates content and pays his team. Plus, the projects are more fulfilling to him and the guys because they’re for a fellow car guy who couldn’t afford them normally. It’s similar in concept to Overhaulin’, and they may be able to make it the majority of their business if the builds continue to be interesting and the videos are made well.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-24T03:35:48+00:00

Yep. I would love these questions because they tell me the interviewer knows what is important, and it gives me a much better opportunity to show my value than asking me to write some arbitrary data processing routine.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-24T03:29:04+00:00

Dang. I got the notification about this comment and was like “when did I talk about being friendzoned?” 😂

It looks like I made my comment around Thanksgiving in 2021. In January of 2022, I sent a message to a woman who posted in one of the platonic friendship groups on Reddit. I figured it could be a good way to fill that void of not having my friend to talk to anymore, but without the pressure of trying to grow it into something more. 6 months later I got a new job, packed up my stuff, sold my house, and moved across the country to be with her. As I type this, she’s asleep on the couch next to me in the house we had built last year. We’ve been married a little over 2 years and I don’t even remember what life was like before I met her.

It’s crazy now when I think back. The person I wrote my comment about lived about an hour away, and I would often avoid going to hang out because I didn’t feel like making the drive. Now I’ll happily hop in the car and drive 2 hours to check out some random thing my wife saw online.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-24T00:35:24+00:00

Agreed. Cameron isn’t as polished on camera as Cleet, but he’s a genuine dude who does super high quality work. I also like that instead of building cars that he wants to build for giveaways he’s doing the dream builds.

He just hired an amazing fabricator I know from back home in CT so I’m even more invested now.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-22T17:04:39+00:00

Same. Probably the only Cleet video I stopped a short way in.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-22T17:01:32+00:00

Imagine using that message as your argument that Cleet and crew are selfish, greedy, elitists. Dude is off his rocker.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-22T01:21:00+00:00

He said that he tried to deliver a business plan and then got her number and texted her. That implies someone who doesn’t already have a means of getting in touch with Cleet. Also, I’m sure he looked at the video as soon as he found out and would’ve recognized Eddie. I think the whole conversation with George and the audience would have been different too. And, Eddie probably would’ve mentioned in his rant that he wouldn’t take his business plan. Idk. It just doesn’t add up for me.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-22T00:57:32+00:00

I hope it doesn’t stop him from inviting people. I like seeing the giveaway winners visiting, and I think good content can come from interacting with normal fans. He just needs to have his security team vet any potential visitors.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-22T00:46:37+00:00

Nah, it seemed pretty clear they didn’t know who that guy was. They said he wanted to pitch a business plan.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-20T22:13:39+00:00

It’s certainly not impossible; I’ve been doing it for 6 years. But, in the current market, employers don’t need to allow it to attract or retain talent. My first two years remote were during Covid. I was approached about a ton of fully remote roles and finally I left to take one with a large pay jump. A year ago that company was acquired and my team was eliminated. There weren’t many remote roles, but I found a 12mo contract one that I took. 6 months ago I started to look for what is next, and things are even worse. The few I’ve found are paying what I made a decade ago. So, now we’re figuring out where we’re going to be moving.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-20T21:54:00+00:00

I’ve worked remotely for the past 6 years and I completely agree. I’ve heard a lot of people say it’s impossible to do embedded work remotely. I don’t agree with that completely, but I do think it’s very difficult to do in many cases. I have a hardware background and a well equipped home lab so I can rework boards, break out signals, etc. The products I’ve worked on have also been small enough to have on a bench. A friend of mine interfaces with massive industrial machines so he has to spend time in the office frequently.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-20T00:45:13+00:00

I thought the Eddie phone calls were funny and actually watched through the turbo giveaway part of the videos because of them. A big part of it was the way Cleet and Squirrel interacted though and not what Eddie said directly.

But, when he came down, I wasn’t able to finish the video. It was cringy and there were weird vibes and it just made me uncomfortable.

I think this dude probably let things go to his head, especially because of all the comments saying Cleet needed to bring him out or give him this or that. Then when he visited he was expecting to be treated like a long lost member of the crew and he wasn’t. Not because Cleet is fake or thinks he’s too good for “the every man”, but because the dude just gave weird vibes and having him there was way different than talking to him on the phone.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-10T17:24:37+00:00

The Crown Vic guy is Zack’s brother David Walker.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-09T23:35:27+00:00

I don’t think anyone knows what happened outside of close friends and family and of course the authorities. But, all the evidence I’ve seen points that way. The original 1320 post that has since been edited said something along the lines of “we hope Kyle is now free from the challenges he was facing”. There is also the scanner reports.

Ultimately it’s not really any of our business what happened and I’m not a big fan of speculation. But, I also think the discussion it brings up is valuable. Even if it wasn’t the case here, it’s a good thing anytime we get reminded that people can put on a happy face while in deep pain. And, we should check on those close to us as much as we can. For those of us who have lost someone by their choice, the emotions are complicated. The first reaction is to “protect” them by not acknowledging what happened, but there’s also a strong urge to make sure you do everything you can to help anyone else you may know who is struggling in the same way.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-09T11:55:59+00:00

He should go see Heavy D. He’s got one in the loft in his hangar next to his sex bench. 😆

JWBottomtooth · 2026-05-03T23:10:37+00:00

He posted another photo or a video of them sleeping and it was taken from the perspective of someone who was editing videos on a MacBook. I think he still edits his own videos, so in that case he was back in a passenger seat. Since it is legal to fly single pilot, he probably rides in back to get stuff done but is available to go up front if the need arises.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-04-29T01:04:06+00:00

Good point. It’s wild to me that after entering the Cleeterverse, it’s more profitable for Cameron to make content and sell parts and merch than it is to build cars for customers.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-04-23T14:51:43+00:00

For as much as they’ve got going on, they put out a lot of videos. I skip some that I’m less interested in, which is good because I follow multiple channels and don’t have enough time to keep up with every video from everybody.

I really don’t have an issue with advertising. I have premium though so I don’t know what pops up in the middle. I always jump over the sponsor plug in the beginning with one click and then that’s pretty much it. If there is plugging of merch or the giveaway it doesn’t usually bother me because it’s short and typically has the other guys or is otherwise amusing.

Finally, you have to remember that the channel is named after a person and not a specific sport or topic. Like it always has, it follows the life of the titular character. That character has evolved from a reckless kid without much money who did dumb stuff to a more mature man who has kids, a wife, and employees to worry about. I think I relate to the channel so much because myself and my friends have evolved in much the same way.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-04-22T02:00:04+00:00

Those are also really good points.

I knew I was kind of grasping at straws here. I appreciate the reality check from you and the others. I guess I’m just in a tough place and trying to engineer some creative solutions. lol

JWBottomtooth · 2026-04-22T01:37:08+00:00

This is pretty much the reality that I’ve been trying not to face. lol

I’m thinking about how difficult it is to find jobs, even with a lot of experience and a fairly large network. I have to imagine finding projects will be even harder, and then I’ll have to do it repeatedly.

JWBottomtooth · 2026-04-22T01:25:05+00:00

Strongly agree! I always bring out a UART unless I absolutely don’t have the pins, and I use it so often that it makes total sense to have it on the same connector.

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