I'm an engineer from IL. I have lots of hobbies, but a common theme is DIY, so naturally after having some good bbq a while back I decided I'd better figure out how to make it myself. I currently cook on a Weber 22.5" kettle either with or without a Smokenator 1000, with plans to convert my Smokey Joe to a mini-WSM and/or build a UDS. I'm not a perfectionist, and I really like to find ways to get 80% of the results while spending 20% of the money (e.g. UDS vs a quality pellet or offset cooker), both for the sake of the challenge and because I have a bunch of other interests and they all cost money to some degree. I also have plans to roll my own pit controller at some point as well.
