Don’t forget to check local chat if you are in one of the systems Mike visits, not to miss out on the free ships he hands out. 
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You arrived in my system as I woke up from a VERY long nap to find myself re-noobified (i.e., not where I logged out, not in my mining ship, missing significant skill points, and generally trying to grok it was all… really… gone).
Thank you for handing me a ship. It was the only thing that kept me from logging right back out.
o7
Welcome back
m
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Thanks. Big ol queue feels like a warm blanket. ((chuckle))
Is it possible for Mike to give a pirate hull?(curious)
On holidays I have been known to give out faction (Navy) stuff. Anything is possible but pirate hulls are less likely. My focus is still alpha accts and things they can get into quickly. Pirate hulls do not fill that bill.
m
Do you give out regular bs?(curious again as to how you manage your isk in game)
My kids would tell you I hand out BS all the time, but I digress
It has been a while since I explained how and what the Bus hands out. If the recipient is 0-7 days (ish) I give them a fitted frigate appropriate to the region we are in. That means do not expect a Caldari Frigate if in Gallente space.
7-20 is a fitted destroyer
20-30 is a fitted cruiser.
ships are a mix, some are pve some are pvp.
On the side I make bpcs for the older players so they do not feel left out. Mainly ships with the occasional other one thrown in for good measure.
During Christmas Holidays I tend to be far more giving so yeah there were a few BCs and BS’s handed out (unfit) as well as Navy ships. I also am a bit more enthusiastic for other events through the year, as the mood strikes me.
I fly a Bowhead on delivery runs to stock the career systems but not every run is a delivery run. The other times I fly what I want, often so I can do other things along the way. For example, right now, I am in an Astero so I can look for Warp matrix sites as I go place to place. Other times it might be an abyssal runner or even a mining ship.
I have tried to promise myself a bit more pvp this year and some more ‘me time’ but I am still very regular in my Bus runs (ask the folks in Rookie Help chat).
As to the isk and such? I make enough to keep me flying ships I enjoy because I do not have a pvp lifestyle as such and so my losses are minimal. I am managing to keep solvent and build and deliver the ships for the newbros and do my once a year fund raising. If and when I run out of assets the Bus will stop running, simple as that. The only other two things that will stop the Bus are deaths . . . mine or Eves. Given my health/age I expect Eve to outlast me.
If there are other questions, feel free to ask. I reserve the right to not answer some I think are impinging on what little opsec I have going for me.
m
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How old is Mike?
Mike the player (me) is 62. Mike the Character is 13 years in game
m
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And as long as he has healthy donors giving him isk/ships throughout the year, the bus shall never stop 
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I just wanted to say that Mike is awesome.
He gave me a free ship yesterday and it’s a great start for a rookie. If i been honest i spoke up only the second time he came to station because in first time i thought it was some kind of scam but then i found this forum
Keep up the good work Mike.
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If it was promoted in rookie chat, it’s not a scam. Rookie chat has some pretty stringent rules and scamming isn’t allowed
I must have been playing EvE too long.
I saw this and immediately thought “what’s the angle? What’s the scam.”
Mike, if you’re doing this to help promote the game and help new players, then that’s really cool of you!
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that he is… one of my alts took advantage of being a newb and got a fitted corax from him.
Funny thing, I stopped worrying about ‘is it an alt or not’ very early on in the Bus runs. I saw it as something that would cause more stress than it was worth, to be honest.
But in the long run it worked out as vets might test to see if I was serious and then turn around and donate to the Bus, having seen that I do what I say I will do.
A very common reaction. The funny part is where people ask me to prove that it is not some long con. What words can I say that a scammer could not? The only proof is in the actions that I do. Deeds, not words.
m
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i used it for a short while then donated the ship to someone else…
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Mike ain’t scammin, ‘e’ s a rootin tootin’ stand-up feller.
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Thank you for the amazing ship! I’ve only been playing about a week and am overcoming a steep learning curve. I’m glad I was nearby when you visited my station. Your initiative made both me and Kaza feel very welcomed and excited to adventure.
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You are very welcome and welcome to Eve.
m
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