I consider myself a hobbyist. I love playing with PICs and "that new component" in the Digikey catalog that I have to order overnight so I can look at it tomorrow, revel in it's new component smell(?) and dream of it's potential....Even though I may not build it into a project for six months!
On the other hand, I have designed and built devices using PICs that are used by goverment, military, and commercial entities that I have been paid for and complimented on for their performance. They run a mix of PBP and assembly language as the timing dictated. If PICs are a playground, I have dug up a lot of cash in the sandbox! Now, I would like to get into 16 and 32 bit power for some upcoming video projects, but that would mean jumping into the "C"! So it's time to get the toes wet with the 24F series. C'mon Melabs, we need a second sandbox!

Ron
(Perfessional Hobbyist...and loving it!)