There are a lot of people that take jabs at Al, he does much less harm giving bad info now. Most of his post now are quite well worded, but often sheds light on details most never consider. Wether it's just a coincidence, or there is an under lying reason.
With setup most of the changes we make there is a reason, there is lots of information and most of we don't think is useful. The information is just there. Al looks at all the information available and that's never a bad thing. His way of looking at things often leaves us with info we feel isn't useful because it leaves us with what we already know. This I think mainly stems from his lack of experience with oval, and with experience you just know what to expect in a way. But, this info could always show a different side to a problem or it's solution. But, with so many very skilled oval experts they've seen it all and a fresh perspective is never a bad thing! Might learn something, might not. This mainly pertains to his setup diagnoses.
I will say this, his engine knowledge is pretty vast, and someone might learn a lot from that.
We all have different ways of looking at things, Al is most often attacked for looking at things differently then most of us. Those who know rarely speak up now unless he's really off base.