dgscott
Member
I've followed with interest a couple of recent threads on how we can treat one another courteously and how we can encourage true creativity. I've really appreciated some of the responses I've seen there, and the obvious thought that has gone into many of the posts.
At the risk of being treated discourteously, I'd like to suggest that some people (even good and well intentioned people) behave badly occasionally, and some people take every opportunity they can to behave badly most of the time, and there's not much you can do about it except to ignore it.
Also, it has to be said that some people are inherently creative and others are not. That's why there is one Eiffel Tower and a million little Eiffel Tower models, one Mona Lisa and thousands of paintings of Elvis and tiger heads on black velvet on American roadsides. The only way to protect a new idea that you want protected is to keep it off the boards.
But the posts mentioned above made me reconsider once again why I visit this site three or four times a day, and I'd like to share those reasons (not because anyone really cares, but because it gives me a chance to be exuberant):
1. I stand in awe of what many of you do. I've never seen a pen that Skiprat made that wasn't breathtaking. I'm enchanted by Butch's recent work in shell, Toni's floral PC tubes, and the segmenting magic performed by so many of you. There are some things I see that you've done that I wouldn't care to carry around (insects come to mind), but I'm still deeply admiring of the technical skill involved. In a world where most of the stuff we clutter our homes with is stamped out by mega machines, I'm appreciative of even the most humble slimline that's the work of human hands. This is the place I go just to share company with fellow tinkerers and feel a sense of pride that I get to keep company with them.
2. While I'm impressed and visually delighted by so much of what is freely displayed here, there's little that I'm anxious to duplicate. I do a little segmenting (depending on what I have around that might be worth gluing up), but I've never figured out how to do a 360HB (even after reading the tutorial -- I wound up with a glue-y and shapeless lump of many woods on my first and last try), all my attempts at casting have been infinitely less attractive than the most humble offering in the classifieds (although to be fair, I have managed to get plain black alumilite cast without too much difficulty), and I haven't got the patience to attach a gazillion little machine pieces to a tube. For the most part, I try to be discerning about choosing the prettiest woods I can find, drilling and turning them accurately then finishing them to the best of my ability. All of the glorious variations I see here are, for me, like opera -- I'm glad it exists, but I don't need to go there.
3. I LOVE to read posts where someone says, "Hey -- I've got a bunch of extras of this or that, and all you have to do is ask for them." In a world where kindness is in scarce supply (and where dozens of candidates for public office just spent over four billion dollars trying to convince the electorate what bad people there opponents were), this consistent display of kindness and generosity leaves me feeling very glad that I still belong to the human race. Along the same lines, I've only once ordered something from someone on these boards (blanks or kits or something), where a couple of little extra somethings weren't tucked in the box. So one of the reasons I come back is that nice people abound here, people for whom generosity is their default mode.
4. In a world where people are disconnected either by choice (like iPod earplugs) or design (like those of us who have no health insurance), I am deeply touched by the fact that so many people here ask for thoughts or prayers for friends or loved ones, and get dozens of responses within an hour offering prayer or positive energy or encouragement. That's the kind of people I want to hang around. There are plenty of other displays of both material and emotional support that pop up here as regularly as clockwork. Not too many places like that in the world anymore.
5. Right now, my work in the shop is focused on trying to consistently produce (and consequently reproduce) little bits like front sections and threaded finials. I want to be able to make things from scratch (except for feeders and nibs) that look good and work well. For me, it's an exercise in problem solving that has no down side. As my other life consists of problem solving where if you screw up someone may go out and shoot themselves, I appreciate the fact that for me, this is a no-load pastime. I admire others who do it and do it well, like all of you.
And are there some folks who are downright poopy sometimes? Well, yeah. And you know how much attention I pay to them? Zip. Zero. Nada. Thornton Wilder once wrote "Whenever you get around the human race, there's bound to be layers and layers of nonsense." Frankly, there's a lot less nonsense here than there is in most places of life, and it's easy to ignore.
So, bottom line, I come here because I admire all of you and the work you do, because I find you to be generous with ideas and encouragement and material, and because what we do by hand matters.
And I'd like to thank you.
Doug
At the risk of being treated discourteously, I'd like to suggest that some people (even good and well intentioned people) behave badly occasionally, and some people take every opportunity they can to behave badly most of the time, and there's not much you can do about it except to ignore it.
Also, it has to be said that some people are inherently creative and others are not. That's why there is one Eiffel Tower and a million little Eiffel Tower models, one Mona Lisa and thousands of paintings of Elvis and tiger heads on black velvet on American roadsides. The only way to protect a new idea that you want protected is to keep it off the boards.
But the posts mentioned above made me reconsider once again why I visit this site three or four times a day, and I'd like to share those reasons (not because anyone really cares, but because it gives me a chance to be exuberant):
1. I stand in awe of what many of you do. I've never seen a pen that Skiprat made that wasn't breathtaking. I'm enchanted by Butch's recent work in shell, Toni's floral PC tubes, and the segmenting magic performed by so many of you. There are some things I see that you've done that I wouldn't care to carry around (insects come to mind), but I'm still deeply admiring of the technical skill involved. In a world where most of the stuff we clutter our homes with is stamped out by mega machines, I'm appreciative of even the most humble slimline that's the work of human hands. This is the place I go just to share company with fellow tinkerers and feel a sense of pride that I get to keep company with them.
2. While I'm impressed and visually delighted by so much of what is freely displayed here, there's little that I'm anxious to duplicate. I do a little segmenting (depending on what I have around that might be worth gluing up), but I've never figured out how to do a 360HB (even after reading the tutorial -- I wound up with a glue-y and shapeless lump of many woods on my first and last try), all my attempts at casting have been infinitely less attractive than the most humble offering in the classifieds (although to be fair, I have managed to get plain black alumilite cast without too much difficulty), and I haven't got the patience to attach a gazillion little machine pieces to a tube. For the most part, I try to be discerning about choosing the prettiest woods I can find, drilling and turning them accurately then finishing them to the best of my ability. All of the glorious variations I see here are, for me, like opera -- I'm glad it exists, but I don't need to go there.
3. I LOVE to read posts where someone says, "Hey -- I've got a bunch of extras of this or that, and all you have to do is ask for them." In a world where kindness is in scarce supply (and where dozens of candidates for public office just spent over four billion dollars trying to convince the electorate what bad people there opponents were), this consistent display of kindness and generosity leaves me feeling very glad that I still belong to the human race. Along the same lines, I've only once ordered something from someone on these boards (blanks or kits or something), where a couple of little extra somethings weren't tucked in the box. So one of the reasons I come back is that nice people abound here, people for whom generosity is their default mode.
4. In a world where people are disconnected either by choice (like iPod earplugs) or design (like those of us who have no health insurance), I am deeply touched by the fact that so many people here ask for thoughts or prayers for friends or loved ones, and get dozens of responses within an hour offering prayer or positive energy or encouragement. That's the kind of people I want to hang around. There are plenty of other displays of both material and emotional support that pop up here as regularly as clockwork. Not too many places like that in the world anymore.
5. Right now, my work in the shop is focused on trying to consistently produce (and consequently reproduce) little bits like front sections and threaded finials. I want to be able to make things from scratch (except for feeders and nibs) that look good and work well. For me, it's an exercise in problem solving that has no down side. As my other life consists of problem solving where if you screw up someone may go out and shoot themselves, I appreciate the fact that for me, this is a no-load pastime. I admire others who do it and do it well, like all of you.
And are there some folks who are downright poopy sometimes? Well, yeah. And you know how much attention I pay to them? Zip. Zero. Nada. Thornton Wilder once wrote "Whenever you get around the human race, there's bound to be layers and layers of nonsense." Frankly, there's a lot less nonsense here than there is in most places of life, and it's easy to ignore.
So, bottom line, I come here because I admire all of you and the work you do, because I find you to be generous with ideas and encouragement and material, and because what we do by hand matters.
And I'd like to thank you.
Doug