wonder where and why???

larry merlau

Member
Messages
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Location
Delton, Michigan
the censorship that has been mentioned by other members that they feel could be checked on.., perhapes censorship is to harsh of a word but, i think we could or should check with those that have fell by the wayside ,or just became quiet as to why they are there????,, they are important to our family! someone mentioned that the ole grizzled one's are plentiful, i disagree.. we need to keep all of those we can get,, they are valuble to us and those who come after us. everyone is a part of the big picture no one is disposable.. and we shouldnt view them as such. so i ask you the family to think about the ones that we used to see and now seem to be gone or not posting.. i know this is the off topic area and we have alot of that already here, i do agree that we can use some more woodworking posts and by doing that will improve the over all picture but in order to get them, we need to get the moral back to where we are all happy and working together to make this forum a great place to be at and have others think so to.. thanks for listening and ask yourself and your friends why.
 
I think things have slowed down a bit, especially woodworking wise, but like has been said before, maybe thats because of (summer/work schedules/economy/etc...)

If there's been cases of censorship or hard feelings, I don't really recall anything for quite some time.

I like this place. I like the people, and I like the general friendly tone of things!:thumb:
 
larry, with all due respect to you and everyone else.......

I believe strongly that the past few weeks and the financial crisis the US seems to be going through are weighing heavily on alot of peoples minds.
So much so that I just think people arent into their leisure actitivities or find themselves just floating around the internet and reading and posting on their favorite sites. I know I watch alot more "financially and economy based" shows these past few weeks, hoping to find someone who can make sense of all this bad news.

I think once people can go to bed at night and know they will still have a home in the morning, and still have enough in their retirement account, or enough to send their kids to college, will slowly return and show off their talents and share ideas.

Ive started a new project, but find myself more concerned about world news lately than really being too worried that I might not have enough board feet of wood for a project.

This post is not meant as any type of insult or controversy, Im just very concerned with the countrys financial situation, my own retirement status, and Im sure there are alot of others who if not almost everyone that is very concerned.

Having said all that, I cant express the appreciation I have for all those that put up with my lack of knowledge and sometimes tiresome questions, and find this place a very friendly and comfortable atmosphere.
 
me thinks that "censorship" doesn`t come into play..........
what i think is that the hobbiests who could afford to do "flat work" in the past have tightened their purse strings...i seriously doubt that we`ll see very many shops being built or even outfitted for much more than spinny stuff or basic construction for the next "x" years due to world politics.
the pro`s who have contributed have found a shortage of issues that they can offer advice for/on......i know myself i`d much rather help a fellow wood-butcher than brag about the latest whiz-bang i delivered:eek: and even the "whiz-bangs" i`m building have gone down scale when compared to just a couple of years ago........
sadly woodworking in the world today is either a wealthy mans hobby or a poor mans vocation....and i think that may be why things have slowed somewhat?
 
Allen,

I may be at the risk of edging on politics, but I'm trying to play the history card here...

Franklin D. Roosevelt said in his First Inaugural Address:

"So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself--nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. "

"If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize as we have never realized before our interdependence on each other; that we can not merely take but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no progress is made, no leadership becomes effective. We are, I know, ready and willing to submit our lives and property to such discipline, because it makes possible a leadership which aims at a larger good. This I propose to offer, pledging that the larger purposes will bind upon us all as a sacred obligation with a unity of duty hitherto evoked only in time of armed strife.

With this pledge taken, I assume unhesitatingly the leadership of this great army of our people dedicated to a disciplined attack upon our common problems."


As an American, I do believe that we'll come out this recession quickly and better than ever. Individual efforts combined make us stronger, we all have a part to do and I'm willing to do my part.

Don't mean to sound sappy or overly patriotic, but hope it makes you feel better.
 
me thinks that "censorship" doesn`t come into play..........
what i think is that the hobbiests who could afford to do "flat work" in the past have tightened their purse strings...i seriously doubt that we`ll see very many shops being built or even outfitted for much more than spinny stuff or basic construction for the next "x" years due to world politics.
the pro`s who have contributed have found a shortage of issues that they can offer advice for/on......i know myself i`d much rather help a fellow wood-butcher than brag about the latest whiz-bang i delivered:eek: and even the "whiz-bangs" i`m building have gone down scale when compared to just a couple of years ago........
sadly woodworking in the world today is either a wealthy mans hobby or a poor mans vocation....and i think that may be why things have slowed somewhat?

good points tod,,, i for one have tightend up on anything i do, and our state ranks on top in the worst areas, so your thoughts and allens could very well enter in to play,, i know there is now way i would have built the shop i now have this year,,wouldnt have even crossed my mind.. even the things i am in the middle of now i look at with a fine tooth comb..used to go and drive to get this or that and not think twice now i had better have two or three things to get rather than just one..as for being optimistic darren i try real hard but some days it dosent work....my parents came threw the first one and whenever i see them they remind of whats coming maybe....
 
Allen,

IDon't mean to sound sappy or overly patriotic, but hope it makes you feel better.

39 years ago I saw a 13 y/o girl sitting on a street corner with her best friend.
I was a little older, had a mad head of hair, and was on a minibike with a 3.5 hp tecumsah engine, stella frame.(man o man I loved that thing)
I had no clue who she was, but I stopped and said hi to her, asked her what her name was.
In 7 weeks, its our 30th wedding anniversary, so things are pretty good as far as Im concerned.


(btw, her best friend lives less than 1/2 mile from us, and they are still close friends.)
 
Awesome Story Allen. That's something to be proud of :thumb:

(Even more than your energy and enthusiasm and ability to shame some of us (me) into getting out to the shop to do things...)
 
Name some names Larry.

You often go on about people who have fallen by the way side, but you are very gray in that area, who are we missing exactly?

This is a big group, people come and go, for any number of reasons they may not be able to spend time here, or they might be gone for a while, then, when things settle down, they will be back.

We are all adults here, we all realize that in the grand scope of things, this place is just a little bit of sunshine, but it is certainly not our entire world.

I've been heavily involved in some online forums and then for one reason or another, I've stopped going there, for example, I was doing some forge work and I got involved in a blacksmith forum, good people there too, and I spent a lot of time there, but when I'd finished up on my forging stuff (for now) I did not go to the blacksmith forum much, because I had little interest anymore. Same with the Hobart welding forum, I sometimes go there and ask a question when I have one, but otherwise, I don't go often.

I could very well be out of line here Larry, but it seems to me you look to be somehow blaming all of us here for some members no longer coming around, when it could have absolutely nothing to do with us at all?

I could be very wrong about that last statement, if I am, I'll apologize now, but this is a recurring theme with you Larry. :dunno:

BTW, the financial situation in the US is certainly hitting us here in Japan.

Stu
 
Allen,

I may be at the risk of edging on politics, but I'm trying to play the history card here...

I do believe that we'll come out this recession quickly and better than ever. Individual efforts combined make us stronger, we all have a part to do and I'm willing to do my part.

Don't mean to sound sappy or overly patriotic, but hope it makes you feel better.

Darren, Tod, Stu,

I'm going to try to nibble around the edges here, and hope I don't break a tooth! ;)

Woodcraft sent me a flyer this week. Something like $300 off the cost of a lathe. This at a time when prices were supposed to be *rising*. Retailers are already getting hit pretty hard... no-one wants to spend anything. I went to a mall last week... it was nearly empty. I'm not sure anybody's going to be buying tools for a while... I've certainly bought my last major tool for the foreseeable future. I'm just going to have to make do with what I have.

As Stu points out, this is hitting all over. Iceland is essentially bankrupt. Yep, the whole country. You should see the french papers: http://www.libe.fr/economie
The IMF is saying we should get ready for several years of recession. That's their *good* case.

Last week, what's left of Wachovia froze the bank accounts of nearly 1,000 universities. I have colleagues who have said "I envy you. When none of us have jobs anymore, you will still have useful skills." So Darren, I share your optimism... we *will* get through this. But it's going to take a while... certainly longer than we hope. I read somewhere that the Icelandic financial system was in debt for 17 times its gross domestic product. In other words, everyone in the country would have to work for 17 years.... just to pay off the principle. They're going to go bankrupt, and so will many others. Stu mentions trouble in Japan... they lost nearly a decade to something similar.

I think we'll find out a lot about who we are. And when we're done, whenever that is, I think the world will look completely different. In the meantime, maybe we'll actually learn to take care of each other. ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
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I think we'll find out a lot about who we are. And when we're done, whenever that is, I think the world will look completely different. In the meantime, maybe we'll actually learn to take care of each other. ;)

Thanks,

Bill

at this point in time i`m very glad to live in a rural area where game is plentiful and neighbors are helpful and friendly:eek:
 
at this point in time i`m very glad to live in a rural area where game is plentiful and neighbors are helpful and friendly:eek:

Yep....I am also glad I grow my own gardenproduce to can, raise my own hogs for meat, and chickens for meat and eggs, and heat my house with the corn I grow on my own land....balance of the crop I sell to pay my taxes and fuel in the tractor.

Got a good friend who keeps me in venison when I ask.....I Thank God I'm a country boy.
 
theme!

stu mentioned, I could very well be out of line here Larry, but it seems to me you look to be somehow blaming all of us here for some members no longer coming around, when it could have absolutely nothing to do with us at all?

I could be very wrong about that last statement, if I am, I'll apologize now, but this is a recurring theme with you Larry.

well mr stu you asked for some names and i have given a couple in the past i am not blaming anyone particular personand even include myslef, and now that i have new job here it may not be appropiate to name names anymore.. but you and others should know some that arent here posting anymore. i dont have the no.s or all the names. i just know what i have been told by a few of the ones that arnt here now.. its there choice to be gone or stay so thats all that matters if you want this thread gone take it out. and any other i have posted. the "family" has my permission.
 
Hi All

As a new member here, I don't quiet feel qualified to comment on who does not post here anymore.
For my 5cents worth, I agree with Allen, Tod and others. I for one have would not be building my new shop if I were to be starting this year. In fact the current global outlook has made me slightly remorseful about the indulgence and I have now decided to move into the shop even though it is not quite where I would like it to be. But at present I have shrunk just like many here my spending and I too plan every trip and think twice about the need for something.

On the other hand, having a place like this which someone refered to as a place of sunshine (I agree wholeheartedly) has become a very important part of my life. It is a healthly distraction from the day to day hurdles we face. Being in contact with people that have similar interests and sharing our progress as we learn to fashion wood into something to me is priceless. We have a ton to be very greatful for. Most of us have our familys and friends whether they be next door or online, we have our health and then a hobyy many are envious of. I find I do not need to be working with an exotic wood to enjoy making sawdust. Even a good old used piece of 2x4 will do.

So what if the forum does not have a great deal of posts of complicated woodwork which most of us would like to be doing ourselves. Does not make the rapport of the site any better or worse. This is to my knowledge not a commercial site so I dont understand the concern.

I always take inspiration from the saying, "Tough times never last but tough people do".

We have had it real good for a long time, for now we will simply have to cut back a little and be more humble.

Thank you to all who do post here, I enjoy your friendship and appreciate all your sharing. Wish I could contribute more.

Stu I wish your fairy godmother was around to do a cindarella style fix on your leg so you can get back to the aparto reno. I dont mean you bad in terms of forced labor but your story made for some gripping entertainment. For me it beat good old Norm.
 
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Larry, I'm not asking for anything to be "Gone", that is NOT the way that Family Woodworking works, we are having a healthy discussion here.

What I'm asking you is for a list of people who you think have left for reasons that are due to the way Family Woodworking is run? If you do not wish to "Name Names" then send me a PM as I'm quite curious to see this list of people, I'm not sure the list is very long, not that even one member leaving over some thing we have done here is a good thing, but then again, "you cannot please all the people all the time", but I'd still be interested to see this list.

I certainly do know of some members that are not around as much as they used to be, most of the guys that I can think of have drifted away, they have not stomped off in a huff. Why they have drifted away, I'm not exactly certain, but I know that there could be a thousand reasons, interests change. I used to be a dedicated flatwork guy, then I got bit by the turning bug, now I do not do anywhere near as much flat work, but lets say it was not the turning bug, but say the fishing bug, or the skeet shooting bug, I'd spend less and less time here, no fault at all to Family Woodworking.

I honestly do not see what you think we are doing wrong that drives members away, or what we can do to change that, this is all very vague to me. :dunno:

Keep the discussion going, it cannot hurt. :wave:
 
Hi Folks :wave:,
Thank you Larry for a thead in this vein. It is importand to question, I think!
Thank you Stu for your constant vigilance and persistence in posting new threads, commenting on existing ones and encouraging other posters.
We all bring to the table the sum of our existence to date.
I agree with Larry.
I agree with Stu.
How can that be?:huh:

Thank You Larry for caring about the Family :thumb:. We can learn from those who are not here.
Thank you Stu for caring about the family and your consistency to keep this place afloat!
We are all 3 on the same team.
Shaz :)
 
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