First, I want to say thanks, Ryan, for giving the world such a neat set of machines… and a revolutionary MostlyPrinted construction method that has given me – and undoubtedly countless others – literally months/years of enjoyment and satisfaction. Trying to stay as “sharp” as I can, for as long as I can, I could not have asked for a better, or more fun, way to spend my time than building machines using the techniques you’ve given us. You have my sincerest gratitude and appreciation for your obvious talent, generosity, and tireless support.
And, FWIW I think the rest of you guys here on the forum are pretty OK, also…
Something I never thought I’d do, I’m selling my place and moving to the San Antonio area. I’d originally intended to spend the remainder of my days here on my family’s plot of land in East Texas and, for now, I’m in reasonably good health and sound mind and can live alone and pretty independently. But, at 73 years old and with a family history of heart/dementia/Alzheimer’s issues, I can’t realistically expect that to continue for too many more years. It is inevitable that I’ll eventually need the increasing help/support of my kids… but jobs and family will never allow any of them to come and settle in rural East Texas, so I need to go to them. And, as It happens, there’s a perfect place available, right next door to my loving daughter and her family, that will allow me all the independence I still want/need now… but without the burden of owning/maintaining a place that’s gotten to be too much for me to handle alone. So NOW seems the perfect time to make the move and “down-size”… and not leave the burden of dealing with this place, and a lifetime’s accumulation of “junk”, after I’m gone. I’ll hopefully be completely moved by early October.
Thankfully, I’ve been fortunate enough to be in a position to “play” more than I “work” in my retirement… but, right now, I’m fighting what seems a losing battle, trying to “organize” [some of] my junk in preparation for my upcoming move/life-change. This is WORK! I do just a little at a time – until I’m sweating profusely and my heart is pounding and I’m huffing/puffing heavily – and then have to go sit down. What a mess!
Normally, messing with my machines is PLAY… doing to them what I want, when I want to do it. But, with time running short and needing to minimize the “bulk”, I’ve dismantled two of my earlier needle-cutting machines (a 4’x3’ MPCNC and a BuildYourCNC-inspired machine) so that I can pack the hardware and electrics. I can’t stand the thought of just trashing them…
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So, that’s the latest with me… more WORK at the moment than PLAY. I am still online during my rest breaks, however, and keeping up with the several forums in which I participate, so I’ll chime in if/when the spirit moves.
Later.
– David