Waiting for coffee. Punched up the forum. Guys - I've learned quite a few things in almost sixty years. Heck of a lot if things. If I wanted to learn something, I researched it. Quite different doing that before we all had a crystal ball on our desk and one in our hands. The knowledge was found in obscure old books. Finding someone who would talk to me. Having them mention something that clarified a point I'd read a year before. Laying awake til 3 am reading those old books.

The number of craft skills I learned, to a pretty fair skill level; would make a pretty long paragraph, if listed. About the only things I've ever really, really wanted to do - that I just couldn't do - were things which asked for participation. Things like Standing Stone, and the forum here - were very close interests of mine. I put everything I had into them. Got a number of talented, interesting guys to post fascinating things. Guys bought high speed cameras just to photograph stuff to post here. But they got tired of posting hours of work for maybe one "attaboy". So they don't post anything now.

So many people I spoke to wished for a forum that wasn't full of crude, loud, drama. We made that forum. In the six or so years - we've never had an incident. It's been someplace you could have your kid read. We're not so naive as to think we are keeping the world pure - we just cut out the Reality Show Drama. For a long run, we kept a few shooters with cameras interested in sharing here. You will recall their neat movies and posts with a dozen pictures.

I've logged something over 7,500 posts on this forum. And I've asked for just a small amount of participation from readers. Type "nice post" and hit the post button. But it's been too much to ask for the entertainment given. And so the guys that made the really neat posts just stopped posting them here for only myself and one or two others to comment on. Trying to get a thread going is quite a task.

If you actually think about it, expecting me to have something fascinating to post every day of my life, is not reasonable. I brought you along on the move. I know that gave you endless opportunities to say, "why is he doing it that way". . I've brought you along on the start up. I know that's given you endless opportunities to say, "where is the steady stream of airguns?" (See - I'm not dumb - I get it). Everything took longer. Everything was harder. I've told you that having our lovely Victorian Home stuck on the market has been a serious drag - details unnecessary to explain. And so I've fought the Medusa of - Completing set-up, Nature, Expectations, Expense, Medical Support, Nature Again, Working with half my equipment set up, and a few others. But I'll get it.

My fireside chat, this morning; relates to the state of the forum. If you'd like to see video of me aggravated with my Realtor - I can provide. But I suspect you'd just slip on over to another forum. See - that's the ticket. You can just click over to endless entertainment. But, I liked Jerry's high speed videos of testing. Cedric's hunt movies. Julio's range testing - you remember those back to back five gallon buckets of water. Kent posted all sorts of testing videos. The issue isn't with those guys. They just got tired of posting in a vacuum. I have projects I'm working - but not ready to reveal. I've also explained my purpose isn't to photograph all of my airgun parts for the world. So; there are long periods when I just don't have things to show. But - its gotten so we'll just go a week without do much as anyone posting a "hello". Because - there's been this silent decree that this media is going to be a Gary's Blog and nothing else. That's a shame. Because it only takes a few keystrokes to make this far more.

Anyone dropping in from Space would find it surprising that an airgun forum never fires a shot. I always feel pressured to reveal some evidence of activity. And often it seems out of phase. It's because I'm not ready to show other things or I don't care to show redacted photos of parts. The business, maintenance, and set up photos are boring. I know there are well enough interesting points to comment on, among the existing posts. But time makes them stale. I spend an hour posting - one person comments in a week - then nobody wants to "go back" to that old thread. They wait for the "fresh" post today. I just can't pull that off. There has to be a bit of participation. And - last point. The purpose of the forum isn't to provide an endless string of praise to Gary. I expected that readers would interact. Seriously - so many of you live in the same worlds. You do very similar things. You are nearly the same ages. I know many of you. Great people. Intelligent. Driven. Slim .... ( ... Handsome. Ok - fine. But for Heaven's sake, can't we all just get along? . Give me just a bit of help here. I'm stretched pretty thin these days. Coming out here to do a soft shoe with derby and cane, is completely unnecessary. There are several hundreds of us registered here. Many more read. This forum has nothing at all to do with my skills. They have never been better. But it makes me look like a sap when I try this hard and it just lays there.

Thanks for reading.
Gary



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/03/2014 04:09PM by barnespneumatic.

Another last thought ....

I have joined shooting clubs before. They seemed to view members as "laborers". Honestly - one club wanted us to come in - move the six burner commercial stove - remove and replace the tile floor in the kitchen. They wanted us to come scrape, grout, paint, and clean the pool before Memorial Day opening.

I joined to shoot. And half the time I'd set up - the maintenance man would come shut down the range to mow.

I'm not asking for manual labor here. We don't have a "Like button" but with "two"clicks - you can post one of dozens of smilies. It's not like laying a tile floor.

Gary

It's never changed has it? It's like a rerun of all the posts from years ago where we asked folks to just tell us about pulling the trigger on an airgun of any origin! There's great content here many pages down but nowadays, if it isn't on the front page of google results, it doesn't exist!

I know I got fed up with working hours to set-up, film, and document a post just to feel like I filled a bag with scraps from dinner at McDonald's. I could have just sent an email to you and Kent and Julio and Lon and maybe a couple others for all the bother!

The funny thing is, airgunning has not made huge strides since this forum started. You can look at the pre-high speed internet videos on older Barnes sites and still see a slightly younger looking version of Gary with a Yukon showing why you don't have to choose accuracy over power. It's not that the guns haven't had improvements with every delivery, they have but it seems like nothing is interesting enough to comment on unless it outscores the original moon landing and goes "viral."

I suppose if I go take some high speed footage of Timmy casting slugs this will all change! Of course, the site will get traffic just until the EPA completes the condemnation of my whole neighborhood!

I think that's why we couldn't get interested in the Winter shoot. The only participants had already done this before and we really don't care about people we don't know silently watching. We know that if we have something interesting come along, we can chat amongst ourselves and figure it out and absolutely nothing of value ever seems to come from outside that small circle. What's the point of posting (at great effort) just to get bumpkiss from a bunch of click and leave voyeurs?

Gee Jerry! What a grouch ... Haha. You sound like me.

I can just never understand how the whole effort here can just be so taken for granted. Even if its become a cultural thing to just read and run, I can't believe that - after it's been pointed out year after year - that it's important to me that the forum succeed ... I'd think maybe I'd earned just enough respect by now, for a hat tip when folks come to be entertained. Not a Gary compliment, but a small bit of participation. But it's like a battle of wills. Like trying to get a kid to swallow a mouthful of chewed tuna fish. By golly he'll sit there all afternoon! And I wonder why it's such a humiliating soul stealing surrender to simply tip you hat upon leaving. Acknowledging friends. You'd never walk into your favorite pub and not greet anyone. Hardly toss back your drink and best it to the door with no eye contact. But - I've had it explained to me that the net is where you are supposed to just act in a manner which would be considered rude among friends. Wierd. How many said they never went to forums because they were so rude. So we made this one where we respect each other. And you can't buy a greeting or a story.

That point about the next big wonder is valid. If I posted here that I'd discovered BigFoot - it would get a few comments and die in three days. If I posted that I had video and live proof of alien life - we might get four days out of it. Then - it's old - what's next? That's why I gripe about the guns not being shot or shown. Make them, tune them, shoot world class groups with them. Post it all. Three days, all is quiet - what do you have for me next? And the gun? Gone. Never seen again. Next one is always the one that's gonna be shot til the barrel melts down.

I don't know Jerry. Today - I have even laced threads with indicators of things I'm developing. A hundred reads later - not picked up by anyone. It's a strange world. I've made myself too accessible. Too familiar. If I were some completely dysfunctional ... even more completely dysfunctional Gnome living off the grid in a spaceship ... The world would be wearing my Tee shirts and paying twenty times my prices. But, I'm here every day. My error in marketing.

T-shirts?

We get T-shirts!?!?!


Scott

I'm thinking about that Scott ....

Actually .... I'm trying to figure how I could actually make a few bucks from shirts, I stead of it being a dead expense. I have to draw the artwork. I enjoy that, but it takes time and that costs me. I then have to co-ordinate with the short shop - time. And I have to buy the initial "screens" from which the shops print the artwork. Those are a bit expensive. If you use TRIcolors, you need a screen for each color. Several hundred bucks and still no shirts yet.

After I've done all that - then I can either stock some shirts or amass an order of so many for a minimum batch of the shop's requirement.

It's fun when the shirts are handed out. But I'm pretty sure I've never broken even. Folks say its an advertising expense for the bus. Shouldn't expect profit. But there's too much of that. A bit of profit here and there would be nice! Haha.

But Tees r fun and I have the ability to draw out some neat characters!

Hummm

Gary

Nah, even space traveling airgun gnomes only get 3 days....3 DAYS!

I think life itself has been "one-upped" by the "reality TV" model of reality. It's created the mindset that everything has to be all-drama, all the time. The producers cut out all the "boring stuff in the middle", and jump straight to the money shots, the end results. If there's not enough drama naturally present in a situation, they'll manufacture it with arbitrary deadlines or by baiting co-workers, friends and family with loaded questions and aggressive innuendo until everyone is at each others throats.

If they tried to make one those type of shows about Garys shop there'd be precious little to work with (being a sole proprietorship). They'd have to "punch it up" some other way, perhaps hiding his tools or introducing some irrational and abrasive new customer, or alienating a long-time supplier or similar. They'd not be happy until the veins on Garys forehead stood out like corded knots, and you could see tooth powder dribbling out his lips from all the grinding.

Personally, I'm fine with life including all the "boring stuff in the middle". I don't need all the sound and fury, all the time. And while it would be nice to see some new names dropping in the occasional topic or thread, I'm sorta glad it's not like those shows when you come here.

Here's an idea for T-shirts,

[www.customink.com]

They have a program that's set up as a fundraiser, no minimums, use your own artwork if you want. You make money on every shirt sold, it's a purely monetary operation, you don't need to stock the shirts or make them yourselves or anything like that.

I like the system. Like the "no inventory" part.

But this is all oriented to Charity work. I AM a non
Profit ... not intentionally ... but .... well I do support an old airgunsmith .... that might qualify .... but I guess I don't really qualify as a Charity .... Hummm

Gary

Why can't you declare yourself indigent and then establish BPS as a non-profit charity to support the indigent? You can even let your ward live in the house by the shop you use to make "gifts" for "donors!"

Hi Jerry,

Well, you are right. I am often I indignant. It's a matter of ..... wait .... how did you spel.... ..... Oh!!!

Yeah - well that too!



Gary

Just set up a foundation with some high-minded name that's just non-specific enough that you can flog it for almost any audience, "the Society for Craftsmen Artists of Metal" or something like that.

You never know, might catch on...until someone checks your acronym.