zeeprogrammer

Thank you all very much. It means a lot to me.
She was a very talented, intelligent, and beautiful woman. I miss her terribly.

Hopefully it won't be long before I get motivated to cut metal.
But the holidays are approaching fast and it's going to be a very rough time without Teresa.
I can't imagine putting up the Christmas tree with all of her homemade ornaments.

Happily, my two daughters live very close to me and I see each at least twice a week.
They've taken well after Teresa with cooking, gardening, writing, hobbies, etc.
They're fine daughters and I'm very proud of them.
They've been extremely helpful to me and I hope I am as well to them.

Both daughters were pregnant during this time. Can you imagine what they went through?
Happily both gave birth just weeks before Teresa's passing and she was able to see them.
I now have two granddaughters from one and two grandsons from the other.

It's good to have friends and a forum that lets one release once in a while.
Thank you.

Hi all.

It's been a while but I thought some of my friends would want to know.
My wife of 45 years passed away May 25th from esophageal cancer. She was only 65.
It's been a hard road for myself and my kids but we're getting through.

I sold my big lathe and mill and went back to a mini-lathe and mini-mill. More my size.
I also finished converting my Sherline lathe and mill to CNC.
Keeping busy helps.
Unfortunately, I have no motivation to do anything else in the shop. That will take a while.

Will I get back in the shop? Will I be back to the forum? I can't say right now.
I know time heals but it can take a while.

You all take care and know that I'm lurking...infrequently perhaps...but lurking.

Stay healthy my friends.

What a great thread! Really shows the character of the members here and why we're here.
Thank you Ray!

Thanks SwarfMaker.

Bob...your point is well taken. Encouragement (or an ego stroke to put it bluntly) is certainly a need. (SwarfMaker's post felt really good.) Even if I'd underlined or made bold the 'all' in my statement "If all you're doing it for is to get acknowledgement then that's wrong.", was unnecessary and incorrectly conveyed what I was trying to say.

Kim...you're welcome to that soapbox. I'm in complete agreement with what you said.

Paul...I'm glad you brought that up. There are a couple of members here that I tend to poke and joke around with. They seem fine with it (I've even PM'd them to be sure they were okay with it) but I do wonder how other people take it. And I too have said things that were taken differently that what was meant. Nor is it just international. Coming to the east coast from the midwest I've used 'sayings' that made people look at me sideways or ask if that was a good thing or not. I find it hard, as the speaker, to be aware of how something may come across. As a receiver, I tend (or try anyway) not to assume that what someone said was meant to be negative. I'll ask or assume it was positive or meant in jest.

On that point, I appreciate people who, when offended take it off-line and PM me with their concern rather than airing it out on the forum. This happened more often in the precursor to this forum than here.

You're correct of course about the negative connotation with 'lurker'. That will be hard to change but I'm going to try.

Funny, I can't help but think of a library or museum when people talk about 'observers' to the forum. The authors of the books will not know how their work influenced or helped someone.
I mentioned earlier about this being a social media site but it's also a library and a museum.

------

Daggers and Jason posted while I was writing this. Thumbs up to both of you.
And, Daggers, don't let it stop you. I made similar mistakes or got somewhat negative replies when I started and questioned whether to continue. It's really not much different than starting any relationship as both people learn about each other.

There seems to be at least two topics flowing in this thread.

1) The apparent decline of interest in the forum.
2) Receiving acknowledgement, whether by response posts, likes, thanks, etc.

With respect to the 1st, model engines is a small subset of the home machining hobby and the title of this forum makes me wonder if that's part of the problem.
Yes, additional sub-forums have been created and the chatterbox is filled with fascinating non-engine projects.
But engines are stressed to the point that some members have apologized for posting a build of a locomotive or ask permission to log an interesting non-engine topic.
I myself worried about posting a thread on a spinning wheel and tried to justify it as a finger treadle engine.

I confess I'm not a member here because of an interest in engines. (I do have an interest but not nearly to the level of many members here.)
I learn about machining here and even other subjects. The forum is full of teachers and helpers.

I never understood the complaints about lurkers or people who pop in with a question and are never seen again.
It's part of life. And, you never know when one of them decides this is for them and jumps in.
How many members started posting with..."I've been lurking for a while..."?

No I don't have any answers.

As for the 2nd item...

Marv mentioned the 'homemadetools' forum and the 'thanks' feature. I was just lurking on that forum the other night and noticed it.
Yes, I've lurked on there a number of times.
I like the thanks feature. I also like it because 'thanks' is more inclusive. How many times have you been told something you didn't like to hear but were grateful to know?
I understand the problem. Just like on other social media sites (and this forum is one) where people talk about how many likes they got or are bummed when they don't get enough.
Again, part of life.
But the thing that bothers me most is the concept of punishing the many because of the few.
Sure, there's going to be the person who spouts off about how many likes they got or argues. But that's not the case for the majority.
I deal with them by ignoring it.

Again, I have no answers. I really enjoy this forum and have learned an immense amount. I like the people.

A lot of work does go into putting together a post. But if all you're doing it for is to get acknowledgement then that's wrong.
Lack of acknowledgement is not lack of appreciation.
How many old threads have you come across that you found helpful or fascinating. Would you acknowledge it years after it was posted?

This is a free forum and free of pesky ads. Much appreciation and thanks for the admins.

My apologies. I hadn't realized I was standing on a soap box. I will go burn it now. 

BTW, as someone mentioned, posting a response revives a thread. I wouldn't want a 'like' or 'thank' feature to do that.