OT: Epiphany

[Robatoy]

I think I had one of those. One definition of epiphany states: "3. a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience."

On my way back from a client, I took a short-cut through farmland. Incredible green all over. We had a lot of rain lately and trees and shrubs and grass are just huge blobs of luscious green. A farmer was in his tractor, chatting on a cell-phone as he was dragging a wedding veil of seagulls behind his plow. Sun was out, warm, not too humid, a sudden regret for selling my last rag-top and motorcycle so long ago.

I pulled over to enjoy that moment.

At exactly that time my phone rang and the voice on the other end made me an offer for my countertop business. After I put down my cell, I turned the radio back up (XM "the Bridge #

27 here in Canuckistan)

"Sun's up, uh huh, looks okay The world survives into another day And I'm thinking about eternity Some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me

I had another dream about lions at the door They weren't half as frightening as they were before But I'm thinking about eternity Some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me

Walls windows trees, waves coming through You be in me and I'll be in you Together in eternity Some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me

Up among the firs where it smells so sweet Or down in the valley where the river used to be I got my mind on eternity Some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me

And I'm wondering where the lions are... I'm wondering where the lions are...

Huge orange flying boat rises off a lake Thousand-year-old petroglyphs doing a double take Pointing a finger at eternity I'm sitting in the middle of this ecstasy

Young men marching, helmets shining in the sun, Polished as precise like the brain behind the gun (Should be!) they got me thinking about eternity Some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me

And I'm wondering where the lions are... I'm wondering where the lions are...

Freighters on the nod on the surface of the bay One of these days we're going to sail away, going to sail into eternity some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me

And I'm wondering where the lions are... I'm wondering where the lions are...

------------ a very slow drive home.... I want another old Triumph TR3..wait.. I NEED one...

[jo4hn]

[bandwidth snip]

Bruce Cockburn, eh? Does this mean you're gonna do it? Does this mean that all your toys will be sold, eh? What will you do then, eh? eh? jo4hn

p.s. sounds neat if the price is right.

[Robatoy]

That CNC isn't going anywhere. That is one reason I'm even considering it=97to spend more time with it. Besides, those countertops are getting heavier by the day. I might forge a deal which would include my participation on the front- end. Like sales and estimates....maybe weasel a bit of profit sharing. I would like to keep access to my toys*COUGHS*tools. I would also have to do some training because there quite a bit more to fabricating solid surface than Lee Michaels seems to think.

[dadiOH]

How about a cherry, one owner 73' Fiat 124 Spyder? Complete with parts car (sans front clip).

[Luigi Zanasi]

As a former multiple 70s Fiat owner, I need to ask whether the mechanic is included?

Fiat: "Failed Italian Attempt at Transportation" or "Fix It Again Today".

:-)

L.

[Robatoy]

Too new. I want a 'Smallmouth' TR3.. not a 'A'. They only made them till 1957(?) Like this one:

[SonomaProducts.com]

:

[Steve Turner]

[Doug Miller]

Many years ago, there was a skit on Saturday Night Live in which two men were arguing, each asserting that he himself was stupider than the other: "I'm so dumb, I did X". "Oh, yeah? Well, I'm so dumb, I did Y!" for several iterations. Then -- "*I* bought a FIAT." [end of argument]

[HeyBub]

Know what you mean. I often hum a tune for similar reasons. The words go something like:

Over there, over there, Send the word, send the word over there - That the Yanks are coming, The Yanks are coming, The drums rum-tumming Ev'rywhere.

So prepare, say a pray'r, Send the word, send the word to beware. We'll be over, we're coming over, And we won't come back till it's over Over there.

[Gerald Ross]

I once owned a Fiat 500. Drove it all over Sicily. It looked like a miniature beetle, had two cylinders. It would actually run on one cylinder but not very much power.

[Mike O.]

I guess that offer came just in time. You're going to need all your spare time to keep that Triumph going.;-)

Mike O.

[Gerald Ross]

on your feet because the battery acid has eaten through it's rack.

[Lee Michaels]

"Robatoy" wrote

I would also have to do some training because there quite a bit more to fabricating solid surface than Lee Michaels seems to think.

======================================

Hey, hey there. I resemble that remark! You know I was just a funnin' ya. But I never thought there was no skills involved. In fact you are somebody on this forum that has some real skills.

I was just givin ya some shit about how FAKE the materials are. Not that this is a bad thing in many cases. Particularly if you end up with a solid surface that does the job it is intended for.

I am just wonderin' how well you would take to retirement. And I definitely don't see you giving up your CNC machine. There is a serious relationship there.

I assume that you can continue to work with the sign makers. Maybe you can build some of those fancy doll houses! ===

[J. Clarke]

I used to have an X1/9, which was a very nice car except that the heater wasn't up to a New England winter. Some asshole stole it though and when it was recovered there wasn't enough left to be worth trying to rebuild.

[Doug Miller]

I used to have an X-1/9 also -- lots of fun to drive, but what a PITA to repair. Mine was a '78. What year was yours?

One day, I was unloading mine after a trip to the grocery. Had both trunks open (for those who don't know, the X-1/9 is a mid-engine car, with a large luggage compartment in the nose, and a much smaller one behind the engine). One of the neighborhood kids (about 7 yrs old) wandered over, curious. Peered in the front trunk. Then the back trunk. Looked up at me, puzzled. "Does this car have an engine??"

[Robatoy]

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D

Hell Yes, I knew that. So was I.

No black magic. It is a skill that is relatively easy to acquire. Common sense and a healthy respect for safety.

Fortunately for me and the guys that work with me, the cheques those countertops generate aren't fake. *s*

It's love. There, I said it. I got that puppy humming opera.

One of the guys I read at a forum, makes little victorian screen doors, gingerbread trim and other 1:12 scale doll-house parts. He gets some awesome detail...and sales are good.

Today I used my CNC as a jointer. A slab of walnut, 15" x 24" x 1

7/8" . Put it on the table and zig-zagged a 1" bit all over it until I had one very flat side. I then buzzed it through my planer. I can, in fact do glued-up tabletops up to 50 x 100".... a nice feature, I think.

[Robatoy]

They're Baaaaack......

[Lee Michaels]

"Robatoy" wrote

One of the guys I read at a forum, makes little victorian screen doors, gingerbread trim and other 1:12 scale doll-house parts. He gets some awesome detail...and sales are good.

============================

I went to a sewing expo with my wife one year and saw a guy who makes doll display cases. It turns out the many people collect dolls and have no way to display them. They need to keep the dust off and keep them out of the sun. And, of course, they want to show the dolls off.

I couldn't believe the prices he was charging. And he was taking all kinds of special orders too. The cases are mostly glass, some hardware and thin wood strips to hold it all together. I took some measurements and went home and did some figurin'. He was charging about six to seven times cost of materials that I could get quickly and locally. And I am sure he is getting better prices on his materials than me too. So his markup is even higher.

It is obviously a niche market. But those doll collecters spend big money on their hobby/obsession. And lack of display cases is a common complaint among these folks.

[Larry Blanchard]

Every time I visit the local Triumph dealer, I salivate like Pavlov's dogs. OK, some of the new stuff is a bit radical for my taste, but the Thunderbird/Bonnieville look alikes are almost as they used to be. Even got a scrambler model.

Guess I'll have to wait till my wife wins the lottery - in the meantime I'm still loving my old '78 SR500 thumper. I've had it since '83!