The "new guy" he's a master!

[Mark Singer]

If things are not going well and you start making repetative dumb mistakes, try the following I suggested to Joe Tonich after his post "scared to go into my shop"

Joe,
Just pretend the "new guy" entering the shop is not you.....he is a master pen turner that was hired to replace you . He is an expert and will not make the same mistakes you made. If the new guy screws up....get someone to replace him (in your mind) that is even better...its a little mind game...but it allows you to continue working and get a fresh start mentally and wotk at a high level . You will be surprised how well this works! Don't tell anyone...this is our secret...and make sure it is not posted on the internet....the could take me away...:D
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[John Miliunas]

Gee Mark, I'd be doing THAT so often, I'd forget who the heck I really am! :rolleyes: :cool:

[Mark Singer]

When you do really good work....your you....when you screw up bad...its me!

[Dave Bartley]

Mark, A BIG thank you!! All this time I have been blaming me. It has been YOU!! I hope you have been learning from your mistakes. You have made a bunch over the last several years.

[Mark Singer]

:) Dave,
Next time I enter your shop it won"t be me....It will be the "new guy";) ...he is much better and he will fix whatever the two of us messed up! See how easy that was...:eek:

[John Miliunas]

OK Mark, you've convinced me. Damn, BOTH of us make a ton of mistakes, don't we? :rolleyes: I know: Tomorrow it'll be Becker walking into my shop! I'll bet he can make that little 6" Grizz jointer of mine work just like one o' them big aircraft carriers MM sells! I've got some 10-12' Cherry all lined up for him! :D :cool:

[Jim Becker]

I've got some 10-12' Cherry all lined up for him!
I'll be happy to take that cherry off your hands...err, help you mill it.:p

[Mark Singer]

If he takes it ...its not Jim ....its the "new guy" he is a master theif also

[Mark Singer]

John, why do we have green dots after our name and Jim has a blue...Green usually means $$$$ Where is it? The green is prettier and matches my new shop apron:D

[Jim Becker]

John, why do we have green dots after our name and Jim has a blue...Green usually means $$$$ Where is it?
Green means the person is online...in SMC. Blue means they are not in the forums.

[John Miliunas]

Oh, I don't know...I'm kinda' partial to blue, myself. But, Jim is right. It just signals whether the person is currently at SMC or not.

As for the Cherry milling, guess I'll just have to show up as myself and tough it out. That Becker dude probably would mill it and then promptly stick it in the back of his fancy pick 'em up! :eek:

Now, what I really need to do, is to find a "replacement" who likes to sand and stain! Now that I think about it, I wonder if he'd like doing drywall work, too?! :confused: :cool:

[Mark Singer]

:p put, the "new guy" to work....if it happens to be Jim, he can pretend its someone else....if you guys don't agree...its defitely the "new guy" all SMC members are polite and get along wonderfully! We need more of us in the Middle East...but I think I'll send the "new guy"...Its good I'm sticking to the subject and not rambling....if I am Its probably .....you know:o

[Dale Thompson]

Now, what I really need to do, is to find a "replacement" who likes to sand and stain! Now that I think about it, I wonder if he'd like doing drywall work, too?! :confused: :cool:

Hey Spring,
Unlike SOME of you loafers, I've got a REAL job - I'm RETIRED!! I don't have the time to answer EVERY cheap shot as it happens. ;) I went up to the cabin and revved up my 1:32 slot car track for the "kids of Summer". I also honed the chisels for them to use on the new Jet VS Mini. Why can't I EVER get a break?? :( I hope you noted that EVERY screw on the drywall was indented to EXACTLY .00000017". What a genius I am at saving "mud".!! :)

By the way, bud, when you finish that bathroom and kitchen on or about 3004, I want to be the contractor who does your sanding, staining and varnishing! Heh, Heh.! I just LOVE doing that stuff for my friends!! :eek: :cool: I'm also partial to "ten-fold retribution".

Lastly, I REALLY like the idea of the "new guy". It's a great way to compensate for the "identity crisis" which we all get when we do something less than our best. :) Do like I do. Set your standards SO low that there is NO way that you can FAIL!! :) :)

Dale T.

[Mark Singer]

I think we found the "old guy".....I like him , he makes me feel better about myself and we all know he is a lot better than he wants us to believe.

[Dan Bussiere]

I was thinking of posting a reply, but I couldn't remember who I was much less what he wanted to say! I was OK this morning......

Dan

[Dale Thompson]

I think we found the "old guy".....I like him , he makes me feel better about myself and we all know he is a lot better than he wants us to believe.

Mark,
It's obvious that you are a very sophisticated "thinker". I admire that. I have no idea if you have any prototype for the "old guy", but I certainly endorse your creativity. ;)

From now on, if we make a minor to mediocre error (not that most of you ever do), we can blame it on the "new guy". :D If we make a catastophic blunder which makes our project totally unrecognizable from the original intent, we can blame the "old guy". WHAT A CONCEPT!! WHAT A COUNTRY!!! :D ;)

Incidentally, I've got the "old guy" tied to a five-year contract. You'll just have to wait your turn if you make my kind of grievous errors during that time frame. ;) :)

Dale T.

[Chris Padilla]

When might we blame the government? :D

[Mark Singer]

Chris,
Don't get me started! I love this country and I support its people....it just saddens me to see some of the poor decisions unfolding and lives lost!...Enough!

[Dale Thompson]

When might we blame the government? :D

Chris,
What good would it do since we keep putting the same idiots back in office about 92% of the time?? :eek: :eek: I'd like those odds at the casino - except that I don't gamble. :) I've got my own slot machine. I NEVER lose!! :D :D

Dale T.

[Mark Singer]

Dale,
The "new guy" is the best we have in each of us....if we are not flustered with our mistakes and failures we are possible of our best work. If you are thinking about the last mistake you made...you are bound to make another. Then here comes the "new guy" he is here to replace the "klutz" that screwed up....we all do it ...now you are free to do your best...he has replaced "you" or the part of you that messed up...and he is far better! We are now free to do our best and expel our frustrations....Gone! No more.
The "old guy" is the worst in each of us....he is the little , lack of confidence guy that keeps us from being the best. You set your own bar and it is difficult to raise because you are you ....the setter...the "new guy" can raise the bar...he was brought in to do it! Dale, you are always suggesting you are the "old guy" but we know better...you are confident enough to allow yourself to be laughed at....you don't mind being the "klutz" I have to think there is more to Dale than what is on the surface. Maybe you have an"old guy " crust but the important center is all "new guy".
I love the internet it is like living "My Dinner with Andre" with smart people I don't know or maybe I know better than the people around here I think I know...

[Dale Thompson]

Dale,
The "new guy" is the best we have in each of us....if we are not flustered with our mistakes and failures we are possible of our best work. If you are thinking about the last mistake you made...you are bound to make another. Then here comes the "new guy" he is here to replace the "klutz" that screwed up....we all do it ...now you are free to do your best...he has replaced "you" or the part of you that messed up...and he is far better! We are now free to do our best and expel our frustrations....Gone! No more.
The "old guy" is the worst in each of us....he is the little , lack of confidence guy that keeps us from being the best. You set your own bar and it is difficult to raise because you are you ....the setter...the "new guy" can raise the bar...he was brought in to do it! Dale, you are always suggesting you are the "old guy" but we know better...you are confident enough to allow yourself to be laughed at....you don't mind being the "klutz" I have to think there is more to Dale than what is on the surface. Maybe you have an"old guy " crust but the important center is all "new guy".
I love the internet it is like living "My Dinner with Andre" with smart people I don't know or maybe I know better than the people around here I think I know...

Mark,
I've been to Laguna Beach. My folks lived out there with my Mom's uncle for about four years after they retired. They were about three blocks above the ocean. What a SPECTACULAR view! I also know that everyone in Laguna Beach is a multi-millionaire. You must have some GREAT tools! :)

Don't worry about the "old guy". Self-deprecation is sort of a family trait. It encourages responses and allows us to get in some of our own "shots". I never pick on folks whom I don't feel can defend themselves. On the other hand, there is nothing I like better than a good "battle of wits". Winston Churchill was a MASTER at comebacks. If I had heroes, he would be one of them. He could come back to just about any putdown and he could do it without using profanity.

Mark, I have more self-esteem and ego than anyone should even WANT! If I expressed it, I would make everyone, including myself, sick to their stomach.

I am an expert at physics and mathematics! None of the kids in MY neighborhood, either at home or at the cabin, are allowed to get anything but "A"s in math and/or science. They don't want to face the "old man". They don't. :cool:

I contribute to a slot car racing forum where I am also the "klutz". My image there is that I can't get off the starting line. However, I have an open invitation to "Come on up and RACE!". I NEVER win when I am racing anyone who is twelve years old or younger. If you are older than twelve, you can expect to be beaten DECISIVELY! PERIOD!! :)
How do you spell H-U-M-I-L-I-T-Y? :confused:

I'm also a very good woodworker. Some "professional" finish carpenters have used words even more complimentary than that. My most ego-centered comment would have to be that all of my wood filler containers have dried up years ago. If it's not right, redo it!! ;)

I am also a pretty good "turner". By "good turner", I mean that I can use the skew quite well and I know how to sharpen chisels. I'm no Richard Raffan but I don't get the lathe time that he does either. Lately, every one of my "clients" (I work for free) has wanted "flat" stuff. :mad:

One of the reasons that I make some scrap is that I don't like to make the same thing more than once and I don't like to work from published plans. (Up here in northern Wisconsin, scrap is not that expensive because I can get Red Oak for about a buck a square foot). The logical exception to that is when I am doing intricate jewelry boxes or mantle clocks. With the setup times involved with the 1/4" dovetails and such, it takes about the same time to make three as it does to make one.

Mark, you just caught me in a "weak" moment. Now that the entire world knows that I have blown my cover, I feel justified in asking you for a favor. I have been working on a few "new" projects lately and I have a TON of scrap! Would you mind sending one of your Lear jets out to Wisconsin to help haul it away?? :) ;)

Don't mourn for the "old guy". My ONLY failure over these MANY years has been to keep my ego and my self-estreem under control! It has NOT been an easy life! ;) :)

Dale T.

[Mark Singer]

Dale,

That would be "Gulfstream":D

[John Miliunas]

Dale, you wrote: "I'm also a very good woodworker. Some "professional" finish carpenters have used words even more complimentary than that. My most ego-centered comment would have to be that all of my wood filler containers have dried up years ago. If it's not right, redo it!!"

I've known this since the first work you posted. I knew right then and there that you ain't no "klutz", nor anything even remotely close. Fact is, I don't think you've "fooled" anyone out here! Rather, you've given many of us goals to aspire to, as has Mark, Jim, Todd and many other very talented souls here at SMC. :) Believe it or not, I've taken those lessons to heart (even without pictures! :D )! My scrap piles ARE getting bigger, but I'm now starting to cut back my "materials needed" lists from 95% slush factor to about 88%! :D My completed projects aren't *perfect*...Yet! ;)

One of these years, I'll get as good as the rest of you guys, but in the meantime, I'm learning, having fun and looking for sources who are interested in my scrap! :D :cool:

[Mark Singer]

John,
I guess we found the real "Dale" ..... "Dale Exposed" ...."He is not the Klutz he wanted us to think he was! So that leaves us still looking for the "old guy" ....John rest assured he is to some degree in all of us....just remember when he raises his klutzy head......in comes "the New Guy" and there is a lot of him in you(no matter what you try to make us believe)....a whole lot my friend!