[NA]Miniature Naval Fleet[NA]

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
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west Texas
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Display name:
Dave Taylor
all done the old-fashioned way
 

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Amazing, but I am not sure to be happy or sad for folks who spend a lifetime in pursuits that are so -- not sure of the word -- trivial?

The workmanship is incredible -- what else can that guy do with that talent?

:dunno:
 
Haha. You just described most civilized "jobs".

What would that IT guy do with his talent if there weren't some clueless business clown who wants yet another Microsoft Exchange Server installed? ;) Or worse... Sharepoint.

What would the gas station attendant do if people could be trusted to pump gas safely from self-serve pumps without a safety monitor on the playground?

Etc.
 
dmccormack said:
Amazing, but I am not sure to be happy or sad for folks who spend a lifetime in pursuits that are so -- not sure of the word -- trivial?
The workmanship is incredible -- what else can that guy do with that talent?
Click to expand...

Trivial? The guy is actually doing something. It's a far better hobby than the typical person sitting on the sofa watching tv reruns in the evening. In 70 years, the generation that will replace him will have nothing to show for themselves other than the high scores on prepackaged canned video games and a library of dvd's.

There are so many people that never get to use their skills in a way that it could be because it doesn't fit into the assembly line mass produced consumer process. He probably couldn't get a job building matchstick boats because he can't crank out 5 of them per hour.
 
Somebody needs to buy that guy a battleship. I used to build airplane models like that, then I got a real one.
 
fgcason said:
Trivial? The guy is actually doing something. It's a far better hobby than the typical person sitting on the sofa watching tv reruns in the evening. In 70 years, the generation that will replace him will have nothing to show for themselves other than the high scores on prepackaged canned video games and a library of dvd's.

There are so many people that never get to use their skills in a way that it could be because it doesn't fit into the assembly line mass produced consumer process. He probably couldn't get a job building matchstick boats because he can't crank out 5 of them per hour.
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Sure, but what, truly, is produced other than a "gee whiz that's neat" fleet?

In other words, with that talent for intricate detail, what could he have done in those years other than a matchstick Navy?

:dunno:
 
Sure, but what, truly, is produced other than a "gee whiz that's neat" fleet?
Click to expand...

To me, it's like saying Rembrandt (or your artist of choice) wasted away all those years in front of his easel - and many feel that way about art; their loss. I enjoyed the GW feeling I get from the matchstick fleet and am grateful he did it.
 
dmccormack said:
Sure, but what, truly, is produced other than a "gee whiz that's neat" fleet?
Click to expand...

What is truly produced at any given job? Seriously, there's no job out there that uses a fraction of the ability of even the most incompetent person. Most individual specific jobs are about piddling with trivial gee whiz crap that is a waste of time of the individual doing the work. Think about it.

Everything of importance isn't about productivity or advantage to others. He had fun at it. He enjoyed his hobby. It kept him off the streets and out of trouble. He didn't hurt anyone. He didn't screw anyone over by doing it. He has a sense of accomplishment and integrity. Sometimes that's far better than good enough..and often more than most people accomplish in their lives. Seriously, the guy actually did something and he can point at it and say "I did that" which is something that most people can't say.

In other words, with that talent for intricate detail, what could he have done in those years other than a matchstick Navy?
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Well, he could have sat at a desk nitpicking little numbers that he was moving around on an excel worksheet 8 hours a day with a horrible boss breathing down his neck. That would have been impressive and considered productive to most people. He would have likely hated every minute of the day and died of a stress induced heart attack years ago however others who don't have to deal with the hassles would have been impressed.

Pick the one thing that you are truly good at more than absolutely anything else and ask yourself if that is what you do for a living. It's probably not.


I totally understand this guy and his motivation and why he did what he did. I'm pretty much in the same situation. Find your passion, stick with it, to heck with what others think.
 
fgcason said:
What is truly produced at any given job? Seriously, there's no job out there that uses a fraction of the ability of even the most incompetent person. Most individual specific jobs are about piddling with trivial gee whiz crap that is a waste of time of the individual doing the work. Think about it.

Everything of importance isn't about productivity or advantage to others. He had fun at it. He enjoyed his hobby. It kept him off the streets and out of trouble. He didn't hurt anyone. He didn't screw anyone over by doing it. He has a sense of accomplishment and integrity. Sometimes that's far better than good enough..and often more than most people accomplish in their lives. Seriously, the guy actually did something and he can point at it and say "I did that" which is something that most people can't say.
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I get the "I did that" aspect.

I also enjoy the leisure, freedom, and accomplishment that a well-paying job that a very selective industry provides.
 
Pretty cool. Just seems a little OCD to me.
 
dmccormack said:
Amazing, but I am not sure to be happy or sad for folks who spend a lifetime in pursuits that are so -- not sure of the word -- trivial?

The workmanship is incredible -- what else can that guy do with that talent?

:dunno:
Click to expand...

It's a hobby. Some people model-railroad. Some people ride ATVs around. Some people collect beer cans. Some people like to fly. Gotta do something besides work all day.
 
I suppose it's more productive than 1,000 straight wins at Solitaire.
 
Anthony said:
Just seems a little OCD to me.
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So is breathing but no one is calling that a disease..yet.


432 boats / 62 years = 7 boats per year.
1200 airplanes / 62 years = 20 planes per year.

That's a rainy day passtime, not an every waking moment fanatical obsession.
 
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fgcason said:
So is breathing but no one is calling that a disease..yet.


432 boats / 62 years = 7 boats per year.
1200 airplanes / 62 years = 20 planes per year.

That's a rainy day passtime, not an every waking moment fanatical obsession.
Click to expand...

I heart math.
 
fgcason said:
So is breathing but no one is calling that a disease..yet.
Click to expand...


We have to breath to live, and we do it without even knowing it most of the time like our heart beating. That's not really a good analogy. Nothing wrong with his hobby, or being a little OCD about some things, and I did say "a little" OCD, rememeber?



432 boats / 62 years = 7 boats per year.
1200 airplanes / 62 years = 20 planes per year.

That's a rainy day passtime, not an every waking moment fanatical obsession.
Click to expand...

I never said it was a fanatical obsession. Where did you see that? I said it was a little OCD. Maybe people think my use of checklists is a little OCD?
 
Sac Arrow said:
I suppose it's more productive than 1,000 straight wins at Solitaire.
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Don't knock it until you try it... Especially with a deck of 51.
I think it's pretty neat to have a hobby you've had your whole life. And he is pretty good at it. This could have made up for being a clerk in a grocery store, a guy installing a widget on an assembly line, or a jeweler doing watch repair daily.
Quite artistic.
 
Maybe he was doing time. This is pretty amazing tho.
 
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