ThomasPowers Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 I was just thinking that almost all the "work" I have done in IT is/will likely be gone long before I am; but I have seen a boot scraper that my Great Grandfather made as a smith in a rural town in AR and likewise I expect that my great grandkids will be able to see or hold items that I have made as a smith. How lucky We Are to be able to create tangible things that will go on down through the years. I feel like we owe it to the future to help others gain this *valuable* skill to travel through time both forward and backwards. I recently did a demo for a medieval/renaissance writing group at the local Uni and one of the things I brought was an original renaissance german crossbow quarrel point so that they could actually *hold* something that came from the times they were writing about (also some repro viking era cooking gear) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Thompson Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 I suppose it does matter but I've never had much time for offices or those who spend their lives in them. A computer is just another tool, a bit of glorified office equipment. Their main use seems to be to monitor and oppress people, in my opinion they do more harm than good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 I suppose it does matter but I've never had much time for offices or those who spend their lives in them. A computer is just another tool, a bit of glorified office equipment. Their main use seems to be to monitor and oppress people, in my opinion they do more harm than good. Hu? Computers? What? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 Don't knock the computers. They support my hobbies........................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sukellos Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 AMEN, Thomas! I have had the privilege of teaching old time skills (smithing, flint knapping, survival skills, muzzleloading...etc.) to hundreds of young folks over the years. Payday is when one of them grabs the torch and runs with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 I suppose it does matter but I've never had much time for offices or those who spend their lives in them. A computer is just another tool, a bit of glorified office equipment. Their main use seems to be to monitor and oppress people, in my opinion they do more harm than good. Oh D A R N! Sam, here I was looking forward to joining in on this thread and NOW you've pointed out the evil computers represent I'm all bummed out. Now I'm OPPRESSED! Save yourself Sam, put that evil device of yours on the anvil and let fly with a sledge! You owe it to yourself, you DO! Frosty the Lucky. (Who actually owns a beat to pieces old anvil that came off a great grandparent's farm) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 I was recently prowling through my great-grandparent's old house. It's in shambles, and I'm afraid it will soon be left to fall in on itself. My g-grandmother's dad was a blacksmith of German extraction, born in the early 1800's (my avitar is an outlined photo from his head-stone). I can't remember if it was on the floor or on the mantle, but I found a little round buckle, like for a strap or harness, welded up from small scaps of iron. You could tell it was done as quick work, but you can certainly tell that it is wrought. It sits on my mantle now, and I pick it up often. No big spiritual deal or anything, but like Thomas said, a tangible link to those who have gone before us. Makes me wonder about all the brick-a-brack I leave laying around my house. What if some day a gg-grandson of mine, one that I never even knew, holds a piece of my work in his hand and marvels over it. That' s a pretty cool thought. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 the computer is a handy tool it is source of design and reference. The customer that made me stop and think Said " how do it feel to know you just made something that will last 200 years ?" I had never thought of the work in that way before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Thompson Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 Oh D A R N! Sam, here I was looking forward to joining in on this thread and NOW you've pointed out the evil computers represent I'm all bummed out. Now I'm OPPRESSED! Save yourself Sam, put that evil device of yours on the anvil and let fly with a sledge! You owe it to yourself, you DO! Frosty the Lucky. (Who actually owns a beat to pieces old anvil that came off a great grandparent's farm) I don't have a computer of my own, I wouldn't want one in the house. I use one at my part-time job as a projectionist.Be warned... No good will come of it! :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal Dave Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 I feel lucky to be able to learn a new skills at the age of 63 years. This country allows us to do this. We should be thankful we are here in the USA. Are we communicating right now with new technologies that allow us to share our knowledge and old skills with others? I'm on a computer that allowed me to find IForgeIron and anvilfire and search for answers and explore areas I didn't know about when I first started. It's a wonderful thing. I have troubles with computers, and don't understand the language, but I don't try to fight it. I use what I can and realize I am so far behind the curve, that I strike out when dealing with new devices. There is good and bad in everything, just enjoy and use the parts that help your life. Let the new kids help you with your devices that don't work and you can show them a thing or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kburd Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 I suppose it does matter but I've never had much time for offices or those who spend their lives in them. A computer is just another tool, a bit of glorified office equipment. Their main use seems to be to monitor and oppress people, in my opinion they do more harm than good. i cant imagine my life without computers i have spent the last ten years of my life non stop learning via the benifite of my computer and internet connection. form welding and smithing to needless faq's and answers to questions in minutes instead of weeks it is unbelivable and would never want to be without it. and the at least 5 dirty emails i get everyday from people that i would never thought would find that sort of stuff funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 I have a couple of bronze arrowheads from the Bronze age of metalworking. Neat to hold onto something that someone created Thousands of years ago. I wonder if someone will treasure something I made thousands of years hence, or if there will even be people around. My students always laugh at how I make everything heavier and stronger than needed. Now I understand my design thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 I don't have a computer of my own, I wouldn't want one in the house. I use one at my part-time job as a projectionist.Be warned... No good will come of it! No warning necessary Sam, I've been reading your posts for a while now. Does your boss know you're using HIS/ER computer for private purposes? Truth is without the computer and internet I'd still be a bachelor, I'd only have a couple dozen friends instead of the maybe thousands, some from YOUR island I do now, I'd still be making technical drawings with a "T" square, triangles, scales and pencils, retouching photos in a darkroom and so on, it's a HUGE list of improvements the desk top computer has made in my life. Like you said earlier it's just a tool, without a person to tell it what to do it's an inanimate lump, no more evil than a dirt clod. Here's wishing you a happy 21st century. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 I have a piece of furniture from the 1840's. My grandmother's name was Nellie. Without the computer I would never have found the connection between the two or that my grandmother's name wasn't Nellie. For a good portion of my working life, when I wasn't at the anvil, I was at a drafting table using the drafting instruments similar to the ones Thomas Jefferson used but the young men I trained to use them are now using a computer to do the same work. If it were not for this tool that absolutely drives me to rage at times I wouldn't have much contact with the outside world, I'm so grateful for it. Now about making things that last, some of my art work is already rusted to nothing, lawn sprinklers and pool splash, other pieces in the dumpster when new owners buy the property and others just gone, stolen I guess but I have taught some to love metal and that's the part I hope will last. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWCarlson Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 I am a computer and I am monitoring all of you, especially Sam. In my spare computation cycles I am also causing (like guns and pointed knives) all of the ills of the world. - Computer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stribett1 Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Senor Curmudgeon, Which rural town in Arkansas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Thompson Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 The great thing about the internet is that you can be whoever you like. In real life, I, for example, am a twelve year-old girl. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 Cedarville along HW 59 down towards Fort Smith (north of it), near Natural Dam. My Father's side of the family was in Fort Smith; My Mother's side in Cedarville and I was born in Fayetteville. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hammer Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Might I remind you that.... if it weren't for computers, we wouldn't have these conversations the way we do.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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