The reports of my absence are exaggerated, but it sure is good to have net friends who give a damn. I don't plan to lose you, so thanks for caring. That's enough sentiment. Now back to COC mode before I lose my stripes.
IIRC it was the other Pope who wrote "A little learning is a dangerous thing", but I wonder if it applies to rcw. Each of us has some special knowledge or expertise about something, but we all are woodturners and I wonder if only a _little_ learning about things that aren't 'need to know' for turning isn't sufficient. I even wonder if too much dogmatic turning advice could sometimes hinder our progress and ruin our fun? Same with striving for perfection when we all know there never was, isn't now and never will be a perfect bowl.
Can there be too much teaching, advising, etc? Is making mistakes and learning from them a bad thing? Why do so many good self-taught turners feel that others' hands must be held and why do so many otherwise smart and self-sufficient people want their hands held while multiple turning techniques (usually 90 t0 180 deg. out of phase) are spoon fed? Maybe demos, hands-on, net threads and the like serve as much for socializing as for learning.
Chemistry, electronics, engineering, law, electric power distribution, metallurgy, allergy, oncology, toxicology, internal combustion, electric motors, physics, metaphysics, forestry, botany, strength of materials, economics, logic, business practices, philosophy, machining, welding, bullshit, vulgarity, manners and music to name a _few :) have all been discussed here and we recognize ourselves somewhere in the list. Enthusiasm for the non-turning things we each hold dear is fine, but I suspect small doses go down easier for most others.
Woodturning can be and once was a simple craft. Just maybe 'keeping it simple' isn't all bad, or do you believe that we must "drink deep or not at all" in order to enjoy turning wood?
Aren't musings just misplaced or disguised blogs? (just learned the word) The exceptions that prove the KISS rule.:)
To the new turners on rcw, welcome. No you aren't confused and bewildered. I am. Just sigh & forgive or disagree like all the tolerant regulars do. A grain of salt helps.
Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter