Dick Smith Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 How about I like the look?What on earth is wrong with having a different opinion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 [quote user="Dick Smith"]What on earth is wrong with having a different opinion?[/quote]Nothing wrong at all Dick, however, I seem to remember some recent posts about photo "manipulation" in which I had a different opinion to you and (initially) received a very sarcastic "put down" from you. Sauce, goose, gander etc. [:)]No hard feelings of course, have a Happy New Year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Head Posted December 29, 2006 Author Share Posted December 29, 2006 How about I like the look?Hey that's fine. We all see the same object with different eyes and have differing opinions, I was trying to encourage you to think outside of the plans a little Dick and create something that there is only one of!Anyway, good luck with the chairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 [quote user="powerdesal"][quote user="Dick Smith"]What on earth is wrong with having a different opinion?[/quote]Nothing wrong at all Dick, however, I seem to remember some recent posts about photo "manipulation" in which I had a different opinion to you and (initially) received a very sarcastic "put down" from you. Sauce, goose, gander etc. [:)]No hard feelings of course, have a Happy New Year.[/quote]Steve, if you think that was a 'put down' I am amazed. What did I say that told you not to do it? Actually I recall saying that this debate had been going on for years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Head Posted December 29, 2006 Author Share Posted December 29, 2006 Dick wrote..at my level of skill.Been thinking about that one all day Dick and for some reason it's really wound me up. Please define your level of skill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Basically, rubbish.I can do simple joints, get a decent finish, use a table saw or router without actually killing myself! Good at shelves and stuff...Over the last few years I wasn't able to do much because of a bad wrist, but that was operated on last year and is better now - the big problem is arthritis in my left thumb joint, which makes any kind of work painful at the moment. Hence some pretty simple projects - but as an example Julie wanted a drawer runner done for an old oak office drawer unit - it meant cutting and fitting a strip of wood 9"x3/4"x1/4". I cut it on the bandsaw and fitted it, and at the end was in quite a lot of discomfort - so my working tolerance is about 10 minutes at the moment. Which is getting a bit worrying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Head Posted December 29, 2006 Author Share Posted December 29, 2006 I wasn't talking about physical discomfort or lack of machinery, although you've addressed both. It was more of a philoshical question about your self perception of your creative skills, something I run into all the time, it annoys me because folk tend to talk themselves down rather than up, and convince themselves they need the latest equipment or to be arty farty to do beautiful work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugsy Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 How to be an expertRather good this , isn't it/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 [quote user="Chris Head"]I wasn't talking about physical discomfort or lack of machinery, although you've addressed both. It was more of a philoshical question about your self perception of your creative skills, something I run into all the time, it annoys me because folk tend to talk themselves down rather than up, and convince themselves they need the latest equipment or to be arty farty to do beautiful work. [/quote]It isn't that - I know what I want to do but my hand doesn't work properly! But I have to do some shelves this week... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayJay Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Sorry, off topic just for a tick. Dick, maybe you ought to try glucosamine & also cod liver oil. They should help ease it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Head Posted December 29, 2006 Author Share Posted December 29, 2006 I'm an expert in pain Dick, in the end it sort of becomes a wierd friend. I've spent as much time as I dare without being too antisocial during the Christmas recess grafting on a project that I could see in my minds eye but couldn't quantify on paper. After 70 odd hours of working in sub zero, with a broken finger....fingers, thumbs and lips cracked open in the cold, knees hurting, wrists aching, not knowing what the outcome would be I'm on the homeward leg of this project, I don't really care if it's good bad or just plain ugly, I've won and given 110% at a time when I could have been eating mince pies and sat next to the fire. But I'm one who lives with fire in his belly and come up with solutions, not problems.Yep Dick, I know all about pain and lack of machinery but I personally don't have any limits or barriers, which is why I find your statement somewhat frustrating, especially from a man who is able to use his brain in the way that you are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David J Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Don't be an expert if you know the definition of an expert.An Ex is a has been and a spert is a drip under pressure!! David J"Always on the ball" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Chris - I am no stranger to pain, either. But the problem isn't just pain, it's arthritis, and you can't positive-attitude your way out of that in the end! Ignoring the pain means that you are also ignoring the damage.It isn't a lack of equipment, either - although more room than a 10x10 shed would be nice. At the last count I had 5 routers...As for glucosamine, I tried that some years ago and it had no effect. I use topical ibuprofen gel, but it's limited in effectiveness.I really don't feel that I have a huge problem in the overall scheme of things! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 I didn't know about bread/tea/coffee - almost my entire diet gone in one go! I'll give it a go.I had a supposed arthritic knee a few years ago, couldn't walk etc., but it got better (even though my doctor didn't believe me) and then similar with a wrist/shoulder, but that was Carpal Tunnel Syndrome following a fall, and being overweight doesn't help. The wrist operation cleared it up very well, but since then this bloody arthritis in my thumb has started up, and now I drop things if I use my left hand! Even working an SLR is a problem.How do you bust ligaments dancing? I'd pay to see that - must be impressive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Dick,You have my sincere sympathy, you mention (I think) having gone down the glucosamine road. Perhaps you should try it again with (say) 1500mg of glucosamine, plus 2000mg of MSM and possibly the choindroitine (sp) addition. I use the glucosamine and MSM regime and, if I stop, really notice how he fingers go back to stiffness and pain (also left hand - weird). A few weeks of the daily tablets again and things get better. The pain and stiffness dont go away completely but become much less intrusive. The Ibuprofen gel is pretty inneffective really as a long term solution IMHO.As a matter of interest, my wife suffers considerably with arthritis (lower back) and, at long last, I have persuaded her to embark on a course of glucosamine. You can now get it in liquid form which is great for those who struggle with the rather large 1500mg tablets. Obviously there is a time element such that no improvement is seen for some weeks. Time will tell how she gets on.A look at zipvit.co.uk might be of interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonzjob Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 With the best will in the world Chris. If you have arthritic thumbs, both of mine are, you don't get them cold! If you do then every movement is like someone pushing a knife from the base of your thumb towards the top. It may be big and butch to work through the cold and suffer, but I hope that you NEVER feel that pain. If my hands get cold then that lasts for days after.When I was in the R.A.F. I have had to lay on the top of a Belfast aircraft wing that was covered in ice with my hands in the fuel tank up to my elbows in freezing parafin and very sub-zero temperatures to change a fuel level transmitter. That was no problem, because I was young enough to handle it, but now I always try to even wash my hands in warm water. So please don't knock Dick when he says what he can and can't do until you know what he is talking about[:)]. I sincerely hope that you never find out what it's like! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Thanks Mr Zjob - the other side is the relief that a carefully applied mug of hot tea can bring!I had a lot of decorating to do in the summer/autumn and so I just used analgesic relief to get it done - and boy, am I paying for it now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWINKLE Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 You are a very busy man Dick when you're not working. I'd love to have a handy man around my house - I do all the decorating and D.I.Y. around here! I hope one day in the future you and JonZ will be able to sit and twiddle your thumbs without them hurting too much[;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 I don't think Julie would agree as I sit here tapping away and vaguely watching a 1916 WW1 documentary...As for thumb twiddling - ouch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Head Posted December 30, 2006 Author Share Posted December 30, 2006 Whoa there Johnnyboy! I wasn't referring in the slightest to Dicks, or anybody elses lack of physical ability to sustain any given task, my comments simply refer to my interpretation of Dicks perception of his abilities to create something, which I found to be almost defeatist, that alone was what I found irritating, when anybody says 'I wish I could do that', or 'I can't', how do they know they can't? Have they tried? It's like accepting that one can only do so much when anything is possible.As for being big and butch in going through pain, no it's not, it's a bit daft, but I have a family to feed and bills to pay, I have to produce an income. I don't have the luxury of chosing whether or not to work in extremes of climate and nor can I undo the damage done over the years of physically demanding work environments, which is why I asked about glucosamine a few weeks back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoddy Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Dick wrote'How do you bust ligaments dancing? I'd pay to see that - must be impressive!"I did this a few years back. I couldn't walk at all and they had to give me gas and air before they could pull my leg straight. The specialist went on and on about what wonderful leg muscles I had and put me in one of those zip up fibreglass leg casts for three months. He said the injury was the sort of thing he saw in men who'd come off motor bikes. I'd only been back at work for a week when it went again. My son virtually carried me in to a local sports injuries clinic and I walked out. A couple more treatments and a set of exercises and I've never looked back. The point I'm making is that it's always worth trying something outside of conventional medicine. I'll be pleased to know of anything that can help arthritic thumbs - I've got the beginnings of one, the trouble is I don't like taking pills.Hoddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Chris, I tell you again, your perception is utterly wrong. Please don't think you can read my mind... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Personal projects, I plan to build a summer house/shed. Depends on permission and finances. By the way, anyone seen shiplap cladding anywhere? I used to use cedar shingles (work) but I dare say they could be pricey. Work projects, have some good clients with nice ideas who allow me a free(ish)hand, & that makes me feel warm inside!Sorry for keeping this related to the topic LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Quite. I wish I'd never mentioned my b;**dy thumb, now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert the InfoGipsy Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Personal projects: get the PdeC and the groundworks sorted for our house build (timber frame, so on topic).Work projects: Anything that helps to pay for the above.On the subject of the little side discussion about skill, pain thresholds and the like, I've had a number of careers, at least two of which I achieved a decent level of expertise in. One thing I have noticed is that most experts cannot grasp that what they find so straightforward is difficult for other people. Most people are experts at something, but the combination of aptitudes, interests, time and money for each individual restricts their choices.Most people are pretty realistic about what they can achieve within their own constraints, and most underestimate what they could do if pushed.I spent more than half my working life being paid to do stuff that other people do as hobbies. Some of those hobbyists are pretty good, but very few could achieve consistent high standards, day in, day out, working at professional speeds. It's partly practice/experience and partly passion. But why should they push themselves beyond their comfort zone if they don't have the passion? Funnily enough I always found it easier to be creative if someone was paying for the inspiration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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