brain drain at rbt...

Slowly but surely, the true brains of
rbt are going away. I'm sure some day
I'll see someone will write a "how do
you fix this" question, and the only
coherent reply will be, "can't you
afford to buy a new bike?" At least
there is the archives, that's usually
where I search first. It's sad, but we
are in a disposable society, and
knowledge is no longer valued. Only
money fixes everything now.

"Crescentius Vespasianus" wrote in message
...
Slowly but surely, the true brains of rbt are going away. I'm sure some
day I'll see someone will write a "how do you fix this" question, and the
only coherent reply will be, "can't you afford to buy a new bike?" At
least there is the archives, that's usually where I search first. It's
sad, but we are in a disposable society, and knowledge is no longer
valued. Only money fixes everything now.

For some people, maybe. But take hope - there are still people around who
value knowledge and the nous required to make something work, even if it may
appear simpler to just but a new one.

(or get somebody from one of the poorer countries - lack of money is a
strong incentive to learning to fix things.)

However there's also the issue that mechanical things are improving, and
with them, reliability. Combine this with the ease of communication provided
by the internet, and you not only have fewer problems, but many of them have
well defined solutions which are already there - leaving people interested
in such things with little to do but bicker.

Which brings us neatly back to what I guess prompted your post - Sheldon's
efforts have been a major part of this. It will be interesting to see who
will pick up the torch.

cheers,
clive

-snip-
Clive George wrote:
However there's also the issue that mechanical things are improving, and
with them, reliability.

Or frequently, just new problems.

Combine this with the ease of communication
provided by the internet, and you not only have fewer problems, but many
of them have well defined solutions which are already there - leaving
people interested in such things with little to do but bicker.-snip-

There's always that.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Clive says

Sheldon's efforts have been a major part of this. It
will be interesting to see who will pick up the
torch.

Maybe Atlas?

Best Regards - Mike Baldwin

"Crescentius Vespasianus" wrote in message
...
Slowly but surely, the true brains of rbt are going away. I'm sure some
day I'll see someone will write a "how do you fix this" question, and the
only coherent reply will be, "can't you afford to buy a new bike?" At
least there is the archives, that's usually where I search first. It's
sad, but we are in a disposable society, and knowledge is no longer
valued. Only money fixes everything now.

It's not just a product issue, it's communication. People don't want to be
bothered, or they simply don't have the skills, to properly explain
something, *or* listen. It takes too long. Anything that takes longer than a
60-second commercial (which just happens to take... 60 seconds!) is too much
bother.

But everything balances out, which explains why some usenet posts are miles
& miles long, trying to explain a dreadfully simple concept, and never quite
figuring out that the person at the other end lost interest many paragraphs
prior.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

"Crescentius Vespasianus" wrote:
Slowly but surely, the true brains of rbt are going away. I'm sure some
day I'll see someone will write a "how do you fix this" question, and the
only coherent reply will be, "can't you afford to buy a new bike?" At
least there is the archives, that's usually where I search first. It's
sad, but we are in a disposable society, and knowledge is no longer
valued. Only money fixes everything now.

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
It's not just a product issue, it's communication. People don't want to be
bothered, or they simply don't have the skills, to properly explain
something, *or* listen. It takes too long. Anything that takes longer than a
60-second commercial (which just happens to take... 60 seconds!) is too much
bother.

But everything balances out, which explains why some usenet posts are miles
& miles long, trying to explain a dreadfully simple concept, and never quite
figuring out that the person at the other end lost interest many paragraphs
prior.

Just like real life!
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Feb 6, 8:28*pm, Crescentius Vespasianus
wrote:
Slowly but surely, the true brains of
rbt are going away. *I'm sure some day
I'll see someone will write a "how do
you fix this" question, and the only
coherent reply will be, "can't you
afford to buy a new bike?" *At least
there is the archives, that's usually
where I search first. *It's sad, but we
are in a disposable society, and
knowledge is no longer valued. *Only
money fixes everything now.

can't ypou afford Prozac?

On Feb 6, 6:28 pm, Crescentius Vespasianus
wrote:
Slowly but surely, the true brains of
rbt are going away. I'm sure some day
I'll see someone will write a "how do
you fix this" question, and the only
coherent reply will be, "can't you
afford to buy a new bike?" At least
there is the archives, that's usually
where I search first. It's sad, but we
are in a disposable society, and
knowledge is no longer valued. Only
money fixes everything now.

I think that there are still good sources of info that I can rely on.
Peter, Mike, Andrew and Jobst are pretty reliable. Once in a while
Gene comes along and then I need to get a secret text decoder to
figure out if the content had any practical value, if it was purely
poetic, or if a door to a different dimension opened up and let some
text enter into the newsgroup. Gene is the uncertainty principle
manifested at the macro level. Other times jb pops up in the middle of
a discussion with some diatribe against JB which usually does not add
any value to the discussion but makes me feel like drinking some jb.

So basically I think that you can get some good and useful information
as long as you can figure out what is valuable. Its like trying to
figure out what real news is. There are some sources out there but
they are all mixed in with the junk.

Andres

On Feb 6, 10:31*pm, " wrote:
On Feb 6, 6:28 pm, Crescentius Vespasianus
wrote:

Slowly but surely, the true brains of
rbt are going away. *I'm sure some day
I'll see someone will write a "how do
you fix this" question, and the only
coherent reply will be, "can't you
afford to buy a new bike?" *At least
there is the archives, that's usually
where I search first. *It's sad, but we
are in a disposable society, and
knowledge is no longer valued. *Only
money fixes everything now.

I think that there are still good sources of info that I can rely on.
Peter, Mike, Andrew and Jobst are pretty reliable. Once in a while
Gene comes along and then I need to get a secret text decoder to
figure out if the content had any practical value, if it was purely
poetic, or if a door to a different dimension opened up and let some
text enter into the newsgroup. Gene is the uncertainty principle
manifested at the macro level. Other times jb pops up in the middle of
a discussion with some diatribe against JB which usually does not add
any value to the discussion but makes me feel like drinking some jb.

So basically I think that you can get some good and useful information
as long as you can figure out what is valuable. Its like trying to
figure out what real news is. There are some sources out there but
they are all mixed in with the junk.

Andres

I'm leaving for the coast. I'm a Brown disciple and a reader of Muzi,
Chalo, Ornee, et al. Brown told me to get a vernier caliper.
I haven't got the slightest idea: Brown excelled at Part A mates with
Part B if done just so the used his vast knowledge and Asimov NE
approach and the newly invented internet to dispell ignorance.
We had something in common there. I used the bicycle and internet as
part foundation for the science research I developed. Brown was
absolutely essential for my work. I told him that and he was pleased.
My family once lived down the road from Brown. He found that amusing.
We came within a hair of saving the country had not Organized Crime
interfered. History slipped from our grasp.
Brown's bicycle information is a big deal with global warming and
should "stand the test of time(s)" We're taught a small group of
people are necessary for moving ideas forward: Brown is several
thousand.
I have a gift for generating empathy with the environment. I can speak
with animals. So the big game are the large brained marine mammals on
the west coast. I'm Brown's age so this is my shot past the WTC and
NASA where the mob and the Feds have put up a closed door. They
threaten to follow me but maybe not. There are people in psychology
and marine biology believing the Rosetta is mine.
That pleased Brown. And off course I have a new yellow 29'er (from
Chalo)for land recognition from my "animal friends."

Clive George wrote:
"Crescentius Vespasianus" wrote in message
...
Slowly but surely, the true brains of rbt are going away. I'm sure
some day I'll see someone will write a "how do you fix this" question,
and the only coherent reply will be, "can't you afford to buy a new
bike?" At least there is the archives, that's usually where I search
first. It's sad, but we are in a disposable society, and knowledge is
no longer valued. Only money fixes everything now.

For some people, maybe. But take hope - there are still people around
who value knowledge and the nous required to make something work, even
if it may appear simpler to just but a new one.

(or get somebody from one of the poorer countries - lack of money is a
strong incentive to learning to fix things.)

However there's also the issue that mechanical things are improving, and
with them, reliability. Combine this with the ease of communication
provided by the internet, and you not only have fewer problems, but many
of them have well defined solutions which are already there - leaving
people interested in such things with little to do but bicker.

Which brings us neatly back to what I guess prompted your post -
Sheldon's efforts have been a major part of this. It will be interesting
to see who will pick up the torch.

cheers,
clive

We walk in the footprints of those who have gone before us.
When the "net" first started all the bike questions were new, and bit by
bit, (parden the digital pun,) a collective knowledge base was built,
including Sheldons website. Now we don't need to ask the question on
r.b.t because we can find it already on the net or by trawling through
old r.b.t postings. The only drawback is that we now tend to discuss
opinions as all the facts have generally been established, (excepting
helmet effectiveness of course).