Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Captain Nemo's "attack"...

["Captain Nemo" <vulcania@interpac.net>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Nuytten" <72020.572@compuserve.com>
To: <personal_submersibles@psubs.org>
Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2000 7:24 AM
Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Captain Nemo's "attack"...


> Hullo Nemo:
>         Yeah, P-5 is the sub that Terry and the pirates were using to
> document the eruptions at Lo'i'i over the past couple of years.
> Phil Nuytten
>

Thanks for the info, Phil.  I'll see if I can track Terry down, and if I do,
I'll pass his URL on to Vance.

BTW: good job on spelling Lo'i'i; got the glottal stops right and
everything.  That's better than I did (twice) and I live here!

One other thing: your assessment of my "big manufacturing companies" remark
the other day was accurate; I wasn't really asking where we could find
people to make parts for us; I was jerking your chain to see what your
reaction would be.  That's quite an impressive resume you've got there.  (I
can't find that little accent mark over the e on my keyboard; most of the
letters are worn off.)

You know, I haven't been participating on these boards long; I wasn't aware
of what some people have referred to as the "two split camps" amongst the
psubbers here; but I sure walked into it the other day.  Been thinking about
it since then.  You know what this is?  This is that age-old debate between
the factory-guys and the solo backyard mechanic.  It's like you guys are
Ford and Chevy; I'm Junior Johnson, and this the early days of NASCAR.

For what it's worth, I've never felt there's anything wrong with factory
rigs (used to build for GM, and I've got a brand new truck myself!).  But
I've also always been into building my own machines, too, though.  I think
both camps have value, but of a different kind.  One thing I get from
scratch building my own machines, that I don't get from buying them, is the
satisfaction of proving to myself I could do it, but more importantly, the
education that comes along as part of the process.  I guess it's a question
of whether you want a sub right now to use for some specific purpose; or
whether you want to build one for the experience of doing it.  Do you know
what I'm trying to say here?

We've got guys from both camps here at PSUBS; and both camps have worth.  We
shouldn't be at each others throats, because we all share a common interest:
SUBMARINES.  We just approach it from different perspectives dependent on
where we're at in life, that's all.

The professional shops build good stuff, and that's for sure.  Theirs are
the products of the best cumulative efforts men can muster.  But that little
guy, working alone in his backyard shop, has something else going for him:
total control over the project without compromise.  Arguably, he has the
ability to get closer to his creation, because the reason behind every
aspect is thought out and decided on  by  him and nobody else.  Maybe that's
why so many innovations and improvements in technologies have come from the
shops of little guys who burn the midnight oil wrestling with concepts with
a single-minded dedication that corporations of people working 9 - to - 5
might not achieve.  Not that corporations don't have think tanks, but you
know what I mean.

There's something to be said about the "little guy".   Maverick "backyard
mechanics" have come up with some pretty amazing things, and a lot of those
innovations have been adopted by the corporate manufacturers.  The
technological world is a big place, and we all have our contributions to
make.  Maybe if everyone at PSUBS focuses on that aspect of it, this "split"
people talk about will disappear.

Well, I'm rambling.  I just got home from work; and I'm going to go rap to
Vance for a while, before calling it a day.  You have yourself a good one!

Very best regards,

Pat Regan
vulcania@interpac.net