[ChrisPlatt]

I got paid based on the number of books that were sold to the distributor, not to the end customer.

Can't have been too much $$$ considering the small audience.
Truly artists do their art for love.

It is a wonderful book Michael, and I will purchase another.

Chris

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Last edited by ChrisPlatt; 04-06-2015 at 07:56 AM.

[redeleon]

Just a remote - home based front end web developer working for an IT company in Sydney

[AggieDad]

Howdy!

I am a retired math teacher living in the Houston suburbs. I taught in a middle school gifted and talented academy and also coached the competition math team. Since I have retired I tutor four days a week, currently seeing 13 different students in subjects ranging from middle-school math to pre-calculus.

When not with the kiddos, my wife and I enjoy our boat on Lake Conroe and our RV. We love to travel and do as much as we can, including at least an 8 week trek each summer to escape Houston's heat. In the fall, we have season tickets to Texas A&M football games. Along the way we are casual birders, and I love to photograph all sorts of raptors, wading birds and water fowl.

I just moved to a DSLR after a number of years with super-zooms (bridge cameras?). I already owned a pair of Pentax 8x42 birding binoculars which I love. So when I was researching DSLRs, Pentax was on my list.

My websites are:

• Travel and Photos
• Tutoring

My favorite foods include omelets, tex-mex, meatloaf, and (believe it or not) McDonalds Southwest Salad with grilled chicken. Oh, and Blue Bell Ice Cream. Diet Coke and unsweeten tea (hot or cold) are my beverages of choice.

Gig 'Em Aggies!

[dngr]

Junior deck officer on commercial ships on the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, and sometimes out into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. When I'm on watch, I'm responsible for navigating the ship in a safe, efficient manner, as well as loading/unloading the cargo when in port. I'm also the ship's safety officer, and take care of reporting any injuries or maladies that may occur to the crew. The chief cook is supposed to do any first aid required, but I usually do it myself. I don't drink pop, but I make an exception when it comes to mixing with alcohol, haha. I'll eat just about anything, but my favourite dish would have to be this stir-fry my mum does the day or two after a roast chicken.

[cooltouch]

Can't have been too much $$$ considering the small audience.
Truly artists do their art for love.

It is wonderful book Michael, and I will purchase another.

Chris

Thanks for your support, Chris. I wish I could say it was a labor of love, but my publisher was a harsh task master. For sure, my pride and my own personal conviction in putting out as accurate a book as possible was very much part of the process, but my publisher's constant goads was what made it happen in a not-so-timely manner. He wanted a new edition every year and I had to explain to him that it just wasn't gonna happen, which he didn't particularly like hearing. (I attended a year long course in hand and CNC lathe and mill operation between 1992 and 1993 and went back to school to complete my degree in 1994, both of which interfered with progress on the bluebook, but oh well!) One positive thing my book did, though, was it got Jim McKeown (of McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Collectible Cameras fame) off his complacent ass and his collectors/price guides ended up being not only more timely but better informed directly because of my book. How do I know this? Because he lifted info directly from my editions and put it in his, is how I know! He managed two more editions after I put mine to bed permanently, but by the time he'd completed his last, the writing was pretty much on the wall. You don't need a current KcKeown's for information on a camera that was produced 50, 80, or 100 years ago. That info is in his earlier editions. And anything he may have added to his later editions can probaby be found just as easily on the 'net or eBay. So, like my book, McKeown's has pretty much run its course as well. Eh, it is what it is. I'm glad I did what I did for as long as I could do it. The royalties didn't get me rich but they did keep my daughter and me in new computer gear for those years, and I even bought a Norton motorcycle from the first royalty check from the 2000 edition. So that was kinda cool.

[MD Optofonik]

Microphone boom operator.

[cooltouch]

I am a retired math teacher living in the Houston suburbs. I taught in a middle school gifted and talented academy and also coached the competition math team. Since I have retired I tutor four days a week, currently seeing 13 different students in subjects ranging from middle-school math to pre-calculus.

Howdy from a fellow suburban Houstonian! Math is something of a hobby of mine and I find it very cool that you've taken the time to tutor kids at being better mathematicians. I spent the extra time to work with my daughter at improving her math skills and by the time she got into high school, she basically skated for three semesters. It paid off!

See ya on the boards, and maybe we'll meet in the flesh one day.

[MadMathMind]

I am a retired math teacher living in the Houston suburbs. I taught in a middle school gifted and talented academy and also coached the competition math team. Since I have retired I tutor four days a week, currently seeing 13 different students in subjects ranging from middle-school math to pre-calculus.

I would not be where I am without my highschool math teacher, that's for sure! I have a PhD in Applied Math and now apply my knowledge to spacecraft at JSC. I want to extend my gratitude to you and your colleagues to dedicating your lives to a job that so few people thank you for doing--people like you really make a difference in the lives of young folks who are willing to listen.

[Liney]

It's fascinating how such a cross section of vocations all have something in common!

Currently I'm employed as a System Safety Engineer, ensuring that a number of products that the company produces are acceptably safe to operate and maintain, but my username goes back to when I started work on a flight line waving at pilots.....

Favourite food is Sushi, admittedly a new found treat but very nice indeed. Favourite drink is something of a puzzler and depends on what I'm eating!

[cooltouch]

It's fascinating how such a cross section of vocations all have something in common!

Currently I'm employed as a System Safety Engineer, ensuring that a number of products that the company produces are acceptably safe to operate and maintain, but my username goes back to when I started work on a flight line waving at pilots.....

You weren't a Navy "shooter" by any chance, were you? Sorta the ultimate "waving at pilots" to me . . .

[AggieDad]

I would not be where I am without my highschool math teacher, that's for sure! I have a PhD in Applied Math and now apply my knowledge to spacecraft at JSC. I want to extend my gratitude to you and your colleagues to dedicating your lives to a job that so few people thank you for doing--people like you really make a difference in the lives of young folks who are willing to listen.

Those are very nice words, and I am sure almost every math teacher would love to read them. I'll say thank you for all of those teachers.

For my part, I tried to foster interest in math by showing how it was used in the everyday world. I made sure all of my kids knew to love the parabola for the dish antennas that help give them TV, and thank Benoit Mandelbrot and his fractals for the lovely little antennas in their cell phones.

My geometry classes (my favorite) used to make toothpick bridges - toothpicks & wood glue; max weight 50 grams. We had several that could hold over 100 lbs. But the real fun was the creativity in their designs.

Your mention of NASA caused me to remember back to college times and how many classes I cut to watch Mercury flights - including many aborts. There's a funny quote from that time about why the Russians were always a bit ahead of us in what was called the space race: "Their Germans are better than our Germans," referring to all the WWII German scientists that were working in both programs.

[cooltouch]

Your mention of NASA caused me to remember back to college times and how many classes I cut to watch Mercury flights - including many aborts. There's a funny quote from that time about why the Russians were always a bit ahead of us in what was called the space race: "Their Germans are better than our Germans," referring to all the WWII German scientists that were working in both programs.

Yep, but by the time our Moon program was in high gear, I heard just the opposite, largely due to one person, I suspect: Wernher von Braun.

[FantasticMrFox]

Yep, but by the time our Moon program was in high gear, I heard just the opposite, largely due to one person, I suspect: Wernher von Braun.

It makes sense, after all when the war drew to an end most scientists preferred to be taken prisoner by the Western allies over the Soviets. Heck, everyone in Germany preferred the Western allies over the Soviets, for obvious reasons.

[reeftool]

I could have swore I posted in this thread a few years back but I just scrolled through and I guess I didn't.

I worked as a truck and trailer refrigeration mechanic for 40 years and also filled in with trailer and truck repair when I wasn't working on reefers. I semi retired a year and a half ago as arthritis was making it difficult to continue full time. I now continue in my old job a couple of days a week and cover for the younger guys on vacation. My skills are still very much in demand so I will probably keep going part time as long as I'm physically able. I once said that when I retired I would be done with work. After about 3 weeks, I was bored stiff! When the HR dept. called and asked me to come back part time, I didn't hesitate too say yes.

So for the past winter, my schedule has been Monday, sometimes work. Tuesday I ski. Wednesday I sometimes ski. Thursday I go into work every week. Friday I go skiing again. Weekends, I hang around the house and do chores although I spent several Sunday afternoons this winter photographing motorcycle and ATV ice racing. It's a hard life but I'm hanging in there.

[Colbyt]

I'm semi-retired and trying to dispose of of some rental property so I can convert the semi to to fully.

The 28 years prior to semi-retirement I was a very small business owner working as a custom drapery installer.

Boy I sure don't miss that.