[Robotgroup] Tech Shop

[Edwin Wise]

On 22 Jul 2007, at 6:01 PM, Leslie Filip wrote:

> Are you suggesting everyone sign up and then sit back and hold your
> breath in anticipation, waiting for someone else to make a decision
> as to how worthy we are of a Techshop?

Not at all, that would be silly -- what I'm saying is that everyone  
who is interested should sign up to LET THEM KNOW.  Otherwise, they  
won't know.  And then... do what we've always done... get by with  
what we have.

> The money
> to pay their bills is going to come out of your pocket, not theirs,
> or they will not open a shop here.

Of course.  It's a business.  That's what businesses do; provide a  
service in return for pay. I'm not really sure where you are going  
with this.

>  Signing up on an out-of-
> state mailing list does not get you the answers to these questions,
> it gives them to someone else.

One action does not preclude the other.  People can raise their hands  
towards building a local shop AND express interest in this other  
existing shop from California.  I know actual people who have  
actually used this actual shop, and it's a good and neat thing; I  
want such a thing within driving distance if at all possible.  If you  
want to build one, good!  People should ALSO let you know the level  
of their interest (though doing that shouldn't stop them from signing  
up at the TechShop too).

At no point did I intend to give the impression of "do the TechShop  
thing and boycot Les";  if you got that impression, or I'm just  
reading the text here wrong (because text lacks a certain subtlety  
sometimes) I apologize.

And, my vote is, I would pay to use a workshop though I am not sure I  
would pay a $100 every month in subscription to do so (I do have a  
lot of tools already), but for example, I'd happily pay $100 to  
access special tools FOR a month depending on the project at hand and  
the tools offered.  In the past, I've paid $100 a month for less  
(e.g. the Robot Group warehouse).

Edwin!