LJ ADDICTION

Matt -

I have nothing to say except that I agree with you 100%! This is such a wonderful community and an absolute pleasure to be a part of in many ways. I am always amazed at the great projects and blogs. I will admit I am on the site sometimes more than 5 times a day – I trust you will not pass that on to my wife!

-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com

It is a great site. I’m around quite a bit…

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

it has been 7 minutes and I am still on…went back to the home page and saw a person I had never seen…and wa-lah…ok…i gotta get offline….. lol

-- Matt, Napa, CA...142 days to sanity...

Yeah right….lol

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

I use Outlook to manage several email accounts. Every time I hear the little bell go off letting me know new mail arrived I can hardly resist looking. This can be a huge distraction because I have to work on my computer. I will actually close my Outlook and access certain email from gmail directly just to keep from spending 5…10…20 minutes looking at woodworking…LJ project leads to a dozon comments…one of the dozen comments posts a link…the link has other links…one of the links has a video to watch…before you know it you’ve spent an hour (or more) looking at woodworking stuff. How do we all end up posting projects?

It’s a great site and a great community…I was listening to Krista Tippet’s show “speaking of faith” today…her guest was Shane Claiborne and they were speaking about “new monasticism”... Shane made a statement I thought was very fitting of this community (please forgive the paraphrase).

...community begins to break down when maintaining the community becomes the focus…maintain the relationships with the people and the community will remain strong…

...back to work!

-- Steffen

Steffen -

Not to add to your distractions, but I could not resist commenting that I have the same experience. Once you make a comment or view a new project, suddenly there is a new blog to read or a video to watch. An hour later you are starting the cycle again!

-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com

This is probably my third or fourth time on the site today? I’ve got to go to bed…but maybe I’ll hit PULSE one more time? I think I’ve had an increase in anxiety since starting to do this less than two weeks ago. Have – to – keep – go—-ing – I – can’t – stop.

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

first I have to finish my laughing at Matt.
He says ‘Good night”.. and makes a commitment to not logging on until the picnic table is done.. then next sentence is already at the “if I don’t” stage… he then says good night again… and what do I see?? Another paragraph …
then (guessing that I’d still see a comment in the postings).. I read on only to find that, yes, he was still here.
No question there, Matt—you are addicted! lol

I too do a lot of work during the day sitting at the computer, which makes it REALLY easy to stop by and check the pulse (which helps prevent the 5 page backlog from adding up.) Validation for checking in frequently. Definitely a sign of an addiction.

Steffen, I’ve had a similar conversation regarding childcare centres: when the focus becomes the operation of the centre / rules/schedules/policies…. then the centre has lost its vision of purpose. The children, the relationships, the supports to families etc should always take priority or things will fall apart.

If we ever lose site of “we the woodworkers” then things will begin to fall apart.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

42 (now 43) posts in 6 days…..

-- I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso

I have no defence. I have LJ-itis as well. I check back several times a day and can’t resist the urge to comment on all the wonderful projects and great blog entries. I feel no shame! LOL

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

I second the “no shame” comment – this site is inspiring and encouraging and has gotten me into the shop more in the past two weeks than the previous two…

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

ok…I have been cleaning house since 6:30 am so I could get out and finish my picnic table today…I try not to do any woodworking until 10:00am or later since my neighbors are really close to my garage/shop. I was doing really good not checking in…NOT TO MENTION MY MAIN COMPUTER CRASHED…and then I came onto this other computer just to “check” my e-mail really fast…but as the blog author I had all the e-mail notifications…

Great dialog on community…it is a big concern at the schools I have taught at…

No shame on checking in….just was wondering if I was the only multi-all-day-checker…Well I only get June and July to this…

Ok…it is 10:05…I think I can put my shoes on…peace.

-- Matt, Napa, CA...142 days to sanity...

Ya’ll doing it all wrong! Just get on once a day and never get off till you’re ready to go to bed. Then, you don’t have to feel so bad, because you can proudly say that you’ve only gotten on LumberJocks once, today. LOL.

Napaman…you’ve got it bad! ;^D

-- Jesus is Lord!

Some days I onlu check in once or twice for a couple of hours each time.

Other times I check in 7 – times for 10 minutes each time. I don’t know which is best.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Matt, I returned to woodworking late in life, too. I got married and my wife told me to do something else besides internet cards. Well, I bought a table saw to fix a door and I got the old woodworking fever in my soul! I got a router, then a miter saw, then we moved and i have a whole garage to play in… once I get it all cleared out and organized. I bought a bandsaw, a couple more routers and tables… the list keeps going on and on…LOL Woodworking gets to be a rather expensive hobby if you don’t sell some of wht you make.

Well, Matt, I think that if you balance checking in with other work, then you are doing yourself and your students a great favor! Got to keep your life balanced. Just don’t lose your priority of what is TRULY important: Those 2 beautiful women in your life! That daughter is a dear! And listen to your wife, too…LOL She will keep you in balance if you let her… well sometimes, anyway.

BTW, my mother still uses the bowl I made her in my JR High shop class back in the early 70’s. I am glad your daughter is using the table you made. I am sure it will become a family heirloom.

God Bless,
Hawg

-- Saving barnwood from the scrapyards

Not me. Uh-uh, not me. No-siree, not me. uh-uh, no way. Nope. I can quit anytime I want to.

-- Maplewood, MN

you lie through your teeth rikkor !! lol i check about 10 times a day and your already here ! im not addicted im just trying to be on the lookout for those that are . lol

Well it’s 1335 and I’ve been in the shop all day.

Couldn’t help but check. Maybe tomorrow. Yeah, tomorrow. That’s the ticket.

-- Scott - Chico California http://chicowoodnut.home.comcast.net

Oh . . . about 5-6 times a day.

-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them

ok…last year—-yes 275 days ago i posted this blog when I got done with the school year—-the first week off from teaching i was on LJ’s for hours aday…so i posted this addiction question…

Now…I am on the last day of spring break…I have tons of papers to grade that I did not touch…and I cant get off LJ;s…

51 days until school is out…it will be a tough haul…

-- Matt, Napa, CA...142 days to sanity...

Hi Matt,

I am not addicted to LJs. I will repeat I am not addicted to LJs. There I have said it so now I believe it.

Thanks for putting out a blog that speaks for a number of LJs. I will repeat I am not addicted to LJs.

You know that I can actually go for an hour or so without logging onto the site. That counts for something doesn’t it? :)

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

I don’t know about you that live in the south, but I got a feeling that for us that live in the cold north that when the snow goes and the birds start singing we will want to spend more time away from the computer. Famous last words.

-- Ron in Osseo, Minnesota

I am not addicted to LJs. But to tell you the truth, Matt, I don’t want to know how many times a day I long on. :)

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.