I don't have a technical backround in metallurgy, although sometimes I wish did. What I DO have is the ability to use resources (not necessarily the internet) to educate my self on any subject within the limits of my intelligence. I was homeschooled until the ninth grade by my parents (one has a master's in Special Ed and the other an MFA and MS in English, both career teachers), and the one thing I was taught to do best was how to teach myself, since no one really knows how I learn better than I do. It amazes me how little people know about things in the world around them because they never realized that it was within their own power to discover uncommon, higher, and specific knowledge about any subject if they would just put some effort into it. You don't have to have a lecturer to learn something. I was formally educated as an engineer and thus have a solid background in physics, mathematics, engineering, drafting, CAD, materials, and process, but that doesn't mean that's all I'll ever know about. I've also been formally educated in automotive service technology since I prefer that line of work. You'd be amazed how little I know about some common subjects, though. Can't know everything!
And for those of you on the spelling/grammar rant, there sure is a large and obvious difference between a request to stop being an apathetic slob with our language and a personal attack. The "glass house" comments always get my goat because those that make them usually function from a victim mentality and are unrealistically sensitive to what they perceive as someone being attacked. But that's just my perception. Wow, two sentences in one paragraph started with conjunctions, I must be really slipping!
Gear