My unfortunate 2024 update
 

This is a post that I've been putting off for a while now, mostly because it's difficult to type too much. :(

What happened

My wrist is fractured, and I'm in a cast. So I will likely be downed for the next 2-3 months minimum.

What it means

All current projects and gear will be finished, no worries. I'm just slowed, not stopped. Most video gear and video projects have actually already been sent out, or are ready for pickup/send. There's just a few stragglers to deal with, and most of those are close to done. Thankfully, most heavy items (VCRs) were packed up before this happened.

However, effective immediately, I will halt all VCR refurb work, and thus also will not be crafting any more workflows. My few remaining workflow are listed in the marketplace. After that stash is gone, there will be no more, likely for at least another 6 months. I also have 3 incomplete deck refurbs that I'll be listing in the markerplace soon. Only VCRs and workflows are affected, not TBCs or capture cards. TBCs and capture cards will still be available.

Why it happened

As many of you know, I have multiple sclerosis (MS), and that creates daily challenges for me. I'm a fairly private person, so I don't go into too much detail. I don't tell others for sympathy, but for education. If all you know about MS is from TV/movies, then you'll wrongly think we're all in a wheelchair and will die soon. Anyway, in 2024, there's an insurance/funding issue. Long story. Essentially, I'm having to ration my medication to a lower weekly dose. That has consequences to my symptoms, one of which is balance.

About a month ago, I fell. At the time, everything seemed fine, and for at least a week after. But over the course of the past month, the diagnosis turned from sprain to tendonitis to fracture. And here we are.

Looking back

Even prior to the fracture, I was wanting to take a partial hiatus for at least 6 months. Thankfully, I was already winding down some activities, so I don't have a huge backlog of unfinished projects or gear. These past few years have been rough on myself, and the family. We had lots of losses, lots of changes, lots of declines. I need/want to spend more time with them, and less time staring at the guts of VCRs. The last time I took any sort of break was mid 2019, and I just can't go on any longer. I have burn-out, my work/life balance sucks, I need away from certain activities for a while.

Looking forward

I'm not going anywhere. But I may reply less, reply shorter. I want to spend my online time finally redoing this forum, adding all the functions and features we need and want.

Again, TBCs and capture cards will still be available.

There are also some other plans, but I'm keeping those secret for now. :noworry:

I appreciate the help that you’ve given. It’s good that you’re getting a little time to heal up and spend some time with your family. I Hope you get to feeling better.

Ditto to what Gary34 said. Hope that you'll feel better soon and all that. You've been a valuable help to me and many others here on this forum, why if it wasn't for your refurb services and huge amount of knowledge on digitizing tapes correctly, I wouldn't have gained the knowledge I have to try and DIY this sort of thing.

Yep I was on Youtube dragging my knuckles in a cave before this haha. Now everything seems interesting and I am actually enjoying the whole process. It’s interesting to me learning why this is like this and this is like this now. I still gotta figure out some things but I’m liking everything.

Hope your recovery goes well and you get a good break. Thanks for all your help and providing a great forum.

I had 3rd degree burn on my right hand few years ago and I know now how stressful it can be, I was even worried that my hand won't heal and they'll have to chop it off, I was lucky enough the doctor who did the skin graft from my thigh on my hand is a plastic surgeon, It healed and there is hardly any scars on my hand and all the stress is gone.

Wishing you a speedy recovery and a return to a normal routine.

Take care of yourself and your family. You and they matter most.

BW

Hope you have a speedy recovery. Enjoy some down time with your family. Once they are gone, you can't bring them back. I lost my Mom a year ago on April 2 and it's been very hard on me, so I understand about losses. I lived next door to her and had been taking care of her the last few years as her health went down.

Thanks for all you do to keep this website running and helping people.

Marty Davis

Sorry to hear that, LS, I hope you recover soon.

Thank you for sharing!

Get lots of rest, get well and be well!

Edit: Hope you don't mind. Sharing your post at Videohelp for more positive energy sent your way!

Hope for a full recovery, wish you the best.

Wishing you a relaxing and speedy recovery! Thanks again for your help.

Thanks all. :)

Unfortunately, I'm now learning that I can only type/reply to a few threads, slowly too, and then I have to rest for at least an hour. So not sure how long I can keep doing that. Perhaps less typing is in my near future. :(

Wishing you all the very best, you're doing the right thing.

Sorry to hear this :( Nothing wrong with taking a nice break anyway

I've been asked this several times in recent days (PMs, email), and saw a post today
So, here's the answer:

At this time, I'm slowly completing current project commitments.

At this time, I'm willing to discuss, and possibly accept, a few small projects of less than 10 tapes.
---- However, patience required. If one of the first questions I get is "how long will it take", I probably won't even reply to that person. (I never understand that rush mentality. The tapes sat for decades, and now you suddenly need them digitized in a few days or weeks? Nope, I reject the project.)

As I had feared, on Monday I was put into a far more restrictive cast, and essentially now only have 1 arm/hand. For some activities, like sitting at a desk (typing), I have a sling, so I'm not tempted to use it. I also have to attend physical therapy 2-3 times per week, an hour away, so big time committment there.

But I can do a lot of video work with just a mouse, and one hand to script slowly. So I'm not fully out of commission. Just limited for 2-3 months minimum.

Very sorry to hear this, hope you get the rest you need and come back stronger than ever! Thanks for all that you have done for the community!

An hour away for PT several times a week is a true burden and I think unacceptable. You should bitch loudly.

I hope your wrist feels better. A break is needed every once n' a-while. :)

Hi @lordsmurf. I'm very sorry about those recent news and what happened to you. Hope you'll recover properly from all this. Take all the time you need to rest in order to come back stronger.

Thanks for everything and take care.

Also, Happy Easter ;-)