Damnit man... I can't argue with that. Seriously though, I just couldn't help thinking old Albert a rather extreme example, but as they say: go hard or go home.
And yet, here we both are. When I come up with, say, a Kisatchie quarter with odd disturbances in the reverse fields, I can put up an image so that dozens of community members will see it, including Mike Diamond. As you said, people who don't know what it is can sometimes suggest people who will. And we don't all have to be in the same place at the same time. Now, I could have found it right before a major show, where I'd get to ask experts about it in person. But then when I found a second example a few days later, making it not a one-off error or damage, everyone would already have gone home. For less than the cost of a single train ticket, I get full access here with zero advertising (other than the For Sale forum). I can ask questions any day, any time, the questions stay until the person with the right knowledge shows up, and their answers stay up until I return. I don't have to deal with the stress, expense and inconvenience of travel; I don't have to deal with the stress of face-to-face interaction and crowds. And I can skip right on past YouTube on my way here, every single time. For you, I accept that face-to-face interaction at shows is superior. For me, the balance is different. I'll grant that you have more knowledge in this field than I do (or, most likely ever will), but I'd submit that that's down to motivation, focus, and time spent, not just show attendance and face-to-face interaction.
Universal quantifiers are easy. One counterexample and you're done, or at least on to moving the goalposts.
I'm sorry, Jeff, but I just can't take it seriously. After all the "Angry Photographer" says Einstein was an idiot and as you know, if it's on YouTube it must be true..
Here's the relevant difference -- I absolutely LOVE to travel. I am the son of an Airstream Wally Bayam Caravan Club freak. Travel is what I enjoy more than anything else. Dealing with shipping is my kryptonite; I CAN'T STAND IT! If I go to FUN this coming January, I most likely WILL drive it, and it's about 1200 miles each way. If I had an aluminum trailer back of me, it'd be hog heaven. I've crossed the continent 5 times by car and trailer, and went PA to FL another 12 times or so.
Funny thing about those 5 trips cross-country - only ONE went into California, one stopped short of the coast, and three went to the coast in the Washington/Oregon area. Seems my dad had a vile opinion of California, too.
That’s your problem, not anyone who appreciates buying/selling on the internet. It really us not as bad as you demonize it to be.
Do you REALLY get to tell me my own bad experiences are not worth considering? Okay, I get it now. Too. Many. Nightmares. Not worth it to me.
I read it less as "we get to dictate to Kurt whether his experiences are valid", and more as "Kurt's experiences aren't universal". Plenty of room for misinterpretation on all sides, though.
And yet they are all as real and frequent as they need to be for me to make decisions based upon them. Can MOST disputes get resolved eventually? Sure, but I have a low tolerance for wasted effort and the pain, agony and torture of it.
California is absolute paradise. Plus, unfortunately, about 35 million too many people and about 80 million too many cars. Get rid of those, and I'd consider relocating. Forum rules prohibit going into which people ought to leave, by category.
Yeah we do. The best stuff I learn about coins has no URL link; it's verbal and part of Q&A "give and take" at ANA show talks. Yes, MOST attendees at ANA talks just sit there with their teeth in their mouth and refuse to engage. Everyone at the ANA now knows that’s not my shtick. I will sit through a 40 minute talk and then challenge the speaker’s whole premise. It’s almost tautological. And I care not one whit how many books a speaker wrote. For the educators and academics here, I am DEEPLY committed to the Socratic method. It is the recent decline of Socratic pedagogy that is my primary critique of current education. You can't tolerate having assumptions challenged if what you're up to is indoctrination, after all. I find that nearly NO talk presenters are prepared for a Socratic challenge. Too bad for them if I'm in the audience.
One ironic fact is that the sotto voce marketing right here on CT is painfully obvious to me, even though there is an attempt to hide it. You may like a de facto “dealer discussion board” but I don’t care for it at all.
Hey, if you enjoy using any of the shipping methods to wing coins all over the place, hey, enjoy yourself. Knock yourself out. I can't think of anything less appealing, nor as utterly unnecessary. Heck, at JUST ONE local coin club meeting, there is an AVERAGE attendance of 75-100 folks, twice a month, and MANY of those guys are slowly liquidating their extraordinarily high end long held collections. No shortage of opportunities in my world. Red Rose Coin Club, Lancaster, PA. Host club for the ANA summer convention in 2000 and 2012. I just completed their annual medal set 1966-2018.