I guess I don't understand your rant. Are you saying we are not innovative enough? Granted, there are now a slew of Grainfathers and Picobrews out there. But there are still those who are creative. I have converted a used window air conditioner (bought at a garage sale for $5) to a glycol chiller. Can I be in your club?
You definitely belong in the man club!
Me, I am a thinker not a doer. I’d rather pay someone else to build my equipment, etc.
Everyone is different. I am in the opposite camp, sort of. I really enjoy designing and building things. I have many times gotten more enjoyment out of building my equipment than I did using the updates I built. Using the devices seems incremental where as building seems substantial. But that's just me.
I can't speak for Mark, these are just the thoughts of an old guy with four children in the Millennial and, whatever the next generation is called, groups. These groups seem to be stereotyped as lazy, self absorbed, picky, coddled and needy. My kids are none of these things. Most of their friends are not these things either. They are just as inquisitive and creative as my generation was/is. They just have a much harder wall to climb due to the current structure of our economy and business structures.
For the record, I missed the Boomer generation by 21 days and I straddle Boomer and Gen-X. Do you know what my grandparents thought of our generations? They thought we were lazy, self absorbed, picky, coddled and needy.
I don't want to preach but let's all remember "individuals are smart, people are stupid" and not paint entire generations with such a broad brush. We were all young once and I'd guess if I could have purchased a Grainfather or a Foundry in my 20's, I would have. Innovation comes in many forms and at many points in one's life. I have always told my kids to "fly your flag and see who follows, those will be the people you enjoy being with". And so far, so good.
IM(very)HO.
Paul