Yep, and if I’m elected, I’ll put an Eggie in every pot! ;-)

Greg and Toni Rey…. Save the evening of the 25th, a very special ENer is coming to visit Houston! Let’s all show him what good ol’ Texas hospitality is all about! Par-ty! <]:-D

Betsy for President!! ;-)

haha…great minds…

I think the lady just threw her hat in the ring. Those Chinese manufacturers will be butter in her hands. And Stan will make a great first dude.

Wish the real political debates could end like this. In fact, I wish some of the discussions (heated) between some of my own family could have ended with humor like this. Personally, I’m kinda disliking everyone on both sides this year. :-/ \-:

Dang Greg…where’d you get that Beadle Ship?!! I wasn’t picturing anything that big!

Ralf, nothin’ but a “hoity toity hazing…” from us hoity toity Insiders…hmmm, sounds like something one might say to their cat…

Ralf, your reputation has preceded you. You truly made me laugh out loud! Now I’m gonna see if I can outfit this tub with an engine, rowing is for suckers! ;)

Welcome aboard Beadle. You stuck to your guns and passed the hazing (every newbie goes through it ‘cause let’s face it, it’s a rowboat afterall).

Thanks Greg…. but you and Frank did a great job – doubt I could add anything more.

so……scoot over……and throw one of those paddles my way….I think I see something we could all use…just ahead on the horizon :)

Thank you Beadle and I apologize for any discomfort I may have caused you. As Michael seems to suggest, we’re all just doing the Hokey Pokey here. It’s funny how we can take it all too seriously.

Not my fault Greg…just trying to live up to my ENF-n-J profile…“what if the Hokey Pokey IS what it’s all about”!

Beadle, um…I think there might be a hole in the boat…not sure who’s side…hmmm.

Greg B

Thank you for your kind comments. I wish you all the best as well. And I really was sincere in my apology. I don’t seek to offend anyone. Although I will tend to challenge the status quo from time to time. I just think that’s one of the things that sets inventors apart, a willingness to do just that, you know, question assumptions, etc. And honestly, when it comes to politics, I’m about as apolitical as anyone you’ll ever meet. I don’t trust ANY of them! And Frank, I have NOTHING against you as well. You have the soul of an artist and to me, that truly is something to envy. I’ll gladly yield the helm to you…

…do the Hanky Panky and you run the boat aground. I wish she’d thrown the blue dress out. : D
Michael you are a nut job : D : D : D

Captain! Off yonder in the distance…I believe it is an Island! Perhaps we can spin our way to it..?

Oh contraire… have you not spotted the S.O.S. on the beach? Alas, we must spin our way away…as far as possible, no matter the cost!
For within such a message lies the diabolical attempt to Save Our Souls!! Indeed…cast out the Tea that we may spin faster!

“…put your right oar in, you take your right oar out, you put your left oar in and you spin it all about…” hahaha!

Charlie, you notice how we get confused for each other at times?..what’s up with that brother? ;)

Frank, thank you for that valiant attempt. However vain it might have been is no fault of yours. Greg M. you’re on deck :)
Beadle, for what it’s worth you strike me as being very talented and capable. I wish you the best of luck here.

Form the About Us section of this website:

Community

“Our Edison Nation inventors are an opinionated, social bunch. The forums are outspoken, can make you laugh, make you think and may even encourage you to stir the pot. No matter what, each Edison Nation member is here to support one another, for all share this livelihood of inventing.”

Is this reactionary and confrontational Karl?

“The prospect of two opposing hives of inventors spewing toxic statements like the one you have parroted above is a ridiculous idea and yet always possible.”

Was I not trying to be supportive when I responded to Heather’s original post?

For some reason the words,reactionary and confrontational seem to come to mind.

Okay Frank

Since you seem to have taken on the role of captain of this lifeboat you refer to (not sure I would have used that as an analogy, but whatever) let’s review shall we? Heather asked a question about dealing with the Chinese and went on to say:

“Mitt Romney started talking about how the Chinese can steal our ideas/patents and produce the products themselves”

Staying ON TOPIC I answered her based on my own experience. I assume that’s part of what we’re all here for no? You know, sharing our own experiences while navigating the perilous waters of the invention world – to continue your seafaring analogy. In doing so I said that I believed Mitt Romney would say anything to get elected. Ralf chimed in that any politician dies that and I agreed. Does anyone here REALLY AND TRULY believe that Mitt WASN’T pandering to the republican far right – epitomized by the Tea Party – when he took a swipe at an entire nation of people? Forgive me, but I’m reluctant to paint an entire culture with such a broad brush! And I was attempting to help heather avoid being dragged under by Romney’s political rhetoric. Had I thought that anyone (like you Greg) would take such umbrage at such simple comment as to accuse me of “spewing toxic statements”, I NEVER would have said it! Then suddenly what started out as a reasonable question posed by Heather turns into some off-topic donnybrook! Really? REALLY??

Captain Frank, you talk about being “respectful of others” (in all caps I might add) and yet apparently in your world view, accusing someone of “Spewing toxic statements” ISN’T disrespectful? REALLY? I think the boat is already going in circles Frank if people as so thin skinned as to take offense at the slightest provocation. Perhaps the world really is flat after all…

Okay, I apologized to Greg. Does anyone else need a personal apology? What else will it take to get everyone to move on?

Another excellent post – thanks Frank.

Well Said, Frank. Excellent analogy.

Thank you for that excellent post, Greg!

Try to look at it like this, beadle; the family in this community are passengers in a lifeboat that’s
called “SS INVENTING”…. as we mingle amongst ourselves we each anticipate (dream of) seeing a
rescue vessel coming hard or the sound of an approaching S&R aircraft. (success)
How and why we’re here means absolutely nothing now; we’re HERE and we have to deal with it. Suddenly one
jumps up and says “ok, all Conservatives row in this direction and all Liberals in that direction… all
Christians on your feet and jump up & down while all athiest sit still!”

The lifeboat bobbles, spins in circles, and will probably capsize!

The ONLY way the SS INVENTING and it’s passengers will survive is by maintaining an APOLITICAL atmosphere!
One of the things that make Edison Nation so special is that it’s a biased-free zone, where good people can escape
the foolish rhetoric and WORK TOGETHER toward a common goal! It’s the MAIN REASON for the posted
forum rule about being RESPECTFUL OF OTHERS; this includes others political views!!!!

Certainly you have the right to believe however/whomever you desire, and if you want to proclaim your beliefs,
more power to you, but slamming those you oppose is crossing the line and will likely cause conflict; surely you
understand and wouldn’t want that to happen, right beadle?

Jeez Greg, I guess your idea of polite discourse is saying something like “No disrespect” as you plunge a knife into someone’s ribs. I mean really dude, what has you so riled up? PLEASE tell me you’re not going to defend the Tea Party and it’s extreme right wing agenda. Believe me when I tell you that will reveal a hell of a lot more about YOU than using the term “nut jobs” will ever say about me! But no matter, if I somehow offended you with that off-the-cuff expression of an OPINION, then I’m truly and sincerely sorry. Does that work for you? Oh and for the record, you know NOTHING about me….

Okay Beadle, here are the quotes you are referring to.
1.) From the NY Times: CONWAY, S.C. — Mitt Romney on Friday slammed President Obama for failing the American people and accused him of dragging “the soul of America” toward a “European-style welfare state.”

2.) Excerpt from a stump speech “This really is a battle for the soul of America”

From reading your comments about these comments I am reminded that we often reveal much about ourselves through what we accuse others of e.g., “nut job”.
In you own words but reiterated with all due respect.

Greg

I’m afraid I’m at a bit of a loss here. I don’t see where you’re coming from with your comments. When you say:

“I’m proposing that “inventing” is a universal expression of freedom and that it has survived as an apolitical theater. Unlike other issues such as climate change, the economy, life, education etc. the act of inventing has not been politicized to the point that we are divided into separated camps.”

What makes you think I’m in some sort of different “camp” or that I somehow suggested that the process of inventing has any “political” aspect to it? My original response was directed at Heather’s question, nothing more. Since she brought up Romney’s name I merely added a single statement which I feel was pretty much on target. When Michael commented:

“What politician won’t say ANYTHING to get elected!”

I added another two sentences to my response to Heather about how Romney is talking about saving “America’s soul”. Then YOU asked:

“Do you have a quote I can refer to where he made such a statement?”

And I provided two examples. Perhaps what has you upset is this additional statement I added:

“But remember, he’s DESPERATELY trying to court the right wing nut jobs that make up the Tea Party and it appears he’s willing to sell HIS own soul to do it!”

I then added the disclaimer. I stand by what I said because what I expressed was only my OPINION, nothing more.

Then you go on to say:

“The prospect of two opposing hives of inventors spewing toxic statements like the one you have parroted above is a ridiculous idea and yet always possible.”

“Spewing toxic statements”? Really dude?? And exactly whom do you think I was parroting?

Honestly, I don’t see why you’re so riled up over what was basically an off the cuff comment. But let me give you these words of advice that pertain to INVENTING and nothing more. If you really expect to succeed in the hard knock world of inventing you’re going to need to grow a thicker skin!

Perhaps I should turn your logic around and ask you this. If you were about to make that pitch you’ve always dreamed of that could get your product into Wal-Mart and the buyer you were meeting made a comment such as “Sorry for the delay, I had to take a moment to respond to some tea party nut job.” Would you then storm out of the meeting because that person’s political views were opposed to yours??

If you think the inventing process should be apolitical you simply won’t get an argument from me. But if you’d like to debate about the tea party or any other topic that strikes your fancy, by all means, e-mail me under this screen name at Yahoo dot com and we can have a lively debate

Excellent post Greg –
Carve that one in stone.

Beadle, it’s not difficult to find passionate political opinions in this current environment. I share your heightened degree of disgust for what I perceive through my lens of experience, however diametrically opposed to yours.
I’m proposing that “inventing” is a universal expression of freedom and that it has survived as an apolitical theater. Unlike other issues such as climate change, the economy, life, education etc. the act of inventing has not been politicized to the point that we are divided into separated camps. Thus far we can all just say “I’m an inventor” without anyone wondering what our political bent is. Maybe the day will come when ideological passions will not allow civil conversation even among us, but I hope not. The prospect of two opposing hives of inventors spewing toxic statements like the one you have parroted above is a ridiculous idea and yet always possible. There are many intelligent people here who have felt safe to expose their political ideology in a civil way and the ensuing conversation has been interesting and validating to all parties involved.
Your disclaimer is not necessary.
Inventing does not require wealth, a family name, a degree, there is no gender or age advantage. We are all equally unbarred from access to every avenue of innovation without a political id. card. If that sounds like a ridiculous proposal then I challenge you to ask yourself if you were an LPS sponsor would you be affected by the fact that your next submission appointment was with someone who you just found out is a Tea Party inventor or if your statement would affect their confidence in your professionalism.

Greg

Just as I was about to start typing this response the very same Romney ad came on the TV! In it he refers to Obama as “this pessimistic president” but interestingly enough, the phrase “soul of America” was missing! Perhaps he’s already received a negative response to that rhetoric. But of course, EVERYTING lives on in cyberspace! I took me about 3 nanoseconds to find this:

nytimes[dot]com/2012/01/07/us/politics/romney-criticizes-obama-his-rivals-line-up-to-criticize-him[dot]html

It took 3 more nanoseconds to find this:

washingtonpost[dot]com/politics/mitt-romney-battle-for-soul-of-america/2011/12/30/gIQAE43cQP_video[dot]html

I’m guessing that if it already hasn’t happened, one of his aides will surely pull him aside and tell him he needs to tone down his rhetoric. But remember, he’s DESPERATELY trying to court the right wing nut jobs that make up the Tea Party and it appear he’s willing to sell HIS own soul to do it!

DISCLAIMER: This post reflects the views of beadlerock and not those of Edison Nation

I don’t know. The pickings have been getting a little slim. My clown gig is drying up. I’ve been feeling like a fat man at a salad bar. I’m considering taking Beadels personality test so I might reinvent myself but I’m afraid it might charge me a finders fee. You can’t leave Ralf. You are the only thing standing between many of us (and you know who we are) and a fundamentalist right wing cult. Get some rest, curl up with Schroedinger and plot some evil.

You’re right Greg, I’m trying so hard to quit all writing but here I’m like a fat man at a buffet table. The EN forum is my last thing I have to quit.

LOL! HA HA! I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist this thread topic for long. As a disciple of Ronald McDonald and Colonel Sanders I am easily influenced by their commentary on childhood obesity and early onset diabetes and they seem to agree that everything is good, no problem. I can’t tell you how relieved I am.

As a disciple of Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert I am easily influenced by their commentary on the Republican debates; saves me time watching them. I was worried for a while that Gingrich would take it opening the way for a dark lord of the Sith to end the republic and run the empire with an iron fist. However, Mitt Romney might still be his evil ploy and distraction to seize power. Newt appears as a blackened hole on my TV much like Cheney did.

Hmmm.

Beadle Rock, I commend your knowledgeable, sharing, inventive spirit and as an undecided voter I am always interested in outrageous statements being made by those who are vying for my vote. I have great respect for those who have taken the time to get the information straight from the candidates mouth as Heather has indicated she has done through watching a debate. I haven’t heard Mitt Romney say he wants to save our souls in the context of his desire to be the next president and it would be disturbing to me if he did intend to devote any of his public servant position for that purpose. Do you have a quote I can refer to where he made such a statement?

Hi Bettlejuice, J..at the end of my lable, don’t have an explination for dat. Judge not.. It will be something to work with in a previous life. Tests..there are many, simply manefested now in paralel universes or demensions (incase of separate-ismms) before dis was dat…now this is that and welcome to EN.

Heather

I used a site called Global Sources: globalsources[dot]com/. Some people have use Alibaba, but I had heard that their site is full of viruses. Anyway, with Global you register for free. Then you can compose an e-mail indicating what you’re looking for. It then gets sent to all the manufacturers who are registered with them that make that type of material. In my case it was a silicone product. The very next day I got a couple dozen e-mails, the vast majority of which where from Chinese manufacturers eager for the business. I stayed away from the ones that did not appear to have a good command of English, some of whom were even tossing out quotes without asking for any more information. I ended up going with a couple that provided professional looking responses and asked the right questions before supplying quotes as PDF documents that had clearly passed through some sort of chain of command. In my case both manufacturers did a great job. With one of them the material they sent failed to meet my specs. It would have been expensive to send back and the manufacturer would not have been able to repurpose the material, so they offered to produce another lot at half the cost. I thought that was a reasonable compromise and I was quite satisfied with the final product.

Michael

You’re right, they’ll all say anything to get elected. But apparently that’s not enough for Mitt, he wants to save our souls as well!

Good point Michael.
Heather, Stephanie I’m curious if you are using an American agent or are you working directly with the Chinese manufacturer?

We bought a couple shipments from China for a product and also had to get the letter of credit each time. We worried, but both times it all worked out fine.

LOL!! What politician wont say ANYTHING to get elected!

Isn’t that interesting – Beadle… You really are hitting on the subject that I was wondering about. What a good idea to do different parts of your product at different companies for that reason.
I’m about to get part of my product from China – the other part hopefully made here. I worry about the whole process.

Heather

First of all, I think Mitt Romney will say ANYTHING to get elected. As far as dealing with the Chinese is concerned, I’ve done it and suffered no repercussions, but I’d be lying if I said the idea isn’t potentially fraught some peril. Product quality and individual integrity really run the gamut over there. I had one Chinese company produce my PRODUCT and different one produce my PACKAGING COMPONENT. But neither had any involvement in doing the actual packaging. Why? Because like it or not, the Chinese have a pretty bad reputation when it comes to respecting intellectual property and they’re notorious for producing knock-offs under different labeling. By not having them do my packaging, neither company actually knew what the product was because they never got to see the labeling.

I may have been lucky, but both companies performed in a respectful, professional manner. But I did hold my breath a lot through the whole process. Virtually all the companies you deal with over there will only accept a wire transfer from a bank as payment. The risk is that once that money is sent there’s no getting it back. So if you run into an issue, good luck trying to the Chinese civil authorities to provide much in the way of assistance! There’s more to share but I don’t want this post to turn into a novel. You can e-mail at beadlerock[at]yahoo.com if you like and I can provide more in the way details, suggestions, etc. But always remember: Caveat Emptor!

Heather, I didn’t mean it to sound like I was correcting you…so called free trade is what we seem to have now and my personal opinion is that it is not a good thing as it now exists. FAIR trade in my mind would need to take many factors into consideration in order to create a level playing field for american made goods.

Sorry, fair trade… :P
As for watching the debate- well, I don’t like to listen too much – but, I felt that I should get up on my current events.

Hi Heather, This is just my feeling, because I’m an FJ in the other forum. (at this moment:))
Any one can steal anyones ideas. You don’t have to go to China to see it.
On the other hand..Brasil has always been a third world country in somes eyes, but yet have always had great mineral wealth. It wasn’t till a few short years ago they exspanded with free trade to China. Now a booming economy.

Sorry but I try not to listen to Mitt…as for free trade I think the term should be FAIR trade and to have fair trade differences in currency value and wage and living costs have to be considered.