2017…Looking Back

This past year had its ups and downs and I think I want to see it gone. I say that though with some trepidation because all things considered I’m alive and kicking and that’s something to celebrate. Really!

Stout Standards has had its ups and downs in 2017 and as in the past I’ve had those moments when I just wanted to chuck it all.  I continued getting the “if you don’t like it don’t….” emails, making me realize just how easy it is to be anything you want to be in cyberspace. You can even be a British archaeologist living in Poland and pretend to know everything there is to know about detecting when in fact you are just a narcissistic asshole.  I mean there’s no limit….

The following is a snapshot of Stout Standards 2017 and a quick way (if you are interested) for you to read a post or two you might have missed. A special thanks to all of you who took the time to participate in my Q&A blurbs.

Ron Guinazzo

JANUARY

…started off with a warning about potential future problems and wound up with Chicago Ron sharing details about his twice a year trips to the UK and what you might expect if you joined him. In between were a few brainfarts and an often visited post “Detectors…My Take”.

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Finally figured out why so many detectorists also love to fish. Tall tales and bullshit…

 

FEBRUARY

Paul & Joan Tainter

In February I shared an article from Paul Tainter’s Treasure Hunter Express “Treasure Hunting with Symbols” that garnered a lot of reads. Next John Howland shared his expertise talking about “Sensitivity”. 

February was a sad month for me personally. My 20-year-old VW Pug Bug was put out to pasture and today I regret doing it tenfold. I should have dug deep, got it fixed and kept driving it. The car I have now is newer but it has no personalty and I think it was built with leftover parts..

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Who remembers “Hot Head” coils? Were made by the manufacturers (hush, hush) for big mail order guy….

 

MARCH

March was a good month in that I started the Q & A sessions with Dominique Da Silva Ivy being the first. While not as pleasant to look at Dave Wise was kind enough to be the second on the 25^th of the month.

Dominique Da Silva Ivy & Dave Wise

In between these two Q&A’s I shared a way to get permissions without knocking on doors.  It’s titled “No Need to Knock Yourself Out”.

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Sure wish tekkies could read

 

APRIL

April was without a doubt the most popular month in 2017 when it comes to visits, views and reads. Reason? It boasted four Q&A sessions starting with Bob Buttafuso and followed by Todd Hiltz, Allyson Cohen and Butch Holcombe. In between was “Howland Talks History” and the most popular SS post ever titled “Is it the Detector or is it You?” 

 

Top l to r: Todd Hiltz & Allyson Cohen. Bottom Butch Holcombe and Bob Buttafuso.

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Don’t care what it is you do for a living it’s only a matter of time before technology takes over your job…count on it.

 

MAY

May featured two more Q&A’s….Bob Sickler and D.J. Yost.  John Howland also shared his take on the new AT Max International.

Bob Sickler & DJ Yost

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Is it true detector shops are now selling selfie sticks?

 

JUNE

Ron Guinazzo, a.k.a. Chicago Ron

In June I got heated about an over reaching state government….see “Because It’s Important”. It was followed up by a Q&A with Chicago Ron. I ended the month with “The Social Media Saga” which became somewhat controversial after a few feuding parties (yup gals) picked up on it and decided to use to defend their positions.

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Is it true there’s a Facebook page called AT-Pro for left-handed people with glasses and a lisp?

 

JULY

Jocelyn Elizabeth and Jim Fielding

Started off with me sharing “Everything I Know-About Metal Detecting”, followed by a Question and Answer Session with Jocelyn Elizabeth, and a post titled “I Must be Crazy”, another attempt to get my views across with it comes to social media .  Rounding out July was one more Q&A with my good friend Jim Fielding.

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Idea for detector manufacturers…..instead of names or numbers why not slot machine readouts like bars, cherries, etc.? Just a thought….

 

AUGUST

Just had to start the month off with a Barrel of Brainfarts. They were accumulating at an alarming rate. After that Bubba offered a saloon post about Buzzy Siegel and the Treasure of Lima. He also introduced us ll to his new digging partner Chesney.

Bubba’s pal Chesney

Next I offered a what if type of blurb titled “If I Had Known” and I wonder how many of you have ever thought about where you’d be without this pastime? I finally finished the month with a WYSIWYG post to hopefully satisfy tekkies who want me to serve up the silver bullet, tell them how to become millionaires and retire young. SMH…

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I fear that treasure hunting today is not defined by what you dig up but how cool you look doing it.

 

SEPTEMBER

…started with yours truly sharing his take on “How to be a Successful Detectorist” , followed by “The Day We Stopped Listening” a blurb about how we’ve become dependent on technology and not always to our advantage.  September wound up on a more pleasant note when John Schmidt took the Q&A plunge and shared his background, ideas and tips.

John Schmidt, “Mr. Tek”

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You call them swear words. I call them “sentence enhancers”

 

OCTOBER

…started with “Tuesday Twaddle”, a post about an age-old topic depth, and what happened to it. After a few brainfarts  came two successive Q&A’s, the first with Hammy Sammy and the next with Greg Toney.

Hammy Sammy & Greg Toney

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“On my way back to the car” is the equivalent of “it was a dark and stormy night”….

 

NOVEMBER

Well the month of November started off with the lady tekkies beating the hell out of me for expressing my views on my blog. Apparently I hit a few raw nerves with “Gawd We’re Gaudy”.

 

I think I may have escaped further damage by then posting up a Q&A from old friend Nigel Ingram.  The month ended with “Too Busy Getting Noticed to Notice” a NYC story that didn’t help our image.

Nigel Ingram

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On a metal detecting forum” “Just for fun lets show a picture of our pouch, There’s not much to mine, Show what you have as tools etc..”

 

DECEMBER

Because of the response to the Prospect Park post I decided to keep the topic going with “The Excavator” followed by a brainfart attack called “Midweek Moans & Groans”.

Very important this month? John Howland launching his very own blog titled “Detecting & Collecting”. Have a hunch it will quite interesting. He will still continue to tend bar at the Malamute Saloon.

Finally…I’ve lost 22 lbs, feeling “somewhat” better physically and hoping that in a month or two I just might be able to do a little beeping. At least that’s my goal. Wish me luck!

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Be sure to stay tuned, comment and keep checking back because I’m not giving a damn thing away!

 

From our house to yours…

Have a Safe, Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year!!

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