This may sound silly, but I just enjoyed reading all of your biography's! So many different people, with different backgrounds, enjoying the same thing...Manufacturing! As for me, I started in my Dad's pattern shop (no CNC's) while still in High School, and was polishing patterns, running fillets and making gating when I wasn't baling hay for the local farmers. Now, 25 years later I own the business, have 3-Mastercam programmers, 7-Fadals (none of the patterns get made by hand anymore, it's all CNC) and 8-support people. I have a great bunch of guys - old and really young - who all have the same love of manufacturing that you people do. Next time I'm hiring, I'll be sure to post the ad on this forum! (Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa)