And now for today’s lead-in quote;

“Karate is a form of martial arts in which people who have had years and years of training can, using only their hands and feet, make some of the worst movies in the history of the world.” –Dave Barry

OK, I am not going anywhere with that, but it brightened my day–yours too I hope.

Amid all the controversy that surrounds the Jointmaker Pro, the opinion most befuddling to me is the one proffered by “purists” who claim that cuts made with the JMP are “cheating”–whatever that means.

Today I was reminded (thanks to one of our forum members) of a different day in a different discipline not that long ago…

Do you remember the first hand held calculators–the ones introduced in the early 1970’s that only did arithmetic functions? They sold for $395 (that’s a whopping $2087.59 in today’s dollars!) Here’s a tool that purists vigorously defended just a couple of presidents ago;

Remember these?

Ironically, this site is rather fun. It works on screen, instructions are included. Imagine using one of these in a 400 level physics class with the bull horns of war protesters outside…

“WHAT DO WE WANT?”
“PEACE!!!”
“WHEN DO WE WANT IT?”
“NOW!!!”

A bit oxymoronic don’t you think? Now, don’t the bullhorns echoing around the internet regarding “how” a cut is made in wood seem rather silly?

Oh, and imagine how abacus owners must feel.

–John

PS: The Jointmaker Pro would have retailed in 1970 for $226.00. If you want to have fun with price comparisons, click here.