Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: MOTM

a) The last day I am working on MOTM for 2005, except some assembled module
soldering, is Friday Dec. 16th. After that day, I am taking a well-deserved
break (IMHO) until ∗after the NAMM show∗, which will be over Jan. 22nd.

b) During this period, I ∗do work∗, but I am 'in hiding'. If you place an order
during this period for kits, you will get it shipped but the wait may be 10 days
(or 1 day, depending on my schedule). If you send in an email, it may be 10 days
(or 10min) until you get an answer.

What I'm saying is: I'm here, but the day-to-day business of MOTM will halt. I
do this ∗every year∗. It prevents burn-out, it makes the wife happy and so on.
And every year some folks think 'He's quitting!!' but here I am, 6588 modules
later :)

c) Of course, there will be some people that have been waiting for stuff and
won't get their stuff. This also happens every year. For some people, it's
happened several years in a ∗row∗ (speaking of assembled modules). And 1kit
person Tim W. who will get his stuff soon :)

The problem is MOTM is a full-time part-time job. Meaning, in order to keep
caught up, I would have to spend about 35hrs/week, every week on it in addition
to my 'real job' (www.fralia.com). And the reality is that MOTM pays around $33K
(after taxes) which is OK if I was single and lived in Mom's basement. Family of
4 with 2 teenagers? HA! I would say that I do ∗some∗ MOTM work 345 days/yr. Even
so, I can not do ∗all of it∗. Even with all the effort Larry did, and Paul H.
does, it can not get 100% finished. Right now, the ratio of modules shipped this
year to not going to shipped is 6.2% (ie the backlog is 6.2% of the total
shipped in 2005). This ∗is high∗, all the business books say 3% is what you
want. Who has time to read ∗those∗? :)

d) Does this mean I stop shipping entirely over this period? No. Do I stop
answering the phone? No. Can you place orders? YES! But I may spend 4 8-hour
days playing F.E.A.R. or Civ IV :) I may even clean up the workspace, it's
really a sight this time of year (involves heavy dusting and removing resistor
leads embedded in carpet).

e) Another reason for the time "off" is to refresh the website. I'm adding pages
and the shopping cart. I've doubled the disk space, so I can put up over 50
demos that I have but didn't have the space for. I want a different look to the
home page. And I need a new catalog. Well, that's 2 solid week right there :)
Civ IV will have to wait.

f) We are running low on wire. I am ordering more tomorrow. This will effect the
VCO kits. I will ship what I can as the parts arrive.

g) sadly, no production '650s will ship this year. If the sheet metal arrives
before NAMM, I will ship what I can. Probably a 1 page manual :) The user
interface is easy and straight-forward, you will be able to figure it out in <
1min. I wish I could use plywood for front panels :(

Last, but important: I am ∗∗CHANGING THE PHONE NUMBER∗∗ to 817-281-7776. This
number has always been active (it's in most of the manuals) but old-timers still
use the original 817-498-3782. BUT.....I will be disconnecting that number in
Jan. So, make a note: the new number will be 817-281-7776. During the day, the
best number to call is my Fralia cell at 817-313-9836.

Of course, there will be a recording stating "you have reached a number that has
been disconnected or is no longer in service" and then the obvious "MOTM is out
of business!!" will ensue. Sigh.

Paul S.