rippet - I'm in Fruita at the westernmost end of the state. It's post card country for sure. Being a long recovered alcoholic, I cannot offer opinions on the beer made here from personal experience so I can;t enter into conversations about specific products.
We used to live just west of Boulder in 4 Mile Canyon. It was a ghost town, a former mining community that was known locally as Wallstreet. After we left it was devastated by the flood and a forest fire. Oddly, out cabin survived both, I hear.
Where are you?
Another point to consider on the widespread loss of business in audio could have to do with the carrot moving out beyond the vision of the horse. When the cost of the ultimate products was maybe 4 or 5 times what you were buying it was possible to dream - to aspire - to someday move up incrementally to that plateau. Of course, the target kept ahead of us even as we ascended but it remained in sight and we kept playing. Now with the ultimate stuff costing more than our house and cars combined, it isn't even within dream range to think about owning such stuff.
Then consider a failed economy, potential medical induced bankruptcies, unanticipated forced retirements, student loans, offspring returning to the nest, disabling hearing loss, shifting interests, and despair. All of these effects serve to deplete our numbers. Oh yeah, one more. Death. All are good reasons to change your priorities and I would wager that few, if any, of us can say we know no one to whom one or more of these factors has come into play.
The outlook going forward is dismal. There are a lot of designers such as Rowland, Vandersteen, Pass, Modjeski, Berning, etc. who are aging out. They may continue until death or they may pack it in sooner. Bigger companies might continue on but will they have sufficient support from our ranks to keep them viable? I guess that's for us to say but this thread indicates that few of us will be participating much longer. Just enjoy it while it lasts and be glad for what you have and what you had. Tick tock.
