One of our disappointments with this blog is the inability to have effective two-way communication via reader comments. We tried it for a few months and gave up after it was hijacked by sun glass knock-offs and potential scam artists. If you post a comment these days we have to review it before it can get posted for others to read. This does not mean we are not interested in feedback; we frequently hear from people through e-mail and in face-to-face conversations. Yes, we still talk to people. Reader Rittik’s comment on quoting includes a request for additional real world examples. Within the limits of the non-disclosure agreements I operate under, my stories here are very real. I am no longer involved in the daily scrum of the gear business, so the accounts may be a bit dated — but I try to select those that illustrate a point. Any current situations are subject to those NDAs, and I have to mine the past to have any content. Gear Technology magazine prides itself on presenting cutting-edge technical papers. Our advertisers are leaders in their market segments, so even the “press release” pages have information that will help individuals like Rittik improve their results. We welcome “real life” accounts from current gear processing engineers, too. If you have a unique solution to a processing problem — and want to share it with our readers — please let the editorial staff know. They are happy to assist newbie writers into print. Why would you want to share? Very few things remain secret for very long, and chances are that your “problem solved” part has close relatives in the fleet. Someone, somewhere, is looking for the guys and gals who already know how to make that widget right the first time. Your solution may also demonstrate a unique process capability or a rare understanding of machine utilization. There are plenty of clever ways to “disclose” without giving away trade secrets. So, thank you Mr. Rittik for commenting. We’ll try to come up with some content that addresses your concerns and look forward to hearing from you again.