Evan's RV

[mattthemuppet]

I always thought he was an incredibly smart guy that wasn't much interested in what other people had to say, to the point where he'd continue on a tit for tat conversation (ooh, like a couple of people on here I could think of) far past when it stopped being interesting. I did learn something from his posts, but probably less than I would have if he hadn't been so aggressive and pugilistic in promoting his point of view. I usually stopped reading a thread when I saw him contributing to it as it would invariably descend into an Evan vs. someone else argument. I often wondered if he was somewhere on the autism spectrum, but that's hard enough to figure out in person let alone over the internet.

[Peter.]

I used to like Evan's posts he seemed a little grandiose at times but he more than made up for it with his wide and varied content. To delete everything in a fit of petulance, to wipe out all that knowledge which should have been left behind for others to follow however is unforgivable regardless of the motivation.

[boslab]

He was odd, like the rest of us aren’t, I know I am but I’m old enough to know that, it’s what age teaches you I’m afraid, ev reminded me of a machining sheldon cooper, I liked him, sent him a load of fluoride toothpaste once, apparently illegal in Canada? Or at least unobtainable, I think the postal service bloody well impounded it, I would have done better sending amphetamines or some such, I have his address somewhere as he moved, hope he’s doing ok, life’s far to short for some of the stupid assed antics we all get up to, to this I can attest, we all make mistakes, all misspeak, all take offence when none was intended but we are all brothers and sisters under the skin, whether we like it or not, colour, race, wealth nor intellectual ability matter a jot to the grim reaper, sooner or later we’ll feel that chill, I’ve felt it as many others have, but few get to talk about it, I’d like to see him back myself, it was far more interesting to be sure
mark ( and Williams for my pain)

[Dan Dubeau]

Wrong.

The City of Williams Lake was NOT named after Evan Williams. Fake story.

It was a joke. True story!

[The Artful Bodger]

It was a joke. True story!

They were going to rename the town then Evan came on the scene and they had second thoughts!

[RB211]

Even also spoke about never being able to sleep, and that he was surprised he was still alive. He was eccentric, and the divorce seemed to not help matters.

[Doc Nickel]

Evan was indeed very bright, and I'll gladly admit I learned a thing or two from him.

My only beef, personally, was that for a while there, he was turning HSM into his own personal blog- which was not in and of itself such an issue, it's just that a great deal of what he posted was not machining.

Some off-topic is fine, and to be expected. But post after post after post? (I'll also admit being annoyed at times with HSM Magazine; there have been more than a few times in recent years, where the articles are more welding-and-fabrication, or even carpentry, than machining.)

The only other bit, which was a little more wide-ranging, was that he was never wrong. And by that I mean it was literally not possible for him to admit a mistake, or that he didn't fully understand and comprehend a subject.

Two things along those lines I recall specifically was once he was doing some roof work, and set up a primitive fall-prevention system. Wildly inadequate (though admittedly better than nothing) but he absolutely refused to acknowledge even the merest hint of an idea that it wasn't perfectly acceptable, and for that matter, better than anything commercially made.

The other was after he'd managed to hit the cord of his circular saw, with the saw, for the second time. That was NOT, of course, his fault; That was purely and 100% the fault of the manufacturers putting the cable coming out of the saw in the wrong place.

Despite the fact that every saw anyone could find on the market at the time, had the cable coming out in the exact same place, and the only one anyone could find that had it where Evan said it was supposed to be, was an antique saw from the 60s.

In short, yes, he was very, very smart. But really, he needed a huge dose of humility to temper that ego.

Doc.

[RB211]

Evan was indeed very bright, and I'll gladly admit I learned a thing or two from him.

My only beef, personally, was that for a while there, he was turning HSM into his own personal blog- which was not in and of itself such an issue, it's just that a great deal of what he posted was not machining.

Some off-topic is fine, and to be expected. But post after post after post? (I'll also admit being annoyed at times with HSM Magazine; there have been more than a few times in recent years, where the articles are more welding-and-fabrication, or even carpentry, than machining.)

The only other bit, which was a little more wide-ranging, was that he was never wrong. And by that I mean it was literally not possible for him to admit a mistake, or that he didn't fully understand and comprehend a subject.

Two things along those lines I recall specifically was once he was doing some roof work, and set up a primitive fall-prevention system. Wildly inadequate (though admittedly better than nothing) but he absolutely refused to acknowledge even the merest hint of an idea that it wasn't perfectly acceptable, and for that matter, better than anything commercially made.

The other was after he'd managed to hit the cord of his circular saw, with the saw, for the second time. That was NOT, of course, his fault; That was purely and 100% the fault of the manufacturers putting the cable coming out of the saw in the wrong place.

Despite the fact that every saw anyone could find on the market at the time, had the cable coming out in the exact same place, and the only one anyone could find that had it where Evan said it was supposed to be, was an antique saw from the 60s.

In short, yes, he was very, very smart. But really, he needed a huge dose of humility to temper that ego.

Doc.

If I was to take a wild guess, I'd say he has Aspergers

[alanganes]

I had a number of private exchanges with Evan via PM and email, sent him a few small items I had that he had use for and even though I asked nothing in return he reciprocated very generously. He surely is a character and did have a combative streak. I obviously never met him in person but suspect that he was probably significantly more tame in person and I know that he went somewhat out of his way to help out a number of folks who hung around here.

We have no shortage of people here who are ready and willing to engage in debates, he was one of the kings of that. I don't interact on forums to debate stuff, so I just avoided the discussions once they (almost inevitably) went over the top. But he did bring a lot to the table and was for sure an out of the box thinker. I certainly did not agree with everything he said, but I did find most of his thoughts interesting and fun to follow.

As I recall Evan was having lots of medical challenges leading up to the time he departed from here, some of which included personality changes that negatively affected his family life, etc. I suspect that was at least a contributing factor to his departure.

[alanganes]

If I was to take a wild guess, I'd say he has Aspergers

I don't recall if it was in stuff he posted or in private exchanges, but he himself made references to being "on the spectrum" or some similar thing as being part of his drive to start a project and stick with it until it was done. I don't know if that was a clinical conclusion or self-diagnosis but it was not difficult to imagine it being true watching the interactions that went on here.

[Baz]

Since I don't remember anything specific about Evan's posts I'll try a topic shift to say I do miss 3PL.

[Willy]

..............
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In short, yes, he was very, very smart. But really, he needed a huge dose of humility to temper that ego.

Doc.

I believe Doc nailed it in one sentence.

I think Evan was brilliant and his broad spectrum of knowledge on so many fronts was astounding.
However his inability to accept that someone else could possibly have an idea or viewpoint that did not run parallel to his own was the root of his own undoing here. He simply would not accept that.

It's sad, I still miss his free thinking style. Sadder still is his taking down his own legacy, like a little boy running off with his marbles...because they're mine.

[RB211]

Since I don't remember anything specific about Evan's posts I'll try a topic shift to say I do miss 3PL.

I do too!

[aostling]

Here is a later thread from Evan. He was about to start as an adjunct under the professor with the neurological lab.

He hosted all his photos on his own website. When that crashed, they were never re-installed. Some of his threads survive (like this one), but I cannot find the one which many of us remember, assuring that he would never be back.

https://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/forum/general/72998-time-for-an-update

[Guido]

I must be odd man out here but early on, Ev responded positively regarding my posting of a sketch to solve his problem, plus an image of wrought iron gate I’d made. So, —— touch me.