Hi everyone,
As you probably know, over the past few years I haven't been on Photon Lexicon forum very much -- neither here, nor on the Facebook page. Likewise, I haven't been to the Photon Lexicon-related meetings either. It has been a very busy time for me and pretty much everyone else at Pangolin. I've been working 7 days a week trying to get out new products and also make sure our existing customers' ideas get turned into things they can use. As such, I didn't notice this particular thread, or Ryan's post until now.
First let me say that Ryan's picture here is an adaptation of something he did at the office. What you see in the picture (minus the scanners) was his message to our office. To all of us in the office, it was a really bad joke that was quickly dealt with. By adding the scanners, it makes the meme and even worst joke...
For people outside the USA, the coronavirus is causing unimaginable strife. In the far east, they've suffered massive sickness and real casualties. This is also the case in certain European countries including Italy and Spain, with others on the rise. Those European countries and others are in complete lockdown.
But when Ryan posted that meme a week ago, life was pretty normal here in America. For most people there were no signs of people getting sick, and the only unusual thing in sight was the grocery stores are completely out of toilet paper and bread. If the situation was only that stores had run out of toilet paper, Ryan's attempt at humor might not be all that bad. But clearly, the plight of the world and the "you're next" implication didn't register with him.
Ryan is a good guy, and I hope the people who see his attempt at humor won't judge him solely on this. After all, words -- especially words online, are always subject to interpretation, and the lens of interpretation depends on the present situation of the reader. Ryan's next door neighbor might have grinned, while someone in Europe would understandably react harshly. Clearly some of us at Pangolin need sensitivity training, including me!
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Setting this meme completely aside, this has become a serious situation and it's having a real toll on people in our communities. For example, my sister recently changed jobs. She was a waitress, but recently started a new job at a security company. With the closing of all of the restaurants around the country, my wife and I know of wait staff and even top chefs being laid off.
Obviously we can say the same about people whose whole livelihood is doing laser and light shows. We've received many emails and private messages from people who are concerned about this.
Fortunately there is a definite light at the end of the tunnel. In China, where the virus started, they're pretty much over it, with actually no new cases in China yesterday (I think 35 people came into China with the virus). But businesses which were closed down there are opening up again. Factories are buzzing. And their past laser show projects that were on hold are starting to be green-lit again.
My point is that this situation is only temporary. As such, at Pangolin we are choosing to use this time of slowdown to refine our processes. This is especially the case in the back office, but I'll give you a scanner-related example. For a long time we've been wanting to make a fixture that would make our mirror mounting easier and more accurate, but in the past, we never had time to do this, because the emphasis was always in getting stuff out the door. Now that it's a bit slower, we finally have time to make the new fixture, so mirror mounting won't be so labor intensive.
We are also coming up with newer content and we will be hosting some online training sessions so that people could learn how to use our products, and also learn laser show production techniques better. I see musicians doing the same thing.
So use this time to hone your craft, so that when all of the manifestations of the virus have lifted, you will be a better craftsman, better musician, better lasers, and better businessman.
Shows in China are coming back right now, and shows in your area will come back!
Pangolin is prepared to whether this storm and we are here to help you as much as we can. Please continue writing to us with your suggestions -- not only about the products, but how we might be able to help.
Best regards,
William Benner
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Originally Posted by absolom7691
