Where's Dr. Bruce?

spiderweb

spiderweb

Final Approach
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Feb 22, 2005
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Display name:
Ben
I went away for a half a year, and come back. I don't see him posting.

Is he on the red board? I don't like the red board. :(
 
Henning said:
Yeah, Jay Honek ran him off.
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Yep, Jay came in, dropped a few piles of dung causing the good Dr. to bail, then flew away to do a zoom departures and overhead breaks.
 
Dr. Bruce can't seem to figure out how to use the "ignore" feature. I'm not sure I get the whole "take my ball and go home" routine though...this is the internet; stupidity is a given.
 
Henning said:
Yeah, Jay Honek ran him off.
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Without beating up on Jay any more than necessary, he ran me off from ever wanting to go to his hotel less than 200 miles from me, or ever wanting to recommend it to anyone I knew going there…

Its a shame.. I really liked him when I met him in person at Osh back in 2002.. when he was in the paper business and not the hotel business.. (I was the one who tracked him down through campsite registration/plane parking for the first time… giving birth to the notion of the usenet Rec.Aviation.piloting/homebuilts party they had for the next several years there…). Heck.. he's the reason I came here from usenet all those years ago.
 
Brad Z said:
Dr. Bruce can't seem to figure out how to use the "ignore" feature. I'm not sure I get the whole "take my ball and go home" routine though...this is the internet; stupidity is a given.
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Dr. Bruce has done a lot and helped a lot of pilots on here for free, he is a little thin skinned sometimes. But, I kind of see his point, people depend on him for free advice and then slam him when they don't agree or don't follow his advice.
Hopefully he'll be back, but he's on the Red Board.:D
 
Bruce has a hard time walking away from an argument and has a tendency to take things to a personal level. Those are not good characteristics for enjoying your experience on the interweb.
 
Bloody shame we lost that resource.
 
kyleb said:
Bruce has a hard time walking away from an argument and has a tendency to take things to a personal level. Those are not good characteristics for enjoying your experience on the interweb.
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I think it's not so much he takes things at a personal level, but reading the thread that drove him off is that Jay was attacking his integrity. It is one thing to disagree, it's another to attack a person's character especially one who has given so much to so many in terms of free advice. Bruce was and still is owed an apology for the attack on his integrity and character.
 
He started digging on me before he left. Why, I have no idea...
 
N747JB said:
Dr. Bruce has done a lot and helped a lot of pilots on here for free, he is a little thin skinned sometimes. But, I kind of see his point, people depend on him for free advice and then slam him when they don't agree or don't follow his advice.
Hopefully he'll be back, but he's on the Red Board.:D
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Problem was, Dr. Bruce would get himself spun up on non-medical related topics too, and would get upset when others disagreed with him. That's fine, it's just that you can't always have the last word here: make your point and turn the computer off. I feel bad for folks who rather battle it out here with other folks rather than going out and doing something fun like flying.

Like others, I appreciate and benefited from his advice. I'd just recommend he ignore the Honecks and the countless anonymous posters who repeatedly ask about whether their multitude of DUIs wills affect their airline pilot aspirations.

You can't save everyone.
 
asgcpa said:
I think it's not so much he takes things at a personal level, but reading the thread that drove him off is that Jay was attacking his integrity. It is one thing to disagree, it's another to attack a person's character especially one who has given so much to so many in terms of free advice. Bruce was and still is owed an apology for the attack on his integrity and character.
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No doubt Jay overstepped, but it is the internet after all. You *can't* get upset with what someone says on the internet. Bruce has been active in these forums for plenty long to know that and to learn to disengage from those people and/or discussions. But he can't and in this case, the thread continued to flame up higher and higher, in part because Bruce continued adding fuel to the fire.
 
kyleb said:
No doubt Jay overstepped, but it is the internet after all. You *can't* get upset with what someone says on the internet. Bruce has been active in these forums for plenty long to know that and to learn to disengage from those people and/or discussions. But he can't and in this case, the thread continued to flame up higher and higher, in part because Bruce continued adding fuel to the fire.
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Exactly. :yes:

Jay has just as much right to express his opinion as does Bruce. Express it, move on. Bruce taking his "ball and going home" and poo-pooing POA" is a sign of immaturity and vengefulness to the people he claims he wants to help.
 
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That's too bad.

I don't think he did the "take my ball and go home routine," though.

It goes both ways--if he was ****ed enough to leave due to personal attacks and thought it pertinent to point out that he has given his completely free and incredibly expert advice for many years on this board, then I think he should have done that, and I'm glad he did.

When I was 8 years old, I -literally- picked up my soccer ball and went home at an informal game on my street. I thought I had been slighted. Well, my father came into the house, took the ball from me, and brought it back to the game. Later that night, I got my corporeal punishment, and the verbal lesson I've never forgotten--you NEVER take your ball and go home. You think you looked bad before? You look like a spoiled and stupid ass now.

Again, though, this is NOT what Dr. Bruce did. The game plays on--he just decided he didn't need to play anymore.
 
Bruce can dish it out but not take it. He mostly gets a free pass because he provides value with knowledge no one else has. Jay wasn't that bad, the money thing was off, but who is dumb enough to think an anesthesiologist can make (relatively)significant money doing medicals?
When the dregs of society show up with med/criminal history questions pass on Bruce's contact info or have a little fun. The sun will rise tomorrow.
 
I've got pretty thick skin, but I most certainly don't want to frequent an environment where that thickness is tested constantly. In time, an abrasive will rub through even the toughest armor. I hope he'll be back and continue to share and advocate for us all.
 
ClimbnSink said:
Bruce can dish it out but not take it. He mostly gets a free pass because he provides value with knowledge no one else has. Jay wasn't that bad, the money thing was off, but who is dumb enough to think an anesthesiologist can make (relatively)significant money doing medicals?
When the dregs of society show up with med/criminal history questions pass on Bruce's contact info or have a little fun. The sun will rise tomorrow.
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The Medical Topics forum is nearly useless without Bruce or another experienced AME to answer questions. It's OK to disagree but when people start questioning integrity and making baseless accusations of greed then don't expect the experts to hang around and give free advice.
 
Gary F said:
The Medical Topics forum is nearly useless without Bruce or another experienced AME to answer questions. It's OK to disagree but when people start questioning integrity and making baseless accusations of greed then don't expect the experts to hang around and give free advice.
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I talk to Bruce here and there as he is my AME and a valuable resource on other matters. I spoke to him last week to get him the data for my SI. This attack on him has been going on for quite some time where people open their yaps and make baseless statements and argue on medical topics. The accusations of greed and questioning of integrity was the final straw. Whether or not Bruce is thinned skin, we could all rely on him coming here nightly and answering questions. Some of those on the forum had their mouth in motion before their brains were engaged. The actions of a few ruined it for all of us. There really should be a modecum of decorum here. At least I can, as many of you, can contact him off the board.
 
He comes and goes as is his prerogative. He got ****ed off at the Red Board for a while as well. Frankly, I don't blame him. He goes to a lot of effort to answer people's questions here for free and then someone does something idiotic like accusing him of supporting the medical system for his personal economic advantage or making other aspersions (like berating him for not telling people to lie on their medicals).

Of course Doc Bruce isn't an angel either, he throws a lot of crap at people in the non-medical forums as well.
 
Brad Z said:
I'm not sure I get the whole "take my ball and go home" routine though...this is the internet; stupidity is a given.
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Seems this sequence repeats itself about every few months with various regular members. People forget its just as easy to ignore someone as it is to talk ****.
 
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I guess the lesson is, your life should not revolve around internet threads.
If an internet attack on your integrity, that you know to be unfounded, is offensive enough to make you leave a place where you like to contribute, with all due respect, that's more about you than it is the attack.

Dr. Bruce has been a great help to me with both his personal advice and his contribution to the threads in P.O.A. I'm not convinced he's the type anyone could "run off". He left because he wanted to leave and he'll return the same way...on his own terms.
 
Just chiming in on this:

Think it's bad here, try some other forums where egos get in the way. People will post stuff on the net they wouldn't say to your face. Personal attacks are just a way of life for some. On railroader I know ended his participation in a thread by saying "I'm outta here. I don't need to participate in a dick measuring contest".
 
Norman said:
Just chiming in on this:

Think it's bad here, try some other forums where egos get in the way. People will post stuff on the net they wouldn't say to your face. Personal attacks are just a way of life for some. On railroader I know ended his participation in a thread by saying "I'm outta here. I don't need to participate in a dick measuring contest".
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LOL! But so true!
 
Gary F said:
The Medical Topics forum is nearly useless without Bruce or another experienced AME to answer questions. It's OK to disagree but when people start questioning integrity and making baseless accusations of greed then don't expect the experts to hang around and give free advice.
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Replace the Medical section with a link to Bruce's webpage. Not an integrity or greed accusation but Bruce became known as an expert in this community by giving free advice. There may be a better specialist AME out there but we wouldn't know it because they haven't built a reputation by giving free value to this community. This is the new rules for experts, provide value for free on the interwebz to make a name for yourself and sell your book/coaching/service/whatever. Again there is nothing wrong with that and I'm not making an accusation of rent seeking or improper behavior just pointing out that Bruce's reputation as an AME comes from him proving his expertise giving out free advice. Pro CFIs should do the same.
 
ClimbnSink said:
Replace the Medical section with a link to Bruce's webpage. Not an integrity or greed accusation but Bruce became known as an expert in this community by giving free advice. There may be a better specialist AME out there but we wouldn't know it because they haven't built a reputation by giving free value to this community. This is the new rules for experts, provide value for free on the interwebz to make a name for yourself and sell your book/coaching/service/whatever. Again there is nothing wrong with that and I'm not making an accusation of rent seeking or improper behavior just pointing out that Bruce's reputation as an AME comes from him proving his expertise giving out free advice. Pro CFIs should do the same.
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It was results and not free advice that earned Dr. Bruce his reputation. The forum simply helped spread the word of his success.
 
ClimbnSink said:
Replace the Medical section with a link to Bruce's webpage.
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I wouldn't do that to the poor guy - his webpage will get slammed by the spambots. If there is someone here that really has a legit problem and needs the good doc, they'll be able to find him easily enough. It's not like he's gone into retirement in Belize, he's just gone on a POA sabbatical.
 
Enough with the blame game! Let's arrange an airlift to transport POA'ers to Doc Bruce's home, bearing gifts of Kaliber and the finest char-broiled meats, and humbly beseech him to return. Inasmuch as we'll have a common purpose, we can even cost-share.

-Rich
 
RJM62 said:
Enough with the blame game! Let's arrange an airlift to transport POA'ers to Doc Bruce's home, bearing gifts of Kaliber and the finest char-broiled meats, and humbly beseech him to return. Inasmuch as we'll have a common purpose, we can even cost-share.

-Rich
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Scarcity drives up value, his personal brand is doing alright. He'll get internet love aplenty when he returns.
 
It's a shame it all became personal.

Dr. Bruce is doing his best to work 100% within the current rules and regulations to keep pilots flying. That's a tremendous service. A less dedicated AME would just let you fail or wouldn't bother helping you get your ducks in a row to work WITHIN THE SYSTEM to pass.

Conflict occurs because a lot of people think the current system is flawed. They want to question or bypass the current rules. Dr. Bruce doesn't take that kindly. Either play by the rules or don't play.

It's a clash of mindsets that plays out on various topics.
 
Things online come through quite a bit differently than they do in person. Having met and been immensely helped by the good Dr. in person, I tend to give his Net persona a lot of slack even though it's not perfect.
 
noobJohn said:
It's a shame it all became personal.

Dr. Bruce is doing his best to work 100% within the current rules and regulations to keep pilots flying. That's a tremendous service. A less dedicated AME would just let you fail or wouldn't bother helping you get your ducks in a row to work WITHIN THE SYSTEM to pass.

Conflict occurs because a lot of people think the current system is flawed. They want to question or bypass the current rules. Dr. Bruce doesn't take that kindly. Either play by the rules or don't play.

It's a clash of mindsets that plays out on various topics.
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More than that, Bruce actually gets the rules changed! One of the problems he runs into is the people that don't like the rules prove the issues of why the rules are there and make it more difficult to change them.

Do you think one of the SSRI taking airmen that now has a medical has given Bruce one cent towards his expenses, not to mention time, to make that SI possible? Did Bruce ever ask for a dime? Did he put up a Kickstarter page? No, he did that on his time and expense which he will never recover on helping people getting their issuance.
 
Sometimes we are all guilty of a truly negative or downright insulting response. Perhaps the proper way for each individual to avoid this is....
Would you really say that about your mother of father? Or maybe we should all count to 1000 before hitting the SUBMIT button.
Me, if I read crap, even if I've written out a response, I usually hit the back button not the SUBMIT.
Even I was put off by Jay Honek's comments. Totally uncalled for and unfounded.
 
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