Husky: Yup. Which makes people like us rarer and in more demand. The world will always need tool makers, and will have to pay for the good ones. I take a lot of pride in what I can make. It might make me a bit of an elitist, but that's what tool makers are.... Elite. ;) My college class started with 60, and only 5 people finished their die. So in summary, if you're bored with being an operator. Take a step up. Become a certified machinist so you can program yourself. And if you're bored with programing or being a general machinist, take the schooling to become a tool, mold, or gauge maker. You become an engineer/metalurgist/chemist/machinist/designer all rolled into one. That's where the real chalenges are.

Which is why you get into Tool, Die, or Gauge making! Then it's litteraly something different each time. Lots of theoretical calculations, metalurgy, design work, etc. And, still enough manual machine work to keep things interesting ;) - certified T&D guy.

"polycarbonate is polycarbonate " No. It's not. Now without any intention of getting into a pissing match, because I have no investment in either 'side', I will say this: Your point is solely an opinion and has as much factual evidence supporting it as the people you are attempting to lambast. Here's a fact: Various armys have tested protective eyeware and all who do converge to using Oakley. Hey! That's a fact! Here's another: Oakley hires actual engineers to develop stuff, and believe it or not, they pay them! There is no point in reiterating what you perceive is a ‘rip-off’ because you have absolutely zero experience either working at Oakley, in a test lab, or as an engineer designing sun glasses. So your point is entirely moot and simply an attack on people. Take a step back, realize that marketing is part of everything you buy (even those $20 sunglasses that have zero engineering effort, distort light waves, are a rip off of someones intelectual property, and cost approx .25c to make via slave labor). Before you go out on a diatribe, consider this: There are numerous items you’ve bought over the years that are not worth what you paid. The difference is nobody is going to come down to your house and rant about it, so neither should you. Unless you have actual proof. Which you haven’t shown, just drop reiterating your *opinion*.

82% of internet statistics are made up to make points sound more legitimate. Including this one.

So, pretty much *exactly* what I said about redesigning it.....

Good to know. They weren't introduced as such, so I guess coming from a certified Tool and Die maker, I always wonder where people got their start. I'd imagine they have their shit covered.