Dear Editor,  I am 80 years old and today I am feeling good because
after three attempts with help from Jody Kravitz I was able through
my daughter to make a donation to MMD.  Remember I am also computer
illiterate.

I am your "lone" subscriber from a little red dot called Singapore,
where do-it-yourself (DIY) is a dying breed and I wait with open arms
to read the daily blessings via the MMD on my computer.  Indeed, you
are all a magnificent lot of people, ever willing to give your all to
_share,_ which is not something I have seen elsewhere.

I have enjoyed reading Practical Mechanics UK and they see how well
they eagerly help the DIY man, even if he is a foreigner, simply to
just encourage him on the way.  And finally there is MMDer John Tuttle
who has, for over eight years, been painstakingly trying to get me
a manual for my Wertheim Pianola.

My purpose to write: I would like to build a vacuum pump before I exit
this earth.  I believe I have the resources but I lack the know-how.
I am willing to pay for schematics, instruction sheet, etc.  So will
some-one throw me a lifeline!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

David Row
Singapore

 [ David, good luck with your vacuum pump project.  Please let us know
 [ how it goes.  And... Thank you for your persistence at giving us a
 [ contribution via PayPal.
 [
 [ Every once in a while we get a note from subscriber that they have
 [ had trouble getting PayPal to work.  The subscribers sometimes think
 [ they are doing something wrong, but there seem to be some subtle
 [ technical issues that happen occasionally that may not be the
 [ subscriber's fault at all.   You may well be the victim of a problem
 [ rather than the cause of it!
 [
 [ I would like to hear from subscribers that have had trouble with
 [ making PayPal payments.  I hope to determine the technical issues
 [ involved.  We get quite a few contributions via PayPal so it must
 [ be something subtle...    Thanks in advance.   --Jody