The holidays are over and I am back in the office. This break must have been really good because I have forgotten how to do the little things, where to save a file, what to update next on the site, you know that sort of stuff. Things that no one else but you notice.

I took two weeks off, a long time for me. One of the things I like most about taking a holiday, besides the obvious fun with friends and family, is to gather my thoughts about where I have been and what I want to do next. Also, to figure out, of all the things humming around me, what's important and what needs my time.

One thought that crosses my mind is "Why am I doing this web site, Powder and Bulk Dot Com". We are going into our 8th year now, over 300 newsletters published, 1,000 articles in the News Center, over 2,500 posts on the Help Forum, it just keeps adding up. I think to myself, "Does this do any good for anyone?".

Well I got my answer today in an email from a man named Jack Lee from China. Jack is a M&D Manager for a company, Tian Jin Jie Li Xing M&E Co., Ltd. I tried looking up his company on Google, but the there was no web site for the company, just a listing in another directory, a Chinese company directory. From the listing and the photo, Jack is involved with process instrumentation. (See Jack's smiling face above)

Jack writes to me in his email, "Thanks for your updated newsletter everyday. Happy new year!"

Ah, Jack is why I spend so much time and effort on Powder and Bulk Dot Com. He loves the weekly newsletter, he most likely spends time on the web site and Jack could even be a member of the Help Forum. Well I hope so, because I will spend 30-40 mins trying to find his forum profile, and add a mini-version of his photo to his profile for everyone to see!

Eight years and a simple email breezes through my email box, brightening my day. Thanks Jack Lee and for that matter, thanks to all the "Jack Lee's" out there who visit and use our web site.

Happy New Year to you too!

Joe Taylor
Powder and Bulk Dot Com