I am currently spending most of my time down in the FAOL Archives, coping and pasting past articles on FAOL, and converting them to PDF (requires Adobe Reader) so I can view them on my computer when I am fly tying, or building fly rods, or researching something when I have a question.
I have a older computer in my fly shop/work room that is obsolete for cruising the world wide web, but it is still plenty good for as a isolated depository of all things fly fishing related.
Currently I am converting Al Campbell’s “Field Editor” column. I am having a difficult time, because I see the face of Al on the masthead, and I find myself still mourning the lost of this man who became so much a part of my life. Al left us all too soon, yet I know it was not by his choice. In every “Epic Saga” the apprentice learns from a Mentor or Wizard, to complete the task or mission he has been given, only to lose the Mentor or Wizard before the training is complete. Such as it was with myself, when I learned that Al Campbell had brain cancer, and the outcome was terminal.
I found an articles “Learning Curve -Fly Rods” that should be part of Al Campbell’s 12 part series, “Building a Graphite Rod”, which he had already written a couple years earlier for FAOL. And it will be include in the “Building a Graphite Fly Rod” on the CD that I am burning in April.
I used Al’s “Building a Graphite Rod” as the basis for my first attempt at rod building. I wish I had “Learning Curve - Fly Rods” back then. As it was I made mistakes (costly mistakes) when I felt compelled to use a Gatti Fly Rod Blank for my 1st attempt.
(Long Story shortened) I broke the tip on my Gatti, an Al Campbell, Dave Umer (slicfoot)l as well as Deanna Travis (LadyFisher) through their efforts, where able to procure me a new tip section from Italy. The rod tip section was $50, but the shipping cost from Italy were $70, and the fee for the International Money Order was $30. So instead of one tip for $150, I order two tips, for $200. The money was well worth it, it is still my only 3 wt fly rod, and it is still a “love affair” every time I am casting it. Got to Get a Gatti!
When I have completed all "Al Campbell’s Field Editor column articles, I will be placing them on the CD that I will be burning in April, along with “Fly of the Week”, “Just Old Flies”, and anything else that will fit on 700 MB of disk space.
Meanwhile, here is the connection to the article…
Learning Curve - Fly Rods, by Al Campbell
Anyone interested in any article on FAOL, for download to their home computer, you can always contact me at…parnelli@comcast.net. If I do not have it available in PDF, it only takes me about 15 minutes or less to do so!
~Parnelli 
I have found my purpose in life, an it is being the “Librarian” for the archives on FAOL.