COBLINKS, A Work of Submarine Linking Passion

For most of us, our creative instincts and work ethics are driven by monetary compensation. There is nothing wrong with that, bills have to be paid, and a good provider must have a way to support his family. To stay on top of whatever career or business you have chosen, you must produce the best possible product. However, sometimes the best of somethings are not born of the pursuit of money and recognition, but perhaps just the pure passion for it. You find it in hobbyists such as model and RC builders, or painters and craftsman. Having a hobby such as these examples can be counter productive to those who produce for compensation. As a matter of fact some hobbies can cause the loss of a great deal of time and money. For those who have a passion for which they pursue, it is of great value to the person that has created it and sometimes also of great worth to those who observe the final creation.

Richard Standard has a Passion. He is busy setting the standard for Submarine Links on the Internet. Some of you might of served with Richard before. He served on several boats in his U.S. Navy career. The USS Flasher SSN 613, USS Kamehameha SSBN 642 Blue, and the USS Grampus SS 523. He is the webmaster of COBLINKS. It is his hobby and creation. One that benefits all of us. It is tedious work, creating and maintaining a website, but he takes it another step further, meticulously researching and linking all things submarine on the web. “Verified at least twice” he says on his website, he has recently completed TDISH (This Day in Submarine History) a supplement to COBLINKS. 10,000 links and growing, COBLINKS is a work of passion and satisfaction for Richard. For us, a depository of submarine websites and information.

COBLINKS daily hit count and visitors may not be that high. To most webmasters that is a measure of success, but for Richard’s site that measure would be a mistake. A better example would be that of owning an encyclopedia set before the Internet. How often did we use the encyclopedia? Probably not much, but it was there with all its knowledge when we needed it. A powerful tool when put to use. Like an encyclopedia, daily use is not the measure of COBLINKS value or other websites like it.

I am in awe of the creations of hobbyists and those with a passion. I marvel at a modelers attention to detail. A painters ability to put his minds eye to canvas. Certainly the creations of our fellow submariners on the web fit somewhere in that category. There is a lot of submarine websites on the internet. All done with a degree of creative passion and detail. Submarine websites come in all subjects and perspectives. There is a website for just about every boat in the last 60 years. This presents an opportunity for us to relive the past, to spark memories, and to view the journeys and accomplishments of those that have gone before us. There are also Submarine Bloggers who use their expertise to give the submarine community a voice on the web and there are Internet gathering places for submariners to share common ground.

I consider myself well traveled in submarine websites, but I still continue to run into new and exciting material. When down time presents itself, and a good book or TV will not suffice, may I suggest COBLINKS as your starting point for all things submarines on the internet. Discover what Richard and others have created for us to enjoy.

Cross-posted from TheSubReport.com/blog

Eric Ryle
Editor TheSubReport.com

posted by esryle @ 6:00 PM