I do not know how you can say that I am a carver equal to you.
Jim you are too kind, but you know that the grass is always greener on the other side.
That's the fantastic thing here at the forum:
While we got a few people doing the same thing really,
everyone manages to be still very different in their own way.
It looks like, everyone here has his/her own style and with that there is no real competition. I find that great. Without competing against each-other, there is only learning from each-other. It allows us to envy someones else's skill without hindering our own progress. Take the ten carvers here and give them the same task; I bet you that, where as in other similar places most people would copy each-other, here our lot comes up with at least 8 very different outcomes.
Nearly all of us are self-learned. We hold on to similar ideals, yet we are not bound to them and that makes all the above possible.
So yes, I think you are a better carver than me; and I hope and pray that that will never change!
