If you have anger issues, this one is a great tool, H/T mindyourbusiness:
Disclaimer: I’m not your Supervisor. These are my opinions after reading through these books a few times.
April 23
“You have been formed of three parts—body, breath, and mind. Of these, the first two are yours insofar as they are only in your care. The third alone is truly yours.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 12.3
I had this drilled into me as I went through surgery, then post surgery infection, and now as I have started running again. As long as I understand these facts and do my best without getting upset at the fact that my best is pretty weak right now, I can control my mind. If I keep doing this until it becomes second nature, I will control my mind as long as I have breath. That is the goal anyway. Sometimes, I’m not sure my mind really belongs to me, but that is an excuse not to do the right thing and instead do the easy thing.
April 24
“Just as when meat or other foods are set before us we think, this is a dead fish, a dead bird or pig; and also, this fine wine is only the juice of a bunch of grapes, this purple-edged robe just sheep’s wool dyed in a bit of blood from a shellfish; or of sex, that it is only rubbing private parts together followed by a spasmic discharge—in the same way our impressions grab actual events and permeate them, so we see them as they really are.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6.13
I don’t think he is saying to not enjoy fine food or sex, he is reminding himself what they really are, so there is less compulsion to chase them or overindulge. I can still love to eat good food, but if I had to survive on plainer fare, I would survive and not overreact.
April 25
“If anyone can prove and show to me that I think and act in error, I will gladly change it—for I seek the truth, by which no one has ever been harmed. The one who is harmed is the one who abides in deceit and ignorance.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6.21
I have a compulsive need to be correct. I don’t mean that what I say or believe is always correct, but I have to KNOW that I am speaking the truth. If there is a better argument, I can be convinced. The problem is, everyone believes this. I try really hard to follow this, as I know far too many people that will deny truth if it makes their “team” look bad. I cannot handle cognitive dissonance in myself and in other people, I struggle not to let it drive me insane.
April 26
“When your sparring partner scratches or head-butts you, you don’t then make a show of it, or protest, or view him with suspicion or as plotting against you. And yet you keep an eye on him, not as an enemy or with suspicion, but with a healthy avoidance. You should act this way with all things in life. We should give a pass to many things with our fellow trainees. For, as I’ve said, it’s possible to avoid without suspicion or hate.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6.20
When working with other people, sometimes mistakes are made. I have always tried to handle honest mistakes in an honest manner. I have also made mistakes, but I have never been afraid to point the finger at myself and admit where I screwed up. If someone makes a mistake and it hurts me, I try to take it in stride and move forward without dwelling on what happened. I am not always successful, but usually it’s not a problem.
April 27
“Turn it inside out and see what it is like—what it becomes like when old, sick, or prostituting itself. How short-lived the praiser and praised, the one who remembers and the remembered. Remembered in some corner of these parts, and even there not in the same way by all, or even by one. And the whole earth is but a mere speck.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.21
When something is bothering me or hanging over my head, this exercise is useful. When I was waiting to see if I needed surgery again, I went through what that would mean and what the various outcomes could be. I also reminded myself that this was a very minor problem compared to other people I know. I thought I had my mind ready for any possibility, but when the urologist said there was no need for another operation, I realized that I was still pretty stressed because I could feel the tension leaving me.
April 28
“Tantalus: The highest power is—
Thyestes: No power, if you desire nothing.”
—SENECA, THYESTES, 440
This is true, but I still desire to live my life up to a certain standard, so I go to work everyday. It is important to remember this is a self created problem and understand that if I lose everything, it will not end me or my wife. As long as I realize this and am OK with it, it gives me more freedom than if I felt I had to keep this job No Matter What.
April 29
“Watch the stars in their courses and imagine yourself running alongside them. Think constantly on the changes of the elements into each other, for such thoughts wash away the dust of earthly life.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.47
This is a reminder that I am not important outside of my tiny sphere of influence. When the world doesn’t comport itself within my desires, I need to ask “Why should it? Who do I think I am?” It is frustrating to realize this, but if I can’t control something, I am wasting valuable time and energy getting upset about it.
Music this week is one of my favorite bands, Eluveitie (pronounced el-VAY-tee), they are a folk metal band from Switzerland. I first heard them about 5 years ago when Larry Correia said on his blog that this was his song of triumph when he finished a book. It took a long time to get used to his voice, but the music was so different and really good that I kept listening to it.
Then I bought their CD’s, one a month, until I had them all. Some people say all their songs sound the same, but maybe I’m a simple guy?
I really like all of them, and there are too many good songs to pick from (In my opinion, which is objectively right), but their latest one is actually my favorite:
I have also made mistakes, but I have never been afraid to point the finger at myself and admit where I screwed up.
I had this happen at work recently. Admitting it and working to correct the mistake helped.
I have found that admitting mistakes easily actually increases your credibility. When people know you aren’t defensive about your mistakes, when you stand firm on something, it means more.
Absolutely, and praise those that had the correct answer.
“Honey, you ran my synthetic polos through the dryer again. Can you just hang them up instead?”
“I didn’t have time to think about that, the kids are making me nuts, my hip aches from driving around town, I didn’t have hangers down in the laundry room…”
“Uh, sorry and will do it next time would have sufficed.”
*cue marital spat*
I solved that problem by doing my own laundry. Spat avoided. If my wife wants to run her own dress pants and shirts through the dryer with towels, she can do so. My clothes are washed as I desire, and my beloved Duluth pants and underwear last much longer.
I don’t know how laundry gets done.
I throw dirty clothes in the hamper, every now and the she asks me to carry it downstairs.
Magically, the clothes show back up either hung up or folded.
This. So much this.
What’s a hamper?
It’s what you call “the floor”.
That is one of the ways my wife has subtly domesticated me.
Early in our marriage I would pile them on the floor, but that was wrong and I know that now.
Spoken like a well-worn husband.
Ya’ll are barbarians. Pick up your damn rooms.*
*If you want, I’m not your supervisor.
Early in our marriage I would pile them on the floor, but that was wrong and I know that now.
Reminds me of the Man’s Prayer on the Red Green show:
“I’m a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess.”
This is how it works at the Casa de Animal, except that in nice weather I have to help her hang stuff out on the clothesline.
Same at the Fourscores but the missus will leave her stuff in the dryer after it’s dry. I end up folding her clothes and and carrying the basket upstairs, just so I can use the dryer. I also take my stuff out asap after it’s dry.
I’ve been wondering for a while now why it is, when we’re supposedly supposed to be all worried about our “carbon footprint,” so few people use solar or wind-powered clothes dryers – that is, a clothesline.
I frickin’ love putting on a fresh shirt that was dried in the sun and wind. Better than any dryer-sheet smell you could ever find.
I have unfond memories of running clothes out on the line in the back yard.
I’ll take ‘throw it all in a magic box, turn a knob and push a button’ over ‘haul the line and pin unmentionables until you run out of line’.
Unless birds are entirely extinct in your area, hanging laundry (especially bed linens) on the line is ill-advised if you have mulberry trees nearby.
Growing up, we didn’t have ant mulberries around. We had a maple and two black walnut trees in the backyard.
These got stolen.
I am not kidding. There was an ice storm. Our trees were fine, but people went around offering their ‘damaged tree removal services’ and took any trees that had valuable wood whether they had been damaged or not, preferring to strike when the owners were not home.
I was pissed. We lost a 55-year old maple that was wider than I was and the two walnut trees that I was less emotionally attached to bu shaded the back yard. I was only a teenager, but I knew the trees had been stolen.
GT:
You don’t want purple stained clothes from the mulberry eating birds?
/looks at mulberry tree on the side of my lot.
?
Neph: I do like purple clothes and believe they suit my complexion, but…no.
Birds, squirrels, chipmunks, rain, dust, leaves…
where are you people living that you can hang clothes outside without them getting filthy?
Magically, the clothes show back up either hung up or folded.
Ancient Chinese secret, huh?
She’s Japanese, but I’m sure they all look the same to you.
Lacsist!
She’s Japanese
Okinawans are Japanese?
/ducks
I tease her with that sometimes.
She’ll say something about being Okinawan and in my best Hank Hill voice, I’ll ask:
“So, are you Chinese or Japanese?”
Ryukyu, clearly.
Shoryuken!
Only recently…
+1 box of Calgon
I did the laundry when I was married. My rule was that I got to keep anything that was still in pockets before I threw it in the washing machine (lots of spare change, a few dollar bills, used kleenex).
I finished “Comrade Dracula” this morning while waiting on some work stuff. The ending wasn’t quite what I expected. It was a good pick.
Is it a good ‘start drinkin’ early and watch it to annoy the wife kind of movie’?
No. This one the wife would watch too. Next week will be a no-wife film.
It will definitely annoy your wife. Worked on mine like a charm.
Bubba Hotep was the one that my wife strained her eyes rolling them at.
She said that she thinks I’m smart, but my movie choices make her doubt that.
I tried watching that kung-fu zombie one around her and it just ruined it. I need to track that down and try it again.
I don’t know how that became my superpower.
I solved that problem by doing my own laundry.
Ditto. Wife got offended at first, but now appreciates the reduced load. I appreciate that my undershirts get bleached instead of tossed in with my jeans and that nothing gets shrunken by getting baked at surface of the sun temps.
nothing gets shrunken by getting baked at surface of the sun temps.
Sure. That’s why your clothes are getting kind of snug.
*whistles innocently*
We do laundry equally except for the teens. They can deal with their crusty socks on their own. The one thing I do not do is fold towels. She has some magical way of folding them and if I even go basic training on her and pull out the ruler to create the perfect fold, she unfolds them all and refolds. Lesson learned, the towels are yours.
One of the discussions we have with new hires where we outright tell them that we know mistakes happen, we prefer to know that they happened and what happened so that we can fix it faster.
In other words, show your work.
/ducking
I think it’s easier to admit mistakes when you know it was an honest mistake.
Some I’ve known that tried to hide it were usually not following procedures, or not where they were supposed to be.
There’s an issue that has bitten almost every single person working on Cisco phone systems. You click the wrong button, and you can take down thousands of agents (with no are you sure prompt). We’re all aware of this issue, and warn all the new people about it. As part of that, we also say that if you do click it, let us know immediately so we can get in front of it and try to bring people back online quickly. One of the former co-workers clicked the button, and didn’t own up to it until half an hour later, after we had gotten buried in calls from groups having issues.
There’s several reasons that he’s a former co-worker, this was a big one.
CWAA
Would not want to work with that kind of person.
Sorry to OT early.
Looks like Gonzalo Lira is alive after spending some quality time with the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU). According to RT news.
So not tortured to death after all? Huh.
I’m a little surprised the Russians didn’t cement that piece of propaganda by killing him themselves after the Ukrainians neglected to do so.
In childhood, admitting my mistakes got me in more trouble, so I learned how to hide and lie. The world does not like this.
You should have been a politician.
My dad was like that, it was a huge culture shock when my mom remarried and my step dad was a very upfront and honest person.
Luckily I was able to learn from him, even as a 16 yo asshole.
Ron, I can appreciate that. I think the hardest part of learning is learning tounlearn. Far as I can see, everybody is loaded with preconceptions, prejudices, uncritically accepted opinions and you name it. And it’s a lifetime job of sorting through the rubbish to find what’s true and what isn’t. This isn’t depressing if one makes a habit of it; it can be entertaining and even fun.
My problem is I often run into assertions of the truth demanding I unlearn what I know without any real evidence that their claims are objective truth. In fact, I often find the new claims are either equally or more bassed in biases and preconceptions rather than objective fact.
This.
To me, it’s more about taking ownership for your own views and beliefs and actions.
My dad is the most risk averse person on the planet. I’m risk averse, but not to his extreme. It took me a few years to come out of his shadow and embrace the parts that were helpful, but also reject the parts that were a hindrance. Maybe there was some unlearning involved, but it was in furtherance of me taking ownership of my own priorities and goals.
Yeah, but it looks like you already have a good solution to that problem. To (probably mis-)quote Epictetus, “When you come across a new impression, say, ‘hold up a bit – let’s see what you are made of.'” There’s always a load of crap masquerading as ‘profound thought’ out there. You have the right to question anything as many times as you like and the duty to question it at least once.
Let’s just say it took me a very long time to catch on and change the behavior, and every time I owned up, I was sick to my stomach from the fight-or-flight response.
Trying to fight ingrained responses is a bitch.
True dat. Like most other people, I have some rotten leftover childhood memories, some of which still pop up now and then. I have to remember that the folks who caused them thought they were doing the best thing for me. It helps.
I’ve discovered this big time post-divorce (hard to believe it’s been 10 years now!). I’ve caught myself so many times reacting to something the way I would react if my ex said it/did it, and then realized (thankfully never *too* late) why I was reacting that way. It’s amazing how our relationships can poison us if we’re not careful.
“When your sparring partner scratches or head-butts you, you don’t then make a show of it, or protest, or view him with suspicion or as plotting against you. And yet you keep an eye on him, not as an enemy or with suspicion, but with a healthy avoidance. You should act this way with all things in life. We should give a pass to many things with our fellow trainees. For, as I’ve said, it’s possible to avoid without suspicion or hate.”
I’m a big proponent of just chalking things up to errors vs. malice i.e., Hanlon’s Razor: “never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” Or the pithier British-ism “cock-up before conspiracy”.
It’s almost always true.
It’s something of a bone of contention with the wife, who has a tendency to feel like everything is some sort of personal attack but, to her credit, she’s getting better – she’ll repeat Hanlon’s Razor now and then.
This whole thing is a farce.
We are a banana republic.
Show trials
Seems to me they would have to convict her of insurrection first.
Seems to me they’d have to show there was an actual insurrection first.
So much this.
Too bad the Republicans don’t have the balls to respond in kind once they gain control in November. If they did they would impeach Biden and form a committee and charge Nadler, Schiff, Pelosi, et al. with insurrection.
For the 2016 election, the Russia hoax, and for be aftermath of 2020 and the fake insurrection witch hunt.
Hilary and the Clinton machine, too.
Mittens can swing next to Nancy.
I dunno. Doing futile shit like this that has nothing to do with making laws or governing seems exactly like what Republicans will do.
It would be nice if somebody could pound at least one Iron Law through the thick skulls of Our Masters.
Me today, you tomorrow.
How is this not like the Guardian Council of Iran vetting the candidates to allow only the “pure” to run for office?
Something is only as long as you have enough of it.
What you did there, I saw it…
Something is only as long as you have enough of it.
Sounds like somebody is a bit of a size queen.
Great quote. I really try to live this. I think I usually do a decent job. When I run into trouble is on topics I know well. When there is new information, or a better way to do it, I tend to push back when it’s brought to my attention. This is something I need to keep working on.
So do I, but I think just being aware that we only usually do a decent job helps to fight the impulse to ignore things that go against our preferred narrative.
True. And your point illustrates the importance of another big tenet of Stoicism; self-awareness.
Study Finds No One Ever Actually Liked U2 It’s Just That Everyone Thought Everyone Else Did And No One Wanted To Speak Up And Make It Awkward
Damn you, Emily!
I failed Spanish because of those assholes. Couldn’t even count to four.
I can still remember my way up to ten, but can’t spell half of the words.
Let me see if I can remember to ten in German too… Nope
I keep going Ein Drei and skipping Zwei, and I can’t even remember four. I mean just because I dropped German before the deadline doesn’t mean I shouldn’t remember how to count to ten.
Start with your thumb.
Like Metric, that’s just wrong.
Oddly, about the only thing I remember from German is how to count to 20.
Not remembering the number four was bugging me.
Vier. Why did I have to look that up?
Oddly enough the moment I was reminded of that, the rest of the sequence sprang back into memory… in the form of a Rammstein lyric.
It’s easy to remember: just remember that someone from Austria is a vierthaler, because there are four valleys there.
I can’t even remember four
Fo?
Rhymes with bier.
I still remember the dialogue that was on the first page (or thereabouts) of the textbook on the first day of German 1 back in like 10th grade.
“Tag Uwe”
“Tag Thomas”
“Wie gehts?”
etc.
I like this.
I find this to be true.
I skipped school the day Joshua Tree was released to buy the cassette. Was not disappointed. But then it was about the guitar work for me, which was pretty innovative at the time.
I like exactly 4 songs, which are the same 4 songs everybody else likes, 3 of which are off Joshua Tree.
The song, “Unforgettable Fire,” from that selfsame album is solid, as is “Indian Summer Sky,” the guitar on which hints at what’s to come on Joshua Tree. And the intro/outro riff of “Another Time, Another Place” from Boy is subtle but surprisingly good. Anything after Joshua Tree… meh.
Not everybody.
Preach.
You are all very sad people. Go eat your well-done steaks topped with hard fried eggs, ketchup and artisanal mayo.
*pushes Diet Coke button*
One of the best moments of my teenage life was a night spent waiting for the chance to buy tickets for the Joshua Tree tour. I didn’t care about the band, but weed didn’t buy itself, and scalping was a way to solve that problem. Would up meeting to girls from Sacred Hearts High School, and the three of us spent the evening in the tent. Never stumbled into a situation that magical in all the decades to come.
Always have a soft spot for that band.
Allriiight
Google-thought-police? They really need a better motto.
MSFT did it first with Word and the other office programs. I turned it off, but I’m sure it’s still streaming my wrongthink back to its gaping AI/ML maw.
How else are you supposed to be nudged into using the latest newspeak dictionary?
I use the Word grammar checker and I’ve never seen it suggest inclusive language.
It may not be baked into all versions yet. It’s in the 365 version.
I’m on 2016 and I intend to stay there as long as I can. Adobe’s already earned my lifelong hatred and rage at going to a subscription model. I’m still having to use Pshop 7.0 and Illustrator CS6.
Use LibreOffice. Yes, I am a grouchy old man (seems to be LibreOffice’s main demographic) but I prefer an Office 95 feel. That’s all I need.
Also when I read the terms and conditions and got to the part where Google reserved the right to do whatever it damn well pleased with your content, I closed the webpage and never used their services again.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/at-world-bank-climate-talk-speaker-floats-end-of-conventional-vehicle-sales_4419714.html
No one is standing up there and shouting “STFU, you’re an insane crackpot”. Paywalled, but the teaser tells the gist.
And CA wants to end small IC engines. That’ll go over well. Morons.
All this stuff stops when people stop going along with it. You are an American. Act like it. ///Defiance
^^^
In this case the law only blocks sales, so defiance is about as difficult as using Amazon.
“Not available for delivery in CA”
Expect a surge in PO boxes in surrounding states.
Probably nothing surprising here to this crowd, but nice to see it in black and white in the (paywalled) WSJ:
What if the Optimal Workweek Is Two Days in the Office, Not Three?
We are on the 0-5 days a week plan, your choice.
I think the mean ended up being 2 and change.
Makes sense to me. I’d probably do 2 a week, if it was my choice, but ideally EVERYONE would be there for those same 2-3 days.
My immediate group was largely WFH in the before-times anyway; Tuesday was the day we were all in so Tuesday was filled with meetings.
We’ll re-establish a common day in the office soon, I’m sure.
I’m in manufacturing and it’s been a challenge to change mindsets about this. Obviously, the majority of the plant must be on site to do their jobs, but some of us support people can easily do our jobs from home. And during the height of the COVID panic, many of us got to prove it. But, ingrained biases often trump facts, and for months now all the people who had been remote are being clawed back in by supervisors. Soon I’ll be one of less than six people with a hybrid schedule, in a company of 300+.
Thankfully, when I got my new position, I brought up WFH before accepting and I don’t think I’ll need to fight keep it. That and my boss being firmly in the “WFH is good” camp. Of course, if I were to get a new boss who disagreed…
It has been that way out here in the technician field. I get them at least one day WFH and they use that for mundane administrative tasks.
On the other hand, there are some mundane administrative tasks it would be nice to have people in the office for. I’d still prefer to get a sheet with my boss’ signature when I put in for vacation time, just so I know I have something in a hard copy should things go screwy.
Kind of like when I did my benefit enrollment last year and got an email a day or two later saying I hadn’t done it yet.
I aim to be in the office two days a week minimum. Tuesday is our shift carry-over day so that is a must. Other days are when I want to get away from the house or I have something absolutely pressing I need to be in my office for.
What if the economy depended on five day workweeks for blue collar workers who couldn’t get services because the laptop class didn’t work anymore?
It’s talking about working from home the other three. Not just working two days a week.
It’s funny how things change. A hundred years ago, 6 day workweeks were common.
A 6 day week is still common in China.
So they have 61 weeks a year? 😛
Same in India.
Surprisingly common in France, too — my teacher cousin with the Ph.D. in History and a side-gig at the regional Archives worked Monday-Saturday, though the Saturdays always seemed to be “flexi” somehow. He said lots of people he knew had a six-day work-week. Never did quite figure it out.
Yeah, but none of them work in August.
Then again, it’s France; they don’t do any real work the other 11 months of the year, either.
I used to think like that, and then one day I puzzled through some of France’s national finances and realized that around 63% of the GDP was directly attributable to government spending. On a rough estimate, that means the remaining 37% of their economy is due to private sector activity. And it supports both itself and the government sector besides.
The French actually might just be working their asses off — well, those in the private sector, anyways . . .
What if the economy depended on five day workweeks for blue collar workers who couldn’t get services because the laptop class didn’t work anymore?
First, I’ll need to know what services these blue collar workers need that are provided by the laptop class? As near as I can tell, about 80% of what laptoppers do is circlejerk other laptoppers.
Which ones of your will be shelling out for this?
https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/new-for-2022-sig-sauer-mcx-spear/
Yet another caliber.
You folks get access to all the fun toys.
@DEG:
“RJ, if you’re out there, I finish “Comrade Dracula” this morning while waiting for some stuff at work. That was a good pick, and ended in a slightly different manner than I thought it would.”
I thought calling it a ‘slow burn’ may have been a bit too easy on it. Very little really transpired. While weird, the setting wasn’t quite as bizarre and comical as it needed to be to be truly funny. The ending was a bit of a twist, but didn’t redeem the overall story imo.
It was a hard call to post. I ended up posting it because overall, it kept me watching. Even though it really never moved forward until literally the last 15 minutes. It very much reminded me of 1970s made for TV horror films where not a damn thing happened until you got five minutes of a monster at the end. I will continue my journey to find little known movies I can post when I return from a long camping trip in two weeks. I found Black Sheep, which few people know about, and a few others. All at least from this millennium.
Thanks for the work you do.
Google docs:
Word warnings: Reconsidering potentially inappropriate words
Fuck off, retard.
Laundry conversation was great! Now I need help being Stoic about my wife’s deliberate ignorance over the use of garden hose quick disconnects. She will unscrew bits of them and complain the entire hose is hopelessly broken. When I fix it and show her all you have to do is push down a collar to release the spray tool, she acts like I am a green alien speaking in a foreign language. Help me to stay Stoic, Ron!
My wife thinks anything outside the house operates on magic, so she never touches anything like that, so…..
Good luck dude!
she acts like I am a green alien speaking in a foreign language.
My wife does the same thing whenever there is a problem with the TV or dishwasher. No matter how many times I walk her through how to troubleshoot and resolve the issue (reset the roku and make sure the sprayer arm is connected on the dishwasher), I’ll still a get phone call asking for my help and telling me she forgot the steps.
I gave up on any of that a long time ago with my wife.
She was amazed that I could put a stereo together, she has no clue on how anything mechanical works.
I don’t have that much of a problem about this from my wife. I’m expected to do things because she does 95% of the cooking and cleaning.
When necessary, I remind her that we both had the same AFSC in the USAF. We worked on the same avionics, on the same $200M aircraft.
Right after we got married, I got shipped out for Desert Storm. After a few months away, I told her to change the oil in the car. She whined. “I don’t know how.” I told her, “It’s an oil change, not a transmission rebuild.” She put on skirt, tight t-shirt, boots and drove on base to the auto-hobby shop. She didn’t lift a finger. Women.
Work smarter, not harder.
Somedays I honestly believe that the lazy shall inherit the Earth.
You say lazy. I say efficient.
Oftentimes the same thing.
Nah. The Morlocks will! Lazy Eloi will become unwitting BBQ.
Laziness is the mother of invention.
I fully disassembled our washing machine, replacing a broken coupler and then replacing worn-out agitator dogs.
Re-assembled and washer is working perfectly.
Wife was completely unimpressed.
She probably wanted a new one. *shrug*
Probably.
When my husband was much younger, he and a buddy of his went around collecting old broken washing machines and dryers, fixing them, and then reselling them. Let me tell you. Those skills have come in very handy during our almost 20 years of marriage.
I’m sorry your dogs are worn out. 🙁
My girlfriend believes that the first step to troubleshooting something is to buy a replacement.
The belt broke on the dryer, she wanted to buy a new one. I managed to replace the belt, and it’s been working for another 5 years or so on that.
Light bulbs in the microwave burned out. She asked if it meant the microwave was broken. I checked, and there’s about two dozen warnings about what you need to do to change those light bulbs, so they stay burned out.
Do you need a working microwave? I have a spare. It turns out I merely tripped the interrupt on the outlet…
I have a working microwave, it’s quite good except for the interior light bulbs being burned out.
I took the flat screen apart about 8 years ago when it stopped working and had it all over the dining room. four electrolytic caps and $5 later it was good as new until we gave it away 3 years ago.
Mrs. Time thought I was a wasting my time, but was supportive. I told her if I break it further and can’t get it back together we are no worse off than we are now.
It’s amazing how much electronics lands on my lab’s workbench that stopped working due to something almost absurdly simple and cheap, and how often the donor of said electronics was prepared to throw it away.
That’s a skill I would like to develop, but probably won’t. I can repair nearly anything mechanical, but I’m not good at diagnosing and repairing electrical circuits–at least not complicated ones. I can figure out and fix simple shit like a clothes dryer or something like that but testing a circuit board is a little beyond my skill set at the moment.
To be fair, it does require a minimum of equipment, although I got by for the longest time with nothing more than a multimeter and a few minor test circuits I bodged together out of almost nothing (I was broke), like a cheap pink noise generator and an audio sine-wave generator set to approx. 440Hz (don’t like working with a 1kHz tone). I find that “working without a net” (the schematic) is much more difficult for me than it seems to be for some people. Still don’t have the hang of it for all but relatively simple circuits.
I had to have this conversation with my son over the use of the quick-connect drill bit connector. He kept unscrewing the chuck to change out bits and drivers. In the process, he’d lose all my quick-connectors.
Apparently, the world is divided into those who comprende quick connectors, and those for which they will always be a mystery. From what I can tell, its about 20% the former, 80% the latter.
Get them into homebrewing. Home kegging systems use two quick disconnects: one for gas in, one for fluid out. They’re only slightly marked on most, and although they are a different size, it is possible to force the wrong disconnects on.
Air compressors and pneumatic nailers also.
Which are always great fun when the aren’t completely seated and fly off.
That has not happened to me. I am very careful. However, I haven’t used any of my nailers (especially the framing nailer) since my rotator cuff gave out and had to be repaired. I’m getting ready to sell off my DIY tool hoard.
First time I saw it, Bob Vila was the spokesman for Craftsman and I thought it was the niftiest thing that ever had been niftied. Went out and bought a bunch right away. I had to show my son how it worked. He got it, but he was young and arrogant and was happy he knew to unscrew the chock to change the drill bit. He was not happy to learn he hadn’t figured it out himself.
Now I need help being Stoic about my wife’s deliberate ignorance over the use of garden hose quick disconnects.
Haha. When I was caretaking my parents’ Indianapolis house before they moved in, I had them on the hoses and faucets I used. After they moved in, I went to do something one day, and they had all disappeared.
I ruined a customer’s radiator pulling an alternator out several years ago. It wasn’t evident when the job was finished, but the customer called several days later to tell me the van was leaking coolant. I came over and verified it was where I had gotten rambunctious with it trying to remove the alternator. I then explained what happened to the customer and then replaced the radiator gratis. The customer was insistent on paying and I wouldn’t take his money. He has never said anything about the radiator to me again, but has been a great referral for other customers. I’ve heard people say it’s “weak” to admit your mistakes, I think that is bullshit. I have almost always found a way to turn that negative into a positive, even the positive isn’t immediate, but down the road a bit.
Luckily, I only work on my own vehicles, but I have had to tell the wife that I screwed up the threads on my Saab’s CV axle, so I have to buy another one, and a few other things like that.
Wait, you were the inspiration for Drive My Car?
I recall some study from a psychology class showing that customers did repeat business with companies who made mistakes but did a great job of fixing them, *more so* than they did with companies who never made mistakes.
Makes sense. If a company were to tell me they have a perfect track record I would be suspicious of their employees doing the job and of their leadership for just beliving that.
Honestly is so rare these days. I’d be telling all my friends too.
New wordish game, Redactle, at https://www.redactle.com/
Got today’s in 29 tries.
you’re kidding.
About the new game or 29 tries?
Both.
there is no possible way to solve that in 29 tries, right?
And here I was thinking I sucked with 29. You win by guessing the title words.
oh. I didn’t realize there were instructions.
#meneither
I figured it was just some sadistic joke.
I didn’t see any either. Just found out how to win when it happened.
OK now I get it. Once you said the goal was to get the title, and looking at what I had after 130 guesses, I only needed 10 more to get the answer.
XD
I quite after about 12 guesses. I had no idea where to go form where I was. Basically just randomly guessing.
Auugh. These things are like crack.
Too rich for my blood.
When something becomes tedious, it’s not a game anymore.
I gave it a go, and mine was throttled to 20 guesses. ???
I remember when it was considered kooky, insane or dare I say a conspiracy theory to say we are descending into medical tyranny.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/watch-fauci-decrees-cdc-should-be-above-authority-courts
By any sane definition, that is the core tenant of medical tyranny.
We have elevated our bureaucracies dangerously. They should present recommendations and and legislators should have to decide based on the evidence and arguments presented… cost/benefit… What their constituents want… etc
In this case, even if it were true that masks reduced covid spread… is that a negative for society? At this present moment, covid spreading faster among healthy would be a good thing because hospital space is ample and so called “zero covid” is a thing medical professionals have already admitted is not possible.
Look at you thinking all logically and shit.
I was glad to get covid last week. Now I’m actually going to have natural immunity.
If the CDC or any other agency is unbound from any check or balance what chance does the individual have in resisting, what entity could be appealed to? The only answer is not good for anyone.
2023: CDC Unbound; the Rise of the Revelator
I need to stop listening to Clutch and the Sword while working.
“For a health bureaucrat to come in and interfere in that, is really unfortunate. It’s unfortunate because it’s against Constitutional principles”
By any sane definition, that is the core tenant of medical tyranny.
In a sane universe, that despicable little charlatan would be hanging upside down from a lamppost with his guts tied around his neck.
She put on skirt, tight t-shirt, boots and drove on base to the auto-hobby shop. She didn’t lift a finger. Women.
The weaker sex, ladies and gentlemen.
I knew a young lady in college who could field-strip a snowmobile, and worked on her own car without a care.
The best part? She usually did her car work in a short skirt, tight t-shirt and boots. She never had a boyfriend and would swap sex jokes with me all the time.
Yes, I’m an idiot.
For not realizing she’s a lesbian?
Many years later I met her while she was visiting her sister in Edmonton. She was a nurse, married to a cop in Saskatchewan, and they had kids. And I was still getting the same vibe from her, even though I brought the Spousal Unit to the lunch. SU looked at me afterwards and said “Why didn’t you marry her?” One of the few times in my life I was genuinely at a loss for words.
I have cursed Disney apparently. People movers on Wednesday, Peter Pan and Haunted Mansion today all broke down mid-ride.
Russian saboteurs.
Probably they are just instinctively concerned about Ron DeSantis…
My 6 year old had no problem being stuck in the haunted mansion, so thats good.
That happened to me as well! Mid haunted mansion. Daughter was delighted.
We were at the part with all the eyes in the dark, pretty near beginning.
I worked at Disneyland in my youth – Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain and Pirates. One day Pirates went down and I volunteered to take my shoes off, put the waders on and push some boats to a platform onto which the guests could exit the boats and thus the ride. When I went back to get my shoes they were full of cockroaches, I guess for the warmth. Freaked me right TF out.
That is nightmare fuel right there.