Things learned the hard way.

[philSweet]

first impressions

There is a level of stupidity where no amount of mitigating circumstances matter. I suspect this is a case in point. I was trying to squeeze some extra tasks in at the rv park. I wanted to reinstall a grab bar that a tile guy had taken down in the showers. I had gotten my tools and run a cord and then the phone rang. I was to show the new guy around since I was already there.

I wants to make a good impression on the new guy, and the extension cord looks like crap with frayed wires in a shower et cetera. So I figure the best thing to do is to fix the cord socket while I wait for the the new guy.

If you ever decide to replace an extension cord socket in a shower while waiting for someone to show up- make sure the plug end isn't still plugged into the wall. Because I can tell you precisely when the new guy will show up if you don't.

Like I said. No amount of mitigating circumstances are going to help you out of this one.

"You must be Bob- I'm PhilllLLLLLLLLYOUCH."

 

[MikeJohns]

110 is pretty forgiving ! 220/240 RMS is a often a death sentence for that level of forgetfulness. Sharpens the mind no end

 

[philSweet]

recipe for pandamonium

If you really want to create havoc, I've just found the perfect way.

We have a security gate at the rv park. You place a card on the reader to get in. A sensor loop in the road lets you out. Been working fine for two years.

So the loop that senses the vehicle to let you out breaks and the whole gate is disabled for a week. I fixed it yesterday.

1. You have to seal the loop wire with tar. I did half and put a trash barrel in the road to keep people from driving into the tar while I went to get a bucket of sand. So the first guest drives into a six inch steel post instead of the tar. Blocks access to the whole park.

2. So I go open the back gate to let people out and somebody bashes the gate with their truck. We are talking five minutes elapsed time here.

3. I get the tar and sand down finally at 8 last night. Gate is functioning again. Five minutes after we open this morning, some doofus tries to sneak in after a car exited and the gate came down on his truck. Three crashes in 12 hours. All due to "who moved my cheese" syndrome.

Whatever you do, don't let a security gate go unfixed for a week. People assume it will never ever operate again.

Um, by the way, nobody got tar on their vehicles. That was what I was worried about. I could have driven a semi though the gate at 60 mph, but some folks can't inch through at 5 mph.

edit: yes, I know its pandemonium, but you can't edit a title.

 

[upchurchmr]

It always seems so simple when you start.
Personally as much as I try I can never anticipate what will go wrong with a project.

 

[whitepointer23]

110 is pretty forgiving ! 220/240 RMS is a often a death sentence for that level of forgetfulness. Sharpens the mind no end

it will give you straight white hair and curly black teeth.

 

[troy2000]

It always seems so simple when you start.
Personally as much as I try I can never anticipate what will go wrong with a project.

I used to figure the labor on remodel jobs by adding up all the worst-case scenarios I could think of, and everything that could possibly go wrong. When I was done figuring I doubled whatever number of man-hours I had come up with, added my material costs and profit margin, and turned in my bid.

I was usually depressingly accurate....

 

[BPL]

There's a lesson when you open up a 50 year old wall and see the 2x4 has turned to dust from a leak. And that's what was holding it together for how long?!!!

 

[capt vimes]

curiosity is almost always the start to disaster...

2 weeks ago we motored from salerno to the island of salina in italy.
there were some strange animals floating on the surface i have not seen before and to get a closer look i thought it is a clever idea to try and catch one with a 10 liter bucket...
to make things worse, i wrapped the line around my left hand so i would not loose the bloody bucket worth 50 cents...

in the end i was pulled of my feet, smashed into the rails, almost got pulled over board and had 2 sore hands - my left from the line i had wrapped around and my right hand from hitting the rails pretty hard...

things learned:
1) a 10 liter bucket gives you a pretty strong pull if completely submerged at 6 knots
2) NEVER, EVER wrap a line around any parts of your body (well - i knew that one, but thought "hey - it is only a 10 liter bucket..." see number one)
3) slow down if you attempt to do such thing again
4) never try that from the stern - i was standing at the bow and this prevented me from going MOB

btw:
the animals were those:
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/by-the-wind-sailors.html

 

[rwatson]

.....
btw:
the animals were those:
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/by-the-wind-sailors.html

This website has been suspended.

 

[lewisboats]

The By-the-Wind Sailor, Velella velella, looks like a tiny jellyfish up to 10 cm across, but is in fact a very distant relative. This brilliant blue colonial animal probably comes from the Azores or Western Atlantic and is blown across the ocean driven by a small sail, supported by a paper-like float. The sail has a twist, which may be to the right or the left. It is thought that the two types end up on different beaches. Most in North Cornwall seem to twist to the left. They can be found at any time of year but are most common in the autumn, often occurring after the first south-westerly gales of the winter
By-the-wind sailor. © Steve Trewhella.
They are not true jellyfish but colonies of tiny animals called hydroids. One animal forms the float, another the mouth and stomach, hundreds are the catching tentacles, while others do nothing except produce minuscule medusae. Their short tentacles catch very small fish and large plankton and they themselves are eaten by the Violet Sea Snails, which are seldom seen in Britain. They are siphonophores, members of the same group as Portuguese men-of-war, but unlike these their sting is harmless to humans.

Partial quote from the page.

 

[capt vimes]

hm...
it is working from my side...
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/by-the-wind-sailors.html#cr
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velella

edit:
lewisboats was faster...

 

[rwatson]

hm...
it is working from my side...
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/by-the-wind-sailors.html#cr
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velella

edit:
lewisboats was faster...

me too now ! Must have been an internet thing.

Your "Rope around fingers" story brought back memories of putting my fingers through the mooring rope loop, just before dropping it over a metal bollard, as a hard offshore wind was blowing the boat away from the jetty.

Lucky I got away with it, just. I was severely castigated by another crew member, as two weeks previously a guy was taken to hospital with 4 broken fingers after trying the same thing.

 

[hoytedow]

http://chaitt.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html

 

[ancient kayaker]

Back in the late 50's (I'm giving away way too much information there) I was working on a fast-moving TV production line during college vacations. I had to attach knobs and brackets to the TVs before they had their wood cases fitted. Sometimes a part that was supposed to be attached at an earlier station was left off, or I had a problem and couldn't finish my stuff in time. Instructions were, put it on the bottom shelf of rack behind you and take one from the top shelf.

Never had a problem until one day a new (and expensive) model came through which had a box attached to one side for a built-in radio. Reaching up to grab a TV off the top shelf which was about 7' up, I couldn't see the little box - which I'd never seen before - which was behind the frame of the set I was lifting down. Those old TV tubes made a heck of a noise when they hit the deck!

 

[hoytedow]

Back in the 1950's I was working on my multiplication tables. The more things change the more they stay the same.