Things I've learned the hard way . . .(Part 2)

[adamlau]

Don't waste your money on bunk lights and we wary of advice from n00b CPFers who collect DX/KD lights exclusively. That was learned the hard way.

[SilentK]

Not me but, when firing a handgun, do not put the sights right up to your eye, then fire.

-HID lens can get hot!
-a car moves even when you do not press the gas petal.
-if you overdrive a halogen bulb a little, it flashes, 500% with several 9v cells, it explodes.
-A minimag is not the uber-pwner of flashlights anymore.

[Diesel_Bomber]

Cheap ammo is cheap for a reason. Spend the money and get the good stuff, especially if you're counting on your firearm for self defense.

[BVH]

Buy the one you want the first time. Buy anything less and you'll end up taking a loss on it when you dump it to get the one you wanted in the first place.

[Hooked on Fenix]

Buy the one you want the first time. Buy anything less and you'll end up taking a loss on it when you dump it to get the one you wanted in the first place.

I'm still learning this lesson, but the flashlight I really want doesn't exist yet. I want a 400+ lumen Fenix P3D size light with infinitely variable brightness adjusted by the head with a forward clicky tailcap that has 1AA, 2AA, 123A, and 18650 lego bodies available, using a single die emitter for throw with a warm tint and 200+ lumens/watt, and all for under $100.

[AlphaTea]

When you see NEW! IMPROVED!! FASTER ACTING!! or any other bold font on the package of an old familiar product, hold on to your wallet.

More than once I have noticed that there is just less inside the package (also known as the economical size), the color has been changed or there is less salt. Why the heck do they charge MORE for LESS salt, as in potato chips?

[Burgess]

It's called Marketing.



When an organization sez:

" We're changing things, to serve you Better ! "


It usually means:

" We're cutting corners, but it'll still probably be Good Enough. "



( Sigh )
_

[TorchBoy]

Why the heck do they charge MORE for LESS salt, as in potato chips?

One of my friends (who wholesales food) tells me whenever he can that salt is cheap, so it can be used to add weight to a product without adding much cost. To keep the same weight of "real" food would thus be more expensive.

But I'm sure Burgess is right about the marketing.

[Crenshaw]

When you see NEW! IMPROVED!! FASTER ACTING!! or any other bold font on the package of an old familiar product, hold on to your wallet.

More than once I have noticed that there is just less inside the package (also known as the economical size), the color has been changed or there is less salt. Why the heck do they charge MORE for LESS salt, as in potato chips?

what i cant stand, is toothpaste commercials, shampoo commercials, etc etc, all use acronyms to describe thier "special ingredients"

"use our product!, its got DHA, TYS, WTH.......its also FOS!"



you know the differnce between panadol, and panadol extra? few mg of caffine.


Crenshaw

[Hooked on Fenix]

Don't let anyone take more than one headlight of yours into a portapotty. My autistic brother had my Huntlight FT-01XSE when he went in (as well as a PT Quad headlight). He set the Huntlight down for 15 minutes in the portapotty urinal. When he got out, I made him use it for the rest of our 3 hour hike (We were ten minutes into it.). Then, I made him wash the light and his hands with soap and hot water when we got home. That has got to be the grossest thing anyone has ever done to one of my lights. At least the light was waterproof and it could be washed off easily.

[Diesel_Bomber]

I've got two lessons today:

Purple PVC/CPVC primer will stain anything. And doesn't come off. Ever.

Lanyards are great things. However, like seatbelts or birth control, they do absolutely no good when they're not used. I was replacing the pump in my sand filter for the septic system yesterday and my beloved Streamlight Propoly slipped out of my hand. Splash......gone forever!

[TigerhawkT3]

If an action or behavior of yours is making a dog raise its lip at you, stop the action or behavior immediately.

[PhotonWrangler]

If you're lifting heavy computer floor tiles with a rubber suction lifter, and the tile you're lifting has ventilation holes in it, the tile lifter can slide, hit one of the ventilation holes, lose suction and fall on your foot. This is not pleasant.

Murphy's corollary: Don't wear soft sneakers while doing this.

[jrmcferren]

Here are a few things I learned today:

1. If the tip on a soldering gun is not secure, it will not make contact and therefore not heat.
2. Don't use a soldering gun tip as a wood burning tip. On a good note, rubbing the tip on concrete will restore it.
3. The following all go together
a. Always test a power supply with a DMM before using it the first time in 18 years.
b. A bit brighter than normal does not equal 13.5 volts on a 12 volt bulb
c. A power supply that no longer regulates may not blow out a light bulb that you can replace for a few bux, it will blow an electrolytic capacitor (in the filter box) on a digital car clock that has been out of production for at least 30 years..
d. Electrolytic capacitors make a big boom when they blow.
e. 16 volts does not mean 24 (I knew that but I would share it anyway) otherwise you have d above.
f. The suspected component of above power supply is the hardest to remove.

[unclearty]

Fiberglass underwear is just not as good an idea as you would think..regardless of the time of year.
When a woman says, "Honey..I really DO understand"....well, you know the rest...
Vodka does not make a good emergency mouthwash.
Electricity and alcohol don't go together as well as one might think.

[PhotonWrangler]

d. Electrolytic capacitors make a big boom when they blow.

It's a magical transformation; one moment it's a capacitor, the next moment it's a confetti generator!

[TorchBoy]

2. ... On a good note, rubbing the tip on concrete will restore it.

Do you mean restoring the concrete? It wouldn't be good for the soldering iron tip - you'd probably have to re-tin it, certainly if you did it a lot.

[Diesel_Bomber]

Emery cloth or sand paper work better than concrete on soldering iron tips.

I was using coolant while drilling stainless steel on my lathe today. If I've got the coolant cranked up to a good flow, the rear chuck turns into a sprinkler. I absent-mindedly left my coffee cup sitting right where it would get sprayed on......and then I took a sip. Lesson learned today: Coolant has a certain intriguing bite to it but overall I believe it's an aquired taste which I have no wish to aquire.

[mdocod]

Ok, here's a few "Learned the hard way:"

I'm not always right.

Knowing what you don't know is more important than knowing what you do know.

I can't blame anyone for my problems*, *unless they have violated my rights.

The government is usually the problem, not the solution.

A wire wheel is the way to clean up a soldering iron tip

A drill press is not a milling machine.

Permanent marker isn't permanent on all surfaces.

Just because I can take it apart, doesn't always mean I can put it back together again.

Tax.

[Flashlight Aficionado]

Knowing what you don't know is more important than knowing what you do know.

Just because I can take it apart, doesn't always mean I can put it back together again.

[TigerhawkT3]

A 5V adapter will not charge a 12V SLA, no matter how long you leave it plugged in.

[Hooked on Fenix]

Knowing what you don't know is more important than knowing what you do know.

Just because I can take it apart, doesn't always mean I can put it back together again.

That second one definitely applies to working on cars and surgery. I think both things can be summed up as "know your limitations".
Don't climb a mountain that you can't get down from. Don't hike unprepared for the weather conditions, darkness, wildlife, or length of the trip. Don't try to fix a car yourself if you can't put it back together again. Don't do anything out of your skill set and use common sense for the things you do attempt.

Here's one for the entire U.S.. You can't spend your way out of debt. I think we'll soon learn this lesson the hard way.

Don't trust money you can't see. I learned that if you go on a trip without telling your bank, they might assume that your information has been compromised and cancel your ATM card. Sometimes, they'll cancel the ATM card just because they think your account may have been compromised. I know it's for my safety, but it sure doesn't feel like it when I'm 400 miles from home and running low on cash. If I hadn't brought cash, I would've been stranded. It was embarrassing having my card rejected when paying for my trip pictures. I had to use the rest of my cash. Of course, it could have been much worse.

[Burgess]

Good points.



Things always come apart

easier than they go back together.



Especially, if you've never done so before.


_

[mossyoak]

thermal management can never be overdone.

[mdocod]

I have another one:

Don't ever let someone tell you that "it can't be done."

[csshih]

oh, I have one!
solder drips from the tip of an iron, so don't hold it over your hand.

[Flashanator]

Not to run a LCD Monitor @ 120hz Refresh Rate past it's designed limit of 75hz or

[Burgess]

When you pack up your Microwave Oven on moving day,

make SURE you first remove the internal Glass Tray,

and pack it securely.


It will NOT be "OK, as long as yer' careful with it".



Ask me how i know this.


_

[Hooked on Fenix]

Here's one I learned on a hike this evening. If you hike wearing convertible pants with the pant legs zipped off with the intention to put them one when it gets cold, make sure you brought a right and a left pant leg. I own three pair of the same kind and brought two right pant legs. Apparently, two rights don't make it right.

[Flashanator]

Not to ride a motorbike with bugger all traction in long wet grass in an area you have never been while wearing no helmet.

Or you might crash into a hidden 1m deep 3m wide trench & suffer a concussion.