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

[Monocrom]

When it comes to posting on watch forums, pretentious snobbery is going to be all around you; and far worse than you actually imagine it being. Yet, that is absolutely nothing compared to the sheer insanity of fans of various brands. Criticize a brand for a well-known, re-occurring issue; and expect to get sheer hatred in typed letter form directed at you. Expect to get stalked over the internet by these individuals.

I've been into watches for quite sometime now, and have become fairly knowledgeable about certain brands. When you encounter that type of irrational fan-boy, don't even bother responding to them. They're worse than trolls. At least trolls know they're doing it out of "fun," and don't really mean it. They know they're being ridiculous. The fan-boys though, they're completely serious! What makes otherwise rational adults behave this way? No clue! I have a few favorite watch brands myself. I don't bow down at their alter . . . er . . . logo? Perhaps that's the right word? Thankfully, these are just watch brands; and not human cult leaders. Otherwise, there'd be some serious problems.

Best advice: Completely ignore them. Use the Ignore List feature that pretty much all forums have. You will NOT be able to carry on a rational discussion with them, even if you were smarter than Einstein and had the patience of Gandhi.

[nbp]

Sorry that you didn't get the bezel ring earlier - like 6 months earlier, lol.

I should have known better.

I guess that's why this is the "Learn the hard way" thread. Haha

Interestingly the bezel on the G2L suffered the damage from a 3 ft fall from my pocket to garage floor....not the 60 ft fall from the top of a tower to the concrete slab it was sitting on.

[Kith]

1 - Buy quality tools. That little bit of ergonomics or cushioning, the slightly better angle and so on will make your project/workday much better allowing you to do more with more energy.

You don't want to fight with your tools to do the job, and any brainpower or energy spent on focusing too much on the tool takes away from doing the job. Especially long ones.

2 - Always be where you have to be early. The further away the place you have to be, the earlier you should arrive. Planning to be on time inevitably means you will be late. Every time.

3 - Don't use expensive stuff for disposable projects. Don't use cheap stuff for more permanent solutions.

4 - Always save old tools or ones just pass their 'good to use threshold'. Rescue tools others are throwing away. --- Don't loan your good stuff!!! ---

5 - Trying to get one over on Murphy means he will get you. Twice.

6 - Just using any old car battery is not the right answer. If it's too big to fit in your battery compartment, it's probably too much battery for your car. Alternators are expensive.

7 - Prepare for everything. Expect to be confronted with the one thing you overlooked.

8 - Hydrogen peroxide is a component of the glue in electrical tape. This is not a substitute for a sterile bandage.

9 - Trying to hide something from someone else ensures you will be the only one who can't find it.

[PhotonWrangler]

8 - Hydrogen peroxide is a component of the glue in electrical tape. This is not a substitute for a sterile bandage.

Really? I never knew that. Do they use a similar adhesive in duct tape?

[Kith]

Really? I never knew that. Do they use a similar adhesive in duct tape?

To my knowledge electric tape is the only tape this is rampant in, not sure of any others that do. I forget why, but remember that it made a lot of sense when I looked it up so long ago.

[Hooked on Fenix]

Don't even try to use the compass built into a Harbor Freight survival knife to navigate with. After comparing it with another brand survival knife compass, I discovered that the Harbor Freight one had the magnet in the compass on backwards. North was South and East was West.

[Illum]

Friends should not let friends use gasoline in a zippo type lighter, even if it came from a reputable source and the description says its compatible.

http://www.lighthound.com/Mini-Keych...er_p_4082.html

Being only 45mm x 15mm, this mini flint lighter is the perfect addition to any keychain. Can be filled with Zippo oil or gasoline.

First off, 87 Octane is not cheap enough to be used in this way; second, it doesn't store for very long if its subjected to any amount of heat; and third, no burnt eyebrows and fingers is not included by the warranty.

[PhotonWrangler]

When traveling out of your home area, test your cellphone to make sure it's receiving incoming calls. The carrier's routing tables (apparently) don't update automatically every time and you could miss an important call. You can initiate a "forced roaming update" yourself - google the code for your particular carrier.

[Monocrom]

When traveling out of your home area, test your cellphone to make sure it's receiving incoming calls. The carrier's routing tables (apparently) don't update automatically every time and you could miss an important call. You can initiate a "forced roaming update" yourself - google the code for your particular carrier.

Yup. There's a certain, small, cellphone provider which is very popular in the NYC metro area. Prices are quite good. Problem is, if you go outside of the 5 Boroughs, your cellphone becomes about as useful as a paperweight on one of their plans.

[eh4]

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction... and levers Really work, hence the term "short end of the stick".

-Not meaning to be too obscure or general, but looking back over the years of injuries and mishaps I can boil most of it down to that.

[HardmixS]

Buy the best you can afford....Cry once!

[nbp]

When shaking the crumbs from the bottom of a bag of chips into your mouth, close your eyes. Those salty particles sting.

[Illum]

Do not dispose primed cases in a fire pit, no matter how deep it is. Primers will bite, even from several feet away.

[Chauncey Gardiner]

The first bite of pizza is the one that will burn the roof of your mouth, leaving your tounge a blister to play with for the next four days.

~ Chance

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond]

The first bite of pizza is the one that will burn the roof of your mouth, leaving your tounge a blister to play with for the next four days.

~ Chance

SO TRUE! And it ruins every bit of pizza for the rest of the meal.

[Chauncey Gardiner]

My father learned this one the hard way. So I guess you could say I learned it from him, the easy way. When playing golf and someone yells FORE!! You should duck as quickley as possible. If you look around instead, you could literally have your ear knocked off, then need the services of a surgeon to reattach it. No kidding, his buddy carried it for him to the hospital.

~ Chance

[Monocrom]

Do not dispose primed cases in a fire pit, no matter how deep it is. Primers will bite, even from several feet away.

Oh! That could have been ugly.

My curiosity got the better of me. So I'll ask . . . Why waste cases and primers that way?

[Launch Mini]

I wonder which forum you might be referrring to? LOL

In reference to the watch forum above.

[Monocrom]

In reference to the watch forum above.

The biggest one. The Omega fans are pretty bad.

The TAG Heuer fans are even worse. I can understand their defensiveness (to a point). Ironically, most of the TAG Heuer critics can only talk about how the brand "sucks." Or, that it's only a fashion brand. (Not true.) But there are real issues. Design flaw with the crown and stem on the 500M Aquaracer model. Similar crown issues nearly across the board on the Aquaracer line. TAG Heuer only very recently decided to cover the issue under warranty. They used to just dismiss warranty work on the crowns of the 500M as abuse by the owner. They still use that line if there are crown problems on other Aquaracer models. TAG Heuer does not keep parts around for even recently discontinued models. (Rolex does. And not just for recently discontinued models.) TAG Heuer's service center in N.J. has an "F" rating from the BBB. I had an opportunity to post a question directly to the man in charge at TAG Heuer about one of these issues. Others did as well. Zero response. Complete silence for over a month. One owner mentioned calling the company's customer service number to find out about getting his older TAG Heuer serviced. It was a discontinued model. The rep. actually told him to just sell it for parts and buy a new TAG Heuer.

I love the look of some of their Aquaracers. But a company being run in such an unprofessional manner is the reason why there isn't an Aquaracer strapped to my wrist now. I know a pawn shop just a few miles away with a gorgeous example of a Grand Date / Small Seconds Aquaracer in the window for an incredibly tempting price. Practically mint. Better than near mint. I'm tempted . . . But I just don't need the headaches. Certain ones I'll put up with. But not those, and definitely not that many plaguing one brand. (Most of which TAG Heuer could fix on their own and thus be considered a more prestigious brand.)

[Launch Mini]

I thought you might have been talking about an "Italian" watch company that has had a resurgence after a 2004 relaunch. I see they are not alone in this behaviour.

[Illum]

Oh! That could have been ugly.

My curiosity got the better of me. So I'll ask . . . Why waste cases and primers that way?

I was gullible and bought a case of ammo from the gun show, I didn't bother to check the contents and the guy used very old surplus ammo [8x57] to fill the bottom of the case. So as I worked my way down I was confronted with so many misfires I scrapped about 100 rounds that looked bad [includes the 30ish that failed to fire], pulled the bullets, and dumped the powder. I sold the FMJ ball bullets to a reloader and fed the powder to my mango, kumquat, and papaya trees, which so far hasn't complained. The cases were berdan primed, which can only be reloaded with great difficulty, if at all.

Our property is agriculturally zoned, so fire pits are legal within limits. I used a digging tool previously used to put in fence posts, about 3ft down and half a foot wide I loaded it with charcoal, stuck an [salvaged] iron pipe about 2" wide into it. Add fuel, light and burn. As the fuel exhausts, the charcoals were glowing red. I shoveled dirt over the pit until only about 4ft of the pipe remains and no coals were visible. Then loaded in the primed brass and started walking down the step ladder...
In retrospect I should have covered that pipe with something, because within minutes the pipe was pinging and shifting, and something [coal or brass?] about the size of a dime flew out and burnt a blister on my back. Apparently not all the cases I scrapped had dead primers... in fact it sounded like lighting a long string of firecrackers in a muffled bucket. No neighbors came out to inquire though, they probably heard much louder things from my lot in the past

[Gene43]

When you are 12 (or any age, for that matter) don't shoot the primer of a live 12 gauge shell with a BB gun. I still have the scar on my arm.

[Illum]

When you are 12 (or any age, for that matter) don't shoot the primer of a live 12 gauge shell with a BB gun. I still have the scar on my arm.

I can only imagine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40ylCFeMbgw

[Monocrom]

. . . No neighbors came out to inquire though, they probably heard much louder things from my lot in the past

Berdan primed and cheated. Say no more. Glad to hear you weren't seriously hurt.

[Monocrom]

When you are 12 (or any age, for that matter) don't shoot the primer of a live 12 gauge shell with a BB gun. I still have the scar on my arm.

Hope it wasn't a serious injury.

[Slazmo]

"In god I trust, however everyone else pays cash!" Found this out the hard way!

Never lend tools to a mate that does his mechanical tinkering's on grass and lives on a canal - got all my tools back full of sand. Paul I'm still shaking my fist at you 7 years later!!!

[Monocrom]

In a similar vein, if you've made your commission at the end of the month but your boss hasn't; volunteer to do the paper-work for everyone in the store for that month. One employee did after I left the shop for a new job. He got his higher-end Sensa pen. A certain someone whom I still keep in touch with owes me a titanium Cross Townsend pen. With Cross now having lowered standards in favor of pinching every penny, I'm owed one from the days when Cross pens were still made in America.

[ElectronGuru]

When you are 12

Well, if we're talking follies of youth...

No matter how hard it is to do correctly, don't put the hand router upside down and hold a small wood piece with your hands, against the blade. The grain will catch, drawing your hand toward the 20k RPM spinning blade.

Clock still looks great. But I never did get back, the corner of my thumb.

[Illum]

Clock still looks great. But I never did get back, the corner of my thumb.

Oh! That could have been ugly.

Grain catches, bones could catch too.

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Well, if we're talking follies of youth...

No matter how hard it is to do correctly, don't put the hand router upside down and hold a small wood piece with your hands, against the blade. The grain will catch, drawing your hand toward the 20k RPM spinning blade.

Clock still looks great. But I never did get back, the corner of my thumb.

E Guru,

You had to know somebody was going to ask for a picture. Please?

~€hance