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

Fallingwater

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 11, 2005
Messages
3,323
Location
Trieste, Italy
Highly opinionated, random order and unrelated to each other:


80% to 90% of humanity is worthless and undeserving of any attention whatsoever.

Always make sure your friends and loved ones are of the remaining minority, and cherish them as the most important thing in your life.

No material goods, no amount of money and no amount of power feel anywhere as good as an evening spent with people you love (and no, I'm not rich.)

Marketing is evil.

The easiest thing to forget is that you have to thread the wires through the hole before you do your soldering.

There is no such thing as an honest politician.

There is no such thing as an honest corporation, either.

Whenever groups of people have to make a decision it will almost never be the most rational and senseful one.

The relevance of your current project is directly proportional to the likelihood you'll get dud batteries in your order. Always order more than you need.

There is a logical explanation for everything.

There is such a thing as a free lunch. It's just very hard to find.

Those who can make compromises are always better off in the long run than those who can't.

You must get a temperature controlled soldering station. No, the iron you're using now is not adequate. Yes, I know you think it is, but really, it isn't. Yes, I know stations are more expensive. Buy one anyway.

People should have to deserve the right to procreate.

If you've never tasted Italian food you've never truly lived.

You really are better off without knowing about 4chan. There are many places on the net that filter what comes out of that place and give you just the good parts. Be content with that.

If you see some tool in the discount bin that you think you might need sooner or later, buy it. Otherwise when (not if) you'll need it it won't be there any more, and you'll have to shell out for one at full price.


And above all else, my life motto:

Love with your heart. For everything else, use your head.
 
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The_LED_Museum

*Retired*
Joined
Aug 12, 2000
Messages
19,414
Location
Federal Way WA. USA
I learned this lesson when I was 10 or 11...never, ever, EVER put a sack lunch in front of the front passenger seat of a car if said lunch contains a container of yogurt.
If you do, it may very well EXPLODE, spewing smelly yogurt all over everything within close proximity to the lunch bag.

This happened in Juneau AK. USA of all places; those in more southern latitudes will learn this lesson considerably sooner. :sick2:
 

Burgess

Flashaholic
Joined
Apr 10, 2006
Messages
6,542
Location
USA
Take the time to find the "proper" screwdriver.


Otherwise, you'll wish you had, after you've " mangled " the screwheads.


:(
_
 

PhotonWrangler

Flashaholic
Joined
Oct 19, 2003
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14,412
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In a handbasket
When choosing the furnishings for a lab, avoid using dark grey carpet. Unless you don't mind having a lot of tiny black screws vanish into another dimension when you drop them.
 

Hooked on Fenix

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 13, 2007
Messages
3,071
Don't eat a Powerbar out of the wrapper while using a headlight. The inside of the wrapper is reflective.
Don't put a dozen AA batteries in your pants pocket with your keys, while at school, in science class. That was a painful lesson, especially trying to get the keys out of my pocket with nothing to use but my hands. Battery carriers will save you a lot of pain.
Don't let anyone in your backpacking group mix oatmeal and fish guts and place it around camp so they can get a picture of a bear later. He learned his lesson. The first bear stood in front of the only exit out of his tent while he was still in it, and I had to scare away the bear. That was a long night. A group of bears ransacked our camp for hours. We scared them away with camera flashes.
On a backpacking trip, the one piece of gear that you didn't bring a backup of will always fail or get lost first. Coleman Apex II stove almost blew up and safety valve failed, Pur Hiker filter clogged, shoes got holes in them and filled with sand, lost mosquito head net after first day in Mammoth on five day trip, etc.
Jungle Juice (DEET bug repellant) will melt a Pur Hiker water filter and a Princeton Tec 20 flashlight to your hand in the same day.
You can never bring too much bug repellant backpacking during La Nina or when going to Mammoth, CA.
Never try to fold up a ladder while getting off of it at the same time. It's o.k. The 40 pound box of nails I tripped over and the concrete broke my fall. I was fine.
Don't teach your kids how to drive on windy dirt roads beside a cliff when it's pouring rain. That was weird learning that I had to steer toward the cliff to get away from the cliff when sliding around in the mud.
Don't flip off a gang of potheads. That lesson ended months later after I lost some blood, had many bruises and black eyes, and made a couple of citizen's arrests.
Your best and favorite flashlight with be outdated by something twice as good at half the price a month after you bought the first one and your wallet will be empty.
 

Crenshaw

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Messages
4,308
Location
Singapore
the little Gold-colored connection points on led boards are NOT part of the board's metal. They are part of the thin layer of (plastic?) that the board is coated with.

always use a soldering iron before trying to remove solder....:ohgeez:

Crenshaw
 

Diesel_Bomber

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 19, 2006
Messages
1,772
The overhead crane is always on the other side of the shop.

The ratchet/impact wrench is always set for the other direction.

Cutting and grinding discs that have been used on stainless can be used on mild, but not vice versa.

The cord/air hose is always 6" too short.

If you set your beverage down on the work bench, be *very* mindful of what container you pick back up and take a drink from.

:buddies:
 

DrunkenDonut

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
100
Location
Toronto, ON
Don't put a dozen AA batteries in your pants pocket with your keys, while at school, in science class. That was a painful lesson, especially trying to get the keys out of my pocket with nothing to use but my hands. Battery carriers will save you a lot of pain.

Big RC racing battery packs can do a lot worse than AA batts. My friend still has the key with black and decker (from another object) melted into its head. Lucky there was no fire, but it wouldn't have been much longer.
 

KC2IXE

Flashaholic*
Joined
Apr 21, 2001
Messages
2,237
Location
New York City
The overhead crane is always on the other side of the shop.

That there is no overhead crane to put UP the overhead crane...

(Backstory - Last year of High school, and then through college, I worked vacations/afternoons fabricating and then installing overhead cranes and other hoist systems)
 

Hooked on Fenix

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 13, 2007
Messages
3,071
Don't collect shells for a hobby on a two week family vacation and store them in zip lock bags. The full shells apparently have things living in them until they suffocate and die in the zip lock bags. The bags seal in the smell of rotting mussels until you change elevation enough for the bags to expand and pop open. It took a while for us to figure out where the smell was coming from before my family made me throw out my collection. I was young and didn't know any better.
 

chmsam

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Joined
Apr 26, 2004
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2,241
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3rd Stone
The lighter the color of the dog's fur and the more expensive the groomer, the more likely said dog will head directly for the darkest and smelliest pile of whatever in the yard, and the more immediately after getting home from said expensive groomer said dog will do that I had a friend who could tell you all about this. Do you now what a Samoyed looks like?

Always try to take a look outside before you open the garage door. For some strange reason the first skunk of the Spring might be attracted to your garage door. It will happen just at about the same time you hit the overhead door button, from inside the garage, with the door to the house just closed and locked, and after you have put the house keys inside your coat pocket. You know what? That garage door never seems to go down quite as fast as it went up. To quote Mr. Eastwood, "Feeling lucky, punk?" The rapid heart rate will finally subside after many minutes. It only feels like hours.

As a teenager I learned this one. Always blow your nose before giving a presentation or going on a date with an attractive member of the opposite sex. Even, -- no, make that especially -- if you do not think you need to do so. The size of the "bat in the cave" is proportional to the importance of the presentation or the attractiveness of the person.
 

KeyGrip

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 18, 2006
Messages
2,536
Location
Back in Santa Cruz
Complete traffic school as soon as you can! :oops:


And I believe this bears repeating:

You really are better off without knowing about 4chan. There are many places on the net that filter what comes out of that place and give you just the good parts. Be content with that.
 
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