Lacking Basic "Guy" Skills

[HoughMade]

...Schools need a LIFE BASICS 101.

That Moms and​ Dads are for.

 

[CHCRandy]

"We've become a nation of wusses"

 

[jblomenberg16]

So, since the thread has veered slightly onto the topic of driver education and poor driving skills, I had a classic case of drivers oblivous to traffic this morning on my commute, so allow me to vent a bit. For the TL;DR crowd...3 minivans thought they had the road entirely to themselves and were a disruption to traffic and my morning commute.

I have about 20 miles of 2 lane highway to travel, which is usualy a pretty uneventful drive. I generally set my cruise control at 58MPH (55MPH zone) on my way to work in the morning as that seems about the typical pace of traffic. In front of me were two nicer late model mini-vans about 1/2 mile ahead. I gradually closed the distance on them, so slowed down to match their speed, which was about 55/ 56 MPH. No big deal, just bump the cruise down a notch and go about my commute.

After about 1 mile I notice both vans are not maintaining a constant speed and have the usual "slinky" affect. Front van seemed to slow down to about 50MPH, 2nd van would nearly rear end it, slam on the brakes and slow down to about 45MPH, while the lead van then apparently picked back up the pace. 2nd van then accellerates quickly to catch back up and resume the tailgating position on the first van. I'm following with enough space that I just have to tap the break and coast down a few MPH to keep my distance on the 2nd van.

After 2 or 3 more cases of this I start to grow frustrated, and back off a bit more. I don't mind going a little slower than planned so long as I can maintain a somewhat constant speed via cruise control. Afterall...that ends up being the most fuel effcient operation mode for me on a relatively flat stretch of highway. I continue to follow the two vans, but with about 100yds separation now for a buffer so I don't have to keep slowing down and speeding up. The pattern continues until we pull up to a stop light on an intersection. I plan to turn left, so put my signal on about 75 yds from the intersection and start to slow down for the red light.

At this intersection there is a turn lane that can hold about 3 cars. I watch as the lane fills up (most traffic turns left at this particular intersection), and watch the two vans also pull into the line of cars waiting at the red light to turn left. However, rather than stay in the normal traffic lane, both stack up straddling the double yellow centerline divider. No big deal, as no traffic was coming from the other side or waiting at the light, and it allows folks wanting to go straight a chance to get through without having to wait. I pulled up behind the second van but stay in my lane since nobody else is behind me. Ahead of me is 5 cars that look to be planning to go straight. I can see in the side mirror a lady talking on a phone, looking around, and then can see through her back window that she's rumaging through something in the cabin...possibly a purse.

As the light changes traffic starts to go she still has her head down, and the 4 cars ahead of her (and the lead van) make the left turn as there was no oncoming traffic. Those going straight start to move as well. Van #2 is still not moving and I can see the lady not looking ahead, but still looking down at something inside the van. After after a couple seconds she looks up, and realizes she can no go, so floors it to make up the gap. Her tires chirp (impressive for a minivan) as she accellerates. Beside her is another van (#3) that has also not moved when the car ahead pull forward to go straight. She starts to creep forward about the same time the other van floors it to move up.

I follow the 2nd van and start to move left into the turn lane, when van #3 cranks the wheel hard left and cuts me off...narrowly missing my front bumper. Of course no turn signal, and when I lay on the horn I see yet another lady talking on a phone. She accellerates hard and follows van #2 through the intersection, still not using a turn signal. I keep my distance and turn left through the intersection.

There is now a decent line of cars in a line driving on a couple mile stretch of 2 lane higway with 55mph speed limit. The lead van and 2nd van, and now van #3 start the typical accordian affect speeding up and slowing down way out of synch with the rest of traffic. We approach a popular farm market that has pumpkins, hay rides, etc. Van #1 makes an abrupt right turn into the parking lot for the farm market, with van #2 pulling onto the gravel shoulder to follow. Van #3 at this point also decides to pull in, but doesn't use the shoulder. She starts to make her turn in, but suddenly stops with the back end of her van now partially blocking the driving lane on the highway. I slow down expecting her to continue her turn into the parking lot, when sudenly she tries to turn left back into the traffic lane in front of me.

I then jam the brakes so as not to rear end her, and lay on the horn to remind her that there are other cars on the road. She then turns right again into the parking lot where van #1 and #2 are randomly stopped blocking her ability to completely pull into the lot. The opposite lane was clear so I pulled around to pass her, and as I can clearly see all 3 drivers talkig on the phone. My guess is they were probably all together and either picked that location to meet up, or where otherwise lost and trying to find their way.

Fortunately the last few miles of my commute was even free, and I was able to come to the office in once piece and vent about it on INGO.

 

[Kart29]

He thanked me and then said he was going to take the jumper cables back into CVS to see if they'd give him a refund.

Well, I'm glad he learned some manners and knew to say "thank you".

But the underlined is the most disturbing part to me. Purchasing a product, using it, then taking it back to the store to get your money back is just outright stealing. Where did our society get the idea we can use things and return them to the store for a refund once we are done with them? Sheesh!

 

[churchmouse]

"We've become a nation of wusses"

That too started in the late 60's. I can tell you almost to the day when the death knell tolled for the Marlboro man.

 

[johnyb59]

So, since the thread has veered slightly onto the topic of driver education and poor driving skills, I had a classic case of drivers oblivous to traffic this morning on my commute, so allow me to vent a bit. For the TL;DR crowd...
Fortunately the last few miles of my commute was even free, and I was able to come to the office in once piece and vent about it on INGO.

So you drive on 31 also to Columbus, you can get behind some real morons on that road.

 

[Leo]

In this I see the mentality that it is OK to purchase the cables....."USE" them and think it is OK to return them. Knowing full well the folks in the store saw you doing this. Why should he have to actually pay for a product or a service call. That sets my hair on fire.

+1 You do not have to have a father figure to know it is wrong to buy something and use it for free. Charactor failure is harder to correct at this point than basic automotive maintenance.

Once, when I was dating a really fine looking woman we were dressed very well, I noticed a tag sliding out of her dress. Thinking she had just forgotten it, I offered to remove it. She said no , because she was going to take the dress back in the morning and get her credit card refunded. She did not think it was wrong, telling me "everyone does it". I took her directly home after the banquet. That was the last date. Relationships are difficult enough without dealing with someone that cannot tell right from wrong.

 

[fraige1987]

I learned so many new curse words working on cars. people would rather pay someone to do something for them then learn how to do it and take pride in it. although for cars, i will not mess with an automatic transmission.

 

[hooky]

I realize this is a necro thread, but your drivers ed teacher sounds just like mine? I think back then (mid 90's) most of us had been driving long before we were able to do so legally, so the Driver's Ed teacher probably realized that for some folks only minimal instruction was needed. School's definitely got out of it as it was too expensive (and probably too much of a liability) and have since turned it over to private companies to do. That's not entirely a bad thing, as it does relive the strain on the school system budget. Does anyone know if the BMV still requires an actual driving test to obtain a license, or it is only the written portion these days?

Can't tell you when I started driving (tractor or mini model T with a briggs), but I was 7 when I was turned loose on the road in a pickup. Drove from 1 field to another with seed corn, with Dad following in the tractor. I couldn't work the pedals and sit in the seat at the same time, so I'd put it in low, ease off the clutch and sit up on the bag of seed on the seat so I could see over the wheel. My dad would be serving 30-life based by today's standards, but that was then.

Driver's Ed was 3 to the car plus the teacher. He only slept on 2 of the 3 days. Everyone was white knuckled with teeth clenched every 3rd day.

As far as taking back the jumper cables, I see that mentality all too often. I'd skin my son alive if he tried that.

 

[yeahbaby]

I was talking to a mechanic the other day. He was saying if a young person can get trained to work on the high end vehicles, Audi, BMW, Tesla. They can be making 60K in a very short amount of time. And if you can work on the newer vehicles that are all electronic and computer module based. You might not even get your hands greasy. There is big work shortage for this type of work.

 

[churchmouse]

I was talking to a mechanic the other day. He was saying if a young person can get trained to work on the high end vehicles, Audi, BMW, Tesla. They can be making 60K in a very short amount of time. And if you can work on the newer vehicles that are all electronic and computer module based. You might not even get your hands greasy. There is big work shortage for this type of work.

Key word......."WORK"

Many young people have no desire to get dirty/sweaty. None at all. I was the tech that got all the noobies when the hall sent out a new apprentice. I put them shotgun in the service truck and off into the world. The last 5 years I was doing this I had only 2 that made it out past 2 weeks with me. I am not a butt head. I have 50 plus years of knowledge/skills to share. That saw no need as "Google" was the answer to all things. 1 noob did not make it until noon the 2nd day. Total mechanical idiots. This line of work tops out at $35.00 per hour with benny's.

 

[Lectric102002]

This line of work tops out at $35.00 per hour with benny's.

We've got senior chiller techs making well north of that. It's all about hard work and learning.

 

[churchmouse]

We've got senior chiller techs making well north of that. It's all about hard work and learning.

I was well north of that as well. Just a standard roof top tech can make serious money with a bit of effort.
Chiller work is very rewarding. Steady inside work in the winter and as much OT as you can take in the summer. Process work is very demanding.

 

[Lectric102002]

I was well north of that as well. Just a standard roof top tech can make serious money with a bit of effort.
Chiller work is very rewarding. Steady inside work in the winter and as much OT as you can take in the summer. Process work is very demanding.

Yup. In our day, you and I turned wrenches. Nowadays, the guys all carry iPads and laptops. They troubleshoot by plugging into a data port and downloading diagnostic codes.

 

[churchmouse]

Yup. In our day, you and I turned wrenches. Nowadays, the guys all carry iPads and laptops. They troubleshoot by plugging into a data port and downloading diagnostic codes.

You still need to put your hands on the machine.

A major re-fit can not be done from an I-pad

 

[Hoosier8]

I'm always amazed at the number of people I come across who have no concept of basic mechanical & everyday skills. I call them guy skills, but they're really skills that everyone should have a grasp of as they go about their lives.

My latest was this evening. Coming out the local CVS, I put my bag in the back seat of my car and hear a woman calling out, "Sir. Sir can you help us?" I hear a boys voice saying the same thing. I'd seen them when I pulled into the lot. They had their cars grill to grill with the hoods up and jumper cables draped between them.

The kid's little crossover SUV had a dead battery. He had them hooked up correctly to her car. On his however, he had the ground on the strut holding up the hood. They'd had it hooked up for over 15 minutes and all it would do was click when he turned the key. I helped him understand what he needed to do differently and explained to her what we were doing and why. He got it started and then almost immediately turned the key again. It freaked him out and he shut it off.

We got him going again and I told him the correct order for disconnecting everything. He thanked me and then said he was going to take the jumper cables back into CVS to see if they'd give him a refund. I casually mentioned that cables might be a good item to keep in his trunk. He decided against it.

The lady thanked me for helping and said she had been scared when the kid first approached her, but he looked helpless enough.

Why can't parents teach their kids these basic guy skills? This kid probably couldn't find his butt if he was sitting on both hands. It's tough to feel sorry for them, but I always do in the end.

Sorry for the long winded story, but I wanted to get it off my chest while fearless leader is talking about taking care of everyone even more.

Dang, this reminds me of my life. Let me explain.

My Sister was a science fiction fan and had gobs of SF books. I eventually started reading them and one of them, can't remember which one, had a guy that survived because he knew 'guy stuff'. I really took that to heart and over the many years of my life I have learned to do just about everything. I can fix my own car, rebuild an airplane, fix a computer, program it, build a house, wire a house, pipe gas, build stuff and even cut your hair.

The point I learned is that skills are everything if you want to survive. If you have skills, you can trade them for things you need.

 

[Tactically Fat]

I was talking to a mechanic the other day. He was saying if a young person can get trained to work on the high end vehicles, Audi, BMW, Tesla. They can be making 60K in a very short amount of time. And if you can work on the newer vehicles that are all electronic and computer module based. You might not even get your hands greasy. There is big work shortage for this type of work.

I'd LOVE to do this kind of work... But I can't afford to put the job/family on hold to get the training. I'd be starting from almost scratch, too.

And in the vein of this thread: I'm a dude lacking in skills. I don't even know how to switch out the broken dimmer switch in our kitchen.

 

[churchmouse]

I'd LOVE to do this kind of work... But I can't afford to put the job/family on hold to get the training. I'd be starting from almost scratch, too.

And in the vein of this thread: I'm a dude lacking in skills. I don't even know how to switch out the broken dimmer switch in our kitchen.

That is how you get started. In these things Google can be your friend. Do you have a buddy with any skills. You have to start somewhere.

 

[LPMan59]

I wonder how many people in this thread lamenting the lack of man skillz are also posting in the ouija board thread about opening portals to hell. Lolz

 

[Jomibe]

And in the vein of this thread: I'm a dude lacking in skills. I don't even know how to switch out the broken dimmer switch in our kitchen.

Just watch a video on Youtube.