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Dumb letters

JoeyB | Posted in General Discussion on March 18, 2004 03:45am

If I read one more stupid letter to the editor letter in a magazine I will scream! This Old House came in the mail today, (I know horrible magazine) and I sit down to read the letter section. Last month they had a blip on pulling nails from the backside with some nips. This guy writes:

                 Your TOH technique demonstrates an unsafe method for pulling nails. Your illustration shows the reader to rotate the tool into another nail point. This could cause an unthinking person ( I include myself, since I have actually done this) to drive his fist down into the nail point. I have learned to begin at the other end to rotate the puller away from any nail points.

 Is it me, or are some things just obvious? Shouldn’t you be thinking when doing your work? Common sense will tell you not to put your hand in any position that could cause it to be implaled with a nail. These geniuses are the reason coffee cups now say, “Caution, contents may be hot”.

Coming to you from beautiful Richmond, Va.

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  1. calvin | Mar 18, 2004 03:59am | #1

    joey, I'm sure you'll see many examples of just what you describe.  The world never ceases to amaze me.

    But then again, have you ever cut yourself with a utility knife?

    Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

    Quittin' Time



    Edited 3/17/2004 9:00 pm ET by calvin

    1. JoeyB | Mar 18, 2004 04:11am | #2

      I have cut myself, but didn't write a magazine to inform the readers that knives are sharp! After writing that letter, I know I'm gonna hurt myself tomorrow!Coming to you from beautiful Richmond, Va.

      1. calvin | Mar 18, 2004 04:26am | #3

        joey, I agree but the writer was probably trying to help out a fellow DIY'er.  We work with tools every day.  Think of those folks watching you use a circular saw.  You make it look easy.  Like an extension of your arm........their wife buys em one for Christmas and they go at it..........just like you. 

        Kickback? 

        Just think of all the close calls you've had, that probably taught you something.  This is how folks learn.

        And about tomorrow, don't blame me.

        Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

        Quittin' Time

        1. JoeyB | Mar 18, 2004 06:30am | #5

          Yea, I know. Gotta be the voice of reason, don't ya? Everybody's gotta learn. Lord knows I'm still learning everyday.Coming to you from beautiful Richmond, Va.

  2. User avater
    Sphere | Mar 18, 2004 05:08am | #4

    written for the people who's mothers did not read " pregnant mothers should not drink alcohol"

    or.."Alcohol impairs your ability to keep your self alive"'

    personally, I re-cap the bottle between swigs, I abhor gnat gnuts in my beer.

    EDIT....we like Richmond KY as home..same town less drunks..you find out which is which..

    View Image

    Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

    Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations. 



    Edited 3/17/2004 10:10 pm ET by SPHERE

  3. BungalowJeff | Mar 18, 2004 06:59am | #6

    We live in a world that requires a warning that coffee is hot and not to eat the packet of dessicant in the box your camera came in. We circumvent Darwin every day.

    ...that's not a mistake, it's rustic

    1. FastEddie1 | Mar 18, 2004 07:18am | #7

      Yeah, but is there a warning on the package of Alka Seltzer that says put the tablet in water before swallowing?

      Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!"  Then get busy and find out how to do it.  T. Roosevelt

      The craftsman formerly known as elCid

      1. brownbagg | Mar 18, 2004 02:31pm | #8

        or the blue thing in the urnial is not a breath mint

        1. rasconc | Mar 18, 2004 07:22pm | #9

          My BIL has a urinal in his shop restroom.  Our buddy got him a neat little sign showing a guy standing at one eating something with a note that says "please do not eat the large white mints".

      2. BungalowJeff | Mar 19, 2004 06:47am | #15

        My friend drank a pack of Kool-Aid like that. Downed the powder, and chugged a quart of water after it. His face twisted and he grabbed his stomach as the sugar and food coloring mix started to dissolve on his stomach lining. I told him "You're supposed to mix them dumb-azz!" So he jumped up and down until he felt better.

        Not Darwin level stupid, but I enjoyed watching him in pain, since I got cheated out of having some of the dang Kool-Aid....that's not a mistake, it's rustic

        1. User avater
          Sphere | Mar 20, 2004 02:39am | #16

          I remember as a kid they actually sold some kind of candy like that..pixie styx I think..horrid dry, sweet powder in a straw..sorta like snorting tang. Not that I have ever snorted tang<G>.

          View Image

          Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

          Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations. 

          1. BungalowJeff | Mar 20, 2004 09:14am | #17

            Oh yeah! In a deranged sugar high I would suck on those pixie sticks until the paper straw would get mushed up with the colored sugar. You had to take a cigarette break with either the horrid sugar sticks (with the red tip to resemble the lit end), or the more realistic, but still nasty tasting, gum with the paper wrap and powdered sugar that would give you that initial puff effect. Holy cow! I can't believe how many candy cigarettes and cigars were available back then. No wonder all of my friends smoke like chimneys. 

            Some of the candy of my youth was actually quite crappy tasting, but they were fun in that pre-PC way.  Remeber Wacky Packages?...that's not a mistake, it's rustic

          2. User avater
            Sphere | Mar 20, 2004 03:11pm | #18

            let's not forget the pink, yellow, and green bubble gum white owl cigars!..yeah, them gum cigarettes were the rage..poof out the sugardust...no wonder I have a mouth full of fillings, and smoke.

            Then there was the rock candy and jawbreakers,,gawd..pure sucrose, and, fracture fodder for teeth.

            And what was up with them sugar dots on a strip of paper? pre-school acid?

            View Image

            Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

            Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations. 

          3. mrhodes | Mar 20, 2004 03:29pm | #19

            I heard about a guy who, in a drunken stupor, urinated on the electric metro cables in New York.  It killed him, so his wife sued the city because there was not a sign saying, "Do not urinate on the big electric lines" and won.

          4. BungalowJeff | Mar 20, 2004 11:20pm | #23

            Yeah, those were another one of those candies, that when you taste it now, you think, "Why did we eat that stuff?"

            Rez, There is a company that will send you a box of candies from your era of choice. Many are the remaining stock (they don't go bad), or are produced in a batch once a year for the special order. It seems many of the machines are too expensive and large to get rid of....that's not a mistake, it's rustic

          5. rez | Mar 20, 2004 04:04pm | #21

            They still make those candy cigarettes. I've a friend who actually likes them and she told me she found a store in her city that sells them. It has to be bought  by the carton and not the single packs.

            What kind of sugar high were we living on back then. Figure with all that candy usually at one sitting and polishing off a whole 16oz bottle of soda along with it in a halfsize and 80/100lb frame?

            No wonder those long uphill bike rides were a piece of cake.

             

    2. constteach | Mar 18, 2004 10:19pm | #13

      Jeff,

      You hit the nail on the head. when we rase livestock or grow produce we cull out the bad ones. In the old days ( before warning lables ) life culled the bad, stupid, people. Now with all the other people looking out for our wellfare we're just dumbing mankind down.

      Maybe thats why common sence is'nt so common anymore.

      Just a thought.

       

       

       

  4. sphaugh | Mar 18, 2004 08:38pm | #10

    I got that magazine yesterday & read the same - had the same general feeling.  Worse yet, the diagram included with that letter shows an arrow saying to pull the pliers toward the nail point, just the opposite of what the "correct way" text says.

    I didn't like the window flashing detail that said to stick vycor to the face of the felt/tyvek at the window head, either. 

    What an awful issue that was... truly pathetic

  5. User avater
    Mongo | Mar 18, 2004 09:46pm | #11

    I often scoff at some LTTE that point out, or elaborate on, some very obvious and apparent methods of work.

    One that made an indelible impression on me was the following (paraphrased):

    "When driving screws with a screwdriver, I often had trouble with the screw falling over before the first few threads had a chance to dig into the pre-drilled pilot hole. I found out that by switching hands and using my left hand to hold the screw and my right hand to turn the screwdriver that I had better success."

    I wasn't even an April 1st issue.

    1. joeh | Mar 18, 2004 09:51pm | #12

      "When driving screws with a screwdriver, I often had trouble with the screw falling over before the first few threads had a chance to dig into the pre-drilled pilot hole. I found out that by switching hands and using my left hand to hold the screw and my right hand to turn the screwdriver that I had better success."

      Guess that guy never had a Yankee screwdriver.

      Serious punctures with his method.

      Joe H

  6. dustmonkee | Mar 18, 2004 10:43pm | #14

    Yo, the TOH mag sucks and now, so does the show.  What's with Kevin - what a rosy-cheeked, green-horn dilettante.  I have copies of the original first two seasons; man, has their mission gone south.

    Regards

  7. maverick | Mar 20, 2004 03:53pm | #20

    Yeah there are alot of idiots out there. I had a guy ask me what kind of wood should he replace the railing on his deck with because the pressure treated was checked. I said "use mahogany".

    He called every lumber yard around looking for used mahogany. Then he called me back to ask why they all laughed at him.

    1. UncleDunc | Mar 20, 2004 09:18pm | #22

      LOL. I think you should add this to the Cheap SOB thread, too.

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