Replies

1. 
   pebble | Apr 21, 2007 05:49am | #1

   Haha ya... when driving a steering column mounted trans shift for a while and then switching over to a floor mounted shift, I will grab thin air thinking I was still in a column mounted trans shift vehicle.

   Handyman, painter, wood floor refinisher, property maintenance in Tulsa, OK

1. 
   CRF | Apr 21, 2007 05:54am | #2

   At least i'm not alone.  I actually looked around the empty cab of the truck to see if anyone had seen that.  It took half a second for my brain to register what the tick tick tick sound was.

1. 
   pebble | Apr 21, 2007 05:59am | #3

   There is probably some psychological term for this, some sort of reflex term named after an obscure European scientist :)Handyman, painter, wood floor refinisher, property maintenance in Tulsa, OK

1. 
   bstcrpntr | Apr 21, 2007 06:13am | #4

   My personal truck is a manual trans.

   My company truck is automatic.

   At some point, I do one of two things.  In my truck I will forget to clutch, and kill the engine.  In my work truck I will hit the brake for clutch, an dI hit it hard.

   You are not alone!

   jeremyThe bad news is you've done exactly the right things to be exactly where you are today.   

     "IdahoDon  1/31/07"

2. 
   jase | Apr 22, 2007 01:07am | #23

   Something I actually know! That term has stuck with me since Psych 101 along with a lot of other trivia from that class."Negative transfer", meaning dissimilarities in controls that cause you to make mistakes, the best example being the remotes for the TV, dvd player, satellite, etc. None of the buttons are in the same place, though they all have the same buttons.Jase--Is there a better way?

1. 
   pebble | Apr 22, 2007 01:18am | #24

   Alright! You knew what the term was. Next time I can say, "Oh yeah, that guy is suffering from negative transfer". :)Handyman, painter, wood floor refinisher, property maintenance in Tulsa, OK

2. 
   grpphoto | Apr 22, 2007 06:15pm | #32

   > Jase--Is there a better way?Probably not. You can standardize the layouts, but then you get turf wars over who gets to pick the standards, reduced selection from the surviving companies, and stagnation since anything new has to be approved by the committee. During the approval process, all of the competition finds out what you have in mind and comes out with the same thing, so why develop it?George Patterson, Patterson Handyman Service

2. 
   Gunner | Apr 21, 2007 04:48pm | #10

   My personel vehicle has remote door unlock and my company vehicle doesn't. It's not uncommon for me to stand outside my work truck hitting the remote unlock on my keyring, wondering why the heck they aren't unlocking. I've also been known to do it to my utility boxes for some strange reason.

1. 
   Piffin | Apr 21, 2007 05:02pm | #12

   Now you are talking about me answering the phone by holding the TV remote up to my ear, or trying to change the channel by dialing 144 on the phone... 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   Gunner | Apr 21, 2007 06:24pm | #16

   That
   s the next phase for me. LOL

2. 
   dieselpig | Apr 21, 2007 09:58pm | #18

   It's not uncommon for me to stand outside my work truck hitting the remote unlock on my keyring, wondering why the heck they aren't unlocking. I've also been known to do it to my utility boxes for some strange reason.

   I've done it to the front door of my house with my wife witnessing the whole thing.View Image

1. 
   Gunner | Apr 21, 2007 10:53pm | #20

   Snork. Bad part is we're young. We've still got to get older and more senial. It's gonna be a long road. LOL

1. 
   Sphere | Apr 22, 2007 01:53am | #25

   Actually. It was Stphen Wright who coined that.

   " I hit my car keys, and my house started up, the cops pulled me over, and asked what I was doing, I said, I LIVE here"

   I think it was about '89  " I've got a pony"...some of the funniest stuff I've ever heard ( back then), now I am funnier in my own mind.Parolee # 40835

2. 
   Piffin | Apr 22, 2007 05:02pm | #29

   Thjrow in a joystick for the plow and a couple buttons for the dump body...I wonder if a cop ever reached for his sidearm and pulled out his wallet? 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

3. 
   Sphere | Apr 22, 2007 05:19pm | #30

   We put a tool tray overthe boom lift controls, cuz we can feel the joysticks from memory, but it must confuse the hauler, or our other crew, cuz everytime it gets away from us, all of our tool platforms are ripped off..I swear, we're gonna weld them next time.

    Parolee # 40835

4. 
   user-209584 | Apr 22, 2007 06:46pm | #33

   ***I wonder if a cop ever reached for his sidearm and pulled out his wallet?**

   I doubt it but I do know you'd be hard pressed to find a single picture of me when my arms weren't held out about 8-10" away from my body even in civilian clothes. All those years of making clearance for my gun & radio have changed the way I stand forever. You'll never find me standing directly facing anyone unless I am being an #### & reading them the riot act.  I always stand at an angle with my right side farthest away from them. For years after I retired I also had my head tilted slightly to the left to better 'hear' my no longer there radio. ;-)  Bobbi

3. 
   DanH | Apr 21, 2007 10:59pm | #21

   I get out my keys when I'm "badging in" to my building, then try to open the key lock on my office door with my badge.
   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

1. 
   Piffin | Apr 21, 2007 11:48pm | #22

   Take cheer everyone. In ten years we will all have Java buttons like the transpass to wave at anything and everything.
   The thing will have been programmed to know it is us and let us in.lose your buttion and yer really screwed then.
   Whoever fins it can wave it at the wife and...Ooops, I'm mixing reality and fantasy and scifi 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

2. 
   brownbagg | Apr 21, 2007 06:25am | #5

   try operating a bob cat skid steer all day then hop in a truck. you look around because you forgot how to drive a truck

   i do live in Alabama, so my advice might be worthless
3. 
   PaulC | Apr 21, 2007 06:33am | #6

   the manual transmission versus automatic transmission one can get you in trouble. I once hopped in my cousin's car and turned the key. It was in gear, parking brake not engaged, and it jumped right into the wall of his house.

   Amateurs talk strategy, Generals talk logistics.

1. 
   ChicagoMike | Apr 21, 2007 03:05pm | #7

   I always hit the "phantom" clutch in my wife's SUV when I drive it for the first time in a while. I laugh every time!

4. 
   Piffin | Apr 21, 2007 03:22pm | #8

   Yes!

   Another one for me is when I have been driving a clutch all day and switch to an automatic, I step on the "cluthch" when coming to a stop, which means that I firmly plant a second foot on the brake and come toa screeching halt

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
   Excellence is its own reward!

5. 
   BossHog | Apr 21, 2007 03:49pm | #9

   Heck, yes it's happened to me.

   I drive cars with automatic transmissions and stick shift vehicles. Then there are the tractors with manual transmissions, power shifts, shuttle gears, and hydrostatic transmissions.

   My favorite trick is to drive a truck with a stick shift all day. Then the whole family will go somewhere in the evening in the family car. I'll fire it up, and wave wildly in the air trying to find the gearshift on the floor.

   The boys think it's hilarious. I suspect DW just thinks I'm nuts.

   Have you ever seen a toad sitting on a toadstool?
6. 
   shtrum | Apr 21, 2007 04:53pm | #11

   if it makes you feel better, when i used to do CADD drawings then switched to sketching by hand, i'd find myself reaching to click a phantom 'undo' command whenever i'd erased something and then changed my mind about it . . .

    

1. 
   Piffin | Apr 21, 2007 05:04pm | #13

   Ever squeeze anything other than toothpaste onto your toothbrush? 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   shtrum | Apr 21, 2007 05:26pm | #14

   i refuse to answer that question

   suffice it to say, Preparation H is not minty fresh

    and also, my tongue is shrinking . . .

    

2. 
   BruceT999 | Apr 21, 2007 08:22pm | #17

   "Ever squeeze anything other than toothpaste onto your toothbrush?"We lived in Germany for a year. Mustard there comes in toothpaste-like tubes. Imagine my sister-in-law's surprise when my kids replaced her toothpaste with "German toothpaste". :)BruceT

1. 
   Jer | Apr 22, 2007 06:12pm | #31

   "
   "Ever squeeze anything other than toothpaste onto your toothbrush?""K-YI was used to it.

1. 
   Piffin | Apr 22, 2007 08:19pm | #34

   Now how does one get used to the taste of KY? 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

2. 
   Piffin | Apr 22, 2007 08:23pm | #35

   Here's another one.
   All week I have been drinking fruit juices so I turn the bottle over and shake, then hit it and then pop the top.just now I made a couple of roast beef sandwichs and thought, "Hey a beer would taste good with that..."nope - I caught myself just in time. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

3. 
   Jer | Apr 22, 2007 08:25pm | #36

   "Now how does one get used to the taste of KY?"Oh now Piffin, you know better than that....

7. 
   gb93433 | Apr 21, 2007 05:58pm | #15

   Hopefully you were thinking about seeing your wife when you get home and that would explain the lack of focus.

8. 
   DanH | Apr 21, 2007 10:52pm | #19

   Kinda like switching back and forth between stick and auto. You find your hand grabbing for the shift that isn't there and your foot stepping on air (if you're lucky, if not catching the edge of the brake pedal and sending you through the windshield).

   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
9. 
   user-209584 | Apr 22, 2007 03:29am | #26

   OK I don't feel quite so goofy now about the 'air' clutch & brake I try to find when I get back in the car or truck after a long motorcycle ride or trying to open my front door with the car remote ;-)

   Bobbi
1. 
   DanH | Apr 22, 2007 03:32am | #27

   I have twice in the past week alsmost handed my comb to the front desk guy at my gym -- I keep it in the same pocket of my gym bag as my membership card.
   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

1. 
   user-209584 | Apr 22, 2007 05:09am | #28

   Hey if ya find out that comb will work let me know -- I can afford a comb easier than the membership fees ;-)Bobbi