When Tools Don’t Do
Their Job
This post was inspired by a comment
from Bob @ http://thecaretakerchronicles.blogspot.com/
who is a fellow cranky old man. If the post sucks, go over to Bob’s site and
complain to him.
What do you
do when a tool to do a specific job is not efficient? Do you keep trying or do you take care of the
issue manually? What am I talking about?
How many times will I ask a question before I start this post?
I am talking
about stupid stuff we do when a tool does not do what we expect it to do.
For
instance, you are vacuuming a carpet and the machine will not pick up a gubba
from the rug. Do you run the vacuum over
and over the offending fleck of unknown origin, or do you stop the machine and
just pick it up with your hand?
Me too., I
will go over and over that gubba, I will try and dislodge it with my foot, I
will curse it, but I damn well refuse to pick it up by hand.
Leaf blowers
piss me off. Every fall the lawn people
come around our townhouse and blow leaves in a pile with those noisy
blowers. They are very efficient, though
I will sometimes watch a rogue leaf being chased all over the lawn. That leaf will be blown into the pile
dagnabbit, the lawn guy will not simply pick it up.
Did you ever
mow the lawn with those old reel mowers?
This problem happens with the rotary types too, but not as common…a high
stem weed will be rolled under the mower and not get grabbed by the cutting
reel. This used to happen to me all the
time. I could have just stopped the mower
and ripped that weed by hand, but noooo, I would run over that damn stem again
and again from different angles until it was grabbed in the reel and chopped
like the mower was designed.
Have you
ever had a leaf caught in your windshield wiper? Of course, you have. You jumped out at a stop sign and manually
removed it didn’t you? Of course not! You ran that wiper at different speeds, hit
the sprayer and sped the car up until that sucker got loose and was discarded.
If your car
battery is dead, do you keep trying the key?
Me too. If your TV remote battery
is not working, do you pull out the batteries and clean the points, or spin it
around a few times or simply put in new batteries? Not until you press the buttons extra hard
about a dozen times first. Right? Me
too.
If there is
dried up egg on a plate, do you grab a sponge and rub it out, or do you insist
on clearing it off with about 18 gallons of hot water from your sprayer? Me too.
This one
drives me crazy…the hair stuck to the bathroom sink. Sure you could just pick it out by hand, but
do you spend 20 minutes dousing it with water, splashing it with your hand and
or slamming it with a cup of water trying to dislodge it and send it in a
bathroom sink death spiral? Me too.
Why do we
get stubborn when things don’t cooperate with our tools and just manually
resolve the issue?
You have no
idea? Neither do I.
People who do that are weird. Me? I'm a pick it up by hand kind of girl.
ReplyDeleteNo offense, but I believe that could be a 'man' thing.
ReplyDeleteI identify with every example given. Of course, I'm a dope :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's funny!
ReplyDeleteI don't know Joe, I was beginning to think you have been watching me. Those leaves under the wiper blades do piss me off, I think that I ran the wipers on high once until I cut that leaf in half, it worked and the only problem was that permanent stripe rubbed into my windshield...
ReplyDeleteIt's because we want the doggone thing to work, dagnabbit!
ReplyDeleteI hate it when tweezers grip everything but that one pesky stub of eyebrow hair. Trying to prove a point, you could end up with a bald eyebrow, save for one unremovable stub.
ReplyDeleteDon't be a tool when a hand'll do the job!
ReplyDeleteI work in surgery and many times the tools we have don't always work the way they should. Considering where those tools are going, using your hands instead isn't always the best idea either. Thankfully we have backup tools...unlike my crummy, expensive vacuum cleaner.
ReplyDeleteMy solution is to call the machine names! In fact, a few of my household machine are permanently named. My daughter has a robot vacuum cleaner she calls "Mr. Magoo" because he is alway running into thing, then over them and getting stuck. She moves him and tries again.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! We need luck because we just aren't smart enough to use our brains/hands! Right?
I needed a good laugh and you are good for one or two. Your commenters aren't to shabby either. :)
Yes to all of the above.
ReplyDeleteR
You're one of those people who keeps pushing the button for the elevator when the elevator doesn't show up fast enough, aren't you? Me too.
ReplyDelete