forewarned, my drugies

[the_siobhan]

From okoshun. This list of 25 skills every man should have from PC Magazine. Stuff I can do is bolded, things I may have done once and/or think I know how to do but have not done is italicized. Things I'd like to learn how to do, but have not yet had a chance to is in red.

1. Patch a radiator hose
2. Protect your computer
3. Rescue a boater who has capsized
4. Frame a wall[1]
5. Retouch digital photos[2]
6. Back up a trailer[3]
7. Build a campfire
8. Fix a dead outlet
9. Navigate with a map and compass
10. Use a torque wrench
11. Sharpen a knife
12. Perform CPR
13. Fillet a fish
14. Maneuver a car out of a skid
15. Get a car unstuck
16. Back up data
17. Paint a room
18. Mix concrete
19. Clean a bolt-action rifle[4]
20. Change oil and filter
21. Hook up an HDTV
22. Bleed brakes
23. Paddle a canoe
24. Fix a bike flat
25. Extend your wireless network

[1]I suspect I will be learning this one sooner rather than later.
[2]Yes I know it's simple. No I don't expect to get around to it any time soon.
[3]To be fair, it's been a while.
[4]I've actually done this once, but it was a while ago.

This particular list reminded me of Robert Heinlein's list of things that every human being should be able to do. So I tried to apply the same rules to it.

1. change a diaper
2. plan an invasion
3. butcher a hog
4. conn a ship[5]
5. design a building
6. write a sonnet[6]
7. balance accounts
8. build a wall
9. set a bone
10. comfort the dying
11. take orders
12. give orders
13. cooperate
14. act alone
15. solve equations
16. analyze a new problem
17. pitch manure
18. program a computer
19. cook a tasty meal
21. fight efficiently
22. die gallantly[7]

[5]What does "conn" mean?
[6]This fits into the category of "been a while"
[7]Like anybody can know until it happens

I find the evolution pretty interesting. I'm curious to see how the list looks in another 20 years. (splice a gene. build a generator...)

Comments

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

My reaction was the opposite. I see a lot of stuff on Heinlein's list as very subjective. I may think I'm good at following and giving orders, other people may think differently.

A fire is useful if you are ever lost. At one time, a person who became lost outside of a city was mostly likely to die of hunger. Nowadays the majority of deaths are due to exposure.

Things like knives and outlets strike me as basic maintenance that everybody should be able to do. You should know how to sharpen your knives periodically if you cook for yourself, otherwise you will throwing away perfectly good knives for no reason. (And good knives aren't cheap.)

Likewise, calling in a professional every time you need something minor done like re-connecting a loose outlet is going to mean throwing away money for no good reason. I count those as basic life skills.

Some of the car stuff, otoh is only useful if you drive. I find it a very American assumption that everybody needs skills that are specific to cars. And I may die happily without ever having to know how to hook up an HDTV that I'll never own.

[elusis.livejournal.com]

I know how to sharpen a knife. Take my knives down to the knife-sharpener man who's at the farmer's market every weekend, and say "can you please sharpen this knife?"

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

When I was a kid there used to be guys who would walk around with a sharpening wheel mounted on a little buggy. We got our knives sharpened whenever he was in the neighbourhood.

I haven't seen one of those in years.

[elusis.livejournal.com]

We had one of those guys too!

This one has a whole VAN.