Grim's Law of Wrench-Turning and Social Media
When looking for practical advice on how to repair mechanical problems with your ride, remember: YouTube is invaluable, Google is helpful, and Facebook is evil.
Don't forget to mix sugar into your gasoline to make sure it doesn't get too thin in the dry winter weather, and be sure to let all the summer air out of your tires and refill them with winter air so they don't burst in the cold.
Be sure to thin the engine oil with a little turpentine--not more than 2 quarts! Thick oil makes it very hard to start the car, ya'know.
ReplyDeleteIt'll take about a gallon of antifreeze in the radiator of your '68 Beetle to keep it from freezing up in winter.
ReplyDeleteEric Hines
St. Darwin is watching you.
ReplyDeleteAnybody but me ever think it was a bit weird the ostensibly anti-fascist left should adopt Herr Hitlers pet civilian project car with such glee?
ReplyDeleteMy husband convinced an old girlfriend of the summer-winter-air business. At least that one is harmless!
ReplyDeleteMy father used to tease me about checking the radiator in my old hand-me-down Corvair, which was air-cooled.
Honestly, if this was the only bad advice people got from social media, I could see getting upset about it. But when people take their health and scientific knowledge from image macros on Facebook... well, lives and economies can suffer. A little car damage is minor compared to spreading deadly diseases because you're afraid of "catching the autism".
ReplyDeleteIt's true, the "summer air" one is a harmless prank you can pull on someone with a reasonably clear conscience. :)
ReplyDeleteMike, it honestly never occurred to me that anyone would seek health advice on Facebook. I imagine you're right, though.
YouTube really is awesome for figuring out mechanical problems you haven't encountered before. It's the rare thing that comes up that I can't find a video showing some guy fixing just for the pleasure of teaching strangers how to do it. Often it's even for the precise year/make/model I happen to own! It's amazing.
...showing some guy fixing just for the pleasure of teaching strangers how to do it.
ReplyDeleteThat's the motivation behind most of the misinformation (as opposed to disinformation) on Facebook, et al., too. It's just easier to post on FB, so more care goes into the thing on YouTube.
It's still a matter of doing a proper filter on the stuff you read. Or watch. Or get in the noospapers.
An actual college graduate (even if it was Auburn) called up to us in Duluth when he finished training and asked about the antifreeze requirements of his bug, though. Education alone isn't proof. There needs to be live thought, too.
Eric Hines
An actual college graduate (even if it was Auburn) called up to us in Duluth when he finished training and asked about the antifreeze requirements of his bug, though. Education alone isn't proof. There needs to be live thought, too.
ReplyDeletePssh... I had college professors who were completely clueless as to the basic operation of a computer in the ancient days of 2001. Education is not proof of anything except education (and perhaps teachability).
Heh. What Mike said. Saw a professor teaching a systems analysis class trying to "double click" the icon on a slide presentation of a computer desktop.
ReplyDeleteThat said, and I absolutely swear that this is true, I saw a guy get sent to go get compass batteries.
Heh. :)
ReplyDelete"Often it's even for the precise year/make/model I happen to own! It's amazing."
ReplyDeleteA free economy without government taking a cut, is always efficient.
FB is like the telephone game, full of people who Obey Social AUthority even.
That said, and I absolutely swear that this is true, I saw a guy get sent to go get compass batteries.
ReplyDeleteWe used to send new guys to the motor pool to get a gallon of headlight fluid, to supply to get boxes of azimuth bearings, or 50 feet of gig line, and so on.
Good times.
Classic errands for newbies on the painting/construction crew: lumber stretchers and sky hooks.
ReplyDeleteJust saw this one on my feed.
ReplyDeletehttps://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/v/t1.0-9/12294872_1111924312153478_4684631858522027743_n.jpg?oh=79f3f9583868e0d772ba1a3c3219ab88&oe=56D8DCD1