No common sense

A few years ago, someone picked up a tripod that he had bought from me. In the short conversation we had, he made the remark that so many people lack common sense.

I had to agree with him and the next day I witnessed a prime example. I was at an estate sale looking around in the garage. 

A guy had already bought a fruit picker with a long pole. Instead of holding it vertically and close to his body he swung around horizontally in the small area with several people around.

I had to duck twice in order not to get hit by it. A few people actually got hit by it. 
It did not seem to occur to him that it was a nuisance. 

His wife was with him and saw what was happening. But she didn't do anything about it. No common sense and no courtesy.

Here is another example. Years ago, I was in an office supply store where I met a man who had just bought a desk that came as a flat pack. 

Two employees were sent to the warehouse to get it. We heard them rummaging around and after a while the double swinging door opened, and they tried to wrestle the flat cart with the desk through the opening.

Unfortunately, they had loaded it sideways and because it was a bit wider than the door opening they ran into trouble. After moving the cart back and forth many times they managed to get it done.

Then they faced another problem. There were displays in the aisle they had to go through and obviously the load was too wide. So, they went ahead and moved all displays out of the way.

The buyer and I looked at them in disbelief and I made the remark that it was like watching a Laurel & Hardy movie.

When they finally arrived at the exit it was clear that it wouldn’t fit there either. It wasn’t until then that they realized it should have been put longways on the cart. 

The cashier shook her head when she saw them struggling with it and even covered her eyes for a moment.

Two young men who had really no clue how to accomplish a very simple task correctly. Just scary.

Frustrated with myself

I have been working with computers for 40 years now and I still can’t type very well.

Yes, I get the right words where I want them to be but at a very slow two-finger pace and with a lot of corrections.

At school  there were typing lessons on mechanical machines and if I had followed those lessons I might have become a better typist. But due to moves I attended three different schools in four years. 
Each of those schools had lessons in different grades and I missed out on them. I  came in too early or too late.

I’m not using this as an excuse; I could he gotten private lessons later on. And for decades there has been software that can help you to do a better job.
But I thought that by using a computer on a daily basis I would get better at it over time. 

Wishful thinking on my part and it didn’t happen. I still use the keyboard like a beginner.

It gets worse though, lately I’m so slow and I’m making so many mistakes that I have become frustrated. I know I can’t blame the two sticky buttons on the keyboard, although it is annoying. Especially the backspace key is not working great and that seems to be the one I use the most.

I think I have another keyboard in the closet; I probably should give that one a try.

Maybe the recent problems are being caused by age, I like to think that is not the case.

I continue my struggle; I can’t shut down the computer indefinitely.

Too complicated

A few years ago, I went to a garage sale where I found a nice camera tripod, and the price was very reasonable.
I decided to buy it, but I hit a snag.

The number on the little label was not the price but a number. The owner had to look it up on a list and find the corresponding price.

What a ridiculous concept. Why not just put the price on the item, like (almost) everyone else does. It saves buyer and seller time and there will be no confusion. She wanted retail price for the tripod, so I walked away from it.

It wasn’t the first, or the last, time I have seen people do silly things at yard sales.

Frequently it happened that the seller didn’t know how much to ask for an item. You’re the seller, you should know much you want for it. I wanted to buy a table from a lady and after asking three times she did not give me a price.

And then are the situations where the seller has to call someone else for a price check. More than once, someone asked me to come back later because they were unable to provide the information. Poor preparation, for sure.

A few months ago, I went to a sale down the road. The garage was messy, disorganized if you will, but there were some decent tools I was interested in. “Everything is for sale,” the owner said. Then I pointed at four different items and guess what: “Those items were not for sale.”

I told him he should either remove those things or put a “No Sale” tag on it. He just shrugged his shoulders. In the following weekends he continued the sale, but I didn’t stop again. I won’t deal with people like that.

When was the last time?

Last night I tried to remember when I bought a new power tool at the store for the last time.

I concluded that it must have been in the mid 1980’s when I bought a Dremel scroll saw for my dad as a birthday gift. He never used it and sold it a few years later.

It wasn’t until about 15 years ago, when I started woodworking, that I needed some hand tools and small machinery. Over time I gathered what I needed buying everything used at garage- and estate sales as well as through websites such as Craigslist.

Some of it I resold because I really didn’t need it or when I could find a better one. My first table saw was a little Ryobi that I bought for $40. I used it for several years and  then sold it for $70.

Some tools I acquire with the sole purpose of selling them for profit so I can invest more money in the equipment that I want to keep. I don’t want any money  for my hobby coming out of the household budget.

My wife and I go to garage sales almost every weekend. Here in Southern Arizona, there are sales all year long. And frequently, amongst another items, we find a usable tool for a great price.

And we also keep an eye out for hardware and consumables such as saw blades, finishing products and sandpaper. I am stacking up on those items because I’m going to need them in the near future. When I see a piece of furniture with good solid wood I may just buy it, take it apart, and save the parts.

A few times I sold a tool that I wish I hadn’t. But sooner or later I will find a good replacement. I’m not an impulse buyer. I can spend time in a tool store and walk out empty handed.

Now I’m looking for a scroll saw. I had a nice one at some point but I never used it and it was in the way. I got rid of it and now I wish I still had it because I have some plans with it. There is no rush, I keep looking and I will find a good one at the right price.