Where are you on the continuum...

[Gone in 60]

I'm cursed. Having worked as a mechanic, done bodywork and every manner of construction, I can't look at, listen to, or basically enjoy any mechanical object without mentally tearing it apart. A few days ago, walking through a parking lot, I told a lady who drove past me that her car was low on power steering fluid. I consider one of the advantages of a flip-up modular helmet being the ability to tell someone at a stoplight that they have a brake light out, or that I can hear the wear sensors on their brake pads.

Sometimes I need to edit myself... a friend was proud to show me a vintage car he had just bought. The first thing I noticed was a slight color variance between the front clip and the rest of the body. Shoulda kept my mouth shut. He hadn't noticed, but after I mentioned it, that's all he could see. Ended up having the whole car repainted. Was up till midnight polishing out some minor etching on the roof of Mrs. G's CRV from a few huge bird poops. The roof of a 14-year-old, 165,200 mile CRV.

Working in racing for a paying job, there are the noises some can pick up right before something really bad happens, accompanied by an appropriate response - go and look (gonna be cool), duck (flying parts), jump on the truck (he's gonna hit the wall). You also learn to audibly identify what kind of cam, lifters, etc a particular engine is running, and whether it's being pulled by 7.3, 6.0 or 6.8 Powerstroke.

Sometimes in the still of night I'll hear something... why am I hearing water running? Whew, just the water softener in regen mode.

My motorcycles make so many noises that I would go nuts listening to every single one of them, and would not be able to enjoy riding, one of the only things I truly enjoy in this world. I wear earbuds and listen to music while I ride. I'll make sure that everything is checked on the maintenance schedule, check my fluids and air pressure weekly and do my pre-ride inspections. But I will trust that the bikes are running fine.

[Tev62]

I would put myself around 2-3. I took out a Triumph Trident on loan recently and I could feel the slightly loose chain riding the rear sprocket on the bends, took half a turn to them and the feeling disappeared. I always feel my CB changes gear better with a properly adjusted chain. If you were a 1 though my Triumph Daytona 1200 would drive you nuts. The engine sounds like a bag of nuts and bolts in a washing machine!

[PowerDubs_imp]

I'm cursed. Having worked as a mechanic, done bodywork and every manner of construction, I can't look at, listen to, or basically enjoy any mechanical object without mentally tearing it apart. A few days ago, walking through a parking lot, I told a lady who drove past me that her car was low on power steering fluid. I consider one of the advantages of a flip-up modular helmet being the ability to tell someone at a stoplight that they have a brake light out, or that I can hear the wear sensors on their brake pads.

Sometimes I need to edit myself... a friend was proud to show me a vintage car he had just bought. The first thing I noticed was a slight color variance between the front clip and the rest of the body. Shoulda kept my mouth shut. He hadn't noticed, but after I mentioned it, that's all he could see. Ended up having the whole car repainted. Was up till midnight polishing out some minor etching on the roof of Mrs. G's CRV from a few huge bird poops. The roof of a 14-year-old, 165,200 mile CRV.

Working in racing for a paying job, there are the noises some can pick up right before something really bad happens, accompanied by an appropriate response - go and look (gonna be cool), duck (flying parts), jump on the truck (he's gonna hit the wall). You also learn to audibly identify what kind of cam, lifters, etc a particular engine is running, and whether it's being pulled by 7.3, 6.0 or 6.8 Powerstroke.

Sometimes in the still of night I'll hear something... why am I hearing water running? Whew, just the water softener in regen mode.

My motorcycles make so many noises that I would go nuts listening to every single one of them, and would not be able to enjoy riding, one of the only things I truly enjoy in this world. I wear earbuds and listen to music while I ride. I'll make sure that everything is checked on the maintenance schedule, check my fluids and air pressure weekly and do my pre-ride inspections. But I will trust that the bikes are running fine.

Blessing and a curse.

My wife tells me to relax...but I am bombarded by silly mistakes all around me every single day.

I was having work done on my house....and I just happened to walk by one of the main guys as he was about to cut a beam- that was custom ordered- cost well over $1000, shipped by tractor trailer....

I didn't say anything at all... just happened to be walking by and he looked up at me- said "measure twice, cut once".....and then pulled the trigger and cut the beam.

He then proceeded to carry the beam with another guy- over to where it was to be installed- and realize he cut it about a foot short.

Hand hewn....kiln dried...

They never did work at my home again.

[Gone in 60]

I'm cursed. Having worked as a mechanic, done bodywork and every manner of construction, I can't look at, listen to, or basically enjoy any mechanical object without mentally tearing it apart. A few days ago, walking through a parking lot, I told a lady who drove past me that her car was low on power steering fluid. I consider one of the advantages of a flip-up modular helmet being the ability to tell someone at a stoplight that they have a brake light out, or that I can hear the wear sensors on their brake pads.

Sometimes I need to edit myself... a friend was proud to show me a vintage car he had just bought. The first thing I noticed was a slight color variance between the front clip and the rest of the body. Shoulda kept my mouth shut. He hadn't noticed, but after I mentioned it, that's all he could see. Ended up having the whole car repainted. Was up till midnight polishing out some minor etching on the roof of Mrs. G's CRV from a few huge bird poops. The roof of a 14-year-old, 165,200 mile CRV.

Working in racing for a paying job, there are the noises some can pick up right before something really bad happens, accompanied by an appropriate response - go and look (gonna be cool), duck (flying parts), jump on the truck (he's gonna hit the wall). You also learn to audibly identify what kind of cam, lifters, etc a particular engine is running, and whether it's being pulled by 7.3, 6.0 or 6.8 Powerstroke.

Sometimes in the still of night I'll hear something... why am I hearing water running? Whew, just the water softener in regen mode.

My motorcycles make so many noises that I would go nuts listening to every single one of them, and would not be able to enjoy riding, one of the only things I truly enjoy in this world. I wear earbuds and listen to music while I ride. I'll make sure that everything is checked on the maintenance schedule, check my fluids and air pressure weekly and do my pre-ride inspections. But I will trust that the bikes are running fine.

Blessing and a curse.

My wife tells me to relax...but I am bombarded by silly mistakes all around me every single day.

I was having work done on my house....and I just happened to walk by one of the main guys as he was about to cut a beam- that was custom ordered- cost well over $1000, shipped by tractor trailer....

I didn't say anything at all... just happened to be walking by and he looked up at me- said "measure twice, cut once".....and then pulled the trigger and cut the beam.

He then proceeded to carry the beam with another guy- over to where it was to be installed- and realize he cut it about a foot short.

Hand hewn....kiln dried...

They never did work at my home again.

Blessing and a curse.

My wife tells me to relax...but I am bombarded by silly mistakes all around me every single day.

I was having work done on my house....and I just happened to walk by one of the main guys as he was about to cut a beam- that was custom ordered- cost well over $1000, shipped by tractor trailer....

I didn't say anything at all... just happened to be walking by and he looked up at me- said "measure twice, cut once".....and then pulled the trigger and cut the beam.

He then proceeded to carry the beam with another guy- over to where it was to be installed- and realize he cut it about a foot short.

Hand hewn....kiln dried...

They never did work at my home again.
Silly mistakes are one thing. I make those all the time. I'm talking about things a machine does that you can see or hear that you can't not see or hear. When I built my last race car (And it will be my last, following an intervention from Mrs. G about automotive obsessiveness, childish driving behavior, etc, and I've been content with a Fiesta since... and bikes that I can obsess over and ride childishly) sometimes I'd go directly to the local Taco Bell right after adjusting something, because the drive-through had the car sitting against a wall and under an overhang while I was waiting for my grub, and I'd have a free echo chamber that would amplify all of the engine noises back to me, giving me the ability to not only eat, but detect any minute anomalies.

You want a silly mistake? in '17, we had a custom kitchen built. The contractor built a custom U-shaped countertop in Carrera Marble (Oh Mrs. G just had to have Carrera). Took 'em an hour to maneuver it into the narrow entryway, up the stairs, around a corner, through the house to the kitchen without dropping it or banging it against something. When they got to the kitchen, I was in another room, but heard four guys yelling every obscenity I knew, including a few I did not.

They had built the countertop backwards.

I would put myself around 2-3. I took out a Triumph Trident on loan recently and I could feel the slightly loose chain riding the rear sprocket on the bends, took half a turn to them and the feeling disappeared. I always feel my CB changes gear better with a properly adjusted chain. If you were a 1 though my Triumph Daytona 1200 would drive you nuts. The engine sounds like a bag of nuts and bolts in a washing machine!

So... you test-rode a Trident, fixed it for them, and returned it?

Sounds like most of my business rentals. I spend more time in Chrysler Pacifica vans than I do my own car, which means I know them as well as my own car. When I return them to the airport, it sometimes goes like this:
"Here's your receipt. Did everything go OK with your rental?"
"It was pulling right, so I adjusted the tire pressures. Rolls straight now. Bluetooth wasn't pairing, so I did a hard reboot on the infotainment system. She's throwing up the low oil warning on hard right turns, so I figure a quart and a half low."

[Frenchie]

Those real-life stories are amazing, guys, keep them coming!

[dave]

I'm probably a 1. I listen to every little noise my motorcycles, cars, and truck make. I must have learned this from my father, who taught me that it's best to catch potential problems early because you can repair them before little problems turn into big problems. Little problems always cost less, and take less time to correct than big problems.

It's funny, because while I am like this with all of our vehicles, I'm probably only a 3 when it comes to our home, and yard. However, my wife if definitely a 1, or less, when it comes to the home and the yard. She's constantly picking my things up and moving them to their "proper" location. If she doesn't know where the "proper" location is for something that belongs to me, then she'll put it in my office, or if it's a tool, she will put it into the garage.

[misterprofessionality]

I'm a 3 at least...I'm not mechanically knowledgeable enough to really hear everything that I could hear, but I'm concerned with literally anything out of the ordinary that the bike does. after so many years and miles on the same bike, I have certain expectations of sameness and i'm closely monitoring this bike as it reaches more extreme ages

not to hijack this thread, but i have to ask, how did it get resurrected? This thread was created in 2013!!! and then all the sudden in 2024 somebody replied to it again?

[the Ferret]

I'm a 3 at least...I'm not mechanically knowledgeable enough to really hear everything that I could hear, but I'm concerned with literally anything out of the ordinary that the bike does. after so many years and miles on the same bike, I have certain expectations of sameness and i'm closely monitoring this bike as it reaches more extreme ages

not to hijack this thread, but i have to ask, how did it get resurrected? This thread was created in 2013!!! and then all the sudden in 2024 somebody replied to it again?

Usually someone new reading old threads, but in this case it was someone who joined in 2019 who was probably reading old threads and didn't get a chance to participate originally in 2013

[Tev62]

I'm cursed. Having worked as a mechanic, done bodywork and every manner of construction, I can't look at, listen to, or basically enjoy any mechanical object without mentally tearing it apart. A few days ago, walking through a parking lot, I told a lady who drove past me that her car was low on power steering fluid. I consider one of the advantages of a flip-up modular helmet being the ability to tell someone at a stoplight that they have a brake light out, or that I can hear the wear sensors on their brake pads.

Sometimes I need to edit myself... a friend was proud to show me a vintage car he had just bought. The first thing I noticed was a slight color variance between the front clip and the rest of the body. Shoulda kept my mouth shut. He hadn't noticed, but after I mentioned it, that's all he could see. Ended up having the whole car repainted. Was up till midnight polishing out some minor etching on the roof of Mrs. G's CRV from a few huge bird poops. The roof of a 14-year-old, 165,200 mile CRV.

Working in racing for a paying job, there are the noises some can pick up right before something really bad happens, accompanied by an appropriate response - go and look (gonna be cool), duck (flying parts), jump on the truck (he's gonna hit the wall). You also learn to audibly identify what kind of cam, lifters, etc a particular engine is running, and whether it's being pulled by 7.3, 6.0 or 6.8 Powerstroke.

Sometimes in the still of night I'll hear something... why am I hearing water running? Whew, just the water softener in regen mode.

My motorcycles make so many noises that I would go nuts listening to every single one of them, and would not be able to enjoy riding, one of the only things I truly enjoy in this world. I wear earbuds and listen to music while I ride. I'll make sure that everything is checked on the maintenance schedule, check my fluids and air pressure weekly and do my pre-ride inspections. But I will trust that the bikes are running fine.

Blessing and a curse.

My wife tells me to relax...but I am bombarded by silly mistakes all around me every single day.

I was having work done on my house....and I just happened to walk by one of the main guys as he was about to cut a beam- that was custom ordered- cost well over $1000, shipped by tractor trailer....

I didn't say anything at all... just happened to be walking by and he looked up at me- said "measure twice, cut once".....and then pulled the trigger and cut the beam.

He then proceeded to carry the beam with another guy- over to where it was to be installed- and realize he cut it about a foot short.

Hand hewn....kiln dried...

They never did work at my home again.

Blessing and a curse.

My wife tells me to relax...but I am bombarded by silly mistakes all around me every single day.

I was having work done on my house....and I just happened to walk by one of the main guys as he was about to cut a beam- that was custom ordered- cost well over $1000, shipped by tractor trailer....

I didn't say anything at all... just happened to be walking by and he looked up at me- said "measure twice, cut once".....and then pulled the trigger and cut the beam.

He then proceeded to carry the beam with another guy- over to where it was to be installed- and realize he cut it about a foot short.

Hand hewn....kiln dried...

They never did work at my home again.
Silly mistakes are one thing. I make those all the time. I'm talking about things a machine does that you can see or hear that you can't not see or hear. When I built my last race car (And it will be my last, following an intervention from Mrs. G about automotive obsessiveness, childish driving behavior, etc, and I've been content with a Fiesta since... and bikes that I can obsess over and ride childishly) sometimes I'd go directly to the local Taco Bell right after adjusting something, because the drive-through had the car sitting against a wall and under an overhang while I was waiting for my grub, and I'd have a free echo chamber that would amplify all of the engine noises back to me, giving me the ability to not only eat, but detect any minute anomalies.

You want a silly mistake? in '17, we had a custom kitchen built. The contractor built a custom U-shaped countertop in Carrera Marble (Oh Mrs. G just had to have Carrera). Took 'em an hour to maneuver it into the narrow entryway, up the stairs, around a corner, through the house to the kitchen without dropping it or banging it against something. When they got to the kitchen, I was in another room, but heard four guys yelling every obscenity I knew, including a few I did not.

They had built the countertop backwards.

I would put myself around 2-3. I took out a Triumph Trident on loan recently and I could feel the slightly loose chain riding the rear sprocket on the bends, took half a turn to them and the feeling disappeared. I always feel my CB changes gear better with a properly adjusted chain. If you were a 1 though my Triumph Daytona 1200 would drive you nuts. The engine sounds like a bag of nuts and bolts in a washing machine!

So... you test-rode a Trident, fixed it for them, and returned it?

Sounds like most of my business rentals. I spend more time in Chrysler Pacifica vans than I do my own car, which means I know them as well as my own car. When I return them to the airport, it sometimes goes like this:
"Here's your receipt. Did everything go OK with your rental?"
"It was pulling right, so I adjusted the tire pressures. Rolls straight now. Bluetooth wasn't pairing, so I did a hard reboot on the infotainment system. She's throwing up the low oil warning on hard right turns, so I figure a quart and a half low."

I did

[peterbaron]