now considered useless traits

[Otto Matic]

I had an Elm die in the yard. Since it was only yards form the wood pile I figured it would be easier to make fire wood out of it than to hall it off. Ended up splitting the bigger pieces by cutting them length wise with the chain saw.

Yes sir. Elm has no "grain".
I cut several out of a fence row once. Wife said, "It's a shame to let all that firewood go to waste." Then the argument ensued.
One tree, about 20" in diameter, I cut into four or five discs about 3" thick and piled them by the firewood.
That fall, they were dry and cracked.
STILL wouldn't split!
Two years later, I finally threw them in a burn pile because they still WOULD NOT split!
That is some tough a$$ wood!

 

[Otto Matic]

Roll starting a car.

Slip shifting.
Dad- “Yeah I had a car that lost the clutch, nice work getting it to the shop, but next time just call AAA for a tow, if you do it wrong you could destroy your transmission”

Me- “Yeah, honestly wasn’t that hard, and yeah I thought about it but it was a long way home and I figured it might be in the shop for a bit”

Dad- “Wait, how far were you from Eagle?”

Me- “Err, 300 miles”

Dad- “So you got off the highway at some point got gas, and then kept going”

Me- “… …”

Had an 80 Model Chevy 3/4 ton 4WD. Three speed standard with a "granny gear"!
Rear end geared 4:10! Used it to pull a wheat combine out of a mudhole!
Wouldn't do 60MPH if you threw it off the Empire State Bldg!
The collar that held the throw out bearing snapped off. Clutch was absolutely useless.
Driving through city red lights was A REAL thrill!
Kick it into neutral to stop. It idled low enough you could "cram" it into granny then float the gears up and down as needed.
Sure was happy when payday rolled around and I could afford to replace the collar!

My 1 ton Dodge 3500 w/6 spd manual shifts smooth as glass with no clutch.
Only use the clutch to stop and start.
It's a 2001 with 400K miles and the original clutch, pressure plate and throw out bearing.

 

[Otto Matic]

Rebuild an engine or repair a vehicle using a "Chilton's" repair manual!

 

[Gary]

The other shitty tree to split is wild Cherry. You have to peel the bark to split Cottonwood when wet is not much fun. Dry its a piece of cake. Give me some good ole NW Alder, Birch, Maple ( gods greatest tree), fir and all its cousins ad your on. Just to keep things fair we can throw a few pieces of juniper or pine to slow me down.

LOL

I hand split some elm..............once.

 

[Gary]

Roll starting a car.

Slip shifting.
Dad- “Yeah I had a car that lost the clutch, nice work getting it to the shop, but next time just call AAA for a tow, if you do it wrong you could destroy your transmission”

Me- “Yeah, honestly wasn’t that hard, and yeah I thought about it but it was a long way home and I figured it might be in the shop for a bit”

Dad- “Wait, how far were you from Eagle?”

Me- “Err, 300 miles”

Dad- “So you got off the highway at some point got gas, and then kept going”

Me- “… …”

Obviously your Dad never drove big trucks. Clutches are great for starting and stopping.

 

[geetar]

Rebuild an engine or repair a vehicle using a "Chilton's" repair manual!

I’m a mechanic. We moved from one shop to the other recently and found some of those when we cleaned out.

 

[ZMT588]

I’m a mechanic. We moved from one shop to the other recently and found some of those when we cleaned out.

Need a job. I know a place out here that might be hiring…

Useless trait. I can solves a Rubik’s cube in under a minute.

 

[Otto Matic]

I’m a mechanic. We moved from one shop to the other recently and found some of those when we cleaned out.

Not everybody has a "greasy thumb"! (Get it? Like a "green thumb"?)
Unfortunately, I don't have a "greasy thimb" OR a "green thumb"! LOL!
As long as it's pretty simple.
I can change oil, batteries, alternators, water pumps, flats and occasionally, a light bulb! No Mr. Goodwrench here.

 

[geetar]

Need a job. I know a place out here that might be hiring…

Useless trait. I can solves a Rubik’s cube in under a minute.

I might one day. Thanks.

As for the Rubik’s Cube that’s pretty impressive. Most people can’t even move the stickers that fast.

 

[ILbowhntr]

I had a civic in college that had the clutch master cylinder go while I was on my way home from work. Not nearly 300 miles but I still felt pretty cool for being able to rev match it all the way home. Only had to run one stop sign. Got it home and did my first ever clutch master and slave cylinder replacement.

That was an utterly terrible car but I got a ton of experience working on it. Even replaced the entire head one time.

Wife had one right after college. She put 180k on it and then her brother had it for years and put another 100k on it. Very simple and reliable...and cheap. Tires, brakes, oil changes. Manual trans and never had an issue with the clutch. Never bought another one tho ...but it was a good car for what it was.

 

[OverlordBear]

I know the Chronology of most of human history and the Star Wars Universe pretty equally off the top of my head. Both in day to day life pretty useless for practical application.

 

[np307]

Wife had one right after college. She put 180k on it and then her brother had it for years and put another 100k on it. Very simple and reliable...and cheap. Tires, brakes, oil changes. Manual trans and never had an issue with the clutch. Never bought another one tho ...but it was a good car for what it was.

Yeah I have no doubt their good reputation is completely legitimate on the aggregate. But I got mine with 130k and in 50k miles I had to change:
Radiator
Starter
Distributor
Timing belt
Cam seal
Exhaust manifold/catalytic converter
Valve cover gasket
The entire head

So I stick with Toyota now.

 

[tarheel]

With the prevalence of GPS, Google Maps and smart phones, the ability to read a road map or chart has gone by the wayside for most of our youth and even some of our older citizens. I'd guess that 90% or more couldn't point to the North if their life depended on it.

 

[stevejfarms]

With the prevalence of GPS, Google Maps and smart phones, the ability to read a road map or chart has gone by the wayside for most of our youth and even some of our older citizens. I'd guess that 90% or more couldn't point to the North if their life depended on it.

I use a guy to work on my center pivots, he’s 69 years old and been doing it for over 40 years, traveling through our flat, mostly featureless terrain. He called and told me he was lost. I tried to discern where he was and he told me he was by some chicken houses. I asked if he was facing west. His reply: I don’t have a compass with me. I was dumbfounded .

 

[OntarioHunter]

I use a guy to work on my center pivots, he’s 69 years old and been doing it for over 40 years, traveling through our flat, mostly featureless terrain. He called and told me he was lost. I tried to discern where he was and he told me he was by some chicken houses. I asked if he was facing west. His reply: I don’t have a compass with me. I was dumbfounded .

Wow! Doesn't even know the sun sets in the west. What planet has he been living on?

 

[OntarioHunter]

now considered useless traits​

AXE(?) Shampoo and alluring shave gel.

Why did that take so long? That crap stinks like a moldy sleeping bag. Someone wearing it gets on the elevator and I gotta get off ... or I'm gonna puke. There's the textbook case of creative advertising making utter garbage sell like hotcakes.

 

[noharleyyet]

I use a guy to work on my center pivots, he’s 69 years old and been doing it for over 40 years, traveling through our flat, mostly featureless terrain. He called and told me he was lost. I tried to discern where he was and he told me he was by some chicken houses. I asked if he was facing west. His reply: I don’t have a compass with me. I was dumbfounded .

Reminds me of the joke about the fellow tossing roofing nails away because the heads were on the wrong end.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Yeah I have no doubt their good reputation is completely legitimate on the aggregate. But I got mine with 130k and in 50k miles I had to change:
Radiator
Starter
Distributor
Timing belt
Cam seal
Exhaust manifold/catalytic converter
Valve cover gasket
The entire head

So I stick with Toyota now.

Oh yeah, those old Toyotas were a gem. Brand new Celica was maybe good for seventy thousand miles and camshaft had to be changed. And changed again after another 70K. You did it or else toss the engine. It was right there in writing in the owners manual and people still bought the damn things.

 

[Panda Bear]

With the prevalence of GPS, Google Maps and smart phones, the ability to read a road map or chart has gone by the wayside for most of our youth and even some of our older citizens. I'd guess that 90% or more couldn't point to the North if their life depended on it.

this is something we teach the children from a very young age. Stars, moon, sun, wind, clouds, shadows, vistas, moss, ice, animal behavior ( not just for direction but a warning about incoming weather )

I noticed a couple mentioned an older fellow not being able to determine direction via the sun. I can not be as critical of him, as I dont know the weather conditions he was in at that time--- perhaps it was cloudy, overcast, raining,

I can not speak to what happens in the States, but in the larger towns in Canada. Common courtesy is becoming extinct or in some peoples mind -- A useless trait.

 

[stevejfarms]

One more, then I’ll stop. I was cutting beans one evening and switched fields about 4 o’clock and went to a neighbors to cut his. I told my truck driver where to come as he was at the bins dumping, the last part of the directions were to turn east. He called back on the radio and said he didn’t know which way east was, so I told him to turn away from the sun. I loaded him and he went to dump when he got empty he called and asked if I had moved again. I told him to come back to the same place. He called back and said the sun was down, which way should he turn in now.