now considered useless traits

[stevejfarms]

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

In his defense it was mid day. Not much of an excuse.

 

[Festus]

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

When I was a young fellow (11 or 12), a Chinese exchange student staying at the neighbors taught me how to solve the Rubik's Cube. Not by pictures or anything, just how to do it.
After not seeing one for nearly 40 years, I saw one in a toy store with the grand kids and bought it. After fumbling around for a few minutes, I remembered how to solve it. Probably not under a minute @ZMT588, but I can still do it. Can't remember what I had for supper last night, but can solve a cube from 40 years ago.
Granddaughter wanted me to teach her but her mother just googled it for her...

I taught myself to juggle many years ago. Can do 3 or 4 and some other different tricks. Still do it occasionally, you know, at parties and such...

I won't remember your name, but if you have a Rubik's Cube I can solve it... If you have 3, I can juggle them.
Sorry ladies, I'm married.

 

[44hunter45]

I split multiple cords of fir and larch while raising my kids then about 60 the cushion in my shoulders went away and the pain became more continuous. The hydraulic splitter buys me years. I still put up 120 acres of small squares - hand stacked in the barn. The bale wagon helps me get it to the barn. Patience and tenacity gets it stacked. I should have raised more kids. Old age is tough.

This - I notice I'm looking a little longer at the splitters in front of North40 and Ranch and Home.

I put up six ton of small bales in July.

Mrs and the bone doc are yelling at me to stop swinging the maul. Every night I look at the Aleve bottle and wonder if I really need a liver.

 

[mdcrossbow]

The post on "best advice" got me thinking about specific traits or specialties you posses that most people either laugh at or consider useless.

For me its working an Axe. I don't brag on myself much, but I can absolutely equivalently handle an axe.

My dad and I had a logging company growing up. We sold firewood. All hand cut, hand split and delivered. We cut, split and delivered well over 5,000 cord of wood. I split every one of them. I when I say a cord of wood, I mean real cord of wood, not today's math.

I cant for the life of me understand a log splitter. Our neighbors got one when I was about 15. My dad bet them a few cases of beer i could beat him and his son with it. I did and it wasn't even close. I cannot confirm nor deny that the ol man may have shared the beer with me.

Seems like now everyone has to have a damn log splitter. I am 52 and to this day will still out split anyone, anytime, anyplace, especially a damn log splitter.

Like I said useless trait. But if your ever stuck in woods trying to build a fire, I am your guy!

We carry a chain saw in our trucks and we split oak when it's green. LOL

 

[mdcrossbow]

to me there are no useless traits. An old man asked me when I was a kid, "What the best gift "trait" to have, me; I don't know . He said : "The one needed at the time"
So I've always valued everyone because I never knew who had what gift and when it may be needed.

 

[44hunter45]

Drumming

Good drumming is not useless. Bad drumming is WORSE than useless. If there were not drummers, we bassists would have no one to blame for bad grooves.

 

[44hunter45]

You two need a room?

In Key West

 

[44hunter45]

virgin until married

Ken, would you be so kind as to add a meme to my post

I'm a man, but I can change. If I have to. I guess. - The Possum Lodge motto.

I was a hellion in my younger days. I grew up in the church but lived up to my mother's mantra that church boys had the most dangerous lines.
Finally settled down and started a family. We had three boys. Most of them better than me at that age.

The oldest and his wife gave us a granddaughter of our own. God's revenge on me for my wilder days.

My sainted West Virginian, Grace Brethren grandmother was named Rubie Lee Riser. She was 6'0" of Wagnerian Woman. She raised 6 sons and one daughter. When she hit her late 80's and 90's, she loosened up on the stories a bit. She would laugh and tell us about throwing our 5'8" granddad into the river to cool him off until the nuptials.

Before my folks were married, my mother needed place to live for a week. Grandma had her over to the ranch. Grandma bumped my dad and three brothers from their upstairs bedroom to the bunkhouse and put "Miss Averil" in their room by herself. My dad swears his mother and her broom never left the staircase door for six nights.

I'm no good with meme's, but here is a tune for you April.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Good drumming is not useless. Bad drumming is WORSE than useless. If there were not drummers, we bassists would have no one to blame for bad grooves.

Maybe I fall into the "bad" category then, haha.

 

[mdcrossbow]

I'm a man, but I can change. If I have to. I guess. - The Possum Lodge motto.

I was a hellion in my younger days. I grew up in the church but lived up to my mother's mantra that church boys had the most dangerous lines.
Finally settled down and started a family. We had three boys. Most of them better than me at that age.

The oldest and his wife gave us a granddaughter of our own. God's revenge on me for my wilder days.

My sainted West Virginian, Grace Brethren grandmother was named Rubie Lee Riser. She was 6'0" of Wagnerian Woman. She raised 6 sons and one daughter. When she hit her late 80's and 90's, she loosened up on the stories a bit. She would laugh and tell us about throwing our 5'8" granddad into the river to cool him off until the nuptials.

Before my folks were married, my mother needed place to live for a week. Grandma had her over to the ranch. Grandma bumped my dad and three brothers from their upstairs bedroom to the bunkhouse and put "Miss Averil" in their room by herself. My dad swears his mother and her broom never left the staircase door for six nights.

I'm no good with meme's, but here is a tune for you April.

Dam , think my wife is related to your grandmother ! lol

 

[mdcrossbow]

40 years ago An old friend who passed many years ago told me when I 1st started hunting his farm; "Dave if you don't know nothing about farming you don't know nothing."
He then said you can use the tractor for putting in food plots...... Well how do I start it LOL

 

[pre6422hornet]

Being able to read a non digital caliper. Or any non digital instrument for that matter.

Reading the clouds in the distance when on the lake or in the wild. Now we just open our smart phones for a satellite radar pic.

Using a nautical map and be able to triangulate where you were then take a compass heading and get exactly where you wanted to go. Now you just hit the waypoint and it tells you. My great uncle Bob would be out on Lake Erie 12-15 miles out chasing walleyes back in the early 80's. We would drift past a marked buoy and he would tells us kids " go get the map and tell us how to find our return port". Priceless education and back then we never realized that he was making us use our brains and learning cool stuff.

I once was with him in thick fog. We came out of the canal and he told me the heading to go to hit a buoy marker he wanted us to fish by. Off his heading we damn near ran over the buoy. He left this world at 60 years old ( I was 12) and I wish I could have had a few more years with him. He taught me everything I know about reading water, navigating, boat control in rough seas, sailing, fishing, etc...

 

[MTTW]

When I was a kid I got interested in the Remington exhibition shooters. Tom Frye in particular. He was the world record holder for shooting wood blocks out of the air with a 22 rifle.

I proceeded to shoot thousands of rounds of 22 rimfire at hand thrown objects. Eventually I could hit charcoal briquets nearly every time, quarters frequently and pennies probably 1/4 of the time. Finding the coins can be a challenge.
I shot mostly with a Remington pump but eventually I had to have a Remington Nylon 66 semi auto that Tom Frye was pimping at the time. I never was fond of the semi auto and went back to the 572.

This doesn't transfer to other shooting skills because my younger brother can out shoot me with a shotgun all day every day.
In hind sight, wearing hearing protection when shooting the 22 would have been a good idea.

Today you would probably go to jail for crashing the internet if you posted a picture of shooting something out of the air with a rifle.

 

[gouch]

Like the OP I consider myself an axe man although I rarely split fire wood with an axe. A good splitting maul works much better. When I was in my teens I read an article about the axe men of old. It said a good axe man kept his axe so sharp he could shave with it. So I always tried to keep my axes as sharp as I can but I have never tried to shave with one. Of course I haven't tried to shaved with anything since Dec. 9, 1976.

Using a compass is a skill that seems to be going out of style. I love my compass. I worked with a guy for many years. When he first started he had just graduated with a bachelors degree in land surveying and he didn't have a clue as to how to read a compass. That blew my mind. He told me there wasn't any need for a compass. It wasn't too long before he swallowed his pride and asked me to teach him how to use a compass though.

 

[isu22andy]

People sure look at you like your Jim Bridger just coming out of the mountains if you tell someone youll trap their beavers for them with actual steel footholds connibears and snares vs 5 lbs of tannerite or a backhoe.

 

[MO Betta]

I know how to use water and a hammer to knock dents out of range pickup brass.

I’m curious as to how this is accomplished

 

[BrentD]

I don't suppose any of us still practice the art of range estimation any more? It was once the most important skill of an accomplished hunter or rifleman.

 

[Joe in La.]

Using the microfiche at the library. Kids have it so easy. I loathe them.

That reminds me of Registering for classes in college used to mean standing in lines to get to the table. Then getting your friends to stand in other lines holding a spot for you to make sure you got the courses you needed. Now I watch my kids click and click, courses booked...I am thinking they have no idea

 

[MTTW]

I don't suppose any of us still practice the art of range estimation any more? It was once the most important skill of an accomplished hunter or rifleman.

I shot an animal last year at a measured range for the first time in my life. I felt like I was cheating.

 

[belshawelk]

Good drumming is not useless. Bad drumming is WORSE than useless. If there were not drummers, we bassists would have no one to blame for bad grooves.

Amen,

I just moved and hopeful after my hunting trip next week i will have time to set the kit back up. She's a beautiful big 80's Tama with deep concert toms all on rack. She looks like she came right off the stage from a heavy metal /hair band. I didnt list drumming because most will never understand the feeling of mastering some weird off beat time signatures. All Hail NP RIP