Basic skills

[claidheamhmor]

This article was interesting. Of course, I don't see why women shouldn't possess these skills either (except for cooking a perfect steak - that's a man's domain).

14 Basic Skills All Men Should Possess

So, which of those can't you manage?

Comments

[pcb.livejournal.com]

Awkwardly, I don't really swim; the chemicals in the water of the average swimming pool tend to take my skin off.
I don't think I've ever changed the oil in a car, either. Topped up, yes. Done the full business with an oil pan, no.

[capnoblivious.livejournal.com]

Curiously, the only one that I wouldn't be immediately confident of would be sewing on a button - but, like the others, I'm sure I could if I needed to.

So, great. I pass a men's magazine masculinity test. I'm so proud. :)

[seawasp]

I can do all of them. I just DON'T do a lot of them. Change the oil? Ew. I hate grease, I hate dirt, and there's plenty of people out there with businesses assuming that people like me would like to pay them to get involved with the grease and dirt.

[claidheamhmor]

I'm with you on grease and oil. But a few years back, I owned an old Jaguar that needed frequent repair, and since I was rather short on money, I was forced to learn to do all the basic maintenance, so that sort of thing doesn't bother me now as long as I have decent hand cleaner to clean up with afterwards.

[redqueenmeg.livejournal.com]

I can't drive a stick shift; I never learned. It's not like we have one and I refuse to drive it.

Hook up an entertainment center? Please. That's my job. When I was dismantling my grandma's for her last move I found all the signs I had taped onto all the cords and components saying this goes here and that goes there, because otherwise my dad would NEVER have been able to put it back together. And it was just a cable box, VCR, and TV.

I can fix a toilet.

I'm fine with GPS and FAR better with a map and compass than any guys I know. Many guys I know can ONLY use GPS, and for anything else if you tell them to "turn east" they will just ask if that is left or right.

Change oil, I don't know how but I'm sure I could figure it out. I just still have warranty service on my car so they always do it there along with the tune-ups and stuff.

Balance a checkbook I can do.

I have cooked great steaks.

I can swim that stroke.

Write effectively, sure.

Dress for the occasion, yes.

Sew a button, freaking duh.

Do laundry properly, yep.

Roadside emergencies, yes.

Build a fire, since I was 7, yes, thank you Girl Scouts.

So... that is two I can't do, and they're both car-related, which is not surprising to me.

[seawasp]

"Turn East" is a meaningless phrase in most places I drive. There's no simple way to know where North is unless you have a compass mounted on the dashboard, and even then, what does it matter? Streets don't go North, South, East, West, they go sortaNorth then swing around to the west then curve back east, etc.

Even many routes in this area that are "Route XX North" only go north in the sense that they're going to end up more north of your original position, but they may spend time going any other direction -- even south! -- before they get there. One reason people refer to I-87N as "The Northway" is that it is NOTABLE in being a road that really does go North, and pretty much DIRECTLY North, as it's marked.

[redqueenmeg.livejournal.com]

Cardinal directions are pretty easy to use here where I live. I was talking about how most people I've dealt with, they could be heading due east, directly into the sunrise, and you could say, "You're heading east, now turn south," and they will say "Is that left or right?"

[seawasp]

I admit I'd ask because I have to THINK a moment to get South translated to Left or Right. This is because Left or Right are constants for any individual, but which direction South is, is not. I know that if you say South, then Left will be either South or North, but to know which it is, I then have to think, "Okay, I'm going East. West and East spell "We" , so that means that I'm facing THAT way, which means that RIGHT is South."

Much easier to tell me "turn right".

[redqueenmeg.livejournal.com]

Much easier for a driver who hasn't integrated cardinal directions, yes, but not "much" easier for the person giving the directions, because sometimes "turn south" means you'd be getting on a route marked "south" and turning right means you'd be faced with a choice of going either north or south on that same road, which can happen here. I personally think it is easier to say "turn south" than "turn right and then right away you have to make sure you are going south."

[seawasp]

Hmm. Difference in approach. For me, it'd almost always be "Turn right onto *** street", with the street signs allowing the driver to verify he or she is now on the right path. This is the way the GPS's I've used work, too -- "In 0.5 miles, turn right onto Smith Street."

[redqueenmeg.livejournal.com]

GPS yes, although I've been led astray by those more than once (or rather I should say drivers I've been in the car with have been led astray by those more than once). But yes, they do work that way. Really useful stuff, too, like "In one mile, merge onto the collector." *snicker*

[iskender.livejournal.com]

In short, always consider the directions you write. On the other end, there is a user, and they speak a language which only they understand.

[redqueenmeg.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, and I did spend several years living in Connecticut so I am familiar with the problems. I would not have said anything about the issue I mentioned if the wiggly streets were much of a problem here. We do have an interstate that has east/west directions but goes north/south through town, but I probably wouldn't refer to it as east/west if giving directions. I would say "toward Tampa," or "toward Daytona Beach."

[linda-does-nz.livejournal.com]

I think these lists are just concocted to make people feel inadequate.

On a related note, yesterday I was reading an article on MSN about "Foods that women should have tried before they're 30" or some such nonsense. I'd tried quite a lot of them but for some bizarre reason the tofu in the article was covered in live mantises. Now I'm wondering if this is a delicacy somewhere?!

[redqueenmeg.livejournal.com]

HAHA, awesome.

[claidheamhmor]

Om nom nom nom nom. :)

[claidheamhmor]

It's interesting how different people handle directions. For example, I have a good sense of direction, so I can handle North, South, etc., but I lost track of too many landmarks. I prefer to just be given an address, and I'll look it up myself and make my way there. I do have a very good memory for routes too; I occasionally use the GPS on my phone, but only for the last part of the journey; most of the way, I'll take all the quicker shortcuts that the GPS doesn't suggest.

[ubet-cha.livejournal.com]

Interesting list. My writing skills have dramatically deteriorated the past few years and I no longer believe I can write effectively. The rest are covered though.

[nilo.livejournal.com]

Hah! I think you write just fine. You got mad skillz, babycakes.

[ubet-cha.livejournal.com]

Thank you, but I think you may be a little biased. :<)

How come you aren’t posting? Everything ok?

[nilo.livejournal.com]

Complicated, but ok.

[ubet-cha.livejournal.com]

Good. My imagination gets to me when people are quiet.

Complicated? You’re not dating those twins from Katmandu again are you? I told you they’d be trouble! Never date a man named Guido, or his sister. ;D

[claidheamhmor]

Hooking up AV gear can be fun...especially when you're figuring out how to hook up other things into it that were never intended to be there.

[musicalchaos.livejournal.com]

Can't drive stick, never had the opportunity to learn, and contrary to their claims, I don't have any friends with one, nor can I afford to rent a car to do so. That and stick is actually becoming less prevalent in the U.S. last I knew, outside of those jobs which are usually synonymous with manual (various forms of truck or other large vehicle operation.)

I'm a nerd. I've been hooking up household entertainment systems for about as long as I can remember.

Haven't had to do an in-depth repair (and maintenance would probably frown upon that in my current apartments) but I do know the ins and outs of it and could do it if necessary.

Can use a map, but I do need a moment to figure out where I am on it, first. It drives me nuts when someone just hands me a map with no notification and says, "Okay, how do we get to X?" Um... where are we, or the nearest off-ramp, and give me two minutes to FIND that location, please. Never used a GPS, but I'm fairly certain I could figure it out given a few minutes.

Never changed oil, I'll admit. Again, given some basic instruction (even written) I could probably figure it out with relative ease.

Uh, yeah. Balancing a checkbook? Not hard. I love playing with numbers and obsessively monitor my money.

I'm all but an 'effin carnivore. Steak is my domain.

The Breaststroke is my preferred stroke, actually. Has been for years.

Yes, I can write effectively, if my average term paper grades are anything to go by. Writing is also among my foremost communication styles, given the amount of time I spend online.

About the time that I was getting ready to leave Alabama, I finally went and updated my wardrobe. The immediate effect was to the extent of the local church girls opining, "Why hasn't he been dressing like that until NOW?" I clean up well.

Buttons, seams, cross-stitching. I'm fairly handy with a needle and thread, although I've not yet picked up knitting.

I taught an ex of mine how to properly wash a bra that has underwire. 'Nuff said.

Can handle roadside emergencies with ease. I may not know the whole shtick about changing air filters or spark plugs, but tires, jams, anything of that sort is no biggie in my book.

Heeheh, fire. *grins* There weren't many lessons I took from cub- and boy-scouts. Survival skills, rope work, and fire-building were among the few, though.

[claidheamhmor]

I wish we had more automatic cars here; in South Africa, they're quite rare, except when you're buying luxury cars (Merc, BMW, etc.) at the top end. As a result, I don't know anyone here who can't drive stick.

[evildmguy.livejournal.com]

I suppose I could do them all but there are a few that I am not great at doing.

edg