"Useless" Boomer Skills

[Brad Johnson]

I remember it had a spark advance/retard and another lever for something (idle?) on the steering column

Hand throttle.

Brad

[K Frame]

The last car I had with a switch on the floorboards was my 1977 Ford Maverick. The high beam switch was operated with the left foot.

[WLJ]

How about some of the early 80s Fords where you sounded the horn by pushing in the turn signal stalk

[gunsmith]

I miss the Thomas map books.

oh man, those were great, I think I am going to start looking for them online ... I never use my phone-every time I do I end up screaming at it.
If I am going to go someplace I never been, I will look for maps. Modern maps are terrible.

[Kingcreek]

* I actually started with a '29 Ford pickup which we stored out on Long Island and I could drive it around the property.  I remember it had a spark advance/retard and another lever for something (idle?) on the steering column but I don't remember the shifting gear positions. That one was crank-started and had a gravity fuel feed. I don't think they were called "pickups" then, something like "station" trucks or whatev.

Talk about your pre pre pre boomer useless skills!

Are you sure about the year? That sounds more like a model T which ended early 1927. (I had a late model T April 1927) Maybe a truck or Depot Hack. The Model A first year edition was 1928 and didn't have a spark adv or mounted crank start (had a socket and cover for one) but had a hand throttle linked to the foot throttle. The shifting on the T was actually the left side foot pedal, down for low and up/off for high UNLESS the handbreak was halfway back which let it into neutral when the pedal was released. My memory is challenged but middle pedal might have been reverse and right brakes.

[230RN]

Are you sure about the year? That sounds more like a model T which ended early 1927. (I had a late model T April 1927) Maybe a truck or Depot Hack. The Model A first year edition was 1928 and didn't have a spark adv or mounted crank start (had a socket and cover for one) but had a hand throttle linked to the foot throttle. The shifting on the T was actually the left side foot pedal, down for low and up/off for high UNLESS the handbreak was halfway back which let it into neutral when the pedal was released. My memory is challenged but middle pedal might have been reverse and right brakes.

Maybe that'sa how come I can't remeber how the shifting worked.

I can't guarantee any of the details, this was in about ~1950 and I was 10 or 11 years old.  The "1929" is stuck in my head.  My father used the truck in his plumbing business and it kind of hung around out on "The Island" for decades until my mother insisted it was an eyesore. I have a sidewise picture of the front end of it in about ~1942.  The picture is of my sister holding me as a baby and the truck just partially shows up, not much detail.  I do remember that somehow I started a small brush fire with it on the LI (Long Island) property, but we quickly put it out.  It definitely had a crank on it, my father showed me how to "set" the handle before kicking it over, but it sure was hard for this little twerp to start it, and Pop got worried I would break an arm, so he did it.

[French G.]

Jump starting a vehicle is a sure one. Did this several times lately. The younger set doesn't really know how this works. Like once I get it started don't turn your car back off immediately. Like don't turn it off at all until you are safely home.

[MechAg94]

One comment I heard yesterday on another show talked about home ownership.  Once you own a home, you realize pretty fast that anytime you have to bring someone in to do something, it costs significant money.  So anything you can do yourself is money in your pocket.  Whether it is a sheetrock patch, installing a dishwasher, etc.. 
I guess the same thing can be said for car ownership. 

Perhaps part of the problem is too many people see these things as a black box they can't touch without a professional.  Professionals have their place, but there are a lot of small repairs that come up that don't take a lot of skill to do, but would end up costing a lot calling someone in.

[MillCreek]

oh man, those were great, I think I am going to start looking for them online ... I never use my phone-every time I do I end up screaming at it.
If I am going to go someplace I never been, I will look for maps. Modern maps are terrible.

The Thomas Guide company now only publishes a map book for LA and Orange County.  As an alternative, I now carry in the truck the DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteer for Washington. It is better than nothing, but if anyone knows of another paper alternative, please let me know.

[Kingcreek]

One comment I heard yesterday on another show talked about home ownership.  Once you own a home, you realize pretty fast that anytime you have to bring someone in to do something, it costs significant money.  So anything you can do yourself is money in your pocket.  Whether it is a sheetrock patch, installing a dishwasher, etc.. 
I guess the same thing can be said for car ownership. 

Perhaps part of the problem is too many people see these things as a black box they can't touch without a professional.  Professionals have their place, but there are a lot of small repairs that come up that don't take a lot of skill to do, but would end up costing a lot calling someone in.

Totally agree!
Call an electrician to change a light fixture or an outlet. $$$
Or a plumber to change a toilet valve.
I have a brother in law that pays an HVAC guy to change his air filters.

[WLJ]

How about doing math in your head or even on paper anymore?

Yeah I know, paper? What's that?

[WLJ]

I have a brother in law that pays an HVAC guy to change his air filters.

There's just something majorly wrong with that IMHO and I don't care how much money he may have.

[K Frame]

There are very few things that I won't tackle in a home.

HVAC since I have a heat pump is one of them.

Replacing a dishwasher or water heater? Done that multiple times.

Replacing a roof? Done that.

Replacing windows? Done that.

Installing various types of flooring? Done that.

Electrical? Depending on what needs to be done, I'll do that, as well.

That said, I'm more willing to pay for stuff now that I'm older. I paid for a new roof a few years ago. I paid for new siding. I paid for new windows. Those are things that I have the skill to do, but I no longer have the time, and worse, now that I'm older, I no longer have the stamina.

[Brad Johnson]

I've not found anything short of a few very specialized issues that I can't do myself better and cheaper. In the past I was loath to pay for services, either for financial reasons or the pride of doing it myself. Now we're at a place where we can afford to enjoy a few fruits of our labors, so we do. There are still a few things I refuse to hire out, but more and more we're hiring it done simply because I don't want to mess with it.

Brad

[French G.]

Yeah, I grew up in a shop,  fixing things from age 6 to present.  I typically loathe working on road vehicles but when you see what dealers are charging for simple work that's why I'm doing brake jobs in an unheated garage.

[Cliffh]

I don't have a lot of time to work on the house, and my body's starting to rebel against doing a lot of things, so I end up hiring folks to do some of the work around here.

Which pisses me off for a couple reasons:
 1) I don't like spending my hard earned money for someone to do something I could have done

 2) I typically end up doing some of the work myself.  Seems like none of the companies I can find around here (with one exception*) just can't or won't do quality work.  They normally show up while I'm at work, by the time I get to inspect their work they've been paid and won't return my calls.  So, I end up finishing the job.

*The company that installed the new HVAC unit was/is fantastic.  There was only one problem after they installed the new, larger (5 ton vs the old 4 ton) - the higher pressure of the new system blew the crossover line off one end.  They came out the day we had the problem, diagnosed and repaired it at no charge.

As far as using a map, I taught map reading/navigation in high school (Cadet Corps). Learned driving in a '60 F100 w/3 on the tree, dirt roads going to the dump, later working on a ranch.  Still trying to learn Google maps - too much to do while driving.  I'd rather print out the route and look for exits/landmarks.

[RoadKingLarry]

Totally agree!
Call an electrician to change a light fixture or an outlet. $$$
Or a plumber to change a toilet valve.
I have a brother in law that pays an HVAC guy to change his air filters.

My maternal grandfather remarried after grandma died.
He married a psychologist.
She would hire an electrician to  change burned out light bulbs.

[HankB]

I have normally been able to find my way to a place I have been before.  I didn't always memorize street names, more of a visual memory.  I guess if you are not paying attention to all the details it doesn't stick in the memory quite the same.

That can be a problem.

True story.

I was visiting family in Chicago, and driving to a cousin's with my mother in the front seat and her sister - my aunt, of course - in back. Auntie was giving me directions. At one point, she said "Turn left by that red building."

I don't see a red building.

Auntie leans over the seat and points "Right there, that red building!"

I still don't see a red building. Auntie slaps the back of my head. This goes through a couple of cycles, Auntie gets louder, the slaps get harder.

Finally, I said "Auntie, I'm sorry, I don't see a red building, you just keep pointing to a green building over there."

A moment of silence . . . "WELL, IT USED TO BE RED! (SLAP!)"     

[AmbulanceDriver]

I miss the Thomas map books.

Ye gods and little fishies, I don't.

I don't at all miss squinting at the map to find the 1/4 inch section of tiny road off the 1/2 inch section of not quite so tiny street at oh-dark-thirty while my partner is driving like a bat out of hell and most of the illumination is coming as reflection from the strobes off the buildings we're driving past.   The map lights in our rigs were garbage, either way too bright and affected our ability to see outside, or so dim as to be useless.

[JTHunter]

Before we moved away from my grandparents, my Grandfather used to take me out on the back roads near town and sit me on his lap behind the steering wheel.  I was between 5 & 9 y.o. and couldn't reach the pedals, he just let me steer.  These roads were two lanes and narrow (circa 1960) but he taught me how to drive that way,
The car was a dark green with both the front and rear windshields (IIRC) having vertical splits with chrome strips covering the seams and I'm guessing at least 10 years old (circa 1950).

[lee n. field]

Original equipment on those had a floor button to the right of the gas pedal for the mechanical linkage for the starter.

Very well could be that.   I could very well be misremembering.  That great uncle died in the mid-'60s.  Dad had the truck for a while, then got something more modern and sold the older truck to a neighbor kid.  He kept using it.  Last seen, I dunno, '90s some time.

[K Frame]

Here in Metro Washington, DC, the big one was the ADC map book.

It was good. Good scale, good idex, was relatively easy to read, but it just could never come even remotely close to keeping up with the building that was going on around here.

I used to have one for DC, then I had one for Northern Virginia when I moved here. No clue when I got rid of the last one.

[MillCreek]

Ye gods and little fishies, I don't.

I don't at all miss squinting at the map to find the 1/4 inch section of tiny road off the 1/2 inch section of not quite so tiny street at oh-dark-thirty while my partner is driving like a bat out of hell and most of the illumination is coming as reflection from the strobes off the buildings we're driving past.   The map lights in our rigs were garbage, either way too bright and affected our ability to see outside, or so dim as to be useless.

I feel your pain.  Because of my relative youth when I started the EMT and then paramedic thing, the insurance company did not want me driving the rig unless absolutely necessary.  So I got to be the navigator and primary patient care.  I always wondered why the insurance company did not have a problem with that.