14 November 2008

100 Skills Every Man Should Know

on http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-life/bigger-picture/articlepm.aspx?cp-documentid=11258170&GT1=32001

Found this on the net this morning.

Automotive

1. Handle a blowout.............I can change a flat tire
2. Drive in snow................can do
3. Check trouble codes..........don't know what this means
4. Replace fan belt.............what the guys at Jiffy Lube do for you before its too late
5. Wax a car....................I'm a master
6. Conquer an off-road obstacle.fairly good unless its my truck
7. Use a stick welder...........does soldering count?
8. Hitch up a trailer...........don't know, nor do I particularly care
9. Jump-start a car.............check

Emergencies

10. Perform the Heimlich........can do in theory
11. Reverse hypothermia.........check
12. Perform hands-only CPR......I took a CPR. I can rescucitate a plastic dummy like a champ.
13. Escape a sinking car........if its do or die I can do

Home

14. Carve a turkey...................I'm a biologist. It's my job
15. Use a sewing machine.............sort of. Someone else had to load the thread first
16. Put out a fire...................Every male on the planet can do this
17. Home-brew beer...................in theory (I've never drunk or made beer though)
18. Remove bloodstains from fabric...check
19. Move heavy stuff.................check
20. Grow food........................check
21. Read an electric meter...........The goal, see, is to make sure the little wheel is spinning as slow as possible
22. Shovel the right way.............check
23. Solder wire......................done it
24. Tape drywall.....................(why would you want to put tape on drywall?)
25. Split firewood...................did it when I was little
26. Replace a faucet washer..........sort of
27. Mix concrete.....................I'm sure I can figure it out
28. Paint a straight line............check
29. Use a French knife...............don't know what a French knife is, but I'm sure I can use it
30. Prune bushes and small trees.....check
31. Iron a shirt.....................check
32. Fix a toilet tank flapper........This I can do
33. Change a single-pole switch......This too34. Fell a tree......................I used to work at a saw mill
35. Replace a broken windowpane......never done, but surely this is fairly easy
36. Set up a ladder, safely..........check
37. Fix a faucet cartridge...........check
38. Sweat copper tubing..............don't know what this means
39. Change a diaper..................Here we have a prblem. I've never done this, and though still single, the very thought
frightens me
40. Grill with charcoal..............check
41. Sew a button on a shirt..........do this quite frequently
42. Fold a flag......................check
Medical
43. Treat frostbite.........in theory
44. Treat a burn............working in a chemistry has given me experience treating many (far too many) burns
45. Help a seizure victim...would have to study up on this
46. Treat a snakebite.......check
47. Remove a tick...........check

Military Know-How

48. Shine shoes.......................pretty good at this
49. Make a drum-tight bed.............check
50. Drop and give the perfect pushup..check

Outdoors

51. Run rapids in a canoe..................more problems
52. Hang food in the wild..................I've actually done this numerous times
53. Skipper a boat.........................boats and I are not the best of friends
54. Shoot straight.........................I'm a good shot with a rifle
55. Tackle steep drops on a mountain bike..check
56. Escape a rip current...................like I said, water sports are not my cup of tea

Survival

57. Build a fire in the wilderness.........this I can do in my sleep
58. Build a shelter........................done it
59. Find potable water.....................done it too

Surviving Extremes

60. Floods.................this is a requirement for living on the East Coast
61. Tornados...............stop, drop, and roll into the nearest ditch and pray to God quickly
62. Cold...................I spent a month trekking in the Himalayas
63. Heat...................check
64. Lightning..............check

Teach Your Kids

65. Cast a line.........check
66. Lend a hand.........check
67. Change a tire.......check
68. Throw a spiral......check
69. Fly a stunt kite....check
70. Drive a stick shift.sort of, in an emergency. Once I'm in 4th gear, I'm not slowing down for anybody
71. Parallel park.......a reqirement for my drivers license
72. Tie a bowline.......check
73. Tie a necktie.......check
74. Whittle.............I'm from West Virginia, what do you think?
75. Ride a bike.........check

Technology

76. Install a graphics card.........check
77. Take the perfect portrait.......check
78. Calibrate HDTV settings.........don't own a TV
79. Shoot a home movie..............check
80. Ditch your hard drive...........check

Master These Key Workshop Tools

81. Drill driver.........check
82. Grease gun...........check
83. Coolant hydrometer...check
84. Socket wrench........check
85. Test light...........check
86. Brick trowel.........never done it, yet
87. Framing hammer.......check
88. Wood chisel..........check
89. Spade bit............check
90. Circular saw.........check
91. Sledge hammer........check
92. Hacksaw..............check
93. Torque wrench........check
94. Air wrench...........check
95. Infrared thermometer.we play with these at work
96. Sand blaster.........check
97. Crosscut saw.........check
98. Hand plane...........check
99. Multimeter...........check
100. Feeler gauges.......don't know what this is, surely it comes with a manual

Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.

1 comment:

Peter Brown said...

I appear to be only half a man. The one who lives inside. Most all of these that left the inside and didn't deal with fire, I bombed on.

Hypothermia? Get warm I guess (they're a goner)