Confession: Dumbest thing I have done in a while
 

I was swapping out batteries in the Dodge truck prior to trading it. I put the ground lead onto the positive terminal and FRIED my alternator. I'm a genius. :rolleyes:

It amazes that I can wire a whole engine management system but f_ck up something this simple.

I always fear I will do that. When ever I am jumping or putting a battery in I always just stop and stare at it all for a good 10 seconds before I make a move.

I can guarantee that is the last time you do that.

The saying is, "familiarity breeds contempt".

Typically this refers to people, but it can also relate to a job. The more familiar we are with a task, the less likely we are to respect it or have our minds on it.

Ruined a good pair of side-cutters removing a 110v line I thought was 'safe'.

Worst of it was, moments after the sparks from the arc dropped down into a pile of hay and chaff, my wife comes to the door, calling out in panic to her stupid husband she thought had just electrocuted himself, while I'm trying to get the combustable materials out of the barn.

Now I just pull the darn fuse.

Les

A couple months ago I was fiddling with the dome light in my split-window bug. The dome light on these is just above the rear window, and while I'm fussing with it, I'm thinking "I can't see this very well, I should put a shoplight in here." I finally get it out, and I start smelling a horrible electrical smoke smell. Hmm, that's weird! Turns out I was shorting out the battery with the rear seat springs!

BTDT. :)

Too true...the list of dumb things I am responsible for is as eclectic as it is hefty.

...it gets better. So I get a new alternator and swap it out in the parking lot. Still no charge. I forgot about checking the fuse link to the alternator!!! Blown.

I SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO TOUCH A CAR EVER EVER AGAIN.

Atleast I can get my $170 back for the alternator. :rolleyes:

Waiting in anticipation for Johnco's response...:)

He'll reply as soon as he's discharged from the emergency room.;)

You aren't alone. For a long time I could never remember how the twin battery set up on my camper was wired (black is + and white is -), and i screwed that up more than once, so I finally put some duck tape on the inside of the battery box lids and wrote down the colors....

Admitting you have a problem is the first step. :p:D

My hot tub is connected to my pool, so I set the timer..want tub ready, alas I forgot to switch flow...so end of August it's 90 degrees, and I come home to steam rising...from the pool..
took a week before normal temps returned.
Rika

I thought you were gona admit that you went to San Franciscoooo.

Hooking up a 220V baseboard heater (yep, already sounds bad)

Check the breaker, check the wire with a line tester: No juice. Start to pull the wires through the heater side, LIGHTSHOW, sparks, noise, smoke, uncontrolled welding

Wrong breaker, line tester was bad.

We should get this merged with the "admit to your stupidity thread".

I am weighing in because tonight I got the car jacked up for an engine drop (911) and was draining the oil. While letting the oil trickle, I fiddled with the jackstands a bit. Got one cocked, tried to save it, unbalanced the other one, boom, house of cards, down it comes, slam. Nice hot oil absolutely everywhere. Lots of cursing ensued.

Landscaping crew at the end of the driveway were taking it all in and enjoying immensely.

Been there, nice town, a$$ still hurts. :D

You're welcome, sailor...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1190946310.jpg

Years ago my first real automotive task was changing a themostat in a e30 BMW. I followed the instructions exactly as described in the Haynes manual (no that wasnt the stupid part) The replacement went fine and I went on to the next step, bleeding the system. I had the window open on the car so I could listen to the radio so I just reached in to start the car. The car immeditatly leaps forward hitting my Klien Mountain bike causing the the bike to come down on the open hood (e30s hoods fold forward) The end result was a smashed bike frame, broken crank arm, and badly dented hood. I should also add that I never ever park any manual car with just the parking break holding it, I always have the car in gear.

I did that with my 911E. My lame excuse was that the terminals were opposite of what they were on the old battery.

Years ago when I was dumber and reckless, a few friends of mine and I decided it was a great idea to smoke ourselves into a stupor. This was weekly "tradition" with the group but this one instance happened to be special. I found some sort of alcoholic unnamed liquid in the freezer a while back and thought it would make a great bong water replacement. Fast forward an hour later, we are all stoned out of our minds stupid. A dare was issued for the guy sitting next to me to drink the alcoholic bong liquid. After some heckling he does and promptly spits it out all over himself while tipping the bong liquid all over himself. We're all laughing hysterically and I start to ponder if it would catch on fire. Between fits of laughter I reach over and flick my lighter on his pants. YES it DOES catch on fire! We are all dying of laughter as he tries to slap his cratch to snuff the fire. He runs outside and takes his pants off and lets them burn.

The next day I decided to stop smoking weed for fear of burning my friends.

Ahh the good ol days!

Stabbed the palm of my hand with a thin flat blade Craftsman screwdriver.

I ran out of gas yesterday during rush hour traffic. In anticipation of an oil change this weekend, I had been running a bottle of Techron, so I wanted to get the tank as low as possible. I noticed when the low fuel light flickered on, calculated the number of miles I had left in the tank, tried shortshifting my way through city traffic, etc.

I was an intersection away from the gas station, when (stupid red lights--I hit them all on the way there) the motor died. Coasted to a stop at the side of the road. I waited a few minutes, and tried restarting the car when the traffic light was green. Thank God for fuel accumulators. The motor roared to life, and I zipped across the intersection and into the gas station.

Noah, you are a lucky soul.

Today I had some plain yogurt that I added fresh blueberries and a crumbled granola bar to. I thought it was a bit tart so I sprinkled a little sugar on it (just a pinch) and it woke it right up.

A few hours later I am getting ready for my dinner and the yogurt is to be used for a Lebanese cucumber yogurt to go on a kibee burger. The yogurt went out of date a month ago.:rolleyes:

You revived a four year old thread to tell us that??

What am I missing??

Reviving a four year old thread is a lot dumber than anything I have done in a long time...

Blow me, *******.SmileWavy

Did that expired yogurt give you a bad trip, mushroom style?

I'm being serious when I ask how and why this thread was revived to tell us about food?

I'm a little worried

It's the Facebook/Twitter effect: Contributing something mundane in minutia for the sake of contributing. I'm guilty as well.

Isn't yogurt already "bad"? Isn't that the point of yogurt?

;)

:D

Doooood! You would be so famous on youtube if you had video of that!

I cut a chunk out of my leg with a circular saw that had a sticky blade guard, peppy ate some bad yogurt. Same same. :D

Wouldn't this be a five year old thread, it being July of 2012 and all?

Wow. So in 5 years only two people on PPOT have done anything stupid?

OK, so I'll add: Some time in the last few years I was working on the fuse panel in the front trunk of the 911. I put the hood down but hadn't latched it all the way down (though forgot about that) when I decided to take the car around the block for a test drive. As I turned onto the main road and puttered up to about 10 mph, air caught under the hood and lifted it right up. Suddenly I was driving looking through the crack between the cowl and bottom edge of the hood.

I cooked my leg on the BBQ grill on Memorial Day. That was pretty stupid...

There is not enough bandwidth here for the list of dumb stuff I have done or will do in the future

I'm glad this thread got resurrected! I never knew where the term "cratch slappin' "started, now I know!

Thanks, peppy!

I confess, in the past couple of years I was putting down a sub-floor with deck screws.
Up against the wall, it was a bit awkward and I was in a hurry, so when the screw deflected out of my grip, the Robertson tip went into my finger at the first joint.

Lots of blood and cursing. :eek:

When it healed, there was a new chunk of gristle inside the joint.

Darn!
Les

Nope..... Not here, look up a thread were someone was asking about new things to try in the bedroom. ;)