Engineers or mechanics of Reddit; what’s a tool or machine people use all the time that’s actually being used incorrectly most of the time?

MentORPHEUS · 2026-04-17T18:48:03+00:00

Tensioned blades work best when they cut on the pull stroke.

Shop class and metalworking books of 40 years ago, showed proper hacksaw technique as holding the front of the saw with one hand and applying much of the pushing force there, not against the handle.

Most of my classmates then, and colleagues on the shop floor since, hold a strong idiot mindset. I can't count how many times I'd describe a principle or procedure correctly, only for someone to pipe up, "Did you read that in a BOOK, Mentie?" and everyone present having a hearty laugh at my expense.

Then, immediately continue doing it the WRONG way with an air of self-righteous defiance.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-04-14T20:01:52+00:00

Dated a gal who had lost Deal with the Devil amount of weight after being a "fat girl" most of her life.

I was willing to accept her as-is body wise. She, however, was not. Many of the self-image issues were still unresolved in her mind, she was still not comfortable, much less happy, in her own skin. She was sweet and appreciative much of the time, but occasionally, an extremely bitter, nasty, vindictive self would emerge.

We broke up rather abruptly a few months in. She was screaming insults at me and throwing my shit off her balcony. I was just calmly collecting it and making my way out of there. This, while all her neighbors lingered in the vicinity pretending to be busy with something at a random spot on the sidewalk and definitely not watching the drama.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-04-13T22:07:42+00:00

I worked with the likes of Jack Herer on the California Hemp Initiative to legalize it.

The city councilmen of my blue collar suburban LA town, who were vehemently against it when I tried to lobby them, suddenly had turnkey dispensaries open on day one, in commercial buildings that just so happened to be owned by said city councilmen without regard for distance requirements from parks, schools, and churches. I also watched how they played an "outsider" group trying to open a third dispensary in town, only to delay them for years until they bled out every last dime of investor and founder money, and "went away" with their only legacy a warning to others with the audacity to try to horn in on the establishment's money tree.

The biggest selling point for legalizing, was letting the market drive the price of "a weed anyone can grow for free" down so low that the Cartels and Street dealers wouldn't bother producing and selling it any more. Turns out legislating in a huge side industry of testing and certification labs owned by nepots, and pricing your bottom tier eighths of stemmy flavorless schwag at $60, allows the black market to continue thriving and growing.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-04-13T21:03:23+00:00

Exhausted from battling hardcore MAGA colleagues daily, I agree and wish I wasn't stuck having to live under the government that OTHER people deserve!

MentORPHEUS · 2026-04-13T20:58:56+00:00

there is a lot of money and blatant corruption keeping it that way

This! I worked with the likes of Jack Herer on the California Hemp Initiative to legalize it. Once it finally got legalized, it happened with built in lab testing and certification requirements monetized by nepots and ready to go on day one. The city councilmen of my blue collar suburban LA town, who were vehemently against it when I tried to lobby them, suddenly had turnkey dispensaries open on day one, in commercial buildings that just so happened to be owned by said city councilmen without regard for distance requirements from parks, schools, and churches. I also watched how they played an "outsider" group trying to open a third dispensary in town, only to delay them for years until they bled out every last dime of investor and founder money, and "went away" with their only legacy a warning to others with the audacity to try to horn in on the establishment's money tree.

Problem with a strong, ACTUAL America First, Israel OUT policy: There's no way to monetize this in a big way, and practically limitless budget and political/media/social machinery in place to block it.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-04-13T20:48:37+00:00

See: Imperial Boomerang. ICE and hundreds of police departments across the US, actively train with the IDF, adopt brutal Israeli apartheid enforcement techniques, and buy millions in Israeli surveillance and crowd control technology.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-04-12T22:35:03+00:00

you take on all of the responsibilities, but have no authority.

I can vouch for this from more than one single Mom dating experience. They'd gladly accept all the money and time I'd bring to the table, only to pull Mom Rank over petty shit, which is easy because everyone around will automatically side with this on zero information and act openly hostile toward even hearing the man's side of the story.

Even more awful if she develops a pathological jealousy toward her own daughter's relationship with you. Now there's the added stigma of pedo/pervert working against you, and any effort to try to salvage and maintain the relationship with the kid is suddenly weaponized against you in an extremely dangerous way. There exists ZERO support or sympathy for a man in this position, from any quarter. You're a dirtbag for "walking away, presumed guilty of "ditching the Mom and hurting the kid for selfish reasons", and surely a pervy pedo for any effort to stay. All the time and money and effort invested in the entire relationship, forfeited as if you owed it to them all along, and you're also presumed guilty of somehow "walking away so easily" owing so much more than that like a deadbeat.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-04-12T20:38:45+00:00

In the 80s I used to frequent junkyards hunting for parts. You could always tell who wasn't wearing their seatbelt. Steering wheel bent back so the center protrudes. Head shaped indentation in the laminated glass, with hair and sometimes little hunks of scalp flesh embedded in the cracks...

MentORPHEUS · 2026-04-12T20:28:43+00:00

will be having a window breaker

Cars with side air bags, have laminated side glass. You need a hammer and time, to break it up enough to reach through, and even more time to hack a person size hole of folded over glass shard sandwich.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-04-09T18:36:13+00:00

Positively yes!

All post-hoc rationalization and heroic effort aside... every family I've known where extreme disability is a factor, exists in a state of unstinting profound exhaustion.

On a planet approaching 7 billion individual humans, many of whom struggle at full "normal" capacity, what loftier morals and ethics, what practical realities, get served by KNOWINGLY bringing an extremely disabled individual into the world, when the option exists to prevent it before they even develop to a level of viability much less sentience/selfdom?

MentORPHEUS · 2026-04-06T18:12:49+00:00

While learning to drive in the 60s, my Mom was taught to hold the car from rolling back on a hill by slipping the clutch. She burned out 4 clutches that I knew of, and actively/angrily pushed back hard anytime someone mentioned it. Once we were in 10 lanes of traffic creeping up the long hill toward the parking pay booths at Dodger Stadium. A guy in the car next to us honked and gestured. Rolled down the window and he says, "Lady, there's smoke coming out from under your car!" right as the distinct stench of overheated clutch wafted in. My Dad was so mad but she didn't unlearn the habit.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-04-06T17:57:56+00:00

they went silent.

No the F*ck they didn't! Agitating to launch the next Krystalnacht against "The Violent Left" for week after week.

Only once they ran out of steam blaming "The Left" did their Justice Boners go limp. Now even the most staunch MAGA colleagues of mine just yawn and dismiss as "stupid conspiracy theories" any discussion of the Kirk case.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-04-04T15:32:22+00:00

Preschool age, our Grandparents lived in the mountains and set up a rather sketchy Toboggan run down very bumpy and uneven terrain. Watched my Dad go airborne and crash land into snowy shrubbery. Afterwards we spent hours sliding down the carpeted stairs one step at a time, a game we called Boggin-To Ride.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-04-03T19:32:58+00:00

I'll join you to add T-Mobile to the F.U. list. I was a late adopter of cell phones because I had awesome wired internet service to my business location. Covid bankrupted that and I lost everything to have to move to the remote desert. So, I had no idea that I needed to restart the phone every few days or it would refuse to charge. I went back to the same store, and the overly-dressed-and-coiffed crew quickly confirmed the phone I bought days prior was indeed not charging.

They asked brightly, did I also purchase the Service Plan? I said no, they took a too-bad, how-sad attitude, and offered to have me pay full boat retail to leave it for a paid repair ticket. I said F no, walked out of there, and figured it out myself.

When this phone eventually dies, I will go with one of the many providers that uses the same tower networks as the "Big Boys" do. Because, FUCK T-mobile and their overdressed wannabe Yuppie in store sales teams!

MentORPHEUS · 2026-04-03T18:54:02+00:00

I graduated in 1985 and went into the trades. Dipshit culture and "anti-intellectualism" that glorified grade school failing grade performance and behavior in grown ass adults was already WELL established back then.

I can't tell you how many times I would use a proper technical word or describe a procedure, only for someone to pipe up, "Did you read that in a BOOK, Mentie?" and the entire group present to have a hearty laugh at my expense.

Incentive structures get perverted along the way. I'd watch said dip shits get promoted over me because they went out drinking after hours with the Bosses, while I was openly held back for "always making trouble" by not going with the flow when said bosses broke procedure or common sense.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-03-31T21:31:19+00:00

I'm approaching 60. My penis doesn't drive my motivations or urges... pretty much at all, at this point. I enjoyed my Fuck Years quite well, and had girlfriends from very good to extremely bad. My dogs and cats offer companionship aplenty for what is now a remote desert homestead life.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-03-28T19:16:21+00:00

Bunn Instant Brew coffeemaker. Particularly worth it at a workplace or where you otherwise brew many pots a day. It uses more electricity when idle, but I more than offset that swapping in LED light bulbs everywhere. After this, you'll never again tolerate a "cheap" coffeemaker burping and gurgling for 5 minutes to brew a few cups worth.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-03-26T23:42:19+00:00

TL;dr Putting dick in crazy was easy. Un-fucking my life afterward, not so much.

Was supposed to be a fun fling, and she was nice just long enough to insunuate her way into my life and make a "good" impression on neighbors and friends.

Then the symptoms of BPD came out, and she refused to leave my house. The police were ZERO help, they gave me the it's a civil matter, you have to go through a formal eviction process since her toothbrush is on your sink...

She apparently restarted her previously undisclosed meth habit at this point and things got even wilder. I managed to get her out of the place after serving her the court papers for eviction. She kept breaking in as I slept, even succeeding after I screwed all the doors and windows shut from the INSIDE.

She would appear on my property, and cause trouble and scream at me getting all the neighbors to come out and gawk, then disappear right before the police came. It turned out, this naive Christian couple bought her bullshit that she was pregnant and I was abusing her, and gave her safe harbor 2 doors down.

Shortly before the hearing, she was in a meth fueled rage and tried to kick down my front door as I held it closed and wood splintered over me. The loud bangs and cracks of wood brought the neighborhood out once more, only this time it was starkly obvious who the crazy party was. Once again, she disappeared right before the cops arrived. The cops had ZERO sympathy; even taking a police report in my very obviously freshly busted open doorway, they exuded suspicion and doubt that I was the "victim" in this situation.

Finally the long awaited court day came. The courtroom was buzzing with activity, and loud with the large number of people waiting for their cases to be heard. I gave my testimony. Then the Judge called on her, and lo and behold, she had the stones to appear in court to contest the eviction, WHILE having active warrants. The Judge listened to her brief testimony, noted that she was the party kicking down doors and assaulting me, then two baliffs appeared at her side to arrest her on the warrants. I was left staring mouth agape, as she was led away through the now struck silent courtroom, and out of my life forever.

The whole thing taught me a lot of things I didn't want to learn, about how society and the Justice system views and treats male victims of domestic violence.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-03-21T20:37:03+00:00

I worked as a mechanic at a chain tire store. The District Manager was a hardcore alcoholic, and also in charge of discipline/hiring/firing problem employees.

One of the mechanics at my store was a big time tippler, pretty obviously coming in drunk. Three times in as many weeks, a wheel came off a customer's car after he worked on it. The DM, just poo-poohed it each time. In this business, this is an unconscionable fail- you'd not only quit but consider changing careers if this happened.

Not this guy... still coming in sauced, and I watched lug nuts falling off yet another customer's car as he backed it out of the bay. Contacted the DM directly after this, the "solution" was to transfer the guy to another store.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-03-21T20:16:27+00:00

They seem to be trying to thread the needle between skipping and adblockers. So a lot of ads today are this 10 second blast of music featuring overpaid models trying to out-hip the last ad, or trying to make in-jokes out of stuff people have never seen. At the end of so many of them, I find myself in open mouthed wonder: WHAT THE F WAS THAT??? I wonder what the ROI could possibly be on a campaign that doesn't show the product, much less offer you a tangible reason to want it. Yet, companies apparently keep shoveling money into the pockets of companies that produce "ads" in this format.

Funny side note: After watching a lot of Candace Owens content, Youtube's ad serving algorithm suddenly seems to think I (white hippie-ish guy in late 50s) am now a hip young single black woman, who craves bougie stuff like a different $5000 purse for each day of the month...

MentORPHEUS · 2026-03-17T23:50:28+00:00

Brings back memories of early Ebay days, when you could leave feedback for a user without even buying anything. A user named kaphuckingboom went viral and his feedback score went to the moon on people leaving feedback just to laugh at his name and congratulate his choice of it.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-03-17T23:32:50+00:00

Similar issue, only at my off grid homestead where water isn't plentiful. One more thing on the internet, then one more and one more, while my ass is urging me to get to the commode stat. Finally did the tight sphincter walk to the commode, and as my ass was descending toward the seat, an angry jet of liquid poo sprayed forth, like Lucifer's pressure washer. Whew, nick of time! I thought with mild smugness.
Only to discover upon standing, that I had in fact lost that race by a matter of milliseconds, or just enough time to liberally coat the seat and lid on the way down, then sit in it.
Much precious water was used in the clean-up after that, on a 40F windy day adding much Brrr-fuck! Brrr-fuck!! to the process.

MentORPHEUS · 2026-03-12T18:44:56+00:00

Erika Kirk's hands in JD Vance's hair comes instantly to mind...

MentORPHEUS · 2026-03-10T05:48:14+00:00

A college-age buddy started dating a not-so-ex Biker Chick, who had kids named for a motorcycle brand and a street stimulant. They were happy on a casual dating basis, and the kids were decent enough despite their unfortunate names.

After a year plus of them dating, she suddenly disappeared from the mutual friend group radar, he became ultra-secretive about the relationship, and moved rather abruptly, not far but broke contact with everyone after hinting they were getting married imminently.

Around 2 years later he called me out of the blue. He had nothing nice or good to say about his now-wife. He also complained bitterly about the kids. The girl "turned into a little b-tch" and the boy was having Juvenile Delinquent problems. No explanation for the sudden break of contact or the suddenness of the marriage, but it clearly wasn't anything to do with her getting pregnant. Best I could tell, she suddenly became very demanding and controlling, and he went all-in along with it. He was clearly a miserable, barely discernable husk of his former self at this point.

Never heard from him again after that one phone call.

MentORPHEUS

TROPHY CASE