4 ms·

A couple of years ago we bought a 50-year-old-house and gutted it. We had professionals do the stuff that required expertise or a lot of time / skills (electri

by gwd 1y ago

A couple of years ago we bought a 50-year-old-house and gutted it. We had professionals do the stuff that required expertise or a lot of time / skills (electricians, plumbers, plasterers, etc), and did most other things ourselves. At some point I'd come in to do something within my remit while the electricians were here. I'd put in earplugs to do some masonry drilling, because I've only got one set of ears and I'd like to be able to hear things when I'm 80. One of the electrician's assistants, probably in his late 20's commented on it, something like, "Got your ear condoms on, huh?" I'm at a stage in my life where I don't really care about that sort of thing, so just blew it off. A few months later, that same guy came in to do the final wiring on something. He'd lost the end of his thumb -- had an accident with some tool or other and cut it off. It's hard for me not to think that his attitude toward earplugs and his accident were related. Nobody deserves to be maimed for life, but we live in a universe which can be pretty unforgiving.

Mtinie 1y ago
Quite possibly. In my experience, the people who make unsolicited comments about others’ risk mitigations have incorrectly learned that safety precautions indicate weakness or inexperience, when experience teaches the opposite. Seasoned professionals know that tools and environments don’t care about your skill level. A tool will injure anyone who doesn’t respect its inherent dangers. The mockery typically comes from those who’ve either been lucky so far or selectively absorbed workplace cultures that prioritize appearing tough over staying whole.
- potato3732842 1y ago
  On the other hand, there's the people who make a big song and dance ritual over putting their eye and ear pro on just to impact off one bolt that'll be maybe a couple clacks of the hammer. It's not realistic to do that for every single transient noise or tap on something, the safety is just performative at that point. I have no problem letting those people and behaviors be ridiculed.
  - Mtinie 1y ago
    If I'm not directly impacted by someones' use of PPE, then that's their business even if I think it is an overreaction or performative. I've injured myself while doing "simple" operations before when a bolt or screw unexpectedly failed, so it may not be as performative as it appears. On the other hand, if I'm working with someone in a professional capacity and they are delaying our work because they are acting in an anxious manner about safety, then I'll take time to talk through why I see their actions as counter-productive and then we can discuss how to be safe and efficient.
  - relaxing 1y ago
    “It was only a couple clacks of the hammer” will be a cold comfort if one of those clacks is the one that sends a fragment of metal into your eye.
ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
Yup. One of my arborist friends was a bit reckless (very, very good, but I thought he took unnecessary risks). Whenever he would see me, he’d hold up his left hand, to show he still had all his fingers, because I’d always tell him he’d lose one. Not sure which of us was in the wrong. He made very good money. I remember some electricians, working on our lighting system, at work. They worked on live (320 Volts) fixtures. Never bothered to kill the circuit breaker. I’ve found that pro tools tend to look pretty scruffy, while amateur tools tend to look shiny.
- closewith 1y ago
  To paraphrase your comment, you're easily impressed by reckless behaviour and mistake it for expertise.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
    Listen, you didn't like the LARP comment, and you're right. I apologize. Let's just bury the hatchet, eh?
- relaxing 1y ago
  320V circuit eh?
  - ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
    That’s what I was told. Apparently, our building had a certain kind of wiring. I was also told it was pretty common. Might not be exactly 320, but it was over 300 (not 240). I'm told it's common in many industrial/office buildings.
    - gavinheavyside 1y ago
      Probably 230v three phase, 230v RMS would be around 330v peak
      - 1y ago

by gwd 1y ago

Mtinie 1y ago

Quite possibly. In my experience, the people who make unsolicited comments about others’ risk mitigations have incorrectly learned that safety precautions indicate weakness or inexperience, when experience teaches the opposite. Seasoned professionals know that tools and environments don’t care about your skill level. A tool will injure anyone who doesn’t respect its inherent dangers. The mockery typically comes from those who’ve either been lucky so far or selectively absorbed workplace cultures that prioritize appearing tough over staying whole.

potato3732842 1y ago
On the other hand, there's the people who make a big song and dance ritual over putting their eye and ear pro on just to impact off one bolt that'll be maybe a couple clacks of the hammer. It's not realistic to do that for every single transient noise or tap on something, the safety is just performative at that point. I have no problem letting those people and behaviors be ridiculed.
- Mtinie 1y ago
  If I'm not directly impacted by someones' use of PPE, then that's their business even if I think it is an overreaction or performative. I've injured myself while doing "simple" operations before when a bolt or screw unexpectedly failed, so it may not be as performative as it appears. On the other hand, if I'm working with someone in a professional capacity and they are delaying our work because they are acting in an anxious manner about safety, then I'll take time to talk through why I see their actions as counter-productive and then we can discuss how to be safe and efficient.
- relaxing 1y ago
  “It was only a couple clacks of the hammer” will be a cold comfort if one of those clacks is the one that sends a fragment of metal into your eye.

ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago

Yup. One of my arborist friends was a bit reckless (very, very good, but I thought he took unnecessary risks). Whenever he would see me, he’d hold up his left hand, to show he still had all his fingers, because I’d always tell him he’d lose one. Not sure which of us was in the wrong. He made very good money. I remember some electricians, working on our lighting system, at work. They worked on live (320 Volts) fixtures. Never bothered to kill the circuit breaker. I’ve found that pro tools tend to look pretty scruffy, while amateur tools tend to look shiny.

closewith 1y ago
To paraphrase your comment, you're easily impressed by reckless behaviour and mistake it for expertise.
- ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
  Listen, you didn't like the LARP comment, and you're right. I apologize. Let's just bury the hatchet, eh?
relaxing 1y ago
320V circuit eh?
- ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
  That’s what I was told. Apparently, our building had a certain kind of wiring. I was also told it was pretty common. Might not be exactly 320, but it was over 300 (not 240). I'm told it's common in many industrial/office buildings.
  - gavinheavyside 1y ago
    Probably 230v three phase, 230v RMS would be around 330v peak
    - 1y ago