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100 Skills Everyone Should Have

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Angel_1756, Mar 7, 2012.

  1. downndirty

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    Can anyone provide suggestions on how to do these three things in particular?

    Focus:
    101. Find and flip the breaker in any house/apartment in the dark.
    102. Oil a gun that doesn't result in a greasy mess anytime someone pics it up. Seriously, it's going in a holster, not your asshole.
    103. Wear a white, dress shirt for an an entire ceremony and meal without it looking like you slept in it afterwards.
    104. Winter-proof or mothball a car/motorcycle and reverse the process 3-6 months later.
    105. Cook on iron pans and a wood stove without fucking them both up
    106. Go from the woods to a wedding in less than 20 minutes
     
  2. RCGT

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    I'm pretty sure it's two n's. Maness just sounds like a female man. Like a lioness. Or Justin Bieber.
     
  3. Stealth

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    On a modern car?

    Good luck with that.
     
  4. jordan_paul

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    Removing the fan shroud makes it 10 times easier on these "modern cars."
     
  5. Ton80

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    I love these threads. We do this twice a year between TIB and RMMB, and it usually takes about two pages before it devolves into a cluster fuck of retardery.

    "You MUST eat steak or bacon once a day"
    "You MUST NOT drive a car with anything less than eight cylinders."

    Both of those were actually posted in one of these threads a while back. Both by someone who was less than 25 years old.

    1. Don't be a dick.
    2. Take care of the people you love.
    3. Everything else matters for fuck-all.

    I have no earthly idea how to clean and oil a gun, change a fan belt, or kill and field strip a deer with only a knife and a piece of string, but I provide and care for my family. I think I'm winning.
     
  6. ASL

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    Lets go with timing belt instead of fan belt. Lots of new cars have electric motors directly driving the fan.
    Or, don't be a pussy and threaten your car with violence if it over heats. Continue driving.
     
  7. shabamon

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    Properly open a bottle of champagne. Bonus points for doing it using the knife or champagne glass tricks.

    I've got about 30 of the things on the list on lock, with another five to ten I've done before but needed to read the tutorials on PM to remember. I feel like an Eagle Scout would know at least 70 items and anyone with extensive military background to know around 85.
     
  8. katokoch

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    I was looking through the list yesterday and it's funny how many of those skills I acquired while a Boy Scout (and I do have the Eagle Scout badge). Otherwise I credit much of the rest to my dad, who was raised on a farm with a very self-reliant mindset and taught me and my brother a whole lot about being a handyman.
     
  9. lhprop1

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    That's a very important skill where I live, especially when I spend 3-4 months of the year driving on lakes.

    Rule #1: No ice is ever safe. Drive on it assuming that you are about to go down.
    Rule #2: Seatbelts off
    Rule #3: Windows down
    Rule #4: Put your wallet, phone and firearm in your pocket and have any valuables you want to try and rescue readily available in the event you have a chance to save them.

    Once you break through, you usually have between 30 and 90 seconds to evacuate.

    Another good skill to have is how to survive after falling through the ice on foot. This is something I practice and prepare for.
     
  10. silway

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    Holy shit, where do you live that this is such a common issue? Around here "driving on ice" means water frozen to a road, not a body of water.
     
  11. Trakiel

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    Call me Caitlyn. Got any cake?

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    He lives in Minnesota, where if the authorities learn that you don't engage in ice fishing they sieze your possessions and kick you out of the state.
     
  12. lhprop1

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    Trakiel is right. I live in Minnesota, where the lakes are generally frozen from December until late March. During the winter months, I have a house that I keep on the lake. I drive on the lake to get to the house and could live out there indefinitely, only making trips off the lake to restock food, beer, propane, and bait.
     
  13. Danger Boy

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    I don't even ice fish (maybe once a year to make the authorities happy) and I know those skills.
    My favorite thing is bringing someone out on the lake who has never been in a vehicle on the ice before. They act like they're in an elevator with one strand left in the cable.
     
  14. lhprop1

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    It's funny as hell to bring a new person onto the ice. Before we do, we always tell them that if they hear the ice crack, they have to lay on their stomach and spread out to disperse the weight. When that first boomer hits, they drop like rocks and lie flat on their faces while we all have a good laugh.
     
  15. jordan_paul

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    What turns the alternator, ac compressor, power steering pump and water pump?

    And the proper term is serpentine belt, which dosen't have anything to do with engine timing at all. If you can change the timing belt you're mechanical skill set is in the top 90% of home mechanics.
     
  16. ODEN

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    I haven't seen the following yet:

    1. How to hunt
    2. How to butcher your kill and game animals in general
     
  17. mad5427

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    The outdoor ones are a little ridiculous except for hanging food.

    Learn how to read a map. A skill that's becoming less necessary with GPS as prevalent as it is, but it is still a good skill to have. If you are going to be in an area for any level of time, look at a map for awhile and get a lay of the land. It'll allow you to not be a slave to the Tom-Tom, etc. They don't always take you a quick way and sometimes roads aren't right.

    This is even more important if you are ever going into the woods. GPS can fail and fail miserably. Learn how to read a topo map. Learn how to use a compass. Seriously. I've been on two trips with large groups and each time only a couple of us knew how to actually use a map and it helped tremendously. I was shocked as I just thought it was common sense and general knowledge and practice. Not so these days it seems with GPS devices everywhere.

    Again for outdoors, learn basic first aid for the most common accidents and problems. Learn how to pack and what to pack.

    A map, a compass, a way to clean water, a good knife, a simple first aid kit, good proper shoes/boots and an extra pair of socks and you are well on your way to being able to handle nature. All of this, along with a good jack and jumper cables are stored in my trunk at all times.

    As others have mentioned, a boy scout would know this and then some. Part of me regrets never having been one. Thankfully my dad and step dad both were huge outdoors men and passed onto me what info they could.

    Another one that's common sense. On top of learning how to shoot straight, first make sure you can load and unload a couple types of rifles, a shotgun, a revolver and a semi-auto pistol. So, know how to make sure a gun is loaded or not, safety on or not, etc.
     
  18. Gravy

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    #1. How to properly shake someone's hand.

    A simple skill that is easy to learn, but an astounding number of people fuck it up and ruin their first impression.
     
  19. katokoch

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    Yes and yes.

    On top of simply knowing how to handle and shoot various firearms, you must know basic gun safety. Treat them as if they're loaded 24/7, always be aware of your target and what is beyond it, and watch where the fuck you point the muzzle, etc. To me that is more important than marksmanship or hunting skills if we're talking skills for everyone.

    Stabilizing strained/sprained/broken limbs and joints should be added to the list.

    Know how to dress properly in cold weather with your activity level in mind. Also, if reversing hypothermia is there- reversing heat exhaustion or heatstroke should be added too.
     
  20. Angel_1756

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    Handle rejection with dignity and class. It is astonishing how many people handle rejection REALLY poorly - not just in relationships, but in work settings or anywhere else in life.