On Saturday 09 February 2008, Lamar Owen wrote: >On Saturday 09 February 2008, Frank Cox wrote: >> On Sat, 09 Feb 2008 19:34:21 -0500 >> >> Lamar Owen <lowen@xxxxxxxx> wrote: >> > It appears that scdbackup is the tool of choice for this sort of >> > thing. If he had wanted to know about or have a discussion about backup >> > best practices, he would have asked that question instead. >> >> Sometimes bringing up things like that will elicit an "I never thought of >> that" or "That's a better way than what I was thinking of" response. > >If the response is phrased in a manner other than 'why would you want to do > a stupid thing like that' tone, perhaps I would agree. > >> If I asked what the best way was to pound nails with my screwdriver and >> the answers I got tended toward "you should use a hammer for that", I >> would start taking a serious look at hammers. Perhaps I could even find >> one for a cheaper price than I would have to pay to replace my >> screwdriver.... > >Using the right tool for the job is a great ideal when one has access to all >the tools one needs. One doesn't always have that luxury, and one sometimes >must press a tool into uses for which it was not designed. > >My favorite example is from the automotive mechanic's world. If you are >rebuilding an alternator, and the blind bearing in the back housing is in >dire need of replacement, but you don't have a blind bearing puller and you >have no way of getting to the auto parts to get one because, well, your car >won't start due to the dead battery due to the bad alternator, what are you >going to do? > >I would use a dollop of the thickest axle grease I could find in my shop, > fill the blind bearing with the grease, take a rubber mallet and the > alternator's armature, insert the armature shaft into the bearing, and tap > the bearing out with hydraulic pressure. > >Yes, I actually did that, have the shirt with the indelible grease stain (it >was moly-based) to prove it. The look on my helper's face was priceless. >And, yes, MacGyver and MythBusters are two of my favorite TV shows. >-- >Lamar Owen >www.pari.edu Lamar, sometime before I fall over, you and I have got to share war stories like that and a 6 pack. Like MasterCard, some of those are priceless. :-) -- Cheers, Gene "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed Howdershelt (Author) "Consider a spherical bear, in simple harmonic motion..." -- Professor in the UCB physics department
