Fun Things Which No One Else Would Think Are Fun

[Revoltingest]

I just posted this on another forum in a thread about machinery moves.

Two difficult ones......

A 13,000# steam engine powered generator from the Gold Coast Railway Museum in Miami FL in July.
(While not a big'n for some of you guys, that's a heavy one for me.)
It took almost 5 days (with no help) to get pieces of that thing thru a small door. Temperature in that
building was 140F in the daytime. At nite, wild dogs roamed the facility. As I worked, I could see the
pack's eyes lit up in the distance.
Oh, I did get some help....a couple kids were sentenced by a judge to do community service there
for some mischief. Each stood around for their hour long sentence enduring a lecture on rigging
& safety.
That was tiring. Then I had a 1400 mile drive home.
Advice:
On heat: Drink lots'o water. Eat. Get your electrolytes. Eat. Be safe, slow & methodical. And be sure to eat.
On wild dogs: Don't run. Stand your ground. Tell those b1tches who's boss.

A big ole Fitchburg steam engine in the basement of an antique store (old shoe factory) in NH.
I was helping a friend get an engine he paid too much for.
(He didn't factor in the work & cost of a full week to extract & move the rassin frassin beast.)
The recipe:
Consider all the plans which won't work. Eventually figure out one that will.
Cut a hole in the floor.
Buy a lot of lumber & jack screw posts.
Re-frame the building's central structure to support 4 floors above.
Remove main support structure erected on top of the engine.
(I had the building's owner's permission to do all that. Why on Earth would she trust
someone like me do that? She had no insurance on the building cuz it was uninsurable.)
Take apart the engine.
Rig a gantry crane to lift the parts up to the 1st floor.
Clear a long exit path of all the knick knacks, geegaws, jimcracks, bricabrack, chotchkies, & other fragile collectibles.
Rent a forklift to move parts from loading dock to trailer.
Manage to stay friends with the engine's owner despite his being in a hurry, & getting yelled at for unsafe behavior.

Life doesn't get any better than that, eh.

Btw, I took pictures to document the Fitchburg move.
The owner doesn't smile in any of them.
Expensive learning experiences can do that to a guy.

 

[Revoltingest]

So.....what fun have you had?

 

[icehorse]

Well I once had an 80' house moved across town. The house mover ran the show, but I was his assistant and did a little of everything as a learning experience. In a pinch I think I could move a house.

(As an aside, it's AMAZING how bouncy an 85' steel beam is!)

 

[Revoltingest]

Well I once had an 80' house moved across town. The house mover ran the show, but I was his assistant and did a little of everything as a learning experience. In a pinch I think I could move a house.

(As an aside, it's AMAZING how bouncy an 85' steel beam is!)

You were fortunate to have been involved in that.
It's interesting how big jobs are broken down to individual tasks.

A friend owns a company that moved a submarine into a museum in Chicago.
This was the "little" vessel.

Btw, he also moves some really big things.
He's set a couple world records for heavy lifting.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

I think military tanks are fun.

A former girlfriend said that roses are beautiful and I answered, that I thought that a Tiger tank is beautiful. We weren't in that a long relationship. Fun times

 

[sun rise]

What's the most fun because of the supreme challenge is trying to get someone to admit that they're wrong and I'm right

 

[Sunstone]

I study epistemology and logic for fun. I suppose now that I have confessed to that, I should give up all hope of ever getting invited to another party.

 

[Rival]

Studying older forms of modern languages. I love Old French.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

Chopping wood is very enjoyable for me, though most hate it. I look forward to spring when I can saw up the trees and branches lost to winter on my land and chop them for campfires during the summer.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

I study epistemology and logic for fun. I suppose now that I have confessed to that, I should give up all hope of ever getting invited to another party.

Or be hopeful that you could get invited to the right parties.

 

[Revoltingest]

Studying older forms of modern languages. I love Old French.

You're right....I'd never find that to be fun.
Some day, when I merge with the infinite, & descend to Hell,
I expect Satan himself to greet me with....
"Here's your accordian, your book of dentist appointments, & your beginning French text."

 

[Revoltingest]

What's the most fun because of the supreme challenge is trying to get someone to admit that they're wrong and I'm right

Does it ever happen?

 

[Heyo]

Does it ever happen?

Rarely on the internet because they can escape before I slap them in the face.

 

[Heyo]

I just posted this on another forum in a thread about machinery moves.

Two difficult ones......

A 13,000# steam engine powered generator from the Gold Coast Railway Museum in Miami FL in July.
(While not a big'n for some of you guys, that's a heavy one for me.)
It took almost 5 days (with no help) to get pieces of that thing thru a small door. Temperature in that
building was 140F in the daytime. At nite, wild dogs roamed the facility. As I worked, I could see the
pack's eyes lit up in the distance.
Oh, I did get some help....a couple kids were sentenced by a judge to do community service there
for some mischief. Each stood around for their hour long sentence enduring a lecture on rigging
& safety.
That was tiring. Then I had a 1400 mile drive home.
Advice:
On heat: Drink lots'o water. Eat. Get your electrolytes. Eat. Be safe, slow & methodical. And be sure to eat.
On wild dogs: Don't run. Stand your ground. Tell those b1tches who's boss.

A big ole Fitchburg steam engine in the basement of an antique store (old shoe factory) in NH.
I was helping a friend get an engine he paid too much for.
(He didn't factor in the work & cost of a full week to extract & move the rassin frassin beast.)
The recipe:
Consider all the plans which won't work. Eventually figure out one that will.
Cut a hole in the floor.
Buy a lot of lumber & jack screw posts.
Re-frame the building's central structure to support 4 floors above.
Remove main support structure erected on top of the engine.
(I had the building's owner's permission to do all that. Why on Earth would she trust
someone like me do that? She had no insurance on the building cuz it was uninsurable.)
Take apart the engine.
Rig a gantry crane to lift the parts up to the 1st floor.
Clear a long exit path of all the knick knacks, geegaws, jimcracks, bricabrack, chotchkies, & other fragile collectibles.
Rent a forklift to move parts from loading dock to trailer.
Manage to stay friends with the engine's owner despite his being in a hurry, & getting yelled at for unsafe behavior.

Life doesn't get any better than that, eh.

Btw, I took pictures to document the Fitchburg move.
The owner doesn't smile in any of them.
Expensive learning experiences can do that to a guy.

Working in the event business is always fun. Dealing with the weather, demanding artists, unreliable equipment, total HonKs (HonK = Hilfskraft ohne nennenswerte Kentnisse, German for incompetent stage hand), long hours while living in a tent.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

What's the most fun because of the supreme challenge is trying to get someone to admit that they're wrong and I'm right

What is even more fun, is to get someone to admit that there is no right and wrong, unless you believe in it. That is fun.

 

[columbus]

You're right....I'd never find that to be fun.
Some day, when I merge with the infinite, & descend to Hell,
I expect Satan himself to greet me with....
"Here's your accordian, your book of dentist appointments, & your beginning French text."

And then He'll turn to @Sunstone and say "Here's your server. What kind of haggis should he bring you?

You won't get it, but you can beg."

Tom

 

[icehorse]

Btw, he also moves some really big things.
He's set a couple world records for heavy lifting.

You can find Youtube videos of a guy who built a 1:1 scale model of Stonehenge all by himself using only primitive tools.

 

[sun rise]

What is even more fun, is to get someone to admit that there is no right and wrong, unless you believe in it. That is fun.

Ah, you're writing about transcending duality. That's a "game" beyond all others.

 

[Mock Turtle]

Caving (of which I did lots in my youth) might be something that appeals to few and a bit like Marmite, in that either one loves it or hates it. Having to overcome numerous fears - of the dark, of claustrophobia, of being cold and/or wet, of being lost, trapped or buried alive, of falling rocks, of heights and falling, of water and drowning, of being injured and the potential for a difficult rescue, and lastly, of being dirty, uncomfortable, and physically exhausted - and all this possibly experienced in the same cave - what’s not to like about caving?

 

[Heyo]

You can find Youtube videos of a guy who built a 1:1 scale model of Stonehenge all by himself using only primitive tools.