[Fot] Sometimes I amaze, even Myself

[Justin Wagner]

LOL....  good extra bit!    Yes, we should listen to that little extra 
voice inside!  

I was working on a Nissan TV commercial years ago... and after a long 
motion control camera move around the spinning red four door pick up 
truck, the truck comes to a stop and all the four doors close, at once, 
for the ending beauty shot...   There I am... all in black... hiding 
inside the truck... pulling on four cables I had rigged to close the 
doors on cue...   as I laid there on the floor of the Nissan... and the 
camera was rolling... and computers were marking the camera move and the 
car to spin on a giant turntable... I started thinking to myself...   
"this isn't a good position, if the lead on one of these things breaks, 
I'm going to hit myself in the...."

The director:  (heard over the radio hidden in the car with me)   
"...and ACTION, Justin....         ....Justin?     ....action 
Justin.     Hello...   Justin?   Action"

Justin:  (after a long pause, his dizzy voice heard over the radio)  
"ummm... folks...  Justin's going to need a little reset time here...   
He knocked himself out."

It was a little embarrassing having a black eye for the remainder of the 
shoot.

--Justin



Bill Babcock wrote:

>Good advice. One other bit. When you get a little twinge of a thought that you're doing the wrong thing, stop. Go back and think it through. I can't tell you how many times I've thought "Man, if that bolt breaks my knuckles are going to...OUCH". Or "I probably shouldn't used vise grips for this because...DAMN, I shouldn't have used vise grips. "
>
>Telling yourself "I saw that coming" means you didn't trust your experience and knowledge. If you know better, act better. Saves a lot of time and bandaids. 
>
>On Mar 28, 2010, at 8:13 AM, Justin Wagner wrote:
>
>  
>
>>If there's anything I have learned about frozen studs, nuts, bolts, etc.....       It is to STOP, the second one realizes they've got a problem.   STOP, and think about the best approach, the best tool, etc.    And while devising a plan, let it sit in a bath of sprayed on WD40, etc.     If the best tool for the given job isn't available at the moment, take the time to get it.  Over the years, it seems to me that over half of the difficulty in solving such issues is having to work around the first 30 minutes of testosterone driven carnage.
>>
>>I've slowly been building up a little collection of odd tools specifically designed to deal with these things.  Yet, even with all these special tools,  more often than not, only one of them is right for any given task.  And even then, it's often some simple tool that I need, that's gone missing. 
>>And regardless of the game plan, one shouldn't proceed with each step until it's fully engaged.  i.e.  If  one is using a vis-grip, that initial squeeze to lock it in place should hurt.  If a hole is to be drilled for a tool to engage, one should take the time to drill it right (properly locate the drill, drill at 90 degrees, drill it as deep as recommended, etc.)   If one is dremeling a slot for a screw driver, get it right and use a screw driver that fits the slot perfectly.   If leverage would help, take the time to create additional leverage (like pipe to extend handles, etc.).
>>
>>Patience and planning.
>>
>>--Justin